Freed from Captivity in Libya, Anthony Shadid of the New York Times Recounts Ordeal under Gaddafi’s Forces

"Anthony Shadid is one of four New York Times reporters who were captured in Libya last month by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. They were held for nearly a week, during which they were beaten and threatened before ultimately being set free. Just two weeks after their release, Shadid joins us for an extensive interview on his ordeal in Libya, the outlook of the conflict, and his thoughts on the rolling rebellions sweeping the Middle East and North Africa. A two-time Pulitzer winner, Shadid is the New York Times Beirut bureau chief....."

Turkey: The sultans of swing

By Pepe Escobar
Asia Times

"While Turkey's "strategic depth" envisions an informal empire ranging from the Eastern Mediterranean to Western China, from the Balkans to the Middle East, Anatolia is the ultimate Pipelineistan crossroads for the export of Russian, Caspian-Central Asian, Iraqi and Iranian oil and gas to Europe. Much to Washington's dismay, the Arab revolt is opening a sublime portal to a new "global, political, economic and cultural order."......."

French Fraud Behind Libya War Drive

Fake ‘intellectual’ with delusions of grandeur: Bernard Henri-Lévy

by Justin Raimondo, April 06, 2011

"The Libyan war has the French, of all people, in the forefront, with President Nicolas Sarkozy’s smug, self-satisfied face mugging for the camera as French fighter jets scream in the skies over Tripoli. The French, who sat out the Iraq war with haughty disdain, are now even more eager than the Americans to get into the thick of it: Sarkozy, in trouble at home, is hoping to distract critics from France’s ever-worsening domestic economic woes and his own party’s diminishing electoral prospects, with a good old-fashioned dollop of Napoleonic tonic. France – once again thrusting into North Africa in search of its former imperial glory! It’s enough to make one nostalgic for the Ugly American. If the insufferable Sarkozy isn’t enough to make you vow never to eat French fries again, then the man behind Sarkozy’s grandstanding, Bernard Henri-Lévy, the French “public intellectual” and renowned phony, will push you over the edge into outright Francophobia. As the New York Times reports: “It was Mr. Lévy, by his own still undisputed account, who brought top members of the Libyan opposition — the Interim Transitional National Council — from Benghazi to Paris to meet President Nicolas Sarkozy on March 10, who suggested the unprecedented French recognition of the council as the legitimate government of Libya and who warned Mr. Sarkozy that unless he acted, ‘there will be a massacre in Benghazi, a bloodbath, and the blood of the people of Benghazi will stain the flag of France.’”...."

Where now for the Goldstone report?

In short, there are no new facts which could possibly have lead Richard Goldstone to change his mind.

Posted by John Dugard - 06 April 2011
(John Dugard is Professor of Law, University of Pretoria; Emeritus Professor, University of Leiden; former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.)

New Statesman

".....The Goldstone report is a historical milestone. It is a credible, reasoned, comprehensive and thoroughly researched account of atrocities -- war crimes and crimes against humanity -- committed by Israel in the course of Operation Cast Lead and of war crimes committed by Hamas in the indiscriminate firing of rockets into Israel. It is a serious attempt to secure the accountability of a state that has for too long been allowed by the West to behave in a lawless manner. That the credibility of the Goldstone report has been undermined by Richard Goldstone's strange op-ed in the Washington Post cannot be denied. Although the Report was authored by four experts with the backing of a team from the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights it has undoubtedly come to be associated with the name of Richard Goldstone. Inevitable the misgivings he has expressed about his own role in the Report will weaken its impact as an historical record of Operation Cast Lead.....

Richard Goldstone has devoted much of his life to the cause of accountability for international crimes. It is sad that this champion of accountability and international criminal justice should abandon this cause in such an ill-considered but nevertheless extremely harmful op-ed."

Assange: "WikiLeaks is the intelligence agency of the people"

The WikiLeaks chief discusses radical journalism and WikiLeaks's main threat in an exclusive New Statesman essay.

New Statesman

"In an exclusive essay for the New Statesman, the editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, argues that WikiLeaks is a return to the days of the once popular radical press. He also discusses why the New York Times dislikes the whistle-blowing website, and reveals the biggest threat to WikiLeaks today. "WikiLeaks is part of an honourable tradition that expands the scope of freedom by trying to lay 'all the mysteries and secrets of government' before the public," writes Assange, who compares WikiLeaks to the pamphleteers of the English Civil War and the radical press of the early twentieth century. "We are, in a sense, a pure expression of what the media should be: an intelligence agency of the people, casting pearls before swine."....."

Video: Brega hit by Gaddafi forces' shells - dramatic amateur video footage

A video posted on a social media website shows what unknown uploaders say is a 31 March strike on Brega by forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 6 April 2011

Syria: Stop Shooting Protesters

At Least 8 Killed in Douma

Human Rights Watch

"(New York) - President Bashar al-Asad should immediately order Syrian security forces to stop using unjustified lethal force against anti-government protesters, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should investigate each shooting, and hold accountable anyone responsible for the unlawful use of force, Human Rights Watch said. At least eight demonstrators and possibly as many as fifteen were killed on April 1, 2011, when men dressed as civilians opened fire at a largely peaceful anti-government protest in Douma, a suburb of Damascus. Two Douma protesters told Human Rights Watch that they believed the gunmen were from security services because they were standing with their weapons behind the riot police. Some of the protesters threw rocks at the police, but none carried any firearms, the two protesters said. "I saw a man that looked like mukhabarat [security services] use a Rusiye - with my own eyes," one of the protesters told Human Rights Watch. Rusiye, Arabic for Russian, is commonly used in Syria to refer to a Kalashnikov. "For three weeks, Syria's security forces have been firing on largely peaceful protesters in various parts of Syria," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Instead of investigating those responsible for shootings, Syria's officials try to deflect responsibility by accusing unknown ‘armed groups.'"....."

No News is Good News

Abuses against Journalists by Palestinian Security Forces

Human Rights Watch
April 6, 2011

"This report documents cases in which security forces tortured, beat, and arbitrarily detained journalists, confiscated their equipment, and barred them from leaving the West Bank and Gaza. .... ....

Summary

Security forces of the Palestinian Authority (PA) have arbitrarily detained scores of West Bank journalists since 2009, and in some cases abused them during interrogation in a manner that amounted to torture. Like other Palestinian victims of abuse by the PA’s security services, these journalists confront a virtual wall of impunity when they try to hold their abusers accountable, leaving the victims feeling vulnerable to further harassment and abuse. The combination of abuse and impunity has, according to some journalists, produced an intended “chilling effect” on free expression and led to increasing self-censorship. This report documents how the PA’s Preventive Security and General Intelligence security agencies arbitrarily and repeatedly detained journalists, prevented them from seeing lawyers or family members while in detention, confiscated or damaged their equipment, and in some cases tortured them. In the seven West Bank cases that Human Rights Watch investigated, the harassment and abuse of journalists reflected attempts to prevent free speech and inquiry into matters of public importance, and to punish writers solely because of their statements critical of the PA or their perceived support of its political rivals. In four cases, the security services targeted journalists whom they perceived as sympathetic to the PA’s bitter rival, Hamas (the Islamic Resistance Movement), which controls the Gaza Strip and also counts many supporters among West Bank Palestinians. In three incidents, the PA’s security services abused politically independent journalists who had been publicly critical of Hamas but also had criticized the PA. In one case, security forces arrested a journalist on suspicion that he was preparing critical articles about subjects such as corruption among PA officials. The PA has directed its abusive practices against not only Hamas supporters among journalists but also against Islamist-leaning and independent journalists who engage in critical reporting.

Journalists in the Gaza Strip have also faced arbitrary detention, assault, and other forms of harassment from the Hamas authorities there. The focus of this report is on PA abuses in the West Bank, but that focus is not meant to imply an absence of abuses by Hamas in Gaza. Although reported abuses against journalists have been less frequent in Gaza, Human Rights Watch continues to monitor the situation there closely and includes in this report two cases of abuse by Hamas authorities to demonstrate that problems do exist....."

Download Full Report (pdf-41 pages)

Video: Egypt releases 13 Gazan prisoners

Press TV

"Families of 13 Palestinians from Gaza were finally reunited with their loved ones at the Rafah crossing, on the border with Egypt. They had to wait three days to see their sons. On Sunday, Egyptian security sources announced the release of fourteen Palestinians. But only thirteen of them made it to the Gaza Strip. At least twenty five Palestinians are still in Egyptian prisons. A woman whose three sons and husband are still in Egyptian custody had this to say. The government of Hamas has welcomed the move by Egypt, expressing appreciation for the Egyptian military council. Senior Hamas officials who met with Egyptian officials last week, requested the release of the detainees. The political prisoners had been in prison without charges or trial. Since former Egyptian president Husni Mubarak's ouster more than 20 Palestinian detainees in Egypt have returned to the Gaza Strip, some of whom escaped during the uprising in the country and others were released."

Bahrain's hospital of ghosts

Bahrainis with protest-related injuries are reportedly being kept away from family in a hospital guarded by soldiers.

By Shenaz Kermalli
Al-Jazeera

"Salmaniya Medical Complex, once one of the most renowned medical facilities in the Gulf and a jewel in the crown of Bahrain's public healthcare system, has been transformed into a virtual ghost town. Its gates and front entrance are barricaded with checkpoints and masked military officers, armed with rifles. Its emergency room, once the busiest in the country, is empty. And, according to eyewitness reports collected by Human Rights Watch, hospital staff say security and military forces have sought out and threatened, beaten and detained patients with protest-related injuries. These patients are then systematically segregated from the rest of the patient population and transferred to the sixth floor, where they are virtually inaccessible to anyone, including family. "There are more military officers in the hospital than patients," says Faraz Sanei, a Human Rights Watch observer who has recently been inside Salmaniya. "It is not a normal environment or safe haven for patients. Patients and staff have told us there's a security lockdown and doctors from there are very frightened to speak. "The fact that it's empty means there's not much of an inflow of patients going in. People don't want to go there because they're afraid," he adds. Saeed, a member of a Bahraini political society, has taken more than 100 patients with protest-related injuries to hospital and says that government intervention in hospitals was previously unheard of. "Salmaniya has been besieged by the army," he says. "When we take patients, and if they have a bullet or pellet in their body, they put them directly in emergency and operate. After the operation the patient is taken to the sixth floor. No one is allowed to come see them. Even the hospital employees on the sixth floor - the doctors, the nurses and the people bringing food from the kitchen - have been replaced with military staff."....."

The "Revolution" of NATO: Libyan rebels 'disappointed' by NATO

Rebel commander says coalition forces are not doing enough to protect civilians, as Gaddafi's forces take key oil town.

Al-Jazeera

"Abdul Fatah Younis, the head of the Libyan opposition's armed forces, has accused NATO of acting too "slowly", or not acting at all, to protect civilians in their fight against Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader. Younis' comments came as the rebels were forced out of the oil town of Brega in the country's east by a renewed offensive launched by Gaddafi's forces. The rebels were forced to retreat to Ajdabiya, ending a stalemate over the last five days over who controlled Brega. Speaking at a press conference in the opposition stronghold of Benghazi, Younis, who was formerly the country's interior minister, said that NATO had "disappointed" the rebels [What a strange "Revolutionary Leader" this one is!], even though it is helping them....."

Update from my Cousin regarding the 14 boys arrested for chanting against the regime in school

[For those who don't know it was their arrest that sparked the uprising in Daraa.]

"This is what I heard from people on the ground in Daraa. The 14 kids were finally released few days ago. The youngest kid is 7 years old. Needless to say they were beaten, one of the kids who is 13 years old was beaten to a point that he is back in diapers. They are missing teeth, finger nails, and more. I am crying as I write this, not only for what happened to them, but for what happened to my country"

Libya gives spies a chance to shine

British intelligence officers have a firm foothold in Libya. Their subtle moves may be more explosive than the bombing campaign

Richard Norton-Taylor
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 5 April 2011

"....Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, better known as MI6, is in the thick of it and the Libyan conflict should be right up its street....

CIA and MI6 officers are active in Libya, doing what they are trained to do – encouraging influential people to come over, to defect. Both agencies have a special relationship with Muammar Gaddafi's Libya. They monitored it closely when Gaddafi was funding and supplying terrorists in western Europe, including the IRA. Their senior officers, Sir Mark Allen of MI6, Stephen Kappes of the CIA, were deeply involved in talks with Tripoli over compensation for the victims of Libyan-sponsored terrorism, including Lockerbie. In 2003, they celebrated months of talks leading to Gaddafi's decision to give up weapons of mass destruction with a long lunch at the Travellers Club in Pall Mall. A year later, and after failing to get the top job at MI6, Allen joined BP, a company that was to benefit from trade deals agreed between Libya and the Blair government. On the Libyan side, heading the negotiations that culminated in the Travellers lunch was Moussa Koussa, Gaddafi's wily head of foreign intelligence who also gave the UK and US information about al-Qaida's presence in North Africa......"

Yemen protests intensify

Protests against the Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, continue in the capital, Sana'a, despite more deaths

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 5 April 2011

دروس الأمة للطغاة ودروس الطغاة للأمة

A VERY GOOD PIECE

".... الرسالة التونسية: مهما كنتَ بارعا في القمع والتزييف والكذب فستجد الشارع يوما يصرخ "الشعب يريد إسقاط النظام" وسيسقط نظامك، ولن ينقذك لا وعد ولا وعيد. أما فسادك وفساد عائلتك، فسيكون أكبر مِعْول لحفر قبر سلطانك وقبر شرفك على فرض أنك أعطيت يوما قيمة لشيء مثل هذا. الرسالة المصرية: لا تحالفاتك مع أقوى قوة في الأرض، ولا خدماتك المتعددة لها، وتفريطك في كرامة شعبك ومصالحه، قادرة على منعك من السقوط، وحماتك الأجانب هم أول من سيغسلون أيديهم منك. الرسالة السورية: مهما كانت قسوة قبضتك الأمنية وفظاعة سجونك، فإنك ستجد الشعب يوما في الشارع مطالبا برأسك. الرسالة الليبية: مهما كانت شراسة الرد العسكري على انتفاضة شعبك، ومهما أرقت من الدماء فستسقط في آخرة المطاف، لا العالم ولا الشعوب أصبحت تسكت على أي نيرون جديد. الرسالة اليمنية: مهما كنت بارعا في اللعب على القبلية لا بدّ أن تحين ساعة دفع الثمن وستدفع. الرسالة البحرينية: لن تنجح الطائفية في إنقاذ حكمك، حيث سيصرخ متظاهرون ويحاصرونك الوقت الكافي لإسقاطك "لا سنية لا شيعية وحدة وحدة وطنية"، ولن تصمد طويلا أمام شعب هذا خياره الإستراتيجي ......."

Leading Palestinian Peace Activist & Theater Director, Juliano Mer-Khamis, Killed in Jenin

"Palestinians, artists and peace activists worldwide are mourning the loss of a leading figure in Palestinian creative non-violence resistance. Juliano Mer Khamis, the founder of a theater for Palestinian children, was killed Monday by masked assailants in the West Bank town of Jenin. He had received a number of death threats from extremist Palestinians for his work with the Jenin Freedom Theatre. The theatre has helped Palestinian youths deal with the hardships of life under Israeli occupation by expressing themselves through the arts—film, photography, art and theater. We are joined in Jenin by Nabeel Raee, director of the acting school at the Jenin Freedom Theatre, where he worked closely with Mer-Khamis for many years, and by Constancia "Dinky" Romilly, founder and president of the board of the New York City-based Friends of the Jenin Freedom Theatre, who also worked closely with the program in Jenin...."

Al-Jazeera Video: Deaths in Yemen protests

"Renewed violence has broken out in both capital Sanaa and the city of Taiz, with supporters of embattled president Ali Abdullah Saleh and his opponents blaming each other for at least three deaths and hundreds of injuries.

UN officials have urged government forces not to attack protesters, while president Saleh has called for negotiations with his opponents.

Al Jazeera's Tarek Bazley has more on the deepening divisions in Yemen."

Al-Jazeera Video: Egypt's emergency law

"Egypt's former leaders ruled the nation with what many deemed "excessive force", locking up people without due process and keeping them incarcerated even after courts demanded their release.

Since the fall of Mubarak, however, concern has been growing at the army's use of military tribunals and quashing of dissent.

Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports from Cairo on the calls to scrap Egypt's emergency law."

Real News Video: Jihan Hafiz on Reporting From Libya Part 3

Recently returned from Benghazi, Hafiz reports on rebel fighters, supporters and early stages of the Libyan uprising

Cracks Appear In Mubarak-Era Labour Body

(Suez Canal Labor Strike, February 9.)

By Cam McGrath

"CAIRO, Apr 5, 2011 (IPS) - The state-controlled trade union federation that for over half a century was employed by Egyptian rulers to suppress workers' protests and mobilise voters for sham elections appears to be crumbling with the recent ouster of president Hosni Mubarak. "There is a movement against state control of unions," says Mohamed Trabelsi, a regional specialist on union activities at the International Labour Organisation (ILO). "You now have many strikes and labour protests in Egypt, and workers in many sectors have started to organise and form free and independent unions." Until recently, all labour union activities and finance in Egypt fell under the umbrella of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF). Membership in the state-controlled body was mandatory for most public sector employees, and union dues were automatically deducted from their salaries......

Given the pressure to reform, it appears unlikely that ETUF's leadership will remain in place until board elections, scheduled for November. Labour activists say no progress can be made until the regime loyalists are removed and a freely elected board is installed in their place. "

Yemen: Stop Shooting Protesters

At Least Six, Possibly Ten (actually more than 19 by now) Killed After Security Forces Open Fire in Taizz

April 4, 2011

"(New York) - President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen should immediately order security forces to cease using unlawful lethal force against protesters, Human Rights Watch said today. At least six and possibly more than 10 people were killed on April 4, 2011, when security forces who report directly to Saleh's relatives opened fire on a largely peaceful anti-government protest in the highland city of Taizz. "For two months Yemen's security forces have shown a reckless disregard for protesters' lives, shooting and killing them with impunity during largely peaceful rallies," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "President Saleh's calls to resolve the crisis mean little when his forces are firing on demonstrators." Human Rights Watch has documented repeated armed attacks by security forces and government supporters in civilian clothes on protesters who have been seeking Saleh's resignation since mid-February. At least 82 people have been killed and hundreds injured during the attacks, according to Human Rights Watch investigations......"

Gadhafi’s Sons Have Eye on Seizing Power

Rebels Reject 'Solution' Involving Gadhafi Son Taking Power

By Jason Ditz
Antiwar.com

"Two of Moammar Gadhafi’s sons are said to be pushing a “solution” to the ongoing civil war that would allow the long-standing dictator to step down and be replaced by Saif al-Islam al-Gadhafi. The news came amid reports that one of Gadhafi’s overseas envoys was “testing the waters” for the idea among the Western nations currently bombing Libya, to see if the change in leadership would be enough to stop the bombs from falling. It is being sold to the West as a “respectful solution” for the aging dictator that would lead to the gradual introduction of democratic (??) reforms. There was no indication how soon any reforms would be introduced....."

Billion-dollar Obama rocks Yemen

A VERY GOOD PIECE

By Pepe Escobar
Asia Times

"Protesters are being killed, a dictator refuses to step down, al-Qaeda is thriving, the CIA is on the ground, and civil war looms. Welcome to the curious case of Yemen, undeserving of Libyan-style humanitarian imperialism, yet where President Ali Abdullah Saleh has just been dropped from Washington's roster of "our bastards" as Barack Obama launches a US$1 billion re-election bid.....

Our cunning bastard Yemen festers with George W Bush-era special forces-led counter-terrorism - widely expanded under Obama. Saleh is the local contractor. The target is bogeyman al-Qaeda in the Arabic Peninsula (AQAP), which is hit by frequent bursts of "kinetic military action" (in White House speak). "Collateral damage" may have reached the low hundreds.....

Saleh has been very clever into instrumentalizing AQAP against his domestic enemies, while using the AQAP threat to extort weapons, intelligence and hundreds of million of dollars from the Americans. It worked, up to now. Obama ramped up "military assistance" for Yemen from $67 million in 2009 to $150 million in 2010. WikiLeaks widely exposed dirty deals between Washington and Saleh - including General David Petraeus lying to Yemenis about who was killing Yemeni civilians during the "war on terror". But unlike demonized terrorist/rehab/thug Gaddafi, Saleh is one of "our bastards". He's cunning enough to smash Zeydis, southern Yemenis, journalists and peaceful student protesters instead of smashing his golden egg, AQAP.....

For its part, the House of Saud has been fighting tooth and nail for Saleh to stay; he is as much a House of Saud lackey as the al-Khalifas in Bahrain. But without support from the Obama administration, the best the House of Saud can hope for is the usual "stability" and "smooth transition of power" - as in yet one more Saudi Arabia-friendly General. Saudi Arabia wants a "smooth" military coup. They would not be exactly displeased with hard line commander Major General Ali Mohsin Saleh Ahmar as the new leader.....

The vicious 2011 Arab counter-revolution keeps working its mysterious ways. Turkey and the BRIC countries are perplexed that the US is now arming the AQIM-infested "rebels" - and may be showering them with juicy bits of the $32 billion in frozen Libyan government assets, plus a share in upcoming oil sales. Talk about a hot Club Med. Under the Bush administration, al-Qaeda was used as the perfect excuse for bombing and pre-emptive wars. Now, under Obama, al-Qaeda - as in AQIM and AQAP - is being used in the balkanization of selected nations, facilitating the breakdown along tribal, sectarian and criminal lines. The ghost of Osama bin Laden continues to pull a Cheshire cat. The al-Qaeda franchise is booming like never before. It may even be back in the game in its original status - as a CIA guerrilla army. There's no war like an endless war."

Western leaders looking for an exit should be wary of the obvious quick fix

Analysis: A further obstacle is the role that Saif has played. His public appearances have hardly been those of a statesman

By Donald Macintyre
The Independent

"The emergence of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi as a player in the current, if opaque, moves to end the Libyan crisis poses some sharp questions for the Western powers – including Britain. That he convinced several people in the previous British government that he was – to use the New Labour phrase – a "moderniser" is not in doubt. "He talked a very good game," one party member said recently. There have even reportedly been suggestions in Saif's own circle that his openness to constitutional change has been – unfairly – blamed by some hardliners in Tripoli for fuelling the uprising in the first place. As the Europeans – and perhaps to an even greater extent, the Americans – look for an exit, it may be tempting to see Muammar Gaddafi's second son and his reform project as part of any solution. Some on his pre-crisis reform committee are now siding with the opposition and could theoretically offer some common ground....

Maybe the Western officials who used to hold shares in Saif have already all unloaded them, but any who didn't would do well to look at that and other recent performances."

UK paves way for flight of Libyan defectors

Libyan officials who abandon the Gaddafi regime would 'be treated with respect' in the UK, William Hague tells MPs

Harriet Sherwood in Tripoli
The Guardian, Tuesday 5 April 2011

"Britain will lift its ban on members of the Libyan regime entering the UK if they renounce their loyalty to Muammar Gaddafi, the foreign secretary, William Hague, told MPs as western governments continued to try to engineer a political solution to the deadlocked conflict....."

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll

This poll asks:

Do you support the immediate stepping down of the Yemeni president?

With over 1,700 responding, 92% said yes.

RIP Juliano Mer Khamis

Report claims that Dahlan supplied Gaddafi with Israeli weapons .

(Dahlan is to the left of the puppet Abbas and Muhammad Rashid is on his right. Meeting with Israeli military officials to coordinate Israeli security objectives.)

AN IMPORTANT STORY

Middle East Monitor

COMMENT:

This sure sounds like the Iran-Contra affair, all over again!

"A report in the Algerian newspaper Al-Shuruq claims that the former Fatah leader Muhammad Dahlan was one of a number of Palestinians "involved in a deal to supply weapons from Israel to Muammar Gaddafi". The secret deal was facilitated using a ship which sailed from Greece. The source for the information was Libyan dissident Omar El-Khadraoui. In a communiqué to Al-Shururq from the Libya-Tunisia border on Sunday, El-Khadraoui said, "The former leader of the Fatah movement, Muhammad Dahlan, and someone known as 'Muhammad Rashid', a Kurd from Iraq whose real name is Khalid Salam and who used to be an advisor to the late Yasser Arafat, are behind a deal to supply internationally proscribed weapons to Colonel Gaddafi, who used them to shell civilians in Misrata in western Libya." Mr. El-Khadraoui, who is part of the revolutionary political leadership in Libya, confirmed that the 'Muhammad Rashid' accompanied the ship carrying the Israeli weapons from Greece to the port of Tripoli; he added that the revolutionaries in Misrata were able to loot some of the shipment. Al-Jazeera news channel broadcast footage of these weapons, which included cluster bombs marked with the Star of David, an emblem of Israel and the Jews. "Colonel Gaddafi expresses antipathy toward Israel but in reality the closest of links bind him to Israel via Muhammad Dahlan, the former Minister of Security for the Palestinian Authority," said El-Khadraoui. Dahlan is accused by Hamas and many from within Fatah itself, of being involved in unsavoury dealings which, claims El-Khadraoui, include "a mafia network to smuggle weapons from Israeli companies, including weapons which are proscribed internationally"."

Another war on Gaza?

Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 4 April 2011

"....Whether Israel is deliberately laying the ground for a new assault on Gaza, or stumbles into one -- if the current escalation does not stop -- any such attack must be understood in political terms. It would be an effort to finish the unfinished business of destroying Hamas and any other island of Palestinian resistance. The commitment of any significant Palestinian group to resistance -- political or military -- remains a major obstacle to the full legitimation of the warm embrace between Israel and the Abbas-led PA, whose extent was recently laid bare in the Palestine Papers. Indeed the relationship is so friendly that last October the top echelons of the PA in Bethlehem received then Israeli Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi -- who commanded Operation Cast Lead -- as their honored guest, even providing him with a guided tour of the Church of the Nativity ("Israeli army chief visits Bethlehem," Ma'an News Agency, 3 October 2010).....

Without exaggerating the risks, the constraints on Israel may be loosening. In the wake of the revolution in Egypt and amid the political upheaval in the Arab world, some Israelis may think they have a "last chance" to act in the interregnum before a new and less friendly government is seated in Cairo. Western and Saudi military interventions in Libya and Bahrain respectively have also provided new respectability to using military force for political ends. International complicity also continues to send Israel a clear message that its impunity is guaranteed. The Obama administration's recent veto of a UN Security Council resolution that merely restated US policy on Israel's settlement construction in the West Bank was one sure sign that Israel still has a blank check from the United States. Tragically, the biggest contributor to renewed confidence in Israel that it could once again get away with murder in Gaza, may be Judge Richard Goldstone himself......"

Goldstone's shameful U-turn

A GOOD COMMENT
Ilan Pappe, The Electronic Intifada, 4 April 2011

".....Professionally, both Morris and Goldstone tried to retreat to a position that claimed, as Goldstone does in The Washington Post article, that Israel can only be judged by its intentions not the consequences of its deeds. Therefore only the Israeli army, in both cases, can be a reliable source for knowing what these intentions were. Very few decent and intelligent people in the world would accept such a bizarre analysis and explanation. Goldstone has not entered as yet the lunatic fringe of ultra-Zionism as Morris did. But if he is not careful the future promises to be a pleasant journey with the likes of Morris, Alan Dershowitz (who already said that Goldstone is a "repentant Jew") between annual meetings of the AIPAC rottweilers and the wacky conventions of the Christian Zionists. He would soon find out that once you cower in the face of Zionism -- you are expected to go all the way or be at the very same spot you thought you had successfully left behind you. Winning Zionist love in the short-term is far less important than losing the world's respect in the long-run. Palestine should choose its friends with care: they cannot be faint-hearted nor can they claim to be Zionists as well as champions of peace, justice and human rights in Palestine."

Al-Jazeera Video: Debating Gaddafi's options

Contagious illusions of Gaddafi's power

The resilience of the Libyan regime is creating a false sense of security among other Arab despots, analyst argues.

A GOOD PIECE
By Soumaya Ghannoushi
Al-Jazeera

"The mayhem in Libya has given rise to many illusions. Among Arab dictators, it revived hopes of the possibility of escaping the fates of Ben Ali and Mubarak through the use of brutal force. Gaddafi’s model of the iron fisted ruler, who fights to the last drop, has been emboldening Arab dictators to brutally suppress any form of dissidence. In Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh has unleashed his thugs to massacre protesters in Taghyeer Square at the heart of the capital. In Syria, Bashar al-Assad has opened fire randomly on demonstrators in Daraa and Latakia, while in Jordan next door security services have violently dispersed a peaceful picket demanding reform. Gaddafi has been inspiring fellow despots to shift fear to the people’s camp through the use of terror.....

But the Libyan quagmire is not only reviving Arab rulers’ hopes of survival. It is also breathing life into the corpse of “humanitarian interventionism”. This thoroughly discredited notion is being resurrected from the dead to serve as a vehicle for riding the wave of change sweeping across the region and redirecting its course.....

While Tunisia and Egypt have presented Arabs with an inspiring model of change at minimal cost, Libya has stirred hopes among their rulers of the possibility of clinging on to power through naked violence and the threat of civil war. For their allies on the outside the brutal conflict has been a golden opportunity to wash their hands off their past and turn the course of change in their favour. The likelihood, however, is that the hopes pinned on Libya will turn out to be little more than illusions. The Arab political order, rotten to the core as it, is beyond salvation....."

Judge Goldstone Retracts Part of His Report on Israeli Assault on Gaza, Leaves Rest Intact

"The lead author of The Goldstone Report on the 2008-2009 Israeli assault on Gaza has backtracked on one of his key findings. In an editorial run Friday by the Washington Post, Judge Richard Goldstone said, “Civilians were not intentionally targeted [by Israel] as a matter of policy.” Now Israel has called on the United Nations to retract the report on the devastating war that led to the death of about 1,400 Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians, and 13 Israelis. To discuss the implications of Judge Goldstone’s position, we are joined by Adam Horowitz and Lizzy Ratner. They are co-editors of an abridged version of U.N. investigation, titled, The Goldstone Report: The Legacy of the Landmark Investigation of the Gaza Conflict. “The judge only comments on one small part of the report,” Horowitz says, “which I take as an implication that the rest of the report stays intact and he is still in support of that.”...."

Real News Video: Egyptian Democracy Movement Continues Revolution

Protesters defy law making demands on military rulers

COMMENT:

I can't say often enough how proud I am of the Egyptian people and their courage!

This is the example to follow (Tunisia did it before) by all Arabs: Mass, relentless, peaceful, civil resistance. Libya has already gone terribly wrong; the Syrians are too terrified and cowed; there is still a lot of hope in Yemen and Bahrain.

Real News Video: Jihan Hafiz On Reporting From Libya Part 2

Recently returned from Benghazi, Hafiz reports on rebel fighters, supporters and early stages of the Libyan uprising

The Arab Awakening, Hijacked?

Haftar, the CIA's man in Benghazi

The long hand of Washington reaches into Libya

A GOOD PIECE
by Justin Raimondo, April 04, 2011

"News of a rift in the Libyan rebel ranks, as reported in the Washington Post, underscores much about what is wrong with US/NATO intervention in Libya......

Watched by whom, and for what? Falls Church isn’t far from the CIA’s Langley headquarters, but then again it seems Col. Haftar’s relationship with the CIA is hardly one of captive to jailer, although perhaps that’s how it started out. Haftar, it turns out, is not exactly a defector from the regime. According to this United Nations report on the rebel movement he led from Chad in the 1990s, Haftar joined the Libyan National Salvation Front, a group set up by the Central Intelligence Agency, “in March 1987, after he was captured in the Chadian war. His goal was to create an army to fight against the Libyan authorities.” His rebel force “disappeared,” according to the report, ‘with the help of the CIA” after the US-friendly regime in Chad was overthrown, and the next thing anybody knew the Colonel showed up in Falls Church, not a stone’s throw away from his new bosses. The Benghazi authorities, after initially embracing Haftar, are now distancing themselves from him, saying that he is free to join up with the structure they have already put in place, but the confusion on the ground is clear enough. This is a potential disaster in the making for the rebels, who are already out-gunned and up against a professional force that shows no sign of cracking. The rift dramatizes, in cameo, the role of the United States government as the underminer of revolutionary movements throughout the region. In Egypt they sought, at first, to deny what was happening and affirm support for Hosni Mubarak (Biden). The switch to support for Mubarak’s designated successor, head of the secret police, wasn’t much more successful. The pattern repeated itself in Yemen and Bahrain, but in Libya the Americans are prepared: they already have the resources in place to hijack the Benghazi rebellion, and that no doubt motivated in part the decision to intervene. After all, here is Col. Haftar, their Manchurian candidate, an apparent victim of Stockholm Syndrome, all ready to go: the infrastructure was in place. Why not use it?..... "

BBC Video: شام - مداخلة الحقوقي هيثم مناع على قناةالـ BBC 4-4-2011

Protesters shot dead in southern Yemen

At least 15 anti-government protesters die as troops stationed on rooftops open fire.

Al-Jazeera

"Yemeni security forces have shot dead at least 15 anti-government demonstrators and wounded 30 in the city of Taiz, south of the capital Sanaa, medics said. "At least 15 people were killed with live bullets and dozens wounded," said Sadeq al-Shujaa, head of a makeshift field hospital at a square in central Taiz. The violence began when thousands of protesters marched through Taiz toward Freedom Square, where demonstrators have been camped out. As the march passed the governor's headquarters, troops stationed there blocked the procession, and clashes broke out, with some protesters throwing stones, witnesses said. Troops on nearby rooftops opened fire with live ammunition on the crowd and the marchers then turned to besiege the governor's headquarters, said Bushra al-Maqtara, an opposition activist in Taiz, and other witnesses. The bloodshed in the city of Taiz further stoked the more than month-old uprising against Yemeni president Abdullah Saleh's 32-year-rule......"

The delusions of Bashar al-Assad

GREAT ANALYSIS By Lamis Andoni


Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, insists on believing that his support for the 'resistance against Israel' distinguishes his regime from others in the region and, therefore, makes it immune to the revolutions that have brought down pro-Western presidents in Tunisia and Egypt.

His support for Hamas and Hezbollah may make the Syrian president more popular among Arabs, but he is engaged in dangerous delusions if he thinks this makes the killings of peaceful Syrian protesters less reprehensible.


The eruption of Arab revolutions has been a reaction to decades of repression and the skewed distribution of wealth; two problems that have plagued anti- and pro-Western Arab governments alike.

And Syria is one of the most repressive states in the region; hundreds, if not thousands, of people have disappeared into its infamous prisons. Some reappear after years, some after decades, many never resurface at all.

Syrians have not been the only victims. Other Arabs - Lebanese who were abducted during the decades of Syrian control over its neighbour, Jordanian members of the ruling Baath party who disagreed with its leadership and members of different Palestinian factions - have also been victimised.

Syrian critics of the regime are often arrested and charged - without due process – with serving external - often American and Israeli - agendas to undermine the country's "steadfastness and confrontational policies".
But these acts have never been adequately condemned by Arab political parties and civil society, which have supported Syria's position on Israel while turning a blind eye to its repressive policies.

Thus while Syrian dissidents, including prominent nationalist and leftist intellectuals, are incarcerated in Syrian jails, other Arab activists and intellectuals have flocked to Damascus to praise its role in "defending Arab causes".
This hypocrisy has reinforced the regime's belief that it is immune from the criticisms directed at repressive pro-Western governments in the region.

The myth of resistance

In the broader context Syria's position has prevented Israel, and the US, from totally penetrating otherwise accommodating, if not totally subordinate, Arab states. But Syria's contribution to blocking Israel from attaining peace with more states in the region has not come without political compromises.

Syria's claim to be "a fortress of resistance" is based on two factors: Firstly, Damascus has refused to sign a peace treaty with Israel without the return of the Golan Heights, which Israel has occupied since 1967; secondly, its support for various Palestinian groups, as well as for Hezbollah in Lebanon.

There is no doubt that its refusal to reach a compromise with Israel – in contrast to Egypt, Jordan and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) – has boosted its Arabist credentials and bolstered its geopolitical role. But Syria has made a trade-off that allows it to pose as 'confrontational' state while ensuring that its frontiers with Israel remain the quietest front in that 'confrontation'. It has done this by ruthlessly enforcing a ban on the smuggling of weapons into the Golan Heights and by guaranteeing that Syrians, Palestinians and others are unable to cross its tightly controlled borders.

Syrians or members of Damascus-based Palestinian groups would therefore never dare attempt to smuggle weapons or attack Israel in the way others have via the Jordanian or Lebanese frontiers.

Furthermore Syria has been surprisingly quiet about the Israeli expropriation of land, building of settlements and transfer of Jewish settlers to the occupied Golan Heights. There are more than 30 Jewish settlements in the Golan Heights, supposedly on some of the best agrarian land, inhabited by at least 20,000 settlers. The Arab population of the region has dwindled from 130,000 people in 1967 to 20,000 today, while Israel has expropriated all but six per cent of the land there.

More bark than bite

When subjected to closer scrutiny, Syria's support for 'resistance' groups also appears tainted. It has continually sought to control the Palestinian resistance movement, often using force in its attempts to consolidate its domination of the Palestinians.

Palestinians have not forgotten that one of the most tragic chapters in their history came at the hands of the Syrian army, when troops who had entered Lebanon with the declared mission of enforcing peace and order during the civil war obliterated the Tel a-Zaatar Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut.
In the mid-1980s, Syria also actively supported the Lebanese Amal movement's siege of the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.

Syria's internal interference in Palestinian affairs, often nurturing divisions, is also well known and documented. Moreover, while Assad has in recent years challenged the Palestinian leadership to opt for armed resistance, Damascus did little to support the first and second intifadas.


Its rhetoric is no doubt appealing to Arab progressive and nationalist forces. However, Syria's actions have rarely extended beyond encouraging others to fight Israel until the last drop of mostly Palestinian or Lebanese blood is spilled.

The cynical use of revolutionary political language by the regime to cover its contradictory political positions has no doubt helped it. But the Arab revolutions have stripped all regimes of their masks and this regime's attempt to crush protests has unveiled its tyrannical face.

Bashar al-Assad, judging by his 'j'accuse' speech, is still living with his delusions. But the era of crying foreign conspiracy to cover up bloody crimes is over, even if the message has yet to reach the Syrian president.

Al-Jazeera Video: Hundreds of Yemenis wounded in Taiz protests

"Hundreds of protesters have been wounded in the Yemeni city of Taiz, after police reportedly fired tear gas and live ammunition to disperse the crowds.

Medical sources have told Al Jazeera that as many as 1,600 people have been injured.

Omar al Saleh reports. "

الشعب يريد إقصاء عباس

الشعب يريد إقصاء عباس
عبد الحليم قنديل

"هي لحظة تاريخية بامتياز في حياة الأمة، حيث تتدافع الثورات العربية السلمية، وتفلت الأحوال من قبضة الركود، ويحتدم الصدام ـ بالنار والدم ـ بين قوى تتراجع وأخرى تتقدم. ولا تبدو الأحوال الفلسطينية معزولة عن سياق اللحظة، وعن تفاعلاتها الموّارة، فقد وصل الحال الفلسطيني إلى المأزق من زمن، وبدت سلطة أوسلو كأنها من الآثار الدارسة، وبدا الرئيس عباس كأنه مومياء محنطة، تلعب الحوادث ضده، ويستخف به الإسرائيليون بطريقة رسمية جدا، ويخيره نتنياهو ـ بالنص ـ بين الاتفاق مع إسرائيل أو الاتفاق مع حماس، ويقول له في وضوح ما يتعين عليه فعله، وهو أن الاتفاق مع إسرائيل أفضل. وبالطبع، لا يعرض نتنياهو أي اتفاق تسوية، ويقصد باتفاق عباس مع إسرائيل ما هو مفهوم للكل، وهو أن يعمل مع إسرائيل ضد حماس، وبديلا عن العمل مع حماس ضد إسرائيل، وهو ما يعني ـ بصريح العبارة ـ أن إسرائيل ضد أي اقتراب لعباس من حماس، وضد إنهاء الانقسام الفلسطيني، وتتخوف من زيارة عباس المزمعة إلى غزة، واللـــقاء مع قيادة حماس هناك، والبحث عن صيغة مصالحة فلسطينية تستعيد زخم الوحدة الوطنية. الفيتو الإسرائيلي ليس جديدا، وإن كان معلنا بأوضح الألفاظ هذه المرة، والفيتو الأمريكي داعم للإسرائيليين كالعادة، وضاغط بقوة مئات الملايين من الدولارات الممنوحة لسلطة الرئيس عباس، وهو ما يضع عباس في القيد من جديد، ويشل حركته السياسية، ويغلق عليه الطرق، ويدفعه لخانة العزلة التامة، فقد قطع الرجل كل رابطة تربطه بالحس الفلسطيني المقاوم، يرفض العودة لسلاح المقاومة، ويرفض الدعوة لانتفاضة فلسطينية ثالثة، ويتحدث عن سلام ومفاوضات لا وجود له ولا لها، فقد تضاعف الاستيطان الإسرائيلي بمعدل أربع مرات في العام الأخير وحده، وبدت واشنطن كأنها تترك عباس لأقداره، فلديها ما يشغلها أكثر، لديها حيرة إعادة ترتيب الأوراق مع مفاجآت الثورات الزلزالية في المنطقة، وتهاوي العروش والكروش، التي خبرت كيفية التعامل معها لعقود، ولديها ـ أي واشنطن ـ أولوية الالتزام برغبات إسرائيل. تخلت عن الضغط المظهري على إسرائيل في قضية الاستيطان، وسارع أوباما لاستخدام الفيتو المعتاد ضد مشروع قرار مخفف يدين التوسع الاستيطاني الإسرائيلي، وباختصار: أغلق أوباما ملف مفاوضات إسرائيل مع عباس، وتفرغ لاستعادة شعبيته الأمريكية، وعلى أمل الترشح مجددا لرئاسة البيت الأبيض، بينما عباس حائر في رئاسته المنقضية مدتها، ولا يطلب منه غير مواصلة تقديم الخدمات الأمنية للإسرائيليين، وتجنيد جهازه الأمني لمطاردة المقاومين في الضفة الغربية والقدس، وإصدار الإدانات الروتينية لكل عملية فدائية فلسطينية تجري ضد الإسرائيليين. عباس ـ إذن ـ ضائع في ركام الحوادث، ولم يعد قادرا على تعويم نفسه إسرائيليا، فقد انتهى الإيحاء بوجود تفاوض ما، أو مكوكيات تذهب وتجيء إلى رام الله، أو موضوعات يجري بحثها، أو الادعاء بالعمل من أجل إنهاء الاحتلال، وبدت تسريبات 'ويكيليكس'، وبعدها تسريبات قناة الجزيرة، وما جرت إذاعته من وثائق المفاوضات المخزية، ثم صدامه مع محمد دحلان الذي انتهى إلى نتيجة صفرية، بدا كل ذلك وغيره، مما يؤذن بنهاية دور عباس، وهذا ما يفسر مناوراته الأخيرة، وإعلانه الاستعداد لزيارة غزة، واللقاء المباشر مع قيادة حماس هناك، وعلى أمل تعويم شخصه الغارق، أو زيادة سعره في بورصة الإسرائيليين والأمريكيين، والإيحاء بأنه قد يسبب لهم مشكلة ما، وهو الإيحاء الذي رد عليه نتنياهو بعنف وصلافة ظاهرة، فقد تعامل مع عباس كأنه مجرد وزير في حكومته الإسرائيلية، وهدد بإخراجه من بيت العطف، وعقابه على احتمال الخروج من بيت الطاعة، وهو ما يزيد من حرج عباس الذي فقد سنده المصري مع خلع مبارك، ومع خروج اللواء عمر سليمان من منصب رئيس المخابرات المصرية، ثم نـــهاية سليمان المأساوية إلى عزلة موحشة في خريف العمر، وبعد أن أطاحت به الثورة المصرية الشعبية مع رئيسه مبارك، وهو ما يعني أن ورقة المصالحة المصرية ذهبت عمليا إلى خبر كان، وبعد أن غاب الرعاة المصريون القدامى عن المسرح، والذين ظاهروا عباس على حماس، وطرحوا على حماس شروطا مما لا يقبل، وشفعوا الشروط بضغوط ميدان تضيق الخناق على حماس، وتحكم الحصار على سلطتها في غزة بالذات، وتقطع خطوط الدعم عن مقاوميها، وتفرض عليهم أولويات الأمريكيين والإسرائيليين، أو اتصال المشاركة المصرية في المجهود الحربي الإسرائيلي لخنق غزة، وتصفية نفوذ حماس وتشكيلاتها العسكرية المقاومة. وعلى العكس من حال عباس، تبدو حماس في حال انتعاش بأثر من تطورات أعقبت الثورة المصرية الشعبية، فقد آلت سلطة السياسة في القاهرة إلى قيادة الجيش المصري، والأخيرة لا تبدو مستعدة لمواصلة خط مبارك، ولا لإعطاء الأولوية لخدمة إسرائيل على حساب حماس والفلسطينيين، صحيح أنها تتعرض لضغوط أمريكية ظاهرة، لكنها تحاول استخلاص أولوية ما لمصالح مصر الوطنية، وفي السباق المتدافعة فصوله، بدا طي صفحة أحمد أبو الغيط مما له مغزى لا يخفى، فأبو الغيط، وزير الخارجية المصري المقال، كان عدوا لحماس، ومشهورة هي تصريحاته المخزية عن كسر أرجل الفلسطينيين إن هم عبروا الحدود إلى مصر، في حين لا يبدو نبيل العربي، وزير الخارجية الحالي، من ذات المدرسة الإسرائيلية في الدبلوماسية المصرية، فالعربي قريب من إيحاءات لقبه، دبلوماسي مصري وطني، وعظيم الكفاءة في أداء مهامه، ولا يقبل دور الدمية الذي ارتضاه أبو الغيط، خاصة بعد تداعي نفوذ عمر سليمان الذي كان يلعب دور وزير الخارجية الحقـــيقي، وبدت تصريحات نبيل العربي الأولى مما يدل على تطور تدريجـــي في الموقف المصري، فقد أنهى الرجل قصة العداء الأرثوذكسي لدور إيران، وأوحى باتجاه لتحسين العلاقة مع طهران، بل والاســتعداد للتواصل مع حزب الله، وهو ما يبدو انفتاحا يشمل حماس أيضا، خاصة مع ظهور الوزن الراجح للتيار الإسلامي على الساحة المصرية، وما يبدو من علاقة تفاهم بين جماعة الإخوان والمجلس العسكري الحاكم برئاسة المشير حسين طنطاوي، وكلها تطورات تضيف لبيئة تفاهم أفضل مع قيادة حماس، وهو ما عبر عنه محمود الزهار وزير خارجية حماس، والرجل القوى في قيادة الداخل، الذي كان أول مسؤول حماسي بارز يدعى لزيارة مصر بعد الثورة، وترتب له لقاءات على مستويات مميزة، وعلى خلفية التحذير المصري لإسرائيل من شن حرب مجددة على غزة. والتفاصيل على الجبهة المصرية كثيرة، وقد لا يستحسن الخوض في تشابكاتها الآن، ربما الخلاصة: أن عزلة حماس تنفك مصريا، بينما عزلة عباس تزداد، حتى لو جرت دعوته ورجاله لزيارة القاهرة، كما هو معتاد بروتوكوليا، فلم يعد الوسيط المصري كما كان بالضبط، لم يعد ذلك الطرف الضاغط على حماس لحساب عباس، وهو ما يعني أن حوار حماس وعباس صار مرتبطا أكثر بالمعادلات الفلسطينية الداخلية، وهي تميل، أيضا، لمصلحة سياسة حماس، وتخذل عباس، فكل الفصائل المؤثرة ميدانيا ـ عدا حال فتح المأزوم ـ أقرب لتقبل الوزن المميز لحماس، وهيئة الثوابت الفلسطينية، وهي تضم أغلب الشخصيات الفلسطينية الوطنية، هذه الهيئة تخاصم تنازلات عباس، وحركة الشباب الفلسطيني تميل باطراد للربط الوثيق المستحق بين شعار (الشعب يريد إنهاء الانقسام) وشعار (الشعب يريد إنهاء الاحتلال)، وهو ما يضيق الخناق أكثر على عباس، ويحاصر مناوراته، ويكشف استحالة عودته عن خدمة إسرائيل إلى خدمة الكفاح الفلسطيني، ويخلق شعورا أقرب لشعار قد يتطور إليه المزاج الفلسطيني، وهو أن (الشعب يريد إقصاء عباس). "

القصة الكاملة والرهيبة لتآمر الأسد مع اسرائيل على حوران

(Click on map to enlarge)

وصلتني رسالة من شخص يعيش في السويد يخبرني أنه كان من المترجمين في المفاوضات التي لحقت حرب تشرين عام 1973 وأنه استغرب دخول دبابات الجيش السوري الى منطقة نوى وتسيل وجاسم والحارّة في حوران المتاخمة للجبهة السورية- الإسرائيلية. فحسب ما شهده وترجمه أن هناك منطقة منزوعة السلاح أو محدودة السلاح تمتد حسب القطاع (جبهة الجولان كانت مقسمة الى ثلاثة قطاعات شمالي أوسط وجنوبي) ففي الشمالي هي 10 كم والأوسط 25 والحنوبي 30كم.....

وأصر هذا الشخص أن دخول هذه الدبابات هو اختراق لهذه الإتفاقية واستغرب سكوت إسرائيل عليها.

تفاجأت بهذه المعلومات وقررت أن أتحقق منها ومن أعلى درجات المسؤولية فهذه الإتهامات ليس فقط خطيرة جدا وتثبت خيانة نظام بشار لشعبه واستعداده للذهاب الى اي مدى لبقاء فساده وإجرامه. بل تثبت يد إسرائيل في جرائم ضد الإنسانية ضد شعب أعزل واستعداد إسرائيل للذهاب الى أي مدى للمساعدة على بقاء نظام بشار على قلوب الشعب السوري تحت أي ظروف وإجرام.

فشكلت فريق عمل وطلبت من صحافي مصري هنا في سيدني أن يتكفل بالجانب الإسرائيلي وتكفلت بالجانب السوري وتكفلت صديقة ناشطة أسترالية بالامم المتحدة.

فبدأت بالتأكد من وجود هذه الدبابات في منطقة الحارة وتسيل وجاسم ونوى وتأكدنا سريعا ووجود فيديوهات عن مذبحة جاسم وتسيل واضح وغير قابل للنقاش ثم استخدمنا غوغل ومواقع الأمم المتحدة لنتأكد من بنود اتفاق الهدنة بين إسرائيل وسورية الإتفاق رقم 350 لمجلس الامن بتاريخ 13_5_1974 يحدد وبدقة مواقع الهدنة والمناطق المعزولة السلاح والمناطق المحدودة السلاح وللمفاجأة أنها كلها على الجانب السوري فقط!!!! وتثبتنا أن هذه المناطق تغطي هذه المناطق تماما

فكيف أدخل بشار الدبابات الى هذه المناطق اذا ؟ ولماذا سكوت الأمم المتحدة وإسرائيل على هذا الإختراق الواضح والفاضح لهذه الإتفاقية؟ 

بدأنا بقوات UNDOF وهي قوات الامم المتحدة التي تشرف على هذه الإتفاقية على الجانبين السوري والإسرائيلي فاتصل الصحفي المصري بقيادة هذه القوات على الجانب الإسرائيلي وهو الجنرال "ماركو كرمنالي" وسأله عن هذه الخروقات فأنكر هذا الجنرال معرفته باي خروقات وأكد أنه وظيفته هي نقل أي اختراقات "إسرائيلية فقط وليس السورية واقترح الإتصال بزميله في الجانب السوري الجنرال "ناتاليو اي كارما" وزودنا برقم مكتبه في سورية

قمت أنا بالإتصال وبعد رنات طويلة تحولت مكالمتي الى غرفة العمليات فأجابني شخص مشغول على مايبدو فحيث طلب مني الإنتظار ريثما يتعامل مع أمور طارئة لديه على مايبدو وتركني استمع لكل مايقول وكل مايقال له عبر الإتصالات اللاسلكية وفهمت أنه يسجل تقارير ضباط هذه الوحدة على الأرض حيث يبلغونه بعدد الآليات ومواقعها في مناطق الخرق الحاصل على الجانب السوري.

عاد الي بعد عدة دقائق جيث عرفت عن نفسي كصحفي استرالي وعندها أعطاني رقم قائده الجوال اتصلت بهذا الجنرال(نتاليو اي كارما) وعرفته على نفسي كصحفي استرالي وسألته عن هذه الإختراقات فأنكر وجود أي اختراقات فأجبته أنه لدي شهود عيان وأنني قد استمعت بنفسي لتقارير ضباطه على الأرض عن هذه الإختراقات فتفاجأ وصمت لفترة ثم طلب مني عدم النشر حاليا "لأن الوضع خطير جدا" وهو الآن في مبنى هيئة الاركان السوري ينتظر مقابلة رئيس الأركان السوري ثم طلب مني التحدث "مع الامريكان" لأنهم "يطيرون طائرات تصوير كل ستة ساعات وهم أعرف منه عن هذه الإختراقات

تفاجأنا من محاولات قوات الأمم المتحدة من رمي مسؤولياتهم على اي شخص كان وعدم تحملهن مسؤولية رفع التقارير عن هذه الإختراقات الى مجلس الامن كما ينبغي عليهم رجع الصحفي المصري واتصل بقائد الوحدة في اسرائيل ووضع لهم مانعرف وطلب ردة فعله فقال لنا بكل صراحة أنه اذا لم يقرر الطرفان "الإسرائيلي أو السوري " أخذ أي اختراقات الى مجلس الامن فليس بيد هذا المجلس أو هذه القوات(الامم المتحدة) اي شيء ليعملوه سوى المراقبة!! أي بما معناه "اذا القاضي راضي" فليس للأمم المتحدة ما تفعله!!

فقررنا أن نأخذ هذه المعلومات الى الحكومة الإسرائيلية نفسها فاتصلت الصديقة الأسترالية والصحفي المصري بمكاتب باراك ومكتب داليا اتسحاق ووضعنا هذه الأسئلة لديهم فجاء الرد بأن نسأل مكتب رئيس مجلس الوزراء عن هذا فطلبنا مساعدة صديق يهودي هنا عارف بطريقة عمل الحكومة الإسرائيلية فأكد لنا أن تحويلنا من مكتب باراك ومكتب داليا(رئيسة المعارضة) يعني أن قرارا قد اتخذ حول هذه من مكتب رئيس الوزراء فقط وليس من مجلس الوزراء أو من اللجنة الدفاعية المصغرة الوزارية فهذا يعني أن الموساد الإسرائيلي التابع لمكتب رئيس الوزراء هو الذي طلب ورئيس الوزراء وافق بدون الرجوع لمجلس الوزراء حسب صلاحيته كرئيس أعلى للموساد فعلى مايبدو اعتبر رئيس الوزراء هذه الامر أمرا مخابراتيا بحتا وليس أمرا يهم الأمن القومي لإسرائيل!!!

أي بالعربي الافصح من هذا أن هناك صفقة بين الموساد والنظام السوري وقد كان رئيس الوزراء الإسرائيلي راضيا أن مصلحة إسرائيل قد خدمت بالموافقة على هذه الخروقات وأنه متأكد تماما من نوايا سورية وأنها غير عدوانيىة على الإطلاق على المدى المباشر والطويل ليسمح بمثل هذه الخروقات وهناك بالتأكيد صفقة ما تستفيد منها إسرائيل بسكوتها عن هذه الإختراقات

مايهمنا كثوار سوريين أن نفضح هذا التآمر بين إسرائيل والنظام السوري ونحذر جميع من يستخدمهم هذا النظام كحماس وحزب الله عن ان أي صفقة اسدية موسادية هي على حسابهم بالتأكيد فأهل حوران الصامدة ليسوا هم فقط المعنيين بمثل هذه الخيانة الفاضحة بل من سيقع ضحية هذه الإتفاقيات ونتذكر "مغنية" ومسؤول حماس المقتول في دبي ونتسائل عمن سيكون ثمن دخول دبابات الأسد الى حوران 

Syrian mourners say government snipers carried out massacre

Anger on streets as demonstrators massacred by Syrian government are buried

Katherine Marsh
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 3 April 2011

"Thousands of protesters returned to the streets of Damascus as funerals for those killed in a reported massacre by government forces last Friday were held in a suburb of the capital city. Human rights groups have claimed at least 15 people were shot dead on Friday during pro-reform demonstrations in the neighbourhood of Douma, eight miles north-east of the centre of the Syrian capital. Some non-governmental organisations claim up to 22 protesters may have been killed, with more than 100 wounded, including 20 in a critical condition. Angry mourners chanted "down with the regime" as eight of Friday's victims, believed to have been targeted by government snipers, were buried. "This was the systematic killing of peaceful and unarmed citizens by security forces," said Radwan Ziadeh, head of the Damascus Centre for Human Rights, one of several organisations that has collated matching witness accounts of the incident. Witnesses told the Guardian that thugs were bussed in by government forces to attack demonstrators. Journalists and diplomats were prevented from reaching the area over the weekend, and phone lines to Damascus have been disrupted....."

The ghosts of Syria

Syrians claim that roaming gangs of thugs have turned peaceful pro-democracy protests into violent chaos.

Hugh Macleod and a reporter in Syria
Al-Jazeera

"They are known to the locals of Lattakia as the ghosts - al-Shabeha - but when these phantoms dress up it is in black and their terror is tangible. In a port city dominated by Sunni Muslims, who comprise three quarters of the Syrian population, and surrounded by mountain villages that are home to Alawites, a minority that has ruled over the country for 40 years, these roaming gangs of black-clothed thugs have turned peaceful protests calling for freedom into deadly chaos. Bashar al-Assad, Syria's president, warned in a speech this week that such gangs are part of a foreign plot to drive a wedge between Syria's different religious and ethnic communities. But in interviews with residents, journalists and eyewitnesses in Lattakia almost all say the same thing: Shabeha are almost exclusively Alawites from the region, described by one reliable source as the private militia of the Assad family itself....."

شام - قناة الـBBC مداخلة من أحد شباب دوما قبل الجنازة

شام - درعا - صور و أسماء الشهداء 3-4-2011

Assad thugs attacking one of the demonstrators in Homs

Al-Jazeera Video: Inside Story - A conflict in stalemate

GOOD COMMENTS BY SEUMAS MILNE



"As neither side has made any significant advances since the uprising against Gaddafi's rule began six weeks ago, what are the options?"

Real News Video: Jihan Hafiz On Reporting From Libya

Recently returned from Bengazi, Hafiz reports on rebel fighters, supporters and early stages of the Libyan uprising

Real News Video With Transcript: Syria: Sectarian War or Class War

Joshua Landis: Regime supported by Syrian elites, Assad says his rule prevents civil war

The Libyan Revolution Has Been Bought and Paid For.....Time for a Real Revolution Against the Karzais of Libya.

Western military advisers become visible in Benghazi

Former Royal Navy officer is 'consultant' to rebels and small British convoy say they are 'engineers'

By Kim Sengupta in Ajdabiya and David Randall in London
The Independent

"The first discernible signs of mission creep by the coalition were detected in Libya yesterday. In several places around Benghazi, there were palpable signs that Western "assistance" was active on the ground. Military and diplomatic operatives from the US and Western Europe – usually described as experts, consultants and advisers – turned up in the rebel capital, Benghazi. These include UK personnel, among them a former Royal Navy officer who had recently served as a diplomat in Afghanistan. He said he was in Libya as a consultant to the opposition administration. A group speaking with English and Scottish accents was encountered on the road out of Benghazi towards the front line in three four-wheel-drive cars. They said they were carrying out engineering maintenance work. If such personnel are now operational, can military trainers be far behind?...."