Condi’s Fairy Tale – Neocons and A Democratic Syria

6 Comments

1. 

   Oui on July 27, 2012 at 9:58 am

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   No, he wasn’t captured by Assad’s dogs or the Free Syrian Army (FSA) …

   British, Dutch photographers freed in Syria

   (Now Lebanon) – A British and a Dutch photographer have been freed after being held hostage eight days in Syria and are now in Turkey, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said. Freelance photographers John Cantlie and Jeroen Oerlemans were kidnapped in northern Syria on July 19 and released on Thursday.

   “Yesterday we got the confirmation that a Dutch photographer missing since Thursday last week was back in Turkey,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christoph Prommersberger told AFP, adding that Cantlie was also freed. The Dutchman was “wounded but doing relatively well.”

   The spokesperson would not say who carried out the kidnapping!!

   Of course not, Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal would be embarrassed to confirm a Dutch citizen was held hostage by Al Qaeda jihadists from Chechnya as the Dutch paper Het Parool revealed.  

   • Al-Qaeda playing increasingly deadly role in Syria: report

   "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

2. 

   Oui on July 27, 2012 at 5:11 pm

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   Juan Cole has remained silent on the developments in Syria. I read shock and surprise how events are unfolding, an ugly civil war with no end in sight to massacres and war crimes from both sides. The Al Qaeda jihadists hve become a major factor in the rebellion, soon the FSA will have to choose sides as the jihadist have a chant “Christians to Lebanon, Alevis to the coffin.” Humdreds of innocent civilians have died at the hands of the Sunni jihadists and terror car bombings. The death toll of 14,000 Syrians includes 6,000 policemen, security- and armed forces of the Assad regime.  Yes, the Obama administration is fully responsible for the outcome of this civil war because it gave support to a non-existent, poorly organized opposition calling themselves Syrian National Council. In the Iraq comparison read: Chalabi. Nevertheless, to attain a greater good of getting rid of an Iranian ally Hillary Clinton gave support to all sorts of foreign power brokers in the Sunni-Shia religious battle of the Greater Middle-East or oil rich nations and partners. There is no democracy or religious freedom in Jordan, Qatar, Libya, Bahrain, Oman, UAE and Saudi Arabia. The Western powers were hoping for the Libyan option, this failed because the opposition fighters were weak and the Syrian government forces were much better equipped. Most likely the Syrian civil war will become a regional war with involvement of Turkey, Kurds, Iraq, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon. Worst case, Aleppo will be obliterated like Grosny. The AQ jihadists from Chechnya must be well aware of the outcome.

   See today’s diary – Condi’s Fairy Tale – Neocons and A Democratic Syria.

   Syrian Baath Escalates, Uses Jets to Bomb Aleppo

   daryoush   07/25/2012 at 11:44 am

   Not to minimize the human and civil right component of the Syrian uprising in any way, stil, one has to be subjective in analysis. In your comments you say the reaction of the Assad’s regime shows: “determination of a terrified and brutal minority regime to reassert itself”. They may be terrified, and brutal but in this particular case, how do you think any country/regime would react to a Saudi/Qatar backed armed uprising on its soil? How do you think US would react if a group manages to assassinate American top military command? We saw what happened when 4 Americans were killed in Fallujah.

   DesTex   07/25/2012 at 3:08 pm

   Exactly!! Foreign governments are trying to topple the Assad regime, which by all accounts is brutal and is run by ethnic minority. The point is that Assad regime’s response is a natural response of any government (brutal or egalitarian) when faced with external aggression.

   Its amazing how the disastrous, illegal Iraq war changed the Sunni-Shia dynamics of that region. All of a sudden Shiites find their sphere of influence grow by more than a third (Iraq is around a third of Iran). This has unsettled the Jeffersonian democrats in Saudi Arabia and other Sunni countries and are reacting in earnest to quell the rising Shia influence. Great game of the 21st century.

   Juan   07/25/2012 at 3:10 pm

   I worry about you if you think it is “natural” for a government to kill 15,000 people, the majority of them non-combatants. The state drove some dissidents to take up arms. In spring of 2011 there was no Free Syria Army. What you’ve said is an atrocity and you should be ashamed of yourself.

   DesTex   07/25/2012 at 5:21 pm

   Prof. Cole,
    In fact I am absolutely appalled at the civilian deaths but all I was trying to say was that Syria is now a theater of proxy war and in proxy war both sides share culpability.

   Lot of prominent voices in the nation voiced opposition to the Iraq war, including you. Iraq war removed a minority government which was more brutal than Assad. It was also Baathist like Assad. With this logic you should have supported the removal of the Baathist tyrant Saddam.

   Where is the accountability on the countries including our s who are partaking in this great game? (One may disagree with me in my entire thesis) I voted for Obama because he did not want to be interventionist .

   "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

3. 

   Oui on July 28, 2012 at 1:32 am

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   Splits widen within Syrian opposition

   (Guardian) – SNC leaders say they will shortly set up a base on Syrian soil like the Libyan rebels did in Benghazi.

   The SNC has also built up a database to keep foreign governments informed on the structure and activities of the FSA so weapons and money do not end up in the hands of Salafi or jihadi-type groups.

   Ausama Monajed, a senior SNC adviser, said: “People inside Syria may say that the SNC is irrelevant, but we do need some kind of solution. We can’t just wait until everything collapses and descends into chaos. The international community needs partners.”

   On the ground, where events are driven by the largely autonomous Local Co-ordination Committees (LCCs) – the tansiqiyat – and the FSA, there is deep scepticism. “Everything is now down to the revolutionaries in Syria, including the FSA,” argues the activist and blogger Razan Ghazzawi. Another opposition figure said: “The SNC is somewhat discredited inside Syria and will remain so unless it gets its act together and does something substantial for the people.”

   The Lebanese columnist Karl Sharro said: “Ultimately, something new will be born out of the LCCs and the FSA and they will provide more credible leadership than anything the SNC can come up with.”  

   Blogger inside Syria : Paying Heed to the Struggle [Now living in the US – Oui]

   (Dec. 2011) – The dynamics of the Syrian revolution and the regime’s efforts to suppress it do not lend themselves to simple narratives. Any efforts to reduce them as such creates both the space and the incentive for outside forces to intervene in a crisis already fraught with the potential of becoming a devastating, protracted and possibly interstate conflict.

   At the core of the Syrian revolution is a struggle for basic rights, for freedom, and for life free from humiliation and degradation at the hands of the state. Thus far, well over 5,000 people have died in this struggle, while thousands of others have suffered under detention and torture. While the pressure will mount on the international community to intervene on behalf of the Syrian people, it is important to recall that any such foreign powers have no true credibility in the struggle to bring respect for human rights and democracy to Syria. Indeed, the Baath Party itself assumed its position at the helm of the country through a series of misguided efforts by the US government to bring democracy to Syria beginning in 1947. This bit of history is lost on few inside Syria.

   While elements of the opposition might succeed in winning the propaganda war overseas, if such success comes at the expense of efforts to understand and effectively represent and protect the actual interests and concerns of ordinary Syrians, it would serve as a profound injustice to the revolution.

   Syrian regime heading towards success in forcing a sectarian civil war.  

   • Syria Comment: US is pursuing regime-change by civil-war

   "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

4. 

   Oui on July 28, 2012 at 3:02 am

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   Syria: destruction and a dearth of diplomacy

   (Guardian) – President Obama’s decision last year to call for the fall of the Assad regime, in which he was followed by Britain and other allies, was, it can be argued, a mistake. The reasons were understandable. First, the regime was behaving appallingly. Second, the US did not want to be behind the curve in another phase of the Arab spring, particularly as the Damascus government was, unlike the Mubarak government in Egypt, one which it had always disliked and which was tied to regional foes of America in the shape of Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Third, Israel welcomed anything that would undermine Syria and discomfit Iran, and so did Saudi Arabia and some other Gulf states. Fourth, Obama and his advisers probably believed that Assad had gone beyond the point where he could be part of any solution. Yet it was one thing to believe that Bashar al-Assad and his relatives and associates would at some point have to go, and another thing to say so in an irrevocably public way.

   The unfortunate result has been to cut off any possibility of negotiations between the antagonists as well as to slam the door to close co-operation between the US and Russia, the two countries which could, if they acted together, conceivably make a difference to the outcome in Syria.

   How will history judge Obama on Syria?

   • Saudi King Abdullah said last summer, “nothing would weaken Iran more than losing Syria”; US policy agrees
   • Obama In Bed with Israel and Neocons

   "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

5. 

   Oui on July 28, 2012 at 5:11 am

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   In the Republican debates, Romney would sit down with his attorneys before taking action against Iran. I read today Romney would call his friend Bibi Natanyahu and ask him what he likes him to do. Netanyahu denies being a friend of Romney, must be similar in denying his cordial friendship with Adelson. Of course, Sharon denied his warm relations with GWB and leading the leader into a war and occupation of Iraq in accordance with the Jenin principles of the IDF. Will Mitt and Bibi sign a declaration of understanding on Iran policy and nuclear deterrence? Perhaps too risky, Mitt can’t keep his mouth shut (MI6 visit).

   Waiting for Mitt’s arrival at Israel’s wailing wall: Romney, Tisha B’Av, and LDS Temples .

   "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

6. 

   Oui on July 28, 2012 at 6:14 pm

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   Rebel-Army Backers Open U.S. Office

   WASHINGTON (WSJ) June 26, 2012–Supporters of the Free Syrian Army have established an outreach office here for a lobbying effort that is likely to feed the Obama administration’s discussions on whether to arm the group or more directly intervene in the Syrian conflict.

   The organization, called the Syrian Support Group, says it will seek backing from Congress, the White House and relevant federal agencies to deliver arms and other military goods to help in the group’s fight against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

   “This focuses on the FSA’s capabilities to bring down Assad on its own if provided with the right equipment and information,” said Louay Sakka, a Syrian-Canadian co-founder of the support group.

   The Obama administration has ruled out supplying U.S. weapons, but the Central Intelligence Agency and State Department have stepped up contacts with the Free Syrian Army through the group’s bases in countries such as Turkey and Lebanon. The contacts are mainly intended to assess the army; the CIA also has helped to develop logistical routes and train army members in communications, officials say.

   U.S. Nonprofit Wins License to Supply Free Syrian Army  

   “Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the License, the Syrian Support Group, Inc. (the “Licensee”) may export, sell, or supply to the Free Syrian Army (“FSA”) financial, communications, logistical, and other services otherwise prohibited by Executive Order 13582 in order to support the FSA…”

   According to Treasury License No. SY-2012-294747-1, dated 23 July 2012, the Syrian Support Group, Inc. (SSG) will be providing “otherwise prohibited” services to the Free Syrian Army (FSA) under the supervision of the Office of Terrorism Finance and Economic Sanctions Policy at the U.S. Department of State.  The license was announced on the SSG website syriansupportgroup.org after a copy was leaked to the public.

   Syrians in Ontario give rebels reinforcements from afar

   (Globe and Mail) – The basement of a house in Oakville, Ont., among the kids’ toys and balloons, looks like an unusual place to find a nerve centre for the Syrian revolution. But it’s down here that Louay Sakka, 37, stays awake late into the evening with his laptop and tablet computer, mapping and cross-referencing reports from his comrades in the Free Syrian Army.

   A telecommunications engineer at a leading tech company, Louay Sakka serves as an executive member of the Syrian Support Group, which represents the rebel army. He flew into Washington this month for key meetings with government officials about whether the United States will supply arms or other assistance to the revolution.

   What do you need?

   The rebels are lobbying for Western help with obtaining a long shopping list of weapons. Their initial requests include the RPG-29, an armour-piercing upgrade of the standard Soviet-era rocket-propelled grenade; the basic SAM-7 shoulder-mounted missilefirst used by Russian forces in the 1960s; and a variety of machine guns. They also want body armour, protective masks and satellite devices with encryption technology to prevent regime spying.

   "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."