UAE Says It Broke Up “Qaeda Cell" of 7 Arabs

Local Editor

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have broken up an Al-Qaeda cell comprising seven Arabs who were plotting attacks in the Gulf state, an official statement said on Thursday. The UAE is one of the most stable countries in the Middle East and has so far not seen any attacks by Al-Qaeda. It has also been spared in the wave of “Arab Spring” uprisings. The cell was “plotting acts that would have harmed the security of the country, its citizens and foreign residents,” said the statement carried by state news agency WAM. The group was also involved in “recruiting people” for Al-Qaeda and providing the jihadist organization with “money and logistic support”. It was also “trying to extend its activities to reach some other countries in the region,” the statement said, without elaborating. The seven are of “Arab nationalities,” and will be questioned and put on trial, it said.

Source: AFP 18-04-2013 – 11:25 Last updated 18-04-2013 – 11:25

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Who is really "isolated from reality"??

SNC says Syrian president “isolated from reality”

A handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on April 17, 2013, shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad speaking during an interview in Damascus with Syria’s state television channel Al-Ikhbariya, as the country marks Independence Day, celebrating the 1946 end of France’s presence in Syria. Assad warned Western states that they will pay a heavy price at home for their alleged support of Islamists in the Syrian conflict and said defeat of his regime was not an option. (photo: AFP – SANA)

 

Published Thursday, April 18, 2013

 

External opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, on Thursday slammed President Bashar al-Assad, saying an interview he gave a day earlier showed the embattled leader’s “isolation from reality.”

The external Coalition said Assad’s interview with Syrian state television “revealed his isolation from reality and blindness to the corruption and devastation and bloodshed that he has wreaked.”

Assad’s “approach is like that of tyrants before him,” it said, pointing to “his claims of control and denial of the other and the absence of reality and proposal of solutions that bear no relation to the crises.”

On Wednesday Al-Ikhbariya news channel broadcast an interview with Assad in which he warned that the West would pay a heavy price for what he called its support of Al-Qaeda.

He also predicted the conflict could spill over into Jordan, saying, “we would wish that our Jordanian neighbours realise that… the fire will not stop at our borders.”

In Amman, Information Minister Mohammad Momani said the United States plans to deploy 200 troops in Jordan, 50 more than those already there.

Speaking on the anniversary of Syria’s independence day from France, Assad said, “We are facing a new war, a new method” with fighters, “some of whom are Arabs, not Syrians,” adding that “from the first day, what is happening in Syria is dictated from abroad.”

“There is an attempt at cultural colonisation, meaning ideological invasion, in Syria, leading in one of two directions,” the president said in the hour-long interview.

“Either Syria becomes subservient and submissive to the big powers and the West, or it becomes subservient to obscurantist, extremist forces. We need to hold on ever more strongly to the meaning of independence.”

Assad warned that a defeat of his government would spell the demise of Syria. Vowing he will not surrender, he said the Syrian people would decide whether he should stay or go.

“There is no option but victory. Otherwise it will be the end of Syria, and I don’t think that the Syrian people will accept such an option,” he said, adding that “the position (of president) has no value without popular backing.”

In response, the Coalition insisted it was “a representative body for all Syrians, emerging from their revolution and their sacrifices and their will.”

During the interview, Assad had asked, “How can you be patriotic if you’ve fled” Syria, in reference to exiled leaders of the main opposition National Coalition, insisting that there would be no dialogue with the exiled opposition.

Last week, the jihadist rebel group Al-Nusra Front pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, who had previously urged rebels to establish an Islamic state in Syria.

The UN says more than 70,000 people have been killed in Syria over the past two years in a conflict that broke out after the regime unleashed a brutal crackdown on a popular uprising that later morphed into an insurgency.

(AFP, Al-Akhbar)

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Syrian opposition: What after dealing with Devil

لمعارضة السورية : ماذا بعد الاستعانة بالشيطان ؟

‏الخميس‏، 18‏ نيسان‏، 2013

أوقات الشام

د. ليلى نقولا الرحباني

لا شكّ أن أكثر القلقين الآن من حادثة بوسطن الإرهابية وتداعياتها ونتائجها، قد تكون المعارضة السورية، التي لم تستفق لغاية الآن من صدمة إعلان “جبهة النصرة” مبايعتها للظواهري، وأنها جزء من تنظيم “القاعدة” في بلاد الشام.

يدفع هؤلاء اليوم ثمناً سياسياً كبيراً نتيجة التسرع والتعمية التي مارسها “الائتلاف السوري” على ارتباطات “جبهة النصرة” بـ”القاعدة” في وقت سابق، حين قام معاذ الخطيب بانتقاد قرار واشنطن في كانون الأول الماضي إدراج “جبهة النصرة” على لائحة المنظمات الإرهابية، كما انتقد نائبه جورج صبرا القرار، مشدداً على أن الشعب السوري يعتبر “جبهة النصرة” جزءاً من الثورة، لذا قد لا تنفعهم اليوم كل الدعوات التي يدعوها الخطيب وهيتو لـ”جبهة النصرة” لفك ارتباطها بـ”القاعدة” وتغيير اسمها، باعتبار أن فكر “القاعدة” لا يناسب الشعب السوري.

في الواقع، جميع اللاعبين على الساحة السورية متهَمون بشكل أو بآخر بأنهم سهّلوا أو تغاضوا عن تغلغل “القاعدة” في المنطقة، ويمكن أن نذكر منهم ما يلي:

1- النظام السوري: لطالما اتهمت الولايات الأميركية النظام السوري بالسماح بمرور الإرهابيين من “القاعدة” إلى العراق وتقويض قدرة الأميركيين من السيطرة على العراق، وقد عجز الأميركيون في وقت سابق في العراق عن اجتثاث “القاعدة” من العراق، فاستعملوا لهذه الغاية “الصحوات”، والتي تتكون من العشائر السُّنية التي تعشّشت “القاعدة” في مناطقها، فكانت الأقدر على قتال “القاعدة” من سواها، سواء من الجيش العراقي أو الجيش الأميركي.

وقد يكون الحل الأميركي المختبر سابقاً في العراق هو المثال الذي يمكن أن يُحتذى في سورية، حيث إن العشائر السورية المتضررة من “جبهة النصرة” ووجودها في مناطقها، ومن استباحتها للمخزون الزراعي والنفط وبيعه للحصول على المال، قد تقوم بتنظيم نفسها وامتشاق السلاح لمحاربة “القاعدة” وأخواتها، للحفاظ على حياتها وأرزاقها.

2- المعارضة السورية: التركيز على إسقاط نظام الأسد بأي ثمن كان دفع المعارضة السورية و”الجيش السوري الحر” إلى غضّ النظر عن تغلغل “القاعدة” في النسيج السوري، ولعل ما سمّاه وليد جنبلاط “التحالف مع الشيطان” لإسقاط الرئيس بشار الأسد، كان بالتحديد الذريعة التي استخدمها المعارضون السوريون للترحيب بانتشار “القاعدة” في سورية، فـ”جبهة النصرة” كانت الأكثر تنظيماً وتمويلاً، وكانت تحتوي على أشد المقاتلين بأساً، وهو ما دفع المعارضة السورية على تسخيف كل التحذيرات الغربية والمحلية من أن انتشار “القاعدة” في سورية قد يكون الأخطر على الثورة السورية، وعلى الشعب السوري بالتحديد.

3- الغرب وأميركا: على الرغم من كل التحذيرات التي أطلقها الأميركيون حول تغلغل “القاعدة” في المعارضة السورية، إلا أن الأمر لم يتعدَّ سوى إدراج الأميركيين لـ”جبهة النصرة” على لائحة المنظمات الإرهابية، مقابل استمرار تدفّق السلاح والمال، والمقاتلين الجهاديين من جميع أنحاء أوروبا إلى سورية للقتال ضد النظام السوري.

واقعياً وتاريخياً، وبحسب اعتراف هيلاري كلينتون العلني في جلسة استماع أمام الكونغرس الأميركي، كان الأميركيون قد أنشأوا “القاعدة” في أفغانستان لقتال السوفيات، وأعلنت كلينتون صراحة أن الرئيس ريغان والكونغرس وافقوا على فكرة إنشاء “القاعدة”، وأنهم اتفقوا مع باكستان والمخابرات الباكستانية لإنشاء ما سمّتهم “المجاهدين”، وأنهم اتفقوا مع المملكة العربية السعودية على استيراد العلامة الوهابية للإسلام، لهزم الاتحاد السوفياتي، وأعلنت أن الخطة نجحت باعتبار انسحاب السوفيات من المنطقة، وخسارتهم مليارات الدولارات، ما أدى إلى انهيار الاتحاد، لهذا لم يكن الاستثمار في تأسيس “القاعدة” سيئاً برأيها.

أما اليوم، وبعد أن تحولت “القاعدة” إلى ما تحولت إليه، فالسؤال المطروح في سورية: من يستفيد ممن؟ هل يستفيد الغرب وأميركا من وجود “القاعدة” للقتال في سورية، بحيث تقوم بجمع المجاهدين من كل أنحاء العالم، والتخلص من قنابل موقوتة موجودة في أوروبا، وبات المطلوب من الجيش السوري تخليص العالم منهم، ولذلك بات من المجدي إطالة أمد الأزمة؟ أم يستفيد النظام السوري من وجود “القاعدة” كمكون أساسي في الثورة السورية، لشيطنتها أمام العالم، وإظهار نفسه في جبهة واحدة مع الغرب في قتاله ضد الإرهاب العالمي المتنقّل؟

في المحصلة، ومهما كانت الحيثيات والنتائج، لا شكّ أن فكر “القاعدة” ونهجها لا يمكن أن يبنيا ديمقراطية، ولا يمكن أن يبنيا دولة تطمح إليها شعوب المنطقة، ومن يريد أن يستعين بالشيطان سيجد نفسه في جهنم لا محالة.

الثبات

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US Aid Falls into Al Qaeda’s Hands in Syria by Design, Not Chance

Source

April 16, 2013 (IOGSD-Tony Cartalucci) – Huge amounts of US-provided flour smuggled into northern Syria have formed the foundation of Al Qaeda’s public relations strategy, the Washington Post and London Telegraph reveal. Together with huge amounts of US-provided weapons, the aid is fueling Al Qaeda’s continued operations and atrocities inside Syria.

Recently it was revealed that the US, UK, and France, through Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, and other regional allies, have been funneling cash and thousands of tons of weapons into Syria – the vast majority of which have ended up in the hands of Al Qaeda’s Syrian franchise, Jabhat al-Nusra.

The New York Times in their article titled, “Arms Airlift to Syria Rebels Expands, With C.I.A. Aid,” admits that:

With help from the C.I.A., Arab governments and Turkey have sharply increased their military aid to Syria’s opposition fighters in recent months, expanding a secret airlift of arms and equipment for the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, according to air traffic data, interviews with officials in several countries and the accounts of rebel commanders.

The airlift, which began on a small scale in early 2012 and continued intermittently through last fall, expanded into a steady and much heavier flow late last year, the data shows. It has grown to include more than 160 military cargo flights by Jordanian, Saudi and Qatari military-style cargo planes landing at Esenboga Airport near Ankara, and, to a lesser degree, at other Turkish and Jordanian airports.

While the West attempts to claim these weapons are being sent to “moderates,” the US State Department itself admits that Al Qaeda is operating in every major city in Syria, carrying out hundreds of terrorist attacks, and is by far the most highly organized, most prominent militant front in the conflict. If the West via Saudi Arabia and Qatar is sending thousands of tons of weapons to “moderates,” who is sending more weapons to Jabhat al-Nusra?

The obvious answer is there are no moderates, and the West has been intentionally arming Al Qaeda from the beginning. In fact, this is a documented conspiracy first revealed as early as 2007 by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh in his New Yorker article titled, “”The Redirection: Is the Administration’s new policy benefiting our enemies in the war on terrorism?” which stated specifically:

To undermine Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the Administration has coöperated with Saudi Arabia’s government, which is Sunni, in clandestine operations that are intended to weaken Hezbollah, the Shiite organization that is backed by Iran. The U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda.

Now, further evidence that the summation of US aid has fallen into the hands of Al Qaeda in Syria, comes to us from Washington Post propagandist Liz Sly who reported in her article, “U.S. feeds Syrians, but secretly,” that: 

In the heart of rebel-held territory in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo, a small group of intrepid Westerners is undertaking a mission of great stealth. Living anonymously in a small rural community, they travel daily in unmarked cars, braving airstrikes, shelling and the threat of kidnapping to deliver food and other aid to needy Syrians — all of it paid for by the U.S. government.

Sly then claims that most Syrians credit Al Qaeda’s al-Nusra with providing the aid:

“America has done nothing for us. Nothing at all,” said Mohammed Fouad Waisi, 50, spitting out the words for emphasis in his small Aleppo grocery store, which adjoins a bakery where he buys bread every day. The bakery is fully supplied with flour paid for by the United States. But Waisi credited Jabhat al-Nusra — a rebel group the United States has designated a terrorist organization because of its ties to al-Qaeda — with providing flour to the region, though he admitted he wasn’t sure where it comes from.

And while Sly attempts to spin the story as merely misdirected anger and ignorance on the part of Syrians receiving the aid, it is well documented that bakeries in terrorist-held territory are in fact manned by Al Qaeda militants. In fact, while Sly maintains that “security concerns” are owed for America’s opaque aid distribution operation, it appears more likely the US is attempting to insidiously obfuscate its use of humanitarian aid to help its militant proxies win “hearts and minds” amid a humanitarian catastrophe the West itself engineered and perpetuated intentionally. 

The London Telegraph revealed in their February 2013 article, “Syria: how jihadist group Jabhat al-Nusra is taking over Syria’s revolution,” that taking over bakeries was a key strategy used by Al Qaeda’s al-Nusra front to “win over” the population: 

Then, in the past weeks, Jabhat al-Nusra – which is outside the FSA – pushed other rebel groups out of the stores and established a system to distribute bread throughout rebel areas.

In a small office attached to a bakery in the Miesseh district of Aleppo, Abu Yayha studied a map pinned on the wall. Numbers were scrawled in pencil against streets.

“We counted the population of every street to assess the need for the area,” explained Mr Yahya. “We provide 23,593 bags of bread every two days for this area. This is just in one district. We are calculating the population in other districts and doing the same there.

“In shops the cost is now 125 Syrian pounds (£1.12) for one pack. Here we sell it at 50 Syrian pounds (45p) for two bags. We distribute some for free for those who cannot pay.”

The bakery works constantly. Inside, barrows filled with dough were heaved onto a conveyor belt that chopped it into round and flat segments, before pushing the dough into a giant oven. Workers packed the steaming flatbread in bags.

“I am from Jabhat al Nusra. All the managers of all the bakeries are,” said Abu Fattah, the manager. “This makes sure that nobody steals.”

In essence, Al Qaeda is taking over neighborhoods upon a mountain of US-provided flour, in bakeries overrun and held at the barrels of US-provided guns. Humanitarian aid is being used as a political weapon to carve out territory for the West’s heavily armed proxies and extort cooperation from the subjugated people who find themselves inside Al Qaeda-occupied territory.
 

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"Bloody Monday "

FLC

‘b’ … painfully;
Not really in the news:

At least 75 Iraqis were killed and 356 more were wounded in a series of attacks across the country. Only the far south and Iraqi Kurdistan were spared. Many of the attacks were apparently coordinated and occurred at about the same time this morning. They also came a few days ahead of local elections in most provinces. Nineva and Anbar province, both heavily Sunni, had their elections postponed by the Shi’ite-led government.
In Baghdad, the bombings left 30 dead and 92 wounded. Among them, a blast in the Kamaliyaneighborhood left four dead and 13 injured; security forces then fired into the air to disperse crowds. Near the airport a pair of bombs killed three people and wounded 16 more. Four people were killed and 15 more were wounded in a bombing at a market and bus station in Umm al-Maalif. In Karrada, another bomb lefttwo dead and 15 injured. A car bomb in Shurta killed two people and wounded nine more. A roadside bombwounded five policemen in Baladiyat. Two people were killed and nine more were wounded in a blast inHabibiya.
In Kirkuk, at least nine people were killed and 79 more were wounded in a string of six car bombings. The downtown bombs exploded in three different ethnic neighborhoods, suggesting that no particular group was targeted. Those explosions took place in Arab, Kurdish, and Turkmen neighborhoods. The other three blasts hit neighborhoods outside of the city. One bombing targeted the home of a Shi’ite politician. Also, gunmenwounded a doctor last night.
Explosions in Tuz Khormato left six dead and 67 wounded.
In Mosul, gunmen killed a civilian. Two people were wounded in roadside bombings. Gunmen killed a married couple. Security forces killed a bomber. Another blast left no casualties. A soldier was killed in a clash. Three policemen were wounded in a bomb blast.
In Falluja, a suicide car bomber killed two policemen and wounded six more at a checkpoint. A civilian was shot dead. A sticky bomb killed two civilians. Another bomb south of the city left no casualties.
A car bomb in Mussayab killed four people and wounded 13 more.
Four people were killed and three more were wounded in a Tikrit bombing at political office. Another bombing left 13 policemen wounded.
In Nasariya, a car bomb killed two people and wounded 14 more.
A policeman was killed in Buhriz when a sticky bomb exploded.
Near Ramadi, a bomb targeting a Sunni cleric and leader of anti-government protests killed two bodyguardsand wounded at least one more. His cousin was killed in a sticky bomb blast in Falluja.
A policeman was shot dead in Tarmiya.
A bomb in Khalis killed one child and wounded eight more.
Nineteen people were wounded in bombings in Babil province.
In Dowr, 13 people were wounded in a blast there.
Bombs wounded seven people at a political candidate’s home in Salah ad Din province.
In Muqdadiya, a car bomb wounded seven people.
In Tal Abta, a blast killed a policeman and wounded two more.
In Baquba, two policemen were wounded during a bombing. Three people were wounded in a blast.
Gunmen in Sabeen killed a captain and wounded two soldiers.
A young man was gunned down in Shirqat.
On a rural road in Bani Saad, a bomb wounded a civilian.

News:

Two explosions in Boston killed three and wounded at least 144.

May all the dead rest in peace and best wishes to all the wounded.

Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 1:43 PM

 

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Syria Between Obama And Ben Laden

Daniel Mabsout,

The prospects are good ; the Syrian army is progressing on the ground . It is no more on the defensive , it is progressing in a significant manner trying to retrieve the roads and highways linking major cities together , and to protect the capital Damascus and also to proceed to the borders with Iraq , Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey to dislodge the opposition and try to stop the flow of weapons and thugs crossing to the country and control the frontiers with neighboring countries .

Everything shows that Assad will not capitulate . The thugs withdrew today from the Tal an- Nabi Mandu which overlooks the Lebanese borders in a way that the Syrian army is now in control of a good portion of the borders with Lebanon . Also the thugs have withdrawn from Darayya as life is slowly coming back to Homs from where the thugs have also withdrawn but after causing great destruction and damage . Everything shows that the thugs of the opposition are suffering significant losses and are evacuating strategic place or are being dislodged .

This incapacity to remain in occupied places has caused the FSA to try and unite with the Nurat al Qa’ida after being in direct confrontation with it, whereby the chief commander of the FSA -Riyad al As’ad- was targeted by a car explosion that took his leg. You only had to listen two days ago to Fahed al Masri from the FSA Information Committee denying that al Qa’ida is operating in Syria , there is only revolution and opposition facing the regime who is responsible of all violations as he said trying to hide the coming together of the FSA with al Qa’ida. For this reason , the FSA – together with the head of the Dawha Coalition, Ma’az al Khatib , refused that al Qa’ida be labeled as terrorist seeking unity with it for fear that their sponsors will let them down after having failed in their endeavor. Thus the Revolution has revealed its true identity of being an intrinsic part of al Qa’ida and all are uniting now under its banner and the US can no more hide its true role in this masquerade of toppling a so called dictator to bring in the terrorists which it has been sponsoring all the way ..

Because of this development of the opposition of al Qa’ida, countries- like Turkey – has started arresting the mediators responsible for hiring thugs and sending them to Syria. This campaign by the Turkish police will last 6 months from today . This to say that Belgium has already started arresting mediators responsible for recruiting Muslims to fight in Syria in a measure that is considered preventive considering the fact that these thugs will head to their countries sooner or later. Also – for all practical reasons- the UN – in the person of al Akhdar al Ibrahimi- is already retracting and accusing the Arab League of escalating the situation by giving the chair of Syria to the opposition and al Ibrahimi is to submit his resignation soon.

Still, the opposition cannot lose this war , nor the NATO or Israel or their Arab allies of the Gulf can afford such a loss . If they lose they will be greatly exposed and their rule will be threatened .For this reason they will try to prolong the war in order to exhaust their enemy – as they think .But how much can the thugs still endure and how long will they last ? Maybe due to this, the Saudi minister of Foreign affairs said that the opposition will still receive all kinds of supplies . Everything though will be decided on the battle ground and the thugs and their allies and sponsors are far from being victorious!.
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A Nusra Front cleric declare allegiance to King Abdullah of Jordan

أحد علماء جبهة النصرة يعلن البيعة لملك الأردن عبد الله

بالفيديو .. أحد علماء جبهة النصرة : بيعة الظواهري باطلة . والبيعة الحقيقية لملك الأردن عبد الله الثاني والد المهدي المنتظر

دام برس: أعلن أحد علماء جبهة النصرة البيعة لملك الأردن عبد الله الثاني خليفة للمسلمين , وقال : الملك عبد الله الأول الفاتح الثالث الذي فتح بيت المقدس في عام 1948حيث أن الجيش الأردني هو الذي فتح القدس  نبين للأمة أن الخليفة الذي تصح البيعة له هو ملك الأردن لذلك نحن ننصح المجاهدين في الشام والعراق وفي أفغانستان وفي كل الأرض على أن البيعة لا تصح إلا لملك الأردن عبد الله الثاني  وعليه نقول بأننا نبايعك يا عبد الله يا ملك الأردن خليفة للمسلمين الآن في الظروف السياسية الحالية في الأردن , والذي سوف يفتح بيت المقدس هو عبد الله ملك الأردن وهذا الفتح سيكون بعد ثمانية سنوات  من عِلمنا بالفتن والملاحم نبين للأمة الإسلامية بأن الخليفة الذي سيهادن الروم (أوروبا وأمريكا) لقتال عدو مشترك هو ملك الأردن عبد الله الثاني لا أحد غيره  الملك عبد الله الثاني هو والد المهدي المنتظر محمد بن عبد الله  رسالة للشيخ  أبو محمد الجولاني بأنه على أي أساس تبايع الشيخ الظواهري ؟  دعوة لله على أن يتقبل عمل الشيخ الظواهري الصالح ويتجاوز عن أعماله السيئة  دعوة الشيخ الظواهري أن يخلع البيعة وأن يبايع ملك الأردن خليفة للمسلمين وأن يقاتل تحت رايته وأن يبايعه على السمع والطاعة في المنشط والمكره والعسر واليسر  دعوة للإخوان المسلمين أن يخلعوا بيعتهم الباطلة للمرشد العام للإخوان المسلمين ويعلنوا البيعة لملك الأردن عبد الله الثاني قلنا للشيخ أمير حماس والشيخ إسماعيل هنية بأن البيعة التي في عنقهم لاتصح  دعوى للمسلمين إلى بيعة رضا للملك الهاشمي عبد الله بن الحسين بن طلال.

 

 

 

 

 

تعرفوا على الشيخ الذي أفتى بالجهاد في سورية و لا تضحكوا



 

 

الى ملك الاردن وفاتح سوريا الشام عبد الله الثاني



 

 

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Miqdad: Syria will No Longer Be on Map if Assad Steps Down

Local Editor

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Miqdad asserted Monday that Syria will no longer be on the map if President Bashar Al-Assad steps down, indicating that Britain and France are “directly or indirectly” supporting Al-Qaida in escalating war in Syria. In an interview with the Guardian, Miqdad assured that Assad would not step down. “There will be no Syria if President Assad steps down … If he leaves now before we agree on a political plan among all Syrians, Syria will no longer be on the map.” “Britain and France are directly or indirectly supporting Al-Qaida in an escalating war against Syria,” the Syrian official further stated, warning that neighboring Jordan was playing “a dangerous game by allowing arms supplies to go to rebel groups from its territory”. Miqdad considered UK and France were the “new colonialists”, for they have been providing political and military support to militants in Syria. He further lashed out at Turkey and what he called “stupid Arabs” – singling out Saudi Arabia and Qatar – for acting “in western interests”. In parallel, Miqdad accused Israel of meddling in the conflict in his country. “Mossad agents had been killed in Daraa near the Jordanian border, where the rebels have made advances in recent weeks,” the Guardian quoted the Syrian official as saying. From here, the Syrian deputy foreign minister indicated “there is a big conspiracy against Syria to force it to change its policies towards the Arab-Israeli conflict,” and assured that “rebels had used chemical weapons in Khan Al-Assal near Aleppo.” In this context, Miqdad said his country would only agree to a “real UN investigation and not to a repeat of what had happened in Iraq.” “The game is clear… They want to cover up what happened in Aleppo and create fictitious issues,” he said. On what he considered Britain and France’s support for Al-Qaeda, Miqdad said: “Now that Syria is flooded by Europeans fighting with al-Qaida, they are afraid.” “They wanted these people to come and be killed here, but when some of them started to go home, they changed their minds. They can tolerate killing in Syria and exaggerate what our government is doing, but they cannot defend this endlessly,” he added

Source: Newspapers 16-04-2013 – 13:25 Last updated 16-04-2013 – 13:25

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Bashar Assad’s ‘second wind’?

FLC

“Talks of tipping points, battles for Damascus and a regime on its last legs have all proved to be false dawns over the past number of months. So just how badly off is President Bashar al-Assad’s government?The Damascus government still has an arsenal of weapons that includes thousands of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, a fleet of MIG aircraft and thousands of rockets and surface-to-surface missiles. The city of Damascus – the chief prize – is today a fortress.On the battlefield, the regime has proved stubbornly resistant. In the north, government forces on Sunday broke out of their Wadi al-Deif and Hamidiya military bases and outflanked rebels that had been besieging them for months, according to both activists and pro-government media. Districts of central Homs have been retaken by the government in recent weeks and rebels have been successfully fought off in Quneitra, along the Syrian-Israeli demilitarized zone. 

Aleppo International Airport, a strategic asset for the regime in the north, was thought to have been close to falling into rebel hands in February. It hasn’t happened. Baba Amr, a symbol of resistance in Homs, was retaken by government forces last month. 

Reports of defections have all but died out – these days there are few in the Syrian army uncertain where their loyalties lie. …… 

Food and fuel is still widely available in government-controlled Syria, albeit at inflated prices. Schools and public sector institutions remain open. Government salaries are still being paid…. 

Furthermore, Syria’s Western-backed political opposition has clearly been caught out in its own backing of Jabhat al-Nusra – an Islamist fighting force now openly aligned with Al-Qaeda. 

Mr. Assad has mostly delivered on the promises and threats he has made over the duration of the uprising. Early on he spoke of “ten Afghanistans” in Syria should outside forces intervene, or fundamentalist takfiris and Islamic extremists dominating the opposition. Though clearly propaganda at the time, today it is difficult to dismiss his argument, a perspective that resonates with the millions of Syrians exhausted by two years of conflict and instability….
The declaration of an al-Qaeda presence in Syria in the form of Nusra complicates the conflict even further: the Assad regime will say it has been proven right, as will Russia, China and Hezbollah….”

 

Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 3:45 PM
 

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G8: ‘We are having trouble selling ‘love-al Qaeda’ to our people!’

Via FLC

“… “In the final communique that [the G8 have] been giving out you see exactly how difficult it is,” Al Jazeera’s Laurence Lee reported from London.”It’s very narrow. There’s absolutely nothing for a start about arming the opposition …. And there’s an increased problem as well for the British and the Americans who are here about arming an opposition that now contains al-Nusra – linked to al-Qaeda.
“And they’ve been briefing behind the scenes here that although formally there’s nothing off the table, they say people like us have to accept how difficult it would be to sell the idea of arming an opposition that may be linked to the Free Syrian Army but also is linked to al-Qaeda. They simply can’t sell that idea domestically.”“It’s very narrow. There’s absolutely nothing for a start about arming the opposition …. And there’s an increased problem as well for the British and the Americans who are here about arming an opposition that now contains al-Nusra – linked to al-Qaeda. 

“And they’ve been briefing behind the scenes here that although formally there’s nothing off the table, they say people like us have to accept how difficult it would be to sell the idea of arming an opposition that may be linked to the Free Syrian Army but also is linked to al-Qaeda. They simply can’t sell that idea domestically.”

Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 9:46 AM

 

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