1. Negotiations between Israel and Fatah's Palestinian Authority of the West Bank continue in Washington. But the missing element is Hamas. The terrorist group which controls the Gaza Strip opposes negotiations and has attacked and killed Israeli civilians this week in a terrorist alternative to press conferences. Expecting a workable agreement sans Hamas is like expecting the NFL to negotiate a labor agreement without half of the players' consent.

2. Hizballah, Iran's Lebanese foreign legion, praised Hamas' attacks on Israeli civilians this week and encouraged more. Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared the talks over and pointless, and as goes Iran, so goes their benefactors Hizballah and Hamas. Photos have emerged of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip celebrating the Hamas murder of Israeli civilians' by dancing in the streets and firing weapons into the air.

3. The US and Afghanistan are trying to stem a run on the country's largest bank and prevent collapse. The bank was run by family members of President Karzai, under fire for massive and institutionalized corruption. SecDef Gates said that the threat from within Pakistan remains, while Gen. Petraeus said that "special missions" in Afghanistan are out-pacing the levels in Iraq during its surge.

4. The Pakistani Taliban (TTP), finally designated as a terrorist organization by the State Department this week, claimed responsibility for another bombing in Lahore, killing dozens of marching Shi'a protesters in Lahore. Meanwhile, Pakistan's prime minister said the epic floods have caused irreparable damage to the national economy and infrastructure. The IMF has extended $450 million in emergency aid.