Question in Beirut: Will the Syrians, Saudis, Iranians strike a new Lebanon deal?

FEB 22, 2024

Source

The visit of former Lebanese PM Saad Hariri to Beirut has tongues wagging. Will the impetus of the expanding Gaza war force a Saudi–Syrian settlement that can once more impose stability in Lebanon?

Photo Credit: The Cradle

Malek al-Khoury

The visit of former Lebanese PM Saad Hariri to Beirut has tongues wagging. Will the impetus of the expanding Gaza war force a Saudi–Syrian settlement that can once more impose stability in Lebanon?

On 21 February, a Syrian website, citing sources in Damascus, broadcasted news that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) would shortly pay a visit to Syria, causing an uproar in regional political circles. Despite government-aligned newspaper Al-Watan denying the report, the prospect of a top Saudi visit evoked memories of an era past when Syrian–Saudi understanding secured Lebanon’s internal balances, which are shaken or resolved based on the tempo of West Asia’s hegemons and the status of their relations with one another.

عاجل – مصدر سوري مطلع لـ"الوطن": لا يوجد أي شيء رسمي حول زيارة محتملة لولي العهد السعودي الأمير محمد بن سلمان إلى سورية.

— جريدة الوطن (@alwatan_sy) February 20, 2024

A decisive response to rumors of an impending MbS visit remains elusive. A Syrian diplomatic source would only confirm to The Cradle that “Syrian–Saudi communication is gradually developing, and the discussions have become more detailed about the mutual common interests of the two countries” concerning the “post-war scene in Gaza.”

While the source did not deny or confirm Bin Salman’s visit, he suggested that the development of communications might reach the stage of “mutual visits” not only with Saudi Arabia “but also with Egypt.”

While the improvement in relations between Syria and Arab states is not limited to Saudi Arabia, discussions with Riyadh have become more significant recently – to the extent that an Arab foreign minister, believed to be the Emirati FM, made an effort in mid-February to persuade members of the US Congress to retract its Syrian boycott law, which US-based anti-Syria activists insist on upholding. A source tells The Cradle that these activists “train with a US agency, alongside the Iranian opposition, on formulating and marketing these lobbying projects and forming pressure groups” to halt any policy reversals in Washington.

But the discussion about reopening relations with Damascus is no longer only taking place in Arab corridors. Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, in an announcement following talks last week with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, revealed “the work of the Republic of Cyprus in cooperation with other member states” to advance European–Syrian ties. 

The EU, in general, shares that view about opening up member-states’ relations with Damascus, in discussions which the Syrian source says are also progressing, especially in the matter of identifying “the parts of Syria that are sufficiently safe” for the return of refugee populations.

On 16 February, on the sidelines of the 60th Munich Security Conference in Germany, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with EU Foreign Affairs Chief Josep Borrell to discuss several regional issues, including Syria, reports Anadolu Agency, which quotes Turkish Foreign Ministry sources as saying “both sides” stressed the need to involve Damascus “in the political process.”

As for the Americans, the White House is engaged in difficult negotiations with many Arab states “in search of a diplomatic achievement” for the Joe Biden administration as his re-election campaign heats up. Washington is busy seeking mechanisms to consolidate its interests in West Asia within the significant barriers created by the Chinese-brokered Saudi–Iranian rapprochement agreement, which, for the US, has been maddeningly stable thus far. Indeed, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan went to bat in Munich for his “Iranian neighbors,” saying the Iranians “do not want escalation in the region.”

As US–Iraqi negotiations over US troop withdrawal pick up pace, a Syrian source tells The Cradle that an American delegation “visited northeastern Syria, to discuss the possibilities of maintaining a US presence there in the event of withdrawal from Iraq.” Interestingly, the head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units, Faleh al-Fayyad, visited Turkiye on 20 February to discuss “the future of the process of securing the borders from Kurdish organizations in the event that the US–Iraqi negotiations lead to the dismantling of the US military bases and the retention of officers as advisors only,” according to an Iraqi journalist source.

Where does this leave Lebanon?

There is no doubt that the recent Beirut visit of former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri – who currently resides in Abu Dhabi, which enjoys friendly relations with Syria – resonated deeply in Lebanon. It was viewed as a harbinger of the return of “Hariri-ism,” which comes laden with regional political settlements and top-level shuttle diplomacy – and reflected a tacit sign of new Saudi approval.  

During his visit, Hariri spoke in the language of his father – former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, assassinated in Beirut on 14 February 2005 – about “peace and stability” in Lebanon and its neighborhood, and even invoked, during an interview with Saudi news channel Al-Hadath, his father’s key political role in Lebanon’s civil war in paving the way to the Saudi-brokered Taif Agreement that settled the 15-year conflict.

It is important to note that Riyadh–Hariri relations have been estranged for years – unlike the close Saudi relations his father enjoyed. Tensions between them grew during the war in Syria, with Hariri’s inability or unwillingness to curb Lebanon’s Hezbollah from defending the Syrian state from a Saudi-backed war.

While Hariri said during his Beirut stopover that the time was not yet ripe for him to return to Lebanon’s muddy political arena, he offered his “intervention” if he “felt that the Sunni community in Lebanon was leaning toward extremism.” Many have linked his comments to the trial of 84 civilians in the UAE last week, charged with membership in “Muslim Brotherhood” (MB) organizations – a group banned in the UAE – as well as Turkiye’s remarkable withdrawal of MB leading figure Mahmoud Hussein’s citizenship amidst Ankara’s thrust to mend ties with Abu Dhabi.

A Lebanese source who accompanied Hariri on his visit hints to The Cradle that “concern over the Muslim Brotherhood may pave the way for the return of Hariri’s relations with Syria.” In other words, the former PM could gain support from the anti-MB Saudis, Emiratis, and Syrians if he toes this political line within Lebanon. Interestingly, a Lebanese figure close to pro-MB Qatar attacked Hariri immediately upon his arrival at the airport via X (formerly known as Twitter).

Regional winds appear to be shifting direction, in large part because the Gulf’s traditional “guarantor” of security, the United States, is knee-deep in fanning an untenable crisis by unconditionally supporting Israel’s assault on Gaza. In Munich, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry sought a “Palestinian consensus” that would pave the way for a “two-state” settlement, in which, according to him, Hamas is excluded. The Arab–Islamic consensus is currently seeking a long-term Palestinian solution after the dust in Gaza settles, which would necessarily include luring “Hamas” and “Fatah” into a national consensus government.

In Beirut, former President Michel Aoun senses this consensus and has made a show of opposing any links of “Lebanon’s fate to Gaza.” Aoun, who once opposed the Taif Agreement, awaits the opportunity to oppose it again. This is, of course, a domestic play mainly to ensure the country’s minority Christian voice is heard in whatever political arrangements lie over the horizon. 

But Gaza remains unavoidable in Lebanon, with Israel waging war against Hezbollah on the country’s southern border, which reached 45 kilometers into the country this week when Tel Aviv struck civilian sites near Sidon. The Gaza war is now being played out in multiple theaters – in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, and Yemen – and has the potential to expand and deepen further. It is this war waged by Israel and its US ally that is rapidly drawing Arab states to recalibrate the region’s direction from within and amongst themselves. 

This begs the question now frequently heard in Beirut: What if Damascus, Riyadh, and Tehran agree this time? Everyone is waiting for that moment to reserve their seats in West Asia’s latest theater.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.

سورية الأسد بيضة القبان في توازنات المنطقة

ألثلاثاء 9 نوفمبر 2021

الأسد يستقبل عبد الله بن زايد… والإمارات تفتح الباب لحضور سورية قمة الجزائر / قآني ينجح بالتهدئة وجمع الخصوم في بغداد… وشنكر: مأرب هزيمة لواشنطن والرياض / لافروف: واشنطن تريد بقاء النازحين في لبنان… ووزير خارجية قطر يصل اليوم إلى بيروت /

 ناصر قنديل

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أن يقال إن سورية ككيان سياسي يحمل ثقل أوزان المكانة التاريخية والمكان الجغرافي، بيضة قبان توازنات المنطقة، فتلك حقيقة تؤكدها الأحداث الكبرى التي عرفها العالم على الصعيد الحضاري والثقافي والسياسي والاجتماعي والفني والديني خلال أكثر من ألفي سنة، فهي سورية التي منحت الإسلام دولته الأولى التي انطلق إلى العالم منها، وهي سورية التي منحت المسيحية كنيستها الأولى التي انطلق منها تلامذة السيد المسيح إلى الغرب والشرق، وهي سورية أبجدية أوغاريت، وزنوبيا ملكة تدمر، ووجهة الغزوات من المغول إلى الفرنجة، وسورية الشريك الحتمي بتحرير القدس من معركة حطين، والشريك بذات المقدار في حرب تشرين قبل نصف قرن، وهي سورية التي شكلت وجهة الحرب الكونية الهادفة لتغيير العالم من خلال تغييرها، بقطع طريق المتوسط على عمالقة آسيا، روسيا والصين وإيران، وهي سورية التي تخرج منتصرة من هذه الحرب لتعلن تغيير العالم بصورة معكوسة، كما انتجت شرق أوسط جديداً من رحم إسقاط مشروع إنشاء مشروع شرق أوسط جديد آخر.

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الحديث اليوم هو عن سورية الخارجة من الحرب بخط سياسي حوربت ليفرض عليها تغييره، هو الخط الذي مثله الرئيس السوري بشار الأسد، وهو خط يقوم على التمسك باستقلال سورية ووحدتها وتمسكها باستعادة جولانها المحتل حتى خط الرابع من حزيران، ودعمها لقوى المقاومة في لبنان وفلسطين والعراق، ورفضها لكل الصيغ الطائفية والعرقية التي تصيب وحدة المجتمع والدولة، وهي سورية التي انتصرت، ومن قبيل التوصيف السياسي الدقيق، هي سورية الأسد، التي كان مطلوباً تفكيكها وإسقاطها لصالح سورية أخرى، سواء سورية التطبيع مع كيان الاحتلال كما صرح عدد من قادة جماعات الحرب، أو سورية المقسمة إلى كيانات طائفية ومذهبية وعرقية، كما جاهر دعاة إعلان الإمارات الطائفية والإدارات الذاتية العرقية، أو سورية المتقاسمة تحت أشكال من الانتداب الأجنبي أو الرعاية الأجنبية كما تضمنت العروض الأميركية والتركية على كل من روسيا وإيران، وما نحن بصدده اليوم، هو أن سورية الأسد تنتصر وتنتقل بنصرها إلى إثبات أنها تستعيد لسورية التاريخ والجغرافيا مكانتها كبيضة قبان توازنات المنطقة، بعدما قيل الكثير عن أن بمستطاع سورية الأسد أن تنتصر لكنها لن تستعيد لسورية مكانتها، لأن استعادة هذه المكانة مشروط باعتراف الآخرين بها وبنصرها من دون أن تغير سياستها، بصفتها سورية الأسد، بثوابتها ومواقفها المعروفة.

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أهمية زيارة وزير خارجية الإمارات لدمشق وما تضمنته من إعلان نوايا واضح لترتيب العلاقات، أنها تفتح الطريق لمسار يشمل حلفاء الإمارات العرب وفي الغرب، وهم الحلفاء الذين قادوا وخاضوا الحرب على سورية بكل وحشيتها وعنفها والخراب الذي تسببت به، ويتم ذلك تحت عنوان التسليم بأنها سورية الأسد، أي سورية بثوابتها ومواقفها التي خيضت الحرب عليها لتغييرها، وتسليم دولة الإمارات التي كانت في طليعة حلفاء واشنطن ولا تزال، وطليعة خط التطبيع مع كيان الاحتلال، هو أعلى مراتب التسليم، لأن سورية التي ترحب بكل اعتراف دولي وإقليمي بنصرها بما في ذلك الاعتراف الأميركي عندما تنضج واشنطن لفعل شبيه بما فعلته الإمارات، أي العودة العلنية من باب الدبلوماسية الذي تشترطه سورية لكل علاقة، هي سورية التي تعرف أن العودة والتسليم لا يعنيان تفاهماً على السياسات، فالدول التي تتبادل السفراء والاعتراف والزيارات والاتفاقات، لا تتطابق في السياسات، لكنها تنطلق من الاعتراف بحتمية التساكن مع الخلافات وتنظيم إدارتها من دون أوهام القدرة على فرض التغيير بالقوة أو بالقطيعة أو الضغوط، وسورية لا تطلب من الآخرين أكثر من ذلك، وسورية لا تخفي أن في طليعة ما لن يتغير فيها موقفها من التطبيع ومن موقع الجولان في ثوابتها، ومكانة فلسطين كبوصلة لسياساتها.

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مزيد من الخطوات المقبلة ستشهدها علاقات العرب والغرب بسورية، وربما بينها زيارات رئاسية سورية إلى الخارج أو زيارات رئاسية خارجية إلى سورية، وصولاً للقمة العربية في الجزائر التي يفترض أن تشهد أول حضور سوري رسمي في الجامعة العربية، التي شكلت أداة من أدوات الحرب على سورية، ومع كل خطوة سيتأكد سوء طالع الذين راهنوا على إسقاط سورية، وخصوصاً الذين تطرفوا في العداء تبييضاً لوجوههم عند الذين خاضوا الحرب عليها، وهم يجدون من خاضوا الحرب يتراجعون ويرجعون إليها، ولم يبق للمبيضين إلا سواد الوجوه.

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• وزير الخارجية الإماراتي من دمشق: سوريا بقيادة الأسد قادرة على تجاوز التحديات
• واشنطن «قلقة» من زيارة بن زايد للأسد
• بيدرسن يناقش الملف السوري في الرياض
• وهمُ القوّة ووهمُ التطبيع
• سوريا تلاقي الانفتاح بالمثل: أهلاً بإعادة الإعمار
• حوار دمشق – «قسد»… تابع: هل تفلح موسكو هذه المرة؟
• الكرد الحائرون في سوريا.. هل حسموا أمرهم؟
• هزيمة السعودية في مأرب: “إسرائيل” قلقة وأميركا تبحث عن “خطط بديلة”
• اقتراب المواجهة مع العدو الصهيوني!
• الكرامة الوطنية مسألة نسبية…
• لبنان العربيّ والأعراب والمستعربين

President Bashar Assad Delivers a Strong Election Victory Speech

 ARABI SOURI MAY 29, 2021

President Bashar Assad delivered his victory speech after declaring the presidential election results, the televised speech is full of strong words, messages to the Syrian people, their friends, and to their enemies, and vows to start a new constitutional term with more determination on completing the battle against the enemies and to rebuild the country.

In a televised speech, the Syrian President who was re-elected with a whopping 95.1% of the votes, sent several messages to his people and to the enemies abroad, charged with the strength and determination he received from the Syrians who proved once again their steadfastness to continue battling the regime change, occupation, and stealing of their riches by voting again to President Assad for a 4th term, the 2nd based on the recent constitution of 2012, and they voted in an unprecedented flocking to the voting centers all over the country challenging the terrorist threats and ignoring the comments from some western countries and their regional stooges as the approval of those parties is not required to determine who will be leading Syria.

The following is the video clip with English subtitles, followed by the full transcript in English, the translation is partly done by the Syrian News Agency SANA:

https://videopress.com/embed/308CarDz?preloadContent=metadata&hd=1

The video is also available on YouTube and BitChute.

The English transcript of the speech:

Dear fellow citizens, my brothers in loyalty and belonging (to Syria),

In each national entitlement, whether this entitlement was a defense by weapon, opinion, work, or a constitutional entitlement, you have always been making your special definition for the meaning of patriotism, and in every stage that we have been through, your definition has carried special messages, whether for the friend or the enemy, which stems from the conditions of that stage and suits its challenges.

And despite that your several messages didn’t lack, at any time of the war, the wisdom, eloquence, and clearness in their terms, and the deep meaning carried in its lines and in between the lines, but the enemies and opponents have insisted to avoid and deny them, as part of their policies based on denying the reality, denying the failure and defeat of the their policies, and not recognizing the deterioration of their principles and ethics, and they seemed during the latest years that they were infected with insanity… as they see through their eyes, but they don’t see through their minds.

In this entitlement (the presidential election), your definition of patriotism did not differ in its context but it differed in the way and manner, and it will inevitably differ in results and repercussions, your messages will penetrate all barriers and shields they have put around their minds, and it will shift their minds from the willful lethargy state they lived in for years to the coercive thinking state of what is happening on the ground.

What have you done during the past weeks was not a mere celebration in an occasion, nor was it an expression of patriotic emotion or enthusiasm, or adherence to a national duty which is participation in the presidential election; rather what happened goes beyond all that, in wide-scale and great distances. What you have done was a phenomenon of unprecedented challenge to enemies of the homeland of all their nationalities, loyalties, and dependences.

It has broken their false arrogance and pride, and was a slap on the faces of their agents, this challenge was on the highest level of expressing true and deep loyalty to the homeland, it was sending messages in the strongest terms to persons who were sitting in the dark rooms plotting schemes and intrigues dreaming of success at the expense of our blood, money, dignity, and honor, and who will mourn their misfortune again with their tools for their miscalculations, short-sightedness, and lack of understanding the reality and the nature and the essence of this people.

You have turned the scales and broken the game rules and undoubtedly affirmed that those rules are set and determined only here, and made here, and is specified here by our own hands, and that there is no place for partners except for the brothers and friends.

You have redefined patriotism, and this automatically means redefining treason, and the difference between them is like the difference between the so-called the revolution of rebels and what we have witnessed the agitation of bulls, it is like the difference between a rebel (Tha’er in Arabic) that absorbs honor and a bull (Thawr in Arabic) that fed with fodder, between a rebel whose way is honor and pride and a bull that is fond of disgrace and shame, and between a rebel who kneels to his creator and a bull who falls into prostration for the dollar.

You have defined the revolution and brought back its brilliance after part of mercenaries, who lack honor and bear a Syrian passport, have defamed its name, you’ve rescued the reputation (of the revolution) and you’ve relaunched it, so what happened were not celebrations, but rather a revolution in the true sense of the word, not metaphorical, a revolution against terrorism, treason and moral deterioration, a revolution of the tongue, pen, work, and a weapon.

A revolution entitled “honor” against every fallen who has agreed for himself to be a ride on which others can ride to take them wherever they want.

Brothers, gentlemen and lady citizens,

The people choosing me to serve them in the coming constitutional period is a great honor that only the honor of belonging to this people can live up to, not only in the identity card, but in the opinions, aspirations, values, and habits, and what increases my enthusiasm and confidence in future is the spirit of challenge you have, which without it, the bearer of the responsibility cannot face the largest national challenges, and without it a homeland cannot rise up after 10 years of war.

It is your potential strength, which appears in its clear form in the major milestones, provoked by challenges and transformed by your will into action and achievement.

It is the mighty energy that provides the nation with strength and prepares it for victory and triumph.,

I am confident that with this fighting spirit, we will be able to defeat all our enemies, no matter how many fights, and how much the horrors intensify.

This spirit is what we need for the next stage which is a stage of continuous work, resistance and steadfastness in order to prove to our enemies once again that fighting our people through their basic needs and livelihood, would not affect, but increase their commitment to homeland and all of what it represents.

And this people, at the major challenges and entitlements, has always proven that the country is above all.

Brothers, dearest ones, I greet every Syrian citizen who has expressed, through his/her own way, his love to the homeland in every city, town, and village, whether through rallies, popular gatherings, or other ways, I greet and salute every individual, family and tribe who have shown their utmost belonging to their country and raised its flag and withstood in the war and challenged in the entitlement.

I salute our citizens abroad who have integrated through their messages from outside with the messages of their brothers inside, where the far distance and obstacles have not prevented them from participating enthusiastically in the election, and to those who have not been able to cast vote under pressures or intimidation they exerted upon them, we say that your votes have reached, with doubled force, not through the ballot box, but through your stance, so the message has been delivered to the enemies and the patriotic mission has been fulfilled.

You’ve lived a proud people that does not accept dishonor, you’ve a proud people who does not submit to hardship and does not bow down to anyone but God.

Long live and long live Syria, free, honorable, strong, and invincible, peace and God’s mercy and blessings be upon you.

End of the English transcript.

This is the first time President Assad uses such strong terms to describe the terrorists acting as rebels in a revolution, describing them as bulls in Arabic and in the context he put is not a favorable description at all.

The Syrian president also raised the level of challenge against the west and described them as disconnected from reality, created their own vision, and blocked themselves from seeing the developments on the ground, ‘they’re infected with insanity,’ and they’re (the enemies of Syria are) ‘not recognizing the deterioration of their principles and ethics’, President Assad describing the likes of officials in the USA, France, Germany, and other countries which have tried to interfere in the Syrian presidential election

Syrian Presidential Election Conducted Around the World – One Voter Killed in Lebanon

President Assad and First Lady Asmaa Vote in the Liberated City of Douma

Kurdish SDF Terrorists Block Syrians from Voting in Presidential Election

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Syria: Trump & Erdogan Forces in War Criminal ‘Joint Patrol’

US-Turkey NATO forces in Syria – Archive Photo

September 8, 2019

Miri Wood

Trump and Erdogan regime terrorists continue their flouting of International Law and have begun war criminal ‘joint patrols’ in the territories of the Syrian Arab Republic. Both countries are signatories to the Geneva Agreements; ignoring the Treaty to which they pledged fidelity — and without complaints from transatlantic MSM — again shows Trump and Erdogan among the many unindicted war criminals of NATO countries.

Caliph-wannabe Erdogan’s imperialist plot involves his desire to annex more of Syria than was stolen by his Ottoman Empire predecessors.

Rabid ErDOGan, war criminal

Trump — the POTUS elected on his promise to drain the swamp but who preferred to become addicted to huffing its decomposing fumes — also wants a share of a new Sykes-Picot partitioning.

Swamp Drunk Trump – Was elected to drain the swamp and instead became swamp drunk.

The Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Expatriates condemned the flagrant violation of Syria’s national sovereignty and integrity, which follows the colonial bragging of CENTCOM in the joint illegal invasion of Syrian airspace, two days ago.

Let us not expect any reporting on these illegals, by MSM, which is much too busy trying to keep the magic marker and the Hurricane Dorian map trending. Let us also not forget that all the MSM glorified Trump when he bombed Syria for al-Qaeda, based on the criminal lies of an illegal Brit, a de-licensed physician, via ‘fake news CNN!’.

Let us not expect any complaints from the un-anti-fascist Antifa on this joint fascist incursion into Syria; this gang of phony Trump-haters is aligned with his arrogant, colonial, illegal incursions.

Fascist US wetworkers of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Let us especially not expect grumbling from the bogus liberals who condemn the US president for everything but war crimes. That haughty gang of colonial serfs support the US armed and run separatist SDF, engaged in strategic depopulation, kidnapping, serial killings, torching of farms, bombing churches, theft of Syrian oil (to be sold to Israel) and the menticide of Syrian children via forcing them into armed militias.

The criminal alliance of the Trump and Erdogan regimes, in the rancid colonial arrogance of criminal ‘joint patrols’ in Syria, will not be permanent; Syria’s beloved President Bashar al Assad has promised that “every inch” of the SAR will be liberated.

 Syria President Dr. Bashar al-Assad: “Every inch of Syria will be liberated”

You can follow Miri Wood on Twitter.

 

 

Russian Warplanes Rain Hell On Idlib

South Front

March 15, 2019

On March 13, warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces delivered a series of airstrikes on infrastructure of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in the city of Idlib and in its southeastern countryisde. According to reports, at least 16 strikes hit weapon depots, HQs and a jail belonging to the terrorist group.

Opposition sources said that hundreds of prisoners, including dozens persons allegedly linked with the Syrian and Russian intelligence managed to escape the prison after the airstrike. Hayat Tahir al-Sham responded with a wide-scale security operation to trace and capture these people. This operation is still ongoing with varying results.

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the strikes in Idlib and said that they were coordinated with Turkey. According to the Russian side, the strikes hit depots in which the terrorist group was storing armed unnamed aerial vehicles. The eliminated UAVs were reportedly prepared for an attack on Russia’s Hmeimim airbase.

Despite comments about the coordination with Turkey, in the following days Turkish pro-government and state media released multiple reports accusing the Russians and the Assad government of causing casualties in Idlib.

On March 13, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that they had uncovered an alleged Hezbollah network in the Golan Heights. The network named by the IDF as “the Golan File” was reportedly led by Hezbollah operative Ali Musa Daqduq on the Syrian side of the contact line in order to prepare attacks on Israel.

The IDF stressed that Daqduq has been a Hezbollah member since 1983. During this period, he reportedly occupied various important posts and was even involved in an attack on a US military base in Iraq’s Karbala in 2007.

The IDF described the alleged Hezbollah network as a serious threat and threatened both Damascus and the Lebanese party with consequences.

On the same day, Israel’s ImageSat International released satellite images showing an alleged Iranian missile compound in Syria. The missiles manufacturing site is reportedly located in Safita.

Regardless of real facts besides these claims, this series of reports looks as a coordinated media campaign. According to experts, its main goal is to justify further Israeli military actions against supposed Iranian targets in Syria and to continue the militarization of the occupied Golan Heights.

الأسد في طهران المشهد الدمشقي ما بعد بعد الانتصار…!….محمد صادق الحسيني

محمد صادق الحسيني

كلّ المؤشرات والعلامات تفيد بأنّ الفصل الأخير من الهجوم الاستراتيجي للوصول الى القدس قد بدأ، وأنّ القيادة العليا في محور المقاومة قرّرت كتابة الصفحات الأخيرة من كتاب النصر الناجز…

المشهد الدمشقي في طهران يُعيد رسم الخريطة السياسية لتحالف المنتصرين على الوهابية الإرهابية والصهيونية العالمية…

إنه عناق ربع ساعة الأخيرة من زمن الصعود إلى القمم، قمم جبل الشيخ والجليل الأعلى وكلّ روابي فلسطين…!

هكذا يفسّر المتابعون لزيارة الأسد التاريخيّة المفاجئة وغير المعلنة مسبقاً لطهران ولقائه الحميم والمطوّل بالإمام السيد علي الخامنئي.

لقد أظهر الحليفان باجتماعهما الاستثنائي على بوابات طهران صورة الانكسار الأميركي على بوابات دمشق، وكتبا سوياً الفصل الأخير من فقه الصعود إلى النصر…!

نصر مؤكد ليس فقط على واشنطن وتل أبيب، بل وأيضاً على عواصم الأسر الآيلة الى الانقراض من غربان وعربان وعثمان…!

حزب الله كان حاضراً بالجنرال الحاج قاسم سليماني وكذلك عصائب الحشد الشعبي وأنصار الله والفاطميون والزينبيون وكلّ رجال الله المخلصون من أقصى الأرض إلى أقصاها من أسوار الصين إلى جبال الأطلس وكذلك أصدقاؤهم البوتينيون…!

بانتظار المزيد من مفاجآت النصر الكبرى وعلائم انكسار الإمبريالية والصهيونية والرجعية العربية ستظلّ أعيننا مشدودة إلى فلسطين التي نقاوم كلّ أشكال الطغيان والعدوان في حضرتها وبزخم عدالة قضيتها ونبل الأهداف التي تمثل وهي تشدّنا الى قمم الانتصار تلو الانتصار..!

اليد العليا لنا ونحن مَن سيعيد رسم صورة العالم الجديد…!

بعدنا طيّبين، قولوا الله…

البناء

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When CNN Crew Blew Up the Oil Pipeline in Homs

Source

February 20, 2019

CNN, along with all other Western corporate media, is not a news reporting establishment as people are told, it can be described as a News Faking Establishment, better even call it: The Pentagon’s Propaganda Arm.

They’re not innocent of any blood drop shed during any of the US and its cronies adventures worldwide throughout their lifespan. CNN is relatively new comparing with corporations like the BBC, New York Times, Washington Post, Reuters, and alike.

We have repeated many times and in many forums how the manager of Reuters office in Syria, a Jordanian Khaled Oweis, actually doctored an interview he made with a wounded Syrian Arab Army soldier who received a bullet from the ‘Peaceful Protesters’ in Daraa, and the Reuters ‘journalist’ covered his voice and repeated: ‘The Syrian security officer shot you because you refused to shoot at the protesters?’.

That’s just one sick example exposed by a vigilant Syrian presenter who caught the same interview on his camera and displayed in full on Syrian TV channels at the very early days of the crisis in Syria.

Reuters office manager in Syria was arrested and as you would expect the entire West went lunatic exerting super pressure on the Syrian state, aided with Syria’s own allies sad to say, to release the ‘journalist’ and ‘respect free speech’.

Eventually, the Syrian state released the criminal, dubbed journalist, and expelled him from the country, and expelled with him all foreign-based news channels, and allowed only selected ones with no previous lying track record, again to the madness of Western countries.

The expelling of Western news agencies, the likes of Reuters, AFP, AP, New York Times, Washington Post, DW, BBC, France 24, and their Arabic versions like Al Jazeera, and Al Arabiya, Qatari and Saudi state-owned channels respectively, their expelling from Syria at the critical early days have saved countless lives of innocent Syrians.

We have exposed numerous times the lies of these establishments and their ilks, especially in regards to the War of Terror the US and its lackeys waged against Syria.

The following is part of longer report how a Syrian activist Rafic Lutf managed to expose how the CNN crew led by anchor Arwa Damon (or Deamon) participated in blowing up an oil pipeline in Homs in one of the coldest winters the country witnessed just to have a news line accusing the Syrian state with this heinous crime they committed. The full report was deleted by YouTube when they suspended our channel with no proper justification. Watch:

We urge each state tha has an office or a representative of one of these news channels to treat them as criminals, or at least to deal with them with extra care, no one knows when they will be activated.

Corporate Media: WMDs Weapons of Mass Deception

Just for a comparison: Syrian-based media are not allowed to air in the EU, USA, Canada, and Australia, since 2012, they’re also banned from satellite transmission on all Western and Arab owned satellites, that’s to ‘Promote Freedom of Speech’, we were told. Many Syrian media related individuals, private and public, are on Western sanctions lists.

I have a saying I kept repeating to Western citizens and it’s relative to all the crimes against humanity committed by their politicians in their names with their tax monies: ‘They fool you, they keep fooling you, and they enjoy fooling you, not because they’re smart, it’s because you’re foolable.‘

Sheeple: A typical western family following mainstream media

عودة النازحين أم عودة العلاقات؟

فبراير 21, 2019

ناصر قنديل

– يحتلّ ملف عودة النازحين السوريين إلى بلادهم أولوية اهتمامات المسؤولين اللبنانيين، في ملف العلاقات اللبنانية السورية. وهو ملف يستحق الاهتمام، خصوصاً لجهة فصله عن الشروط الدولية الهادفة لاستعماله للضغط على كل من لبنان وسورية الضغط على لبنان لفرض شروط تبقي حمل النازحين على عاتق الدولة والاقتصاد والمجتمع في لبنان، ليتحوّل بلداً متسوّلاً للمساعدات ومرتهناً لشروط المانحين، فيسهل تطويعه في الملفات الصعبة كمستقبل سلاح المقاومة، وما سماه المانحون في مؤتمر سيدر بإدماج العمالة السورية بالمشاريع المموّلة أو ما أسموه بالاستقرار عبر تسريع استراتيجية الدفاع الوطني التي يقصد أصحابها هنا «نزع أو تحييد سلاح المقاومة»، والضغط على سورية عبر تحويل كتل النازحين إلى ورقة انتخابية يمكن توظيفها في أي انتخابات مقبلة، بربط عودتهم بما يسمّيه المانحون بالحل السياسي، والمقصود تلبية شروطهم حول الهوية السياسية للدولة السورية أو استخدام النازحين لاحقا في ترجيح كفة مرشحين بعينهم لإقامة توازن داخل الدولة السورية يملك المانحون تأثيراً عليه.

– السؤال الرئيسي هنا هو رغم أهمية ملف النازحين، هل يمكن اختزال العلاقات اللبنانية السورية بعودة النازحين؟ وهل يمكن النجاح بإعادة النازحين بلا عودة العافية إلى العلاقات اللبنانية السورية؟ والجواب يبدأ من نصوص اتفاق الطائف حول اعتبار العلاقات المميزة بسورية التجسيد الأهم لعروبة لبنان، وما ترجمته معاهدة الأخوة والتعاون والتنسيق السارية المفعول حتى تاريخه، والتي تشكل وحدها الإطار القانوني والدستوري لمعالجة قضية النازحين، حيث يتداخل الشأن الأمني بالشأن الإداري بالشؤون الاقتصادية، وكلها لها أطر محددة في بنود المعاهدة يسهل تفعيلها لبلورة المعالجات، بحيث يصير البحث عن هذه المعالجات من خارج منطق المعاهدة والعلاقات المميزة، سعياً هجيناً لبناء علاقة تشبه الحمل خارج الرحم، وهو حمل كاذب لا ينتهي بمولود ولا بولادة.

– عند الحديث عن عودة العلاقات بين لبنان وسورية سيكون مفيداً الاطلاع على ما نشرته صحيفة الشرق الأوسط السعودية، من دراسة استطلاع رأي أجراها مركز غلوبال فيزيون لحساب مؤسسة بوليتيكا التي يرأسها النائب السابق فارس سعيد، حول عودة العلاقات اللبنانية السورية، والجهة الناشرة كما الجهة الواقفة وراء الاستطلاع وخلفياتهما السياسية في النظر لسورية والعلاقة معها، تكفيان للقول إن الأرقام التي حملتها الدراسة يجب أخذها من كل مسؤولي الدولة اللبنانية بعين الاعتبار، حيث 70 من المستطلعين أعلنوا تأييدهم لعودة العلاقات بين البلدين، ووقف 30 ضد هذه العودة. وفي تفاصيل توزّع أسباب المستطلعين يتضح أن نسبة تأثير الموقف السياسي والعقائدي تحضر في الرافضين للعلاقة بين البلدين، بينما أغلب المتحمّسين لعودة العلاقات ينطلقون من اعتبارات تتّصل بالمصلحة اللبنانية الصرفة، فيظهر المعارضون مجرد دعاة لمعاقبة بلدهم لأنهم يحملون أحقاداً أو خلفيات عدائية تخص موقفهم السياسي وهؤلاء أكثر من 90 من الرافضين، بينما لم تظهر الخلفية السياسية في صف دعاة عودة العلاقات إلا بنسبة ضئيلة لا تذكر، لكن من بين المؤيدين لعودة العلاقات الذين شكلوا 70 من اللبنانيين وفقاً للعينة المختارة لتنفيذ الاستفتاء، لم يحتل ملف عودة النازحين نسبة 10 من المستطلعين، بينما احتلت عناوين مثل عودة الترانزيت نسبة نصف المؤيدين أي ثلث المستطلعين.

– التعافي اللبناني بقوة الجغرافيا السياسية والاقتصادية له معبر واحد هو تعافي العلاقات اللبنانية السورية، والتذاكي في التعاطي مع هذا العنوان، أو التهاون بربطه بأطراف ثالثة، سيعقد التعافي اللبناني وضمناً سيجعل ملف عودة النازحين مربوطاً بأطراف ثالثة، فجعل ملف تجارة الترانزيت لبنانياً سورياً، لا لبنانياً سورياً خليجياً، يتوقف على جعل العلاقة اللبنانية السورية شأناً لبنانياً سورياً لا شأناً ينتظر ضوء الخليج الأخضر، وجعل قضية النازحين شأناً لبنانياً سورياً، لا لبنانياً سورياً أوروبياً، يتوقف على جعل العلاقة اللبنانية السورية شأناً يخصّ اللبنانيين والسوريين وحدهم ولا ينتظر إذناً أوروبياً.

– من المهم أن يلتفت اهتمام الحكومة إلى أن ما فعله وزير شؤون النازحين يستحقّ التقدير، لأنه نابع من خلفية إيمان بالعلاقة اللبنانية السورية، وما يستحق الاهتمام هو التفات الحكومة إلى حاجتها لهذه الخلفية بدلاً من وقوع البعض في أحقادهم أو حساباتهم التي قالت استطلاعات الرأي إنها لا تهمّ اللبنانيين.

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‘Assadist list’ nothing more than McCarthyism paired with ‘hoodwink’ science

Source

George Galloway was a member of the British Parliament for nearly 30 years.

He presents TV and radio shows (including on RT).

He is a film-maker, writer and a renowned orator.

Published time: 28 Aug, 2018 13:54

Edited time: 28 Aug, 2018 14:37

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Lionel Stander testifies before the House Un-American Activities Committee © Getty Images

 

To paraphrase those Hollywood actors when dragged before the arc-lights of the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC): “I am not now nor have I ever been an Assadist.”

In the long stand-off between Syria and Iraq, with all its ruinous consequences, I was with Iraq. Between 1980 and 2002 – 22 years – I never set foot in Syria and wouldn’t have been welcome if I had. I have a house named after the Beirut Palestinian refugee camp Tel al-Zaatar which was razed to the ground by the Syrians [Phalange party/Lebanons Forces/Arafat] with many residents massacred. My first ever solidarity mission – more than 40 years ago – was to collect bagpipes for the orphans’ band from Tel al-Zaatar.

Side Bar

• In his biographical profile of Yasser Arafat, The broken revolutionary, Robert Fisk writes: “When he needed martyrs in 1976, he called for a truce around the besieged refugee camp of Tel el-Zaatar, then ordered his commanders in the camp to fire at their right-wing Lebanese Christian enemies. When, as a result, the Phalangists and “Tigers” militia slaughtered their way into Tel el-Zaatar, Arafat opened a “martyrs’ village” for camp widows in the sacked Christian village of Damour. On his first visit, the widows pelted him with stones and rotten fruit. Journalists were ordered away at gunpoint.”
•  The Real Story of Tel al-Zaatar

• طلقة تنوير: من المسؤول عن سقوط مخيم تل الزعتر؟ / ناجي علوش
• تل الزعتر: حتى لا ننسى ولا نغفر
• الذكرى الـ41 لمجزرة تل الزعتّر: خمسون ألف قذيفة والمُحاصرون طلبوا فتوى تُجيز لهم أكل لحوم الشهداء كي لا يموتوا جوعًا
• الكتيبة الطلابية وتجربة ناجي علوش ويسار “فتح”

I met the late president Hafez Assad only once – at a World Peace Conference in Damascus where I shared the stage with him, Yasser Arafat and others. I was 26 years old.

I have met the now-president Bashar Assad only twice – both times in formal meetings.

I have zero relations with the government in Syria and never have had. In fact I denounced sections of the regime under examination by Michael Mansfield QC in an inquest not that long ago.

Read more

Chomsky, Hersh and… Boris Johnson? Twitter pundits ponder odd ‘Assadist’ blacklist

It’s true that in the existential battle for the Syrian Arab Republic between the Assad government and its motley array of enemies I have stood foursquare with the Republic. It’s true that in a fight between the Assad forces and the head-chopping, heart-eating Islamist fanatics of Islamic State, Al-Qaeda and the alphabet soup of extremism they have spawned, I stand with the former rather than the latter. But then what sentient being without an ulterior agenda wouldn’t?

It’s true I have said that Assad is being targeted by imperialism, not for the bad things about his political system, but for the opposite reasons.

The West is not against authoritarian regimes in the Middle East, to the contrary – all of its best friends are such. The West is not against one-party – even one-family – rule in the Middle East, to the contrary – we have preferred them, armed them and had the closest possible relations with such states in the Middle East for a 100 years. The West is not against rigged elections in the Middle East, to the contrary. We have facilitated them ever since such farcical elections began.

Syria as been targeted by imperialism and its local satrapies for other reasons. Because of its historic relationship with Russia, it has been the victim of a proxy war, in effect a war against Russia by other means.

Because it refuses to make a surrender peace with Israel, giving up in the process its sovereign territory on the illegally annexed Golan Heights.

Because it refuses to break relations with the Lebanese resistance, and with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Because it refused to allow its territory to be used as a back-door entry into Iraq to facilitate the Anglo-American illegal invasion and occupation of its neighbor.

For all these reasons I repeat what I have said many times: the Syrian Arab Republic is the last castle of Arab dignity.

Read more

‘Dehumanized, discounted, marginalized’: Syria’s victors defying airbrushed US narrative

But none of that makes me an Assadist. It just makes me an enemy of his enemies.

Yet I have made the Assadist List, compiled by a student scribbler, a Kester Ratcliff, whose name needn’t detain us for long. He is his masters’ voice and his masters are whom we should focus on.

Mind you I am in good company on the list. My friend, Right Honourable Jeremy Corbyn PC MP, Leader of Her Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for one. The multiply-commended award-winning, regularly British Foreign Correspondent of the year Patrick Cockburn is another. The Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott MP is another. As is Mother Agnes Mariam De La Croix, the Mother Superior of the Monastery of St James the Mutilated in Syria. The veteran Trotskyite leader Tariq Ali, who led my first ever demonstration against the war in Vietnam in 1968 when I was 14 years old, is another.

The redoubtable American author and journalist Max Blumenthal is apparently an Assadist, as is the Fox News host Tucker Carlson, as is Noam Chomsky! Baroness Cox of the British House of Lords makes the list as does Ireland’s finest MP Clare Daly. The American comedian Jimmy Dore is an Assadist, don’t you know!

Britain’s best known foreign correspondent Robert Fisk makes the cut as does future US presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard. The world’s most famous journalist Seymour Hersh is there –  an Assadist, who’d a thunk it?

The quintessential English Christian gentleman newspaperman Peter Hitchens is too, as is the doyen of English journalism Simon Jenkins or, Sir Simon Jenkins FSA FRSL, to give him his Sunday name. An Assadist (if only the Queen had known when she tapped his shoulder with her sword at Buckingham Palace).

Read more

Wheels of war are already in motion: Mainstream media should try to stop it, but will it?

Boris Johnson, the erstwhile British Foreign Secretary – he’s an Assadist! (although possibly only because of his “foolishness”)

Owen Jones, the liberal milksop from the Guardian newspaper, who witch-hunted Mother Agnes from public platforms in England on the grounds SHE was an Assadist, well, you’ve guessed it, he’s an Assadist too (though a “milder” Assadist).

The British Shadow Foreign Secretary – a well known “Friend of Israel” – Emily Thornberry is an Assadist. As is the former Associate Editor of the Guardian, Seumas Milne.

I could go on, believe me, there are 151 of us – but you have probably already got the picture. This list of Assadists is a farrago of foolishness, a soupcon of silliness, a pile of what the Pope called at the weekend – “the material of the toilet bowl.”

As such it could be laughed off as the teenage student scribbling that it is.

But just like the McCarthyite witch-hunts in 1950s America, this kind of malignant list-making can have consequences for those listed. Many of those never worked or were able to travel again. For some on this list the potential consequences could be graver still. Some on the Assadist list should be subject to criminal sanctions, according to the author.

It is fitting perhaps that the list comes complete with a diagram which looks like the unhinged green-ink scrawling of a madman in a hospital for the criminally insane. It purports to map all of those listed as somehow connected even though many of us hate each other’s guts. I could make a diagram of the connections between the gun-runners, the financiers and the propagandists for the Jihadists and the crucifying Islamist Pol Pots doing their dirty work. Whilst it would make a more convincing case, ennui I’m afraid precludes it.

In any case the great Western effort to overthrow Assad and destroy the Syrian Arab Republic has failed. All their money, all their weapons, all the blood they shed have been to no avail – except for the hundreds of thousands of lives they destroyed. Come to think of it, a hospital for the criminally insane is perhaps the best place for the author and his patrons.

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The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

واشنطن خسرت الرهان ولم يبق أمامها إلا تأجيل الإذعان بالهزيمة..!

 

محمد صادق الحسيني

ما تقوم به واشنطن من تحرّكات وتتخذه من سياسات وتمارسه من أفعال وردود أفعال على الساحتين العراقية والسورية، ميدانياً وسياسياً وأمنياً، بعد النصر الاستراتيجي الكبير المتمثّل بتطهير بلاد الشام والرافدين من داعش، يضعه المتابعون في خانة المساعي الحثيثة التي تبذلها الإدارة الأميركية الجديدة لتأخير تحقّق الكارثة الحتمية لبعض الوقت، والتي تقضي بضرورة الإذعان قريباً بهزيمتها الاستراتيجية أمام حلف المقاومة وصديقها الروسي الذي بات قوة دولية عظمى ولاعباً أساسياً في موازين القوى العالمية الجديدة والذي لا يمكن إنكار دوره بتاتاً…!

وذلك تماماً، كما حصل لدول المحور في نهاية الحرب العالمية الثانية والتي ظلت تتردّد في التسليم بخسارتها للحرب الى أن اضطرت ألمانيا النازية ولو بعد هجومات مضادة عديدة في قلب جبهة الاتحاد السوفياتي آنذاك بالقبول أخيراً بالاذعان لهزيمتها في العام 1945!

وفي هذا السياق تقوم الولايات المتحدة الأميركية بسلسلة من المحاولات الفاشلة لوقف تداعيات الهزيمة الاستراتيجية لمشروعها، الذي هو بالأساس مشروع الاستعمار الغربي الذي يسمّى بـ «الشرق الأوسط الإسرائيلي» بشكل عام، والذي كانت أدوات تنفيذه الرئيسية، بعد خروج الدول الاستعمارية التقليدية، فرنسا وبريطانيا، مهشمة بعد الحرب العالمية الثانية. وقد كانت أدوات تنفيذ هذا المشروع كما هو معلوم تتمثل في:

1 ـ خلق الكيان الصهيوني في فلسطين المحتلة او بالأحرى تسليم فلسطين، من قبل قوات الاحتلال البريطاني هناك، الى العصابات الصهيونية المختلفة من الهاغاناه وشتيرن الى منظمة ايتسل وليحي وغيرها… وهي الكناية عن داعش والقاعدة وأخواتهما في عصرنا الحاضر والتي تقوم بالدور نفسه تماماً.

2 ـ تثبيت الكيانات الوظيفية في الدول العربية المحيطة باللقيط الجديد، المسمّى «إسرائيل»، وذلك خدمة للمشروع الاستعماري الهادف الى استمرار السيطرة على العالم العربي والهيمنة عليه ونهب ثرواته ومقدراته، أيّ بهدف ضمان عدم ظهور أيّ حركات ثورية لمقاومة احتلال فلسطين وتحريرها من ذلك الاحتلال.

ولكن ظهور الثورة الفلسطينية في أواسط ستينيات القرن الماضي واشتداد عودها، بعد هزيمة الدول العربية في حرب عام 1967، قد أفشل جهود إسدال الستار على احتلال فلسطين وتكريس «إسرائيل» كأداة غربية مهيمنة على المنطقة العربية.

كذلك جاء انتصار الثورة الإسلامية في إيران عام 1979 وتحالفها مع محيطها العربي الناهض وبشكل أخصّ الثورة الفلسطينية والدولة السورية المعادية للمخططات الاستعمارية في المنطقة، بمثابة ضربة جديدة لمشاريع الهيمنة الاستعمارية على المنطقة. بينما جاء ظهور حزب الله في بداية ثمانينيات القرن الماضي بمثابة تعزيز وتكريس لخطّ مقاومة مشروع الاستعمار الغربي في المنطقة العربية والذي تُعتبر «إسرائيل» رأس حربته منذ إيجادها.

وقد شكّل انتصار حزب الله، على الجيش الإسرائيلي وإجباره على الانسحاب من جنوب لبنان مهزوماً في شهر أيار 2000، ومن ثم الانتصار المدوّي على الجيش الإسرائيلي سنة 2006، نقول إنّ هذه الانتصارات قد شكلت بداية الهزيمة الاستراتيجية الأميركية في المنطقة، خاصة بعد أن كانت كونداليزا رايس، ومعها بعض الأعراب، قد أعلنت بأنّ القضاء على حزب الله سوف يمهّد الطريق لإقامة ما أطلقت عليه الشرق الأوسط الجديد، أيّ تكريس وجود الكيان الصهيوني وتكريس الهيمنة الأميركية المطلقة على المنطقة، خاصة في ظلّ الاحتلال الأميركي للعراق، والاختلال الكبير الذي كان يعتري موازين القوى في المنطقة العربية.

وبالإضافة الى الهزيمة التي لحقت بالجيش الإسرائيلي في لبنان وتصاعد وتيرة المقاومة العراقية، المدعومة إيرانياً وعلى نطاق واسع، ضدّ قوات الاحتلال الأميركي، وصولاً الى إرغامها على الانسحاب من العراق دون تحقيق أهدافها في تفتيت العراق وتحويله قاعدة لدعم القوى الإيرانية العميلة والهادفة لضرب الثورة الإيرانية، وذلك بهدف ضرب المشروع المقاوم للوجود الإسرائيلي والذي تعتبر إيران سنده الحقيقي.

وانطلاقاً من وعي الولايات المتحدة لحجم الهزيمة التي مُنيت بها في حرب تموز 2006 واضطرارها للانسحاب من العراق تحت وطأة ضربات المقاومة العراقية الباسلة فقد انتقلت الإدارة الأميركية إلى البدء بتطبيق خطة بديلة، في محاولة لاستعادة زمام المبادرة في الميدان، والتي تمثلت في إطلاق مشروع الفوضى الخلاقة في الدول العربية. وكانت سورية قد شكّلت الهدف الأساس أو المركزي في هذا المشروع، وذلك بسبب الدور الداعم للمقاومة الفلسطينية واللبنانية الذي كانت ولا زالت سورية تقوم به على أكمل وجه.

وهذا يعني العمل على ضرب العمق الاستراتيجي لكلّ قوى المقاومة سواء اللبنانية او الفلسطينية التي تواصل مقاومتها للاحتلال الصهيوني لفلسطين، أيّ انّ مشروع الولايات المتحدة كان يهدف، من خلال تدمير الدولة الوطنية السورية وتفتيت سورية ككيان وطني مقاوم، الى حرمان المقاومة في لبنان وفلسطين من الدعم الإيراني الواسع بعد ان يتمّ القضاء على حلقة الوصل الاستراتيجية بين إيران الثورة وحركات المقاومة.

وقد أدّى فشل هذا المشروع، وعلى الرغم من قيام الولايات المتحدة ومعها أردوغان وآل سعود ومشيخة قطر بزجّ أكثر من نصف مليون مرتزق معلومات المخابرات الخارجيه الألمانية والتي نشرت رسمياً أحصت ما مجموعه ثلاثمئة وستين ألف مرتزق أجنبي دخلوا سورية وانضمّوا الى العصابات المسلحة هناك وتمويلهم وتسليحهم على نطاق واسع، وعلى مدار سبع سنوات كاملة. الآن وبعد الانتصارات الكبرى التي حققها الجيش العربي السوري وقوات حلف المقاومة، وخاصة بعد التدخل الروسي الفعّال والمباشر دعماً للدولة السورية، نقول بعد فشل مشروعهم هذا وبحجة محاربة داعش، الذي أوجدته القوى المشار اليها أعلاه، ومن ثم بحجة ضرورة الإبقاء على الانتشار العسكري الأميركي في كلّ من سورية والعراق، خوفاً مما يسمّونه عودة داعش الى الظهور ثانية وتهديد أمن المنطقة، فقد عمدت الولايات المتحدة إلى إقامة عشرات القواعد ونقاط الارتكاز العسكرية في البلدين والتي كانت آخرها القاعدة العسكرية التي تعمل الولايات المتحدة على أقامتها في منطقة معبر الوليد العراقي.

في حين أنّ نظرة عابرة على توزيع وأماكن وجود هذه القواعد ونقاط الارتكاز العسكرية الأميركية توضح، وبما لا يدع مجالاً للتأويل أنّ الهدف من ذلك هو:

أولاً: استكمال تطويق إيران بالقواعد العسكرية، بدءاً من حدودها الجنوبية الغربية، في مدخل الخليج وعُمان عبر قطر فالإمارات فالبحرين والسعودية والكويت وصولاً الى محافظات العراق الشمالية، حيث أقامت الولايات المتحدة الأميركية قواعد لها في كلّ من المنصورية/ حلبجة/ التونكبري/ كركوك/ على حدود إيران الشمالية الغربية مع العراق.

ثانياً: إقامة ما يشبه خط دفاع كاملاً، من خلال سلسلة من القواعد من شمال العراق وحتى داخل الحدود الأردنية مع العراق، إذ أنشأت قواعد لها في كلّ من: سنجار/ البغدادي/ الرمادي/ عين الأسد/ الوليد/ ومن ثم قاعدة الرويشد الجوية وقاعدة الأزرق وقاعدة المفرق الجويتين وكلها داخل الحدود الأردنية، وذلك لهدفين:

ـ إقامة تواصل جوي بري بين شمال العراق وفلسطين المحتلة بما يشبه الجدار العازل بين إيران وعمقها العربي من أربيل إلى حيفا…

ـ إنشاء ما يشبه المنطقة العازلة بين العراق وسورية لمنع التواصل البري بين المقاومة اللبنانية وإيران عبر العراق وسورية.

وهذا يعني أنّ الولايات المتحدة، وبعد تيقنها من الفشل الاستراتيجي الذي لحق بمشروعها في «الشرق الأوسط» تلجأ الآن إلى محاولة منع تعزيز انتصارات حلف المقاومة، عبر ما تسمّيه احتواء النفوذ الإيراني في المنطقة، وكذلك منع تكريس التحوّلات العميقة في الميزان الاستراتيجي الدولي والذي أدّى إلى إنهاء هيمنة القطب الواحد، الولايات المتحدة الأميركية على العالم، وما يعنيه ذلك من ولادة نظام عالمي جديد غير خاضع لإرادة واشنطن.

في حين أنّ كلّ هذه التكتيكات لا تؤكد إلا المؤكد، ألا وهو أنّ واشنطن تفتقد الى استراتيجية واقعية لإيجاد حلّ سياسي شامل لأزمات المنطقة بشكل خاص، والعالم بشكل عام، تكون قاعدته تفكيك دولة الاحتلال الصهيونية في فلسطين، وليس تفكيك سلاحها النووي فقط، وإعادة الحقوق الفلسطينية الى الشعب الفلسطيني صاحب الأرض والبحر والجو في فلسطين، أيّ تحقيق الهدف الاستراتيجي الذي تسعى أطراف حلف المقاومة الى تحقيقه عبر مواصلة هجومها الاستراتيجي على الجبهات كافة. أما ما عدا ذلك فلن يؤدّي إلا إلى مزيد من الخسائر للولايات المتحدة الأميركية وعلى الصعد الاقتصادية والسياسية والعسكرية كافة، ولن تفيدها لا المناورات المشتركة مع جيش الاحتلال الإسرائيلي ولا المناورات مع جيش مشيخة قطر «العظمى».

بعدنا طيبين، قولوا الله…

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Who is doing what in Syria and why

February 10, 2018

by Ghassan Kadi for The Saker Blog

It seems that every time a chapter in the war on Syria comes to an end, a new factor surfaces. Just like the 1975-1989 civil war in Lebanon before it, and which started off with a clash between the PLO and the Lebanese rightwing Phalangist militia and then ended up with an Israeli invasion and its aftermath, the war on Syria is now a totally different war from the one that started seven years ago.

With other players gone or having their roles changed, the only persisting player is the Syrian Army of course, fighting here for the integrity and sovereignty of Syria. We cannot include its allies, because even its allies have changed.

There is much speculation about recent events, a lot of war and fear-mongering, but if all elements of the current powers on the ground are dissected and analyzed, it becomes very easy to see what is going on and who is doing what.

Before we try to understand who is doing what and why, let us first identify who are the main players on the ground and behind the scenes; past and present. This is a short list:

1. Syria of course
2. Saudi Arabia
3. Qatar
4. Kurds
5. Turkey
6. Iran
7. Hezbollah
8. Israel
9. the USA
10.  Russia

Notwithstanding the inevitable continuing role and presence of Syria and popular national Syrian allied forces in the war against her, we must acknowledge that Saudi Arabia and Qatar have already played their role and walked away as losers. For the sake of historic documentation, this had to be mentioned even though they do not have much of an influence and clout at all at present.

Kurds are playing a role that cannot be discussed without acknowledging the role they played between 2011 and 2015/16. Kurdish fighters, separatists or otherwise, have upheld Syrian border integrity in Syria’s north from as early as 2011 when the Syrian Army had no allies on the ground. And even though the Syrian Army and Kurdish fighters did not fight physically within the same trench, the Kurds fought fiercely in the north, holding their ground, against Turkish-facilitated incursions and against ISIS later on.

However, as Kurdish separatist movements were established and as they were not preemptively contained under the roof of Damascus, something had to give.

Kurds who are separatists will do anything and make deals with anyone to make their dream come true. History has shown that they are prepared to join hands with America and even Israel.

It must be acknowledged however that Kurds who are not separatists, and there is no way of telling their percentage any more than there is a way of telling the percentage of those who are, do not seem to have much of a voice in their community. Furthermore, seemingly there isn’t an all-inclusive nationally-endorsed rationale where they can address their concerns against those who are separatists and in a manner that can allay their fears and apprehensions as a minority group in such a way that would quell their desire for independence.

Turkey’s role has been changing with the tides in the last seven years. From wanting to topple the Syrian Government and Erdogan praying at the Omayyad Mosque as the conqueror of Damascus, Erdogan is now in a much more humble damage-control mode hoping to at least be able to prevent the formation of a Kurdish state south of his borders. The turn of events in the war, and the bargain plea reconciliation he has had with Russia after Turkey downed a Russian Su-24 in Nov 2015 has put Erdogan in that position. But Erdogan, the compulsive Islamist and nationalist, will always try to look for opportunities to turn and stab anyone in the back because his dreams of a great Turkey-based Muslim sultanate are bigger than any deal and treaty he signs with anyone.

That said, Erdogan will not settle for any outcome that will mean the establishment of a Kurdish state. Unless the tides change in his favour, it is highly unlikely that he will change course and demand more.

In effect, the war in northern Syria is more or less totally separate from the one heating up in the south with Israel.

Iran: The Syrian theatre has brought Iran physically closer to Israel in a manner that opened up a new border line that is bigger than the one Hezbollah has in Southern Lebanon. Israel does not have the reciprocal privilege. That said, whilst Israeli presence is not officially recognized in states like Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, there is little doubt that the Eastern coast of the Persian/Arabian Gulf is under Israeli direct or indirect control in more ways than one.

That said, it must be remembered that Iran’s issue with Israel is doctrinal and not territorial.

In brief, Iran’s military presence in Syria is in adherence to the common defense treaty it has with Syria, but it is also aimed at protecting Iran’s own interests and establishing military presence and rocket-launching capabilities that are only a few kilometers from major Israeli cities in comparison to the one thousand or so kilometers that separate Israel from Iran, or at best a couple of hundred that separate the east coast of the Persian/Arab Gulf from Iran’s southern cities.

Given that Iran is not a nuclear power and Israel is, based on the above, any conventional military confrontation with Israel will put Iran in a position of advantage.

Iran’s status in Syria can be either seen as offensive or defensive vis-à-vis Israel. Most likely, it is defensive, and Iran is unlikely to use its Syrian-based positions to initiate an unprovoked attack on Israel given Israel’s nuclear deterrence.

Hezbollah: In more ways than one, ideologically-speaking, Hezbollah is an extension of Iran. But strategically-speaking, Hezbollah is a part of the Lebanese political process. Moreover, Hezbollah’s issue with Israel is both doctrinal, and territorial.

Hezbollah went into Syria to defend Syria of course, but in defending Syria, Hezbollah was defending itself and Lebanon.

The supply lines for Hezbollah came from Syria, and this is no secret. But even if Hezbollah had to establish alternative routes after seven years of war, Hezbollah remains dependent on Syria for ensuring the depth of its survival and ability to fight. Even if Hezbollah went further and managed to establish its own military manufacturing base, and this is not unlikely, it remains entwined with Syria at levels that are essential for its survival and continuity.

Ideologically, Hezbollah is perhaps closer to Iran than any other ally, but strategically, it cannot be closer to any other ally more than Syria. To expect Hezbollah to yield to pressure and withdraw from Syria prematurely is tantamount to expecting North Korea to surrender its nuclear arsenal.

Israel: It wouldn’t be surprising to say that the post-Kissinger USA has left Israel feeling secure and privileged to the extent that it was able to coerce the world’s single superpower to rubber-stamp what suited it; even if it was against the interests of that superpower.

However, with all the support America gave Israel, Israel was not able to find peace, real lasting peace. Military superiority and peace are two different things, and America was able to provide Israel with the former, but not the latter.

But even that military superiority that meant once upon a time that Israel was untouchable has been eroded. The rise of Hezbollah to power in a manner that enabled it to bomb “Haifa and beyond” in July 2006 has sent shivers down the spines of Israeli military strategists.

Israel now has no idea what to expect if and when another military escalation ensues with Hezbollah and it is bracing for the worst.

Given the latest confrontations with the Syrian air defenses, Israel seems to be in a similar position in not knowing what to expect from Syria either.

The USA: In all what the USA has done in supporting the initial Saudi/Qatari/Turkish attack in the war on Syria, it achieved nothing more than defeat after defeat.

If there was ever a time during the last seven years for America to launch a major attack on Syria, it would have been done on the pretext of a chemical weapon attack allegedly perpetrated by the Syrian Army on Eastern Ghouta, but Obama did not take the Saudi-orchestrated bait. If Obama took a single and somber decision for which he will be positively remembered once all the dust has settled, it will have to be his decision not to attack Syria in early September 2013.

But Trump’s America inherited a Syria in which America has no presence or influence. The ailing nation cannot be seen to be standing still doing nothing about this.

Russia: Discussing the role of Russia was left till the end because to emphasize once again, as per previous articles, that the role of Russian diplomacy is becoming increasingly important in Syria and the Levant in general.

To put all of the above into a realistic perspective, there is a potential war brewing in southern Syria, a war that has little to do with the one raging in the north, and only Russia has the potential of dealing with the conflict.

There is no speck of doubt in my mind that Russia has a Middle East peace plan.

There is no doubt in my mind that Russia wants to catapult America out of its role as the Middle East peace talk negotiator; a role that it played for more than four decades now without any scores on the board.

It must be remembered that despite all the concessions PLO leaders gave Israel, America was unable to provide any peace to Palestine, and not even to Israel for that matter. It is highly likely that even Israel is growing tired of America’s elusive promises of peace; and the peace Israel was promised was based on quashing the axis of resistance and establishing toothless puppet Arab regimes that dance to America’s tune, and who would normalize relationships with Israel and not pose any threat at all, not now, not in the future.

So Russia is strengthening her position in the Middle East in preparation for the opportune moment to elevate herself to be accepted by all parties concerned as the single arbitrator who is capable of negotiating an all-inclusive deal.

The rest is simply posturing.

The recent escalation between Syria and Israel is not a prelude for a bigger war. Nobody wants a war; not right now, as they are all aware of the damage that can be inflicted upon them.

Israel keeps testing the waters, testing Syria’s air defense capabilities, and above all, testing Russia’s resolve and determination to create a true balance of power in the Middle East.

Some Arabs would be disappointed that Russia would not allow the total destruction of Israel, but Russia has never promised this. On the other hand however, Russia is pushing Israel to be realistic, and has never promised Israel total and unconditional support like the USA did since the days of Kissinger.

Unless Israel can safeguard itself against Hezbollah rockets, and which it can’t, it will never initiate an all-out war with either Syria, Hezbollah, or both; not forgetting the Iranian presence on the ground in Syria, just outside Israel’s borders.

Israel has to either accept that the rules of the game have changed, or risk an escalation that will inflict huge damage on its infrastructure and civilians. The recent downing of an Israeli F-16 by Syrian air defenses and the subsequent call Netanyahu made to Russian President Putin is a clear indication that Israel is not happy with the fact that Russian arm supplies to Syria are changing the balance of power.

An astute look at recent events can only propose that Russia is trying to drag Israel into peace talks that are based on a regional balance of power, but Israel is not convinced yet that it has to do this anymore than it is convinced that it has lost its military upper hand. On the other hand, Russia will find it very difficult to convince Syria, Hezbollah and Iran that they should have any peace at all with Israel. All the while, America realizes that it has no presence in the war in the south, and is using the Kurdish pretext to have “a” presence in the north in order not to miss out on being party to any settlement. Erdogan is doing his bit to prevent the creation of a Kurdish state in Syria. Other than that he has no role to play in the potential brewing conflict in the south. At the end, America will stab the Kurds in the back like it did many times earlier, the Kurdish aspirations for independence will be pushed back for many decades, and the real focus will be on the south, on Russia’s yet undeclared role and plan for a Middle East peace plan.

Ex-Qatari premier: US coordinated foreign support for terrorists in Syria

Source

http://PressTV.com/Default/Embed/540168

Qatar’s former prime minister has revealed how the United States coordinated support by Doha, Riyadh and Ankara for terrorists operating against the Syrian government over the past years of conflict in the Arab country.

Hamad bin Jassim admitted in an interview on October 26 with Qatari national broadcaster that his country, a tiny state to the south of the Persian Gulf, was part of a group of four countries that delivered weapons and funds to the terrorists in Syria.

Hamad said Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey sent their weapons for militant groups in Syria via the US military forces in the region.

“Anything [weapons] that was sent [to Syria] would go through Turkey and was coordinated with the US, and the distribution of anything was via US forces,” the former Qatari premier said.

Hamad said the four countries only supported those armed groups designated as the moderate Syrian opposition in the West but outlawed by the Syrian government. He admitted that many of the weapons had found their way into the hands of al-Nusra Front, a group allied to al-Qaeda. Hamad rejected similar claims about supporting Daesh, the main Takfiri terrorist group operating in Syria.

‘Saudis now want Assad in power’

Hamad also censured the Saudi regime for revising its policy on Syria by forgetting previous calls for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. He said the Saudis now wanted Assad to stay in power, a stance, he said, Riyadh was not willing to share with others.

“You [Saudi Arabia] are now saying keep Bashar. Ok let him stay, we don’t have any problem, we have no quarrel with him. He was a friend of us … But you [Saudi Arabia] were in the same trench with us, if you changed your mind, tell us so,” Hamad said.

Qatar has been locked in a political standoff with Saudi Arabia and three other Arab countries for the past months. The dispute came apparently after the situation in Syria changed dramatically in favor of government forces and terrorists were purged from key positions across the country.

Syria and Russia, its main military ally, blame the US for continued bloodshed in eastern Syria, saying they have evidence that US forces stationed in Jordan have been providing Daesh, which is losing grounds in the area, with intelligence support.

Debate: sponsoring terrorism in Syria

Related Articles

• Qatar and Saudi Arabia fueled Syrian war – says Ex-PM of Qatar
• King Salman urged to take the lead in resolving crisis
• ‘Wahhabism root cause of terrorism’
• U.S. and Gulf Allies Supported Islamist Extremists in Syria, Qatar’s Ex-Prime Minister Admits, Bolstering Growing Evidence

Qatar: Center Stage in a World at War?

Posted on June 24, 2017

by Richard Edmondson

Doha, Qatar

[Ed note – An interesting analysis on the dispute between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and its potential for engulfing the rest of the Middle East and exploding into World War III, has been posted by blogger Green Crow. The piece is written by “James” and reposted from his Winter Patriot blog. Qatar, in his analysis, sees US influence in the Middle East waning and is pivoting toward Iran, Syria, and Russia, and he notes that both Iran and Russia have sent food shipments to Qatar in order to break the blockade imposed by the Saudis. Turkey is now openly siding with the Qataris as well–and this also makes perfect sense. US support for the Kurds in Syria–with the US seemingly now moving in the direction of setting up a de facto Kurdish state–would of course have to be a major, MAJOR “red line” for Turkey. This of course puts two NATO allies, the US and Turkey, at odds with each other. Bottom line: there is a major shift in alliances occurring.

James, the writer, mentions a Cross Talk program which aired June 14 in which Sharmine Narwani was guest and gave some valuable perspectives on the situation. You can find that program here, but there is also a more recent Cross Talk Program, here, that features Alexander Mercouris, that also discusses the further evolving situation. The program, which aired June 23, is entitled “Rushing to War?” Basically, what it comes down to is that the ISIS proxies seem to be headed toward collapse. So what happens with the proxies are finally defeated with the major powers gathered in Syria left alone staring each other in the face? Does that make a major war more likely? This is the question explored on the show. ]

By Greencrow

There have been some very good analyses of the Qatar crisis on the Alternative Internet in the past few days. My instincts tell me that this crisis might just be the one that puts the globalist neocon ziofascist push towards WWIII, which has been stalled due to some genius “checkmating” by Russia, over the top.  In my opinion, Saudi Arabia and its allies are, just like the ISIS terrorists, acting as USrael’s proxy in the Middle East…just on a grander scale.  In the guest column below, James fromWinter Patriot Blog has a very comprehensive and well presented assessment of what is going on in Qatar. I have added bolding and emphasis, and will have more thoughts in comments to follow…

Continued here

Qatar Is Centre Stage In A World At War – UPDATED

Fri, 06/23/2017 – 07:31 — james

Update at the foot of this article.

A few weeks ago, the Saudis exploded in their rhetoric against Qatar. They were apoplectic. What on earth could have caused this sudden flood of vitriol? Obviously, it was not the fact that Qatar was funding terrorists in Syria as this had been an open secret for years. Plus, it was also an open secret that the Saudi’s themselves are funding terrorism and even supplying many of the terrorists. The Qataris must have been threatening in a major way either or both of the two things the Saudis hold dear – their money and their political power. The former is increasingly dependent on the latter. Sharmine Narwani appeared on RT’s Crosstalk to talk about the Saudi/Qatar conflict. She was definitely the smartest one in the room but no one was really listening to her. In answer to Peter Lavelle’s first question, she revealed that the terror groups supported by the Qatar/Turkish alliance had gone very quiet in the last month and this had allowed the Syrian govt forces to concentrate on ISIS which is directly backed by the Saudis and the UAE. Consequently, ISIS is in disarray.

Clearly, to this writer at least, a deal had been done between Qatar, Turkey and Syria. Russia would have to be on-board, too. This has massive implications for the whole world. Narwani also thought that the Saudis were not above attacking Qatar and it might be imminent. One reason, as Sharmine Narwani states, may be the fact that Qatari backed terrorists in Syria have been fighting directly with Saudi backed jihadis. This benefits Turkey as well as Syria.

View the Crosstalk segment:

Turkey is pissed that the US is obviously trying to set up a Kurdish state in the north of Syria and barring Turkish military involvement. This evolving Kurdish state-let will inevitably threaten Turkish sovereignty. But what about Qatar?

QATAR

Qatar must be able to see which way the wind is blowing in the Syrian conflict and realise that they are not going to get their gas pipeline through Syrian territory after all. The LNG market, from which they get the bulk of their revenue from, is now oversupplied (from the US and Australian sources amongst others) and forcing prices downward. Qatar’s income is declining and it needs to pipe its gas to a major market to stay competitive. Piped gas is much cheaper to deliver and distribute than LNG. The only option is to talk to the Iranians. It also makes major business sense to do so.

Qatar and Iran share the largest gas field in the world and it is largely undeveloped. It makes sense to develop this field together and market the gas together as well. With Iran as a partner, the way is then open for Qatar to negotiate with the Russians and the Syrians concerning pipeline routes. The way is also open to ensure the future cash flow of the Qatari government and its royal household. Russian technology and Chinese finance will make it all happen. I would estimate that the gas sales will be denominated in Yuan and Rubles.

UNITED STATES

The Americans will get (are getting) their knickers in a bunch but they are rapidly losing influence in the Middle East, as Sharmine said. She was trying to elucidate that the Middle East countries are looking to rearrange their alliances and strategies to take this into account when she was cut off by Peter Lavelle.  The US is losing the battle to maintain the US dollar as the undisputed world currency and this deal will hasten its demise. The world wide supremacy of the US dollar is what their empire is based on. No dollar supremacy equals no US political supremacy and this will severely curtail their effective military supremacy.

The bankers that control the US, UK and Israel maintain their power by controlling energy supplies and indebting everybody to keep them relatively poor. Every other nation on earth will benefit from breaking this lock on power and enjoy growing industrialisation, trade and prosperity. This is being brought into stark contrast in the Middle East starting with Qatar. Qatar can stay with the US and slowly strangle itself economically or it can take a risk and make a break for economic freedom and prosperity.

SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Arabia has ambitions of leading the Islamic world. It has used its gigantic income from oil sales to invest in religious indoctrination around the world and to bribe countries near and far. It has bought its way onto, if you can believe it, the UN Commission on the Status of Women and now heads the UN Human Rights Council. This is what money can do; but you need lots of money and a continuing supply of it. As the wealthiest oil exporter in the Middle East, it has dominated the Gulf Co-operation Council which, of course, includes Qatar.

Saudi Arabia’s income stream is declining and is needing to leverage what political power it has to gain more and to cover naked grabs of resources such as those in Yemen. But it needs the GCC to act as this lever. Qatar is undoing the Saudis dominance of the GCC. The Saudis future is at stake and with the Saudi royal house doubling down with the appointment of Mohammed bin Salman as Crown Prince, we can expect more military adventurism, i.e. wars, to hasten this decline and perhaps eventual demise.

TURKEY

There is the risk of an armed attack from the Saudis but Qatar has allies. Turkey is sending troops to Qatar. This is no small matter. Turkey has the largest military in the Middle East. Turkey is also making it clear that it has a major interest in the success of whatever deal Qatar is striking with Syria Iran and Russia. Iran and Russia have immediately sent food shipments to Qatar after the announcement of the blockade by Saudi Arabia and the UAE and Bahrain. It would seem from the co-ordinated response that the blockade was anticipated. Presumably, more is anticipated by this ad hoc alliance assisting Qatar.

With the original Qatar/Saudi pipeline dead in the water, Turkey would be amenable to a Qatar/Iran/Syrian pipeline going through Turkey. I’m sure their only demand would be that it not go through any Kurdish territory. Given that none of the other partners want the US/Israeli controlled and unreliable Kurds involved, that won’t be a problem. So the pipeline would have to go through the Aleppo corridor.

It would also need to go through south/eastern Syria where the US is now fighting at the risk of starting WW3 with the Russians. Now we see what the stakes are for the US and they are very high. If the gas pipeline goes through Turkey it will inevitably hook up with the Turkstream gas pipeline that will be Russian built and owned. Turkstream with travel through south eastern Europe; through the impoverished (thanks to the US and Germany) nations there. Turkey will become the gas hub between the suppliers in the Middle East, Russia and the Caucasus and on to the customers in Europe. Turkey has manoeuvred for a long time to be in this position. Much income and political influence to be gained and none of it dependent on the US!

EUROPE

Turkstream will be a lifeline to Serbia and Hungary. A branch line could easily extend to Greece and on to Italy. Europe’s prosperity will be massively enhanced with a secure, plentiful and cheap energy supplied from Iran, Qatar and Russia. German/EU and US dominance over southern and eastern Europe will evaporate as will US power. The Islamic mass migration may well stop, as well.

RUSSIA

In the immediate term, Russia will get what it has been aiming for and that is a ‘Gas OPEC’. Russia together with Iran and Qatar control the bulk of the world’s gas reserves and will set the price thereafter. Europe (Germany) will have to kick the US to the kerb and come to its senses regarding Russia and cease with the sanctions and resume normal bilateral trade arrangements. Peace and prosperity for Russia.

In the longer term, Russia will be able to see the back of the US in the Middle East and all the wars it brings with it and Russia will be left as the dominant power on its southern flank.

IRAN

Iran is being fast-tracked to join the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) which is a de-facto military alliance between Russia and China and now Pakistan and India. The window of opportunity to attack Iran is finally closing, if it has not already closed. Thus Iran will have the US and its bankers finally off its back and will be able to resume full trade with the rest of the world. No more sanctions and it can resume its path to peace and prosperity through selling oil and gas wherever it wants and relieve its population of the constant stress of the threat of imminent war.

PAKISTAN and CHINA

There are other players involved, too; China and Pakistan. There have been long term negotiations between Iran, Pakistan and China to pipe gas through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. No doubt, the Chinese would welcome Qatar as a partner in this project as it would also allow its influence to further spread into the other Gulf countries with their New Silk Road to follow.
Wherever the pipeline goes, so will roads and other infrastructure. The new infrastructure, together with the ready supply of energy, will assure development along the route and surrounding territory. This would be a massive boon for the Balochistan area and would quell the political unrest (sponsored by the CIA) that has cost both Pakistan and Iran, not to mention the Balochs. Exactly the same applies to the North-West Territories in the north of Pakistan.

No doubt the Pakistanis would like to be rid of the US which has bases on its territory and from which it launches aerial attacks against Pakistani territory at will. The list of benefits to multiple countries goes on and on but it won’t be smooth sailing. The US has been in decline for some years now but that hasn’t stopped it launching more wars and spreading terrorism and mayhem across the globe. This will continue. It is the nature of psychopathy to never give up; to always continue to do harm.

To get itself out of trouble over the centuries, the banking establishment, centered in London and New York, has started costly wars. They are now trying to do the same again in Syria and maybe soon in Qatar. We shall see soon enough.
Meanwhile I commend to you Pepe Escobar’s article at Sputnik where he talks about the implications of the SCO as well as the pipelines and the Qatari deal-

The West Can’t Smell What Eurasia is Cooking
https://sputniknews.com/columnists/201706161054701807-west-cannot-smell-…

Pepe is the ‘go-to’ man regarding pipelines. He was the first writer that I know of to seize their importance and ‘follow the pipelines’. He coined the term “Pipelineistan” and has written books about it.

UPDATE

Adam Garrie of The Duran has written an article outlining 13 demands that the Saudis have of Qatar. The list is not confirmed but “widely accepted” including by RT. Associated Press claims to have seen the document but AP is closely aligned with the Globalists, the Neocons and israel, but I repeat myself. So AP gives the list of demands credibility but because the Saudi govt has not confirmed it, it can shield itself from diplomatic criticism and back away from the “13 demands” at a later date if necessary.

Garrie notes that the demands are childish and he is right. This is what you get when you step on the toes big-time of psychopaths. They have the emotional maturity of 10 year olds. He also rightly notes that the demands cannot be complied with because they are extremely demeaning. This is intentional. Israel and the US routinely do the same when they want to start a war and this is precisely what Saudi Arabia is saying and wanting. ‘Either you stop with the alliance with Iran, Syria, Turkey and Russia or we will invade you. Israel and the US have to be onboard with this. And why wouldn’t they be? Their psychopathic dreams and political futures are equally at stake here as outlined above.”

***********************

So, there are a couple of deductions I would like to add to James’s excellent analysis.  He may have already made some of these points but I would like to emphasize the following in point form:

– Saudi Arabia and its allies are acting as proxies for USrael and the European Banksters that run their perpetual war for Profit global scam.

– They have definitely made the terms issued to Qatar “non negotiable“…to ensure a WWIII in the very short term…which will avoid their looming bankruptcy and (perhaps worse) geopolitical irrelevancy!

– Ultimately, just like everything else that has gone on in the Middle East for the past 15 years or more…this is aimed at Russia/China/Iran….but particularly Russia/Putin.  It will take every ounce of his chessmaster skills to outmaneuver the perps this time.  They’ve doubled down for “one final roll of the dice”…and Qatar is it.  Stay tuned.

هيثم المناع في حافظ الاسد: انت الاعظم Haitham al-Mana on Hafiz al-Asad: You are the greatest

تونس – الاخبارية – عالمية – عرب – متابعات الاخبارية

في مقال مزلزل , تجدونه في الرابط اسفل المقال , بمناسبة ذكرى رحيل الرئيس السابق حافظ الاسد اعلن القيادي السوري المعارض والحقوقي هيثم المناع عن خيبة امله من الثورة الحادثة في بلاده. وعبر عن تحسره لوقوعها اصلا مؤكدا ان خيارات الرئيس الراحل الذي وصفه ب“الاعظم” هي الاعمق والانسب في ادارة الشان السوري ( مقال هيثم المناع)… ولئن لم يكن ما صرح به هيثم المناع جديدا من حيث السخط على ما وصلت اليه الاوضاع في سوريا والتعبير عن الخيبة من ثورة علق عليها العديدون امالا كثيرة ,والتأكيد على ان نظريات الديمقراطية وحقوق الانسان بالمفهوم الغربي لا تتناسب مع الحالة الراهنة للمجتمعات العربية التي ما زالت تحتاج الى انساق الزعامة والمستبد المستنير العادل …مع ان مثل هذا الموقف من الشائع المألوف عند فئات عديدة عربية وغير عربية , فان اهمية ما قاله المناع تتأتى من الجوانب التالية

اولا هو مثقف عربي درس الطب وعلوم الاجتماع ومتحصل على الدكتوراه في الانتروبولوجيا , كما الف العديد من الكتب والدراسات واشتغل مع عدة مؤسسات عالمية لحقوق الانسان والمجتمع المدني …وبالتالي فهو منطقيا يستند في نظرته وتقييمه للاشياء الى تجربة قيمة و كفاءة بحثية وعمق اكاديمي لا يستهان به

ثانيا انه احد القياديين السياسيين المشرفين على الثورة السورية , انخرط عن قرب في مطابخها الداخلية واطلع على خوافيها وما يدور حولها لا سيما وهو الذي تقلد خطة رئيس هيئة الانفاذ المعارضة .

ثالثا , وهذا هام جدا حسب عديد المتابعين , وهو ان ما قاله هيثم المناع لا ينطبق على الحالة السورية فحسب , بل يستقيم مع اكثر من وضع من اوضاع ثورات بلدان الربيع العربي على غرار الحالتين الليبية واليمنية تحديدا ثم الحالة التونسية الاقل هلاكا نسبيا رغم تعثرها الواضح..

لاشك ان العناصر السالفة الذكر تجعل مما كتبه هيثم المناع (وهو صديق مقرب للمنصف المرزوقي) اكثر من مجرد ردة فعل غاضبة , او مزاج متعكر من الثورات وارتداداتها..لان القيمة العلمية والاعتبارية للرجل لا تسمح له بذلك ..وهو اكثر مما يردده العوام في السر وفي الجهر..فيفهم منه اذن محاولة اولى من نوعها لنقد ذاتي , لا شك انه سيهز النخب القاعدة التي تقف عليها النخب الفكرية والسياسية الجديدة في بلاد ما يسمى ب”الربيع العربي”

اضغط على الرابط :

(انقلاب ب180 درجة) – شاهد ماذا كتب ابرز معارض سوري في الاسد :”انت الاعظم”

تونس-الاخبارية-عرب-نزاعات-رصد

كتب د. هيثم المناع احد ابرز معارضي النظام السوري و رئيس هيئة الانفاذ المعارضة بذكرى رحيل حافظ الأسد النص التالي

 رسالة إلى حافظ الأسد من كاره للنظام

بعد كل ما جرى .. وبعد التعرف على شعبي السوري .. وعلى مثقفيه وفئاته وحدود تفكيرها..أقر أنا الكاره السابق للنظام.. و الهارب من الخوف والذل.. والعائد إليه لاحقا بإرادتي.. أن حافظ الأسد أعظم رجل في التاريخ السوري..فهو أفهم من الأدباء والمثقفين بأنفسهم.. أدرى من المتدينين بربهم وأعلم من الخونة… والقتلة بما في صدورهم.

حافظ الأسد عرف السوريين جيدا.. وعرف أفضل طريقة ممكنة لسياستهم ..فحاسب كلا كما يستحق تماما بحسب أثره في المجتمع دون أدنى ظلم..عرف كيف يرضي المتدينين ويضحك على عقولهم ويكسبهم..أجبر الدين أن يبقى حيث يجب أن يبقى.. في البيت والجامع..فلا يخرج إلى الحياة السياسية.. وأشرك بالمقابل كل الطوائف في الحكم

طهر الأرض من المجرمين والقتلة.. وجفف منابعهم الطائفية بالقوة..وكسب البيئات الدينية المعتدلة التي تسمح لغيرها بالحياة..و إندمج فيها فأحبته من قلبها وأغلبها لا تزال مخلصة له حتى الآن

لم أكن عرف ما هي الطائفية على أيامه و قضيت أغلب سني عمري لا أجرؤ على التلفظ بأسماء الطوائف حتى بيني وبين نفسي..كم كان ذلك جميلا .. أن يقمع رجل عظيم الشر الكامن فينا حتى قبل أن ينبت

عرف نوعية المثقفين لديه.. فعامل كل منهم كما يستحق..إحترم بعضهم وقال له أفكارك لا تنفع هنا فاص

مت أو ارحل وعد متى شئت..مثل نزار قباني والماغوط وممدوح عدوان وأدونيس..ومن لم يفهم أو كان حالما وربما كان سيستسبب بالبلبلة فقد جنى على نفسه وسجن حتى لو كان من طائفته فلا فرق عند هذا الرجل العادل.. مثل عارف دليلة وعبد العزيز الخير و مئات أخرين

ميز المثقفين الطائفيين والحاقدين المخربين للمجتمع كما أثبت الزمن اللاحق فسجنهم..و  إن لم يكونوا قد استحقوا سجنهم وقتها -و لا أعتقد – فقد استحقوه بجدارة لاحقا..مثل ياسين الحج صالح وميشيل كيلو وحازم نهار وفايز سارة ولؤي حسين وأمثالهم

طوع المثقفين الدنيئين الذين يبحثون عن مستأجر..ووجد لهم عملا يتعيشون منه طالما هم تحت الحذاء..حيث مكانهم المستحق.. مثل حكم البابا وعلي فرزات وأمثالهم

إهتم بالفنانين والشعراء السوريين والعرب الذين يستحقون الاهتمام ..مثل مصطفى نصري والجواهري والرحباني. وغيرهم

حصر الدعارة في أماكن مخصصة لها بدل أن تنتشر في الشوارع والمقاهي وأماكن العمل والصحف

عرف كيف يستقر الحكم ويتوازن دون مشاكل .. استعمل الوطني كالشرع ..والوطنيين المؤلفة قلوبهم..أي من يحتاج للمال حتى يبقوا وطنيين كخدام والزعبي وأمثالهم

أطعم الفاسدين بميزان دقيق.. وصرامة.. فكانوا لا يجرؤون على القضم أكثر مما يسمح لهم..أرضى التجار والعائلات الكبيرة

كان رجلا ترتعد له فرائص أعدائه وأصدقائه في الداخل والخارج.. فحكم أطول مدة في التاريخ السوري الحديث

كان حافظ الأسد الحل الأمثل لسورية مع الأخذ بعين الاعتبار طبيعة الشعب وثقافته وظروف البلد والأخطار المحيطة به..فبنى سورية الأمن والأمان..سورية المنيعة في مواجهة أعدائها.. سورية المدارس والمستشفيات المجانية .. سورية السلع المدعومة ..سورية الفقر الموزع بالتساوي بين الجميع.. ولو كان الغنى ممكنا لوزعه بالتساوي..عاش بسيطا فقيرا.. ومات فقيرا لا يملك شيئا..

كان رجال دولته يتمتعون بالنساء والمال والاستجمام في أجمل مناطق العالم وهو يعيش في شقته المتواضعة.. لا يفكر إلا بمصلحة الشعب.

عرف كيف يضع حذائه في فم إسرائيل والغرب وأعوانهم ملك الأردن وعرب البعير والميليشيات اللبنانية..

عادى عرفات والسادات وكل من فرط بشبر من أرض فلسطين

ضبط الميليشيات الفلسطينية بالقوة و بنى مقاومة لبنانية و دعم الفلسطينية ووجهما تجاه العدو و بنى توازن رعب يعمل الأعداء وعملاؤهم في الدخل والخارج منذ سنوات على تفكيكهما..

بنى لسورية قيمة أكبر من مساحتها وقدراتها قبل أن ينقض عليها أعداؤه بعد مماته لاعنين روحه

فعل كل ذلك باللين والحب عندما كان ينفع.. وبالشدة والبطش تارة أخرى

لا يزال كارهوه يخشونه حتى الآن..لن يستطيعوا هزيمته في رؤوسهم.. ومهما حدث سيبقى ذلا أبديا لهم.. لن يستطيعوا تجاوزه..

كثير كثير .. لا مجال يتسع لتعداد مناقب هذا العظيم العظيم..كان رجل دولة من أرفع طراز.. لا يتكرر إلا كل بضعة قرون

أقول هذا.. أنا مناصر الإنسانية والحريات وحقوق الإنسان..بعد تجربتي مع شعبي السوري ومثقفيه وموالاته ومعارضته..لاقتناعي أن سياسة حافظ الأسد هي السياسة الأمثل التي تخفف الألم السوري الكلي إلى حده الأدنى..والدليل ما يحدث الآن

وأعلن أني مستعد للعيش في سورية تحت حكم رجل مثله بغض النظر عن طائفته طالما أنه على عهده لا يجوع فقير ولا يجرؤ أحد على استباحة دم أحد .. ولا تستطيع الكلاب أن تفلت في الشوارع

تعلم أنك ولدت في المكان الخطأ والزمن الخطأ بين الناس الخطأ.. عش بسلام كما يليق بك بين الانبياء

هيثم مناع

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“Assad must go!”

“Assad must go!” – fail 🙂

January 20, 2017

The excellent Colonel Cassad posted this hilarious picture yesterday and added “in Spring we will add Hollande to this list” 🙂

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Comparisons that reveal the magnitude of change in Syria مقارنات تكشف حجم التغيير في سورية

Written by Nasser Kandil,

Since the beginning of the international and regional efforts for a political solution in Syria, the magnitude of the roles of the regional and the international allies of the Syrian two opposite teams, the country, and the formations of the political and the military opposition groups reflect the outcome of the field balances of powers between these two teams on one hand, and the ruling balances of the international and regional equations and its variables on the other hand. At the beginning of the efforts was Geneva Statement in 2012 where Iran was absent, or more exactly it was excluded, while the presence of the hostile allies to Syrian country was dominant, until almost the presence of Russia and China was insignificant among this hostile crowd. This meeting which was held on May 20, 2012 has included each of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Secretary-General of the Arab League, in addition to the Foreign Ministers of the Soviet Union, Turkey, China, France, Qatar ( the Chairman of the Arab League to follow up the situation in Syria), Iraq ( the Chairman of the summit conference of the Arab League ), Kuwait ( the Head of the Foreign Ministers Council of the Arab League), the United Kingdom, the Northern Ireland, United States, and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and the Security policy) as working group for Syria led by the Common Special Envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League for Syria, the ratio of the friends of Syria to its opponents is three of thirteen, it means less than a quarter. The absence of Iran was not inadvertently, but it was a political decision.

At the meeting which was held after four years and a half on 20 December 2016 in Moscow and has included the Foreign and the Defense Ministers of Russia, Turkey, and Iran and which ended with a document for a political solution. The ratio of the friends of Syria comparing with its opponent is two-thirds; the absence of Saudi Arabia was not inadvertently, but it was a political decision.

In the negotiations of Geneva which the preparation for them was at the end of 2013 and which have been held in early of 2014 which mean exactly two years ago, the United Nations has sent an invitation to Iran after vigorous Russian interferences to participate in the opening session of the conference, then the Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has withdrawn it. The Foreign Minister of Russia does not have but the objection and to accept the fait accompli to participate despite that provocation. It was issued a Saudi public statement to exclude Iran. On  January 20, 2014 the Saudi authorities announced that they refused the participation of Iran in “Geneva Conference-2-” which aimed to discuss the Syrian crisis, because Tehran has refused the item of forming a transitional government, because it has affiliated forces that fight with the Syrian regime. The official News Agency has reported the saying of an official source” the public approval on the invitation terms is by announcing officially and publically the acceptance of the terms, at their forefront forming a transitional government for the authorities, while Iran did not announce that position, so it was not qualified to attend, especially, because it has military forces that fight side by side with the forces of the regime.

In the preparation for the negotiations of Astana, Russia and Turkey have announced the desire to include new participants to sponsor the political process, among the concerned is Saudi Arabia. Iran refused the participation of Saudi Arabia, and has announced at the spokesman of its Defense Minister on December 28, 2016 that Saudi Arabia is not allowed to participate in the Peace Process in the Syrian Republic. The Russian media agency has reported on Tuesday that the statements of Dehghan have been issued during an interview with (Russia Today) the Russian TV Channel, It was reported that Dehghan said that the insistence of Saudi Arabia on the resignation of the President Bashar Al-Assad means that Riyadh must not participate in the Syrian future peace talks.

A year ago, when the Russian President Vladimir announced that he sent his troops to Syria to drop the slogan of overthrowing the regime and to impose an equation its basis is the priority of the war on terrorism, as well as a Syrian Syrian political solution through which the Syrians resort to the ballot boxes, many has mocked at his words.

Now after a year of his words the President Putin ratified on the first serious agreement to cease-fire and to start the political track among the important factions which are sponsored by Turkey in the fighting field. The Syrian government excludes ISIS and Al Nusra front, while Washington is absent from the scene, its President Barack Obama is preparing himself to depart after he defined several and repetitive deadlines for the departure of the Syrian President, he has warned Moscow repeatedly from the failure which it will reap because of its involvement in the Syrian war. The new President is preparing himself to assume power. He says that his priority is the cooperation with the Russian President, and that the issue of overthrowing the regime and toppling the Syrian President is not an issue that concerns the Americans, wondering why not to cooperate with him as long as our priority is fighting the terrorism and he is fighting the terrorism.

Translated by Lina Shehadeh,

مقارنات تكشف حجم التغيير في سورية

ناصر قنديل

– منذ بدأت المساعي الدولية والإقليمية لحلّ سياسي في سورية كانت أحجام أدوار الحلفاء الإقليميين والدوليين للفريقين السوريين المتقابلين، الدولة وتشكيلات الجماعات المعارضة السياسية والعسكرية، تعكس حاصل موازين القوى الميدانية بين هذين الفريقين من جهة، والموازين الحاكمة للمعادلات الدولية والإقليمية ومتغيّراتها. ففي بداية المساعي كان بيان جنيف قي عام 2012، وقد كانت إيران غائبة عنه، والأصحّ  مغيّبة، وكان حلفاء الجماعات المعادية للدولة السورية طاغية على الحضور، حتى يكاد يبدو حضور روسيا والصين هزيلاً وسط هذا الحشد المعادي، فقد ضمّ الاجتماع الذي عقد في 20 أيار 2012 كلاً من الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة والأمين العام لجامعة الدول العربية ووزراء خارجية الاتحاد الروسي وتركيا والصين وفرنسا وقطر رئيسة لجنة جامعة الدول العربية لمتابعة الوضع في سورية والعراق رئيس مؤتمر قمة جامعة الدول العربية والكويت رئيسة مجلس وزراء الخارجية التابع لجامعة الدول العربية والمملكة المتحدة وإيرلندا الشمالية والولايات المتحدة وممثلة الاتحاد الأوروبي السامية للشؤون الخارجية والسياسة الأمنية، بوصفهم مجموعة العمل من أجل سورية، برئاسة المبعوث الخاص المشترك للأمم المتحدة وجامعة الدول العربية لسورية، ونسبة الأصدقاء للدولة السورية من خصومها هنا هي ثلاثة من ثلاثة عشر أيّ أقلّ من الربع، ولم يكن غياب إيران سهواً بل قرار سياسي.

– في الاجتماع الذي عُقد بعد أربع سنوات ونصف في 20 كانون الأول 2016 في موسكو وضمّ وزراء الخارجية والدفاع في روسيا وتركيا وإيران والذي انتهى بوثيقة للحلّ السياسي، وحلّ بذلك مكان اجتماع جنيف النسبة لأصدقاء الدولة السورية قياساً بخصومها هي الثلثان، ولم يكن الغياب السعودي سهواً بل قرار سياسي.

– في مفاوضات جنيف التي بدأ التمهيد لها نهاية 2013 وعقدت مطلع العام 2014 أيّ قبل سنتين تماماً، وجهت الأمم المتحدة بعد مداخلات روسية حثيثة بطاقة دعوة إلى إيران، للمشاركة في الجلسة الافتتاحية للمؤتمر لم يلبث أن سحبها الأمين العام بان كي مون، ولم يكن بيد وزير خارجية روسيا سوى الاعتراض وقبول الأمر الواقع بالمشاركة، رغم هذا الاستفزاز، وصدر بيان سعودي علني يدعو لاستبعاد إيران. ففي 20 كانون الثاني 2014 أعلنت السلطات السعودية أنها ترفض مشاركة إيران في مؤتمر «جنيف – 2» الهادف لبحث الأزمة السورية بسبب رفض طهران شرط تشكيل حكومة انتقالية ولوجود «قوات تابعة لها تحارب مع النظام السوري»». ونقلت وكالة الأنباء الرسمية عن مصدر مسؤول قوله إنّ «الموافقة العلنية على شروط الدعوة هو أن يعلن رسمياً وعلنياً عن قبول الشروط وأولها إنشاء حكومة انتقالية للسلطات، أما إيران فلم تعلن عن هذا الموقف مما لا يؤهّلها للحضور خاصة أنّ لها قوات عسكرية تحارب جنباً إلى جنب مع قوات النظام».

– في التمهيد لمفاوضات أستانة أعلنت روسيا وتركيا الرغبة بضمّ مشاركين جدد لرعاية المسار السياسي، ومن ضمن المعنيين السعودية، فأعلنت إيران رفض مشاركة السعودية، فأعلنت إيران بلسان وزير دفاعها يوم 28 كانون الأول 2016 أنه يجب عدم السماح بمشاركة السعودية في عملية السلام في الجمهورية السورية، وذكرت وكالة الإعلام الروسية الثلاثاء أنّ تصريحات دهقان جاءت خلال مقابلة مع  قناة «موسكو اليوم» التلفزيونية الروسية. ونقل عن دهقان قوله إنه يعتقد أنّ إصرار السعودية على تنحّي السيد الرئيس بشار الأسد يعني أنه يجب ألا تشارك الرياض في محادثات السلام السورية المستقبلية.

– قبل سنة عندما أعلن الرئيس الروسي فلاديمير بوتين أنه جاء بقواته إلى سورية ليسقط شعار إسقاط النظام، وفرض معادلة قوامها أولوية الحرب على الإرهاب وحلّ سياسي سوري سوري، يحتكم فيه السوريون إلى صناديق الاقتراع، سخر الكثيرون من كلامه. وها هو الرئيس بوتين بعد سنة من كلامه، يصادق على أول اتفاقية جدية لوقف النار وبدء مسار سياسي بين الفصائل الوازنة في ميدان القتال التي ترعاها تركيا، والحكومة السورية، تستثني تنظيم داعش وجبهة النصرة، بينما تغيب واشنطن عن المشهد، ويستعدّ رئيسها باراك أوباما للرحيل بعدما حدّد مواعيد متعدّدة ومتكرّرة لرحيل الرئيس السوري، وحذر موسكو مراراً من الفشل الذي ستحصد ثماره بسبب تدخلها في الحرب السورية. ويستعدّ الرئيس الجديد  لتسلّم السلطة وهو يقول إنّ أولويته هي التعاون مع الرئيس الروسي وإنّ قضية تغيير النظام وإسقاط الرئيس السوري ليست قضية تهمّ الأميركيين، متسائلاً: لماذا لا نتعاون معه طالما أولويتنا قتال الإرهاب وهو يقاتل الإرهاب؟

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Video: The Ugliest War in History (Deleted for the fourth time in less than 24 hours)

فيديو يحذف للمرة الرابعة في أقل من 24 ساعة ماذا يحوي ليحارب هكذا

 

A Must See: Deleted 4 times in 24 hours

 

SYRIA: UK Peace Delegation Meet with President Assad

Friends of Syria

by Vanessa Beeley

21st Century Wire says…

At the end of July 2016 the US Peace Council delegation entered Syria on a very successful fact finding mission to support their campaign for an end to the universal suffering of the Syrian people perpetuated by the US and NATO member state military and propaganda war against Syria. A UK Peace delegation has followed hard on their heels led by Revd Andrew Ashdown and including members of the House of Commons and Lords, religious and academic emissaries.

The following is a report from SANA [Syrian Arab News Agency] on the meeting between Syrian President Bashar al Assad and the UK Peace delegation:

“President Bashar al-Assad highlighted the importance of the visits paid by foreign delegations to Syria to the effect of exposing the falsification practiced by the Western media.

His remarks came during a meeting with the visiting British delegation that includes members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords and religious and academic figures.

The President elaborated that such visits and the opportunity of getting acquainted with the situation and facts on the ground would contribute to clearing the image and laying bare the falsification practiced by some Western media outlets against the people of their countries, especially that these media have political agendas that are in the interest of the governments and not the people.

As the talks focused on the terrorist war in Syria and the growing dangers of the terrorism and extremism on the region and the world, President al-Assad affirmed that the gravest danger facing the world now is that of the extremist mentality pervading the societies inside the region and beyond.

This mentality, the President said, is the underpinning of terrorism that has started recently to strike in many areas inside Europe and the Western countries in general.

He made it clear that in order to eliminate terrorism, one needs not only fighting it on the ground, but also confronting the ideology underlying it, which just knows no borders.

The British delegation members, for their part, said that having visited Syria and got to meet many Syrian officials and citizens, they can now work on conveying the truth and correcting the wrong vision which the British government and a large swath of the British public have on Syria, in addition to conveying the great deal of suffering the Syrians have to put with due to the terror crimes.”

The series of Revd Andrew Ashdown’s reports from inside Syria prior to this important delegation can be found at 21st Century Wire: Voices from Syria

Prayers for Peace in War-torn Aleppo

“A prayer for peace in Syria was held on Monday at the Armenian Evangelical Bethel Church in Aleppo city with the participation of the British delegation which is currently visiting Syria.

The participants prayed to God to preserve Aleppo and all Syria and restore safety and security to it.

For his part, Aleppo Governor Mohammad Marwan Olabi pointed out that Syria and Aleppo, in particular, have suffered a lot due to the crimes of terrorist organizations that are backed by Western countries, adding that the unjust terrorist war against Syria is accompanied by a dirty media warfare in which most of the Western media outlets have contributed through the falsification the reality and changing facts to serve the terrorist plan that is targeting Syria and its people.

In turn, the delegation members said that the visit aims at finding out more about the reality of the situation in Syria and forming a comprehensive picture far from what Western media outlets have published about Syria.

The British delegation includes parliamentary, academic and religious figures.” ~ SANA

Meeting Dr Bouthaina Shaaban,  Political and Media Advisor to President Assad

“Presidential Political and Media Advisor Bouthaina Shaaban said Thursday that the western media has become a hindrance between us and Western societies rather than a bridge of the fact, considering the European actions today are contrary to their words.

During a meeting with a British delegation comprising parliamentarians, academics and clergymen, Shaaban pointed out that the West should listen directly to the viewpoint of the Syrians since they are the owners of the land and not to what is circulated by the Western media and to convey Syria’s voice to the Western decision makers, especially in the European and British political establishment.

Dr. Shaaban said that it has become clear that the French and British governments are adopting and supporting what Saudi Arabia and Qatar are circulating through their media outlets, affirming in another context that Syria has been the cradle of tolerance and convergence between the heavenly religions.

The Advisor reaffirmed that the basis of the ongoing conflict is the Arab-Israeli conflict and that Israel is the main beneficiary of the Syrian and Arab bloodbath.

In turn, head of the delegation Father Andrew Ashdown said that the visit aims at getting acquainted with the reality of situation in Syria through talking to the Syrians themselves and away from what has been circulated by the Western media.

For their part, members of the delegation’s questions focused on the political solution to the crisis in Syria, the return of the displaced to their homeland and the role of European countries, especially Britain and France in what is happening in Syria.

They stressed their desire to convey the voice of the Syrians and shed light on the fact of what is happening in Syria to their people and their media outlets.
The delegation comprises members from the House of Lords, House of Commons, and researchers.” ~ SANA

Message from Andrew Ashdown

“I did not imagine our ‘cover’, for security reasons, would be blown by the BBC 10 o’clock news! The vilification of our visit in the British media has already begun! We have had a remarkable visit meeting with numerous people from across the faith, community and political spectrum throughout Syria, and have safely returned from making the dangerous journey to visit Aleppo.. the first British group to do so since the start of the conflict.

We shall be making a Press Release tomorrow, and I will be posting online in full thereafter sharing our experiences and the multiple voices that we have heard.” ~Andrew Ashdown

source

Al-Jaafari to Sputnik: It Is Impossible to Defeat “Daesh” in Syria without First Defeating It in Turkey

Syria Times

Wednesday, 24 August 2016 23:53

NEW YORK-Syria’s permanent Representative at the United Nations Bashar al-Jaafari has stressed that “it is impossible to defeat Daesh in Syria without first defeating it in Turkey,” asking how Turkey can say that it is fighting Daesh in Jarablus if Turkey itself allowed the establishment of Daesh and helped in the development of this terror organization’s abilities.

Interviewed by the Russian Sputnik news agency on Wednesday,  al-Jaafari clarified that the Turkish regime has helped provide “Deash” with thousands of Toyota cars and other branded cars with built-in weapons and with funds from the Gulf states to purchase weapons from Ukraine, Croatia, Bulgaria and other countries.

Under the air cover of the US-led coalition’s air force, the Turkish regime’s tanks and armored vehicles Wednesday morning crossed the Turkish-Syrian borders into the Syrian city of Jarablus, allegedly to fight “Deash”, in a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian state.

Al-Jaafari affirmed that those who actually want to help Syria fight terrorism must coordinate their efforts with Damascus and form a real coalition to help fight the terrorists.

“There is no doubt that there is Russian-Iranian pressure on Ankara to change its policy toward Syria. Turkey says one thing and does another. We hear good speeches every day but no real action can be seen. If there were any new actions consistent with their statements, they would not have started the operation in Jarablus,” al-Jaafri pointed out, according to the Russian agency.

He further said that it is wrong for anyone who pleases to fight terrorism to send in their planes into Syria and say,

“I will support this but will not support this and that too without any consent of the Syrian government. We live in the 21st century, not in the woods. People have forgotten that there is international law.”

Al-Jaafari spoke to Sputnik about the deadly chemical attacks that took place in Syria back in 2013 and the involvement of France in these attacks.

“The case with chemical weapons was initially fabricated to exert pressure on the Syrian government. After the first chemical gas attack on Khan al-Asal in Aleppo, I went to the Secretary-General (UN approx.) to request assistance to the Syrian government in investigation for answering if there actually was a chemical attack and who was behind it?,” he said, noting that the Secretary-General  told him that he must consult with the UN Security Council countries first.

“Three hours later after consultation with the countries of the UN Security Council, he came back to me and said, ‘Tell your government that I will assist and sent a delegation of experts who will be engaged in investigating the chemical attack in Khan al-Asal,” al-Jaafari added. However, according to al-Jaafari, the Secretary-General said that he will not be able to assist in determining the party behind the attack.

“From that moment, it became clear that the UN Security Council members are interested in keeping the party behind the attacks unnamed due to certain political circumstances,” al-Jaafari said.

He further said that the issue of chemical attack has not yet been closed. After the investigation request, it took 4 months and 11 days for Dr. Ake Selstrum and his team to arrive to Khan al-Asal.

“On the same day, when Selstrum was in Damascus and was preparing to go to Khan al-Asal in Aleppo, a second chemical attack took place in the eastern Ghouta in Damascus, after which a political campaign (against Syria) began,” according to al-Jaafari.

The purpose of the Ghouta attack was to distract from Khan al-Asal, to create obstacles to keep Selstrum from traveling there, as well as to focus everyone’s attention on Damascus. The plan was a success, as Dr. Selstrum has not yet visited Khan al-Asal, according to al-Jaafari.

The Syrian diplomat told Sputnik that “according to the French sources and according to the book ‘Road to Damascus’ the famous French journalists Georges Malbruno and Christian Shesno have documented evidence to prove the involvement of the former French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, in the Eastern Ghouta tragedy near Damascus.”

“We have sent hundreds of letters to the UN Security Council, the Commission of Inquiry under 1540 and to the mission of fact-finding and joint investigation. All of them were created after the incident in Khan al-Asal in the Eastern Ghouta near Damascus. In our letters there was transparent information,” the representative said.

However, the UN Security Council member states either ignored the data, or accused it of being unreliable. They did not pass the data to the media, nor did they mention it in their statements. “This was due to the fact that the party behind these chemical attacks has the support of these countries,” al- Jaafari added.

According to the Russian news agency, the representative further said, “Do I have to prove that there are terrorists who arrived on board Libyan aircraft from Libya to Istanbul with two liters of sarin, after which they arrived at the Syrian border in Gaziantep, and then tested sarin on rabbits at the Turkish base in Gaziantep?”

“Later on, these terrorists posted a video proclaiming, ‘Today we have tested it on rabbits and tomorrow we will test it as a weapon on the Syrian Army,’” al-Jaafari added.

He further said that this information did not come from “planet Mars and we provided this evidence.”

“How can the transport of arms across the Turkish border into Syria be justified under the pretext that this is humanitarian aid? This case was raised in Turkey, after which Erdogan imprisoned 18 officers of the customs service and dismissed four judges, because they revealed information about these trucks with ‘humanitarian aid’,” the representative told Sputnik.

He further spoke about how the Turkish people are well aware of this because there have been demonstrations on the matter. Today terrorism has clearly spread to Turkey.

H.M

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