Monday, September 22, 2014

Retired Generals: Obama's War Plan Like Vietnam

ISIS has joint its conquered territories in Syria and Iraq together (maps) in a new Caliphate simply named the Islamic State, or IS. IS is demanding that all Sunnis pledge allegiance to the Caliph, al Baghdadi. After the genocides on Christians and Yazidi Kurds, and three hostages were publicly beheaded, the world is ready to strike back at Mordor. 

Aug, 29, 2014: IS lessons for making bubonic plague bombs and weapons of mass destruction, by @JenanMoussa and @HaraldDoornbos. Read English, Dutch. UPDATE: Part II: ISIS LAPTOP OF DOOM - HOW TO MAKE RICIN, SEMTEX, BANANA MOUSSE (SOURCE)

UPDATE: There's better news from Syrian Kurdistan. Obama's top brass have shredded his war plan against the Islamic State; Obama is about to tell the UN he wants a global travel ban for Jihadists, assuring radicals will turn against their home countries; Islamic State has got Lebanon and Egypt in the crosshairs. And cries about dying babies has already started. Let's hope people are able to withstand sentimental anti war propaganda that hands a moral victory to the enemy - the Islamic State - as if that was possible in a rational world!

Speech, outlining Islamic State oficial ideology (PDF alert)



Sep. 21, 2014

A Jihad Group More Deadly Than Islamic State


Veteran al Qaeda fighters travel from Pakistan to Syria to recruit US and European passport holders to smuggle explosives onto airplanes, said the US Director of the National Counterterrorism on Wednesday. On the short term Khorasan may be more dangerous to Western interests than the Islamic State. (Source)



Jihad Isn't Crime; It's a Special Kind of World War


The neglected problems with the Islamic State are starting to overwhelm the system. We haven't begun to tackle the issue, since we are trying to evade awareness. We have a problem on our hands that transcends the state, borders, and the law. In other words, this isn't crime, we're in a special kind of world war, a Jihad. (Source)



Catastrophy in Syrian Kurdistan

A human catastrophy is taking place at Kobane at the Turkish border with an area in Syrian Kurdistan which is under attack by the Islamic State. Watch this dreadful situation on video, photos.




Sep. 19, 2014

Interview With a Former IS Jihadist


The House has affirmed Obama's long - covertly - implemented plan to arm the 'moderate' (define!) Syrian rebels. The following is an interview with a man who thought he'd joined the FSA, but instead found himself a member of the Islamic State. (Source)



France Bombs IS, Kurdish Villages Under Attack

France has started bombing the Caliphate. While the fate of a number of Kurdish villages near the Turkish border is still in jeopardy. There are reports today that Turkey has finally opened the border for refugees. The area is perilously close the territory occupied by the Islamic State.





Sep. 18, 2014

Australia Detain 15 to Prevent Random Beheadings

Australia has arrested Islamic State loyalists that were plotting to behead random  people in the streets, just to drive home their 'reach'. If this has nothing to do with Islam as they are telling us, then what causes these people to be this evil, if not the contents of  their minds! Leftists and liberals are scouring the bowels of social determinism, because that is their standard doctrine. They can search till kingdom come, they won't find any evil there. It's in the morality, stupid! Socalled moderates (define!) have already been protesting the arrest of their brethern.




Sep. 16, 2014

Appeasement of Islamic State Doesn't Make Sense

Great article in Foreign Affairs, making plain that the arguments made by the Left do not make sense at all! Of the 26 countries pledging support, only a handful will remain. And the Shia are definitely outside the coalition and with Assad and Russia/China a force of their own. And the Kurds have concluded Turkey is useless in their struggle against IS.



Sep. 15, 2014

30 Countries Pledge War on Islamic State

Today a meeting called by the French President Hollande in Paris on how a coalition of the willing is going to handle the Islamic State. Muslim states that are not directly threatened will only pay lip service. They just can't afford to be seen as anti Islamic. Therefore we see simultaneously an effort to separate Islam from Islamic, in the tradition of Orwell's Newspeak: Islam is not Islamic, Jihad is peace, Freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength. The Shiites hate the Great Satan more than they fear the Sunni Caliphate.


Islam at the crossroads: war or peace?

Islam stands at a crossroads. The Islamic State presents Muslims with an opportunity to put Islam on a peaceful footing, denounce Jihad, establishing the long awaited Reformation. The trend however is going the other way. Silent consent. They have no choice. (...) Supported by the usual Western apologists a movement has sprung up to ideologically separate Islam from the epithet Islamic (as in Islamic State), enabling them to distance themselves from IS without having to denounce their methods and aims. (...) (Source)




Sep. 13, 2014

'Moderate' and Radical Syrian Rebels Happily Co Exist

Here's some proof how wrong Obama's premises are when it comes to arming the so called 'moderate' Syrian rebels. (Source) Not only have they been selling hostages like Sotloff, and American arms and cars to Nusra and ISIS, they have also signed a non aggression pact. Also there's a push to include Iran in the coalition. Kerry is resisting the temptation, if he has any: it will be hard to fight IS without aiding the cause of Assad, who is aligned with Iran.



United Nations: IS Isn't Associated With Islam (or Anything)

The faulty Obama doctrine has made its way to the very corridors of the United Nations. The following is a snippet from UN RESOLUTION 2170 (2014) CONDEMNING GROSS, WIDESPREAD ABUSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS BY EXTREMIST GROUPS IN IRAQ, SYRIA
"Reaffirming that terrorism, including the actions of ISIL, cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, or civilization...
(Source)




Sep. 12, 2014

Reactions to Obama's Non War on IS declaration

Plenty of criticism of Obama's war on the Islamic State, which is 'unislamic' because 'no religion condones terrorism' and which isn't a war, but a sustained counter terrorism operation, according to Susan Rice and John  Kerry. These misdirections are all for political reasons. What's more, the non-war will be so sustained, the next President can be assured of inhereting Obama's mess in the Middle East. It is no surprise that the other side - meaning the Russians, Iran and Assad in Syria - are having objections to the Obama plan of action. But it looks like Assad will not retaliate if the US strikes at IS inside Syria. The Russians want to go it through the UN. For some reason the Germans (no surprise) and the British are refusing to participate in combat rolls.  That may have something to do with the political part of  Obama's motivation.



In a special edition of “Special Report,” Charles Krauthammer remarked on President Barack Obama’s address on his ISIS strategy. “This was a political speech in the guise of a military plan […] This is a president trying to save a collapsed presidency.”

And the most worrying part, the arming and training of the 'moderate Syrian rebels'.  More insights here. (Source) More about that aspect of the war tomorrow.




Sep. 10, 2014

Primer on the State Sponsors of the Islamic State

On the eve of Sep. 11 and Obama's speech outlining the strategy how he proposes to deal with the Islamic State, two primers on the state sponsors and the identity of the Caliphate.

  • In an excellent article, "Syria’s Ahrar al-Sham Leadership Wiped Out in Bombing" Aron Lund explains how Obama's famous "moderate Syrian rebels" ended up with seriously fundamentalist groups like ISIS/ISIL. That is because they were never moderate to begin with. (Source)
  • A much more apologetic piece, the BBC's "Islamic State: Where does jihadist group get its support?", explains how Saudi, Qatar and Turkey came to fund the hordes of evil (Congress is going after the frenemies: source). It's a plausible story. But it's also a conscious policy. Playing double chess boards is tradition in the region, but the policy also hopes to project extremism outward hoping the homeland will be left in peace. It's the Middle East version of appeasement: feeding beef to a tiger, hoping it will become a vegetarian. (Source)

More news on Caliphate:
Pictures of confiscated IS war loot in Deir Al Zor



Sep. 7, 2014

Obama "On the Offense" Against the Caliphate

It's again the 'moderate Syrian' part that is worrying.  These are supposed to be refugees in Jordan. But no one knows for sure.



Sep. 6, 2014

Terrorists in Yemen and Afghanistan Join Caliphate






Sep. 5, 2014

Core NATO Coalition To 'Destroy' the Islamic State

Good news from  the margins of  the NATO summit. But that's not to say the mistakes of  the recent past will not be repeated. And talking to Assad isn't out of the question, at least for the Europeans.




Sep. 4, 2014

Wilders: "Madame Speaker, War Has Been Declared Against Us"

Text of Geert Wilders' speech today in Parliament during the debate on Jihadisme and the Islamic State.

Video on the Dutch edition (Source)

Madam Speaker, actually I was expecting flowers. I am celebrating an anniversary. Exactly ten years and two days ago, I left a party whose name I cannot immediately remember. During these ten years and two days. I have been much criticized. Mainly for saying the same thing. My critics are right. Indeed, my message had been the same during all these years. And today, I will repeat the same message about Islam again. For the umpteenth time. As I have been doing for ten years and two days. I have been vilified for my film Fitna. And not just vilified, but even prosecuted.

Madam Speaker, while not so many years ago, everyone refused to broadcast my film Fitna, we can today watch Fitna 2, 3, 4 and 5 daily on our television screens. It is not a clash of civilizations, but a clash between barbarism and civilization. The Netherlands has become the victim of Islam because the political elite looked away. Here, in these room, they are all present, here and also in the Cabinet, all these people who looked away.

Every warning was ignored. As a result, also in our country today, Christians are being told: "We want to murder you all." Jews receive death threats. Swastikas at demonstrations, stones go through windows, Molotov cocktails, Hitler salutes are being made, macabre black ISIS flags wave in the wind, we hear cries, such as "F-ck the Talmud," on the central square in Amsterdam. Indeed, Madam Speaker, this summer, Islam came to us. In all naivety, Deputy Prime Minister Asscher states that there is an "urgent demand" from Muslims to "crack down" on this phenomenon.

Last Friday, in its letter to Parliament, the Cabinet wrote that jihadists are hardly significant. They are called a "sect", and a "small" group. This is what those who look away wish, these deniers of the painful truth for ten years and two days, the ostrich brigade of the Government. But the reality is different. According to a study, 73% of all Moroccans and Turks in the Netherlands are of the opinion that those who go to Syria to fight in the jihad are "heroes." People whom they admire. (...) (Source)



The Caliphate Truthers: It's the CIA!

The stuff of conspiracy and the 9/11 Truthers: IS = CIA. It's starts with the logic that the Americans trained the Mujahideen to fight the enemy, like what happened in Afghanistan with proto Al Qaeda to fight the Soviets. So far, so good. A similar situation occurred in Syria with the 'moderate' rebels that are fighting Assad. This group eventually became part of ISIS and is now the Islamic State = the CIA. This is supposed to explain everything, as in: Q.: Should we bomb the Caliphate to hell? A.: Errrm, well, it's the CIA. OK???




Sep. 3, 2014

Obama: "IS Does Not Speak For Religion". Really? 

There are quite a few people who labor under the logic that religion is synonymous with Christianity. It leads to expressions like: Religion can never be evil, and there's no religion that teaches the killing of innocents, etc." They confuse Christian morality with religious morality. These confused people are sitting ducks for the lies of Islam apologists and terrorists. If you meet these people, please set them straight, because they will never be able to figure out what is going on. Religion is NOT ethics, and religion is NOT Christianity. The ethics program of a particular faith depends entirely on the nature of the godhead, the universe and the place of man in it. Cannibalism is a religion, there are gods that demand human sacrifices. Differences matter! Compare Christianity and Islam here and here.




Sep. 2, 2014

Al Nusra Take 44 Fijian UN Peacekeepers Hostage

The Islamic State released a video today showing the beheading of a second US hostage, Steven Sotloff. (Source)
Al Qaeda affiliated Nusra in Syria have taken 44 UN peacekeepers from Fiji hostage. Nusra demand to be taken off the UN's list of terrorist organisations and compensation for fighters killed in clashes with the UN. Rebels seized the Quneitra crossing in the Golan Heights on Wednesday. (Source)




Sep. 1, 2014

UK Counter Terrorism Proposals Violate Civil Rights

Freedom requires informed and responsible citizens. Substitute it with violent collectivists and Governments that are here to protect us, turn into tyrants that violate civil rights. Freedom and security are in a zero sum game requiring careful balance at all times. They idea that rights of unconvicted suspects can be imposed upon by the state is a paradigm shift in what we define as justice. We ain't seen nothing yet!


Cameron announced that Terrorism prevention and investigations measures will be strengthened, so that new controls can be imposed on where suspects live or travel. He told MPs: The intelligence agencies and police believe they need stronger powers to impose further restrictions and the independent reviewer of counter-terror legislation. We will introduce new powers to add to our existing Tpims, including stronger locational constraints on suspects under Tpims, either through enhanced use of exclusion zones or through relocation powers.  (Source)




Aug. 31, 2014

UK Imam Issues Fatwa Against Islamic State

To those who think this is great news, think again!



Aug. 30, 2014

Islamic State: "Turkey Is Next" 

Bunyamin Aygun, an award-winning Turkish photojournalist who was captured by Islamic State (IS) militants last November and held for 40 days, is the first and only journalist held by IS to go public with his ordeal. Aygun’s account, which ran for five days in his newspaper, Milliyet, offers a rare and nuanced glimpse into the murky world of IS. Published in January, the series revealed the heavy presence of Turks in the group and the glaring threat that they pose to their own country. “Turkey is next,” IS fighters, repeatedly told the veteran journalist. But the story received scant attention. (Source)




Aug. 29, 2014

FOUND: MANUAL FOR BUBONIC PLAGUE BOMBS

After the first shocks of IS subsided, Western leaders, politicians and the media are returning to their usual states of complacentness, whitewashing and appeasement. Last weekend we heard Obama assuring us that the Caliphate "speaks for no religion", that "no faith teaches people to massacre innocents" and that IS "is not about us." David Cameron wants to win a war against us by the most brutal hordes since Nazis with the analysis that:
"The root cause of this threat to our security is quite clear. It is a poisonous ideology of Islamist extremism that is condemned by all faiths and faith leaders". (Source)
Yes, well. On account of 500 jihadists at home the UK is kicking up the alert level up a notch to severe. There's a demo in the Netherlands next week by a group of Muslims, that will protest IS, as well as...Israel! (Source) The Guardian has already taken the lead in justifying IS, for being "oppressed Sunnis". As for the BBC!





ISIS has declared the Caliphate in the territory it is holding in Syria and Iraq and has adopted the name IS, Islamic State.


Aug. 28, 2014

"We Don't Want to Alienate Muslims by Attacking IS"

After the U-turns over the weekend Obama is now said to have a comprehensive strategy on IS. The only thing is, no one knows what it is! Watch Megyn Kelly and a Democrat spokeswoman (adviser Harry Reid) illustrating what is wrong with this administration: "We don't want to alienate the entire Muslim- Arab region by attacking ISIL". So there is an inherent relationship between Islam and the Islamic State after all! That's interesting, because just last week Obama assured us that IS "speaks for no religion", that "no faith teaches people to massacre innocents" and that IS "is not about us." (Source)
Obama's leadership on the Islamic State is in a worse shambles than usual with this administration. Over the weekend the position went from 'IS as a regional menace', to 'an imminent international threat that requires war in Syria', and back again. This is not a strategy for dealing with IS. (Source)



Aug 27, 2014: Megyn Kelly up in arms over Obama fundraising around the country as the threat of ISIS grows.



Aug. 27, 2014

Al Qaeda Arrives in Israel's Back Yard

The orc armies are now approaching Israel's back yard. And an Islamically correct explanation why Obama insists on naming IS, ISIL.




Aug. 26, 2014

IS Intelligence Chief Beheaded For Treason


Click the following link for a safe PDF copy of the Caliphate's glossy, Islamic State — “Dābiq Magazine #1″




Aug. 24, 2014

A Grand Coalition With Assad and Putin Against IS? 

Obama has manipulated himself into an impossible contradiction: supporting IS in Syria, while fighting it in Iraq. Some foreign policy makers are pleading for a sort of grant coalition with Assad and Putin against radical Islam. This is much like the allies in World War II: the free world teaming up with the communists to fight the Nazis. After the war it turned out a colossal mistake: evil is still evil, even if you happen to share an enemy.




Aug. 7, 2014

Jihadists Adorn Gate With Heads of Slain Soldiers

The genocides by the Caliphate in Syria and Iraq have become a separate issue. You can find the news on this Live Blog. In the meantime news has emerged of more war crimes by the Caliphate. Jihadists from the Islamic State have killed at least 50 Syrian soldiers in an ambush, summarily executing most of them after their capture, a monitoring group says. The assault in Raqa province, the jihadists' Euphrates valley stronghold, came amid their fiercest assault yet on Damascus-held territory. The deaths added to 74 already killed in the offensive across the north and northeast, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday (local time). "At least 50 soldiers were ambushed, some of them were killed in fighting but most of them were beheaded," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said. IS militants claimed the toll was as high as 75.



50 soldier's of Syria's 417 Division were beheaded and their heads put on poles. H/t @AncetreIV


Aug. 4, 2014

Caliphates and Emirates Sprouting Like Mushrooms

The hell holes of Caliphates and Emirates are multiplying before our very eyes. The media can't even keep up. Primarily because they're fixated on Gaza and their hatred of Israel. After the Caliphate of IS, an Al Qaeda affiliate was established in Benghazi, Libya. (Source) Next door to IS, Nusra, Al Qaeda's official branch in Syria, announced that it was forming a fully Sharia compliant Islamic Emirate. (Source) In Iraq the war is also not going well. (Source)




July 27, 2014

Picture of ISIS Destructing Jonah's Tomb

The destruction of Jonah's tomb was reported earlier, but was subsequently denied. Now there are the pictures to prove it. The devil's brood is on the loose!




July 26, 2014

Caliphate Instates All Female Vice Squad

Sunni radicals with the Islamic State of Syria and the Levant have created the al-Khansaa’ Brigade, an all-female unit that exists to impose on Sharia law on Iraqi and Syrian women. “We have established the brigade to raise awareness of our religion among women, and to punish women who do not abide by the law,” said Abu Ahmad, an ISIL official in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, news website Worldcrunch reported. The armed women have reportedly detained and whipped individuals for wearing veils that are too thin, wearing hair clips under veils, walking alone and exposing too much of their face, a local activist named Abu al-Hamza told the news organization Syria Deeply. (Source) H/t @Bconsdr8



July 25, 2014

Dutch ISIS Jihadist Poses With 7 Severed Heads

This man has equal rights to every other law abiding citizen of the Netherlands. But has he earned those rights? Maybe something is wrong with the liberal democratic principle that forbids discrimination in any way. Obviously there is no moral equivalence here. Perhaps citizenship, passports and civil rights should be given on the basis of merit. Not just becausee a person happens to be on Dutch soil. Civil rights are constantly confused with human rights.



July 24, 2014

ISIS Demos in Europe: Defenseless Against Evil

Do you want to see this flag flying in Europe?

Apparently yes. The demoralized West has no defense against evil. Some 100 ISIS followers participated today in a pro Gaza demo in The Hague, the second in a row. The mayor must have given the rally his blessing. During the demo the press was intimidated and eventually threatened. Ultimately some had to take refuge in a police precinct. The world on it head.



July 22, 2014

The Caliphate: "We're Coming For You"

ISIS released a new video on Sunday titled “The End of Sykes-Picot” (check the maps blog for more). The Islamist Abu Saffiya from Chile, shows off the spoils of war and raises the Islamic flag at a former Iraqi military base. Another Islamist mocks Obama at the end of the video.



Islamist Abu Saffiya from Chile presents the Caliphate's latest propaganda coup. 



July 15, 2014

The ISIS Caliphate Isn't Working

As was to be expected the Caliphate, rather than bringing Muslims together, proves to be a bone of contention. Already the Islamic State is in deep doodoo. The criticism is about a number of procedural and theological issues, not about the MO:




July 3, 2014


Caliph Says Rome Will Be Conquered Next






July 1, 2014

Austria and the Bosnian-Syrian Jihad Connection


More on the Balkans Caliphate.


June 30, 2014

The Caliphate Is a Sunni Bone of Contention

ISIS, or IS as it is now called, has declared war on Jews, Christians and every other Islamic denomination other than its own, and is now running the risk of internecine battles with other Sunni Muslims. Almost immediately after its declaration Sunni groups have raised objections. Not against the Caliphate on principle, but on technical grounds, as scripture and non consultation. This evil will certainly not stay contained in the Middle East. It will inevitably reach the West sooner rather than later. Obama has raised the point today, that those with European passports don't require any visa for the US. Western Governments will have to act before it is too late.




June 29, 2014

ISIS Declares Caliphate, Issues Declaration of War

(...) Professor Peter Neumann, from the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King's College London, said the significance of today's announcement should not be underestimated. "It's a declaration of war – not only against the west and all the countries that are currently fighting Isis, but more importantly, against al-Qaida. Isis now see themselves as the legitimate leaders of the movement and they expect everyone to fall in line. "For ideological jihadists, the caliphate is the ultimate aim, and Isis – in their eyes – have come closer to realising that vision than anyone else. On that basis, Isis leaders believe they deserve everyone's allegiance. "This could be the end of al-Qaida. It depends on how they respond. Unless they come out fighting, this could mark the end of Bin Laden's vision and his legacy." 


The poison concentrate just went up a notch or two:
The drama in Syria continues with the scum of the earth descended on the country. After Obama's diplomatic debacle over the chemical weapons, peace talks in Geneva got nowhere. According to PBS the US is still sponsoring Syrian rebel groups (blog May 28, 2014)

Syrian Rebels Describe U.S.-Backed Training in Qatar (Source)

 June 23, 2014

Israel Launches Airstrikes Against Syria

Israel understands the Middle East. You don't kindly ask the bullies to behave, and you don't reward acts of violence with negotiations. You make them expensive, you make em pay as dearly as possible.



June 10, 2014

Understanding the War in Syria (map)

The nation state and borders are Western constructs on an area that once was the Ottoman Empire. To understand the situation on the ground we must look beyond state lines. This map of Syria (left) shows the sectarian division on the ground. It makes clear how ISIS could overrun Mosul in neighboring Iraq as easily as it did: ISIS already controls the western side of the border (present situation).


Click for enlargement



June 1, 2014

Suspect Attack on Jewish Museum Brussels Is Ally From Syria

<sarcmodus on> Who could've thought this sort of incident would happen. Could have happened anywhere, right? Terrorism is not that bad actually. More people die of musquito bites each year, yah know! </sarcmodus off> Primary duty of the government is the protection of the citizens. That's why we have given them the monopoly on the use of force: this thing is serious, because it goes to the legitimacy of the state. Moreover, the Syrian rebels are our allies. This is what you get when you make a pact with the devil. An article by Reuters falsely speaks of "growing antisemitism in Europe" but fails to mention how that is imported.




May 29, 2014

Allies in Syria Behead Senior Iranian General





May 28, 2014

CIA Training Syrian Rebels in Qatar

After the news broke in January that Western intelligence agencies had been in touch with the Syrian regime for rapprochement talks, and Germany, Switzerland, the UK, Italy, Austria and Spain even considered re-opening their embassies in Damascus (blog on Feb. 2), it turns out the Obama regime has no such contingency plans. The Obama regime is still laboring under the false notion there are such rebels as 'moderate Jihadists'. It is believed the weapons from Benghazi, Libya made their way to Syria and the covert operation cost the American Ambassador and three others their lives. According to a PBS docu the CIA is currently training and arming rebel groups in Qatar. This is a dangerous game, the same game that spawned Al Qaeda in the first place. Obama would have been wiser to bomb the hell out of the mullahs, but for obvious reasons that is not on the cards.
With reports indicating that forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad are gaining ground in that country’s brutal civil war, moderate Syrian rebels have told a visiting journalist that the United States is arranging their training in Qatar. In a documentary to be aired Tuesday night, the rebels describe their clandestine journey from the Syrian battlefield to meet with their American handlers in Turkey and then travel on to Qatar, where they say they received training in the use of sophisticated weapons and fighting techniques, including, one rebel said, “how to finish off soldiers still alive after an ambush.” (Source) (More) H/t Joost Niemoller


March 2, 2014

Al Qaeda Orders ISIS in Syria to Return to Iraq




The West is now realizing it has made a colossal mistake in supporting the Sunni Jihadists. 

UPDATE: The extremists of Al Qaeda are outraged by the extremism of ISIS! They want no part of them anymore..

 Al-Qaeda has disavowed the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), whose members have been locked in deadly clashes with Syrian rebels, according to a statement posted on jihadist websites. Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri had already ordered the group in May 2013 to disband and return to Iraq, and announced that another jihadist group, the Al-Nusra Front, was Al-Qaeda's official branch in war-torn Syria. The general command of Al-Qaeda rammed home the point in its late Sunday statement. (Source) H/t @maiwandafghani


Feb. 2, 2014

The Chickens From Syria Are Coming Home to Roost

In the US criticism is mounting against Obama's inconsistent policies. The news that Western intelligence agencies have been in touch with the Syrian regime is an embarrassment. But what was even more embarrassing, but has hardly been noted, was a report in the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai. It quoted well informed sources close to Assad and reported that Germany, Switzerland, the UK, Italy, Austria and Spain have begun rapprochement talks with the regime in Syria that go further than just security and the re-opening of embassies in Damascus. The article mentions that Saudi Arabia and France want no part of it, and that during the coming weeks the regime's victories will increase, because fighters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) increasingly return to Assad's army with valuable information. There are enormous divisions between the rebel groups; they surpass each other in cruelty. Al Qaeda for example is trying to demoralize FSA fighters by burying their children alive. The reasons for the division are manifold. Quarrels about the spoils of war, that vary from iPads to flat screen televisions and women. The Koran is unclear about the rights of the Sabaya, Arabic for women taken in war - literally women without an owner. There is an ideological split between the extremist states - Saudi Arabia versus Qatar - that support the radical rebel groups - ISIS versus Al Nusra. Questions are, in how far the Sharia should be enforced? About relationships with prisoners. Is the status of Christian prisoners equal to that of Alevites? (Source)

 Jan. 28, 2014

ISIL Attacks Turkish Post on Syrian Border

Turkish army attacked a convoy that belongs to the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in northern Syria, the Turkish military said in a statement on Wednesday. The Turkish military struck a number of vehicles that belong to the radical group, after militants opened fire on a military outpost on Turkey-Syria border on Wednesday. Along with warplanes, tanks and artillery fire from the Turkish side of the border destroyed a bus and several ISIL vehicles. There were no reports of casualties. (Source)


Jan. 15, 2013

West Torn Over Syrian Rebel Threat

The Syrian Government has reported an interesting event: allegedly Western intelligence officials have visited Damascus to talk about the security situation. This marks a notable discrepancy with both the official as well as the unofficial line. Overtly the West backs peace talks in Geneva, while aligning against Assad; covertly they are backing the Jihadist 'rebels'. But this scum of the earth is posing a serious threat. The BBC has this:
Western intelligence agencies have visited Damascus for talks on combating radical Islamist groups, Syria's deputy foreign minister has told the BBC. Faisal Mekdad said there was a schism between Western security officials and politicians who are pressing President Bashar al-Assad to step down. The growth of jihadist groups among rebels fighting President Assad has caused international concern. The Syrian opposition says it has "a real dilemma" over the alleged links. Khaled Saleh, spokesman for the Syrian National Coalition, told the BBC that if the reports of European intelligence contacts with Damascus were true, "it would show a clear contradiction between the words and actions of the Friends of Syria group" who had "clearly identified the Assad regime as a source of terrorism in the region".  
The UK government denied allegations its intelligence officials had been involved in such co-operation. Syrian government officials are due to attend peace talks in Geneva next week. However, the National Coalition has still not decided whether or not to take part. Correspondents say the growing disarray of the opposition is frustrating the West and bolstering the confidence of the Syrian government. In a recent interview, Mr Mekdad told BBC Newsnight that many Western governments had finally understood that there was no alternative to the leadership of President Assad. 'Terror threat' Asked if Western intelligence agencies - including British intelligence - had recently visited Damascus, he said: "I will not specify but many of them have visited Damascus, yes." (Source)


Dec. 27, 2013

Syrian Government Forces Sack Salafists in Qalamoun

Today dawn, between Maaloula and Qastal, rebels were trying to move from Yabroud towards Jayroud to take full control of the area. Hezbollah ambushed 400 fighters of different nationalities belonging to the Liwa al Islam (Saudi sponsored). Reports state Hezbollah/SAA was able to kill 70-80 rebels; some 150 fighters from other units were either killed or injured and moved to Aarsal, Lebanon. (Source)

The Battle of Qalamoun (Wiki) More footage 


Oct. 31, 2013

US Confirms Israel Struck Russian Arms Shipments in Syria



Satellite footage of alleged missile base in Latakia, Syria (photo credit: Wikimapia)

UPDATE: While Israel has remained tight-lipped over an alleged strike in Syria, an Obama administration official confirmed to CNN on Thursday that Israeli warplanes had in fact attacked an airbase in Latakia on Wednesday. The target was “missiles and related equipment the Israelis felt might be transferred to Hezbollah,” the report said. Earlier Thursday, on the heels of reports that the airbase had contained advanced, Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles, Al-Arabiya reported that Israel had attacked not one, but two targets in the civil war-torn country.

Al-Arabiya’s report said two targets had been hit in Syria on Wednesday night – not just the Latakia air defense base, but a target in Damascus as well. Both targets were said to have contained shipments of Russian SA-8 anti-aircraft missiles meant for Hezbollah, which were reportedly completely destroyed. A map of the Latakia airbase posted online shows three batteries of the Russian-made surface-to-air anti-aircraft missile at the base, outside Snobar Jableh in the country’s coastal Latakia region. Earlier Thursday, Al-Arabiya quoted opposition forces as saying the base held S-125 missiles.(Source)

Sept. 30, 2013

Former Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton analysing the situation. 

Syrian Opposition Forms Joint "Army of Islam"


 In addition to the log on Sept. 27 the following has emerged. Here's the footage: 

 As fighting continues in Syria, 43 Islamist groups have united to form a joint "Army of Islam." The groups have agreed to act under the joint leadership of Sheikh Muhammad Zahran Alloush. The Army of Islam's creation was officially announced in a ceremony on Sunday, September 29, 2013. Al-Qaeda's Jabhat al-Nusra, along with ideologically similar groups such as 'Ahrar al-Sham' (Free [Men] of the Levant), did not join the "Army of Islam", despite sharing its goal of toppling President Bashar Assad and instituting Sharia (Islamic law) in Syria. At the same time, the "Free Syrian Army" (FSA) is working to reunite its leadership after several commanders disassociated themselves last week from its leadership. Thirteen militant brigades announced that they reject the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) and the FSA under the leadership of Salim Idriss. The groups' commanders called to unite under an Islamist umbrella group. (Source)

 Sept. 27, 2013

Syrian Opposition Joins Al Qaeda Aligned Nusra

The pretense that the so-called Syrian opposition-in-exile speaks for those inside the country, never firm to begin with, was further exposed late on Tuesday, in a two-minute video statement called “Communiqué No. 1,” which was issued by eleven armed rebel groups that are influential in northern Syria. Their message was simple: the Western-backed hotel revolutionaries jetting from capital to capital, claiming leadership in the political National Coalition and an interim government-to-be, don’t speak for them—and they won’t listen to them. The new coalition, which has yet to announce its name, also said it wants Islamic Sharia law to be the basis of any future government, and that the various opposition parties should unite within “an Islamic framework.”

What is new here is that at least three of the eleven groups—Liwa al-Tawhid, Liwa al-Islam, and Suqour al-Sham—are aligned with the military wing of the National Coalition, the Supreme Military Council, which is supported by the West and is what passes for the leadership of the loose franchise outfit known as the Free Syrian Army (F.S.A.). Now they have publicly thrown in their lot with Jabhat al-Nusra, which also signed on to the statement and is connected to Al Qaeda. This public alliance of affiliates of the F.S.A. and of Al Qaeda, however, is more of a shift on paper than a marked change in how things work on the ground. There has long been operational coordination on a local level—for a particular battle or in a certain geographic area. All that has really happened at this stage is that a fig leaf has dropped. (Source)

 Sept. 19, 2013

Obama Waves Ban on Arming Terrorists

In a reminder of the Fabel of the Scorpio and the Frog the Al Qaeda aligned Salafi rebels have now turned on the 'moderates' in the FSA. While Obama waives ban on arming terrorists to allow arming the rebels, Glenn Beck figures this is treason and an impeachable offense. 

Al Qaeda Turns Against 'Moderate' Rebels

Syrian rebels have turned their guns on each other in the border city of Azaz, where fault lines between moderate Western-backed rebels and extremist groups descended into open conflict yesterday. Heavy clashes were reported in and around the city between the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and fighters with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) - an off-shoot of al-Qai'da. The clashes reportedly began this afternoon when ISIS fighters tried to abduct a German doctor who was volunteering at a hospital in the city. Fighters with the Northern Storm Brigade - an FSA unit - were guarding the hospital at the time and tried to protect the doctor, leading to gun battles broke that left several dead, according to the reports. “They accused [the doctor] of being a spy,” an opposition activist told The Independent. (Source) (RT Video)


 Sept. 18, 2013

Top Republican writes Moscow Times rebuttal to Putin

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., wrote a scathing retort in the Moscow Times to Russian President Vladimir Putin's Sept. 11 New York Times op-ed on Syria that also claimed America wasn't exceptional. McKeon's op-ed accuses Putin of making false conclusions about the war in Syria and the decision by the United States to consider, then reject, air strikes in Syria in retaliation for the Syrian government's use of chemical weapons against its own people. (Source)


Obama will let Iran off the hook if nukes are peaceful

Obama has told Iran's President Hassan Rouhani in an exchange of letters that the US is ready to resolve its nuclear dispute with Iran in a way that allows Tehran to show it is not trying to build weapons, the White House said on Wednesday. "The letter also conveyed the need to act with a sense of urgency to address this issue because, as we have long said, the window of opportunity for resolving this diplomatically is open, but it will not remain open indefinitely," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. In an interview with NBC on Wednesday, Rouhani said the tone of the letter he received from Obama was "positive and constructive." (Source)


 Sept. 16, 2013

Have Saddam's WMD Surfaced in Syria? 

As the regime of Bashar Assad disintegrates, the security of his chemical arsenal is in jeopardy. The No. 2 general in Saddam Hussein's air force says they were the WMDs we didn't find in Iraq. (...) the chemical weapons stockpile of Syrian thug Assad may in large part be the legacy of weapons moved from Hussein's Iraq into Syria before Operation Iraqi Freedom. If so, this may be the reason not much was found in the way of WMD by victorious U.S. forces in 2003. In 2006, former Iraqi general Georges Sada, second in command of the Iraqi Air Force who served under Saddam Hussein before he defected, wrote a comprehensive book, "Saddam's Secrets." (Source)

The UN has confirmed Sarin has been used in the gas attack. The UN can't ascertain which party has used it.

 Sept. 15, 2013

Obama's postmodern diplomacy on Syria

Putin has outwitted the Obama court eunuchs (h/t Mark Steyn) and laughed them off the world stage. This will have very serious repercussions for the future. The US is no longer a serious moral arbiter (or any arbiter), thanks to Obama's postmodern diplomacy. We will soon all know that the absence of Pax Americana means that the hegemonic vacuum will be filled by predators.

Putin has pulled off something incredible: He’s gotten Washington to anoint him as the international community’s official peacemaker, even as he assists Iran in going nuclear and keeping their blood-soaked Syrian client in his presidential palace. Already, under the “peace process,” Putin and Assad are running rings around the dull-witted Kerry, whose Botoxicated visage embodies all too well the expensively embalmed state of the superpower. 
As for Putin’s American-exceptionalism crack, he was attacking less the concept than Obama’s opportunist invocation of it as justification for military action in Syria. Nevertheless, Democrats and Republicans alike took the bait. Eager to mend bridges with the base after his amnesty bill, Marco Rubio insisted at National Review Online that America was still, like, totally exceptional. 
Sorry, this doesn’t pass muster even as leaden, staffer-written codswallop. It’s not the time — not when you’re a global joke, not when every American ally is cringing with embarrassment at the amateurishness of the last month. Nobody, friend or foe, wants to hear about American exceptionalism when the issue is American ineffectualism. 
On CBS, Bashar Assad called the U.S. government “a social-media administration.” He’s got a better writer than Obama, too. America is in danger of being the first great power to be laughed off the world stage. When the president’s an irrelevant narcissist and his secretary of state’s a vainglorious buffoon, Marco Rubio shouldn’t be telling the world don’t worry, the other party’s a joke, too. (Source)
The failure is so bad that some observers have seen a calculated plan in Obama's ineptitude of willfully wanting to reduce the US to a 'normal''  country.
Summing up the net effect of all this, as astute a foreign observer as Conrad Black can flatly say that, "Not since the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, and before that the fall of France in 1940, has there been so swift an erosion of the world influence of a Great Power as we are witnessing with the United States."
They may be right, because after all Obama is the post American president of egalitarian nihilism. On purpose or the result of postmodern diplomatic failure (or success as the case may be), it isn't really relevant. The tree is known by its fruit.  (Bron)




 Sept. 13, 2013

Russia Continues Marine Buildup

As the Obama Administration presses for another war in the Middle East, Russia has thrown a few more wrenches into the picture. Russia Today reports that the Russian Navy intends to expand its Mediterranean fleet to up to 10 vessels. Particularly, it will beef up its fleet near Syrian shores. As noted in the report, Russia currently has seven vessels in the region. Now, three more are on the way, with the first set to arrive on September 15 or 16. This appears to be the largest threat the US Military has faced in decades. Since at least the end of the Cold War, it has been virtually unchallenged by other major nations. (...) Russia is now, at the very least, ready to play a game of chicken with the United States. It is clearly sending a message the US will not have an easy time toppling the Assad regime, which everyone outside of Obama’s immediate circle knows is the ultimate agenda. The fact that Russia is willing to take it this far for the first time since the Cold War suggests that US Military dominance is in greater question than it has been in decades. (Source)


Sept. 12, 2013

Assad Laying Down Conditions for Deal

Putin's article in the NYT is making waves all over the world for its sheer audacity. Whereas it is exceptional that a head of state is talking to a people over the head of its head of state, Putin surely has no notion of what American exceptionalism is! It isn't nationalistic superiority, but Liberty itself; a government that isn't served by its people, but is the servant of the people.

It was only a matter of time before Syria's Assad, emboldened by Obama's recent backtracking and confident he has all the leverage and momentum, started laying down his own conditions. (...)
  • ASSAD CALLS FOR ISRAEL TO DISPOSE OF WMD (!) 
  • ASSAD: 'REBELS MAY USE CHEMICAL WEAPONS AGAINST ISRAEL AS PROVOCATION' 
  • ASSAD SAYS CHEMICAL ARMS DEAL DEPENDS ON US STOPPING AID TO TERRORISTS 
  • ASSAD SAYS WILL COMPLETE DEAL ONLY IF US STOPS "POLICY OF THREATS" 
  • ASSAD ACCUSES TURKEY, SAUDI ARABIA, QATAR OF SUPPORTING TERRORISTS IN SYRIA 
  • ASSAD EXPECTS TO START HANDING OVER INFO ON CHEMICAL WEAPONS ONE MONTH AFTER JOINING OPCW 
  • ASSAD: 'ANY WAR AGAINST SYRIA WILL BECOME A WAR THAT WILL DESTROY THE WHOLE REGION' 
  • ASSAD: 'NO COUNTRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST, PRIMARILY ISRAEL, SHOULD HAVE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION' 
  • SYRIA TO SEND DOCUMENTS TO UN, CHEMICAL WEAPONS GROUP SOON 
  • ASSAD SAYS IMPLEMENTATION OF DEAL MAY TAKE A MONTH OR MORE 
If at all. And now, his bluff called, we go back to Barack Obama penning his Pravda Op-Ed. )(Source)

CIA starts shipping light weapons and ammo to Syrian rebel fighters (Source)


 Sept. 11, 2013

Obama Channels Chamberlain

Obama's speech on Syria has been received like Chamberlain's message on "Peace in our time" (Source)

 Daniel Pipes has written an editorial on the matter which largely bears out our own analysis: 
Here’s advice to the members of the United States Congress as they are asked to endorse an American-led attack on the government of Syria: Start your consideration by establishing priorities, clarifying what matters most to the country. The Obama administration rightly points to two urgent matters: stopping the Iranian nuclear buildup and maintaining the security of Israel. To these, I add a third: reestablishing the U.S. deterrent credibility laid low by Barack Obama. (Source)

Charles Crawford, former ambassador to Serbia: "Worst day in Western diplomacy"


In the meantime the main lobbyist for the FSA, Elizabeth O'Grady has been fired (WSJ article)


 Sept. 10, 2013

Assad Said to Accept 'Russian' Proposal

Hours before Obama is addressing the nation Syria said Tuesday it has accepted "Russia's proposal" to place its chemical weapons under international control for subsequent dismantling (which is actually Kerry's gaffe). Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said Tuesday after meeting with Russian parliament speaker that his government quickly "agreed to the Russian initiative." Al-Moallem added that Syria did so to "uproot U.S. aggression." His statement sounded more definitive than his remarks Monday, when he said that Damascus welcomed Russia's initiative. Meanwhile, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday that Russia is now working with Syria to prepare a detailed plan of action.

Interview of Assad with Charlie Rose


 Sept. 9, 2013

"Obama's Secret Deal" (John Kerry's Gaffe), Putin's Open Letter to the US

On the eve of a critical Capitol Hill discussion on Syria and two days before his address to the nation, President Obama is said to have offered Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a way out of any U.S. bombing campaign. The U.S. passed a message to Assad through Russia offering a deal that would ensure against U.S. military action if the Syrian leader agrees to the following terms (in fact, John Kerry made a gaffe, and Putin and Asssad ware holding them to it). The secret proposal is supposed to contain the following conditions:
  • Serious political reforms that will result in free and fair presidential elections. 
  • Assad will not be allowed to run in future presidential elections and agrees to step down from power. 
  • An international committee will supervise control of Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal. 
  • The international community, with U.S. participation, will help rebuild the Syrian army and security services to guarantee participation from all factions of the population. 
The model for this reorganization is the so-called Dayton plan that has been overseeing the restructuring of the Palestinian Authority security organizations and militias.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent an open letter to Americans and what it says might make you look at him in an entirely different light. (Source)


 Sept. 6, 2013

G20 Fall Out, Iran Inveighs Against Strikes

Fall out of the G20 in Moscow: Only Turkey, Canada, Saudi Arabia and France joined the US push for intervention, Putin said, adding that the UK Prime Minister’s position was not supported by his citizens. Russia, China, India, Indonesia, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa and Italy were among the major world’s economies clearly opposed to military intervention. President Putin said the G20 nations spent the “entire” Thursday evening discussing the Syrian crisis, which was followed by Putin’s bilateral meeting with UK Prime Minister David Cameron that lasted till 3am Moscow time. Russia “will help Syria” in the event of a military strike, Putin stressed (...)

Meanwhile, President Obama reiterated in his summit speech that the US government believes Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces were behind the chemical weapons use. Obama pledged to make a good case on the issue for both the international community and the American people, saying many nations are already “comfortable” with the US’ opinion. While admitting “a number of countries” at the summit stressed any military action plan should go through the UN Security Council, Obama said the US is in a different “camp” that questioned the UNSC effectiveness. (...) (Source)

Iran has inveighed against an intervention: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has warned the Obama administration against any proposed military strike on Syria. Khamenei, who wields the ultimate authority in Iranian affairs, said Washington would "certainly suffer loss" if it attacked Bashar al-Assad's forces. (Source)


 Sept. 4, 2013

Russia Warns For Nuclear Disaster

In a dress rehearsal of what might happen, should the US decide to cut off the head of the Cerberus - Iran - Russia said on Wednesday that a military strike on Syria could have catastrophic effects if a missile hit a small reactor near Damascus that contains radioactive uranium. The Foreign Ministry called on the U.N. nuclear agency to urgently assess the risk as the United States considers military action to punish Syria's government for an alleged gas attack. "If a warhead, by design or by chance, were to hit the Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) near Damascus, the consequences could be catastrophic," a ministry statement said. It said nearby areas could be contaminated by highly enriched uranium and that it would be impossible to account for the nuclear material after such a strike, suggesting it could fall into the hands of people who might use it as a weapon. Russia urged the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency secretariat to "react swiftly" and present IAEA members "an analysis of the risks linked to possible American strikes on the MNSR and other facilities in Syria". (Source)

 Sept. 3, 2013

Israel Carries Out Missile Test

Things are getting a bit tense in the Middle East. Early this morning Russia's state-run RIA news agency reported that Russian radar had detected the launch of two ballistic "objects" in the Mediterranean. An hour later Israel said it carried out a test of a missile in the Mediterranean on Tuesday. The Israeli Defense Ministry said the test was conducted at 9:15 a.m. (2:15 AM EDT). Caroline Glick is pointing out in this interview that Israel feels exposed by the Obama administration. They have even leaked information, leading to a very dangerous situation (audio)

According to the IDF the test was executed jointly with the United States military. A test at this time may be less of a "test" and more of a warning. Sometimes it isn't the build up to war which increases tensions it its the perceived buildup. Iran which has not slowed down its nuclear weapons program despite the election of what the western media calls a "moderate" president, believes that Israel is close to stiking its nuclear facilities. At least that is what is being reported in Lebanese newspaper Al Jumhuriya.

 According to the report, a senior Iranian official recently visited Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in his hideout in the Dahiya section section of Beirut to discuss this assessment. A senior Hezbollah military source said that the Iranian official was a military officer and that the meeting was devoted to the military and logistical readiness of Hezbollah for a confrontation with Israel, which, he added, is just “a stone's throw away” from Lebanon. (Source)


 Sept. 1, 2013

Rebel Support Group SSG Collapses into Disarray

Even as President Bashar al-Assad has made sweeping advances across parts of his country, the Syrian Support Group (SSG) has been riven by internal divisions and struggled to raise funds. The group had been considered a potential game-changer whose money-raising abilities would equip the rebels with much-needed modern weapons. But instead of using a unique US licence to funnel funds to the opposition, the group has spent months pursuing a fruitless dash to make millions of dollars from Syrian oil. One former staff member has alleged that the leadership had become "obsessed" with landing a jackpot oil deal and lost sight of its core mission to back the rebels. The head of the SSG in Washington resigned last month after the group failed to gain real traction with US officials and its London operation is under threat of closure after falling foul of the Government. (Source)

Syrian Rebels Pledge Allegiance to AQ

A Syrian rebel group's April pledge of allegiance to al-Qaeda's replacement for Osama bin Laden suggests that the terrorist group's influence is not waning and that it may take a greater role in the Western-backed fight to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad. The pledge of allegiance by Syrian Jabhat al Nusra Front chief Abou Mohamad al-Joulani to al-Qaeda leader Sheik Ayman al-Zawahri was coupled with an announcement by the al-Qaeda affiliate in Iraq, the Islamic State of Iraq, that it would work with al Nusra as well. Lebanese Sheik Omar Bakri, a Salafist who says states must be governed by Muslim religious law, says al-Qaeda has assisted al Nusra for some time. (Source)

"Kerry insists Syrian rebels are secular"

 Aug. 31, 2013

 If the intelligence services knew ahead of Assad's plans to gas his people, why didn't they give warming, Dutch General Dick Berlijn is wondering in a tweet (Source)

SHOCK REPORT: Rebels, "Gas attack result of mishandling chemical weapons"


In a report that is sure to be considered blockbuster news, the rebels told Dale Gavlak, a reporter who has written for the Associated Press, NPR and BBC, they are responsible for the chemical attack last week. Gavlak is a Middle Eastern journalist who filed the report about the rebels claiming responsibility on the Mint Press News website, which is affiliated with AP. In that report allegedly the rebels told him the chemical attack was a result of mishandling chemical weapons. This news should deflate the accusations, against the Assad regime, coming from the U.S., Britain, France and the Arab League.

Gavlak reports he was told by rebels that the gas "attack" was the result of rebels mishandling the chemical weapons they acquired from the Saudis. He says in the Mint Press report the following: "They didn’t tell us what these arms were or how to use them,” complained a female fighter named ‘K.’ “We didn’t know they were chemical weapons. We never imagined they were chemical weapons.”

When Saudi Prince Bandar gives such weapons to people, he must give them to those who know how to handle and use them,” she warned. She, like other Syrians, do not want to use their full names for fear of retribution." Gavlak continues in his report: "A well-known rebel leader in Ghouta named ‘J’ agreed. “Jabhat al-Nusra militants do not cooperate with other rebels, except with fighting on the ground. They do not share secret information. They merely used some ordinary rebels to carry and operate this material. We were very curious about these arms. And unfortunately, some of the fighters handled the weapons improperly and set off the explosions, ‘J’ said." (Source)

Obama Bypasses UNSC, Seeking Cover of Congress

We have a stop the war on Syria movement, Syria says it's ready for attack 'at any moment' which will have to keep until Sept. 9.  While Congress is in recess, Obama has sought its approval for an attack on Syria. Obama may be aware he's risking WWIII here and is refusing to take the fall. But he is willing to move without involving the UN Security Council. (Source)


 Aug. 29, 2013

 US Prepared to Act Alone

The Obama administration laid the groundwork for unilateral military action in Syria, a shift officials said reflected the U.K.'s abrupt decision not to participate and concerns that President Bashar al-Assad was using the delayed Western response to disperse his military assets around the country. The push for a quick international strike to punish Syria appeared in disarray on Thursday, after British lawmakers defeated a government motion in support of military action rejected. The vote in the House of Commons was 285-272. Officials said Mr. Obama is prepared to act in coming days without Britain, noting that unlike U.S. involvement in the 2011 military operation in Libya, the options under consideration in Syria are smaller scale and would not require a coalition to be effective. (Source) Meantime ...

The Pentagon is moving a fifth warship armed with cruise missiles to the eastern Mediterranean Sea, giving the U.S. more firepower (...) The guided-missile destroyer Stout is expected to arrive in the area Thursday, joining four other missile-carrying U.S. destroyers within range of Syria. Each can carry up to 90 cruise missiles, though experts say they are likely carrying about half that number. Cruise missiles have a range of nearly 1,000 miles, allowing the vessels carrying them to stay well out of range of Syria’s anti-ship missiles, even when they launch the missiles. (Source)

John Bolton Nails the Issue


The former Ambassador at the UN, John Bolton, is nailing the issue. What's the use of punitive strikes against Assad? Iran is the issue:



August 28, 2013

Separating the essence from the side issues

Two rival views on the chemical weapons issue. As far as this blog is concerned, it's a hardly relevant side issue. The West merely requires a cause that justifies a moral war (JWT). Combatting evil alone is an insufficient cause as far as the Kantians are concerned. But Syria is not even a signatory to the convention against chemical weapons.
Geopolitically the issue is, will the Middle East be domininated by the Shia Syrie/Hezbollah/Iran/Russia/China axis or the Sunni SA/Qatar/Turkey/NATO coalition? Apart from religious and ideological rivalry, on the level of states this is closely related to the economic issue of competing natural gas pipelines to Europe. We will be reverting on this subject in due course. But for now, here's the issue of the gassing of citizens as the pretext for war:

 Aug. 27, 2013

 It comes down to the basic question, is the world better of with an Iranian hegemony in the Middle East, or Saudi Arabia's. Given the apocalypic vision of Iran, the answer is probably the Saudis':
After regional and international stances became clear, the struggle in Syria and over Syria has become clear. This is a war that will alter the region's map. If Bashar al-Assad's regime survives, Hezbollah and Iran win as well. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that this is crucial war for the Gulf countries, Jordan, Lebanon and primarily for Syria itself. A victory of the Assad’s regime will lead to Iran's domination over Iraq, Syria and Lebanon and consequentially over the Gulf as well as posing a threat to Jordan's and Lebanon's existence. Iran sees that a victory in Syria will grant it Western concessions to widen its influence and develop its nuclear program. This is what Britain and France told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who sold the Syrian people to Russia in exchange for going to the Geneva conference. John Kerry granted Assad more than the latter ever dreamt of. Kerry offered that Assad keep all ministries under his control in addition to remaining his post as president for another year. For Kerry a Syrian transitional government is nothing more than a formality. (Source)

More perspective from behind the scenes: A diplomatic report about the “stormy meeting” in July between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan (Source)

Missile strikes against Syria could be launched "as early as Thursday," senior U.S. officials said Tuesday as the White House intensified its push toward an international response to the suspected use of chemical weapons. The "three days" of strikes would be limited in scope, and aimed at sending a message to the regime of Syria President Bashar Assad, U.S. officials told NBC News. News on the possible timescale for military action followed another round of telephone diplomacy by President Barack Obama, who held discussions with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and French President Francois Hollande on Monday. Secretary of State John Kerry says the use of chemical weapons in Syria is "undeniable" and that the U.S. is considering how to respond. Watch his entire statement (Source)

 Russia and China have stepped up their warnings against military intervention in Syria, with Moscow saying any such action would have "catastrophic consequences" for the region. (Bron)

British Prime Minister David Cameron's office recalled lawmakers from their summer vacation Tuesday to vote on his own country's response to the alleged chemical attack. His office also said the country's military was making contingency plans for a Syrian operation, joining U.S. officials who said Monday that President Barack Obama's administration was evaluating options for a military response to the suspected use of chemical agents against the Syrian rebels. Obama has yet to decide how to respond, the defense official said Tuesday. (Source)



Aug. 25, 2013

Free Syrian Army Experimenting with Chemicals 

David Cameron and Barack Obama last night agreed to take military action against Syria. The US president sealed the deal in a 40-minute phone call to the Prime Minister at his holiday retreat in Cornwall. The two leaders agreed that Syrian tyrant Bashar al-Assad was responsible for using chemical weapons against children. Mr Obama and Mr Cameron will discuss the military options in the next few days. They include missile strikes, ­disabling the Syrian air force or ­enforcing a no-fly zone across the country". In the meantime, in view of the alleged chemical attack it is well worth reminding what the FSA have been up to in that regard (Source)



Aug. 24, 2013

False Flags and War Propaganda

It is worth mentioning that all previous false flags pointed eventually towards the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and a plethora of sponsored terrorist groups. Also, the government of Syria allowed the United Nations (UN) into the country in order to obtain important information about the alleged usage of chemical weapons in the past. It is worth recalling that Carla del Ponte, UN human rights investigator, pointed the finger at terrorist forces when another false flag was raised. Del Ponte stated a few months ago that “We still have to deepen our investigation, verify and confirm (the findings) through new witness testimony, but according to what we have established so far, it is at the moment opponents of the regime who are using sarin gas.” Aleksandr Lukashevich, spokesperson at the Russian Foreign Ministry, comments that “…biased regional media have immediately, as if on command, began an aggressive information attack, laying all the responsibility on the government.” (Source)

Note: organophosphate insecticides have the same effect as Sarin and it's legal - 


Syrian rebels have used chemical weapons against regime forces in the Damascus suburb of Jobar, where soldiers discovered stockpiles of toxic poisoning antidotes, state media reports. According to SANA citing “an official source” suffocation cases among army soldiers have been reported. The source told the agency that army unit pushed into the area, where soldiers were attacked, and seized a warehouse containing material labeled 'Made in KSA' as well as a large number of protective masks. In addition, the army discovered a stockpile of chemical poisoning antidotes with 'The Qatari-German Company for Pharmaceutical Industries' label on them. (Source)

 Aug. 23, 2013

RUSSIA, "Opposition Impedes Investigation In Chemical Attack"

RT is breaking news that materials pointing to forces of Syrian president Bashar Assad use of chemical weapons near Damascus were prepared prior to alleged incident on August 21, the Russian foreign ministry said.

 Moscow continues to monitor closely the event surrounding the “alleged” chemical attack near Damascus, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Aleksandr Lukashevich, said in a statement. “We’re getting more new evidence that this criminal act was of a provocative nature,” he stressed. “In particular, there are reports circulating on the Internet, in particular that the materials of the incident and accusations against government troops had been posted for several hours before the so-called attack. Thus, it was a pre-planned action.”

The Damascus chemical attack accusations indicate the launch of “another anti-Syrian propaganda wave” and, in this context, the calls on the UN Security Council to immediately use force in Syria “heard from some EU capitals” are “unacceptable”, Lukashevich said. The Foreign Ministry spokesman said that Assad’s government has demonstrated a “constructive approach” to the chemical weapons issue by allowing UN experts into the country. But it’s alarming that the “same signals” aren’t coming from the Syrian opposition, which so far hasn’t displayed willingness to ensure the safety and efficient operations of UN investigators on the territory it controls, he said. 

“This directly impedes the objective investigation of allegations of possible cases of chemical weapons use in Syria, which is called for by a number of countries and which the Russian side supports,” Lukashevich noted. The Russian foreign ministry “strongly appeals to those who should put pressure on the opposition, making it take the necessary steps in order to ensure the full realization of the objectives of the international expert mission,” the spokesman said. (Source)

 Aug. 22, 2013

Russia: 'Chem Attack on Syria Launched from Rebel Territory'  

Russia Today is reporting the Russian Foreign Ministry saying that a homemade rocket carrying unidentified chemical substances had been launched from an area controlled by the opposition. “A homemade rocket with a poisonous substance that has not been identified yet – one similar to the rocket used by terrorists on March 19 in Khan al-Assal - was fired early on August 21 [at Damascus suburbs] from a position occupied by the insurgents,” Lukashevich said. The Russian diplomat stated that it seems as though it was “a provocation planned in advance.”

Reports by “biased regional media” about alleged chemical weapons use near Damascus might be “a provocation planned in advance,” says Lukashevich. “It draws attention to the fact that biased regional media have immediately, as if on command, begun an aggressive information attack, laying all the responsibility on the government,” Lukashevich said in a statement on Wednesday. (Source)

REPORT: "US Led Incursions into Syria Begun, Assad Countered with Chemical Attack" 

Following reports of chemical weapons attacks by Assad forces on rebel strongholds on the outskirts of Damascus under the noses of UN weapons expectors who just arrived in the country, the French paper Le Figaro is reporting that troops from the US, Jordan and Israel have started military operations against Syria. However, a report by Debka suggests cause and effect may have been reversed:

US-Led Incursion into Syria from Jordan Underway. Assad Counters with Chemical-Weapons Attack


Assad is acting to counter the first organized incursion of US-trained Syrian rebels from Jordan into southern Syria. The first group of 250 rebels, trained in special operations tactics by US and Jordanian instructors, entered Syria Saturday, Aug. 17, armed with weapons of Russian provenance supplied by the US and Saudi Arabia.

They are fighting under US and Jordanian commanders based in Jordan. A second group of 300 fighters crossed into Syria from Jordan Monday. They are linking up with local rebel groups chosen from amongst those with no ties with the jihadist Jabhat al-Nusra (Al Qaeda in Syria). According to military sources, the rebel units are advancing at speed along the Syrian-Israeli border.

They have forced the Syrian brigades posted there into retreating from positions inside a strip of 1-25 kilometers from the border, and captured the villages of Raihaniya, Breiqa and Beer Ajam. This tactic has moved the Syrian army back from the area opposite the Israeli Golan, and started marking out a buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian forces in the Horan province.

Military sources report that additional Syrian rebel forces are standing ready in Jordan to cross into Syria. The incoming forces will then start extending the nascent buffer zone northward towards Deraa (fountainhead of the Syrian uprising in 2011) and east toward Jabal Druze.

This Jordan-based rebel offensive was launched shortly after Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint US Chiefs of Staff, visited US forces in Jordan and inaugurated the underground US war room near Amman for commanding the operation in Syria (Source)

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