Why I had no choice but to spurn Tony Blair

I couldn't sit with someone who justified the invasion of Iraq with a lie

Desmond Tutu
The Observer, Saturday 1 September 2012

"The immorality of the United States and Great Britain's decision to invade Iraq in 2003, premised on the lie that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, has destabilised and polarised the world to a greater extent than any other conflict in history.

Instead of recognising that the world we lived in, with increasingly sophisticated communications, transportations and weapons systems necessitated sophisticated leadership that would bring the global family together, the then-leaders of the US and UK fabricated the grounds to behave like playground bullies and drive us further apart. They have driven us to the edge of a precipice where we now stand – with the spectre of Syria and Iran before us.....

On these grounds alone, in a consistent world, those responsible for this suffering and loss of life should be treading the same path as some of their African and Asian peers who have been made to answer for their actions in the Hague...."

Al-Jazeera Video: حديث الثورة - تسليح الجيش السوري الحر 30/8/2012

AN INFORMATIVE VIDEO

Syrian rebels 'seize air defence base'

Fighters take anti-aircraft rockets and 16 captives in attack on air defence facility in east, says UK-based group

Reuters in Beirut
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 1 September 2012

"Syrian rebels have seized an air defence facility and attacked a military airport in the east of the country, according to a UK-based monitoring group.

Saturday's attacks in the oil-rich province of Deir al-Zor follow rebel strikes against military airports in the Aleppo and Idlib areas, close to the border with Turkey.

The Syrian government has recently used helicopter gunships and fighter jets to attack rebels and residential areas.

Rebels in Deir al-Zor overran an air defence building early on Saturday, taking at least 16 captives and seizing an unknown number of anti-aircraft rockets, said Rami Abdulrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Video posted on the internet by activists showed the officers and soldiers captured by the rebel fighters, and al-Arabiya television broadcast footage of what it said were rockets and ammunition seized in the raid....."

Mohamed Morsi's slap in the face brings Mahmoud Ahmedinejad back to square one

World focus: After Morsi’s bombshell, agreement on a policy over Syria looked more remote than ever

The Independent

"....But it all went badly wrong. The arrival of Egypt's President, Mohamed Morsi, was a coup: the first visit by an Egyptian leader since the Iranian revolution of 1979. And Mr Morsi's decision to come was a slap in the face for Washington, a further reason for the Iranian President to grin.

The grin vanished, however, when Mr Morsi got up to speak. Far from endorsing Tehran's strategy, the moderate Islamist from Cairo, who has now shown several signs of being his own man, went straight for the jugular, identifying the civil war in Iran's close ally Syria as the latest in the line of just struggles that started in Tunis and went on to Cairo.

"We should all express our full support to the struggle of those who are demanding freedom and justice in Syria," Mr Morsi declared. The world had "a moral duty" to support the Syrian opposition, he went on, whose struggle, was comparable to the Palestinians'. "The Palestinian and Syrian people are actively seeking freedom, dignity and human justice." And he wasn't finished. "Our solidarity with the struggle of Syrians against an oppressive regime that has lost its legitimacy," he said, "is an ethical duty, and a political and strategic necessity."

It was a grave humiliation for Mr Morsi's hosts, and provoked the Syrian delegation, led by the Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, to walk out. He later condemned the Egyptian's remarks as "an interference in Syria's internal affairs" and "an instigation for continuing the shedding of...Syrian blood"....."

Al-Jazeera Video: الجيش الحر يسيطر على كتيبة المدفعية في البوكمال

"قال ناشطون إن الجيش الحر سيطر على كتيبة المدفعية الموجودة في مدينة البوكمال بدير الزور شرقي سوريا, واستولى على أسلحة متطورة وذخائر. وأضاف الناشطون أن قوات النظام قصفت المدينة بعد انسحابها من الكتيبة. وقد قتل تسعة أشخاص في قصف عشوائي على مناطق في المدينة ليرتفع بذلك عدد قتلى الجمعة في سوريا إلى أكثر من 120."

Thousands join peaceful protest in Bahrain

Anti-government protesters are demanding the release of prisoners in the first permitted demonstration since June.

Al-Jazeera

"Tens of thousands of people chanting anti-government slogans and holding up pictures of jailed activists have taken part in Bahrain's first authorised opposition protest since June.

No clashes occurred at Friday's march along a three kilometre stretch of a highway west of the capital Manama.

Protesters carried Bahraini flags and held up images of rights activist and protest leader Nabeel Rajab, calling for his release.

Bahrain, where the US Fifth Fleet is based, has been in crisis since a revolt led by majority Shia Muslims began 18 months ago to demand democracy in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Bahrain, journalist Reem Khalifa said that since protests started, "It has never been quiet ... especially in the over-populated Shia areas".

"Every day there is tension in various areas around the island,” Khalifa said.

The government has denounced the protest movement, inspired by uprisings elsewhere in the Arab world, as sectarian.

This claim denied by protesters who say they face discrimination from the ruling Sunni minority....."

Al-Jazeera Video: Alleged abuses on both sides of Syrian conflict

"As the war rages, human rights groups are documenting atrocities on both sides of the Syrian conflict.

Al Jazeera's Sue Turton is in Salma, in the western mountains and has more on the crimes being committed."

Al-Jazeera Video: التلفزيون الإيراني يحرّف انتقاد مرسي للنظام السوري

"حرّف مترجم القناة الأولى المحلية في التلفزيون الإيراني الرسمي خطاب الرئيس المصري محمد مرسي الذي ألقاه خلال قمة دول عدم الانحياز. وطال التحريف انتقاد مرسي للنظام السوري، حيث غيّر المترجم العبارات إلى البحرين بدلا من سوريا فضلا عن عبارات أخرى."

Al-Jazeera Video: Turkmen villages come under attack in Syria

"The Syrian military's daily bombardment of Turkmen villages in the western mountains is forcing more and more people to flee their homes in search of refuge.
Turkmen elders say the government offered them federal control of the region if they stayed loyal to Damascus.
The Turkmen refused and now find themselves under attack.
Neighbouring Turkey says it cannot cope with the increasing number of refugees coming across its border.
Al Jazeera's Sue Turton has this exclusive report from the western mountains."

Syria: scrambling to respond to fast-growing needs

31-08-2012 Operational Update

Since mid-July, fighting in and around Damascus has been escalating almost without interruption. The situation in many parts of Syria is currently edging towards irreversible deterioration. Assisting the fast-growing number of needy people is a top priority.

"The ICRC is extremely concerned about the welfare of the civilian population. People suffer every day. Many have lost their jobs, others their breadwinner. It is difficult to meet even basic food needs and to obtain other essentials. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced over recent weeks, and most of them, often whole families, are completely dependent on humanitarian assistance provided by local communities, the ICRC, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and others.

"People fear for their lives every minute of the day," said Marianne Gasser, the head of the ICRC delegation in Syria. "Humanitarian needs have risen sharply as civilians face ever more difficulty obtaining basic necessities, either because the items are not available in some parts of the country, or because the violence prevents people from going to get them."...."

Guardian Video: Julian Assange predicts year-long stay in Ecuadorean embassy

In an interview with the pan-Latin American broadcaster Telesur, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says it might take six to 12 months to resolve the issue of his extradition to Sweden. Assange reveals that the whistle-blower website will soon release millions of emails related to the Syrian government

guardian.co.uk, Friday 31 August 2012

Al-Jazeera Video: ما وراء الخبر - الملف السوري في قمة عدم الانحياز

"ناقش الحلقة الكيفية التي حضر بها الملف السوري في قمة عدم الانحياز، ولماذا اهتم به البعض وتجاهله آخرون. وكيف سيؤثر التناول الدولي في قمة عدم الانحياز للملف السوري على مستقبل الأزمة؟
ما وراء الخبر 30/8/2012
تقديم: عبد الصمد ناصر
ضيفا الحلقة: عبد الله الأشعل,صادق زيبا كلام"

Syria crisis: Turkey calls for 'safe haven' – live updates

Egyptian stance on Syria increases Iran's isolation

Brian Whitaker
guardian.co.uk, Friday 31 August 2012

"....
• President Morsi's speech in Tehran yesterday has "all but completed Iran's isolation", Simon
Tisdall writes in the Guardian.

Morsi's fierce condemnation of the Syrian regime, Iran's close ally, was as eloquent as it was piercing, and it came like a bolt from the blue. He didn't just rain on the Iranians' parade. It was as if Hurricane Isaac had taken a sharp turn north across the Caspian and unleashed its wrathful furies on an unsuspecting Tehran.

Scott Peterson, in the Christian Science Monitor, shares that view:

Iran's charm offensive and attempts to seize the high ground were dampened by the words of the UN chief and by Mohamed Morsi ....."

Al-Jazeera Video: Syria refugees must vacate Lebanese schools

"Syrians who sought refuge in schools in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley are being told they have to leave before the start of the school year next week.

Lebanese officials have been handing out tents, but refugees have had to find somewhere to erect them.

With more than 200,000 refugees now registered in countries on Syria's borders, it is further evidence of a growing humanitarian crisis.

Al Jazeera's James Bays reports from the Bekaa Valley."

Azmi Bishara on Internal Colonialism and the People’s Right to Resist

If a regime’s internal structure resembles that of internal colonialism, and if its actions resemble those of a foreign colonial power—bombing their own country’s cities from the air and adopting an Orientalist mindset in their dealings with their own people—then such a regime’s rule may truly be described as internal colonialism. Thus, the right of a people to resist that regime as if it were a foreign occupying power remains intact. This remains true regardless of the nature of that regime’s international foes, bad as they may be. The nature of the people’s resistance, and their rightful struggle in the face of the regime’s crimes against humanity, remains unchanged. 

As for those who defend the regime, they too must shoulder some of the blame for its crimes—with all of the nonsense being peddled by some of these defenders notwithstanding. They can be said to be defending this system of internal colonialism: nothing will be powerful enough to wash their hands of this blood. 

Nothing will wash away their complicity in the terrorizing of the opposition by aerial bombardment of the cities; nothing will absolve them of culpability in this harrowing moral failure. Just as was the case with those who justified colonial powers’ bombardment of cities on the grounds that terrorists were present in those cities. Keep in mind: the fascist regime we are speaking of here is bombing its own people. 

To fault the people who are fighting against such an internally colonialist regime by pointing out that the regime’s decidedly evil international foes make natural allies for the opposition does not take away from the virtue and justice of the opposition’s cause; nor does pointing this out soften the blow of the regimes multiple crimes against humanity, such as the aerial bombardment of their own cities. 

The resilience of the Syrian people, with such limited world support, and in the face of such aggressive bombardment—both physical and oratorical—by the regime’s proponents is without parallel in history. One would think that the regime’s supporters really were plotting and carrying out resistance operations against the Israelis when the Syrian revolution broke out. In fact, they have long become used to rhetoric: it was no different during the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. As for the regime itself, they have never managed to bomb anybody save their own people, and that with unprecedented international apathy. 
The author of these words recalls well the difference between the different players here: there were some who chose to make peace with Israel, while some chose to resist. Some stood in solidarity with Gaza, while others conspired against her. Yet such stands must always be based on principle, and not subject to the whims of people who simply exploit the cause of Palestine for their own ends. Yet this same author also understands the sharp contrast between those who stand with an oppressed people as their cities are bombed from the air and those who stand by. This author will not simply abandon this very oppressed people merely because the regime’s enemies happen also to be villains. 

There can be no defense for the bombing of Daryaa, and for the other towns and hamlets in the environs of Damascus. Nothing at all can wash away the crime of this months-long bombardment of Syria’s cities.

Al-Jazeera Video: Young men take up arms in Syria's west

"Syrian President Bashar al Assad has sharply criticised foreign powers who have raised the possibility of outside intervention.

He has lost control of large parts in the country's west where teenage fighters have taken up arms against him.

The young men soldier on, defending their communities against tanks and fighter jets, in spite of a lack of sophisticated weaponry.

Al Jazeera's Sue Turton reports from Salma in western Syria."

Real News Video : Gaza to be Unlivable by 2020 – UN Report

Gaza may not be ‘‘a livable place’’ by 2020 unless intensive efforts are made to improve infrastructure and services in fields like energy, health, water, and sanitation, a United Nations report concluded this week

Which of These Asses is Your Congressman? By Khalil Bendib

Shooting Down Regime's Helicopters, by Emad Hajjaj

Syria: Government Attacking Bread Lines

Civilian Deaths at Bakeries Are War Crimes

Human Rights Watch
August 30, 2012

"New York) – Syrian government forces have dropped bombs and fired artillery at or near at least 10 bakeries in Aleppo province over the past three weeks, killing and maiming scores of civilians who were waiting for bread.

The attacks are at least recklessly indiscriminate and the pattern and number of attacks suggest that government forces have been targeting civilians, Human Rights Watch said. Both reckless indiscriminate attacks and deliberately targeting civilians are war crimes.

One attack in the city of Aleppo on August 16, 2012, killed up to 60 people and wounded more than 70. Another attack in the city on August 21 killed at least 23 people and wounded 30.

“Day after day, Aleppo residents line up to get bread for their families, and instead get shrapnel piercing their bodies from government bombs and shells,” said Ole Solvang, emergencies researcher at Human Rights Watch who has just returned from Aleppo. “Ten bakery attacks is not random – they show no care for civilians and strongly indicate an attempt to target them.”
Human Rights Watch researchers visited six of the attacked bakeries and interviewed witnesses:

•Bakery in Maare, northern Aleppo, August 22;
•Bakery in Al-Bab, northeastern Aleppo, August 21 and 22;
•Aqyuol bakery in Bab al-Hadid, Aleppo city, August 21;
•Al-Zarra bakery in Qadi Askar, Aleppo city, August 16;
•Kanjou bakery, al-Maysar, Aleppo city, August 16;
•Bakery in al-Halwaniya, Aleppo city, August 16;

Human Rights Watch collected credible information about four other attacks....."