Qatar crosses the Syrian Rubicon: £63m to buy weapons for the rebels

A milestone has been reached in the conflict and, just as with the Libyan uprising last year, Doha is backing regime change

Martin Chulov
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 1 March 2012

"On Monday, Qatar's prime minister declared his state's intent to start helping the Syrian opposition "by all means", including giving them weapons. Two days later, anti-Assad officials received an offer of a $100m (£63m) donation, from their brothers in arms in Libya. Coincidence? Unlikely, if the Libyan revolution is any indicator.

The third act, in what looks very much like the beginning of a concerted push to arm the Syrian insurgency, took place today when the previously gun-shy Syrian National Council formed a military council, which it says will act as a clearing house for anyone offering it arms.

Two probabilities have quickly emerged: the first is that a militarised Syrian National Council is unlikely to be short of suppliers. And, second, Libya is merely a conduit for the $100m, which was at least partly funded by Qatar to get things rolling......

Qatar's remarks this week, as well as Saudi Arabia's claim last Friday that arming the Syrian rebels would be an "excellent idea", clearly shows a new reality. The Rubicon has been crossed. Hopes of resolving Syria's raging insurgency through patience, or dialogue, have evaporated......

Not any more. "We should do whatever necessary to help them, including giving them weapons to defend themselves," said Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani, on Monday. "This uprising in Syria now [has lasted] one year. For 10 months, it was peaceful: nobody was carrying weapons, nobody was doing anything. And Bashar continued killing them.

"So I think they're right to defend themselves by weapons, and I think we should help these people by all means."

After urging political recourse and discouraging intervention for so long, the Syrian National Council is now also speaking from a markedly different script....."

Syrian unrest: Homs under attack - interactive

Opposition-held areas of Homs have come under government attack, with rebels making a retreat under fire from Babr Amr and fighting reported elsewhere

Paddy Allen and Paul Scruton
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 1 March 2012

Wikileaks vs. Stratfor: Pursue The Truth, Not Its Messenger

By Amy Goodman
Common Dreams

"WikiLeaks, the whistle-blower website, has again published a massive trove of documents, this time from a private intelligence firm known as Stratfor. The source of the leak was the hacker group “Anonymous,” which took credit for obtaining more than 5 million emails from Stratfor’s servers. Anonymous obtained the material on Dec. 24, 2011, and provided it to WikiLeaks, which in turn partnered with 25 media organizations globally to analyze the emails and publish them.

Among the emails was a short one-liner that suggested the U.S. government has produced, through a secret grand jury, a sealed indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. In addition to painting a picture of Stratfor as a runaway, rogue private intelligence firm with close ties to government-intelligence agencies serving both corporate and U.S. military clients, the emails support the growing awareness that the Obama administration, far from diverging from the secrecy of the Bush/Cheney era, is obsessed with secrecy, and is aggressively opposed to transparency...."

Al-Jazeera Video: Humanitarian conditions worsen in Homs as siege continues

Al-Jazeera Video: Palestinian prisoners boycott military courts

Dr. Strangedrone, by Khalil Bendib

(Click on cartoon to enlarge)

Between Politics and Principles: Hamas' Perilous Maneuvers

By Ramzy Baroud
Palestine Chronicle

"Despite all of Hamas' assurances to the contrary, a defining struggle is taking place within the Palestinian Islamic movement. The outcome of this struggle – which is still confined to polite political disagreements and occasional intellectual tussle – is likely to change Hamas’ outlook, if not fundamentally alter its position within a quickly changing Arab political landscape.

The current Hamas is already different from the one initially set up by a local Gaza leadership in December 1987 in response to the first Palestinian uprising.....

Writing in the Lebanese Daily Star, Michael Broning, Israel-based director of the German Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung foundation, agrees. “Meshaal has come to represent a force of change,” he states, while Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh “represents the conservative wing of Gaza’s Hamas leadership.” Thus a long-coveted opening is presenting itself as “disagreements within Hamas have been escalating, pitting the movement’s diaspora leadership against the Hamas-led Gaza administration.” Tellingly, the title of Broning’s article is: “Engage Hamas’ moderates and test their newfound flexibility” (Feb 24).

Some commentators, Broning included, are widely speculating on the future of the movement. News outlets are rife with reports regarding Hamas’ maneuvering - whether compelled by political necessity or propelled by the ideological triumph of Islamist forces in the region.

Hamas might be reinventing itself, or it may simply be trying to weather the storm. Either way, the political context of Hamas’ maneuvers is quickly leaving its traditional home (the Israeli occupation), and moving into a whole new dimension regarding the region as a whole. While Hamas might convincingly argue that survival necessitates measured shifts in politics, it is more difficult to explain how quickly and readily regional politicking is trumping national priorities.

Indeed, the line separating principles and politics can at times be a very fine one. "

Why Islamists will just keep winning

By Rami G. Khouri
The Daily Star

"A persistent question we have heard during each Arab uprising across the Arab world in the past year has been, “What happens after the regime falls? Who takes over power?” This is usually asked with a tone of foreboding, with concern that bad or unknown political forces will assume power. Most worry revolves around the prospect of the Muslim Brotherhood or other Islamists assuming power, on the grounds that they are the best organized political groups.

Sometimes this leads frightened people to conclude that it is better to stick with the governments we have – despite their flaws – rather than risk the unknown or an Islamist takeover of power. We hear the same thing said about Syria these days, as many ponder the possible or, I sense, likely, fall of the Assad family dynasty of 42 years.

It is time for analysts to get over their worries and adjust to the overwhelming lesson from the first year of the ongoing Arab uprisings: The transition from autocracy to democracy, and from authoritarianism to pluralism, in the Arab world must necessarily pass through a phase of Islamist rule or of coalition governments in which Islamists play a role.

This is one conclusion we should draw from the track record of the past year....

Islamists who form governing coalitions with secular, business, military or other groups in society must necessarily work overtime to forge realistic policies that can respond to the many urgent needs of their fellow citizens. If they succeed in promoting economic growth, social equity, stability and constitutional democracy – as the mildly Islamist ruling party does in Turkey – they will do so because of their capacity to govern efficiently, and they will be re-elected.

This will mark the stage at which Islamists participating in coalitions affirm the secular nature of the ruling authority and state, while enhancing the adherence of citizens to their Islamic values."

Al-Jazeera Video: Army defectors operate in Damascus

"Al Jazeera has evidence that the Free Syrian Army is operating under the nose of President Bashar al Assad's government in the capital, Damascus."

Iraq: Intimidation at Anniversary Protests

Beatings, Detentions in Kurdistan; Blocked Access in Baghdad

Human Rights Watch
March 1, 2012

"(Beirut) – Uniformed security forces clamped down on demonstrations marking February 2012 anniversaries of the start of weekly protests in Iraq, Human Rights Watch said today. Security forces blocked access to protest sites in Baghdad; beat and arrested peaceful demonstrators in Sulaimaniya, Kurdistan; and briefly detained, beat, or confiscated equipment from media workers and prevented others from covering the protests.

Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 15 demonstrators, bystanders, and journalists who were at the demonstrations on the February 17 and 25 anniversaries in Kurdistan and Baghdad, respectively. Activists said that in the build-up to the demonstrations, security forces threatened them with arrest and unidentified people threatened them with violence if they attended.

“Security forces are using repressive means to keep peaceful protestors at bay,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “While the level of violence may be lower than it was a year ago, the effect is the same – preventing Iraqis from engaging in peaceful dissent.”....."

Gaza hit by power crisis. Where is the "New" Egypt??

An acute fuel shortage is putting hospital patients at risk and increasing hardship among Gaza Strip residents

Harriet Sherwood, Gaza City
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 1 March 2012

"Gaza is in the midst of an acute power crisis, with blackouts lasting up to 12 hours and a shortage of generator fuel putting at risk the lives of cardiac and dialysis patients and babies in incubators, as well as increasing daily hardship among the general population.

The sole, privately owned, power station in the Palestinian enclave shut down on Tuesday for the second time in two weeks as a result of the fuel shortage, worsening already limited electricity supplies.

Thirteen public hospitals are running generators on emergency fuel supplied by the Red Cross more than a week ago. However, the 150,000 litres of diesel are expected to be exhausted within the next few days. Hospitals are relying on generators for up to 18 hours a day, according to the Red Cross, which says it cannot guarantee further supplies......"

Brave witness: Tom Hurndall's The Only House Left Standing – in pictures

Peace activist and aspiring photojournalist Tom Hurndall died in 2004, aged 22, after being shot by an Israeli soldier. His words and images bear witness to events he saw while living in Iraq, Jordan and the Gaza Strip. The Only House Left Standing: The Middle East Journals of Tom Hurndall is published this week by Trolley Books. Here are a selection of Hurndall's photographs, and his own words, from the book

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 1 March 2012


6 April 2003. An ISM (International Solidarity Movement) protester confronts a bulldozer at an anti-home demolition protest, Rafah. 'As for the Israeli soldiers, they are all jokers until you realise they they don't care much if they kill you. Maybe I'd get on with them a bit better if I'd met them somewhere else'

Guardian Video: Arab League chief says arming Syrian opposition might be an alternative

Speaking in Cairo, the secretary general of the Arab League, Nabil al-Arabi, says that should the international community fail to end the violence in Syria, arming the rebel forces might be a possible alternative. Reports on Wednesday say a ground attack has started in Homs, with government troops advancing on part of the city

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 29 February 2012

The regime calls it 'cleaning', but the dirty truth is plain to see

The word being used by Syria is a chilling one

By Robert Fisk

"So it's the "cleaning" of Baba Amr now, is it? "Tingheef" in Arabic. Did that anonymous Syrian government official really use that word to the AP yesterday? It's a chilling expression, one that always precedes a lot of killing. And the UN says it's 7,600 so far. The Israelis used the same word in English when they stormed into Lebanon in 1982 (total dead about 17,500). Five months earlier, when the Syrians were finishing off the Muslim insurgents of Hama, just north of Homs (more than 10,000, possibly 15,000 dead), they said they were "researching" the area, "searching", "investigating". The word they used was "bahagh".

It's a honey of a word for all armies when they're going to abandon human rights. The Brits used to like "mopping up" in the Second World War (approximately 60 million dead). So did the Russians. In the Warsaw Ghetto, the Germans referred to the "cleansing" of Jewish streets in 1944. The word was that of SS Major General Jürgen Stroop in his "police" report (50,000 dead). Cleaning, searching, mopping up, cleansing; massed killing washed of all responsibility. After you "clean" something, it doesn't smell any more.

No, the Syrians are not the Israelis, the Israelis are not the Brits and Russians, and the Syrians, Israelis, Brits and Russians are not the SS. But words do have an unhappy way of reflecting real intentions. The more you polish, search, wash, clean, cleanse, the less blood there should be on the ground. The defence brigades who crushed Hama 30 years ago were led by "Uncle" Rifaat Assad, his nephew, Bashar, is now President of Syria, his other nephew, Maher, is reputedly leading his 4th Brigade into Baba Amr.

Anyway, the tanks bombarded the Sunni district of Homs first, then the infantry – according to residents on the phone yesterday – started to move in. The "decisive month" had begun, according to another "anonymous" Syrian official. Every month in Syria, of course, has been a "decisive month". It's been that way for a year now. In September 1980, I remember, Saddam's gombeen men talked about the "decisive month" in the "Whirlwind War" – the invasion of Iran. The war lasted eight years (about 1.5 million dead).

Anyway, we'll see what Assad's squadrons are made of. Will his infantry defect when they have to batter their way into Homs? A real worry. Will the Free Syria Army fight to the death or run away to fight another day? And civilian casualties in Baba Amr?

If Assad's men win, we might hear a figure. The Assad version won't include Sunni "enemy" dead, any more than his antagonists are going to tell us how many Alawite and Christian "enemies" they've killed. Assad says he's fighting "terrorists". Rifaat said the same at Hama. The Israelis used the word a thousand times about the Palestinians. The Russians said the same about the Germans. Stroop said the same about the Jews.

Alas, all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten these little hands."

Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian children killed in Sirmeen

"As soldiers launch a massive ground assault on a rebel-held district of Homs, other Syrian towns also struggle with the effects of the army's bombardment.

In northern Idlib province, activists say many of the casualties are children.

Al Jazeera's Khadija Magardie reports."

Leaked Stratfor Email Suggests Secret U.S. Indictment of WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange

Democracy Now!

"The whistleblowing website WikiLeaks has published an internal email from the private intelligence firm Stratfor that suggests the U.S. Justice Department has obtained a sealed indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The email is one of around five million obtained from Stratfor’s servers by the hacker group, Anonymous. "Somehow you have a private intelligence company, Stratfor, a 'shadow CIA,' as people have called it, having information about this sealed indictment—secret again—that Julian Assange doesn’t have, that WikiLeaks doesn’t have, that his lawyers don’t have," says Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights, who is a legal adviser to both Assange and to WikiLeaks. "What you see here is secrecy, secrecy, secrecy." News of the indictment comes less than a week after Army Private Bradley Manning was arraigned for allegedly leaking classified U.S. military and State Department documents to WikiLeaks....."

Amnesty International’s Salil Shetty: Arms Embargo, Human Rights Monitors Needed for Syria Crisis

Democracy Now!

"The death toll in Syria has reportedly topped 7,500 after 11 months of the government’s crackdown on anti-government protesters and armed rebels. Activists say more than 250 people have died in the past two days alone — mostly from government shelling in Homs and Hama province. We speak with the Secretary General of Amnesty International, Salil Shetty, who is due to discuss Syria withU.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. "The Syrian government needs to stop the bombardment," Shetty says, noting Amnesty International has not called for the use of force. "The immediate issue is about allowing unfettered access to independent human rights monitors. It’s [also] to stop the arms flow, because the arms embargo which we’ve been calling for for a long time has not happened." Shetty also discusses the crackdown on freedom of expression in Iran during the run up to this week’s parliamentary elections, human rights in Egypt, and Amnesty International’s campaign for an effective global Arms Trade Treaty....."

Al-Jazeera Video: قوات إسرائيلية تقتحم مقر تلفزيوني وطن والقدس

Real News Video (with Transcript): United States vs. Manning & Assange

Michael Ratner: Army is trying to pressure Manning into implicating Julian Assange so that he too can be charged and extradited to US

The US-Israeli divide: it’s a chasm

by Justin Raimondo, February 29, 2012

"I had to laugh when I read the Associated Press piece on Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak’s message to a series of visiting US officials:

“Israeli officials say they won’t warn the U.S. if they decide to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, according to one U.S. intelligence official familiar with the discussions. The pronouncement, delivered in a series of private, top-level conversations, sets a tense tone ahead of meetings in the coming days at the White House and Capitol Hill.”

The traffic between Washington and Tel Aviv has been crowded lately: top US officials, including the chairman of the joint chiefs, are traipsing to Israel, “all trying to close the trust gap between Israel and the U.S. over how to deal with Iran’s nuclear ambitions,” as the AP piece puts it.

While diplomats speak a language made up almost entirely of euphemisms, the reality is that the “trust gap” is a veritable chasm. For the Israelis to tell us – their chief benefactors and defenders – they have no intention of warning us before undertaking an action which will put US troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the entire region in mortal danger, is beyond outrageous. It is an overtly hostile act. In effect, what they are threatening amounts to the Middle Eastern Pearl Harbor. The irony is that the means to launch such an attack were given to them by us....."

Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian underground medics treat wounded

"Some doctors in the Syrian capital, Damascus, have started working in secret to treat people wounded in the uprising. They move from house to house, with whatever medical equipment they can get their hands on.

Many wounded fear they will be reported to the security services if they go to a hospital.

Al Jazeera's Laurence Lee reports."

The Arab world's first ladies of oppression

Their husbands have run some of the most brutal regimes of the Arab world. But who are the women who stand by the dictators?

Angelique Chrisafis
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 28 February 2012

"In December 2010, the French first lady Carla Bruni sat down to lunch under the gold chandeliers of the Elysée palace with Asma al-Assad, wife of the Syrian leader Bashar. As they sat demurely with their husbands around a butterfly-print tablecloth dominated by a pastel flower-arrangement, a photographer was ushered in to grab a picture for French celebrity magazines. After all, this was a communion of fashion's high priestesses: a former Italian supermodel turned folk-singer entertaining a Chanel-loving, London-raised, former banker and conveniently westernised Middle Eastern first lady. French Elle had recently voted Asma "the most stylish woman in world politics", Paris Match called her "an eastern Diana", a "ray of light in a country full of shadow zones".

Only days after the lunch, a desperate Tunisian vegetable seller would set himself alight, sparking the first revolution of the Arab spring. Already, as the Sarkozys' butlers served the Assads crystal glasses of freshly squeezed juice from silver platters, there was unease among certain diplomats about the French president schmoozing the ruler of an oppressive dictatorship known for torture, brutality and political prisoners. But Nicolas Sarkozy, an expert on the importance of photogenic wives in politics, saw Asma as his insurance policy. "When we explained that this was the worst kind of tyrant, Sarkozy would say: 'Bashar protects Christians, and with a wife as modern as his, he can't be completely bad,'" the former French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner later confided to journalists....."

Syrian activists killed in Paul Conroy rescue mission

Up to 13 activists died smuggling the Sunday Times photographer out of the country, it has emerged

Peter Beaumont
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 28 February 2012

"Paul Conroy, the Sunday Times photographer wounded in the leg in an attack in the besieged city of Homs, has been smuggled out of Syria in a dramatic and dangerous rescue in which up to 13 activists lost their lives, it has emerged.

Conroy survived the attack last week that killed his colleague Marie Colvin. Three other western journalists, including Edith Bouvier, who was badly injured in the same incident, were reported to be still trapped in Homs on Tuesday night. A claim by the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, that Bouvier had also been evacuated was later retracted by his office.

The news came on the day the United Nations said "well over 7,500 people" had been killed in Syria during the 11-month government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. This figure is significantly higher than previous estimates.

"While we cannot give exact casualty figures there are credible reports the death toll now often exceeds 100 civilians a day, including many women and children," said Lynn Pascoe, the UN undersecretary general for political affairs.

"The total killed so far is certainly well over 7,500 people," he said, adding that the firepower available to the opposition was small compared with that deployed by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad....."

Avaaz: the activist organisation behind Paul Conroy's rescue in Syria

The 'clicktivist' group has campaigned on issues from Burma to Murdoch, but is taking on a riskier role in the Arab spring

Julian Borger
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 28 February 2012

"Founded in 2007, Avaaz.org has quickly become the biggest and most ambitious of a new breed of activist organisation, designed for a wired, globalised world. It has established a network of activists and civilian journalists on the ground in Syria – where it played a key role in helping to rescue the British journalist Paul Conroy from the besieged city of Homs – and across the Arab world.

Its website describes it as "the world in action" and "the campaigning community bringing people-powered politics to decision-making worldwide".

The name means "voice" in Farsi and several other Asian and European languages, and the idea is to provide a vehicle for like-minded people across the world to organise quickly over burning political issues and apply pressure on governments through online petitions or street protests.....

Avaaz is funded by member contribution and says it does not accept money from any government or corporation. It sets its campaigning priorities by canvassing its 13-million-strong membership worldwide....

The network has taken on a prominent and more physically risky role in the Arab spring, providing satellite phones and other communication equipment to pro-democracy groups in Libya, Egypt and Syria....."

Syria: 30 years on, Hama survivors recount the horror

Amnesty International

28 February 2012

"The Syrian military assault on Homs is now in its fourth week with no sign of abating, prompting memories in nearby Hama of mass killings 30 years ago.

Three decades ago, Syrian troops under the government of Hafez al-Assad – father of current President Bashar al-Assad – unleashed a bloody 27-day assault on Hama.

It followed an ambush of soldiers by members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and attacks on officials and alleged “collaborators”.

The final death toll may have reached 25,000, from both sides.

Some 6,000 to 8,000 soldiers were dispatched to Hama in February 1982, according to news reports and information received by Amnesty International.

Old parts of the city were bombed from the air and shelled in order to allow the entry of troops and tanks along the narrow streets.

The ancient Hadra neighbourhood was apparently razed to the ground by tanks during the first four days of fighting....

No longer isolated

While the survivors’ descriptions of military tactics are similar to those being used in Homs and other cities today, the sense of isolation felt by Hama’s residents in 1982 has diminished.

“Now the people have learnt the lies and crimes of the regime – we know how the political security works now,” said Ayad Khatab, who is originally from Hama but now lives abroad.

“Hama is no longer isolated; there is solidarity between different cities. This raises the morale not just in Hama, but all over Syria … they have no fear anymore.”

‘Mohamed’, an activist from Hama who spoke with Amnesty International on condition of anonymity, said that the lack of independent media coverage of events in 1982 resulted in fewer military defections.

But with more eyewitness accounts and video footage leaving Syrian cities via the internet, mobile phones and satellite communications, the tide has changed.

“The biggest difference is that in 1982 Hama was totally destroyed and the villages nearby found out only a week later,” Mohamed told Amnesty International....."

Report from Kabul: Deadly Protests over U.S. Koran Burning May Be Turning Point for U.S. Occupation

Democracy Now!

"The U.S.-led NATO occupation in Afghanistan is facing a storm of violence and outrage over the burning of copies of the Koran by U.S. troops at the Bagram Air Base last week. Retaliatory attacks and public protests have swept Afghanistan, leaving more than 40 Afghans dead. On Sunday, six U.S. soldiers were injured in northern Afghanistan when a demonstrator threw a grenade at a U.S. base. Two senior U.S. Army officers were shot dead on Friday inside the Afghan Interior Ministry. In private, U.S. officials are expressing worry about the situation in Afghanistan. We go to Kabul to speak with John Wendle, a reporter for TIME and photographer for Polaris Images. "I think we’re going to continue to see attacks," Wendle says. "[This] makes it difficult for the United States to pull out and achieve the one goal that it’s kind of set for itself, which is training the Afghan security forces so they can stand on their own two feet and provide security in this country."....."

WikiLeaks: Leaked Emails Expose Inner Workings of Private Intelligence Firm Stratfor, a “Shadow CIA”

Democracy Now!

"The whistleblowing website WikiLeaks has begun publishing what it says are 5.5 million emails obtained from the servers of Stratfor, a private U.S.-based intelligence-gathering firm known to some as a "shadow CIA" for corporations and government agencies. The emails were reportedly obtained by the hackers group, Anonymous. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said the files implicate some of the world’s largest firms in corporate espionage. Firms with ties to Stratfor include Coca-Cola, Goldman Sachs, Dow Chemical, and sectors of the U.S. government — including the Department of Homeland Security, the Marines Corps and the Defense Intelligence Agency. Coke asked Stratfor to keep tabs on the protest plans of the group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "We’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the stories. It will come out in the next coming days and weeks,” said Kristinn Hrafnsson, a WikiLeaks spokesperson who has been a key member of the project to release the Stratfor emails. “What we were doing yesterday was introducing the project: The nature of Stratfor and how they operate, and their ties.”..."

Al-Jazeera Video: Syria's referendum: Real change or games?

"Syrian has announced overwhelming approval for its new constitution, after a referendum. But the nationwide vote was not well received by all. Inside Story asks: Is this referendum on a new constitution for Syria a real change or is it a sham?"

Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian troops accused of targeting children

"Syrian government forces have been blamed by residents for attacking and killing thousands of civilians, including hundreds of children, during the crackdown on the country's 11-month uprising.

Two fathers in central Damascus, which has seen a protest movement smaller than other cities like Homs, Hama and Idlib due to a heavier presence of security forces, have told Al Jazeera how their sons were either murdered or shot by troops.

One of them blames a soldier for his son's death in this exclusive report."

Real News Video : Israel's "New West Bank"

New plan reveals gov't relocating Bedouins in Negev Desert to create Jewish contiguity south of the West Bank.

Real News Video: The Syrian Opposition and the External Players

Bassam Haddad: The Syrian revolution must guard against interference by external powers and the Syrian National Council

Judge throws out Israel-backed lawsuit against Olympia Food Co-op, upholds right to boycott

By Ali Abunimah

"In a major setback for Israeli efforts to suppress the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement in the United States, a judge in Olympia, Washington today dismissed a lawsuit designed to force the Olympia Food Co-op to rescind its boycott of Israeli goods.

The judge ruled that the lawsuit, brought by opponents of the boycott, violated a Washington State law designed to prevent abusive lawsuits aimed at suppressing lawful public participation. The court said it would award the defendants attorneys’ fees, costs, and levy sanctions against the plaintiffs......"

Obama, the Jewish lobby and the bomb

By Kaveh L Afrasiabi
Asia Times

"As Barack Obama prepares to face the pro-Israel lobby in America, he confronts one of the toughest choices of his presidency: whether to appease the warmongers. Much like the false pretexts of the Iraqi war [Iran supported that one!], a picture is being painted that exploits Iran for political gain and is far from the reality of its nuclear intentions....."

Syria timeline: how the conflict has escalated - interactive

From the first ripples of discontent that stirred in Syria almost a year ago to a government crackdown that has claimed more than 5,000 lives, this interactive timeline charts a conflict that grows more brutal by the day

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 28 February 2012

Paul Conroy safe in Lebanon after Syria ordeal

Sunday Times photographer is smuggled out of Homs but William Daniel, Edith Bouvier and Javier Espinosa remain

Martin Chulov in Beirut
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 28 February 2012

"Paul Conroy, the British Sunday Times photographer who was wounded in the besieged city of Homs, has been smuggled out of Syria and is safe in Lebanon.

Conroy arrived alone in Lebanon while efforts continued to evacuate three other reporters – the French photographer William Daniel, French reporter Edith Bouvier, and Spaniard Javier Espinosa.

Conroy had twice refused to leave the Baba Amr district of Homs without the body of his colleague, the Sunday Times correspondent Marie Colvin who was killed during a rocket attack last Wednesday. The group of reporters had been holed up in Baba Amr ever since and protracted negotiations to evacuate them failed.

Bouvier is the most seriously wounded of the group. Medics say she needs specialised care to stop her leg injuries from clotting.

Attempts to broker a ceasefire in Homs have failed. Tanks from the Syrian army's elite fourth division were on Tuesday morning reported to be close to Baba Amr after a 24th consecutive day of shelling."

Jordan: Advocate of a Republic Jailed

Attack on Critic of Prince Further Blow to Free Expression

Human Rights Watch
February 26, 2012

"(Beirut) – The criminal charges against a man who has peacefully advocated making Jordan a republic violate freedom of expression and should be dropped immediately, Human Rights Watch said today. Jordan’s military prosecutor at the State Security Court ordered the detention of and brought criminal charges against Dr. Ahmad al-Oweidi al-‘Abbadi, a prominent opponent of King Abdullah, because al-‘Abbadi peacefully argued in a media interview for making Jordan a republic rather than a monarchy.

In a separate incident reflecting an assault on free expression, an unidentified assailant stabbed Inas Musallam, a student, apparently in response to an article she wrote that was critical of a royal prince...."

Bahrain: Hundreds Railroaded in Unjust Trials

Politically Motivated Prosecutions Flagrantly Disregard Rights

February 28, 2012

"(Beirut) – Bahrain has routinely convicted hundreds of opposition activists and others of politically motivated charges in unfair trials, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The government should void the convictions in trials before Bahrain’s military and civilian courts that fell far short of international fair trial standards, Human Rights Watch said.

The 94-page report, “No Justice in Bahrain: Unfair Trials in Military and Civilian Courts,”documents serious due process violations in high-profile trials before Bahrain’s special military courts in 2011 – including one trial of 21 prominent political activists and another of 20 doctors and other medical personnel – and in politically motivated trials before ordinary criminal courts since 2010. Serious abuses included denying defendants the right to counsel and to present a defense, and failure to investigate credible allegations of torture and ill-treatment during interrogation.

“Grossly unfair military and civilian trials have been a core element in Bahrain’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The government should remedy the hundreds of unfair convictions of the past year by dropping the cases against everyone convicted on politically motivated charges and by adopting effective measures to end torture in detention.

”The egregious violations of fair trial rights in political cases do not just reflect the poor practices of individual prosecutors and judges, but serious, systemic problems with Bahrain’s criminal justice system, Human Rights Watch said......"

Download the full report (PDF, 752.66 KB)

Finkelstein, BDS and the destruction of Israel

Norman Finkelstein's views on the Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement may be somewhat shortsighted.

By Ali Abunimah
Al-Jazeera

"Chicago, IL - In a recent and highly controversial interview, Norman Finkelstein, long a scourge of Israel, turned his guns on Palestinians and their supporters. He accused the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement of being a "cult", and claimed that its achievements were mostly exaggerated.

But what exercised Finkelstein most was his conclusion that if implemented, the demands of the2005 Palestinian civil society call for BDS, would amount to "the destruction of Israel".

Finkelstein lay into the three "tiers" of the BDS call: that Israel end its occupation of Arab lands conquered in 1967; that it end all forms of discrimination and guarantee equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel; and that it respect and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees, including the right of return.

"They don't want Israel," Finkelstein declared, "They think they're being very clever. They call it their three tiers... We want the end of the occupation, we want the right of return, and we want equal rights for Arabs in Israel. And they think they are very clever, because they know the result of implementing all three is what? What's the result? You know and I know what's the result: there's no Israel."

Finkelstein demanded that Palestinians drop this programme, "Because, if we end the occupation and bring back six million Palestinians and we have equal rights for Arabs and Jews, there's no Israel." He also insisted that a "two-state solution" was the only outcome supported by international law.

Putting the BDS call to the test

For the sake of argument, let's put Finkelstein's thesis to the test. But before I do that, let me make clear where I stand. As is well known, I support, and believe, that the eventual outcome in historic Palestine will be a single state.

Many supporters of the BDS movement, including some of its founders are on record calling for the same. But the BDS call itself is agnostic, focusing on the rights of Palestinians, not on state arrangements - something Finkelstein insisted was mere deception.

Here, I am going to do what I normally never do. Argue the case for a two-state solution that meets all the demands of the BDS call. Moreover, it should meet fully with Finkelstein's approval as well, because it will be based on a solution that he himself endorsed....."

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll

Do you see that going to the Security Council is enough to prevent the Judaization of Jerusalem?

With about 300 responding, 95% said no.

On Syria: Where the Left is right and the Right is wrong

Both the Left and the Right in Syria are "statists" - power hungry, reaching to gain control of the state apparatus.

AN EXCELLENT PIECE AND RECOMMENDED READING

By Hamid Dabashi
Al-Jazeera

"....The centre cannot hold

There can be little doubt that US, European, Israeli, Saudi and other Gulf states' special forces and financing are at work in covert operations in Syria, pulling and pushing the uprising in their own directions and for their own advantages. The gloves are now in fact completely off and the Saudis have come out clean that they must arm (meaning they have been arming) the Syrian rebels.

"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch," the colloquial American saying goes in the realm of economics - and in politics too, there ain’t no such thing as a free Uzi. The hand that giveth the Uzi today, taketh back a share of post-Assad politics tomorrow....

The Left contends that what started as genuine protests has now been hijacked by "extremist Sunni groups" inside Syria and by outside forces that extend from the US to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and by extension, the Gulf states - all lining up against Iran and Hezbollah, which, for them, is evidently the forefront of resistance against imperialism. Some on the Left who approve of the Arab Spring even suggest that the Arab revolutionaries ought to develop a strategic alliance with the ruling regime in the Islamic Republic. Yes, they say, the regime in Iran might be murderous towards its own citizens, but it is standing up to imperialism. Again: the moral depravity of the position is informed by its political illiteracy....

Beyond the clichés

The problem with both these positions - Left and Right - is that they speak from a position of power or counter-power - from a statist position, a 100-metre spree to grab hold of the state apparatus and replace it as it falls. The Right speaks from behind the US-Israeli guns and from behind the Saudi bank accounts, and the Left speaks from a position of resisting that power and wishing to support an existing, evolving or emerging state apparatus that can ensure that resistance. The Assad regime is falling, and now we have a rush to get hold of the state apparatus, the military in particular. What the Left and the Right share is their identical statism, because, for them, these entire Arab revolutions are about taking control of the state apparatus, of state power, of steering (or more accurately trying to steer) the falling regimes of power to their own direction.

Categorically absent from the calculations of both the Left and the Right are the people, the real people, ordinary people, those who occupy the public space, people it, own it. For the Left and the Right, these people are mere puppets that are either used, abused for facilitating the US-Saudi machinations, or else duped into revolutionary uprising that has been hijacked from them. Neither the Left nor the Right has the slightest trust, confidence, or even a politically potent conception of the public space that ordinary people physically and normatively occupy.....

Open-ended revolutions are what we are witnessing in the Arab world - and open-ended revolutions mean people matter, mean the Egyptians are still out in Tahrir Square, and they mean that these states, however they turn out and are manufactured by external machinations, need a populace to rule - and that populace will never be subject to one or another sort of tyranny or treachery.

The Saudis and the Islamic Republic, as with the US and the Russians/Chinese, can perform all their machinations - but resistant and defiant will remain the Syrian people - and their open-ended revolution, which is integral to the Arab Spring.

They say you can conquer a land on horse, but you must descend in order to rule it - the same is true about Syria: From the US and Israel to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, and then from Russia and China to the Islamic Republic and Hezbollah, there certainly are many machinations at work to conquer Syria. But when all the dust is settled and these mighty machinations end, the new conquerors must come down to rule it - and when they do, they will find themselves facing the indomitable spirit of the people that have left their inner dungeons of fear - and who will never ever again be subject of either domestic tyranny or external treachery. Syrians have already won their revolution - for the next tyrants now wishing to conquer Syria will come down from their horses, facing a nation refusing to be frightened or fooled into obedience.

The Arab Spring has unleashed the power of ordinary people and staged the public space they occupy and the civic associations they will eventually and inevitably form on that space. The Arab Spring has already given birth to a robust revolutionary gemeinschaft that will stay with these societies no matter who and what is in power. Unbeknown to the political machinations that have divided the Left and the Right, people of Syria - as indeed people from across the Arab and Muslim world - are dispelling their agoraphobia and realising the power of their communal gatherings."

Al-Jazeera Cartoon: The Syrian Regime's "Referendum"

Al-Jazeera Video: Syria's uprising hurting Lebanese economy

"The international border is still open between Lebanon and Syria, but the volume of traffic and trade has been reduced as a result of 11 months of violence in Syria.

In exchange houses, where people can change the Syrian currency into Lebanese, the dealers say business is down by 80 per cent.

Furthermore, tourist bookings are said to be down by about 25 per cent and taxi drivers say they rarely find any customers who want to go to Syria.

Al Jazeera's James Bays reports from Shtoura, a Lebanese town 30km away from the Syria border."

Al-Jazeera Video: Damascus residents tell of daily struggle

Al-Jazeera Video: Artists use graffiti to tell Egypt revolution's stories

"Running south from Tahrir Square toward Egypt's interior ministry in central Cairo, Mohamed Mahmoud street has become one of the revolution's most violent battlegrounds. Twelve people died in the area during February street battles between protesters and police stemming from a deadly football riot in Port Said.

With the neighbourhood calm, at least for the moment, Mohamed Mahmoud now serves as a canvas for some of Egypt's most creative revolutionary street art.

Murals portraying the revolution's dead as martyrs and the military as a predatory monster spread along walls next to figurative paintings that draw inspiration from millenia-old pharaonic art. Nearby, the artists debate with anxious business owners, and the revolution continues.

Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh reports from Cairo."

Real News Video : Why Are GOP Candidates Competing to be the Greatest Friend of Israel?

As presidential candidates tout support for Israel, they may be reaching out to right-wing evangelicals more than Jewish voters

Stratfor: Inside the World of a Private CIA

Al-Akhbar

"The leak of over five million emails from the US-based intelligence firm Stratfor, including information about credit card details, passwords, and the identities of sources, sheds new light on the rapidly changing world of intelligence gathering and exposes those behind it. Al-Akhbar gained access to the data obtained and published by WikiLeaks, including sensitive material pertaining to the Middle East.

◙ Browse through emails referenced in this article

The Strategic Forecasting Inc., commonly known as Stratfor, is a private firm dealing in the lucrative business of intelligence gathering and assessment......"

Palestinian woman on 11th day of hunger strike, as parents join her to protest no-charge detention by Israel

By Ali Abunimah

"As Palestinian “administrative detainee” Hana Al-Shalabi, 29, entered her eleventh day on hunger strike, her parents continued their own hunger strike in solidarity, against their daughter’s imprisonment without charge or trial by Israel.

Hana was arrested from her home in Burqin village near Jenin on 16 February in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. She had previously spent two and a half years in administrative detention – with no charge or trial – from 14 September 2009, until she was released last October as part of a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas, according to updates posted by Addameer via its Twitter and Facebook pages....."

شعب عظيم ومعارضة مهلهلة ونظام فاجر

"تجنبنا الكتابة عن المعارضة السورية وتشرذمها وبعض خطابها وممارساتها حتى لا يصبَّ ذلك في خدمة النظام، لكن استمرار الحديث في هذا الموضوع من جانب أطراف دولية وعربية، قليل منها حريص على الشعب السوري، فضلا عن أوساط النظام وشبيحته وأبواقه الإعلامية التي تتوزع بين الداخل والخارج وتشمل أناسا من شتى الجنسيات وإن انحصروا في خلفيات أيديولوجية معروفة، كل ذلك كان لا بد أن يدفعنا نحو الخوض في هذا الموضوع، وإن على نحو مختلف بعض الشيء.

ما ينبغي أن يقال ابتداءً ودائما وأبدا، هو أننا إزاء شعب عظيم ورائع خرج إلى الشوارع في ثورته السلمية المتميزة وهو يدرك تمام الإدراك أي نظام يواجه، سواء أكان ذلك على صعيد البنية الأمنية، أم على صعيد التحالفات التي أنشأها في السياق السياسي العربي والإقليمي، والتي صبَّت في صالحه بشكل جيد لا يقل أهمية عن العمل على صعيد البنية السياسية الداخلية المتمرسة في السير على الحبال والترويج للنفس واختراق المعارضات، وعموم أشكال العمل الإعلامي والسياسي بسائر تناقضاته.

كان الشعب السوري يدرك أيضا أنه إزاء نظام طائفي قادر على اللعب بورقة الطائفة على النحو الذي يخدمه، ومعها ورقة الأقليات على نحو يجعل ربع الشعب إلى جانبه حتى الرمق الأخير، لاسيما الطائفة التي ينتمي إليها وتشعر أن وجودها مرتبط ببقائه، الأمر الذي لا يمكن أن يكون صحيحا بالطبع لأن نجاح الثورة لا يعني سوى إشاعة العدالة وروح المواطنة وليس الاعتداء على أي أحد بسبب طائفته.
....

ما ينبغي التذكير به هنا هو أن خلافات القوى هي ظاهرة طبيعية في معظم الثورات، إن لم يكن جميعها. صحيح أن لبعض الثورات في التاريخ أبطالها ورموزها الكبار (لم يلغ ذلك أبدا الخلافات أو التباين بينهم في الرؤى والمواقف)، لكن ثورات الربيع العربي ليس كذلك، إذ خرجت من ضمير الشارع الجمعي الرافض للقمع والفساد، وهي لا تسعى تبعا لذلك إلى أن تستبدل بدكتاتوريات شمولية دكتاتورية ثورية جديدة، وهذا هو الملمح الأساسي الذي يرد بقوة على منطق النظام وشبيحته.

لو كنا إزاء ثورة مسلحة بالكامل يخوضها تنظيم مسلح له قائده "الرمز" وقيادته "التاريخية" لكان بوسع النظام التشكيك فيه، ويلتقط من مواقفه ما يثير الشبهات، إلى غير ما هنالك من أساليب التشويه المعروفة، لكن الأمر ليس كذلك، إذ إن ما يريده الشعب هو إسقاط النهج الدكتاتوري واستعادة سلطته وقراره باعتباره وصيا على نفسه، وهو وحده سيعرف من ينتخب حين يذهب إلى صناديق الاقتراع لاختيار ممثليه، وإذا ما أخطأ في المرة الأولى أو اكتشف أن من انتخبهم لم يعبروا عنه بالقدر الكافي، فسيسقطهم وينتخب آخرين.

هي إذن ثورات شعبية وليست انقلابات عسكرية ولا حتى ثورات مسلحة بقيادات مؤسسة ورموز تاريخية، وبالتالي فإن المنخرطين في الثورة سينالون من الحظوة بحسب سلوكهم السياسي وخطابهم ونضالهم وقدراتهم.

معيب أن يشارك معارضون في مؤتمر يرعاه "برنار ليفي"، وأن تكون لعضو المجلس الوطني السوري بسمة قضماني علاقات بإسرائيليين وتصريحات مسيئة للإسلام، فكل ذلك يسيء للمجلس أيما إساءة، والأفضل أن تترك موقعها بدل الدفاع عنها ببيان بائس لا يشير البتة لما جرى تداوله حولها. كما يجدر التذكير بأن انتماء هذا المعارض أو سواه إلى لون فكري لا تقبله غالبية الشعب، أو اشتهاره بسلوك حياتي لا ينسجم مع جموع الثائرين، كل ذلك لا يضير الثورة، بقدر ما يسيء إليه ولمن يتبنونه ويقدمونه من قوى المعارضة، ويبقى أن هؤلاء جميعا يوجدون تحت عين الشعب الذي يراقب كل شيء، وحين تنتصر الثورة سيعرف الناس طريقهم ويختارون ممثليهم
....
المعارضة بحاجة إلى وقفة مع النفس لإعادة تقييم الوضع، ونبذ خلافاتها ما أمكن ذلك، ولكن بقاء شيء من ذلك كبر أم صغر لا ينبغي أن يدفع المخلصين إلى التشكيك في انتصار هذه الثورة، والقضاء على هذا النظام الذي فقد شرعيته السياسية والأخلاقية، ولم يعد أمامه غير الرحيل، بل السقوط الكامل لسائر أركانه ورموزه."

WikiLeaks Publishes 5 Million 'Shadow CIA' E-Mails

Common Dreams

"WikiLeaks announced tonight that it is publishing documents it is calling "The Global Intelligence Files" which includes over 5 million e-mails from the US-based "Global Intelligence" company Stratfor, according to a statement the organization released Sunday night.

WikiLeaks has partnered with 25 media organizations to publish the documents including the McClatchy newspapers and Rolling Stone.

"The e-mails date between July 2004 and late December 2011. They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defence Intelligence Agency. The emails show Stratfor's web of informers, pay-off structure, payment laundering techniques and psychological methods."

WikiLeaks will hold a noon-time press conference in London on Monday to explain the files. The full press release is available here.
......."

Kabul on razor's edge

By M K Bhadrakumar
Asia Times

"The killing in Kabul on Saturday of two high-ranking American military officials - a colonel and a major - serving with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will prompt a paradigm shift in regional security. Afghanistan surges as still America's number one "hot spot", over-shadowing Syria and Iran.

If President Barack Obama thought it was time for the United States military to "pivot" toward the Asia-Pacific, it has been delusionary thinking. The Taliban retain a big say still in the upcoming campaign for Obama's re-election bid; the strategy of peace talks with the Taliban will need a close look.

The prospects of the United States establishing military bases in Afghanistan look very doubtful in the backdrop of the tsunami of anti-Americanism sweeping through Afghanistan. And, in immediate terms, what happens to the drawdown of the US troops?.....

No doubt, the ground beneath the American feet in the Hindu Kush is shifting dangerously. The British, too, were unprepared for the insurrection in Kabul in November 1841. They failed to grasp the significance when the mob encircled the villa of Sir Alexander Burnes in Kabul. The British diplomat tried to offer money to the crowd but the residence was overrun and he and his brother were killed.

The British finally understood it was time to leave Afghanistan when their cantonment in Kabul was encircled a month later. By that time, in the event, even an orderly retreat became problematic. "

Al-Jazeera Video: Friends of Syria: An expensive talking shop?

Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian activists mobilise in Assad's power base

"As the Syrian uprising nears its one year anniversary, the calls for change are getting ever closer to the government's power base in Damascus.

In this exclusive reports, activists discuss how they are risking it all to work to mobilise the pro-democracy movement in the capital."

Al-Jazeera Video: حديث الثورة - تردي الأوضاع الإنسانية في سوريا

"الخيارات المتاحة لمواجهة الأوضاع الإنسانية المتردية في حمص خاصة وفي سوريا بصفة عامة
تقديم الحبيب الغريبي
تاريخ البث 2012/02/25
الضيوف :
هيثم المالح
طالب السقاف
نضال درويش
"

Real News Video (with Transcript): A Planned Economy for the 1%

Michael Hudson: All economies have a certain amount of planning, the question is, for whom

HOT AIR FROM IRAN HIDES ITS WEAKNESS

(Click on cartoon by Khalil Bendib to enlarge)

By Eric Margolis
February 25, 2012

"What kind of defense could Iran actually mount against an attack on its nuclear and military infrastructure by Israel and/or the United States?

First of all, discount all the TV pictures of Iranian missiles being fired and troops marching in review. They are designed to boost civilian morale at home. Ironically, Western media has used them to trumpet Iran’s alleged military threat. One major US TV network, NBC, even has a fixed logo on its reports from Iran: “Iran Threat.”

In reality, Iran, in spite of its 71 million population and oil wealth, is militarily quite weak. Islamic Iran has been under punishing US-led military and economic sanctions since its 1979 revolution, joining other sanctions targets North Korea and Cuba.

As a result, Iran has been unable to modernize most of its 1960’s/1970’s vintage military arsenal, much of which was supplied by the US and Britain to the Shah....

But any US assault of Iran, would open by surprise attacks from waves of cruise missiles and stealth aircraft against Iranian air bases, ports and communications hubs. Most of Iran’s air force and navy would be destroyed. Iran’s obsolete air defenses would be put out of action by missile and cyber-warfare attacks.

Iran’s primary method of counter-attacking would consist of commando raids against US bases in the Gulf, Afghanistan, Pakistan and, possibly, on Saudi oil installations. But no such attacks would prove decisive or alter the course of the conflict. Iran would be pounded until its attackers decided to cease fire....

Without nuclear warheads, the not very accurate Shahab’s are of little more use than Saddam Hussein’s laughably ineffective Scuds in 2003. Firing a few at Israel would immediately be picked up by the US early-alert satellite system, into which Israel is linked, and run the risk of triggering possible nuclear strikes by Israel.

Who knows if an incoming missile has a conventional or nuclear warhead? Israel might just believe its own propaganda about Iran’s alleged nuclear capabilities...."

Syrians should beware of some of their foreign 'friends'

Syrians should fear eastern, not western, intervention – especially autocratic 'friends' like Saudi Arabia

Brian Whitaker
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 26 February 2012

"....What we should fear most is not western military intervention, since it isn't in prospect, but eastern intervention. There is something surreal about a group of "friends" promoting change in Syria that includes so many autocrats and, as one of its leading lights, the country most notorious for resisting progress: Saudi Arabia.

At one point during Friday's meeting, the Saudi foreign minister reportedly stormed out, self-righteously complaining about "inaction" (though some reports deny it). Later, asked if arming the Syrian opposition would be a good idea, he replied: "I think it's an excellent idea." Indeed, some suspect the Saudis are already doing just that.

Meanwhile Qatar, a less oppressive autocracy than Saudi Arabia but an autocracy nevertheless, called for the creation of "an Arab force"for Syria.

None of that bodes well for Syria's future. The Saudis, who have banned all forms of demonstrations on their own turf and are not averse to shooting protesters, have deliberately messed up two Arab revolutions over the past year – first by sending troops into Bahrain to preserve the monarchy there, and then by manipulating the Yemeni uprising to ensure that nothing much would change after they abandoned President Saleh....

Saudi Arabia's Sunni/Wahhabi rulers are paranoid about what they see as a threat from Shia Muslims. They are fearful not just of Iran but of the marginalised Shia communities inside their own realm and the rebellious Shia majority in Bahrain ruled over by a Sunni king. There's also Iraq on their northern border where long-suppressed Shia influence has re-emerged – thanks to George Bush – following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

From a Saudi perspective, getting rid of Assad will help to shift the balance back in Sunni Islam's direction. Most Syrians are Sunnis, though the regime itself is dominated by Alawites – a Shia offshoot – and closely allied to Iran. Saudi "support" for the Syrian opposition, therefore, is likely to make the conflict more sectarian rather than less.

Syrians should beware of "friends" as much as enemies."

'We've been buried alive': inside Homs' only bomb shelter

One of the few western journalists inside the besieged Syrian city tells of the terrible scenes as people shelter from the bombs

Javier Espinosa in Baba Amr
(Javier Espinosa is Middle East correspondent for El Mundo newspaper)
The Guardian, Friday 24 February 2012

"Firial Sabur was born five months ago. He doesn't yet know that he has already lost his father. Omar Sabur died on Wednesday after he was shot by a sniper. When Sabur's brother Abdala tried to rescue him, he too was shot dead. On Friday, the baby was dozing in his mother's arms, unaware of the chaotic scenes around him in the only bomb shelter in Baba Amr.

The word "shelter" is an exaggeration: close to a year ago, the shelter was a basement used for wedding parties....

In another room, Mohamed, a one-year old boy, cries inconsolably. He was hit in the forehead by a fragment from a shell. "Mother! Mother!" he wails, clinging to his milk bottle.

"Is he a terrorist?" his older brother asks, pointing to the infant.

All I can do is bow my head and carry on taking notes."

الولايات العرضية الملتحمة

A Funny Satirical Cartoon Video (Arabic)
via Hossam El-Hamalawy

Washington's NGO Firestorm

Sharif Abdel Kouddous
Al-Masry Al-Youm

".....The crackdown on civil society in Egypt is of grave concern but not new, having occurred in various forms under the Mubarak regime in the years leading up to the revolution.

Yet the firestorm in Washington does not appear to be out of any genuine concern for promoting political freedom and social justice in Egypt, rather, it seems to be a protective fury over the targeting of the American groups, two of which - the International Republican Institute and the Democratic National Institute - get the bulk of their funding from the U.S. government.

This disparity is evident when comparing the backlash over the NGO investigation with the reaction from the Obama administration and U.S. lawmakers to repeated human rights abuses committed against Egyptians over the past year, including the killing and jailing of protesters. In the past few months alone, U.S. officials have responded to some of the most violent episodes of the transitional period with tepid statements of "concern" and have, at times, reaffirmed U.S. ties with Egypt and a continued flow of aid....."

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll

Do you see that the Friends of Syria conference has produced useful results for the Syrian people?

With about 1,000 responding, 91% said no.