Two explosions went off in Istanbul killing thirteen people and injuring about 70. The bombs were in garbage bins and happened in the Gungoren district. They went off around ten p.m. local time.

Initially it was thought that it might be a gas leak but it soon become apparent that this was no gas leak. The Governor Muammer Guler was quick to call this a terrorist attack. About a 1000 people were in the area when the bombs went off. The area is very popular with locals. At this time no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Of course, Turkey is no stranger to terrorist attacks. Over the past few years Istanbul has been targeted by several different groups.

Kurdish rebels have carried out some attacks in the city over the past couple of years. Usually their attacks take place at tourist sites. This particular attack was not carried out at a place where a good number of tourist would have been. Al-Qaeda also has been linked to attacks in Istanbul. In November 2003 60 plus people were killed when a number of suicide bombings went off in the area.

The world is not a safe place and hatred seems to be spreading rapidly. The bombs that went off in India and the ones in Istanbul were minor attacks when it comes to terrorists. If these attacks had been carried out by terrorist groups that had more power, they probably would have been more substantial. That means that more people are jumping on the hate bandwagon.

As the world becomes increasingly more dangerous, people must be more aware. It is never a good thing to live in fear and I am not suggesting that, but I guess we all have to be suspicious of certain things. It is such a shame to have to live in this way but people are dying far too frequently from random bombings. Innocent people are dying for no reason at all.

Of course, the question of what to look for always comes up. What does someone that wants to bomb you look like? That is a very good question that just does not have an answer. The face of someone that wants to bomb others to death could look like your next door neighbor. Or your best friend. You just can not be sure. There is no definitive profile for a person that has those type of thoughts on their mind.

The people in the area where the bombs went off were mostly out taking an evening stroll. It was a warm day in Istanbul and the chance to get out and get some fresh air looked like great idea. No one should have to lose their life just because they were taking stroll. There is something so devastating about that.

As far as catching the actual people that set these bombs, good luck. Unfortunately there are so many different hate groups around, the all seem to mix and blur. The individuals become one big machine of hate that has no singular name or face. The actual killers will probably never be caught.

The United Arab Emirates is a premier vacation spot and winter home to many millionaires around the world. The pictures of this bombing nation quickly move it up any must see list for travelers. However a British warning says that terrorist may be planning to carry out terrorist attacks in the UAE.

The UAE is an oil rich, progressive and moderate Middle East state where a good deal of expatriates live comfortably. The country is a little bit smaller than the U.S. state of Maine and has the world’ largest mall and largest tower. It also has an amazing indoor snow park. This is not the kind of place you think of terrorist taking a shot at. Still, Britain is telling its citizens to be on guard for terrorist attacks in this country.

Really, if we are honest, terrorist attacks can happen anywhere. However, there are places where we expect them to occur and the UAE is not one of them. Even though two of the attackers that participated in the September 11th attacks where from the UAE, the climate for foreigners has been mild. The country did recognize the Taliban as a government before the September 11th attacks but a lot of countries recognized the Nazi regime initially as well. Surely that is not a judging point for a government or a nation.

The United States has not issued any type of terror alert for the UAE. The United Arab Emirate is considered an ally of the U.S. and is also home to 100,000 British nationals. Of course the British can not just come out and say why they are issuing a terror alert because whatever information they have may compromise lives. However, it is also very uncomfortable to have to live life constantly looking over your shoulder. Not being able to go about your day without being afraid of an attack is terrible.

The Untied Arab Emirates is growing market that attracts many tourists and foreign nationals. Hopefully the terrorists do not ruin this impressive stretch of land in the Middle East. Dubai is a city on the horizon and will further increase the profitability of the oil rich country. Why destroy a future that is so bright by making it unsafe for tourist to go there? There would be no reason to plan an attack in the United Arab Emirates but then again, there is no reason to plan an attack anywhere. The problem with terrorism is that there is just no rhyme or reason to it. The people that the terrorists are really mad at are never the ones that die. That is what makes terrorism so stupid.

It will be interesting to see if other nations follow suit and issue terror alerts to their expatriates living in the UAE. If the British have information that is valuable to other nations I would expect that they would share enough to prompt other countries to issue terror alerts to their citizens as well. If one government has information about a terror attack surely they will pass that information along to those that will be effected. The world does not need another tragic terror attack.

Hezbollah does not want to control Lebanon or force their religion on anyone according too the leader of the group. This is good news since a few weeks ago certain neighborhoods in Lebanon were engulfed in violence. Hassan Nasrallah told supporters that Lebanon is a pluralistic country and that co-existence was the only way they would survive as a nation.

The message was welcomed and hopefully it is true. Peace in any parts of the Middle East is idea. Lebanon could set an example for other nations in the region to follow. Hassan Nasrallah’s message to Lebanon was one that encouraged peace and the use of arms to obtain political goals is something that Nasrallah says Hezbollah will not do.

Even though Hezbollah is thought to be a terrorist group by some, a message of this kind makes it seem like the country is trying to head in the right direction. Lebanon is a country of diverse religious backgrounds and co-existence is necessary for it to remain a functioning nation.

This was the first addressing of the nation that Nasrallah has done since a bullet riddle siege of several neighborhoods in Beirut. The government had to agree to giving more power to the Shia Muslim in the country’s political policies. Nasrallah reaffirmed that the Doha agreement, which sates that arms will not be used to reach political goals, is still in effect.

Hopefully this will keep violence at bay and the citizens of Lebanon will be able to live without the threat of violence for political aims. 65 people perished in the violence a few weeks ago. Hezbollah can not allow Lebanese to be murdered in the name of political advancement.

The Middle East and violence have gone hand in hand for centuries. I have always been confused by all of the violence that takes place in a land marked with so many religious and historical structures. Co-existence is what is needed throughout the Middle East. There is no reason why the believers of the three major monotheistic religious can not live side by side. Does your neighbor necessarily have to be a Muslim, a Jew or a Christian because you are? This need to separate for others because of these slight, little differences is silly. Maybe Lebanon can help to set an example for the rest of the middle East.

These announcements came on the anniversary of Israel’s pull out from Lebanon. There is no reason why peace can not be a part of life in Lebanon. The Israel occupation is over and it is time to put the guns away. No one should have to be worried about being machine gunned down in their neighborhood just because. If there are changes that need to be made then negotiations should take place. Not shootouts that leave innocent people dead. A change in the way that politics is carried out has to happen in order for the Middle East to become a safe part of the world. Hopefully Lebanon’s days of being a war zone are over.

A leader of a well known Columbian leftist group has died. One of the senior commanders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces stationed in Columbia died of a heart attack on March 26th. There has been speculation that Marulanda was dead but the suspicions were not confirmed until Sunday.

This death is a major loss to the Revolutionary Armed Forces, also known as FARC. Marulanda was the leader of the group for four decades and joined in the 1940’s. He was a serious Marxist who was viewed as a hero by some and an enemy by others. Some of his goals were gaining equality for poor farming areas and equal opportunities for all. However, Marulanda also was involved in exporting and importing huge amounts of cocaine, making him more of a bad guy than a good one.

FARC is classified by many as being a terrorist organization. In 1964 FARC was declared a military branch of the Columbian Communist Party and it remains Columbian’s most organized and well equipped Marxist rebel organization. The war between the Columbian government and FARC has raged for decades.

The death of Marulanda is a major occurrence because he was one of the top leaders of FARC and two other high ranking leaders recently were killed in military operations. It will be interesting to see where FARC heads now that some of the leaders that have been in charge for a great number of years are dead.

The Columbian drug market has been a great concern throughout the decades. It seems to have escaped the headlines for the most part, being replaced by Mexico’s troubling drug issues. While FARC can not be blamed for all of the drug smuggling that goes on with Columbian, the organization is thought to play a major role in drug trade.

Mixing drug business with political views sounds rather contradictory. If you are working to improve the lives of the people that live in your country, you can not simultaneously work to make them worse with drug trading. The lines between the Columbian Guerrillas, the government and right and wrong seem greatly skewed. Taking hostages, such as the unhealthy Ingrid Betancourt, a former presidential candidate and hiding them in the jungle is not a way to get your voice heard. There are rumors that FARC has hundreds of hostages hidden along the Ecuador/Columbian border.

The Columbian president, Alvaro Uribe claims that many members of FARC have contacted his government saying that they want to leave but are afraid for their lives. He in turn is discussing creating a reward fund for up to a hundred million dollars for soldiers that were willing to leave FARC. This could of course be blood money, meaning that even if they leave and are given money they could still end up being murdered for their leave. This does not seem to really address the issue. Perhaps some type of protection program for those that leave would be more efficient. Money can not buy a life back. Those that leave FARC may never get a chance to enjoy those payments for leaving unless safety measures are taken.

This may come to a surprise to many of us but the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq says that Al Qaida is closer to defeat than ever before. Of course, we don’t know how close or far from defeat Al Qaida has been over the years. This news is an interesting but is it really encouraging? Will this lead to an end of the Iraqi War?

At this point it seems that Al Qaida is less of a concern than some of the other insurgents that are rising up. While Al Qaida may be sending messages through the streets of Iraq, it seems that they are not the sole proprietor of chaos and anti-western sentiment. The idea that democracy will always work is as silly as the idea that communism will always work. Different places require different governing tactics and now that this democracy has been installed in Iraq, the main question is can the U.S. really leave Iraq even after al Qaida is defeated?

The obvious answer is no. Iraq has a long way to go before it will be a fully functioning viable country again. The reports about the lack of electricity and the water that is not fit to drink are still coming out and suicide bombers are prone to pop up in various places. Al-Sadr City the so called safe and clear zone has been the subject of many attacks over the past few months. This was the portion of the country that was said to be secured but what we have seen lately looks like a false sense of security. Could this report from the U.S. Ambassador be the same thing?

After the defeat of Al Qaida will troops be able to leave Iraq? Will all of the promises that were made by the U.S. government be met? These are serious issues to consider when a country invades another one and uproots their government. Issues that it is obvious that George W. Bush did not take into account when he decided that oil rich Iraq would be a great place to attack based on false presumptions. The truth about the invasion of Iraq and the war that Bush has declared victory in several times over the past few years, is that it has a long way to go. The U.S. lead invasion of Iraq must finish what it began and that is easier said than done.

The green light to leave Iraq will not come with one event, even an event as monumental as the defeat of Al Qaida. There will have to be a number of things that occur before troops can withdraw and Iraq will be a country of its own will again. Winning the war is only half the battle. There is much more work to be done in Iraq and the majority of it can not be accomplished with guns. The solutions lie far beyond any bullet or military offensive. The changes that have occurred in the country will take a while to get used to and since Iraq is not in a stable position yet, the adjusting has not even begun.