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We just aren’t going about this thing the right way. First, Our Leaders refuse even to name the enemy. It isn’t a “war on terror” any more than the European theater of WWII was a “war on the blitzkrieg” or the recent Hezbollah-Israeli debacle was a “war on incoming missiles.”

The war is against Islamic totalitarianism. The enemy has an identity, a name, a face; he is real, and while he is currently winning, it isn’t because he is more capable; the reason he is so successful is because we have hobbled ourselves with a misguided view of how to conduct war. We act more as though it’s a table game than a fight for survival, and the enemy takes full advantage of this fact. for more click here

The Pakistani military has launched an offensive against militants near the main north-western city of Peshawar, security officials said.

Militants have become more active in and around Peshawar in recent months, say correspondents. for more click here

Leaders of the Presbyterian Church (USA) overturned a long-standing ban on the ordination of gays and lesbians Friday, providing yet the latest example of a religious denomination struggling with how, and whether, to incorporate homosexuality into church life. for more click here

Wendy Alexander has quit as Scottish Labour leader amid the row over donations to her leadership campaign.

Her resignation comes after the Scottish Parliament’s standards committee said she should be banned from parliament for one day. for more click here

People in Harare and the rest of Zimbabwe have gone to the polls to choose their president for the second time in three months.

This time, only one man from one party went into the contest in robust mood, and President Robert Mugabe would brook no criticism from his opponent or the outside world about going ahead with his one-man poll. for more click here

Questions have been raised over using sniffer dogs to search Muslim passengers at train stations following complaints that it is against their religion.

Some Muslims had raised objections over being searched by the explosive-detecting animals, but British Transport Police have said they will continue to use the specially trained animals.

Dogs are considered to be unclean or impure in Islamic teaching and it is forbidden to keep the animals as pets. for more click here

Ihsanoglu says: “The OIC has become an indispensable player at the international level, in many domains, notably in the realms of dialogue among civilizations, defending the image of Islam, and combating the phenomenon of Islamophobia.” He also says: “We have established an OIC Group in Washington D.C., with the aim of playing a more active role in engaging American policy makers.”

What will the OIC be engaging those policy makers about? The OIC hasn’t ever acknowledged the obvious fact that it could end “Islamophobia” right away by rejecting Islam’s doctrines of violence, supremacism and conquest and moving strongly against those Muslims who are acting upon those doctrines. It will be working with American policymakers to restrict free speech — that is, honest discussion of the elements of Islam that the jihadists use to justify their actions and gain recruits. for more click here

In a campaign comment ahead of today’s uncontested election in Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe has condemned Archbishop Rowan Williams as lacking a “moral compass” and said that gays in the church are a sign of “moral degeneracy”.

The embarrassing endorsement of their cause, shown on Channel 4 television news in Britain and elsewhere last night, came as hard-line Anglicans have been meeting in Jerusalem. for more click here

Numerous postings on Islamist websites in the past two years reflect the mujahideen’s growing interest in the state of the U.S. economy. As was argued in a 2007 MEMRI analysis, [1] many of the jihadists and their supporters have come to view their struggle against the U.S. and the West as an economic war. More specifically, they have come to the conclusion that it is financial, rather than military, losses that will prompt the U.S. to change its policies in the Middle East and elsewhere. Consequently, they emphasize the importance of targeting U.S. interests around the world, and of directing their military jihad primarily at targets that affect the U.S. economy. for more click here

The FTSE 100 today slumped to its lowest level in over two and a half years as oil reached a new record at $141.71, fears of a British food price war accelerated and concern over banks’ financial strength spooked investors.

The FTSE 100 index of leading shares fell 34.4 points to 5,483.8, adding to yesterday’s 147.9 point decline. for more click here