Divide and Conquer – the future of Syria?

More insights from Sharmine Narwani that highlight the complexity of Syria’s position.

When George Galloway spoke recently at the Sydney Town Hall he reminded us that the ‘divide and conquer’ strategy that seems to be at the heart of US’ Middle East policy is nothing new. “How do you think England last century manged to control 600,000,000 Indians with only 60,000 British troops?” he asked us!

So long as the Arab states remain divided and absorbed in sectarian squabbles the reigning superpower has nothing to worry about. Israel will retain its hegemony in the region, the Palestinian Occupation will continue on indefinitely, and Syria will continue to blaze until  nothing is left!

Father Dave

Those who pay the price of war - syrian refugees

Those who pay the price of war – syrian refugees

english.al-akhbar.com…

Arabs, Beware the “Small States” Option

At the heart of all politics lies cold, hard opportunism. New circumstances, changed alliances and unexpected events will always conspire to alter one’s calculations to benefit a core agenda.

In the Middle East today, those calculations are being adjusted with a frequency unseen for decades.

In Egypt and Syria, for instance, popular sentiment is genuinely divided on where alliances and interests lie. Half of Egyptians seem convinced that deposed President Mohammed Mursi is the resident US-Israeli stooge, while the other half believe it is Egypt’s military that is carrying out those foreign agendas.

In Syria the same can be said for Syrians conflicted on whether President Bashar al-Assad or the external-based Syrian National Council (SNC) most benefits Israeli and American hegemonic interests in the region.

But Egyptians and Syrians, who point alternating fingers at Islamists or the state as being tools of imperialism, have this wrong: Empire is opportunistic. It has ways to benefit from both.

There is another vastly more destructive scenario being missed while Arabs busy themselves with conspiracies and speculative minutiae: A third option far more damaging to all.

Balkanization of Key Mideast States

At a June 19 event at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger touched upon an alarming new refrain in western discourse on Mideast outcomes; a third strategy, if all else fails, of redrawn borders along sectarian, ethnic, tribal or national lines that will shrink the political/military reach of key Arab states and enable the west to reassert its rapidly-diminishing control over the region. Says Kissinger about two such nations:

“There are three possible outcomes (in Syria). An Assad victory. A Sunni victory. Or an outcome in which the various nationalities agree to co-exist together but in more or less autonomous regions, so that they can’t oppress each other. That’s the outcome I would prefer to see. But that’s not the popular view…First of all, Syria is not a historic state. It was created in its present shape in 1920, and it was given that shape in order to facilitate the control of the country by France, which happened to be after UN mandate…The neighboring country Iraq was also given an odd shape, that was to facilitate control by England. And the shape of both of the countries was designed to make it hard for either of them to dominate the region.”

While Kissinger frankly acknowledges his preferred option of “autonomous regions,” most western government statements actually pretend their interest lies in preventing territorial splits. Don’t be fooled. This is narrative-building and scene-setting all the same. Repeat something enough – i.e., the idea that these countries could be carved up – and audiences will not remember whether you like it or not. They will retain the message that these states can be divided.

It is the same with sectarian discourse. Western governments are always warning against the escalation of a Sunni-Shia divide. Yet they are knee-deep in deliberately fueling Shia-Sunni conflicts throughout the region, particularly in states where Iran enjoys significant influence (Lebanon, Syria, Iraq) or may begin to gain some (Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen).

“Seeding” Sectarianism to Break Up States

If ever a conspiracy had legs, this one is it. Stirring Iranian-Arab and Sunni-Shiite strife to its advantage has been a major US policy objective since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.

Wikileaks helped shed light on some of Washington’s machinations just as Arab uprisings started to hit our TV screens.

A 2006 State Department cable that bemoans Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s strengthened position in Syria outlines actionable plans to sow discord within the state, with the goal of disrupting Syrian ties with Iran. The theme? “Exploiting” all “vulnerabilities”:

“PLAY ON SUNNI FEARS OF IRANIAN INFLUENCE: There are fears in Syria that the Iranians are active in both Shia proselytizing and conversion of, mostly poor, Sunnis. Though often exaggerated, such fears reflect an element of the Sunni community in Syria that is increasingly upset by and focused on the spread of Iranian influence in their country through activities ranging from mosque construction to business. Both the local Egyptian and Saudi missions here, (as well as prominent Syrian Sunni religious leaders), are giving increasing attention to the matter and we should coordinate more closely with their governments on ways to better publicize and focus regional attention on the issue.”

Makes one question whether similar accusations about the “spread of Shiism” in Egypt held any truth whatsoever, other than to sow anti-Shia and anti-Iran sentiment in a country until this month led by the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood.

2009 cable from the US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia continues this theme. Mohammad? Naji al-Shaif, a tribal leader with close personal ties to then-Yemeni President Ali Abdallah ?Saleh and his inner circle says that key figures “are privately very skeptical of Saleh’s? claims regarding Iranian assistance for the Houthi rebels”:

Shaif told? EconOff on December 14 that (Saudi Government’s Special Office for? Yemen Affairs) committee members privately shared his view that Saleh was providing false or exaggerated? information on Iranian assistance to the Houthis in order to? enlist direct Saudi involvement and regionalize the conflict. Shaif said that one committee member told him that “we know? Saleh is lying about Iran, but there’s nothing we can do ?about it now.”

That didn’t stop Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lying through her teeth to a Senate Committee a few short years later: “We know that they – the Iranians are very much involved in the opposition movements in Yemen.”

US embassy cables from Manama, Bahrain in 2008 continue in the same vein:

“Bahraini government officials sometimes privately tell U.S. official visitors that some Shi’a oppositionists are backed by Iran. Each time this claim is raised, we ask the GOB to share its evidence. To date, we have seen no convincing evidence of Iranian weapons or government money here since at least the mid-1990s… In post’s assessment, if the GOB had convincing evidence of more recent Iranian subversion, it would quickly share it with us.”

Yet as Bahraini rulers continue to violently repress peaceful protest in the Shia-majority state two years into that country’s popular uprising, their convenient public bogeyman mirrors that of Washington: Iranian interference.

read the rest of this article here.

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Australia gives humanitarian assistance to Syria instead of weapons!

This is indeed encouraging news. While the US and NATO focus on adding more weapons to the Syrian conflict, Australia is committing itself to supporting the victims! It’s not often that I have a reason to feel proud to be Australian, but credit should be given where it is due. Well done, Bob Carr!

Having said that, the question that isn’t answered in the report below is where this aid will go and how it will be used? ‘World Vision’, ‘Oxfam’ and ‘Save the Children’ are mentioned but, as far as I can work out, none of these organisations is actually operative within Syria itself!

I spoke with a representative of ‘Médecins Sans Frontières’ earlier this year and was told that NGO’s are having a hard time getting into Syria. The Bashar Al-Assad government has been very suspicious about the activities of NGO’s as they claim that anti-government elements readily embed themselves in such organisations (as allegedly happened in Libya). Even so, the cost of such caution is paid by suffering civilians!

Father Dave

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bob Carr

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bob Carr

AUSTRALIA BOOSTS AID TO WAR-TORN SYRIA

au.news.yahoo.com…

Australia has pledged an extra $21.5 million in humanitarian assistance to victims of the Syrian civil war.

The money will be spent on emergency food supplies, medical supplies, shelter for refugees and ensuring people have safe drinking water.

Since the war began in 2011 there have been an estimated 93,000 deaths while around 1.8 million refugees, mostly women and children, have fled the country.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr said on Thursday that the violence and human suffering in Syria was continuing unabated.

“A refugee exodus of this size has not been seen since the Rwandan genocide almost 20 years ago,” Senator Carr said.

Australia’s total humanitarian assistance to Syria, since June 2011, is $100 million.

The latest pledge has been welcomed by aid organisations World Vision, Oxfam and Save the Children.

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Mairead Maguire urges the Vatican to support Non-Violence in Syria

Mairead is at the Vatican, – an Apostle for peace,  taking her message to the heart of the church!

Quite frankly it is said that the message of peace for Syria has to be taken to the Vatican when it should be emanating from the Vatican! Even so, let us hope that Mairead’s mission will help strengthen the church in its resolve to support the people of Syria.

Father Dave

Mairead Maguire weaing my hat! :-)

Mairead Maguire weaing my hat! 🙂

www.fides.org…

ASIA/SYRIA – The Nobel Maguire at the Vatican: “Non-violence and dialogue are the only path to peace”

Non-violence, dialogue, reconciliation and peace are “the key words to solve the Syrian crisis.” They are “the only possible way to avoid a regional degeneration of the conflict, with unpredictable outcomes”. These are “the values that the Catholic Church strongly promotes, according to the Gospel message of Jesus Christ”: This is what Mairead Maguire, Nobel Prize for Peace in 1976 for her commitment to solving the conflict in Northern Ireland said in an interview with Fides Agency. Maguire was in the Vatican in past days, where she held talks with the Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, and the President of the Pontifical Council “Justice and Peace”, Cardinal Peter Turkson. “I expressed the desire to meet Pope Francis and return home full of hope that a strong message of peace will come from the Holy See in support of peace in Syria”, she explained to Fides.

“During the conversations, we agreed that the Catholic Church must promote a strong message of peace for Syria. A very clear message of non-violence and reconciliation are urgently needed as roads to peace. They are the paths that Jesus chose”, explains Maguire, who is Catholic, and responsible of the NGO “Peace People” in Belfast. “The world needs a message of peace, a word about love towards the enemy and forgiveness. If this message is not spread by the Church, who can offer it?” She notes.

Speaking to Fides about the Syrian scenario, the Nobel notes that “the situation today is very complicated due to new outbreaks, violence and weapons. The figures related to the victims are frightening and, as the UN said, compared only to the Rwandan genocide. Now, after two years of conflict, it is necessary to stop and to support those who seek to bring people together, to propose dialogue again, starting with a cease-fire and put an end to indiscriminate violence. A political solution should be strongly reconsidered”.

Maguire made a trip to Syria last May, at the head of a delegation of peace: “We were in Syria and in Lebanon, visiting the refugee camps.

We participated in interfaith prayer meetings. We met ordinary people, members of the government and the opposition. Most of the groups, civil and religious, call for dialogue and pushes for peace. The population is tired of death, violence and destruction”. “We cannot but reiterate – she continues – that peace, reconciliation are the supreme good and many people in Syria have chosen this path. There are many initiatives from below, perhaps little known, like that of the ‘Mussalaha’ movement, supported by Patriarch Gregory III Laham”.

In concrete, Maguire suggests, “we need to provide technical and material support to promote a de-escalation of the conflict. You have to talk to everyone and restart national dialogue between the government and opposition, tracing a transition, while respecting the principle of self-determination, asking the Syrian people what they want”.

Maguire proposes to apply the model that brought peace to North Ireland, in a society where hate and division were rooted: “We started to promote friendship, forgiveness and reconciliation from the bottom, and then bring them to a political and institutional level. This can also happen for Syria, but the weapons must be silent. The international community should support those who promote this approach for an inclusive dialogue”, she concludes.

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FSA to declare war on Jabhat Al-Nusra?!

Surely this is the beginning of the end for the Syrian ‘rebel alliance’. The Al-Nusra Front has brazenly murdered an FSA commander and the FSA has responded by threatening open war against Al-Nusra. Is it even sensible to refer to this as an ‘alliance’ any more?

Meanwhile the U.S. and Britain are still promising more arms to the rebels. This, of course, is all in the name of ‘democracy’. The irony is that NATO’s own figures show that only 10% of the Syrian population still support the rebels!

Indeed it is a dark and despicable game that is being played by the ‘great’ powers while the poor people of Syria continue to pay the price.

Father Dave

Syria in Crisis

photo by Denning Isles (iammordechai.com…)

freebeacon.com…

Al Qaeda Rebels Kill Free Syrian Army Commander

Assassination triggers third front in Syrian civil war

Bill Gertz

A key commander of the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army was killed recently by Syria’s al Qaeda rebels, a sign the opposition to the Bashar al-Assad regime is fracturing and Islamist rebels are on the rise.

Kamal Hamami, the FSA commander, was killed as he went to a meeting of al Qaeda-backed rebels to discuss joint operations against the Syrian army, a U.S. official said, confirming Middle East press reports.

Hamami had opposed the al Qaeda-linked rebels and said there was no place for them within the opposition forces.

He was killed in Latakia province, in the northern part of the country near the Turkish border, a known stronghold of Islamist rebels.

The assassination triggered a call by the FSA for a declaration of war against al Qaeda rebel groups, including the two major groups, the al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant.

“The Nusra Front and the AQI-sponsored Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) seem to have different ideas about working with the mainstream opposition and this could lead to growing problems within the extremist landscape,” said the U.S. official.

“More attacks by Islamic extremists against mainstream opposition figures could lead to retaliation by others in the extremist universe who have been focusing the fight on Assad’s regime,” the official added.

Meanwhile, FSA Chief of Staff Gen. Salim Idris said this week that British Prime Minister David Cameron had betrayed the rebels by deciding not to provide arms. The decision will boost al Qaeda rebels’ control.

“This decision paves the way for al Qaeda to control opposition fighters,” Idris told the Daily Telegraph. “The West promises and promises. This is a joke now. … What are our friends in the West waiting for? For Iran and Hezbollah to kill all the Syrian people?”

However, William Hague, Britain’s foreign secretary, announced on Wednesday that the government would equip “moderate armed opposition” forces in Syria with anti-chemical weapons gear.

Syria’s Islamist rebels are committed to creating a post-Assad state that adheres to extremist Sharia law tenets. The killing of the Hamami is the first indicator that the Islamist rebels will not cooperate with FSA rebels in seeking the ouster of the Assad regime.

The split further complicates Syria’s civil war that has claimed more than 93,000 lives.

Until recently, the rebels had been advancing on the capital city, Damascus. However, military and other support from Russia and Iran has forced the rebels further from the city.

Residents in the northern Syrian province of Al-Raqqah held a protest Wednesday against the al-Nusra Front that has controlled the area since the spring. The protesters said the group was no different than the Assad regime.

Nearby, al-Nusra jihadists fought against Kurdish Popular Protection Units in Ra’s al-Ayn, on the Turkish border.

The Washington Free Beacon first reported July 2 that thousands of foreign terrorists joined Islamist rebel groups in Syria over the past several months.

Most of the groups are fighting for the al-Nusra Front, and in some cases, entire brigades are being formed of jihadists from foreign countries.

While numbers are difficult to estimate, U.S. officials say Islamist opposition rebels number between 6,000 and 10,000 fighters.

The Free Syrian Army, which includes former Syrian military forces, is said to number as many as 80,000 rebels.

However, some of the FSA rebels have switched and sided with the Islamists in recent months.

The Obama administration announced recently that it would begin providing arms and other lethal support to secular rebels. Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and several Persian Gulf states also are arming both camps of rebels.

The Assad regime is backed by Russia, Iran, and the Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist organization.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials also identified a new foreign fighter group in Syria called Jaysh al-Muhajirin wal-Ansar, Arabic for the Army of Foreign Fighters and Local Supporters. The group is made up of foreign jihadists and is coordinating its operations with the al Qaeda Islamic State of Iraq and Levant.

The terrorist group has been active near Aleppo in northern Syria and appears to be using several different names. It is made up of terrorists from several nations, including some in Europe, Chechnya, Turkey, and Syria.

Another foreign group also has been identified as Katibat al-Muhajirin fi Bilad al-Sham, or Al-Muhajirin Brigade in the Levant, which is made up of Libyans and has carried out attacks in northwestern Syria and the Latakia region.

Hamami’s death provoked FSA rebels to vow the opening of a third front in the civil war

“We will not let them get away with it because they want to target us,” a senior FSA commander was quoted by Reuters. “We are going to wipe the floor with them.”

The assassination followed a dispute between Hamami’s forces and the al Qaeda-linked rebel group over control of a strategic checkpoint in Latakia, Reuters reported.

While Hamami’s forces previously fought together with the Islamists, the FSA has sought to separate itself from Islamist rebels to put off western concerns that any arms supplied to the FSA would reach al Qaeda.

According to Reuters, FSA political coordinator Louay Mekdad said Abu Ayman al-Baghdadi, the Islamic State’s Emir of the coastal region, personally shot Hamami and his brother at the roadblock.

Additionally, Mekdad said one of Hamami’s fighters was allowed to return to the FSA in order to relay the terrorists’ message that the FSA is now viewed as “heretics,” and that the FSA Supreme Command will now become a target of al Qaeda.

The Hamami assassination appeared similar to al Qaeda’s assassination on Sept. 9, 2001, of Afghan rebel leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, a revered figure who was killed by terrorists posing as news reporters two days before the al Qaeda attacks on the United States.

Massoud led the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan whose forces were opposing the Islamist Taliban that was backing al Qaeda. The Taliban were ousted in October 2001, but Taliban insurgents are continuing to wage jihad against U.S. forces and Afghan government troops.

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Mairead Maguire talks about Syria

I have wonderful memories of travelling through Damascus with Mairead. One of most enduring was seeing Mairead finish a conversation with a Syrian girl and turn to me and say “aren’t people wonderful, Dave?”

It is a simple love of people that drives Mairead. Her mind is sharp and she recognises that the problems are complex, but it’s her simple and pure love of humanity that makes her such an inspiration.

Father Dave

[imaioVideo v=1]

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What the media is NOT telling you about Syria!

This is a polished and informative presentation from Ben Swann of the ‘truth in media’ project.

I don’t know who Ben Swann is. Perhaps he has a dark side? Even so, his stated goal of bringing truth back into the media is something this world is certainly hungry for!

Father Dave

[imaioVideo v=1]

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The monastery of Mother Agnes of Homs is under attack!

For those who write off Mother Agnes Mariam (pictured below in Beirut between myself and Mairead Maguire) as a pro-regime stooge, it’s worth noting that her monastery has been attacked by government forces. A total of 21 missiles have been fired into it!

2013 - with Mother Agnes and Maired Maguire in Beirut

The damage has been extensive, as can be seen from the pics below. Thankfully no one has yet been killed but one of the sisters has been injured. It would appear that the attacks are designed to terrorize the sisters and refugees who take sanctuary in the monastery. One could believe that it was all a mistake if it had happened just once, but the helicopter gunship has made three separate attacks now!

monastery-homs-2 monastery-homs-1

The article pasted below from Vatican News makes clear that the monastery is also in the sights of the rebels!

We pray for the health and safety of all those who shelter in the monastery of ‘St James the Mutilated’ who are already experiencing some of the suffering of their namesake!

Father Dave

www.news.va/en/news/asiasyria-a-catholic-belgian-priest-and-a-monaster…

A Catholic Belgian priest and a monastery are in the sights of the jihadists

Qara – The Belgian Catholic priest Fr. Daniel Maes, 74, of the religious Order of “Canons Regular Premonstratensian”, is in the sights of jihadist groups who intend to eliminate him and invade the monastery of San James mutilated in Qara, 90 km north of Damascus. The monastery, belonging to the Greek-Catholic diocese of Homs, is situated on a border area between warring groups and could be occupied to become a military logistic base of the rebels. After the death of Fr. Francois Murad, the Christian community in Syria is very concerned. Each line of communication with the monastery is interrupted. The alarm was sent to Fides Agency by some Catholic Syrian leaders and by the families of monks living in St. James, who belong to 9 nationalities, even in Europe.

Fr. Maes taught moral theology in Belgium for 20 years and since 2010 resides at the monastery, where he is director of the Seminary. The convent of St. James in Qara is an ancient structure dating back to the fifth century A.D. There is a female monastic community, led by the Palestinian nun, Sister Agnes Mariam de la Croix, enriched over the years by a religious community of men and families of lay Christians, Sunnis and Alawites. In past months, the monastery was at the center of gunfire and was hit and damaged by the bombing of the regular Syrian army helicopters that probably wanted to hit arms depots placed in trenches or ditches near the monastery, used for supplies of water in the Byzantine period.Lately, the monastery houses and assists refugee families, regardless of their religious affiliation. Fr. Daniel maintains close contacts with Syrian groups in France, Belgium and the Netherlands which, through voluntary associations, send humanitarian aid to the displaced.

The priest denounced the “ethnic cleansing” carried out on Christians in Qusair, when the town was taken by the rebels and by jihadist groups. “The surrounding Christian villages were destroyed and all the faithful who were caught were killed, according to a logic of sectarian hatred,” he wrote in recent weeks to Fides Agency. “For decades, Christians and Muslims lived in peace in Syria. If criminal gangs can roam and terrorize civilians, is this not against international laws? Who will protect the innocent and ensure the future of this country? ” Says the priest. Thus Fr. Maes describes the current social situation in Syria: “Young people are disappointed, because foreign powers dictate their agenda. Moderate Muslims are worried, because Salafists and fundamentalists want to impose a totalitarian dictatorship of religious nature. The citizens are terrified because they are innocent victims of armed gangs”. Fr. Maes concludes: “The Syrian regime had long since lost all credibility. Today, the urgency is to allow Syria to survive. The Syrian people themselves must reform the country, according to a process of true democracy: a people who, independently, ensures equal treatment for all”.

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Australia cuts off support for Syrian rebels!

Not only does Australia have a new Prime Minister, but now it’s taken a new stance on the Syrian conflict by  listing Jabhat al-Nusra as a terrorist organisation. This is a bold move by the Australian government, and one that puts it squarely at odds with the policy of the US President, who has promised to increase lethal aid to the FSA!

Of course, Mr Obama has not officially offered support to Jabhat al-Nusra, and the Australian government has not explicitly said that it will not support other Syrian rebels but we only need to join the dots to see that the two countries are currently moving in opposite directions with regards to Syria!

Not only does the Australian listing of Jabhat al-Nusra as a terrorist organisation dictate future policy with regards to any formal role the country may have in the Syrian conflict, but it will also make Australians think twice before heeding the call of local Sheikhs who are encouraging their flock to go to Syria and join the FSA!

The move is a politically astute one for the Australian government as it doesn’t appear to involve them in taking sides in the Syrian conflict, thus avoiding any backlash from pro-FSA groups in Australia. Even so, the move effectively bars Australia and Australians from further involvement with the rebel forces, where regular conscripts are said to be joining Jabhat al-Nusra by their thousands on a daily basis!

Father Dave

The flag of Jabhat al-Nusra

The flag of Jabhat al-Nusra

www.heraldsun.com…

Syria group listed under local terror laws

AN extremist group fighting against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has been listed as a terrorist organisation by the Australian government.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus used the country’s anti-terrorism laws to make the declaration against Jabhat al-Nusra, saying the group was supplied with weapons, recruits and equipment by al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as the al-Nusra Front, has a history of suicide attacks and bombings in Syria, and was not part of the recognised Syrian opposition movement, he said on Friday.

Its listing as a terror group makes it illegal to be a member of or recruit members to the group, or receive training from the organisation. The offences apply to anybody in Australia and Australian citizens living abroad.

“This organisation was listed following careful consideration of advice from security agencies for the purposes of the Criminal Code,” Mr Dreyfus said in a statement.

“The Australian government deplores the violence and suffering that is occurring in Syria.”

The listing also makes it an offence to give funds or to get funds from Jabhat al-Nusra, with those found guilty facing up to 25 years in jail.

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Could Barrack Obama be impeached over Syria?

This article from New American hits the nail on the head. Obama’s commitment to arm the Syrian rebels is not only immoral and suicidal. It is illegal!

It is encouraging both to see vigorous opposition within the US Congress to this latest round of warmongering and to see Obama’s opponents using ‘lawfare’ to try to stop him.

The thought that Obama could be impeached over this incident is enticing but highly unlikely. Such a move would only open the gate for proceedings to take place against his predecessor, who likewise went to war without the permission of Congress. Indeed, it could lead to a domino effect, with all law-breaking Presidents being dragged before the courts. The powers-that-be would never allow that!

It would be great, of course, if US Presidents could be forced to act within the law, let alone to act in accordance with the will of the voting public! Generally, the only time the general populace takes exception to the behavior of their political leaders is when they are caught in a sex scandal. They normally face little criticism for decisions that costs the lives of hundreds of thousands of human beings.

Father Dave

Barrack Obama

Impeached over Syria?

source: www.thenewamerican.com…

Lawmakers Seek to Stop Obama Arming Terrorists in Syria

Lawmakers have now introduced bills in both houses of Congress aimed at restraining President Obama and his lawless intervention in Syria on behalf of jihadist rebels, many of whom are openly fighting under the banner of al-Qaeda while massacring Christians and other minorities. If the legislation becomes law, it would make any military action — including the ongoing provision of weapons and training to opposition forces by the administration — contingent on congressional approval.

Of course, the U.S. Constitution already grants war powers to Congress, stating that wars must be declared by lawmakers — not the president. Obama, however, like previous administrations, has a long track record of ignoring his oath of office in virtually every field. In Libya, for example, he even launched an unconstitutional war to overthrow dictator Moammar Gadhafi without so much as a semblance of permission from Congress.

While the U.S. government has been funding opposition forces in Syria since long before open warfare began, the president has stepped up that assistance, offering everything from training and money to military weapons. Obama’s “regime change” operation,backed by the highest echelons of the global establishment, recently culminated with a deeply unpopular announcement this month that the administration would be openly supplying arms and other military aid to rebel forces. Having U.S. troops set up a “no-fly zone” is also being considered.

For some members of Congress, enough is enough. Murmurs about impeaching Obama over his unlawful war scheming have even been popping up since last year on both sides of the aisle. Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) even introduced a resolution stating that the president’s use of military force without congressional permission constitutes an impeachable offense. After the decision to openly arm rebel forces was announced earlier this month, though, lawmakers in both parties and in both houses of Congress are taking action.

In the Senate, a bipartisan coalition of four senators introduced a bill last week to make any administration involvement in the Syrian conflict contingent on congressional approval. Sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the legislation would prohibit any military support for warring factions in Syria unless Congress specifically approves.

“The president’s unilateral decision to arm Syrian rebels is incredibly disturbing, considering what little we know about whom we are arming,” said Sen. Paul. The liberty-minded Republican with potential presidential aspirations, who recently blasted some of his Senate colleagues for voting to support weapons transfers to al-Qaeda allies, has been a leading critic of lawless foreign interventionism since his election.

“Engaging in yet another conflict in the Middle East with no vote or congressional oversight compounds the severity of this situation,” Paul continued. “The American people deserve real deliberation by their elected officials before we send arms to a region rife with extremists who seek to threaten the U.S. and her allies.” Sen. Lee, another leading proponent of liberty in Congress, expressed similar concerns.

More recently, Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) and Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) announced Tuesday the introduction of the “Congressional Accountability and Oversight in Syria Act,” a similar piece of legislation containing much of the same language. The goal, according to the two congressmen, is also to prohibit the administration from taking military action in Syria without explicit permission from Congress.

“What is the goal of providing weapons to the rebels?” asked Rep. Rooney in a statement about the legislation. “We know that the rebels have been infiltrated by al Qaeda and some of the same people we’ve been fighting for the last 10 years. Senior administration officials have told me they can’t give any assurance that our weapons won’t wind up in the hands of al Qaeda. So what’s our endgame?”

Indeed, as The New American has documented for well over a year, rebel ranks are infested with al-Qaeda-linked terrorists and violent jihadists from across the Middle East. The most effective fighting force in Syria, the al Nusra front, officially merged with the terror group earlier this year. Separately, opposition forces have come under fire for using chemical weapons, eating body organs out of Syrian troops, massacring civilians, firing on protesters, ethnic cleansing of minorities, and more.

“If the President wants to take us into Syria, he needs to come to Congress and convince us,” continued Rep. Rooney, who serves on the House Intelligence and Appropriations committees. “The President needs to make a convincing case that this is in our national security interest, and he needs to lay out a clear and comprehensive mission, including an exit strategy. He hasn’t done that yet.”

According to an e-mail survey of around 4,500 people conducted by Rep. Rooney’s office, his constituents — like most Americans— overwhelmingly agree that the United States should steer clear of the conflict in Syria. Almost 84 percent of respondents, for example, oppose sending arms to rebel forces. A stunning 97.4 percent said they did not support putting American troops on the ground.

It is not the first time that Rooney, who tried but failed to cut off funds for Obama’s war on Libya, has spoken out about the administration’s lawless behavior in Syria. Last year, after then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the administration would seek “international permission” from the UN and NATO, instead of congressional approval to wage war on the Syrian regime, the Florida congressman issued a strongly worded statement demanding that Obama come to Congress.

“Once again, we’re seeing the Obama administration ignore the Constitution, the War Powers Act, and the role of Congress in determining when this country goes to war,” said Rooney, an Army captain. “It’s an insult to the American people for the Secretary of Defense to come before a Senate committee and say that the administration will seek ‘international permission’ to spend American resources and potentially put American lives on the line in Syria, but won’t consult with Congress.… The founders were clear not to leave this decision in the hands of one man, and rightfully so.”

The new five-page legislation, which cites older U.S. laws and United Nations efforts in Syria, expresses the sense of Congress that all sides and factions in the war should stop the violence. If enacted, it would prohibit any federal agency from providing aid to any group, movement, or individual unless and until the administration receives specific congressional authorization. The only exception, assuming the administration complies, would be humanitarian aid.

According to cosponsor Rep. McCaul, who serves as chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, the bill is also aimed at ensuring U.S. national security. Like other lawmakers from both parties and virtually every serious analyst in the world, the congressman from Texas has serious concerns about opposition forces in Syria and their well-documented links to terrorist groups.

“Arming the rebels in Syria potentially places those weapons into the hands of the Islamist extremists who have infiltrated their ranks and who continue to plot against the United States and our interests abroad,” Rep. McCaul said in a statement. “If the president believes American involvement in Syria is necessary, he will have to present a convincing plan to the Congress and make the case that providing assistance to Syrian opposition forces would not pose a national security threat to the United States.”

On the other side of the debate are establishment forces in both parties — especially RINO Republicans, such as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the latter of whom is currently embroiled in scandal after posing for pictures with rebel kidnappers in Syria. Among the warmongering wing of both parties, lawmakers are insisting that Obama get the U.S. government even deeper into the bloody Syrian conflict, which some analysts have suggested could become a regional or even global war.

Already, an estimated 100,000 people have been killed in the fighting, with over a million having fled the country so far. Fueled largely by foreign powers — the Obama administration, Sunni Arab dictators, al-Qaeda, and some European governments on one side; the Iranian regime, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and Hezbollah on the other — the brutal war is expected to continue raging. Meanwhile, innocent civilians, especially Christians and Shia Muslims, are paying the steepest price.

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Is the US pledge of support for Syrian Rebels was just hot air?

This article echoes what the most knowledgeable people I know are saying – that all the saber-rattling at Doha’s recent ‘Friends of Syria’ gathering was just a lot of noise.

The US can’t afford to arm the Syrian rebels – either politically or financially. The complication with Afghanistan that Sharmine Narwani details below had not occurred to me, but even if it’s a decisive factor, it’s certainly not the only sufficient one.

Father Dave

source: english.al-akhbar.com…

The US’s Afghan Exit May Depend on a Syrian One

By Sharmine Narwani

Washington’s options in Syria are dwindling – and dwindling fast.

Trumped up chemical weapons charges against the Syrian government this month failed to produce evidence to convince a skeptical global community of any direct linkage. And the US’s follow-up pledge to arm rebels served only to immediately underline the difficulty of such a task, given the fungibility of weapons-flow among increasingly extremist militias.

Yes, for a brief few days, Syrian oppositionists congratulated themselves on this long-awaited American entry into Syria’s bloodied waters. They spoke about “game-changing” weapons that would reverse Syrian army gains and the establishment of a no-fly zone on Syria’s Jordanian border – a la Libya. Eight thousand troops from 19 countries flashed their military hardware in a joint exercise on that border, dangling F-16s and Patriot missiles and “superb cooperation” in a made-for-TV show of force.

But it took only days to realize that Washington’s announcement didn’t really have any legs.

Forget the arguments now slowly dribbling out about why the US won’t/can’t get involved directly. Yes, they all have merit – from the difficulties in selecting militia recipients for their weapons, to the illegalities involved in establishing a no-fly zone, to the fact that more than 70% of Americans don’t support an intervention.

The single most critical reason for why Washington will not risk entering the Syrian military theater – almost entirely ignored by DC policy wonks – may be this: the 2014 US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“Help, we can’t get out”

There are around 750,000 major pieces of American military hardware costing approximately $36 billion sitting in Afghanistan right now. The cost of transporting this equipment out of the country is somewhere close to the $7 billion mark. It would be easier to destroy this stuff than removing it, but given tightening US budgets and lousy economic prospects, this hardware is unlikely to be replaced if lost.

Getting all this equipment into Afghanistan over the past decade was a lot easier than getting it out will be. For starters, much of it came via Pakistani corridors – before Americans began droning the hell out of that country and creating dangerous pockets of insurgents now blocking exit routes.

An alternative supply route through Afghan border states Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan called the Northern Distribution Network was set up in 2009, but is costlier and longer than going via Pakistan. And human rights disputes, onerous conditions on transport and unpredictable domestic sentiment toward the Americans places far too much leverage over these routes in the hands of regional hegemon Russia.

Unlike Iraq, where the US could count on its control over the main ports and Arab allies along the Persian Gulf border, Afghanistan is landlocked, mountainous and surrounded by countries and entities now either hostile to US interests or open to striking deals with American foes.

In short, a smooth US exit from Afghanistan may be entirely dependent on one thing: the assistance of Russia, Iran, and to a lesser degree, China.

All three countries are up against the US and its allies in Syria, refusing, for the better part of 18 months, to allow regime-change or a further escalation of hostilities against the state.

In the past few months, the Russian and Iranian positions have gained strength as the Syrian army – with assistance from its allies – pushed back rebel militias in key towns and provinces throughout the country.

Western allies quickly rushed to change the unfavorable equilibrium on the ground in advance of political talks in Geneva, unashamedly choosing to further weaponize the deadly conflict in order to gain “leverage” at the negotiating table.

But none of that has materialized. As evidence, look to the recent G8 Summit where western leaders sought to undermine Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him “isolated” and referring to the Summit as “G7+1.”

In the meeting’s final communiqué, Putin won handily on every single Syria point. Not only was it clear that the international community’s only next “play” was the negotiations in Geneva, but there was no mention of excluding President Bashar al-Assad from a future Syrian transitional government, once a key demand of opponents. Furthermore, the declaration made it clear that there was no evidence linking chemical weapons use to the Syrian government – had there been any “evidence” whatsoever, it would have made it to paper – and Syrian security forces were empowered, even encouraged, to weed out extremist militias by all the G8 nations.

This was not an insignificant victory for the Russians – it was the first public revelation that Washington, London and Paris have conceded their advantage in Syria. And it begs the question: what cards do the Russians hold in their hand to bring about this kind of stunning reversal, just a week after Washington came out guns blazing?

read the rest of this article here.

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