Palestinian Pundit

Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian opposition to equip fighters

2012-01-28T08:17:00.000-08:00

"Louay Safi, a member of the Syrian National Council, the main opposition group, tells Al Jazeera that the Free Syrian Army "is part of the solution".

The council has said it is ready to provide the opposition army with funding and equipment - which Safi calls "defensive equipment to protect civilians"."

WILL THE US BACK REAL DEMOCRACY IN EGYPT?

2012-01-28T08:04:00.000-08:00

By Eric Margolis
January 28, 2012

"Last Monday, Egyptians celebrated the first anniversary of the revolution that overthrew the 30-year Mubarak regime.
By contrast, America’s reaction this historic event was tellingly muted.....

Even if parliament achieves this goal, it will then confront Egypt’s 500,000-man military and equally numerous internal security forces. So far, Egypt’s military, which is financed, armed and sustained by Washington, threw dictator Mubarak to the wolves to appease popular anger but has barely given an inch on other key issues.

A year after the Tahrir Square revolution, Egypt remains a brutal police state where regime critics disappear, are tortured, and jailed in the thousands. The old guard still control much of the nation’s media, academia, courts and industry: Mubarakism without Mubarak.

The US-backed generals own between a third and two thirds of Egypt’s key businesses or real estate and enjoy lavish perks.

The military’s senior military officers have been trained by the US, vetted by CIA, and are joined at the hip to the Pentagon in much the same manner as were Latin America’s generals in the 60’s and 70’s.

Washington gives Egypt’s military $1.3 billion annually, controls its flow of weapons and spare parts, and provides tens of millions in “black payments” to the military, security forces, and intelligence service, the “Mukhabarat.”

Accordingly, it’s difficult to see Egypt’s plutocratic military easily giving up all of its political and economic power to a rowdy civilian parliament, particularly when the US, Britain, Saudi Arabia, France, and Israel are all quietly backing the military regime.

If the military cracks down on parliamentary forces, it risks driving the opposition underground and more violence. Egypt’s military may split, as younger, Nasserite-officers try to seize power, or face bloody urban guerilla war......"

Damascus: The Battle for the Hinterland

2012-01-28T07:25:00.000-08:00

For the first time since the outbreak of the Syrian uprising, defectors have managed to secure a strong presence in several towns in the Damascene countryside, including Zabadani, Harasta, Douma, Kafr Batna, and Arbin.

A Syrian soldier, who has defected to join the Free Syrian Army, holds up his rifle and waves a Syrian independence flag in the Damascus suburb of Saqba 27 January 2012.

By: Tarek Abd al-Hayy
Al-Akhbar

"Damascus – Recent clashes in the province of Damascus Countryside between army defectors, also known as the Free Syrian Army, and regular forces have brought talk of the “militarization” of the Syrian protests to the forefront.

While there have been similar incidents in the provinces of Homs, Hama and Idlib, they take on added importance in the capital's rural hinterland with its dense and diverse population.

Speculation is rife that the army is poised to launch a decisive large-scale operation aimed at regaining control of these cities, for fear that they could become military access-points to the capital itself.

It all began with Zabadani, near the Lebanese border.....

It is completely different inside Zabadani. As you enter the town, you no longer feel you are in the same Syria. "We have overthrown the regime" locals proclaim. They say that they now take to the freezing streets every night to protest, protected by army defectors who surround the demonstrators to safeguard against any attacks by the security forces.

Life continues as normal in many respects. People go out walking, and children attend school. Some residents have hoisted the “independence flag” as they call it, rather than the current national flag. There is a strong sense of triumph among local people, mixed with fear that the army might mount a major operation to regain control.

One local activist, requesting anonymity, explains that the security forces retreated from Zabadani. They pulled out their armor and requested a truce after being under pressure from guerrilla-style attacks carried out by armed groups based in the surrounding mountains.....

But the activist stresses that people feel much safer now after the withdrawal of security forces from the streets. This has encouraged growing numbers of people to go out and protest on a daily basis. Goods that were previously scarce, such as diesel and gas, are also more readily available.

“Zabadani today is virtually under the control of the armed groups,” he says. “The security forces are positioned in the surrounding areas, but nevertheless, the people of this region are saying: ‘We have been liberated.’”......

There have been reports of a widespread campaign of arrests and raids in Harasta, including reports of houses being forcibly evacuated and either demolished [Israeli tactic!] on the grounds that they were used for dissident activity, or taken over as security positions [Israeli tactic, again!]. Also, there have been reports of snipers being positioned on rooftops. They shoot at any moving target, particularly in the direction of Douma and Qaboun, which activists say are witnessing similar "hysterical" crackdowns.

According to a member of the local coordinating committee, armed groups began deploying in Harasta days ago in order to protect protesters. They erected barricades to block the entry of security forces, who remained on the outskirts. This encouraged large numbers of people to take to the streets to demonstrate or attend the funerals of martyrs. Moreover, unprecedented calls were made from some mosque minarets, urging anyone with a weapon to confront the army and security forces. Hundreds of locals, many of whom own guns to protect their farmland, came forward to volunteer for the Free Army, the activists says.....

Yet at the same time, the regime cannot afford to just let defections from the army increase while gunmen establish themselves on the fringes of the capital, from where they could launch a repeat of the Libyan rebels’ march on Tripoli....."

(Click on map to enlarge)

The present stands no chance against the past

2012-01-28T04:36:00.000-08:00

By Robert Fisk

"The Palestinians are not only, it seems, an "invented people" – courtesy of Newt Gingrich – but the only Arabs on the Mediterranean not to enjoy a Spring or an Awakening or even a Winter.....

For what? Israel, which in the past could analyse events rationally, if not always correctly, appears, too, to have lost its ability to grasp events, its Prime Minister hiding behind self-delusional speeches when he should be understanding the typhoon sweeping across the Arab states around him. People who will no longer tolerate dictators are not going to accept peace treaties with an ever more expansionist Israel – 2,000 more colonisers' homes, Netanyahu decided last autumn, would be the latest punishment for the Palestinians who dare to demand statehood....

... Indeed, I have a letter beside me as I write, sent to The New York Times on 2 December 1948, warning of the visit to the US of the young Menachem Begin whose "Freedom Party", said the letter's authors, was "closely akin in its organization, methods, political philosophy and social appeal to the Nazi and Fascist parties". Among the authors of this letter was Albert Einstein....

Now, said Peled, at Silwan just outside East Jerusalem, thousands of Palestinians may be evicted from their homes "so that Israel can build a park to glorify a conquest that took place 3,000 years ago, never mind that not a shred of scientific evidence exists that such a king (David) ever lived, any more than there is evidence the world was created in six days. The past trumps the present in Israel – a state that wants to eliminate the existence of people who live on their land to solidify the myth of a glorious past". Strong stuff indeed.

But is it any surprise that the Palestinians believe this when the president who told them they deserve a state vetoes their demand for statehood at the United Nations, while his country deprives them of millions of dollars for daring to believe him, withdraws its funding from Unesco when it bestows a kind of statehood on the Palestinians – and then remains silent when Israel says it will keep money legally owed to the Palestinians of the West Bank? But since Obama's re-election counts for more than "Palestine", what chance is there of peace in the Middle East? Maybe Israel is ensuring that the past also trumps the present in the United States. If only we could ask the one rabbi Netanyahu chose to quote in his UN speech against Palestinian statehood last year: the very same rabbi who inspired the murderer Baruch Goldstein to kill so many Palestinians 18 years ago."

Palestinian civil society condemns Arab participation in Hertzliya Conference

2012-01-28T03:52:00.000-08:00

Al-Masry Al-Youm

"The Palestinian Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) condemned on Thursday the participation of Arab figures from Egypt, Jordan and Qatar in the 12th annual Herzliya conference.

The Herzliya conference is considered the most important annual event for Israel's military intelligence as it is concerned mainly with the promotion of Israeli "national security," and thus forms a major threat to the Palestinian cause, the committee said in a statement Thursday.

The Herzliya conference will be held between 31 January and 2 February under the name “In the Eye of Storms: Israel and the Middle East."

Al-Quds Al-Arabi, a London-based Arabic daily, reported on Thursday that among participants in the conference are Riad al-Khoury, a Jordanian economist, Salman al-Sheikh of the Doha-based Brookings Institute, Sherif al-Diwany, chairman of Marsad (Observatory) Inc. in Egypt, and Saeb Erekat, former chief Palestinian negotiator.

The BNC called on Arab figures participating in the conference to withdraw.

The statement said Arab figures' participation is totally incompatible with the Palestinian people's will, as expressed by the vast majority of its parties, trade unions and political factions in the 2005 "call upon international civil society organizations and people of conscience all over the world to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era" until it fully complies with international law and human rights principles, the statement added.
The participation of Arab figures in the conference helps legitimize Israel's crimes against the Palestinian people and all the Arab peoples, the statement said, adding that it gives a false impression of normal relations between the Arab world and Israel despite the latter's occupation, racism and continuing violation of international law and the rights of Palestinians......"

Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian activists propose an armed uprising

2012-01-27T19:21:00.000-08:00

"A growing number of activists in Syria are taking up arms to protect themselves from the government's violent crackdown that has claimed thousands of civilians lives since March.

They have begun setting up military councils in provinces across the country to create an organised command structure.

And the Syrian National Council, a leading opposition group, says it will logistically back the armed uprising to prevent more civilians from being killed.

Zeina Khdor reports from Beirut."

واشنطن والمعادلة المفرغة: إسقاط النظام السوري أم سقوطه؟

2012-01-27T11:22:00.000-08:00

صبحي حديدي

2012-01-26

الآن إذْ تدخل الانتفاضة السورية شهرها الحادي عشر، يجد بعض الساسة الأمريكيين أنفسهم أكثر اضطراراً إلى التعليق عليها، بمقدار أعلى من الوضوح؛ وأكثر شهية للمناوشة حولها، بين ديمقراطي هنا وجمهوري هناك، أو بين الرئيس الأمريكي نفسه، وأحد أبرز المرشحين الجمهوريين لانتخابات الرئاسة. وهكذا، أعلن الأوّل، باراك أوباما، في خطبته السنوية عن حال الاتحاد، أنّ 'نظام الأسد سيكتشف قريباً أنه لا يمكن مقاومة قوة التغيير وتجريد الشعب من كرامته'، وبالتالي فإنّ 'أيام النظام السوري أصبحت معدودة على غرار نظام القذافي'.
الثاني، ميت رومني، لام الرئيس على تأخره في إطلاق هذا التصريح، لأنه يصدر اليوم فقط 'بعد إراقة الكثير من الدماء في ذلك البلد'، والمطلوب أن 'تُظهر أمريكا دورها القيادي على المسرح العالمي، وتعمل على نقل هذه الأمم النامية نحو الحداثة'.
من جانبه، رأى السناتور جون كيري، رئيس لجنة العلاقات الخارجية في مجلس الشيوخ الأمريكي، أن سورية 'على حافة الحرب الأهلية'، ولهذا كان 'تصعيد العنف' الموضوع الأبرز في حواراته مع ساسة الشرق الأوسط، أثناء جولة استغرقت 11 يوماً. ورغم أنّ كيري كان أحد أنشط محاوري بشار الأسد (ليس حول الإصلاح والديمقراطية وحقوق الإنسان بالطبع، بل حول إحياء قناة التفاوض السورية ـ الإسرائيلية حصرياً)، فإنّ توصياته للإدارة الأمريكية شدّدت على فتح الحوار مع 'عدد كبير من الحلفاء'، والتشاور مع الجامعة العربية ودول مجلس التعاون الخليجي 'للنظر في ما يتوجب اتخاذه، خطوة خطوة'. زميله في الحزب ومجلس الشيوخ روبرت ب كيسي الابن، رئيس اللجنة الفرعية للشرق الأوسط، ذهب أبعد فرأى أنّ الجامعة العربية 'لا تقوم بكلّ ما في وسعها القيام به'، وعلى الولايات المتحدة أن تبذل المزيد من الجهد.
وثمة رأي (ينضوي كاتب هذه السطور في عداد القائلين به) يرى أنّ البيت الأبيض ما يزال غير حاسم بصدد، أو غير مستقرّ تماماً على، تحديد سياسة مفصلة وملموسة وقابلة للتطبيق المرحلي حول إسقاط النظام السوري، رغم اليقين المتزايد ـ والذي يلوح، اليوم، أنه صار جازماً ـ بأنّ سقوط النظام صار استحقاقاً لا محيد عنه. الفارق بين 'إسقاط' و'سقوط' هو جوهر إشكالية، إذا جاز اعتبارها هكذا، جعلت واشنطن تتأخر كثيراً في النطق بالعبارة/ الدرّة (أي الإعلان الصريح عن ضرورة تنحي الأسد)، فتواصل تقليب الملفّ السوري على نار خامدة تارة، وأخرى متقدة طوراً. وثمة، كما هو معروف ومتكرر، سلسلة أسباب وجيهة، سورية داخلية صرفة وإقليمية دولية أيضاً، جيو ـ سياسية وعسكرية واجتماعية واقتصادية ودينية، تجعل الملفّ السوري أشدّ تعقيداً، وإنذاراً بالمخاطر والمزالق، من أن تُصاغ في تناوله معالجات يسيرة أو سريعة.
فأن يتبنى البيت الأبيض مفهوم الإسقاط، أمر يعني المشاركة في الجهود المفضية إلى زعزعة أركان النظام، سواء أكانت سرّية أم علنية، ودبلوماسية صرفة، أم تساندها إجراءات استخباراتية وعسكرية ولوجستية متعددة، بينها إقامة المناطق الآمنة، والممرّات الإنسانية، وربما خطوط الإمداد في حال إقرار مشاريع تدخل عسكرية من أي نوع؛ وهذا ما لم تحسم الإدارة أمرها فيه، بل يصحّ القول إنها عازفة عنه عملياً (لحسن حظّ الشعب السوري، وانتفاضته التي أرادها وطنية، سلمية، غير مرتهنة لقوى خارجية سبق للسوريين أن ذاقوا مرارة تواطؤها مع النظام). غنيّ عن القول، أيضاً، إنّ سورية ليست العراق، وليست ليبيا، بمعنى أنها ليست كعكة مصالح تسيل اللعاب المحرّض على التدخل الخارجي؛ ونظامها، من جانب آخر، هو الأفضل لحليف الولايات المتحدة الأفضل، إسرائيل، كما أنه خير الممانعين طرّاً: نظام 'ممانِع'، لا يمانع!

Tunisia and Egypt One Year On

2012-01-27T10:11:00.000-08:00

A Year of Spring

by ESAM AL-AMIN
CounterPunch
"....
In short, Tunisia promises a much smoother transition to a more stable society and democratically functioning system than Egypt. But with the cautious moves of the FJP and other Islamic parties, Egypt’s future also appears to be heading towards steady though slow progress, and following a promising yet challenging path. However, it’s important to keep in mind that all these significant changes in both countries are taking place while severe economic problems and hardships are mounting, and as they struggle against enormous foreign interference and external pressures."

Gingrich’s Extremist Anti-Palestinian Stance Follows Millions From Casino Magnate Sheldon Adelson

2012-01-27T09:25:00.000-08:00

Democracy Now!

"Many analysts say Newt Gingrich’s recent rise in the Republican contest would have been impossible without the backing of one man — multi-billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. Adelson and his wife have donated $10 million to the pro-Gingrich super PAC, "Winning Our Future," which has run a series of ads attacking Gingrich’s opponent Mitt Romney. Gingrich has openly admitted Adelson’s support came down to a single issue: Israel. Gingrich has adopted the most extremist anti-Palestinian stance of the Republican presidential field, calling the Palestinians themselves an "invented" people. We speak with Gal Beckerman of the Jewish Daily Forward and Linda Sarsour of the Arab American Association of New York..."

Al-Jazeera Video: Empire - Tunisia: A revolutionary model

2012-01-27T07:25:00.001-08:00

A GOOD PROGRAM

"Tunisia has adopted an interim constitution, held free and fair elections, and is becoming a modern democratic state. A year after the Jasmine Revolution, can the country's new government fix the vast social injustices that triggered it?"

Al-Jazeera Video: Fear over the militarised conflict in Syria

2012-01-27T07:21:00.000-08:00

"As the government and the opposition are not backing down, there are those who fear that the increasingly militarized conflict may only lead to all-out warfare.

Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports from Beirut."

Real News Video: Thousands of Egyptians Call for End to Military Rule

2012-01-27T07:16:00.000-08:00

Jihan Hafiz reports that on Jan 25th Anniversary of the revolution thousands of people across Egypt demand justice for the martyrs

More at The Real News

The Best Politicians Money Can Buy, by Khalil Bendib

2012-01-27T07:11:00.001-08:00

(Click on cartoon to enlarge)

Opportunists and the Revolution

2012-01-27T07:01:00.000-08:00

By: Gilbert Achcar
Al-Akhbar

"In a manner infused with the spirit of Western Orientalism, as defined by Edward Said, some Arabs have held that a despotic mentality has taken root among most of their fellow Arabs as a result of their cultural and educational background.

One advocate of such a view in the not-so-distant past was Moncef Marzouki, the transitional president of Tunisia, when he was still living in France as an opponent in exile of the previous president, the tyrant Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.

In an article he published on Al Jazeera’s website on 19 February 2010, Marzouki cited the French scholar Beatrice Hibou, author of The Force of Obedience: The Political Economy of Repression in Tunisia, who belongs to the Orientalist school, that explained the Tunisians’ alleged “obedience” to their tyrants by attributing it to a mentality ingrained in them over the course of generations (these theses have been powerfully refuted by the Tunisian scholar Mahmoud Ben Romdhane in a recent book in French).

Marzouki argued that whoever reads Hibou’s book “understands that what bewilders the Western mind about Arabs is our transcendent ability to obey the most corrupt of rulers, while Western culture is based on the refusal to obey injustice and on legitimizing the right to resist it.”

He thus added to the Orientalist image of Arabs an idealized image of “Western culture” as if it were an eternal given.....

One does not need extraordinary insight to realize that the winners of the first post-uprising elections and governments are truly the opportunists and not the revolutionaries, as Marzouki himself rightly said when he was still moved by the thrill and wisdom of the revolution.

Condemning labor strikes and blaming them for the country’s economic decline, as well as playing that same old tune of the “extremists” and “subversives” of the “far left,” have become the common language of the new rulers in both Tunisia and Egypt, in a way that reminds us irresistibly of the deposed regimes.

But the masses that one day aspired to life and experienced the taste of freedom will not stop struggling and protesting before “fate answers their call,” even if only years later."

Billionaire Gingrich backer Adelson regrets he served in US instead of Israeli military

2012-01-27T06:43:00.000-08:00

By Ali Abunimah

"Billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who along with his wife, has donated $10 million dollars in recent weeks to Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, has said that he wishes he had served in the Israeli army instead of the US military and that he wants his son to grow up to “be a sniper for the IDF.”

Gingrich himself has also doubled down on anti-Palestinian comments, asserting during a CNN debate last night that they were “invented” in the 1970s.

Adelson’s explosive comments are reported this morning by NBC’s Michael Isikoff:

Adelson owns a newspaper in Israel, ‘Israel HaYom,’ that backs conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and adamantly opposes any peace settlement with the Palestinians.
But while Adelson and Gingrich have bonded on the issue of a hawkish Mideast policy, especially over the threat of a nuclear Iran, some of the casino mogul’s comments could prove embarrassing.

In a talk to an Israeli group in July, 2010, Adelson said he wished he had served in the Israeli Army rather the U.S. military–and that he hoped his young son will come back to Israel and “be a sniper for the IDF,” a reference to the Israel Defense Forces. (YouTube video of speech)

“I am not Israeli. The uniform that I wore in the military, unfortunately, was not an Israeli uniform. It was an American uniform, although my wife was in the IDF and one of my daughters was in the IDF … our two little boys, one of whom will be bar mitzvahed tomorrow, hopefully he’ll come back– his hobby is shooting – and he’ll come back and be a sniper for the IDF,” Adelson said at the event.

“All we care about is being good Zionists, being good citizens of Israel, because even though I am not Israeli born, Israel is in my heart,” he said toward the end of his talk......"

American NGO workers prevented from leaving Egypt

2012-01-27T04:13:00.000-08:00

Son of US transportation secretary among several election monitors placed on 'no-fly list' as tension with Cairo escalates

Ed Pilkington in New York
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 26 January 2012

"Tension between the US government and the Egyptian military authorities has reached a new peak after it emerged that several American non-governmental workers, including the son of a member of President Obama's administration, are being prevented from leaving the country in an ongoing spat over Egypt's recent parliamentary elections.

Sam LaHood, the son of the US transportation secretary Ray LaHood, was turned back at the airport in Cairo on Saturday in a significant escalation of the diplomatic stand-off between the two countries. LaHood heads the Egyptian outpost of the International Republican Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank that had been monitoring the elections held in recent weeks in the wake of the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak.

According to Politico he was placed on a "no-fly list", without explanation, after he tried to board a plane in an attempt to escape rising hostility towards his and other foreign NGOs. LaHood had previously been named in the state-run press in Cairo....

"That's pretty disquieting – to have that kind of thing raised by an ally that's receiving a billion and a half dollars in US aid each year," Craner said....

Craner said that at first the military generals had responded to the raids as though they were utterly unaware of what had happened. "But it's been nearly a month since then and the generals have been approached on a number of occasions and yet things have only got worse. So you have to wonder what's going on," he said....."

Bahrain’s use of tear gas against protesters increasingly deadly

2012-01-27T03:54:00.000-08:00

Amnesty International
26 January 2012

"Bahrain must investigate more than a dozen deaths that followed the misuse of tear gas by security forces, Amnesty International has said after another person was seriously injured by a tear gas canister in Manama this week.

On Tuesday, 20-year-old Mohammad al-Muwali was seriously injured and hospitalized after being hit in the head by a tear gas canister launched by riot police responding to an anti-government protest in the capital city’s Karrana neighbourhood.

A Bahraini human rights group has reported at least 13 deaths resulting from the security forces’ use of tear gas against peaceful protesters as well as inside people’s homes since February 2011, with a rise in such deaths in recent months.

“The rise in fatalities and eyewitness accounts suggest that tear gas is being used inappropriately by Bahraini security forces, including in people’s homes and other confined spaces,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director.

“The Bahraini authorities must investigate and account for the reports of more than a dozen deaths following tear gas use. The security forces must be instructed on how to use tear gas in line with international policing standards.”

Tear gas is used by law enforcement agencies in many countries as a riot control agent, to disperse violent gatherings that pose a threat to law and order.

But when used inappropriately, including in enclosed areas or on unarmed protesters who are simply exercising their freedoms of expression and assembly, deploying tear gas can constitute a human rights violation...."

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll

2012-01-27T03:36:00.000-08:00

Will the Arab (League) move to the UN succeed in resolving the Syrian crisis?

With about 300 responding so far, 67% said no.

Syrian regime 'importing snipers' for protests

2012-01-26T16:33:00.000-08:00

The Australian

"SYRIA is deploying large numbers of Hezbollah and Iranian snipers as "military consultants" to murder anti-regime protesters, a senior government defector has told The Times.

The salaries of the marksmen are paid through a slush fund replenished with US dollars flown in from Iran, according to Mahmoud Haj Hamad, who was the treasury's top auditor at the Defence Ministry until he fled Syria last month.

The same fund is used to pay the Shabiha, the gangs of thugs who have joined the state security services in torturing and killing protesters.

Mr Hamad, appalled at the destruction of cities by the armed forces, fled Syria with his family last month. His account is the first by a senior insider to confirm the presence of foreign forces in Syria to help to prop up the regime.

Even as the government was blaming the uprising on plots by its Arab neighbours and "foreign elements", it was turning to its regional allies to help to suppress the protests....."

Video: اعتقال قناصة إيرانيين بسوريا

2012-01-26T15:36:00.000-08:00

"أعلنت أمس الخميس "كتيبة الفاروق في الجيش السوري الحر" عن احتجازها لسبعة إيرانيين، في حين قالت الخارجية الإيرانية إن مجهولين اختطفوا 11 إيرانيا داخل سوريا وهم في طريقهم إلى العاصمة دمشق برا لزيارة العتبات المقدسة فيها.

وأوضحت "كتيبة الفاروق في الجيش السوري الحر" أن خمسة منهم ينتمون إلى الحرس الثوري الإيراني أحدهم ضابط، وقد ألقي القبض عليهم مسلحين وكانوا يعملون قناصة تحت إمرة فرع الأمن الجوي بحمص. أما الآخران فهما مدنيان يعملان في محطة جندر الكهربائية وسيُطلق سراحهما.

في غضون ذلك أدان المتحدث باسم وزارة الخارجية الإيرانية رامين مهمانبرست اختطاف 11 زائرا إيرانيا كانوا في طريقهم إلى دمشق برا لزيارة العتبات المقدسة من قبل مجموعة مجهولة.

ودعا المتحدث السلطات السورية إلى استخدام كل إمكانياتها للإفراج عنهم على وجه السرعة، حسب ما ذكرته وكالة الأنباء الإيرانية الرسمية (إرنا).
....
...."

A HUGE MASSACRE UNDER WAY IN HOMS (Video Included)

2012-01-26T13:53:00.000-08:00

An all out war by the Syrian Regime. Bombing building and shooting everything that walks.
A Sectarian massacre took place Sabra & Shatila Style where Alawite death squads massacred
a family of 5 children and 3 women. Jazeera Muabasher is carrying the horror on 4 screens live.
Of course this is all a conspiracy and this is all in order to preserve "Al-Muquamah".

Proof the conspiracy against Syria EXISTS

2012-01-26T12:13:00.000-08:00

Finally !! the Syrian government was able to capture and kill a Salafi Al-Qaeda cell in Homs. They have been talking about it for a while but now they have produced the evidence. These Salafis were trying to
incite the Syrian Army to bomb them so they can create an environment for NATO to bomb the beacon of resistance Syria !! or like Nasrallah refers to it : Sooriya Al-Assad.

Iraqis Voice Outrage as U.S. Massacre in Haditha Ends in No Jail Time for Accused Marines

2012-01-26T07:44:00.000-08:00

"The last of the U.S. marines charged in the 2005 Haditha massacre of 24 Iraqi civilians, Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, received no jail time after he pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty and avoiding charges of involuntary manslaughter. Under his sentencing, Wuterich now faces a maximum penalty of a demotion to the rank of private. The victims, including women and children, were killed when the marines burst into their homes and shot them dead in their nightclothes. Wuterich allegedly led the Haditha massacre and was the last defendant to face charges. Six other marines have had their charges dropped or dismissed, while another soldier was acquitted. "[Iraqi] outrage is perfectly understandable," says Tim McGirk, the Time magazine reporter who broke the story on the Haditha massacre. "Here is a case where so many Iraqis were killed, women and children, old men, and yet what’s happened? Most of the charges have been dismissed, and Wuterich was basically given a slap on the wrist."....."

Video: من خطابات و مقابلات لحكيم الثورة د جورج حبش

2012-01-26T07:14:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of Arabs48.com

Avoiding a ‘Dumb War’ With Iran

2012-01-26T07:07:00.000-08:00

by Philip Giraldi, January 26, 2012

"The media and the punditry have been deliberately misrepresenting facts to persuade the people of the United States to start another war, not unlike in the lead-up to the Iraq fiasco. Since 9/11, hard-liners in the United States have depicted one Muslim country after another as major threats to U.S. security. They have justified attacks on Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Iraq, Pakistan, Libya, and Afghanistan, and they have endorsed Israel’s military actions against Syria, Gaza, and Lebanon — 10 Muslim countries.
This time around, Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and New Gingrich are all promising to disarm Iran by force. Romney has a neocon-heavy foreign policy team, while Gingrich’s campaign received at least $5 million in financial support from Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson, a passionate supporter of Israel. Meanwhile, the White House continues to dither by drawing “red lines” that appear to be more debating points meant to appease the Israelis than substantive policies. ...."

Press freedom index: big falls for Arab trio in year of protest

2012-01-26T06:55:00.000-08:00

Syria, Bahrain and Yemen fall backwards as uprisings fail to secure democracy

The Guardian

"Three Arab countries where popular risings have been quashed have achieved their worst-ever rankings in the annual press freedom index.

But the falls by Syria, Bahrain and Yemen are among many changes that reflect a year of unrest and protest.

The United States, for example, has dropped markedly due to the targeting of journalists covering the Occupy Wall Street movement.

It slipped 27 places, down to 47th place out of a total of 179 countries in the survey. Britain fell from 19th to 28th (though the reason for that remains unclear).

"Crackdown was the word of the year in 2011," said Reporters Without Borders (RWB), the international press freedom watchdog, when releasing its 10th annual index.
"Never has freedom of information been so closely associated with democracy. Never have journalists, through their reporting, vexed the enemies of freedom so much.
Never have acts of censorship and physical attacks on journalists seemed so numerous. The equation is simple: the absence or suppression of civil liberties leads necessarily to the suppression of media freedom.
Dictatorships fear and ban information, especially when it may undermine them."......"

Arab regime change is best left to Arabs

2012-01-26T06:46:00.000-08:00

To compare Egypt, Syria and Iraq shows how damaging foreign intervention can be to the legitimacy of popular revolt

Rami Khouri in Beirut
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 25 January 2012

".....The sharp contrasts between events in Egypt and Syria provide fitting bookends to the last two generations of political life in the Arab world – as incompetent, exhausted and discredited political orders are in the process of being changed, largely at the instigation of their own people. These two cases can also be compared with a third – Iraq – where an equally unacceptable autocratic government led by the Ba'ath party was overthrown by an Anglo-American-led military invasion in 2003, leaving the country today in a sad and fractured condition of stress and violence.

Historians will long debate the four critical factors we see at play in these countries: the power and limits of domestic civil disobedience, the role of foreign armies, the impact of Arab League action, and the nature and consequences of Islamist politics that seem to inevitably dominate in liberated and democratic Arab countries....

The main lesson we can draw for now seems to me that self-determination and democratic transitions achieved through legitimate popular revolt are likely to lead to stable governance systems, while upheavals and change generated by invading foreign armies or engineered coups will only lead to continued instability, because they lack the critical elements of legitimacy and accountability. We should keep our eyes on those two factors as deliberations continue on Arab and international intervention in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain, and other Arab lands to follow in due course."

Will Egypt's first post-revolution parliament make a difference?

2012-01-26T06:34:00.000-08:00

If Egypt's new Islamist majority is seen to be appeasing the military then the new parliament will quickly become irrelevant

Amira Nowaira
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 25 January 2012

"Egypt's first post-revolution parliament convened for the first time on 23 January, two days before the first anniversary of the revolution that led to the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak. As hundreds of thousands converged on squares across Egypt on Wednesday afternoon to reiterate their original demands of "bread, freedom, human dignity and social justice," the question arises as to whether this parliament can ultimately make a difference.....

If the balance of power in Egypt now is held, broadly speaking, by the three major forces: Scaf, the Islamists and the democracy advocates, it is the latter that speak the loudest and fear the least. While Scaf has the guns as well as the power of state media and de facto authority, and the Islamists have their grassroots appeal through their religiously charged rhetoric, the revolutionaries have nothing but their dogged determination and their unwavering conviction that justice will in the end prevail. As such, they are decidedly a force that cannot be ignored. The new parliament will soon have to choose on which side it will finally be.

It is still too early to predict with any degree of confidence what that choice will ultimately be. As the tides of protesters sweep over Egypt's squares, it is abundantly clear that the new parliament cannot afford to ignore the vocal part of the population except at its own peril. The days when Mubarak's NDP-led parliament submitted to the orders of the regime are over, once and for all. The sooner the new MPs understand that the better. Otherwise, the new parliament will not only become irrelevant but also the cause of fresh waves of anger."

Egyptian protesters say 'the revolution never went away'

2012-01-26T04:47:00.000-08:00

A year after the overthrow of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, protesters return to Tahrir Square to hold the military to account

Jack Shenker in Cairo
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 25 January 2012

"....In the end though, peaceful coexistence largely prevailed. "Parliament [which is now dominated by the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party'] is one source of democracy and this, the street, is another," said Adel Tawfiq, a young architect and member of the Muslim Brotherhood. "I know the revolution isn't over, and I think we need both to ensure it succeeds. These two things aren't in opposition to each other, in fact they go hand in hand."

And it is that ascendancy of sovereignty from below – accepted even by those who have most invested in the government – that is perhaps this revolution's greatest triumph so far, one year on from the day it all began. "We're witnessing a new definition of politics," claimed Khaled Fahmy, chair of the history faculty at the American University in Cairo who joined the rallies today. "Those fighting for change here, their imagination, their discourse, their imagery, their tactics and organisation – it's all unprecedented...."

No Joy in Egypt

2012-01-26T04:39:00.000-08:00

A year after the revolution started, human rights abuses continue under the ruling military council.

by Daniel Williams

"As Egypt marks the first anniversary of the Jan. 25 civilian revolt that eventually toppled the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, there's no agreement – on how to celebrate or even whether rejoicing is in order.

The current military rulers – the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, or SCAF – want to hold parades and aerial jet exhibitions to exult in the revolution, of which their main part was to ease Mubarak out of power. Youth groups and democracy activists who originally engineered the uprising are carrying on a campaign called "The Generals are Liars," with mini-demonstrations and audiovisual presentations in the streets documenting police and military abuses. Islamic politicians, triumphant in recent parliamentary elections, extol the military's role while pressing for an eventual transfer of power to civilians....

Egypt seated a new parliament on Monday. It should act quickly to wipe clean the slate of laws that restrict free speech, association and assembly and that permit police too much latitude to shoot protesters. Members of the parliament should limit military court jurisdiction to military officials and repeal the emergency law. Egypt's foreign friends – including the aid-giving U.S. government – should wholeheartedly support the reforms and resist suggestions that continued dictatorship means stability.

With Egypt's revolution in its first stages, the time is now for the parliament to end Egypt's long-term rule by military fiat."

Libya: Deaths of detainees amid widespread torture

2012-01-26T04:31:00.000-08:00

"Several detainees have died after being subjected to torture in Libya in recent weeks and months amid widespread torture and ill-treatment of suspected pro-al-Gaddafi fighters and loyalists, Amnesty International said today.

Amnesty International delegates in Libya have met detainees being held in and around Tripoli, Misrarah and Gheryan, who showed visible marks indicating torture inflicted in recent days and weeks. Their injuries included open wounds on the head, limbs, back and other parts of the body.

The torture is being carried out by officially recognized military and security entities as well by a multitude of armed militias operating outside any legal framework.

“After all the promises to get detention centres under control, it is horrifying to find that there has been no progress to stop the use of torture,” said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International's Senior Crisis Response Adviser, from Libya....."

Al-Jazeera Video: Inside Story - Egypt: A year on and still unresolved?

2012-01-26T04:16:00.000-08:00

A GOOD PROGRAM

"It is exactly a year since the Egyptian revolution began, and only the banners have changed. Protesters have converged again in Tahrir Square calling for the next phase. What next for Egypt? Guests are: Wael Eskandar, Nader Omran and Sharif Kouddous."

Egypt’s brutalization of women continues

2012-01-26T04:05:00.000-08:00

Joseph Mayton 26 January 2012
Bikya Masr

"......While the most recent incidents should not dampen the will of the Egyptian people to join forces in magnificent street demonstrations that rid the country of one dictator already, it can no longer be avoided. Sexual violence is not an aberration to Egypt. It has a deep-rooted history that must not be avoided through apologies. It has to be faced head on.

In the end, let us hope that this is the final “wake-up” call for Egyptian society to tackle this problem. Far too many women have been battered, beaten and raped in Egypt to allow it to continue. The very future of Egyptian society and a bright, prosperous future, could very well depend on how women are treated and empowered in the post-Mubarak Egypt.

There can be no revolution without women’s empowerment. Plain and simple."

Exclusive: Woman tells of having pants ripped off, assaulted and prodded in Egypt’s Tahrir Square

2012-01-26T03:55:00.000-08:00

By Joseph Mayton
Bikya Masr

"CAIRO: Heather still doesn’t know how she made it home on Wednesday night after being in Egypt’s Tahrir Square. The Arab-American arrived back at her Cairo flat without pants, having had them torn off downtown. She and her two roommates were victims of a mob attack by people in the iconic square on Wednesday, as protesters demonstrated against the military junta.

According to Heather, an Arab-American living in the Egyptian capital, she and her Swedish and Spanish roommates took to Tahrir as thousands were converging there to mark one-year since the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak.

“They started fighting over who was going to do what,” Heather told Bikyamasr.com in an exclusive interview. She came forward after seeing the report on a foreign woman who was stripped naked and assaulted only hours after her own incident.

“My roommates and I fell to the ground when they attacked us. The people pulled our pants off even as we yelled and tried to fight,” she continued....

Instances of sexual assaults on female journalists covering the events in Tahrir Square have continued in the year since Mubarak’s ouster.

According to studies conducted by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Right (ECWR) in 2008, 98 percent of foreign women and 83 percent of Egyptian women surveyed had experienced sexual harassment in Egypt.

Meanwhile, 62 percent of Egyptian men confessed to harassing women and 53 percent of Egyptian men faulted women for “bringing it on.”"

Egypt: The continued need for popular protest

2012-01-26T03:34:00.000-08:00

The overwhelming number of crowds that converged on Tahrir Square is partly due to the vigorous youth efforts.

By Sarah Mousa
Al-Jazeera

"Cairo, Egypt - January 25 of this year, like that of the previous one, came as a surprise to many in Egypt. The overwhelming crowds that marched from all corners of Cairo and converged on Tahrir Square are estimated to be larger than any of those seen over the past year. The dominating chant insisted on an end to military rule, while the list of demands has changed little.

After the fall, clashes that pitted a dwindling number of protesters against the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) and sustained state media attacks against youth movements, many felt that the causes of the original revolution and its proponents were becoming increasingly isolated. The scenes witnessed at Tahrir Square and throughout the country on January 25 proved the contrary.

A provocative SCAF labelling of the day as a celebration, and rumours of expected military presence at Tahrir left many expecting a clash between small groups of protesters and state forces. Instead, there was no site of celebration, as protesters filled the Square and outlying streets, mourning those who have been killed for the sake of democratic governance and insisting on the completion of their revolution.

While the day may have been unexpected, it was certainly not unplanned. In light of several events over the past four months that left protesters dead and demands unanswered, existing youth movements and newly formed ones actively worked to spread awareness of media fallacies and the continued need for popular protest.

One group, The Military are Liars, created after clashes at Tahrir Square and in front of the Ministry that left dozens of protesters dead in December, publicly screened military abuses of civilian protesters throughout the streets of Egypt....

The Arab world has become accustomed to concessions, often far from adequate, from a nervous leader on the eve of an expected uprising. January 24 was no exception; Field Marshal Tantawi paid tribute to the Revolution and announced an end to the Emergency Law with a notable exception in the case of "thugs", a term often used by state media to refer to protesters. While this was indeed one of the key demands of the Revolution, the timing and exception make the concession moot.

A further pledge by SCAF to release 1,900 prisoners tried in military courts, out of approximately 12,000 prisoners of the same fate, was an additional concession deemed inadequate and leaves protesters continuing to insist on a complete end to the military trial of civilians and release of all political prisoners....

The opening session of parliament was held on January 23, but negotiations between the MB leadership and the 19-member SCAF are rumoured to have been ongoing since the MB victory became clear. While parliament is granted the authority to choose the 100-member council that will draft the new constitution, the main outline of this constitution is already being discussed by SCAF and the MB....

The fact remains, however, that the MB is a politically patient group, one that can be generally categorised as reformist, rather than revolutionary. On January 25, the MB maintained a cautious presence at Tahrir, avoiding threats to military rule while not disconcerting the revolutionaries. Their chants included ones relating to regional causes such as the Palestinian plight and were recognisably out of place.

Despite the dozens of MB-sponsored buses carrying supporters from various governorates to the Square, their presence as an underwhelming minority may represent a preliminary indication of needed political adjustments on part of the group....."

The Salafis' Plan to Promote Tourism: Foreign woman stripped of clothes, assaulted, in Egypt’s Tahrir Square

2012-01-25T19:17:00.000-08:00

Bikya Masr

"CAIRO: A foreign woman was stripped and sexually assaulted on Wednesday evening in Egypt’s iconic Tahrir Square, one eyewitness said on Twitter and another confirmed in an email to Bikyamasr.com.

The woman, who’s identity has not been revealed, was taken away in an ambulance after being assaulted for 10 minutes. Her husband reportedly was unable to intervene and witnessed the incident.

“I saw the woman and then dozens of men surrounded her and started grabbing her, when she screamed for help some people came, but they were hit in the face,” wrote one witness.

What happened next was “appalling,” said the trusted witness, who asked for anonymity. “The men just started tearing at her clothes and grabbing her body all over. When she fought back, they pushed her. It was chaos.”

There were unconfirmed reports that the men “violated” her with their hands.

The nationality of the woman is unknown at the current time.

Throughout the day, sexual harassment towards women has been increasing and more and more reports of women being grabbed and groped began being reported.

Activists called the attacks on women completely “unacceptable” and must be exposed no matter what. They demanded an end to all violence toward women.

“What happened in Tahrir today has no justification and must be fully exposed even if it taints Tahrir!” wrote EgyptSecularist on Twitter.

The incident brings memories of reporter Lara Logan, who was sexually assaulted the night former President Hosni Mubarak gave up power....."

My cousin was arrested tonight

2012-01-25T16:55:00.000-08:00

She is 25 years of age and was very active. Whenever we warned her and ask her to slow down she would say "if we slow down , then who will keep going, those people getting killed are not better than me". I talked to her father and he was more intact than I was and said "Allah will protect her". She had a secret online identity through out the revolution, but came out in the open 2 weeks ago and declared her opposition in the open. She worked for the UN and was active in helping out the poor and the under privileged.

Egypt: Sharif Abdel Kouddous Reports From Cairo As Crowds Mark 1 Year of Revolution in Tahrir Square

2012-01-25T07:40:00.000-08:00

"As tens of thousands of Egyptians gather in Tahrir Square to mark the first anniversary of the start of the revolution that ended Hosni Mubarak’s three-decade reign, we go to Cairo to speak with Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous, who has reported on the popular uprising since it began. "What happened on January 25 was really an uprising that was 10 years in the making—a growing resistance movement to the Mubarak regime, to a regime that was characterized by a sprawling police apparatus, that engaged in quashing of dissent and torture, a paralyzed body politic, and rampant corruption," Kouddous says. "People speak about the barrier of fear being broken, but I really think it was a lack of hope. And that was the gift that Tunisia gave to Egypt: [it] was that here’s the dream that you can achieve, and here’s the hope that you can change if you take to the streets."...."

"In Tahrir Square": HBO Doc on Egypt’s Revolution Through Eyes of Democracy Now!’s Sharif Kouddous

2012-01-25T07:39:00.000-08:00

"Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous is the central character in the new HBO documentary airing tonight, "In Tahrir Square: 18 Days of Egypt’s Unfinished Revolution." The film chronicles the uprising though the reporting of Kouddous and it looks at what the protest meant for his uncle, Mohamed Abdel Quddoos, a longtime Egyptian dissident who was arrested dozens of times by the Mubarak regime. We’re joined by Kouddous in Cairo, as well as the team behind the film: Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neil of Downtown Community Television; and independent filmmaker Jacquie Soohen of Big Noise Films....."

Al-Jazeera Video: Revolution through Arab Eyes - The Republic of Tahrir

2012-01-25T07:36:00.000-08:00

"It became the physical and symbolic heart of a revolution, but have Egyptians kept the spirit of Tahrir alive?"

Al-Jazeera Video: Wael Khalil speaks to Al Jazeera

2012-01-25T07:33:00.000-08:00

"Wael Khalil, Egyptian blogger and activist, told Al Jazeera that "the revolution has not achieved its goal and that's why the main slogan now on the street is, people going back to Tahrir Square.

"Everything that has been achieved in the past one year was a result of people's protests and demands," he says.

"The trial of Mubarak, free elections, participation of people in the elections and other demands were not achieved by power from above, not by SCAF, but people pressuring from below.""

Al-Jazeera Video: Egyptians mark first anniversary of revolution

2012-01-25T07:31:00.000-08:00

"Egyptians have gathered at Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square to mark one year of the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak from power.

But most Egyptians are not in the Square as they are struggling to make a living on two dollars a day or less, in shanty towns and villages across the country.

Tahrir Square has for some become a symbol of people power... to others, a sign of the country's instability and turmoil.

After one year, there's still as much fear as there is hope for the future of the country.

Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros reports from Cairo."

Al-Jazeera Video: Free Syrian Army 'not only defectors'

2012-01-25T07:30:00.000-08:00

"Many Syrian civilians are taking up arms to defend themselves from the government's 10 month crackdown on peaceful protests.

A number of them have joined the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a group of thousands of members, most of whom have defected from the country's security forces in order to protect civilians.

Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports from Tripoli in northern Lebanon."

Al-Jazeera Video: Plea deal for Haditha killings sparks outrage in Iraq

2012-01-25T07:27:00.000-08:00

"Iraqis are angry at how court martial hearings have ended over the killing of 24 civilians in the city of Haditha in 2005.

The last of the eight marine defendants is awaiting sentencing after a deal in which he pleaded guilty to reduced charges of dereliction of duty.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of three months in a military jail. [Actually he was not even sentenced to be jailed!]

Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf has more from the Iraqi capital, Baghdad."

Your Genocide is Worse Than Mine! By Khalil Bendib

2012-01-25T07:20:00.000-08:00

(Click on cartoon to enlarge)

Arab Spring Gives Way to Military Chill

2012-01-25T07:07:00.000-08:00

By Cam McGrath

"CAIRO, Jan 25, 2012 (IPS) - When Egypt’s dictator was ousted during a popular uprising last February, the military leaders who assumed control of the country pledged to "protect the revolution" and ensure a swift transition to civilian rule within six months. One year later, the ruling generals appear to have hijacked the transition to preserve the military institution’s economic autonomy and secure their own political future.

"The military council has never protected the revolution, it has only protected itself," says activist Ahmed Maher, one of the architects of the uprising that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak.....

"Egypt’s military rulers have completely failed to live up to their promises to Egyptians to improve human rights and have instead been responsible for a catalogue of abuses which in some cases exceeds the record of Hosni Mubarak," says rights watchdog Amnesty International.

SCAF’s heavy-handed approach to street activism has coincided with a smear campaign against various watchdog groups. The generals are using the state media apparatus to discredit opponents, depicting protesters and NGOs monitoring elections or human rights as foreign agents seeking to undermine national sovereignty.

Activists say the military borrowed a chapter from Mubarak’s playbook, stoking xenophobia to deflect attention from its increasingly authoritarian rule. SCAF leaders have repeatedly blamed an "invisible hand" for inciting violence, including clashes between security forces and protesters that left over 80 people dead and thousands injured during the last three months.

"The invisible hand is the SCAF itself," says Negad El-Borai , a rights lawyer and activist. "The army beats people, kills protesters in the street, and hasn’t implemented any of the revolution’s demands – and this is the reason for the violence."

As Egyptians mark the first anniversary of the uprising, many speak of an incomplete revolution. Mubarak is gone, but the generals who replaced him continue to govern the country at the expense of the people. Any true revolution, El-Borai notes, would require making the military accountable to an elected civilian government."

Israeli Assassinations and American Presidents

2012-01-25T06:50:00.000-08:00

by Alison Weir, January 25, 2012

"On Jan. 13 the Atlanta Jewish Times featured a column by its owner-publisher suggesting that Israel might someday need to “order a hit” on the president of the United States.
In the column, publisher Andrew Adler describes a scenario in which Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu would need to “give the go-ahead for U.S.-based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel.”
The purpose? So that the vice president could then take office and dictate U.S. policies that would help the Jewish state “obliterate its enemies.”
Adler wrote that it is highly likely that the idea “has been discussed in Israel’s most inner circles.”.......

Targeting Americans

If the plot had gone forward, this would not have been the first time that Israel targeted Americans for death. Nor would it be the first false-flag operation.
• In 1954 the Mossad planned to firebomb American installations, libraries, and other gathering places in Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood was to be blamed for the attacks, thus causing American animosity toward Egypt. An accidental early detonation of one of the devices caused the plot, known as the Lavon Affair, to unravel before it could kill or mutilate the intended Americans.

• In 1967 Israeli air and sea forces perpetrated an almost two-hour assault in which they tried to sink a U.S. Navy ship with a crew of 300. While the attack failed to sink the ship, it succeeded in killing 34 Americans and injuring 174. Some analysts have conjectured that this was also a false-flag operation; it is highly likely that Egypt would have been blamed for the attack if the ship had gone down.
• In 1973 Israeli fighter pilots were ordered to shoot down an unarmed U.S. reconnaissance plane (at the time the U.S. was delivering massive weaponry to Israel to prevent it from losing the “Yom Kippur War” with Egypt and Syria). While the Israelis were unable to reach the altitude of the U.S. plane, they did manage that same year to shoot down a civilian Libyan airliner that had strayed over Israeli territory, killing 104 men, women, and children. One was an American.
• In 1990 a Canadian-American scientist and father of seven, Gerald Bull, was assassinated in Belgium. All indications are that it was an Israeli Mossad hit team that drilled five bullets into the back of his head and neck. (Israel has assassinated a number of scientists of various nationalities. The most recent is a 32-year-old father of a young son from Iran.)
• In 2003 it came out that Israeli leaders had officially decided to undertake assassination operations on U.S. soil. An FBI spokesman, queried about the Israeli plans, said only: “This is a policy matter. We only enforce federal laws.”
• In recent years a growing number of American peace activists have been intentionally killed, maimed, and injured by Israeli forces, including 23-year-old Rachel Corrie, 21-year-old Brian Avery, 37-year-old Tristan Anderson, 21-year-old Emily Henochowicz, and 21-year-old Furkan Dogan.
All of this has been minimally reported in the U.S. press. While major news organizations from England to Israel to Australia covered the Jewish Times’ apparent endorsement of a possible Israeli assassination of a U.S. president, the scandal has been largely missing from U.S. media. Even Atlanta’s AP bureau inexplicably initially decided not to write a report on it, only finally sending out a story many days later......"

Robert Fisk: We've been here before – and it suits Israel that we never forget 'Nuclear Iran'

2012-01-25T06:35:00.000-08:00

The Ayatollah ordered the entire nuclear project to be closed down because it was the work of the devil

Robert Fisk

"......Let's take the Israeli version which, despite constant proof that Israel's intelligence services are about as efficient as Syria's, goes on being trumpeted by its friends in the West, none more subservient than Western journalists. The Israeli President warns us now that Iran is on the cusp of producing a nuclear weapon. Heaven preserve us. Yet we reporters do not mention that Shimon Peres, as Israeli Prime Minister, said exactly the same thing in 1996. That was 16 years ago. And we do not recall that the current Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, said in 1992 that Iran would have a nuclear bomb by 1999. That would be 13 years ago. Same old story....

The trouble is that Iran has won almost all its recent wars without firing a shot. George W and Tony destroyed Iran's nemesis in Iraq. They killed thousands of the Sunni army whom Iran itself always referred to as "the black Taliban". And the Gulf Arabs, our "moderate" friends, shiver in their golden mosques as we in the West outline their fate in the event of an Iranian Shia revolution.

No wonder Cameron goes on selling weapons to these preposterous people whose armies, in many cases, could scarcely operate soup kitchens, let alone the billions of dollars of sophisticated kit we flog them under the fearful shadow of Tehran.

Bring on the sanctions. Send in the clowns."

Egypt's revolution has carved its path to parliament

2012-01-25T04:48:00.000-08:00

The Egyptian uprising is like the Nile in flood. It cannot be kept back with barriers and uniforms

Ahdaf Soueif
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 24 January 2012

".....Parliament, as the elected legislative body, can start delivering on a lot of these. If the military allows it. Or if it gets rid of the military. What will become clear over the coming few weeks is how far parliament – or sections of it – will align itself with the aims of the revolution. Will it allow itself to be used as cover or window-dressing for the old regime to carry on as usual under the generals? The Islamists are in the majority now. Will they realise their strength and use it for the good of the country? Or will they remain true to form and handcuff themselves where they perceive power to be?....."

US marine spared jail over deaths of unarmed Iraqis

2012-01-25T04:41:00.000-08:00

Frank Wuterich, convicted over 2005 massacre of 24 civilians in Haditha, will not serve time in jail

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 24 January 2012

"The only US marine to face sentencing for the killing of two dozen unarmed Iraqis in one of the Iraq war's defining moments has been spared jail time after defending his squad's storming of the homes of Haditha as a necessary act "to keep the rest of my marines alive".

Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich's sentence ends a six-year prosecution for the 2005 attack. Eight Marines were initially charged; one was acquitted and six others had their cases dropped.

Wuterich, who admitted ordering his squad to "shoot first, ask questions later" after a roadside bomb killed a fellow Marine, ended his manslaughter trial by pleading guilty on Monday to a single count of negligent dereliction of duty......"

Jan 25 - how Egypt's bloggers see the revolution one year on

2012-01-25T04:29:00.000-08:00

Three bloggers who have documented Egypt's revolution online share how they covered events in 2011 and tell us what the anniversary of 25 January means to them

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 25 January 2012

"Hossam el-Hamalawy, arabawy.org
Hossam is a journalist and blogger with the Egyptian Revolutionary Socialists. In a blog post from 12 February 2011 he writes about the #Jan25 revolution:

At this point, the Tahrir Square occupation is likely to be suspended. But we have to take Tahrir to the factories now. As the revolution proceeds an inevitable class polarization is to happen. We have to be vigilant. We shouldn't stop here… We hold the keys to the liberation of the entire region, not just Egypt… Onwards with a permanent revolution that will empower the people of this country with direct democracy from below…

Reflecting on the first anniversary of 25 January 2011, he says:

As Mubarak stepped down on 12 February 2011, there was rightly a wide feeling of celebration in Egypt and a fresh wave of optimism for what would come next. People like myself who saw the revolution as only starting at the time were a minority. We had managed only to get rid of Mubarak, but his regime remained alive and well, intact with the same methods of repression. His army generals at the time had to sacrifice him under the escalating pressures from the streets, public squares and finally labour strikes.

When I wrote this posting on 12 Feb, such anti-SCAF views as well as the support for labour strikes was not popular. Almost a year later, I'm proud I took that position. A continuous process of disillusionment with the army has been happening over the past year, and increasing sections of Egyptian society can now see that Mubarak's army generals are leading nothing but the counter-revolution in an attempt to save the regime, diffusing all goals we cried for in Tahrir and elsewhere. You could have been lynched by the people themselves if you had chanted against the army in February or March, but we saw in the past months two renewed mini uprisings in November and December, following a wave of mass strikes in September and October which saw at least three quarters of million Egyptians stopping work, to demand social justice.

My position has not changed a year later. I still believe industrial actions and the social movement to be the only hope for this revolution to succeed. As we mark the first anniversary of the revolution we are reminded that no revolutions get settled in 18 days or months. And the fight will continue to take Tahrir to the factories and workplaces to bring a final end to this regime.

Gigi Ibrahim, theangryegyptian.wordpress.com

Gigi is a revolutionary socialist activist and blogger. Her videos, images and tweets have documented events since 25 January 2011.
........"

State of Emergency Under Different Name? Egypt: Exceptions to Ending Emergency Law Invite Abuse

2012-01-25T04:09:00.000-08:00

Immediately Free Emergency Law Detainees, Transfer Cases to Regular Courts

Human Rights Watch
January 25, 2012

"(New York) – The Egyptian military’s announcement on January 24, 2012, that it will lift the state of emergency except in cases of “thuggery” is an invitation to continued abuse, Alkarama and Human Rights Watch said today. The two rights groups said that the government should use the regular penal code and civilian criminal courts to address alleged criminal activity. It should also repeal Law 34, which criminalizes participation in strikes during a state of emergency.

Military leaders have frequently described protesters as “thugs” and military tribunals have convicted peaceful protesters after unfair trials for the crime of “thuggery.”

Despite promises to end the state of emergency, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has been using the exceptional powers under the Emergency Law. The Interior Ministry is holding at least 55 detainees under the Emergency Law and prosecuting at least six cases before Emergency State Security Courts, which do not provide the right to an appeal.

“January 25 is the first anniversary of the day when Egyptians stood up together to demand an end to police abuse and the state of emergency,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “It is an insult to all those calling for a return to the rule of law to make excuses to keep this state of emergency, used abusively for so many years, in place.”......"

UAE: Free Speech Under Attack

2012-01-25T04:04:00.000-08:00

Harassment, Arrests, Criminal Prosecutions
January 25, 2012

"(Dubai) – The United Arab Emirates during 2011 muzzled the right of its citizens to express themselves and to form independent associations, Human Rights Watch said today in issuing its World Report 2012 at a news conference in Dubai.

UAE authorities harassed, arrested, and jailed activists, and disbanded the elected boards of two of the country’s most prominent civil society organizations.

“In the year of the Arab Spring, the UAE headed in the opposite direction by criminally prosecuting Emiratis who dared to criticize the government,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch......"

Egypt must protect peaceful protesters on '25 January' anniversary

2012-01-25T03:47:00.000-08:00

Amnesty International
24 January 2012

"Egypt's military rulers must protect protesters and uphold the right to peaceful assembly, Amnesty International said today ahead of planned nationwide protests marking the first anniversary of the uprising that ended President Hosni Mubarak's rule.

The Egyptian Interior Minister said in a press conference on Monday that there will be no security presence near Tahrir Square and other locations where demonstrations are planned to commemorate the '25 January Revolution' on Wednesday. Some media added that the security forces are prepared to use live ammunition on protesters if public institutions are attacked.

"Rather than abandoning the sites of planned demonstrations, the security forces must act responsibly by ensuring that everyone can safely exercise their right to peaceful expression and assembly," said Hassiba Hadj-Sahraoui, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director.

"In a polarized environment where protesters have been portrayed by some state media and the authorities as trouble makers and as counter-protests are planned on the day, the position of the authorities risks amounting to a dereliction of their duty”.

The Interior Minister warned that individuals impersonating uniformed police officers and soldiers may attend protests with the intent of trying to provoke confrontations between protesters and security forces.

The Minister did not say what the authorities plan to do to protect the protesters or prevent any potential clashes.

"Warning that there is a risk to protesters from impostors disguised as members of the police and military and not taking action to address the threat is unacceptable. Such behaviour will not restore the faith of Egyptians in long discredited interior ministry and casts a shadow on the new police code of ethics," said Hassiba Hadj-Sahraoui.

A year after it came to power the Egyptian authorities have still not made public the rules issued to the security forces on the use of force despite repeated requests from Amnesty International and other organizations

"Instead of ordering the security forces to stop using excessive force, it has praised their actions and continued to blame the protesters and “hidden elements” conspiring against Egypt’s stability," said Hassiba Hadj-Sahraoui.

"As protesters will also be paying tribute to the people killed and injured in demonstrations in Egypt, the scenes of last year’s violence must not be repeated. Protesters must be allowed to exercise their right to protest peacefully, without fear of attack."

Since the “25 January Revolution”, security forces, including soldiers, military police and the Central Security Forces, have routinely been deployed to suppress demonstrations.

They have used tear gas, batons, rubber bullets and live ammunition, including shotgun shells, to forcibly disperse protesters, and on several occasions have driven armoured vehicles into packed crowds to scatter and injure them.

Today’s announcement that the 30 year old state of emergency will be lifted tomorrow is not likely to change the situation on the ground as emergency legislation will continue to apply in cases of “thuggery”, a vaguely defined offence routinely used to decry protesters.

Despite repeated pledges by the SCAF to protect protesters, at least 90 people have been killed and thousands more injured during protests where security forces have used excessive force....... "

Egypt: The revolution that shame built

2012-01-24T09:33:00.000-08:00

Although Bouazizi's self-immolation mobilised a nation, Egyptians would need to exercise a different tactic for change.

By Mark LeVine
Al-Jazeera

".....But whatever the fate of his memory, the revolution he launched produced the only clear success story of the Arab Spring. For her part, Asmaa Mahfouz and the April 6 movement has struggled to maintain a leading role in a post-Mubarak political landscape that has seen Egypt's deep state and its well-funded and deeply rooted Islamist movements carve up the emerging political space between them. Mahfouz herself stood up to attempts by SCAF to prosecute her for supposedly inciting violence against the military, but her popularity has been diminished as a result. Her fellow April 6 activists continue to be harassed and charged with such crimes as "attempting to overthrow the regime" and "trying to destabilise the country".

They will no doubt find themselves between SCAF's crosshairs again if the "Liars" (Kazeboon) campaign launched against the military begins to show results. At the same time, as most Egyptians have laid aside whatever revolutionary mantle they'd taken up and attempted to normalise their lives, the defenders of Tahrir have increasingly come from the poorest and most marginalised sectors of society - from fanatic football "hooligans" to street kids - who, while representing the majority of Egyptians demographically, are the view in the mirror most Egyptians want to see when confronted by the ongoing violence and repression of the system they'd sought to tear down - beginning a year ago today.

Many commentators have described the ongoing repression and violence deployed by SCAF in the past year as bumbling or incompetent. However, given the extremely weak hand dealt to the military by the revolution, the fact that it has managed to retain a firm grip on power, negotiate an entirely new and seemingly productive relationship with the rising religious political forces, and simultaneously repress the core revolutionary forces - while convincing millions of Egyptians to buy into the new political environment through elections - can only be described as an accomplishment.

But the sparks of inspiration generated by the words, music and images of activists and artists such as Mahfouz, Wael Ghonim or Ramy Essam have yet to go dark. They remain at the heart of the revolutionary impulse that still animates Egyptian politics, whatever the setbacks of the past few months, and no matter who leads parliament when it is seated on January 25.

If the emerging political system begins to look and feel too much like the one so many Egyptians thought they'd helped to topple a year ago, the calls to Tahrir will again go out and the "couch party" - the majority of Egyptians who either sat out the first phase of the revolution or were too quick to leave the square once Mubarak was gone - will again be shamed onto the streets. If not by Asmaa Mahfouz, then by someone who today is as unknown as she was 53 weeks ago. And that is reason enough to celebrate January 25, without reservation and with hope for the future. "

Al-Jazeera Video: Zeina Khodr comments on al-Muallem's address

2012-01-24T07:32:00.001-08:00

Al-Jazeera Video: Zeina Khodr comments on Syria and the Arab League

2012-01-24T07:29:00.000-08:00

Al-Jazeera Video: US marine pleads guilty to Haditha killings

2012-01-24T07:25:00.000-08:00

(Scroll down for a report in the Guardian on this)

"A US Marine sergeant accused of leading a massacre of 24 Iraqi civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha pleaded guilty on Monday to negligence, ending the final prosecution stemming from a 2005 incident

Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, 31, had ordered his unit to shoot the civilians after a roadside bomb killed a member of their convoy.

He now faces a maximum of three months in prison and a rank demotion.

Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan reports from Washington."

Video: صالون الحرية...علي فرزات

2012-01-24T07:17:00.000-08:00

صالون الحرية...علي فرزات

New Sabra hummus ad uses images of Arabs, Africans to cover up Israel army connection

2012-01-24T07:03:00.000-08:00

By Ali Abunimah

"The Strauss Group, the company that openly supports the Israeli army and makes Sabra brand hummus, is trying a new advertising strategy to hide its Israeli connections and combat a growing boycott movement. It is to depict Arabs and Muslims in its ads as a form of cover. Should we call this “Arabwashing?”....."

Cracks Widen in Syrian Economy

2012-01-24T06:49:00.000-08:00

By Mona Alami

"BEIRUT, Jan 24, 2012 (IPS) - As the Syrian uprising enters its tenth month, the country’s economy is suffering. Since last March, the Syrian government has been cracking down on pro-democracy protests, and the once peaceful uprising has morphed into a full-blown armed rebellion in areas such as Homs, Hama and Jabal al-Zawiya.

"The situation is extremely difficult to assess," Damascus-based economist Jihad Yazigi, author of the Syria Report, tells IPS on phone. The report published by the Middle East Information and Communication Agency (MEICA) headquartered in Paris is one of the leading sources of information on the Syrian economy.

However, international rating agency Moody’s decision to downgrade neighbouring Lebanon’s banking sector outlook from stable to negative earlier this month was partly motivated by the deteriorating situation in Syria and other regional hotspots. It cited Lebanese banks’ asset and loan exposures to Syria and other countries witnessing unrest.....

A recent post in Syria Comment, a blog by political scientist Joshua Landis, also raised the possibility that state banks could eventually default on payments to the private banking system.

"The million dollar question is how long the government can meet its budgetary requirements, estimated around 21 billion dollars a year," says the banker. Before the crisis, the Central Bank’s foreign reserves were 18 billion dollars, according to official data. Some experts estimate reserves to be around 11 billion dollars today.

As fiscal pressures increase, it is left with no option but to print bills, a measure that will lead to further inflation, says the editor of the Syria Report.

The Central Bank has not published figures since last May, which renders projections on the economic future of Syria uncertain. Much will depend on how much monetary support the Assad regime is receiving from its allies, namely Iraq and Iran. "

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll

2012-01-24T06:33:00.000-08:00

Do you see that imposing economic sanctions on Iran is beneficial?

With about 400 responding so far, 55% said yes.

Syria looks more like Libya every day

2012-01-24T04:40:00.000-08:00

Libya saw a phased process of opposition organisation before international intervention. Syria seems to be following its lead

Rami Khouri
guardian.co.uk, Monday 23 January 2012

"....The conclusion I draw from all this reinforces what I have been thinking and saying since the first demonstrators started threatening the Tunisian and Egyptian regimes in December 2010 and January 2011: Syria suffers many of the same problems and conditions that were evident in Tunisia and Egypt (poverty, lack of democracy, corruption, a widespread sense of indignity and anger among the citizenry) and therefore it is not immune from their fate. The Libyan situation offered examples of a phased process of opposition organisation and international intervention. It is true to say, as we hear daily, that Syria is not Libya. But it now seems correct also to say that Syria is increasingly looking like Libya in the trajectory of opposition moves and regime responses that now trigger talk of drastic interventions and measures to save civilian lives."

Syria: a plan with no resolution

2012-01-24T04:26:00.000-08:00

It is clear that events have acquired an unstoppable momentum of their own

Editorial
guardian.co.uk, Monday 23 January 2012

"A man sits in Damascus playing with his iPad. On it he calculates that France will have a new president in May, and in November America could well have one, too. The two bugbears of his life, Nicolas Sarkozy and Barack Obama, will have gone. Ergo, all he has to do is to live out the new year and his problems are over. Bashar Assad is delusional and, according to some reports, more responsible for the day-to-day repression than he would have us believe. But as an indication of the cocoon in which he lives, these calculations are tragically characteristic of the man.

Whether the civil war everyone feared has already started, it is clear now that events in Syria have acquired an unstoppable momentum of their own. The regime continues to crumble. Its economic situation deteriorates steadily – Syria's GDP shrank by nearly 30% last year – and law and order is steadily collapsing. Doubts persist about the unity of opposition groups, but the revolution is transforming itself into an armed struggle. The opposition are pan-national, and their numbers are growing, swelled not just by army defectors, but emboldened, too, by a growing sense of entitlement. If it did nothing else, the presence of the Arab League observer mission provided a vehicle for the opposition, and a measure by which the regime devalued by its deeds any commitments made in words to withdraw troops and release political prisoners.

Chaos inside Syria is matched by chaos outside it. The Arab League has a richly deserved reputation of being a consensus-based organisation that can never reach a consensus. Never more so than at its last meeting in Cairo on Sunday. The Saudis said they would withdraw their monitors in a move that might bring the observer mission itself to the brink of collapse. Qatar called for a full review of the mission, urging that Arab troops be sent to quell the violence, but Sudan, Egypt, Algeria, Iraq and Lebanon all objected. After a day of heated argument, one decent idea did emerge – the so-called Yemeni solution: this would require Assad to hand over power to a deputy and to negotiate over a government of national unity, followed by presidential and parliamentary elections within five months. There are pitfalls to this plan, not least that in Yemen itself President Ali Abdullah Saleh's departure leaves his regime intact. But it was welcomed by the Syrian National Council, the main opposition coalition, in Cairo. The local co-ordination committees condemned the prolongation of the observer mission, pointing out that 795 Syrians had been killed during the first month of its operation. Syria's protesters are on their own, but the league may have given leverage to those who oppose Russia's efforts to keep on arming the Assad regime. At the moment, it is the most one can expect."

24 Iraqi Lives are Worth 3 Months in Jail: US marine reaches plea deal over deaths of unarmed Iraqis

2012-01-24T04:12:00.000-08:00

Frank Wuterich, who led the marine squad that killed 24 Iraqis in Haditha in 2005, faces three months' confinement and pay drop

guardian.co.uk, Monday 23 January 2012

"A US marine accused of killing unarmed Iraqi women and children in 2005 has pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty, reaching a plea deal and ending the largest and longest-running criminal case against US troops to emerge from the Iraq war.

Staff sergeant Frank Wuterich led the marine squad in 2005 that killed 24 Iraqis in the town of Haditha after a roadside bomb exploded near a marine convoy, killing one marine and wounding two others.

Wuterich's plea interrupted his trial at Camp Pendleton before a jury of all combat marines who served in Iraq.

Wuterich faces a maximum of three months confinement, two-thirds forfeiture of pay, and a rank demotion to private when he is sentenced, likely to be Tuesday....."

Yemen: Amnesty for Saleh and Aides Unlawful

2012-01-24T04:01:00.000-08:00

New Immunity Law an Affront to Victims, Blow for Justice

Human Rights Watch
January 23, 2012

"(New York) – A new law granting amnesty to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his aides violates Yemen’s international legal obligations, Human Rights Watch said today. The sweeping law provides domestic immunity from criminal prosecution for serious international crimes such as the deadly attacks on peaceful demonstrators in 2011.

The law enacted by Parliament on January 21, 2012 grants blanket immunity to Saleh from any prosecution during his 33-year rule. It also shields Saleh’s aides from prosecution for “political crimes,” as long as they are not terrorist acts. Last year’s attacks on protesters might be classified as political and therefore exempted from prosecution, Human Rights Watch said.

“This law sends the disgraceful message that there is no consequence for killing those who express dissent,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The Yemeni government should be investigating senior officials linked to serious crimes, not letting them get away with murder.”......"

Egypt: Parties pledge to end state of emergency, many stop short of committing to women’s rights

2012-01-24T03:51:00.000-08:00

Amnesty International
24 January 2012

"Most of the biggest Egyptian political parties have committed to delivering ambitious human rights reform in the country’s transition, but have either given mixed signals or have flatly refused to sign up to ending discrimination, protecting women’s rights and to abolishing the death penalty, Amnesty International said today.

Ahead of parliamentary elections which began in November, the organization asked political parties running in Egypt’s elections to sign a “human rights manifesto” containing 10 key measures to signal that they were serious about delivering meaningful human rights reform.

Amnesty International wrote to 54 political parties and sought meetings with 15 of the main ones, nine of whom signed up to the manifesto, either in its entirety or to some of the pledges. Three others gave oral feedback.

The Freedom and Justice Party, which won the most seats in the new People’s Assembly, was one of three parties not to respond substantively, despite considerable efforts by Amnesty International to seek its views. ...."

Arab League findings on Syria build pressure for UN action

2012-01-24T03:48:00.000-08:00

"Evidence of human rights violations documented by the Arab League’s observer mission to Syria reinforces calls for the international community to address the worsening human rights and security situation in the country, Amnesty International said today.

The mission’s observers have submitted a field report to the Arab League on the first four weeks of their work, in which they are reported to have cited clear evidence of human rights violations by the Syrian government that is consistent with Amnesty International’s own findings. The full report has not been made public.

“The Arab League mission’s report has bolstered the case that the international community must take strong action to end the grave human rights violations committed in Syria since last March,” said Ann Harrison, Amnesty International’s interim Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director.

“The arguments of countries that have blocked action on Syria at the UN Security Council sound increasingly hollow – the Security Council must now respond effectively by referring the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court.”...."

The plot to topple the state

2012-01-24T03:28:00.000-08:00

Sharif Abdel Kouddous
Al-Masry Al-Youm

"As the first anniversary of the Egyptian revolution approaches, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) is continuing to issue shrill warnings of a plot to topple the state. The most direct came from Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi himself, when he said last week, "Egypt is facing grave dangers it has not seen before." He added, "The armed forces are the backbone that protects Egypt. These schemes are aimed at targeting that backbone."

Tantawi is right. There is a plot to topple the state. Egypt's revolution has evolved from an uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak into a deeper struggle aimed at uprooting the military regime that has ruled the country for the past 60 years and served as the backbone of its modern autocracy. Since 1952, the army has enjoyed a special autonomy in Egypt, both political and economic, above any civilian control or oversight. It is this very autonomy and privilege that the revolution is now targeting and has the military council talking of a threat to destabilize the country.

Over the past few decades, the army has burrowed itself ever deeper into Egypt's economy, building a sprawling business empire that utilizes a mass conscripted labor force and includes vast real estate holdings in the north and on the Red Sea coast. Army divisions make everything from television sets and off-road vehicles to olive oil, bottled water and fertilizer. Estimates of the military's share of the economy vary widely, ranging from 15 to 40 percent of gross domestic product, a testament to the cloak of secrecy that conceals their financial affairs. Meanwhile, senior army officers live a life apart in self-contained military cities, complete with their own housing, sports teams and supermarkets selling foreign goods at a discount.....

But the afterglow has since faded away. Over the past year, the military has killed, wounded, imprisoned and tortured protesters. The single bloodiest day since Mubarak's ouster came at the hands of the army — not Interior Ministry forces —when soldiers fired live ammunition and drove armored personnel carriers into a crowd of Coptic protesters and their supporters, killing 27 people. The December clashes centered on Qasr al-Aini Street marked the longest sustained battle between protesters and the army since the revolution began and will be forever remembered by the notorious image of three soldiers dragging and stomping on an unarmed woman.

Meanwhile, erratic and confusing decision making by the SCAF throughout the transitional period combined with its complete denial of any wrongdoing and high-handed attitude toward any criticism has done serious harm to its legitimacy. Namely, the military leaders have seemed unwilling to govern and unwilling to let anyone else do so....
While the revolution may have brought the SCAF to the helm of political power, over the past 12 months it has grown to challenge the military's dominance within the state. Despite increasing levels of state-backed violence, the protest movement has continued its resistance, helping to bring the political elite and the greater body politic out of paralysis to begin confronting issues that were formerly taboo. Transparency and oversight of the military budget are now openly discussed, the army's annual receipt of US$1.3 billion in annual military aid from the US is being questioned, and even notions of a civilian defense minister are being cautiously whispered......"

Bush’s CIA director: We determined attacking Iran was a bad idea

2012-01-23T15:20:00.000-08:00

President George W. Bush's administration concluded that a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities would be a bad idea -- and would only make it harder to prevent Iran from going nuclear in the future, former CIA and National Security Agency (NSA) chief Gen. Michael Hayden said Thursday.

"When we talked about this in the government, the consensus was that [attacking Iran] would guarantee that which we are trying to prevent -- an Iran that will spare nothing to build a nuclear weapon and that would build it in secret," Hayden told a small group of experts and reporters at an event hosted by the Center for the National Interest.

Hayden served as director of the NSA from 1999 to 2005 and then served as CIA director from 2006 until February 2009. He also had a 39-year career at the Air Force, which he ended as a four-star general.

Without an actual occupation of Iran, which nobody wants to contemplate, the Bush administration concluded that the result of a limited military campaign in Iran would be counter-productive, according to Hayden.

Al-Jazeera Video: Inside Story: Why are the Libyans protesting again?

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

"As thousands protest we ask if the interim government is capable of handling the country's shift to democracy. Inside Story discusses with guests: Farah Abushwesha, Dr. Richard Barltrop and Tarik Yousef."

Syria and the "Internationalization" Sharks, by Emad Hajjaj

2012-01-23T06:49:00.000-08:00

Thank You for Standing Up

2012-01-23T06:37:00.000-08:00

By Chris Hedges

"I spent Friday morning sitting on a wooden bench in a fourth-floor courtroom in the New York Criminal Court in Manhattan. I was waiting to be sentenced for “disturbing the peace” and “refusing to obey a lawful order” during an Occupy demonstration in front of Goldman Sachs in November.....

The country’s most egregious criminals, the ones who had stripped some of those being sentenced of their homes, their right to a decent education and health care, their jobs, their dignity and their hope, those wallowing in tens and hundreds of millions of dollars, those who had gamed the system to enrich themselves at our expense, were doing the dirty business of speculation in the tall office towers a few blocks away. They were making money. A few of these wealthy plutocrats were with the president, who was in New York that day to attend four fundraisers that took in an estimated $3 million. For $15,000 you could have joined Barack Obama at Daniel, an exclusive Upper East Side restaurant. For $35,000 you could have been at a gathering hosted by movie director Spike Lee. Most of those sentenced in that courtroom do not make that much in a year. It was a good day in New York for Barack Obama. It was a bad day for us.....

We can vote for Romney or Obama, but Goldman Sachs and ExxonMobil and Bank of America and the defense contractors always win. However, the iron grip of corporations over our lives will, eventually, be broken...."

A Year On, Tiring of Demonstrations

2012-01-23T06:31:00.000-08:00

By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani

"CAIRO - Several revolutionary groups are calling for mass demonstrations against military rule on Wednesday to coincide with the first anniversary of the January 25 uprising that ultimately toppled the Mubarak regime. But many express doubt the event will succeed in replicating last year's revolutionary fervour on the part of the masses, most of whom express a desire for stability and a smooth transition to democratic governance above all else...."

Is Turkey's economic miracle about to fade away?

2012-01-23T04:22:00.000-08:00

While its neighbours stumble, the country that is a role model for Islamic democracy could become a victim of overconfidence

By Patrick Cockburn

"Are the Turks seeing the Ottoman Empire reborn or are they going to be the next victims of economic chaos in Europe and political turmoil in the Middle East? Is Turkey about to pay a price for the overconfidence bred by a decade that brought it triumphant success while its neighbours suffered decline or disaster?

The mood is buoyant. Turkey's successes are recent and quite real. In a country used to covert or open military tutelage since its foundation, a democratically elected government is at last dominant; its economy has surged spectacularly, making it the 15th largest economic power in the world; it is lauded worldwide as a moderate Islamic state which ought to be the role model for Arab Spring countries.

Turkish optimism has ominous parallels with the self-regarding opinions once heard in Ireland and Greece. As with Turkey, both these countries had histories of poverty and emigration which made them psychologically receptive to the self-deceiving idea that they had at last attained the prosperity so long and so unfairly denied them. Excessive belief in their own booms produced disastrous economic bubbles.

Will Turkey be similarly damaged by myths about its own recent success? Some experts there fear so...."

Guardian Video: Cell 36: Palestinian children locked in solitary confinement in Israel

2012-01-23T04:06:00.000-08:00

Cell 36 in Al Jalame prison, northern Israel, is one of a handful of cells where Palestinian children are locked in solitary confinement for days or even weeks. Mohammad Shabrawi from Tulkarm, in the West Bank, was arrested last January, aged 16, and Ezz ad-Deen Ali Qadi from Ramallah, who was 17 when arrested, talk about their experiences

Harriet Sherwood, Mat Heywood and Mustafa Khalili
guardian.co.uk, Monday 23 January 2012

(Scroll Down Two Posts to See Report)

Egypt jailed blogger Maikel Nabil pardoned, remains in prison

2012-01-23T03:56:00.000-08:00

By Joseph Mayton
Bikya Masr

"CAIRO: Those waiting for jailed Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil to be set free, after the military junta reportedly pardoned him and over 1900 others on Saturday were met with intimidation by undercover officers, activists told Bikyamasr.com on Sunday afternoon. Adding more fuel to the activists anger was the reality that the embattled blogger was not to be released, his brother Mark wrote on his Twitter account.

He would likely be released only after the one-year anniversary of the January 25 uprising that ousted former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and installed the military in power.

Some 12,000 civilians have faced a military trial, much like Nabil, since Mubarak’s rule came to an end on February 11 last year.

Those waiting for his release were disappointed by early evening that Nabil would not be released.

Egypt state television, however, reported that Nabil was en route to his home after 10 months in prison. Egypt’s al-Ahram newspaper, and its sister English publication Ahram Online, also reported that Nabil was free, even as his brother Mark said the opposite.

The Egyptian government has received fierce criticism domestically and abroad for their detention and sentencing of Nabil, who was jailed for comments he made in a blog post entitled “The army and the people are not one hand.”

On April 10, in a case widely seen as the first of its kind in the post-Hosni Mubarak Egypt, Nabil was sentenced to three years in jail by a military court.

The young blogger spent most of his time in jail on a prison hunger strike to protest his treatment in Egypt’s judicial and prison systems.

Earlier this fall, authorities sent Maikel to a psychiatric hospital after he refused to eat. Doctors and observers said it was a move by the government to distance themselves from the potential death that has faced the young blogger during their care.

Nabil was considered by many to be the first prisoner of conscience since the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak on February 11."

The Palestinian children – alone and bewildered – in Israel's Al Jalame jail

2012-01-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

Special report: Israel's military justice system is accused of mistreating Palestinian children arrested for throwing stones

AN IMPORTANT REPORT

Harriet Sherwood in the West Bank
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 22 January 2012

".....This is Cell 36, deep within Al Jalame prison in northern Israel. It is one of a handful of cells where Palestinian children are locked in solitary confinement for days or even weeks. One 16-year-old claimed that he had been kept in Cell 36 for 65 days.

The only escape is to the interrogation room where children are shackled, by hands and feet, to a chair while being questioned, sometimes for hours.

Most are accused of throwing stones at soldiers or settlers; some, of flinging molotov cocktails; a few, of more serious offences such as links to militant organisations or using weapons. They are also pumped for information about the activities and sympathies of their classmates, relatives and neighbours.....

Between 500 and 700 Palestinian children are arrested by Israeli soldiers each year, mostly accused of throwing stones. Since 2008, Defence for Children International(DCI) has collected sworn testimonies from 426 minors detained in Israel's military justice system.

Their statements show a pattern of night-time arrests, hands bound with plastic ties, blindfolding, physical and verbal abuse, and threats. About 9% of all those giving affidavits say they were kept in solitary confinement, although there has been a marked increase to 22% in the past six months.

Few parents are told where their children have been taken. Minors are rarely questioned in the presence of a parent, and rarely see a lawyer before or during initial interrogation. Most are detained inside Israel, making family visits very difficult.

Human rights organisations say these patterns of treatment – which are corroborated by a separate study, No Minor Matter, conducted by an Israeli group, B'Tselem – violate the international convention on the rights of the child, which Israel has ratified, and the fourth Geneva convention.Most children maintain they are innocent of the crimes of which they are accused, despite confessions and guilty pleas, said Gerard Horton of DCI. But, he added, guilt or innocence was not an issue with regard to their treatment.

"We're not saying offences aren't committed – we're saying children have legal rights. Regardless of what they're accused of, they should not be arrested in the middle of the night in terrifying raids, they should not be painfully tied up and blindfolded sometimes for hours on end, they should be informed of the right to silence and they should be entitled to have a parent present during questioning."....

According to Nader Abu Amsha, the director of the YMCA in Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem, which runs a rehabilitation programme for juveniles, "families think that when the child is released, it's the end of the problem. We tell them this is the beginning".

Following detention many children exhibit symptoms of trauma: nightmares, mistrust of others, fear of the future, feelings of helplessness and worthlessness, obsessive compulsive behaviour, bedwetting, aggression, withdrawal and lack of motivation......"

Al-Jazeera Video: Iraqis say government is abusing protesters

2012-01-22T08:52:00.000-08:00

"A new report from Human Rights Watch accuses Iraq's government of abusing protesters and harassing journalists.

The report says torture continued even as the US military handed detainees over to Iraq before leaving the country last year.

Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf reports from Baghdad."

Al-Jazeera Video: Inside Syria: Is it time to increase the pressure on Syria?

2012-01-22T08:50:00.000-08:00

Al-Jazeera Video: حديث الثورة - التنافس التركي الإيراني

2012-01-22T07:32:00.000-08:00

تقديم محمد كريشان تاريخ البث 2012/1/21 الضيوف د. عزمي بشارة

An In-Depth Analysis of the Policies of Iran and Turkey Towards the Arab Uprisings. Don't Miss it!

Deputy head of Libya's NTC resigns

2012-01-22T07:18:00.000-08:00

Left: Abdul Hafez Ghoga.

Abdul Hafez Ghoga says he was resigning after a series of protests against the country's new rulers.

Al-Jazeera

"Abdul Hafez Ghoga, the deputy head of Libya's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) has submitted his resignation.

"My resignation is for the benefit of the nation and is required at this stage," he told Al Jazeera on Sunday.

"Unfortunately, the consensus has not continued to maintain the highest national interests. The atmosphere of deprivation and hatred has prevailed ... I do not want this atmosphere to continue and negatively affect the National Transitional Council and its performance," he said.

Ghoga, who also served as the official spokesman for the NTC, has come under increasing opposition for "opportunism" because of his belated defection from the government of the late Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi.

Residents in Benghazi, the cradle of lasty year's uprising against Gaddafi, have been protesting for nearly two weeks, demanding more transparency and justice from the country's new leaders.

They have also called on Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the head of NTC, to sack Ghoga, who was mobbed and attacked last week at Benghazi University...."

Gaza builders lead economic recovery – with some help from the black market

2012-01-22T05:06:00.000-08:00

Booming construction industry beats Israeli blockade as materials are smuggled in through tunnels

Harriet Sherwood Gaza City
The Observer, Saturday 21 January 2012

"......Arabeed is the beneficiary of an extraordinary economic spurt in Gaza – not just in construction, but also agriculture, the hotel and restaurant industry, transport and manufacturing. All sectors have seen growth over the past year, with private sector employment increasing by more than 50%, albeit from a very low base, according to the United Nations refugee agency, Unrwa.

But it is in the construction industry that the mini-boom is most visible. After being starved of materials during Israel's three-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, the territory is cluttered with the skeletons of new buildings. Apartment blocks, hospitals, schools, hotels and mosques are sprouting all over Gaza. The rutted beachfront road in Gaza City is being transformed into a corniche.....

But illegally imported aggregate, concrete and steel is pouring through the tunnels between Rafah, in the far south of Gaza, and Egypt. During the blockade, the tunnels kept Gaza supplied with everything from chocolate to cigarettes, fridge freezers to cars, medicines to live animals. Now the black market entrepreneurs are concentrating on demand for construction materials.

In September, 9,100 tons of aggregate was legally imported into Gaza through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing, according to Unrwa. Almost 10 times that quantity, around 90,000 tons, came through the tunnels. Figures for steel bars show a similar pattern: 1,418 tons through Kerem Shalom; 15,000 tons through the tunnels......"

Egypt pardons jailed blogger as generals brace for anniversary protests

2012-01-22T04:57:00.000-08:00

Maikel Nabil Sanad among almost 2,000 prisoners convicted by military tribunal over the past year now set to be released

Jack Shenker in Cairo
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 22 January 2012

"...."We will never forget: the army and people were never one hand," Sanad's brother Mark Nabil said on Twitter as news of the pardon came through. "Freeing Maikel is not enough though. The army must, before the revolution's anniversary [on 25 January], free all those who were convicted by military courts."

Aalam Wassef, a journalist and campaigner who has followed Sanad's case closely, said events in Egypt over the past year vindicated the anti-junta post that landed the blogger in jail. "Maikel's predictions were logical rather than prophetic," he told the Guardian. "He had maintained a critical stance towards the Egyptian military even before the revolution, so once the generals took power it was very obvious to him the way things would develop."

Wassef accused Scaf of offering empty gestures in place of genuine reform. "It's a political concession, though a very provocative one," he said. "How dare they call it a pardon for Maikel when it is they, the generals, who should be requesting a pardon from the people?"

The first anniversary of Egypt's revolution is expected to spark some of the largest demonstrations yet seen against the ruling generals...."

Libyans storm transitional government headquarters in Benghazi

2012-01-22T04:44:00.000-08:00

Confronting the Libyan Karzai....

Protesters calling for greater transparency break through gates using hand grenades then torch NTC chief's land cruiser

guardian.co.uk, Saturday 21 January 2012

"Hundreds of angry protesters have stormed the Libyan transitional government's headquarters in the eastern city of Benghazi, carting off computers, chairs, and desks while the country's interim leader was holed up in the building.

Libyans have grown increasingly frustrated with the pace and direction of reforms in the country more than three months after the end of the civil war that ousted longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Those concerns spurred residents in Benghazi, where the uprising broke out in February, to begin protests nearly two weeks ago to demand transparency and justice from the country's new leaders.

The melee at the National Transitional Council's headquarters began after protesters broke through the gates using hand grenades and streamed into the grounds of the headquarters. They banged on the building's doors and demanded officials meet with them.

In a bid to calm tensions, NTC chief Mustafa Abdul Jalil tried to address the crowd from a second-floor window, but protesters began throwing bottles at him.

Protesters then torched Abdul-Jalil's armoured land cruiser and broke into the headquarters itself, smashing windows to get inside and cart off furniture and electronics.

A security official in the building said a team of 50 guards dressed as civilians were trying to calm the protesters.

The official, who served as a revolutionary commander during the civil war, said Jalil was still in the building and was refusing to leave. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

Some of the protesters pitched tents weeks ago outside the NTC's headquarters to protest against election laws they say were drafted by the interim leaders without consulting the public.

"The election laws have not been approved by thousands of Libyans and do not honour those who died for our freedom," said Tamer al-Jahani, a lawyer taking part in the protest. "We don't want to replace one tyrant with another."

The NTC is expected to soon pass the packet of laws, which specify how elections for a transitional parliament will be held. The council only took into account public suggestions through an online survey.

The NTC's handling of the draft laws has sparked criticism that the council is not living up to its democratic ideals.

Last week, NTC official Abdel-Hafiz Ghoga was assaulted in Benghazi by protesters angry at what they said is the NTC's lack of transparency.

Some demonstrators were demanding more rights for fighters wounded during the civil war.

Protester Ahmed Boras accused the NTC of sidelining anti-Gaddafi fighters.

"It seems to us that these people are no different than Gaddafi and they only speak the language of force," he said."

Hamas political chief to step down

2012-01-22T04:33:00.000-08:00

Leader Khaled Meshaal will not seek renomination after 16 years at the helm of the Palestinian Islamist group

Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 21 January 2012

"Khaled Meshaal, the political head of Hamas, is to step down from his position when elections for the leadership of the Palestinian Islamist organisation take place in the next few months.

A statement from Meshaal's office said the Damascus-based leader would not seek re-nomination after 16 years at the helm, but would continue to serve the movement. It followed reports of the move earlier this week.

Meshaal has indicated in recent weeks that Hamas should make a strategic departure from armed struggle to popular non-violent resistance in the wake of the Arab spring revolutions and the success of Islamist parties in elections.

The new approach caused a rift with the internal Gaza leadership, which said there would be no change in Hamas policy. "There has been no change concerning our mode of thinking towards the conflict," Mahmoud Zahar, the most senior Hamas figure inside Gaza, told the Guardian in an interview this month.

Meshaal's decision to step down may indicate that the Hamas leadership within Gaza has won a power struggle......

The Hamas leader was also looking for a new base for the organisation amid the ongoing revolt in Syria. Hamas had refused to back the regime of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, infuriating the Iranian government, which had sponsored both it and the Syrian leadership.

The exiled leadership of Hamas now appears to be fragmenting geographically. Meshaal's family has reportedly moved to Amman, and his deputy, Mousa Abu Marzouk, has relocated to Cairo. The military operations leader, Emad al-Alami, has moved his family to Gaza, it has been reported. Many other officials have also left Damascus, ostensibly to move their families to safety.

Abu Marzouk is expected to be in contention to succeed Meshaal, although Ismail Haniyeh, the de facto prime minister of Gaza, could also stand for the political leadership. The post is meant to be limited to two terms, although Meshaal's period at the helm was twice extended."

World Report 2012: Strengthen Support for ‘Arab Spring’

2012-01-22T04:20:00.000-08:00

Governments Should Support Rights, Not Abusive Allies

Human Rights Watch
January 22, 2012

"(Cairo) – Many democracies have allowed their ties with repressive allies to temper their support for human rights in the Arab Spring protests, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2012. For reasons of principle and long-term interest, governments should stand firm with the people of the Middle East and North Africa when they demand their basic rights and work to ensure the transition to genuine democracies.

The 676-page report, Human Rights Watch’s annual review of human rights practices around the globe, summarizes major rights issues in more than 90 countries, reflecting the extensive investigative work carried out in 2011 by Human Rights Watch staff. On events in the Middle East and North Africa, Human Rights Watch said that firm and consistent international support for peaceful protesters and government critics is the best way to pressure the region’s autocrats to end abuses and enhance basic freedoms. A principled insistence on respect for rights is also the best way to help popular movements steer clear of the intolerance, lawlessness, and revenge that can threaten a revolution from within, Human Rights Watch said.

“The people driving the Arab Spring deserve strong international support to realize their rights and to build genuine democracies,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “Loyalty to autocratic friends shouldn’t stand in the way of siding with democratic reformers. International influence is also needed to ensure that the new governments extend human rights and the rule of law to all, especially women and minorities.”......"

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same: Egypt state TV ordered to blackout January 25 anti-junta protests

2012-01-22T04:12:00.000-08:00

By Joseph Mayton
Bikya Masr

"CAIRO: A human rights organization reported on Saturday that the country’s military junta and ministry of information has called on state television to ensure no coverage of any upcoming protest on January 25 – the one-year anniversary of when mass protests began, which ousted for the former regime.

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) denounced the military’s blatant censorship of what had been commonplace during the era of former President Hosni Mubarak.

Political movements in the country have called for large demonstrations on January 25 to demand the end of military rule over Egypt.

ANHRI reported that staff of Egyptian Television protested the censorship, demonstrating in front of the state TV building on Friday against the demands made by Minister General Ahmed Anis.

The ministry did say broadcasts should focus on the pro-military demonstrations scheduled to take place in the Abbasseya neighborhood of Cairo......"

Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad to be released

2012-01-22T04:04:00.000-08:00

Bikya Masr

"CAIRO: Jailed Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil is set to be released, along with 1,959 other jailed Egyptian civilians, according to a report from Egypt’s state-run Al-Ahram newspaper.

Mark Nabil, the brother of Maikel Nabil, confirmed to Bikyamasr.com that the young blogger should be released tomorrow. He explained that those close to Nabil plan to take him directly to a hospital to check the state of his health upon his release.

The Egyptian government has received fierce criticism domestically and abroad for their detention and sentencing of Nabil, who was jailed for comments he made in a blog post entitled “The army and the people are not one hand.”

On April 10, in a case widely seen as the first of its kind in the post-Hosni Mubarak Egypt, Nabil was sentenced to three years in jail by a military court.

The young blogger spent most of his time in jail on a prison hunger strike to protest his treatment in Egypt’s judicial and prison systems....."

استعدادات مكثفة في مصر لتجديد الثورة يوم 25 يناير، والمطالبة برحيل العسكري

2012-01-21T09:09:00.000-08:00

عــ48ــرب

"أطلق ناشطون وسياسيون ومثقفون مصريون، استعدادات مكثفة لمظاهرات حاشدة في الذكرى الأولى للثورة، التي توافق الخامس والعشرين من يناير/كانون الثاني الجاري، وذلك للمطالبة برحيل المجلس الأعلى للقوات المسلحة، الذي يتولى إدارة البلاد منذ تنحي الرئيس المخلوع حسني مبارك، وللمطالبة كذلك بتسليم الحكم لسلطة مدنية.

وأعاد الناشطون نشر مقاطع فيديو على شبكة الإنترنت تظهر انتهاكات المجلس العسكري بحق المواطنين المصريين، والمتظاهرين السلميين منذ سقوط مبارك، والتي تتضمن سقوط عدد كبير من القتلى والجرحى.

كما نشرت ملصقات ورسومات جرافيتية في عدة أماكن مختلفة من البلاد ضمن حملة "عسكر كاذبون"، في إشارة إلى قيادات المجلس الأعلى للقوات المسلحة، مطالبين برحيلهم فورا عن السلطة وعودة الجيش إلى ثكناته، ومؤكدين على سلمية الثورة.

ويوافق يوم الأربعاء المقبل، الذكرى السنوية الأولى لبدء موجة من الاحتجاجات استمرت 18 يوما، وأطاحت بالرئيس السابق حسني مبارك (83 عاما)، الذي يخضع الآن للمحاكمة.

ملصقات ومناشير ورسومات جرافيتية

كما أكدت "الجبهة الحرة للتغيير السلمى"، على لسان منسقها العام، عصام الشريف، أنها سوف تقوم بطباعة وتوزيع نصف مليون منشور، بالاشتراك مع حركة شباب من أجل العدالة والحرية، وأنه سيتم توزيعها بميادين القاهرة وعدد من المحافظات للحشد من أجل يوم 25 يناير.

وواصلت حركة 6 أبريل كذلك نشاطها لتحفيز الشعب المصري للنزول للتظاهر يوم 25 يناير، وكشفت إنجي حمدي، عضو المكتب السياسي للحركة عن توزيع 750 ألف منشور لحملة "حافظوا على الجيش المصري"، لدعوة المواطنين للمشاركة يوم 25 يناير القادم، بجميع محافظات الجمهورية، لتحقيق مطلب واحد، وهو تسليم السلطة لمجلس الشعب المنتخب وعودة الجيش إلى ثكناته.

وأشارت إنجي إلى أن الحركة تستعد لتوزيع 100 ألف "بوستر" للمطالبة بتسليم السلطة، حتى لا يستغل الجيش في أي صراع سياسي.

المثقفون يشاركون في التظاهرات

ومن بين المثقفين الذين أعلنوا مشاركتهم في مظاهرات 25 يناير تأكيدا على استمرار الثورة، الشاعر عبد المنعم رمضان، والكاتبة سلوى بكر، والناقد الدكتور هيثم الحاج علي، والروائيين الدكتورين علاء الأسواني وبهاء عبد المجيد، والروائي طارئق إمام، وغيرهم.

وقال الإمام إنه سيشارك فى هذا اليوم لاستعادة الثورة لكي تنهض من جديد، خاصة بعد المحاولات التي استمرت طيلة الشهور الماضية لإجهاضها، واقترح إمام أن تستمر مظاهرات هذا اليوم حتى بعد انتهائه، حتى لا يقتصر الأمر على يوم واحد فقط، ولإجبار المجلس العسكري على تنفيذ مطالب الثورة.

"جمعة الحداد على الشهداء"

وشهد أمس الجمعة تظاهر مئات المصريين في ميدان التحرير بوسط القاهرة، تحت شعار "جمعة الحداد للشهداء"، في إطار الاستعدادات لإحياء الذكرى الأولى للثورة، وهتف المتظاهرون مطالبين باستكمال تحقيق مطالب الثورة، والقصاص لضحاياها، كما طالبوا بتسليم السلطة للمدنيين، ووقف المحاكمات العسكرية، وعبروا عن رفضهم بقاء المجلس العسكري في السلطة، وشددوا على إصرارهم على مواصلة التظاهر والاعتصام إلى حين تحقيق كافة مطالب الثورة.

ويقول النشطاء إنه رغم مرور عام كامل على الثورة المصرية، فإنه لا يوجد تغيير ملموس على الصعيدين السياسي والاقتصادي، لكنهم يواجهون تحديات لإيصال أهدافهم من الثورة الثانية إلى عامة المصريين، الذين سئموا من كثرة الاضطرابات والمظاهرات التي تقول الحكومة إنها تعطل عجلة الإنتاج، وتؤثر بشكل سلبي على اقتصاد البلاد.

رفض الاحتفال "بثورة غير مكتملة"

وتعهد المجلس العسكري في أكثر من مرة بتسليم الحكم لسلطة مدنية منتخبة، في موعد أقصاه نهاية يونيو/حزيران المقبل، كما أجريت انتخابات مجلس الشعب على ثلاث مراحل خلال شهرين، وحقق فيها الإسلاميون انتصارا كبيرا.

وأعلن المجلس الأعلى للقوات المسلحة، الخامس والعشرين من يناير/كانون الثاني، عطلة رسمية للاحتفال بذكرى الثورة، الذي سيتضمن عروضا جوية وتوزيع هدايا، في وقت يرفض فيه شباب الثورة الاحتفال بما يصفونها بـ"ثورة غير مكتملة"، ويطالبون بمحاكمة كل من شارك في قتل المتظاهرين خلال الفترة التي تولى فيها المجلس إدارة أمور البلاد.

ويقول المجلس العسكري، برئاسة المشير محمد حسين طنطاوي، الذ كان وزيرا للدفاع في عهد مبارك، إنه ساند الثورة ضد النظام السابق، ويرى أن الثورة حققت الكثير من أهدافها بسقوط النظام ومحاكمة رموزه، وأن الوقت قد حان ليحظى المصريون بالاستقرار والأمن.

100 متظاهر قتلوا منذ سقوط مبارك وتم تحويل 12 ألف للمحاكمات العسكريّة

وفي المقابل، يقول منتقدو المجلس العسكري، إنه يحاول الحفاظ على الوضع الراهن، مع إجراء تعديلات حكومية طفيفة، فيما تستمر الانتهاكات على أيدي قوات الأمن، ويقولون إن ما يقارب 100 متظاهر قتلوا منذ سقوط مبارك، بعضهم دُهس بعربات مدرعة تابعة للجيش، فيما تم تحويل نحو 12000 من المدنيين للمحاكمة أمام المحاكم العسكرية، وتعرضت متظاهرات لاختبارات العذرية.

ورغم أن الداعين إلى ثورة جديدة متفقون على ضرورة رحيل المجلس العسكري عن الحكم، فإنهم لا يزالون منقسمين بشأن ما إذا كان يجب تسليم السلطة لمجلس الشعب، أم إلى رئيس مدني منتخب، ويخشى البعض من أن تسليم السلطة إلى مجلس الشعب سيعزز سيطرة جماعة الإخوان المسلمين التي حظيت، من خلال حزب الحرية والعدالة المنبثق عنها، بالنصيب الأكبر من مقاعد المجلس في الانتخابات الأخيرة، مقابل إخفاق للتيارات والأحزاب الليبرالية.

جماعة الإخوان المسلمين انضمت إلى العسكري في الدعوة للاحتفالات

وانضمت جماعة الإخوان المسلمين إلى المجلس العسكري في الدعوة إلى احتفالات بمناسبة الذكرى الأولى للثورة، ما جعلهما على مسار تصادمي مع الحركات الشبابية التي تريد أن تجعل هذا اليوم مناسبة لاحتجاجات حاشدة.

ويخشى بعض المحللين من أن الجيش لن يترك الساحة السياسية بالكامل، ما لم تقدم جماعة الإخوان المسلمين وغيرها من الأحزاب السياسية البارزة ضمانات بأنه لن يواجه محاسبة قانونية بشأن قتل محتجين.

ومن جانبها، تقول جماعة الإخوان المسلمين إن الحكام العسكريين سيحاسبون بعد تسليمهم السلطة لمدنيين عن أي أخطاء ارتكبت خلال الفترة التي تولوا فيها السلطة.

وقال المرشد العام للجماعة محمد بديع، في مقابلة تلفزيونية قبل أيام قليلة من أول جلسة لمجلس الشعب الجديد، إن ميزانية الجيش ستخضع لإشراف برلماني.

وتظهر جماعة الإخوان المسلمين تعاونا مع المجلس العسكري في الوقت الراهن، مما أثار شكوكا في احتمال موافقتها على اتفاق لتقاسم السلطة، لكن الجماعة ملتزمة في العلن بالإصلاحات الديمقراطية.
"

Al-Jazeera Video: Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports on Idlib clashes

2012-01-21T07:34:00.000-08:00

"Army defectors and regular troops have clashed in Syria's Idlib province. Authorities and the opposition are blaming each other for an attack on a police vehicle carrying prisoners.
Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr is following events from Lebanon."

Following in the Footsteps of Arafat and Fatah: "Talk to us," says Hamas in rare visit to Europe

2012-01-21T07:19:00.000-08:00

Adri Nieuwhof
The Electronic Intifada
20 January 2012

"Three Hamas politicians made a rare visit to Europe this week.
A delegation of members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) travelled to Switzerland to attend a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). It was the first time since the 2006 PLC elections that Hamas members undertook an official visit to a European country.

The delegation — led by PLC member and Hamas spokesperson Mushir al-Masri — left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing, and continued their journey via Egypt. Al-Masri also heads an international committee for the defense of the PLC members who are held in Israeli jails......"

In scandalous new campaign video, Obama takes Israel pandering to dangerous levels

2012-01-21T07:08:00.000-08:00

By Ali Abunimah

"Is Barack Obama running for reelection as President of the United States or Prime Minister of Israel? A new Obama campaign video makes it increasingly hard to tell, and even more ominously ratchets further the Israelization of US politics.

False hopes of change
....
Putting Israel first

The themes of the video touch all the familiar messaging of extreme Zionist groups that Obama has used from his early AIPAC speeches: There is a focus on the Holocaust, Hamas rockets, Israeli children suffering, and Iran, Iran, Iran.

Who can now doubt that US Iran policy is largely about appeasing Israel lobbyists, when Obama is heard boasting in a campaign video that his administration has imposed “the hardest hitting sanctions the Iranian regime has ever faced”? Confrontation if not outright war with Iran is a key message of the Israel lobby these days.

Of course there’s no word about Israel’s war crimes, occupation, routine murder and imprisonment of Palestinian civilians and children, the siege of Gaza or the ongoing theft of Palestinian land in the West Bank for Jews-only colonies.

On the contrary, Obama boasts in the video about how he helped stymie justice and torpedo the Goldstone report, and pulled the US out of participation in the UN Durban conference on racism.

The video also reassures viewers that:

* Under Obama, US military aid to Israel increased to “unprecedented levels”
* “Obama 2012 budget has rise in US aid to Israel”
* “We are making our most advanced technologies available to our Israeli allies.”

While Obama boasts of his willingness to cut the federal budget – even as services for Americans are being slashed – he obviously feels politically safe increasing foreign aid, as long as the recipient is Israel......."

In the line of fire: Tom Hurndall

2012-01-21T05:34:00.000-08:00

The photographs and journal entries of the young activist Tom Hurndall – who was killed at the age of 21 by a sniper – are a visceral portrait of the conflict in the Middle East

By Robert Fisk
Saturday 21 January 2012

"....Hurndall was trying to save Palestinian homes and infrastructure but frequently came under Israeli fire and seemed to have lost his fear of death. "While approaching the area, they (the Israelis) continually fired one- to two-second bursts from what I could see was a Bradley fighting vehicle... It was strange that as we approached and the guns were firing, it sent shivers down my spine, but nothing more than that. We walked down the middle of the street, wearing bright orange, and one of us shouted through a loudspeaker, 'We are international volunteers. Don't shoot!'. That was followed by another volley of fire, though I can't be sure where from..."

Tom Hurndall had stayed in Rafah. He was only 21 when – in his mother's words – he lost his life through a single, selfless, human act.

"Tom was shot in the head as he carried a single Palestinian child out of the range of an Israeli army sniper." He was a brave man who stood alone and showed more courage than most of us have dreamed of. Forget tree huggers. Hurndall was one good man and true."

Obama's only way out of Afghanistan is to talk

2012-01-21T05:13:00.000-08:00

The Afghan conflict has reached a stalemate. The US knows the Taliban are its route to withdrawal

Tariq Ali
guardian.co.uk, Friday 20 January 2012

"....So, lithium reserves notwithstanding, it has become more and more difficult to sustain the Nato presence in the country. The 42 countries engaged in the occupation can no longer help the embarrassing marionette in Kabul to dance a good show. And a quick-fix election organised at high cost by western PR firms, essentially for the benefit of western public opinion, no longer does the trick.

In essence both sides confront a stalemate. The insurgents cannot win militarily, but they have made a Nato victory impossible. The US could only win the "just war" by destroying the country and wiping out a million or two Afghans – but that is politically unfeasible. Negotiations are the only possible route to a settlement and US withdrawal from the country.

What we are witnessing is the end of a disastrous occupation that achieved even less than the Russian version did during the 1980s. Within the United States, realist critics of imperial adventures have been warning of hubris for some time. John Mearsheimer, avoiding euphemisms of every sort, pointed out acutely in The Tragedy of Great Power Politics that the foreign policy of his country was devoted not to good governance or liberal values, let alone peace – but to the defence of US interests against those of other states. And it was this fact that would determine the politics of the 21st century......"

The problem with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is not sharia

2012-01-21T04:58:00.000-08:00

Western media simplistically cast the divide between revolutionaries and the Brotherhood in secular-Islamist terms

Sara Khorshid
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 21 January 2012

".....My cause is Egypt, the revolution, and seeing my country become a true democracy. My fear is the prolongation of military rule, of transformation to a system that gives the military special status above civil institutions, or one that grants the army and its budget immunity against parliamentary accountability.

The Brotherhood's priorities are different from mine, and their objectives have occasionally conflicted with those of the revolutionaries.

There were striking examples of that in November and December. As revolutionaries were asserting their demands and thwarting the violent attack on their sit-ins by the army and interior ministry, official press releases from the Brotherhood and the party called for stability, expressing concern that such violence could hinder the electoral process.

Stability is the antithesis of revolution, and Egypt's revolution has not ended. Not as long as thousands of civilians are being tried in military courts and the emergency law is still in place. The murderers of the revolution's martyrs have not been sentenced.

The interior ministry, which has a history of using torture and brutality against citizens, has not been restructured. Protesters continue to be beaten, tortured and killed.

The "social justice" measures that the revolution called for have not been enforced. The assets of Hosni Mubarak's family and their associates have not been restored to the country's budget. Governmental bodies have not been cleansed of corrupt leadership affiliated to Mubarak's time.

Above all, the revolution must continue as long as the military and its leaders (who were part of Mubarak's regime) still enjoy authority over civilian leaders and have their economic assets shrouded in secrecy.

In their pursuit of "stability", the Brothers have occasionally sided with the ruling military council – the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) – in defiance of the demands from Tahrir and other squares in Egypt. They say stability will benefit the revolution, and holding elections will lead to peaceful transition of power to civilians.

But revolutionaries disagree, on the grounds that the regime's remnants – many of whom are still in power across the hierarchies of governmental bodies (including the army and Scaf) – will not relinquish their power easily and peacefully. Elections are not a magical solution when it comes to making powerful, corrupt figures let go of advantages they have enjoyed for decades and instead face justice.

In the midst of their conflicting and vague statements, the Brothers have given some disturbing signals. Last November, for instance, during the Mohamed Mahmoud street battle, in which tens of protesters were killed and hundreds injured after the army and interior ministry attempted to forcefully disperse a sit-in, the Brotherhood said it would stay neutral. Yet, some of its leaders made statements against the protesters and their demands.

Brotherhood spokesperson Mahmoud Ghozlan rejected the protesters' demand that Scaf steps down: if Scaf leaves, chaos will prevail, he said. Even more shockingly, on 3 January Ghozlan said his group might agree to granting members of Scaf immunity from prosecution

in return for the peaceful transition of power, and families of martyrs could be compensated financially instead of seeing their sons' murderers being brought to justice. Widespread uproar at this caused him to pull back his statements later.

Having seen the Brotherhood make a series of compromising stances over the past year, I can't trust it to be capable of achieving the revolution's objectives...... "

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and the problems of power

2012-01-21T04:14:00.000-08:00

Bikya Masr

"CAIRO: Egyptian activists have a shorthand way to help Americans understand party politics here:

“Just think of the Salafi [ultra-conservative Islamists] as your Tea Party—they’re not so interested in government as a way to solve Egypt’s problems as a tool to enforce their morality”—and then they’re absolutists to the point of being fascists, says political activist Abdel Rahman Ayyash.

“The Muslim Brotherhood, though, are more like your Republicans—also interested in pushing their social views, just not as crazy,” adds the computer engineer, and as a former young Muslim Brother, creator of the blog: IkhwanoPhobia.com.

“And our liberals are like your liberals—focused on freedoms, human rights and government as fixer of problems.

There are other political forces of course here in Egypt at the moment—women, Coptic Christians, Tahrir Square protestors and most prominently the army—but the only ones who really matter are the Muslim Brotherhood who, with 46 percent of the seats in the new Parliament, are so close to an outright majority, they won’t need much muscle to what they want.

It will be their agenda that will drive Egypt’s future. The only brake on their power may come from the street, from the voices of these other interest groups, from reaction in the press, from the international community and, of course in a different way, from the military.

As Tahrir Square activists claim, the democratic goals of the revolution have yet to be met. The revolution overthrew one dictator only to face the dictatorship of the old regime’s military. And now the diversity of Egypt faces the disciplined vision of one group of Islamists.

But Egypt itself is a formidable opponent. The country’s economy is in shambles; crime has skyrocketed; air and water pollution are bad enough to impact life expectancy; the streets of Cairo are more parking lots than roadways; corruption haunts business deals large and small; thirty percent of the population is illiterate; and these are just a few of the country’s structural and institutional problems.

Meanwhile leaders from the Salafi party talk about alcohol and bikinis, about returning the country to Islamic law circa 700 where adultery is punished by stoning and thieves lose a hand. Liberals ask about protections for the rights of religious minorities as well as the rights of women who won only one percent of the seats in Parliament. And the army is claiming they will not submit to civilian rule.

There is still a constitution to write and a president to elect. Both of which involve a battle with the ruling council of generals who seek a constitution that preserves their independence of civilian oversight and an army-sympathetic president more powerful than Parliament.

In pursuit of these aims, they claim the privilege of appointing the constitution-writing committee as well as in deciding the balance of power between president and Parliament.

Navigating all this will not be easy for a Muslim Brotherhood whose single focus at this point is just their long-term ability to stay in power......"

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll

2012-01-21T03:57:00.000-08:00

Do you believe that the Egyptian revolution is on its way to accomplish its objectives?

With less than 200 responding (it is early), 57% said yes.

Al-Jazeera Video: Human Rights Watch's Nadim Houry speaks to Al Jazeera

2012-01-20T18:53:00.000-08:00

"Nadim Houry, a senior researcher on Syria at rights body Human Rights Watch, speaks to Al Jazeera.

He says human rights are still being violated in Syria, despite the presence of Arab League monitors."

The CIA’s Cassandras

2012-01-20T09:42:00.000-08:00

Paid to be Ignored

by GABRIEL KOLKO
CounterPunch

".....The problem is that the U.S. government and the people who run it refuse to confront the limits of their own power realistically. That is another aspect of the official culture. Optimism is part of the national ethos since the U. S. was founded, and it does not like to hear bad news; bad news is unwelcome, and assessments that warrant much more caution on its part are not accepted, including those from the CIA. But it pays a branch of the CIA, gathered mainly around the National Intelligence Council, to produce objective assessments, and when the Council does so it consistently refuses to accept the logic of the action or analysis that follows. This expensive practice, paying people to whom one pays scant attention, is merely an overhead charge of the essential hypocrisy which is an integral part of American life and a dimension of its ethos.

Were the leaders of the American Government more realistic and less ideological and compulsive, they would cut their losses and attempt far less. It would live within its means rather than go into over 15 trillion dollars in debt and reconcile itself to the fact that it is not the hegemonic superpower that can do anything it chooses to. They would certainly take their own analysts seriously. The essential dilemma is that truth can hurt, proving that futile policies that involve great commitments are both wrong morally as well as impractical. The existing regimes in Washington have immense contradictions to resolve, and so far have not done so. They are unlikely to."