Coming home to roost

by Dr. Paul J Balles
Saturday, June 9th, 2012

When a larger power rules a smaller nation, some form of violent resistance is to be expected
Miko Peled

Predator drone
The past two weeks has seen an increasing media interest in America’s use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s), better known as drones.

Medea Benjamin, writing in the Information Clearing House asks “Will Americans Speak Out Against Obama’s Drone Warfare?”

Since that warfare involves only the Obama administration and military plus the people of targeted countries, the chances of critical Americans are slim.

Drones have been used to target supposed terrorists and militants in Afghanistan, Yemen and Pakistan, as well as for surveillance over other countries.

The Predator Drone has been in use longer than most people realize. It was first deployed to the Balkans in 1995, Iraq in 1996 and proved very effective in Operation Iraqi Freedom as well as Afghanistan.

Seumas Milne, writing in The Guardian, says “The undeclared drone war that has already killed thousands is now being relentlessly escalated.”

According to Milne, “At least 15 drone strikes have been launched in Yemen this month, as many as in the whole of the past decade, killing dozens.”

Such “summary executions” have been even greater in Pakistan:
Since 2004, between 2,464 and 3,145 people are reported to have been killed by US drone attacks in Pakistan, of whom up to 828 were civilians (535 under Obama) and 175 children.”

As long ago as May 2002 Richard Muller wrote “I sense that there is movement toward making assassination of ‘evil’ leaders into an acceptable part of U.S. foreign policy. That prospect is horrifying. Yet — if the alternative is war?”

In other words, in order to save American lives, it’s acceptable to murder perceived enemies with flying robots rather than capturing and trying them.

“If the U.S. does turn to the Predator and other weapons of precise destruction as the perfect assassination machines…then we had better be prepared to defend ourselves against the same kind of attack, argues Muller.

Advances in technology may one day bring Predator-like weapons into the arsenals of rogue nations and terrorists, endangering in yet a new way our vulnerable homeland. Are we, to paraphrase Macbeth, teaching bloody instructions, which, being taught will return to plague the inventor? From Macbeth:
If only this blow / Could be the be-all and the end-all right here,/ Only here, upon this bank and shallows of time,/ We’d risk it for the life to come. Only in these things,/ We are always punished here because we teach others / How to murder, and once they learn, they come back / To murder us. 

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr. of Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ, and Barack Obama’s pastor since 1988, told his congregation in a sermon on Sept. 16, 2001, that U.S. terrorism had precipitated Al-Qaeda’s attack. 

Obama and Pasor Wright 2008

We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye. We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards.

Wright concluded, somewhat famously, that “America’s chickens are coming home to roost.”
The lesson? “Violence begets violence, hatred begets hatred and terrorism begets terrorism.” http://youtu.be/Qf3SNOmvxi0 for the audio of Rev. Wright’s sermon.

Concluded Muller, “The drone war is a predatory war on the Muslim world, which is feeding hatred of the US – and fuelling terror, not fighting it.”
Obama criticized Reverend Wright and finally left Wright’s church. He should now listen.
Audio: Obama’s drones war on women and children.
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Former Egyptian president Mubarak in critical condition

Published Sunday, June 10, 2012

An Egyptian security official said former president Hosni Mubarak has been slipping in and out of consciousness, more than a week after he was transferred to a hospital inside a Cairo prison to serve his life sentence.

The official said Mubarak's wife, former first lady Suzanne Mubarak, and her two daughters-in-law were visiting him in prison on Sunday morning after rumors circulated that he had died.
The health of the jailed former president, who was overthrown in a popular uprising last year, has deteriorated rapidly in recent weeks.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media, added that Mubarak lives only on liquids and yogurt.

Mubarak was sentenced to life in jail earlier this month for his role in the killing of hundreds of protesters in the protests that led to his downfall.

Mubarak's critical condition comes just a week ahead of Egypt's first genuinely democratic presidential election in which the fate of the former strongman remains a crucial issue.

Former Mubarak-era prime minister Ahmed Shafik will face off against Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Mursi, with both men accusing the other of being opposed to the revolution that brought about Mubarak's downfall.

(Al-Akhbar, AP)

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Umm Mahmoud: “We, mothers, are constantly crying over our children.”

by Roy Bard
Sunday, June 10th, 2012

An interview with the family of detained Palestinian footballer and hunger striker Mahmoud Al-Sarsak:



On July, 22, 2009, Palestinian National Team soccer player, Mahmoud Al Sarsak, bid farewell to his family as he had finally obtained an Israeli permit allowing him to cross Erez checkpoint in the north of Gaza and enter the West Bank. The 22-year-old player, at the time, was heading to Balata Refugee Camp to join the Palestinian National Soccer Team and to train there. The overwhelming happiness that overcame the young Palestinian athlete as he was issued the permit, describes his mother Khaldiya Shalabi, has turned into a curse of misery for him and his family.

Mahmoud was detained and has imprisoned without charge or trial since the. In protest Mahmoud joined the recent prisoner’s hunger strike, and has now gone over 80 days without food.
According to Ma’an:

After 80 days on hunger strike, Mahmoud al-Sarsak is at immediate risk of death and must be hospitalized immediately, an independent doctor said Wednesday.
Until Wednesday, Israel’s prison service had refused to allow independent doctors to visit al-Sarsak, who is being held at Ramle prison clinic.
Physicians for Human Rights – Israel were able to send a doctor to visit al-Sarsak on Wednesday after petitioning an Israeli court for access…..
Al-Sarsak, a professional soccer player, has experienced extreme loss of muscle tissue and drastic weight loss. The 25-year-old is frequently losing consciousness and suffers memory lapses, the doctor said. He is also at risk of pulse disruptions that are endangering his life.

Whilst Ramzy Baroud notes that:

Palestine’s soccer ranking at 164th in the world is testament not to any lack of passion for the game, but to the constant Israeli attempts at destroying even that national aspiration.
The examples of Israeli war on Palestinian soccer are too many to count, although most of them receive little or no media coverage whatsoever.

On June 8th a solidarity demo was held outside the UK Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in London to try and raise Mahmoud’s profile.

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US Official: "The Israelis are afraid that the US will agree to a shitty deal with Iran..."

Via FLC

'The Obama administration is considering putting forward a broader proposal to Iran, rather than the more incremental one presented at a meeting last month in Baghdad, diplomatic sources told Al-Monitor. 

Those arguing in favor of the "go big" approach say their thinking has been influenced by two recent diplomatic encounters with Iran that cast doubt on the viability of an incremental deal, as well as by Israeli concerns over any interim deal being the last one reached with Iran for the next few years, officials said.
"The Israelis are concerned that once you get a deal, it will be the last deal for a long time — the next two to three years," a Western official told Al-MonitorThursday on condition of anonymity.

"So the Israelis are afraid that we will agree to a s----- deal, and tell ourselves it's only the initial step," the official continued. No new sanctions are likely to be imposed at that point, even if the parties do not go on to agree to other steps, as currently planned, the official said about Israeli thinking.

The current Obama administration discussion revives a debate that took place among US officials much of last year about whether to propose a big or more incremental offer to Iran. Senior policy officials at the Defense Department are said to have favored offering a bigger deal to Iran, accompanied by a military threat were it not accepted. They were countered by officials, mostly at the State Department, who argued that there was such a lack of trust or diplomatic contact between the West and Iran that it was more prudent to first propose a smaller confidence-building measure. The group that argued for an incremental approach prevailed as talks resumed in Istanbul in April.

International negotiators have, to date, proposed a step-by-step incremental process for resolving international concerns about Iran's nuclear program. They laid out a detailed proposal for an interim confidence-building measure at their last meeting with Iran in Baghdad in May. That proposal asked Iran to stop its 20 percent enrichment activities, ship out its stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium, and halt operations at Fordo, a fortified, uranium-enrichment site near the Iranian city of Qom. In return, the international community offered various cooperation with Iran's civil-nuclear program, isotopes for Iran's medical reactor, and a lifting of sanctions on exports of US civilian aircraft parts for Iran.

"The Iranians made clear at Baghdad they were not interested in the package," the Western official said.

"Our basic position is versatile concessions for versatile concessions, and irreversible concessions for irreversible concessions," he said about the administration's thinking. "We would view an irreversible concession as the lifting of sanctions. And in return they would have to take an irreversible step."

The problem with the so-called P5+1 — the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany — group's proposal in Baghdad is that it involved all reversible steps, he said. For instance, halting, but not ending, operations at Fordo.Iran has sought an "experts" meeting in advance of the Moscow talks. But as yet, its request has been rebuffed by the office of lead international negotiator, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. European diplomats have told the Iranians they believe political, and not technical, discussions would be more useful at this point, but their requests for a meeting among political envoys have to date gone unanswered, they said. 

American officials in turn have wondered if the issue is more one of semantics than anything else. In other words, if by "experts" meeting, the Iranians mean a deputies meeting, rather than discussions among lower-level technical experts.
The Americans are frustrated that Iran has refused to meet with them, and indicated they feel more progress is likely to be made if the Iranians and Americans speak directly. 

"At the end of the day, everyone knows the deal will be made between the US and Iran," the official said. 

The P5+1/Iran meetings are "very formal, very stylized affairs where the two sides exchange talking points; there's no give and take," he said. 

He said the six-party talks on North Korea suffered from the same cumbersome dynamic until the US and North Korean envoys basically worked out a deal, which was then worked through the six-party architecture. 

"We'd be open to more regularized meetings," he added. 

Even amid signs of American interest to feel out the possibility of a more direct deal with Iran, however, there are constant risks that the diplomatic process could break down partly through miscalculation, by both sides. 

"Maybe a breakdown is necessary if we ever want to get an eventual agreement," is one school of thought, the official said. The Iranians seem to be under the mistaken impression that we don't want sanctions to go into effect at the end of June, he said.

But he acknowledged the risk that if the process is allowed to break down, it may not be revived for a long time, as was the case following the breakdown of negotiations in Istanbul in January 2011. New negotiations did not resume until some 15 months later.'

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More Syrian Blood on Obama's Hands

by Stephen Lendman

Global Research, June 8, 2012

Morning headlines again falsely accused Assad of mass killings in Qubeir village in central Hama province. Houla-style slaughter was repeated. Reports said as many as 78 civilians were killed. Half were women and children. Around 35 members of one family were murdered in cold blood. Victims were shot at close range and/or stabbed. Some bodies were burned. Independent reports haven't explained what eventually will come out. Pro-Assad loyalists were targeted for assassination. At issue also is creating pretexts for Libyan-style intervention. Western-recruited death squads bear full responsibility. Syrian state TV said an "armed terror group" committed the "horrifying crime....What a few media have reported (is) completely false. (They're) contributing to spilling the blood of Syrians." Responding to calls for help, government forces headed for Qubeir. State TV said they "raided a terrorist cell and killed a number of them and confiscated their weapons." At issue is Obama advancing the ball closer to war. Washington readied plans long ago. Timing alone remains undecided. Plans now may be set. Most likely the Serbia/Kosovo/Iraq/Libya model will be repeated. In 1999, Washington bypassed Security Council approval. It claimed NATO authorization alone mattered. It set a precedent. Henceforth international and constitutional law could be circumvented. Going to war became as simple as ordering bombs away. On June 6, Hillary Clinton suggested it's coming. Her official State Department press release said: "Recent events, including the killings at Houla, have exposed the Asad regime’s determination to continue waging war on the Syrian people." "The international community cannot sit idly by, and we won't...." Clinton stressed "transition(ing)" to a new Syria. At issue is regime change. Earlier she said Washington and the "international community" must "intensify" pressure on Assad "whose rule by murder must come to an end." Heated rhetoric advances the ball for war. So do Western-directed death squad massacres falsely blamed on Assad. In late May, Joint Chiefs head General Martin Dempsey said there's "always a military option....(I)t may come to a point with Syria because of the atrocities." Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other Gulf Council states also urge direct military intervention. So do Western-recruited Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Syrian National Council (SNC) members. Russia and China remain firm against foreign intervention. On June 5, Itar Tass said: "Russia calls impermissible and dangerous the refusal of the Syrian armed opposition to follow the plan of UN/LAS Envoy Kofi Annan, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told reporters on Tuesday...." "That is a very bad and dangerous trend." So is "the establishment of another illegal armed unit, the so-called Syrian Insurgent Army of 12,000 solders, was announced on June 4." "The international community should have learned the no-fly zone lesson from the Libyan events." "Such a scenario is possible only if the illegal armed units receive moral support from abroad and are supplied with arms, munitions and money. We have repeatedly declared that such a situation was impermissible and we continue to call on the Syrian sides and the external forces to stick with the logic of the Annan plan...." "Moscow hopes that the leading world capitals will fully realize the danger and amorality of preparations for an even bigger bloodshed in Syria and the leading of that country to a civil war, which may spread outside of the national territory and spill blood throughout the Middle East." On June 7, Reuters said Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members urged dialogue, not confrontation, saying: SCO "member states are against military interference in the affairs of this region, enforced 'handover of power', and unilateral sanctions." "Member states stress the need to stop any violence on the territory of Syria wherever it is coming from. They respect broad nationwide dialogue, based on independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria." Obama's rhetoric barely conceals intent for direct intervention. Plans are ready to be implemented. Earlier patterns are being repeated. Propaganda wars precede hot ones. NATO intervention followed falsified Serbian atrocity reports. Occupation, colonization and exploitation were planned. So was expanding NATO and enhancing US dominance. New World Order strategy dictates war. Puppet regimes called democracies are established. Serbia/Kosovo aggression became the operative model. America's Project for a New Middle East replicates it. 9/11 was the bogus pretext for attacking and occupying Afghanistan. So were nonexistent WMDs for war on Iraq. Falsified Gaddafi atrocities produced bombs away. Syria follows the same pattern. Mass slaughter and destruction follow. Human misery replaces peace and calm. Washington bears direct responsibility for millions of deaths. Only imperial dominance matters, not body counts. Imagine what's coming if not stopped. America's rage to kill and destroy is insatiable. War on Syria approaches, then Iran, then new targeted states. In 2001, the SCO expanded from its 1996-founded Shanghai Five alliance. Currently its members include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Observers include India, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Mongolia. Dialogue partners include Belarus and Sri Lanka. Expanding the organization is planned. Its member states and observers comprise around half the world's population. They counterbalance Washington and other NATO states. They oppose US hegemony. They endorse non-alignment, non-confrontation, non-interference, non-intervention, inviolable national sovereignty, and economic cooperation. They support peace, not war, to resolve national differences. On June 6 and 7, SCO members held their 12th summit in Beijing. China's Xinhua News Agency said the organization "reshaped the global strategic landscape and reshifted the balance of power." Summit goals include adopting a "Strategic Plan for the Medium-Term Development of the SCO." China's Vice Foreign Minister, Cheng Guoping, said: "It is no exaggeration to say the adoption of this document will have far-reaching influence on the SCO’s development." Security and economic cooperation are prioritized. Beijing's summit "will be a milestone in the SCO history, and is sure to give new impetus to the development of the six-member bloc." China and Russia especially oppose belligerent US policies. Encroaching near their territory raises concerns. Washington's missile shield represents a direct threat. It targets Russia and China, not Iran, North Korea, or other nations. Washington's military buildup across North Africa, the Middle East, Central and East Asia threaten both countries. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has been touring East and South Asia. He seeks new basing rights and closer military alliances. Addressing the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, he said: "Defense policy in the region calls for the U.S. military to expand military-to-military relationships well beyond the traditional treaty allies." "By 2020, the Navy will reposture its forces from today’s roughly 50/50 split between the Atlantic and Pacific to about a 60/40 split between those oceans - including six aircraft carriers, a majority of our cruisers, destroyers, littoral combat ships and submarines." At issue is enhancing Washington's regional influence and strength at the expense of China. Russia is Washington's main military rival. Between them, they have about 97% of the world's nuclear arsenal. In addition, they've got sophisticated delivery systems able to target each other's strategic sites. China also has significant military strength. According to a 2009 Pentagon report, its naval forces alone are formidable.They number at least 260 vessels, including 75 or more major warships and over 60 submarines. It also has hundreds of nuclear warheads, sophisticated delivery systems, and other strategic weapons. It's a regional super-power. It's also positioned to surpass America as the world's dominant economy before decade's end. During last year's November Bali summit, Obama sought anti-China coalition partners. Panetta's on the same mission. America's aim is unchallenged global dominance. Middle East/Central Asian wars rage for it. More are planned. An eventual Russia/China showdown looms. Each side seeks strategic partnerships against the other. How it plays out ahead remains to be seen. It's hard imagining Washington wants war with any nation able to give as much as it takes. War was never an option under conditions of "mutually assured destruction (MAD)." It's not likely now, but events sometimes overtake policies. Extremist US hawks believe wars solve all problems. Earlier ones felt the same way. In 1961, General Curtis LeMay believed nuclear war with Soviet Russia was inevitable. He argued for preemptively launching thousands of missiles to destroy its nuclear capability. He believed losing a few US cities was a price worth paying. General Lyman Lemnitzer held the same view. He presented it at a National Security Council meeting. Thankfully, Jack Kennedy was president. He was so disgusted he walked out. Today America has no JFK. He wanted the Cold War and America's involvement in Vietnam ended. Those views got him killed. Current US leaders crave more wars. That mindset could assure mutual destruction. Syria's a stepping stone to Iran and other targeted states. Russia and China represent the final frontier. Anything ahead is possible given Washington's rage for dominance no matter the risks. Imagine leaders willing to take them. 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

Stephen Lendman is a frequent contributor to Global Research. Global Research Articles by Stephen Lendman

Palestinian Hunger Strike: An All Out Victory

Palestinians hold posters depicting prisoners Al-Sarsak and al-Rekhawi during a rally in solidarity with them, in Rafah on 9 June 2012. (Photo: Reuters - Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)

By: Ameer Makhoul

Published Saturday, June 9, 2012

These two letters were sent from prison by Ameer Makhoul on May 19 and May 30 respectively. They were only received this week as Israeli prison authority had stopped all mail deliveries from Palestinian prisoners during the “Battle of Empty Stomachs” hunger strike.

Palestinians have achieved three consecutive victories in the last few months. In October 2011, there was the release of prisoners (the exchange deal involving the kidnapped Israeli soldier).

Then there was a series of individual hunger strikes, which lasted for unparalleled periods of time. These began with Khader Adnan, who went on hunger strike to protest against the Israeli policy of administrative detention.

Adnan’s action spurred an open-ended hunger strike by prisoners, started by more than a thousand prisoners on April 17. It ended on May 14, with more than two thousand prisoners taking part. The strike began a new page in the history of the Palestinian struggle for liberation, written by the prisoners along with their Arab and international supporters.

The agreement signed on 14 May 2012 between the authorities in charge of the strike and Israel – with Egyptian and international mediation and guarantees – confirmed that the prisoner movement not only scored a major achievement, but realized a clear victory. We can now speak of two periods, the before and after, with the watershed moment being the hunger strike of 2012.

From the beginning, the strike had several strong points. The most important of these was the clarity of its aims – key goals achievable through struggle and determination. These goals fused with the significant and highly conscious coordination between the prisoners on strike and those leading it inside the prisons, and between the latter and the wider political authorities outside.

Strong points became clear. There was no detailed involvement with everyday demands and issues. Thereby, a situation was avoided where larger aims would become entangled with specific demands. This tied the hands of the occupation, which could not manipulate these aims.

A huge role was also played by the strong, clear approach to the media taken by the leadership of the strike, while Israel failed in its attempts to broadcast a contrary view. There was also an accurate reading of Palestinian, Arab, and international realities. A central goal was determined through prior planning – the possibility of reviving the Palestinian popular movement and making the most of the significant Egyptian role as a principal party to support the strike and guarantee the achievement of its goals. This risk proved worthwhile as was evident in the Egyptian sponsorship of the agreement to end the strike.

Another significant achievement was the clear preparation and the impressive readiness of the international solidarity movements to launch their campaigns all over the world, particularly in Europe and America, to support the prisoners in their fight for freedom. They declared April 17 as Palestinian Prisoner Day.

This resulted in international public pressure in favor of the Palestinians’ right to confront the collusion of their government with the Israeli occupiers. These movements adopted a clear discourse on the humanitarian and political rights demanded by the prisoners. They also proved the importance of cumulative efforts to internationalize the cause of the prisoners and the cause of Palestine.

The strike adopted an approach which has blown the policy of “postponement” – imposed by Israel with official American and European support – out of the water. This is what happened in Oslo, where crucial components of the Palestinian issue were postponed to fit the policy of dictation and domination over the Palestinian leadership.

One of the issues postponed under that formula was the release of prisoners, but this too was brought back to the top of the official Palestinian agenda by the strike. The strikers refused to accept that the prisoners were pawns under the mercy of the occupation.

The strike also succeeded in neutralizing the negative effect of Israeli public opinion by not addressing it at all. This is because if it had moved, it would have gone against the just demands of the prisoners. It is a colonialist public opinion, extremely hostile to Palestinian rights, and therefore cannot support its own victims.

Why a Victory and Not Just an Achievement?

There is a difference between achieving specific matters within a wider set of demands and achieving all the goals of a decisive act of struggle. There is also a difference between a clear victory and a case in which each side thinks they’ve won. The outcome of the strike, as expressed in the agreement, is clear – there is only one victorious side, the prisoners.

This was the first time that negotiations were carried out directly with those involved in the case. It is also the first time a decision has been made by the occupier – the General Security Apparatus (Shabak) – not the Prison Authority, which in the scale of Israeli oppression is just a subcontractor of the Shabak and the security services.

The strike neutralized the Prison Authority and the longer it went on the more direct the dealings with the principal player, the Shabak, became. This is because of the strength of the strike and its solid basis. It forced the Israeli apparatus to reveal itself, because it limited its ability to manipulate and maneuver.
But the most important issue here is the success of the strike in removing the strategic oppression tools the Shabak has used for decades, particularly the laws of administrative detention and solitary confinement in prisons. In this way, the rules of a deeply rooted coercive game were broken.

As a result of its strength, the strike also revealed the hostility and criminality of the Israeli judicial system, which since its conception has been an instrument to whitewash the racist colonialist project, the Israeli state’s crimes. It gave them legitimacy, justifying administrative procedures, the British mandate’s emergency laws, and continuous solitary confinement, all under the guise of security. And here we saw the Shabak forced to back down over some of them, confirming that the Israeli judicial system played and still plays the role of “palace guards” for the ruling security apparatus.

As for the popular international movement, which turned into official efforts, the Arab role, particularly the Egyptian, and the carrying out of multi-sided negotiations (the prisoners, Israel, Egypt, and international pressure) – all these created a new atmosphere, an equation more akin to real negotiations than simply an occupying country dealing with its victims. The strike also confirmed that Israel’s power is not absolute, that its strength and sway can crumble in the face of targeted Palestinian efforts.

Lessons for the Internal Palestinian Situation

It is true that the strike was not comprehensive. It was Hamas who took the decision to launch it, along with Islamic Jihad, and with the support of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Members of the PLO-Fatah took part in it. Those who initiated the strike kept their word when they guaranteed that all factions were represented in the authoritative body and leadership of the strike, each according to their role and numbers.

Although the strike included no more than a third of the prisoners, with Hamas being the most heavily represented, this in no way weakens its legitimacy. There might have been an argument prior to the strike about declaring it officially, but the moment it began, it became the prisoners’ strike. It became the responsibility of those prisoners taking part in it, and even those who were not, to make it succeed, support it, and share responsibility over it.

The strike proved that when our people or the prisoners’ movement engage in large-scale battles with the occupying oppressive state, the whole nation gets involved, because the Palestinian people are reconciled with the original cause.

It is worth confirming that support for the Palestinian cause and Palestinian rights in their entirety is above political factions, rendering such divisions marginal and the people united. When the struggle of our people in Galilee, the Triangle, the Naqab desert, and the coast meets with that in Jerusalem, Gaza, the West Bank, and those in exile, all boundaries between our people dissolve.

Reconciliation is not the goal of the Palestinian people, it is the responsibility of the political factions involved. The goals of the Palestinian people are return, freedom, liberating the homeland and the people, and self-determination. What is more important than reconciliation is the unity of the struggle and its integration on the basis of the fundamentals of Palestinian rights, not on curtailing them.

This is where the strike succeeded in mobilizing an unprecedented Palestinian movement in every corner of the homeland. With the support of the international movement, this turned the equation on its head in the last stages of the strike, when the prisoners became the ones holding the occupiers and the prisons under siege.

The Palestinian popular movement was followed by an important and effective movement. The initiative launched by the prisoners’ affairs ministry, the freed prisoners, the leadership of the Palestinian Authority, and the PLO is a promising model for overcoming factional divisions.

It is now clear that coordination is possible, roles can be complementary, even if the divisions continue. It is clear that the unity of the goal and the people over the prisoners’ struggle is the basis. This is an integrated working model which is capable of achieving victories.

In his last speech in February 1965, Malcolm X said: “The only thing power respects is power.” This is one of the most important lessons of the strike. How do we create this power through determination and justice, and how do we use it well as prisoners and as a people? We must not forget that the most important goal of the prisoners, and the people, is freedom, and that requires more power. The hunger strike in 2012 is a victory on the road to freedom.

This letter was translated from Arabic.

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UK’s Ch. 4 Correspondent: Free Syrian Army Drove us into no-man’s Zone to get us Killed by Regime Forces

Local Editor Alex Thompson, Channel 4 News's chief correspondent, said he was driven out into the centre of no-man's land was a deliberate move by rebels to get them killed The UK-based Channel 4 News's chief correspondent, Alex Thomson, recalled how he and his crew were driven into a no-man's zone by the Syrian rebels, so that they would be killed by the regime forces' fire. "I'm quite clear the rebels deliberately set us up to be shot by the Syrian Army. Dead journos are bad for Damascus," Thomson wrote on the Channel 4 News' Blog. He stated that he and his crew were with a small group from the Free Syrian Army, which led them to a "free-fire zone" on the edge of al-Qusayr. He indicated that before they started their journey to meet the rebel members, the UN personnel accompanying them had warned them that if anything goes wrong, they would be on their own. This is exactly what happened; Thomson said that as he entered with his crew to the free-fire zone, and the ambush was as clear as sun, the UN vehicles abandoned them and drove away as the journalists' van was surrounded by shouting militias. Also, Thomson said that his van made it out on their own, and were able to head back to Damascus, after four men in a black car led them straight into the said free-fire zone, and then to a blocked off road; and as the sniping started, they discovered that they has been led by rebel troops straight to a dead-end. "That conviction only strengthened half an hour later when our four friends in the same beaten-up black car suddenly pulled out of a side-street, blocking us from the UN vehicles ahead," Thomson went on to say. Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org

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The Global War in/for Syria - Lavrov: We Won't Pass any UNSC Resolution on Military Intervention in Syria

Jun 09, 2012

MOSCOW, (SANA)- Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, on Saturday said Russia will not change its stance of rejecting military intervention in Syria because of the grave consequences it would have on the entire region.

In a press conference on Moscow, Lavrov sreiterated Russia's position that it will not allow passing any Security Council resolution that authorizes the use of force against Syria.

He affirmed that Moscow has confirmed information from media parties and Russian experts that horrible acts of maltreatment and terrorism are being carried out by terrorists against supporters of the Syrian government.

He noted that a British journalist has confirmed that gunmen tried to kill him in Syria to accuse the Syrian government of the attempt.

Lavrov said that the crimes which were committed in all-Houla and al-Qbeir and other areas and the terrorist bombings which took place in Aleppo and Damascus came in an escalation that has been provided cover by external sides.

He voiced concern that foreign sides are recruiting mercenaries and extremist forces and supplying them with money and arms to perpetrate crimes in Syria and ignite sedition.

Maker of Fake films:
He is dead and then he is alive,
then he is dead again, then alive,
blowing up pipelines and telling lies to the press.

He said that the armed opposition has not abided by the item of Annan's plan pertaining to halting violence, underscoring how the armed groups were spreading in the cities from which the Syrian Army had withdrawn and were attacking the military personnel and the citizens.

He stressed that Syria has implemented many of the Annan's plan's items and is serious about making a success of the plan, but there are parties that are supporting terrorism and working hard to sabotage the international envoy's plan.

Lavrov said that every time positive results came out, some countries would seek to create the conditions for foreign intervention in Syria.

He stressed that Russia has enough information on who is arming the Syrian opposition and who is sending the weapons to them and who is leading the armed groups and factions and their whereabouts.

He added that the European and NATO intelligence apparatuses have information about the bases of the armed groups' leaderships in Syria's neighboring countries, and that funds were established to support these groups in a number of Arab countries, noting that some Arab countries speak with pride about arming the terrorists in Syria.

He stressed that there is no alternative to the plan of the UN envoy, Kofi Annan, to achieve a peaceful settlement in Syria, pointing out that there are parties that are striving to abort the plan and implement their own agendas and that putting a time limit for Annan's plan aims at pressuring the Security Council.

He called on these foreign parties to not impose any agendas on the Syrian government.
The Russian Foreign Minister said Russia has called for holding an international conference on the peaceful settlement in Syria with the participation of important regional parties such as Iran, Iraq and other countries.

He added that Moscow is in contact with all the parties and partners to agree on the basic principles of the solution so that for the conference to be transparent and frank.

Lavrov reiterated that Russia does not want to change its stance towards Syria but wants the implementation of Annan's six-point plan, noting that the international conference Moscow has called for is meant to support the implementation of this plan.

He stressed that the conference will not be held under the umbrella of the 'Friends of Syria' group, underlining that this group is not a friend to Syria, but a friend to the opposition parties only.

In order for the conference to be effective, Lavrov said, it should include the participation of all the countries wielding influence on the Syrian parties.

Lavrov scriticized the Arab League's decision on stopping the broadcast of the Syrian satellite channels, saying it contradicts the freedom of expression and media.

He said there are TV channels that are instilling in the viewers' minds that Annan's plan is unimplementable, highlighting that some international media depend in their assessments on the stances and viewpoints of regional TV channels that have been describing the crimes committed by the armed factions and groups as acts of heroism. He noted that some of al-Jazeera TV channel's staff have resigned because of the channel's biased coverage of the events in Syria.

He said that media should play an important role in finding a solution in Syria and not escalating violence and terrorism, stressing that the word might cause fires that could not be quenched.

H. Said


"Might Makes Right" Says Conspirator of Syrian-Iranian Conquest


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Syria`s Official Media: Martyrs & Terrorist Bombings in Syria on Friday

(Dp-news - Sana)

Qudssaya bombing on Friday

SYRIA- Clashes between Syrian army troops and rebels in many cities and areas all over the country were reported on Friday. Reports said that at least one restive district of Damascus, where an explosion was heard in Qudssaya.
An armed terrorist group on Friday blew up a booby-trapped car in al-Thawra St. in Qudssaya district in Damascus Countryside, causing the martyrdom of three law enforcement members. A number of law enforcement members and civilians got injured in the bombing, the report added.
An UN observer delegation visited the injured at al-Mouassah Hospital in Damascus.

Syrian Authorities foiled Terrorists' Infiltration Attempts and a Booby-trapped Car in Daraa Popular, State Efforts to bring back Normal Life to Terrorism-affected Syria Arab plan signals end of President al-Assad era  Arab League “extends mission” in Syria

Also on Friday, Syrian authorities seized large amounts of modern and advanced weapons in a car coming from the Lebanese territories towards the Syrian territories at Wadi al-Fatleh area in the village of Ras Maaret Yabroud in Damascus Countryside.

The seized weapons included advanced U.S.-made sniper rifles and heavy machineguns, some of them manufactured in Israel, in addition to Israeli-made explosive devices and remotely-controlled detonation devices and French-made LAO rockets. 

The car also included silencer-equipped sniper rifles, machineguns, RPG launchers, advanced wireless communication devices and a large amount of ammunition of various types including mortar fires.


In Idleb province, two law enforcement members and three civilians were martyred in a blast of a booby-trapped car in the city of Idleb.

SANA cited a source in the province as saying that an armed terrorist group blew up a car loaded with a large amount of explosives in the Industrial City of Idleb causing the martyrdom of a Warrant Officer and another member in addition to three civilians.

The source added that a number of civilians and law enforcement personnel were injured in the bombing which caused great damages to the buildings and shops in the area.


In Idleb countryside, an armed terrorist group last night brutally hit to death a citizen from Kwaro village in Armanaz region.

SANA quoted a source in the province as saying that an armed terrorist group blocked the way of a citizen, 46, while he was on his way to buy some household items and severely hit him with big stones on his head and body causing his immediate death.

The source added that after killing citizen, the terrorists opened fire randomly in the village to spread panic among the residents.

In Aleppo city, a woman was martyred, and three others and a child were injured when an explosive device planted by an armed terrorist group went off in al-Marjeh neighborhood in Aleppo.

SANA quoted an official source in the governorate as saying that woman was carried to the hospital where she died of her wounds, adding that three other women and a 4-year-old child were injured too.

In Aleppo too and on Thursday evening, the authorities foiled an attempt to blow up a booby-trapped car near Jamiyat al-Mohandisin roundabouts in the city.

An official source in the province told SANA that the car was found to include an explosive device whose weight they estimated by the members of a military engineering who dismantled it at 500 kg.

In Deir Ezzor province, an armed terrorist group attacked the military units charged with protecting al-Omar oil field of al-Furat Oil Company near al-Mayadin region.

SANA was informed by a source in the province that the military units clashed with the terrorists and killed and wounded a number of them, while the rest fled away.

The source said that the clash also resulted in the martyrdom on a member of the military units and the injury of two officers and two other members.

In Daraa, an armed terrorist group attacked the law enforcement personnel and citizens in the city of Bosra al-Sham in the province's countryside and committed sabotage acts.

An Official source in the province told SANA that the authorities interfered immediately and a clash erupted with terrorist group' members which resulted in killing a number of terrorists, including a terrorist who had participated with other terrorists in attacking the citizens and security forces in the region, in addition to vandalizing public and private institutions and blowing up booby-trapped cars. 

At another incident, Syrian authorities stormed a den of an armed terrorist group in Mahajjeh town in Daraa countryside and arrested a number of terrorists who had been attacking the law enforcement personnel and the citizens in the region.

In Homs, the competent authorities thwarted an attempt by armed terrorist groups to infiltrate Syria in al-Quseir countryside from Lebanon.

SANA quoted a source at Homs Province as saying that the competent authorities monitored an attempt by three Pick-up cars carrying gunmen and various kinds of weapons to enter Syria in Kherbet al-Naima in Reef al-Quseir from Mashare' al-Qa' in Lebanese territories.

The source added the authorities clashed with the armed groups and managed to destroy one car completely while the other two cars returned back to Lebanon. 

Another armed terrorist group, and in sabotage operation on Friday, targeted a high voltage converting station in al-Qaboun area.

Minister of Electricity Imad Khamis told SANA that the firefighters managed to extinguish the fire which was resulted from the sabotage act and caused a heavy black smoke emitting.

Minister Khamis said this station supplies a number of Damascus and its countryside areas.

"The initial estimate of damages amounted to more than 200 million SYP, and the work is underway to supply the areas which the electricity was cut off in from alternate stations," the Minister added.

He said that maintenance teams started the work to repair the station and replace the burned converters to re-run them in three days.

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Russia FM: A Bus transporting Russian specialists was attacked in Damascus

(DP-News - agencies)

Add caption

MOSCOW- A bus carrying Russian passengers came under fire in Syria on Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

“Today a bus that was carrying Russian specialists was attacked in western Damascus,” Lavrov said, noting that it was not the first such incident.

On Friday, a building in Damascus where Russian specialists live was fired at from a grenade launcher.

“One grenade hit the second floor wall, causing damage to the building. Fortunately, no one was injured,” Lavrov said.

Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, in a televised press conference in Moscow on Saturday, said that Russia will not change its stance of rejecting military intervention in Syria because of the dire consequences it would have on the entire region.

West & EU Countries expel Syrian Diplomats  Syria`s Official News roundup on Monday May 28  Saving Syria requires Russia’s cooperation UN draft Resolution on Syria, full text

The Russian foreign minister also gave a briefing on a Russian proposal for an international conference on Syria.

Lavrov stressed that Russia will not allow passing any Security Council resolution that allows the use of force against Syria.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin is against the Western demands and has called for action in “an accurate, balanced manner” in Syria.
“Why are we thinking that if we push the current (Syrian) leadership from power, then tomorrow general wellbeing will begin there,” Putin said during a joint press conference with French President Francois Hollande in Paris on June 1.

The situation in Syria has come close to a wide-scale civil war. Kofi Annan’s peace plan is not being implemented war. Such assessments were made at the United Nations after a new bloody massacre near Hama and the opposition’s opting out of the Armistice Agreement. Despite that Moscow calls for saving the UN-backed settlement plan for Syria and for working out a mechanism for the fulfillment of this plan at a new international conference.  
It is necessary to persuade the armed opposition to enter into dialogue with the authorities. Moscow calls for the convocation of an international conference on Syria with the participation of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, and also with the participation of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, and Iran. The League of Arab States (LAS), the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the European Union (EU), and the United Nations are also invited to take part because Moscow suggests that it should be held under the UN auspices.
The main thing is to reach agreement in using their political influence on Damascus and on various opposition groups obliging them to observe the cease-fire regime. And next step will be to establish a dialogue between them.

Meanwhile, a group of UN observers continue monitoring a ceasefire that was part of a six-point peace plan presented by the UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, in March.
Annan told UN "everyone is looking for a solution" but acknowledged doubts about a peace deal he brokered, which calls for a ceasefire and dialogue to end more than a year of violence aimed at toppling Assad.
A UN diplomat, speaking anonymously, said "there will be action in the coming days to get a vote on a resolution which includes measures under Chapter VII of the UN Charter -- which would mean sanctions."

Chapter VII allows for sanctions and, in extreme cases, military action. Russia and China, infuriated by the NATO campaign in Libya last year, have vowed to oppose any military intervention.

The Syrian government has frequently stated that the foreign-sponsored “saboteurs and terrorists” are responsible for the deadly turmoil that began in March 2011.

On June 3, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in a televised address to the parliament that Syria is “facing a war waged from the outside,” stressing that “Standing up against the conspiracy is not easy, but we will overcome the obstacles.”

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LA’s NewGround Project: ‘Salam + Shalom’

Posted on June 10, 2012 |

During the 33 days Israel-Hizbullah War in Summer 2006, the pro-Israel Jewish groups ran an Islamophobic campaign against Muslim community in Los Angeles. In order to counter Zionists’ plan of pitting local Jewish-Muslim communities on a conflict thousands of miles away – the city Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, an Israel-Firster, convened a task force to bring Muslim and Jewish leaders to the same table. This effort gave birth to the NewGround, a joint fellowship project by the Progressive Jewish Alliance and the Muslim Public Affairs Council. In 2011, NewGround became independent from these two organizations; today, it is housed within the city’s Human Relations Commission. Rabbi Sarah Bassin (born 1982) is the executive director of the organization.
Traditional Jews have often found it easier to relate to Islam than to Christianity. One reason is historical – Jewish communities have suffered more in Christian settings than in Muslim ones. Islam and Judaism are close not only theologically but also structurally. Both religious cultures emphasise a legal system for the regulation of everyday life. That system, called in Judaism Halakha (from the root “to walk”) is like a path which Jews are summoned to walk on a daily basis, the Muslim equivalent being Shari’ah. The laws govern everything from eating to marital relations to business or medical ethics, so that theological and Prophetic ideals are concretised through incremental steps on a day-to-day basis.
Moreover, many Jewish religious scholars don’t accept Christianity as a monotheist faith. For example, in 2011, Israeli Rabbi Baruch Efrati told a questioner that jews are permitted to pray in mosque but not in a church as the later houses idols.
A 2011 study by the Center for American Progress (CAP) has revealed that seven US charitable organization have spent $42.6 million during 2001-2009 to spread hatred toward Islam and Muslims. And who lead this Crusade against Muslims? By far too many Israel-Firster Zionist Jews! For example, Daniel Pipes of Middle East Forum, David Horowitz of FrontPage magazine, Yerushalmi of Anti-Sharia compaign, Pamela Geller, a blogger and Steven Emerson of the Investigative Project on Terrorism who claims that Bush, Obama and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie are too soft on Muslims.
On October 3, 2009 – Israeli-born blogger and author, Gilad Atzmon, explained that the Jewish greeting Shalom doesn’t mean ‘Salam (peace) - but what’s good for the Jews.
Watch a video below in which a Rabbi and a Sudanese female Muslim singer talk about the common bonds between their religions dating back to prophet Suleyman (Solomon) and the Queen of Saba, Bilqis (Sheba) – over 3,000 years ago.

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Mob attacks women at Egypt anti-sexual harassment rally

Hundreds of men assaulted women holding a march demanding an end to sexual harassment, with the attackers overwhelming the male guardians and groping and molesting several of the female marchers in Cairo's Tahrir Square

AP, Saturday 9 Jun 2012

 

File photo: A protest by hundreds of Egyptian women demanding an end to sexual harassment and equal rights (Photo: AP)

 

A mob of hundreds of men have assaulted women holding a march demanding an end to sexual harassment, with the attackers overwhelming the male guardians and groping and molesting several of the female marchers in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
From the ferocity of Friday's assault, some of the victims said it appeared to have been an organised attempt to drive women out of demonstrations and trample on the pro-democracy protest movement.

The attack follows smaller scale assaults on women this week in Tahrir, the epicenter of the uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak to step down last year. Thousands have been gathering in the square this week in protests over a variety of issues — mainly over worries that presidential elections this month will secure the continued rule by elements of Mubarak's regime backed by the ruling military.

Earlier in the week, an Associated Press reporter witnessed around 200 men assault a woman who eventually fainted before men trying to help could reach her.

Friday's march was called to demand an end to sexual assaults. Around 50 women participated, surrounded by a larger group of male supporters who joined hands to form a protective ring around them. The protesters carried posters saying, "The people want to cut the hand of the sexual harasser," and chanted, "The Egyptian girl says it loudly, harassment is barbaric."

After the marchers entered a crowded corner of the square, a group of men waded into the group of women, heckling them and groping them. The male supporters tried to fend them off, and it turned into a melee involving a mob of hundreds.

The marchers tried to flee while the attackers chased them and male supporters tried to protect them. But the attackers persisted, cornering several women against a metal sidewalk railing, including an Associated Press reporter, shoving their hands down their clothes and trying to grab their bags. The male supporters fought back, swinging belts and fists and throwing water.

Eventually, the women were able to reach refuge in a nearby building with the mob still outside until they finally got out to safety.

"After what I saw and heard today. I am furious at so many things. Why beat a girl and strip her off? Why?" wrote Sally Zohney, one of the organisers of the event on Twitter.

The persistence of the attack raised the belief of many that it was intentional, though who orchestrated it was unclear.

Mariam Abdel-Shahid, a 25 year-old cinema student who took part in the march, said "sexual harassment will only take us backward."

"This is pressure on the woman to return home," she said.

Ahmed Mansour, a 22 year-old male medical student who took part in the march, said there are "people here trying to abuse the large number of women protesters who feel safe and secure. Some people think it is targeted to make women hate coming here."
"I am here to take a position and to object to this obscene act in society," he said.

Assaults on women Tahrir have been a demoralising turn for Egypt's protest movement.
During the 18-day uprising against Mubarak last year, women say they briefly experienced a "new Egypt" taking place in Tahrir, with none of the harassment that is common in Cairo's streets. Women participated in the anti-Mubarak uprising as leading activists, protesters, medics and even fighters to ward off attacks by security agents or affiliated thugs. They have continued the role during the frequent protests over the past 15 months against the military, which took power after Mubarak's fall on 11 February, 2011.

But women have also been targeted, both by mobs and by military and security forces in crackdowns, a practice commonly used by Mubarak security against protesters. Lara Logan, a US correspondent for CBS television, was sexually assaulted by a frenzied mob in Tahrir on the day Mubarak stepped down, when hundreds of thousands of Egyptians came to the square to celebrate.

In a defining image of the post-Mubarak state violence against women, troops dispersing a December protest in Tahrir were captured on video stripping a woman's top off down to her blue bra and stomping with their boots on her chest, as other troops pulled her by the arms across the ground.

That incident prompted an unprecedented march by some 10,000 women through central Cairo in December in a show of outrage, demanding Egypt's ruling military step down.

In contrast, the small size of Friday's march could reflect the vulnerability and insecurity many feel in the square, which was packed with thousands of mostly young men by nightfall Friday. Twenty rights groups signed on to support the stand and hundreds more vowed to take part, according to the Facebook page where organiders publicised the event, but only around 50 women participated.
Sexual harassment of women, including against those who wear the Islamic headscarf or even cover their face, is common in the streets of Cairo. A 2008 report by the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights says two-thirds of women in Egypt experienced sexual harassment on a daily basis. A string of mass assaults on women in 2006 during the Muslim feast following the holy month of Ramadan prompted police to increase the number of patrols to combat it but legislation providing punishment was never passed.
After Friday's attack, many were already calling for another, much larger stand in the square against such assaults.
Another participant in Friday's march, Ahmed Hawary, said a close female friend of his was attacked by a mob of men in Tahrir Square in January. She was rushed off in an ambulance, which was the only way to get her out, he said. After suffering from a nervous breakdown, she left Cairo altogether to work elsewhere in Egypt.

"Women activists are at the core of the revolution," Hawary said. "They are the courage of this movement. If you break them, you break the spirit of the revolution."

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