Turkish Soldiers kill 20 Syrian Security Forces in Massacre

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Syrian Security Forces Kill Scores of Militants in Treimseh including Foreigners

Local Editor

Syrian security forces held a military operation in Treimsh in the countryside of Hama province, killing big numbers of militants, including foreigners.

State news agency, SANA, quoted a military source as saying on Friday that “some of the armed forces units on Thursday morning carried out a qualitative operation in al-Treimseh town, targeting the gatherings of terrorist groups' members.”

The source added that the operation “targeted a number of whereabouts of militants’ leadership and dens which they used as a springboard for their criminal acts and a base for torturing kidnapped citizens.”
He also said that there were foreigners among those who were killed in the operation.

“The terrorist groups' dens were destroyed and a big number of their members were killed in the operation, while scores of them were arrested. Large amounts of weapons and documents, including IDs for non-Syrian persons, one of them Turkish, were seized,” the source said.
The source noted that after the armed forces successfully dealt with the terrorists without casualties taking place among the citizens, they searched into the terrorists' dens where they found the dead bodies of a number of citizens who had been abducted and killed by the terrorist groups.

Source: Agencies	14-07-2012 - 14:32 Last updated 14-07-2012 - 14:32 |

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Former Gaddafists Win in Libyan Democracy

Bad news for the sectarian Khalid Amayereh, "Former Gaddafists Win in Libyan Democracy"

In case you missed it:

"Well, it is true that NATO is not a charitable organization, but it is also true that the Libyan people will never allow a foreign power to arrogate or hijack their hard-earned sovereignty, independence and free will."

With "Brothers" in Tripoly

We Came, We Saw, He Died

A U.S. flag, pre-Gadhafi Libyan flags and a French flag are seen in the background,
as Libyans attend Muslim prayers in Benghazi, Libya, Saturday, April 23. (AP)

"we advise those who don't stop making all sorts of silly insinuations about the Libyan revolutionaries to wait and see and reserve their final judgment for sometime, instead of trying to create confusion and spreading false propaganda."

Washington's Man in Tripoli

"There are some pro-Palestinian activists who are, either sincerely or maliciously, worried about a "less than complete commitment" by the new rulers of Libya to the Palestinian cause..."
"In the final analysis (ANAL-YSIS), the Libyan revolution has an Arab-Islamic face, heart and mind. It will not betray or disappoint Muslims anywhere in the world. Just give them a grace period, and they won't disappoint you." Khalid Amayereh.
Unfortunately, they only disapointed their stupid brother. They, after destroying Libya, they got another contract, destroying Syria. 
In case the regime in Syria is changed (God forbid) It's not difficult to imagine who would be the next Syrian president, 

Former Gaddafists Win in Libyan Democracy

High Election Commission workers chant the national anthem behind ballot boxes which just arrived from the region of Kufra, five days after Saturday's landmark national elections, at the High Election Commission Center in Tripoli 12 July 2012. (Photo: Reuters - Zohra Bensemra)

By: Rim al-Barki

Published Friday, July 13, 2012

Initial results show that the alliance led by a former Gaddafi regime official, Mahmoud Jibril, won the majority of the 80 seats (out of 200) reserved for parties in the Libyan General National Congress elections. While the remaining individual seats could still sway the vote towards Islamists, their defeat is significant in light of voting results in Libya’s neighbors, Egypt and Tunisia.

Benghazi - Contrary to all previous expectations, and unlike their Tunisian and Egyptian counterparts, Libyans voted for non-Islamist political forces that have been described as secular and liberal in the General National Congress (GNC) elections.

But former prime minister Mahmoud Jibril, head of the National Forces Alliance (NFA) representing these political parties, stressed on more than one occasion that the NFA includes all Libyans.

Hours before the announcement of the official results which confirmed Libya’s breaking from the trend of Islamist electoral victories in the nations of the Arab Spring, there were many reasons that led to what has been described as a “surprising” result.

Some believe that the reason behind the defeat of Islamist forces is that Libyans learned a lesson from their Tunisian and Egyptian neighbors.

Others argue that the nature of the Maliki Muslim society in Libya does not require an Islamist political party to run the country and that the contest was determined from the get-go in favor of the liberals.

However, the only fact that an observer of Libyan politics can pin down is that Jibril’s alliance won with a landslide in 10 out of 13 constituencies.

What’s controversial about this result is that the overwhelming majority of voters rejected the religious edict issued by the Grand Mufti of Libya prohibiting voting for a “secular infidel” party.

In the first constituency (Tobruk - Quba - Darna), which is considered a center and a stronghold for Islamists, the NFA won four seats out of five and competition is still raging over the remaining seat.

In Janzur the NFA had, according to initial results, 29,000 votes, followed by the Justice and Construction Party (JCP) – the political arm of Libya's branch of the Muslim Brotherhood – which had 2,000 votes.

Observers of Libyan politics argue that it is not proper to label the NFA as liberal.

Candidate Muhammad Ali Abdullah tells Al-Akhbar that Libyans fear politicizing Islam and imprisoning it within a specific intellectual and political framework. As such, the Libyan people voted against the Muslim Brotherhood rather than voting for Jibril or liberalism.

He says there is no such thing as liberal thought inside the NFA. Rather, it is an alliance built on civil society institutions and a group of small political parties with opposing ideologies – it is an alliance of interim temporary interests and not an intellectual alliance.

Abdullah believes that Jibril succeeded in attracting a large number of civil society institutions, clubs, and associations that have nothing to do with politics but were able to mobilize and create a lot of momentum.

He also succeeded in marketing himself as the person who will lead the GNC even though he does not have the right to run for office or to participate at this stage.

The candidate of the city of Zawiya, Osama Kaabar, told Al-Akhbar that despite the overwhelming joy at the elections, people approached voting through a tribal and regional prism.

Many came to vote without having any idea for whom they were voting, he claimed.

According to him, the election was organized prematurely in Libya, and it should have been postponed for at least six months, accompanied by an awareness-raising campaign through radio and television stations.

Libyan diplomat, Muhammad al-Ujayli, believes that the success of the elections is an exceptional one in the history of elections, by all standards.

It is a phenomenon that deserves further examination and will be taught in political science, law, and sociology courses, as it was achieved despite the presence of weapons in private hands, the absence of security, and the weakness of state institutions.

There are also other reasons behind this result, the most important of which is the desire of Libyan citizens to quickly reach the institutionalization of the state. That is, they sought to end revolutionary legitimacy by replacing it with electoral legitimacy.

The NFA focused on scientific and practical electoral programs dealing with the duties of the GNC, and they communicated with Libyan citizens through lectures and meetings that the NFA leader himself conducted throughout the country.

The majority of other parties, especially the Islamist ones, focused instead on using the “secular and liberal” nature of the NFA to draw voters their way, without reaching out to citizens and communicating with them.

One of the achievements of these elections is the increasing political consciousness among Libyans who gained political experience born out of the freedom they attained, thus leading to a better understanding of the electoral process, its rules, propaganda, and tricks.

Amidst all these expectations and initial results, the Islamist forces in Libya are still hoping to score a victory when the results of the remaining 120 individual seats out of the GNC’s 200 seats are tallied.

But liberals see in the initial results as a decisive failure by the Islamists to gain a majority of the 80 party seats which was previously assumed to belong to them.

This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.

• Washington's Man in Tripoli

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

July War: Dahiyeh Rises from the Ashes

Photo Blog by Haitham Moussawi

Six years ago today, the Lebanese people were facing a crucial war. Thirty-three days of aggression were met with 33 days of resistance. Israel failed to achieve any of its goals in the war. Yet the victory that was achieved by the people and the resistance came at a price. The massacres spread all over the country. A systematic destruction of the country's infrastructure ensued. Today, the victims can’t forget the past for they have lost too much.

In this blog Al-Akhbar photographer Haitham Moussawi takes a look at how the southern suburb of Beirut, Dahiyeh, has been reborn from the rubble.

(Photo: Haitham Moussawi)

(Photo: Haitham Moussawi)

(Photo: Haitham Moussawi)

(Photo: Haitham Moussawi)

(Photo: Haitham Moussawi)

(Photo: Haitham Moussawi)

(Photo: Haitham Moussawi)

(Photo: Haitham Moussawi)

(Photo: Haitham Moussawi)

(Photo: Haitham Moussawi)

(Photo: Haitham Moussawi)

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Nasser and American brothers (Must see)

Brothers of America

President Eisenhower in the Oval Office with Muslim delegates,
1953, after July revolution.
Said Ramadan, the Son in-law of Hassan Al-Bana the founder of
Brotherhood, is second from the right.
في أقصي اليمين سعيد رمضان في ضيافة أيزنهاور داخل البيت الأبيض

Naser and Free officers with Muslim Brotherhood's quide Al-Hudaibi

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Syria 'massacre' dead mostly rebels: activist

Opposition activists claim regime forces shelled the area before militias entered. (Photo: AFP – SANA)

Published Friday, July 13, 2012

Most of the people killed in the Syrian village of Traimseh were rebel fighters, an opposition activist said on Friday, adding the bloodbath followed a Free Syrian Army attack on an army convoy.

"At this stage, though we do not yet have the final count, the number of civilians killed by shelling is not more than seven," Jaafar, an activist at the anti-regime Sham News Network, told AFP. "The rest were members of the (rebel) Free Syrian Army."

"An army convoy was on its way to the region of Hama when it was attacked by the FSA," he said. "The army staged a counter-attack with the support of (pro-regime) reinforcements from (nearby) Alawi villages. The FSA resisted for an hour before it was defeated."

Separately, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that "dozens of rebel fighters" were among those killed.

ABC(MSM) ADMITTS AND CITES NASSER ATTA A REPORTER
WHO QUESTIONED A LOCAL DOCTOR IN VILLAGE OF TREMSEH SYRIA
WHERE MASSACRE OCCURRED,
AND THE DOCTOR SAID MOST DEAD WERE AL QAEDA TYPES,EXTREMIST

"Several dozen rebel fighters were among those killed," said the Observatory, adding that only around 40 of the more than 150 dead had been identified.

The account appears to conflict with earlier opposition claims that pro-regime militiamen had entered the village and slaughtered civilians, with claims of death tolls as high as 220.

The Revolution Leadership Council of Hama told Reuters that Traimseh was subjected to a barrage of heavy weapons fire before pro-government militiamen swept in and killed victims one by one.

"More than 220 people fell today in Traimseh. They died from bombardment by tanks and helicopters, artillery shelling and summary executions," the regional opposition group said in a statement on Thursday evening.

The opposition Local Coordination Committees (LCC) also had a death toll of 220, while Syria's official news agency, SANA, said at least 50 civilians had been killed by "terrorists."

The SANA report said rebels went on a rampage and "exploded houses" before the Syrian army intervened, inflicting "huge losses" upon the rebels and forcing them to flee.

SANA also said the army had confiscated "Israeli-made machine guns," while Syrian state television said three security personnel had been killed in the fighting.

Neither account could be independently verified due to tight media restrictions in Syria, and the deteriorating security situation for journalists.

Annan "appalled"

International mediator Kofi Annan said he was "appalled" by the killings, as fighting continues to undermine UN peace efforts to resolve the crisis.

Annan appeared to blame the government, saying the use of heavy weaponry against the town was a violation of the peace plan he brokered earlier this year.

"I am shocked and appalled by news coming out of the village of Traimseh, near Hama, of intense fighting, significant casualties, and the confirmed use of heavy weaponry such as artillery, tanks and helicopters," Annan said.

"This is in violation of the government's undertaking to cease the use of heavy weapons in population centers and its commitment to the six-point plan," he added.

Annan, in a letter to the UN Security Council, urged the body to send a message that there would be consequences for non-compliance.

"This is imperative and could not be more urgent in light of unfolding events," his letter said

The head of the stalled UN observer mission in the country said his representatives were ready to visit the town if a ceasefire could be guaranteed.

"UNSMIS stands ready to go in and seek verification of facts if and when there is a credible ceasefire," Major General Robert Mood, the head of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria, told a news conference in Damascus.

Syria has so far witnessed two mass killings since the crisis began in March 2011.

Seventy-eight people were shot or stabbed dead or burned alive in the village of Mazraat al-Qubeir on June 6, and 108 men, women, and children were massacred in the town of Houla on May 25. The regime and opposition traded blame over both massacres.

The killings come as a flurry of international diplomacy continues over the crisis, with Annan set to arrive in Moscow on Monday, a Russian foreign ministry source said.

"The current state of affairs in Syria and prospects for a (peace) settlement will be discussed," RIA news agency quoted the source as saying, adding that Annan would meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Annan's visit comes before Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan lands in Russia later in the week to sort out sharp differences with Moscow on the Syrian crisis.

Russia warned Western powers on Thursday it would block any renewed attempt to pass through a UN Security Council resolution authorizing military action or imposing sanctions.

Turkey is one of the principal supporters of Syrian rebels, hosting armed groups in its territory, as well as the hardline Muslim Brotherhood.

(Al-Akhbar, Reuters, AFP)

• Syria: Terrorists Commit Al-Treimsa Massacre

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Al-Aqsa in Real Danger!

Local Editor



SECTARIANS AGAINST
THE RESISTANCE

A field study prepared by a Palestinian organisation which monitors "Israeli" human rights and other violations in Occupied al-Quds has concluded that the "Israeli" occupation authorities are trying to impose a division of access to al-Aqsa Mosque with implicit Zionist presence daily on three axes.

Farewell Sectarian Sheikh



The study was conducted by al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage in cooperation with the Foundation for the Architecture of al-Aqsa and Sanctities.

The three axes are based on incursions by settlers almost daily around and in al-Aqsa Mosque, which include the performance of Talmudic rituals; the storming of the mosque by "Israeli" soldiers in uniform and their extensive "exploratory" tours; and incursions of "Israeli" intelligence groups and their snooping around the buildings of the Holy Mosque.

Strengthening the Jewish presence:

The study said that the "Israelis" are trying to strengthen the Jewish presence in al-Aqsa, especially in the morning, by an average of 450 illegal settlers per month as well as 300 intelligence agents and soldiers in uniform, in order to create a "routine" stereotype for the Jewish presence in the Noble Sanctuary. It warned that if unchecked this could lead to a unilateral division of access to the Mosque between Muslims and Jews.

The al-Aqsa Foundation report added that the need at this moment is for Palestinian Muslims to occupy al-Aqsa in their thousands around the clock. It reminded Muslims that al-Quds was the first Qiblah (direction of prayer) and has to be protected.

In a press statement the Foundation described the "Israeli" policy as "dangerous" and one step on the path towards the Judaization of the mosque. It rejected outright the presence of even one "Israeli" settler or soldier anywhere in the Noble Sanctuary.

Incursions

In terms of statistics, the report said that the number of Jewish intruders at al-Aqsa Mosque from among the settlers in the first six months of 2012 was 2,722, compared to 2,772 settlers in the first six months of 2011, an average of 450 settlers per month. The number of soldiers in uniform and intelligence agents was 1,953 in the first six months of 2012, an average of 300 per month. Incursions by soldiers in uniform and their exploratory tours began early this year; they were stopped completely after the Aqsa Intifada of 2000.

New phenomena

The periods when most incursions take place have changed from almost exclusively Jewish religious holidays to include additional so-called "Jewish national holidays". The study noted the increase in the number of Jewish public and collective prayers in al-Aqsa Mosque, including an incident when the "Israeli" flag was raised near the Dome of the Rock Mosque. The intense and growing media coverage of such prayers by the "Israeli" media is also referred to in the study, as is the number of politicians, members of the "Israeli" Knesset and leaders of political parties who took part in more than one of the raids on al-Aqsa Mosque this year.

Warnings

Al-Aqsa Foundation warns of a plan prepared by Jewish organisations to step up the number of daily Jewish incursions at Al-Aqsa Mosque and the performance of Jewish prayers therein. Several proposals for such activity have been discussed, to include demonstrations and sit-ins to demand a legal right to pray in the mosque. The Israeli courts and police authorities are being petitioned to allow more Jewish prayers, especially during this month.

The Foundation stressed that "all of the attacks on al-Aqsa Mosque are the results of the reality of the "Israeli" occupation of al-Quds."

" They will not end," the report concludes, "until the occupation ends."

Source: Al-Aqsa Foundation

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Washington's Man in Tripoli

by Stephen Lendman

Mahmoud Jabril takes over as Libya's new leader. He heads its puppet government.

Sham elections installed him. The process was farcical. Illusion substituted for reality. Obama called his ascension "another milestone in the country's transition to democracy."

EU leaders hailed "Libya's first free elections." They called them the "dawn of a new era." Scoundrel media acclaimed the end of the Gaddafi nightmare.

A democratic facade masks New World Order neoliberal fundamentalism. Its holy trinity is eliminating public services, predatory capitalism writ large, and repression enforcing the message to non-believers.

Libya gives Washington another beachhead for greater African adventurism. Unspeakable crimes of war and against humanity were committed establishing it.

Jabril's now its main man. He got his marching orders. He's expected to deliver. Otherwise another pro-Western hack will replace him.

Freedom is nowhere in sight. It's true everywhere Washington runs things. Inside the bubble, it's paradise. Outside it's dystopian hell. It features exploitation and denial of fundamental rights.

Everything Gaddafi gave is gone. The Libya that was no longer exists. A blank slate replaced it. Carving up its corpse for profit is policy.

In early 2011, reports suggested Jibril urged Western intervention to oust Gaddafi.
After bombing began, he reportedly met Senator John Kerry (D. MA) in Cairo.

He outlined his vision for Libya’s future. Kerry chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Jibril also met Clinton and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Washington wants Libya transformed its way. What it says goes. Opposition won't be tolerated. Jabril was installed to assure it.

He heads Libya's so-called National Forces Alliance. Democracy isn't part of its agenda. Washington tolerates it nowhere.

One analyst described his dead banker eyes. He's a technocrat, an imperial tool. Before he defected, he headed Gaddafi's National Planning Council and National Economic Development Board. Other ministers reported to him.

Mustafa Abdul Jalil served as Gaddafi's justice minister. On February 21, 2011, his true intentions emerged. He defected. On February 26, he established "transitional government."

On March 6, the National Transitional Council (NTC) was formed. Jalil became chairman. Ousting Gaddafi was primary.

Months of insurgent attacks and NATO bombing transformed Libya from Africa's most developed state into a charnel house. It remains so today. For Western predators, it's Libya, Inc.

Jabril became part of its NTC "executive team." On March 5, he was appointed prime minister. At the time, NTC spokesman Hafiz Ghoga said:

"We completely refuse any cooperation, discussion or dialogue with th(e Gaddafi) regime." He and other Western proxies wanted him overthrown by force.

It sounds eerily like Syrian National Council leaders refusing negotiations and urging Western intervention against Assad.

A Libyan national, Jabril specializes in strategic planning and decision making. He and others drafted a Unified Arab Training manual. In the late 1980s, he organized and administered Arab training conferences.

He later managed training programs for senior managers in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Libya, UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Britain. He established close ties with Western and Southeast Asian leaders.

In Libya, he joined the Muslim Brotherhood. Its history reflects a pro-business/anti-populist agenda.

In the 1970s, he studied economics and political science at Cairo University. After graduating, he came to America. He earned a University of Pittsburgh master's degree and doctorate in political science. He taught strategic planning there after graduating.

Time magazine calls him a "US-educated policy wonk." It interviewed him in 2010. He envisioned Western-style government. He hoped to transform Libya into a replica of neoliberal economies. He told Time:

"There must be a legal frame with division of powers, and the right of free expression. We are very late. We have to shorten the time span of things."

He's now able to institute what wasn't possible then. Doing so assures neoliberal harshness. It features plunder, exploitation, and repression. It's the usual formula applied to enrich privileged elites at the expense of all others.

Jabril earlier advised Arab governments on economic management. In 2007, he returned to Libya. Through early 2011, he served in Gaddafi's government.

In 2009, he told then US ambassador Gene Cretz that Libya was "opening widely and very fast." He said American companies could expect lucrative business opportunities. WikiLeaks released a cable quoting Cretz saying "Jabril is a serious interlocutor who 'gets' the US perspective."

His roots are from Libya's most populous Warfalla tribe. It had close ties to Gaddafi. Washington hopes he can co-opt it. Doing so furthers its agenda.

As head of Libya's Economic Development Board, Jabril earlier drafted his plan for a new Libya. It's neoliberal/anti-populist hardline.

Last October, he told Time that Gaddafi blocked his "reform" agenda. "They took everything they received from us and just threw in in the garbage." He omitted saying that's where it belongs.

He now says "(w)e have the plan ready." He plans implementing it. It's called the "Libya Tomorrow Project." It's right out of the IMF's playbook.

It features looting Libya's resources, shifting public wealth to private hands, mass privatizations, deregulation, low wages, few or no benefits, unrestricted free market access for Western companies, corporate-friendly tax cuts, marginalizing or prohibiting trade unionism, and harsh repression against opposition to a system incompatible with social democracy, civil and human rights.

It's Chicago school fundamentalism writ large. It's long on free market triumphalism and void on how it treats people. Replacing the old Libya with a new one is policy.

Jabril wants the country transformed into a regional model. He plans turning it into a giant free trade zone. Its core feature is pillage. Corporate utopia depends on it. Ordinary Libyans face dystopian harshness.

George Bush turned "the cradle of civilization" into hell. Obama did the same thing to Libya.

Jabril got his marching orders. His mandate is serving as Washington's enforcer. He'll stay in favor as long as he remembers who's boss.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"

http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com 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.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour

• Former Gaddafists Win in Libyan Democracy

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!