We've moved on from the Iraq war – but Iraqis don't have that choice

Like characters from The Great Gatsby, Britain and the US have arrogantly turned their backs and left a country in ruins

John Pilger
The Guardian, Sunday 26 May 2013

".....Recently, Hans von Sponeck, former assistant secretary general of the United Nations and senior UN humanitarian official in Iraq, wrote to me: "The US government sought to prevent WHO from surveying areas in southern Iraq where depleted uranium had been used and caused serious health and environmental dangers." A WHO report, the result of a landmark study conducted with the Iraqi ministry of health, has been "delayed". Covering 10,800 households, it contains "damning evidence", says a ministry official and, according to one of its researchers, remains "top secret". The report says birth defects have risen to a "crisis" right across Iraqi society where depleted uranium and other toxic heavy metals were used by the US and Britain. Fourteen years after he sounded the alarm, Dr Jawad Al-Ali reports "phenomenal" multiple cancers in entire families.

Iraq is no longer news. Last week, the killing of 57 Iraqis in one day was a non-event compared with the murder of a British soldier in London. Yet the two atrocities are connected. Their emblem might be a lavish new movie of F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Two of the main characters, as Fitzgerald wrote, "smashed up things and creatures and retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness … and let other people clean up the mess"......

Their "mess" is a crime of epic proportions, wrote Von Sponeck, referring to the Iraqi ministry of social affairs' estimate of 4.5 million children who have lost one or both parents. "This means a horrific 14% of Iraq's population are orphans," he wrote. "An estimated one million families are headed by women, most of them widows". Domestic violence and child abuse are rightly urgent issues in Britain; in Iraq the catastrophe ignited by Britain has brought violence and abuse into millions of homes........."

Al-Jazeera Video:Interview: al-Qusayr resident Rifaie Tammas

Al-Jazeera Video: حديث الثورة- تصريحات حزب الله بمحاربة التكفيريين بسور

BBC poll: Israel among world's least popular nations

The annual BBC World Service poll finds Germany most popular; only countries less popular than Israel are North Korea, Pakistan and Iran. 

"The world's opinion of Israel has not improved in the last year: According to BBC World Service's annual poll, Israel is one of the least popular countries in the world; the only states less popular are North Korea, Pakistan and Iran.
The survey, conducted among 26,000 people in 25 countries, found Germany to be the most popular country. 59 percent of respondents, who were asked to rate 16 countries according to how positively they impact the world, placed Germany at the top.
Only 21 percent of participants had a positive view on Israel, while 52 percent viewed the country unfavorably. Iran, in comparison, won the favorable opinion of 15 percent of those who answered the survey, while 59 percent viewed it unfavorably......"

Insight: In West Bank shadows, repressed Hamas breathes on

"(Reuters) - In his sparse village home adorned only with framed verses from the Quran, Mohammed Ghannam opens his shirt, pointing silently to his bruised chest.
Ghannam, 44, whose job was to deliver the call to prayer in Dura's local mosque, said plainclothes security forces from the Palestinian Authority (PA) detained him last month for belonging to the Islamist movement Hamas and beat him mute.
"They didn't ask me any questions, just punched me hard in the face and the chest," he wrote limply on a notepad. "They hit my head again and again against a concrete wall.".......

Human Rights Watch has repeatedly called upon Western governments to re-evaluate their aid to PA forces after several detainees died from suspected torture and no personnel were publicly convicted for abuse.
In a statement to Reuters, the European Union's training mission for the civilian police said it encouraged the PA to have "all such allegations investigated as a matter of urgency".

Hamas and many average Palestinians say the Western missions deliberately aimed to undermine the PA's internal rivals, something White denied....."

Al-Jazeera Video: عشرات القتلى والجرحى بالقصير

COURTESY OF.....HASSAN NASRALLAH!
FROM A FREEDOM FIGHTER TO A BUTCHER OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN!

Al-Jazeera Video: Bahraini protesters clash with police

Al-Jazeera Video: حديث الثورة/ تطورات الثورة السورية بعين الشارع العربي

Why I signed the Rebel campaign

Incompetence and inefficiency are not enough to annul the mandate of the ruling president, gained at the ballot box. But continuing the system of torture used by the former regime is

Khaled Fahmy , Saturday 25 May 2013
Ahram Online

"Before midnight on Friday, 17 May 2013, I decided to go to Tahrir Square to sign the "Rebel" campaign's petition, which asks for the withdrawal of confidence from President Mohamed Morsi El-Ayat. This was not an arbitrary decision, nor was it a product of the moment. It was the result of deep reflection as well as an appreciation for the importance of this campaign and what it calls for......

I did not go to Tahrir to ask for free and fair elections only, and I did not participate in the revolution to replace the National Democratic Party with the Freedom and Justice Party, or to replace Mohamed Hosni Mubarak with Mohamed Morsi El-Ayat. This revolution started not to change the players, but to change the rules of the game, and the reason of my rebellion against the rule of President Mohamed Morsi is his acceptance of the continued existence of the same game with the same referee....."

The Obama Comedy Hour: Barack Obama says war on terror is OVER!

By Carlos Latuff

My Favorite Weekly Show: البرنامج - الحلقه 24 كامله

Hezbollah's role in Syrian conflict ushers new reality for its supporters

Once denied by its leaders, the Shia militant group's involvement in Syria is now a badge of honour for families burying their dead

Martin Chulov in Beirut
The Guardian, Friday 24 May 2013

".......The flurry of activity in the martyrs' cemetery marks the busiest period for the militant movement since the 2006 war with Israel, in which an estimated 400 of its members died. All the new graves here have been dug in the past 10 days. Many others have been sealed with the familiar yellow and green standard in villages across Lebanon where the rumblings of a very different war have now boiled over into sacrifice and loss.

The newly arrived dead have ushered in a new reality for Hezbollah, one that has taken more than two years of uprising and war in neighbouring Syria to publicly acknowledge: all the fallen have died fighting Arabs in Syria, not Jews in Israel. Such a shift in orientation, for so long denied by the group's leadership, is now being worn as a badge of honour by the families of the dead.......

.....As the tally of dead and injured has mounted over the past week, a clearer picture has emerged of the depth of the group's involvement in Syria, a battle that Nasrallah had long denied joining.
The impact of such a shift is resounding across Lebanon and beyond. Sectarian tensions, which have bubbled away as the crisis has worn on, are now more visible and potent than for many decades.....

Its hand perhaps forced by the sheer volume of dead and wounded coming back from Qusair, the group has only this past week felt comfortable enough to drop the veil on its role in Syria. But even now, the graveyard clamour and pageantry of martyrdom has not led Hezbollah's leaders to address their direct involvement – a move that has profound implications both in Lebanon and across the region.
So far, justification is being left to the group's support base, much of which seems to be onside with the decision, citing a need to strike pre-emptively against rebel groups that they believe will come to fight them next.
"I am with Hezbollah in this decision, because it is better that we fight them there than here [Where did I hear this line before?? Oh, that was the line used by George W. Bush, of course!]," said a Dahiyah resident, Mohammed Abdullah.......

.... By Friday, at least 30 Hezbollah members had returned in death shrouds. Many dozens more were injured. Its supporters estimated that the toll was much higher, with some well connected sources saying that a Syrian jet had mistakenly bombed a large group of Hezbollah members, killing up to 20 on Tuesday......"

Real News Video: Yes Mr President, This Is Who We Are

Michael Ratner and Paul Jay analyze President Obama's defense of his drone and Guantanamo policies - a policy based on continuing US dominance in the Middle East; Obama's speech was interrupted by Code Pink's Medea Benjamin  

Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin Interrupts Obama Speech

The Code Pink activist confronted the President on drones, Gitmo

"President Obama was interrupted during a major speech on national security policy by Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin, who shouted from the back of the auditorium about his administration’s abusive policies of indefinite detention and drone warfare, leading the president to acknowledge her and even pause to let her finish.

Obama lamented efforts by Congress to prevent the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention center, saying it “never should have been opened.” At this point, Benjamin, who had remained quiet for almost the whole hour, shouted at the President, reminding him that it is perfectly within his power to close the facility on his own.
“Let me finish ma’am,” the President said, as he stumbled over the interruption to continue his prepared remarks.
“I’m willing to cut that young lady who interrupted me some slack, because it’s worth being passionate about,” Obama said. “Is this who we are?” Obama asked in reference to his indefinite detention policies. “Is that something our Founders foresaw?”
Media spoke up again when Obama failed to more fully address the killing of Abdulrahman Awlaki, the 16-year old son of suspected terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki, in a 2011 drone strike in Yemen.
What about him? Benjamin asked, as Obama paused to wait for her to be escorted out by security.
“Can you tell the Muslims that their lives are as precious as our lives?” Benjamin asked rhetorically as she was dragged out. “Can you take the drones out of the hands of the CIA? Can you stop the signature strikes that are killing people on the basis of suspicious activity? Will you compensate the families of innocent victims you have killed?”
“I love my country,” she said. “I love the rule of law. The drones are making us less safe.”
Once she was fully escorted out, Obama said, “The voice of that woman is worth paying attention to.”
After the speech, The Huffington Post’s Ryan Reilly interviewed Benjamin........"

EVEN HAMAS IS NOW CRITICAL OF ITS "MUSLIM BROTHERS" IN EGYPT: هنية يدعو مصر إلى إلغاء اتفاقية كامب ديفيد مع إسرائيل

"غزة- (يو بي اي): دعا رئيس الحكومة الفلسطينية المقالة، إسماعيل هنية، اليوم الجمعة، مصر إلى إلغاء اتفاقية كامب ديفيد مع إسرائيل، حاثاً على انتهاج استراتيجية جديدة في التعامل مع سيناء ومعبر رفح.

وقال هنية في خطبة الجمعة التي ألقاها بمسجد خليل الوزير بغزة، “من باب الإخوة وليس من باب الإلزام.

ندعو (القيادة المصرية) إلى إلغاء أو إعادة النظر في اتفاقية كامب ديفيد، خاصة الملاحق الأمني التي تؤدي للفراغ الأمني الذي يمكن أن يستغل من الإسرائيليين للعبث بأمن مصر وطرح أجندات مستعجلة على بساط البحث داخل أروقة صنع القرار المصري”.

وأضاف “من موقع الإخوة ندعو إلى بناء استراتيجية شاملة للتعامل مع سيناء وأهلنا في سيناء والشعب السيناوي في مقدمتها التنمية وإعادة الاعتبار للعلاقات وحماية هذه الأرض كأرض مصرية كاملة السيادة”.

كما دعا “للتعامل مع سياسة جديدة في التعامل مع معبر رفح بحيث لا يتأثر بالأحداث التي تقع في الجانب المصري هنا أرض وشعب محاصر”، مشيراً إلى أن روح جديدة وجدت بعد ثورة 25 كانون الثاني/ يناير هي موضع احترام وتقدير.

وقال “أمام ما جرى (الإغلاق الأخير للمعبر بعد خطف الجنود المصريين في العريش) ندعو لتثبيت علاقة جديدة بحيث نُعمِل القانون ونبقي سيادة الدولة، وأن لا يسمح لأفراد أو أطراف ما لاتخاذ إجراءات تضع شعب بكامله، 2 مليون فلسطيني في غزة، رهينة تطورات في الجانب الآخر”.

وأشار إلى أنه أجرى اتصالاً هاتفياً اليوم مع رئيس ديوان رئيس الجمهورية المصري محمد رفاعة طهطاوي، لـ”تجديد التهنئة بتحرر الجنود المصريين، وإقرارنا بالحكمة في التعامل مع قضية الاختطاف وبشأن معبر رفح والعالقين”، لافتاً إلى أنه وعد خيراً بالأمر ومتابعته ورفعه للرئيس المصري محمد مرسي.

"

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll

Do you support the intervention of outside forces to support both sides in the Syrian conflict?

With about 200 responding so far, 67% said no. 

Killing Americans: Jeremy Scahill on Obama Admin’s Admission 4 U.S. Citizens Died in Drone Strikes

Democracy Now!

"The Obama administration has admitted for the first time to killing four U.S. citizens in drone strikes overseas. Three died in Yemen: the Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, his 16-year-old son Abdulrahman al-Awlaki and Samir Khan. A fourth, Jude Kenan Mohammed — whose death was not previously reported — was killed in Pakistan. In a letter to Congress, Attorney General Eric Holder suggested that all but the attack on the elder al-Awlaki were accidental, saying the other three "were not specifically targeted." The admission came on the eve of a major address in which President Obama is expected to defend the secret targeted killing program and announce modified guidelines for carrying it out. We’re joined by Jeremy Scahill, author of the new book, "Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield," and co-producer of the upcoming documentary film by the same name....."

هكذا تنهض الشعوب والأوطان

مرّ أكثر من قرن والعرب يحلمون ويوعَدون بالنهضة والإصلاح. تنوّعت الأطروحات والزعامات وتكرّرت المحاولات، وفي كل مرة تخيب الآمال وتتحطّم الأحلام ولنفس الأسباب: حسابات خاطئة وخطط ارتجالية، وأداء هزيل لنخب نرجسية وانتهازية تستبيح كل شيء في صراع وجودي لاحتكار السلطة بلا ضوابط ولا محرّمات سرعان ما يتمخّض عن هيمنة وإقصاء يقابلهما خضوع تحته تربّص وتعويق ومراهنة على الفشل، وتَطَبّع المغلوب بطباع الغالب، وارتهان الفرقاء والبلاد للخارج، مما يفتح الثغرات ويستدعي الأطماع والمؤامرات، وتُدار البلاد بالترقيع والمسكنّات وتتدحرج نحو الاستبداد والتبعية والفساد. 

"شتان بين قادة الحركة الصهيونية الذين خططوا لتحصين دولة الاحتلال قبل قيامها، وبين سياسيين عرب يتنازعون السلطة قبل بناء الدولة بل قبل تحرير البلاد "

فالخلاف بين الساسة العرب –وفي الحياة عامة– عداوة ويحسم بمنطق "أنا أو الطوفان" و"علي وعلى أعدائي"، ورغم المظاهر العصرية الخادعة فقد ظلت السياسة العربية في جوهرها قبائل تتنازع غنائم، والله يقول "ولا تنازعوا فتفشلوا وتذهب ريحكم"، وشتان بين التنازع والتدافع. ولك أن تقارن بين قادة الحركة الصهيونية الذين خططوا لتحصين دولة الاحتلال قبل قيامها، وبين سياسيين عرب يتنازعون السلطة قبل بناء الدولة، بل قبل تحرير البلاد، فلا أحد يفوق الساسة العرب –إلا ما رحم ربي– في الهوس بالسلطة والاستعداد للتفريط في المصلحة الوطنية.
وهكذا ضاعت فرص عديدة وظلت البلاد تراوح مكانها بسبب ضعف ذاكرة الشعوب وغياب ثقافة التوثيق والتقييم والاعتبار والمحاسبة، فلا أحد يتحمل مسؤولية أخطائه فضلا أن يعتذر أو يعتزل، الكل يتفنّن في التنصّل من المسؤولية وإيجاد المبرّرات والشمّاعات، ولم يهتد بلد عربي واحد إلى طريق النهوض، بل إن كثيرا منها في تراجع، والسبب بسيط: غياب مشروع نهضوي وزعامات وطنية تعبّئ الشعب وتوحّده، وضعف الهوية الوطنية والحس الوطني لحساب الولاءات والنزعات والأجندات الفئوية.
أوجد الربيع العربي الأمل في كسر هذه الحلقة المفرغة حيث تجاوزت الشعوب النخب والأحزاب وتوحّدت على مطالب شعبية وتحت راية وطنية، ولكن الأحداث سرعان ما تدحرجت باتجاه المسار المعهود والنتيجة المألوفة، فأخطأت البلاد طريق النهضة ولم تتغير السياسات والأوضاع إلا قليلا.
ولكن لعل من أكبر حسنات الربيع العربي أنه أسقط الأقنعة وأزال الأوهام، وأثبت أنه لا جدوى من التغيير الفوقي ولا أمل في الزعامات والأحزاب القائمة المهووسة بالسلطة وليس بالنهضة، وما شهدناه من أداء سياسي مخيّب هو عيّنة لما هو قادم، ومن لا يزال يعلّق آماله في النهضة والإصلاح على الدستور والانتخابات ونهاية المرحلة الانتقالية فهو واهم.
......."

What is the U.S. REALLY doing in Syria?

By Stephen M. Walt

"Permit me to indulge today in a bit of speculation, for which I don't have a lot of hard evidence. As I read this article yesterday on Hezbollah's involvement in the Syrian civil war, I began to wonder whether U.S. involvement in that conflict isn't more substantial than I have previously thought. And then I did a bit of web surfing and found this story, which seemed to confirm my suspicions. Here's my chain of reasoning:
1. The Syrian conflict has become a proxy fight between the opposition and its various allies (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Turkey, etc.) and Bashar al-Assad's regime and its various outsider supporters (Iran, Russia, Hezbollah).
2. For Washington, this war has become a golden opportunity to inflict a strategic defeat on Iran and its various local allies and thus shift the regional balance of power in a pro-American direction.
3. Israel's calculations are more complicated, given that it had a good working relationship with the Assad regime and is concerned about a failed state emerging next door. But on balance, a conflict that undermines Iran, further divides the Arab/Islamic world, and distracts people from the continued colonization of the West Bank is a net plus. So Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won't object if the United States gets more deeply engaged.
4. Consistent with its buck-passing instincts, Barack Obama's administration does not want to play a visible role in the conflict. This is partly because Americans are rightly tired of trying to govern war-torn countries, but also because America isn't very popular in the region and anyone who gets too close to the United States might actually lose popular support. So no boots on the ground, no "no-fly zones," and no big, highly visible shipments of U.S. arms. Instead, Washington can use Qatar and Saudi Arabia as its middlemen, roles they are all too happy to play for their own reasons.
5. Since taking office, Obama has shown a marked preference for covert actions that don't cost too much and don't attract much publicity, combined with energetic efforts to prosecute leakers. So an energetic covert effort in Syria would be consistent with past practice. Although there have been news reports that the CIA is involved in vetting and/or advising some opposition groups, we still don't know just how deeply involved the U.S. government is. (There has been a bit of speculation in the blogosphere that the attack on Benghazi involved "blowback" from the Syrian conflict, but I haven't seen any hard evidence to support this idea.)
6. In this scenario, the Obama administration may secretly welcome the repeated demands for direct U.S. involvement made by war hawks like Sen. John McCain. Rejecting the hawks' demands for airstrikes, "no-fly zones," or overt military aid makes it look like U.S. involvement is actually much smaller than it really is.

To repeat: The above analysis is mostly speculative on my part. I have no concrete evidence that the full scenario sketched above is correct, and I don't know what the level of U.S. involvement in the Syrian civil war really is. But that's what troubles me: I don't like not knowing what my government is doing, allegedly to make me safer or to advance someone's idea of the "national interest." And if you're an American, neither should you. If the United States is now orchestrating a lot of arms shipments, trying to pick winners among the opposition, sending intelligence information to various militias, and generally meddling in a very complicated and uncertain conflict, don't you think the president owes us a more complete account of what America's public servants are or are not doing, and why?"

While Arabs Slaughter Each Other and Sectarian Hatred Spreads, Israel Has Become the Superpower of the Region! Israel is world's largest drone exporter

Half of Israel's drone exports are to Europe, including a substantial number to the UK, according to a recent study

Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
guardian.co.uk, Monday 20 May 2013

"Israel is the world's largest exporter of drones, mainly to Europe, Asia and Latin America, in a trade worth more than $4.6bn (£3bn) over the past eight years.
A study by the business consultancy Frost and Sullivan found that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) account for almost 10% of Israel's military exports. Sales have declined from a peak in 2010, but Israel has recently signed a $100m deal, not included in the figures, with India to upgrade its drones.
Just over half of Israel's drone exports were to Europe, including a substantial number to the UK. Less than 4% of UAV sales were to America.
Israel is considered at the forefront of military technological development. It regularly uses drones to monitor activity in Gaza and carry out targeted assassinations......"

Al-Jazeera Video: ما وراء الخبر- حزب الله والقتال الدائر سوريا

Al Jazeera roiled by US manager’s decision to censor Joseph Massad article

By Ali Abunimah

• Al Jazeera restores Massad’s article and denies political pressure.
• Massad expresses disappointment in network’s actions.
• The Electronic Intifada reveals the political and commercial fears that motivated top manager Ehab Al Shihabi’s move to remove article.
• Azmi Bishara condemns “cowardly” decision.

"Days after a top Al Jazeera executive ordered the removal of an op-ed critical of Zionism by Joseph Massad, the article was today restored to the network’s English-language website.
Imad Musa, the head of Al Jazeera English Online, also posted a statement on the Editor’s Blog denying that Al Jazeera had “succumbed to various pressures, and censored its own pages” when it removed the article.
The about-face follows a growing uproar inside and outside Al Jazeera over the article’s removal, amid fears for editorial independence and freedom of speech as the Qatar-based network prepares to launch Al Jazeera America......

Massad “heartened” by reaction


Massad, who has written for the Al Jazeera English website for two years, welcomed the restoration of his article, but expressed disappointment in Al Jazeera’s statement in a response sent to The Electronic Intifada:.....

“Cowardly” decision

Azmi Bishara, the Palestinian political leader and academic and one of Al Jazeera’s most prominent commentators, forcefully condemned the network’s action as “cowardly and opportunistic.”

In a statement on his Facebook page hours before Massad’s article was restored, Bishara said that the deletion of Massad’s article followed false accusations of anti-Semitism by “Zionist” and “racist” individuals.
Relating the move to the planned launch of Al Jazeera America, Bishara added, “If the price of Al Jazeera’s entry into the United States means its submission to Zionist dictates, then this means that America will be moving into Al Jazeera and not the reverse.”

Given that even Massad’s university, Columbia, had eventually stood up to similar false and disproven accusations and campaigns, Bishara noted that Al Jazeera had been “even less vigilant than Columbia in defending the rights of an Arab professor to express his opinion. Shame on you.”........

Restoring credibility?

What Bishara has said publicly, many present and former Al Jazeera staffers have been saying privately. Yet many Al Jazeera journalists are determined to retain the respect that the network has enjoyed for being willing to take on stories and offer voices – especially on Palestine – that no other network of its size would touch.
The restoration of Massad’s article, they must hope, will be a first step towards regaining Al Jazeera’s reputation as a place where free discussion of Palestine, Zionism and Israel are still permitted, even if it doesn’t always sell on Main Street. But there’s no doubt the damage has been great......."

اهالي قتلى حزب الله في القصير يطردون السوريين من الجنوب

لبنان: مصرع خمسة باشتباكات طائفية ونزوح كثيف في طرابلس

بيروت ـ ‘القدس العربي’ ـ من سعد الياس: اهتز الامن على الحدود اللبنانية السورية في منطقة الشمال حيث تعرضت قرى عديدة في منطقة عكار لسقوط قذائف من الجانب السوري أسفرت عن سقوط قتلى وجرحى، في وقت لا تزال مشاركة حزب الله في القتال في سورية تتقدم كل الاخبار في ضوء ارتفاع عدد القتلى والجرحى.
جاء ذلك فيما قتل خمسة اشخاص الثلاثاء واصيب العشرات في اشتباكات متواصلة منذ يومين في مدينة طرابلس بشمال لبنان، بين سنة وعلويين منقسمين على خلفية النزاع في سورية.
وقال مصدر من المدينة ان القتلى اربعة من السنة بينهم إمام مسجد منطقة باب التبانة، وعلوي واحد في اشتباكات عنيفة، تستخدم فيها مختلف انواع الاسلحة، منها قذائف هاون.
وتشهد المدينة منذ الاحد اشتباكات متقطعة بين منطقة باب التبانة ذات الغالبية السنية والمتعاطفة مع المعارضة السورية، وجبل محسن ذات الغالبية العلوية، وهي الاقلية الدينية التي ينتمي اليها الرئيس السوري بشار الاسد.
وادت الاشتباكات في اليومين الماضيين الى مقتل اربعة اشخاص آخرين على الاقل، بينهم عنصران من الجيش اللبناني قتلا امس الاول، بحسب ما افادت قيادة الجيش-مديرية التوجيه.
واشار المصدر الى تسجيل حركة نزوح كثيفة من منطقة باب التبانة في اتجاه الاحياء الداخلية لطرابلس، كبرى مدن الشمال، والتي قطعت الطريق الدولية بينها وبين الحدود السورية بسبب اعمال القنص.
وذكر موقع ‘شفاف’ الالكتروني ان ‘الامين العام لـ’حزب الله’ حسن نصرالله توجه الى مدينة الهرمل في البقاع اللبناني، حيث خاطب مقاتلين من الحزب قبل توجههم الى بلدة القصير السورية للمشاركة في القتال، كما تحدث عبر اللاسلكي الى المقاتلين المنتشرين في المدينة لشحذ هممهم، فيما قال ناشطون معارضون ان نحو 30 من مقاتلي الحزب و20 من أفراد القوات السورية و’الشبيحة’ قتلوا في اشتباكات البلدة في اليومين الماضيين.
وقال الموقع ان ‘الهرمل التي تعرضت لـ 8 صواريخ ‘غراد’ شهدت في الليل السابق تجمعاً كبيراً لمقاتلين من ‘حزب الله’ والحرس الثوري الايراني، وان نصرالله حضر الى المدينة وخاطب هؤلاء المقاتلين قبل توجههم الى القصير، كما ارسل رسالة تم التقاطها عبر جهاز اللاسلكي للمقاتلين المنتشرين على جبهات البلدة ليشحذ هممهم ويرفدهم بالمعنويات’.وافاد الموقع ان ‘نصرالله وجه نداء ‘لبيك يا صاحب الزمان وادركنا يا صاحب الزمان’ الى مقاتلي القصير بعد ان خاطبهم قائلاً: ‘الى رجال الله كفاهم فخراً، بوركت سواعدكم السمراء، رجال الله في القصير لكم منا كل التحايا انتم ايها الحسينيون، يا ابناء محمد، وعلي، وفاطمة، والحسن، والحسين، انتم شجاعة العباس، واصحاب الحسين بكربلاء، يا صرخة زينب عبر التاريخ تلك التي هزت عرش يزيد واليزيديين’.تابع نصرالله: ‘نعم انتم في القصير تقولون لن تسبى زينب مرتين، ليتني كنت معكم، ليتني رصاصكم، ليتني مع وسداتكم في سوح الكرامة والعنفوان، ليتني زغردة حناجركم، حياكم الله ونصركم على الضلال كله والكفر كله’.الى ذلك، أفيد عن وصول دفعة جديدة من عناصر ‘حزب الله’ الذين قتلوا في المعارك في القصير الى منطقة الجنوب وعددها يقارب 17 عنصراً.
وذكرت المعلومات ان القتلى هم: نادر حسن ترحيني ـ عبا، نعيم سامر ظاهر ـ عربصاليم، سعادة علي محمود ـ لبايا، حسن محمد حدرج ـ حبوش، علي حسن بدران ـ دير الزهراني، محمد جواد راضي ـ زبقين، علي محمود معلم ـ كفررمان، رائف محمد عليق، ماجد علي العلي ـ دير قانون النهر، حسن حسين مهدي ـ القصيبة، علي رمزي كوثراني ـ النميرية، وليد محمد سليمان، جواد سليمان العلي ـ ميدون، سمير محمد حجازي بليدا، حاتم حسين ـ النفاخية، ورضا عاشور وحسن حريري.
وفي سياق متصل، وفي اعقاب انتشار انباء مقتل العناصر في القرى والبلدات الجنوبية بدأت عمليات التعرض للعمال السوريين في القرى والبلدات الجنوبية.وفي اعقاب نعي محسن سمير برو من بلدة الشرقية الجنوبية’والاعلان عن موعد دفنه عصر امس الثلاثاء في جبانة بلدته، قام عدد من الاهالي المستنكرين لمقتل برو بطرد العمال السوريين الذين غادروا الشرقية نحو الاودية المحيطة بها في الكوثرية ليبيتوا ليلتهم في العراء.
وعند العاشرة والنصف من ليل الإثنين اطلق مجهولون قنبلة صوتية في اتجاه مجمع يقطنه عمال سوريون في ساحة بلدة الشرقية لم تتسبب بإصابة أي من العمال.ولفتت المعلومات الى ان دورية من مخفر درك الدوير حضرت الى المكان ولم تجد في المجمع المستهدف سوى عامل سوري واحد بعدما تركه رفاقه خوفاً من عملية انتقام قد يتعرضون لها على ايدي ذوي واقرباء القتيل برو واهالي بلدته.
وفي برعشيت، واثر اعلان ‘حزب الله’ عن مقتل احد كوادره خليل يوسف مزهر، في القصير السورية، من مئذنة مسجد البلدة، والدعوة لتشييعه الثلاثاء، توجه عند الحادية عشرة الا ربعاً من ليل الإثنين، عدد من اقرباء وذوي القتيل، الى المنازل التي يقطنها عدد من النازحين والعمال السوريين واعتدوا عليهم بالضرب بالعصي والسكاكين ما ادى الى إصابة النازح السوري حميدي عدنان الخليفة بكسر بقدمه، نقل اثره الى مستشفى صلاح غندور في بنت جبيل، فيما فرّ عدد من السوريين من البلدة في اتجاه القرى المحيطة في بنت جبيل. وحضرت عناصر من الجيش والدرك واللجنة الامنية لحزب الله لتطويق الاشكال لمنع تفاقمه.
أما على الحدود الشمالية فقد سقط عدد من القذائف الصاروخية على بلدات قنية، كلخا، الحنيدر والكنيسة ما أدى الى سقوط عدد من الإصابات نقلوا جميعاً الى مستشفى السلام في القبيات.
ولاحقاً سقطت 3 قذائف في خراج بلدتي المونسى والعماير، تزامنا مع تشييع 3 قتلى سوريين، كانوا قضوا فجر امس في المواجهات داخل الاراضي السورية وتم سحبهم من وادي سرحان السوري، الى بلدة العماير حيث شيعوا، اثنان منهم من قرية اكوم السورية وآخر من قرية الهيت السورية ايضا.و ساد الخوف منطقتي جبل اكروم ووادي جرّاء تدهور الأوضاع حيث سجل نزوح عدد من المواطنين اللبنانيين من منازلهم الواقعة عند الحدود اللبنانية السورية مباشرة.الى ذلك، نقلت خمس جثث من عناصر المجموعات التي هاجمت المواقع السورية في جبل اكروم بواسطة سيارات الصليب الأحمر الى منطقة وادي خالد وهم قتلى سوريون.
تزامناً، وقع اشكال بين عناصر مركز الجيش اللبناني في بلدة العوادة في منطقة وادي خالد واشخاص لم يمتثلوا للتوقف عند حاجز الجيش، ما ادى الى اصابة احد ركاب السيارة وتم نقله بواسطة سيارة اسعاف تابعة للصليب الاحمر اللبناني الى مستشفى اسيدة السلامب في القبيات. واوقف الجيش شخصا من آل الشيبان، الامر الذي ترك تداعيات في بلدات وادي خالد حيث اقدم محتجون على قطع طريق الهيشة ـ وادي خالد.

Al-Jazeera Video:في العمق- تحديات أمام الثورة السورية

With Azmi Bishara

ABSOLUTELY SUPERB! DON'T MISS IT!

Al-Jazeera Video: حديث الثورة- القراءات الإسرائيلية بالِشأن السوري

"تعرف إسرائيل أن ما يحدث في أطراف سوريا من قتال ضروس يعني لأمنها الكثير لذلك لن تبقى المتفرج فأرسلت طائراتها لتشن غارات استهدفت العمق السوري. ما هو التقييم الإسرائيلي للغارات؟ لماذا جاءت ضغوط إسرائيل على واشنطن للتخفيف عن الأسد؟
"

Restricting Speech Restricts Arab Freedom

 Sarah Leah Whitson
Human Rights Watch

"The sight of hundreds of thousands of Arabs marching on the streets of a number of Arab countries, demanding their dignity and rights, will remain among the iconic images of the twenty-first century. The willingness of so many citizens to take such tremendous risks to their own lives, with thousands dying for their freedom, stunned a world long accustomed to the image of the resigned, subordinate, cynical Arab masses.
Some people have had their head put to the ground so you can raise your head up high.
Yet, even in countries that have succeeded in dislodging autocratic regimes and holding democratic elections, there has been a disconnect between the public’s passionate demonstrations for freedom and their commitment to the legislative and institutional reforms needed to protect their rights against future government abuses. There is widespread buy-in for restraints on the power of security forces, but little recognition among citizens that free speech and independent civil society are the bulwarks of freedom from tyranny.
Egypt offers the best example of this disconnect......

Yet on the issue of free speech the new government has relied on restrictions that the Mubarak government routinely used to muzzle government critics.......

In Tunisia as well,........ The governments have used laws inherited from the deposed president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, to prosecute several people for speech deemed “immoral” or “harmful to public order,” such as sculptors and bloggers, but also for “impugning the reputation of the military.”

Again and again in my decades of observation and meetings in the region, I have seen widespread support for limits on speech, not just in Egypt, but throughout the Middle East. Many citizens from a wide cross-section of society see no contradiction between the right to speak critically of government officials (or their religion) and the “right” of officials (and even institutions) to punish those who allegedly insult them. Much of the Arab public cares little for the fact that international human rights law rejects “insult” as a legitimate limit on speech, because it easily can be used to stifle critics and opponents and to restrict the vigorous public debate that is essential for government accountability........"      

Qatar in the Service of Israel

Al Jazeera management orders Joseph Massad article pulled in act of pro-Israel censorship

AN IMPORTANT POST

By Ali Abunimah

"In an unprecedented act of political censorship Al Jazeera English has deleted an article by noted Columbia University Professor Joseph Massad after coming under intense criticism from Zionists in recent days.

Massad told The Electronic Intifada that he had “received confirmation” from his editor at Al Jazeera English that “management pulled the article.” The Electronic Intifada was able to independently confirm that the article was pulled.

The piece, “The Last of the Semites,” published on 14 May, was taken down from the main Al Jazeera English site this morning – the link now redirects to Al Jazeera’s main page. It has also disappeared from Massad’s personal page on the Al Jazeera website.

The article had been one of the most viewed and emailed articles on the site and had been tweeted hundreds of times.

Intense criticism

Since its publication, the article generated intense criticism from Zionist extremists, including a columnist in the virulently anti-Palestinian Jerusalem Post, and condemnation on Twitter from President Barack Obama’s favorite Israel lobby gatekeeper and former Israeli prison guard Jeffrey Goldberg......

The “The Last of the Semites” was based on a lecture Massad gave at a conference in Stuttgart (PDF), Germany, to a largely German audience, just last week:

But why would this happen now?

One reasonable interpretation would be that the removal of Massad’s article reflects a tightening of the editorial line as the network launches its new channel, Al Jazeera America, which will rely – for access to cable systems, and “mainstream” credibility – on forging good relations with US elites.

An illustration of what this process might look like was on display when Ehab Al Shihabi, executive director of Al Jazeera’s international operations and the official responsible for setting up Al Jazeera America, recently visited Chicago – which will be home to a major Al Jazeera bureau.

While in the city, Al Shihabi struck up a cozy relationship with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama’s former chief of staff.

Emanuel, a major powerbroker in America’s ruling Democratic Party, is, of course, also notorious for his hardline pro-Israel positions.

It is unknown if Al Shihabi had anything directly to do with the removal of Massad’s article – that decision would almost certainly have been taken at an even higher level in Doha – but his dalliance with Emanuel is a good indicator of who Al Jazeera is out to impress......"

Al-Jazeera Video: Rami Khouri speaks to Al Jazeera

A GOOD VIDEO; WELL-WORTH WATCHING

"Director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut, Rami Khouri, speaks to Al Jazeera about the latest violence in Syria."

Al-Jazeera Video:Inside Syria - Syria: Atrocities on both sides?

Al-Jazeera Video: حديث الثورة- أدلة وشهادات لتعذيب النظام السوري لسجناء

EU decision to lift Syrian oil sanctions boosts jihadist groups

Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaida affiliate, consolidates position as scramble for control of wells accelerates

Julian Borger and Mona Mahmood
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 19 May 2013

A makeshift oil refinery site in al-Mansoura village, al-Raqqa province. Photograph: Reuters

"The EU decision to lift Syrian oil sanctions to aid the opposition has accelerated a scramble for control over wells and pipelines in rebel-held areas and helped consolidate the grip of jihadist groups over the country's key resources.

Jabhat al-Nusra, affiliated with al-Qaida and other extreme Islamist groups, control the majority of the oil wells in Deir Ezzor province, displacing local Sunni tribes, sometimes by force. They have also seized control of other fields from Kurdish groups further to the north-east, in al-Hasakah governorate.

As opposition groups have turned their guns on each other in the battle over oil, water and agricultural land, military pressure on Bashar al-Assad's government from the north and east has eased off. In some areas, al-Nusra has struck deals with government forces to allow the transfer of crude across the front lines to the Mediterranean coast......."

How Qatar seized control of the Syrian revolution

By Roula Khalaf and Abigail Fielding-Smith
Financial Times

"As the Arab world’s bloodiest conflict grinds on, Qatar has emerged as a driving force: pouring in tens of millions of dollars to arm the rebels. Yet it also stands accused of dividing them - and of positioning itself for even greater influence in the post-Assad era. FT investigation by Roula Khalaf and Abigail Fielding-Smith......

Yet, as the Arab world’s bloodiest uprising grinds on into its third year, Qatar finds itself pulled into a complicated and fractured conflict, the outcome of which has a decreasing ability to influence, while simultaneously becoming a high-profile scapegoat for participants on both sides. Among the Syrian regime’s numerous but fragmented opponents the small Gulf state evokes a surprisingly ambivalent – and often overtly hostile – response......

To some extent, the fact that Qatar is so exposed reflects the reluctance of western governments to intervene in Syria. However, for Qatar, Syria is also the culmination of an opportunistic foreign policy which saw Doha become the unlikely backer of other Arab revolts in north Africa – and a friend of those who emerge as winners, in most cases Islamists......."

THE USRAELI PLAN ALL ALONG: Israeli intelligence official: Assad preferable to rebels

Senior Israeli official speaks to London-based Times, says Israel prefers weak Assad to terrorist takeover: 'Better the devil we know than demons we imagine'

"Intelligence sources in Israel spoke to the London-based "The Times" and said that an intact, but weakened, Assad regime would be preferable for Israel and the entire region.

 
“Better the devil we know than the demons we can only imagine if Syria falls into chaos and the extremists from across the Arab world gain a foothold there," a senior Israeli intelligence officer in the north of the country was quoted ny the paper as saying.


An additional defense official, who also remained unnamed in The Times' report, said that at first Israel had assessed that Assad’s regime would fall sooner.

“We originally underestimated Assad’s staying power and overestimated the rebels’ fighting power,” the official said, adding that in any case, it was preferable for Israel that the two sides fight each other instead of joining forces against Israel......."

Al-Jazeera Video: Rights group has 'evidence' of Syrian government torture

The Latest American Phobia: Pressure Cookers!

By Emad Hajjaj

Is a Permit from Homeland Security Needed to Own One of These Weapons of Mass Destruction? What Comes Next? Falafel Sandwiches?

البرنامج - الحلقه 23 كامله

Real News Video: Taxing Corporate Profits will Force Investment

Heiner Flassbeck: Corporations are sitting on mountains of cash and are unwilling to invest in the real economy - only high taxes on profit will make them do so  

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll

Do you support including Iran in the proposed international conference about the Syrian crisis?

So far, 71% said no.

Syria: Visit Reveals Torture Chambers

Opposition Should Secure Security Force Facilities, Safeguard Potential Evidence

Human Rights Watch
May 16, 2013

"(New York) – Government security branches in Raqqa city hold documents and potential physical evidence indicating that detainees were arbitrarily detained and tortured there while the city was under government control. Human Rights Watch researchers visited the State Security and Military Intelligence facilities in Raqqa, now under the de facto control of local armed opposition groups, in late April 2013.

Local opposition leaders with the support of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces and neutral international experts should safeguard potential evidence of torture and arbitrary detention in security forces centers in opposition-controlled areas, Human Rights Watch said.
“The documents, prison cells, interrogation rooms, and torture devices we saw in the government’s security facilities are consistent with the torture former detainees have described to us since the beginning of the uprising in Syria,” said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Those in control of Raqqa need to safeguard the materials in these facilities so the truth can be told and those responsible held accountable.”
In the State Security facility, Human Rights Watch researchers observed on the ground floor and in the basement, rooms that appeared to be detention cells.Among the documents were what appeared to be lists of security force members who had worked there. Human Rights Watch researchers also saw a “bsat al-reeh” torture device in the facility, which former detainees have said has been used to immobilize and severely stretch or bend limbs......."

Egypt 'suffering worst economic crisis since 1930s'

Former finance minister and economist say Egypt is in dire predicament as foreign investment and tourism collapse

Patrick Kingsley in Cairo
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 16 May 2013

"Egypt is suffering its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, a former finance minister of the country and one of its leading economists have warned.

In terms of its devastating effect on Egypt's poorest, the country's current economic predicament is at its most dire since the 1930s, Galal Amin, professor of economics at the American University in Cairo, and Samir Radwan, finance minister in the months after Egypt's 2011 uprising, said in separate interviews with the Guardian......

Economists often predict a so-called "revolution of the hungry", should conditions worsen further. But for Radwan, Egypt is already at that stage: robbery rose 350% in 2012 as Egyptians took wealth redistribution into their own hands. "The elite sits there saying the revolt of the hungry is coming," said Radwan. "What do you mean it's coming? Are you waiting for a violent, bloody destruction of the Bastille? It's already there.""

Real News Video: Palestinians Mark 65th Anniversary of Nakba (Catastrophe of 1948)

On Nakba day, Palestinians commemorate the annual anniversary by holding rallies asserting their right of return. 65 years have passed since historic Palestine was occupied in 1948

Real News Video: Systemic Malfunctioning of the Labor and Financial Markets

Dr. Heiner Flassbeck: Government has to step in and correct the imbalances of low wages and unregulated financial markets or a deeper recession and crisis is inevitable  

From Nakba to Nakba, by Emad Hajjaj

A GREAT CARTOON BY CARLOS LATUFF: UN says eating insects could fight world hunger!

Chris Hedges: Monitoring of AP Phones a "Terrifying" Step in State Assault on Press Freedom

Democracy Now!

"The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges join us to discuss what could mark the most significant government intrusion on freedom of the press in decades. The Justice Department has acknowledged seizing the work, home and cellphone records used by almost 100 reporters and editors at the Associated Press. The phones targeted included the general AP office numbers in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Hartford, Connecticut, and the main number for the AP in the House of Representatives press gallery. The action likely came as part of a probe into the leaks behind an AP story on the U.S. intelligence operation that stopped a Yemen-based al-Qaeda bombing plot on a U.S.-bound airplane. Hedges, a senior fellow at The Nation Institute and former New York Times reporter, calls the monitoring "one more assault in a long series of assaults against freedom of information and freedom of the press." Highlighting the Obama administration’s targeting of government whistleblowers, Hedges adds: "Talk to any investigative journalist who must investigate the government and they will tell you that there is a deep freeze. People are terrified of speaking, because they are terrified of going to jail."......"

Al-Jazeera Video: Palestinians living in Egypt suffer an undignified existence

"For the Palestinian refugees living in Egypt, life is far from easy.

Roughly 3,500 of the estimated 70,000 Palestinian refugees in Egypt live in Geziret Fadel village.

They have built their mud-houses themselves and most are living subject to major restrictions on freedom to travel, access to healthcare, and education.

The majority of families can not afford to send their children to school, creating a generation of illiterate youngsters trapped in a cycle of poverty.

Despite this, many are just grateful to be allowed to stay in Egypt.

Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh reports from Geziret Fadel, Egypt."

Real News Video: Finance: "Aprés Moi, Le Déluge - Make Money Now To Hell With Tomorrow

Dr. Heiner Flassbeck: We're in worst shape now than in 2008 because at least then there was hope governments would face up to the situation

Is Israel Hastening the Fall of Assad?

Israel’s official silence following its airstrikes on weapons depots in Syria earlier this month fueled accusations in every direction. Damascus condemned it as an attempt to destroy the regime, Tehran said the real targets were Iran and Hezbollah, analysts in the U.S. said it was a demonstration of “credibility.”
But now a Syrian rebel commander has a different take: “The assault was in support of Assad.”

Abdul Qader Saleh, commander of the Al-Tawhid Brigade, told the Turkish news agency Cihan that Bashar Assad’s regime has in fact already been defeated and that Iran and Hezbollah , with Israel’s backing, are preventing his downfall.
“The Syrian opposition was on the verge of taking over Assad’s weapons caches and that is why Israel attacked Syria,” Saleh claimed.
“There were several senior Syrian officers who were planning to defect and hand over weapons to the opposition. Israel bombed those caches for fear they would fall to the hands of the opposition. They contained air defense systems and heavy artillery. The assault was in support of Assad.”

This clashes with analyses that claim Israel aims to overthrow Assad in order to get to Iran. The claim is about as credible as the rest of the assertions of Israel’s intent. But Saleh’s accusation isn’t out of nowhere.
Efraim Halevy, who served as chief of the Mossad from 1998 to 2002, argued the same in a piece in Foreign Affairs:

Israel’s most significant strategic goal with respect to Syria has always been a stable peace, and that is not something that the current civil war has changed. Israel will intervene in Syria when it deems it necessary; last week’s attacks testify to that resolve. But it is no accident that those strikes were focused solely on the destruction of weapons depots, and that Israel has given no indication of wanting to intervene any further. Jerusalem, ultimately, has little interest in actively hastening the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
Israel knows one important thing about the Assads: for the past 40 years, they have managed to preserve some form of calm along the border.

If you compare the threat assessment Israel must be doing on Assad with the threat assessment Israel must be doing on Sunni rebel extremists possibly coming to power in Syria, clearly the latter is significantly worse. Israeli foreign policy is menacing and criminal, but it isn’t stupid.
Not only does Israel in all likelihood see Assad as less threatening than al-Qaeda-affiliated militias, but there is also an argument out there, made yesterday by Thanassis Cambanis in Foreign Policy, that Iran’s backing of Assad is draining the Islamic Republic’s resources and reputation in the region. Israeli policymakers may be viewing that favorably.

Return to Iqrit: how one Palestinian village is being reborn

Their parents and grandparents were evicted 65 years ago, when Israel was created. Now they are coming back

Harriet Sherwood in Iqrit
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 15 May 2013 

Walaa Sbaid, 26, says people currently have the legal right to return to Iqrit 'only in a coffin'. Photograph: Harriet Sherwood

"On a breezy hilltop in sight of the Lebanese border, a village last populated 65 years ago is being reclaimed from the dead for the living. Vegetables and herbs have been planted amid the rubble; a couple of donkeys graze on spring grass; traditional food is cooked and eaten in a makeshift structure next to the Church of Our Lady, where mass is celebrated for up to 200 worshippers on the first Saturday of every month.
This is Iqrit, a Palestinian Christian village in northern Galilee, whose inhabitants left in the bitter war that followed the declaration of the state of Israel in 1948, and who have never been permitted to return to their land and razed homes.
But in recent months, a group of young men, grandsons of Iqrit's original residents, have moved back in an attempt to reclaim and rebuild the village.
And as Palestinians commemorate on Wednesday the Nakba, or catastrophe, of the loss of their land to Israel 65 years ago, work is being completed on a proposal for around 500 homes to be built on the site for the descendants of Iqrit's inhabitants, 90% of whom wish to return to the village. The plan is expected to be published in September.
What is unusual about this demand for the "right of return" is that the villagers and their descendants are Israeli citizens, mostly living in the area, rather than refugees in Palestine and in the diaspora.
In November 1948, six months after the state of Israel was declared, the new Israeli army arrived at Iqrit to tell the villagers they must leave because the area was dangerous. Most of the 490 inhabitants were transferred to a nearby village, taking only basic necessities, in the belief they would be gone for two weeks. But the area was declared a military zone and the villagers were forbidden from returning........"

Al-Jazeera Cartoon

Al-Jazeera Video:في العمق- القضية الفلسطينية والثورات العربية

The Hopeless and Helpless Arabs!

By Emad Hajjaj

Al-Jazeera Video: Moaz al-Khatib Exposes Roles of Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the Syrian Crisis on al-Jazeera

A MUST WATCH VIDEO!

"Outgoing Syrian National Coalition President Moaz al-Khatib is interviewed by al-Jazeera English about the issues he was facing as the head of the Syrian National Coalition. He said that he felt like a salesman for foreign governments who had their own agendas in Syria rather than representing the Syrian people, as he was being used to sign papers on behalf of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. He also stated that many red lines that have been crossed, most importantly foreign interference and manipulation of the "opposition", is what led him ultimately to step down from his position."

دم وكلمات

AS USUAL, A GREAT COMMENT!

الياس خوري

May 13, 2013

يهدرون الدم والكلمات، هذه هي سورية اليوم في عُرف النظام الاستبدادي وحلفائه. فبعد الغارة الاسرائيلية انفجر الرد الكلامي، وبدأ مسلسل اهدار الكلمات. صارت الكلمات جثثا، بينما تحولت اجساد ضحايا البيضا وبانياس، الى كلمات تقول صمت الضحايا وترسم الألم الإنساني الذي جعل من سورية اليوم ارض الوجع والتضحية والألم.
من الصعب ان نلجأ الى تحليل سياسي لهذا الهذر الكلامي الذي ينمو كالطحالب على ضفاف اجساد الضحايا، لأن المطلوب هو تحليل انعدام السياسة، التي تلخص اللحظة السورية الراهنة، جاعلة من سورية ساحة لصراعات القوى الاقليمية والدولية.
قصف قاسيون الذي أشعل سماء دمشق )لم يصدر حتى الآن اي توضيح سوري عن حجم الخسائر او المواقع التي استهدفها(، ليس حدثا استثنائيا، بل هو جزء من سياق اسرائيلي بدأ قبل اندلاع الثورة السورية، واستمر خلالها، وكان جواب النظام كلاماً عاماً عن اختيار زمان الرد ومكانه. لكن قصف ضاحية دمشق تميز هذه المرة بعنفه، وبالكلام السري الذي صاحبه، ما استدعى رداً كلامياً مختلفاً تولاه هذه المرة السيد حسن نصرالله نيابة عن حلفاء النظام السوري في طهران.
بالطبع لم يحظَ ردّ وزير الاعلام السوري السيد عمران الزعبي بأي اهتمام، كما لم يلتفت احد بشكل جدي الى الخبر الذي بثه التلفزيون الرسمي السوري عن قرار فتح جبهة الجولان امام المقاومة الفلسطينية! فهذا النوع من الكلام لا يجدي، لأن لا احد مستعد لتصديق بشار الأسد الذي وصفه افرايم هاليفي، الرئيس السابق للموساد الاسرائيلي بأنه ‘رجل تل ابيب في دمشق، لأن هذا الرجل ووالده تمكنا من الحفاظ على الهدوء في جبهة الجولان طوال اربعين عاما’. كما ان التسريبات التي نشرتها الصحف الإسرائيلية عن رسالة وجهها نتنياهو الى الأسد بأن الضربة لا تستهدف النظام، ولا تسعى الى احداث خلل في توازنات القوى في سورية، وضعت النقاط على الحروف، بحيث تابع النظام وميليشياته الحرب بضراوة ومن دون اي تردد.
لكن تصريحات السيد نصرالله، وقراره بتحويل سورية الى دولة مقاومة مسألة مختلفة. فالرجل الذي قاد مقاومة مديدة ضد اسرائيل، وجد نفسه محشورا في زاوية الصراع في سورية، خصوصا وان تدخل ميليشيا حزبه ومقاتلين عراقيين وايرانيين، زادا من تفاقم المشاعر الطائفية في سورية، كما ان مذبحتي بانياس والبيضا اللتين سبقتا الضربة الاسرائيلية، كي لا نقول تزامنتا معها، حملتا مؤشرات تطهير طائفي عرقي على الطريقة الصربية. وهذا التطهير هو من دون اي شك محل ترحيب اسرائيلي.
أمين عام حزب الله، على غير عادته، استبدل الأفعال بالكلام عن الأفعال. يعلم السيد نصرالله بالطبع ان ثقوب الخطاب الداعم لنظام الاستبداد لا يمكن سترها. كيف يكتشف الآن، وبعد اربعين سنة على احتلال الجولان ان سورية يجب ان تتحول الى دولة مقاومة؟ ماذا كانت سورية قبل خطاب السيد الأمين العام؟ التحالف مع المستبد كان بحجة انه نظام مقاوم ممانع، فإذا بنا نكتشف اليوم انه لم يكن كذلك، وان على حزب الله لعب دور كبير كي يحصل هذا التحول.
طيب اذا لم تكن سورية دولة مقاومة فماذا كانت؟ ام كان على الشعب السوري ان ينتظر اربعين عاما كي يستكمل آل مخلوف نهب ثروات سورية، قبل اتخاذ القرار بالتحول الى دولة مقاومة!
يبدو الكلام عبثيا واهدارا للكلام. المسألة لا علاقة لها بالمقاومة على الاطلاق، وعلى حزب الله، بدل ان يتكلم عن قرارات لن تُنفذ سحب مقاتليه من القصير والسيدة زينب وريف دمشق، ونشرهم على جبهة الجولان، عندها يصير الكلام فعلا، وعندها لا يستطيع احد ان يشكك في ان مقاومة الاحتلال هي الهدف، وان من يريد مقاومة العدو الاسرائيلي المحتل، لا يمكن ان يقبل بأن تتلوث يداه بالدم الطائفي، ويساهم في تلويث سورية بالجريمة.
لقد علمتنا تجربة الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية المريرة ان من يقاوم العدو لا يتلوث بالدم الطائفي، وهذا ما قام به حزب الله لحظة تحرير الجنوب. فكيف تصير الممارسات الطائفية واعمال التطهير المتوحشة التي يقوم بها النظام مدخلا الى المقاومة؟ وكيف يمكن للمرء ان يقبض هذا الكلام المليء بالثقوب، والعاجز عن قول الحقيقة؟
يقولون ان هناك مؤامرة في سورية، وهذا صحيح، يكفي ان نتابع مفاوضات كيري- لافروف كي نكتشف ان علامة المؤامرة الكبرى هي اخراج السوريين والسوريات من المعادلة، كي تستمر حرب تدمير سورية الى ما لا نهاية.
يقولون ان دول الخليج النفطية ضالعة في هذه المؤامرة، وان ايران شريك مضارب فيها، وهذا صحيح ايضا. فدول الخليج تريد وأد الديموقراطية في العالم العربي قبل ولادتها، وتسليم السلطة لقوى متأسلمة تعيد الزمن قرونا الى الوراء، كما ان ايران لا ترى في سورية الا نافذة تتسلل منها الى المشرق العربي بهدف توسيع نفوذها ونشر دعوتها الايديولوجية.
لكن ما لا يقال هو ان ستة أشهر من المظاهرات السلمية الصاخبة في مدن سورية واريافها التي رد عليها النظام بالقتل والذبح والدوس على الأجساد، ستة أشهر لم تحرّك نخوة حزب المقاومة في لبنان، وقوبلت بخبرات ايرانية كي تتحول الثورة الى ركام، مثلما حصل خلال الثورة الخضراء في ايران.
ستة أشهر من الكذب والقتل اوصلت الناس الى اليأس، وتفاقم اليأس مع قيادة سياسية للمعارضة، تميزت بالجهل والخفة وعدم الجدية والاتكال على الدعم الخارجي، والاستسلام للمال القطري، اوصلت الى فراغ سمح للقوى العظمى بتحويل سورية الى ساحة للدمار.
نعم الذي استجلب التدخل الخارجي هو بشار الأسد، والذي سمح لنفسه بالقتال ضد الشعب السوري هو ايران ومعها حزب الله، والذي اضاع الفرص هو المعارضة السورية التي لم تستطع ان تواجه هذا العسف المتوحش بعقلانية صارمة ورؤية جديدة.
كل هذا اوصلنا الى حقيقة سورية لها اسمان:
اسمها الاول هو الدم السوري الذي يغطّي العيون، وينتشر شهادة على الحرية التي يدفع السوريات والسوريون ثمنها مضاعفاً.
واسمها الثاني هو الكلام السياسي المهدور، الذي جعل من الكلمة ممسحة، ومن اللغة لغوا.
ليس بكلام خفيف عن تحويل سورية الى دولة مقاومة يمكن استعادة الموضوع. الموضوع يبدأ حين تكون مقاومة الاحتلال جزءا من بل طليعة مقاومة الاستبداد، ومتحررة من اي اعتبار مذهبي او طائفي.
لكن للأسف، فنحن امام فرصة جديدة ضائعة ثمنها اجساد الضحايا في سورية التي هي الشاهد والشهيد في آن معا. 

Real News Video: Hawking and the Growing Israel Boycott Movement

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April 6 founder decries political climate as 'worse than under Mubarak'

After being arrested at Cairo airport, April 6 Movement founder Ahmed Maher says that the only difference between Mohamed Morsi and deposed Hosni Mubarak is the 'religious tint'

Ahram Online , Sunday 12 May 2013

"Egypt’s April 6 Youth Movement founder Ahmed Maher stated late Saturday: "What is taking place now is worse than what was being experienced during Mubarak’s time."

"The only difference between Mohamed Morsi and Hosni Mubarak is the religious tint," asserted Maher during his phone-in to the channel.Maher’s comments on the private Al-Nahar channel’s Akher Al-Nahar programme came a day after being arrested when he landed at the Cairo International Airport from Austria en route from the United States.
He reflected on his place of detention, the Aqrab Prison, which he said is in exactly the same state as it was during the Mubarak era.
Maher decried that all those who decided to put their differences aside and support Morsi in the 2012 presidential elections against Mubarak-era minister Ahmed Shafiq (including Maher himself) have been viciously deceived.     
Police arrested Maher on Friday for "inciting protests" outside the interior minister’s Cairo residence in March.
More than simply calling for protests, Maher was arrested for the nature of the protest on 29 March at the home of Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim in the capital's New Cairo district.
Protesters held up banners – along with women's undergarments – accusing the ministry of "prostituting" itself to President Mohamed Morsi's administration.
Four other April 6 members were arrested and charged with rioting and resisting police after security forces dispersed the protest.
Maher was, however, ordered released from prison on Saturday, pending investigations by the Prosecutor-General, as the charges against him remain in place.
On Saturday, political analyst and member of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, Emad Gad, and veteran leftist writer, Amina Shafiq, were stopped at the Cairo International Airport because their names allegedly resemble those of listed terrorists.
Gad told Ahram Arabic news gate Saturday that this was a clear message to him and Shafiq, as they had both travelled in an out of Egypt for many years and this was the first time they had been subjected to such treatment.    
Gad, who is also a member of the opposition umbrella group the National Salvation Front, condemned what he claimed to be flagrant violations by the authorities targeting the youth and public figures."