anyway i got to go for now i'll try to be back on later hope you have a great evening all and always remember lubnan awalan
i am pretty sure Assad is not in his best days and people will prevail one way or the other may god bless the martyrs
Friday, November 4, 2011
A view from the Neo-GCC: 'No Islamist threat!'
'Al Qaeda flag on top of a Benghazi (Libya) courthouse'
They are not a 'threat' because:"... First, Islamists are not stupid. Arab countries face daunting challenges and whoever governs them will need to tackle tremendous political and economic problems. Islamists don’t want to be blamed for the mess....Second, Islamists are not as popular as Western pundits and policy makers think. ..."
'Setback for Palestine': UK, France and Colombia to abstain in vote on Palestinian membership
"... The UN diplomat said Britain, France and Colombia stated their positions in a private meeting of the Security Council committee dealing with the Palestinian application.
The diplomat said Germany also declared it could not support the Palestinian bid, without clarifying whether it would abstain or vote against...."
PA Official: 'With Syria weakened Hamas is softening and ready for a deal!'
...“I see that the Hamas leadership, particularly after the erosion of their base in Damascus, is becoming more interested in unity with Fatah than before,” Shaath said in an interview this week.
His optimism comes despite speculation by some that the Palestinian Authority has been weakened by Israel’s decision to releasemore than 1,000 prisoners to Hamas in exchange for soldier Gilad Shalit....
Shaath said Khaled Meshaal, the leader of Hamas’s military wing headquartered in Damascus, was turning into the group’s biggest reformer. “He is now the dove in Hamas,” Shaath said. “He is the one that publicly said if (Abbas) thinks he still needs a year or two in negotiations he should go forward for it. He is the one that declared our objective is only a Palestinian state on West Bank and Gaza and not the totality of historic Palestine. He is the one that is pushing now for unity talks with President Abbas.”...
Rob Danin, a former senior U.S. diplomat who specialized in the Arab-Israeli conflict, said he, too, has seen a shift in some of the rhetoric from Meshaal, but he doesn’t think it amounts to a strategic shift for the group still designated in America and Europe as a foreign terrorist organization.
“I suspect this is tactical,” Danin said. “I think it’s way overstated to call him a dove. But in relative terms, it seems the uprisings in Syria have compelled Hamas to adopt a more pragmatic approach.”..."
Saudi Minister of Justice: "Saudi laws don't differentiate between a Woman & a Man"
Yup; He said that at a conference in Miami!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
A Middle East 'scholar's' quantification ...
Randa Slim a 'scholar' at the Middle East Institute decides that "...While it is impossible to know which side commands a majority, a critical mass of Syrians has clearly opted for regime change...", when this past week has witnessed massive pro-regime demonstrations in the most unlikely parts of Syria.
'Raqqah, today'
Even the WSJ had this to say in a piece titled "Assad has the Upper hand":"massive crowds gathered in several cities, including Damascus, to pledge their loyalty to Mr. Assad. Syria's state television, broadcasting scenes of crowds chanting "The people want Bashar al-Assad," said some two million people gathered at the capital's Ummayad Square last Wednesday. It broadcast fresh scenes of a loyalist demonstration in the southern city of Suweida on Sunday."At one point, what we call the silent majority came to be aligned with the street protests at least from a humanitarian and moral point of view. But now they've stepped back again,"
'underappreciated: 'Intelligence Sharing' with Israel contributes to US National interest!
'Jonathan Pollard'
You must love it when folks at WINEP/AIPAC cite "Intelligence Sharing" as an important contributions Israel makes to U.S. national interests, without qualifying the term 'Sharing' ...
'Stewart Nozette'
So that was a leak?
"... According to the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jarida, the main suspects are the former heads of the Mossad and the Shin Bet, respectively Israel's foreign and domestic intelligence agencies.
Netanyahu is said to believe that the two, Meir Dagan and Yuval Diskin, wanted to torpedo plans being drawn up by him and Ehud Barak, the defence minister to hit Iranian nuclear sites..."
'The Recalcitrant Ones would like nothing better than to watch Israel sink into a Persian miasma, while taking us along with them'
"... There’s only one problem with this–and it’s a big one. I think Iran is a hardened target not just physically but psychically. The Iranians lost hundreds of thousands in the Iran-Iraq War which they fought for eight years. Persia in general is a place that has known wars for millennia. Does anyone think that Israel, even with its nuclear weapons, can spook them? I just don’t see it. The only way I can see Iran changing course in the context of military action is if Israel can strike a blow and bring the regime to its knees. But barring dropping a nuclear weapons on Teheran, it can’t do that. Not even if it wanted to.
Likewise, some argue that the Israeli drumbeat of war is meant to persuade the Russians and Chinese, who have resisted the newest round of sanctions, that if they continue doing so the only alternative is war. Some see Israel in this scenario as Uri Avnery does, as the U.S. Rottweiler, whom we unleash in order to scare recalcitrant Security Council members into voting our way.
There is only one problem with this overall concept. And it’s a big one. No one believes or cares. If the U.S. and Israel want to turn this into a Las Vegas poker hand bluff, I think the Russian and Chinese are willing to wait them out to see what kind of cards they’re holding. If you think about it, why would they care that Israel would bomb Iran? They realize, just as much of the world realized in 2003, that once the U.S. invaded Iraq, it would only be a matter of time before the decision came back to haunt us–and it did. Similarly, the Recalcitrant Ones would like nothing better than to watch Israel sink into a Persian miasma, while taking us along with them. It would leave them sitting pretty to pick up the pieces after we messed up things royally..."
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
"De facto enemies ..."
"... Instead of pushing at a Pakistani door that will never open, the Obama administration instead should treat Pakistan as a sponsor of the Taliban and on that basis involve Pakistan in talks on Afghanistan. An essential part of such negotiations should be to force both Pakistan and the United States to place on the table their own terms for an Afghan settlement and their minimum conditions as far as their own interests are concerned. On that basis, and on that basis alone, it may be possible for these two de facto enemies to make peace with each other. If that is not possible, at least the U.S. will be clearer about the realities of the Afghan War."
Davutoglu: 'Ankara could impose 'buffer & no-fly zones on Syria!'
"Turkey has signaled possible support for a buffer zone to protect Syrian civilians if Damascus continues its crackdown on democracy protests, as tensions rise between the two former strategic partners.Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey’s foreign minister, told the Financial Times that Ankara was preparing targeted sanctions against Damascus and left the door open for more drastic steps at a later date, such as a buffer zone or a no fly-zone on Syrian territory.When asked about Turkey’s stance on a buffer zone or a no-fly zone, he said: “We hope that there will be no need for these type of measures but of course humanitarian issues are important…There are certain universal values all of us need to respect and protecting citizens is the responsibility of every state.”“The Syrian regime is attacking the Syrian people, which is unacceptable,” Mr Davutoglu said in an interview. “When we see such an event next door to us of course we will never be silent.”
'Pro-Assad protests in Raqqa, today'
His comments are an indication of the growing pressure Turkey is putting on Syria, on the rhetorical level at least, to halt the crackdown.By contrast, in August Turkish officials rejected reports they were planning to impose a buffer zone, while Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato’s secretary general, dismissed the idea of a no-fly zone this week..."
NATO's new Libya!
"...The incident will raise pressure on the fragile National Transitional Council to disarm the former rebel fighters who are still at large in Libya's capital, even though they were asked to leave weeks ago and have been ordered to give up their heavy weapons. The Zintan brigades were some of the most ferocious fighters against Gaddafi's forces and helped lead the attack on Tripoli, but have outstayed their welcome, earning a reputation for mayhem and looting. Thousands of them have ignored pleas to go ..."
More saber rattling: 'Britain to assist a 'fast-forward' moving US in its aggression against Iran!'
"... The Ministry of Defence believes the US may decide to fast-forward plans for targeted missile strikes at some key Iranian facilities. British officials say that if Washington presses ahead it will seek, and receive, UK military help for any mission, despite some deep reservations within the coalition government..."
Wikileaks: 'German submarines to Israel as Holocaust 'reparations'...
'Reparations' at the service of slaughter, violence, aggression & occupation!
'Recurring images of Lebanon'
Dokument dato: 2005-01-04 14:02:00
Release dato: 2011-01-22 21:09:00Kilde: Embassy Tel Avivheader:This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.Hovedtekst:C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 000045
SUBJECT: (C) PM"S ADVISOR ON RENEWED REPARATIONS CLAIMS AGAINST GERMANY, RESTITUTION CLAIMS AGAINST POLAND
1. (C) Summary: A GOI working group charged with developing a five-year plan on Holocaust-era reparations, pensions and restitution is considering a recommendation that the GOI ask Germany for about $500 million -- possibly in the form of new German-made submarines -- in compensation for what the GOI says is that portion of the 1953 German-Israeli reparations agreement that had been attributed to East Germany, but never paid. xxxxxxxxxxxx (strictly protect), contended that such a GOI claim would not violate any "closure" agreements about Holocaust-eraclaims...(Note: In previous discussions and e-mails, xxxxxxxxxxxx indicated to Emboff and EUR/OHI that his draft paper would also include a recommendation for the GOI to press for restitution for Jewish property and assets in Arab lands from which Jews fled.)..... Most of the amount paid to Israel under the 1953 agreement was in the form of goods transferred from West Germany to Israel. In this case, Israel is considering a request for military goods, probably two submarines, worth about $500 million, he said. (Note: xxxxxxxxxxxx was undoubtedly referring to Dolphin-class submarines, three of which the GOI received in the early 1990s from Germany. The model now sought by the Israeli Navy costs about $350-500 million per submarine.)6. (C) &This does not constitute a new claim,xxxxxxxxxxxx took pains to point out. Rather, he argued, it stems fromincomplete implementation of an existing agreement, and, as such, should not come under the terms of any agreement with the United States not to raise new reparations claims against Germany. He noted that he reviewed his analysis with Amb. Stuart Eizenstat, the former U.S. special envoy for Holocaust-era property claims, when Eizenstat visited Israel in November. According to xxxxxxxxxxxx Eizenstat concurred that nothing in the U.S. closure agreement with Germany in 2000 would preclude Israel from independently seeking redress of an issue stemming from a preexisting agreement. xxxxxxxxxxxx said he hoped that the U.S. would not do anything that could be seen as opposing or undermining Israel,s bilateral approach to Germany. xxxxxxxxxxxx agreed to emboff"s request to keep the embassy and U.S. Special Envoy O"Donnell apprised of working group deliberations and other matters of potential U.S. interest, and to brief the Ambassador on the restitution plan as it nears completion.-----------------------------------Future Work: Poland and Arab States-----------------------------------7. (C) Finally, xxxxxxxxxxxx noted that Poland would likely be the next area of focus of the GOI restitution efforts, and that the GOI would work in close coordination with the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) and the other main survivor and restitution bodies in Israel and abroad. All of the above are in addition to the GOI Ministerial Committee,s continuing research into expanding pursuit of restitution claims for Jewish property and assets from Arab lands.
'Nakba'
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
'Now that you 'punished' UNESCO, what of most of the World who voted in this 'regrettable' way? The only thing is that it upsets Israel!'
This guy is better, tougher & has more humanity than most Arabs! And Victoria Nuland you ask? Wife of Neocon Robert Kagan!
Israel orders new building in East Jerusalem; America will say something to the effect ....
'Disheartened Americans'
"...An Israeli official said the accelerated construction is an answer to the moves being made by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation in pursuit of statehood recognition.He was speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
"You can't demand from the Israeli public to continue to show restraint when the Palestinian leadership continues to slam the door in their face," ..."
'...always The Israeli restraint'
'Understanding Hizbullah’s Support for the Asad Regime'
"... The movement’s ability to dismiss the more problematic features of Syria’s past is facilitated by the Asad leadership’s refusal to reach a settlement with Israel in contrast to its capitulatory Arab brethren. For many Arab progressives though, this negotiating stand alone does not qualify the regime for “confrontational” status given that Syria remains “Israel’s quietest front”. 11 Hizbullah rejects this line of reasoning as intellectual absolutism. In the first place, it does not evaluate Syria’s actions according to the same benchmark used for non-state (resistance) actors. Nasrallah admitted as much in a 2009 Al-Quds Day speech when he distinguished between Syria “as a regime” and resistance movements who do not have the same “economic, social and political responsibilities and international affairs’ [obligations].” 12Second, Hizbullah does not adopt a similar all-or-nothing logic as Asad’s progressive critics do. In the above-mentioned speech, Nasrallah responded to this same group of “people who always talk about opening fronts” by lauding Syria’s rejectionism: “It is true it [Syria] did not fight and close a front but still, it did not surrender.” For the past 30 or 40 years, Syria did not “concede one grain of soil or one drop of its waters,” and even obstructed an imminent deal at the Geneva Summit “over a couple of cubic meters of water”. 13Moreover, although the Asad leadership was not engaged in armed resistance toliberate the Golan, “it is enough that Syria stood beside the resistance in Lebanon, and the resistance in Palestine and the resistance in Iraq.” 14... ...
... Echoing Hizbullah’s stance on the Iran protests is Nasrallah’s characterization of the US’ role in the Syrian uprising as an extension of the July War and the Gaza War. Since the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine had foiled the “New Middle East” scheme in both these military aggressions, Washington was “trying to reintroduce [it] through other gates,” such as Syria. 20 With this in mind, attempts to overthrow the Asad regime are considered a “service” to American and Israeli interests. 21 While Hizbullah has not directly accused the Syrian opposition of serving or collaborating with the US and Israel, Nasrallah recently chastised it for pandering to Washington’s political sensitivities by omitting the Palestinian cause from its discourse. 22 The anti-Hizbullah slogans raised by some elements of the opposition, as well as their accusations concerning the movement’s alleged involvement in government repression, have done little to assuage its fears. These fears have been lent further credence by Israel’s public pronouncements on the uprising.... ....
A point often overlooked, is Hizbullah’s own experience of repression at the hands of the Syrian regime. One such instance was the ‘Fathallah Massacre’ of 1987 when Syrian forces gunned down twenty-three Hizbullah fighters in cold blood, in Beirut. Again in 1993, the Lebanese army, acting at the behest of Syria, killed several Hizbullah supporters protesting the Oslo Accord in September 1993, otherwise known as the ‘September Massacre’. In both these incidents, the movement merely licked its wounds so as to avoid obstructing its resistance activity. The resistance priority clearly took precedence over confronting Syria’s forces in Lebanon. If Hizbullah itself was willing to overlook the Syrian regime’s violence against it, for the sake of a higher cause, it stands to reason that it would expect the same of the Syrian protesters. According to Hizbullah’s strategic logic, exerting one’s efforts on the removal of an oppressive regime deflects attention from the priority of resisting Israel and confronting US military and political imperialism. 10
In 1997, in the midst of the Algerian civil war and a series of violent incidents executed by Egyptian Islamists, Nasrallah launched an initiative aimed at reconciling opposition Islamist groups with their autocratic regimes. In Egypt, militant Islamists were exhorted to refrain from taking up arms against the state and to opt for dialogue with the Mubarak regime instead. Part of Hizbullah’s rationale for this policy was its aversion to chaos which it considers “more oppressive” than the oppressive regimes ... ....
... As a political party which has always subordinated its political role to its military one, Hizbullah has never pursued the political rights that it is entitled to, such as greater political representation in Lebanon. Both in 1992 and 1996, the party allowed itself to be pressured by Syria into an electoral alliance with AMAL, although it could have won more seats on its own. As with the killing of its fighters and supporters, Hizbullah once again adhered to the “saqf al suri” (Syrian ceiling) in order to protect its resistance. Similarly, even when it has pursued political power, it has only been to shield its resistance from external pressures - as in 2005 following the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon - and in 2011 when it ousted the Saad Hariri government over the issue of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Even then, Hizbullah has always contented itself with minimal government representation. Nor has the movement pursued communal rights for its Shi’ite constituency, such as a larger share of political power commensurate with the community’s size.
Indeed, Hizbullah sacrifices its political rights in order to safeguard its resistance, but it is also willing to deprive others of their perceived right to terminate it. As illustrated by the events of May 2008, Hizbullah did not hesitate to turn its arms against its domestic rivals who sought to paralyze its resistance activity. It has been similarly intransigent in less provocative setting such as the National Dialogue talks. While Hizbullah is willing to dialogue with its foes over its arms, its conditions are effectively nonnegotiable insofar as it rejects the notion of disarmament outright as well as rejecting any proposals to place the resistance under the command of the Lebanese army. Nasrallah admits as much when he describes the movement’s resistance as “a controversial national issue” which never was “an object of national consensus.” 37 Popular legitimacy is undoubtedly desirable for Hizbullah but by no means necessary. In this connection, resistance is not a right because it was launched by the people; rather, it is a right because it is a freedom-seeking action. More than this, it is a duty: “The resistance does not wait for national or popular consensus, but must take to arms and press ahead with the duty of liberation.” 38... .... To be free is not to be left alone, but to continually struggle for justice. It is for this reason that Hizbullah is inherently antagonistic to liberal uprisings like Syria’s which focus their efforts on freeing themselves from state control at the expense of the struggle against US and Israeli colonialism"
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