A Mediterranean Battlefield - Syria

[Ed Jewett]

TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2012

"Xe" STIRRING UP VIOLENCE IN SYRIA

Embedded video:

War Under Table: Ex-Blackwater mercs in Syria 'backed by US'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NtwrkCkQ...r_embedded


The opposition fighters in Syria might be getting help from a different source - in the form of training from the US private security firm, formerly known as the notorious Blackwater group (now called Xe - could it stand for "execute"?).

Security circles reportedly confirmed the information which was released earlier by Wikileaks - that the company is sending mercenaries from Iraq into Syria. RT discusses this with Christoph R. Horstel - who's a government and business consultant. He joins RT from Germany.

In general, there is a power struggle between Qatar and Saudi Arabia for influence in the Arab world following the fall of Mubarak, with Qatar backing the Muslim Brotherhood and the Saudis backing more extreme Salafi parties and forces. In a leaked transcript of Kofi Annan's latest meeting with Assad, they actually shared a joke and laughed at the notion of Qatar as the leader of the Arab world, but it's no joke that the kings of Saudi Arabia and Qatar are each backing and arming factions within the FSA that are not accepting Annan's peace plan and are determined to keep fighting - and that they also have communications and logistical support from the US and NATO.

It was Qatari special forces who led the assault on the Bab al-Azizia military headquarters in Tripoli that effectively won the war in Libya for the NATO rebels, and we must not underestimate the importance of the fact that the Ameer of Qatar owns Al-Jazeera. AJ provided an important counterpoint to the Western media during the Iraq War, going to places literally and politically that they did not dare to go. Since Qatar has launched its bid for power in the Arab world, Al Jazeera is playing a different role, presenting one-sided views of the wars in Libya and Syria and generally serving an interest-based propaganda function similar to that of the Western media - and doing so with greater credibility in the Arab world because it has worked hard in the past to establish itself as a trusted source.


Sandy Davies,
Author of Blood On Our Hands: the American Invasion and Destruction of Iraq

posted by Bruce K. Gagnon | 10:02 AM

[Peter Lemkin]

Published Thursday, August 2, 2012

President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing US support for rebels seeking to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, US sources familiar with the matter said.

Obama's order, approved earlier this year and known as an intelligence "finding," broadly permits the CIA and other US agencies to provide support that could help the rebels oust Assad.

This and other developments signal a shift toward growing, albeit still circumscribed, support for Assad's armed opponents a shift that intensified following last month's failure of the UN Security Council to agree on tougher sanctions against Damascus.

The White House is for now apparently stopping short of giving the rebels lethal weapons, even as some US allies do just that.

But US and European officials have said that there have been noticeable improvements in the coherence and effectiveness of Syrian rebel groups in the past few weeks.

That represents a significant change in assessments of the rebels by Western officials, who previously characterized Assad's opponents as disorganized, almost chaotic, rabble.

US media reported earlier in the year that the CIA was vetting arms supplied by Gulf Arab states and Turkey to ensure weapons did not fall into the hands of al-Qaeda.

But Islamist militants have nevertheless gained ground in Syria, with several media reports in the past fortnight pointing to a growing al-Qaeda presence within the rebellion.

Precisely when Obama signed the secret intelligence authorization, an action not previously reported, could not be determined.

The full extent of clandestine support that agencies like the CIA might be providing is also unclear.

White House spokesman Tommy Vietor declined comment.

A US government source acknowledged that under provisions of the presidential finding, the United States was collaborating with a secret command center operated by Turkey and its allies.

Last week, Reuters reported that, along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Turkey had established a secret base near the Syrian border to help direct vital military and communications support to Assad's opponents.

This "nerve center" is in Adana, a city in southern Turkey about 100 km from the Syrian border, which is also home to Incirlik, a US air base where US military and intelligence agencies maintain a substantial presence.

Turkey's Islamist government has been demanding Assad's departure with growing vehemence. Turkish authorities are said by current and former US government officials to be increasingly involved in providing Syrian rebels with training and possibly equipment.

European government sources said wealthy families in Saudi Arabia and Qatar were providing significant financing to the rebels.

Senior officials of the Saudi and Qatari governments have publicly called for arming Syrian rebels in the fight against Assad, with the two also suspected of financing Islamist militants.

On Tuesday, NBC News reported that the Free Syrian Army had obtained nearly two dozen surface-to-air missiles, weapons that could be used against Assad's helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

Syrian government armed forces have employed such air power more extensively in recent days.

NBC said the shoulder-fired missiles, also known as MANPADs, had been delivered to the rebels via Turkey.

On Wednesday, however, Bassam al-Dada, a political adviser to the Free Syrian Army, denied the NBC report, telling the Arabic-language TV network al-Arabiya that the group had "not obtained any such weapons at all."

US government sources said they could not confirm the MANPAD deliveries, but could not rule them out either.

Current and former US and European officials previously said that weapons supplies, which were being organized and financed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia, were largely limited to guns and a limited number of anti-tank weapons, such as bazookas.

Indications are that US agencies have not been involved in providing weapons to Assad's opponents. In order to do so, Obama would have to approve a supplement known as a "memorandum of notification" to his initial broad intelligence finding.

Such memoranda would have to be signed by Obama to authorize other specific clandestine operations to support Syrian rebels.

Reuters first reported last week that the White House had crafted a directive authorizing greater US covert assistance to Syrian rebels. It was unclear at that time whether Obama had signed it.

Separately from the president's secret order, the Obama administration has stated publicly that it is providing some backing for Assad's opponents.

The state department said on Wednesday that the US government had set aside a total of $25 million for "non-lethal" assistance to the Syrian opposition. A US official said that was mostly for communications equipment, including encrypted radios.

Russia has previously accused the US of arming Syrian rebels, but this could not be confirmed.

The state department also says the United States has set aside $64 million in humanitarian assistance, including contributions to the World Food Program, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other aid agencies.

Also on Wednesday, the US treasury confirmed it had granted authorization to the Syrian Support Group, a Washington representative of one of the most active rebel factions, the Free Syrian Army, to conduct financial transactions on the rebel group's behalf.

The authorization was first reported on Friday by al-Monitor, a Middle East news and commentary website.

Last year, when rebels began organizing themselves to challenge the rule of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Obama also signed an initial "finding" broadly authorizing secret US backing for them. But the president moved cautiously in authorizing specific measures to support them.

Some US lawmakers, such as Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, have criticized Obama for moving too slowly to assist the rebels and have suggested the U.S. government become directly involved in arming Assad's opponents.

Other lawmakers have suggested caution, saying too little is known about the many rebel groups.

While US and allied government experts believe that the Syrian rebels have been making some progress against Assad's forces lately, most believe the conflict is nowhere near resolution, and could go on for years.

(Reuters, Al-Akhbar)

[Magda Hassan]

Mohamad Salim Qabbani, a former collaborator with Mass Media means of lies and fabrications against Syria, narrated last night to Syrian Satellite TV Channel his personal involvement in fabricating news about the ongoing in Syria.

Qabbani disclosed the presence of scores of specialized so-called news rooms to invent, edit and fabricate news items and stories to be aired by scores of media outlets like B.B.C., al-Jazeera, France 24, al-Arabyia and others.

Qabbani pointed out that he made calls to and contacts with scores of media outlets to tell them different invented stories about the city of Homs when he was in Lebanon in Irsal town.

Qabbani added that armed terrorist used to shoot at the demonstrators in different regions as to accuse the Syrian Army and Security of doing so.

"The demonstrators felt bored if they weren't to provoke security forces; so the demonstrators used to hurl Molotov or stones at the security forces which could not but defend themselves,'' said Qabbani.

He spoke about ways and means of taken photos montage and editing in collaboration with scores of professional photographers hired by different media outlets.

Qabbani disclosed some information about the secret life of some figures who worked on the shedding of Syrian blood at the orders of foreign sides and countries, asserting that they were drug-addicted and hired killers.

Qabbani, who said that he was threatened by the armed terrorist groups to collaborate with them, underscored that he had no alternative out of fear for his family and life from the terrorists but to collaborate with them in filming and fabricating lies and out-of-place and oftime hypothetical stories and events.

"All of the satellite channels which contacted me for live reports about events in and from Homs did know that I wasn't talking to them from Homs but from Lebanon,'' disclosed Qabbani.

Qabbani also told the interviewer about the real identity and behavior of scores of some persons involved in fabricating and inventing events and stories like Khalid Abu Salah, who once appeared on TV grasping a killed child accusing the army of killing it, while this child was killed in an explosion of explosive devices under preparation by the armed groups.

Qabbani added that the much talked about al-Khaldiyeh massacre was caused too by an explosion of the then under-preparation explosive devices by the terrorists in a building in the city of Homs.

Media outlets of lies and fabrications used this explosion as a pretext to accuse the Syrian Army of killing civilians and to steer public opinion against countries which support the truth in Syria.

''I surrendered myself to the Syrian authorities because all what we have done is wrong. I didn't want the Syrian blood to be shed. Weapons bring destruction and killing and I don't want to destroy Syria which should never be destroyed,'' added Qabbani.

Qabbani urged every person who can benefit the authorities with a piece of information to surrender himself and everyone who carries weapons to surrender himself and weapons and would be released as it was the case with him.

[Jan Klimkowski]

Mohamad Salim Qabbani, a former collaborator with Mass Media means of lies and fabrications against Syria, narrated last night to Syrian Satellite TV Channel his personal involvement in fabricating news about the ongoing in Syria.

Qabbani disclosed the presence of scores of specialized so-called news rooms to invent, edit and fabricate news items and stories to be aired by scores of media outlets like B.B.C., al-Jazeera, France 24, al-Arabyia and others.

Qabbani pointed out that he made calls to and contacts with scores of media outlets to tell them different invented stories about the city of Homs when he was in Lebanon in Irsal town.

Qabbani added that armed terrorist used to shoot at the demonstrators in different regions as to accuse the Syrian Army and Security of doing so.

Well, well, well.

I'm surprised Qabbani hasn't bought a bullet himself.

This is very definitely a story that America, NATO, Israel and the neocons do not want telling.

[Adele Edisen]

Sat, August 4, 2012 6:07:17 AM
Cunningham: Washington Wired for War - Why Syria Could Spell World Catastrophe
From: Global Research E-Newsletter <crgeditor@yahoo.com>

Washington Wired for War: Why Syria Could Spell World Catastrophe
By Finian Cunningham
Global Research, August 1, 2012

URL of this article: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?c...&aid=32150

When Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip fatally shot the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, archduke Franz Ferdinand, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914, the assassination is seen as the event that ushered in the First World War. Within a month, the Great Powers of Europe would become embroiled in a four-year war owing to a web of alliances and treaties: Russia, France, Britain on the one hand; Germany, Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires on the other. The US would eventually enter the maelstrom in April 1917 on the side of Britain and the Entente allies against the Central Powers.

The eventual death toll was between 10 and 16 million, making it one of the biggest cataclysms in human history. The war was, of course, not the consequence of a mere single act on that fateful day in Sarajevo. It was the culmination over many years of diplomatic and political skirmishing stemming from economic rivalry between the European capitalist powers. Although some later historians dispute the role of economics as the determinant, it is hard not to conclude as many others have done that the First World War was the classic outcome of imperialist rivalry.

In particular, the then top European power Britain had long seen the rising star of Germany as its nemesis for the control of markets and resources. For its part, the newly formed German Empire arising from the unification of Prussia in 1871 felt that its economic development was being unfairly thwarted by London.

This latent conflict over resources was underscored by several concomitant trends at the turn of the 20th century: the economic decline of Britain compared with the technological powerhouse of Germany; the "scramble for African colonies"; the encroachment of German industrialists upon newly discovered Persian oil fields; and the perceived threat to the eastward trade routes with India the jewel in the crown of Britain's Empire.

The First World War can thus be seen as proof of the maxim conceived by military theorist Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) that "war is but the continuation of politics by other means". The political and economic rivalry between Britain and Germany was in that way a powder keg that exploded into war upon a Serbian spark.

Turning to the present world situation and potential for conflict, it is likewise incumbent to see the bigger picture beyond immediate tensions and events. We need to see beyond the trees and branches in order to survey the entire forest; and not only the forest, but the historical road that leads up to the forest.

It is also critical for the appreciation of the scope for war in the present day to accept the premise that the capitalist economic system is at root "wired for war". Or as Karl Marx put it: "War is inherent in capitalism".

This premise of war as an integral part of capitalism holds because, under the iron law of the profit motive, nations will always be driven by an intense demand for natural resources and markets beyond national boundaries. As a result, nation states will always be thrown into competition for the control of resources and dominance in markets. This tendency towards conflict and eventually war may be held off for some time under conditions of quasi "peace" by international trade pacts and regulations, but eventually the do-or-die imperative of securing economic advantage will over-ride all supposedly civilised constraints.

The political and economic slide towards the headlong collision of the First World War is proof of that dynamic. By way of further proof, only 20 years after "the war to end all wars", following even deeper economic turmoil between nations, the world was plunged into the even greater conflagration of the Second World War, which involved for the first time the deployment of nuclear weapons and a death toll exceeding 50 million.

Of utmost concern is that the contradiction between national antagonisms in the realm of international relations as dictated by capitalist economics is still far from resolved.

Granted, under the process of globalisation, nation state capitalism has expanded over recent decades to take on, increasingly, a transnational character and function. This has resulted in networks of global capital in the form of multinational banks and corporations. In that way, nation states can appear to be cooperating seamlessly in the function of global capital. The US can be seen as the executive power in the world capitalist system that also appears to seamlessly benefit Britain, France, Germany, Japan, China among others. Also because of historic institutional ties some nations are closer than others in the functioning of the capitalist order. Washington and London, for example, are closely aligned in the sphere of finance capitalism and consequently share overlapping national interests.

Nevertheless, despite the global character of capital, there is still a powerful demarcation of and competition between national interests among the capitalist powers.

One constant factor in the source of rivalry between nations is the control of oil, the lifeblood of the capitalist system. Indeed, the control of oil has become an even greater determinant today for international hegemony. This was well understood by US planners in the aftermath of the Second World War. With less that five per cent of the world's population, but consuming more than 25 per cent of the world's oil production, US planners have long been aware of the crucial importance of controlling global oil production for the preservation of America's economic power. This vital national interest far outweighs any much-vaunted American ideals of democratic values.

With more than 60 per cent of the world's proven oil and gas reserves located in the Middle East, this region is the ultimate key to continuing US global power. It was for this reason that the former US secretary of state James Baker candidly revealed in an interview on America's PBS Frontline programme in mid-October 2001 that Washington would always be ready and willing, as a matter of national security, to go to war in order to protect its ally Saudi Arabia and the other oil-rich Arab allies. The despotic, dictatorial nature of these regimes is a virtue, not a vice, for guaranteed American oil supply and the continued dominance of the US dollar as the world's reserve currency.

This is why today Washington remains silent on the crackdown by the House of Saud against pro-democracy protests in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. It is also the reason why Washington is allied with the Sunni dictatorships of Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the covert campaign for regime change against perceived recalcitrant governments in Syria and Iran, as it did in Libya with the overthrow and murder of Muammar Gaddafi.

At around the same time that Baker gave his interview outlining the unconditional support by Washington for the oil sheikhdoms, the Pentagon had then concocted a plan for redrawing the political map of the Middle East region and beyond, as the former NATO commander Wesley Clark was to later disclose. Over the ensuing years from late 2001, the Pentagon had designated regime change for seven countries: Iraq, Libya, Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Sudan and Somalia.

Subsequent events and interventions by Washington and its allies in these aforementioned countries albeit under a guise of defending democracy, human rights and international law indicates that the Pentagon's plan is being implemented methodically. The plan evidently holds whether the US president is a Republican or a Democrat, which points up the secret elite nature of government in Washington for which elections are mere window dressing.

These neo-imperialist interventions are not just about securing reliable supplies of the world's primary commodity for the US and its capitalist allies. It is also equally about asserting hegemony over potential rivals for this resource and other markets. As with Britain at the turn of the 20th century, the economic decline of the US in the 21st century is palpable; the rise of China is to America today what Germany was to Britain one hundred years ago. Many analysts believe that is only a matter of a few years before China overtakes the US as the world's largest economy, with far-reaching implications for oil supply and demand.

The unveiling of new US military bases and partnerships in Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam are the demonstration of Washington's increasing militarist agenda towards China. The calculated confrontation with China is what lies behind Washington's recent and much-heralded "pivot to the Pacific".

US-led military adventures in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and across sub-Saharan Africa are aimed at thwarting China's economic expansion, especially because Chinese partnerships have been welcomed in such countries. The NATO-induced regime change last year in Libya alone is reckoned to have cost China billions of dollars in oil and infrastructure investments. The same US game plan is unfolding covertly in Syria and Iran, with the Western powers and their Arab, Turk and Israeli allies waging a criminal war of state-sponsored terrorism and destabilisation. That is the bigger picture of immediate hostilities. How long China and its allies in Damascus, Tehran and Moscow will tolerate this provocation before engaging in all-out war is not clear. But one thing is clear: the repercussions of such an outcome will be cataclysmic.

Furthermore, when the trigger is pulled in the form of a downed fighter jet or a false flag terror attack on a tourist bus or some other incident, it can be said like the assassination of archduke Ferdinand that it was a long time in the making.

However, war is not inevitable. It is an ineluctable outcome of capitalist power rivalry, which history has shown us time and again. But it is not inevitable. The way to stop another world war is for the mass of people to put an end to the capitalist system. That means bringing governments, banks, industries and militaries under public, democratic control on the basis of internationalist solidarity.

We got nothing to lose except our chains.

Finian Cunningham is Globalresearch's Middle East and East Africa Correspondent

cunninghamfinian@gmail.com

GLOBAL RESEARCH | PO Box 55019 | 11 Notre-Dame Ouest | Montreal | QC | H2Y 4A7 | Canada


Adele

[Magda Hassan]

Furthermore, when the trigger is pulled in the form of a downed fighter jet or a false flag terror attack on a tourist bus or some other incident, it can be said like the assassination of archduke Ferdinand that it was a long time in the making.

Yes. I just heard that a bus of Iranian tourists have been kidnapped. And Iran and Syria have a defence pact as well.

I also agree it is not inevitable. But Capitalism thrives on war and chaos. Get rid of it.

[Magda Hassan]

From Syrian media English. Unsubstantiated at this stage.

According to some reliable sources, Syrian jets have penetrated Turkish airspace and bombarded assembly points for terrorist groups. Earlier, a Syrian jet whose model will be withheld until further notice, was seen flying near the Turkish border while their war games were on going.

No response was made by Turkish air defense and the tracking radars were not even switched on.

The mission was successful.

[Peter Lemkin]

From Syrian media English. Unsubstantiated at this stage.

According to some reliable sources, Syrian jets have penetrated Turkish airspace and bombarded assembly points for terrorist groups. Earlier, a Syrian jet whose model will be withheld until further notice, was seen flying near the Turkish border while their war games were on going.

No response was made by Turkish air defense and the tracking radars were not even switched on.

The mission was successful.

Hadn't heard this one yet on any media. Not of great importance, but many of the Syrian jets are Czech made [only know that as the local press here noted that]....others are Soviet or Russian. Those sold to the Syrians by the Czechs were after the fall of Communism in CZE. Business is business - more so in weapons and war! Something is wrong if the event happened and the Turkish radar and defenses were down.....as a virtual state of war exists between the nations - or could turn to that at any moment. I note, however, the Syrian media here is playing the same cynical game as the other side in citing 'reliable, but unnamed, sources'. Calling Sybil Edwards!

[Magda Hassan]

Syrian Army Units kill hundreds of terrorists, arrest a Turkish General


August 5, 2012 12:52 PM
Breaking News Network - Newspapers




[FONT=Arial !important]Syrian forces eradicate al-Tawheed - Group Snipers' leaders in Homs
Gunmen kidnap 48 Iranian pilgrims in Damascus
Turkish Army sacks 55 generals on coup d'état
Terrorists perpetrate a massacre against 20 in Damascus
Syrian ministry of foreign affairs send a letter to Ban Ki-Moon



Syrian Army Units kill hundreds of terrorists, arrest a Turkish General
Syrian security source revealed earlier that the Syrian Army's battle has not started yet.
The Syrian Army, according to the source is just warming up for now.
The Army forces now are striking terrorists and their dens, besiege the city from the four points; preventing any to escape out.
Al-Watan Newspaper indicated that Syrian forces' strikes have resulted in hundreds deaths and wounding among the terrorists ranks.
The terrorists are estimated around 6 to 8 thousand fighters.
The newspaper said that field hospitals have been establish to treat the injuries of terrorists, as others have been transporting to Turkey, where the dead are being buried in the village of southern Aleppo.
Large numbers of the gunmen have been arrested during the assaults carried out by the insurgents on official centers, checkpoints and HQs for Syrian security and Army.
Moreover, al-Miadeen TV Channel quoted exclusive sources in Aleppo that the Syrian security forces have detained many foreigners including a Turkish General.
[/FONT]http://breakingnews.sy/en/article/4116.html[FONT=Arial !important]
[/FONT]

[Ed Jewett]

MONDAY, 6 AUGUST 2012

A perspective on things...

http://robinwestenra.blogspot.com/2012/0...hings.html