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Paul Merrell

An Israeli takeover of the Palestine Authority…? - Alan Hart - 0 views

www.alanhart.net/ver-of-the-palestine-authority

war & peace Israel Palestine Egypt U.S.-foreign-policy Abbas Dahlan Palestinian-Authority

shared by Paul Merrell on 25 Mar 14 - No Cached
  • On the face of it that’s a silly question and the speculation it represents – that Palestinian “President” Abbas could replaced by an Israeli agent or asset – is not worthy of discussion. But before dismissing it readers might do what I did and consider two things. The first is that Mohammed Dahlan, formerly one of the most powerful Fatah leaders and almost certainly the one who administered for Israel the polonium that killed Arafat, is now putting a big effort into getting rid of Abbas by one means or another and replacing him with – guess who? – himself. In passing it is interesting to note that according to a recent report in the Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv, Netanyahu’s special envoy, Yitzhak Molcho, is in a secret dialogue with Dahlan who spends his time shuttling between Cairo and the U.A.E. where he currently lives. One assumption has to be that Netanyahu is hoping that if Dahlan became “President” of the PA he would go much further than collaborator Abbas in delivering for Israel. (Also worth noting is that Dahlan speaks fluent Hebrew. He learned to do so during his 11 spells in Israeli jails between 1981 and 1986).
  • The second consideration is Israel’s track record in successfully placing its agents inside Arab institutions and organizations at very high levels.
  • My speculation (repeat speculation) is that if Mohammed Dahlan became the “President”, he would be prepared to use force as necessary to impose Israel’s terms for peace on the Palestinians. Dahlan demonstrated his enthusiasm for doing Israeli and American dirty work when, at the request of the Bush administration, he agreed to lead a military campaign to destroy Hamas after its election victory in 2006. The Bush administration provided Dahlan with money and arms and trained his Fatah fighters in a number of Arab countries. But it all went badly wrong for Dahlan and his sponsors. Hamas got wind of what Dahlan (fronting for the Bush administration and Israel) was intending and launched an Israeli-like pre-emptive strike. It destroyed Fatah’s security forces based in the Gaza Strip (which had been Dahlan’s base) and put Fatah politically out of business there. Commenting on what had happened in the Gaza Strip, Hani al-Hassan, for many years Arafat’s crisis manager and one of his two most trusted advisers, said it was “not a war between Fatah and Hamas but between Hamas and Fatah collaborators who served the Americans and the Israelis.”
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  • Subsequently the Bush administration exerted heavy pressure on Abbas (which he resisted) to appoint Dahlan as his deputy. And some Palestinian officials said that the U.S. and a number of European countries had made it clear that they would like Dahlan to succeed Abbas as head of the P.A. They presumably believed then, as Netanyahu might well do today, that Dahlan as “President” would use whatever means were necessary to compel the Palestinians to make peace on Israel’s terms. Shortly after his forces were expelled from the Gaza Strip, Dahlan re-established himself in the West Bank. And thereafter tensions between his Fatah supporters and opponents grew and grew. In June 2011 he was expelled from Fatah because of the assumption that he had delivered for Israel whatever it was that poisoned Arafat. Three months later Abbas ordered a raid on Dahlan’s house and the arrest of his private armed guards. Today in exile, and consulting with his allies in Sisi’s Egypt and some Arab Gulf states as well as Israel and America, Dahlan is plotting his comeback to replace Abbas by one means or another.
  • The Ma’ariv article I mentioned above said that Dahlan has claimed that he and not Abbas can be counted on to bring peace, and that in 2010 he reportedly sent a letter to the Obama administration in which he said, “There is no choice but to replace Abbas with someone who can deliver results.” Because Dahlan must know that Israel’s leaders are not remotely interested in peace on terms the Palestinians could accept, I think it is reasonable to assume that the result he has in mind is peace imposed on Israel’s terms – effectively a Palestinian surrender to Zionism’s will. Is a Dahlan/Israeli takeover of the PA really possible? An indication that Abbas seems to think it cannot be ruled out was his request to President Obama that he press Israel to include Marwan Barghouti in the fourth and final batch of Palestinian prisoners due to be released at the end of this month. (Prisoner release was one of the inducements to secure Abbas’s green light for Secretary of State Kerry to launch his “peace process”. But today Netanyahu is under mounting pressure from the neo-fascist tendency to the right of him to say “No” to any further prisoner releases).
  • Barghouti is by far the most popular Palestinian leader and would easily win an election to replace Abbas as “President”. And that, of course, is precisely why Israel won’t release him. So if Abbas can be bullied and bribed by Israel and the U.S. into lifting the ban on Dahlan’s return from exile to the occupied West Bank, he, Dahlan, could be in with a chance. In my view a victory for him would be the final betrayal of the Palestinian cause.
Paul Merrell

Al Jazeera once again removes Joseph Massad article on Palestine | The Electronic Intifada - 0 views

electronicintifada.net/...oseph-massad-article-palestine

war & peace Israel Palestine Egypt U.S.-foreign-policy Abbas Dahlan Palestinian-Authority

shared by Paul Merrell on 25 Mar 14 - No Cached
  • Al Jazeera English has once again removed an article by Columbia University professor Joseph Massad hours after publishing it. The article, “The Dahlan Factor,” appeared for several hours on the Qatar-based broadcaster’s website this morning at this link, but was later removed without explanation (the full article is republished below). The article had been extremely popular, appearing in the fifth spot on the website’s “What’s Hot” section.
  • Massad’s article: The Dahlan factor The Israeli and US betting on the Dahlan horse will only increase the resolve of the Palestinians and their supporters
  • The recent resurrection of Mohammad Dahlanby several Arab governments, Israel and the US is a most important development for the future of the Palestinian cause, Palestinian Authority (PA)-Israel negotiations, and Hamas-ruled Gaza. Dahlan is viewed, by many Palestinians, as the most corrupt official in the history of the Palestinian national movement (and there are many contenders for that title). Dahlan, it would be recalled, was the PA man in charge of Gaza after the Oslo Accords were signed, where he commanded 20,000 Palestinian security personnel who were answerable to the CIA and to Israeli intelligence. His forces would torture Hamas members in PA dungeons throughout the 1990s. His corruption, at the time, was such that he allegedly diverted over 40 percent of taxes levied against the Palestinians to his personal account in what became known as the Karni Crossing Scandal in 1997. Dahlan, who has been accused repeatedly by both Hamas and Fatah of being an agent of US, Israeli, Egyptian, and Jordanian intelligence, would attempt to stage a US-organised coup against the democratically elected Hamas government in 2007 in Gaza, an attempt that backfired on him and ended with his eviction from the Strip (I had forewarned about the coup several months before it occurred).
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  • A simultaneous coup led by Abbas and his Israeli- and US-backed security forces in the West Bank was successful in dislodging the elected Hamas from power. Dahlan retreated to that mainstay of US and Israeli power, namely the PA-controlled West Bank, where he began to hatch new plots with his multiple patrons to undermine not only Hamas but also Abbas, whose position he begrudged and coveted. Indeed the Americans and the European Union (the latter on US orders) began to pressure Abbas to appoint Dahlan as his deputy, making it clear that they would like to see Dahlan succeed Abbas. Abbas resisted the pressure and refused. In the meantime, Dahlan, has been accused by Hamas and the PA of allegedly plotting several assassination attempts that targeted several Palestinian officials, including Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyyah and Fatah ministers in the PA. Accusations that he persistently denied. His involvement in the 2010 Mossad assassination of a Hamas official in Dubai included having two of his Palestinian death squad hit men (later arrested by Dubai authorities) assist in the operation, a charge he also denied. His personal wealth was conservatively estimated in 2005 by an Israeli think tank at $120m.
  • Once Dahlan’s schemes became too obvious to ignore, Abbas stripped him of power and chased him out of the Ramallah Green Zone in 2010. He moved to Mubarak’s Egypt and later, following the ouster of Mubarak, to Dubai (and on occasion Europe) where he remained until his more recent resurrection by the heirs of Mubarak who now sit on Egypt’s throne.
  • Dahlan’s power lies in his ability to serve the agenda of multiple patrons. For the Israelis, he is a ruthless, corrupt power-grubbing man who would do their bidding obediently were he to come to power in Gaza or the West Bank. Both the Americans and the Israelis see him as especially willing to sign on an American-sponsored Netanyahu deal without equivocation. For the Egyptians and the Gulf monarchies (and he is said to be a business partner with a Gulf ruler), he would look after their interests and obey their orders by eliminating any resistance to a US-imposed Palestinian final surrender to Israel and by eliminating Hamas once and for all. For the Egyptian coup leaders, whose coup replicated Dahlan’s 2007 Gaza coup, except successfully, he could rid them of Hamas, which they see as an extension of the power of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), and render their relations with Israel even closer than they already are. Dahlan’s most important role, however, is the one that the Americans need him for, namely, to replace Abbas should the latter fail to sign on to the final surrender that Barack Obama and John Kerry have been cooking at the behest of Netanyahu in the past few months.
  • Just as George Bush Jr and Bill Clinton terminated the services of Arafat after the latter proved unable to sign off on the final Palestinian surrender demanded of him at Camp David in the summer of 2000 (an inability that would arguably cost him his life at the hands of Abbas or Dahlan - depending on which of the two you talk to - acting at the behest of the Israelis, and very likely the Americans), Obama will terminate the services of Abbas should he fail to sign the US-sponsored surrender. Indeed, even if Abbas does sign such a deal, as he is approaching his 80th birthday, Dahlan will be needed and ready to take over after his death. It is in this context that Egyptian army top brass recently visited Israel for a whole week while the Egyptian private TV station Dream (owned by a Mubarak businessman ally, Ahmad Bahgat) aired an interview with Dahlan in which he attacked Abbas, in yet another effort to delegitimise the latter. Dahlan was offered the support of the rightwing Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris (infamous for his cutting off cellular phone lines in Cairo during the Egyptian uprising in January 2011 on the orders of Mubarak’s security apparatus), who sang Dahlan’s praises (as well as those of Mohammad Rashid, aka Khaled Salam, a former Arafat aide and another allegedly corrupt embezzling fugitive) as one of the most honest businessmen he ever worked with and then proceeded to denounce Abbas as a “liar”.
  • As an Egyptian court has recently joined Israel and the US in banning Hamas from the country and considering it a terrorist organisation and as the Israelis have threatened openly this week that an invasion of Gaza will be necessary, the plan for a Dahlan take-over is hatching slowly but surely. This is viewed as such a threat that Abbas dispatched his supporters and cronies to the streets of Ramallah to prove to the Americans and the Israelis that he still commands much support in the West Bank. The competition between Abbas and Dahlan is essentially one where each of them wants to prove that he can be more servile to Israeli, US, Egyptian, and Gulf interests while maintaining legitimacy and full control of the Palestinian population. The details of the plot are not clear. They could involve an invasion of Gaza from the Egyptian and the Israeli sides (and Egyptian officials have already threatened to carry out such an invasion a few weeks ago), a coup of sorts in the West Bank, and even assassinations of Haniyyah and/or Abbas. All bets are off at the moment, as Abbas, like Arafat before him, is offering complete obedience to US and Israeli diktat and will go much farther than Arafat did, but he understands too well that he would lose all legitimacy and control were he to sign the final humiliating surrender that the US and Israel are insisting on. Dahlan of course will have no such worries.
  • As for Hamas, which, unlike the MB, is a resistance movement and not a political party, it cannot be rounded up or crushed so easily, and the entry of Dahlan into Gaza, let alone the West Bank, will usher in a civil war that could likely end in his defeat yet again, short of a full Israeli invasion of Gaza to return him to power (Dahlan has also been accused by the PA of collaborating with the Israelis in their 2008 invasion of Gaza and has recently been accused in aiding the ongoing counter-revolution in Egypt). The same scenario would be repeated in the West Bank. The future of the Palestinian people is in danger and the enemies of the Palestinians surround them inside and outside Palestine. The Obama-Israeli-Egyptian-Gulf plans for liquidating their cause and their rights continue afoot. However, just like past corrupt Palestinian leaders were unsuccessful in liquidating the rights of the Palestinians and their cause, the Israeli and US betting on the Dahlan horse will only increase the resolve of the Palestinian people and their supporters that Palestinian resistance will only cease after the final liquidation of Israeli state racism and colonialism in all its manifestations throughout historic Palestine.
Paul Merrell

Abbas signs Application for Palestinian ICC Membership - Between a Rock and a Hard Plac... - 0 views

nsnbc.me/...etween-a-rock-and-a-hard-place

war & peace Israel Palestine ICC UNSC

shared by Paul Merrell on 02 Jan 15 - No Cached
  • PA President Mahmoud Abbas signed the application for Palestine’s accession to the Rome Statute and the International Criminal Court (ICC). Abbas signed the application on Wednesday, in response to the UN Security Council’s rejection of a Jordanian sponsored draft resolution on Tuesday. The resolution called for a fixed timeline for the end of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
  • The rejected resolution called for a 12-months timeline for a final peace accord between Israel and Palestine and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian territories by the end of 2017.
  • The rejected draft resolution was harshly criticized by imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, other progressive Fatah members as well as by the PFLP and others. One of the major points of contention was that the proposed draft resolution, according to its Palestinian opponents, risked waving the right of return of displaced Palestinians.
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  • Russia, China and France voted in favor of the proposed resolution while the U.S. and Australia voted against. The UK, Rwanda, Nigeria and South Korea abstained, thus preventing the necessary majority. The U.S., however, noted that it would have used its veto right as permanent Security Council member, had the draft resolution received the votes necessary for its adoption. The Palestinian Authority led by PA President Mahmoud Abbas noted that the PA would sign an application to accede to the International Criminal Court in the Rome Statute. Arguably, a Palestinian accession to the ICC would endow it with the right to lodge charges for war crimes at the ICC. Signing the Rome Statute, however, is a two-edged sword as it also makes Palestine subject to the ICC.
  • The ICC has been widely criticized for being used to enforce western geopolitical interests as well as of selective prosecution. Whether a Palestinian ICC membership would ever result in the prosecution of Israeli war crimes is highly questionable. Arguably, it more likely that the ICC would be used by non-ICC member USA to demand the prosecution of Palestinians.
Paul Merrell

Hamas popularity 'surges after Gaza war' - Middle East - Al Jazeera English - 0 views

www.aljazeera.com/...aza-war-20149215723979443.html

war & peace Palestine Hamas Fatah popularity polls

shared by Paul Merrell on 04 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • Hamas's support has surged after its war with Israel and would win Palestinian elections if they were held today, an opinion poll suggests. The Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research's poll, released on Tuesday, suggested Hamas leader Ismail Haniya would win almost twice as many votes as Fatah's Mahmoud Abbas, in a two-way presidential election.
  • More than half of respondents said armed resistance - a pillar of Hamas's ideology - would help gain a Palestinian state, as opposed to 20 percent who said they supported non-violent means. And 79 percent of respondents said they believed that Hamas won the Gaza war, three percent backed Israel and 17 percent said both sides were losers. There have been no national elections since Hamas won polls in 2007 and took control of Gaza.  Hamas has fought three wars against Israel while Fatah has pursued on-off talks, mediated by the United States, which have so far failed to secure an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. Meanwhile, a rare rally by thousands of Hamas supporters in Ramallah on Saturday passed without incident under the watchful eyes of plain-clothes Fatah forces, although Hamas complained that several of its backers were arrested afterwards. The Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research describes itself as a Ramallah-based independent non-profit institution and think tank.  The survey was conducted with more than 1,000 Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
  • Paul Merrell on 04 Sep 14
     
    Not good news for U.S.-Israeli hand-maiden, Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas' term in office expired two years ago or so. Elections in Palestine are long overdue.  
Paul Merrell

How Netanyahu provoked this war with Gaza | +972 Magazine - 0 views

972mag.com/...93200

war & peace Palestine Israel Hamas

shared by Paul Merrell on 10 Jul 14 - No Cached
  • On Monday of last week, June 30, Reuters ran a story that began:Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas on Monday of involvement, for the first time since a Gaza war in [November] 2012, in rocket attacks on Israel and threatened to step up military action to stop the strikes. So even by Israel’s own reckoning, Hamas had not fired any rockets in the year-and-a-half since “Operation Pillar of Defense” ended in a ceasefire. (Hamas denied firing even those mentioned by Netanyahu last week; it wasn’t until Monday of this week that it acknowledged launching any rockets at Israel since the 2012 ceasefire.) So how did we get from there to here, here being Operation Protective Edge, which officially began Tuesday with 20 Gazans dead, both militants and civilians, scores of others badly  wounded and much destruction, alongside about 150 rockets flying all over Israel (but no serious injuries or property damage by Wednesday afternoon)? We got here because Benjamin Netanyahu brought us here. He’s being credited in Israel for showing great restraint in the days leading up to the big op, answering Gaza’s rockets with nothing more than warning shots and offering “quiet for quiet.” But in fact it was his antagonism toward all Palestinians – toward Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority no less than toward Hamas – that started and steadily provoked the chain reaction that led to the current misery.
  • And nobody knows this, or should know it, better than the Obama administration, which is now standing up for Israel’s “right to defend itself.” It was Netanyahu and his government that killed the peace talks with Abbas that were shepherded by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry; the Americans won’t exactly spell this out on-the-record, but they will off-the record. So a week before those negotiations’ April 29 deadline, Abbas, seeing he wasn’t getting anywhere playing ball with Israel and the United States, decided to shore things up at home, to end the split between the West Bank and Gaza, and he signed the Fatah-Hamas unity deal – with himself as president and Fatah clearly the senior partner. The world – even Washington – welcomed the deal, if warily so, saying unity between the West Bank and Gaza was a good thing for the peace process, and holding out the hope that the deal would compel Hamas to moderate its political stance. Netanyahu, however, saw red. Warning that the unity government would “strengthen terror,” he broke off talks with Abbas and tried to convince the West to refuse to recognize the emerging new Palestinian government – but he failed. He didn’t stop trying, though. At a time when Hamas was seen to be weak, broke, throttled by the new-old Egyptian regime, unpopular with Gazans, and acting as Israel’s cop in the Strip by not only holding its own fire but curbing that of Islamic Jihad and others, Netanyahu became obsessed with Hamas – and obsessed with tying it around Abbas’ neck. Netanyahu’s purpose, clearly enough, was to shift the blame for the failure of the U.S.-sponsored peace talks from himself and his government to Abbas and the Palestinians.
  • But Netanyahu used the kidnappings to go after Hamas in the West Bank. The target, as one Israeli security official said, was “anything green.” The army raided, destroyed, confiscated and arrested anybody and anything having to do with Hamas, killed some Palestinian protesters and rearrested some 60 Hamasniks who had been freed in the Gilad Shalit deal, throwing them back in prison. Meanwhile, in Gaza, Israel had already escalated matters on June 11, the day before the kidnappings, by killing not only a wanted man riding on a bicycle, but a 10-year-old child riding with him. Between that, the kidnappings a day later and the crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank that immediately followed, Gaza and Israel started going at it pretty fierce – with all the casualties and destruction, once again, on Gaza’s side only.
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  • But it wasn’t working. Then on June 12 something fell into Netanyahu’s lap which he certainly would have prevented if he’d been able to, but which he also did not hesitate exploiting to the hilt politically: the kidnapping in the West Bank of Gilad Sha’ar and Naftali Fraenkel, both 16, and Eyal Yifrah, 19. Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the kidnapping. He said he had proof. To this day, neither he nor any other Israeli official has come forward with a shred of proof. Meanwhile, it is now widely assumed that the Hamas leadership did not give the order for the kidnapping, that it was instead carried out at the behest of a renegade, Hamas-linked, Hebron clan with a long history of blowing up Hamas’ ceasefires with Israel by killing Israelis. Besides, it made no sense for Hamas leaders to order up such a spectacular crime – not after signing an agreement with Abbas, and not when they were so badly on the ropes.
  • And that was basically it. Netanyahu had given orders to smash up the West Bank and Gaza over the kidnapping of three Israeli boys that, as monstrous as it was, apparently had nothing to do with the Hamas leadership. Thus, he opened an account with Israel’s enemies, who would wish for an opportunity to close it. On June 30, the bodies of the three kidnapped Israeli boys were found in the West Bank. “Hamas is responsible, Hamas will pay,” Netanayhu intoned. That payment was delayed by the burning alive of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, 15, which set off riots in East Jerusalem and Israel’s “Arab Triangle,” and which put Israel on the defensive. It probably encouraged the armed groups in Gaza to step up their rocketing of Israel, while Netanyahu kept Israel’s in check. Then on Sunday, as many as nine Hamas men were killed in a Gazan tunnel that Israel bombed, saying it was going to be used for a terror attack. The next day nearly 100 rockets were fired at Israel. This time Hamas took responsibility for launching some of the rockets – a week after Netanyahu, for the first time since November 2012, accused it of breaking the ceasefire. And the day after that, “Operation Protective Edge” officially began. By Wednesday afternoon, there were 35 dead and many maimed in Gaza, Israelis were ducking rockets, and no one can say when or how it will end, or what further horrors lie in store.
  • Netanyahu could have avoided the whole thing. He could have chosen not to shoot up the West Bank and Gaza and arrest dozens of previously freed Hamasniks (along with hundreds of other Palestinians) over what was very likely a rogue kidnapping. Before that, he could have chosen not to stonewall Abbas for nine months of peace negotiations, and then there wouldn’t have even been a unity government with Hamas that freaked him out so badly – a reaction that was, of course, Netanyahu’s choice as well. But Israel’s prime minister is and always has been at war with the Palestinians – diplomatically, militarily and every other way; against Abbas, Hamas and all the rest – and this is what has guided his actions, and this is what provoked Hamas into going to war against Israel.
Gary Edwards

One Hundred Articles of Impeachment against Obama | The Conservative Papers - 1 views

conservativepapers.com/...a-case-for-impeaching-obama

Obammunism articles-of-impeachment

shared by Gary Edwards on 08 May 13 - No Cached
  • Gary Edwards on 08 May 13
     
    Only 100?  Just kidding :)  Congrats to Congressmen Allen West and Darrell Issa for yeoman work.   excerpt: "There is a growing groundswell within American Republican and Tea Party ranks that impeachment proceedings should be initiated against President Obama on a whole list of violations of the Constitution and the War Powers Act Congressmen Allen West of Florida (R-Florida) and Darrell Issa (R- California) have consistently and loudly criticized the president for overstepping the political mark and bypassing Congress's approval on a whole range of dubious policies and issues:and the recent Obama attack on the Supreme Court of Justice and the Russian " Open Mic " gaffe on National Security, leads to one question: Is Barack Obama making his own case for impeachment? Obama did not become the Democratic nominee for President without the help of several leaders of the Democratic Party who knew that he was not eligible for office Listed below are the One Hundred Articles of Impeachment. 1. Appointment of a "shadow government" of some 35+ individuals termed "czars" who are not confirmed by the Senate and respond only to the president, yet have overarching regulatory powers - a clear violation of the separation of powers concept. Obama bypassed the Senate with many of his appointments of over 35 "czars." 2. No congressional support for Libyan action (violation of the War Powers Act ). Obama lied to the American people when he said that there were no US troops on the ground in Libya and then later said they were only "logistical troops." Obama violated the War Powers Act of 1973 by conducting a war against Libya without Congressional authorization. 3. Betraying of allies ( Israel and Great Britain. Obama has placed the security of our most trusted ally in the Middle East, Israel, in danger while increasing funding to the Palestinian Authority (Fatah, just another Islamic terrorist group) whilst they have enjoined a reconciliation pact with l
  • Paul Merrell on 09 May 13
     
    The article is dated April 12, 2004, before Allen West was defeated in his bid for re-election to the House. West is far from a reliable source of information, which shows in the 100 purported reasons for impeachment, which reads like a military-industrial complex wish list. For example, with "allies" like Israel, who needs enemies? West has repeatedly made serious charges that, when pressed by the media for proof, he offered neither evidence nor withdrawal of his charges. West is also a confessed war criminal who admittedly used torture in Iraq to obtain erroneous information from an innocent detainee. Because of the incident, he was removed from his command, charged, and scheduled for court martial under articles 128 and 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. A trial was held but he was rescued from that situation before the decision was rendered by a letter signed by 95 members of Congress. As a result, the felony counts were dropped and he was recharged under Article 15 (minor infractions), fined $5,000, and allowed to resign his commission. Notwithstanding his shameful dereliction of duty, West ran for the House in 2010 as a Tea Party Republican and won, with a campaign that painted himself as a war hero. That is not to say that all of the reasons given for impeachment are invalid. I agree with some of them. I would support Obama's impeachment were there enough votes in the Senate to convict. But even in the House, all of the wind fell out of the impeachment drive's sails when Obama was re-elected.
Paul Merrell

Israel cancels peace talks meeting after unity deal announced | Maan News Agency - 0 views

www.maannews.net/...ViewDetails.aspx

war & peace Palestine Israel negotiations U.S.-foreign-policy

shared by Paul Merrell on 24 Apr 14 - No Cached
  • Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled a planned session of peace talks with Palestinian negotiators on Wednesday after news of a unity deal between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Hamas was announced."Israel has canceled a negotiations meeting that was expected to be held this evening," a statement released by the prime minister's office on Wednesday said, without further explanation, according to Reuters.The cancellation comes hours after top Palestinian political leaders from the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Hamas announced a reconciliation deal after more than seven years of political division.Israeli officials lambasted the deal, with economy minister and chairman of the "Jewish Home" party Naftali Bennett saying: "The Palestinian Authority has become the world's largest terror organization; we have entered a new political era in the Mideast," according to Israeli newspaper the Jerusalem Post.
  • Bennett added that just as the US does not talk with al-Qaeda, Israel should not negotiate with the Palestinian Authority, who he called "killers."The unity deal authorized the Palestinian president to set a date for new elections and signaled a potentially historic reconciliation between the two major Palestinian political factions, the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the Hamas-ruled government in the Gaza Strip.Earlier, Palestinian officials announced that they had agreed to form a unity government within five weeks that will be headed by either President Mahmoud Abbas or former Deputy Prime Minister of the 2006 unity government Nasser al-Din al-Shaer, who is a member of Hamas.The parties also agreed that both Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in the occupied West Bank would release prisoners detained for their political affiliation.
  • The unity deal comes amid a major impasse in ongoing US-backed peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, which were re-activated in July.Israel has announced plans to build thousands of settlement homes across the occupied West Bank since the start of talks, angering the Palestinians.In late March, meanwhile, Israel refused to release the final round of Palestinian veteran prisoners that it had promised to release as part of a trust-building measure, participating the current crisis.
  • Paul Merrell on 24 Apr 14
     
    A true complication for the Obama Administration and Israeli government, if the Palestinian unity deal sticks. At Israel's urging, the U.S. formally designated Hamas as a Terrorist Organization™ shortly after it won a valid election to lead government in the Gaza Strip, imposing sanctions and criminal penalties on any person or legal entity that aids Hamas. With Gaza and the West Bank organized under a single government that includes Hamas, Obama may have to decide whether to end the Hamas terrorist designation or abandon attempts to broker a settlement of the Israel-Palestine question.  
Paul Merrell

Abbas threatens to end Hamas unity deal - Middle East - Al Jazeera English - 0 views

www.aljazeera.com/...h-hamas-20149794312283293.html

war & peace Israel Palestine Gaza PA Hamas Abbas

shared by Paul Merrell on 22 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • Mahmoud Abbas has threatened to break off a unity agreement with Hamas if the movement does not allow the government to operate properly in the Gaza Strip. Speaking in Cairo ahead of an Arab League foreign ministers' meeting, the Palestinian president accused Hamas of running a shadow government and said he wanted a single authority and a single system of rule. "We will not accept the situation with Hamas continuing as it is at the moment," Abbas said on arrival in the Egyptian capital late on Saturday, in remarks published by official Palestinian news agency WAFA. "We won't accept a partnership with them if the situation continues like this in Gaza where there is a shadow government ... running the territory. "The national consensus government cannot do anything on the ground," he charged.  His comments came nearly two weeks after a ceasefire ended a deadly 50-day confrontation with Israel in Gaza. Abbas also accused Hamas of undertaking executions without trial.  Hamas denounced his allegations as baseless.
  • Under the terms of the reconciliation deal earlier this year, the factions agreed to form an interim consensus government and end seven years of rival administrations in the West Bank and Gaza. The deal sought to end years of rivalry between Hamas and Fatah.
  • The new cabinet, which is based in Ramallah, took office on June 2, with Gaza's Hamas government officially stepping down the same day. Hamas is however the de facto power in Gaza. Khaled Meshaal, the Hamas leader in exile, said Palestinians should steer away from triggering problems in the media. "I call on Abbas, Fatah, Hamas and all Palestinian factions and forces, including independent figures, to meet at the earliest, and come to an agreement in order to conclude our unity and the way forward ... one voice, one decision, one authority and one goal."
  • Paul Merrell on 22 Sep 14
     
    Abbas has been taking potshots at Hamas because the Hamas leader beat him 70-30 percent in a recent poll of Palestinians. Abbas' term in office expired more than two years ago but he has not called new elections. He is largely the hand-maiden of Israel and the U.S. His endless delays in filing war crime charges against Israel in the International Criminal Court is continuing to cost his popularity.
Paul Merrell

Lethal Israeli - Palestinian Conflict Escalates | nsnbc international - 0 views

nsnbc.me/...palestinian-conflict-escalates

war & peace Israel Palestine Gaza escalating-violence

shared by Paul Merrell on 12 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • Conflict between Israel and Palestine escalates as youth throughout Palestine vent their frustrations over decades of illegal occupation and an escalation of Israeli oppression and violence. The renewed round of violence takes its toll on both Israelis and Palestinians.  
  • Violent clashes between Israeli occupation forces, settlers and Palestinians have escalated throughout Palestine since the beginning of the intensified Israeli crackdown against Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, last month. On Sunday Israeli troops carried out a raid against the International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC). The center disseminates a lot of regional and local news coverage that otherwise only is available in Arab to English-speaking listeners and readers. The raid was carried out Sunday morning at 4.00 o’clock. Over the weekend a rocket was fired into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. The rocket landed without causing damage. Sunday at dawn Israel responded by launching air strikes against targets in the Gaza Strip. Israeli military and government sources say that the strikes aimed at targeting militants.
  • One of these air strikes struck a family home in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City. The air raid killed a five months pregnant Palestinian mother along with her two-year-old child while several other family members were injured. The husband of the deceased 30-year-old Nour Rasmi Hassan told that a “knock on the roof rocket” woke the family from their sleep but that they were confused, shocked and that there was no time to respond and flee their home before the house was struck. Frustrated Palestinian youth are confronting Palestinian police and military in occupied East Jerusalem and other occupied Palestinian territories. Clashes in the interim Palestinian capital Ramallah turned deadly on Sunday evening when a 13-year-old boy succumbed to the his injuries. The 13-year-old Ahmad had been struck in the head by a rubber-coated steel bullet fired by Israeli occupation forces earlier that day. The fatal shooting occurred close to the Beit El settlement northeast of al-Biereh.
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  • Last week Israeli undercover agents infiltrated Palestinian protesters near Beit El, grabbing some, beating, kicking and injuring them severely. Meanwhile, some frustrated Palestinian youth have carried out knife attacks against Israeli settlers and citizens, venting their frustrations. Knife attacks began after the willful fatal shooting of an unarmed Palestinian youth by Israeli officers. A video captured the fatal shooting and the cheering words “kill him, kill him” before the fatal shots were fired. Several analysts noted that the latest round of violence has the potential to escalate into a full-scale Palestinian uprising. The Israeli crackdown against Palestinians has further soured Egyptian – Israeli relations. Last week the spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Ahmed Abu Zeid said that Israel as the occupying power must provide Palestinian people the required protection and stop repeating its attacks that lead to more political congestion among the Palestinians and weaken the opportunities of reviving the installed peace talks between Palestinians and Israel,.
  • Notably, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas noted at his address at the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly that the PLO may no longer feel obliged to adhere to the Oslo Accords. Mahmoud Abbas stressed that Palestine could not continue to adhere to the accords as Israel continues to violate them. Several of the progressive PLO member factions, including the PFLP and DFLP have called for a renewed uprising. Both factions have repeatedly demanded that the Al-Fatah led Palestinian Authority immediately ends its so-called security cooperation with Israeli police, military, intelligence services and government. The Israeli Cabinet of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for its part, has promised a strict response to any “insurrection”. Over 150 Palestinians have been seriously injured over the course of the last week.
Paul Merrell

Abbas: Palestinians to seek further UN recognition | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR - 0 views

dailystar.com.lb/...ek-to-join-15-un-agencies.ashx

war & peace Israel Palestine negotiations U.S.-foreign-policy UN-recognition

shared by Paul Merrell on 02 Apr 14 - No Cached
  • RAMALLAH, West Bank: In a surprise move that could jeopardize U.S. peace efforts, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday resumed a bid for further Palestinian recognition by the United Nations, despite a promise to suspend such efforts during nine months of negotiations with Israel. Abbas signed "State of Palestine" applications for 15 U.N. agencies in a hastily convened ceremony televised live from his West Bank headquarters.  Abbas said he was compelled to take action because Israel had failed to carry out a promised released of veteran Palestinian prisoners. "We will apply to 15 agencies and conventions immediately," Abbas said after leading members of his Fatah movement and the Palestine Liberation Organization supported the decision unanimously by a show of hands. Abbas insisted that he is still interested in negotiating a deal with Israel on the terms of Palestinian statehood, saying he and his aides "will continue our efforts to reach a peaceful solution through negotiations."
  • Such talks resumed in late July, after a push by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and were to last for nine months, until the end of April.  During this period, Abbas promised to suspend his U.N. bid, while Israel was to release 104 veteran Palestinian prisoners in four stages. The Palestinians say the fourth group of prisoners was due to be released by the end of March, and that Israel failed to live up to its promise. There was no immediate reaction from Israel and from Kerry, who has been mediating between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the past year. It was not immediately clear if Abbas' decision was a negotiating tactic or signaled a fundamental shift in strategy. In his brief comments Tuesday, the Palestinian leader said he is "not seeking a conflict with anyone, particularly the U.S."
  • It was also uncertain if a meeting between Abbas and Kerry, tentatively arranged for Wednesday, would still take place. Abbas' decision, meanwhile, also threw into doubt claims that a deal was emerging that would have extended Israel-Palestinian talks beyond an April 29 deadline and included the release of imprisoned American Jewish spy Jonathan Pollard.
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  • In a surprise move that could jeopardize U.S. peace efforts, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday resumed a bid for further Palestinian recognition by the United Nations, despite a promise to suspend such efforts during nine months of negotiations with Israel. Abbas signed "State of Palestine" applications for 15 U.N. agencies in a hastily convened ceremony televised live from his West Bank headquarters.  Abbas said he was compelled to take action because Israel had failed to carry out a promised released of veteran Palestinian prisoners. "We will apply to 15 agencies and conventions immediately," Abbas said after leading members of his Fatah movement and the Palestine Liberation Organization supported the decision unanimously by a show of hands.
Paul Merrell

Egypt and UAE discuss Security Cooperation: Nibbing NATO's Covert Infrastructure in the... - 0 views

nsnbc.me/...vert-infrastructure-in-the-bud

war & peace terrorists™ Egypt UAE terrorist-organizations-list™ NATO U.S.-foreign-policy

shared by Paul Merrell on 12 Jan 15 - No Cached
  • Egyptian Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim and an Egyptian delegation left Egypt on Sunday for a three-day visit and meetings with UAE Interior Minister Saif Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Emitati police chiefs. In November 2014 the UAE published a “terror list” including 85 organizations. Among them, many who are known to be involved in activities as proxy for Gulf Arab, Western and NATO government’s in covert war and regime change operations. 
  • The agenda reportedly focuses on the expansion of cooperation in intelligence, countering terrorism, the arrest of suspects, smuggling and crime. Both Egypt and the UAE are members of Interpol.
  • In November 2014 the UAE published a list of 85 organizations which it had designated as terrorist organizations. The list includes a number of Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda linked organizations which are known to be used as proxies for certain Gulf Arab as well as Western and NATO covert wars and terrorist operations. The development prompted nsnbc editor-in-Chief and independent analyst Christof Lehmann to note that the “UAE Terror List nibs NATO’s covert Infrastructure in the Bud”.
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  • The list also includes organizations which are currently legally operating in at lest seven European countries and at least two organizations which are currently legally operating in the United States. Most noteworthy with regards to the United States’ covert regime-change program is that the USA’s terror list includes CANVAS, a.k.a. as DEMOZ. Virtually identical CANVAS flyers instructing protesters in combating police were found during Rabaa al-Adaweya and Nahda Square sit ins and the violent protests in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. Both situations ended in mass bloodshed and evidence strongly suggesting that cells embedded within the protest organizers shot and killed both police officers and protesters with the intention to create civil war like circumstances. Other organizations with known ties to Western and certain Gulf Arab countries covert war on Libya, Mali, Syria, Iraq and beyond include Jabhat al-Nusrah, Fatah al-Islam, Daesh, a.k.a. ISIS, ISIL or Islamic State, Boko Haram, Terik-i-Taliban, the Houthi movement, Liwa-al-Islam, as well as the ISIS associated Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis. (see complete list below).
  • The list also includes Fatah al-Islam which is legally operating in Italy, the Islamic Association in Finland, the Muslim Association of Sweden, Det Islamske Forbundet in Norway, Islamic Relief in the United Kingdom, The Cordoba Foundation in the United Kingdom, Council on American Relations CAIR in the United States, which is known for having close ties to networks around Zbigniev Brzezinski and the Rockefeller family, the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe, the Islamic Society of Germany, the Islamic Society of Denmark, the League of Muslims in Belgium and others. While many of the included organizations project an image of charitable or religious organizations or lobbies, many have been or are actively involved in covert infiltration and recruitment projects in cooperation with intelligence services, radicalization, subversion, financing of terrorism, or regime change operations.
Paul Merrell

BBC Protects U.K.'s Close Ally Saudi Arabia With Incredibly Dishonest and Biased Editing - 0 views

theintercept.com/...y-dishonest-and-biased-editing

war & peace MSM BBC lies pro-war propaganda

shared by Paul Merrell on 27 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • The BBC loves to boast about how “objective” and “neutral” it is. But a recent article, which it was forced to change, illustrates the lengths to which the British state-funded media outlet will go to protect one of the U.K. government’s closest allies, Saudi Arabia, which also happens to be one of the country’s largest arms purchasers (just this morning, the Saudi ambassador to the U.K. threatened in an op-ed that any further criticism of the Riyadh regime by Jeremy Corbyn could jeopardize the multi-layered U.K./Saudi alliance). Earlier this month, the BBC published an article describing the increase in weapons and money sent by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf regimes to anti-Assad fighters in Syria. All of that “reporting” was based on the claims of what the BBC called “a Saudi government official,” who — because he works for a government closely allied with the U.K. — was granted anonymity by the BBC and then had his claims mindlessly and uncritically presented as fact (it is the rare exception when the BBC reports adversarially on the Saudis). This anonymous “Saudi official” wasn’t whistleblowing or presenting information contrary to the interests of the regime; to the contrary, he was disseminating official information the regime wanted publicized. This was the key claim of the anonymous Saudi official (emphasis added):
  • The well-placed official, who asked not to be named, said supplies of modern, high-powered weaponry including guided anti-tank weapons would be increased to the Arab- and western-backed rebel groups fighting the forces of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian, Iranian and Lebanese allies. He said those groups being supplied did not include either Islamic State (IS) or al-Nusra Front, both of which are proscribed terrorist organizations. Instead, he said the weapons would go to three rebel alliances — Jaish al-Fatah (Army of Conquest), the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the Southern Front.
  • So the Saudis, says the anonymous official, are only arming groups such as the “Army of Conquest,” but not the al Qaeda affiliate the Nusra Front. What’s the problem with this claim? It’s obvious, though the BBC would not be so impolite as to point it out: The Army of Conquest includes the Nusra Front as one of its most potent components. This is not even in remote dispute; the New York Times’ elementary explainer on the Army of Conquest from three weeks ago states:
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  • The alliance consists of a number of mostly Islamist factions, including the Nusra Front, al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate; Ahrar al-Sham, another large group; and more moderate rebel factions that have received covert arms support from the intelligence services of the United States and its allies. The Telegraph, in an early October article complaining that Russia was bombing “non-ISIL rebels,” similarly noted that the Army of Conquest (bombed by Russia) “includes a number of Islamist groups, most powerful among them Ahrar al-Sham and Jabhat al-Nusra. Jabhat al-Nusra is the local affiliate of al-Qaeda.” Even the Voice of America noted that “Russia’s main target has been the Army of Conquest, an alliance of insurgent groups that includes the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaida’s affiliate in Syria, and the hard-line Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham, as well as some less extreme Islamist groups.”
  • In other words, the claim from the anonymous Saudi official that the BBC uncritically regurgitated — that the Saudis are only arming the Army of Conquest but no groups that “include” the Nusra Front — is self-negating. A BBC reader, Ricardo Vaz, brought this contradiction to the BBC’s attention. As he told The Intercept: “The problem is that the Nusra Front is the most important faction inside the Army of Conquest. So either the Saudi official expected the BBC journalist not to know this, or he expects us to believe they can deliver weapons to factions fighting side by side with an al Qaeda affiliate and that those weapons will not make their way into Nusra’s hands. In any case, this is very close to an official admission that the Saudis (along with Qataris and Turkish) are supplying weapons to an al Qaeda affiliate. This of course is not a secret to anyone who’s paying attention.” In response to Vaz’s complaint, the BBC did not tell its readers about this vital admission. Instead, it simply edited that Saudi admission out of its article. In doing so, it made the already-misleading article so much worse, as the BBC went even further out of its way to protect the Saudis. This is what that passage now states on the current version of the article on the BBC’s site (emphasis added): He said those groups being supplied did not include either Islamic State (IS) or al-Nusra Front, both of which are proscribed terrorist organizations. Instead, he said the weapons would go to the Free Syrian Army and other small rebel groups.
  • So originally, the BBC stated that the “Saudi official” announced that the regime was arming the Army of Conquest. Once it was brought to the BBC’s attention that the Army of Conquest includes the al Qaeda affiliate Nusra Front — a direct contradiction of the Saudi official’s other claim that the Saudis are not arming Nusra — the BBC literally changed the Saudi official’s own statement, whitewashed it, to eliminate his admission that they were arming Army of Conquest. Instead, the BBC now states that the Saudis are arming “the Free Syrian Army and other small rebel groups.” The BBC simply deleted the key admission that the Saudis are arming al Qaeda.
  • But what this does highlight is just how ludicrous — how beyond parody — the 14-year-old war on terror has become, how little it has to do with its original ostensible justification. The regime with the greatest plausible proximity to the 9/11 attack — Saudi Arabia — is the closest U.S. ally in the region next to Israel. The country that had absolutely nothing to do with that attack, and which is at least as threatened as the U.S. by the religious ideology that spurred it — Iran — is the U.S.’s greatest war-on-terror adversary. Now we have a virtual admission from the Saudis that they are arming a group that centrally includes al Qaeda, while the U.S. itself has at least indirectly done the same (just as was true in Libya). And we’re actually at the point where western media outlets are vehemently denouncing Russia for bombing al Qaeda elements, which those outlets are  manipulatively referring to as “non-ISIS groups.” It’s not a stretch to say that the faction that provides the greatest material support to al Qaeda at this point is the U.S. and its closest allies. That is true even as al Qaeda continues to be paraded around as the prime need for the ongoing war. But whatever one’s views are on Syria, it’s telling indeed to watch the BBC desperately protect Saudi officials, not only by granting them anonymity to spout official propaganda, but worse, by using blatant editing games to whitewash the Saudis’ own damaging admissions, ones the BBC unwittingly published. There are many adjectives one can apply to the BBC’s behavior here: “Objective” and “neutral” are most assuredly not among them.
  • Paul Merrell on 27 Oct 15
     
    Glenn Greenwald riffs on BBC's latest cover-up on behalf of the U.S. allies backing for al-Nusrah.
Paul Merrell

McCain Met ISIS Chief in 2013, Now Asks Turkey to Stop Attacking Syrian Kurds - nsnbc i... - 0 views

nsnbc.me/...to-stop-attacking-syrian-kurds

war & peace Syria Raqqa U.S.-invasion YPG YPJ McCain Turkey

shared by Paul Merrell on 30 Oct 16 - No Cached
  • U.S. Senator John McCain, Chairman of the Senate’s Armed Services Committee, called on Turkey to stop attacking Syrian Kurds. The committee is set to review the participation of US forces in the battle for Raqqa, Syria, without invitation from the Syrian government or authorization by a UN Security Council resolution. Ironically, in April 2013, McCain illegally snuck into Syria to hold a meeting with US-backed “rebels” including ISIS-chief al-Baghdadi.
  • Speaking to the press on Thursday US Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called on Turkey to stop its attacks on Syrian Kurds. More specifically, the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces, dominated by the US-backed Syrian Kurdish PYG and its military wings the YPG and the all female YPJ. The committee will review the participation of US forces in the battle for Raqqa. Turkey considers the PYG as a terrorist organization allied to the (Russian and in part Iranian-backed) PKK. Turkish military forces have repeatedly clashed with YPG / YPJ forces after Turkey, in October 17, invaded the region around Manbij, allegedly to fight the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh). Local sources, however, reported to nsnbc that ISIS has largely withdrawn from the region a week in advance of Turkey’s invasion, and that Turkish military forces, backed by the so-called Free Syrian Army, intermingled with Jabhat fatah al-Sham (a.k.a. al-Nusrah)were primarily engaging Kurdish forces.
  • Speaking to the press about his position and the Committee’s deliberations about the participation of US forces in operations in Raqqa, McCain said: “The United States has a longstanding relationship with Turkey, but a series of recent events have raised concerns about the fundamentals of our relations. … I have long argued that the Obama administration’s feckless approach to Syria has contributed to a strategic disaster on Turkey’s doorstep. … The Turkish government’s continued attacks on Syrian Kurds are destabilizing and troubling. … These Kurdish fighters have shown themselves to be willing and capable partners in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria, and our continued cooperation serves the national security interests of both the United States and other countries in the region, including Turkey … I urge the Turkish government to refrain from further attacks against Kurdish groups in Syria. …
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  • Another indicator for attempts to put additional US boots on the ground in Syria, in violation of international law is a statement made by Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, the commander of Operation Inherent Resolve said on Thursday. Townsend said: “The only force that is capable on any near frame — near-term timeline — is the Syrian Democratic Forces, of which the YPG are a significant portion. .. We’re negotiating, we’re planning, we’re having talks with Turkey and we’re gonna take this in steps. … We think there’s an imperative to get isolation in place around Raqqa because our intelligence feeds tell us that there are significant external operations attacks planning going on […] in Raqqa. … We think it’s very important to get isolation in place around Raqqa to start controlling that environment on a pretty short timeline. So, we’re gonna take the force that we have and we will go to Raqqa soon with that force.. … The Syrian Democratic Forces, including the Kurdish YPG and the Syrian Arab Corps, will all be part of the force that goes [to] Raqqa.” Ironically, U.S. Senator John McCain was caught red-handed in plotting with U.S.-backed Syrian “rebels” including Islamic State leader al-Baghdadi in April 2013, although, al-Baghdadi actually comes from Iraq. McCain’s problem was that images from the covert meeting in a safe house were intercepted (see top-image) and that other “rebels” couldn’t resist posting “selfies” including McCain on social media. McCain attempted to brush off allegations that he was aware that al-Baghdadi was present at the safe house in Idlib. Former members of the U.S. Senate’s Foreign Security Service told nsnbc that McCain’s excuse is preposterous and utterly inconsistent with even the most basic intelligence and security protocols that are observed when a Senator travels to a foreign country, especially during covert missions.
  • Paul Merrell on 30 Oct 16
     
    The upcoming battle for Raqqa in Syria is shaping up to be the possible trigger point for American and American-backed forces shooting down Russian military aircraft. Let's keep an eye on it.
Paul Merrell

Palestine To Revoke Recognition Of Israel If US Moves Embassy To Jerusalem - 0 views

www.mintpressnews.com/...224006

war & peace Israel Palestine Jerusalem U.S.-foreign-policy embassy

shared by Paul Merrell on 11 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • Palestinian leaders Tuesday called for prayers at mosques across the Middle East this week to protest plans by President-elect Donald Trump to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and also threatened to withdraw the Palestinian recognition of Israel if the move is realized. Mohammad Shtayyeh, a senior Palestinian official and Fatah central committee member who spoke on behalf of the Palestinian leadership, said moving the U.S. embassy would mean an “end to the two-state solution.”
Paul Merrell

Russia & US Could Reach Understanding About Aleppo as Situation for "Rebels" Deteriorat... - 0 views

nsnbc.me/...uation-for-rebels-deteriorates

war & peace U.S.-foreign-policy Syria Aleppo Russia Kerry Lavrov Al-Nusrah

shared by Paul Merrell on 09 Dec 16 - No Cached
  • Following the meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in the German city of Hamburg on Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that “an intense exchange of documents” had taken place and that c a compromise could possibly be reached. The statement comes amidst latest reports about Al-Nusra possibly agreeing to an evacuation from Aleppo and the possible deployment of special forces from Chechnya for anti-terrorism operations in Syria.
  • Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the press that Russia and the United States are close to reaching an understanding on Aleppo. Rybakov said: “In the past several days an intensive document exchange on the situation in Aleppo has taken place…We are close to reaching an understanding, but I want to warn against high expectations.”
  • Ryabkov noted that the meeting between Lavrov and Kerry on Wednesday was an indicator of the intensive communications between the two sides, particularly because it was the second of its kind within the past few days. Ryabkov expressed hope that eventual new agreements between Moscow and Washington on Syria would be firmer compared to the previous agreement that collapsed last September. The previous agreements collapsed when Washington insisted that Russia stops targeting “moderate opposition fighters”, while Moscow blamed Washington for not assuring that the “moderate rebels” disengage and separate from Jabhat Al-Nusra (a.k.a. Jabhat Fatah Al-Sham). Both parties agree that Al-Nusra’s re-branding as Al-Sham hasn’t changed its status as a terrorist organization.
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  • On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed support to the initiative proposed by his US counterpart John Kerry on Aleppo on 2nd of the current month before the latter withdrew it later. Lavrov said that Kerry’s initiative failed after he withdrew his proposals that stipulated for the exit of terrorists from the eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo, clarifying “the same thing happened with our agreement of September 9… They have withdrawn their document and have a new one. Our initial impression is that this new document backtracks, and is an attempt to buy time for the militants, allow them to catch their breath and resupply”. Meanwhile, a Lebanese source close to Hezbollah informed nsnbc that back channel talks could result in Al-Nusra agreeing to evacuate from Aleppo. No formal statement in that regard has been issued by any of the conflicting parties.
  • The evacuation of Al-Nusra from Aleppo could make it more easy for Moscow and Washington to reach an agreement, the source added. Another, not yet officially confirmed development is the possible deployment of the Vostok and Zapad special forces units from the Russian Federation’s Republic of Chechnya to Syria for “anti-terrorism operations”. The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and allied forces  today continued  operations to evacuate citizens from the remaining “rebel-held” eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo while continuing rapid advances. The SAA noted that it “is doing its best to allocate safe corridors to the locals and transport them to makeshift centers established by authorities in Aleppo governorate in the Jibrin and Hanano Housings neighborhoods”. In the Hanano Housings, families started to return to their homes, provided that they haven’t been destroyed during the intense fighting.
Paul Merrell

UN Security Council Adopted Syria Ceasefire Brokered by Russia and Turkey - nsnbc inter... - 0 views

nsnbc.me/...-brokered-by-russia-and-turkey

war & peace Syria Security-Council ceasefire Russia Turkey

shared by Paul Merrell on 02 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016, unanimously adopted a resolution welcoming the ceasefire in Syria, brokered by Russia and Turkey.
  • The Council unanimously adopted the ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey that came into effect earlier this week, as an attempt to end the more than five-year-long war in Syria. The ceasefire is perceived as a first step in the attempt to re-launch attempts to find a political solution. The resolution also welcomes plans for talks to take place in Astana, Kazakhstan, with participants from Russia, Iran and Turkey, as well as representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition, ahead of the resumption of U.N.-brokered talks in Geneva in February. The government of Turkey had, prior to the adoption of the resolution by the UNSC assured that it would coordinate preparations for the talks in Astana with representatives of the governments of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UK, the USA and other key supporters of the so-called “opposition”. Excluded from the ceasefire are the self-proclaimed Islamic State (a.k.a. ISIS, ISIL, or Deash), Jabhat al-Nusra (a.k.a. Jabhat Fatah al-Sham) and, ironically, also the Syrian Kurdish PYD and its military wings the YPG and the all-female YPJ. In remarks after the vote, several delegates on the Security Council welcomed the ceasefire but said the agreement contained gray areas and that its implementation was fragile. The original Russian draft was changed after last minute negotiations so the language was changed to welcome and support the deal to appease some council members and win unanimous support.
  • Paul Merrell on 02 Jan 17
     
    Forcing the Obama Administration to eat large helpings of crow.
Paul Merrell

Egypt's Court of Cassation Acquitted Hosni Mubarak on January 25 Charges - nsnbc intern... - 0 views

nsnbc.me/...-mubarak-on-january-25-charges

Egypt U.S.-foreign-policy Arab-Spring Mubarak criminal-prosecution acquittal

shared by Paul Merrell on 03 Mar 17 - No Cached
  • Egypt’s Court of Cassation, on Thursday, acquitted ousted ex-president Hosni Mubarak on all charges related to the death of protesters on January 25, 2011.
  • With its ruling, the Court of Cassation acquitted Hosni Mubarak on all charges related to the death of 239 people, and injuries suffered by another 1,588 across eleven of Egypt’s governorates during the so-called January 25, 2011 revolution. Mubarak had been sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for the killing of protesters before appealing the sentence. In November 2014 Mubarak, in a rare comment to the press, described the charges and especially the so-called “Arab Spring” in 2011 as “weird” and rejected that he was guilty of killing anyone. It is widely known that Egypt, under Mubarak, was plagued by corruption and that its human rights record was alarming. Egypt under the Mubarak regime was among others involved in the United States illegal extraordinary rendition program. That is, Egypt “officially” made “black sites” available for the USA and was involved in torturing rendered captives vicariously for the USA. The more surprising then, that the US administration of Barack Obama and the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were involved in “stage managing” the so-called Arab Spring in 2011, that led to the overthrow of Mubarak and the January 25 “revolution” being coopted by the Muslim Brotherhood and Mohammed Morsi. It is worth recalling that current Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, in a 2013 interview with Larry Weissman “The people of Egypt are aware of the fact that the USA has stabbed Egypt in the back with the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi. It is nothing that Egypt will easily forget, or forgive”.
Paul Merrell

Emails to Hillary contradict French tale on Libya war - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Mi... - 0 views

www.al-monitor.com/...ench-spies-rebels-support.html

war & peace Libya France Hillary-emails Blumenthal

shared by Paul Merrell on 26 Jun 15 - No Cached
  • French spies secretly organized and funded the Libyan rebels who defeated Moammar Gadhafi, according to confidential emails to Hillary Clinton that were made public on June 22.
  • “In return for their assistance,” the memo states, “the DGSE officers indicated that they expected the new government of Libya to favor French firms and national interests, particularly regarding the oil industry in Libya.” The email goes on to state that Jalil and Younis “accepted this offer” and “have maintained contact with the DGSE officers in Cairo.” The memo is titled, “How the French created the National Libyan Council, ou l’argent parle.” Another memo dated May 5 asserts that individuals close to the council stated “in strictest confidence” that as early as mid-April 2011 French humanitarian flights also included “executives from the French company TOTAL, the large construction from VINCI and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V. (EADS).” Subsequent flights have allegedly carried representatives “from the conglomerate THALYS and other large French firms, all with close ties to [Sarkozy].” “After meeting with the [council] these French business executives leave discreetly by road, via Tobruk to Egypt,” the memo states. “These convoys are organized and protected by para-military officers [from the DGSE].” The memo adds that Levy himself came up with the idea and obtained the council’s signature on an agreement to give French firms “favorable consideration” in business matters. He is said to have used “his status as a journalist to provide cover for his activities.”
  • The memos from Clinton adviser Sidney Blumenthal contradict the popular French narrative about its intervention in Libya, raising fresh questions about a war that toppled a dictator but left chaos and radicalism in his stead. They were allegedly written by retired CIA operative Tyler Drumheller and released by a special congressional panel investigating the 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi. The oft-repeated media tale in France holds that then-President Nicolas Sarkozy was outraged by Gadhafi’s crackdown on protesters in February 2011 but had no clear idea who to support. Enter a swash-buckling “intellectual,” Bernard-Henri Levy, who met with Transitional National Council leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil on March 4, immediately called Sarkozy, and had the French president invite Jalil to the Elysee Palace — and recognize the council as the country’s official government by March 10. The emails to Clinton tell a distinctly less heroic story. According to one entry from March 22, 2011, “officers” with the General Directorate for External Security — the French intelligence service — “began a series of secret meetings” with Jalil and Gen. Abdul Fatah Younis in Benghazi in late February and gave them “money and guidance” to set up the council, whose formation was announced Feb. 27. The officers, “speaking under orders from [Sarkozy] promised that as soon as the [council] was organized France would recognize [it] as the new government of Libya.”
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  • A later memo, from September 2011, asserts that Sarkozy urged the Libyans to reserve 35% of their oil industry for French firms — Total in particular — when he traveled to Tripoli that month. In the end, however, Italy’s Eni came out ahead with Russian and Chinese firms biding their time, even as the Libyan oil production plummeted because of the civil war. The veracity of the memos’ content is difficult if not impossible to ascertain. While Levy has long been a controversial figure in France, the council was riven by internal rivalries. Younis himself was assassinated in July 2011 — at Jalil’s urging according to an Aug. 8 memo to Clinton. And Drumheller himself has courted controversy for his role in the run-up to the 2003 Iraq war, with liberals celebrating him as a truth-teller and conservatives saying he helped concoct some of the false information he later debunked.
  • French spymasters’ role in Libya has been alluded to before, most notably in the 2012 book “The Truth About our War in Libya” by French historian Jean-Christophe Notin. That book said Henry-Levy’s role in the French decision to go to war had been overblown. “All has not been said about this war, because it has only had one narrator: Bernard-Henri Levy,” Notin told L’Express magazine. “Yes, he was one of the Libyans’ interlocutors. But his telling glosses over not only the coalition’s military exploits, but also the underground work of diplomatic and military officials on the ground, sometimes for quite some time, in Libya.” Other memos released June 22 give credence to the notion that Sarkozy was determined from the start of the uprising to get rid of Gadhafi, despite earlier efforts to court him after he abandoned his weapons program and sought closer ties with the West. A March 20 memo, for instance, states that Sarkozy “plans to have France lead the attacks on [Gadhafi] over an extended period of time” and “sees this situation as an opportunity for France to reassert itself as a military power.”
Paul Merrell

Australia's Turnbull Government may make U-Turn about Syria's Assad | nsnbc international - 0 views

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war & peace Syria Australia Assad

shared by Paul Merrell on 07 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop indicated an Australian shift from the “Assad must go” paradigm to supporting a political solution that includes Syrian President Al-Assad, preserves Syria’s territorial integrity and focuses on countering the threat of the self-proclaimed Islamic State. 
  • Bishop signaled the possible shift in Australian policy at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) after intense discussions between Australian members of government and MPs. The change in policy also coincides with the Russian air raids against Islamic State, a.k.a. ISIL, ISIS or Daesh in Syria and other insurgencies in Syria.
  • Julie Bishop’s and the Australian change of attitude is according to several Australian analysts caused by Australia’s perceived need not to be left behind as the emerging Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian, Russian alliance asserts its influence in the region. Recent signals from Cairo can suggest that the Egyptian administration of President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi considers to join the joint intelligence center in Baghdad. Diplomatic contacts between Russia and Jordan may also suggest a Jordanian shift in policy. The same may over a longer term hold true about Saudi Arabia which is increasingly deviating from an “Assad must go” paradigm”.
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  • The Australian shift in policy is, according to several analysts also driven by the recognition that the strategy of supporting extremist Islamist insurgencies can backfire and is ineffective when it is opposed by coordinated State-military operations. Another factor that may contribute to an Australian “Realpolitik” approach may be that joint Russian – Syrian operations have had scores of ISIL, Jabhat Al-Nusrah, The Southern Front, Jaish al-Yarmouk, and other insurgencies flee from Syria across the Jordanian and Turkish border as well as to the Israeli occupied Syrian Golan.
Paul Merrell

Saudi Increases Arms Supplies to 3 Syrian Terrorist Fronts - 0 views

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war & peace Syria Russia U.S.-foreign-policy UK France Germany turkey Qatar Saudis

shared by Paul Merrell on 11 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • Saudi Arabia is ramping up its supplies of lethal weaponry to three different rebel groups in Syria in response to the Russian airstrikes on Syrian rebels, British media reported, citing a Saudi government official in Riyadh. The official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, said supplies of modern, high-powered weaponry including guided anti-tank weapons would be increased to the Arab-and Western-backed rebel groups fighting the forces of Syria's President Bashar Assad, the BBC reported on Friday. He did not rule out supplying surface-to-air missiles to the rebels, a move resisted by many in the West for fear that they would fall into the hands of ISIL and end up being used to shoot down warplanes of the US-led coalition or even civilian airliners. He said the weapons would go to three rebel alliances — Jaish al-Fatah (Army of Conquest), the so-caled Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the Southern Front.
  • On October 2 the United States and its allies — Britain, France, Germany, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia — urged Russia to end its airstrikes against the forces of the so-called “moderate opposition” in Syria, warning this would further escalate the conflict and lead to a new weave of extremism and radicalism in the war-torn country.
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