The Norway Manifesto: A New Bin Laden Is Born

“The Norway massacre: Is it a coincidence, is it another 9/11 or is it something that has been brewing for years now and nobody took notice of or saw it coming?”

“The termination of Bin Laden was not the end of this madness; rather it was only the beginning.”

Dr. Ashraf Ezzat

Is it a coincidence that the Norway attacks came after almost ten years have passed since the similarly horrific attacks on the towers of the world trade center in new York back in 2001 or what has been known in contemporary history as the 9/11 attacks.

As the world was getting prepared to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the New York attacks and as the world was recovering from the 9/11 trauma and about to leave its heavy and gloomy memories behind and never look back again we wake up to this painfully reminder of 9/11.
Is it a coincidence, is it another 9/11 or is it something that has been brewing for years now and nobody took notice of or saw it coming?

9/11 attacks in New York, 2001

Remembering 9/11

I still remember the whole world shocked and grieved by the size and the magnitude of destruction and the killing of the 3000 innocent New Yorkers but as the towers were crumbling down like a house of cards a gigantic question mark instantly stood in its place amongst the falling debris and descending ashes begging an answer as to why and who did this atrocious mass murder and destruction.
A great part of the relief from grief and pain is to know the reason that threw you in the depth of tribulation and to discover who caused you this agonizing misery. The moment you reveal the mystery behind the abhorrent crime is the moment your tears start to flow down from their springs washing away some of the pain and the bitterness left inside.

This moment of transient relief and solace was endowed upon the grieving people of the United States when the hardly vigilant administration of former president Bush delivered the Americans and the whole world out of their misery and bewilderment and hastily announced that the 9/11 atrocities had been planned and carried out by a bunch of Muslim fanatics, not more than 20 perpetrators, who had been active members in an international terrorist organization that acted around the globe under the leadership of Osama Bin Laden, some cave dweller in Afghanistan, who used to be a CIA operative during the soviet war there and who only excelled in growing a beard and videotaping ranting speeches.

“You’re either with us or against us”

9/11 was an unprecedented terrorist operation, sophisticated like we have never seen before in modern times and a lot of honest and truth seeking experts of military, architecture, politics, engineering, firefighting, aviation and chemistry attested to the fact, and some of them even proved, that 9/11 attacks were carried out by some covert agencies backed up by on ground assistance.

YouTube - Veterans Today -9/11: Explosive Evidence - Experts Speak Out, Trailer
In short, the experts and the intellectuals envisioned 9/11 as a false flag operation, one of the biggest ever till now, that meant to launch a worldwide anti- Muslim aggressive campaign that would only benefit the country that has been in conflict with the Arab and Muslim world for sixty years now and who knows for how many more years to come.

But the common people who don’t like sophisticated answers and brainstorming theories and who are used to the fast/junk food culture settled for the delivered to their doorsteps readymade- answer sent directly from the white house kitchen with the compliments of the Zionist chef and his neoconservative staff.

And that answer was eloquently summed up by the reckless former president bush, when he stated the rules of the America & allies’ new game with the axis of evil and announced with a smirky face and a sarcastic tone of voice “you’re either with us, or against us” … thus giving the launching signal not only for his stupid war of terror but for an upcoming era of worldwide tide of fundamentalism.

The moment people around the world especially in the United States and Europe bought into this story, as they sat glued to their TV screens like hypnotized couch potatoes, is the moment this whole madness and islamophobia started.

Former President Bush

The moment the people believed this cover-up and wicked to the bone story is the moment that gave the carte blanche for ten years of absolute political absurdity and military criminality … but most dangerously to the sprouting of religious fundamentalism and ideological terrorism.
The United States cluelessly pointed the finger at Bin Laden and his extremist interpretation of Islam nailing him for 9/11 but nevertheless let him on the loose for like ten years during which all the unbelievable political and military transgressions were committed.

Ten years of extreme right wing and Murdoch style mainstream media craze that kept hitting the target of tarnishing the Islam image irreparably amongst westerners- clearly exposing that this was the real tactical goal of the war on terrorism.

Ten years of meaningless military operations in Muslim countries that never posed a threat to the United States but what does it matter and why should anyone care as long as they were on the Israeli hit list.

Ten years during which the western public opinion has been fed with a constant and highly selective stories and headlines of Muslim suicide bombers, Bin laden fake videos and audiotapes, Muslim women wearing burqa in Afghanistan and banned from driving cars in Saudi Arabia, Ground Zero mosque hysteria, Iran nuclear overestimated threat, churches attacked in Egypt, Niqab banned in France and minarets in Switzerland, Hamas firing rockets at Israeli towns and school buses, Quran burned in America, al Qaeda affiliates in Iraq and the Arab peninsula, enforcement of sharia law and the eminent danger of the jihadists on the west, the perilous rise of political Islam in the Arab world and finally the official announcement of the failure of multiculturalism in Europe.

The Great Israel landgrab.

Where can we go from there?

When the forces of globalization have swept across the world, when the giant corporations have controlled the media and intoxicated the socio-political environment with right wing extremism and flooded the world with firearms and violent video games that turned our young generations into addicts of adrenaline boosting scenes of cold blooded murder with automatic gun machines… where can we go from there?

When the politicians of the so called free world community stand impotent and helpless in front of the might of the Israeli piecemeal ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians and let this festering wound to grow bigger and smell fouler as it divides the world into two antagonistic and hopelessly incompatible camps … where can we go from there?

When we sharpen the human appetite for blood and revenge with all these false flag operations and Zionist-infiltrated media, when we drag the supposed to be civilized world into some eternal war that knew no frontiers and no tangible objectives in the name of fighting terror, and when those politicians who started this global war foolishly define it as a new crusade … where can we go from there.

Bin Laden, when the story ends?

When we instill interfaith hatred, infuse an ambiance of vulnerability and build antagonistic egos in the size of cathedrals and mosques … where we can go from there.
When we ingrain those horrifying sketches of an enemy hiding explosives in his most intimate parts of his body, willing to blow himself up provided that he would not leave the world unless accompanied by a few westerners … and when we remove the faces of all Muslims and put Bin Laden’s instead … where can we go from there?

A new bin laden is born

And When it was finally time to terminate the world’s most wanted man, it only took the white house a small unit of special forces, and not the whole US led international troops, to raid on his hideout in Pakistan and give him the surprise of hislife time while he was feeding his chickens and watching the news of the American war on the terrorism in which he played no bigger role than the moron whom he and his so called mujahedeen had been played like puppets from afar by some remote control.

Anders Behring Breivik

… And when the game was over, all it took was a small click on a button, a dignified- mafia style burial in the bottom of the sea … but as the CIA was doing its cleanup job after they dumped the Bin Laden they made, little did they know what future held for them. They had no idea as they were licking their fingers clean that somehow, somewhere; a new Bin Laden was born.

The termination of Bin Laden was not the end of this madness; rather it was only the beginning.
When the so called world community embarks on a war against some staged terrorism, when this world community is tricked into unjustified world conflict we are bound to end up with a precarious situation where we will wake up one day not only morally and economically bankrupt but with a genuinely horrific terrorist attack in one of the world’s quietest and most peaceful backyards.

Norwegians in mourning

But this time it was not some cave dweller Muslim militant who suspiciously carried it out but the monstrous anti-hero this whole farcical war on terror has cruelly created.

It’s going to take the Norwegians a long time to figure out why this massacre took place on their land that annually tossed out to the world one of its Nobel peace prizes … but the long search will undoubtedly and eventually take them back to 9/11 mystery and the pathetic war on terrorism they foolishly took part in.

I think we can declare the war on terrorism has finally come to its fruition, now that the west is officially at war with Islam.
The Neocons& Zionist club has every right to rejoice, the world is being driven blindfolded into the dark abyss of intolerance and fundamentalism.

…. And as the mass murderer, Anders Behring Breivik has brazenly described his massacre “it is atrocious, but necessary”

… Where can we go from there … ?

For more articles by Dr. Ashraf Ezzat visit his website.

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Neo-Cons and Muslim Haters

Geert Wilders, David Horowitz, Robert Spencer, & Pam Geller

David Horowitz, Daniel Pipes, Robert Spencer, and Pamela Geller, all of whom have been leaders in the indictment of Islam.

by Phil Giraldi

They are the alligators in the swamp that they have created and are now frantically engaged in distancing themselves from their words and deeds. But sometimes the truth will out.

There has been considerable commentary over the possibility that the terrorism in Norway will trigger a reaction against “conservative” websites and will stifle legitimate debate over immigration and asylum policies. But the websites in question are not conservative at all but rather neoconservative, and the only immigration they oppose is immigration by Muslims.

Some leading neoconservatives cited by Anders Behring Breivik in his rambling commentary are David Horowitz, Daniel Pipes, Robert Spencer, and Pamela Geller, all of whom have been leaders in the indictment of Islam and each of whom is, not coincidentally, a vocal advocate of Israel and its policies. They are the alligators in the swamp that they have created and are now frantically engaged in distancing themselves from their words and deeds. But sometimes the truth will out.
Did Geller alert the Norwegian authorities? No, but she did make sure the Norwegian message was read by her thousands of supporters. Geller has removed the posting from her website but it can still be found through Google.

“I am running an email I received from an Atlas reader in Norway. It is devastating in its matter-of-factness:
‘Well, yes, the situation is worsening. Stepping up from 29,000 immigrants every year, in 2007 we will be getting a total of 35,000 immigrants from Somalia, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. The nation’s capital is already 50% Muslim, and they ALL go there after entering Norway. Adding the 1.2 births per woman per year from Muslim women, there will be 300,000+ Muslims out of the then 480,000 inhabitants of that city.
Orders from Libya and Iran say that Oslo will be known as Medina at the latest in 2010, although I consider this a PR-stunt nevertheless it is their plan.
From Israel the hordes clawing at the walls of Jerusalem proclaim cheerfully that next year there will be no more Israel, and I know Israel shrugs this off as do I, and will mount a strike during the summer against all of its enemies in the Middle East. This will make the Muslims worldwide go into a frenzy, attacking everyone around them.
Before, I thought about emigrating to Britain, Israel, USA, South Africa, etc. for taxes and politics, but instead (although I believe we are the very last generation on earth before the return of God) I will stay and fight for the right to this country and indeed the entire peninsula, for the God-fearing people, just in case this isn’t the end of the world after all. Doesn’t hurt to have a backup plan.
It’s far from impossible to achieve, after all my people has done it every time before, in feats that match the ancient Greek, Hebrew and British “legends”.
Oslo and the southeast may fall easily, but there are other lines than “state”-borders drawn across this country since long before there was even a single Muslim in the world, and we have held them this long, against everyone else too. We are entering a new golden age for my people, and those of a handful other countries, but only through struggle.

Hans Rustad

Breivik was reportedly also a regular poster on a similar blog run by Hans Rustad, a former left-wing, Jewish journalist who, like Geller, is extremely pro-Israel and, coincidentally, warns against ‘Islam-isation.’
As John Sugg, Max Blumenthal and others have exposed, pro-Israel neocons such as Geller are closely related to the growing hostility toward Muslims. We hope, but doubt, that the recent tragedy in Norway will cause them to re-think their actions, not simply try to hide them.
We also hope that others will not be taken in by their despicable manipulation.
Source: CNI

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Philip Giraldi, Executive Director of CNI, is a former CIA counter-terrorism specialist and military intelligence officer who served 18 years in Turkey, Italy, Germany, and Spain. He was Chief of Base in Barcelona from 1989 to 1992, and designated as the Agency’s senior officer for Olympic Games support. Dr. Giraldi holds an MA and PhD from the University of London. He speaks Spanish, Italian, German, and Turkish.
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Bloomberg: ‘Shalom to Muslims on Ramadan’

Posted on July 29, 2011 by rehmat1|

The Jewish billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg rocked the Zionist boat on Wednesday. While addressing a gathering of Muslim and community leaders at Ramadan conference at Police Headquarters at Manhattan – Bloomberg greeted the audience with ‘Shalom alaikum’ instead of traditional Muslim greeting ‘Salaam aliakum‘ in Arabic, meaning ‘Peace upon you’.

The annual Islamic month of fasting (Ramadan) starts coming Monday. During this month, the great majority of 1.7 billion Muslims around the world will abstain from consuming food and having sexual relationship – from dawn to dust while performing additional prayers and giving more charity.
Omar Abunamous, the prayer leader at Islamic Cultural Center of New York, tried to cover up Mayor’s verbal jujitsu, by saying: “Well, it’s common to both religions. They are the same thing. The same idea.”
Now, had Omar listened to Israel-born Gilad Atzmon what Zionist Jews really mean when they greet Goyim with ‘Shalom aleichem’ in Hebrew – he would not have said what was reported.

In May 2011 – Gilad Atzmon told his audience at London panel on Jewishness and Israeli Criminality:
“Like the Muslims, we have ‘Salaam‘ as a greeting, the Jews greet each other with Shalom – also a greeting of peace. However, Shalom doesn’t mean peace though. It means security. For Jews. That peace, (it means) peace for them only”.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg (born 1942) is 13th richest person in the US. He has been Mayor of City of New York since 2001.

The last time Mayor Bloomberg kicked Israel Lobby’s bucket – was when he threw his support behind Cordoba House (not a mosque) near the so-called ‘Ground Zero’.

“If somebody wants to build a religious house of worship, they should do it and we shouldn’t be in the business of picking which religions can and which religions can’t. I think it’s fair to say if somebody was going to try to on that piece of property build a church or a synagogue, nobody would be yelling and screaming. And the fact of the matter is that Muslims have a right to do it too. What is great about America and particularly New York is we welcome everybody and I just- you know, if we are so afraid of something like this, what does it say about us? Democracy is stronger than this. You know, the ability to practice your religion is the- was one of the real reasons America was founded. And for us to say no is just, I think, not appropriate is a nice way to phrase it”.

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Daily NATO War Crimes in Libya

by Stephen Lendman

Among them is waging war on truth, Western managed news calling lawless imperial wars liberating ones. No wonder John Pilger says journalism is the first casualty of war, adding:
“Not only that: it has become a weapon of war, a virulent censorship (and deception) that goes unrecognised in the United States, Britain and other democracies; censorship by omission, whose power is such that, in war, it can mean the difference between life and death for people in faraway countries….”

In their book, “Guardians of Power,” David Edwards and David Cromwell explained why today’s media are in crisis and a free and open society at risk. It’s because press prostitutes substitute fiction for fact. News is carefully filtered, dissent marginalized, and supporting wealth and power substitutes for full and accurate reporting.

It’s a cancer, corrupting everything from corporate-run print and broadcast sources, as well as operations like BBC and what passes for America’s hopelessly compromised public radio and TV. They put out daily managed and junk food news plus infotainment, treating consumers like mushrooms – well-watered and in the dark.

During wars, in fact, they cheerlead them, reporting agitprop and misinformation no respectable journalist would touch.
On the Progressive Radio News Hour, Middle East/Central Asia analyst Mahdi Nazemroaya, in Tripoli, said some journalists also perform fifth column duties, collecting intelligence and locating targets to supply NATO bombing coordinates, notably civilian targets called military ones.
In a July 28 email, he said tell listeners that “NATO is trying to negotiate with the government in Tripoli.” More on that below. He added that they’re also “planning a new stage of the war against the Libyan people through (predatory) NGOs and fake humanitarian missions.” A likely UN Blue Helmet occupying force also, paramilitaries masquerading as peacekeepers Gaddafi controlled areas won’t tolerate.

NATO, in fact, calls civilian targets legitimate ones, including one or more hospitals, a clinic, factories, warehouses, agricultural sites, schools, a university, one or more mosques, non-military related infrastructure, a food storage facility, and others.

Notably on July 23, a Brega water pipe factory was struck, killing six guards. It produces pipes for Libya’s Great Man-Made River system (GMMR), an ocean-sized aquifer beneath its sands, making the desert bloom for productive agriculture, and supplying water to Libya’s people.

The previous day, a water supply pipeline was destroyed. It will take months to restore. The factory produced vital pipes to do it, a clear war crime like daily others. Moreover, the entire GMMR is threatened by a shortage of spare parts and chemicals. As a result, it’s struggling to keep reservoirs at a level able to provide a sustainable supply. Without it, a humanitarian disaster looms, very likely what NATO plans as in past wars.

On July 27, AFP said that:
“NATO warned that its warplanes will bomb civilian facilities if (Gaddafi’s) forces use them to launch attacks.” At the same time, a spokesman said great care is taken to minimize civilian casualties.
NATO lied. Daily, it’s attacking non-military related sites to destroy Libya’s ability to function in areas loyal to Gaddafi. Earlier, in fact, a spokesman claimed there was “no evidence” civilian targets were hit or noncombatants killed, except one time a major incident was too obvious to hide. Reluctantly it admitted a “mistake,” covering up a willful planned attack, knowing civilians were affected.
Libya (satellite) TV calls itself “a voice for free Libya….struggling to liberate Libya from the grip of the Gaddafi regime….” In fact, it’s a pro-NATO propaganda service, reporting misinformation on air and online.

On July 25, it headlined, “No evidence to support Gaddafi’s allegations that civilian targets were hit,” when, it fact, they’re struck daily.
Nonetheless, it claimed only military sites are bombed, saying Tripoli-based journalists aren’t taken to affected areas, “suggesting NATO’s gunners are hitting military targets, at least in the capital.”
In fact, corporate and independent journalists are regularly taken to many sites struck. Independent accounts confirm civilian casualties and non-military facilities bombed. Pro-NATO scoundrels report managed news, complicit in daily war crimes.

On July 28, Libya TV claimed “captured Gaddafi soldiers say army morale is low,” when, in fact, most Libyans support Gaddafi. Millions are armed. Gaddafi gave them weapons. They could easily oust him if they wish. Instead, they rally supportively, what Western media and Libya TV won’t report.
Moreover, captured soldiers say what they’re told, likely threatened with death or torture if they refuse, especially in rebel paramilitary hands, under NATO orders to terrorize areas they control.
As a result, civilian casualties mount, up to 1,200 or more killed and thousands wounded in pro-Gaddafi areas, many seriously as war rages. In addition, unknown numbers of combatant casualties on both sides aren’t known, nor is the civilian toll in rebel held areas.

Nonetheless, daily sorties and strikes continue. Since mid-July alone through July 27, they include:

• July 14: 132 sorties and 48 strikes
• July 15: 115 sorties and 46 strikes
• July 16: 110 sorties and 45 strikes
• July 17: 122 sorties and 46 strikes
• July 18: 129 sorties and 44 strikes
• July 19: 113 sorties and 40 strikes
• July 20: 122 sorties and 53 strikes
• July 21: 124 sorties and 45 strikes
• July 22: 128 sorties and 46 strikes
• July 23: 125 sorties and 56 strikes
• July 24: 163 sorties and 43 strikes
• July 25: 111 sorties and 54 strikes
• July 26: 134 sorties and 46 strikes
• July 27: 133 sorties and 54 strikes

Daily patterns are consistent. However, information on numbers and types of bombs, as well as other munitions aren’t given. Instead, misinformation claims a humanitarian mission protects civilians – by terrorizing, killing, and injuring them, solely for imperial aims. It’s why all US-led wars are fought, never for liberating reasons.

The entire campaign is based on lies. It’s standard war time procedure, to enlist popular support for campaigns people otherwise would reject.

In fact, no humanitarian crisis existed until NATO arrived. Moreover, in paramilitary controlled areas, Amnesty International confirmed only 110 pro and anti-Gaddafi supporter deaths combined, most likely more of the former than latter as rebel cutthroats rampaged through areas they occupy. Currently, the numbers of dead and injured civilians are many times that amount, largely from NATO attacks.
NATO, in fact, is code language for the Pentagon, paying the largest share of its operating and military budgets. Except for Germany and Britain, other members pay small shares, most, in fact, miniscule amounts.

Since NATO began bombing on March 19, daily attacks inflicted lawless collective punishment against millions in Gaddafi supported areas. Affected is their ability to obtain food, medicines, fuel and other basic supplies, exposing another lie about humanitarian intervention.
On July 25, OCHA’s fact-finding team said Tripoli contained “pockets of vulnerability where people need urgent humanitarian assistance.” Medical supplies are running low. The last major delivery was in January, and concerns are increasing about the “unsustainable food supply chain for the public distribution systems, especially as Ramadan approaches (on or around August 1 to about August 29) and the conflict persists.”

Moreover, “Libyan oil experts warned that fuel stocks could run out in two weeks.” Public transportation costs have tripled. Food prices have also soared. Tripoli residents experience electricity cuts, and clean water supplies are endangered.
Before conflict erupted, Libyans had the region’s highest standard of living and highest life expectancy in Africa because Gaddafi’s oil wealth provided healthcare, education, housing assistance and other social benefits. Imperial war, of course, changed things. Libyans now hang on to survive.
Seeking an End Game

On July 26, UPI headlined, “NATO seeks urgent exit strategy in Libya,” knowing this phase of the war is lost. Nonetheless, future strategies and campaigns will follow.
For now, however, “NATO is seeking an urgent exit strategy (to end) fighting and decide the future of (Gaddifi), even if that means letting him stay in the country though out of power, it emerged Tuesday after British and French foreign ministers met in London.”

In tribal Libya, Gaddafi’s power, in fact, is far less than reported, social anthropologist Ranier Fsadni saying:
“Gaddafi’s feeling for tribal Libya is certainly one factor that explains how he has managed to rule the country for so many years. (However), (t)here is no tribal office giving a single man a monopoly of institutional power at the apex….Several factors account for his longevity in power,” including sharing Libya’s oil wealth.
UPI said diplomacy is driven by a failed military campaign. As a result, “(i)ntense mediation efforts are underway at different levels at the United Nations and Europe, in African, European and Middle Eastern capitals and Russia.”
Neither side is commenting, but some observers think operations may wind down in weeks, based on an unannounced face-saving solution, despite continued destabilization and future conflict planned. It’s similar to Balkan and Iraq war strategies, a combination of tactics until Washington prevailed.
Libya faces the same end game, though years could pass before it arrives. As a result, Libyans can expect continued hardships. When imperial America shows up, that strategy persists until it prevails, no matter the pain and suffering inflicted.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening. He is also the author of “How Wall Street Fleeces America“

The Progressive News Hour

Today’s guest is Paul Craig Roberts
Roberts was former Assistant Treasury Secretary under Ronald Reagan, a Wall Street Journal Associate Editor, and holder of numerous academic appointments, including at Georgetown University’s Center for Strategic and International Studies.
He now prominently criticizes destructive, repressive state policies, harming people everywhere.
Major world and national issues will be discussed.

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IOF soldiers arrest Jordanian Lifeline activist

[ 30/07/2011 - 02:59 PM ] 

AMMAN, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested a Jordanian activist while crossing into the West Bank from Jordan to visit relatives in Al-Khalil province two week ago, his family said.

They told the PIC reporter in Amman on Saturday that Hamza Al-Dabbas, 29, who is carrying a Jordanian passport, was detained on 10/7/2011 by the Israeli intelligence.

The relatives said that ever since then they did not have any information about Dabbas, who is a member of the Jordanian Lifeline convoy that sends humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip and who works with the Jordanian engineers syndicate.

They said that none of his relatives was informed of his whereabouts, adding that the Jordanian government did nothing so far.

• Two minors arrested amid clashes in Silwan
• Palestinian farmer wounded in IOF shooting
• Int’l campaign calls for end to world silence over Israeli detention of MPs 
• Disguised Israeli security men arrest 6 Palestinians in Silwan
• Dozens injured, arrested in IOF crackdowns on West Bank protests
• Jewish settlers desecrate graveyard 
• Bahar condemns IOF abduction of MP
• IOF arrest lawmaker Khaled Abu Tous, Hamas leader Mustafa Abu Arra

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"We are looking for the most effective way to tell Assad he must go!"

FLC

MEPGS; Excerpts;

A consensus has emerged within the Administration that the current regime in Syria not only has no future but that it is only a matter of time before the President declares that President Bashar al-Assad must go. As one top Administration official put it this week, “We are looking for the most effective way and point to say he has to leave.” Even three weeks ago, there were some US officials who argued that the Assad regime could work its way through the current situation. But no longer. They now see the uprising spreading and deepening and that every maneuver by the authorities has come up short....
Hama was the site of the controversial visit by US Ambassador Robert Ford... Ford’s visit, according to informed sources, was not coordinated at the top levels of the White House or the State Department. The Ambassador, a low key, fluent Arab speaker, took it upon himself (with some lower level coordination among colleagues in Washington/ read:JF) to make a gesture, knowing it would infuriate the Syrian regime...

STATE: 'Odious demeanor!'
However, with this dramatic gesture, the Administration, at least for the time being, has run out of new pressure points to apply to the Syrian government. There is no appetite to expel Syria’s Ambassador to the US, Imad Mustapha, despite his embassy’s involvement in spying on Syrian protestors in the US (as well as his odious demeanor). Such a move, would likely provoke the expulsion of Ford, who only got his post via a “recess appointment” – the result of some key Republican Senators’ objection to “rewarding” Syria by sending back a US Ambassador after years of being represented at a lower level. “We still are having difficulty convincing some Senators of the obvious value of top level representation,” complained one exasperated State Department official, aware of lingering doubts in the Congress over the wisdom of dealing at all with a noxious regime like the one in Syria. Another route that has been explored to exert pressure on Syria is through importers refusing to purchase its limited oil exports. “There just aren’t enough takers,” says one Administration insider.
Although there is little doubt that Assad’s days are numbered, there seems to be little planning within the Administration about what to do after he goes. There is no doubt among veteran analysts that there will be competition for influence among Syria’s neighbors as well as other interested parties, such as the US and Saudi Arabia []..."

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Madsen Cites Mossad in Norway Terror

After Oslo: Time to Crack Down On Mossad Terrorism

by Wayne Madsen

State-sponsored terrorism is defined by Encyclopedia Britannica as the “systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective [and] is employed by governments — or more often by factions within governments — against that government’s citizens, against factions within the government, or against foreign governments or groups.”

On July 22, a bomb, said to be an Oklahoma City-type explosive device, crafted with fertilizer and diesel fuel, blew up in downtown Oslo, Norway, in the heart of the government district. Shortly thereafter, a man dressed in a Norwegian police uniform opened fire on a Labor Party youth camp on the island of Utoya in Tyri fjord. Access to the island was by boat only. Over 100 people were killed in the twin terror attacks.

Almost immediately, the world’s corporate media began pushing the story that those who were responsible for the blast and mass shooting were associated with “Al Qaeda” and other radical Islamist groups. CNN’s Washington, DC chief anchor Wolf Blitzer, a former spokesman for the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobby and a correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, began his late afternoon program by pointing to “Al Qaeda” and radical Islamists as the chief culprits for the terrorist attacks in Norway.

CNN paraded out a number “experts,” in actuality, propagandists for the Israeli agenda linked to neo-conservative outlets and the Pentagon’s “terrorism industrial complex,” before the cameras to advance the radical Islamist meme even as Norwegian authorities pinned blame on the attack on at least one perpetrator, a Norwegian named Anders Behring Breivik. CNN constantly showed footage of frightened people in downtown Oslo running for their lives from the site of the blast, as well as still photograph of a pall of light-brown smoke over downtown Oslo. Of course, CNN’s intention was to evoke memories of the 9/11 attack in Manhattan.

Breivik, who sometimes anglicized his name as Andrew Berwick in his numerous web postings, was said to be a right-wing Islamophobe who sympathized with Zionism and who was a Freemason… Breivik was also reported to be a fundamentalist Christian but he adopted a stance against the Lutheran Church, the state church of Norway, and argued for a “collective” counter-reformation to return the Protestant churches to the control of the Vatican and the Pope. Breivik lambasted the Lutheran Church and other mainstream Protestant churches, condemning “Priests in jeans who march for Palestine.”
More incredibly, the London tabloid of Rupert Murdoch’s scandal-plagued News International, The Sun, went to press with the following false headline: “Norway’s 911: ‘Al Qaeda’ Massacre.” On March 29, 2011, Harvard Law School’s extremist Zionist Professor Alan Dershowitz penned a piece in the Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal, a newspaper that actively discriminates against the hiring of non-Jews as reporters and editors in violation of U.S. civil rights and equal opportunity employment laws, in which he called Norway anti-Semitic. Dershowitz cited as an example former Norwegian Prime Minister Kare Willock’s criticism of President Barack Obama’s choice of Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff because he is Jewish. In fact, Emanuel’s pro- Israeli sympathies as a former member of the Israel Defense Force are what prompted many political observers in Washington and elsewhere to question his primary loyalty to the United States.

A network of Israeli bloggers pushed a claim of responsibility on a previously-unknown group called Ansar al-Jihad al-Alami (the Helpers of the Global Jihad). The group’s claims were picked up and run by several corporate media outlets and then pulled when it was discovered the claim was a hoax. Mossad has a program to distribute bogus claims of responsibility for Islamist terrorist attacks via “Jihadist” websites that are actually operated by the Mossad and a network of “hasbaratchiks,” Israeli and foreign Jews who act as propagandists on the web. These hasbara (propaganda) agents and volunteers operate through such programs as Megaphone and GIYUS (“Give Israel Your United Support.”) After the attempt to blame the Norway attacks on Islamists failed, the “hasbaratchiks” shifted to “sock puppet” troll mode, posting comments on blogs that criticized allegations that Mossad and Zionists were behind the Norway attacks, emphasizing that such beliefs were “anti-Semitic” and wild “conspiracy theories.” Some Israeli “sock puppets” even offered lunatic suggestions that Breivik was planted by Islamists to make Israel and Zionists look bad.

When the “Islamist” connection to the holocaust in Norway was shown to be non-existent after Norwegian security and police agencies began looking at the evidence, the corporate media switched its propaganda line from “radical Islam” being responsible to “far –right extremism” opposed to multiculturalism and immigration in Europe as the culprit. Even outlets that in the past had been known for their independence from the corporate media line, including Al Jazeera and RT [formerly known as Russia Today], echoed the line that Breivik primarily represented right-wing opposition to Muslim immigrants in Europe. Al Jazeera repeated the line that Breivik was a “lone madman,” the insinuation being that he was not linked to any wider network. While Breivik certainly was associated with the far-right xenophobic elements in Norway, Europe, and North America, there was no mention by the corporate media of his admiration for such American Zionist Islamophobes as Richard Pipes and Pam Geller. Geller led the bigoted anti-Muslim campaign against an Islamic Center near the site of “Ground Zero,” the former World Trade Center site, in lower Manhattan. Breivik posted a number of his anti-Muslim and pro-Zionist screeds on the Norwegian website www.document.no, which is operated by Hans-Kristian Rustad, a Norwegian pro-Israeli journalist.

No corporate media outlets reported that the brand of far-right extremism of Breivik is closely associated with Zionist-supported far-right anti-immigrant political parties and movements in Western Europe, including the mis-named Progress Party of Norway, the Dutch Freedom Party of Islamophobe Geert Wilders, the Sweden Democrats, Finland’s True Finns Party, the Danish People’s Party, the English Defense League, the Pro-Germany Citizen’s Movement, and a pan-Nordic fascist terrorist group called “Nordiske.” Breivik also expressed support for the Tea Party in the United States…

The European anti-Muslim xenophobic network is linked to the notorious publication of Prophet Muhammad cartoons by the neo-conservative Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and Norway’s Dagbladet. The Euro-xenophobes are supported by the longtime Zionist Bernard-Henri Levy, the French philosopher who is a friend of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and disgraced former International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn. It is noteworthy that Levy is one of the major backers of the Libyan rebels fighting Muammar Qaddafi. Norway announced it was pulling its aircraft from the NATO campaign in Libya at the end of July. Norway also announced its support for Palestine’s sovereignty resolution in the UN General Assembly in September.

As more and more evidence pointed to Oslo being yet another example of a state-sponsored terrorist attack by Israel’s Mossad, the corporate media studiously avoided mentioning how the Norwegian government through its recent actions, had become a major problem for Israel and its allies abroad, especially on the Palestine sovereignty issue… In addition, Norwegian police and intelligence are painfully aware of Mossad’s past operations in Norway, including the infamous Lillehammer Affair in 1973. On July 21, 1973, Mossad agents assassinated Ali Hassan Salameh, a Moroccan waiter in Lillehammer, wrongly believing he was the operations chief for the Palestinian terrorist group “Black September.” Norwegian police arrested the Mossad agents who killed Salameh and uncovered an intricate network of Mossad safe houses, phone numbers, and Norwegian sleeper agents for Mossad.

Just as was the case with the coordinated bombings of Madrid trains on March 22, 2004 and London buses and trains on July 7, 2005, viewed by European security services as being the work of not “Al Qaeda” but domestic “radicals,” there was no link to Islamist radicals with the attacks in Norway. However, there was every indication that the attack on Norway was intended to shake up the Norwegian population and damage the reputation of the left-of-center Norwegian government of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

The corporate media insisted that Breivik was solely responsible for Norway’s worst violent attack since World War II. Norwegian police reports that a second gunman, described as having “thick dark hair and a non-Nordic appearance,” were suppressed in much of the corporate media. The time line of the Oslo attack causes anyone’s imagination to be stretched on being sold a “lone gunman/bomber” theory.

At 3:26 pm Oslo time a massive car bomb was detonated outside the office of the Prime Minister of Norway. Since July 22 was a public holiday, there were relatively few people inside the Prime Minister’s office or the surrounding offices of the Petroleum and Energy Ministry and the VG [Verdens Gang] newspaper, Norway’s largest paper.

As police responded to the downtown Oslo blast, Breivik was said to have taken a boat the Utoya island dressed as a policeman and began opening fire on young members of the Norwegian Labor Party youth camp meeting. The shooting allegedly began at 4:50 pm. Norwegian SWAT team “Delta” had trouble getting a helicopter started and struggled to find a boat to get to Utoya island. The SWAT team finally arrived on the island at 6:20 pm only to find scores of the next generation of Norwegian Labor Party leaders dead. Breivik calmly surrendered to the police. When Breivik arrived on Utoya he told police on the island that he was there for a routine security check following the bombing in downtown Oslo.

Norway’s Acting Police chief Sveinung Sponheim said the police were still investigating whether Breivik was acting with a larger network. Sponheim’s revelation countered the “lone wolf” theory advanced by corporate media outlets in Western nations.
Norway’s coalition Labor-Socialist Left government has been seen as hostile to the interests of Israel and the United States. There is now a widespread belief that the terrorist attack against Norway was engineered to shock erstwhile peaceful Norway, a nation where police generally still patrol the streets unarmed, into adopting the police state tactics of the United States, Israel, Britain, and other Western nations. Norway’s pro-Palestinian foreign policy also irked the Zionist and the far-right anti-Islamic factions in Europe and North America, as well as the governments of Israel and the United States.
In a move that complements American and Israeli propaganda that Norway has not stepped up to the surveillance state model imposed by other Western governments, the suspicious WikiLeaks decided to release U.S. State Department cables from the U.S. embassy in Oslo that criticized Norway for not recognizing the “Al Qaeda” threat and maintaining an insufficient security apparatus to combat Islamist terrorism and Pakistani immigrants.

The Barack Obama-appointed U.S. ambassador in Oslo, Barry White, who is Jewish and received a 2005 award from the pro-Israel American Jewish Committee, complained that the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) rejected two twelve-person British MI-6 intelligence surveillance teams to monitor an “Al Qaeda” cell in Norway. Last November, the Norwegian government was shocked to learn that the U.S. embassy was operating a Surveillance Detection Unit in Oslo that was monitoring Norwegian citizens. Norwegian Justice Minister Knut Storberget said he was not informed of the presence of the U.S. spy unit in Oslo, which employed retired Norwegian police and intelligence officials. The Norwegian Data Protection Commissioner, Bjorn Erik Thon, said he had never seen such an intelligence operation in Norway. White complained that Norwegian security officials were apathetic and incompetent in dealing with the Islamist “terrorist threat.” The failure of the Norwegian SWAT team to quickly respond to the massacre on Utoya may indicate that Norway’s law enforcement and security networks and command-and-control systems had been interfered with by infiltrators with knowledge of the Norwegian systems. Those retired police and intelligence officials working for the U.S. embassy’s surveillance unit are likely suspects in sabotaging the Norwegian police reaction capabilities on 7/22. Just 48 hours before the bombing in Oslo, police units were engaged in a terrorist bombing exercise at the Oslo Opera House, near what would later be “ground zero.” In addition, in the days before the terrorist bombing, there was suspicious sewer work being conducted in the area near the Prime Minister’s office.
In March, the leader of the Socialist Left, Kristen Halvorsen, the Minister of Education of Norway and a former Finance Minister, called for military action against Israel if it attacked Gaza. The Socialist Left and Labor Party, along with the Norwegian Peace Association and the Norwegian energy and telecommunications union, strongly support the Boycott Israel campaign, which includes backing the pan-European Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) committee and an embargo on arms sales to the Jewish state. In August 2010, the Norwegian pension fund divested in two Israeli companies controlled by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev, Africa Israel Investments and its subsidiary Danya Cebus.
Halvorsen had recently met with a delegation of American Jews who complained about Norway’s “anti-Semitism,” the tired and worn-out canard used by Zionists in confronting anti-Israeli sentiment around the world. In January, Halvorsen and her husband, Christo Halvorsen, a producer for the Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK) television and radio network, took part in an anti-Israel and U.S. march in Oslo where picket signs with phrases like “USA and Israel: Axis of Evil” appeared. The Halvorsens and NRK were subjected to a vicious campaign launched by Zionists and the Israel Lobby in Norway.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre of the Labor Party has been criticized by the Israel Lobby and Zionists for comparing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians to Nazi Germany’s treatment of Jews. Støre has also called for the demolition of Israel’s “Separation Wall” that runs through Palestinian territory on the West Bank, a stance that has earned him enmity and hatred from Israel’s government and their Zionist allies in the West. Store paid a visit to Utoya before the massacre. The Foreign Minister was on the island as some of the Labor Party youth were participating in a “Boycott Israel” demonstration. The city of Trondheim was criticized by Israel for funding a trip to the UN in New York for Norwegian students to participate in a play called the “Gaza Monologues.” Israel also blasted Norway for distributing a film called “Tears of Gaza.”

After Israel offered assistance to Norway, including forensic and medical assistance, as well as the evacuation of the wounded from the 7/22 attack, Norway declined the offer. The rejection of assistance from Israel indicates that the Norwegian government was suspicious of the offer from Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Other Israeli military teams in the West Bank have been accused of trafficking in human organs, an expose brought to light by the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet in August 2009. That same month, Israel’s anti-Arab and anti-Muslim Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman accused Sweden and Norway of anti-Semitism, adding the outrageous charge that Norway was pro-Nazi, even though Norway’s anti-Muslim and pro-Zionist activists were affiliated with neo-Nazi organizations. On December 11, 2010, a suspicious terrorist explosion took place in downtown Stockholm, injuring two people and blamed on a Swedish-Iraqi suicide bomber. The bombing took place two weeks after the Swedish media reported that a Surveillance Detection Unit, operated form the U.S. embassy in Stockholm, was spying on Swedish citizens.

In the past few months, the Mossad has committed blatant acts of espionage and possible other terrorist attacks against nations it perceives as pro-Palestinian. During last year’s devastating earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, a team of Mossad agents was caught in the city. One of the agents died in the quake. The Mossad agents were found with multiple passports and thumb drives believed to have been used to download sensitive data from New Zealand government computer systems. New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key, who seemingly came from obscurity in New Zealand politics and whose Jewish mother immigrated from England, disregarded claims of Mossad espionage during the quake, even though he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu four times on the day of the quake, after the dead Mossad agent was discovered by New Zealand police and intelligence.
New Zealand’s Southland Times was criticized by New Zealand’s Jewish community and Israel for promoting “conspiracy theories,” the typical modus operandi for pro-Israeli Jews, known as sayanim and katsas, who are used by Israel abroad as propaganda and espionage agents. Ironically, Key was meeting with Obama at the White House as the bombing and shootings were occurring in Norway. Key was believed to have attended the homo-erotic annual meeting of a men-only fraternity composed of American and foreign political and business elitists at the secluded Bohemian Grove in northern California, a conclave that also saw the attendance of Israel’s most notorious agent-of-influence in America, Henry Kissinger, who also serves as Obama’s “special envoy” to the Russian leadership. Key’s Labor Party predecessor, Helen Clark, was the subject of criticism in leaked 2004 State Department cables from the U.S. embassy in Wellington for cracking down on a Mossad team’s acquisition of forged New Zealand passports. Once again, the cable leaks were courtesy of the suspect WikiLeaks operation.

One of the Mossad perpetrators, Zev William Barkan, who fled New Zealand to avoid arrest, had also been reported in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, where he and other Israelis were producing pornographic and “snuff” movies, in which unsuspecting vagrants were murdered on camera.
In Egypt, Mossad agents have been accused by the present government of fomenting riots between Muslims and Coptic Christians. A recent explosion of seized Iranian weapons and ammunition being stored at a Cypriot naval base, a blast that killed the head of the Cypriot Navy, remains suspicious. The blast followed the decision of Cyprus’s left-of-center government to recognize the sovereignty of Palestine. The resulting public outrage over the blast resulted in the resignation of pro-Palestinian Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou and a major political embarrassment for Cyprus’s president Dimitris Christofias, a member of the Communist AKEL party.

Mossad is a master at false-flag terrorist attacks designed to alter perceptions and punish opponents of Israeli policy. The fingerprints of Israeli intelligence are all over the 9/11 attacks on the United States, the 3/22 train bombings in Madrid, the 7/7 transit bombings in London, and, now, the 7/22 attacks in Norway… While the Israeli-influenced corporate media has droned on and on about the dangers of Islamist terrorism, it is now obvious that the major threat to public safety comes from the State of Israel, a rogue nation that does not hesitate to murder the innocent to achieve its sordid political aims.
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Iraqis, victims of American political engineering, consider Syria an 'Oasis'

Via FLC 

Iraq, a feat of American political engineering, some would argue for a 'Copie Conforma' in Syria.

"...Now, even as Syria faces its own turmoil, few Iraqis are returning home. In fact, the number of Iraqis leaving for Syria is far greater than the number coming back, said Brian C. Vaughan, assistant representative at the United Nations office. When balanced against Iraq’s continuing violence, its sporadic electricity that will only get less reliable as summer creeps on and an economy dominated by a corrupt public sector, Syria is seen as a better place to live.
“You can relax there,” said Ali Mohammed, a barber, who left the Iraqi city of Najaf for Syria in 2005...
“You don’t need to worry about electricity, the heat” in Syria, Mr. Mohammed, wearing a skintight T-shirt and wraparound sunglasses,...
“Life is beautiful there, women are beautiful there,” Mr. Rashid said. “That is the important thing. Freedom and security, everything.”
Four or five buses leave each day for Syria from this station. A ticket costs about $25, and business seems to be booming. “The number of people leaving Iraq for Syria has increased because of the summer holiday,” said a bus company manager, Abu Muhammad. “Families are going there to escape the summer heat, and for tourism.”...
“It’s stable, very normal,” said Farras Ali, a driver who makes the trip to Syria three times a week. “The media is making it look larger than it is.”..."

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Relatives of West Bank political prisoners hold sit-in

[ 30/07/2011 - 10:38 AM ] 

NABLUS, (PIC)-- Scores of Palestinians held a sit-in at Dawar al-Shuhada Square downtown Nablus amid demands for the release of their relatives held as political prisoners in the prisons of the Palestinian Authority.

Elements from the PA's preventative security agency already arrested one protester for joining the sit-in and showing support.

The protesters stressed the importance of releasing the prisoners ahead of the holy month of Ramadan.

A West Bank political prisoners' families committee announced forming the peaceful sit-in at 11am Saturday.

In a statement, the committee called on Palestinian legislators, party representatives, and legal and human rights bodies to join the protests in a bid to continue pressure for the release of the West Bank political prisoners.

The statement said the protest was timed to mark the near arrival of the holy month of Ramadan.

• Disguised Israeli security men arrest 6 Palestinians in Silwan
• Two Palestinians arrested for working in Jerusalem
• PA Security detain a Palestinian youth

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Again. Who are Libya's rebels? And, BTW, who are Syria's opposition illuminatis?

Via FLC

"For NATO allies struggling to understand who exactly they are backing, the death of Gen. Abdel Fatah Younes is likely raise more questions about who the rebels are and how they would conduct themselves if Gadhafi lost control of the capital... Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the leader of the Transitional National Council that serves as the rebel government, told reporters that Gadhafi loyalists had killed Younes... But the chain of events was confusing. Hours earlier, the TNC had ordered Younes, 67, to return from Brega for questioning in what Jalil called a military matter, and rumors swirled throughout the day that he was being accused of conducting secret talks with the Gadhafi government..."

And Reuters,

"...Some rebels were never comfortable with an army leader who had until recently been so close to Gaddafi, and Younes had been involved in a dispute over the leadership of the rebel forces.
Jalil said Younes was shot before appearing in front of the judicial committee and the head of the armed cell that killed him had been arrested.
It was not clear where Younes and his bodyguards had been killed or how Jalil had learned of their deaths, but Jalil said all efforts were being made to find their bodies.
Shortly afterwards, gunmen burst into the grounds of the hotel where Jalil was speaking and fired bursts of shots in the air, a Reuters reporter said...."

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Jamil Sayyed: Hariri Head of Conspiracy in His Father’s Case

Local Editor

General Jamil Sayyed said that the first thing that came to his mind when receiving the news about the accusation of Hezbollah members in the assassination of late PM Rafiq Hariri, was the day when he, and the three other generals were falsely accused and arrested for the same reason. In an interview with Al-Manar TV Friday, General Sayyed asked: “What Saad Hariri and what international justice will the Lebanese believe now?” “Will they believe the “justice of 2005” or the “justice of 2011”, and what will stop the same incidents that happened with the four officers from happening with the accused members of Hezbollah?” He stated that “Saad Hariri leads the false witnesses’ conspiracy in his father’s assassination. He knows that he assassinated his father once again when he conspired with the false witnesses, and I have evidence on that…” General Sayyed further considered that “for Hezbollah to triumph over the indictment, it neither needs arms nor strength. It only needs the state’s recognition that the tribunal failed due to its mistakes.” “The International Tribunal’s General Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare seeks to protect Saad Hariri, Marwan Hamadeh and others. Hence, the tribunal is a tool in the hands of Israel and America against Syria and the resistance… the false witnesses issue is not just political but also juristic.” Regarding Bellemare’s intention to officially declare the names of the four Hezbollah members accused by the international tribunal, former General Security Chief reminded that “the international tribunal has destroyed itself, and now Bellemare and (Daniel) Francen are fighting for executing their goals. Justice requires that Saad Hariri gets imprisoned in Lahai because of the false witnesses.” In parallel, when asked about the false witnesses’ effect on the tribunal, General Sayyed said: “the case starts with (Information Branch Chief) Wissam Al-Hasan, (State Prosecuter) Said Mirza, (ISF Chief) Ashraf Rifi, (PM Saad) Hariri, and (MP Walid) Jumblatt, as the people cannot believe them anymore unless they clarify before the Lebanese public opinion the reason behind seizing Lebanon for six years and protecting as well as creating the false witnesses. What was their goal?” Moreover, General Sayyed added that “after the international tribunal refused to adopt the false witnesses’ case, the Lebanese court should study such a case. The tribunal is supposed to refer this case to the judicial council and trial Mirza and Rifi”.

Source: Al Manar TV 30-07-2011 - 15:08 | 184 View

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"... We need to drive a wedge between Assad on one hand, & the Army and the Alawites on the other!"

FLC

U.S. Priorities in a Changing Middle East
Interviewee:
Robert Danin, Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
Interviewer:
Deborah Jerome, Deputy Editor, CFR.org, Council on Foreign Relations

July 27, 2011
...We must keep our focus on Egypt, first and foremost. As home to a quarter of the Arab peoples and perhaps the key galvanizer within the region, Egypt will be the critical trendsetter. A smooth and peaceful transition to a more representative government, with checks and balances, could have a positive demonstration effect. Similarly, a descent into greater sectarian conflict, a failed transition to effective civil governance, and no real improvement could precipitate more unrest and ultimately violence. The Obama administration understands that Egypt is central and is focused on that.
Obviously, Libya is now critical because we and the international community are engaged there militarily. We have drawn a line in the sand, and we now have lives and credibility at stake. This will have a regional demonstration effect of one sort or another. I would point to three other places critical for the United States: First is Saudi Arabia, given the West's energy dependency and Saudi Arabia's centrality to Gulf security. Second is Syria, the only Arab state fully aligned with Iran, which has become a widespread killing field for the regime against its own people. Third is Yemen, a potentially failed state that risks becoming a sanctuary for terrorists and anti-Western radicals.
...
How has the U.S. intervention in Libya driven policy options in Syria?
The United States has been slow to react to developments in Syria and slow to condemn the regime's brutality. It is probably the case that NATO's military involvement in Libya detracts from our ability to focus on Syria. We do not have an obvious military option in Syria, nor should we explore one. But there needs to be greater attention focused on Syria, and greater international community mobilization around a common position, much as we have done via the Libya Contact Group. We also need improved outreach to key parties in the region about Syria, particularly its neighbors—Turkey, Jordan, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, which, while not a neighbor, can play a critical role.
The fundamental problem in Syria now is that the longer the unrest continues, the greater the risk that the Assad regime will manipulate it and exacerbate the divisions that exist within a diverse population consisting of Alawites, Christians, Sunnis, and Kurds. Our goal now must be twofold: To drive a wedge between Assad and the Alawite community, to prevent the conflict from becoming sectarian. And to find carrots and sticks to encourage the Sunni merchant classes in Damascus and Aleppo, places that have remained quiet so far, to break from the regime. This could allow for a rapid transition from power. My fear is the longer this drags on, the more difficult the situation will become, and the greater the chances for real civil war.
Let's say the United States gets what it wishes for in Libya, and Qaddafi steps aside. What would be the aftermath of that in Libya? What about a similar scenario in Syria?
Libya has become important, disproportionately so, because of the region's call for an international response and because of our subsequent efforts to dislodge Qaddafi. The international community met the challenge by authorizing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which precipitated the first real humanitarian intervention in the Arab world. This sent an important message of concern. But the subsequent mission creep has led to a call for and effort to bring about regime change. We, in the form of NATO, are now fully engaged in Libya. As a result, we've committed ourselves to helping to sort out a broken state after Qaddafi is gone. Given that the country has no effective institutions by Qaddafi's designs, and the strong tribal makeup of the country, salvaging a post-Qaddafi Libya is going to be a major challenge. We, in the form of NATO, are now fully engaged in Libya. As a result, we've committed ourselves to helping to sort out a broken state after Qaddafi is gone.
Syria's socio-economic makeup is fundamentally different. It has a middle class, an educated elite. It has a conscript army that could play an effective role if it manages to disassociate itself from the Assad regime. So the challenges of nation-building that I fear face us in Libya are much less so when it comes to Syria. Yet both places face the risk of real civil war..."

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