“Syria’s Kurds appear divided and unsure whether to join the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad as they marked the anniversary of bloody clashes between the Kurdish minority and security forces in 2004. Syria’s Kurds live mostly in the north-eastern border region with Iraq and Turkey, and make up 10-15% of the population. For decades the authorities have discriminated against the Kurds for fear that they might seek self-determination. Many were denied citizenship under a controversial law in the early1960s………”
Both branches of the Baath Party early on showed signs of racism and chauvinism, something borrowed from the European Fascism and Nazism that influenced the early creators of that party (Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Bitar, both Syrian). Syria’s Kurdish community have been a long-time victim of Ba’athist Nazi-like chauvinism and racism. Just as Iraq’s Kurds were long victims of Ba’athist tribal racism and genocide. No wonder the Kurds are insecure and not sure which side to join. The most likely sad fact is that both sides in Syria were likely racist and chauvinistic toward them (not that the other Syrians had anything special to feel superior about; they certainly did not). The Kurds in Iraq could not be denied citizenship because there are too many of them in their own historic national homeland, and they probably have been there longer than the Arab tribes.
The Iraqi Baath regime also deported a couple of hundred thousand Iraqi Shi’as from the South in the early 1980s, sending them across the Iranian border. That was a big mistake: these Iraqis married and multiplied while in Iranian exile and grew to probably close to two million. And they are fluent in both Arabic and Persian, with tight family and cultural links across the border. And they are all back in Iraq now. Big stupid Baathist mistake, but then who said the Ba’ath are any smarter than other despotic Arab regimes? Cheers
mhg
“Two bombs hit the Syrian capital of Damascus early Saturday morning, killing at least 27 security forces and civilians, according to state-run TV, which broadcast an awful scene of bloody carnage. The blasts reportedly came from car bombs targeting the government’s aviation-intelligence department and criminal-security department buildings. A reporter from the Associated Press said shooting broke out shortly after the blasts—the latest in a string of suicide bombings that have killed dozens of people since late December. As usual, President Bashar al-Assad’s regime said “terrorist forces” behind the yearlong uprising were responsible for the attacks, though the opposition says government forces had strategically set up the bombingsto tarnish their reputation………” If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, talks like a duck, quacks like a duck, lays eggs like a duck, then voila! It is a duck! This was an act of terrorism. It would have been called “terrorism” in London, in Paris, in Riyadh, and in Oshkosh (WI), so why not in Damascus? The Syrian regime has nothing to gain by showing the world that Damascus is not secure. Unless they do it to blame the opposition. Yet the cost to the regime may be higher than the benefit. Maybe. The opposition has much to gain by showing the world that Damascus is not safe. No, I am not saying Burhan Ghalioun was the perpetrator, not even the neo-fascists of the Not Free Syrian Army. But the most likely culprits in this terror bombing are the al-Qaeda or other Salafi terrorists. They have been filtering “back” from Iraq into Syria, bent on indiscriminate murder (in Iraq most of their terror murder was quite “discriminate”). Cheers
mhg
“At a small oasis far out in the desert, Abdulkarim al Khadr, a dismissed Professor of Theology, elucidates texts for his student Yusuf. He speaks the clear and ornate high Arabic of Islamic scholarship and cites the Koran and Sayings of Mohammed. The Prophet himself said that the struggle against vice in one’s own country is of greater merit than fighting against the unbelievers abroad. He says that it is the royal family that constantly speaks of bloody Jihad in order to discredit the justified demands for reform within the kingdom. The dissident and chairman of the unauthorized “Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association” demands reforms, yet he does not mean an opening of Saudi society. The uncompromising Islamist wants a transformation of the political system. He says that it is the royal family that constantly speaks of bloody Jihad in order to discredit the justified demands for reform within the kingdom. The dissident and chairman of the unauthorized “Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association” demands reforms, yet he does not mean an opening of Saudi society. The uncompromising Islamist wants a transformation of the political system. Most theologians in Saudi Arabia keep far removed from politics and follow the royal family like lambs, he says mockingly. They soil the memory of the most respected Companions of the Prophet by demanding blind obedience to the ruler, while at the same time ignoring the lack of rights for all citizens. He does not wish to talk of regime change, and even less so of terrorism. He thereby remains a troublesome adversary for the government. There are currently more than 5000 political prisoners from the Qassim Province alone. Most of them were jailed without due trial, claims the dismissed professor and he energetically rejects the assertion that these are Al-Qaida terrorists. His 17-year-old son has been sitting for two years in prison in order to silence Abdulkarim al Khadr. He nonetheless refuses to keep silent. His Internet site is regularly blocked and then quickly reopened under a new name..………” Cheers
mhg
I knew this was coming. I knew this would happen, but I didn’t expect it so soon. The Saudi semi-official Alrabiya network reports that now more than 10 thousand Syrians have been killed by the Assad regime during the past year. The network quotes ‘unofficial’ statistics of Syrian ‘activists’ that the number of those killed suddenly jumped from 7 thousand two days ago to more than 10 thousand. I remember the days a few weeks ago when it was only 3,000 or was it 4,000. They claim that the 7,000 were only those whose death was recorded “by video” or otherwise proven (by the activists of course). The report notes that the figure does not include the thousands of regime soldiers and officers who were killed (or perhaps died of natural causes). I expect the Free Syrian Army (FSA) is in deep discussion with the brotherly, or is it sisterly, Arab intelligence services trying to decide when is it convenient to up the figure to 20 thousand. The Salafis are probably all for pushing the number to 40 thousand, but the Muslim Brothers are probably balking: unlike the Salafis, they believe in moderation, even in lying. I a not sure that even upping the figure dramatically will get NATO to start bombing unilaterally.
On the other hand, actually on the other extreme, both Iran and Hezbollah are beginning to ‘suspect’ what they had known all along: that ‘something’ may be happening in Syria after all. They are beginning to note that life is not going on as usual, that people are actually dying in places like Homs and other towns. After all, it can’t all be made up by CNN and Anderson Cooper and Arwa Damon, can it? They haven’t yet decided on who is doing all that killing, but give them some time. Cheers
mhg
The late Muammar Qaddafi was famous for his ‘urge to merge’ with nations (as well as with women). He tried merging Libya with Egypt, Tunis, Chad, Algeria, Morocco and other assorted African states. Qaddafi became a legendary advocate of Arab mergers, before he gave up on Arabs and faced the rest of Africa. Saudi kings and princes normally have restricted their ‘urge to merge’ to women, multiple wives among others. But nowadays they are getting into the political side of ‘merging’ as well.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, in another one of his unintelligible speeches a couple of weeks ago, again brought up the issue of a “confederation” or “union” among the Gulf GCC nations. Hard to believe that Arabic, one of the most beautiful languages, originated from the same place as these barely intelligible princes. Jordan and Morocco have not even joined the GCC yet, at the invitation of Saudi King Abdullah. But the princes are now distracted, they have other plans. Saudi officials and media of course have started now to echo the king. They are saturating their vast outlets with calls for more “integration”. Their agents and trolls are all over the internet encouraging it. True to form, Wahhabi faux-liberal media and tribal academics in one or two Gulf states, and the Salafi fifth column in one or two Gulf states, have taken their cue and are treating the king’s speech as the equivalent of the Sermon on the Mount. They are pushing for Saudi hegemony over the GCC nations through this half-baked “confederation” idea. Bad idea. But I shall have more on this, and soon. Cheers
mhg
So what happened to the Saudi plan to have Morocco and Jordan to join the Gulf GCC? I said at the time the invitation was issued last year when the Arab revolts were raging that it won’t get anywhere. It is not getting anywhere.
The Saudis, in a moment of warmth and gemütlichkeit with the SCAF marshal and his generals, even spread the report that Egypt will also be invited to join the kingdom without magic. At the time I suggested Iraq for membership, since it is more of a Gulf state than any other Arab country. They don’t all have to be Wahhabis to qualify: Bahrainis are not Wahhabi (although their rulers and the small elite may have converted by now or at least going through the motions), nor are the people of the UAE or Oman, nor are MOST Kuwaitis (the Salafis and local Muslim Brothers are definitely Wahhabis as are some among the tribes).
Egyptians may have taken a step closer to Wahhabi conversion by electing Salafis to control at least 25% of their parliament. Tunisian Salafis are agitating with their Ennahda cousins, as are the armed Libyans. The Syrians may become eligible if and when Bashar al-Assad is overthrown and Damascus is taken over by the Islamist militants (whether pro-Saudi or pro-Qatari, or even pro-both). Before you know it, the whole ficking Arab league would be chanting: “Give me a W! Give me an A! Give me an H or two! Give me an A! Give me a B! Give me an I! What do we have? Wahhabi! Wahhabi! We are Wahhabis! Rah rah rah………..”
Cheers
mhg
“But the general trend is toward a hardening of rules. Prince Nayef, the crown prince and power behind the throne, believes this is no time to show weakness. Dissidents are detained or given travel bans, a favourite tactic of the regime in Syria until it started to use harsher methods in the past year. Media rules have also become tighter. No fly appears too small to warrant swatting. Hamza Kashgari, a young blogger, fled to Malaysia after posting provocative comments about the Prophet Muhammad. The government applied all available diplomatic pressure to have him returned. Emboldened senior clerics are asking for Mr Kashgari to be executed for blasphemy. Religion is at the heart of many conflicts. The volatile but oil-rich Eastern Province, home to many of the Sunni kingdom’s sizeable Shia minority, has witnessed frequent bouts of violent unrest in the past year. Two men were killed and several injured when police opened fire on a demonstration in February. In Qatif, the provincial capital, the walls of the main street are covered with graffiti insulting members of the royal family and asking, “Where is the oil money?”…………”
That graffiti question was rhetorical, no doubt. For whoever wrote it on that wall knows as well as I do where most of the oil money goes. The oil comes from the Eastern Province, Qatif and other areas, from the belly of the ancestral land of the same people who are treated like third or fourth class citizens in the Wahhabi ‘kingdom without magic’. But the money goes mostly to Riyadh, to a few thousand princes and their retainers and tribal sycophant. If in doubt as to who gets the oil money, this link here will clarify matter. Cheers
mhg
The King of Saudi Arabia is apparently pissed at the Syrian opposition, especially the Free Syrian Army, for evacuating Baba Amr in Homs. The FSA said its withdrawal was “tactical”. Generalissimo Prince Khaled bin Sultan, the ‘hero’ who was trounced by the Huthi tribal militia in Yemen two years ago, snorted that “’Tactical’ my ass. That is what Napoleon said after Moscow. That is what Adolf said after Stalingrad.”
The King is reportedly upset that the FSA could not hold long enough for his own elite National Guard, now preoccupied in Bahrain, to blitz across some border into Syria and relieve the people of Homs. Burhan Ghalioun of the Syrian national Council announced in Paris (possibly from a corner table at Fouquet, corner of Champs–Élysées & George V) the formation of a Supreme Military Council to support the Free Syrian Army (FSA) now that it may be too late. He reportedly offered the job to Marshal Tantawi who declined, adding that he has enough trouble with his own Salafis and Muslim Brothers, and has no intention of taking on the Syrian version (or was it the Saudi and Qatari versions?)
Bashar al-Assad, meanwhile, told anyone who would listen that the fall of Baba Amr and Homs proves that he is still loved by the Syrian people (especially those his security forces have not killed, yet). He added: “They were willing to die for me…….. and for the immortal ideals of the Ba’ath Party, WTF that be“. His wife, smarter than her husband which is the normal case for Arab leaders, reminded him not to cancel the offer on that old dacha of Brezhnev overlooking the Black Sea.
“Meanwhile, the head of Syrian National Council (SNC) announced on Thursday at a press conference in Paris, the launch of a military council to support the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
Burhan Ghalioun who said that SNC will be seeking advice from consultants and experts on how to support, organize and oversee FSA, added that the formation of the military council came after consensus among all armed oppositions in Syria. Ghalioun said that the military council was also created after some countries announced that they were ready to arm the FSA. He said it is a step to bring together one Syrian umbrella all armed groups in a bid to reduce foreign influence in the country. …………. But the Arab League chief, Nabil al-Arabi, said on Thursday that the Arab group has nothing to do with the decision to arm the Syrian opposition………”
Mr. Burhan Ghalioun may be somewhat naïve. He has stepped into the middle of an uprising that is being hijacked by absolute tribal Arab potentates and their fundamentalist surrogates. I wonder if he doesn’t realize that he is stepping into a snake pit that might be more venomous than the regime of Bashar al-Assad and his Baath. I wonder if he does not realize that he will be a temporary tool for his domestic and foreign “partners”. That is the way it often goes: all exiles who deal with dogmatic and fundamentalist allies are at a disadvantage. Just look back at France after 1789, Russia after 1917, and Iran after 1979. If and when (probably more when than if) the Assad regime departs, Mr. Ghalioun will be effectively brushed aside. I hope I am wrong, but I think not. He may temporarily return to Syria as a figurehead ‘leader’ of some initial use to the Salafis and Muslim Brothers, but not for long. The example of Libya and Tunisia (and probably Egypt as well) are quire relevant here. Especially relevant is Tunisia, where a secular opposition figure was brought back to legitimize what is becoming a fundamentalist takeover of a secular revolution. Cheers
mhg
“Non-religious individuals and groups ignited and then brought into being the Tunisian revolution. Mohamed Elbouazizi, who was not a religious man and whose act of self-immolation was condemned by many religious authorities, is the iconic figure of the Tunisian uprising that started the Arab Spring. But when the dust settled and the first elections were held across Tunisia, Islamists and their allies took the biggest share of the votes – not the likes of Elbouazizi. Although more than 58% of the voters did not endorse Ennahda, leaders of the Islamist party have acted as if they had an absolute public mandate to govern. Using the institution of the Constituency Assembly, the leaders of Ennahda cobbled together a coalition government headed by a former political prisoner and a historical figure of the Islamist movement. Members of Ennahda controlled the main ministries, including foreign affairs and interior. But the first decisions of the government have shown the speed with which religious idealism has given way to practical realism. One such decision is Prime Minister Hammadi Jebali’s first state visit to Saudi Arabia: a good example of decisive, even cynical, realism. Saudi Arabia is a wealthy clan-ruled Arab state in the Gulf region…………..” It looks like the visit of Tunisian leader was a formality, to seal the deal. Tunisia is a resource poorer Arab state, meaning it has no petroleum. It has had some Gulf GCC investments, especially in the tourism industry. Tunisia also has had a certain culture and a cosmopolitan atmosphere that is almost certain to be finished now, damaging the tourist industry. From now on it may be quasi-Salafi chic. This visit is to tell the Saudi princes that Tunisia’s revolution is done, that it is open again for business. To show that he is serious, Tunisia’s regime is making the correct Saudi-style noises about Syria and it is silent about Bahrain and Yemen (very Saudi-style and Western-style). Any day now I expect the Islamist regime in Tunis to issue a Qaddafi-like fatwa banning French in public places, replacing it with short Salafi Gulf dishdashas (Saudi thobes) and the Saudi red shmagh ghutra. (Also encouraging Saudi style stag French-ing among the elites). Who knows, once Bin Ali is done with his Wahhabi re-education in the Saudi Gulag, once all his secular misconceptions have been cleansed by the royal Salafi muftis, they may rehire him as an adviser in Tunis.
BFF 