Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Articles on Syrian Crisis
French Foreign Minister: Fall of Syrian Government “Unavoidable”
Syrian Rebels are Foreign-backed Terrorists
Obama authorizes secret U.S. support for Syrian rebels
U.S. Moves Closer to Arming Syrian Rebels
Syrian rebels aim to use chemical weapons, blame Damascus – report
Russia accuses Syrian rebels of using “tactics of terror”
Obama approves non-lethal aid to Syrian rebels
CIA, Mossad Backed Rebels Attack Syrian Television Station, Kill 7
Report: France, US arming Syrian rebels with anti-aircraft missiles
Britain in secret talks with Syrian rebels
Reuters: Jihadists Join Aleppo Fight, Eye On Islamic State
Sat Sep 8, 2012 11:17am EDT
* French surgeon returns after 2 weeks in Aleppo hospital
* Says French fighters inspired by Toulouse gunman Merah
* Says Turkey flooding parts of border to stop refugees
By John Irish, Reuters
PARIS, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Foreign Islamists intent on turning Syria into an autocratic theocracy have swollen the ranks of rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad and think they are waging a "holy war", a French surgeon who treated fighters in Aleppo has said.
Jacques Beres, co-founder of medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, returned from Syria on Friday evening after spending two weeks working clandestinely in a hospital in the besieged northern Syrian city.
In an interview with Reuters in his central Paris apartment on Saturday, the 71-year-old said that contrary to his previous visits to Homs and Idlib earlier this year about 60 percent of those he had treated this time had been rebel fighters and that at least half of them had been non-Syrian.
"It's really something strange to see. They are directly saying that they aren't interested in Bashar al-Assad's fall, but are thinking about how to take power afterwards and set up an Islamic state with sharia law to become part of the world Emirate," the doctor said.
The foreign jihadists included young Frenchmen who said they were inspired by Mohammed Merah, a self-styled Islamist militant from Toulouse, who killed seven people in March in the name of al-Qaeda.
Assad himself has consistently maintained that the 17-month-old insurgency against him is largely the work of people he refers to as "foreign-backed terrorists" and says his forces are acting to restore stability.
During his previous visits to Syria - in March and May - Beres said he had dismissed suggestions the rebels were dominated by Islamist fighters but he said he had now been forced to reassess the situation.
The doctor's account corroborates other anecdotal evidence that the struggle against Assad appears to be drawing ever greater numbers of fellow Arabs and other Muslims, many driven by a sense of religious duty to perform jihad (holy war) and a readiness to suffer for Islam.
But while some are professional "jihadists", veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya or Libya who bring combat and bomb-making skills with them that alarm the Western and Arab governments which have cheered the rebels on, many have little to offer Syrians but their goodwill and prayers.
Beres described treating dozens of such jihadists from other Arab countries, but also at least two young Frenchmen.
"Some of them were French and completely fanatical about the future," he said. "They are very cautious people, even to the doctor who treated them. They didn't trust me, but for instance they told me that Mohammed Merah was an example to follow."
Merah tore a wound in France's fragile sense of community in March when he gunned down three soldiers from North African immigrant families, a rabbi and three Jewish children.
Paris has for several years been concerned that French radical Islamists who have travelled to lawless zones would return to plot attacks at home. Merah had travelled to Afghanistan and Pakistan to receive training.
INDISCRIMINATE BOMBING
On his previous trips he worked in makeshift hospitals, but this time Beres said he received as many as 40 injured people each day in a normal hospital that was under rebel control in the economic hub Aleppo.
He said he had treated civilians who had been queuing for bread at a market place when it had been shelled.
"The baker was killed. He was a thin man completely covered in white flour with shrapnel holes and blood all over. It was a striking and troubling image," he said.
"What people have to know is that the number of dead is a far cry from what's been announced. I'd say you have to multiply by two to get the real figure."
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that more than 23,000 people have been killed in the uprising. More than 200,000 Syrians have fled to neighbouring Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon.
Beres, who entered Syria via Turkey's northern border, said he had also seen signs that Ankara was trying to stop Syrians crossing the border.
Showing his muddied surgical case, shoes and clothes, Beres said that Turkish forces had flooded the Reyhanli border area with water making it difficult for refugees to cross unnoticed.
"We were caught by the Turkish army. It took us 20 hours to cross the border and I was fined $500 for crossing the border illegally. They flooded the border completely so that they can hear who is crossing. Those they do catch they are sending back," he said.
* French surgeon returns after 2 weeks in Aleppo hospital
* Says French fighters inspired by Toulouse gunman Merah
* Says Turkey flooding parts of border to stop refugees
By John Irish, Reuters
PARIS, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Foreign Islamists intent on turning Syria into an autocratic theocracy have swollen the ranks of rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad and think they are waging a "holy war", a French surgeon who treated fighters in Aleppo has said.
Jacques Beres, co-founder of medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, returned from Syria on Friday evening after spending two weeks working clandestinely in a hospital in the besieged northern Syrian city.
In an interview with Reuters in his central Paris apartment on Saturday, the 71-year-old said that contrary to his previous visits to Homs and Idlib earlier this year about 60 percent of those he had treated this time had been rebel fighters and that at least half of them had been non-Syrian.
"It's really something strange to see. They are directly saying that they aren't interested in Bashar al-Assad's fall, but are thinking about how to take power afterwards and set up an Islamic state with sharia law to become part of the world Emirate," the doctor said.
The foreign jihadists included young Frenchmen who said they were inspired by Mohammed Merah, a self-styled Islamist militant from Toulouse, who killed seven people in March in the name of al-Qaeda.
Assad himself has consistently maintained that the 17-month-old insurgency against him is largely the work of people he refers to as "foreign-backed terrorists" and says his forces are acting to restore stability.
During his previous visits to Syria - in March and May - Beres said he had dismissed suggestions the rebels were dominated by Islamist fighters but he said he had now been forced to reassess the situation.
The doctor's account corroborates other anecdotal evidence that the struggle against Assad appears to be drawing ever greater numbers of fellow Arabs and other Muslims, many driven by a sense of religious duty to perform jihad (holy war) and a readiness to suffer for Islam.
But while some are professional "jihadists", veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya or Libya who bring combat and bomb-making skills with them that alarm the Western and Arab governments which have cheered the rebels on, many have little to offer Syrians but their goodwill and prayers.
Beres described treating dozens of such jihadists from other Arab countries, but also at least two young Frenchmen.
"Some of them were French and completely fanatical about the future," he said. "They are very cautious people, even to the doctor who treated them. They didn't trust me, but for instance they told me that Mohammed Merah was an example to follow."
Merah tore a wound in France's fragile sense of community in March when he gunned down three soldiers from North African immigrant families, a rabbi and three Jewish children.
Paris has for several years been concerned that French radical Islamists who have travelled to lawless zones would return to plot attacks at home. Merah had travelled to Afghanistan and Pakistan to receive training.
INDISCRIMINATE BOMBING
On his previous trips he worked in makeshift hospitals, but this time Beres said he received as many as 40 injured people each day in a normal hospital that was under rebel control in the economic hub Aleppo.
He said he had treated civilians who had been queuing for bread at a market place when it had been shelled.
"The baker was killed. He was a thin man completely covered in white flour with shrapnel holes and blood all over. It was a striking and troubling image," he said.
"What people have to know is that the number of dead is a far cry from what's been announced. I'd say you have to multiply by two to get the real figure."
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that more than 23,000 people have been killed in the uprising. More than 200,000 Syrians have fled to neighbouring Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon.
Beres, who entered Syria via Turkey's northern border, said he had also seen signs that Ankara was trying to stop Syrians crossing the border.
Showing his muddied surgical case, shoes and clothes, Beres said that Turkish forces had flooded the Reyhanli border area with water making it difficult for refugees to cross unnoticed.
"We were caught by the Turkish army. It took us 20 hours to cross the border and I was fined $500 for crossing the border illegally. They flooded the border completely so that they can hear who is crossing. Those they do catch they are sending back," he said.
Friday, 27 April 2012
Before It Is Too Late
What triggered the following lines is an old/new, absent/present, and forgotten/remembered thought.
As humans beings, we were meant to be forgetful, ungrateful, and at many times, short-sighted.
Many of us live most of their lives thinking that actions have no consequences, what so ever. One does not need to be an avid believer in a Higher Entity, say God for example, to think otherwise. People with a minimum dose of humanity and logic do understand that "what goes around comes around". Call it Karma or Divine retribution...be my guest. The point is, one shall eventually 'harvest' what one has 'planted', if even if later, rather than sooner, in their lives.
Because retribution tends to crawl its way into our lives subtly and sometimes way after-the-fact, many of us are fooled into wrongly believing that they can escape the consequences of their doings.
Well think again... It will come back to you...in a different shape, a different setting, with different people. Bottom line, it will come to back.
Despite the risk of sounding like those bogus preachers, I am compelled to say that, yes, we do get another chance, but we do have to act upon it. And then one can give themselves the luxury of thinking of their wrongdoings as forgone, like water under the bridge.
Because man is forgetful and favors shortcuts, man cab be easily fooled into thinking 'let bygones be bygones', and thus, gets self-lured into pursuing that same 'carefree' path.
Luck, if it exists, owns us, and no, we don't own it. In my book, luck is personified by 'fate', and fate is a two-pronged plan: one(the larger part) is dictated upon us, and another is left to our discretion.
As by the dictated part, retribution shall undoubtedly catch-up with us even if we flee to the remotest of the remotest lands. As for the discretionary part, it obviously means that man is free to choose to take corrective measures he/she thinks suitable.
In my opinion, and because in life 1 plus 1 does not necessarily add up to 2, correcting, or attempting to do our best to redress a wrong does not by itself deliver us from the potential 'slap on the hand'.
Regardless of the way our actions come back at us... whether we get with just a slap on the hand or with something more serious, or even if we are granted a clean break, we always have to revisit our wrongdoings and try to do clean up the mess we left behind. It is never too late...never.
In my humble opinion, man was created such that he/she has the natural tendency to make the wrong choices. Wrong choices are more appealing, every single time. I know it, you know it, and, more importantly, God knows it.
However, wrong choices tend to, in the majority of the cases, shake our balance; they might bring about insomnia, a sour throat, a tummy ache, or a head ache...you name it.
Yes we do have a choice, even when it seems that we were pushed against our will into doing something we never intended. We can choose to be humble enough to undertake corrective measures, not only out the fear of a possible retribution, but more importantly, out of sheer humanity.
Whether you stole or hit or lied to someone, make sure that you do your part of correcting the damage...you don't know who else will hold you responsible for your actions.
Even if it was a small simple foolish action, don't let your pride stand in the way. Pick up that phone, write that email, or make that trip...and try to be just to yourself and to those whom you wronged.
Life is too short...too short...You might not be here tomorrow. They might be here tomorrow. Do not take anything in this world for granted, for nothing in life is constant but 'change' itself. The whole world can change overnight...so don't leave it till tomorrow...tomorrow might not present you with the same chances you see on the table today.
One more thing: even if one fails to undo what they did...the act of trying is purifying by itself. As for the balance of right and wrong actions, we don't know which way it tilts. God holds that balance, and He knows better which outweighs which. We just have to strive to favor the weight of the good side...all we can do is to try.
God created us. He knows our limits. I know He is forgiving and merciful...but we have to seriously and sincerely try.
Go ahead...make that call, write that email, or make that visit.
Bless you all.
As humans beings, we were meant to be forgetful, ungrateful, and at many times, short-sighted.
Many of us live most of their lives thinking that actions have no consequences, what so ever. One does not need to be an avid believer in a Higher Entity, say God for example, to think otherwise. People with a minimum dose of humanity and logic do understand that "what goes around comes around". Call it Karma or Divine retribution...be my guest. The point is, one shall eventually 'harvest' what one has 'planted', if even if later, rather than sooner, in their lives.
Because retribution tends to crawl its way into our lives subtly and sometimes way after-the-fact, many of us are fooled into wrongly believing that they can escape the consequences of their doings.
Well think again... It will come back to you...in a different shape, a different setting, with different people. Bottom line, it will come to back.
Despite the risk of sounding like those bogus preachers, I am compelled to say that, yes, we do get another chance, but we do have to act upon it. And then one can give themselves the luxury of thinking of their wrongdoings as forgone, like water under the bridge.
Because man is forgetful and favors shortcuts, man cab be easily fooled into thinking 'let bygones be bygones', and thus, gets self-lured into pursuing that same 'carefree' path.
Luck, if it exists, owns us, and no, we don't own it. In my book, luck is personified by 'fate', and fate is a two-pronged plan: one(the larger part) is dictated upon us, and another is left to our discretion.
As by the dictated part, retribution shall undoubtedly catch-up with us even if we flee to the remotest of the remotest lands. As for the discretionary part, it obviously means that man is free to choose to take corrective measures he/she thinks suitable.
In my opinion, and because in life 1 plus 1 does not necessarily add up to 2, correcting, or attempting to do our best to redress a wrong does not by itself deliver us from the potential 'slap on the hand'.
Regardless of the way our actions come back at us... whether we get with just a slap on the hand or with something more serious, or even if we are granted a clean break, we always have to revisit our wrongdoings and try to do clean up the mess we left behind. It is never too late...never.
In my humble opinion, man was created such that he/she has the natural tendency to make the wrong choices. Wrong choices are more appealing, every single time. I know it, you know it, and, more importantly, God knows it.
However, wrong choices tend to, in the majority of the cases, shake our balance; they might bring about insomnia, a sour throat, a tummy ache, or a head ache...you name it.
Yes we do have a choice, even when it seems that we were pushed against our will into doing something we never intended. We can choose to be humble enough to undertake corrective measures, not only out the fear of a possible retribution, but more importantly, out of sheer humanity.
Whether you stole or hit or lied to someone, make sure that you do your part of correcting the damage...you don't know who else will hold you responsible for your actions.
Even if it was a small simple foolish action, don't let your pride stand in the way. Pick up that phone, write that email, or make that trip...and try to be just to yourself and to those whom you wronged.
Life is too short...too short...You might not be here tomorrow. They might be here tomorrow. Do not take anything in this world for granted, for nothing in life is constant but 'change' itself. The whole world can change overnight...so don't leave it till tomorrow...tomorrow might not present you with the same chances you see on the table today.
One more thing: even if one fails to undo what they did...the act of trying is purifying by itself. As for the balance of right and wrong actions, we don't know which way it tilts. God holds that balance, and He knows better which outweighs which. We just have to strive to favor the weight of the good side...all we can do is to try.
God created us. He knows our limits. I know He is forgiving and merciful...but we have to seriously and sincerely try.
Go ahead...make that call, write that email, or make that visit.
Bless you all.
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Leaked Stratfor Emails Show Us Security Firm SCG Is Helping Syrian Rebels
Press TV, April 6, 2012
Leaked emails show an American private security company, SCG
International has been helping the Syrian opposition in its efforts to
overthrow President Bashar al-Assad at the request of US officials.
The whistleblower website, Wikileaks, released the emails sent by
SCG Chief Executive James F. Smith, the former director of the notorious
company Blackwater, which is blamed for the killing of many civilians in Iraq
and Afghanistan.
In one of the emails, Smith says his company was contracted to
engage the Turkey-based Syrian opposition in a so-called “fact finding
mission,” but “the true mission is how they can help in regime change.”
The emails were sent to the vice president of intelligence at
Stratfor, Fred Burton. Stratfor, a US-based global security think tank,
describes itself as a source of geopolitical analysis to corporate and
government clients.
Smith introduces his company to Burton by saying his “background
is CIA and his company is comprised of former Department of Defense (DoD), CIA
and former law enforcement personnel,” and his company provides services for
those same groups in the form of training, security and information collection.
SCG’s mission with the Syrian opposition had “air
cover from US Congresswoman Sue Myrick,”a Republican lawmaker
from North Carolina, according to the emails.
Smith also provided intelligence to Stratfor on Libya, where SCG
International was contracted to protect Libyan National Transitional Council
(NTC) members and train Libyan rebel fighters.
Impressed by
Smith’s intelligence, Burton praises him in one of the emails saying “Good
skinny. This is what is defined as a credible source. Not some windbag Paki
academic belching and passing gas.”
The emails are among a trove of five million messages hacked from
Stratfor in mid-December by the hacker group Anonymous.
PG/HGH
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