http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/19/us-nkorea-threat-idUSBRE91I0J520130219
And? Those present were shocked! What language! And in response they are going to do what? Keep talking, of course. And as for sanctions, forget it; the Russians have already said Nyet!
This, of course, has nothing directly to do with the Middle East, but I see the North Korean case as an example of how the West will not respond when the Iranians finally get nukes.
Take the story, substitute Iranians for North Koreans, and "the Zionist Entity" for South Korea and you can see the future.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Russians Arms to Syria
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/revealed-russias-double-dealing-on-arms-to-assad-regime-leaves-uk-isolated-over-syria-strategy-8500385.html
Apparently, the Russians outwitted the Brits. And the international community keeps waiting for diplomacy to work. And Syrians die. And the people who ARE getting the weapons are the jihadists. Sounds like "Smart Diplomacy."
Apparently, the Russians outwitted the Brits. And the international community keeps waiting for diplomacy to work. And Syrians die. And the people who ARE getting the weapons are the jihadists. Sounds like "Smart Diplomacy."
Gazan Jihadists Join Fight in Syria
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?ID=303722&R=R1
This bodes poorly for both Jordan and Israel if Assad collapses.
This bodes poorly for both Jordan and Israel if Assad collapses.
Russians Send Emergency Aid to Syria
http://www.sana-syria.com/eng/22/2013/02/19/467870.htm
I'm not sure if these two aircraft are the same earlier reports mentioned or two new planes. But 44 tons of material isn't much for a country as large as Syria. The Iranians just dispatched 100 tons of food. Obviously, there is a food shortage. And obviously the Iranians and Russians are trying to help.
I would also note that the Russians are themselves facing a grain shortage and are importing grain, which they are dumping in the provinces to prevent food price hikes. So sending grain to Syria involves importing grain from the West. Or, to look at it another way, when we sell grain to the Russians, who are not supporting the sanctions against Syria, we are supplying Assad with food.
I'm not sure if these two aircraft are the same earlier reports mentioned or two new planes. But 44 tons of material isn't much for a country as large as Syria. The Iranians just dispatched 100 tons of food. Obviously, there is a food shortage. And obviously the Iranians and Russians are trying to help.
I would also note that the Russians are themselves facing a grain shortage and are importing grain, which they are dumping in the provinces to prevent food price hikes. So sending grain to Syria involves importing grain from the West. Or, to look at it another way, when we sell grain to the Russians, who are not supporting the sanctions against Syria, we are supplying Assad with food.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Geert Wilders Down Under
I'm not sure it's four-minutes before midnight, and I place a great deal of the blame on Western governments themselves. You can't blame Muslims for our government's decision to term what happened at Fort Hood "workplace violence." It was Bush who started it all off claiming that Bin Laden had "hijacked" Islam. And the people who will ultimately pay the heaviest price for our dissimulation won't be Westerners, they'll be Muslims. Our policies make some of them think that they, literally, can get away with murder. We ought not to be surprised that they then murder. But at some point, the West will wake up and when it does it will over-react. We made excuses for Japanese behavior for a decade. We termed unrestricted submarine warfare a war crime for three decades. Then a few hours after Pearl Harbor we adopted it as national policy. A few months later we started rounding up Japanese civilians.
BBC Now Reporting Hezbollah Ops in Syria
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21496735
The Hezbollah ops were coordinated with the Syrian Air Force. So now we have numerous reports of the Iranian-armed Shia militia in Lebanon intervening in Syria.
One could say great! Let's stand by and watch two groups we dislike fight each other. And there is something to be said about such a Realpolitik line of reasoning. The downside is that 70,000 people are already dead (up from 60,000 in less than a fortnight), the levels of brutality are increasing steadily, and it is going to be hard to stand aside forever. And when we do finally take some kind of action, there are going to be many Syrians who will blame us for delaying so long.
But, then again, we've watched as the Algerians have butchered each other for the past twenty years and 200,000 dead.
But I don't think Assad is going to last twenty years. And what do we do if an al-Qaeda affiliated outfit takes Damascus and Assad's conventional and chemical arsenal?
The Hezbollah ops were coordinated with the Syrian Air Force. So now we have numerous reports of the Iranian-armed Shia militia in Lebanon intervening in Syria.
One could say great! Let's stand by and watch two groups we dislike fight each other. And there is something to be said about such a Realpolitik line of reasoning. The downside is that 70,000 people are already dead (up from 60,000 in less than a fortnight), the levels of brutality are increasing steadily, and it is going to be hard to stand aside forever. And when we do finally take some kind of action, there are going to be many Syrians who will blame us for delaying so long.
But, then again, we've watched as the Algerians have butchered each other for the past twenty years and 200,000 dead.
But I don't think Assad is going to last twenty years. And what do we do if an al-Qaeda affiliated outfit takes Damascus and Assad's conventional and chemical arsenal?
Russians Begin Airlifting Their People from Syria
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Jan-22/203274-150-russians-to-flee-syria-bloodbath-via-beirut-diplomat.ashx#axzz2LGMjtnko
Not a sign that Moscow thinks Assad is going to hold on, no matter what they may say publicly. I posted a day or so ago about the Iranians flying out documents and destroying others that they don't want anyone to capture and expose. Then you have the news about the Hezbollah militias engaging and being built up.
Not a sign that Moscow thinks Assad is going to hold on, no matter what they may say publicly. I posted a day or so ago about the Iranians flying out documents and destroying others that they don't want anyone to capture and expose. Then you have the news about the Hezbollah militias engaging and being built up.
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Official: Foolish and Dastardly Americans Pursuing Democracy in the Middle East
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9107145512
What a claim! Iranians charge that the US has been pursuing a global plan for regime change by using that horrible tactic--democracy! But things haven't worked out so well in the Middle East. Why? Because the people of the Middle East keep electing Islamists!
All of this is, of course, accurate. But it reinforces the point that the Iranians and the Muslim Brotherhood are not democrats. It is time for us to wake up to that reality but, as the Iranian official states, we insist on "pursuing the same experience." From the text:
What a claim! Iranians charge that the US has been pursuing a global plan for regime change by using that horrible tactic--democracy! But things haven't worked out so well in the Middle East. Why? Because the people of the Middle East keep electing Islamists!
All of this is, of course, accurate. But it reinforces the point that the Iranians and the Muslim Brotherhood are not democrats. It is time for us to wake up to that reality but, as the Iranian official states, we insist on "pursuing the same experience." From the text:
"In essence, the US strategy is changing regimes through democracy and Americans have implemented this strategy in Ukraine, the former Soviet Union and Georgia," Saeedi told FNA.
He stated that Americans intended to exercise the same strategy in the Middle-East but to no avail, as the results of elections in the Middle-East were against what the US desired. Saeedi further pointed to elections results in Egypt which led to the victory of Islamist groups, and said, "Nonetheless, the US still insists on pursuing the same experience." Islamist parties have been experiencing a chain of victories in the post-revolution elections held in several regional countries since the start of 2011. In Tunisia, the once-banned Islamist party, the Al-Nahda, won majority in the country's first free elections. In Egypt, Ikhwan Al-Muslimun (Muslim Brotherhood)'s Freedom and Justice Party won majority in nationwide elections. Analysts believe that the victory of Islamists in various Middle-East countries has caused deep worries in Washington, and the White House is working on different plans to redirect the path of revolutions in these countries to bring pro-western politicians to power. |
Does Current US Policy in Syria Help al Qaeda?
http://english.alarabiya.net/views/2013/02/18/266933.html
This is a very interesting piece in Al Arabiya. It raises the prospect that the end-game in Syria will leave an al- Qaeda affiliate with the strongest position, because the jihadists are gaining support and legitimacy of the people through their actions, (as, I would add, happened in Afghanistan). The author questions Obama's policy, or lack thereof.
Time will tell, and we'll find out in the not so distant future.
This is a very interesting piece in Al Arabiya. It raises the prospect that the end-game in Syria will leave an al- Qaeda affiliate with the strongest position, because the jihadists are gaining support and legitimacy of the people through their actions, (as, I would add, happened in Afghanistan). The author questions Obama's policy, or lack thereof.
Time will tell, and we'll find out in the not so distant future.
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