“Lebanon” on The Daily Caller

Syrian security forces have killed eight people, including two children, activists said, as UN Security Council permanent member China urged President Bashar al-Assad to accelerate promised reforms. (more)

Violence erupted on Israel’s borders with Syria, Lebanon and Gaza on Sunday, leaving at least eight dead and dozens wounded, as Palestinians marked what they term “the catastrophe” of Israel’s founding in 1948. (more)

Michael Totten is the author of the recently released book, “The Road to Fatima Gate: The Beirut Spring, the Rise of Hezbollah, and the Iranian War Against Israel.” (more)

Riyadh signaled its intention to maintain stability in the Persian Gulf with the deployment of more than 1,000 Saudi Arabian and 500 United Arab Emirates (UAE) troops to neighboring Bahrain on March 14, under the auspices of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC). This intervention is comparable to the numerous deployments of U.S. troops under the auspices of the Organization of American States (OAS) — Grenada (1983), Panama (1989) and Haiti (1994). (more)

The Obama administration has not shown us it cares about the persecution of Christians. This is obvious. At a time of rising persecution of Christians throughout Muslim lands, the president has nominated Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook — a “motivational speaker” with questionable qualifications — to hold the critical position of U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. (more)

“What do you need to know about our situation in the Middle East?” asked Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, at the beginning of an extensive interview with The Daily Caller at the Israeli Embassy in Northwest Washington last Wednesday. (more)

With attacks against Christians on the rise in majority-Muslim nations in the Middle East, experts say the future of Christianity in the region is gravely threatened. (more)

President Obama this month has sustained the momentum he gained in December by playing the role of political strategist, world leader and, in the last week, the nation’s healer. (more)

BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah, already Lebanon’s most potent military force, is now making a bid to expand its political power by installing an ally as prime minister now that it has brought down the government. (more)

Lebanon’s fractious coalition government collapsed Wednesday following the resignation of ministers representing the parliamentary opposition headed by the militant Shiite group, Hezbollah. (more)

On January 5, Representatives Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and Steve King (R-IA) introduced H.R. 141 to repeal Obamacare. A vote on the bill, scheduled for this week, has been postponed because of the shootings of Representative Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others in Arizona. When it does come up in the House, it will pass; but even if it also passed in the Senate, the White House has said that President Obama will veto it. The question then becomes, what can Republicans in Congress do to thwart the implementation of Obamacare while they work to elect a Republican president and a Republican Senate in 2012 so they can repeal it in 2013? (more)

This week President Obama announced recess appointments of six individuals to fill key administration posts. The White House press office said these were slots “left vacant for an extended period of time.” (more)

Some folks are alleging that Tehran and Caracas have inked a deal that will establish a joint ballistic missile base in Venezuela, where Iranian missiles, potentially capable of reaching the United States, would be stationed. (more)

Terror organization faces unprecedented crisis, according to Israeli intelligence assessments, stirring tension with its Iranian patrons. (more)

Since Osama bin Laden released his latest tape, the West has finally caught on to a very real danger in the Islamic world. As Pakistan’s catastrophic floods have demonstrated, terrorists deliberately exploit the chaos of disasters to win the hearts and minds of the affected population. Because regional governments are often incompetent and corrupt, neither internal nor international aid can easily reach those who need it. Instead, fundamentalist groups are often the first presence on the ground — freely providing food, shelter and medicine. Yet the floods have also showcased the new role that web-based technology can play in co-opting radicals’ attempts to dominate relief efforts. (more)

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will appear with President Obama and Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas at the White House and speak prior to a working dinner in the Old Family Dining Room which will include Jordanian King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Here is the full text of Netanyahu’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

“I am very pleased to be here today to begin our common effort to achieve a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. (more)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran is prepared to sell weapons to Lebanon if Beirut asks for help in equipping its military, Iran’s defense minister said Wednesday. (more)

Everything starts with a point of view. Turkey’s orientation – or rather– Orientalism is causing quite a discussion and is creating a wide split among policy makers, analysts, and journalists concerning whether or not the Islamist based ruling party, Justice and Development (AKP), is changing Turkish values. In the past, there was no doubt that Ataturk’s Turkey was destined to look toward the West. Now, there is talk about a whole new Turkey. Are the ones who warn of Turkey sliding away from the West creating a storm in a teacup? Or is there reason to wonder about Erdogan’s vision for the future of this first secular experience in a nation of Muslims? (more)

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad infuriated Americans last week when he claimed that America had exaggerated the death toll from al-Qaeda’s September 11, 2001 attacks. (more)

EIN EL-HILWEH REFUGEE CAMP, Lebanon (AP) — Mohammed al-Amin spends his days doing little more than playing billiards and smoking cigarettes in this sprawling Palestinian refugee camp, where gunmen roam narrow alleyways dotted with tin-roofed, cement-block homes. (more)