* Der Spiegel explains that the the German navy’s rules of engagement prevent it from stopping Syrian arms smuggling:
“When a ship carrying weapons for Hezbollah leaves a Syrian port and heads south, its captain feels safe as long as he doesn’t stray more than 11 kilometers from the coast,” says Gad Shimron, an Israeli security expert who works for the daily Ma’ariv. The Syrian captain can head comfortably for Hezbollah positions in Lebanon, Shimron elaborates, as if he were shipping a cargo of tomatoes or olives, and the German navy isn’t allowed to interfere with his journey….
One Israeli officer is even more cynical of the mission. The greatest contribution the Germans have made so far was that of rescuing Syrian sailors at sea, he says.
* NPR details how Gaza clans are filling Gaza’s political vacuum and adding to the lawlessness.
* A former follower of Ayman al-Zawahiri shares his impressions of jihad and suicide bombings with the National Post’s Michael Coren.
