Category Archives: Syria

Arab Revolutions, GCC, Iran, Syria

Bipolar Gulf and Syrian Confusion: Ahmadinejad Wants Tighter Ties with Damascus………………

         

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“Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on Tuesday for enhancing relation with Syria in different fields. Urging comprehensive ties with the Arab state, the Iranian president said that “The relations between two countries in different areas is for the advantage of both nations and the regional people.” Iran and Syria should use their economic potentials for the benefit of their people, he said in a meeting with visiting Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi here Tuesday. Al-Halqi arrived in Iran’s capital Tehran on Tuesday to exchange views with Iranian officials on matters of mutual interest as well as regional and international issues. Referring to the hard times of the Syrian people, the Iranian president expressed hope that the “plots” against Syria will come to an end “soon” and peace and security will be restored in the country. With no doubt, the Syrian people will come out of the current hard situation, he said, adding that the best solution to the Syrian crisis is to stop conflicts and to hold free elections…………..”

Mr. Ahmadinejad wants to get “closer” to Syria, even closer than he has been for years. If he wants to get closer to Syria, he better do it fast, for there are many countries working hard to push him far away from Syria. There are also now many in Syria working to push him away. Unless he wants to get even closer to whatever regime comes to power in Damascus if and when Bashar Al-Assad leaves office. The man was supposedly on the verge of losing power more than a year ago. He is still allegedly on “the verge of losing power”, and he may still be around next year sticking his tongue out at someone.

Well, according to some Gulf media, mainly UAE and Saudi media, the Iranians are cooperating with both the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda in the region. Since both the Muslim brotherhood an Al-Qaeda dominate the Syrian opposition, then Ahmadinejad is already on the right track. Even if he is supporting Bashar against these Islamist groups. Come to think of it, many on the Gulf (Qatar, Saudi, Salafis) also support these two Islamist opposition groups in Syria, which means they are also helping the Iranians. No? This can be confusing. Maybe they are all Bipolar (speaking psychologically, not politically).
Cheers
mhg

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Arab Revolutions, GCC, Syria

Islamist Syrian Rebels Seize Strategic Air Base: German Falangista Pilots and Grunge Bands……………

        

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“Rebels seized a strategic air base in northern Syria today after months of fighting, activists and insurgents said, further weakening President Bashar al-Assad’s grip on the region. Rebels had fought for the base used by military helicopters in Idlib province for months, but it only fell after Islamist units reinforced them earlier this month. The Syrian military struck back hours after fighters captured the base, launching air strikes on the area, the pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said………….”

Regime forces most likely had abandoned that base long before it was seized. Still, it shows that regime control is shrinking, at least in terms of territory if not in terms of ability to inflict death and destruction and misery. Now all the rebels need are a few warplanes or helicopters of their own and some pilots. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), German Luftwaffe pilots used to ‘volunteer’ for service on the Fascist Falangista side and they brought their bombers and fighters along (the Nazi warplanes also volunteered along with their fliers). Maybe some Qatari or
Saudi pilots will volunteer for duty in Syria and bring along their F-15s.
Maybe that defected Tlass kid, Manaf, will get a haircut and start a nucleus rebel air force. Right now his hairstyle reminds me of some of the Grunge bands in Seattle rather than a putative military leader of a bunch of grizzly fundamentalist freedom fighters, kidnappers, and assorted cutthroats. 

Cheers

mhg


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Arab Revolutions, GCC, Iran, Syria

A Funny Iranian Report on Syria, a Strange Meeting on Syria, SAT…………

   

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”The Syrian government and opposition parties will send their representatives to Tehran next week to attend a “National Dialogue” meeting, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian announced on Tuesday.
“Syrian government officials as well as representatives of ethnic, political, minority, and opposition groups will attend this meeting,” Amir Abdollahian told FNA Tuesday evening. On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi reiterated the necessity for the peaceful settlement of the crisis in Syria, and called for more talks between the Syrian government and opposition forces.
Salehi’s remarks were made in a meeting with KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Idris Barzani in Tehran. On Iran’s diplomacy about Syria, Salehi said that the Islamic Republic is in favor of negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition groups to create stability in the Middle Eastern country. Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes. The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad. In October 2011, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria……………………”



Also sprach Iran’s Fars News Agency.
My first reaction on reading this was a resounding WTF? Only it was not just the acronym I uttered. An Arab League-West-Syria conference has just ended in Doha (Qatar). Now the Iranians are holding their own meeting on Syria. It is not clear who are the Syrians who will attend, but I suspect this group will never gain power in post-Assad Syria, nor will it compete for power. They can’t be too opposed to the current regime, otherwise they wouldn’t be invited to Tehran. Just a hunch. It would be like the Qataris inviting the Ba’ath Party or Hezbollah to “their” Doha meeting, or like the Saudis sponsoring a conference for the Bahrain government and calling it the opposition. You figure that last one out: it is a teaser, like those SAT questions.
Cheers
mhg
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Arab Revolutions, Syria, US Foreign Policy

Syria: New Ineffectual Coalition, Little Arab Napoleons with Shadow Clerics …………..

   

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“Until now, concerted action on Syria has been thwarted by divisions within the opposition, as well as by big power rivalries and a regional divide between Sunni Muslim foes of Assad and his Shi’ite allies in Iran and Lebanon. Cajoled by Qatar and the United States, the ineffectual Syrian National Council, previously the main opposition body based abroad, agreed to join a wider coalition on Sunday. “What happened in Doha is a step forward,” Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters in Paris. “It is still not sufficient to constitute a provisional government that can be recognised internationally. But it’s on the right track.” Britain’s foreign minister, William Hague, also said more needed to be done to rally support inside the country before London would recognise the coalition led by AlKhatib as the rightful government of Syria. “It is a very important milestone,” Hague told reporters at the meeting of Arab and European  ministers at the Arab League………………….”

Western powers gave lukewarm encouragement to yet another alleged representative body of the “Syrian people”. That was wise. This new body, Syrian National Coalition, confirms the Islamist take-over of Syria‘s exile opposition even as it claims to be seeking to broaden its appeal. That is all fine and dandy. This new body, like the old body, will get a lot of money and diplomatic support from our freedom-loving potentates of the Gulf GCC. They will get to “mobilize” media and exiled politicians and try to get NATO to liberate Syria in the way it liberated Iraq in 2003. But this still does not make the Syrian uprising a “liberation” movement. Successful liberation movements are unified: this cannot be said of Syria.

Clearly the gangs and bands of the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) are not going to coordinate with or take orders from this exile ”Coalition” or its “Council” part. They will continue to do what they do on the ground: attacking regime forces, kidnapping people they suspect and people they don’t like, slitting throats and beheading and doing what they have been doing. They have their own shadowy sources of money and weapons and volunteers.

Once
broken away from the Al-Assad grip, every Syrian captain or major or colonel thinks of himself an a Napoleon, before Waterloo. Before this civil war is over, every FSA captain or major or colonel will have a Muslim cleric shadowing him. Some already have their clerical shadows who apply the new “law” of the land according to their own unique interpretation of the Holy Book and Hadith.
As I wrote last month: the old tolerant secular Syria is no more.

Cheers
mhg
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GCC, Syria, US Foreign Policy

Saving the Syrian Opposition, Meeting Where Predatory Princes Roam………..

   

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“Syrian opposition leaders struck a hard-won deal on Sunday under intense international pressure to form a broad, new coalition to prepare for the fall of President Bashar al-Assad. Delegates, who had struggled for days in the Qatari capital Doha to find the unity their Western and Arab backers have long urged, said the new body would ensure a voice for religious and ethnic minorities and for the rebels fighting on the ground, who have complained of being overlooked by exiled dissident groups. Some details remain outstanding, including who will head the new Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces and the final assent of some leaders not present in Doha. Diplomats and officials from the United States and Qatar, the tiny Gulf emirate whose oil and gas wealth has helped fund the 20-month-old uprising, have particularly been pressing the Syrian National Council (SNC), whose leaders mostly live abroad, to drop fierce objections to joining a wider body. “An initial deal has been signed. A final formulation has been agreed and signed,” Ali Sadreddine al-Bayanouni, a delegate for the Islamist group the Muslim Brotherhood, told reporters…..……….”

Western powers, Arab potentates and assorted despots, and Syrian opposition groups are meeting to “save” the Syrian opposition, basically saving it from itself. Which is something that is sorely needed. And where are they meeting? In Doha, Qatar, where not even dog-catchers (as Americans would say) are elected, where not even sheep-herders are elected (as the Mufti should say but won’t). They meet in an absolute unaccountable monarchy, aided and abetted by such great supporters of freedom, self-determination, and democracy as the Al-Saud and Al-Khalifa.
While they are at it, why not discuss repression in nearby places. Like a stone’s throw across the Persian Gulf waters in Bahrain, or just across the border in the Arabian Peninsula where the wild and avaricious and predatory princes roam and plunder?
Cheers
mhg
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Arab Revolutions, Britain, Syria

David Cameron Supports Safe Passage for Syrian, Saudi, and Other Arab Leaders……………

   

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“Bashar Assad, the Syrian President, could be allowed a safe passage out of his country and immunity from prosecution, David Cameron said today. Although the move would enrage human rights campaigners, Mr Cameron said it would be worthwhile if it ended the bloodshed in Syria which has resulted in the death of up to 40,000 people. Speaking in Saudi Arabia during his three-day visit to Gulf states and the Middle East, the Prime Minister said it “could be arranged” for President Assad to flee his country. He did not suggest where he might be given sanctuary but made clear that Britain would not offer to be a safe haven. Asked by Al Arabiya television what he would say if the Syrian President asked for asylum, Mr Cameron replied: “Done. Anything, anything to get that man out of the country and to have a safe transition in Syria.” He added: ”Of course, I would favour him facing the full force of international law………………”

If Mr. Al-Assad ever leaves Syria, and he probably will have to at some point, his options are limited. Of course he might just hang on to power  by force and terror, the way the Al-Saud and Bahrain and other Arab potentates do. The money is just too good for them to leave the massive prisons they have created. He can go to Russia or Iran or possibly Venezuela or South Africa. Maybe repair to one of the Hariri o Saudi palaces in France. He definitely wouldn’t want to go to Mexico: remember Leon Trotsky!

Back to Cameron: British governments, be they New Labor or Tory or New New Labor or Roundheads, practice a breathtaking level of hypocrisy when it comes to the Middle East. There is no need for me to repeat a list, a litany, of their offenses in this regard. From Tony Blair to David Cameron, and back all the way to Winston Churchill, the last admirable male Tory prime minister. But they are not alone, of course. They are joined in that by American governments, Iranian governments, and many others (including Arabs).
Cheers
mhg
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Africa, Arab Revolutions, Syria, Turkey

Alawistan and Salafistan: Syrian Flag, Libyan Flag, Dahomey and Burma…………

   

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I was watching the “Syrian” flag being pushed and raised by the opposition in Syria. No, not the black al-Qaeda flag some of them are raising, but the black-white-green one. The same thing in Libya: the Qaddafi flag was replaced with the old flag. As soon as some Arabs rebel, they change their flag. WTF with that? This Syrian flag has been around before the Baath Party, before the al-Assad royal family started ruling. Since Syria was merged with Egypt for three and a half years. I read somewhere that the opposition flag dates from French colonial days. Not that it matters.
In some African countries, the rebels and military coup-makers change the name of the whole country. Congo became Zaire before returning to Congo. Dahomey became Benin, Upper Volta became Burkina Faso (Faso???).
Even in Asia: Burma became Myanmar and will no doubt become Burma again. Saigon (what a beautiful name) became Ho Chi Minh City, a very unmusical name no matter what you think of Uncle Ho as a person. For example, I suspect that Newt Gingrich and John Bolton were secret admirers, that explains why they evaded the Vietnam War.
Back to the Levant: Could Syria break up into Alawistan, Salafistan, and Kurdistan? Could Turkey break up into Alawistan (south), Kurdistan (southeast), and Ottomanstan (Anatolia)? Could Iraq break up into Shiastan, Sunnistan, and Kurdistan? Could Lebanon break up into…. wait a minute: it already is, always has been. Then there is Bahrain…………..

Cheers
mhg
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Arab Revolutions, Syria

A Hybrid Islamist Solution for Syria, Mr. Assad and Mr. Green and the Escort……….

   

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My unreliable source reports that Bashar al-Assad, strongman of Syria, may be amenable to a new solution to end the civil strife in his country. He is apparently talking with his closest inner circle, those who are alive, and has mentioned it to the Iranians, Hezbollah, the Russians, and the Chinese. My source tells me that he hesitates to confide his new plan in Lakhdar al-Ibrahimi (Mr. Green) because, as he claims “Lakhdar is a big mouth, can’t keep secrets. I might as well confide an in an escort“.
The plan, allegedly, entails new elections before next summer, to be supervised by Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton and Michael Gorbachev (he knows that Deng Xiaoping is dead). In the interim, political activity will be open. Al-Assad has been studying the other Arab uprisings and has learned his lesson. He knows, as they say, which way the stick floats. He sees who has been winning all elections after the overthrow of the dictators. He plans to establish his own political party and, get this: it will be an Islamist Party! He intends to compete fairly with the Free Syrian Salafi Army Party and the Syrian National Council Muslim Brotherhood Party.
He is reported to be optimistic about his chances of winning the presidency again.

Cheers
mhg
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Arab Revolutions, Syria, US Foreign Policy

Some Garbage Analysis of the Middle East and U.S. Policy……………

   

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“Yet there are elements of the man’s personality, nature and mentality that would certainly affect the political outlook on Russia, for example, or on Iran, or on the role played by the United States in places like Syria. Here, differences emerge in the stances of the two candidates for the US Presidency– and the primary point of disagreement lies in the fierceness of the electoral battle over the role of the United States at this stage of history…………. The battle is coming, from the point of view – or according to the wishes – of some, after the presidential elections, in the form of an American-Iranian confrontation in the Syrian context…………………”

Some Garbage Analysis of the Middle East and U.S. Policy in the region (Saudi-centric). Fact is, this is the least important issue for American voters this year.

Cheers
mhg
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Arab Revolutions, Syria

Free Syrian Army, National Syrian Army, Syrian Military Council, WTF Army……..

   

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                          Neck of the woods
In reference to my earlier posting on Syrian opposition
armies, groups and bands. Media report that the Syrians have formed yet a new army. It is apparently, perhaps, formed in Jordan, and called the National Syrian Army.
So, the Syrian opposition are plagued with unusual disunity, a complete breakdown of coordination on the ground and lack of cooperation among the exiles in Turkey. So what do the brilliant minds think of? Why, what else: a new army, a new militia. At least the Syrian people are lucky: they have so many militias willing to “free” them, so many Arab despots and princes and potentates eager to urging the West to “liberate” them.
Cheers
mhg
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