A recent report into the inside contacts surrounding a Hamas / Israeli negotiated ceasefire confirms –with exact precision– what we predicted was happening at the time.

(Via WFB) Secretary of State John Kerry offered numerous times to fly to Cairo or Jerusalem to assist in cease-fire negotiations but was told that the sides “didn’t need American mediation,” according to an account of events by Haaretz.
Senior Israeli officials told Haaretz that Kerry offered to come to directly join the talks in each and every call during the attempted brokering of a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas on Monday, but was “politely rejected” by all sides.
Egypt wanted to prove that it could play its traditional diplomatic role with regards to Gaza without U.S. assistance. Israel thought that a visit by Kerry would make it look like the United States pressured Israel to make a deal, which would have been a public relations victory for Hamas. (more…)

(Via Wall Street Journal) Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl hasn’t spoken to his family since he was released from captivity in Pakistan, according to an Army official.

Sgt. Bergdahl has refused to see his parents or speak to them on the phone, the official said. The decision by Sgt. Bergdahl, who returned to regular duty on Monday, suggests a deeper estrangement between the soldier and his parents than the military understood when he was released. Still, officials said, they don’t know the precise cause of the tension or when it began. (more…)

#BREAKING #Hamas armed wing rejects #Egypt ceasefire proposal as 'surrender': AFP

— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) July 15, 2014

No doubt the fact that Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s Egyptian government was the peace-broker for this deal had something to do with Hamas refusal to engage. Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood despise el-Sisi.

BREAKING NEWS: Hamas reportedly rejects proposed Gaza cease-fire http://t.co/b9JgqwAznv

— Fox News Alert (@foxnewsalert) July 15, 2014

https://t.co/b9JgqwAznv

Al Marj is located just North of Benghazi on the road to Darnah…
Tripoli, Libya (CNN) — Faraj al-Shibli, who was suspected of involvement in the 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, has been found dead, a Libyan source and locals in the town of Marj said.

Al-Shibli, whose name is also spelled Chalabi, was last seen being detained by local militia in Marj two days ago, a Libyan source said.

It is unclear what happened to al-Shibli since then, but his body was found on Monday in Marj, which is in eastern Libya.

  Locals in Marj also confirmed that al-Shibli’s body was found Monday.  (read more)

Cleaning up Zero Footprint ?

This question highlights the actual substance of the policy issue.
Who would be the best broker, considering each side’s position, for peace?

USA’s Obama/Kerry, or Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ?

[polldaddy poll=8185601]
(more…)

Another example of Palestinian supporters violently attacking a peaceful Pro-Israel rally in LA.   Ask yourself when was the last time you heard of Pro-Israel groups attacking Palestinian Rallies;  like the one in front of the White House last week….  Or the one in front of the DC Embassy of Israel last week… or, well, you get the picture, it doesn’t happen.

(Via WFB) [T]he peaceful pro-Israel rally, organized by the Israel-American Council (IAC), took a violent turn at around 5:30 P.M.

Several men in a pick-up truck waving Palestinian flags pulled into the crowd and began shouting obscenities and spitting on the pro-Israel demonstrators, according to accounts provided by two employees of Advance Security Concept (ASC), which had been hired by the IAC to provide security.
The four Palestinian supporters eventually emerged from their truck with “sticks” and a “tire iron” and began attacking the pro-Israel faction after a heated argument, according to written accounts by the two ASC officials that were obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. (more…)

The dynamic and contrast could not be more stark.   The majority secular Egyptian people continue to spotlight freedom principles and identify terrorists as just that, terrorists.

Admittedly there are ideological elements inside Egypt, mainly the Muslim Brotherhood, which are aligned and supportive of Hamas.   Fortunately, they are in the minority and being diminished daily.   The bright light comes from the majority Egyptian people who worked diligently to remove the terror network from their own political constructs, and now continue to push back against the terror in surrounding countries, including Hamas. 
Egyptian people intelligently know who the terrorists are; they have lived through them. This makes them uniquely well skilled at putting the sunlight upon the shadow dwellers because they have lived through survived the propaganda.    In addition, were it not for the Western trained and secular Egyptian military, the Brotherhood would still rule over them.
Watching the evolution of Egypt in the past 4 years has been the single brightest ray of hope for a region severely lacking in it.    (more…)

It’s an inevitable outcome.   President Obama and DoD cannot allow Bowe Bergdahl to be found guilty of desertion and/or treason – it would make them look bad…. 

WASHINGTON — Six weeks after being released from five years in Taliban captivity, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is expected to return to life as a regular Army soldier as early as Monday, Defense Department officials said late Sunday.
Sergeant Bergdahl has finished undergoing therapy and counseling at an Army hospital in San Antonio, and will assume a job at the Army North headquarters at the same base, Fort Sam Houston, the officials said.
He is also expected to meet with Maj. Gen. Kenneth R. Dahl, the officer who is investigating the circumstances of Sergeant Bergdahl’s disappearance from his outpost in Afghanistan in 2009.
Sergeant Bergdahl’s transfer from the therapy phase to a regular soldier’s job is part of his reintegration into Army life, officials said. He will live in barracks and have two other soldiers help him readjust. (more…)