Al Qaeda group fights back against Syria rebel assault

Al Qaeda group fights back against Syria rebel assault Fri, Jan 10 16:02 PM EST By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Al Qaeda-linked jihadists struck back against rival rebels in eastern and northern Syria on Friday after a week of internecine fighting among opponents of President Bashar al-Assad in which 500 people have been killed, a monitoring group said. With less than two weeks to go before what is hoped will be the first peace talks between the opposition and Assad's government, disparate opposition groups met for the first time in the Spanish city of Cordoba. They agreed to work together but did not agree who, if any of them, should attend the peace talks. Nearly three years into a conflict that has driven a quarter of Syrians from their homes and killed more than 130,000 people, the opposition to Assad is fragmenting. In rebel-held areas, other groups have turned against the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which aims to construct an Islamist caliphate straddling the border separating Syria and Iraq. In a coordinated offensive, rival armed groups have seized several ISIL strongholds in Aleppo, on the border with Turkey, and further east in Raqqa, the only city fully under control of Assad's foes. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said ISIL fighters pushed back the rival rebels on the eastern approaches of Raqqa on Friday. They also killed 20 fighters in the town of al-Bab, northeast of Aleppo, the UK-based monitoring group said. Prospects for progress at the peace talks in Switzerland appear dim. Assad, buttressed by recent military gains and the worst rebel infighting since the civil war began, has ruled out demands from the weakened opposition that he stand aside. Most rebels are opposed to the negotiations, known as Geneva 2, and the main opposition group in exile, the National Coalition, has delayed a final decision on whether to attend the talks until just days before their January 22 start date. Members of the Coalition met for the first time on Friday with members of the Damascus-based opposition tolerated by Assad. Islamist rebel figures were also present at the meeting in Cordoba, part of an effort by Western backers to unify the opposition ahead of the Geneva talks. The various groups agreed to set up a committee to coordinate Assad's opponents but did not reach conclusions about whether to attend the peace talks. Their final communique repeated the demand Assad be excluded from any transition. Major Islamist and internal opposition groups did not attend. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Thursday he was not sure the conference would take place. Syria's Muslim Brotherhood said conditions were not right to hold it because international powers had not done enough to ensure its success. In a statement on Friday, the Brotherhood, which has members in the coalition, set out conditions for attending including release of detainees, opening humanitarian corridors to besieged areas and the withdrawal from Syria of Iranian, Iraqi and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters who back Assad. Opposition figures from another coalition group, the Syrian National Council, have already said they will shun Geneva because world powers have not done enough to force Assad out. With time running out until the talks, Western and Arab countries that oppose Assad will meet on Sunday in Paris. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday, according to Russia's Interfax news agency. Moscow has emerged as Assad's main international backer. Badr Jamous, secretary-general of the National Coalition, suggested that the opposition's position on the peace talks depends on Moscow: "We don't need Geneva 2 if Russia thinks Assad is going to remain in power," Jamous told Reuters. Syria's conflict started with mostly peaceful protests in March 2011 against the president but turned into an armed insurgency and then civil war after Assad's security forces cracked down forcefully on demonstrators. DOZENS KILLED IN HOMS The United Nations has said the talks should implement an international accord reached in Geneva 18 months ago that called for the establishment of a transitional body. Assad's supporters and opponents disagree over whether that means Assad must leave power. Information Minister Omran Zoabi said on Tuesday that Syrians wanted Assad to stand for re-election later this year, the strongest indication yet that he intends to extend his rule. Damascus says the talks should focus on combating terrorists, the label it gives to anti-Assad fighters. The Syrian leader faces little pressure to make concessions after a year of military and diplomatic gains that saw him recover rebel-held territory in the center of the country and Washington abandon a threat to launch military strikes. The White House said on Friday that it was still reviewing how to resume shipments of non-lethal aid to moderate rebel groups, which was suspended after an incident last month in which Islamist fighters seized supplies from a warehouse. "This has nothing to do with our support for the moderate military opposition, but rather the security of our assistance," White House spokesman Jay Carney said at a briefing in Washington, adding that the United States has resumed non-lethal aid to "civilian actors" in northern Syria. In the latest fighting, forces loyal to Assad killed dozens of rebel fighters who tried to break an army siege of the central city of Homs. Thirty-seven rebels were killed by the army, the state controlled SANA news agency said, without giving a figure for losses among Assad's forces. The Observatory said at least 45 rebels were surrounded and killed as they left the old city of Homs late on Wednesday and early Thursday. Assad's forces have surrounded rebels for more than a year in Homs. They have also pushed back rebel forces from nearby rural areas that had formed part of their supply lines. Opposition fighters outside Homs protested against their own leaders in anger over the killings, a video uploaded by activists showed. Fighters in the countryside said they might have prevented the deaths if their leaders had let them attack the city, and accused commanders of taking funds from foreign allies without running an effective campaign. "These people who died, who is to blame? We are! They say Homs is under siege, that there's no way to Homs. That's not true. There is a way from the north," one rebel shouted. "The whole campaign they launched here (in the countryside) is just so they can collect money." (Additional reporting by Oliver Holmes in Cordoba, Spain, Gabriela Baczysnka in Moscow, Dasha Afanasieva in Istanbul, Erika Solomon in Beirut and Roberta Rampton in Washington; Editing by Peter Graff and Andrew Hay) ========== Tables turning: Al-Qaeda pushing Syrian opposition back to Assad? Get short URL Published time: January 10, 2014 12:01 AFP Photo / Mohammed Wesam Al-Qaeda, Arms, Clashes, Conflict, Crime, History, Iraq, Middle East, Military, Opposition, Politics, Security, Syria, Terrorism, Violence, War With Al-Qaeda’s and Al-Nusra’s growing influence in the region, Syrian opposition is having second thoughts about being opposed to Bashar Assad, security analyst, Michael Maloof, told RT. RT: The US and Iran have been propping up different sides in the Syrian conflict but there is a chance that they actually could be working on the same side in Iraq. Is there any possibility of them actually working across the table this way? Michael Maloof: I think it is going to increase because of what we would refer to as a ‘common enemies’ approach. The common enemy would be the foreign fighters, the Sunni Islamist militants who are fighting in Syria and that is spilling over into Anbar, a predominantly Sunni-controlled area in Iraq. And this has been a problem with, I think, the US, as well as Iran [who] recognize that if Bashar Assad did not stay in power or if he is weakened, then Syria could become another base like Pakistan and Afghanistan before, to be used as a springboard to go to the other countries. Iraq is certainly now under siege once again by Al-Qaeda; and they have made it quite well-known, their element out there is of course ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), which is actually an invention of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. They have been fighting in Syria, now they are coming back to Iraq and they are beginning to spread. And we can also see now the spread of ISIL alongside Al-Nusra that has been shooting and blowing car bombs in Lebanon. The branch now is not only in Iraq but in Lebanon, and as long as they can use Syria as a base, they are going to do this. They are also going to Turkey. This portrays a very serious problem. If go back to the original question, the US is now beginning to see Iran as an element here; they are going to need help from not only in Iraq, but once the US troops pull out of Afghanistan, Iran’s presence and influence is going to be extremely important to US interests. RT: Let's go back to the situation in the region. Since at least 2001, Al-Qaeda and Al-Qaeda-linked groups have been a kind of public enemy number one in the US. Why now we see that resurgence more than ten years later? MM: I think it’s because of the instability that was produced when we left Iraq. We basically created another power vacuum that they have just swooped right back in. Once we leave Afghanistan, the Taliban, which is related to Al-Qaeda, will be doing the very same thing. They are actually growing, the whole Taliban, the whole Al-Qaeda movement is stronger than it has ever been, contrary to what President Obama initially said that they were on the ropes, that they decimated. That’s not true. And when you look at over time the extent to which Al-Qaeda has branched up from the Arabian Peninsula to Northern Africa, to the Maghreb, and also now into Russia using the Chechens there, it’s a very serious development in terms of their growth over time and because it’s evolutionary we don’t see it; it’s not a one big event. So this is emerging as an increasingly serious problem in terms of Al-Qaeda spread and it’s getting worse. It is all done at the behest of the Saudis, they are controlling all of this. It is well-known that Prince Bandar can switch them on and switch them off like a light switch. AFP Photo / Ahmad Aboud AFP Photo / Ahmad Aboud RT: Surely all these Al-Qaeda linked groups can't be rising on their own, without some power supporting them. So who are their backers? MM: Well, the rise is due primarily to the fact that the opposition that we were supporting just was not strong enough and we did not give them the weapons they needed. So consequently, the foreign fighters came in and basically took over the opposition. So now you have Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia pushing the US to back its Islamic Front, which is comprised of some 75,000 troops and have about a dozen different Islamist, extremist groups within Syria. What’s ironic is that that’s not just the Saudis who are pushing the US to support this so-called moderate group, but also the Israelis. But what we’ve discovered is that in most cases these groups aren’t at all moderate. They were actually involved in attacking the Free Syrian Army's depots recently and taking all their weapons. They have actually been battling with FSA as a consequence. So the US and the Europeans are basically backing off from a little bit of support for the opposition and certainly because of inability to distinguish the different elements within the opposition. And what will happen if we start to pass weapons to the opposition? They inevitably would fall into the hands of extremists because in addition that they are more radicalized, they are also more fierce fighters and that they have shown against the original Syrian opposition. RT: Have you seen US policies having an effect on the now-flourishing Islamist movement in Syria and Iraq? MM: Yes, I do. Because we didn’t go after the real threat. And the real threat is these foreign fighters that Prince Bandar and the Saudis have introduced into Syria. I know that Bashar Assad has many issues and many problems but he was also for reforms. He is also the only individual who could actually protect the minorities that we have in the country. Even the Syrian opposition now is having second thoughts about being opposed to him. And some in the US are even suggesting that the Free Syrian Army should rejoin the Syrian Army and fight Al-Qaeda because Al-Qaeda along with Al-Nusra is regarded now as the main threat not just to Syria but to the region. And I think the US also views Al-Qaeda as the main threat. That’s why the US is no longer pushing for regime change in Syria. And I think that’s an important development. RT: How do you see the situation evolving? Is there a danger of a much bigger conflict for the whole region? Reuters / Mahmoud Hebbo) Reuters / Mahmoud Hebbo) MM: It’s a never ending battle because Al-Qaeda has now become stronger. The fact that we pulled out entirely and the fact too that the Iraqi government was never capable of fighting the foreign fighters, the Al-Nusra types and the ISIL types, I think is indicative of the problem that we are seeing today. We are going to see this in Syria as well if Assad is overthrown. They just don’t stop, their goal is to set up Caliphates, strict Sharia law on anyone who is not with them, they are infidels and they are going to kill them. That’s what we are seeing. And certainly this is a further manifestation of the Saudi-proxy war with Iran, not only in Syria what we’ve seen but now we can see this in Iraq. I think the Iranians see that as a major threat. And the US is realizing the same thing. This is actually why they are giving assistance to the government of Iraq, whose Prime-Minister is a Shi’a and has close ties with Iran. RT: How did it happen that extremists become so strong and well-equipped? MM: It’s an indirect form of support that has led to this because the US provided little assistance through Jordan, through the CIA and through Turkey. But the opposition is fragmented, incapable and what’s happened is that the more radical elements, principally the foreign fighters, have taken over the opposition in terms of the fighting and consequently they got better weapons into their hands, they got surface-to-air missiles, they got RPGs and as a result it gave them a force multiplayer to be able to fight successfully not only against Bashar Assad, but now to extend itself back into Iraq, whose forces are not capable of withstanding the onslaught of Al-Nusra and ISIL. That's why you see the US providing renewed assistance to the Al Maliki government in Iraq, but it is probably going to be too little too late. It may mean that the US is going to have to introduce some US troops back in order for training, and so we may begin to see the evolutionary process of the US beginning to move back into Iraq at least for a period of time. And that’s only because of the way events are evolving, it’s pushing US policy. The US is no longer in control of its own foreign policy. The fact that we just pulled out and did not keep troops there to train and maintain their presence is what led to that power vacuum and the ability of Al-Nusra and Al-Qaeda to be able to move back into Iraq successfully, particularly into Anbar province, which is a Sunni-dominated area, so that’s all is going to be controlled. And they also use that province as a springboard to launch attacks back in Syria. So it’s going to be a problem worse that we have seen in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

Hezbollah, Iraqi militia capture Damascus suburb - opposition

Hezbollah, Iraqi militia capture Damascus suburb - opposition Source: Reuters - Wed, 9 Oct 2013 06:05 PM Author: Reuters A warning is pasted on a wall on a street in Duma neighbourhood in Damascus, Syria, October 3, 2013. The paper reads "Do not gather here, there is possibility of shelling". REUTERS/William Ismail * At least 20 rebels killed there, activists say * Area seen vital to control of highways south of capital * Siege of rebels in southern suburbs causes acute shortages * Assad trying to tighten grip on capital, central regions By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Iraqi and Lebanese Shi'ite militia backed by Syrian army firepower overran a southern suburb of Damascus on Wednesday, opposition activists said, in a blow to Sunni Muslim rebels trying to hold onto strategic outskirts of the capital. At least 20 rebels were killed when Hezbollah guerrillas and Iraqi militiamen captured the town of Sheikh Omar under cover of Syrian army artillery and tank fire and aerial bombardment, the activists said, with tens of Shi'ite fighters killed or wounded. Sheikh Omar sits between two highways leading south of Damascus that are crucial to supplying President Bashar al-Assad's forces in the provinces of Deraa and Sweida on the border with Jordan. Syria's 2-1/2 year war has killed more than 120,000 people and forced millions from their homes into sprawling refugee camps in neighbouring countries. It began with peaceful demonstrations against four decades of iron rule by the Assad family. With regional powers backing opposing sides in the conflict and Russia blocking Western efforts to force Assad aside, there is little sign of an end to the bloodshed. Regional security officials say up to 60,000 fighters from Iraq, Iran and Yemen and Hezbollah are present in Syria supporting Assad, whose Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam. The country has also seen the influx of 30,000 Sunni Muslim fighters to support the rebels, including foreign jihadists and Syrian expatriates. Hezbollah has acknowledged fighting openly in support of Assad, its main patron together with Shi'ite Iran, but the group does not comment on the specifics of its operations in the country. The deployment of the Iraqi and Lebanese militia has been vital in preventing all southern approaches to Damascus from falling into rebel hands, according to opposition sources and the regional security officials. The foreign Shi'ite fighters together with soldiers and local paramilitaries loyal to Assad have been laying siege to rebel-held southern suburbs of the capital near the Shi'ite shrine of Saida Zainab for the past six months, residents say. The siege has squeezed rebels in areas further to the centre of the city and caused acute shortages of food and medicine that have hit the civilian population. FLOOD OF WOUNDED Wardan Abu Hassan, a doctor at a makeshift hospital in southern Damascus, said the facility and another nearby received 70 wounded people, both fighters and civilians, since 4.00 a.m. The wounded came from Sheikh Omar and the nearby suburbs of al-Thiabiya and al-Boueida, where the rebels were trying to hold off the Shi'ite militia advance, he said. "Most of the casualties are from air strikes, and fire from tanks and multiple rocket launchers," the physician told Reuters. An opposition group, the Damascus Revolution Leadership Council, said a baby girl died on Wednesday in the southern district of Hajar al-Asswad from malnutrition caused by the siege. The report could not be independently confirmed. Rami al-Sayyed from the opposition Syrian Media Centre mentoring group said rebel fighters were trying to hold off the Hezbollah and Iraqi fighters in al-Thiabiya and al-Boueida. "It is tough because the regime is providing Hezbollah and the Iraqis with heavy artillery and rocket cover from high ground," he said. Sayyed said much of the fire was coming from the 56th army brigade in the hilly region of Sahya. That area was evacuated after the threat of U.S. strikes following a nerve gas attack in August on other rebellious Damascus suburbs that killed hundreds. The area became operational again after the threat receded following a deal to destroy Assad's chemical weapons arsenal, Sayyed said. Buoyed by the receding prospect of U.S. intervention, Assad has been seeking to tighten his grip on the centre of the country, the coast, areas along the country's main north-south highway as well as the capital and its environs. Large areas of southern Damascus, including the areas of Hajar al-Assad and the Yarmouk refugee camp, are inhabited by poor refugees from the Israeli occupied Golan Heights, who have been at the forefront of the revolt against Assad, as well as Palestinian refugees.

Analysis: Saudi feud too bitter for new Iran president to fix

Tue, Aug 13 02:03 AM EDT By Angus McDowall and Yeganeh Torbati RIYADH/DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah's disdain for Iran leaps from U.S. embassy cables. "May God prevent us from falling victim to their evil," he told U.S. officials, according to a cable released by WikiLeaks. According to another, he told his own diplomats he wanted Washington to "cut off the head of the snake". On the other side of the Gulf, Iran's contempt for Saudi Arabia crackles through a report on its hardline Mashregh website. The kingdom's ruling family, it said, was "drowning in corruption and prostitutes". Into this toxic environment steps Iran's newly inaugurated President Hassan Rouhani, promising to improve what may well be the single most venomous and destructive relationship in the entire Middle East. It is almost impossible to overstate the hatred between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite Iran, which has fuelled a decade of violence across the region. In Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen, the two sides back sectarian proxy forces that are either at daggers drawn or openly at war in conflicts killing thousands each month. In Syria, each accuses the other of responsibility for a bloodbath, with Iran supporting President Bashar al-Assad and Saudi Arabia funding the rebels trying to overthrow him. In Iraq, sectarian violence is at its worst since 2008. Riyadh accuses Tehran of fomenting trouble in Bahrain and even Saudi Arabia itself. Tehran accuses Riyadh of plotting its destruction with Washington.

Nevertheless, Rouhani, a comparative moderate after the firebrand Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, says he wants to make friends with Saudi Arabia. Encouragingly, he brings personal experience negotiating with Riyadh. "God willing, I hope that we will have very good relations with neighbors, particularly with Saudi Arabia during the next government," Rouhani said at a June press conference.

Still, few believe he can draw the poison out of the Cold War-style rivalry at the heart of the Middle East. COCA-COLA VS. PEPSI Both countries have vested interests in talking to each other: Saudi Arabia wants Iran to end what it sees as meddling in Arab countries - supporting Shi'ites or their allies in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain, Yemen and Saudi Arabia itself. Tehran wants Riyadh to stop urging military action against its atomic sites and helping Western sanctions by increasing oil supplies to make up for embargoed Iranian crude. Both Rouhani and King Abdullah have shown willingness to make peace in the past. As head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council in 1998, Rouhani sat up all night with Abdullah's late brother, the former interior minister Prince Nayef, to negotiate a security agreement with the kingdom after years of friction. In signing that deal, King Abdullah chose to overlook Saudi and U.S. suspicions that Tehran was behind the 1996 bombing of an American barracks in the Saudi city of al-Khobar. Iran put aside memories of the 1987 Muslim pilgrimage, when hundreds of its pilgrims were killed in clashes with Saudi security forces. "King Abdullah has known Rouhani for some time. I think they have a decent relationship. Much better than his relationship with Ahmadinejad. They will have some ability to communicate with a degree of respect," said Robert Jordan, U.S. ambassador to Riyadh from 2001-03. But while that history may indicate more of an openness on both sides to cooperation, analysts and regional officials and diplomats see little chance of rapprochement. The circumstances are far uglier now than they were when the security deal was agreed 15 years ago, with the region embroiled in civil wars and uprisings. In March 2009, Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki visited Riyadh in a bid to cool tensions between the rival states, but his meeting with King Abdullah did not go well. Abdullah told U.S. counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan a few days later that he had told the Iranian foreign minister: "You as Persians have no business meddling in Arab matters". "Iran's goal is to cause problems... there is no doubt something unstable about them... may God prevent us from falling victim to their evil," Brennan said he was told by the king, according to a cable released by WikiLeaks. On Iran's side, foreign policy is determined less by the president than by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which means that the election of Rouhani is unlikely to fundamentally alter Tehran's positions. "Is it possible for anyone to do anything or say anything without the opinion of the supreme leader?" said outgoing Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi in an interview with the Mehr agency, adding he had been blocked from visiting Riyadh. Riyadh does not sound hopeful. Abdullah al-Askar, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in Saudi Arabia's Shoura Council quasi-parliament, compared the difference between Rouhani and Ahmadinejad to that between "Coca-Cola and Pepsi". "I don't think he'll do the same as Ahmadinejad, speaking out harshly," he told Reuters. "But when it comes to the main files I think he has to work within a framework that's drawn by Khamenei." The daily Saudi Gazette editorialized last week: "Tehran is up to the same old tricks, but with a different conjurer." TRIBUTE TO THE ENEMIES For Saudi Arabia, any improvement in relations would depend on Iran cutting its support for Syria's Assad, whose assault on rebel-held areas has been likened by Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, Abdullah's nephew, to genocide. Such a move would likely be a red line for Iran's leaders, who appear to see Syria as a key link in their ability to project influence across the Middle East as far as Lebanon and the borders of Israel. What irritates Iran more than Saudi Arabia's policy in Syria is Riyadh's decision last year to boost energy exports to replace oil taken out of the market by embargoed Iranian crude, effectively colluding with Western sanctions. "Instead of serving Muslims, they pay tribute to the enemies of Muslims and stand next to them," said Nasser Soudani, deputy head of the Iranian parliament's energy committee in January 2012, commenting on higher Saudi oil supply. Closer to home, Saudi Arabia accuses Iran of trying to foment trouble among its own Shi'ite minority, of planting a spying ring in the country and of attempting to assassinate its ambassador in Washington. Tehran has denied all those charges. The antagonism dates to 1979, when Iran tried to export its Islamic revolution to Shi'ites across the Middle East, including in Saudi Arabia, threatening the old balance of regional power. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states then made what Tehran saw as a pact with the devil by siding with Saddam Hussein after he invaded Iran in 1980, financing his war for eight years while he used chemical weapons on Iranian troops and civilians. After a gradual thaw, the U.S.-led ousting of Saddam in 2003 ignited a new struggle for mastery between Sunni and Shi'ite Iraqis, with Riyadh and Tehran backing opposing sides. The sectarian edge to their struggle has sharpened in recent years. Both countries define themselves according to Islam and clerics in both regard the other with open disdain. Today, Iran's Persian-speaking rulers back Shi'ites across the Arab world, including the government and militia in Iraq, Lebanon's Hezbollah, Bahraini protesters against that country's Sunni ruling family and Yemen's Houthi rebels. Syrian President Assad is from the Alawi sect, a Shi'ite offshoot. Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and proponent of its most conservative Sunni school, Wahhabism, backs the other side in each of those regional struggles. The Wahhabi school denigrates Shi'ism as heretical. Its first Bedouin adherents rampaged through 18th century Iraq, smashing the sect's shrines. King Abdullah has tried to moderate that view. Last year he said he would set up a Riyadh center to study differences between sects. But he himself was recorded criticizing Shi'ites for "worshipping domes, statues and individuals" in a 2006 WikiLeaks cable. For their part, Shi'ites regard Wahhabism as a dangerous, radical creed that fuels militant sectarianism. The war against Assad has given a new foothold to Sunni al Qaeda fighters who use theology to justify attacks on Alawite and Shi'ite civilians in both Syria and Iraq. "Saudi Arabia has created the new al Qaeda," said analyst Mohammad Sadeq al-Hosseini in a July interview with Iran's conservative Fars News Agency, referring to Riyadh's support for Syria's opposition. Gulf diplomats say Riyadh has worked to avoid letting its arms or money go to militant Islamist groups within Syria's rebel coalition. PHENOMENAL DAMAGE With Rouhani unlikely to switch the Iranian policies that Saudi Arabia most bitterly opposes, there appears little scope for progress beyond a less aggressive public tone. "The level of damage done in the past eight to 10 years is phenomenal. It begs the question as to whether the Iranians think they can get away with window dressing or are willing to make real changes," said Ali Ansari, professor of Iranian history at Britain's St Andrews University. However, Iranian moves such as using more conciliatory language in media broadcasts about Bahrain and other Gulf states and ending support for Yemeni groups might cool the situation. "Syria may be a bridge too far, but it's certainly possible they could reach some sort of tentative understanding on the Shi'ite situation in Bahrain. The crown prince there is in a better position to negotiate and may be inclined to assist in a resolution," said Jordan, the former U.S. ambassador in Riyadh. Diplomats in the Gulf still say they expect little movement on even the more peripheral issues and little chance of Riyadh bending to Iranian overtures without big policy changes. But even such entrenched skepticism has not stopped Iranian reformists pushing for Rouhani to extend an olive branch to Saudi Arabia, a policy pursued by former presidents Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammed Khatami. "The situation in Syria has become so complex that the Islamic world has practically been split in half, to the point that a proxy war is taking place," said Iranian reformist Saeed Hajarian in a newspaper interview this month. "We have to show them that this is not a Shi'ite-Sunni war. With all of our power we must stop the parties from religious incitement," he said. (Reporting by Angus McDowall and Yeganeh Torbati; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Jon Hemming and Peter Graff)

Syrian rebels take control of Damascus Palestinian camp

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 06:12 AM The Americans Must watch out for the revenge of the Jihadists! Following the US invasion of Iraq, Al-Qaeda found a fertile ground supported by local Sunni Arabs and remnants of Saddam regime. One of the most notorious Al-Qaeda Emir in Iraq wss no other than Abu Musaab Al-Zarqawi, an Afghan veteran with violent anti-American track record including the Killing of CIA station chief in Amman. Al-Zarqawi is known for his ruthless suicidal attacks and the beheading of Americans and their allies. Al-Zaqwai was tracked down by a Jordanian intelligence officer, Capt. Sharif Ali Bin Zeid which led to his death on the hands of the Americans in Iraq. But the Jihadists didn't forget this and Captain Bin Zeid was followed to Afghanistan where he was killed by a Jordanian-Al-Qaeda double agent, Dr Hammam Khaleel Mohammed, on December 31 2009. Dr Mohammed was recruited while in Prison in Jordan to track Dr Ayman Al-Zawahiri. In Syria, the brother-in-law of late Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, Mr Abu Jileed Al-Tubasi (Al-Zarqawi) was appointed yesterday 13.12.2012 to the post of an Emir of the Nusrat front. The same front which the US considers as terrorist. The second Al-Zarqawi intends to seek revenge for the killing of Bin Laden. At this moment, it will not be difficult to the kidnapping and the beheading of special-forces members of US, France, Israel, UK and a large number of CIA-hired civilian contractors directing the street fights. If Mr Assad ever decide to call it a day, the Americans will have no where to hide, as the Nusrat front is the most effective fighting force in the country with increasing support from the youth. The USraelis, that are currently seeding the winds, will eventually reap the hurricanes. No-one will fight the Americans and the British more than those humiliated, tortured and imprisoned without trial by the CIA and MI-6. Sending the Guantanamo and Bagram detainees to Turkey, as Putin has allegedly said, means to directing the resistance against the Americans. As an example, Al-Nusrat front don't want foreign intervention in Syria or have peace with Israel. Good luck to the USraelis. "They make a desert and will call it victory" I hope that the Usraelis stop meddling in the affairs of others. Now it is too late, as the Geni is out of the bottle. In Syria there will be losers but no winners. I somehow believe that Alqaeda, the Israelis and their US-Gulf Arab mentors will suffer significan strategic losses. We have seen what foreign interventions done in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. And we will be here to witness the fiasco in Syria. Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times ================ THE POLITICAL DYNAMICS OF PAKISTAN: By Prof. Dr. Gholam Mujtaba Those killed by Syrian government's brutality are not Muslims, claims a news-report. QUESTION-1: Since when, Sunni Muslims (who form the majority in Syria) or those killed by Syria's minority brutal regime have been thrown out of Islam ? QUESTION-2: What is the story behind the story of Allama Tahirul Qadri ? Comments: Pl do not divide the Sunnis into =Wahabis or Barelvis to promote your designs of divide & rule. To us, all of us, including Shias & Sunnis are vital organs of Muslim nations. And those outside of Islam are equally important to us as well. Who are we to discriminate, when God himself is "RABUL A'ALAMEEN", & Prophet of Islam, SWS, is "RAHMATULLIL A'ALAMEEN". We are not ordained to send others to hell-fire ? It is thy Lord whose domain we need not to interfere. We need to follow the path defined to us, that does not allow us to promote 'dogmatism' or hatred. Allama Tahirul Qadri is the President of the PAT (Pakistan Awami Tehreek). + Agha Murtaza Poya is the Senior Vice President of the PAT. Agha Saheb in his statement published in the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) declares that Iran can give new social system to the world. Thus, should we conclude that an Iranian system is promoted by PAT in Pakistan. [ Reference: http://www.irna.ir/en/NewsPrint.aspx?ID=80355295 ] = MQM's Altaf Hussain has FULLY ENDORSED PAT AND TODAY Former President Pervez Musharraf's APML ENDORSED PAT. Which shows a U-TURN of Pervez Musharraf, a tilt towards Iran. SHOULD PAKISTAN JOIN HANDS WITH IRAN + Syria and say goodbye to Turkey & Saudi Arabia ? Should Pakistan condone SUNNI massacre in Syria. Should Pakistan oppose expulsion of Syria from the 56 member states of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation ? Is this a national security interest of Pakistan ? Are we fighting someone else's war within the boundaries of Pakistan ? What is the TRUTH ? HOWEVER, I MUST MAKE IT CLEAR that: To me, my Shia brothers are equally important as my Sunni brothers. I do not discriminate none of them, but would always stand against INJUSTICE & BRUTALITY even it is my REAL brother. This is the bottom line. Furthermore, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs etc etc are all equal in the eyes of God, and why should they be different to me. It is humanity, that stands above all. All human beings are equal irrespective of color, creed or religious denomination. JOKE OF THE DAY: Muttehida-Musharraf League-Awami Tehreek Joint Mahaz Quaid= Allama Tahirul Qadri Chairman=Altaf Hussain Secretary=Pervez Musharraf TREASURER: Agha Murtaza Poya Manifesto: Friendship with PIA ( Pakistan -Iran - Afghanistan) Alliance Cut off ties with : Saudi Arabia, Turkey & OIC Support: Syria to kill its majority Sunnis Distraction: Defame the United States Hostility: Protest in Islamabad over an expected verdict against Altaf Hussain on a contempt case on JAN-07, protests follow starting JAN-10 onwards to save Syrian asset, the MQM. Target: [ 1 ] :Subdue Supreme Court's action on Altaf. [ 2 ] :Create law & order situation post judgment on Altaf to make it possible for the EXECUTIVE to remove the Chief Justice on the pretext of public uproar. Remedy: Take a preemptive measure by invoking MPO (Maintenance of Public Order) over the mastermind to house-arrest. THE "RATS" GRAND ALLIANCE = Rejected + Abandoned + Turned Down + Saboteurs [ALLIANCE] = MQM + APML + PAT or = Mr. Altaf Hussain + Pres. Pervez Musharraf + Allama Tahirul Qadri = Getting ready to fight with the JUDICIARY, why? Mr. Altaf Hussain EVADING law & criminal cases in the SC + Pres. Musharraf - do - do - do - Both violators of local laws Both + Allama Qadri "runaways" ......ABROAD Both scared of the Supreme Court Allama, the new guardian leading the saboteurs, the RATS ALLIANCE, to sabotage Supreme Court's orders for Altaf Hussain's physical appearance on January-07 by destabilizing Islamabad on the 10th of January and onwards. It is a constitutional matter of MPO (Mintenance of Public Order ). Why shouldn't, MPO be invoked on this obstruction of Justice ? The only purpose of today's JALSA was a warm-up session, and a public mobilizing campaign to start a crusade against judiciary in the backdrop of an expected judicial action against Altaf on the 7th of Jan. The dates announced by Allama, and the venue correlates to find the cat out of the bag ? Alas ! so specific ? MY PERSONAL ASSESSMENT: Allama Tahirul Qadri, a new CUSTODIAN cum GUARDIAN of Altaf Hussain in Pakistan to create a SITUATION out of an expected DEFAULT on Supreme Court's mandatory physical appearance of Altaf Hussain on January-07. He wants to CREATE UNREST in Islamabad to protect that interest. THIS IS WHY BOTH ALTAF + QADRI disclosed IDENTITY OF VIEWS before the JALSA. Allama Qadri calls for protest in Islamabad starting January-10th to extend support to MQM's ALTAF HUSSAIN to subdue Supreme Court's Action against Altaf on January-07. He is a threat to MAINTENANCE OF PUBLIC ORDER (MPO). Based on his preachings on constitution, why an MPO be not applied on him obstructing JUSTICE in Islamabad. . Allama criticizes the parliament, but with the same breath welcomes the 50 member MQM delegation that represents the government and the parliament. WHAT IS A PROPER WORD TO THIS HYPOCRISY IN URDU ? IS HE CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT TO SAVE ALTAF HUSSAIN FROM HIS MANDATORY PHYSICAL APPEARANCE ON JANUARY-07, 2013. IS THIS THE MAIN PURPOSE OF HIS PREACHING LAW & CONSTITUTIONAL LAW TODAY ? ALLAMA QADRI: A GREAT LIAR OF TODAY: Says 30 lacs sitting in his JALSA ? Where is his oath on Quran before the start of this JALSA ? Can I ask as to how he knows that there are 30 lacs not 29 lacs ? WHAT A LIAR ? SUMMARY: QUESTION: 1. IS IT NOT A FACT THAT ALTAF HUSSAIN IS A FUGITIVE IN PAKISTANI LAW ? IF YES, then which constitution is Allama Qadri PROMOTING through HOODWINK ? 2. Talking of Tax Laws & income? ALLAMA what about the income of ALTAF HUSSAIN whose party is sitting next to you ? 3. What about "BHATTA" & "BORI BAND LASH" politics of MQM during its governments in the past 24 years ? Allama: Which Law are you promoting ? A SPEECH FULL OF BLUFF, LIES, HOODWINK & HYPOCRISY ? FIFTH QUESTION: "TAHIRUL QADRI JALSA" Allama Qadri EMPHASIZING on Constitution ? Where is that CONSTITUTION when the BIGGEST VIOLATORS OF LAW, the MQM SITTING NEXT TO HIM ? Does that constitution has no consequence on a Pakistani FUGITIVE sitting in London and EVADING LAW and the constitution of Pakistan ? Does that constitution of Allama Qadri provides IMPUNITY TO ALTAF HUSSAIN from appearance before the SUPREME COURT on January-7, 2013 . Allama is shouting of HONESTY ? WHERE IS THAT HONESTY WHEN ALTAF HUSSAIN VIOLATES PAKISTANI LAWS AS A FUGITIVE ? , and that TEAM of law violators are sitting on his stage ? IS HE MAKING A MOCKERY OF LAW ? FOURTH QUESTION: "TAHIRUL QADRI JALS" Allama Qadri giving lesson on election & constitution's TRANSPARENCY. REBUTTAL : How come the pioneers of rigging, the MQM is SITTING NEXT TO HIM ? WHAT A CLASSICAL BLUFF ???? THIRD QUESTION: "TAHIRUL QADRI JALSA" WHY SO MUCH POISON ABOUT MILITARY LEADERSHIP ? SECOND QUESTION: "TAHIRUL QADRI JALSA" Who is promoting the audience through a BLURRED vision to look bigger on the GEO-TV ? Why the same audience is shown with a REAL vision by the DUNYA TV ? Is it the difference in the management promoting their ideology ? QUESTION OF THE DAY ? Allama Tahirul Qadri addressing the crowd in Lahore. " Main us siyasat ko reject karta hon jo Karachi kay peaceful shahar ko dahshat gardi ka nishana bana chuka hai", Dr. Tahirul Qadri. REALITY: " I welcome the 50 member delegation of MQM in the jalsa", Tahirul Qadri. REBUTTAL: Dr. Qadri , if the second Caliph of Islam had to be accountable for state affairs during his Khilafat, why can't the MQM be held responsible for "terror" during its 24 years in Government. TRUTH: Pre-MQM was a peaceful Karachi while Post-MQM is an INSECURE Karachi. QUESTION: Dr. Qadri are you expressing the truth, or trying to promote your AGENDA to look to be TRUTH. From the Admin: POLL RESULTS ON THE INTERNET THROUGH FACEBOOK; Dr. Gholam Mujtaba = 61,278 votes vs Mr. Altaf Hussain = 40,129 votes Dr. Gholam Mujtaba DEFEATS Mr. Altaf Hussain by over 30% votes. زبانِ خلق کو نقارہِ خدا سمجھو خلق جسے کہے بجا، اُسے بجا سمجھو KPK Senior Minister, Bashir Ahmed Bilour passed away after being critically injured in a suicide attack. We expect a news to surface blaming/ &/ accepting of the charges by the Taliban, however, other avenues of such conspiracy against Pakistan should not be IGNORED. "I strongly condemn this assassination of a great leader, an asset of Pakistan. We need to explore the real culprits responsible for such acts to destabilize Pakistan", said Dr. Gholam Mujtaba in a press statement tonight. WE STRICTLY BELIEVE ABOVE SHIA-SUNNI SECTARIAN DIVIDE, YET QUESTION THE BRUTALITY NO MATTER WHERE IT ORIGINATES: WHERE ARE YOU ? WHY NO VOICE ON SUNNI GENOCIDE IN SYRIA against the BRUTAL MINORITY GOVERNMENT of "ALAWIS" in Syria ??? Allama Tahirul Qadri + Former President Pervez Musharraf + Mr. Altaf Hussain + others = where is your voice ??? = A SOLID DISTRACTION. SILENCE MEANS WHAT ??? Holding a PUBLIC meeting on the 23rd and NOT RAISING a single word for Sunni massacre.....IS IT A DISTRACTION of public opinion ? When "HAMAS" fired rockets at Israel at a " S P E C I F I C " "T I M E" to divert public opinion from SYRIA'S SUSPENSION of 56 member OIC (Organization of Islamic nations) membership, hue & cry against the U.S. were raised ? TODAY SYRIA IS KILLING HUNDREDS OF PALESTINIANS in its refugee camps (only because they are SUNNIS) in Damascus, where is that hue & cry ??? SEE THE NEWS: R E U T E R S: By Mariam Karouny BEIRUT, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Syrian fighter jets bombed the Palestinian Yarmouk camp in Damascus on Sunday, killing at least 25 people sheltering in a mosque in an area where Syrian rebels have been trying to advance into the capital, opposition activists said. Continued, see: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/16/-palestinian-yarmouk_n_2312062.html ================== =========== Syrian rebels take control of Damascus Palestinian camp Tue, Dec 18 01:07 AM EST 1 of 24 By Mariam Karouny BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels took full control of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp on Monday after fighting raged for days in the district on the southern edge of President Bashar al-Assad's Damascus powerbase, rebel and Palestinian sources said. The battle had pitted rebels, backed by some Palestinians, against Palestinian fighters of the pro-Assad Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC). Many PFLP-GC fighters defected to the rebel side and their leader Ahmed Jibril left the camp two days ago, rebel sources said. "All of the camp is under the control of the (rebel) Free Syrian Army," said a Palestinian activist in Yarmouk. He said clashes had stopped and the remaining PFLP fighters retreated to join Assad's forces massed on the northern edge of the camp. The battle in Yarmouk is one of a series of conflicts on the southern fringes of Assad's capital, as rebels try to choke the power of the 47-year-old leader after a 21-month-old uprising in which 40,000 people have been killed. Government forces have used jets and artillery to try to dislodge the fighters but the violence has crept into the heart of the city and activists say rebels overran three army stations in a new offensive in the central province of Hama on Monday. On the border with Lebanon, hundreds of Palestinian families fled across the frontier following the weekend violence in Yarmouk, a Reuters witness said. Syria hosts half a million Palestinian refugees, most living in Yarmouk, descendants of those admitted after the creation of Israel in 1948, and has always cast itself as a champion of the Palestinian struggle, sponsoring several guerrilla factions. Both Assad's government and the mainly Sunni Muslim Syrian rebels have enlisted and armed divided Palestinian factions as the uprising has developed into a civil war. "NEITHER SIDE CAN WIN" Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa said in a newspaper interview published on Monday that neither Assad's forces nor rebels seeking to overthrow him can win the war. Sharaa, a Sunni Muslim in a power structure dominated by Assad's Alawite minority, has rarely been seen since the revolt erupted in March 2011 and is not part of the president's inner circle directing the fight against Sunni rebels. But he is the most prominent figure to say in public that Assad will not win. Sharaa said the situation in Syria was deteriorating and a "historic settlement" was needed to end the conflict, involving regional powers and the U.N. Security Council and the formation of a national unity government "with broad powers". "With every passing day the political and military solutions are becoming more distant. We should be in a position defending the existence of Syria. We are not in a battle for an individual or a regime," Sharaa was quoted as telling Al-Akhbar newspaper. "The opposition cannot decisively settle the battle and what the security forces and army units are doing will not achieve a decisive settlement," he said, adding that insurgents fighting to topple Syria's leadership could plunge it into "anarchy and an unending spiral of violence". Sources close to the Syrian government say Sharaa had pushed for dialogue with the opposition and objected to the military response to an uprising that began peacefully. In a veiled criticism of the crackdown, he said there was a difference between the state's duty to provide security to its citizens, and "pursuing a security solution to the crisis". He said even Assad could not be certain where events in Syria were leading, but that anyone who met him would hear that "this is a long struggle...and he does not hide his desire to settle matters militarily to reach a final solution." In Hama province, rebels and the army clashed in a new campaign launched on Sunday by rebels to block off the country's north, activists said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked violence monitor, said fighting raged through the provincial towns of Karnaz, Kafar Weeta, Halfayeh and Mahardeh. It said there were no clashes reported in Hama city, which lies on the main north-south highway connecting the capital with Aleppo, Syria's second city. Qassem Saadeddine, a member of the newly established rebel military command, said on Sunday fighters had been ordered to surround and attack army positions across the province. He said Assad's forces were given 48 hours to surrender or be killed. In 1982 Hafez al-Assad, father of the current ruler, crushed an uprising in Hama city, killing up to 30,000 civilians. Qatiba al-Naasan, a rebel from Hama, said the offensive would bring retaliatory air strikes from the government but that the situation is "already getting miserable". (Additional reporting by Oliver Holmes, Erika Solomon and Dominic Evans in Beirut, Afif Diab at Masnaa, Lebanon; editing by Philippa Fletcher)