Will America carry out Punitive Stikes against Syria?
A friend in Washington just wrote me this email:
I just spoke briefly yesterday with a fellow who has many contacts in the Pentagon, military and civilian: he says the Pentagon is 100% certain that Syria is a haven for organizers of insurgency and is likely to get whacked, not to bring about regime change, just to punish. There's no point to challenge the 100% certainty piece...this is what they believe...just like they were 100% certain about wmd's in Iraq.
This only means that the Defense Department is angry. It has accused Syria of operating several foreign-Jihadist training camps near Aleppo. It is hard to believe that State and other departments would want to open another front by punitive bombings of Syria, but one never knows.
[Addition July 25] Nur-al-Cubicle adds to this in the comments below:...
From what I read, France, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia oppose any idea of US punative strikes against Syria.Daily Press Briefing
The new Saudi Ambassador to Washington, Turki al-Faisal, publically warned Washington that Iraq's border security problem must be resolved on the Iraqi side of the frontier. Lebanon's Prime Minister Siniora interrupted remarks by Condoleeza Rice when she attempted to lash out at Syria during her recent unannounced 7-hour visit to Beirut.
Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman
Washington, DC
July 21, 2005
QUESTION: Today, Syria hit back at the accusations about their borders, the militants crossing their borders, saying that so far they had detained thousands of would-be insurgents.
MR. ERELI: Syria?
QUESTION: Yes, Syria. And they speak about 1,200 foreign extremists and more than 4,000 Syrians. Do you have any comment on that?
MR. ERELI: (A) It's a number that, I guess, hard to verify but; (b) and I think this is the important point, the really important point is that there's no indication, whether or not they detained 1,400 people and whether or not those 1,400 people are really as problematic as they might suggest, there's still no indication, frankly, that the problem of support for the insurgency from Syria has ended. And that's the bottom line. The Iraqis are telling us that Syria is a problem. Other evidence indicates that Syria's a problem. So regardless of what's happened with these 1,400,
there are serious issues that remain in terms of insurgency activity in Iraq that is being conducted because of support and other facilitation from inside Syria.
And it remains an issue that we continue to press the Syrian Government about, that the Iraqis, more importantly, continue to press the Syrian Government about, and that frankly continues to undermine stability in Iraq, in which therefore is a problem not just for Iraq, but for the whole neighborhood.
133 Comments:
Please accept my condolences for the deaths and injuries of Egyptians and foreign visitors who were attacked in the new set of bombings at Sharm el Sheikh. I regret their suffering and that of their families and friends.
I am so sorry to hear about the terrorist bombings in Sharm el-Sheik. I know Egyptians are proud of this place, and I recall that our presidents have visited there on important occasions.
I am so sad for Iraqis, for Egyptians today, and for the British--and many before, the Balinese, the Turks, the children of Beslan, the Russians in the theatre, those of 9/11, and on and on.
Is this the world we have to live in ? Our president thinks freedom and democracy is the answer. But is it?
Aphrodite
This is Egypt you dogs of hell
Terror hit the nerve of Egypt's tourism. The Sharm El Sheikh resort is literally the epicenter of the tourism industry. One of Egypt's most beautiful spots. The terrorists knew where to hit. They knew where it will hurt. Up till now we know that 4 car bombs killed 43 people. The explosions were in different places across the resort.
The attacks were very well organized and very sophisticated. We truly entered world war 3.
I have been to Sharm countless times. As I was hearing the eyewitness reports, I could feel I was standing right there. The attacks are very serious and deadly to Egypt.
I just remembered the headline of an article written by Sayed El Qimni (who stopped writing after receiving threats) right after the Taba bombings last year. The headline read: This is Egypt you dogs of hell.
May God save us and have mercy on those who perished.
Update: News reports say 49 dead and 7 car bombs.
Update: The front side of a hotel was completely destroyed. Bodies were all over the place. The dead included Egyptians, Britons, French, Spaniards, Dutch, Qataris, Kuwaitis. You can almost find any nationality in Sharm.
Update: 85 people killed. I called someone I know who owns a shop in the Sharm market. He was in Cairo on his way to Sharm when his bus was ordered to return back to Cairo. He told me that he plans to shut down his shop in Sharm and return back to his hometown of Luxor. "Tourism is over in Sharm" he told me.
A friend of mine called me and told me that one of his friends was sitting in a cafe 50 meters away from one of the explosions. He told him that he saw pieces of body parts all over the place and burned bodies that looked like charcoale.
Update: Police say that 2 cars and a possible suitcase full of explosive might be behind the attacks. Most of the dead are Egyptians.
J. Francis Lehman said...
Good Lord! We've got quite a tempest brewing here in our teapot, don't we? Wherefor art thou, Karfan?!
"We have to realize that the self-preservation instincts of other societies will drive them to look at all of us as a potential threat and to treat us accordingly."
This is exactly correct. And I do not want to see it come to pass, nor do most Americans. We simply want an end to jihad for good. We want the Muslim world to come into the 21st Century, embrace the rule of law and discard religious government. (And a lot of us would like the Republican Party to do these things as well! We'd also love it if the Democrats would get a clue, or even a grip, but reality intrudes on this fantasy, at least as of yet.) We want to see the Muslim world rise up against the murderers, and prove that Islam is the Religion of Peace we are always told it is. I know that it is dangerous to speak out against the jihad murderers in Muslim lands, but you must, if your people are to avoid being exterminated by the West in self-defense.
And make no mistake: the next large terrorist attack to happen on American soil will unleash unimaginable violence against Muslims in retaliation. God help you if it's atomic in nature, whether nuke or dirty bomb. Our leftist appeasers will be shouted down, if not worse. Either Muslims can start dealing harshly with the jihad murderers, or us targets of jihad will do so ourselves; the problem is, we can't really tell the difference between jihad-minded Muslim and peaceful Muslim until it's too late, so we're going to have to strike pre-emptively, and a lot of good and innocent people will die.
Muslims know who are the jihad murderers and who are not. If this problem is to have a non-apocalyptic end, Muslims must be the ones to bring it to that end. The West can help, but we are alien to your societies. You must fix this yourselves, Muslim world; you're the only ones who can.
With all my respect, Aphrodite, I am appalled to see you changing the subject in two threads for what happened in Egypt. Please let each subject take its course, and thank you.
I was browsing the Athwara.com, a Syrian (government of course) newspaper few days ago, and read a news release of a big meeting of "forces coordinating Resistance against the American occupation" in Damascus. I wish I had saved that piece of news because it was indicative to the kind of games the Syrian regime is playing. It is organizing that so called "Resistance" in Iraq in its Arabic Media, while claiming something else in its English Media Outlets to the Americans.
I was wondering when reading that news article about supporting the "Great Iraqi Resistance" if the US Embassy in Syria is not monitoring such claims that the Syrian regime appears to be proud of announcing to the Syrian people.
Mohammed (The wonderer).
the name of the site is Thawra.com
To the Anon 9:04
I am not sure if your commenting on Lehman's post or copying and pasting it. If the latter plz provide the link so i can send my below comment.
It’s a pitiful and sad fact of life that people like you (and there are many) have more influence on the mideast than most Arabs. As an American one should not expect you to know much about the region. So allow me to inform you of a few important notes; Syria and even that criminal Saddam Hussein's Iraq are SECULAR governments. With no affiliation to Muslim extremist (whatever the DoD tells you). Actually Muslim fundamentalist view Syrian government they way they view people like you and me, as infidels who deserve to die. A lot of people were killed to crush the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria.
Washington has continuously since September 11 lied and deceived the American public that Iraq has a direct connection to the attacks. They took a tragedy and mass murder and used it to push their own (and allies) strategic agenda in the region. It has nothing to do with freedom, democracy or fighting terrorism. But the media went along for the ride.
Can you be so kind to explain to me how can a country so adamant on spreading democracy support and praise governments like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others? Countries that deprive their citizens of basic rights such as voting, driving cars, or wearing what they please. Not to mention their stone-age way of treating women.
How can the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Jordan all absolute monarchies, as well as Egypt and Tunisia, republics that are also ruled by dictators. Be subjected to praise by Condi Rice for their support of democratic reforms? Could it be because all of these regimes are allies and “freedom” should be only enforced on countries that defy American will???? Syria and Iran are the only countries in the region who defy the US and that’s why they get punished. Your government wants Syria to give up its occupied land and bow down to its will, that’s the only driver behind these possible “pre-emptive strikes”. But as long as Washington continues with these double standards, support fundamentalist regimes and give Israel free hand there will be more anti-American fanatics born everyday.
I wont even comment on your racist innuendoes and comments ‘cause a right-wing imbecile like yourself believes he is God’s gift to the world and trying to open up your mind just a bit is harder than Chinese algebra.
But I agree with you on one point, only the local governments of the terrorist breading countries can solve these problems completely.
Tarek,
You and 99.9% of people in the Arab world keep missing the point. Keep missing the point, and a big nuke will land on your heads.
This is not about Bush, Iraq, secularist fucks in Syria, Saudi women or any of that crap.
It's very simple and primal, but apparently not simple enough for you to understand.
Society A (the West) is being attacked by murderous creeps who come from a large region called the ME/Moslem world, society B, which is either powerless, or encouraging or tolerant of these people, or even perceived as such.
How many more attacks can the West take, before even the idiot liberals shut up and stop worrying about the Gitmo menu? The next step will be people in the streets demanding massive deportations and the nuking of somebody, RIGHT OR WRONG WON"T MATTER.
It's not brain surgery, it's called human nature.
Now Tarek go back and ponder why Saudi should be number 14 on the bad guy list instead of number 15. That is so crucial.
The problem of the arab world is that, it lacks free thinkers. Most people I know are passive from a political point of view, and in all cases. There is no genuine democratization movement in the islamic world. Most of the people are deeply religious (too much maybe?) but peaceful. And most of them do not really care for democracy. They are not really against it but they won't fight for it. Islam is a political system in itself and muslims are ok with this. Disappointing.
Of course, as far as minorities are concerned, federation is the only thing that matters to them.
Josh, you are american, can you tell where this text came from?
"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is in the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness"
About the topic...
Bachar is systematically taking the bad decisions and chosing confrontation. Maybe he thinks that the US do not point a second front in the middle east?
Josh when I saw you on CNN you were saying that it's normal for Bachar to be agressive because the USA are not giving him any carrot to change. Apart from the fact that Bachar will keep the carrot to himself, does everytime Syria do something right such as not having a blocade on a neighbour, it will get a carrot? Maybe Syria should get help if it really wants to reform its system but Syria should not get anything for not sending fighters to Irak or not blowing cars in Beirut. And seriously do you really think it's moral to help Bachar's regime? (even if there's no alternative)
Concerning this claim
"There's no point to challenge the 100% certainty piece...this is what they believe...just like they were 100% certain about wmd's in Iraq. "
Now let us be serious, we knew from the start that there were little or no WMD in Iraq. It's all about improving America's position in the middle east.
MAD,
If it’s so simple why the hell don’t you get it? The west has attacked or supported attacks against the Arabs for a long time. They hand-picked or supported oppressive regimes in the Middle East. The rest of the Arab population can’t do anything about it because they don’t have nukes, aircraft carriers, or leaders with dignity. They are feeling oppressed by the great America and their own leaders. So after trying everything else and failing they turned to terrorism and extremism.
When you have been continuously beaten on the head with a stick for no apparent reason for generations you will eventually go crazy it’s….. "human nature". So shut your smart-ass hole and go back to the core of the problem. Which the west shares responsibility with local authorities and the general public. I do not know how many times I need to repeat the msg for you to get it?
If America can invade 2 countries (at least) for killing 3000 civilians. What then should the Vietnamese, Koreans, Palestinians do? The world has been convinced that an Anglo-Saxon life is worth 10 lives of other races and this despicable ideology must cease to exist before any form normalcy can return to this chaotic world we live in. I know no other country than can do a better job as world leader than the US but that does not change the fact that its an oppressive power when it comes to our region.
Vox,
I totally agree with your first post. In my opinion misinterpretation of Islam and taking every word literarily has been an obstacle to the regions social & political development. But I do not blame the religion because Asian Muslim states don’t suffer the same extremist problems. I feel the answer lies in relation to our particular history and culture.
As for the second comment i would have to disagree with most of it. International politics is all about give an take. Every time a country supports an American initiative in the UN Security Council does so with behind the scene deals. Syria has not been treated in the same manner since Bashar took office and he has had it. And I do not think the example of the boarder blockade, as childish and wrong as it may, is a worthy one (no offence). Damascus is not being marginalized because of its “wrong” actions in Lebanon but rather for its anti-Israeli/American stance.
Here's my last attempt to explain it to you Tarek Moron:
One side has nukes, the other does not.
Patience has limits, and no society will go down without using all its weapons to protect itself.
You may THINK you have the moral high ground, still it does not matter.
PS. It is morons like u and the NON-anglo-saxon side which is behaving like human life does not matter. If your lives do not matter to you, why should they matter to others? Aren't you the idiots saying biddam bil rouh..., give your life and soul to Bashar or whomever??? Yeah, yeah I know. But really, is there a difference between you and these guys?
The CIA and State Dept will not let the Pentagon take punitive strikes on Syria. Syrians knows that. There are more agents on President Assad’s payroll at the CIA than American agents on CIA payroll in Syria (an estimate).
President Assad also knows that such an attack is a possibility, he calculated that an American assault on Syria will make his regime very popular in the world, especially with the illiterate and suicidal Arab youth.
He also knows that should such an attack be carried out by the American, it will kill any chance for reform and mute all calls for it, not to mention that all opposition groups now will look like traitors, his media and envoys along with the world medias will insure that.
So in away President Assad will very much welcome such an attack that will basically take this reform knife of his neck and prove to the American that this is no option to coerce him and his Baathist government. He then have a legitimate excuse to fight back and attract tens of thousands of fighters from all over the world to Syria to fight across the boarder in Iraq.
Attack on Syria is a dumb option and a non starter for Iraqi solution, rather a starter for quick American evacuation from Iraq. President Assad knows that very well.
There is only one, and only one option, for the United States, it is the one and only option that for some strange reason they will not take, or the administration is simply too dumb to know what it is. Take the option that will get the vision and goals of President Bush accomplished. You can get it on the cheap. Ghadry's estimates 10 millions, our estimates 5 millions.
Or please forever shut the fuck up. We tired of seeing grown men and women whine like 3 years old. It is obvious that this whining for years did not work. Or it is maybe working well, permitting well conceded clandestine deals and money flow to Audi bank in Lebanon that are struck in secret behind closed doors.
Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this comment is not officially sanctioned by the Syrian Republican Party. This comment was posted by a member of the Party and express his/ her opinion only and is solely responsible for it's content.
We haven't tested a nuclear device on a city since Nagazaki. Is Bashar asking for one?
I would suggest emptying Syria of all non supporters of the regime, and then nuke it.
Well, I have a heart. Let's negotiate the surrender of the f..ing Baathies, and ship them to a nicer Gunatenamo. (No sexual torture please, because these guys enjoy it).
Ja'Jaa
SRP,
Just out of interest, whats the one and only option? or is it top secret!!!!
In your headline, you might want to fix the spelling to "punitive." Thanks for the tip that something might be coming up. It will be interesting to see how this is ultimately handled.
Good observation, Danithew. I guess you really read everything.
Mohammed
since we are in the correction phase, there is an R missing in the word strikes in the headline. but its no biggy
It would be about freakin time too. Bashar has been waging a proxy war for years and he has intensified it in Lebanon and Israel without consequences. He should pay. I also hear that the Euros are mighty pissed with him, and think that he§s overplayed his hand once again. The guy doesn§t know his place.
And Tarek do us all a favor and shut up.
Love you too baby
to the horrified americans,
You are talking to the wrong audience: terrorists have their own websites and even blogs, we are here just a bunch of lunatics discussing our affairs.
For some reason, I hate this name I chose to write under it. Any suggestion ?
sorry to interrupt the matters of Syria, but I feel the need to point out some things to MAD and anon 9:04:
first of all, there is no 'Terrorland' that you can bomb into extinction--if what you're suggesting is to bomb Mecca, that's just plain stupid and ignorant...
let's test out your arguments--first of all, you seem to equate 'terrorist' with 'Muslim' with 'Arab'--maybe your first step should be to acknowledge that terrorists come from all societies and all religions. What about Christian terrorists? after all, they (McVeigh and Nichols) were responsible for the biggest pre 9/11 terrorist attack in the US. What about Eric Rudolph, the perpetrator of the Olympic bombing, plus a string of others? You likely don't want to admit it, but the 'pro-life' Christian fundamentalists frequently engage in terrorism. and what's the difference between them and Al Qaeda? mainly better bomb builders!
You may say that they're only following a 'higher order,' well, that's what the terrorists claim also--after all, the 'pro-life' movement is nothing if not a jihad! Furthermore, I think that you and the rest of the Christians should put an end to this terror, by speaking out against these people, and their own Bin Laden and al-Zawhiri, which are Pat Robertson and James Dobson...and if they keep at it, well, then according to your logic, it would be appropriate to bomb the Vatican!
before you become too indignant, let me point out that I was born and raised as a Christian in the midwest, and that I personally witnessed 9/11 from a mile away, and had to flee through the dust from the explosions. you're probably from some red state in the middle of nowhere, too small to be a target for any non-christian terrorists, yet you're probably floating in Homeland Security money that's been pork-barrelled by your Repubican congressman, while New York has consistently been screwed out of the share that it rightfully deserves!
also, i'd be interested to know if you can even find Syria on a map, much less I doubt that you've ever actually set foot anywhere near the Middle East, otherwise, you'd see what a fool you are to advocate bombing entire populations, where the vast majority of people just want to live a decent life with their families, and who have never even met a terrorist...
fyi, in case you've been asleep for the past few years, the war in Iraq is based on lies, lies that people like you choose to believe. There were no WMDs, and Iraq didn't have any nuclear capabilities--furthermore, your right-wing solution to the problem, which is basically, 'bomb the sh*t out of 'em' does not work, and has never worked--from London during WWII to Palestine, the more you try to inflict punishment on people, the more they will rebel, and more, not less, terrorists will be created!
now, back to matters of Syria...
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This is from a top-quality intelligence website. It's about a meeting that took place in early June/late May.
"In addition, American intelligence discovered that followers of the Al Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Mussa Al Zarqawi -- including the "hero" of the battle of Fallujah, Omar Hadid -- held a meeting in the Syrian city of Hasaka in mid-May to coordinate operations with three leaders of the Ba'ath insurgency. The trio were highest on the Americans' wanted list in Iraq: Ezzat Ibrahim al Duri, who issued an "appeal to the Ba'athist and Islamic resistance" for the first time on May 26; Mohamed Younes al Ahmed, a former Ba'ath party leader; and Ahmed Hassan al Obeidi, ex chief of the General Intelligence Service in the Kurkuk region.
In response to the meeting, the American military issued a warning to Syrian officers at a gathering on May 17 at the border post of Al Walid which was attended by the American military attaché in Damascus and his three deputies. The Americans came away empty-handed from the meeting. Still, the Syrians have since assigned some of their troops returning from Lebanon to patrol duty along the Iraqi frontier. The U.S. has bolstered its positions at Al Qaim, Tel Affar and Husaybah. "
Concerning the 'war' that is coming on Syria, I think we're talking about strikes (possiby through Israel) and not a full war with regime removal. It will be mainly a political signal and I don't think it will reinforce Bachar. It could lead to a total collapse of the economy and Bachar have mouths to ffed.
MAD, I shouldn't even reply to your post but FYI, there are two main producers of terrorists in the islamic world it's Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Pakistan already owns nukes and Saudi Arabia is untouchable because of its oil. Moreover it's rumored that Saudis finances Pakistan's bomb in exchange for a Pakistani protection in case of nuclear threats.
Re: David W.
Are you afraid of something that you only list your first name? I understand the others are Syrians and they are afraid for their families, but you? I can not understand why you are hiding? Try to be more courageous. May be your opinion is so extraordinary that the press will want to talk to you, and you will be a hero. Try to open up.
Dave R.
David W(iseass),
I could find Syria on a map when you were still peeing in your pants. That and my nationality have nothing to do with the point that you and others keep missing.
I am not advocating anything here. I am not arguing who is right or wrong, though I certainly have my views.
I am merely saying that the West's response will not remain the same forever, period.
If the Moslems/Arabs/passive/apologists/uninvolved whatever you want to call them, do not stop the current madness the next steps are deportations in the West and then nukes.
That's all, I am merely pointing the logical conclusion of current events if nothing changes.
Add: Connection to Qaeda or not won't matter. One reason, among many, Saddam was taken was to set an example.
Mad is really mad. It is "human nature" to make mistakes when getting mad. I suggest that you relax and think about all possible outcomes of any of you 'mad' reactions. Terrorism is very evil and we should address in an intelligent matter.
what Tarek said made the most sence the us is not against syria because of iraq but because of syria,s pan arabic stand and it,s resistence to a shamefull peace with Israel.syria is the only secular arab country left in the midleast.
The use of just 1 nuke anywhere in the world will be the begining of the end leading to the extinction of human race.
I can understand why mad is pissed off. But according to the latest figures, nearly all the deads in Sharm el Sheikh are Egyptians (it seems that the building that was bombed was used by employees).
But why people in Egypt are not demonstrating against Al-Qaida? Is arab blodd valuable only when it's spilled by 'anglo-saxon' agression?
We all understand that and we realize that any attack anywhere isn't acceptable for whatever reasons. All world leaders need to sit down and have real dicussion rather than making speeches and other kinds of bullshit. Unfortunatly, we lack such leaders these days.
This is Mohammed, the anti-bloody Syrian regime. I am appalled at the Moslem Brotherhood that gave birth to all of these violent Islam, and I say again this was born in Saudi Arabia by the help of the US to fight the Left. They have created the big Frankenstein, and now the existence of those bloody Moslems are the big factor in the continuation of the regimes that helped create them in the first place. They were created and nourished by these regimes including the Assad regime, and now because of the danger and the risk of seeing them taking ove Syria for example, the bloody Assad regime survives, and will survive. The f..ing Islamists are the biggest problem standing in the way of freeing Syria of this criminal regime. Damn Islam (the one a la Wahabi Saudi way), and damn those Islamists.
Mohammed (the angry man).
For the Christians, Jesus Christ(not a shred of evidence that he existed) said to his followers “ We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spirtual entities in high places". For the Syrians, if he is ever were around today he would have said to them “ you wrestle not against ignorant Baathist but against ignorant Americans” as the article hereunder offer proof of that:
The United States and Reform in Syria
By Joshua Landis
March 2004
Syria is the low-hanging fruit in the post-Saddam Middle East. Washington hawks, hoping to extend the impact of America’s victory in Iraq, are looking to Damascus as the next battlefield. The Ba`thist regime in Syria is isolated, bankrupt and divided under the leadership of its young President, Bashar al-Asad. Its very military and moral weakness make regime-change a temptation to policymakers who believe that America’s greatest enemies in the region are dictatorship and the status-quo. As David Frum and Richard Perle explained recently, “when the door [to democracy] is locked shut by a totalitarian deadbolt, American power may be the only way to open it up”.[1] The question for the hardliners is not how to apportion the carrot and the stick, but how most deftly to deliver the coup de grace. Israel’s ambassador to Washington explained how this could be done: “The way to deal with [Syria] is to de-legitimize its regime and the way to do that is by applying political pressure and to really apply economic sanctions… this is the key element to pressure [it] into regime change... So, this is the direction – a lot of psychological pressure.”[2]
The United States would be unwise to squeeze Syria to the breaking point. Regime change will present the U.S. with a number of immediate dangers and few clear advantages. The likelihood of Syria producing a fully democratic regime in the next ten to fifteen years is remote; it enjoys none of the recognized prerequisites for sustaining democracy: its elites are not committed to democracy, its population is not homogeneous, its national institutions are extremely weak and its per capita GDP is closer to $1,500 than the $5,500 commonly viewed as the democratic tipping point. Moreover, the strategy of promoting external opposition groups, such as Farid Ghadry’s Reform Party, is unlikely to succeed. Similar efforts to support exile groups to bring change to Cuba and Iraq have met with an unbroken record of failure. Should the Asad regime collapse, state institutions such as the army and police would likely disintegrate and the country would slip into chaos and inter-confessional violence. The model for intra-elite conflict would be the brother’s war of 1984. When Hafiz al-Asad fell seriously ill, his brother, Rifa`at, sent his militia onto the streets of Damascus to contest succession with the various security chiefs. Civil war was norrowly averted when Hafiz revived. Today, with no clear successor to Bashar within the Alawite community, it is quite possible that the Alawites would be pushed from power altogether. Should the Sunni majority reassert itself, it will not be the small class of liberals or old bourgeois families that take control. Experts agree that the likely alternative to the current regime is an Islamic state run by the Muslim Brotherhood.
By threatening Syria’s stability, the U.S. will illicit the opposite effect it desires. Syrians will rally around their government rather than demand change. Syrians are obsessed with maintaining stability. The notion that their country might catch the Lebanon disease and collapse into civil war or slip into lawlessness like Iraq has plagued public imagination. Stability was the major selling point of Hafiz al-Asad’s regime during its last decade. Indeed, Syria has suffered less civil strife over the last 20 years than any of its neighbors, with the possible exception of Jordan. Many Syrians put up with enduring economic stagnation and political repression as the price of stability. The United States is more likely to get the change it seeks by pursing a strategy of engagement with the government and by supporting internal reform movements.
Bashar al-Asad has consistently sought reform. Although, he has been hesitant and unsure of himself, he has demonstrated time and again that he is looking for a way out of Syria’s economic stagnation and a way into the good graces of Washington. Before becoming president, he led a steady and successful campaign to clean up the streets and local government of Latakia, the capital of the Alawite region. Latakia was traditionally known for its lawlessness and chaos. The shabbiha (young toughs and often Asad family members) had free run of the city. They regularly extorted money from local merchants, marketed smuggled Lebanese goods and openly carried automatic weapons about. They beat people up for unrecognizable slights in order to boost their profile and inspire fear. In short, they exhibited all the characteristics of a Mafia with few of its restraints. When Bashar inherited the mantle of power following his brother’s death in 1994, he waged a campaign to bring law and order to the Alawite heartland. He disciplined the Alawite ruffians and brought unruly family members to heal – in one incident, he personally had his cousin’s bodyguards thrown into jail for roughing people up. In 1996, thirteen of the nineteen Alawite professors at Tishriin Medical School were fired for corruption – a measure designed to show that the regime would neither play favorites nor protect fellow coreligionists at the expense of the law. Today, the city is a much tamer place than it was in the 1980s, which is due in large measure to Bashar.
Of course, corruption and clientelism have not disappeared; they are the backbone of the regime. No Asad can eliminate them without hastening his own demise. All the same, much reform can be achieved by the Asad regime if it is pushed in the right direction. By encouraging reform without threatening regime change, there is a good chance that, in the long run, the very process of reform will transform the system. This is the logic being pursued with great success by the U.S. in its relations with undemocratic China. It can also work in Syria.
Since Bashar al-Asad assumed national leadership, Syria has begun a process of power pluralization. Where it will lead is still unclear. Bashar’s early eagerness for reform and encouragement of the “Damascus Spring” even as he insisted he would follow the Chinese path of forbidding political liberalization while pursuing economic reform was clearly contradictory. It confused Syrians and demonstrated his lack of experience. Opposition members immediately demanded free elections and regime change, forcing Bashar to crack down on them. This played into the hands of the old guard and seemed to sign the end of reform. Nevertheless, Bashar has not eliminated the civil society groups. This permissiveness may be a cynical contrivance to placate western observers, but it also allows for a steady stream of criticism that the President uses to keep the old guard on their heals and to keep the issue of reform on the front burner.
Bashar must deliver on his early promises to bring economic growth and political liberalization to Syria. His legitimacy depends on it. Why else does he appoint reform-minded ministers and skilled technocrats? He needs change. Michel Kilo, a leading member of the civil society movement, recently explained that “Syria is no longer the same as it was under Hafiz al-Asad. The fear that was instilled in people’s bones during the old regime has disappeared. The discussions have become freer and critics more outspoken. During Hafiz al-Asad’s rule, the regime had a well-defined center of power. It was stable and unified. This is no longer the case. Power is scattered among different centers.”[3] Some Syrian reformers view the devolution of power taking place in a negative light because it has resulted in the increased independence of the pillars of the old regime – the Ba`th Party, the mukhabarat (secret police) and the army. Hakam Al-Baba, the Editor-in-Chief of the now defunct satirical weakly Al-Domari, explained, “Earlier one person ruled, now many rule. This is a dangerous chaos which leads to paralysis and the abandonment of political principles.” Other critics are hopeful that the relaxation of political principles and the pluralization of power will ultimately lead to greater liberty. They point to the emergence of new power centers espousing reform, greater openness and the participation of civil society. It is not only the old guard that benefits from Bashar’s weakness and willingness to put up with dissent, they argue. The devolution of authority creates new options in Syria. It also creates new options for the United States.
The path ahead for reform is unclear. The proliferation of economic reform plans is causing real confusion over who is in charge and what government policy really is. This past year, three separate wide-ranging economic reform plans were put forward. A draft economic reform plan (ERP) was released to the press last May and presented as a full program to reshape and liberalize the economy. No explanation was given for how this is to be linked to the five-year plan that is officially used as a framework for government work. Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance, Mohammad al-Hussein, announced on 20 November 2003 that his ministry had devised a three-year financial reform plan. Likewise, he made no reference to either the ERP or the five-year plan, although a major part of his plan covered financial and fiscal reform.[4] The flurry of economic reforms announced in the past several years demonstrates that many government officials are aware of the urgent need to reform and have been emboldened by the new president. The creativeness, initiative and new ideas that are being produced by the various Syrian ministries are directly attributable to Syria’s increased pluralism and the dynamism of its reforming spirit. Pluralism, however, is a double-edged sword. The lack of strong presidential leadership and the growing number of power centers can result in paralysis and chaos. However, Syria’s recent signing of the Economic Association Agreement with the E.U. and the Great Arab Free Trade Agreement with fellow Arab countries are promising signs. So is the recent inauguration of Syria’s first commercial banks.
The United States can help break the paralysis and push along the reform process by engaging with Syria. Nothing would help this more than for Washington to actively encourage a solution to the Golan issue. Bashar’s recently announced willingness to go beyond his father’s conditional commitments to pursue peace with Israel is promising. It offers Washington a chance to clear away the main impediment to improved relations with Syria.
Syria’s estrangement from the United States and radical turn towards socialism, military dictatorship and anti-Westernism began with the 1948 War and the outbreak of the Arab-Israeli conflict. By helping to end that conflict, the United States can open a new chapter in regional politics and help steer Syria back toward the path of parliamentary politics and pro-Western policies. As one of Israel’s most astute Syria observers has recently written, “Bashar apparently understands that the best way to ensure his regime’s long-term survival and extract Syria from its economic travails is to reconcile with the United States. And for Syria, the road to Washington passes through Jerusalem.”[5] Washington’s use of the cudgel with Syria has clearly frightened Bashar al-Asad. He has responded positively by asking for American help with the Golan, sharing intelligence on al-Qaida and by signing important economic agreements with Europe. By playing the bad cop to Europe’s good cop, Washington has achieved some success. There is no reason, however, why the U.S. cannot play the good cop itself and reap the rewards. With a bit of positive reinforcement, Bashar al-Asad may even find the authority to push economic reforms with renewed vigor. To get out of its economic stagnation, Syria will have to privatize industry, cut state subsidies and go through many painful changes – all of which will produce widespread domestic opposition. The US should help Syria negotiate this difficult path, not impede it.
Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this comment is not officially sanctioned by the Syrian Republican Party. This comment was posted by a member of the Party and express his/ her opinion only and is solely responsible for it's content.
Well, what do you expect him to write, he is married to an Alawi woman whose father was a Baathist Army whatever in Assad's rag tag military.
Jesus never existed, no one was able to show proof of his past existance whatsoever.
Well, I agree to a great extent with the analysis of Joshua.
However, one must wonder, including Joshua, as to why this regime that is threatened to be replaced by the Muslim Brotherhood, an outcome that few seem to be willing to digest, pursues a policy of extinguishing all real secular forces, the forces that Mr. Bashar Assad has squeezed and imprisonned their leaders, some of whom are very sick inside their cells with no pitty on them at all>? Why has the regime forced the people of Syria to become that much in the direction of the other mafia that presents as much or more danger to the Syrians as the regime itself?
Syrians, prior to Assad were not very impressed with the Moslem Brotherhood, nor with fanatic Islam at all. Islam in Syria was moderate, and contained a message of love and harmony among Muslims of all sects, and Christians, and even Jews. It was Assad and his corrupt regime that started to bring the extreme right wing Islam to the scene starting in 1970, and that was because of the Saudi support for for to, in the first place, to assume power against the other Baathists. It was Assad that gave the breathing air to the MBs to exist, expand, build thousands of stupid mosques instead of schools where children had to be divided in 3 shifts a day to be able to attend, and then, by the muting all other voices in Syria except the Islamic voices coming from these mosques and the few clergies that Assad bought their praise with money and freedom to organize and became the rallying circles of the right wings, he opened Syria for big troubles, all so his ego can be pumped to become the God he thought he was.
Curse Hafez Assad, his sons and family eternally. May their souls be burnt in hell for ever and ever. This man has destroyed a great country, and a great land and people. Syria was not such before him.
Mohammed (the cursor)
A marine finds he is surrounded by 1000 insurgents in Iraq. Knowing it is better to go down fighting then to be captured by these animals he yells out from the building where he is bunkered down.
"I'm in here, come and get me, there's only one of me".
One of the insurgents goes up to the terrorist leading the assault.
"Let me take 100 men and capture this infidel dog, God willing"
The leader agrees and 100 insurgents go after the marine.
Gun fire erupts for about five minutes and there is silence.
Then the marine yells again.
"is that all you got?"
Enraged the leader sends in another 400 men and gun fire erupts and dies down just like before.
"I'm still here".
The terrorist sends in his last 500 men and there is a hail of gunfire which lasts for 15 minutes. Finally one of the insurgents crawls out from behind the building, bloodied and shaking. He falls at the leaders feet.
The leader asks, "God willing, did you kill the infidel?".
The insurgent responds,
"No, the filthy American lied... There are 2 of them"."
to Mohamad the liar,
Muslim Brotherhood existed and flourished in Syria because Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and Iraq all supported this movement through logistic support, training camps, weapons, finance and media. The movement was created to overthrow hafez and his regime but hafez crushed them and won his first battle against his enemies.
Simply questioned:
at what point Syrians/Arabs/Muslims/....stands up????????????
I watched their march on damascus. I heard their cry against violence in Iraq/London/Egypt..............
My greatest respect to all of you Syrians, to your godlike leader.
Well, now we westerners heard alot about your past. We are realizing the present. And what about the future?
I think, only MAD is thinking logical.
The west-leaders made many mistakes in the past and we can blame them. But the mood is bad in western societies, in america and also europe, what is rarely described in the media, because the law doesnt allow yet what is working already within the brains of policians: Deportation of all the muslims, muslim brotherhood who got asylum with all benefits, academics who got best education and salaries to feed relatives in ME, imams who used freedom for brainwash and so on and on. Just wait and see that they will change the laws, stop asylum and education. The boarders of the first world will be closed for arabs.
By the way, has Allah forbidden a good lifestyle? Why do you look backwards if God created the eyes in the front of the head?
To Mohammad: You are really much more intelligent and logical than most of commentators here. I would like to hear something about syrians future from your sight.
"With all my respect, Aphrodite, I am appalled to see you changing the subject in two threads for what happened in Egypt. Please let each subject take its course, and thank you." Well, the subject is one. Also the future is one. Mankind too is one. I missed your condolences, Mister Mohammed.
Aphrodite (human with pity)
To 3:05 AM Anon
Why is Mohammed a liar?
Brotherhood or not. The only thought in the brain of your Kings is: "how can I stay in power". Thats it. They would sell their kids, they would kill their brothers for power.
But it is not only the King who is acting this way. Any Arab would do the same and does the same daily within his family.
As I told before: This is a collective disease.
Aphrodite (the doctor)
to aphrodite- Why don’t you ask Prof Josh to provide you with a few books on this part of the world. Once you read them, then come back and give us your thoughts.
Mohamad is just a liar with one thing in mind, to invite outsiders to destruct his country so then he can put his ass on an executive seat similar to Mohdm Chalabi in Iraq (he was the one who gave the CIA all the false information on WMD in Iraq). However, his ideas and thoughts are not shared among Syrians and are in fact despised by the majority of people here.
As for the other voices here and there who praise Mohmd, its just him again playing the old/new trick that Aljazeera network does when they have aired programs.
please check: this is an amercican blog under protection of american government. People in developed country should read more.
Ask your government for your own blog and protection, then I will talk to you there. Will you?
Because I (and many other readers here) know who you are and where from you cannot insult me. Go and insult your father and your leader, thats the right address.
Aphrodite (educated american)
"he can put his ass on an executive seat ".....Dear, on this seat is already one sitting with a crwon on his head, enjoying his power and money and slaves. Before a while in UK he apologized himself and asked, how he can democratize his dumb folk. No joke my Dear. And please remember, your former foreign minister called Arafat in public "the son of 99 bitches".
The truth is with Mohammed. Take your glasses Dear, read his intelligent and logical comments again and again, still there is hope that you are able to understand and learn. Welcome.
Aphrodite (female teacher)
I dont think Mohammed or most people here are liars. I feel that he truly believes in what he says. I think its all misled crap, but nevertheless he is sincere about it. Aphrodite, you have shown incridble ignorance and remarkable racisist feelings so your support for Mohammed is actually damaging his case. And please follow the previous advice and go "READ"
As for the possible strikes: If they do come from the American side then it will definitely boost Bashar's image since every Syrian "ignorant and intelligent" knows we are no match for the world's only superpower. But if the attacks are delegated to Israel then it can cause Damascus great credibility damage and a sense of weakness among average Syrians. If the latter option does happen (hope not) it will have to wait until after the Gaza pullout. Sharon is not willing to let anyone disturb his Gaza pullout so if such actions against Syria would materialize, the environment would be something similar to the October 2003 attacks where suicide bombings in Israel can be blamed on Syria to justify the attack. Obviously Israel wont dare to blame their partner in crime Mahmoud Abbas.
"Mohamad is just a liar with one thing in mind, to invite outsiders to destruct his country"
Dear, Mohammad is peaceful and powerless, he doesnt destruct the country because he is not the owner of Syria. That is already your King Assad 2nd and you are the one, who defends him and his country, his relatives, his bank accounts and the poverty of his slaves. Am I right? If you please would respect your borders and dont bother your neighbors and mankind. What about a wall around your kingdom? I would spend some money for that.
May Allah bless your nation and also the United States of America.
Aphrodite (American)
Abdul Halim Khaddam called Arafat "son of 99 bitches"??? COOL.
Hope your not an English or philosophy teacher Aphro-girl, cause that would mean your students are in trouble
to aphrodite- no effence meant when i adviced you to read a few books.
Dear Tarek,
its time -and we should not waste the minutes because the pot is cooking- its time for you to tell us: what do YOU do to make the world a better place? Please dont wait for american soldiers, they will not come. The only thing, you can benefit from, are sanctions as you know.
If the west sends back all Syrians (one called it deportation)we dont care what Madame Buthaina will say but it would nice to read your comment.
Will you change americas superpower? Would it be a better world then? Tell the truth....you want our president and give us yours???? HEHEHEHE
Aphrodite
What is wrong with you woman? I want you soldiers to stay put in your country and everybody else's in theirs. And I definitely do not want a retarded chimp for a president so you can keep your beloved W. I am starting to doubt your even American since your English grammar is terrible. But to answer your question, I am not trying to end world hunger or create world peace in this blog. We are just a bunch of people interested in politics and discussing the matters at hand.
Both Baathist regimes, the former Iraqi and the current Syrian, have proven that "Baath" is synonymous with crime. Its continued existence depends solely on terror whether the Baathists are still in power or not.
Recent events in Iraq, in Syria, and in Lebanon, and the actions of Baathist remnants together with their allied Salafi terrorists - the killings, kidnappings, and assassinations - is proof that terrorism is essential to the ideology of the Baath wherever it lives.
The Syrian regime insists on undermining democracy in both Iraq and Lebanon by drenching the people of those countries in blood baths. It is yet more evidence that human beings make use of neither rational thought nor the experiences of others to adopt the right solutions until they have depleted and discarded the wrong ones.
But the Baath’s stupidity, its ignorance, its absurd ideology, and its insistence on continuing its criminal activities will forever prevent it from finding the right solutions. It will end just as the Iraqi Baath regime ended, just as Saddam met his end - in a spider hole, terrified as a rat, wrapped in disgrace and dishonor.
The Syrian regime's continued support for terrorism in Iraq was accidentally made clear from a statement by Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq Al-Shar' at a Brussels international conference on June 22. "Syria is fully prepared to cooperate with the Iraqi government to ensure the security of the shared borders in practical methods," he said. "But American sanctions are hindering our efforts to properly protect the borders."
So the Syrians were lying when they said they controlled their borders. The Syrian Foreign Minister now acknowledged in a tongue slip that they have failed to control the borders. They blame America for this failure.
By this logic America, and not the Syrian regime, is responsible for the infiltration of terrorists into Iraq.
So the Syrians do want to control their borders and they do want to prevent the infiltration of foreign terrorists from entering Iraq? But they are unable to do so because of the American sanctions?
We all know the American sanctions against Syria are formal and symbolic. They have no real economic or security value. American aircraft are prohibited from landing at Syrian airports, for example, just as Syrian flights cannot use American airports. What impact could this sort of thing possibly have on the Syrian regime when these flights were almost non-existent in the first place?
Syria is a police state that counts people's breaths. Would it be possible for foreign infiltrators to enter Syria and travel to Iraq across its border so easily without the knowledge of the authorities?
The Syrian regime kidnapped Shakir Al-Dujaili, an innocent person, on his way to Iraq from Damascus Airport. There are no signs of his whereabouts to this day. How could they not know about infiltrators?
There are well-documented reports that Syria operates training camps for terrorists on its soil. It facilitates the entry of terrorists into Iraq and offers them financial rewards and payments for carrying out attacks against Iraqis. Many terrorists captured by Iraqi forces have confessed to this.
Syria has also offered sanctuary to the former leadership of the Iraqi Baath and allows them to coordinate terrorist activities from inside Syria.
The assassination of Lebanese politicians also continues. The latest victim was George Hawi, former Secretary General of the Lebanese Communist Party.
All the assassinated politicians - the martyrs Rafiq al-Hariri, Samir Kassir, and George Hawi - opposed the Syrian presence in Lebanon. The fingers of accusation all point to the Syrian regime and its agents and spies.
Syria pulled out its troops from Lebanon in response to UN Security Council Resolution 1559 and under pressure from the US and France. But its network of agents and spies continue to operate inside Lebanon, spreading fear and murder, threatening the Lebanese with civil war, just to tell the Lebanese people: "You are unable to protect yourselves without us."
The remnants of the Baath in Iraq are doing exactly the same thing. They spread fear and violence in Iraq in order to tell Iraqis that they cannot live in peace or enjoy stability and security without the Baath Party as ruler.
This is the true face of the Baath Party and its destructive suicidal policy.
No doubt the Syrian leadership believes that, with its superior intelligence and cleverness, it can undermine the American plan of democratizing the region.
The Syrian regime is a concoction of foolishness, nomadic stubborness, and insistence on wrongdoing. Its leadership thinks it can bring about another Vietnam. But they and the other Arab governments that support it are living inside an illusion. They have learned nothing from their defeats and the bitter lessons of history.
The histories of Arab governments are full of defeats and disasters brought upon the people who have sadly become addicted to the deification of autocrats and enmity toward democracy.
They oppose the newborn democracies in Iraq and Lebanon and they do whatever they can in their power to resist, even if it means slaughtering the people of those two countries and depriving them of security and stability.
The result is clear to all. America is a superpower in a state of war with international terrorism. The war began following the disaster of 9/11 by first crushing the medieval rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan, then the fascist Baath regime in Iraq.
Those who wager on the defeat of America because of the casualties they are suffering are living inside another illusion. America sustains a similar number of casualties during peacetime training its soldiers on its own soil. Statistical reports show that approximately 34 people are killed by criminals every day in America. Losing 2 or 3 American soldiers in Iraq will not force the US to withdraw.
Arabs who oppose democracy should also not wager on the stance of certain European countries, especially France, in its sympathy for Baathists and its desire to see the US fail in Iraq.
Western governments are now starting to realize that no country in the world is immune from the evils of Islamist-Baathist terrorism and that the battle of America is their battle as well. American failure in Iraq would be disastrous for the whole world. It would be a defeat for civilization and modernity, and a triumph for terrorism and savagery.
If the Syrian regime does not abandon its bloody policy in terrorizing the people of Lebanon and Iraq it will end up like the Iraqi Baathist regime. In the dustbin of history. In a filthy hole.
The democratization of the region, the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the ending of terrorism in the Middle East will not be achieved until the Baathist regime in Syria is destroyed.
For anyone who is not Lebanese, trying to understand what is happening in a nation long regarded as an example of how Christians and Muslims could work together to govern and prosper remains a confusing matrix of competing religious factions.
Lebanon , i.e. Beirut , was the Paris of the Middle East . It was modern and cosmopolitan. It was a financial hub. It was a place where a Muslim could go and enjoy its secular pleasures. Osama bin Laden reportedly sowed a few wild oats there in his youth.
That was, of course, prior to its fifteen year civil war from 1975 to 1990. It was triggered by an influx of heavily armed Palestinian refugees, many of whom arrived after being driven out of Jordan followed a failed attempt to overthrow the Hashemite monarchy. Today, Lebanon is the misbegotten child of French colonialism and its present troubles are usually dated to its independence in 1943. Prior to that it was a French protectorate, “carved out of the Ottoman province of Syria in the 19th century,” notes Gwynne Dyer, a London-based journalist.
In modern terms Lebanon has been a sovereign nation only since the last century, but its nationhood goes back thousands of years, having been mentioned at least sixty-six times in the Torah, Judaism’s holy book.
“Nobody alive today is to blame for the fact that every Lebanese is defined politically by his or her religion” “not just as Muslim or Christian, but as a Shia, Sunni, or Druze Muslim or a Maronite, Roman Catholic or Greek Orthodox Christian,” says Dyer. This was a practice of the Ottoman Empire which the French adapted in order to impose a government in which half the seats in its parliament would permanently be reserved for Christians and the Lebanese president would always be a Maronite Christian while its prime minister would always be a Sunni Muslim.
It seemed to work but it is also the reason there hasn’t been a census in Lebanon for more than seventy years. Much of the former Christian population has either been killed or emigrated to North America, Europe, and Australia . As a result, the vast bulk of the population is Muslim. In a recent election held in southern Lebanon , the Shia Muslim parties, Hezbollah and Amal, won all 23 seats. A previous election in the north gave all 19 Beirut seats to an alliance headed by Saad al-Hariri, son of the assassinated former Prime Minister, Rafik al Hariri.
It was that assassination in February of this year that led to the forced withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon after massive demonstrations in the streets of Beirut . The real problem Lebanon faces can be summed up in one word, Syria . A close observer of events, Ziad Abdelnour, founder of the United States Committee for a Free Lebanon, says bluntly, “Nothing is really going to change in Lebanon until the current President Emile Lahoud, a total Syrian puppet, is evicted.”
The Bush administration agrees. In mid-July, National Security Council spokesman, Frederick L. Jones II, charged that Lahoud, a Syrian ally whose term was extended by three years under pressure from Damascus, was “preventing the will of the Lebanese people from being carried out.”
Syria has also been busy undermining Lebanon’s economy, blocking its exports so that millions of dollars of produce rot at the Lebanese-Syrian border. Trucks that would normally carry agricultural and other goods imported through Beirut’s port on the Mediterranean to Syria, Iraq, and Gulf countries have been stopped. The closure, noted Robin Wright of the Washington Post, threatens “50,000 jobs in Lebanon” and had cost Lebanon $1.5 million by mid-July, an estimated $300,000 a day. In a nation of some 3.5 million people, everyone is affected.
Abdelnour, along with countless other Lebanese knows that, so long as Bashar Assad runs Syria’s Baath regime is there, Lebanon’s progress toward true independence will be blocked. A pragmatist, he notes that, “Lebanon has got to sign a peace treaty with Israel.” The likelihood of that is unlikely due to the grip Hezbollah holds on much of the nation. Designated a terrorist organization by the US, it has not ceased from its attacks on Israel. In an effort to defend itself, Israel had occupied southern Lebanon for twenty-two years, ending it in May 2000.
A United Nations Security Council Resolution, 1559, sponsored by the United States and France, and adopted in September 2004, calls for all of the militias in Lebanon to disband and disarm. Hezbollah has made it clear it has no intention of doing that. It’s worth noting that Hezbollah is funded by Iran. As such, it poses a threat to the stability of Lebanon, though a significant portion of its population sees it primarily as a political organization. As we have seen in the past, fifteen years of similar UN resolutions regarding Iraq were finally enforced by the US invasion and the subsequent efforts to reform that beleaguered nation.
To understand Lebanon’s dilemma, one needs to stand back and look at the entire Middle East which is still in the grip of despots like Syria’s Assad, Muslim revolutionaries like the Iranian mullahs, or monarchies like the Saudis. The larger, strategic US goal of changing the Middle East will only be achieved when democracy is imposed and protected by the armed might of the United States.
In Lebanon, the old ways of governance must give way to the reality of a Muslim majority population. If they can demonstrate tolerance for Lebanon’s Christian population; if they can establish the rule of secular law; if they can make peace with Israel, tiny Lebanon has a chance to become a real nation again. As things stand now, the prospects are not good, but the Lebanese people may yet surprise everyone.
It was tlass who insulted arafat (who cares about these clowns anyway).
A lot of people in the world were mistreated by american policies. Most of these nations adopted constructive oppositions and di not send any citizen to blow himself up in the UK. Terrorism is not about american policy. Terrorism is about a conlict between Islam or the West, or to be more exact, radical Islam and the west.
If Ben Laden or its alike is not representative of muslims, his ideology is still derived from Islam. Palestinian terrorism in the 70's was due to the West policies. The current terrorism has nothing to do with the west policies - it's due to a retrogade interpretation of Islam that is becoming increasingly common in the arab world.
A few days ago, Josh published an article quoting a knowledgeable Koweit who basically said 'people says that democracy should not come from the west. But everything in this region came from the west. Modern life came from the west. Oil technology and oil money came from the west, along with science and all the products we consume every day. Democracy will come from the west like everything else'.
an interesting article
Kudos
Yes, Aphrodite got it right in all of her points. Tarek mock what she said about the "son of 99..", but yes, it was Tlas who said so about Arafat (by the way, Arafat was another thug like all Arabs who were Socialists at first wanting to have equality among their people, but when they got power, their most imporatnt role became to get rich at all expense, and to "DESPISE THE POOR". This is what the Socialist Revolutionaries like Assad, Saddam, Khadafi, Arafat, and some others did. They all wanted not only to govern not only all of their life time, but also to make their Republic, a heridtary Republic.
2- Tarek proudly and without the shadow of a shame said this:
" I want your soldiers to stay put in your country and everybody else's in theirs. And I definitely do not want a retarded chimp for a president so you can keep your beloved W";
Are you not also an American, Mr. Tarek? You have been living in the US for 25 years sending lots of money to Syria from the US as you yourself said, aren't you ashamed to say what you said above? No wonder, Arabs will be subjects to deporation.
When they live in the West, enjoy everything in it, and know in their hearts that the West has the Best , absolutely the Best political system that humanity has evolved to, yet, they see no wrong with the the political system that their countries of origin have, and nothing wrong in the oppression that the few families subject the majority of their population to, getting rich, not by innovations such as what Bill Gates did, but by force and without reinvesting the money in the economy of their people, but to put it safely outside of the countries. look , each Saudi Emir is a billionaire, each Kuwaiti emir is a billionaire (By birth alone). Each member of the Saddam family is a billionaire, as well as each member of the Assad family. What did these people do for humanity before to deserve that money, or afterward, after they became billionaire? Their only interest is to accumlulate money in foreign banks as did Markos of the Phillipines, the Shah of Iran, Mobouto of Kongo/Zair, DuValier of Haiti...and the kind of people like Tarek defend these thugs with no shame. This can only be if he is related to them, or he is getting something.
Tarek: If you don't feel American, then leave America. America does not need people who live in it, and hate it.
As to Aphrodite's English, I was, from the begining wondering about your English after 25 years in the US.
I will write long articles about how Assad nourished the Muslim Brotherhood, and Aphrodite said, "He would do anything to be in power". Assad did not fight and crush the Brotherhood. He found himself fighting them at the end of the 70's. For more than 2 years, the brotherhood were assassinating ordinary Alawis (thinking wrongly that assassinating those Alawis, among them, there were doctors, judges, and also garbage men, and ordinary soldiers), they thought that by assassinating them Assad might be moved, and the Allawis would exert pression on Assad to do something. They thought wrong. Assad, though he has many Allawis in the Mukhabarat and the military does not care a bit about any Alawi. He was (truly he was) enjoying those assassinations. He once told one of the doctors, joking: When will your turn come?). The Brotherhood calculated so wrong, and what they did were crimes against humanity, killing people who had nothing to do with the regime, but calculating wrongly that this is something that will force Assad to change his policies, or for the Alawis to get him out. They did not know that the Assad family are the Mafia Thugs against Alawis firstly, and that Alawis are dominated by the Assad who exploit their kids to the maximum, and that Alawis needed some one to liberate them from this thug and his family. Surely, His brother only hires Alawis in his special forces, and Sectarianism has been a way the Assad family concentrated power and dominated Syria with, but to do that, the Assad family had to subjugate the Alawis first, and among Alawis, they found the least educated and the very poor (So many), and made them with criminal mentality to act like the Mafia among Alawis first. Alawis had to bow to Assad, and the punishment for any Alawi who oppose him is twice harsher than a Sunni or a Christian. Anyway, Assad was enjoying the killings by the Brotherhood of the ordinary and most educated Alawis. He did not do a thing during those assassinations, until a bomb exploded around him personally. That was when he got mad, and ordered his brother to massacre the Brotherhood. He did so by committing war crimes. It was way beyond a normal response. then, he rallied more Alawis around him because of the stupidity of the Brotherhood, and their continued stupidity by attacking even now verbally, all Alawis, and forcing them to be on the opposite side of where they are. Sectarianism was created by Assad, misunderstood by the Brotherhood, and perhaps exploited by them to try to come to power among Sunnis (Sunnis were not sectrianists prior to 1963), then exploited again by Assad to rally more Alawis around protecting himself.
But who, from 1970 imprisonned, impoverished, assassinated the cream of the society who were secular people and leaders? It was Assad. At the same time, he encouraged and financed the buildings of thousands of mosques across Syria. He allocated monthly salries to stupid destructive so called Islamic clergies, and gave them power more than they could have ever have dreamed of under the parlimantary system that Syria experienced before and where Islamists had very little popularity. He, Assad, built hundreds of special schools to "memorize the Quran" by kids. A thing which does not make sense. These schools that turn kids into memorizers of a book make of these kids dummies in the bad sense of the word. The Quran , if it is a great book, it is understanding it, not memorizing it. Assad turned a generation of kids into a lost generation. Those who did not attend the dummy Quran schools, attnded the Public schools where kids repeated every single morning the slogans to worship Assad himself. This is how Syria was screwed up. The West was happy that Assad was in good terms with Saudi Arabia at the time this cold war was taking place, and anything to stop communists was good for the West, but now we are all paying the price of this wrong Wahabi Muslim ideology and doctrine.
God bless you all.
Mohammed (the historian)
to anon 8:14,
Donno where to start but here we go:
"Recent events in Iraq, in Syria, and in Lebanon, and the actions of Baathist remnants together with their allied Salafi terrorists - the killings, kidnappings, and assassinations - is proof that terrorism is essential to the ideology of the Baath wherever it lives"
There is no proof what so ever that Syria has supported Iraqi Baathists or Salafists.
Ten days ago a Syrian security delegate visited Iraq seeking any evidence on this so called support but the Iraqis failed to provide them with anything.
"The Syrian regime's continued support for terrorism in Iraq was accidentally made clear from a statement by Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq Al-Shar' at a Brussels international conference on June 22. "Syria is fully prepared to cooperate with the Iraqi government to ensure the security of the shared borders in practical methods," he said. "But American sanctions are hindering our efforts to properly protect the borders"
He was referring to the military sanctions. Syria cant buy the night vision equipment without a permission from the United States.
"There are well-documented reports that Syria operates training camps for terrorists on its soil. It facilitates the entry of terrorists into Iraq and offers them financial rewards and payments for carrying out attacks against Iraqis"
Please provide us with your source of information and the well-documented reports.
Can't reply back to your rhetoric speach (which is good BTW) because I have work to do.
We need to be able to edit the posts. It is hard to see the errors in this small windows where we write the reply.
Opinion poll, conducted for the Asian radio station Sunrise, 98% of London Muslims under 45 said they would not fight for Britain, while 48% said they would take up arms for Bin Laden.
In protest of this Western barbarity, I suggest that all Muslims leave the kafir world immediately and return to Mecca where they can register a mass-protest through the U.N. office in Riyahd.
It is clearly too dangerous for terrorists and their Islamic sympathizers to live among infidel dogs any more, especially those who are arrogant enough to defend themselves against bombing campaigns by honest jihadists.
But all Western governments should give them free one-way passage as a method of saying "We understand your worries and don't wish to inconvenience your exit.".
Bye, now.
Inayat Bunglawala, spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain.
His email address is:
admin@mcb.org.uk
Anon:
Bashar Assad is shooting himself in the foot. His regime can survive exactly by the opposite steps he has been taking. He must open up the Syrian society, and open his prisons. Kanaan just denied the existence of any political prisonner. Three months ago, the Assad regime ambassoador to Washington, Mr. Imad Mustafa said that there would be not even a single political prisonner coming July. They have not released a single prisonner, instead they took few more. So what does Kannan mean? Did they also kill the prisonners and there is really no more prisonners? I call for an International "enquette" on this latest war/civil crime.
Mohammed
to mohamad the liar,
"the brotherhood were assassinating ordinary Alawis (thinking wrongly that assassinating those Alawis, among them, there were doctors, judges, and also garbage men, and ordinary soldiers), they thought that by assassinating them Assad might be moved, and the Allawis would exert pression on Assad to do something. "
What do you mean do something? you mean like step down from power and handle it to the Muslim Brotherhood?
"He was (truly he was) enjoying those assassinations."
I wont ask you how you reached that conclusion because I know your answer "i Know because I was his best friend who" but hafez's regime was threatened not only by Muslim Brotherhood but by all the surrounding countries who were supporting this terrorist movement so there is nothing to enjoy.
"He did not do a thing during those assassinations, until a bomb exploded around him personally"
He did a lot to fight muslim brotherhood but he couldn’t match the huge support this movement received from the surrounding countries. Ofcourse he will get mad when they bomb him personally, he was the president!!
To Mohammed (the blind)
I am NOT american and NOT living in the states and never have. I live as i said before in The Netherlands and i am still young and never send money to Syria. so check your facts first. I really like the American ppl some of my best friends are american and went to an american highschool and university i just have a problem with the governments foreign policy moron. Life is not how your beloved George Bush sees it, its not black and white or your either with us or against us. All countries have their flawes
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Fuck you all.