"...The United States and Europe imposed their own sanctions on Syria, but Russia and China in October vetoed a Security Council resolution that would have only condemned Syria’s crackdown. Last week, Russia surprised the Council by proposing a new resolution calling on both sides to halt the violence, with no sanctions. It is clearly an effort to shield its ally from tougher penalties.The Arab League must speak out forcefully against his abuses, make clear it won’t permit him to manipulate the monitoring mission and ensure that sanctions that have imposed are carried out."

U.S. still won’t say “I’m sorry” for killing 24 Pakistani soldiers!

The Cable | FOREIGN POLICY

Al Qaeda & friends strike on behalf of its 'sponsors' in both Damascus & Baghdad!

 

"...State TV said suspected al-Qaeda militants had targeted two security service bases in the Kafr Sousa area. But the opposition said the attacks - which came a day after Arab League observers arrived - were staged by the government to justify its crackdown. ..."

and in Baghdad, 

"... At least 65 people were killed and at least 196 were wounded in 20 explosions just days after the final U.S. troops withdrew, police said. The attacks targeted civilians across all walks of life. One took place at a market. Another, at a school as children were arriving. A third was at a coffee shop.The attacks were a painful reminder of Iraq's most violent years.

The seemingly coordinated explosions Thursday struck during the height of morning rush hour, hitting a number of Baghdad's primarily mixed Sunni-Shiite neighborhoods. Nine car bombs, six roadside bombs and a mortar round all went off in a two-hour period, targeting residential, commercial and government districts in the Iraqi capital, two police officials told CNN...."

The worst case for war with Iran

The worst case for war with Iran - By Stephen M. Walt | Stephen M. Walt

Turkey's 'zero problems' foreign policy a misnomer!

FP Passport | FOREIGN POLICY

Pakistan's Army wants Zardari out!

"... (Reuters) - Pakistan's powerful army is fed up with unpopular President Asif Ali Zardari and wants him out of office, but through legal means and without a repeat of the coups that are a hallmark of the country's 64 years of independence, military sources said.Tensions are rising between Pakistan's civilian leaders and its generals over a memo that accused the army of plotting a coup after the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May.
"Who isn't fed up with Zardari? It's not just the opposition and the man on the street but people within the government too," said one military source who asked not to be named.
"But there has to be a proper way. No action is being planned by the army. Even if we tried, it would be very unpopular and not just with the government and the opposition but most Pakistanis too."
..."

Egypt's Qatari-Saudi counterrevolution!

Kafr Anbel or someone's backyard in Rockville, Maryland?

So the idiot (or cynic) who concocted this wanted to makes us believe that these are truly hapless Syrian villagers who make writing mistakes (occuped) but still manage a fairly decent phrase with audacity and procrastination! (apparently there is more to this: scroll up)
Knowledgeable reader 'Anon' writes:

"Drawing on my lebanese civil war "sense" I enhanced this photo and removed the shadows in order to get a better look at the people behiend the banner, here is what I came up with: None of the people in the photo seem to be older then 40 years of age .

12 out of the 12 people in the photo who's heads are not coverd seem to have a 4 to 6 weeks worth of hair on their heads indicating that they have not been to town for a while.

16 out of 16 pairs of feet showing bellow the banner are wearing tennis shose, in a syrian village in winter, what are the odds.

4 people standing immediatly behined the banner are wearing the exact model tennis shose indicating that they didn't bring their own "training" shose and a standerd teniss shose was issued for them.

These guys are in a paramilitary training camp."

Lacoste: NO ROOM FOR PALESTINIAN ARTISTS

Youth Against Normalization: #BDS: #Lacoste: NO ROOM FOR PALESTINIAN ARTISTS: "The prestigious €25,000 Lacoste Elysée Prize is awarded by the Swiss Musée de l’Elysée with sponsorship from Lacoste, the clothing brand. ...

France votes & Turkey withdraws its ambassador!

"The National Assembly in Paris voted by a show of hands to back the bill making it illegal to deny the mass killing of Armenians was genocide by a large majority, ... Turkey rejects the term "genocide" to describe the killing of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe publicly opposed the bill.

Under the bill, those publicly denying genocide would face a year in jail and a fine of 45,000 euros (£29,000: $58,000).

Armenians say up to 1.5m people were killed by the Ottoman Turks in 1915-16.

Ankara says closer to 300,000 people died...."

The White House believes that over 5 Billion people are "few"!

The governments of China, India, Russia, Brazil, most of South America, most of Africa & Iran!

"... We urge Syria’s few remaining supporters in the international community to warn Damascus that if the Arab League initiative is once again not fully implemented, the international community will take additional steps to pressure the Assad regime to stop its crackdown.  Bashar al-Assad should have no doubt that the world is watching, and neither the international community nor the Syrian people accept his legitimacy...."

What can prevent state failure in Egypt?

What can prevent state failure?

Syrian Army deals with its deserters!

Syria group urges UN action over 'massacre' - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

How Americans & 'the rest' view the world!

Same week/issues!

Out Of Iraq: The War Is Over But The Repercussions Are Just Beginning

"... The Ottomanists felt some Sunni fraternal ties to the Ba’athists who themselves were not especially religious. First off, they would have wanted to keep the Shia from ruling. The Turks lost that wager. They also hoped that the Kurds could be prevented from having something like a state, which is precisely what they have now: yes, something very much like a state. So the Ankara-Baghdad connection was already very much frayed when Americans began to leave Iraq.The Sunni-Shia break became ever more serious. Bloody it already always was. Iraq is, for all intents and purposes, now a Shia state, which connotes an anti-Sunni state. This means that it needs to resist the Sunni typhoon now gathering in Syria. It’s also why Iraq has been in dissent from the Arab League moves against the Assad onslaught in Sunni areas of Syria. Perhaps the most devastating and intrinsic evidence of how deeply Shia the rulers in Baghdad are is the fact that on the very morrow of the U.S. departure for Kuwait, Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki had Sunni Vice President Tariq Al Hashimi arrested and charged with all kinds of crimes, including murder. By the way, America left most of its military hardware in the country. This belongs, we are told, to Iraq. A comprehensive report of all these happenings is to be found in the Christian Science Monitor. My wager: The reports will get worse.
The reports from what is now Arab Winter are desolating. (I know the analogy of the seasons is a cliché by now.) In any case, the news is not only chilling but searing hot. If even the Arab League admits that there are already 5,000 dead in Syria there likely are many more. The opposition announced late Monday that at least 114 in its ranks had been killed during the day, including 80 army defectors. Syria is less lucky than Egypt because it is a French imperial paste job of sects, ethnicities, and tribes. If the House of Assad falls that does not necessarily mean the Alawite pyramid collapses. And, if it does, nothing like civilized rule will replace it. You believe otherwise? Just wait.
If you were compelled to make a choice in Egypt, who would you anoint? Of course, we won’t be anointing anyone. The Egyptians will … and maybe more by gang warfare than by suffrage. Many of us were thrilled when, in the early weeks of the rising, respectful and respected folk committed acts of bravery, of decency, of ethical clarity. It turns out that these men and women, mostly but not all young and youngish, were less in number than they seemed. It is now the military, a somewhat reformed military, versus the religious ultras that are fighting for the rule and the soul of Egypt. The Obama administration has not given so much as a hint as to whom they favor. Early in the process, they were for Mubarak. Hillary declared him and his wife “friends of my family.”Then the administration switched. I suspect—but I certainly don’t really know—that the president himself would tilt towards the orthodox Muslims, the fanatics. And he probably believes that, if only Israel would stop building housing in Jerusalem, the fanatics would stop being fanatics." (There, in the last sentence,  Peretz finally puked his Zionism!)

On “the brink of renouncing armed resistance..."

...and doing away with its 'raison d'etre'?
Commentary: A New Hamas in the Making? | The National Interest

STRATFOR: "Most of the Syrian opposition's claims have turned out to be grossly exaggerated or untrue"

"...This is important for two reasons. Firstly, it may be the first time a mainstream US-based intelligence-gathering firm openly questions the existing narrative on Syria. Secondly, Stratfor's findings begs the question: what are we basing our policy initiatives on if our underlying assumptions are inaccurate?
How unstable is Syria, really? How widespread is opposition to the regime of Bashar al-Assad? The death-toll that has us riveted with disgust - today, the highest daily death rate yet - how accurate are those numbers? Who do they include and are they verifiable? Are local activists even capable of distinguishing between a dead pro-regime civilian and a dead anti-regime civilian - especially now that both sides are armed and firing?..."

Saad Hariri calls Eyad Allawi: 'With the Americans leaving, what will become of us?'

(Satire, of course!) ... "I mean, is this what we compromised & submitted to? You preparing yourself for another exile' and me getting drunk on Twitter? What is happening to the Americans? they keep sending us this Feltman while they reach out to Bashar. And what is it with this new position vis a vis the brave Colonel Ass'ad? Yesterday we all agreed that he commanded the loyalty & respect of tens of thousands; Now suddenly he barely has 1000 deserters? They even say that all the spectacular attacks he mounted on Bashar's forces are not confirmable? What is going on? No, and the best our two best hope for toppling Bashar are threatening each other now? Sarko wants the Armenian votes so he is allowing the 'Genocide' legislation pass & the Turks are threatening him? I know ...I know all about Turkish threats, but still Eyad, still. No and the best part is the 'fearless' (hah) Qatari! Now that he is sensing the end to his Coppertone show, he wants to dump it on the UNSC? to Vladimir & Hu? We're f---ed Eyad! Big time!' 

"... The Iraqiya bloc, led by ex-premier Iyad Allawi, walked out of parliament in protest at what it charged was Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's monopolising of decision-making.

The boycott comes just a day after US forces handed over control of their last remaining base, with virtually all remaining American troops due out of the country in the coming days....  The bloc, which controls nine ministerial posts, has not, however, pulled out of Iraq's national unity government.

"We can no longer remain silent ..."The bloc accused Maliki's government of "placing tanks and armoured cars in front of the homes of Iraqiya leaders in the Green Zone," the heavily-fortified home to leading politicians and ministers ..."

How Maliki & Iran Outsmarted the U.S. on Troop Withdrawal

"...The real story behind the U.S. withdrawal is how a clever strategy of deception and diplomacy adopted by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in cooperation with Iran outmanoeuvered Bush and the U.S. military leadership and got the United States to sign the U.S.-Iraq withdrawal agreement.
A central element of the Maliki-Iran strategy was the common interest that Maliki, Iran and anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr shared in ending the U.S. occupation, despite their differences over other issues... ... (good read on the details)

'The caricature that could've made sense!'

Publicly, the Maliki government continued to assure the Bush administration it could count on a long-term military presence....
But Maliki had a surprise in store for Washington.
A series of dramatic moves by Maliki and Iran over the next few months showed that there had been an explicit understanding between the two governments to prevent the U.S. military from launching major operations against the Mahdi Army and to reach an agreement with Sadr on ending the Mahdi Army's role in return for assurances that Maliki would demand the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces.
In mid-March 2007, Maliki ignored pressure from a personal visit by Cheney to cooperate in taking down the Mahdi Army and instead abruptly vetoed U.S. military plans for a major operation against the Mahdi Army in Basra. Maliki ordered an Iraqi army assault on the dug-in Sadrist forces.
Predictably, the operation ran into trouble, and within days, Iraqi officials had asked General Suleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard, to intervene and negotiate a ceasefire with Sadr, who agreed, although his troops were far from defeated.
A few weeks later, Maliki again prevented the United States from launching its biggest campaign yet against the Mahdi Army in Sadr City. And again, Suleimani was brought in to work out a deal with Sadr allowing government troops to patrol in the former Mahdi Army stronghold.
There was subtext to Suleimani's interventions. Just as Suleimani was negotiating the Basra ceasefire with Sadr, a website associated with former IRGC Commander Mohsen Rezai said Iran opposed actions by "hard-line clans" that "only weaken the government and people of Iraq and give a pretext to its occupiers"....
In July, he revealed that his government was demanding the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops on a timetable... The ambitious plans of the U.S. military to use Iraq to dominate the Middle East militarily and politically had been foiled by the very regime the United States had installed, and the officials behind the U.S. scheme, had been clueless about what was happening until it was too late."

Why Tom Friedman is a true friend of Israel

Why Tom Friedman is a true friend of Israel - By Stephen M. Walt | Stephen M. Walt