ما وراء الخبر-أميركا وإسقاط النظام السوري، هل تغيّر الموقف؟

إيران: دفن ثلاثة أفغانيين بمدينة “قم” قتلوا في اشتباكات بسوريا MARCH 14, 2015

Link

طهران- الأناضول: دُفن ثلاثة مقاتلين يحملون الجنسية الأفغانية السبت، في مدينة “قم” الإيرانية، بعد أن لقوا مصرعهم أثناء قتالهم إلى جانب قوات الأسد ضد المعارضة في سوريا، وذلك وفقًا لوكالة أنباء “تسنيم” الإيرانية.

وأفادت الوكالة أن كلا من “مصطفى أحمد”، و”علي علي زادة”، و”حبيب حيدري”، يحملون الجنسية الأفغانية، قتلوا جراء مشاركتهم في القتال ضمن صفوف قوات النظام السوري، وتمَّ دفنهم في مدينة “قم” بعد إقامة مراسم لهم، بمشاركة اللاجئين الأفغان القاطنين في المدينة.

جدير بالذكر أن صحيفة (وول ستريت) الأمريكية، ذكرت في خبر لها في وقت سابق أن إيران تُجند وترسل المواطنين الأفغان للقتال إلى جانب قوات نظام الأسد، مقابل منحهم الإقامة ودفع 500 دولار كراتب شهري لكل مجند.

The Best Congress Money Can Buy

By Eric Margolis

Link

Be proud, America!  You have the very best Congress that money can buy.

It’s no secret that many in the House and Senate have long been  corrupted by money and special interests.   The constant need to advertise on TV makes all politicians slaves of the money lenders and other big donors. 

The great Mark Twain called Congress “America’s only native criminal class.”  Nothing much has changed.

Members of Congress are held in even lower public esteem than murderers, lawyers and…journalists. It’s often cheaper to buy a legislator than a second-hand car.

One of the biggest outrages has been the way Wall Street money lenders swindled the public and wiped out the nation’s retirement savings – yet escaped all punishment thanks to their huge political contributions to Congress and the White House.

But then came the triumphant visit to Congress by Israel’s rightwing prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.  Congress put on a truly revolting display of sycophancy, servility and brownnosing for Bibi that included 23 rapturous standing ovations. 

This for a foreign leader who had come to insult and humiliate America’s president and drive the US into war with Iran.

Not since a groveling Roman Senate voted to approve Emperor Caligula’s favorite horse, Incitatus, as imperial consul has there been such a embarrassing  spectacle.  

Like the Roman senators, members of the US Congress were motivated by fear and greed.  They know that basic truth of US politics: failure to follow instructions of the mighty Israel lobby means certain loss of your next election,  attacks by the media,  and the end of your political career. 

Former Rep. Paul Findley’s book, “They Dare To Speak Out” is a textbook for what happens to politicians and journalists  who put America’s interests first.  I keep a copy near my desk.

Just as Caligula reportedly watched the Senate vote from behind a screen, so America’s political Golem, casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, watched the Senate proceeds from a balcony perch.   Adelson, one of America’s richest men, made his fortune through gambling, something Dr. Johnson aptly called “a tax on fools.” 

Gambling preys on the poor and addicted just as much as do drugs.   Thanks to his huge profits, Adelson has managed to buy most of the Republican Party.  Its presidential candidates flock to his palace in Las Vegas to kiss his feet and vow eternal allegiance to Israel.  

Adelson, who has reportedly called for nuking Iran,  is also Bibi Netanyahu’s primary political and financial sponsor.  So Adelson can say he owns the US Congress and Israel.  Some Israelis, who will vote next week in a very tight election, are uneasy that Netanyahu is “owned” by the American gambling mogul Adelson.  Is this the Zionist dream of a state built on morality, social fairness, and honesty?

Democrats are now largely owned by Israeli-American billionaire Haim Saban who calls himself somewhere to the right of the late Ariel Sharon.  Saban, a media mogul, recently gave $5-10 million to the Clinton Library and is Hillary’s principal backer. 

Bibi’s visit to Congress was clearly intended as pre-election political grandstanding.  Marketing fear of Islam, Iran, ISIS, Hezbollah, Syria, al-Shebab and Boko Haram are now the stock in trade for embattled politicians in Israel, Canada, Australia and France.

Fear sells.  Moderation does not.  But cash always talks.  Forty-seven Republican senators clapped like trained seals when urged to send a nasty letter to Iran asserting the next president would veto any nuclear deal with Tehran.  The letter was widely condemned as dumb in the US.  Iran rightly termed it an example of the moral decline of American politics.  Sen. John McCain allowed he should have read the draft letter more carefully but was in a rush to leave due to an impending snow storm.  On such stuff hangs the fate of the Mideast.

Many Israelis are more concerned by their economic and social problems than the bogeyman of Iran.   So there’s a possibility that the opposition Zionist Union (formerly Labour Party), led by Isaac Herzog,  may win more votes than Netanyahu’s rightwing Likud Party and its further right allies. 

But forming a coalition in Israel’s ever fractious politics will be very difficult.  A handy, last-minute “crisis” with one of Israel’s neighbors might tip the election to Likud.  A few rockets from Gaza could swing the election.

Herzog says he favors creation of a viable Palestinian state on the Israel-occupied West Bank after some border rectifications.   Netanyahu came out last week and finally admitted he totally opposes a Palestinian state and is determined to hold on to most of the West Bank, including the Jordan Valley, and Syria’s former Golan.

Israel’s right, led by Likud, is not only determined to continue colonizing the West Bank and Golan,  but many of its members harbor expansionist impulses. Syria is in turmoil and largely destroyed.  Some Israeli rightists look at Syria as a  tempting target for Israeli expansion. Now that Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia are increasingly tacit allies,  and the subservient US Republicans almost in power, why not create Greater Israel-Adelsonia.

Syria’s woes reflect wider Arab troubles

A GOOD COMMENT

By Rami Khouri

Link

Syria has always been much more than its geography, whether in the past or in modern times. Half a century ago Syria was called “the throbbing heart of Arabism,” and in previous centuries the word “Syria” always referred to a wider region that covered much of the Levant. The fourth anniversary of the war in Syria provides a somber opportunity to grasp again the reasons for the crises, violence and occasional chaos and state collapse we witness in half a dozen Arab countries.

It will take many years to restore Syria to its prewar condition, but in the meantime it would be useful to understand the underlying drivers of the country’s terrible plunge into inhuman warfare and suffering, so that we might avoid perpetuating them in other Arab lands. Syria reflects the consequence of several trends that are peculiar to this region and that have persisted over several generations. Reversing these factors will be essential if Syrians or other Arabs are to have any chance of enjoying a more stable and productive national trajectory than they have experienced in the past century.

We can clearly see in retrospect the key dynamics that have shaped much of the modern dysfunction in Arab states, whose high point of national incoherence and fragility we are witnessing these days in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya and other countries. The three most destructive trends during the past century have always gone hand-in-hand. They are that entire countries have been ruled by small elites, often individual families or a group of military officers. This results in the security agencies dominating governments and defining most aspects of people’s lives. Such as situation, in turn, finally leads to situations where ordinary citizens never enjoy the opportunity to shape their national and civic institutions and to define social contracts essential to promoting decent governance, socioeconomic growth and stability.

These three phenomena all have their origins in the manner in which so many Arab states, like Syria, were established by European colonial powers, and did not necessarily reflect the free will or natural inclinations of their indigenous people. Not surprisingly, state fragility and collapse in the last half century often have reflected tensions and then outright warfare among ethnic, national, tribal or sectarian groups that never found comfortable identity in the new state structures that suddenly defined their lives.

Local and regional wars or long-simmering ideological confrontations among Arabs, Israelis and Iranians, most notably, and with Western powers in recent years, fatally diverted attention and resources from democratic nation-building and cemented the military’s hold on power. Military-run security states resulted in large-scale corruption, mediocrity or broad incompetence in governance. This included erratic health and education systems that doomed millions of people from birth to chronic poverty, which entrenched the cycle of human despair that in recent years has been one element in fueling the growth of terror movements.

Homegrown mismanagement and oppression have always had a symbiotic relationship with foreign military invasions, coups and other political interventions across the region. The region’s heavy reliance on direct or indirect oil and gas income, rather than productive and creative economic endeavors, also minimized the role of the private sector in creating jobs and wealth and in promoting a sense of satisfaction and security among citizens who otherwise had to rely on mostly meaningless government jobs.

Such weaknesses and vulnerabilities were camouflaged during the early decades of state development last century, but ultimately they were exposed by two factors that are evident in Syria’s current demise: unsustainably high population growth rates and steadily worsening environmental deterioration (especially water shortages). When Arab population growth outstripped economic growth in the mid-1980s, most countries in the region started to suffer more poverty, social dislocation, and expanding hopelessness by millions of ravaged citizens.

Two reactions from within heightened the inevitable stresses and collapses we are witnessing now: more severe oppression by the state to maintain order, and the scramble by citizens to ensure their needs by turning to their own religious and tribal movements. ISIS is merely the latest and most severe of many such manifestations.

With the end of the Cold War and the Anglo-American-led invasion of Iraq, weaker state authorities started to retreat from some sectors and areas of society, and the vacuums were quickly filled by tribal, religious and militant groups. Syria reminds us that we are likely to endure years of dislocation and violence, until local authorities re-establish order not based on the security dictates of a single family with its national army, but rather on a more credible social contract among citizens who feel they belong to a state and consensually agree on its ground rules.

Rami G. Khouri is published twice weekly by THE DAILY STAR. He can be followed on Twitter @RamiKhouri.

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, who talks to Netanyahu ‘a lot,’ says his country is in danger of collapse

The Washington Post

Link

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi at the border with Libya. (REUTERS/Defence Ministry/Handout) (Handout/Reuters)

By Lally Weymouth March 12

Lally Weymouth is a senior associate editor for The Washington Post.

CAIRO

Since the army took power from Mohamed Morsi in 2013 with popular support, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi says he’s been fighting to keep the forces of anarchy at bay. On the eve of a large investment conference this weekend, he invited The Washington Post’s Lally Weymouth to the massive white presidential palace for a conversation about Egypt’s problematic relationship with Washington, how to defeat the Islamic State, and his fears and hopes for his country. Edited excerpts follow.

Sissi: Do you remember the last time we met [in August 2013], what I said?

Yes, you said you felt the U.S. had turned its back on Egypt. What is your opinion today?

I believe we have a miscommunication. It seems we can’t convey our voice in as clear a fashion as it should be. However, the dangers surrounding this region are clear, and I believe the United States is following closely how terrorism is threatening [it].

What do you think the U.S. should do?

Support Egypt, support the popular will of the Egyptians.

Do you mean the U.S. should stand by you?

Sissi reflects the popular will of Egyptians.

In 2013, President Obama withheld
F-16s and other arms until Egypt moves toward a “sustainable, inclusive and nonviolent transition to democracy.” Your reaction?

I just want to ask, who is resorting to violence here in Egypt? Those who did not want to participate constructively in the path to democracy in the wake of the 30th June [when the Sissi-led army ousted Morsi].

You mean the Muslim Brotherhood?

[Nods.] They chose confrontation with the state. Have you seen the state of Egypt taking actions against anyone in Sinai except those who carry arms, threaten and kill members of the military and police and even innocent civilians? We are facing violence inside Sinai and on our western border with Libya and even within parts of [this] country. There is no security in Libya to prevent the flow of weapons and foreign fighters who come into Egypt and threaten our national security. Who is bombing electric grids, putting explosives at the bus and train stations? Who is killing civilians in the streets?

What is the answer?

The extremists.

Do you mean extremists like the Muslim Brotherhood?

The Muslim Brotherhood is the parent organization of extreme ideology. They are the godfather of all terrorist organizations. They spread it all over the world.

Are they the godfather of ISIS?

All extremists derive from one pool. This extreme mind-set is nurtured by religious rhetoric that needs to be reformed.

You made a speech on that subject on Jan. 1.

It was the truth. Religious rhetoric is a problem. It has certain ideas that just promote confused thoughts about religion when adopted by people. People resort to violence when they adopt these wrong religious ideas.

Would changing the religious rhetoric help prevent people from becoming extremists?

It is part of it, but there are other parts, such as eradicating poverty, ignorance, illiteracy, promoting cultural awareness and ensuring a quality education.

Are you buying arms from Russia?

About 50 percent of the existing military equipment in the Egyptian armed forces is already Russian equipment. We need the U.S. to clearly understand that there is a strategic vacuum in this region. There are countries that are suffering from disintegration and security collapse. . . . How can I protect my country?

What is the answer?

This requires everybody to help Egypt more. . . . We have monumental threats in the region. Only yesterday the terrorists in Libya kidnapped eight oil workers and slaughtered them. . . . And now what should the U.S. do? You are just watching.

You feel there is a vacuum of U.S. leadership?

I didn’t say that.

But do you feel that way?

Egypt has a population of 90 million. If this country fails, the whole region will slide into a cycle of anarchy that will represent a grave danger to all countries in this region, including Israel, and would extend to Europe.

How do you see the threat from Iran? Do you agree they should not have a nuclear weapon?

We understand that President Obama is engaged in a lot of actions in order to tackle this issue. We should give him time. . . . Meanwhile, we have to understand the Israeli concern.

How are Egypt’s relations with Israel right now?

We have been honoring the peace treaty with Israel since the day it was signed. . . . One example that reflects the magnitude of trust and confidence between the two parties is that the [treaty] does not allow Egyptian troops in the middle and eastern sections of the Sinai — the area that overlooks the joint border. But the Israelis said it was fine to have Egyptian troops in those areas. This means the hostile mood and skepticism have diminished with peace with Israel. This can happen with the other Arab countries and Israel if a two-state solution is reached.

You speak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a lot?

A lot. I just want to reassure him that achieving peace [with the Palestinians] will be a historic deal for him and for Israel, and that we are ready to help reach this peace.

There have been a lot of arrests of human rights activists in Egypt, even those who once supported you. How can you create a more open environment here?

We completely uphold the right of freedom of assembly. But there is always that important balance between security and freedom of expression in countries undergoing circumstances like ours. But we are [doing] all that is needed to ensure there are no innocent people detained. Only a week ago, 120 people were released. . . . Here we have a protest law. This law does not prevent protests but regulates them.

It says protesters need permission from the Ministry of the Interior. That’s not exactly freedom of expression.

There wasn’t any instance where an application was declined.

But some of Egypt’s leading secular activists, like Ahmed Maher, founder of the April 6 Youth Movement, are now in jail. They were once your supporters.

We are not against the secular activists or against protesting or against young people speaking out loud. But it is very important for the people not to violate this rule of law.

In the U.S., people have an enormous amount of liberty to say whatever they want.

There is a difference when you want to restore the national institutions after four years of difficult circumstances and an overwhelming state of revolution that dominated the mood. Do you know how much this country needs to support 90 million people daily? [$130 million] in subsidies. Where can we get the money to provide for these needs? Who would come to invest in this country if it is not stable? We have an overwhelming unemployment rate of 13 percent.

You think the U.S. government just doesn’t understand Egypt’s needs?

You can’t get the real picture of what is going on here in our country. . . . We are an underdeveloped country. You look at Egypt with American eyes. Democracy in your country has evolved over 200 years. Just give us a chance to develop. If we rush things, countries like ours will collapse.

You’ve said the word “collapse” twice now. Is that something that concerns you?

Of course.

Nobody else mentions it.

You know why? Because they have a lot of confidence in Sissi. But I am just a human being. I cannot do everything. When Somalia collapsed, didn’t the U.S. leave? Do you want Egypt to become a failed state and then you wash your hands of it?

Reportedly, the police are a problem in this country, and I’ve heard even you aren’t happy with them.

That’s right. . . . Now the Egyptian police has established a department for human rights, and it is assigned to make sure that all human rights are honored.

There are thousands in jail with no due process, no trials —

Police personnel are held accountable before the law. No one here is detained without being called into court with a due legal process.

Do you see any hope for the Muslim Brotherhood to participate in politics again?

They turned [Egyptians’] lives into a living hell. . . . Do you think a country like Egypt will become like the Taliban and destroy the pyramids? [The Brotherhood] would have gone to the pharaonic temples to try to take them down.

But you talked to former president Morsi a lot.

I advised him. But it was a mind-set. Wasn’t one year enough for you to know that these people have adopted a destructive ideology? Westerners believe that political Islam did not have a chance to be part of the political process, so [Islamists] resorted to violence. This eventually led to terrorism. This is not true. Their ideology requires them to get power but never give up power.

Who are you speaking of? Hamas? The Muslim Brotherhood?

This is just a general description of political Islam. They consider that being on top is a means to apply their own mind-set, to establish a greater Islamic state. They think that they have the absolute truth, so everybody must listen and obey. If anybody disagrees, then they should die.

Were you surprised by the ISIS beheadings?

It wasn’t a surprise because I know these people like the back of my hand.

Morsi made you minister of defense.

Destiny.

Why did he pick you?

He knew that I am a devout Muslim, so he thought I would be of the same mind-set. But I’m trying to be a real Muslim, who respects others and respects the freedom of the people to choose their own religious denominations or even to not believe in God in the first place.

Can ISIS be defeated?

Of course. Their thinking is against the normal course of things.

Some military experts argue that destroying ISIS requires some troops or special forces on the ground — not just an air campaign. Is a military component required?

The Iraqi troops are on the ground. But yes, it is understood that for the U.S. military to carry out their mission, they need boots on the ground. This is one important aspect of how the mission can be successful.

Can you win through an air campaign alone?

There have to be boots on the ground.

This week you’re hoping to attract more foreign investment to your country?

We have been making sure Egypt is attractive to investment through ensuring stability. This is of the utmost importance. We have been working on a legislative package to create an investment-friendly environment. . . . Egypt has gone from a negative to a stable credit rating.

Would you like to see the U.S. do more?

Yes. The U.S. is a powerful country. I always say that with might comes responsibility.

But the White House is waiting for a gesture regarding the human rights situation.

That is why the Al Jazeera journalist was released here. The two other journalists [from Al Jazeera] were released. They are still standing trial, but they are not detained. Asking the government to interfere into the judiciary system is unacceptable, regardless of how unsatisfied you are with this judicial system.

What do you worry about?

That my country will collapse. That is the only thing. Honestly, I don’t think about my own life for a second.

You are very popular.

Because the people know that I love them for real and I am a sincere person.

Thousands of Syrians 'tortured' by regime

Link

  0  1 

 

  0  1

Images of torture carried out by the Syrian regime forces are on display in the halls of the UN

Nearly 13,000 Syrians, including 108 children, have been tortured to death in regime prisons since the uprising began in March 2011, a monitoring group said on Friday. According to AFP, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the youngest of the 12,751 victims was just 12 years old.

"Some of the relatives of those killed under torture were forced to sign statements that their loved ones had been killed by rebel groups," said observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman. He told AFP that the figures quoted did not include more than 20,000 detainees who have "disappeared" in government prisons and whose fate remains unknown. The most notorious detention centres include those operated by Syria's Air Force Intelligence and Military Intelligence services.

The UK-based rights' group said that an estimated 200,000 people have been arrested over the past four years. "Those arrested include political activists, rebels and regular demonstrators," Abdel Rahman pointed out. Security officials often starve detainees to death, deny medicine to sick prisoners and subject them to psychological torture, he added.

Former detainees have described the horror of the torture techniques, many of which have become infamous throughout Syria. According to a 2013 Human Rights Watch report, Syrian security officials beat prisoners with batons and metal rods as they were hanging by their wrists from the ceiling.

A report issued by 21 international aid organisations on Thursday said that rape and sexual abuse are also used in regime detention centres as a "method of war".

Abbas approved Gaza chaos plan

Link

File photo of Mahmoud Abbas

VIDEO

A leaked document has revealed that Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas approved a plan prepared by his intelligence services to cause chaos in the Gaza Strip. The document in question is a letter sent by intelligence chief Majed Faraj to Abbas briefing him about the plan, which was based on his coordination with intelligence officers in Gaza.

The letter was dated November last year and is written on a PA letterhead. One of the signatories is Faraj with what is believed to be Azzam Al-Ahmad's signature; he is the Fatah official responsible for reconciliation with Hamas.

According to the Palestinian news agency Safa, which was the first news outlet to publish the document, Faraj briefed Abbas on the details of his plan, telling him that it would be a "snowballing, precise" operation. His intelligence officials would form security cells to set fire to cars in order to convey a message of insecurity in Gaza. These cells would also target Hamas, other factions and civil institutions to "embarrass" the Islamic movement. They would also target leaders affiliated to the dismissed Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan, as well houses belonging to Fatah officials loyal to Abbas.

The second measure would use social media to publish inflammatory statements bearing names of different groups adopting such activities. The mass media loyal to Abbas would exaggerate the issue when they report the chaos in Gaza, blaming Hamas for what is going on.

The third measure would see Fatah contacting all Palestinian factions, including Islamic Jihad, to brief them about what is going on in the beleaguered territory.

All of what the letter reveals has already happened. The head of the unity government, Rami Hamadallah, cancelled a visit to Gaza when a series of explosions targeted the homes and cars of Fatah leaders last November; he claimed that Hamas was responsible.

Hamas has said previously that it has documents proving that Fatah is behind the chaos in the Gaza Strip. It revealed the letter and held a press conference on Saturday during which Fatah intelligence officers confessed their role in discrediting the Islamic movement.