Hassan Butt of The Guardian Cries Out to Fellow Muslims

My plea to fellow Muslims: you must renounce terror

As the bombers return to Britain, Hassan Butt, who was once a member of radical group Al-Muhajiroun, raising funds for extremists and calling for attacks on British citizens, explains why he was wrong

Sunday July 1, 2007 The Observer

When I was still a member of what is probably best termed the British Jihadi Network, a series of semi-autonomous British Muslim terrorist groups linked by a single ideology, I remember how we used to laugh in celebration whenever people on TV proclaimed that the sole cause for Islamic acts of terror like 9/11, the Madrid bombings and 7/7 was Western foreign policy. By blaming the government for our actions, those who pushed the 'Blair's bombs' line did our propaganda work for us. More important, they also helped to draw away any critical examination from the real engine of our violence: Islamic theology.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2115832,00.html

Washington Post: Democrats Press on Iraq as all else fails

Democrats Plan to Press GOP on Iraq
Majority Party Frustrated on Hill
By Elizabeth Williamson and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff WritersSaturday, June 30, 2007; Page A02

With the immigration bill dead, troop-withdrawal deadlines vetoed and other high-profile initiatives stalled, Democratic leaders closed six months in control of Congress mired in low approval ratings and plotting a legislative blitz on an issue they once tried to escape: Iraq.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/29/AR2007062902444.html?hpid=topnews

Boston Globe on Iran's Domestic Troubles

GLOBE EDITORIAL
Iran regime drowning in oil
June 30, 2007

THE HARD-LINE regime of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been frightening neighbors with its meddling-by-proxy in Iraq, Lebanon, and Gaza. The regime's apparent pursuit of nuclear weapons has also prompted unusual solidarity among the United States, Europe, and Russia; together they have been ratcheting up United Nations Security Council sanctions on Iran, demanding that it suspend uranium enrichment and comply with its obligations to the International Atomic Energy Agency. But the most telling signs of trouble for the theocratic regime in Tehran are currently on display not in its external relations but in domestic turmoil.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2007/06/30/iran_regime_drowning_in_oil/

Wall Street Journal: Giuliani, Left's Biggest Fear

THE WEEKEND INTERVIEW
Of Tax Cuts and Terror
New York's former mayor makes his case to be Reagan's heir.
BY BRIAN M. CARNEY Saturday, June 30, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT

"I think the American people in November 2008 are going to select the person they think is strongest to defend America against Islamic terrorism. And it is not going to focus on--as some of the media wants it--just Iraq. I think Americans are smarter than that."
Thus did Rudy Giuliani summarize the rationale for his presidential campaign at a meeting this week with the editorial board of the Journal. Next year's election will be about national security, not about Iraq narrowly defined.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010277