VARIOUS STORIES

1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-China flood death toll rises to 76, as villages submerged. 3-EU approves visa data system. 4-Peres bids again for Israel president in close race. 5-From the Nile to the Euphrates - PA continuous libel. 6-Anti-Israel rally meets stiff resistance in DC. 7-WASHINGTON DEEPLY DIVIDED OVER IRAN. 8-Hamas seizes Fatah security headquarters.

EARTHQUAKES

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)

Update time = THU Jun 14 12:01 AM EDT

TUE JUNE 12,07
MAP 4.1 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 3.2 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.7 SOUTHEAST OF EASTER ISLAND
MAP 2.9 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 4.8 NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 4.7 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.8 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.2 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.6 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.6 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 OREGON
MAP 2.7 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 4.7 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.3 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 2.7 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 4.8 NIAS REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 2.8 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.8 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.0 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.7 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.1 ALASKA PENINSULA

JUNE 11,07
MAP 3.5 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.2 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 4.9 FIJI REGION
MAP 3.6 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.9 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
MAP 3.8 WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA
MAP 2.8 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.7 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.8 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 3.1 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 3.8 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.1 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 4.5 OFF THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
MAP 4.6 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.6 PERU-ECUADOR BORDER REGION
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.9 UTAH
MAP 3.2 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 5.2 PERU-ECUADOR BORDER REGION

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

China flood death toll rises to 76, as villages submerged JUNE 12,07

BEIJING (AFP) - The death toll from nearly a week of heavy rain in southern China rose to 76 on Tuesday, as reports emerged of authorities deliberately flooding some villages in an effort to save bigger cities. More than 13.5 million people have been affected by the disaster, which has caused an estimated 4.73 billion yuan (606 million dollars) in economic losses, the civil affairs ministry reported on its website.According to the ministry, 76 people have died and 13 are missing from torrential rains that have battered the region since June 6.The death toll on Monday had stood at 66.

At present the disaster situation is rather grave in some areas as there are a lot of people out there and the damage caused by water is serious, Li Ronggen, vice governor in charge of flooding in Guangdong province, said.On top of this the rain is continuing to fall, making the fight against flooding and other mitigating circumstances much more arduous, he said in a Tuesday statement posted on the website of the state flood headquarters.Tens of thousands of people were safely
evacuated from up to 24 villages that were submerged by floods in six provinces and regions in southern China, China Central Television said.Guangdong province has been the worst hit and authorities there have deliberately diverted water to flood six villages so that more important towns and cities would not be inundated, Xinhua news agency reported.

The unavoidable flooding of villages occurred when authorities opened sluice gates at a dam on Guangdong's Hanjiang river because water there was building up to too high a level, it said.Landslides and collapses have been frequent along the river dam area, Guo Chunshan, the chief of Liuhuang town which encompasses the six villages, was quoted as saying.If we hadn't opened the discharge gate, the dam might have overflowed and the losses would have been much more serious, he added.According to the ministry, 788,000 people have been evacuated from the six regions and provinces affected by the flooding -- Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Fujian and Jiangxi.

More than 479,600 hectares (1.18 million acres) of farmland have been damaged by the disaster, with crops completely destroyed on nearly a third of the area, the ministry said.More than 144,000 buildings and homes have been damaged by the floods and landslides, while 69,000 have been destroyed, it said.The week of devastating rains has marked the start of the months-long storm season for southern and eastern China, although it began later than in 2006.From April to August last year, natural disasters killed more than 2,200 people in China, with most deaths in the typhoon and flood-prone regions in the south and east, according to previously released government data.

Looters hit flooded Australian homes, shops Tue Jun 12, 10:43 AM ET

SYDNEY (AFP) - Looters raided abandoned houses, businesses and cars during four days of violent storms in Australia, stealing everything from iPods to alcohol and cigarettes, outraged victims said Tuesday. As a massive clear-up operation got into full gear after storms and floods that claimed nine lives, residents and traders said thieves had exploited the weekend's chaos to break in and steal.

About 5,000 residents in the Hunter and Central Coast areas north of Sydney have now returned home following the storms, which caused damage estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars. Power utility EnergyAustralia said almost 30,000 homes were still blacked out and some may not be reconnected until the end of the week as technicians struggle to repair the worst damage to its network in 30 years.Paul Murphy, a businessman in Newcastle, said the devastation of up to one million dollars' (840,000 US) of flood damage at his electrical goods shop was exacerbated when he found looters had taken advantage of his plight.

On inspection, I'd seen that they had smashed the display cabinets and taken the iPods, and they've gone for the top class sort of products, so it's just very, very sad, he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Pub owner Vanessa Loades said her premises in Newcastle was hit twice by gangs of looters who stole cigarettes and alcohol, as well as causing 250,000 dollars in damage to gaming machines that they tried to pry open looking for money.Loades told Australian Associated Press that she had hired a security guard after her pub was first hit Friday, but he was beaten up when about 30 looters returned the next night.Police said cars abandoned in the floodwaters had radios and possessions removed, while the Australian newspaper reported looters in boats had cruised swollen creeks in the Central Coast region stealing from empty homes.Police denied complaints from victims who said they had been told nothing could be done about the looters because available resources were concentrated on helping the emergency response.Among those killed as the storms swept the east coast were three children and two adults from one family, who died when their car plunged into a flooded creek after the road collapsed beneath them.

The Insurance Council of Australia said it had received 15,000 claims and estimated storm damage at 200 million dollars.Stephen Delaney, spokesman for emergency services in New South Wales state, said authorities were concentrating on reaching a small number of people still isolated in the Hunter Valley and repairing storm damage as waters receded.

Our people are definitely planning on working right until it's over and at this stage that incorporates right through to Friday, he said.Health authorities warned people to keep away from the floodwaters where possible because it may have been contaminated by overflowing sewerage pumping stations.Maritime officials in the state said stabilisation work was continuing on the coal carrier Pasha Bulker, which was forced aground in Newcastle harbour Friday by gale-force winds and huge seas.Newcastle Port Corporation chief executive Gary Webb said that removing the 40,000 tonne vessel was a complex task.This isn't like backing a tow truck to tow a car out after an accident, Webb told commercial television. Some coal loading resumed Tuesday at Newcastle, but operations are expected to be hampered by damage to rail tracks used to move coal into the port from mines in the Hunter Valley.

EU approves visa data system Tue Jun 12, 10:52 AM ET

LUXEMBOURG - The European Union on Tuesday approved a European visa data system which will store biometric information like fingerprints and photos on 70 million visa-holders who pass through the EU's borderless travel zone each year. The agreement reached by EU justice and interior ministers will set up a common EU database which can be accessed by all 15 EU nations participating in the so-called Schengen borderless travel area.

Our plans are to make the visa information system operational by spring 2009, said EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini.EU officials said the system will be the world's largest database of its kind containing fingerprints and photographs of people applying or holding a Schengen visa.

Frattini said the new system will offer a new practical tool both for consulates and border checkpoints, to stop and apprehend criminals or terrorists at the EU's external borders.

The new system beefs up security and aims to prevent identity fraud of travel visas issued by EU nations.The visa data contained on the system will contain the name, address, and occupation of the visa applicant or holder. It will also include the date and place of the application and any decision taken by the country responsible to issue, reject, or extend the visa.Citizens of more than 100 countries need a visa to enter the EU.Authorities from the EU member states and Europol, the Europe-wide law enforcement organization, may access the data in specific cases if it can help investigate terrorist or serious criminal offenses.

Peres bids again for Israel president in close race Tue Jun 12, 8:59 AM ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel's elder statesman Shimon Peres is running neck and neck with a former parliament speaker in his second bid to be elected president, media said on Tuesday on the eve of a vote in parliament. The 83-year-old Nobel laureate is contesting the largely ceremonial post with two other candidates, former speaker Reuven Rivlin of the right-wing Likud party, and Colette Avital of the centre-left Labour.The Knesset's 120 MPs will cast secret ballots beginning at noon on Wednesday to replace Moshe Katsav, who with a looming rape indictment is the second consecutive Israeli president to end his term in disgrace.The mass-selling Yediot Aharonot predicted that Peres will receive 50 votes, Rivlin 51, and Avital 19 during the first ballot.If no candidate garners 61 votes, a second round will be held between the top two finishers. If no one still makes the required 61 votes, a third round will be held and the candidate with the most ballots declared the winner.

Peres ran for president seven years ago and was widely thought assured of victory only to watch in shock as the then obscure Moshe Katsav of Likud beat him for the prize after the surprise defection of ultra-Orthodox MPs.Admired abroad, Peres has been tagged with the monicker of a perennial election loser in his home country, following his failure to lead his Labour party to victory in legislative polls in 1977, 1981, 1984, 1988 and 1996.The tag was sealed by the shock defeat to Katsav in July 2000 and his failure to win the Labour leadership in 2005, after which he jumped ship from his life-long party to join the new centrist Kadima set up by former premier Ariel Sharon.Twice prime minister, Peres enjoys widespread respect abroad, including for having been the motor behind the 1993 Oslo limited autonomy accords with the Palestinians.For that, he shared the 1984 Nobel peace prize with former premier Yitzhak Rabin, who was later assassinated by a Jewish extremist, and the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.He has also held a string of other top posts, including the foreign and defence portfolios, and is considered the father of the Jewish state's biggest deterrent -- its suspected but undeclared nuclear weapons programme.Born in Poland in 1923, Peres emigrated to British-mandated Palestine when he was 11. A speaker of English and French as well as Hebrew, he and his wife Sonya have three children and numerous grandchildren.

From the Nile to the Euphrates - PA continuous libel (1997 -2007)
about secret plan to conquer Arab nation
by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook JUNE 12,07
Palestinian Media Watch. CREDIT TO.

Lies and libels have been used for many years by the Palestinian Authority to present Israel as a dangerous existential threat to the Arab and Muslim world. One of the repeating libels, that Israel is planning to conquer Arab lands, including lands in Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia from the Euphrates until the Nile was repeated this week in the PA daily Al-Ayyam. For many years the Palestinian Authority (PA) has promoted this Euphrates to the Nile libel, and below PMW has cited more than 20 additional Palestinian references in recent years. As with all effective propaganda, detailed fictitious allegations are often advocated to make the lie sound credible.

The following are some of these PA fabrications:

The term From the Nile to the Euphrates your land, oh Israel, is written above the gates of the Knesset.The term The Nile to the Euphrates appears on Israeli money. The two blue stripes on the Israeli flag represent the Nile and the Euphrates and the Star of David represents the state of Israel.

Israeli children in school are taught through repetition of the expression: Land of Israel -from the Nile to the Euphrates. Repeatedly presenting Israel as a country that plans to expand and destroy other countries is an integral part of Palestinian hate promotion. Palestinians are more likely to feel justified fighting and killing Israelis when it is presented as an act of self-defense. The repetition of this charge over so many years should categorize this almost as an ideology.This week the PA presented the Nile to the Euphrates libel again as an principle so intrinsic to the State of Israel it is said to be written above the gates of the Knesset: From the Euphrates until the Nile, your land oh Israel.Former Israeli PM, Ariel Sharon, on a map of Mid-East looking at the Nile.Caption: From the Euphrates to.[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 5, 2003]

Below is this latest version of this libel, and more than 20 other references from among the many times this libel has been made in the past:A video clip which has been airing on PA TV since 2001 depicts a classroom of Jewish children wearing kippot (religious skullcaps) in front of the Israeli flag, repeating after a teacher: The Land of Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates. The video clip is shown
as if were an actual classroom in an Israeli school. The child actors speak Hebrew
.[PA TV, since January 31, 2001]

In 1967, it [Israel] occupied all that was left of Palestine in addition to the larger Arab territory...before initiating the third stage, in order to make the slogan written on the top of the gates of the Knesset come true: From the Euphrates until the Nile, your land oh Israel.[Al-Ayyam, June 4, 2007]

The Zionists’ aspirations are not limited to Palestine from the sea to the river, and not to Egypt and the Sha’am lands [includes parts of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel], extending to Iraq and Al-Medina, or from the Euphrates to the Nile … the idea of ‘the greater Middle East’ includes [lit: swallows] many countries in the Islamic world…[Al-Risalah, December 7, 2006]

Political sciences lecturer, Dr. Hamd Al-Fara claims that Israel already realized with success its dream to be from the Nile to the Euphrates – since, currently, Israelis from the Mossad [Israeli secret service] are in Iraq, and there is an Israeli embassy in Egypt.[PA TV, July 7, 2006]

The Israelis think in a completely different way. They think that the problem is summarized with how to get away with the loot they looted during unusual circumstances, in the near and distant past, that is the land of Palestine they hold serves as a departure point to the [territory] between the Euphrates and the Nile.[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nihad Munir Al-Rees, March 20, 2006]

Barakat Al-Fara of the PLO, former Palestinian deputy ambassador to Egypt:The June 67 war took place and emphasized that the Zionist enemy did not set as a goal only Palestine, but it set as a goal the Arab nation, from the ocean to the gulf, and it plans a Jewish state which will spread out from the Nile to the Euphrates…[PA TV, January 1, 2006]

There is a fairy tale or a slogan of the global Zionist movement which states that the borders of Israel are from the Euphrates to the Nile. When [the settlements] were destroyed, and when the settlers were banished from the settlements, the Palestinian people, all the free people and all Arabs erased this fairy tale.[PA TV, August 5, 2005]

There is no escape, but to clarify to the world that our enemies, that Zionism in particular, yearn to establish their state to control the world from east to west, and not the greater state of Israel from the Euphrates to the Nile, but they stare and want to establish their state over the entire planet earth.
[PA TV, June 18, 2004]

The Arabs and Muslims must consolidate a political-military defense strategy, in which the armed masses will participate… I emphasize the word defense… for taking a defensive stance and a defensive initiative, which are meant to prevent the most dangerous and the worst [thing] of all, that is seen in the horizon, that is approaching comes from the United States, that is allowing Israel to establish the Israeli empire from the Euphrates to the Nile including the city of Medina [the second most sacred site in Islam, the burial site of the Prophet Muhammad].[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, September 22, 2003]

Headline: Why are the Palestinians committed to the Hudna [ceasefire] and the Roadmap, and the Israelis are acting as opposed to it? by international law lecturer, Dr. Hana Isah:There is no doubt that the politicians in Israel are not interested in stability, and as a result, they escape from any agreement we will sign with them, since their goal is to extend their theft and their arrogant repression with all that concerns Palestine… The land of Israel from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates, from Lebanon to the Nile. This slogan is the basis which drives the foundation of Israel since the foundation of the Zionist movement until today, and the future.[Al-Hayat Al’Jadida, August 10, 2003]

[Ahmad Halas Abu-Maher, Fatah secretary in the Gaza Strip] confirms the matters: We are not only fighting for the Palestinian people. We are fighting in defense of the Arab nation and on this region, in which every people is a target for Israeli aggression. The slogan of Israel is from the Nile to the Euphrates, in geographic terms. But in terms of its interests, Israel is larger than that. It extends to the
entire Arab and Muslim territory. Therefore, when we are fighting and being killed in Gaza and Jenin, it is for the sake of the entire Arab nation.[PA TV, July 29, 2002]

Abu-Karsh: Even the Israeli flag, the blue line and the second blue line, and the Star of David in the middle, this is what is between the two rivers, that is the Nile and the Euphrates.Abu-Sharakh: The Zionist project still exists. They want a greater state of Israel from the Euphrates to the Nile. If it will not happen in the next 50 years, they will ask [to make it come true] within the next hundred years,
until their hopes and their aspirations in establishing a greater state of Israel will be realized. And this must be understood by the Arab nation and the entire world… They [Israelis] think about the state of Israel from the Euphrates to the Nile as something that cannot be avoided. From the Euphrates to the Nile.[PA TV, July 17, 2002]

The Zionists are behind the plot aiming to disconnect the rivers that extend from outside the Arab homeland in, such as the Euphrates and the Nile. The Zionists stole the Palestinian water and founded projects that transferred the water from the north to southern areas. They control the southern waters and steal them, and established the settlements above the water sources.[PA TV, March 22, 2002]

Zionism decided in the Basel committee in 1897 that Israel will be established between the Nile and the Euphrates, and this is what Israel aspires to realize. Therefore, every piece of land that we achieve is a withdrawal from the Zionist idea.[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, February 11, 2002]

The Hebrew state adopted an official flag – a blue Star of David (symbolizing the state of Israel), between two blue lines symbolizing the Nile River and the Euphrates which the Zionist movement viewed as its borders.[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, October 28, 2001]

Poor Israel: Its primitive, childish dream the land of Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates is reduced to a flag with a Star of David and two blue lines, one of them is the Nile, in the imagination, and the other is the disappointing Euphrates. These two lines will approach inwards, and will squeeze the Star of David until it bursts. This is what it [Israel] chose for itself…The Voice of Women in Al-Ayyam, July 19, 2001]

All the killing is followed by an intensive bombing of the national security outposts… what does it mean if not a declaration of an encompassing war on the Palestinian people, if not the determination to realize the constant goal of Zionism, of extending the occupation territory as far as possible, from the Euphrates to the Nile…Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 19, 2001]

Friday sermon by preacher Dr. Muhammad Madi: Arabs and Muslims! The Zionist slogan, the slogan of the Jews’ state in Palestine – from the Nile to the Euphrates. It is written in their books and on their coins…[PA TV, May 4, 2001]

The Palestinians view the Israeli flag as a symbol for the greater Jewish state that spreads out from the Nile to the Euphrates according to the Zionist dream: the two blue lines symbolize the two rivers, and the Star of David between them is the symbol of the state. The Palestinians pride themselves in their flag with the four colors, which represents the blood, the war, and the peace…[Al-Ayyam, May 14, 2000]

A strategy was consolidated by some of the ones who hold a Jewish perspective, which was subsequently known as Zionism aiming to establish a national homeland for the Jews in Palestine – or according to the traditional idea which sets the borders of the state of Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates.[Al-Ayyam, February 12, 2000]

Hussein Abu-Shanab: The map storm reminds us of the three superpowers [that emerged] in the [original] map in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion… Herzl sent a furious letter to these nations and demanded they change the mandatory borders of Palestine so that they include the Litany River, that is from the water to the water – [a slogan] expressed by the poster spread over the Knesset from the Euphrates to the Nile. Sharon’s declarations to journalists following the Palestinian- Israeli-American triple-meeting were for abolishing the process… considering that the historical homeland, according to the Zionist perspective, is from the Nile to the Euphrates…[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, December 21, 1997]

Anti-Israel rally meets stiff resistance in DC
Jim Brown - OneNewsNow.com - June 12, 2007

A group known as United for Peace & Justice co-sponsored an anti-Israel rally that took place Sunday on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol. The head of a pro-Israel group says organizers of the rally are seeking the destruction of the Jewish state.The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, as well as other groups gathered on the west lawn of the Capitol Sunday to protest what they call Israel's illegal military occupation of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. One liberal magazine acknowledged the rally was for the dissolution of the Jewish state.Several groups held a Stand with Israel rally nearby to counter the event. One group, Stand with US, recently published ads in the Washington, DC, metro rail system to counter anti-Israel ads that included a small Palestinian boy standing in front of an Israeli tank.

Herb Zweibon, chairman of Americans for a Safe Israel, contends the anti-Israel movement has evil intent and must be confronted. You can understand how serious this movement is when they call -- not for a two-state solution, which we oppose, [nor] for some sort of amelioration of a Palestinian population -- but for the dissolution of the state [of Israel], he says. I mean, this is beyond understanding.It is important, says Zweibon, to counter the claims of those who say the Palestinians have been done an injustice and that Israel must be punished.If there is no reaction, particularly in Washington ... people get the wrong impression, he says. The fact of the matter is that if there's any injustice in the Middle East, it's done to the state of Israel and to the Jewish people.Zweibon says people who oppose Israel's presence in the Middle East which includes all Palestinians and neighboring countries want nothing more than to eliminate that presence.American Family News Network

WASHINGTON DEEPLY DIVIDED OVER IRAN
By Joel C. Rosenberg

(WASHINGTON, D.C., June 11, 2007) -- Senator Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut Independent who ran for Vice President on Al Gore's ticket in the 2000 presidential race, on Sunday warned that it may be time for aggressive military action to stop Iranian agents from attacking U.S. forces in Iraq and to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. On CBS's Face The Nation, Lieberman said: I think we've got to be prepared to take aggressive military action against the Iranians to stop them from killing Americans in Iraq.

And to me, that would include a strike over the border into Iran, where we have good evidence that they have a base at which they are training these people coming back into Iraq to kill our soldiers....I want to make clear I'm not talking about a massive ground invasion of Iran, but we have good evidence. If they don't play by the rules, we've got to use our force and to me that would include taking military action to stop them from doing what they're doing.Few other U.S. Senators have been so clear that military action may be necessary soon, but Lieberman appears to believe that 2007 is the Year of Decision. If President Bush is going to take military action at all, he most likely would not do so during a presidential election year so that would leave only the next six months.

The Jerusalem Post is reporting that senior U.S. military officials say they have a strike plan in place, and U.S. and Israeli forces began joint war games over the weekend in the Negev desert. But it is still by no means clear that President Bush believes military action against Iran is necessary yet, or even feasible at this point. Indeed, Washington is deeply divided over Iran, as is the international
community. The U.N. Security Council can't even agree to condemn Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for saying that the countdown to Israel's destruction has begun. Kuwait has just announced that the U.S. may not use its bases to launch a strike against Iran. And the head of the Iranian parliament is discounting the possibility of a U.S. strike.

After its bitter experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States is unlikely to launch a military showdown with Iran, said Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel. Tehran is also warning of a missile blitz against the Gulf states and the Gulf oil fields if the U.S. tries to attack Iran. All that said, let me be perfectly clear: I don't want the U.S. or Israel or the Western powers to go to war with Iran. I would much prefer decisive international economic sanctions against Iran combined with a massive infusion of cash, technology and other encouragement to pro-democracy movement leaders inside Iran to bring about an entirely new, moderate, peaceful regime.

But let us all understand that time is running out. Ahmadinejad's Shiite Islamic eschatology -- or end times theology -- is telling him he must destroy Judeo-Christian civilization as we know it in order to bring about the return of the Islamic Messiah known as the Mahdi or the Twelfth Imam. Ahmadinejad and his spiritual advisors have a timetable. They believe the end of the world is imminent, and that's why they're feverishly trying to build, buy or steal nuclear weapons and the means to use them to attack Israel and the U.S. Unfortunately, the hard cold truth is that most political leaders in the U.S. and Europe don't get it. They don't understand the apocalyptic theology that is driving Iranian foreign policy right now, and thus most of them remain convinced that a few more negotiations might do the trick and persuade the Iranian regime to seek peace instead of war. To them I ask: how exactly do you successfully negotiate with or deter a regime whose leaders believe it is their God-given mission to destroy Judeo-Christian civilization in order to bring back their Messiah and spend eternity in paradise?

Hamas seizes Fatah security headquarters By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press Writer JUNE 12,07

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Hundreds of Hamas fighters firing rockets and mortar shells captured the headquarters of the Fatah-allied security forces in northern Gaza on Tuesday, scoring a key victory in the bloody battle for control of the seaside strip. Both sides said Gaza had descended into civil war, as the death toll from two days of fighting reached 37.

Tuesday's battles marked a turning point, with Hamas moving systematically to seize Fatah positions in what some in the Islamic militant group said would be a decisive phase in the yearlong power struggle. The confrontations turned increasingly brutal in recent days, with some killed execution-style in the streets, others in hospital shootouts or thrown off rooftops.President Mahmoud Abbas accused the Islamic militants of trying to stage a coup, and leaders of his Fatah movement urged him to declare a state of emergency.A survivor of the Hamas assault on the northern security headquarters said the Fatah forces were outgunned and reinforcements never arrived. We were pounded with mortar, mortar, mortar, the Fatah fighter, who only gave his first name, Amjad, said, breathing heavily. They had no mercy. It was boom, boom.

They had rockets that could reach almost half of the compound.Battles raged across the Gaza Strip during the day. The staccato of gunfire echoed across Gaza City, plumes of smoke rose into the air from far-flung neighborhoods and one firefight sent a dozen preschoolers scrambling for cover.

In one desperate attempt to boost morale, disorganized Fatah forces attacked Hamas' main TV station, but were repelled after a heavy battle.Many Gazans, pinned down in their homes, were furious with the combatants. Both Fatah and Hamas are leading us to death and destruction, said Ayya Khalil, 29, whose husband serves as an intelligence officer. They don't care about us.In the West Bank, Abbas was meeting with Fatah movement leaders, some of whom urged him to leave the coalition government with Hamas, established three months ago, declare a state of emergency, which would give him sweeping powers, or call early elections.Fatah ministers decided at the meeting to suspend participation in the unity government until fighting stops, Fatah-affiliated government spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh said late Tuesday.In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert proposed stationing international forces along the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt to prevent arms from reaching Palestinian militants, including Hamas. However, he ruled out assistance to Abbas' forces.U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an immediate halt to the violence and urged all sides to support Abbas.

Hamas and Fatah have waged a power struggle in fits and spurts since Hamas won parliamentary elections in January 2006, and Hamas signaled that the fighting was moving into a decisive phase. It ignored pleas by Abbas and exasperated Egyptian mediators to honor a cease-fire.

Decisiveness will be in the field, said Islam Shahwan, spokesman for the Hamas military wing.In contrast, Fatah commanders complained they were not given clear orders by Abbas to fight back and that they had no central command. Fatah's strongman in Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, has spent the last few weeks in Cairo because of a knee injury. Other leading Fatah officials left Gaza for the West Bank after previous rounds of bloodshed.There's a difference between leading on the ground and leading by mobile phone, police Col. Nasser Khaldi said of Dahlan's absence. Hamas is just taking over our positions. There are no orders.Both sides have been arming themselves in recent weeks, smuggling weapons through tunnels from Egypt.Abbas accused Hamas leaders of trying to seize control of Gaza by force.

The headquarters of the Fatah-allied security forces in northern Gaza, a key prize for Hamas, was taken by the Islamic militants after several hours of battle. Some 200 Hamas fighters had fired mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns at the compound, where some 500 Fatah loyalists were holed up and returned fire. Thirty-five jeeploads of Fatah fighters were sent as reinforcements. After nightfall, Hamas seized control, said a Hamas commander, Wael al-Shakra.

A Fatah security official confirmed the building had been lost. At least 12 people were killed and 30 wounded in the fighting. Earlier, Hamas fighters also overran several smaller Fatah positions in Gaza. Hamas gunmen also exchanged fire with Fatah forces at the southern security headquarters in the town of Khan Younis, but did not launch a major assault there. The town's streets were empty as people huddled inside. One Hamas man was killed, according to Hamas and medical officials. In Gaza City, Hamas fired mortars and explosives at the pro-Fatah Preventive Security headquarters, drawing return fire from watchtowers in the compound. Elsewhere, Fatah fighters killed four Hamas gunmen in a battle near the besieged house of a senior Fatah commander. Hamas and Fatah have been at odds since the Hamas election victory ended four decades of Fatah rule.

The sides agreed to share power in an uneasy coalition three months ago, but put off key disputes, including control over the security forces. Most of the forces are dominated by Fatah loyalists, while Hamas has formed its own militia and has thousands of gunmen at its command. Beverley Milton- Edwards, a Hamas expert at Queens University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, said Gaza is heading for a final showdown. This has become the existential battle for the soul of the Palestinian people, Milton-Edwards said. Brutality has gown in recent days, with people shot at close range in street executions. On Sunday, a member of Abbas' presidential guard, Mohammed Sweirki of Fatah, was kidnapped and hurled off a 15-story apartment building, followed a few hours later by the killing of a Hamas fighter, Abu Kainas, thrown from the roof of a 12-story building in apparent retaliation. In all, more than 80 people have been killed since mid-May, most of them militants. The State Department and the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, warning of a very dangerous security situation, advised journalists not to travel to Gaza. They also urged journalists to leave