'$100 for registered fighters'

[AFP]"...ALEPPO, Syria – After months of fighting without pay, Syrian rebels in Aleppo are receiving their first salaries, paid with money commanders say is at least in part provided by foreign states. In Aleppo’s old city area, fighters gave their names to defected Syrian military officer Colonel Abdul Salam Humaidi, who searched through lists provided by rebel commanders before paying the men in crisp $100 bills. The rebels made thumbprints in ink next to their names to indicate they had been paid. As the fighters gathered, the crack of rifle fire could be heard from elsewhere in the old city, just one of many areas in Syria’s one-time commercial capital that have become battlegrounds between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebels fighting to overthrow his regime. “The revolutionary military councils… are undertaking to distribute monthly salaries to the fighters, especially on the front lines,” Humaidi told AFP. All fighters are now paid $150 per month, but this may change in the future, with different salaries given to those who are married and those who are on the front lines, he said. Humaidi said he “defected from the military after 30 years of service, because the regime is corrupt and sectarian.” He is now a financial official for the rebel Revolutionary Military Council. He declined to say where the payroll cash was from, but rebel commanders in Aleppo told AFP it came from foreign assistance and from other supporters, though they differed on the specific countries involved. “The Military Council (is) distributing the salaries, with Qatari support… of $150 per person registered for two months,” said Haji al-Bab, a commander in the Tawhid Brigade, adding that fighters who are not registered are not being paid..."

Erdogan devises a 'new system'

[Milliyet] "... In short, Moscow’s blocking of United Nations moves and Iran’s attitude that affected Turkey’s expectations in the region pushed Ankara into a corner and forced it to change its inflexible policy on Syria.The “triple negotiation system” Erdogan spoke of after his meeting with Ahmadinejad is an important signal. The “triple negotiation system” will bring together Turkey, Egypt and Iran; Turkey, Russia and Iran; and Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to work separately toward a solution in Syria.
As one can see from Erdogan’s statement, the initiative aims to overcome the obstacle of Saudi unwillingness to the sit at the same table with Iran. Turkey seems to have cured itself of the allergy of discussing Syria with Russia and Iran.
Responsibility now lies with regional powers instead of the passive international community under the UN banner. The involvement of Russia and Iran also means that, Assad's regime, if not Assad, will have a place at the negotiating table."

Alhurra TV office destroyed by furious protesters in Benghazi

Via AngryArab
Alhurra TV office destroyed by furious protesters in Benghazi: Voice of Russia

Al Qaeda in Jordan, "using smuggled weapons & explosives from Syria"

"... Security forces had detained 11 suspects, all Jordanians, in connection with the plot, which envisaged carrying out attacks in the capital Amman using smuggled weapons and explosives from Syria, according to security officials cited by television.... "Their plans included getting explosives and mortars from Syria," the security source told Reuters, saying the militants had sought to strike at a time of regional upheaval when the country's security establishment is over stretched..."

Jordanian soldier killed in clash with Syria bound Jihadists!

AMMAN (Reuters) - "A Jordanian soldier was killed in clashes with Islamist fighters trying to cross the country's northern border into Syria,.... .Troops detained 12 Islamist fighters after the clashes, which occurred overnight, an army statement said..."

Leverett: 'A political settlement in Syria requires significant shifts in Turkish, US & Gulf Arab policies.”

"... Flynt Leverett (senior director for Middle East affairs on the National Security Council. Prior to serving on the NSC, he was a counterterrorism expert on the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, and before that he served as a CIA senior analyst for eight years. Since leaving government service, Leverett served as a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Saban Center for Middle East Policy before becoming the director of the Geopolitics of Energy Initiative in the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation:    

“I think that there is a genuine popular base for the opposition in Syria, there are indigenous factors that contribute to this conflict, certainly.  But I also think that the Syrian government, the Assad government, retains the support of probably a narrow majority of the Syrian population…at least half of the Syrian population still supports the government.  That’s why I say I don’t think there is a military solution to this.  I am not that confident that the Assad government can really win militarily, particularly as long as the opposition is supported by outside players.  But I also don’t think that there’s a way for the opposition to win.  [So] I come back to my basic point—that the only way out of this is a negotiated political process.
The problem so far has been that there are players—the United States, the Gulf Arabs, the Turks—that have insisted up to this point that a political process have not just preconditions but what you might call “pre-results”:  that Assad’s departure had to be stipulated at the get-go.  And for the United States, there’s this further concern that they’ve never wanted to have Iran involved in a regional process or a contact group on Syria.  That’s just not a serious diplomatic position, if you want a political settlement…If we are going to have a political settlement, it is going to require some significant shifts in Turkish and U.S. and Gulf Arab policies.” 
There is additional discussion of the real drivers of U.S. policy toward Syria and about just who is introducing sectarianism into the conflict.  (It isn’t the Assad government or the Islamic Republic of Iran.)  Flynt also pushes back against suggestions from another panelist that the Arab Awakening has been a “disaster” for Iran and that one should not link the U.S. intervention in Libya with Washington’s posture toward the conflict in Syria:         
“The Iranians definitely see this differently—and I think they actually are right on this point, analytically.  They think that the Arab Awakening is working very, very strongly in their favor, in that any government in this region which becomes at all more representative of its people’s attitudes, beliefs, preferences, and so forth is automatically going to become less interested in strategic cooperation with the United States (much less with Israel) and is going to become more open to an Iranian message of resistance…
In terms of the comparison—the way the U.S. is dealing with Libya, the way the U.S. is dealing with Syria—obviously the United States has not intervened directly, militarily yet in Syria.  But I think that the fact that, in contrast to Libya, Russia and China have been willing to veto three Security Council resolutions, which would have legitimated that sort of intervention by the United States, is a really important factor here.  It’s certainly no guarantee that the United States won’t, at some point, act without a Security Council resolution.  The United States, unfortunately, has done that before.  But I think that has been an important constraint on the United States in this situation.”
Along with the U.S.-Iranian relationship, the conflict in Syria is one of the most important factors that will shape regional dynamics in the Middle East over the next decade.  And Washington is yet again pursuing policies that not only increase the level of human suffering in the Middle East, but also work against America’s long-term interests in the region. "

'The current British-American policy in Syria is failing on a monumental scale'

[Guardian] "... The only way forward is to broker a political settlement, with Russia using its leverage to ensure that Assad negotiates seriously. Without pandering to Vladimir Putin's ruthless rigidity, engagement with Russia is critical – as is consultation with Iran. Otherwise a settlement will not happen.The guidelines for a political transition approved by the five permanent members of the UN security council at the Geneva conference in June still provides the best road map – but only if the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia and their allies drop their current stance and help to implement it.However unpalatable, Assad may have to be granted immunity in order to get him to sign up and stop his barbarity. All state employees, including those in the armed forces, must be allowed to keep their posts, to avoid a repeat of the chaos caused by America's de-Ba'athification in Iraq....
The current British-American policy is failing on a monumental scale. Unless there is a radical change, all the hand-wringing and condemnation is either empty or hypocritical – or both."

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood: "Kuwait is the prelude to a bigger revolution across the Gulf!'"

Clashes & dead across Lebanon as Army battles Hariri's & Salafi militias

 'al Qaeda-Hariri gunmen fighting the Lebanese National Army'

[BBC] "...Lebanon's army has urged the country's political leaders to show caution when expressing their opinions, in a bid to calm "unprecedented" tensions....
The worst clashes were in Tripoli in the north, where at least three people died as gunmen exchanged fire. Soldiers have been deployed in the capital Beirut, where there have been sporadic clashes.
In a statement, the army urged "all political leaders to be cautious when expressing their stances and opinions" and in attempting to mobilise public action "because the fate of the nation is at stake"....
The BBC's Wyre Davies in Beirut says the army is a widely respected institution in Lebanon that has often been required to stand between the country's diverse political and religious factions.... 
A group of angry protesters broke away from the funeral, held at the Rafik Hariri mosque, and attempted to storm the prime minister's office. Police fired into the air and used tear gas to break up the crowds.
Overnight, protesters set up road blocks in the capital. Exchanges of gunfire were reported in the city overnight and on Monday morning in Tariq al-Jadida. Continue reading the main storyThe army launched a major security operation in the morning, sending troops backed by armoured personnel carriers on to the streets to restore calm and re-open roads.
Serious clashes were reported in Tripoli on Sunday evening, where two children were among at least three people killed...."

Le Figaro: French Intelligence Operatives believe that 'Wissam al Hassan trumped-up & manipulated the charges against Michel Samaha!'

[Le Figaro]"... Les services de renseignements francais et americains le connaissaient tres bien. Cet ete, son service a ete en pointe dans l’arrestation de l’ancien ministre libanais pro syrien Michel Samaha, accuse de preparer des attentats pour destabiliser le Liban. Une accusation accueillie avec un certain scepticisme par certains membres de la communaute du renseignement en France, notamment.

''Samaha etait bien trop malin pour se laisser embarquer en personne dans une telle operation'', affirme un agent, qui privilegie plutot la piste d'une manipulation par le service de Wissam el-Hassan. Ce ne serait pas la premiere fois que celui-ci trempe dans un tel montage: apres l'assassinat de Rafic Hariri, le service des FSI (celui de W. el-Hassan) avait deja fabrique un faux temoin a charge contre Damas, en la personne de Zouheir Ziddiq, avec la collaboration d'autres services dans la region, lesquels se retrouvent aujourd'hui comme par hasard engages dans la lutte pour faire tomber Bachar el-Assad en Syrie.

Ce matin, les proches de Wissam el-Hassan - notamment dans son entourage professionnel - etaient interroges par les enqueteurs libanais, qui cherchent a savoir qui l’a ‘’vendu’’....."

54% Americans: 'It is more important to have stability in the Middle East, even if there is less democracy!'

[PEW] "... A majority of Americans (54%) say it is more important to have stable governments in the Middle East, even if there is less democracy in the region, while 30% say it is more important to have democratic governments, even if there is less stability. The percentage prioritizing democracy in the region has slipped over the past year and a half. In March 2011, in the early days of the Arab Spring, 37% said democracy in the region was more important than stability.There is little partisan difference on this question; both Republicans and Democrats place a higher priority on stability. Independents also prioritize stability over democracy in the Middle East (62% vs. 27%)..."

"... More than six-in-ten (63%) say they think the U.S. should be less involved with changes of leadership in the Middle East, compared with just 23% who say the U.S. should be more involved.

Although Republicans are more likely than Democrats or independents to favor greater involvement, just 34% of Republicans advocate this (compared with 20% of Democrats and 19% of independents)..."

Netanyahu: 'No Limit on our aggression & expansion!'

"... Netanyahu spoke Sunday after the European Union's foreign policy chief criticized plans to build 800 new apartments and a military college on contested land, which the international community considers to be under Israeli occupation."We are not imposing any restrictions on construction in Jerusalem" Netanyahu told his Cabinet. "It is our capital."

(Oh, & this happened) 

"... A top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas promptly accused Netanyahu of deliberately destroying prospects for peace..."

Glorious day in Beirut when the 'al Qaeda flag flaps along the Lebanese Forces flag'

'FUTURE/Hariri TV's Nadim Qutteish to all 227 protestors: 'Mikati needs to be burried ....!'

Strenghtening Muhamad bin Nayef's hand or blaming Iran & Iraq? All of the above!

 'Game of Thrones'' favorite!

[IraqiNews] "... Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) -The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia accused The Head of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, Ammar al-Hakim, of smuggling the explosives to Qatif city.The formal Saudi Newspaper (Ukadh) stated “Some weapons and explosives were seized in a truck smuggled to Qatif city in KSA.”
“Hakim is behind the smuggling of those explosive materials,” the News agency added.
“We do not need to terrify anyone and do not afraid of anyone, but we are able to protect our territories and sustain its security and will not allow anyone to violate our sovereignty,” the Newspaper concluded..."

"Imbecile!"

Fabiola here is saying that Hezbollah is involved in Syria because it flew a drone over Israel! Therefore, we're safe to say America was involved in the genocide in Rwanda because Britney Spears lost weight!

"... The French foreign minister also said Lebanon's powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah, which is closely allied to Assad's regime, was involved in the Syrian unrest.
"Hezbollah is in the Lebanese government and we don't see much of their role," he said. "But their presence in the conflict has been apparent in the past few days, such as the drone which overflew Israel.".."

'Say it already!'

[AngryArab] "Look, why is no one saying the obvious in Lebanon?   The Intelligence Apparatus of Wisam Al-Hasan (who was killed in the car bomb) was involved in the killings in Syria? ..."

'Doctored ammunition'

The NYTimes finds this 'controversial', yet will not say a word about car or suicide bombs in public places, or Sheikh A'rur's meat grinders! (they reassured us that A'rur's meat grinders will be used only against those millions who support the regime in Damascus!)

[NYTimes] "... Doctored ammunition offers an insidious way to undermine the rebels’ confidence in their ammunition supply while simultaneously thinning their ranks.“When they do this, you will lose both the man and the rifle,” said Ghadir Hammoush, the commander of a fighting group in Idlib Province who said he knew of five instances in which rifles had exploded from booby-trapped ammunition....
The primary source for doctored ammunition has been the Syrian government, which mixes exploding cartridges with ordinary rounds on the black markets through which rebels acquire weapons, the commanders said..."

"Half truth & deception"

"... Israel's foreign minister on Saturday dismissed criticism by the European Union of Jewish settlement on occupied land the Palestinians seek for a state, advising the 27-nation bloc to attend to its own problems instead... "  Reuters

................................................

"... Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied a newspaper report on Friday that said he had agreed in principle to hand back land annexed from Syria as part of secret U.S.-mediated peace talks that broke off last year... "  Reuters

------------------------------------

Israel bestrides the world.  Anyone who thinks that the present Israeli government is in the least interested in an equitable settlement with the Palestinians has only to contemplate these statements.  What is revealed here is a crafty use of half truth and deception used for tactical reasons to obtain the long term goal of unlimited Israeli power in the ME.

Is it part of the agenda that Israel should continue to control the US political process?  Answer that for yourself.  pl

Car bomb kills 13 in Damascus

[AP] "... AMMAN, Jordan -- A taxi rigged with explosives blew up near a police station in the Syrian capital Sunday, killing at least 13 people even as the U.N. envoy to the nation's crisis was visiting Damascus to push his call for a cease-fire in talks with President Bashar Assad...."

Siniora gets 'the call'!

'US ambassador instructing Siniora: Just as you were, today, Mikati is 'our man''

[AFP] "... Prime Minister Fouad al-Siniora told Future TV: "I accept all emotins of grief but any attempts to storm the Saray (government offices) is unacceptable."

The EU’s Hezbollah fixation

[JPost] "... The good news is that the European Union has ramped up its sanctions against Iran and Syria. The bad news is Europe’s ongoing recalcitrant indulgence toward Hezbollah, the proxy that obligingly serves masters in both Tehran and Damascus.
This is akin to tightening the siege but leaving the enemy a gaping dodge-hole...."

March14 sources: 'Massive rally gather in Beirut!'

"...Hundreds of ... Protesters turned violent after a top March 14 politician, former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, demanded that Mikati step down. Mikati’s Cabinet is backed by the Shiite Muslim militant Hezbollah group, an Assad ally and the main bloc in the pro- Syria March 8 coalition.“Leave, Mr. Prime Minister, otherwise you’ll be accused of covering up for the criminals,” Siniora told the cheering crowds. “The Lebanese will no longer accept the continuation of the Cabinet of assassination.”..."

'Turks see Ankara as merely a pawn in US plans to foment conflict in Syria'

[CSM] "... “What's happening in Syria is all part of America's great project to reshape the borders of the Middle East.  America and its allies don't care about bringing democracy to the Syrian people.  Look at what happened to Iraq!” he fumes. “The imperialist countries are only after oil and mineral resources.”
Nineteen months into Syria's conflict, resentment of Ankara and anti-US sentiment simmer in Antakya, which lies just over the border with Syria. The province is grappling with an ailing trade and tourism sector and an influx of refugees and rebel fighters. Locals blame the Turkish government for dragging them into the conflict by backing the Syrian opposition and aligning Turkey with the opposition's Western allies.
The current administration's "zero problems with neighbors" foreign policy, which stood strong for several years, now rings hollow as Turkey's diplomatic ties with Syria and its ally Iran sour due to Ankara's support for the rebels. And many say that all of these problems can be traced back to the US, who they are convinced got involved with, and perhaps even fomented, the Syrian unrest to loosen up regional powers' grip on oil, enlisting Turkey as a pawn in the process. It had little to do with support for democracy, they believe.
Stirring up the 'beehive'
The beliefs stem in part from a bold Bush administration political proposal that has faded into obscurity in the West, but remains lodged in the minds of many here. Known as the Greater Middle East Initiative, it was formally introduced by then-US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in 2006 at a conference in Tel Aviv. Her references to "the birth pangs of a New Middle East" and the unveiling there of a new map of the region featuring a "Free Kurdistan" are still remembered with resentment. ....
"The access to oil will be made easier when people in these regions are divided and fighting amongst themselves. Both the US and Israel want to weaken Iran and strengthen their own position in the Middle East.  But to do this, first they must weaken Syria and replace the current government with someone who supports them instead of Iran," says Mr. Eryilmaz.....
Gilbert Achcar, a professor of international relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, says that the Greater Middle East Initiative has long since been abandoned, and all that remains is the deep skepticism of US motives that it spurred. Those in the Middle East tend to attribute more power to the US than it actually has, he says.
“The US is overwhelmed by the situation in the Middle East and is not in control, let alone plotting something. The GMEI never took root. It just provided a grand name that fueled people's imaginations, and conspiracy theories were invented," he says....  
Tasked with alleviating Arab mistrust, the US selected Turkey as a key bridge between the US and the Middle East. ....  But today, Turkey's role as a bridge between the West and the Arab world on the Syrian conflict has again raised suspicions. Its alliances with the US and autocratic countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, who have also come out as strong backers of the Syrian opposition, have provoked accusations that Turkey is more intent on weakening secular Syria and reinstating a Sunni government than in democracy...."

Bomb attacks kill 11 in Iraq

[AFP] "... BAGHDAD — Shootings and bomb attacks in Baghdad and Iraq's main northern city Mosul mostly targeting officials and security forces killed at least 11 people on Saturday, the country's deadliest day this month.In the bloodiest attack, twin roadside bombs in a market area in the north Baghdad neighbourhood of Kadhimiyah killed at least seven people and wounded 49 others, an interior ministry official and a medical source said.
The two blasts struck the Baab al-Darwazah area in the predominantly Shiite district..."

Davutoglu: 'Yemen model no longer suitable for Syria'

SANAA (Reuters) - Yemen's power transfer deal, which allowed President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down, is no longer a suitable model for a solution in Syria, the Turkish foreign minister said at a newsconference in Sanaa on Saturday."The Yemen solution was suitable for Syria nine months ago," Ahmet Davutoglu told the news conference with his Yemeni counterpart. "But now, because every country has its own special circumstances and due to the latest developments on the Syrian arena which saw the use of artillery and the air force in bombarding Syrian cities, this has narrowed the room for implementing such solutions."

'Relations with China – rather than the Iran issue – will lie at the center of the next Administration’s priorities'

'.... the convergences between Obama and Romney are more important than the gaps: both will pursue a tougher line toward Iran, both will remain cautious or confused about the implications of the “Arab Spring”, both will continue disengagement from Afghanistan, both will face the same resource dilemmas on defense spending, both will be more commercially protectionist in attitudes to China, neither will pay much attention to Latin America or sub-Saharan Africa, both will be much more domestically focused than internationally. Only in the arena of defense spending connected with the looming issue of “sequestration”, do we detect a decidedly difference in approach to the spending limitations. All in all, those closest to the two campaigns suggest to us that continuity rather than change is likely to prevail.  For example, on the most pressing issue of the day – the rapid course of events Syria – both sides endorse the same objective of the ousting of the Assad regime, but both remain equally cautious about any US intervention that goes beyond diplomacy, intelligence sharing and some quiet, behind-the-scenes logistical assistance to regional actors like Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. In Asia, there are similar common perceptions between Democrats and Republicans. Their instincts are to side with China’s opponents on territorial issues. The reported Chinese naval maneuvers in the East China Sea this week have sent a chill through Washington foreign policy circles. With a series of US-China trade disputes looming, the rhetoric from both sides is toughening. Part of this is traditional presidential politicking, but there is a palpable sense among US strategic planners that relations with China – rather than the Iran issue – will lie at the center of the next Administration’s priorities'

a gem from the State Department: 'Iran hosts al Qaeda leaders fighting Assad!'

STATE could've spared itself the ridicule by saying that the two individuals are hosted in south east Iran and are also supporting (for example) Jundallah elements! via the unremitting 'b':

"... The U.S. Department of State has authorized a reward of up to $7 million for information leading to the location of Iran-based senior facilitator and financier Muhsin al-Fadhli and up to $5 million for information leading to the location of his deputy, Adel Radi Saqr al-Wahabi al-Harbi....... 
Al-Qaida elements in Iran, led by al-Fadhli, are working to move fighters and money through Turkey to support al-Qaida-affiliated elements in Syria. Al-Fadhli also is leveraging his extensive network of Kuwaiti jihadist donors to send money to Syria via Turkey.
Additionally, he has assisted al-Qaida in moving multiple operatives from Pakistan via Iran and Turkey to destinations in Europe, North Africa, and Syria, and is believed likely to continue moving experienced al-Qaida operatives to reinforce and gain influence in these areas...."

No Comment!

 'Isn't that Pierre, Bob & Marmeduke?'

[Reuters] "... Hosni and the other refugees said Hezbollah fighters had taken part in the raids on their Sunni villages."Hezbollah was there. They wore black masks. They were with the Syrian army but they were controlling it. They are destroying the houses  ... We all saw them. It was very obvious," said another man who gave his name as Ali Ali.

Poll: '65% of Egyptians view Iran "favorably"'

"... The poll of 812 Egyptians, half of them women, was conducted in a series of in-person interviews by the firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner and sponsored by the Israel Project, a pro-Israel advocacy organization with offices in Washington and Jerusalem. According to the poll, Iran is viewed favorably in Egypt, with 65 percent of those surveyed expressing support of the decision to renew Egypt-Iran relations and 61 percent expressing support of the Iranian nuclear project, versus 41 percent in August 2009..."

FSA': "We warn our Armenian brothers in Kasab: leave before the offensive of the FSA or else you might have civilian deaths and you will complain again about a genocide committed by Turks"

Camille AO read the subtext:

[Le Monde/ International] "... "JE PRÉVIENS NOS FRÈRES ARMÉNIENS À KASSAB : QU'ILS PARTENT "Mais cette nouvelle donne menace de faire basculer la montagne turkmène, dont la beauté préservée fait songer à une petite Corse, dans une sanglante guerre confessionnelle. Village contre village. "A chaque fois qu'on entre dans un village alaouite, nous prenons garde à ne faire de mal à personne, assure Abou Moustapha, un combattant turkmène. Hélas, ils préfèrent fuir vers Lattaquié et se réfugier dans les bras du régime."Le régime et les rebelles s'accusent mutuellement d'avoir mis le feu au village alaouite de Kindessieh après sa chute aux mains de l'ASL. L'armée de Bachar Al-Assad, qui ne peut se permettre de laisser les rebelles pénétrer dans le réduit alaouite, dernier refuge potentiel du régime, prend la menace au sérieux et a renforcé ses positions. "C'est grâce aux combattants du djebel turkmène que le projet d'Etat alaouite de Bachar va échouer, clame Abou Moustapha. Nous l'empêchons d'établir le contact avec les alaouites de Turquie."Tout au nord, la rébellion se prépare à attaquer le village de Kassab, frontalier avec la Turquie, peuplé de Turkmènes et d'Arméniens, et encore sous contrôle de l'armée syrienne. "Si on le prend, on aura accès à la mer et on disposera d'un passage officiel avec la Turquie. On pourra faire venir des armes", se réjouit Abou Moustapha, avant de menacer : "Je préviens nos frères arméniens à Kassab : qu'ils partent avant l'offensive de l'Armée libre, sinon ils vont avoir des pertes civiles et encore se plaindre d'un génocide perpétré par des Turcs."Dans le chaudron ethnico-confessionnel en fusion qu'est la Syrie en guerre, l'avertissement fait froid dans le dos."

Saudi Arabia's man in 'weapons-delivery' as per a Syrian rebel': "Sakr got involved in the issue of weapons to split our ranks, to divide the revolutionaries!"

Some folks at angry with each other!

"...Colonel Afif Suleiman, the head of the Idlib Military Council, a grouping of 16 military units from across the vast province, is unhappy with the support he gets from the control room. He is angry with Sakr, who, he says, “got involved in the issue of weapons to split our ranks, to divide the revolutionaries.” Sakr, he says, recently “chose three people on our council and supported them. I won’t name them. They are not the largest units. There is one big group, but the others are just regular ones,” Suleiman tells TIME. “He formed a rift within the council, and we are working to heal this rift. We clarified the issue to our Saudi brothers about Okab ..."

Najib Miqati's "politics of dissociation"

Not doing very well ...

"... The situation is compounded by Qatar’s man — a major who defected from Assad’s army, who has not yet responded to TIME’s request for comment. The Qataris want to focus on aiding the regional military councils, FSA groupings within Syria set up earlier this year partly in order to get around the favoritism of the representatives. (There are at least 10 military councils scattered throughout the country.) Goods would be delivered to a council and then distributed to the brigades under its umbrella. In practice, it wasn’t quite as easy or smooth. “We were given lists by brigade leaders of their men, but we stopped believing the numbers,” says a member of the Istanbul room from Syria’s Idlib province. However, the Saudis, via Okab Sakr, appear to want to support only certain groups within the councils and not others.“We felt that the sides giving us support weren’t on the same page,” says the control-room member from eastern Syria. “They started having side meetings with some groups.” Still, he says, “what is most important is that the guys receive weapons. Whether that is via an operations room or directly, we don’t care. Nobody knows the truth from the talk,” he says. “We have been lied to [by the international community], and we have lied to the guys inside, saying weapons would arrive in a week, in 10 days, and months have passed and some areas haven’t received supplies. So unless I see it, and see it distributed, even I don’t believe it.”....
Colonel Afif Suleiman, the head of the Idlib Military Council, a grouping of 16 military units from across the vast province, is unhappy with the support he gets from the control room. He is angry with Sakr, who, he says, “got involved in the issue of weapons to split our ranks, to divide the revolutionaries.” Sakr, he says, recently “chose three people on our council and supported them. I won’t name them. They are not the largest units. There is one big group, but the others are just regular ones,” Suleiman tells TIME. “He formed a rift within the council, and we are working to heal this rift. We clarified the issue to our Saudi brothers about Okab. They promised that there will be no support, either military or financial, except via the councils. This is what they recently promised us.”
To complicate things further, the Qataris reportedly have strong ties to the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, while the Saudis “don’t want any ties to anything called Muslim Brothers,” says Ahmad Zeidan, the nom de guerre of a member of the Idlib military council. According to several sources, the large group in the Idlib military council that Sakr supported — to the aggravation of Suleiman — is Jamal Maarouf’s Martyrs of Syria Battalion, because it “has a more neutral view of the Brothers,” a U.S.-based activist says...."

'Wissam al Hassan Battalion'

"The Unified Revolutionary Military Council in Damascus & the surrounding rural area is honored to name one of its elite battalions, located in Damascus, the 'Wisam Al-Hasan Battalion' honoring the hero colonel"

Heard today."Big!"

Al Jazeera:              "Investigation launched into killing of al Hassan" 

Nadim Gemayel:    "Bomb was a a preplanned explosion" 

Marwan Hamade:  "Kick Syrian ambassador out! Our reply will be seismic!" 

Saad Hariri:            "The one who assassinated Wissam Hasan is as clear as the light of  day & I Saad Rafik Bahaa' Hariri, vow not to remain silent over this crime,” 

Walid Jumblatt:     "We will resist with politics because unlike the Syrian [regime], we do not have criminal security apparatuses,” 

Ahmad Hariri:        "We call on the Lebanese to stand ready!" 

Lebanese adviser (Mohamad Shatah) to WaPo: "“This is a big, big, big, big event, and one cannot begin even to think through the repercussions,”  

Timur Goksel: "I hear Wissam returned to Lebanon only yesterday. To track him down in such a short time and so precisely and to prepare the explosives is top notch professionalism and also smells of an inside leak about his movements always extremely protected. In these parts, only three outfits can pull this one: the Syrian Muhabarat, Hizbullah and Israel. Take your pick." 

March 14 Lebanese Leader: "I told him he needs to be careful and he told me I need to be careful, ... We just laughed at each other."The Guardian: "Lebanon is a far more dangerous place without him"

Russian warship crosses Dardanelles

"Russia’s destroyer-class warship Smetlivy, which patrolled waters off the coast of Syria in April and May, passed through the Dardanelles today amid heightened tension in Syria. 
Accompanied by a Turkish coastguard boat, the Smetlivy sailed to the Aegean Sea. It is not clear whether the warship is headed to Syria or not...."

30 Kgs. to Kill al Hassan

'Iraq attacks kill 4 worshipers'

[AP] "... BAGHDAD:  Gunmen blew up a bomb and opened fire at a bus packed with Pakistani pilgrims, killing four worshippers and wounding 11 others north of Baghdad, officials said on Friday.
The coordinated attacks took place late Thursday near the town of Balad, with security officials and medics identifying the victims as Shias ..."

'Al Qaeda in Yemen kills 15 soldiers'

"...Yemeni military officials have blamed al-Qaeda for setting off a bomb during an assault on an army base at dawn on Friday that killed at least 15 soldiers and wounded 29 others. Eight Qaeda fighters were also killed in the attack, the officials said.
The attackers drove through several checkpoints before entering the base of the Yemeni army's 115th brigade in southern Abyan province, where a drone raid killed at least seven Qaeda members the day before, one official told the AFP news agency. ..."

'Suicide bomber kills worshipers in Iran'

[AP] "... TEHRAN, Iran -- A suicide attacker running from the police detonated his explosives near a mosque in southeastern Iran on Friday, killing two people, Iranian state media said.State television described the incident in a volatile region near the Pakistani border as a "terrorist attack."....
No group claimed responsibility for the attack but the Sunni militant Jundallah group, which claims to be fighting for Sunni rights in the mainly Shiite Iran, has been involved in sporadic bombings in the region in the past..."

Global Jihad: "HIZBULLAH AGENT WISSAM AL-HASSAN DOUBLE PLAY"

Old story by the Canadian TV, revisited by 'Global Jihad'
Global Jihad - HIZBULLAH AGENT WISSAM AL-HASSAN DOUBLE PLAY

'However, it is also worthy to note that al Hassan was  Saad Hariri's security chief & overseer/ coordinator of the Saudi intelligence enterprise in Lebanon...  As such,  al Hassan's latest primary task was to  'facilitate the Saudi arming and funding of Free Syrian Army' via Lebanon.  He was linked with the ship, Lutfallah II, intercepted by the Lebanese, carrying weapons to the Syrian 'rebels' in Lebanon...'

Wissam Hassan killed in Beirut blast!

Leverett: "The sanctions against Iran are in no way targeted!"

Hillary Mann Leverett on What’s Really Behind Iran Sanctions

"Albright DISCOVERS That After Covering Buildings at Parchin With Pink Tarps, Iranians Now Removing Tarps!"

[EmptyWheel] "It seemed that David Albright and his Institute for Science and International Security had reached a new low when on August 24 they wowed the world with their analytical powers by explaining to us the meaning of Iran draping buildings at the disputed Parchin military site with pink tarpaulins. Yesterday, Albright and associates did their best to keep the Pink Panic at Parchin going, as they breathlessly revealed that Iran is now actually REMOVING THE TARPS!

As I have maintained all along, if Iran has carried out work at this site to develop a neutron trigger based on high explosives, as they have been accused, then the steel chamber in which the work was carried out is quite likely to have been rendered radioactive through the process of neutron activation and no amount of cleaning the chamber or the surrounding building or surrounding soil can hide that. That means that the tarps themselves (along with the earlier soil-moving exercises) have been a feint to give Albright and the press something to chase while those who favor an attack on Iran continue to agitate for “action”. We see from the most recent photos that the building in which the explosives chamber is believed to be housed still stands after the tarp has been removed from its roof. Should inspectors gain access to the site, their primary objective remains unchanged from pre-tarp days. They first need to determine if the chamber is still inside the building. If the chamber is still present, they need to examine it for evidence of neutron activation or any other radioactive contamination arising from the research the Iranians have been accused of carrying out."

28 Turkish troops hurt in Iran-Turkey pipeline attack

[AFP] "... ANKARA — Twenty-eight Turkish soldiers were wounded and Iranian gas supplies to Turkey interrupted Friday after Kurdish rebels attacked a pipeline linking the two countries, media reports said....
Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said Turkey did not have any shortage of gas after the interruption, adding that Russia and Azerbaijan had provided additional supplies...."

'British survey (unpublished) by Aljazeera revealed a decline in viewership by 37%'

 'Your highness, fasten your seat belt!

"Shortly after posting on the decline of Al-Jazeerah yesterday (and the post dealt only with the decline of Aljazeera net in terms of figures and ranking on Alexa), I received a phone call from an inside source at Aljazeera who does not wish to be identified for obvious reasons.  He confirmed my general impression and my posts and told me that an inside survey (unpublished) by Aljazeera that was conducted some 6 months ago revealed a decline in viewership by 37% (he said that this was part of a study commissioned to a British firm).  He said that the departure of Waddah Khanfar made a difference in staffing: that the Hamas folks who were hired by Waddah were all removed and that the news staff all belong to Al-Ikhwan.  He tells me that the Tunisia office is now run and staffed practically by An-Nahdah party, and that the Cairo office is staffed by Ikhwan, like the office in Turkey.  He said that the recent hire for the Beirut office was someone who fought with an Islamist gang in Aleppo.  Ahmad Zaydan of the Pakistan office is a well-known Bin Ladenite, he confirmed to me.  As for the new director of Al-Jazeera (who replaced Waddah), he said that he has no knowledge or even interest in news, that he is basically a financial manager.  There is, he added, a campaign to replace the non-Qatari staff with Qataris.  He said that there is a big problem of morale at the network but that people don't want to quit and look for jobs.  Some, he said, hoped to join the Arabic Skynews but that its political leanings and reputation are problematic.  He told me (as I have known) that the Emir himself runs the network and gives the marching orders.  People at the network only follow orders.  The orders, he said, is obsessive about Syria hoping that the network would bring down the Syrian regime.  He said that there are no secular Arab nationalists at the network left anymore.  He also told me about organization chaos: that each branch of Aljazeera hires a Western firm to advise on development and feasibility and that millions are squandered in that regard.  He added that the folks at Al-Jazeerah are fully aware of the decline in viewership but feel that there is nothing that they can do because the orders are all-Syria, all the time, to the exclusion of other stories and to the disregard of the professional standards.  He said that those who worry about their careers and who want to be promoted feel that they can only please their superiors and please the Emir by offering more propaganda services on the Syrian question.  Once there was a decent professional network called Al-Jazeera. "

MANPADS in Syria: Mostly "bad news for civil aviation in the Levant"

Tony Karon‏@TonyKaron

MANPADS proliferate in Syria. Bad news for Assad forces. May also be bad news for civil aviation in the Levant... http://on.wsj.com/PCVN3i 

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Syrian Rebels Get Missiles

Some Syrian rebel factions have obtained advanced portable antiaircraft weapons, according to rebels and regional officials, a development that could alter the Syrian war's trajectory and fan U.S....

Wall Street Journal @WSJ · Follow

Syria's 'Jihado-rebels': 'We want America to help us. Death to America!'

 'FSA/ & Co.'

[NYTimes] "...  yet, all things considered, I can’t argue for intervention in Aleppo, or in the wider Syrian conflict... ...
Many of the rebels are fighting for a noble cause, and have no motive beyond protecting their homes and families. But it is hard to pick them apart from those who seek to take advantage of the chaos to transform Syria into a Shariah-based fundamentalist state. In Aleppo, I heard Salafi jihadists talk of slaying the minority Alawites, and call for both the immediate support of America, and its immediate demise. These extremist groups are getting weapons from Saudi Arabia and Qatar already; they are not groups that the West would choose to arm. Compared with them, it is not clear that Mr. Assad is the bigger foe.
It would be an error for the United States and the European Union to supply arms to the rebels or intervene on the ground.... As President Bill Clinton once said, “Where our values and our interests are at stake, and where we can make a difference, we must act.”
Despite what I have witnessed, I am not convinced we can in Syria."

'Spillover' as perscribed & described: Beirut. Car bombs. Today

The war on Syria: "combatants come from 11 countries"

[AP] "... Pinheiro said, the panel found that foreign combatants come from 11 countries but it doesn't have specific numbers..."

Holy Warriors

'... Even the most well-known insurgent alliance, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a loose umbrella term used by several inter-related insurgent networks, is hardly the secular movement it is portrayed as in the West, where it is represented by a small coterie of exiled military defectors. In Syria, the main body of FSA networks has come to resemble a Sunni sectarian movement, which is increasingly influenced by Islamist ideology. For example, when a group of Western-backed FSA commanders established a Joint Command recently, they were seen to represent the most "secular" element of the armed uprising. But virtually all of the participants were Sunni Arabs, and in a nasty slap to minority sensibilities, they invited as their guest of honor Adnan al-Arour, a Salafi preacher infamous for his incitement against non-Sunni religious groups....'

'Quantifying' starvation & humiliation!

[BBC] "... An Israeli court has forced the release of government research detailing the number of calories Palestinians in Gaza need to consume to avoid malnutrition.The study was commissioned after Israel tightened its blockade of the territory after Hamas came to power in June 2007......The Israeli human rights group Gisha, which campaigns against Israel's Gaza blockade, fought a long legal battle to get the Israeli ministry of defence to release this document.
Dated from 2008 and entitled, Food Consumption in the Gaza Strip - The Red Lines, it is a detailed study of how many calories Palestinians needed to eat to avoid malnutrition.Continue reading the main story“...........
Before 2010, millions of dollars worth of food products were being smuggled into Gaza through tunnels every year.Gisha says the research contradicts Israel's assertions that the blockade is needed for security reasons.
"How can Israel claim that it is not responsible for civilian life in Gaza when it controls even the type and quantity of food that Palestinian residents of Gaza are permitted to consume?" asked Sari Bashi, Gisha's executive director, in a statement.
"Israel's control over movement creates an obligation to allow free passage of civilians and civilian goods, subject only to security checks - an obligation that remains unfulfilled today."......"The facts on the ground indicate that food imports consistently fell below the red lines. We recognise that Israel has legitimate security concerns but we have said consistently that the blockade is collective punishment of the population. It's illegal under international law and we think it's counterproductive," he added.
Israeli government officials now acknowledge the food restrictions were partly intended to put pressure on Hamas by making the lives of people in Gaza difficult .... ."

NATO-empowered Libyan Islamists singled out as killers of US ambassador

[NYTimes] "... Mr. Abu Khattala was a member of the Islamist opposition under Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi and was imprisoned in his notorious Abu Salim prison. Unlike most of the other Islamist prisoners, however, Mr. Abu Khattala never renounced violence as a means for seeking political change. He was let out of prison only last year, along with a batch of other political prisoners released in a futile bid by the government to appease the nascent uprising.Mr. Abu Khattala fought Colonel Qaddafi along with the rest of the Libyan opposition and the current leaders of the big militias in eastern Libya...."

US Churches say what Human Rights Watch doodles around

"... Fifteen leaders of U.S. churches and other faith-based organizations have asked Congress to reevaluate U.S. military aid to Israel.The religious leaders sent a letter to Congress members on Monday, calling for an investigation into possible violations by Israel of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act and the U.S. Arms Export Control Act, which would make Israel ineligible for U.S. military aid.
“As Christian leaders in the United States, it is our moral responsibility to question the continuation of unconditional U.S. financial assistance to the government of Israel. Realizing a just and lasting peace will require this accountability, as continued U.S. military assistance to Israel – offered without conditions or accountability – will only serve to sustain the status quo and Israel’s military occupation of the Palestinian territories,... ... We request, therefore, that Congress hold Israel accountable to these standards by making the disbursement of U.S. military assistance to Israel contingent on the Israeli government’s compliance with applicable U.S. laws and policies.... We write to you as Christian leaders representing U.S. churches and religious organizations committed to seeking a just peace for Israelis and Palestinians,” the letter said, adding that the organizations have “worked alongside our Palestinian Christian sisters and brothers to help build a peaceful and resilient Palestinian civil society.” The signatories said they were writing to Congress “to express our grave concern about the deteriorating conditions in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories....Unfortunately, unconditional U.S. military assistance to Israel has contributed to this deterioration, sustaining the conflict and undermining the long-term security interests of both Israelis and Palestinians. This is made clear in the most recent 2011 State Department Country Report on Human Rights Practices covering Israel and the Occupied Territories, which details widespread Israeli human rights violations committed against Palestinian civilians, many of which involve the misuse of U.S.-supplied weapons. (Cluster Bombs for one)... 

Accordingly, we urge an immediate investigation into possible violations by Israel of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act and the U.S. Arms Export Control Act which respectively prohibit assistance to any country which engages in a consistent pattern of human rights violations and limit the use of U.S. weapons to “internal security” or “legitimate self-defense.” .... More broadly, we urge Congress to undertake careful scrutiny to ensure that our aid is not supporting actions by the government of Israel that undermine prospects for peace. We urge Congress to hold hearings to examine Israel’s compliance, and we request regular reporting on compliance and the withholding of military aid for non-compliance.  

In addition to specific rights violations, we see a troubling and consistent pattern of disregard by the government of Israel for U.S. policies that support a just and lasting peace. Specifically, repeated demands by the U.S. government that Israel halt all settlement activity have been ignored. Since 1967, every U.S. administration has decried Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories as obstacles to peace. Despite this stance, Israel continues to expand its settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, claiming territory that under international law and U.S. policy should belong to a future Palestinian state. The Oslo peace process, which began in 1993, was publicly promoted as leading Israelis and Palestinians to a just peace based on a two-state solution. Instead, since 1993, the number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has more than doubled. Rights violations resulting from Israeli settlement activity include separate and unequal legal systems for Palestinians and settlers, confiscation of Palestinian land and natural resources for the benefit of settlers, and violence by settlers against Palestinians.

The letter was criticized by AIPAC....."