Wikileaks: US-led NATO Troops Operate Inside Syria

Local Editor

A document released by the WikiLeaks website has revealed that undercover US-led NATO forces are operating inside Syria against the Syrian government, Islam Times reported Wednesday. WikiLeaks released a confidential email from an analyst working for the US-based intelligence firm Stratfor, in which he claims to have attended a meeting in the Pentagon with several NATO officials from France and Britain in December last year. The analyst said he learned that US-led NATO troops are already on the ground in Syria, training armed gangs. “SOF [special operation forces] teams (presumably from the US, UK, France, Jordan and Turkey) are already on the ground, focused on recce [reconnaissance] missions and training opposition forces,” the analyst claimed in his letter. The Stratfor analyst went on to say that “the idea ‘hypothetically’ is to commit guerrilla attacks, assassination campaigns” to overthrow the Syrian government. This fact is revealed despite claims by the Western military alliance denying the deployment of forces to Syria. In addition, armed gangs in the country recently said they have received military hardware from France and Britain to attack government forces. Al-Manar Website posted an article Saturday, it which it revealed that weapons from Israel are used for the first time by the terrorist armed gangs in Baba Amr, Homs, where the Mossad, Blackwater and CIA have led military operations. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Tuesday that the people of Syria are determined to crush terrorist groups and pursue the reforms in the country. He added that foreign forces are seeking to undermine the Syrian government. Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011. Hundreds of people, including security forces have been killed since then.

Source: Websites 07-03-2012 – 16:13 Last updated 07-03-2012 – 16:17

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Syria: A Conspiracy Revealed

by Felicity Arbuthnot / March 1st, 2012

We have met the enemy and he is us.
— Walt Kelly, 1913-1973

It was political analyst Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, in November 2006, who wrote in detail of US plans for the Middle East.

“The term ‘New Middle East’, was introduced to the world in June 2006, in Tel Aviv,†by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (who was credited by the Western media for coining the term) in replacement of the older and more imposing term, the “Greater Middle East’”, he wrote.
Sanity dictated that this would be a U.S. fantasy rampage too far and vast – until realization hit that the author of the map of this New World, planned in the New World’s “New World Order”, was Lt. Colonel Ralph Peters, who, in one of the most terrifying articles ever published, wrote in 1997:

There will be no peace. At any given moment for the rest of our lifetimes, there will be multiple conflicts in mutating forms around the globe. Violent conflict will dominate the headlines …The de facto role of the US armed forces will be to keep the world safe for our economy and open to our cultural assault. To those ends, we will do a fair amount of killing. (My emphasis.)

At the time, Peters was assigned to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, where he was responsible: “for future warfare.” His plans for Iraq worked out just fine – unless you are an Iraqi.
A month after Nazemroaya’s article was published, William Roebuck, Director for the Office of the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, was composing an end of year strategy for Syria from his study in the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, where he was been based between 2004-2007, rising to Deputy Chief of Mission.

The subject title was: “Influencing the SARG (Syrian Arab Regime Government) in the end of 2006.”
“The SARG ends 2006 in a much stronger position domestically and internationally (than in) 2005.” Talking of President Assad’s “growing self-confidence”, he felt that this might lead to “mistakes and ill-judged … decisions … providing us with new opportunities.” Whilst “additional bilateral or multilateral pressure can impact on Syria”, clearly he had even more ambitious plans:

This cable summarizes our assessment of … vulnerabilities, and suggests that there may be actions, statements and signals, that the USG (US Government) can send that will improve the liklihood of such opportunities arising.

The proposals would need to be “fleshed out and converted in to real actions and we need to be ready to move quickly to take advantage of such opportunities.” (no, not le Carre, Forsyth, or Fleming, “diplomat” in Damascus.)

“As the end of 2006 approaches” wrote Roebuck, “Bashar appears … stronger than he has done in two years. The country is economically stable …regional issues seem to be going Syria’s way.”

However, “vulnerabilities and looming issues may provide opportunities to up the pressure on Bashar … some of these vulnerabilities “(including the complexities with Lebanon) “can be exploited to put pressure on the regime. Actions that cause Bashar to lose balance, and increase his insecurity, are in our interest.”

The President’s “mistakes are hard to predict and benefits may vary, if we are prepared to move quickly and take advantage of opportunities …”

A “vulnerability”, wrote Roebuck, was Bashir al Assad’s protection of: “Syria’s dignity and international reputation.” Pride and “protection”, clearly a shocking concept.

In the light of the proposed Tribunal into the assassination of Lebanon’s former Prime Minister, Rafic Hariri (14 February 2005) killed with his friend, former Minister of Economy Bassel Fleihan and twenty colleagues and bodyguards in a huge bomb detonated under his motorcade, this “vulnerability” could be exploited.

Unproven allegations have pointed the finger at Israel, Syria, Hezbollah and myriad others as behind another Middle East tragedy, but Roebuck regarded it as an “opportunity to exploit this raw nerve, without waiting for the formation of the Tribunal.”

Another idea outlined under a further “vulnerability” heading, was the growing alliance between Syria and Iran. “Possible action”, was to “play on Sunni fears of Iranian influence.” Although these were “often exaggerated”, they were there to be exploited:

Both the local Egyptian and Saudi missions here … are giving increasing attention to the matter and we should co-ordinate more closely with their governments on ways to better publicize and focus regional attention to the issue.

Concerned Sunni religious leaders should also be worked on. Iraq-style divide and rule model, writ large.

The “divide” strategy, of course, should also focus on the first family and legislating circle, with “ targeted sanctions (which) must exploit fissures and render the inner circle weaker, rather the drive its members closer together.”

The public should also be subject to “continual reminders of corruption … we should look for ways to remind …”

Another aspect to be exploited was “The Khaddam factor”.

Abdul Halim Khaddam was Vice President from 1984-2005, and acting President in 2000, during the months beween Bashir al Assad’s accession and his father’s death.

Thought to have Presidential ambitions himself, there was a bitter split between Khaddam and al Assad after Hariri’s death. Allegations of treasonous betrayal by Khaddam have validity.
The ruling party, writes Roebuck:

…follow every news item involving Khaddam, with tremendous emotional interest. We should continue to encourage the Saudis and others to allow Khaddam access to their media … providing him with venues for airing the SARG’s dirty laundry.

As a result, anticipated was “an over reaction by the regime that will add to its isolation and alienation from its Arab neighbours.”

On January 14th, 2006, Khaddam had formed a government in exile, and had predicted the end of the al-Assad government by the year’s end.

He is currently regarded as an opposition leader, and has claimed, on Israel’s Channel 2 TV, receiving monies to help overthrow the Syrian government from the U.S. and E.U.



The ever creative Mr Roebuck’s further plans included, “Encouraging rumours and signals of external plotting.” To this end “Regional allies like Egypt and Saudi Arabia should be encouraged to meet with figures like Kaddam and Rifat (sic) al Assad, with appropriate leaking of the meetings afterwards. This … increases the possibility of a self-defeating over-reaction.”

Rifaat al Assad, Bashir’s uncle, was in charge of the Defence Brigade, who killed up to thirty thousand people in, and flattened much of, the city of Hama, in February 1982. So much for endlessly trumpeted concerns for “human rights violations.” Rifaat al Assad lives in exile and safety in London. Khaddam lives in Paris.(v)

Here is a serious cause for concern for the overthrow-bent. “Bashar keeps unveiling a steady stream of initiatives on reform and it is certainly possible he believes this is his legacy to Syria …. These steps have brought back Syrian expats to invest … (and) increasing openness.”

Solution? “Finding ways to publicly call in to question Bashar’s reform efforts.” Indeed, moving heaven and earth to undercut them, is made clear.

Further, “Syria has enjoyed a considerable up-tick in foreign direct investment”, thus, foreign investment is to be “discouraged.”

In May of 2006, complains Roebuck, Syrian Military Intelligence protested: “what they believed were U.S. efforts to provide military training and equipment to Syria’s Kurds.” The Iraq model yet again.
The answer was to “Highlight Kurdish complaints.” This, however, “would need to be handled carefully, since giving the wrong kind of prominence to Kurdish issues in Syria, could be a liability for our efforts … given Syrian … civil society’s skepticism of Kurdish objectives.”

In “Conclusion”, this shaming, shoddy document states, “The bottom line is that Bashar is entering the New Year in a stronger position than he has been in several years”, meaning “vulnerabilities” must be sought out. “If we are ready to capitalize, they will offer us opportunities to disrupt his decision-making, keep him off balance – and make him pay a premium for his mistakes.”

The cable is copied to The White House, U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Treasury, U.S. Mission at the UN, U.S. National Security Council, CENTCOM, all Arab League and EU countries.

The only other U.S. Embassy copied in is that in Tel Aviv. When William Roebuck worked at the Embassy in Tel Aviv (2000-2003) embracing the invasion of Iraq year, he “narrowly missed assassination.” Perhaps someone there too thought he was hard to warm to.

In 2009, he was Deputy Political Consul In Baghdad “leading efforts to support the critical 2009 Iraqi elections.” The “free and fair, democratic” ones, where people were threatened with the deaths of their children even, if they did not vote the “right” way.

The result was Nuri al Maliki’s premiership, complete with his murderous militias, the man under whose Ministry of the Interior, U.S. soldiers discovered tortured, starving prisoners.

The Damascus cable comes courtesy Wikileaks. Lt. Colonel Peters called, on Fox News, for founder, Julian Assange, to be assassinated. The forty second clip is worth the listen.

The Colonel also writes fiction and thrillers under the name Owen Patterson. Perhaps he is living the dream.

Felicity Arbuthnot is a journalist with special knowledge of Iraq. Author, with Nikki van der Gaag, of Baghdad in the Great City series for World Almanac books, she has also been Senior Researcher for two Award winning documentaries on Iraq, John Pilger’s Paying the Price: Killing the Children of Iraq and Denis Halliday Returns for RTE (Ireland.) Read other articles by Felicity.

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Wikileaks: US government: "We should coordinate with the Saudis & Egyptians to undermine a stronger Assad!"

Source Via FLC

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 DAMASCUS 005399
SUBJECT: INFLUENCING THE SARG IN THE END OF 2006

¶1. (S) Summary. The SARG ends 2006 in a much stronger position domestically and internationally than it did 2005.
While there may be additional bilateral or multilateral pressure that can impact Syria, the regime is based on a small clique that is largely immune to such pressure.
However, Bashar Asad’s growing self-confidence )- and reliance on this small clique — could lead him to make mistakes and ill-judged policy decisions through trademark emotional reactions to challenges, providing us with new opportunities. …. We believe Bashar,s weaknesses are in how he chooses to react to looming issues, both perceived and real, such as a the conflict between economic reform steps (however limited) and entrenched, corrupt forces, the Kurdish question, and the potential threat to the regime from the increasing presence of transiting Islamist extremists. This cable summarizes our assessment of these vulnerabilities and suggests that there may be actions, statements, and signals that the USG can send that will improve the likelihood of such opportunities arising. These proposals will need to be fleshed out and converted into real actions….

¶2. (S) As the end of 2006 approaches, Bashar appears in some ways stronger than he has in two years. The country is economically stable (at least for the short term), internal opposition the regime faces is weak and intimidated, and regional issues seem to be going Syria,s way, from Damascus, perspective. Nonetheless, there are some long-standing vulnerabilities and looming issues that may provide opportunities to up the pressure on Bashar and his inner circle. Regime decision-making is limited to Bashar and an inner circle that often produces poorly thought-out tactical decisions and sometimes emotional approaches, such as Bashar,s universally derided August 15 speech. Some of these vulnerabilities, such as the regime,s near-irrational views on Lebanon, can be exploited to put pressure on the regime. Actions that cause Bashar to lose balance and increase his insecurity are in our interest because his inexperience and his regime,s extremely small decision-making circle make him prone to diplomatic stumbles that can weaken him domestically and regionally. While the consequences of his mistakes are hard to predict and the benefits may vary, if we are prepared to move quickly to take advantage of the opportunities that may open up, we may directly impact regime behavior where it matters–Bashar and his inner circle.

¶3. (S) The following provides our summary of potential vulnerabilities and possible means to exploit them:

— Vulnerability:
— THE HARIRI INVESTIGATION AND THE TRIBUNAL: The Hariri investigation ) and the prospect of a Lebanon Tribunal — has provoked powerful SARG reactions, primarily because of the embarrassment the investigation causes…. We should seek to exploit this raw nerve, without waiting for formation of the tribunal….. The Mehlis accusations of October 2005 caused the most serious strains in Bashar’s inner circle. While the family got back together, these splits may lie just below the surface.

— Vulnerability:
— THE ALLIANCE WITH TEHRAN: Bashar is walking a fine line in his increasingly strong relations with Iran, seeking necessary support while not completely alienating Syria,s moderate Sunni Arab neighbors by being perceived as aiding Persian and fundamentalist Shia interests. Bashar’s decision to not attend the Talabani ) Ahmadinejad summit in Tehran following FM Moallem,s trip to Iraq can be seen as a manifestation of Bashar’s sensitivity to the Arab optic on his Iranian alliance.

— Possible action:
— PLAY ON SUNNI FEARS OF IRANIAN INFLUENCE: There are fears in Syria that the Iranians are active in both Shia proselytizing and conversion of, mostly poor, Sunnis. Though exaggerated, such fears reflect an element of the Sunni community in Syria… Both the local Egyptian and Saudi missions here, (as well as prominent Syrian Sunni religious leaders), are giving increasing attention to the matter and we should coordinate more closely with their governments on ways to better publicize and focus regional attention on the issue. (though exaggerated!)

Vulnerability:
— DIVISIONS IN THE MILITARY-SECURITY SERVICES: Bashar constantly guards against challenges from those with ties inside the military and security services….

— Possible Action:
— ENCOURAGE RUMORS AND SIGNALS OF EXTERNAL PLOTTING:
The regime is intensely sensitive to rumors about coup-plotting and restlessness in the security services and military. Regional allies like Egypt and Saudi Arabia should be encouraged to meet with figures like Khaddam and Rif,at Asad as a way of sending such signals, with appropriate leaking of the meetings afterwards…

— Vulnerability:
— THE KURDS: The most organized and daring political opposition and civil society groups are among the ethnic minority Kurds, concentrated in Syria,s northeast, as well as in communities in Damascus and Aleppo. This group has been willing to protest violently in its home territory when others would dare not. There are few threats that loom larger in Bashar,s mind than unrest with the Kurds. In what is a rare occurrence, our DATT was convoked by Syrian Military Intelligence in May of 2006 to protest what the Syrians believed were US efforts to provide military training and equipment to the Kurds in Syria.

— Possible Action:
— HIGHLIGHT KURDISH COMPLAINTS: … This issue would need to be handled carefully, since giving the wrong kind of prominence to Kurdish issues in Syria could be a liability for our efforts at uniting the opposition, given Syrian (mostly Arab) civil society,s skepticism of Kurdish objectives.

— Vulnerability:
— Extremist elements increasingly use Syria as a base, while the SARG has taken some actions against groups stating links to Al-Qaeda.

— Possible Actions:
— Publicize presence of transiting (or externally focused) extremist groups in Syria,…Publicize Syrian efforts against extremist groups in a way that suggests weakness, signs of instability, and uncontrolled blowback. The SARG,s argument (usually used after terror attacks in Syria) that it too is a victim of terrorism should be used against it to give greater prominence to increasing signs of instability within Syria.
This analysis leaves out the anti-regime Syrian Islamists because it is difficult to get an accurate picture of the threat within Syria that such groups pose.
They are certainly a long-term threat…

Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 2:28 AM

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The Whistle Blower As Hero

by Lawrence Davidson / December 3rd, 2011

Part I – Robin Hood of the Information Age

Julian Assange, who might be the man most hated by the U.S. government, was given Australia’s Walkley Foundation Award for outstanding journalism last week. He accepted it from a distance, using Skype, because he is under house arrest in England pending extradition to Sweden. He is threatened with extradition because, curiously, the Swedish police have reopened a case of alleged rape against him that had been previously dismissed.

Assange is a kind of Robin Hood of the Information Age–purloining vital information from often criminal governments, and distributing it to the information-poor citizenry. As a result he has become the hero of all those who would defy a media environment of government-warped news. And rightly so, for he and Bradley Manning are the first ones since 1971 (when Daniel Ellsberg and Neil Sheehan made public the Pentagon Papers) to defy U.S. government secrecy and reveal the official criminality committed in the names of its citizens.

Assange accomplished this feat back in November of 2010 when his Wikileaks website began the release of over 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables. Ever since then the U.S. government has been searching for ways to silence him and his web based operation. To date, two approaches have proved effective:
1. The use of official pressure to shut down the avenues through which Wikileaks gets its financial contributions. These have been coming mostly through paypal and other web based sources.
2. And tying Assange up with a rape charge that was active, then inactive, and now, lo and behold, is active again.

Part II – Corruption of the News Media

On 28 November, just days after receiving the Walkley Award, Assange addressed, again by Skype, the News World Summit in Hong Kong . Here he was blunt, and quite accurate, in his description of U.S. government behavior in relation to open access to information. “It is not an age of transparency at all” he said (perhaps alluding to President Obama’s unfulfilled pledge to promote “an unprecedented level of openness in government”)… the amount of secret information is more than ever before.”
For this Assange blames not just governments, but also the profession of journalism. In his opinion journalism has become “corrupted” by editors and reporters who value the prestige of being associated with important centers of power more than the uncensored practice of their craft. Such ambition does not allow the profession to hold those in power to account. “There is a crisis of legitimacy within the mainstream press, a rightful crisis of legitimacy.” For Assange, the consequences of this crisis are potentially catastrophic. “If the press doesn’t hold powerful corporations and governments to account then how can a democratic process work?”

Assange has a point. Yet historically, journalism’s record of keeping the powerful honest, and itself uncorrupted, is mediocre at best. In the United States, modern mainstream journalism has its roots in the shady reporting known as “yellow journalism.” That refers to the exaggerations and outright lies that passed for news at the end of the 19th century. Unfortunately, such “journalism” did build up the distribution numbers, and thus the profitability, of the papers that practiced it. And often the consequences have been catastrophic. One of yellow journalism’s most notable achievements was whipping up support for the Spanish American War. That is a role the press, and now the news media in general, has played over and again. At least at a national level, the muckraking alternative of honest expository journalism (think of the Watergate reporting of the Washington Post back in 1972) is the exception and not the rule.

Part III – The Complicity of Public Taste

Why is that the case? Well, just ask yourself how regional U.S. newspapers which run into financial difficulties reorganize the presentation of their papers. They put in more pictures, up the amount of entertainment “news,” gossip and especially sports (lots of sports), favor local happenings and downsize national and international events. This is not really a conspiracy to keep us all stupid, though it might contribute to that end. It is a business decision based on market surveys that tell owners and editors what the customer prefers in his or her paper.

It you want to see a recent example of such a maneuver take a look at the comparison of Time magazine covers. Buy Time’s upcoming December 5, 2011 issue in Asia, Europe or even in the South Pacific, and you will see an Egyptian protester on the cover with the title “Revolution Redux.” Buy the U.S. version of the same magazine and you will see a silly little cartoon guy with the title, “Why Anxiety Is Good For You.” That not only says something about how the editors and owners of Time see their American readership, it also says a whole lot about the apparent tastes and interests of that readership.

The fact is that Julian Assange, and the rest of us who are interested in a truly free press, have run smack up against the fact that as long as we have a capitalist news media, we will also have an easily corruptible news media. Just like any other capitalist enterprise, what such a press or media aims at is profit, and not factual accuracy. It also will follow the lead of its corporate owners and board of directors because that is what private enterprise prescribes. Just take a look at every media enterprise Rupert Murdoch owns. Given this situation you will have a range of news organizations that fall out on something like a bell curve. Most of them will be middle of the road nonentities while on the extremes you will have right-wing and left-wing offerings. It is a sign of our times here in the U.S. that the right-wing media has taken a jump in popularity (witness Fox TV).

That is not to say that what passes for press and media in the non-capitalist world is any sort of worthy alternative. It certainly is not. What is needed is a formula to create endowed, and therefore truly independent, news media. As Assange suggests this is a sine qua non of a free society.

Part IV – We Will Always Need The Whistle Blower

Most of the world’s population has only a minimal interest in what is happening beyond their local environment. That is why the market surveys noted above deliver the message they do. Occasionally something comes over the hill and hits the locals in the head. That something thereby becomes both part of the local scene and demands explaining. The 9/11 attacks qualify as such an event. Originating from afar, how are the locals to understand it? They have no ready context in which to do so. So they listen to so-called “experts” from the government and media who they assume will give them the “truth.” That is the only explanation most people ever get.

We have all seen where this leads us–right off a cliff. When Julian Assange dumped those hundreds of thousands of documents onto the web he was saying “Here: you want the truth? It is somewhere in here. Let’s all take a look.” Some did. Most did not. But the precedent he set sent shivers through the U.S. government as if it had caught an institutional flu. For this Assange is persecuted. That is the sort of world we live in. A world that will always need the whistle blower, will always need a Julian Assange.

Lawrence Davidson is in the Department of History, West Chester University, Pennsylvania. Read other articles by Lawrence.

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Wikileaks: ‘German submarines to Israel as Holocaust ‘reparations’…

Via FLC 

‘Reparations’ at the service of slaughter, violence, aggression & occupation!

‘Recurring images of Lebanon’

Dokument dato: 2005-01-04 14:02:00

Release dato: 2011-01-22 21:09:00

Kilde: Embassy Tel Aviv

header:

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

Hovedtekst:

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 000045

SUBJECT: (C) PM”S ADVISOR ON RENEWED REPARATIONS CLAIMS AGAINST GERMANY, RESTITUTION CLAIMS AGAINST POLAND

1. (C) Summary: A GOI working group charged with developing a five-year plan on Holocaust-era reparations, pensions and restitution is considering a recommendation that the GOI ask Germany for about $500 million — possibly in the form of new German-made submarines — in compensation for what the GOI says is that portion of the 1953 German-Israeli reparations agreement that had been attributed to East Germany, but never paid. xxxxxxxxxxxx (strictly protect), contended that such a GOI claim would not violate any “closure” agreements about Holocaust-era

claims…

(Note: In previous discussions and e-mails, xxxxxxxxxxxx indicated to Emboff and EUR/OHI that his draft paper would also include a recommendation for the GOI to press for restitution for Jewish property and assets in Arab lands from which Jews fled.)

….. Most of the amount paid to Israel under the 1953 agreement was in the form of goods transferred from West Germany to Israel. In this case, Israel is considering a request for military goods, probably two submarines, worth about $500 million, he said. (Note: xxxxxxxxxxxx was undoubtedly referring to Dolphin-class submarines, three of which the GOI received in the early 1990s from Germany. The model now sought by the Israeli Navy costs about $350-500 million per submarine.)

6. (C) &This does not constitute a new claim,xxxxxxxxxxxx took pains to point out. Rather, he argued, it stems from

incomplete implementation of an existing agreement, and, as such, should not come under the terms of any agreement with the United States not to raise new reparations claims against Germany. He noted that he reviewed his analysis with Amb. Stuart Eizenstat, the former U.S. special envoy for Holocaust-era property claims, when Eizenstat visited Israel in November. According to xxxxxxxxxxxx Eizenstat concurred that nothing in the U.S. closure agreement with Germany in 2000 would preclude Israel from independently seeking redress of an issue stemming from a preexisting agreement. xxxxxxxxxxxx said he hoped that the U.S. would not do anything that could be seen as opposing or undermining Israel,s bilateral approach to Germany. xxxxxxxxxxxx agreed to emboff”s request to keep the embassy and U.S. Special Envoy O”Donnell apprised of working group deliberations and other matters of potential U.S. interest, and to brief the Ambassador on the restitution plan as it nears completion.

———————————–

Future Work: Poland and Arab States

———————————–

7. (C) Finally, xxxxxxxxxxxx noted that Poland would likely be the next area of focus of the GOI restitution efforts, and that the GOI would work in close coordination with the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) and the other main survivor and restitution bodies in Israel and abroad. All of the above are in addition to the GOI Ministerial Committee,s continuing research into expanding pursuit of restitution claims for Jewish property and assets from Arab lands.

‘Nakba’

Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 11:24 AM
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After 9/11 Anniversary, Is Lebanon Going to Be Theater for New US Tragedy?1/2

Nader Ezzeddine: Al-manar Wanting to talk about the current stage in the Middle East, North Africa, and the American role in these parts of the world, we spontaneously return to an event that has occupied the international community for years and posed a big question mark. In addition, discussing and analyzing its causes, results, and consequences do lead any observer to a political question: Had not there been 9/11/2001 attacks against the WTC, could the U.S.A. have occupied the Arab and the Muslims lands at the military, intelligence, and the economic levels? Such spontaneous return to the near past is not a coincidence. Since such an immense bloody event till today, several facts have been disclosed but they were effaced and downsized through a Western and an Arabian plan because their conspirators never wanted people to think one single time about the relation of the international intelligence particularly the C.I.A and the Mossad, which would ever project the event as an initial point to what is called “Global War on Terrorism” (GWOT) and NATO’s “Responsibility to Protect” (R2P). This is not the sole reason, yet in the course of the incidents the way they have been happening worldwide, and in our region in the wake of the WTC destruction, suspicions have been raised regarding the real conspirator for the attacks. For this reason and after 11/9, the eyes have become rather wide open on the role played by the secret intelligence agencies in our daily lives. Actually, those groups are not only linked to the U.S.A. but to Europe and to the NATO, which had used the “stay-behind” style a resistance movement that used to spy from behind enemy lines. That enemy was other countries dominating the international decision, which have executed numerous bombings in Bologne in the 80’s of the past century and in Spain, Italy, and other European countries. All of this was to serve economic goals. From this corner, 11/9 could be considered an international world war organized by the trans-continental companies that control the world under several titles and dominate the world economy. Thus, they execute bombings and assassinations in order to serve their own economic, imperialistic and expansion goals. In an assessment for the past 10 years, we can see that this period has been sufficient to cause the most immense human tragedy after World War 2. We can also clearly see the destruction and the criminality that took place in Europe during the Two World Wars; Islam, for instance, was not the cause for either of them, neither was either of the two wars about “war against terrorism!” The reasons were centrally ranging between economic and political domination for a rationally imbalanced European group (the Nazis and the Fascists) who forced the world into a tragedy we have been suffering from ever since until today. For that reason, after 9/11/2001, the region started to go through a secret war waged by that “secret government” -Bloomberg Group- leading the change worldwide; subsequently, it could be considered that the numerous aggressions that have been executed by the Zionist- American group, which were not declared, is linked to the Neo-conservatives who had made it to the Oval office with President Reagan in the eighties of the past century. However, those operations were disclosed during Junior George Bush’s reign, the failure and the imbalanced man, according to most psychiatrists and to most studies in the U.S.A. In addition, we cannot forget Dick Cheney’s role who had accompanied George Bush Senior when he announced the commencement of a “New World Order” in the wake of the Soviet Union collapse in 1991 when he said that “a new era” had begun. The expression itself indicates to Torahic discourses linked to Zionist Talmudic faith. In the year 2001, the American President disappeared and Dick Cheney reappeared, by then he was in charge of a psychologists who believed in parapsychology or “manipulating the mind” over many American military groups that had been trained on criminality. Those groups were used in more than one assassination and massacres among nations mercilessly. This could be concluded from the Talmudic lessons that Dick Cheney tried to market followed by George Bush Junior claiming that the final “Armageddon ” battle was approaching and would accompany the declaration of an Israeli state with Jerusalem as its capital. Thus, they tried to change the world through the available provisions at their hands, whether the political, the economic, or the cultural. There came September 11 as a springboard that provided the pretext, the legality, and the international cover up for the Bush and the Neo-conservative group namely – Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Wolfowitz- to go for war called “the international war against terrorism” in 2001. US Comes To Region, Plays on Sectarian Chord to Break it Down   In the same course, director of “The Consultancy for Strategic Studies” Dr. Imad Rizk indicates that “Invading Afghanistan was done under the pretext of “hunting down” Osama Bin Laden that the operation lasted for 10 years till the justification for Al-Qaeda organization leader’s presence was unnecessary anymore. Whoever traces the recent historical account will notice that Bin Laden was merely a CIA agent and was financed by Saudi Arabia to fight back against the Soviets in Afghanistan. Under this cover up, the doctrine of violence was manipulated and capitalized on in order to accuse Islam of terrorism. Subsequently, with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war in 1991, Bin Laden’s duty as a deputy with a mission to gather the Muslims from all the Arab countries in order to fight against the Soviets was finished. Then, the U.S.A. moved from encountering the communist tide to reorganizing Al-Qaeda activities that a new justified pretext came out on the scene in order to capitalize on Al-Qaeda organization projects. We witnessed how the manipulation and distortion of so many religious ideas prevailing by then was conducted and how Al-Qaeda literature was considered a part of trans-continental criminal terrorism. Thus, the U.S.A. was justifying its acts, but those acts can be defined as organized terrorism by a “supposedly” accountable international party.” For this reason, 9/11 was the start and then invading Afghanistan followed in 2001 under the pretext of Al-Qaeda presence there. After that Saddam Hussein’s international law-breaking impact and his rejection to cooperate with the international community; in addition to the cover up that Saddam Hussein had the third military power in the East and that he was a threat to the Zionist entity because of his possession of nuclear technology capacities which would empower him to destroy the whole world. Consequently, Iraq was invaded and occupied. On the occasion of the eighth anniversary of the occupation of Iraq “We witness today how the American project in the region is suffering the failures implanted by Dick Cheney and George Bush in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Such an American unilateral strategy that has proven its failure has dropped at the threshold of “the Cedars Revolution” in Lebanon upon the assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri in February 2005, in addition to the organized disorder that ensued and was fabricated by circles specialized in media distortion and psychological wars. Thus, Al-Hariri assassination was manipulated by those circles through implanting sectarian dissension among the various sects and religious spectrum in the Middle East in an endeavor to redraw the political map of the region and to break it down. This dissension agrees with the Zionist project in order to concoct small, weak, and disputing entities that will allow the Zionist entity not only to survive and exist but also to grow the dominating power economically, militarily, and politically in this organic region for the international economy.” Assassinating Al-Hariri and Christian figures to subdue Syria Here the crisscrossing point between 9/11/2001 and Al-Hariri assassination on February 2005 can be seen. In the first case, the attack on the WTC was to justify the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, while the second case was intended to justify imposing sanctions against Syria, to increase pressure on Iran and the other forces resisting against foreign domination in the region. After the failure of its attempts, the American Zionist project commissioned Israel to wage a war against the Lebanese resistance. About that Dr. Rizk says, “All of those events can be linked according to the road map produced by the Zionist lobby in the U.S.A. During the stage prior to the attack on 9/11, and those events that followed passing through Al-Hariri assassination until July 2006 war waged by Israel, there had been a series of security events in Lebanon such as assassinations and bombings in several places. In addition, the media was manipulated in order to highlight a falsified image claiming that Christians were targeted. Then, some figures close to March 14 were assassinated in order to fake dissension among the political parties in Lebanon. This issue was manipulated to accuse the Syrian regime in order to subjugate it to the American bids.” Dr. Rizk adds, “After all the failures that hit the American project, the Lebanese resistance along with the national Lebanese army could direct a smashing and painful hit at the project. They have uncovered Mossad and CIA espionage networks last of which was recently a CIA network that was able to penetrate the resistance. Such networks are excessively available in Lebanon and working on ruining the country at several standards. Moreover, cultural and political wrecking of the society is one of the targets the CIA and other close circles to the Zionist project in the region are endeavoring for.” Beirut now is Going through a Secret War Similar to the One That Had Happened before the Civil War Therefore, a reflective reading of the events that have happened in Lebanon since the assassination of PM Rafik Al-Hariri passing through all the other assassinations including all the evidence gathered by the Lebanese security systems, most important of which has been unmasking the secret agent networks and some other international intelligence agents, is going to lead to a conclusion that the stage we arrived at and the intelligence operations particularly the American ones in Lebanon can never be separated from the Israeli intelligence activity. Subsequently, the American activity including the Western is rather privileged with provisional factors to achieve its goals more than the Israelis since it has a diplomatic cover up that allows them to legally finance the non-governmental organizations through which the U.S.A. and the Western countries can have access to data and information about the Lebanese community and the civil society from local municipalities and other governmental departments. Thus, because of the numerous regional intelligence offices availability in Beirut, it can be said that Beirut continues to live a part of a “secret war” nowadays similar to the one that was experienced in the 1950’s and the 1960’s of the past century just prior to the civil war in 1975. By then, Beirut was the focal point of interest for most international intelligence agencies where settlements by elimination used to take place among those agencies on the Lebanese territories. Three Levels for the American and Western Security Operations According to Dr. Rizk, “The Western and the American security operations particularly functions at three levels; the technical linked to legal cover up such as in what is done in various security agreements and is known to take a form of information exchange and “coordination offices” which represents the first step to reshape the American politics inside the Lebanese Government. The second level is the investigation level represented by the diplomatic movement of the westerners and the American embassy in Beirut at the political, cultural, social, and economic levels where there is no control on the lookout. Therefore, this activity is not controlled, and under such cover up information, gathering and classification take place. The simplest evidence is what has been released by “Wikileaks.” A huge number of documents that have been leaked out and which indicates to a very excessive activity and confirm that Washington does not miss a thing inside the Lebanese authorities whether economic or related to the Lebanese society, but everything is wired to Washington where analysis is done along with other information that could be Israeli in origin. Furthermore, the third level and the most important of all is the executive level for those western and particularly the American security systems, for they do not collect information for the sake of collecting it but it is rather in preparation to attain a moment for execution.” One Hand Executes and One Party Takes Advantage Dr. Rizk adds,” According to several Western and American reports released by surveillance systems observing the Western activity, we can say that the bombings or the events that have happened in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, including Lebanon and Iran are the making of one hand from the logistics corner, the preparation of the booby traps, the usage of detonators, the way they are detonated, the campaigning, and the political capitalization. If we examine the simplest evidence of the crime, we can consider that the party taking advantage of the bombing and the ruining act can be participating in the operation itself. As for the bombings targeting the Iraqis, they can be considered natural with the presence of the American forces in Iraq, while they are unnatural to target Lebanese in Lebanon and Iranians in Iran, regions outside the confrontation fronts. Iraq has been a gravitational region for the fighters who opted to encounter the American project or the Americans trying to kill the Iraqis. However, how does this apply to Pakistan, Lebanon, and Iran? For this reason, we conclude that the project the U.S.A. is trying to implement is interlinking and complementary. Not a single scene can be separated from the events and their course. All those events are interlinked, and we can prove that through the assassination operations that have been executed by US drone aircraft in Pakistan, Yemen, or in more than one country worldwide.” At this point, we can conclude that the CIA was assassinating whoever they wanted to kill by using the controlled drone aircraft, and that the Mossad were using the diplomatic gloves and sharing in the field in order to partake in the bombing operations and in reorganizing their networks. It is never difficult to recognize that Iraq has been one of the arenas where the Mossad cooperated with the American intelligence for the purpose of executing assaults against both the Shiites and the Sunnis. Their purpose was to arouse confusion and dissension among them, weaken those economic Arabian powers or give benefits to other countries that were financing or taking advantage. It was also perhaps to serve some Gulf countries that were taking advantage of the isolation of Iraq and its devastation at both the Arabian and the international levels. The Jasmine Revolution in Syria Dr. Imad Rizk “Nowadays, we can see that some geographically small countries participate in the decision making in the invasion against Libya and its occupation by the NATO and even in devastating the infrastructure of more than one Arab country, up to speaking of financing those small countries for movements in Syria and in other Arab countries. The whole target goes into the same obvious American course; there are those who plan, who finance, and others who execute. It is impossible to exclude those countries from the conspiring plotter if he is a Zionist-American, and the financer if he is an Arab, or the murderer if he is an Israeli. Such crisscrosses can be considered a part of an international influence division.” Dr. Rizk continues,” From the daily proceedings, we conclude that because it was impossible to pressurize Syria in 2004-2005, the assassination of PM Rafik Al-Hariri had been committed and there followed “the Cedars Revolution” in Lebanon that was meant to trigger the Jasmine Revolution in Syria in 2005-2006. However, the Syrian capacity to confront and the failure of the destructive and devastating American project in Iraq had pressed Washington to reevaluate its project, and thus came out Baker- Hamilton report that reassessed the American project keeping on the same strategy or the road map that has lasted till today, but it changed the tactics. The U.S.A. that is going to withdraw its troops from Iraq in December 2011 is going to install its anti-missile dome and its radars in Turkey and simultaneously it expanded the Gulf Council that it would include gains towards Jordan and Morocco. Such crisscrosses have become of obvious goals one of which is the protection of Israel and the protection of the monarchs supportive to the occupying entity whether it is in Jordan, Morocco, or in Saudi Arabia. Today, one can see the Gulf countries and Morocco excluded from accountability, and what is happening is very obvious in Egypt that represents the strategic passage through the Suez Canal, and Libya the gateway to Africa and the Niger where the main natural reservoirs of oil and Uranium. After that, Algiers and Iran are going to be targeted as the French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared . Therefore, according to the Zionist conspiring geopolitical map for the region, no country can be isolated from Morocco up to Pakistan. The reason is that all those countries that comprise the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are a region of operations either directly executed by the NATO forces under a “legalized” Arab and international political cover up or committed by the CIA and the Mossad arms under Arabian or European titles. In the second part of the report: How does the U.S.A. rid of its agents? The Intelligence arms have spread in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq A new wave of Bombings… Is the CIA Going to Be the Next Target?

Source: Al-Manar Website

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Wikileaks: Fayyad suppressed Ramallah demonstrations during 2008-9 Gaza war

[ 08/09/2011 – 08:42 AM ]

WEST BANK, (PIC)– A “classified” diplomatic cable leaked by Wikileaks revealed that Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad deployed 500 security officers to quell protests in Ramallah during Israel’s 2008-9 aggression on the Gaza Strip.

Fayyad sent the cable to the Jack Walles of the United States Consulate in Jerusalem dated 9 January 2009.

The Israeli army led a 22-day sea, air and land attack on the Gaza Strip that began on 27 December 2008, killing more than 1,420 Palestinians, injuring over 5,000, and destroying much of the Strip’s infrastructure.

In the cable, Fayyad said he was “heavy-handed” as demonstrations presented a crowd-control problem in Ramallah. He also noted that Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine were “causing problems”, especially in Bethlehem.

“[Fayyad] said PASF (PA Security Forces) have the same orders as before: to hold the line, prevent violence, and prevent confrontations with IDF soldiers–with the added instruction to avoid casualties if possible,” Walles said in the leaked document.

The cable also says that Fayyad stated that the UN Security Council Resolution on Gaza could provide an opportunity for the PA to take stronger action against Hamas in the West Bank, saying that Hamas had been opposing a measure adopted by the Security Council and supported by Arab states.

Wikileaks cables also revealed that Israel consulted Egypt and the PA before launching the Gaza war in 2008 on taking control of Gaza if Hamas was defeated, but both parties declined the request. However they did not cut off dialogue with Tel Aviv.

Here is the full text of the above cable as documented by Wikileaks.

http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/01/09JERUSALEM99.html 

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Events in Syria – Which side are you on? / Les événements en Syrie – Quel camp avez-vous choisi?

A Syrian country or US Imperialism ?

By Sara Flounders

When U.S. imperialism engages in an attack on any government or movement, it is essential that the workers’ and progressive political movements for change gather as much information as is available and take a stand.

It is cowardly to be neutral and rank betrayal to stand on the same side as the imperialist octopus, which seeks to dominate the world.

This has been an ABC for workers’ movements through 150 years of class-conscious struggles. It is the very basis of Marxism. It is reflected in union songs that raise the challenge “Which side are you on?” and by labor organizers who explain again and again: “An injury to one is an injury to all.”

A social explosion is shaking the Arab world. U.S. imperialism and all the old regimes tied to it in the region are trying desperately to manage and contain this still unfolding mass upheaval into channels that do not threaten imperialist domination of the region.

The U.S. and its collaborators are also trying to divide and undermine the two wings of the resistance — the Islamic forces and the secular nationalist forces — which together overthrew the U.S.-backed dictatorships in Egypt and Tunisia. There is now a concerted U.S. effort to turn these same political forces against two regimes in the region that have opposed U.S. domination in the past — Libya and Syria.

Both Libya and Syria have their own development problems, which are exacerbated by the general global capitalist crisis and decades of compromise imposed on them as they tried to survive in a hostile environment of unrelenting attacks — political, sometimes military and including economic sanctions.

The U.S./NATO bombing of Libya has clarified where imperialism stands regarding that country. The transnational exploiters are determined to totally seize hold of the richest oil reserves in Africa and cut off the billions of dollars that Libya was contributing toward the development of much poorer African countries.

Syria is also targeted by imperialism — because of its heroic defense of Palestinian resistance over decades and its refusal to recognize the Zionist occupation. Syria’s assistance to Hezbollah in their struggle to end the Israeli occupation of Lebanon and their strategic alliance with Iran cannot be forgotten.

Even if a great deal of Syria’s internal situation is difficult to understand, it is important to note that in this unfolding struggle clear statements of support for the Syrian government and against U.S. destabilization efforts have come from Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon and several exiled leaders of Hamas, the Palestinian organization that was elected by the people of Gaza.

These political leaders have experienced first-hand U.S. destabilization campaigns that used corporate media fabrications, externally financed opposition groups, targeted assassinations, special ops sabotage and well-trained Internet operatives.

On the side of the supposedly “democratic opposition” are such reactionaries as Sen. Joseph Lieberman, chair of the powerful Senate Homeland Security Committee, who called on the U.S. to bomb Syria next, after Libya. Outspoken supporters of the opposition in Syria include James Woolsey, former CIA Director and advisor to Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign.

Wikileaks exposes U.S. role

An article entitled “U.S. secretly backed Syrian opposition groups” by Craig Whitlock (Washington Post, April 18) described in great detail the information contained in U.S. diplomatic cables that Wikileaks had sent to news agencies around the world and posted on its web site. The article summarizes what these State Department cables reveal about the secret funding of Syrian political opposition groups, including the beaming of anti-government programming into the country via satellite television.

The article describes the U.S.-funded efforts as part of a “long-standing campaign to overthrow the country’s autocratic leader, Bashar al-Assad,” which began under President George W. Bush and continued under President Barack Obama, even though Obama claimed to be rebuilding relations with Syria and posted an ambassador to Damascus for the first time in six years.

According to an April 2009 cable signed by the top-ranking U.S. diplomat in Damascus at the time,

Syrian authorities “would undoubtedly view any U.S. funds going to illegal political groups as tantamount to supporting regime change.” The Washington Post article describes in some detail the links between the U.S.-funded opposition Barada TV and the role of Malik al-Abdeh, who is on its board and distributes videos and protest updates. Al-Abdeh is also on the board of the Movement for Justice and Democracy, which his brother, Anas Al-Abdeh, chairs. The secret cables “report persistent fears among U.S. diplomats that Syrian state security agents had uncovered the money trail from Washington.”

Role of Al Jazeera

Perhaps the most revealing challenge to and exposé of the destabilization campaign in Syria came with the resignation of Ghassan Ben Jeddo, the best-known journalist with Al Jazeera’s television news programs and chief of its Beirut bureau. Ben Jeddo resigned in protest of Al Jazeera’s biased coverage, especially noting a “smear campaign against the Syrian government” that has turned Al Jazeera into a “propaganda outlet.”

Al Jazeera favorably covered the unstoppable mass upsurge of millions in Egypt and Tunisia. However, this satellite news channel has also extensively reported every claim and political charge, regardless of how unsubstantiated, made by the political opposition in both Syria and Libya. It became the strongest voice in the region, watched by millions of viewers, to call for U.S. “humanitarian” intervention, no-fly zones and bombing of Libya. So it is important to understand the position of Al Jazeera as a news corporation, especially when it claims to speak for the oppressed.

Al Jazeera, which is based in Qatar, never reports that 94 percent of the work force in Qatar is made up of immigrants who have absolutely no rights at all and exist in conditions of near slavery. The brutal repression of the mass movement in the absolute monarchy of Bahrain, which is just next door to Qatar and is now occupied by Saudi troops, also receives little coverage on Al Jazeera.

Is this censorship because Al Jazeera TV News is funded by the absolute monarch of Qatar, the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani?

It is especially important to note that Al Jazeera never mentions the huge U.S. Central Command military air base right there in Qatar. Drones on secret missions throughout the region regularly take off from this base. Qatar has also sent planes to participate in the U.S./NATO bombing of Libya.

Qatar works closely with the U.S. State Department in supporting U.S. intervention in the area. Qatar was one of the first Arab states, and the first among the Gulf States, to establish relations with Israel. During the 2009 Israeli bombardment of Gaza, it canceled these relations but has since offered to renew them.

Facebook and counter-revolution

The CIA and National Endowment for Democracy have become expert at utilizing a barrage of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube to overwhelm targeted governments with millions of fabricated messages, wild rumors and images.

Fabricated alerts about struggles and splits among rival factions in Syria’s military leading to resignations turned out to be false. For example, Major Gen. al-Rifai (Ret.) denied as baseless news broadcasts over satellite television that he was leading a split in the military. He added that he had retired 10 years ago.

Izzat al-Rashek of the Hamas Politburo and Ali Baraka, Hamas representative in Lebanon, denied published claims that the leadership of this Palestinian resistance organization was relocating to Qatar from Damascus. Ali Baraka explained that this was a U.S. fabrication to pressure Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and obstruct Palestinian reconciliation while raising conflict between resistance movements and Syria.

The Syrian government has charged that snipers fired into demonstrations, shooting army and police in an effort to have police open fire on demonstrators.

Rumors, anonymous Internet postings and satellite television reports aimed at heightening sectarian differences are part of the destabilization campaign.

Dual character of Syria

It is not difficult to see why U.S. imperialism and its pawns in the region, including Israel and the corrupt dependent monarchies of Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, would want to see “regime change’ in Syria.

Syria is one of the few Arab states that have no relations with Israel. Several Palestinian resistance organizations have offices-in-exile in Syria, including Hamas. Syria is allied closely with Iran and with Lebanon.

Syria today is not socialist nor a revolutionary country. Capitalism with its resulting inequality has not been overturned. There is a capitalist class in Syria; many within it have benefited from “reforms” that sold formerly state-owned industries to private capital.

However, the Syrian state represents contradictory forces. It has been a bulwark to protect the gains won in the anti-colonial struggles and upheavals by the Arab masses in 1960s and 1970s. During that period many important social gains were made, major industries and resources that had belonged to foreign capital were nationalized, and big advances were made in guaranteed health care, living standards and education.

Syria under the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party is fiercely secular. It has maintained religious freedom for all while allowing no one religious grouping to dominate or be promoted by the state.

But the regime in Syria has also harshly repressed efforts of mass movements based in Lebanon and Syria that wanted to take the struggle further. It has defended its repression of past movements by pointing to its precarious position right next to Israel, the impact of two Israeli wars in 1967 and 1973, and the resulting Israeli occupation and annexation of the important Golan Heights region of Syria for 44 years.

Years of U.S. sanctions and past destabilization efforts have also had a cumulative effect. The state apparatus, ever fearful of continuing outside intervention, has become fearful of change.

It is essential to recognize this dual character and not apologize for or ignore all the problems that flow from it.

Syria has had the added burden of providing for more than 500,000 Palestinian refugees and their descendants for the past 63 years. Their conditions are better than in any surrounding countries because, unlike in Lebanon and Jordan, healthcare, education and housing are accessible to Palestinians in Syria.

Impact of Iraq war

The massive U.S. invasion and destruction of neighboring Iraq, the Bush-Blair discussion of a similar attack on Syria in 2003, and the harsh new sanctions on Syria have added intense pressure.

But the most dislocating factor is never discussed in the corporate media: More than 1,500,000 Iraqis have flooded into Syria to escape the last eight years of U.S. occupation.

This was a huge influx for a country with a population in 2006 of 18 million. According to a 2007 report by the office of the U.S. High Commissioner for Refugees, the arrival of 2,000 desperate Iraqis per day had an extreme impact on all facets of life in Syria, particularly on the services offered by the state to all its citizens and all refugees. Syria has the highest level of civic and social rights for refugees in the region. Other surrounding countries require a minimum bank balance and ban destitute refugees.

The unexpected arrival of these Iraqi refugees has had a dramatic impact on the infrastructure, on guaranteed free elementary and high schools, on free healthcare, on housing availability and other areas of the economy. It has led to a rise in costs across the board. The prices of foodstuffs and basic goods have gone up by 30 percent, property prices by 40 percent and housing rentals by 150 percent.

Iraqi refugees also benefited from Syrian state subsidies in gasoline, food, water and other essential goods provided to everyone. Such a large mass of unemployed people led to the lowering of wages and increased competition for jobs. The impact of the global economic downturn during this difficult period added to the problems. (Middle East Institute, Dec. 10, 2010, report on Refugee Cooperation)

The U.S. created the refugee crisis, which left more than 25 percent of the Iraqi population displaced by sectarian violence. Yet it accepts the lowest number of refugees and has donated less than the cost of one day of the war in Iraq toward U.N. relief costs. U.S. sanctions on Syria have increased the economic dislocations.

All this has increased the awareness of the Syrian government and people about the dangers of U.S. occupation and the internal destabilization and bloodbath that can come with U.S.-instigated sectarian violence.

Washington claims it is worried about instability in Syria. But U.S. imperialism as a system is driven to create instability. The overwhelming dominance and power of military and oil corporations in the U.S. economy and the enormous profits of military contracts endlessly reinforce the drive to seek military solutions.

Every statement made by the Syrian government has recognized the importance of making internal reforms while maintaining national unity in an extremely diverse country that has historic differences in religion, tribes and regions and now contains almost 2 million refugees.

The diverse nationalities, religions and cultural groupings in Syria have every right to be part of this process. But what they need most is an end to constant, unrelenting U.S. intervention.

U.S. hands off!

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Les événements en Syrie – Quel camp avez-vous choisi?

Sara Flounders

12 mai 2011

Quand l’impérialisme américain s’engage dans une agression contre l’un ou l’autre gouvernement ou mouvement, il est essentiel que les mouvements ouvriers et les mouvements politiques progressistes en faveur du changement puissent collecter le maximum d’informations disponibles et prendre position.

Il est lâche de rester neutre et c’est une trahison à l’égard de sa classe que de se ranger dans le même camp que celui de la pieuvre impérialiste qui cherche à dominer le monde.

C’est le b a ba des mouvements ouvriers depuis un siècle et demi de lutte des classes. C’est la base même du marxisme. Cela se retrouve dans les chants syndicaux qui posent la question : « Which side are you on ? » (De quel côté êtes-vous ?) et chez les organisateurs ouvriers qui ne cessent de répéter « En blesser un, c’est les blesser tous. »

Une explosion sociale ébranle le monde arabe. L’impérialisme américain et tous les anciens régimes qui lui sont liés dans la région tentent désespérément de gérer et de contenir ce soulèvement de masse incessant dans des voies qui ne mettent pas en péril la domination impérialiste sur le Proche et Moyen-Orient.

Les États-Unis et leurs collaborateurs essaient également de diviser et de saper les deux ailes de la résistance – les forces islamiques et les forces nationalistes laïques – qui, ensemble, ont renversé les dictatures soutenues par les États-Unis en Égypte et en Tunisie. On assiste actuellement à un effort américain concerté en vue de dresser ces mêmes forces politiques contre deux régimes de la région qui, dans le passé, se sont opposés à la domination américaine : en Libye et en Syrie.

Ces derniers pays ont tous deux leurs propres problèmes de développement, lesquels sont exacerbés par la crise capitaliste mondiale en général et par des décennies de compromis qu’on leur a imposés du fait qu’ils tentaient de survivre dans un environnement hostile d’attaques incessantes – politiques et parfois militaires, le tout comprenant également des sanctions économiques.

Les bombardements de la Libye des œuvres des États-Unis et de l’Otan ont clairement montré où en est l’impérialisme vis-à-vis de ce pays. Les exploiteurs transnationaux sont bien décidés à s’emparer totalement des réserves pétrolières les plus riches de l’Afrique et de mettre un terme au flux de milliards de dollars par lequel la Libye contribuait au développement de pays africains beaucoup plus pauvres.

La Syrie est également visée par l’impérialisme – en raison de sa défense héroïque de la résistance palestinienne des décennies durant et de son refus de reconnaître l’occupation sioniste. L’aide de la Syrie au Hezbollah dans sa lutte pour mettre un terme à l’occupation israélienne du Liban et dans son alliance stratégique avec l’Iran ne peut être oubliée non plus.

Même si une grande partie de la situation interne de la Syrie est malaisée à comprendre, il convient de faire remarquer que, dans la lutte qui se déroule actuellement, des déclarations claires de soutien au gouvernement syrien et d’hostilité aux efforts américains de stabilisation ont été prononcées par Hugo Chávez au Venezuela, par le secrétaire général du Hezbollah, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, au Liban et par plusieurs dirigeants en exil du Hamas, l’organisation Palestinienne élue par les habitants de Gaza.

Ces dirigeants politiques ont vécu aux premières loges les campagnes américaines de déstabilisation, qui recouraient à l’invention de mythes par les médias traditionnels, à des groupes d’opposition financés de l’extérieur, à des assassinats bien ciblés, à des opérations spéciales de sabotage et se servaient d’agents bien entraînés travaillant sur Internet.

Du côté de ce qui est censé être « l’opposition démocratique », on trouve des réactionnaires comme le sénateur Joseph Lieberman, président de la puissante Commission sénatoriale pour la sécurité intérieure, qui a lancé un appel pour que les États-Unis bombardent la Syrie, après la Libye. Parmi les partisans déclarés de l’opposition en Syrie, on trouve également James Woolsey, ancien directeur de la CIA et conseiller de la campagne électorale du sénateur John McCain.

Wikileaks dénonce le rôle des États-Unis

Un article intitulé « Les États-Unis ont soutenu secrètement les groupes d’opposition syriens » et rédigé par Craig Whitlock (Washington Post, 18 avril) décrivait par le menu les informations contenues dans les câbles diplomatiques américains que Wikileaks avait adressés aux agences d’information du monde entier et publiés sur son site Internet.

L’article résume ce que ces câbles du ministère américain des Affaires étrangères révèlent à propos du financement secret des groupes syriens d’opposition politique, y compris la transmission dans le pays d’émissions antigouvernementales et ce, via la télévision par satellite.

L’article décrit les efforts financés par les États-Unis comme faisant partie d’une « campagne de longue haleine visant à renverser le dirigeant autocratique du pays, Bashar al-Assad », qui a fait ses débuts sous le président George W. Bush et a poursuivi sa carrière sous le président Barack Obama, même si ce dernier a prétendu qu’il reconstruisait les relations avec la Syrie et qu’il a installé un ambassadeur en Syrie pour la première fois depuis six ans.

Selon un câble d’avril 2009 signé par le diplomate le plus élevé en grade à Damas à l’époque, les autorités syriennes « considéraient sans aucun doute tout financement de groupes politiques illégaux comme équivalant à appuyer un changement de régime ».

L’article du Washington Post décrit plus ou moins en détail les liens entre la chaîne de TV de l’opposition Barada, financée par les États-Unis, et le rôle de Malik al-Abdeh, qui fait partie de son conseil d’administration et diffuse des vidéos de protestation. Al-Abdeh fait également partie de la direction du Mouvement pour la justice et la démocratie, présidé par son propre frère, Anas Al-Abdeh.

Les câbles secrets « font état de craintes persistantes, parmi les diplomates américains, que les agents de la sécurité d’État syrienne n’aient découvert que la piste de l’argent remontait jusqu’à Washington ».

Le rôle d’Al Jazeera

Peut-être le défi de la campagne de déstabilisation en Syrie, ainsi que sa dénonciation, sont-ils venus avec la démission de Ghassan Ben Jeddo, le journaliste bien connu des nouvelles émissions de télévision d’Al Jazeera et le responsable de l’agence d’Al Jazeera à Beyrouth. Ben Jeddo a démissionné pour protester contre la partialité d’Al Jazeera, mettant tout spécialement en exergue une « campagne de diffamation contre le gouvernement syrien » qui a transformé la chaîne de TV en « vulgaire organe de propagande ».

Al Jazeera a couvert favorablement l’incontrôlable soulèvement de masse de millions de personnes en Égypte et en Tunisie. Cependant, cette chaîne d’information par satellite a également fait état par le détail de toute revendication et accusation politique, sans égard pour la façon dont elles pouvaient n’être pas fondées, qui ont été exprimées par l’opposition politique, tant en Syrie qu’en Libye.

Al Jazeera est devenue la voix la plus forte de la région – elle est captée par des millions de spectateurs – pour réclamer l’intervention « humanitaire » des États-Unis, des zones d’exclusion de vol et le bombardement de la Libye. Ainsi donc, il est important de bien comprendre la position d’Al Jazeera en tant que société d’information, et tout particulièrement lorsqu’elle prétend s’exprimer en faveur des opprimés.

Al Jazeera, dont le siège est au Qatar, ne fait jamais état du fait que 94 pour 100 du travail au Qatar est effectué par des immigrés qui n’ont absolument aucun droit et qui survivent dans des conditions proches de l’esclavage. La répression brutale du mouvement de masse dans le royaume à monarchie absolutiste de Bahrein, voisin immédiat du Qatar et actuellement occupé par les troupes saoudiennes, ne reçoit que peu de couverture non plus de la part d’Al Jazeera.

Cette censure est-elle due au fait qu’Al Jazeera TV News a été fondé par le monarque absolu du Qatar, l’émir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani ?

Il est particulièrement important de faire remarquer qu’Al Jazeera ne mentionne jamais l’énorme base aérienne militaire du Commandement central américain, installé au Qatar précisément. Des drones en mission secrète dans la région décollent régulièrement de cette base. Le Qatar a également envoyé des avions pour participer aux bombardements en Libye des États-Unis et de l’Otan.

Le Qatar travaille en étroite collaboration avec le ministère américain des Affaires étrangères pour appuyer à fond l’intervention des États-Unis dans la région. Le Qatar a été l’un des premiers États arabes, et le premier des États du Golfe, à établir des relations avec israël. Lors des bombardements de Gaza par Israël, en 2009, il a suspendu ces relations mais, depuis, a proposé de les renouer.

Facebook et la contre-révolution

La CIA et le NED (National Endowment for Democracy – Fondation nationale en faveur de la démocratie) sont devenus des experts dans l’utilisation des barrages des médias sociaux tels que Facebook, Twitter et Youtube pour submerger les gouvernements visés de millions de messages fabriqués, de rumeurs et d’images incontrôlées.

Les alertes fabriquées sur les luttes et les scissions entre les factions rivales de l’armée syrienne, lesquelles auraient abouti à des démissions, étaient fausses. Par exemple, le général de division al-Rifai (retraité) a nié comme dénuées de fondements les informations par TV satellite prétendant qu’il dirigeait une scission au sein de l’armée. Il a ajouté qu’il était retraité depuis dix ans.

Izzat al-Rashek, du Bureau politique du Hamas, et Ali Baraka, représentant du Hamas au Liban, ont infirmé publiquement des allégations prétendant que la direction de cette organisation palestinienne de résistance quittait Damas pour se réinstaller au Qatar. Ali Baraka a expliqué que c’était un bobard monté par les États-Unis pour exercer des pressions sur Mahmoud Abbas, du Fatah, et entraver la réconciliation palestinienne tout en attisant le conflit entre les mouvements de résistance et la Syrie.

Le gouvernement syrien a accusé des snipers d’avoir tiré sur des manifestations, sur l’armée et sur la police dans l’intention de voir la police ouvrir à son tour le feu sur les manifestants.

Les rumeurs, les messages anonymes sur Internet et les rapports émis par TV satellite dans l’intention d’exacerber les divergences sectaires font partie de la campagne de déstabilisation.

Le caractère dual de la Syrie

Il n’est pas difficile de comprendre pourquoi l’impérialisme américain et ses pions dans la région, y compris Israël et les monarchies corrompues et dépendantes que sont la Jordanie, le Qatar, les Émirats arabes unis et l’Arabie saoudite, aimeraient voir un « changement de régime » en Syrie.

La Syrie est l’un des rares pays arabes à n’entretenir aucune relation avec Israël. Plusieurs organisations de résistance palestinienne ont des « bureaux en exil » en Syrie, y compris le Hamas. La Syrie est alliée de façon étroite à l’Iran et au Liban.

La Syrie aujourd’hui n’est ni un pays socialiste, ni un pays révolutionnaire. Le capitalisme – et l’inégalité qui en résulte – n’y a pas été renversé. Il existe une classe capitaliste, en Syrie : nombreux sont ceux qui, en sont sein, ont bénéficié des « réformes » au cours desquelles des industries anciennement aux mains de l’État ont été vendues à des capitaux privés.

Toutefois, l’État syrien représente des forces contradictoires. Le pays a été un bastion de protection des gains obtenus lors des luttes et soulèvements anticoloniaux des masses arabes dans les années 60 et 70. Au cours de cette période, de nombreux gains sociaux importants ont été réalisés, des industries et ressources majeures ayant appartenu au capital étranger ont été nationalisées et d’importants progrès ont été enregistrés dans la garantie des soins de santé, dans le niveau de vie et l’enseignement.

La Syrie sous le parti socialiste arabe Ba’ath est résolument laïque. Elle a maintenu la liberté religieuse pour tous tout en n’autorisant aucun groupement religieux à dominer l’État ou à être promu par ce dernier.

Mais le régime syrien a également réprimé sévèrement les efforts des mouvements de masse basés au Liban et en Syrie et qui voulaient poursuivre la lutte. Il a justifié sa répression des mouvements passés en insistant sur sa position précaire à proximité d’Israël, sur l’impact des deux guerres contre Israël, en 1967 et 1973, et sur l’occupation et l’annexion par Israël de l’importante région syrienne que sont les hauteurs du Golan, et ce, depuis 44 ans.

Les années de sanctions de la part des États-Unis et les efforts de déstabilisation du passé ont également eu un effet cumulatif. L’appareil d’État, craignant depuis longtemps les perpétuelles interventions de l’extérieur, craint désormais le changement.

Il est essentiel de reconnaître ce caractère dual et de ne pas excuser ni d’ignorer tous les problèmes qui en découlent.

La Syrie a assumé le fardeau supplémentaire de nourrir et d’héberger plus de 500.000 réfugiés palestiniens et leurs descendants ces 63 dernières années. Les conditions sont meilleures que dans n’importe quel pays avoisinant parce que, contrairement à ce qui se passe au Liban et en Jordanie, les soins de santé, l’éducation et le logement sont accessibles aux Palestiniens vivant en Syrie.

L’impact de la guerre en Irak

L’invasion et la destruction massive par les États-Unis du pays voisin, l’Irak, la discussion entre Bush et Blair d’une semblable agression contre la Syrie en 2003 et les nouvelles sanctions très dures contre la Syrie ont encore accru l’intensité des pressions.

Mais le facteur le plus destructeur n’a jamais été discuté dans les médias traditionnels : plus de 1.500.000 Irakiens ont afflué en Syrie afin d’échapper à l’occupation américaine de ces huit dernières années.

Ceci a eu une importante influence sur un pays dont la population était de 18 millions d’habitants en 2006. Selon un rapport sorti en 2007 par le bureau du haut commissaire américain pour les Réfugiés, l’arrivée quotidienne de 2000 Irakiens désespérés a eu un impact extrême sur toutes les facettes de la vie en Syrie, particulièrement sur les services proposés par l’État à tous ses citoyens et à tous les réfugiés. La Syrie a le plus haut niveau de droits civiques et sociaux pour les réfugiés, dans toute la région. D’autres pays des alentours exigent un minimum de solvabilité bancaire et expulsent les réfugiés nécessiteux.

L’arrivée inattendue de ces réfugiés irakiens a eu un impact dramatique sur les infrastructures, sur les écoles primaires et supérieures à la gratuité garantie, sur les soins de santé gratuits, sur la disponibilité des logements et sur les autres domaines de l’économie. Elle a provoqué une hausse des prix dans toute l’alimentation. Les prix des denrées alimentaires et des biens de première nécessité ont augmenté de 30 pour 100, les prix des propriétés de 40 pour 100 et les prix des loyers de 150 pour 100.

Les réfugiés irakiens ont également bénéficié de la part de l’État syrien de subsides pour le carburant, la nourriture, l’eau et autres produits essentiels pour tout le monde. Une telle masse de personnes sans emploi a amené une baisse des salaires et a augmenté la concurrence autour des emplois. L’impact du ralentissement économique mondial durant cette période difficile a encore aggravé les problèmes. (Middle East Institute, 10 décembre 2010, rapport sur la Coopération au profit des réfugiés).

Les États-Unis ont créé la crise des réfugiés, qui a amené le déplacement de plus de 25 pour 100 de la population irakienne en raison des violences sectaires. Pourtant, ils acceptent le nombre le plus bas de réfugiés et ils ont contribué aux frais des secours des Nations unies pour une somme moindre que le coût d’un seul jour de guerre en Irak. Les sanctions américaines contre la Syrie ont encore accru la désorganisation économique du pays.

Tout cela a accru la conscience du gouvernement et du peuple de Syrie à propos des dangers de l’occupation américaine et de la déstabilisation interne et du bain de sang qui pourraient venir de la violence sectaire attisée par les États-Unis.

Washington prétend être ennuyé à propos de l’instabilité qui règne en Syrie. Mais l’impérialisme américain en tant que système est amené à créer l’instabilité. La domination et le pouvoir débordants de l’armée et des sociétés pétrolières sur l’économique américaine et les énormes profits résultant des contrats militaires renforcent cette motivation à rechercher des solutions militaires.

Chaque déclaration faite par le gouvernement syrien a reconnu l’importance de réaliser des réformes internes tout en maintenant en place l’unité nationale dans un pays extrêmement diversifié présentant des différences historiques sur le plan de la religion, des tribus et des régions, et qui héberge actuellement près de deux millions de réfugiés.

Les diverses nationalités, religions et groupes culturels en Syrie ont absolument le droit de faire partie de ce processus. Mais ce dont ils ont le plus besoin, c’est que soit mis un terme à l’intervention constante et sans relâche des États-Unis

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USA, bas les pattes !

Traduction : JMF / Investig’Action

http://www.michelcollon.info/Les-evenements-en-Syrie-Quel-camp.html?lang=fr

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“Palestine is the heart of Arab countries” – PalestineFreeVoice

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Wikileaks: ‘US not doing enough for Syria regime change!’

Wikileaks 

“… A cable from December 13, 2006, opens with the conclusion that the Syrian government has ended 2006 “in a position much stronger domestically and internationally than it did [in] 2005.” It features a collection of possible actions that could be taken to undermine the Assad regime.
The vulnerabilities listed include: the Rafiq Hariri investigation and tribunal (Hariri was a Lebanese Prime Minister who was assassinated in a major car bombing); the alliance with Tehran; the regime’s “inner circle”; divisions in the military-security services; the corrupt Baathist elites; previous failures of reform; the economy; the Kurds; extremists and the “Khaddam factor” (Abdul Halim Khaddam is an exiled former Syrian Vice President, whose name appears in a number of the cables released thus far.)
Some of the proposed actions for exploiting these vulnerabilities are outlined in the cable:
“…ENCOURAGE RUMORS AND SIGNALS OF EXTERNAL PLOTTING: The regime is intensely sensitive to rumors about coup-plotting and restlessness in the security services and military. Regional allies like Egypt and Saudi Arabia should be encouraged to meet with figures like Khaddam and Rifat Asad as a way of sending such signals, with appropriate leaking of the meetings afterwards. This again touches on this insular regime,s paranoia and increases the possibility of a self-defeating over-reaction.
THE KHADDAM FACTOR: …We should continue to encourage the Saudis and others to allow Khaddam access to their media outlets, providing him with venues for airing the SARG,s dirty laundry. We should anticipate an overreaction by the regime that will add to its isolation and alienation from its Arab neighbors…
HIGHLIGHT KURDISH COMPLAINTS: Highlighting Kurdish complaints in public statements, including publicizing human rights abuses will exacerbate regime,s concerns about the Kurdish population. Focus on economic hardship in Kurdish areas and the SARG,s long-standing refusal to offer citizenship to some 200,000 stateless Kurds. This issue would need to be handled carefully, since giving the wrong kind of prominence to Kurdish issues in Syria could be a liability for our efforts at uniting the opposition, given Syrian (mostly Arab) civil society’s skepticism of Kurdish objectives.
PLAY ON SUNNI FEARS OF IRANIAN INFLUENCE: There are fears in Syria that the Iranians are active in both Shia proselytizing and conversion of, mostly poor, Sunnis. Though often exaggerated, such fears reflect an element of the Sunni community in Syria that is increasingly upset by and focused on the spread of Iranian influence in their country through activities ranging from mosque construction to business. Both the local Egyptian and Saudi missions here, (as well as prominent Syrian Sunni religious leaders), are giving increasing attention to the matter and we should coordinate more closely with their governments on ways to better publicize and focus regional attention on the issue. (more,here)…”

Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 3:47 PM
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The Case of the Four Generals

Posted by Qifa Nabki

As early as May 5 2006, Serge Brammertz (the UN commissioner investigating the Hariri murder) had “expressed concern about the quality of the evidence that was used to recommend the arrest of four Lebanese senior security officials” and told American Embassy officials that Lebanese General Prosecutor Said Mirza was “growing increasingly uncomfortable with the extended incarceration of the officials.” In spite of the fact that Brammertz felt that there was not yet enough evidence to support “a strong case” against the generals, he assured the Americans that “he would not reverse the recommendation of his predecessor, Detlev Mehlis.”

Another cable dated June 20 2006 reveals that Brammertz was “deeply worried” about the “eroding basis for continued detentions” but was still not willing to order their release. Rather, he seemed more inclined to pass the hot potato to the Lebanese judiciary, arguing that such a decision fell under its jurisdiction. Meanwhile, the judiciary was clearly looking to the UN for guidance on the matter. No one wanted the job of turning the generals loose. Ambassador Feltman, for his part, was well aware of the “seismic effect” that Jamil al-Sayyid’s release would have on the political situation, and judged that releasing him could greatly impact America’s position in Lebanon.

A year later, a fascinating cable recounted an exchange between Ambassador Feltman and Minister of Justice Charles Rizk about the optics of how and when the generals should be released. I highly recommend you read the entire thing, but this is one of the most interesting bits:

The Ambassador noted that an international prosecutor could very well order the release of one or more of the [four generals] for lack of evidence. After all, all of us have heard from UNIIIC Commissioner Brammertz that the detention of some if not all is “awkward,” given the dearth of credible evidence. The four were arrested because of the testimony of witnesses who later recanted, their testimony now thoroughly discredited. Yes, Rizk said, but a release from the UN would be different than a release from the GOL [government of Lebanon]. If the GOL releases them now, “it will be a scandal.” People will say, “why did you hold them for two years?” If the UN releases them, however, the situation is different: The GOL picked them up at the request of the UNIIIC and then held them until they could be transferred to the Special Tribunal. So, in this case, the GOL merely acted on behalf of the UN. If [the Lebanese judiciary] releases them, by contrast, it appears as though the GOL had authority all along and chose to ignore it.

As it turned out, the generals would not be released for another two years after the date of this cable, and the reasons were entirely political. Ambassador Feltman says as much in the above cable, when he comments: “whatever the merits of their initial arrests and however awkward the continued detention of one or all is, we agree with Rizk that Syria’s Lebanese allies would score an enormous victory, should the four generals be released now.”

Comment

These cables represent yet another blow to the public image of the UN Tribunal. More seriously, they are a significant indictment of the integrity of the UNIIIC Commissioner and the various Lebanese officials involved in the Hariri investigation, to say nothing of the evidentiary standards in place and the UNIIIC’s judicial independence. Of course, many critics of the Tribunal have been making this case for years (and none so stridently as al-Akhbar‘s justice editor, Omar Nashabe), and the publication of these cables vindicates their position in certain ways.

March 14 partisans would counter that no investigation is perfect, and while some regrettable mistakes were made, these leaks are more of a public relations embarrassment than a reason to denounce the investigation as a whole. While this may be true, the problem is that the Tribunal’s public image has arguably become as important as its ability to indict suspects and prosecute them. When a UN Tribunal is seen as having no more independence and credibility than a judge appointed by an authoritarian regime, then is it safe to say that it has (to use an au courant phrase) “lost its legitimacy”?

Ambassador Feltman clearly understood the significance of a messenger’s credibility when he argued in 2007: “If [Judge Eid] would release any of the four generals, March 14 leaders would suspect Syria’s hand at play, further deepening the distrust and divisions in this country. But if an international prosecutor makes the same decision, it will be viewed as one based on the legal merits of the case.”

Perhaps this was still true when he wrote it. How true is it today?

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