Investigators say that foreign extremists have taken advantage of Turkey’s lax border security, liberal visa policies and networks dedicated to smuggling immigrants into Europe.

The twin bombings in Istanbul, Turkey sent a message, some security officials comment, to the US and its allies that the terrorist network has the power to strike despite tight local and international security.

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124 illegal Afghan immigrants were rounded up and deported in Quetta, Pakistan, due to international pressure on Pakistan to stop Taliban extremists from operating in its border regions.  These were among the approximately 550 Afghans who have been arrested over the last 10 days.

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During his official visit to Italy, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told European Jewry that the best way to fight anti-Semitism is to immigrate to Israel, as it is “the only place on earth where Jews can live as Jews.”  Some worry that Sharon’s vision is to relocate Jews to settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, lands claimed by the Palestinians.  Sharon has repeatedly made his desire to bring an additional one million Jews to Israel a central platform of his government.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom blames the terrorist attacks in Istanbul in part on anti-Jewish sentiment in Europe.  A recent poll of Europeans listed Israel as the number one threat to peace in the world.