Beeman and Spector: Does the IAEA report on Iran prove the existence of a nuclear weapons program?
Friday, November 18, 2011
The Arab Spring has given Turkey a voice. Don't mess with it
Turkey is angry over the Syrian failure to apologise for an attack on the Turkish embassy
By Robert Fisk
"The French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé was here "to talk about Syria". Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pontificated that "perhaps because Syria has not enough petroleum, there has been less interest in the West in the killing of Syrian civilians" – probably true – while every Turkish newspaper has been speculating about the Turks' future plans for action in Syria. A Turkish military cordon sanitaire inside the border with Syria seems to be the favourite.....
Since the official Syrian news agency Sana itself announced that the Arab League wanted to send observers to Syria, one can assume that Mr Moallem – which in this case means President Assad – has approved their arrival. But 500 of them? And how much freedom will they be given? And will they try to visit opposition figures inside Syria and – more to the point – find out exactly who these mysterious but real and armed insurgents are?"
By Robert Fisk
"The French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé was here "to talk about Syria". Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pontificated that "perhaps because Syria has not enough petroleum, there has been less interest in the West in the killing of Syrian civilians" – probably true – while every Turkish newspaper has been speculating about the Turks' future plans for action in Syria. A Turkish military cordon sanitaire inside the border with Syria seems to be the favourite.....
Since the official Syrian news agency Sana itself announced that the Arab League wanted to send observers to Syria, one can assume that Mr Moallem – which in this case means President Assad – has approved their arrival. But 500 of them? And how much freedom will they be given? And will they try to visit opposition figures inside Syria and – more to the point – find out exactly who these mysterious but real and armed insurgents are?"
Arab revolts - past and present
Arabs have historically revolted every decade against rulers and the west has counter-revolted most attempts.
AN EXCELLENT PIECE
Joseph Massad
Al-Jazeera
"....
The Palestinians
This brings us to the Palestinian scene. The Palestinian uprising or intifada of 1987 was the first unarmed massive civilian revolt to take place in decades. It was in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union and the first US invasion of the Gulf that the United States decided to co-opt the Palestinian uprising by giving political and financial benefits to a PLO class of bureaucrats who would proceed to sell out the Palestinian struggle. Thus Arafat neutralised the uprising at Oslo in 1993 and went on to wine and dine with Israel's and America's leaders while his people remained under occupation.
But If the Palestinians were a source of concern to the Arab regimes after 1968 lest they help other Arabs revolt against their dictatorships, today, it is the Palestinian Authority (PA) that is worried that the Arab uprisings may influence West Bank Palestinians to revolt against the PA, which continues its intensive security collaboration with the Israeli occupation and its US sponsor. Indeed, while the Israelis failed in the late 1970s in their effort to create a political body of Palestinian collaborators through their infamous Village Leagues, the PA became, not the new "Urban Leagues" that many Palestinians dubbed it, but a veritable National League of collaborators serving the Israeli occupation. The PA's recent bid for statehood and recognition at the UN and at UNESCO is an attempt to resolve the current stasis of its non-existent "peace process" and the dogged negotiations with the Israelis before the Palestinians revolt against it, especially given the dwindling dividends to the beneficiaries of the Oslo arrangement.
The PA indeed has two routes before it in the face of the collapse of the so-called "peace process": dissolve itself and cease to play the role of enforcer of the occupation; or continue to collaborate by entrenching itself further through recognition by international institutions to preserve its power and the benefits to its members. It has chosen the second option under the guise of supporting Palestinian national independence. How successful it is going to be in its entrenchment bid remains to be seen, though its success or failure will be calamitous for the Palestinian people who will not get any independence from Israeli settler colonialism as long as the PA is at the helm.
As I have argued before, the Israeli-PA-US disagreement is about the terms and territorial size of the disconnected Bantustans that the PA will be given and the nature and amount of repressive power and weapons its police force would have to use against the Palestinian people, while ascertaining that such weapons would never have a chance of being used against Israel. If Israel shows some flexibility on those, then the disconnected Bantustans will be quickly recognised as a "sovereign Palestinian state" and not a single illegal Jewish colonial settler will have to give up the stolen lands of the Palestinians and return to Brooklyn, to name a common place of origin for many Jewish colonial settlers. It is this arrangement that the PA is trying to sell to Israel and the US. Without it, the PA is threatening that West Bankers may very well revolt against it, which would be bad for Israel and the US. So far, neither the US nor Israel is buying it.
The Struggle Continues
As for the larger Arab context, those who call what has unfolded in the last year in the Arab World as an Arab "awakening" are not only ignorant of the history of the last century, but also deploy Orientalist arguments in their depiction of Arabs as a quiescent people who put up with dictatorship for decades and are finally waking up from their torpor. Across the Arab world, Arabs have revolted against colonial and local tyranny every decade since World War I. It has been the European colonial powers and their American heir who have stood in their way every step of the way and allied themselves with local dictators and their families (and in many cases handpicking such dictators and putting them on the throne).
The US-European sponsorship of the on-going counterrevolutions across the Arab world today is a continuation of a time-honoured imperial tradition, but so is continued Arab resistance to imperialism and domestic tyranny. The uprisings that started in Tunisia in December 2010 continue afoot despite major setbacks to all of them. This is not to say that things have not changed and are not changing significantly, it is to say, however, that many of the changes are reversible and that the counterrevolution has already reversed a significant amount and is working hard to reverse more. Vigilance is mandatory on the part of those struggling for democratic change and social justice, especially in these times of upheaval and massive imperial mobilisation. Some of the battles may have been lost but the Arab peoples' war against imperialism and for democracy and social justice continues across the Arab world."
AN EXCELLENT PIECE
Joseph Massad
Al-Jazeera
"....
The Palestinians
This brings us to the Palestinian scene. The Palestinian uprising or intifada of 1987 was the first unarmed massive civilian revolt to take place in decades. It was in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union and the first US invasion of the Gulf that the United States decided to co-opt the Palestinian uprising by giving political and financial benefits to a PLO class of bureaucrats who would proceed to sell out the Palestinian struggle. Thus Arafat neutralised the uprising at Oslo in 1993 and went on to wine and dine with Israel's and America's leaders while his people remained under occupation.
But If the Palestinians were a source of concern to the Arab regimes after 1968 lest they help other Arabs revolt against their dictatorships, today, it is the Palestinian Authority (PA) that is worried that the Arab uprisings may influence West Bank Palestinians to revolt against the PA, which continues its intensive security collaboration with the Israeli occupation and its US sponsor. Indeed, while the Israelis failed in the late 1970s in their effort to create a political body of Palestinian collaborators through their infamous Village Leagues, the PA became, not the new "Urban Leagues" that many Palestinians dubbed it, but a veritable National League of collaborators serving the Israeli occupation. The PA's recent bid for statehood and recognition at the UN and at UNESCO is an attempt to resolve the current stasis of its non-existent "peace process" and the dogged negotiations with the Israelis before the Palestinians revolt against it, especially given the dwindling dividends to the beneficiaries of the Oslo arrangement.
The PA indeed has two routes before it in the face of the collapse of the so-called "peace process": dissolve itself and cease to play the role of enforcer of the occupation; or continue to collaborate by entrenching itself further through recognition by international institutions to preserve its power and the benefits to its members. It has chosen the second option under the guise of supporting Palestinian national independence. How successful it is going to be in its entrenchment bid remains to be seen, though its success or failure will be calamitous for the Palestinian people who will not get any independence from Israeli settler colonialism as long as the PA is at the helm.
As I have argued before, the Israeli-PA-US disagreement is about the terms and territorial size of the disconnected Bantustans that the PA will be given and the nature and amount of repressive power and weapons its police force would have to use against the Palestinian people, while ascertaining that such weapons would never have a chance of being used against Israel. If Israel shows some flexibility on those, then the disconnected Bantustans will be quickly recognised as a "sovereign Palestinian state" and not a single illegal Jewish colonial settler will have to give up the stolen lands of the Palestinians and return to Brooklyn, to name a common place of origin for many Jewish colonial settlers. It is this arrangement that the PA is trying to sell to Israel and the US. Without it, the PA is threatening that West Bankers may very well revolt against it, which would be bad for Israel and the US. So far, neither the US nor Israel is buying it.
The Struggle Continues
As for the larger Arab context, those who call what has unfolded in the last year in the Arab World as an Arab "awakening" are not only ignorant of the history of the last century, but also deploy Orientalist arguments in their depiction of Arabs as a quiescent people who put up with dictatorship for decades and are finally waking up from their torpor. Across the Arab world, Arabs have revolted against colonial and local tyranny every decade since World War I. It has been the European colonial powers and their American heir who have stood in their way every step of the way and allied themselves with local dictators and their families (and in many cases handpicking such dictators and putting them on the throne).
The US-European sponsorship of the on-going counterrevolutions across the Arab world today is a continuation of a time-honoured imperial tradition, but so is continued Arab resistance to imperialism and domestic tyranny. The uprisings that started in Tunisia in December 2010 continue afoot despite major setbacks to all of them. This is not to say that things have not changed and are not changing significantly, it is to say, however, that many of the changes are reversible and that the counterrevolution has already reversed a significant amount and is working hard to reverse more. Vigilance is mandatory on the part of those struggling for democratic change and social justice, especially in these times of upheaval and massive imperial mobilisation. Some of the battles may have been lost but the Arab peoples' war against imperialism and for democracy and social justice continues across the Arab world."
Thursday, November 17, 2011
مآلات الثورة السورية
مقدم الحلقة: علي الظفيري
ضيفا الحلقة:
- وائل مرزا/ أمين سر المجلس الوطني السوري
- ميشيل كيلو/ كاتب ومعارض سوري
ضيفا الحلقة:
- وائل مرزا/ أمين سر المجلس الوطني السوري
- ميشيل كيلو/ كاتب ومعارض سوري
Surprise, Surprise! The Drill Team Leader Supports The Bloody Rabbit!
الصدر مع ثوار سوريا ومع بقاء الأسد
"أبدى رجل الدين الشيعي في العراق مقتدى الصدر تأييده لقضية "الثوار" المعارضين للنظام السوري، ولكنه دعاهم إلى الإبقاء على الرئيس بشار الأسد انطلاقا مما يصفه بمعارضة الأسد للوجود الأميركي والإسرائيلي في المنطقة.
وقال الصدر في رسالة ووجهها إلى "الثوار في سوريا الحبيبة، كونوا على يقين بأني مؤمن كل الإيمان بقضيتكم"، ولكنه أشار إلى أن ثمة فارقا بين ما يحدث في سوريا و"الثورات العظيمة في تونس ومصر وليبيا والبحرين واليمن".
وأوضح أن الفارق يكمن في معارضة بشار الأسد للوجود الأميركي والإسرائيلي وفي "مواقفه الواضحة"، خلافا لمن سقط قبله أو سيسقط، حسب تعبيره
...."
"أبدى رجل الدين الشيعي في العراق مقتدى الصدر تأييده لقضية "الثوار" المعارضين للنظام السوري، ولكنه دعاهم إلى الإبقاء على الرئيس بشار الأسد انطلاقا مما يصفه بمعارضة الأسد للوجود الأميركي والإسرائيلي في المنطقة.
وقال الصدر في رسالة ووجهها إلى "الثوار في سوريا الحبيبة، كونوا على يقين بأني مؤمن كل الإيمان بقضيتكم"، ولكنه أشار إلى أن ثمة فارقا بين ما يحدث في سوريا و"الثورات العظيمة في تونس ومصر وليبيا والبحرين واليمن".
وأوضح أن الفارق يكمن في معارضة بشار الأسد للوجود الأميركي والإسرائيلي وفي "مواقفه الواضحة"، خلافا لمن سقط قبله أو سيسقط، حسب تعبيره
...."
Iraq's Sadr backs embattled Syrian leader Assad
"Iraq's radical anti-US Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has expressed support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, even as much of the Arab world turns against the embattled strongman.
Assad has since March been trying to crush a popular uprising against his government, in which over 3,500 people have been killed, according to UN figures.....
But there is "a big difference" between what is happening in Syria and the "great revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain and Yemen," Sadr said in a statement received by AFP on Thursday, referring to other Arab states that have seen popular uprisings this year.
"One of the reasons behind this difference is that Bashar al-Assad is against the American and Israeli presence and his attitudes are clear, not like those who collapsed before him, or will collapse," said the statement released by his office in the city of Najaf, reiterating points Sadr made in August....."
Occupy Wall Street’s National Day of Action Launches with Protest at NY Stock Exchange
Democracy Now!
"Today is a national day of action to mark the start of the third month of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Here in New York, organizers have been distributing posters reading "Shut Down Wall Street! Occupy the Subways! Take the Square!" As we broadcast, protesters were marching in various parts of the Financial District in an attempt to block the New York Stock Exchange from opening at 9:30 a.m. Labor organizers are planning protests at dozens of bridges across the country today as part of a campaign to highlight the need for increased spending on the nation’s infrastructure. In Portland, protesters are planning to occupy the Steel Bridge. In Seattle, an action will target the Montlake Bridge. In Washington, D.C., protesters will march on the Key Bridge. In New York, a 5 p.m. action is set at the Brooklyn Bridge. The protests come just two days after New York police raided Occupy Wall Street at Liberty Plaza and destroyed the encampment. Protesters have been allowed to return to the park, but without sleeping bags, tents or musical instruments. Democracy Now!'s Ryan Devereaux reports live from Wall Street, where protesters, with help from New York police, blockaded all streets leading to the Stock Exchange. "The plan is for sort of a three-pronged blitz on the Financial District, marches coming from all different directions, and trying to basically swarm the area with people," Devereaux says. "The NYPD's response has been equally robust. There are police vehicles, officers and barricades on every single street."...."
"Today is a national day of action to mark the start of the third month of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Here in New York, organizers have been distributing posters reading "Shut Down Wall Street! Occupy the Subways! Take the Square!" As we broadcast, protesters were marching in various parts of the Financial District in an attempt to block the New York Stock Exchange from opening at 9:30 a.m. Labor organizers are planning protests at dozens of bridges across the country today as part of a campaign to highlight the need for increased spending on the nation’s infrastructure. In Portland, protesters are planning to occupy the Steel Bridge. In Seattle, an action will target the Montlake Bridge. In Washington, D.C., protesters will march on the Key Bridge. In New York, a 5 p.m. action is set at the Brooklyn Bridge. The protests come just two days after New York police raided Occupy Wall Street at Liberty Plaza and destroyed the encampment. Protesters have been allowed to return to the park, but without sleeping bags, tents or musical instruments. Democracy Now!'s Ryan Devereaux reports live from Wall Street, where protesters, with help from New York police, blockaded all streets leading to the Stock Exchange. "The plan is for sort of a three-pronged blitz on the Financial District, marches coming from all different directions, and trying to basically swarm the area with people," Devereaux says. "The NYPD's response has been equally robust. There are police vehicles, officers and barricades on every single street."...."
Menu for Today’s Tricky Planet: Use Your Head
by GABRIEL KOLKO
CounterPunch
"We live in an enigmatic age, far more complex as the years go by and certainly since the disappearance of the Soviet Union in 1991. With the failure of so many reformers avoidance of cynicism about all causes is now an overwhelming challenge. In a sense, it is the refusal to abandon the future to a seemingly inexorable and dismal fate that alone justifies trying to change the world as it is, but we must be aware of past failures and the reasons for them. All this is a starting point.
The first and most important consideration is that the world’s status quo is heading toward disasters — political and military, ecological, and economic. Violence both between and within countries and ethnic groups is more and more common. A handful of dominant nations — the United States being the preeminent — control the world’s future to a large degree, but they are scarcely alone.....
The United States had pretensions after 1945 to be able to dictate the future of global affairs, both political and economic. And for a time Europe’s weakness made it inordinately influential. The United Nations system, which President Franklin Roosevelt made certain would be based in New York as a kind of legacy he left to the state of which he had once been governor as well as a reflection of U.S. supremacy, conformed to America’s desires — especially the Security Council and its veto proviso. But although its overweening military power and the activities of its intelligence services produced victories for it in the Philippines and Iran (at least temporarily), to name but a couple, it lost or stalemated its major wars in Korea and Vietnam, virtually bankrupted itself in the process of seeking its hegemonic goals and today some elements in American ruling circles are beginning to be worried by the limits on American power and the extent to which it has overextended itself economically and militarily.....
To reiterate the point I made in the opening, the world has become increasingly complex and simplistic notions and pabulums, which were tried for many decades, have failed. With these admonitions, we have no choices but to continue trying changing a world that is becoming more dangerous every year and shows not the slightest sign of reforming itself. Our success or failure will determine whether mankind attains a modicum of peace and stability or whether it continues to go down the dismal road to more conflict and chaos."
CounterPunch
"We live in an enigmatic age, far more complex as the years go by and certainly since the disappearance of the Soviet Union in 1991. With the failure of so many reformers avoidance of cynicism about all causes is now an overwhelming challenge. In a sense, it is the refusal to abandon the future to a seemingly inexorable and dismal fate that alone justifies trying to change the world as it is, but we must be aware of past failures and the reasons for them. All this is a starting point.
The first and most important consideration is that the world’s status quo is heading toward disasters — political and military, ecological, and economic. Violence both between and within countries and ethnic groups is more and more common. A handful of dominant nations — the United States being the preeminent — control the world’s future to a large degree, but they are scarcely alone.....
The United States had pretensions after 1945 to be able to dictate the future of global affairs, both political and economic. And for a time Europe’s weakness made it inordinately influential. The United Nations system, which President Franklin Roosevelt made certain would be based in New York as a kind of legacy he left to the state of which he had once been governor as well as a reflection of U.S. supremacy, conformed to America’s desires — especially the Security Council and its veto proviso. But although its overweening military power and the activities of its intelligence services produced victories for it in the Philippines and Iran (at least temporarily), to name but a couple, it lost or stalemated its major wars in Korea and Vietnam, virtually bankrupted itself in the process of seeking its hegemonic goals and today some elements in American ruling circles are beginning to be worried by the limits on American power and the extent to which it has overextended itself economically and militarily.....
To reiterate the point I made in the opening, the world has become increasingly complex and simplistic notions and pabulums, which were tried for many decades, have failed. With these admonitions, we have no choices but to continue trying changing a world that is becoming more dangerous every year and shows not the slightest sign of reforming itself. Our success or failure will determine whether mankind attains a modicum of peace and stability or whether it continues to go down the dismal road to more conflict and chaos."
Real News Video: Palestinian "Freedom Riders" Challenge Segregation
Drawing a comparison to American civil rights fighters, Palestinian activists boarded Israeli settler buses in the West Bank.
WATCH THE COURAGEOUS HUWAIDA ARRAF
WATCH THE COURAGEOUS HUWAIDA ARRAF
Real News Video: IAEA Iran Report Fit Facts to Strengthen Hardliners
Robert Kelley Pt2: The report misleads and manipulates facts in attempt to prove a forgone conclusion
Poland’s growing Palestine movement faces anti-Semitism smears
Ewa Jasiewicz
The Electronic Intifada
The Electronic Intifada
16 November 2011
"Despite attacks and slander, the Palestine solidarity movement in Poland is pushing ahead and is able to influence media coverage and popular education on Palestine....."
"Despite attacks and slander, the Palestine solidarity movement in Poland is pushing ahead and is able to influence media coverage and popular education on Palestine....."
ADL promotes conspiracy theories to undermine support for Palestine at Occupy Wall Street
By Ali Abunimah
"The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the influential pro-Israel lobby group headed by Abraham Foxman, is in a panic about support for Palestinian rights at Occupy Wall Street protests across the United States.
"The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the influential pro-Israel lobby group headed by Abraham Foxman, is in a panic about support for Palestinian rights at Occupy Wall Street protests across the United States.
Seeking to delegitimize US popular solidarity with Palestinians suffering under US-financed Israeli occupation, apartheid and brutal violence, the ADL charged in a release on its website that, “Anti-Israel Groups Attempt to Co-Opt Occupy Wall Street Message.”.....
Spreading conspiracy theories
The ADL then goes on to list a whole range of Palestine solidarity actions at various Occupy protests around the country by groups as diverse as Adalah-NY, Jewish Voices for Peace, Jewish Women for Justice in Palestine, and Students for Justice in Palestine.
Foxman’s group cannot see Palestinians and their supporters as legitimate members of American society who might share the same concerns as other Americans. Nor can it respect or recognize that any support for Palestinian rights and opposition to Israeli crimes could be genuine......
ADL promoting hate reminiscent of anti-Semitic attacks on Jews
ADL’s effort to ghettoize Palestinians and their supporters and declare them beyond the pale of American political life and activism are painfully reminiscent of attempts in America’s past to keep Jews out of public life and to villify them as subversives, anarchists and communists.
It is not surprising that the ADL has reacted this way given that Foxman has a long history of promoting Islamophobia....."
Déjà Vu All Over Again: Plea to the West: Syria needs Libya-style intervention
Arab diplomat's call comes as Syrian army defectors attack military base
By Patrick Cockburn
"As violence in Syria intensifies with an attack by anti-government forces on an air defence intelligence complex near Damascus, a senior Arab diplomat in London says Middle Eastern states opposing the Syrian government need West European leadership similar to that seen in the Libyan war.[Red Flag Warning: The Counter Revolution Wants to Hijack The Syrian Uprising!]
He said that what was needed was "a team captain" to co-ordinate moves to put pressure on Syria, and only the Europeans could do this. The US is preoccupied by domestic politics and "in the Middle East everybody is driven by ego. How can you have a regional policy when they [local rulers] can't talk to each other?"
The diplomat added that a crucial turning point would come in Syria if the anti-government forces succeeded in establishing an independent enclave like Benghazi in Libya. He thought this was more likely to happen in the north on the Turkish border rather than around Deraa, north of the Jordanian frontier, where the protests began. The existence of such an enclave would raise the possibility of setting up a no-fly zone......"
By Patrick Cockburn
"As violence in Syria intensifies with an attack by anti-government forces on an air defence intelligence complex near Damascus, a senior Arab diplomat in London says Middle Eastern states opposing the Syrian government need West European leadership similar to that seen in the Libyan war.[Red Flag Warning: The Counter Revolution Wants to Hijack The Syrian Uprising!]
He said that what was needed was "a team captain" to co-ordinate moves to put pressure on Syria, and only the Europeans could do this. The US is preoccupied by domestic politics and "in the Middle East everybody is driven by ego. How can you have a regional policy when they [local rulers] can't talk to each other?"
The diplomat added that a crucial turning point would come in Syria if the anti-government forces succeeded in establishing an independent enclave like Benghazi in Libya. He thought this was more likely to happen in the north on the Turkish border rather than around Deraa, north of the Jordanian frontier, where the protests began. The existence of such an enclave would raise the possibility of setting up a no-fly zone......"
Guardian Video: Protesters storm Kuwait parliament
Dozens of Kuwaitis briefly stormed Kuwait's parliament building late at night, as hundreds more demonstrated outside, demanding that the prime minister Sheikh Nasser Al Mohammad Al Sabah step down. The protesters who forced their way into the debating chamber included some opposition lawmakers who have been among hundreds of people protesting outside parliament every week to demanding the removal of Sheikh Nasser, whom they accuse of corruption
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 17 November 2011
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 17 November 2011
Free Syrian Army grows in influence
Al Jazeera talks to FSA commanders, rights activists and Syrian people about structure and role of anti-Assad army.
Basma Atassi
Al-Jazeera
"The attack by the Free Syrian Army (FSA) on an air force intelligence base in the suburbs of the capital Damascus on November 16 has raised the profile of the band of army deserters, who are seeking to end President Bashar al-Assad’s long rule.
Depending on whom you believe, the group is believed to number between 1,000 and 25,000.
What is certain though, is that the deserters want to bring the Syrian government to its knees - by targeting its biggest strength, its 500,000-strong army.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Colonel Ammar al-Wawi, the commander of the FSA’s Ababeel battalion, said: "Our only goal is to liberate Syria from Bashar Assad's regime.
"To put it simply, we carry out military operations against anyone who targets the peaceful protesters."....
While anti-Assad Syrians agree that their uprising, which started in March, must continue until the current government is toppled, they do not necessarily agree on the role of the FSA in it.....
The main opposition bloc, the Syrian National Council (SNC), has tried to maintain a middle-ground.
They voiced their sympathy with deserters and acknowledged their "legitimate role of protecting unarmed protesters," but they also said that they did not support the FSA's offensives.
"We must maintain the peaceful nature of the Syrian revolution and we are in continuous dialogue with the FSA to co-ordinate our political stance," Bassma Kodmani, the spokeswoman of the SNC, told Al Jazeera.
However, it remains to be seen how much influence could the SNC exert on the FSA.
Wawi told Al Jazeera: "Those who count on peaceful means only to overthrow the regime are delusional.""
Basma Atassi
Al-Jazeera
"The attack by the Free Syrian Army (FSA) on an air force intelligence base in the suburbs of the capital Damascus on November 16 has raised the profile of the band of army deserters, who are seeking to end President Bashar al-Assad’s long rule.
Depending on whom you believe, the group is believed to number between 1,000 and 25,000.
What is certain though, is that the deserters want to bring the Syrian government to its knees - by targeting its biggest strength, its 500,000-strong army.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Colonel Ammar al-Wawi, the commander of the FSA’s Ababeel battalion, said: "Our only goal is to liberate Syria from Bashar Assad's regime.
"To put it simply, we carry out military operations against anyone who targets the peaceful protesters."....
While anti-Assad Syrians agree that their uprising, which started in March, must continue until the current government is toppled, they do not necessarily agree on the role of the FSA in it.....
The main opposition bloc, the Syrian National Council (SNC), has tried to maintain a middle-ground.
They voiced their sympathy with deserters and acknowledged their "legitimate role of protecting unarmed protesters," but they also said that they did not support the FSA's offensives.
"We must maintain the peaceful nature of the Syrian revolution and we are in continuous dialogue with the FSA to co-ordinate our political stance," Bassma Kodmani, the spokeswoman of the SNC, told Al Jazeera.
However, it remains to be seen how much influence could the SNC exert on the FSA.
Wawi told Al Jazeera: "Those who count on peaceful means only to overthrow the regime are delusional.""
Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll
Do you support the demand of Yemeni demonstrators that Yemen should be suspended from the Arab League?
With about 300 responding (it is early), 89% said yes.
With about 300 responding (it is early), 89% said yes.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Guardian Video: Syrian army defectors say they will protect civilians
Amateur video on the internet purports to show Syrian army defectors saying they will try to protect civilians. They have recently attacked a string of military bases near Damascus, including an intelligence complex on the outskirts of the capital, in the first such reported assault on a major security facility in the eight-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 16 November 2011
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 16 November 2011
فيديو: عبارة "الأسد كذّاب" تحوّل استوديو الـ إم. تي. في إلى ساحة معركة
عــ48ــرب
"تحولت شاشة إحدى القنوات اللبنانية إلى حلبة صراع وشتائم بين عضو المكتب السياسي والنائب السابق عن تيار المستقبل مصطفى علوش من جهة والأمين القطري لحزب البعث السوري في لبنان فايز شكر من جهة أخرى، على خلفية الأحداث السورية في صورة تعكس احتدام الوضع والتوتر السائد في الساحة اللبنانية المنقسمة في رؤيتها للوضع السوري الحالي.
وكان علوش وشكر حلا ضيفين منذ أيام على برنامج للإعلامي وليد عبود، على شاشة" ام تي في" اللبنانية، حيث تبادلا الشتائم بعد أن وصف علوش الرئيس بشار الأسد بالكذاب، ما أثار أمين عام البعث لتبدأ عملية تبادل السباب والتضارب بالأيدي ومن ثم الكراسي، ولتكر سبحة الشتائم التي وصلت إلى حد تبادل العبارات البذيئة وذلك على الهواء مباشرة.
وتسبب تبادل الشتائم والتضارب بالأيدي بين ضيفين في البرامج الحواري في دفع القناة إلى توقف بث البرنامج لمدة امتدت إلى 20 دقيقة تقريبا، إلى أن أعيد الهدوء واستكملت الحلقة من جديد
....."
"تحولت شاشة إحدى القنوات اللبنانية إلى حلبة صراع وشتائم بين عضو المكتب السياسي والنائب السابق عن تيار المستقبل مصطفى علوش من جهة والأمين القطري لحزب البعث السوري في لبنان فايز شكر من جهة أخرى، على خلفية الأحداث السورية في صورة تعكس احتدام الوضع والتوتر السائد في الساحة اللبنانية المنقسمة في رؤيتها للوضع السوري الحالي.
وكان علوش وشكر حلا ضيفين منذ أيام على برنامج للإعلامي وليد عبود، على شاشة" ام تي في" اللبنانية، حيث تبادلا الشتائم بعد أن وصف علوش الرئيس بشار الأسد بالكذاب، ما أثار أمين عام البعث لتبدأ عملية تبادل السباب والتضارب بالأيدي ومن ثم الكراسي، ولتكر سبحة الشتائم التي وصلت إلى حد تبادل العبارات البذيئة وذلك على الهواء مباشرة.
وتسبب تبادل الشتائم والتضارب بالأيدي بين ضيفين في البرامج الحواري في دفع القناة إلى توقف بث البرنامج لمدة امتدت إلى 20 دقيقة تقريبا، إلى أن أعيد الهدوء واستكملت الحلقة من جديد
....."
Turkey has a key role in Syria – now and in the future
The Arab League's suspension of Syria has outraged Assad, but it is Ankara's hardline stance that may yet prove decisive
Simon Tisdall
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 16 November 2011
"....Fears that a Syrian meltdown could seriously destabilise the wider neighbourhood are also driving Turkey's hardening response. Such a scenario could affect Iraq, where security concerns are rising as the US withdrawal nears completion, and even Iran, a close Assad ally.
For its part, the Syrian regime has pressing reasons to fear Ankara's animosity, as Gökhan Bacik pointed out in Today's Zaman. Unlike many Muslim countries, Turkey identifies strongly with Europe, the US and Nato. And in the past decade, Erdogan's Justice and Development party has made its brand of moderate Islamist politics acceptable to previously blinkered western eyes.
In other words, Turkey, with its majority Sunni Muslim population, furnishes a role model for the disenfranchised Sunni majority in Syria (and other Arab spring countries). Not only is Ankara encouraging revolution in Damascus, it is also living proof that Assad's politics of fear are outdated, that Syrians have before them a workable alternative paradigm, and that, after the revolution, the country's secular, Islamist and other sectarian traditions could fairly hope to co-exist peacefully, Turkish-style."
Simon Tisdall
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 16 November 2011
"....Fears that a Syrian meltdown could seriously destabilise the wider neighbourhood are also driving Turkey's hardening response. Such a scenario could affect Iraq, where security concerns are rising as the US withdrawal nears completion, and even Iran, a close Assad ally.
For its part, the Syrian regime has pressing reasons to fear Ankara's animosity, as Gökhan Bacik pointed out in Today's Zaman. Unlike many Muslim countries, Turkey identifies strongly with Europe, the US and Nato. And in the past decade, Erdogan's Justice and Development party has made its brand of moderate Islamist politics acceptable to previously blinkered western eyes.
In other words, Turkey, with its majority Sunni Muslim population, furnishes a role model for the disenfranchised Sunni majority in Syria (and other Arab spring countries). Not only is Ankara encouraging revolution in Damascus, it is also living proof that Assad's politics of fear are outdated, that Syrians have before them a workable alternative paradigm, and that, after the revolution, the country's secular, Islamist and other sectarian traditions could fairly hope to co-exist peacefully, Turkish-style."
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