Assad: If Ankara takes advantage of Damascus, Its Crisis Will Be Worse

Eslam al-Rihani

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad stressed Turkey has the same political, economic, and sectarian structure of Syria, thus it faces the same situation. “If any country tries to take advantage of our issues, it will be influenced and its crisis will exaggerate,” Assad said to his visitors who met him during the last days. “Although the situation in Turkey requires caution, but it has no great effects and repercussions, and does not present direct threat against internal situation of Syria,” Assad added. Sources told Al-Manar Website that Lebanese politicians who recently met President Assad quoted him confident to the Iraqi role, however he had fraternal blame on Lebanon as a result of fund and weapons smuggling to the insurgents in Syria by some Lebanese groups, in addition to the serious sectarian incitement practiced by some parties. Moreover, Assad praised the cooperation of Lebanese security apparatus in confronting this phenomenon, particularly the army and the intelligence services. During the meeting, Syrian President categorized Gulf States into three, some of positive performance in dealing with Syria, some are submissive to the American will, and the rest have misty and ambiguous role like the Saudi Arabia, the same sources noted. Visitors of President Assad reported he expressed concerns about the threat targeting innocent Syrian civilians via IED planted in populated areas. This led Assad to issue direct orders for Syrian security apparatus to be cautious and spare no effort to prevent such incidents from recurring. Nevertheless, “what relieved Al-Assad is that Syrian security forces are used to this kind of wars and can retain control of the situation,” cited the sources to Al-Manar Website. Touching the tense situation in Resten and Homs, Assad stressed that the only reason of the absence of complete calm in these regions is that “the Syrian army is keen not to cause loss of civilian lives. Its main goal is focused on precise and determined operations against insurgents. This is what is delaying the process of decisiveness.” According to Syrian President, this way in dealing with the crisis has led to a positive popular reaction which made the people certain that those are only insurgents, answerable to the west. "The more convinced the people becomes, the easier the work of the security services will be,” Al-Assad concluded to his visitors.

Source: Al-Manar Website

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Most Islamists are America's 'strategic' friends!

Via FLC

"Abd al-Mun'im Abu 'l-Futtuh, a senior Egyptian Brotherhood official who is running independently for the presidency of Egypt, has told al-Arabiya columnist Abdel Rahman Al-Rashed that he would not necessarily pursue the annulment of the Camp David Accords. In other contexts, he has indicated that the Saudi-backed "Arab Peace Initiative," could be a basis for the Brotherhood to enter talks with Israel.... In short, the West should avoid the mistake of approaching each country's Islamist phenomenon with one policy. There are powerful Islamists in Libya with whom direct political engagement may be futile. By contrast, there is an Islamist movement in Tunisia that could potentially serve as a bridge between the West and more extreme Islamist groups in other countries -- beginning with its Libyan neighbors. The Algerian regime, though a sworn enemy of Islamist groups, is not a friend to the region's freedom agenda, while the Egyptian Brotherhood, though ideologically anti-Western, may not be an enemy to America's security paradigm (read ISRAEL!) ..."

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

New York Police Earn Their $4.6 Million

The New York Police seem to be working hard to earn their $4.6 million donated to them by JP Morgan. Who knows? Perhaps they've also been promised fat Christmas bonuses if they successfully quell the Wall Street protests by the holidays.

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Posted by Richard Edmondson at 10/6/2011 8:59 PM |

Global Uprising Confronts Police Repression: Scenes from Athens and NY

You would think with people chanting "We are the 99 percent" so much, the New York City police might begin to recognize the inadvisability of standing alone with the one percent. It doesn't seem to have happened yet, but maybe it will at some point.



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Posted by Richard Edmondson at 10/6/2011 5:57 PM

Some Thoughts on the Wall Street Protest

Is it kosher to talk about Israel at the Wall Street protest? Or is Israel once again, as it always seems to be, off-limits for discussion? So far I've not seen any of the Wall Street protesters mention Israel or the power of its lobby in Washington. Has the matter been raised at any of the General Assemblies that have been held on an ongoing continuing basis? If so, it doesn't seem to have made the news, not even in the alternative media. Below is a report from Press TV. You'll see protesters talking about corporate greed, police repression—worthy topics for discussion, to be sure—but no mention of Israel or AIPAC. Now if Press TV (which of course is sponsored by the Iranian government) can't find anybody willing to talk about Israel, that's probably a pretty good indication that not very many people at the protest are talking about it.


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Posted by Richard Edmondson at 10/4/2011 6:56 PM |

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Irvine 11: Convicted For Being Mean To Israel’s Ambassador to US

by Dr. Ashraf Ezzat on October 7, 2011

SANTA ANA, CA - SEPTEMBER 23, 2011:
Muslim students stare at the jury after being found guilty
of conspiring to disrupt and then disrupting a speech
by the Israeli ambassador at UC Irvine.

“We all know that equality under the law has no meaning anymore, but now you have one more example, one that has serious ramifications for anyone challenging Israeli behavior.”

Dr.Ashraf Ezzat

In the United States of America if you are a brave Muslim and if you peacefully stand up in front of an audience being addressed by an American- born Israeli who supports Israeli war crimes you can be convicted of a crime. On the other hand, if you are a brave Jew or a brave Arab who is smart enough to be surrounded by a few brave Jews, you can peacefully stand up in front of an audience being addressed by an Israeli war criminal and you will not be charged. That which cannot be tolerated is Muslims acting on their own against Israeli usurpation of Muslim and Christian lands. With no Jewish cover, the Muslims have no standing.

On September 23, ten members of the so-called “Irvine 11″ (charges against one of the original eleven students were dropped) were convicted on misdemeanor charges of disrupting a UC Irvine speech by the Israeli ambassador to the United States. That’s what they did, and that believe it or not, in the United States of America and regardless of the first amendment, is now considered a crime.

“Being mean to the Israeli ambassador” to the United States.

After more than two days of deliberation, an Orange County jury found the ten Muslim young men guilty.

What these handsome young men did was stand up – already showing more balls by doing so than the American president, Barack Obama has ever shown – and state that the Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, was supporting war crimes against Palestinians.

This is something that most reasonable people around the world regard as axiomatic. But not in the US, No way. In fact it is now a crime to point this out if you are a Muslim.

According to an attorney for one of the students, the longest of the interruptions lasted roughly 8 seconds, and the total amount of time taken up by their outbursts—combined—was roughly one minute.

That’s one minute too long when you’re talking about Muslim students interrupting the Israeli ambassador to the U.S. to inform him that some people think his country’s policies are unjust, which is illegal, so don’t do it.

In a moment you will come to a short video of what they did. Each one stood up, stated his case in a few seconds, and then peacefully walked away. This was for too much for the host of the event and for the shaky “Israeli” ambassador; more on that Zionist mouth piece will follow. The Israeli ambassador left the stage while his host chastised members of the audience who take human rights seriously to the cheers of members of the audience who do not.
“The Ten little Muslims” were convicted of misdemeanors and sentenced to 56 hours of community service and three years of probation. The judge seems to have been very hesitant to be harsh after the jury found these students guilty of speaking truth to power and noted that if they do the 56 hours within a year they won’t have to do the probation. However, now and after one stupid incident, those students will forever have to answer yes if they are asked by, say, potential employers whether they were ever convicted of a crime.
We all know that equality under the law has no meaning anymore, but now you have one more example, one that has serious ramifications for anyone challenging Israeli behavior.
Here’s the short video I mentioned.



Who is Michael Oren?

Michael Oren

American-born Michael Oren was radicalized at an early age to become an Israeli, serve in the IDF, advocate for Jonathan Pollard and to become a chief Israeli propagandist writing Zionist-filled books on such topics as the June 1967 war – a book with a completely disgraceful chapter on how the poor little Israelis made an innocent mistake when they tried to sink the USS Liberty and kill every man on board. (Norman Finklestein and James Bamford blew his Zionist allegations out of the water, so to speak. You can read their comments on Oren’s work here and here.

At the age of 15 Oren went to Israel with a Zionist-socialist youth radicalization movement known as Habonim Dror and lived on a kibbutz. No doubt this had a pretty deep impact on him, as he seems to have spent the rest of his life in service to Zionism. In 1978, he worked as an advisor to the Israeli diplomats at the UN and the following year he immigrated to Israel for good. He joined the IDF in 1979 and served in Israeli’s illegal invasion (and subsequent 22 year occupation) of southern Lebanon. In the 1991 war against Iraq he served as the Israeli liaison to the US Sixth Fleet. And since then he has been engaged as a propagandist for Israel to include working for an outfit in Israel that was affiliated with the notorious racist Meir Kahane. Oren’s propaganda work included several stints teaching at major US universities including Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. I guess at Georgetown when they say “Foreign Service” they must mean “serving foreigners”. Imagine this American turn-coat teaching America’s future diplomats how to behave.

Oren, like most Israeli propagandists, loves to do two things, one is play fast and loose with the facts and the other is to invoke the Holocaust to defend Israel’s murderous rampages and constant war mongering. Here is an excellent example of his Zionist propaganda where he plays fast and loose with facts and yells “Holocaust” the whole time. The article is even entitled”Deep Denial: While the Holocaust Still Matters.” He did get ripped for this; you can see it here for example. It is precisely his defending of Israeli war crimes as he does in this article that the protesters were protesting.
Sources: The Ugly Truth, Loonwatch.com & Los Angeles Times.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Romney's Mideast 'expert': 'Lebanese militant, pro-Israeli propagandist, & Fox News pundit'

Via FLC

"... Phares’ first career began early in the Lebanese civil war of the 1975-1990 when he allied himself with the right-wing militias, armed and financed by Israel. In his official curriculum vitae, Phares describes himself as a writer and lawyer in Lebanon at this time but he was more and less than that. He assumed a political position in the hierarchy of the militias and founded a small Christian party in the late 1970s and early 1980s. 

After Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait in 1991, the United States and Syria came to an agreement about the need to get rid of Gen. Auon, and his forces were routed. Phares resurfaced in Florida in where he began a second career as an academic “expert on terrorism.” He obtained a PhD at the University of Miami and seemed to model himself after conservative writer Fouad Ajami, but without Ajami’s claims to scholarship. I remember attending the founding meeting for the Lebanese Studies Association in the 1990s Phares entered the room hoping to become a member. Once people knew who he was, the hostile glances were sufficient to drive him out. 

After Genral Michel Auon assumed the presidency of Lebanon in 1988, Phares joined the right-wing coalition known as the Lebanese Front, which consisted of various sectarian groupings and militia. The Front backed Gen. Auon in his struggles against the Syrian regime of Hafez al-Assad and the Muslims of Lebanon. Phares’s role was not small, according to Beirut newspaper accounts.. He served as vice chair of another front’s political leadership committee, headed by a man named Etienne Saqr, whose Guardians of Cedar militia voiced the slogan “Kill a Palestinian and you shall enter Heaven.” (Saqr later moved to Israel, and then Cyprus.) The Front was also backed by Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, a bitter foe of the Syrians. It seems unlikely that Romney knew much about this chapter in Phares’ career when he tapped him as an advisor. 

Before long he became a favored Middle East expert in U.S. media. With an Arabic name, he came come across—to the ill-informed viewer—as an “indigenous expert.” He even sprinkled his English commentary with Arabic words. His shtick was not exactly original. He reliably articulated Israeli definitions of “terrorism,” in which indiscriminate violence against civilians, even the killing of children, when perpetrated by Israel, do not qualify.

In 2006 Phares left Florida Atlantic University and moved to Washington where he launched a third career as policy entrepreneur. He set up shop at at neoconservative Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and started teaching at the National Defense University. His views appealed to the Bush administration, and he became a an expert witness in the courts and the Congress, as well as contributor to Fox Nes. 

He also became a regular on Arabic news channels, mostly on Lebanese right-wing news channels, but also on channels controlled by the Saudis. He has even made appearances on Aljazeera. But there is a curious difference in Phares’ commentary for the Arab media. On Arab TV, he speaks cautiously and does not make outlandish claims about Islamic terrorism. For all his pro-Israeli statements in English, he never articulates them in Arabic.
Phares’ writings do not deviate much from the genre of terrorism literature. During the Cold War, experts in Washington, DC sought to show that terrorism around the world was linked to the Soviet Union. In the post-Cold War era, terrorism experts effortlessly switched to a new argument: that Islam was the real threat to “Western civilization.” Toward that end, Phares can find—or concoct—links between very different Islamic groups. In his analysis, Hezbollah, Hamas, and Al-Qaeda amount to one global organization. 

The appointment of Phares to a position in the Romney campaign is not surprising. In years past, such an appointment would have been considered extreme and cast doubt on the wisdom of the candidate– but no more. Middle East policymaking is now dominated by the Israel lobby and its affiliates. Advocacy of Israeli positions has replaced professional qualifications as the criteria for service. 

It was ironic that the initial news reports about Romney’s foreign policy team referred to Phares as a “scholar.” Phares has not been seen in Middle East Studies conferences for many years. His writings are only relevant to Zionist discourse and polemics. But such is U.S. presidential politics: when the appointment of Israeli experts on terrorism is not possible, a man like Phares is the second best choice."

Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 3:51 PM
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Nasser Qandil to Al-Manar Website: Syria Overcame Crisis… Lebanon Lost a Lot!

Nasser Qandil to Al-Manar Website: Syria Overcame Crisis… Lebanon Lost a Lot!

Hussein Assi

Miqati’s Promises, Pledges Non-Binding… Syrian Opposition Collapsing, Dying Down US-European anti-Syria Plot Will Be Defeated Russia and China Returned Balance to UNSC Lebanon’s UNSC Shameful Position Unjustified Gov’t Stance Will Affect Ties with Syria People Not Financing STL Logical… Miqati Excused Lebanese former lawmaker Nasser Qandil declared that Syria has overcome the danger since the Jisr as-Shughour famous developments, and said that the equation has become more obvious and solid at the current stage. He pointed that the latest developments in Syria signaled that it was not possible anymore to change the power equation between a collapsing opposition and a wise leadership, with a coherent army and a popular nation behind it. In an exclusive interview with Al-Manar Website, Qandil praised the Russian and Chinese stances within the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), and spoke of clear indications of a change in the balances of the international community. He said that Moscow and Beijing would not have accepted the challenge if they were not confident that the US-European anti-Syria plot would be defeated. However, Qandil criticized the ambiguous Lebanese stance in the UNSC, and described it as shameful. He warned of its repercussions at the level of the relations between the Lebanese and Syrian people, and noted that the “pressure” pretext adopted by Lebanese is unjustified. The former MP stressed the necessity to apply constitutional laws in dealing with the so-called Special Tribunal for Lebanon. He noted that the pledges made by Prime Minister Najib Miqati in this regard were valueless as the decision must be taken by the council of ministers as a whole. He noted that such a decision required the approval of two thirds of the ministers, and said that logically speaking, this majority would not be guaranteed. Yet, he expressed belief the premier would be excused in front of those he promised to finance the STL, as they claimed to be pro-democracy. CONSPIRACY UNCOVERED Former MP Nasser Qandil said that the latest developments in Syria signaled that it was not possible anymore to change the power equation between a collapsing opposition and a wise leadership, with a coherent army and a popular nation behind it. He was referring to the assassinations taking place in Syria, the formation of the so-called National Syrian Council as well as the diplomatic challenge foiled by Russia and China at the UNSC. Qandil said that the conspiracy targeting Syria was finally uncovered with its extremist elements, which were unable to represent anyone in Syria, given that Syrians absolutely refuse any attempt to take them to civil war. He said that Syria has actually overcome the crisis since the famous developments of Jisr as-Shughour, and said that the equation has become even clearer. He spoke of an anti-opposition popular majority, represented by the coherence of the army and the security forces. LEBANON’S SHAMEFUL POSITION Qandil said that whoever deeply read the Russian and Chinese stances within the UNSC and their resort to the veto power could understand that something has changed in the international community. He explained that Russia and China have returned balance to the UNSC, and noted that would not have accepted the challenge if they were not confident that the US-European anti-Syria plot will be defeated. Commenting on the Lebanese vague stance and its abstention from voting on sanctions against Syria, Qandil said the Lebanese position was shameful. He refused claims that the Lebanese stance would have not change anything in the final outcome, and said such claims were enough to make Lebanon take the appropriate solidarity stance with the Syrian brothers. BETWEEN ASSAD’S PATIENCE AND PEOPLE’S RESPONSE Qandil warned that the reaction of the Syrian people remained the essence. He expressed belief that the problem for many of those who were taking stances against Syria was that they were only taking into consideration the patience of President Bashar Assad. “This is good and it not wrong to build on it. But, we have also to consider the reactions of the Syrians who consider today Russia and China as friends, but raise question marks over the stances of others, previously believed to be brothers. He noted that Turkey, for instance, could re-establish an official relationship with Syria, one day. But, he asserted, it would never be an icon for the Syrian people. He noted that the issue was even more dangerous for Lebanon. “It is not healthy that Syrians blame Lebanon for the political conduct of its government, believe to be pro-Syrian,” he said. “Without doubt, Lebanon has lost a lot because of this stance, given that nothing can justify it. Pressure could be real if the Russian and Chinese vetoes were not confirmed. Thus, this justification is invalid.” MARCH 14 CLAIMS… Qandil rejected the attempts to justify the UNSC stance by saying that there was an anti-Syria Lebanese bloc, and that this bloc enjoys some popularity, even though it was not represented in the cabinet. “If Lebanon was considering this bloc’s beliefs, then let it consider its stance from the Resistance arms, its behavior towards American wishes, given than its conduct doesn’t show any enmity towards Israel,” he said. He stressed there was a serious conflict with this bloc, and recalled that the overthrow of the government of PM Saad Hariri was aimed at forming a government representing the real national will. “We will be mistaken if we choose to seek balance in such fateful decisions,” he highlighted. FINANCING STL WILL NOT PASS To conclude, Qandil tackled the upcoming challenge related to the financing of the so-called Special Tribunal for Lebanon. He said that the government was created to correct the ruling path, and respect the constitution which was violated throughout the consecutive governments, headed by the March 14 bloc through the persons of Fouad Saniora and Saad Hariri. He said that the government might resort to the constitution to deal with any conflict, and pointed to the mechanism of taking any decision within the cabinet. He said he understood the circumstances of those who called for financing the STL, but said the decision should remain in the hands of the council of ministers as a whole. Answering a question over the possibility of such scenario to take place in light of the pledges made by PM Najib Miqati, Qandil said that Miqati perceived that his promises were not binding, and that he should respect the law to take the final decision, regardless of its nature. He stressed that Miqati would be excused in case the cabinet decided not to finance the STL, as those who were asking him to finance it were basically pro-democracy, and therefore should respect the democratic process. On whether he expected such outcome, Qandil said he didn’t want to anticipate things. Yet, he said that the logical thing would be that the majority could vote for not financing the STL, or at least, that the pro-financing team could not get the two-thirds required majority.

Source: Website Team

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

“We are in the eye of the storms", Israeli Maneuver Simulates War Call-up

Israeli Maneuver Simulates War Call-up

Israeli occupation forces’ General Staff alerted two reserve divisions on Thursday as part of an emergency drill in army bases in central and northern occupied Palestinian territories. The purpose of the exercise was to test the soldiers’ level of response and readiness for war, Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot reported. "The timing is more than a coincidence and is part of the army's preparation for the upcoming days in light of changes in the region," Head of the Operations Division's Inspection Department, Col. Shlomi Fayer said. "The two divisions were duly found to be highly ready and capable." Israeli Military Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz observed the activity closely during a visit to the war-reserve-stores unit in the Northern Command. "Unlike routine inspection, this time operational activity was directed by the general staff with no pre-determined time frames," Col. Fayer said.

Barak: Despite Challenges, Israel Remains the Strongest State

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday said that the Israeli occupation forces are prepared for the challenges ahead of it and that “Israel” remains the “strongest state” in the region. “As the minister of defense charged with the safety of the state's citizens, I can tell you that the IDF - under the leadership of a former paratrooper, Chief of General-Staff Benny Gantz - is prepared and ready for the challenges facing us, today and tomorrow, from near and from far,” Barak said at a ceremony honoring fallen paratroopers. “We are in the eye of the storms, facing many challenges, some of the most difficult the security and political leadership has ever experienced.” He added that: “Israel is still a strong country and we must act to keep it that way in years to come.”

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Gilad Atzmon: The Jew-Only Panic Mobile Technology

Friday, October 7, 2011 at 6:46AM

Gilad Atzmon

Ladies and gentleman the 'CST Report' mobile application is ready to launch. The first 'Jew only' mobile application designed to comfort Jews, their anxiety and their very special security needs.

The London Jewish Chronicle reported today that the 'Community Security Trust' (CST) has launched a system to help members of the Jewish community, report 'anti-Semitic' incidents direct from their mobile phones.

CST Report is like an "app" for smart-phones. It can be used on any mobile, which has internet access. It is very much like "Angry Birds' yet it is designed to deter the angry Goyim.

It allows its Jewish users to register where and when an incident took place: the nature of it, a description of what happened and their details. Because CST Report is designed specifically for mobile use, it allows those who have witnessed an incident to upload a video or pictures from the phone direct to the CST command bunker in Golders Green. I think that this is a refreshing development. It would clearly disable the potential deniers of any future Shoa. With the CST Report at hand, Jews will be able to provide the CST control room with instantaneous reports from the crime scene.

However, I am puzzled by some of the technological aspects to do with this incredible invention. I am, for instance, a Jew by origin, yet I oscillate constantly between being an 'Ex-Jew' and a 'proud self hating Jew'. In those unique moments of self-loathing, as I am embarking onto some universal ethical realisations, should I hit the panic button and report myself to the CST cyber command? Also, being Jewish by origin, and being subject to constant orchestrated Jewish hate campaigns partially organised by the CST, am I entitled for support of the CST?

Apparently Sheikh Raed Salah was arrested here in the UK in June following a 'tip off'' that was originated at the CST. Considering Sheikh Salah being far more 'Semitic' than the vast majority of British Jewry, could he benefit from such an application installed on his iPhone?

Finally, a suggestion, I honestly think that CST Report is a bit of a cold and boring name for such an innovative technology. I honestly believe that iVey, would appeal to a much wider audience among the upbeat Jewish community.

You can now order Gilad Atzmon's New Book on

Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Is Lebanon Going to Be Theater for New US Tragedy? Part 2

By Nader Ezzeddine In Part one of this report, we uncovered how the U.S.A. was able to infiltrate our region to break it down under the pretext of 9/11, and how it exploited the assassination of PM Hariri and other Christian March 14 figures to press on and subdue Syria. We also discussed the secret war Beirut is experiencing today, which resembles the pre-1975 civil war period and the levels of the American and Western security operations in the region and the side that benefits from them. In the end of Part One, I went through "the Jasmine Revolution" that was plotted for Syria in 2005-2006, and how the American scheme changed after the legendary withstanding held up by Syria and the resistance axis. How Does the U.S. Get Rid of Its Allies? In the second part, we will touch on how the U.S. rids of its allies. Lately, it has been witnessed how Washington rid of the most important figure that used to provide the U.S. with the logistic and the political support in the Arab region, namely Hosni Mubarak whom the U.S. had brought to the presidency after the assassination of Anwar Sadat, the man who had offered historical services to the American project. However, once expired, he was replaced by Mubarak who had been installed Vice President six months before Sadat’s demise. Mubarak was being prepared to take over as Sadat was not going to retire. Ever since he became president until the day he was toppled, the US had used Hosni Mubarak and Egypt to protect the Zionist entity and to secure the continuity of its project in the region under an Arab cover up. In this context, Director of Al-Istishariyya (The Consultancy) for Strategic Studies Dr. Imad Rizk says that the CIA had nicknamed Mubarak "The Bag Man" because they knew he was a man who sought money and that his regime was corrupt and they exploited this weak point. These words are not mine but they are the words of two retired CIA officers namely Edwin Wilson and Thomas Clines who used to carry huge amounts of money to the ousted Egyptian president over a long period in return for carrying out their projects. It can be considered that most corrupt and dictatorial regimes in the Arab region have come to power as a result of mutual understandings with the U.S. and to serve its project. Those regimes have been dealing with the intelligence group that used to communicate with them and carry money and services for them. Nevertheless, once they become of no use, they get eliminated or replaced." According to Dr. Rizk, there are three levels to change an authority, "Either with the support of the opposition and by pressing the targeted individual to resign, the preparation for a military coup d'état similar to what has happened in more than one country, or by preparing and nurturing a revolution through the American intelligence agencies. Therefore, it is necessary to take heed unto what is going on nowadays in the region. For instance, after Gaddafi was toppled down, we heard how the Transitional Council members in Libya were accused of being affiliated with Al-Qaeda and how they were arrested by the CIA. Also, we heard how they were installed to control the transitional phase in Libya when it needed them. Besides, when Gaddafi escaped under cover, rumors that he had been working for the American and the British intelligence were spread around. These are mere intelligence gimmicks used by Western agencies to distort an image on the one hand and to realize their goals on the other hand." If we step back in this reading, we can tackle the two bids on former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s life at the hands of "Pakistan Taliban," and upon the failure of both attempts, Dr. Rizk continues, "We saw how the CIA encouraged Benazir Bhutto to return from the United Arab Emirates to Pakistan. They also prepared a triumphant reception for her and made of her the most powerful person in Pakistan. Simultaneously, they were preparing for Musharraf's physical assassination after destroying him morally. Later, the CIA used Pakistan Taliban to assassinate Bhutto when change occurred in Pakistan with the coming of someone who’s completely submissive to the American project. A little later, Pakistan-Taliban’s leader was chased down and killed as he was accused of having been communicating with the CIA." Dr. Rizk adds, "Getting rid of Pervez Musharraf resulted from his decline to comply with all the terms imposed on him, and thus his inability to execute all the wants of the Americans vis-à-vis Afghanistan or expanding toward India to drive back the Chinese influence from the region. Simultaneously, the U.S. shifted to India and tried to lure it into signing strategic counter-terrorism agreements; after that, the New Delhi bombings took place and the U.S. pressured India to provoke a confrontation with Pakistan and leaked news that the Pakistani intelligence was involved in the bombings for this purpose. Washington’s objective was to create confusion and discord between India and Pakistan so that to prevent them from establishing good relations or prevailing peace in the region." All this series which lasted for ten years was plotted and produced by the CIA in cooperation with the Mossad and other Western intelligence belonging to the NATO. This was to serve the economic Western projects and corporate groups through which they control the world. Not only are the vast majority of Arab rules characterized as being submissive dictators who firmly stick to power, Indonesian President Suharto is yet another example of the US involvement. He rules Indonesia for 33 years with US collusion and coordination. When Washington decided to abandon him, he was informed on the 20th of May, 1998 and 24 hours later, he handed over power to his deputy. This restrictively indicates the extreme influence of the American and the Western systems that they completely eliminate whoever does not comply with their desires. Till today, the U.S. gives no heed to the successors of its agents because it believes that that it can press and rearrange cards after the creative chaos it spreads through anarchy, coup d'état, or backing oppositions. A New Wave of Bombings … Is the CIA going to be the Next Target? It is crystal clear that the stage that Lebanon had witnessed between 1981 and 1987 in terms of targeting the resistance and successive bombing attempts, including the bid on late Ayatollah Sayyed Mohamad Hussein Fadlallah, which resulted in hundreds of casualties, were schemed and executed by US intelligence services, and surprisingly funded by Saudi Arabia. Many Arab countries are living the same phase today under the cover up of "revolutions" which are later distorted. Dr. Rizk says,"It is strange how the foreign intelligence could not learn the lessons they went through. Part of the aim of the U.S. embassy bombing in Beirut in 1983 was to assassinate the Director of the CIA in the Middle East, and consequently the CIA was dealt a severe blow at that time. In 2010, the CIA again suffered significant losses in Afghanistan when a double agent blew himself up killing seven of the most important intelligence experts in the region. What happened was one of the most immense losses in the history of the US intelligence." “The first loss was in Beirut in 1983, and the second was in khost in Afghanistan, I believe the third time the U.S. and the CIA are going to suffer even bigger losses in the ranks of its agents and experts, should they continue with their modus operandi. The US and its intelligence services know very well that, this time, they will not emerge victorious, but the peoples and the true and honest options will. Therefore, the U.S. has to review its policies in the region and understand that not all people can be dealt with as executors of its policies, but it must respect the choices of the nations, their goals, and their ambitions," Dr. Rizk adds. Therefore, proceeding with targeting Syria in light of the hopes Russia and China have set on President Bashar Assad in specific, and on the relation between Damascus, Tehran, and the Lebanese resistance in encountering the American project in the region will put the international forces on a collision course to fulfill their objectives. “If they fail to carry them out with the least losses, they will use the security technique." Bombings Begin in October Till the end of the month of Ramadan, the media style and the psychological warfare have been primary factors to accomplish the goals, but after the failure of this plot, Dr. Rizk assures that "the U.S. and its allies have shifted to executing assassinations because of their inability to accomplish their goals in the region. As a result, special groups affiliated with US, British, and French security apparatuses have been able to infiltrate into Lebanon and Syria, and will execute bombings and assassinations against leaders and military figures in Syria, and maybe this wave could spread to Beirut and Baghdad. We may witness security events by the beginning of October. I think the pressures practiced today and the failure of talks among several international powers is going to cause tension that is going to produce security engagement and secret wars that will be fatal for the American project in the region." The current situation in the region is not going to remain as it is. What we are talking about is much bigger than Lebanon; it is a gigantic international and regional confrontation. For when the U.S. speaks about deploying a missile shield system in Turkey, and then Russia firmly objects saying “this is prohibited”, we can rest assured that matters are heading towards confrontation because "the language of prohibition" in the international context has disastrous consequences. If Russia had entered the warm waters after 200 years of warring with the Ottoman Empire and then engaged in a cold war with the U.S., it is not going to give up its stature and its allies. In addition, Russia is not going to give up the main Silk Road towards China. These factors indicate that China and Russia are not going to give up supporting the axis of confrontation and resistance. Therefore, the possibility that the West and the CIA target this axis is likely, and the information confirms that preparations are underway for this wave to synchronize with the withdrawal from Iraq and the replacement of the military forces with secret security forces to carry out such operations. Therefore, "the war of secret intelligence services" is going to formally commence in October even though small experimental bombings had already begun a few weeks ago. The battlefield will be the Mediterranean from Lebanon across Syria to Iraq. The phase is going to be hard and extremely dangerous at the security level, however, the choice of the resistance will prevail as it enjoys popular support in the region. On the other hand, the creative chaos project will remain alien in this region and its peoples. Perseverance is going to be in favor of the resistance in this decisive war to finally put an end to deceit and marking time with the American project in the region so that the peoples would be left to choose their own future and their own relations among them. See also: Is Lebanon Going to Be Theater for New US Tragedy? Part 1

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Egypt, Senior US officials meet with Muslim Brotherhood

Sarah Sheffer | 6 October 2011 |

CAIRO: Senior US officials met with members of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, in what has been described as “the first meeting of its kind.” [IS IT??]

The closed-door meeting was held at the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) in Cairo.

Dr. Mohamed Saad Katatni, the Secretary General of the FJP, Prem G. Kumar, the Director of the Egypt Desk at the US National Security Organization, and Amy Destefano, the First Secretary of the US Embassy in Cairo were all in attendance.

US officials met with the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Freedom and Justice Party to discuss US-Egypt relations.

The officials discussed Egypt’s democratic transition and the future of Egypt-US relations.
Dr. Katatni spoke with the officials about US intervention in Egypt’s domestic affairs, the Arab-Israeli conflict and US support for Arab dictators.

“If America wants to build balanced relations with the countries of the region after the Arab Spring, it should re-read the new scenario in accordance to the will of the peoples of the region as this has become a critical factor in the political equation,” Dr. Katatni reportedly told the officials.

He emphasized that US-Egypt relations should be based on mutual respect and non-interference in domestic affairs.

Prem G. Kumar reported that the US administration “is seeking dialogue with all the political forces in Egypt, especially after the changes post-revolution.”

He said that he supports democratic change in Egypt and the Arab region. He went on to say that the US is eager to financially assist the countries of the Arab Spring as they recover economically.
The Muslim Brotherhood is one of the most well established political parties in Egypt since the revolution that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak last February.

They have significant grassroots capacity, and are expected to gain sizable wins in upcoming Parliamentary elections.

"Sister Hilary"
We welcome, therefore, dialogue
with those Muslim Brotherhood
members who wish to talk with us.”

"Sister Hilary with "Brother"
Ahmet Davutoglu 

Last week, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton interviewed with Egypt’s Al-Hayat TV. She was asked about whether the US would be willing to work with a Muslim Brotherhood led government.

“We will be willing to and open to working with a government that has representatives who are committed to non-violence, who are committed to human rights, who are committed to the democracy that I think was hoped for in Tahrir Square,” she said.

According to previous US foreign policy, US officials were only allowed to engage in dialogue with members of the Muslim Brotherhood who won seats in the now-dissolved Egyptian Parliament.
BM

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On Charges of “antisemitism” at Occupy Wall Street

Source

Friends and comrades who have been down to Wall Street to look at and participate in the protests have told me that it’s been amazing: varied, non-sectarian, organized, flexible, spontaneous, bold, innovative, eloquent. Labor unions and striking pilots have endorsed and supported the protests. The crackdown began early and has escalated, with hundreds arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge today and shipped off to the Tombs for a night or two of political internment. Has the spirit of Tahrir traveled across the Atlantic? Are these isolated spot-fires from Madison, soon Boston and Chicago, going to turn into a bloom of social revolt?

It'd be about time. The “objective conditions” have not been so conducive to social insurrection in the United States for decades: corporate after-tax profits have sextupled, from $250 billion to nearly $1.5 trillion, since 1990; a large chunk of that, 1 trillion dollars since 2001, the result of dizzyingly high prices for petroleum at the pump, in effect a regressive tax the petroleum companies have been laying on American working-class consumers. Our health-care system is by far the worst in the industrialized world, 16 million small children live in poverty, while the top one percent brings back nearly 20 percent of national income. The class war is right out in the open, papered over insistently by an endless war on terror against shadowy and nebulous Islamist foes, and with beleaguered Democratic voters glancing right at Satan – or Rick Perry – who might, heaven forfend, destroy Social Security (As opposed to the melanin-rich mannequin in the White House).

What I am disappointed to see is that some people claiming to be leftist supporters of Palestinian rights – but who are neither leftists nor supporters of Palestinian rights – are complaining about “antisemitism” at Occupy Wall Street. To be clear, there are internet wackos and real wackos everywhere. As Alex Cockburn recently pointed out, “These days a dwindling number of leftists learn their political economy from Marx. Into the theoretical and strategic void has crept a diffuse, peripatetic conspiracist view of the world that tends to locate ruling class devilry not in the crises of capital accumulation, or the falling rate of profit, or inter-imperial competition, but in locale (the Bohemian Grove, Bilderberg, Ditchley, Davos) or supposedly ‘rogue’ agencies,” to which one should add, Protocol-esque non-sense. That there is a fringe of this at Occupy Wall Street does not surprise me. That it’s more vocal online, in whose dark shadows provocateurs grow wildly, surprises me even less.

But then I see one Daniel Sieradski, whose primary purpose in life seems to be commoditizing his dissent, suggesting that a sign which reads, “End financial aid to Israel, end occupation of Gaza,” is going to scare off the “7 million” [sic] Jewish New Yorkers who support murdering Palestinian children. According to this line of thinking, if the Occupy Wall Street Protests are going to attract a broader base – like the mostly middle class or working class Arab communities in Bay Ridge, the Iraqi cab drivers, the Yemeni and Egyptian deli operators and the Moroccan kebab-stand proprietors of Manhattan and Brooklyn, the mostly poor or working Afghan, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi communities on Coney Island Avenue and Queens, all of whom hate the occupation, let alone the broader white, black, and Puerto Rican working classes whose tax dollars go, in yearly three billion dollar chunks, to Israeli Aircraft Industries in the holy land or straight to Raytheon and Boeing in America, in the process chopping up some Lebanese and Palestinian children into pieces – they have to drop issues like the occupation and military aid to Israel.

Explain to me how this works. An anti-capitalist anti-corporate movement for social justice should not also be antisemitic. That goes without saying. But apparently it should also, Sieradski seems to be demanding, accommodate Jews, not simply as Jews, on the basis of mutual respect for others, but as people whose identity is intimately bound up with occupying Gaza and ensuring that people shower in water filled with fecal residue. On its own terms this is ugly. Israeli war crimes are carried out with American tax dollars. Whose sensibilities are we offending by suggesting that a non-sectarian movement include those suffering in a different but related way from the same system? “Those other Jews”? Or Sieradski’s?

But it is worse. The upshot of suggesting that an anti-capitalist anti-corporate movement blot out mention of the Palestine case for fear of offending American Jewry is that the American elite will stuff more and more of the agenda of American imperialism into the sack of “support for Israel.” Want to devastate Iraqi society? It’s for Israel. Want to ensure a several billion dollar yearly subsidy for the American military-industrial complex? It’s to “defend Israel.” Want to wage a massive endless decades-long war against exotic, menacing, terrorism-prone scimitar-wielding Asiatics, to the enormous benefit of the militarized industries which compose the spinal column of American accumulation? It’s for Mother Israel. Want to ship off weapons to apartheid South Africa, evading congressional resolutions? Have Israel do it. Thus imperialism, shrouded in the blue-and-white flag, steals into the American left. Sieradski, following in a long line of apologists for Israeli mayhem, thinks that to defend the anti-sectarian nature of leftist mobilization necessitates making one exemption: Palestinians.

But it is the reverse: a protest that starts with sectarianism will founder on it. The quibbling about signs being "anti-Israel" has nothing to do with fighting the class war and nothing to do with fighting imperialism. It's about a problem within the American Jewish community. Some section of it feels the libidinal need to embrace a place where it has no intention of living or moving, which was built on stolen land, and which is keeping millions of people encaged for the crime of being born wrong. Is accommodating that mindset an agenda that the most exciting mobilization in almost a decade should even entertain?

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Gaddafi Urges Libyans to “Rise Up” against New Rulers

Local Editor

As the new interim government was braced for fierce battles in Sirte, deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi urged Libyans to take to streets “in their millions” and revolt against the new interim government. In a poor quality record broadcast on the Syrian-based television, Ar-rai, said the National Transitional Council (NTC) had no legitimacy because it was not nominated or appointed by the Libyan people. "Go peacefully... be courageous, rise up, go to the streets, raise our green flags to the skies”. "Don't be afraid of anyone. You are the people. You have right on your side. You are the rightful people of this land". "How did it (NTC) get its legitimacy? Did the Libyan people elect them? Did the Libyan people appoint them"? "To those who recognize this council, be ready for the creation of transitional councils imposed by the power of fleets [Western powers] to replace you one by one from now on", he added. It was not clear when the message was recorded, but Gaddafi warned leaders of the developing world they could face the same fate as him. The whereabouts of Gaddafi has been unknown. He delivered his last speech on Ar-Rai on September 20. FIERCE CLASHES Meanwhile, intense fighting took place in Sirte, where , forces loyal to Gaddafi have launched a bid to break a siege by NTC fighters who have been backed by NATO warplanes. The fighting on the northeastern frontline of Sirte began when the toppled leader's loyalists advanced several hundred meters on Thursday morning under the cover of darkness, fighters from the NTC said. "There was a lot of movement during the night; their snipers advanced here and there," an NTC fighter told the AFP news agency. Sirte, 400km southeast of Tripoli, is the home town of Gaddafi and the most important of cities that are still holding out against Libya's new rulers, and its defenders have put up a fierce resistance, with the two sides trading artillery, tank and mortar shelling. NATO DEADLIER THAN GADDAFI FORCES On the other hand, fleeing residents from the city, said NATO raids were more dangerous than Gaddafi loyalists. "Why is NATO bombing us?" asked Faraj Mussa, whose blue minivan was carrying his family of eight members jammed in beside mattresses and suitcases as they fled the city this week. "We were afraid to come out because they (Gaddafi loyalists) told us that the NTC (National Transitional Council) would cut our throats. But we couldn't stay because of the bombing -- we had to take the risk," he said.

Source: Agencies

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Jewish settlers uproot hundreds of Palestinian olive trees, Hundreds of settlers storm Nabi Yusuf shrine

Jewish settlers uproot hundreds of Palestinian olive trees

[ 06/10/2011 - 09:12 AM ]

NABLUS, (PIC)-- Jewish settlers cut off more than 200 olive trees south of Qusra village south of Nablus city after midnight Wednesday, local sources reported on Thursday.

Ghassan Abu Daghlas, in-charge of settlement activity north of the West Bank, said that the cultivated land lots are owned by five citizens, noting that the attack took place as the farmers were getting ready for harvesting olives.

In another settler assault on Wednesday, a setter riding a speeding car south of Nablus threw unknown sharp objects at Palestinian high school children, wounding the first in his neck and foot while the second was injured in his back.

Both schoolchildren were hospitalized after the attack.

Hundreds of settlers storm Nabi Yusuf shrine

[ 06/10/2011 - 08:28 AM ]

NABLUS, (PIC)-- Hundreds of Jewish settlers stormed the Nabi Yusuf shrine east of Nablus city at dawn Thursday under Israeli army protection.

Eyewitnesses said that PA security forces withdrew from the area shortly before arrival of the heavily escorted settlers who offered religious rituals.

They noted that the Israeli occupation forces entered the shrine area amidst intensive firing to pave the way for the arrival of the settlers.

The witnesses said that the IOF soldiers threw gas canisters and sonic bombs at the citizens, who protested the visit, and some of those fell inside Palestinian homes, adding that tens of the civilians were treated for breathing difficulty.

Settlers routinely storm the shrine which was an Islamic mosque then turned into a shrine by the Israeli occupation after the 1967 war.

• Palestinian injured in surge in vehicular attacks by settlers
• Jewish settler runs over two nurse students in Huwara

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