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In-Depth Issues:

A Massacre of Americans in Kosovo - Stephen Schwartz (Weekly Standard)
    More details have emerged on the murder of three American security officers and the wounding of 11 in Kosovo on April 17 by a Palestinian from Jordan.
    As the group of Americans, along with some Turkish personnel, was leaving a prison in Mitrovica on their first day on the job, Sergeant Major Ahmed Mustafa Ibrahim Ali opened fire.
    The Palestinian carried an M-16, from which he apparently fired 400 rounds, leading NATO investigators to examine whether his four colleagues in a Jordanian detachment assigned to guard the prison had helped him by feeding his weapon as he fired.
    One of them remains under arrest as a possible accomplice.
    The Associated Press reported, "When he had shot all those he could see, Ali paced around the vans [in which the Americans had been riding], searching for more victims."
    The carnage continued until Ali's weapon jammed.

The Psychoanalytic Roots of Islamic Terrorism - Phyllis Chesler (FrontPageMagazine)
    What kind of culture produces human bombs, glorifies mass murderers, and supports humiliation-based revenge?
    According to psychoanalyst and Arabist, Dr. Nancy Kobrin, it is a culture in which shame and honor play decisive roles and in which the debasement of women is paramount.
    In an as-yet unpublished book, The Sheik's New Clothes: The Psychoanalytic Roots of Islamic Suicide Terrorism, Kobrin, and her Israeli co-author, counter-terrorism expert Yoram Schweitzer, describe barbarous family and clan dynamics.
    Clearly, only evolution of democracy and the elevation of women can begin to change such dynamics.
    Yet historically and theologically, Arab and Muslim culture strongly opposes both democracy and equality for women.
    This is why the battles to liberate Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Middle East are so very difficult.

Israel Wins European Basketball Title (Ha'aretz)
    Maccabi Tel Aviv crushed Italy's Skipper Bologna 118-74 Saturday night to become the European basketball champions in 2004.
    Maccabi previously won the competition in 1977, 1981, and 2001.

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Observations:

Why the Likud Voted No to Sharon's Disengagement Plan - Ron Dermer
(Institute for Contemporary Affairs/Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)

• The main reason that Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan was overwhelmingly defeated in the Likud is that party members were not convinced that the plan would improve Israel's security situation. In fact, the majority of voters thought the plan was a reward for terrorism.
• Voters did not consider the referendum a vote of confidence in Ariel Sharon. Sharon remains extremely popular within the Likud.
• Voters did not think they were “slapping President Bush in the face” by voting against the disengagement plan, nor did the vast majority believe that a vote against the plan would harm Israel's relations with the United States.
• Voters did not believe that a vote against the plan would weaken the Likud. On the contrary, it is far more likely that Likud voters feared that a vote in favor of the plan would split the party and alienate it from its base.
• In sharp contrast to what happened in Madrid last year, the terror attacks that occurred the day of the vote had little impact on the outcome. If anything the attacks only strengthened the resolve of those determined to vote against the plan.