West Asia News and Discussions

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 28 Dec 2013 21:12

Islamic brotherhood got into clashes with police and burnt a few buildings in cairo al azhar univ today.

chanakyaa · Post by **chanakyaa** » 30 Dec 2013 04:29

http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_g ... sId=335096

Iran's Turkish gold rush

Turkey's Islamist government is being rocked by the most sweeping corruption scandal of its tenure. Roughly two dozen figures, including well-connected business tycoons and the sons of top government ministers, have been charged with a wide range of financial crimes. The charges ballooned into a full-blown crisis on Dec. 25 when three ministers implicated in the scandal resigned, with one making a dramatic call for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to step down as well. An exhausted-looking Erdogan subsequently appeared on television in the evening to announce a cabinet reshuffle that replaced a total of 10 ministers.
The drama surrounding two personalities are particularly eye-popping: Police reportedly discovered shoeboxes containing $4.5 million in the home of Süleyman Aslan, the CEO of state-owned Halkbank, and also arrested Reza Zarrab, an Iranian businessman who primarily deals in the gold trade, and who allegedly oversaw deals worth almost $10 billion last year alone.

The gold trade has long been at the center of controversial financial ties between Halkbank and Iran. Research conducted in May 2013 by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and Roubini Global Economics revealed the bank exploited a "golden loophole" in the US-led financial sanctions regime designed to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions. Here's how it worked: The Turks exported some $13 billion of gold to Tehran directly, or through the UAE, between March 2012 and July 2013. In return, the Turks received Iranian natural gas and oil. But because sanctions prevented Iran from getting paid in dollars or euros, the Turks allowed Tehran to buy gold with their Turkish lira -- and that gold found its way back to Iranian coffers.

This "gas-for-gold" scheme allowed the Iranians to replenish their dwindling foreign exchange reserves, which had been hit hard by the international sanctions placed on their banking system. It was puzzling that Ankara allowed this to continue: The Turks -- NATO allies who have assured Washington that they oppose Iran's military-nuclear program -- brazenly conducted these massive gold transactions even after the Obama administration tightened sanctions on Iran's precious metals trade in July 2012.

Turkey, however, chose to exploit a loophole that technically permitted the transfer of billions of dollars of gold to so-called "private" entities in Iran. Iranian Ambassador to Turkey Ali Reza Bikdeli recently praised Halkbank for its "smart management decisions in recent years [that] have played an important role in Iranian-Turkish relations." Halkbank insists that its role in these transactions was entirely legal.

The US Congress and President Obama closed this "golden loophole" in January 2013. At the time, the Obama administration could have taken action against state-owned Halkbank, which processed these sanctions-busting transactions, using the sanctions already in place to cut the bank off from the US financial system. Instead, the administration lobbied to make sure the legislation that closed this loophole did not take effect for six months -- effectively ensuring that the gold transactions continued apace until July 1. That helped Iran accrue billions of dollars more in gold, further undermining the sanctions regime.

In defending its decision not to enforce its own sanctions, the Obama administration insisted that Turkey only transferred gold to private Iranian citizens. The administration argued that, as a result, this wasn't an explicit violation of its executive order.

It's possible that the Obama administration didn't have compelling evidence of the role of the Iranian government in the gold trade. However, the president may have also simply sought to protect his relationship with Ankara and didn't want to get into a diplomatic spat with Erdogan, who he considers a key regional ally.

If the administration didn't feel that the sanctions in place at the time were sufficient to take action against Halkbank, after all, it could have easily shut down the gold trade by amending its executive order. But at the time, Turkey was also playing a pivotal role in US policy in Syria, which included efforts to strengthen the more moderate opposition factions fighting President Bashar Assad's regime.

It's also possible, however, that the Obama administration's decision had less to do with Turkey, and more to do with coaxing Iran into signing a nuclear deal. In the one-year period between July 2012, when the executive order was issued, and July 2013, when the "golden loophole" was closed, the Obama administration's non-enforcement of its own sanctions reportedly provided Iran with $6 billion worth of gold. That windfall may have been an American olive branch to Iran -- extended via Turkey -- to persuade its leaders to continue backchannel negotiations with the United States, which reportedly began as early as July 2012. It could also have been a significant sweetener to the interim nuclear deal eventually reached at Geneva, which provided Iran with another $7 billion in sanctions relief.

Indeed, why else would the administration have allowed the Turkish gold trade to continue for an extra six months, when Congress made clear its intent to shut it down?

This brings us back to the current corruption drama in Turkey. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been claiming that it is a victim of a vast conspiracy, blaming everyone from Washington to Israel to US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen for its woes. Some Turkish media have pointed a finger at David Cohen, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, who happened to be in Turkey as the news began to break. Erdogan even raised the possibility of expelling the US ambassador to Ankara, Francis Ricciardone.

But if the charges stand against the panoply of well-connected figures fingered, the AKP will have only itself to blame. While the gas-for-gold scheme may have been technically legal before Congress finally shut it down in July, it appears to have exposed the Turkish political elite to a vast Iranian underworld. According to Today's Zaman, suspicious transactions between Iran and Turkey could exceed $119 billion -- nine times the total of gas-for-gold transactions reported.

Even if the Turkish-Iranian gold trade represents only a small part of the wider corruption probe, the ongoing investigation could provide a window into some nagging questions about the relationship between Ankara and Tehran. Perhaps we will finally learn why the Turkish government allowed Iran to stock up on gold while it was defiantly pursuing its illicit nuclear program -- and whether the Obama administration could have done more to prevent it.

Schanzer and Dubowitz work at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 30 Dec 2013 08:00

A Deadly Mix in Benghazi

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 30 Dec 2013 08:01

Qatar Chronicles

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 30 Dec 2013 20:17

Are the Saudi taking revenge on Russia through Non state actors for thier support to Assad?

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 31 Dec 2013 13:17

The Shadow Commander: Qassem Suleimani is the Iranian operative who has been reshaping the Middle East. Now he’s directing Assad’s war in Syria.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 31 Dec 2013 13:58

Aditya_V wrote:Are the Saudi taking revenge on Russia through Non state actors for thier support to Assad?

reality is chechya movement was crushed and they have been hammered with a steel boot for years now. so for them and their 3.1 fathers on the periphery the winter olympics is a opportunity to embarrass Russia. the West which is smarting from humiliating failure in Syria might also play along and refuse to attend for safety concerns.

putin will likely launch another crackdown once the olympics are over.

vivek_v · Post by **vivek_v** » 31 Dec 2013 14:28

Aditya_V wrote:Are the Saudi taking revenge on Russia through Non state actors for thier support to Assad?

I feel that the bigger revenge is the $3 billion being given to Lebanon military for free to buy arms which would be directed against Hezbullah.

Since Lebanon army is divided between every sect's , if Saudi's tend to give money/arms only to the Sunni faction in Lebanon military and leave the Shia/Christian faction then there is a potential for Lebanon to get itself dragged into another civil war. Already Lebanon military has fried on Syria's planes but not sure which faction did the same.It is a dangerous game which Saudi's are playing and I am hoping for more fireworks.

If all the Middle east countries from Europe's border till Indian border get stuck in civil wars between Sunni and Shia sects then the whole world would get a breather from extremism inside their borders then they will be busy blowing each other.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 31 Dec 2013 20:52

NYTIMES

Shots Fired Before 4 Were Held in Libya
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and MICHAEL R. GORDON
Published: December 28, 2013

WASHINGTON — The detention of four American military personnel in Libya on Friday was preceded by a confrontation at a checkpoint in which gunshots were fired and a vehicle was damaged, a witness in Libya and an Obama administration official said on Saturday.

Details about the confrontation, which occurred about an hour’s drive west from Tripoli, remained unclear on Saturday. The four military personnel, assigned to the United States Embassy in Tripoli, were held for several hours and then released.

A spokesman for the United States Africa Command, which oversees military operations in Africa, declined to comment on accounts of the episode in Libya. But an administration official, who declined to be identified, acknowledged that Libyan forces had fired their weapons and that a vehicle driven by two of the Americans appeared to have been damaged.

The State Department said on Friday that the four Americans were stopped in western Libya near the historic Roman ruins at Sabratha. The department said they had been involved in “security preparedness efforts,” which other administration officials said involved canvassing potential evacuation routes. The road where they were stopped is not far from the main road to the Tunisian border.

In Libya, a witness said in an interview that a car with two Americans ran into a problem at a checkpoint between 8 and 9 p.m. on Friday.

According to the witness, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation, the Americans were reluctant to stop because “they were afraid that it was a fake checkpoint” where they might be robbed or detained. Many checkpoints in Libya are controlled by local militias.

Another car with two other Americans proceeded past the checkpoint and was later stopped at a second checkpoint, the witness said.

An administration official disputed reports from Libya that the Americans had returned fire.

There were conflicting reports about the damage to one of the Americans’ vehicles. Some said that it was set on fire; others said it was disabled in some other way.

Administration officials said they were still gathering information about the episode. But the Obama administration’s reluctance to discuss it in detail also appeared to reflect sensitivities about the United States relationship with the Libyan authorities.

The confrontation was the latest brush with danger for Americans in Libya, where the security situation has deteriorated significantly since the fall of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in 2011.

This month, an American teacher was killed in the eastern city of Benghazi. On Sept. 11, 2012, the United States ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed in attacks on American outposts in Benghazi. The violence has made it difficult for Americans to move freely throughout the country.

“The U.S. Embassy in Libya and U.S. Africa Command are reviewing this incident,” said the Pentagon press secretary, Rear Adm. John F. Kirby. “The details remain unclear,” he said, adding, “We are grateful our service members were returned promptly.”

Suliman Ali Zway contributed reporting from Tripoli, Libya.

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 31 Dec 2013 22:00

But Assadfall has not taken place yet.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 01 Jan 2014 06:43

brihaspati wrote:But Assadfall has not taken place yet.

My thoughts exactly on this New Year's Eve.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 02 Jan 2014 09:50

Palestinian Ambassador in Prague dies while opening safe box

“The explosion occurred minutes after the ambassador opened the safe box,” the ministry said.

According to Zoulova, “the possibilities include inexpert handling of an explosive device or its spontaneous detonation. The device was in a safe and was triggered after the door of the safe was opened. The police are not ruling out that the device was a part of the safe.”

Some safes can be fitted with small charges to destroy secret documents in the event of the lock undergoing tampering. However, the Czech police left open the possibility that another kind of explosive device had been involved.

PA Foreign Minister Riad Malki ruled out the possibility that the ambassador had been killed as a result of a terrorist attack.

Malki said that the explosion had not taken place immediately after the ambassador opened the safe box.

“After he opened the safe, he asked his wife to bring him a paper and pen,” Malki said. “When the wife left the room, Jamal put his hand inside the safe and probably touched a device that set off the explosion.”

Malki said the safe had previously been in the old Palestinian embassy building in Prague. When the embassy moved to a new location, the safe was taken along with everything else that was inside.

According to the foreign minister, the safe was very old and neglected, and none of the previous ambassadors or diplomats had tried to open it.

A spokesman for the embassy, Nabil el-Fahel, said he had no details on what it was that had blown up.

“We need to wait for the results of the police investigation,” he said.

Not sure if this needs to be x-posted in Russia thread

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 02 Jan 2014 14:38

CIA Confirms Role in 1953 Iran Coup

Documents Provide New Details on Mosaddeq Overthrow and Its Aftermath

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 02 Jan 2014 17:28

Ariel Sharon's 'life in danger' as condition deteriorates – doctor
Former Israeli PM – who has been in a coma since 2006 – in critical condition as vital organs suffer 'critical malfunction'

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/j ... ion-doctor

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 02 Jan 2014 21:21

from what I just gathered on CNN - ISIS and its al-queda affiliates have launched a january revolution in Iraq. they now control 50% of Falluja and some part of Ramadi.
footage of burning and burnt out trucks on the main highway was shown.
some drone footage of hellfires striking a group on someone's roof was also shown.

just the usual

http://www.gettyimages.in/Search/Search ... image&ep=1

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 03 Jan 2014 12:22

Syria's chemical weapons to be destoyed by a giant US ship:

http://complex.foreignpolicy.com/posts/ ... BEuHu.dpbs

Manish_Sharma · Post by **Manish_Sharma** » 03 Jan 2014 18:14

JE Menon wrote:^^if true, that's not surprising... given that the contents of the Koran were given to Mohammed in Arabic; so translating it into Malayalam and Tamil is blasphemy of sorts, as it invariably assumes that Allah's words in Arabic can be translated and its meaning retained exactly.

http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... a#p1086683

Karna_A wrote:
Any decorated Koran is destroyed at KSA Airports.

Also, probably Shia owned Korans don't count and are haram.
http://www.islamtimes.org/vdccp4qe.2bq408y-a2.html

All Pakistan Shia Action Committee (APSAC) showed its strong reaction at the killing of people of Bahrain by Saudi backed Al-Khalifa.
Condemning the brutalities of the Saudi forces in Bahrain, they pointed out that the Saudi forces torched dozens of copies of the Holy Quran and destroyed a 156 Mosques.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 04 Jan 2014 17:55

ISIS after its failed putsch in Syria has now taken the next best route - which is attempt to control western iraq anbar province. govt backed militias and air force is doing what it can to stem the tide. in syria itself ISIS has now got into clashes with other opposition units of a less "puritan" mould.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/j ... liate-isis

meantime in libya, a british and nz oilfield engineer couple were executed on a beach next to a oil facility west of tripoli.

the general template of post-arab spring govts seem to be this:
- a US appointed and approved legate
- a govt that controls no more than its own capital, and that too tentatively
- all the provinces are controlled by warlords who are paid monthly ransoms to keep order
- al keeda come and go as they please and continue to nibble and bite when hungry

vishvak · Post by **vishvak** » 04 Jan 2014 19:46

Strange how western countries were ready to go all the way for Syrian chem weapons and got the chem weapons neutralized. Now arbitrary new ISIS jihadi org is making armed attacks in Syria and Iraq but no one says a word.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 04 Jan 2014 20:02

Isis is backed by ksa and qatar. They are also trying to target hezbollah in lebanon using other cats paws.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 04 Jan 2014 20:49

Whose sarin? Seymour M. Hersh

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 04 Jan 2014 23:39

When thieves and terrorists fall out!

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/j ... liate-isis

Syrian opposition turns on al-Qaida-affiliated Isis jihadists near Aleppo
Syrian rebel alliance surrounds forces of hardline Islamic State of Iraq in Syria as fighting against same group continues in Iraq

Martin Chulov
The Guardian, Friday 3 January 2014

Fighters of al-Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant parade at Syrian town of Tel Abyad
Fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq in Syria parade in Tel Abyad. Syrian rebels' uneasy co-existence with the hardline Isis has turned to outright hostility. Photograph: Reuters

The most serious clashes yet between the Syrian opposition and a prominent al-Qaida group erupted in the north of the country on Friday as a tribal revolt against the same organisation continued to rage in Iraq's Anbar province.

Opposition groups near Aleppo attacked militants from the Islamic State of Iraq in Syria (Isis) in two areas, al-Atareb and Andana, which are both strongholds of the fundamentalist Sunni organisation.

Battles also erupted in the Salahedin district of Aleppo itself, where both groups had reluctantly co-existed during recent months as Isis had imposed its hardline influence on parts of the city. Several hundred miles east, Isis remains in control of parts of the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, having raided mosques, sacked police stations and freed prisoners in moves reminiscent of the darkest days of Iraq's insurgency, in which much of Anbar had been lost to al-Qaida.

Isis is the latest incarnation of the same ruthless group that held sway in Anbar before the Awakening Movement of tribal militias ousted it. The Awakening was led at the time by powerful local sheikhs and backed by the occupying US military and was credited with freeing both cities from the grip of the jihadists.

But over the past year, security there and elsewhere in Iraq has gradually ebbed as the war in Syria has intensified. In the past week, revitalised Isis insurgents stormed into both cities soon after the Iraqi military withdrew from a violent standoff with local tribes.

The same group has been at the vanguard of an increasing radicalisation of the anti-Assad opposition in northern Syria. Its members cross freely between Anbar and the eastern deserts of Syria as the insurgencies in each country steadily seep in to each other.

Tribal figures in Anbar said they were continuing to mount attacks on Isis and were determined to block the Islamists' efforts to re-establish a foothold there.

"Never will we allow them to return to our towns," said a senior sheikh from the outskirts of Ramadi. "We don't trust the Shia regime of Maliki and we don't trust al-Qaida. We will fight for our futures. No one else has our benefit at heart."

The US military had placed great significance on Ramadi and Fallujah, having fought two major battles against insurgents in Fallujah in 2004 and having suffered more than one third of its casualties during the eight-year war in the restive province.

With the US having left Iraq three years ago, the government of the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, recently travelled to Washington to seek renewed American intelligence help to get on top of the insurgency. The Obama administration agreed to supply weapons and technicians but it is not yet clear if it also agreed to re-introduce elements of its controversial drone programme.

Though not thought to be co-ordinated, the attacks on Isis strongholds in Syria and Iraq have mounted the most serious challenge to the group's authority since it again became a dominant player in the region.

The group's members have imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law in much of northern Syria, subverting local authority and intimidating towns and communities. The increasing strength of the group has also further splintered the original armed Syrian opposition, which has at times come to a battlefield accommodation with the better funded jihadis, and had tried to avoid a reckoning with them.

However, opposition leaders told the Guardian that with military momentum at a crawl, they have little option but to try to oust Isis.

"We have surrounded them in Andana," said a leader of Ahrar al-Sham, an Islamic group within the opposition. "We have told their foreigners that they must come and join us, within 24 hours, or face being killed."

In al-Atareb, several dozen fighters, including Isis members, are believed to have been killed in the clashes. The group is thought have at least 10,000 members in northern Syria, many of them foreigners from elsewhere in the Sunni Islamic world, including up to 1,000 Europeans.

Isis has kidnapped more than 30 foreign aid-workers and journalists in the north, along with scores more Syrians. The French medical aid agency Médecins Sans Frontières said five of its members had been taken from a house in northern Syria on Thursday. It gave no details about the identities of the captives, or where they were taken from.

anmol · Post by **anmol** » 05 Jan 2014 05:29

Al Qaeda on the run?

www.dw.de/al-qaeda-allies-take-over-fal ... a-17341342

Al Qaeda allies take over Fallujah, Iraq
dw.de | Nov 30th -0001

A senior security official in Anbar province told the AFP news agency on Saturday that "Fallujah is under the control of ISIL," referring to al Qaeda-linked group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

An AFP reporter in Fallujah also said that ISIL seemed to be in control, with no security forces or anti-al-Qaeda militiamen visible on the streets.

"It has turned into a ghost town," a resident told agency dpa. "Everything is closed, and streets are empty except for gunmen, and gunfire is frequently heard."

The jihadist occupation of Fallujah took place a day after Iraqi security forces and allied Sunni fighters killed Abu Abdel-Rahman al-Baghdadi, a key ISIL leader.

Parts of the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah, two major cities west of Baghdad, have been held by militants for days, following fighting that broke out Monday.

Fourteen died in and near Ramadi on Monday and Tuesday. Though later tolls were not immediately clear, more than 100 people were killed on Friday in Ramadi and Fallujah, in the country's deadliest single day in years.

Hundreds of gunmen, some bearing the black flags often flown by jihadists, gathered at outdoor weekly Muslim prayers in central Fallujah on Friday, a witness said.

Jihadist strongholds

The fighting provides an uncomfortable reminder of the US-led occupation that began in 2003. American troops, aided by Sunni tribesmen in the Sahwa militia forces, fought for years from late 2006 to wrest control of the region west of Baghdad - the governorate of al Anbar - from militants.

US forces suffered almost one-third of their total Iraq fatalities in Anbar, according to independent website icasualties.org.

The ISIL - a new incarnation of the jihadist insurgency - has made a comeback following the US withdrawal and the outbreak of Syria's civil war in 2011.

The Ramadi protest camp operation pushed Sunni tribes into conflict with the government, and the al Qaeda-related group has successfully used the wave of popular Sunni anger to its advantage.

Increasing violence has raised the prospect of a return to the sectarian violence that almost sparked a civil war in Iraq in 2006 and 2007. According to United Nations estimates, nearly 9,000 people were killed in 2013, the highest annual death toll in Iraq in five years.

bk/msh (AFP, dpa)

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 05 Jan 2014 19:45

the flag of the believer has been hoisted in all govt offices in Fallujah and it is now the capital of the ISIS caliphate. only thing missing is a new caliph.

what I had forseen many a moon back might come to pass - a fracture of Iraq along shia-sunni lines. it all depends if the baghdadi shia govt can continue to pay off tribal sunni warlords to fight the ISIS.

Assad while managing to hold his rampart seems unable to take the offensive and cleanse his country entirely of the rebels, so part of syria will remain under rebel warlords and ISIS for the forseeable future.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 05 Jan 2014 21:19

Singha, Keep all this in mind while recalling the Sunni pasand politics of the US.
So for accommodating the Iran nuke deal, the Shia states are being bifurcated. Its a quid for KSA.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 07 Jan 2014 22:55

Saudi may restrict expats' stay to eight years

Saudi Arabia might restrict foreign workers' stay in the country to a maximum of eight years under a proposed law to create jobs for its citizens, a move expected to affect a large number of Indians.

...
...

Kati · Post by **Kati** » 11 Jan 2014 09:58

More rebel on rebel fighting......500 killed in one week, Assad must be sleeping a little
more comfortably...and no crocodile tears from Obumba-Kerrorist-MacKain.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/wor ... e16289493/

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Jan 2014 14:17

I get the feeling amrika has cut n run from syria, leaving france , qatar and KSA to manage the mess.
the KSA is interested in funding only jihadis in syria and use them to target hezbollah in lebanon as well.
it is not clear to me what qatar and france are up to lately.

for amrika it was somewhat similar to this, as it is in most of their adventures http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykbp8XQ70Mc
observe another guy got his lungi on fire from the main guy and the rest decamped asap to avoid a similar situation

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 11 Jan 2014 17:54

Ariel Sharon had died at the age of 85,after being in a coma for years.Sharon,great general,controversial tough politician,almost came to an agreement with Yasser Arafat.Unfortunately,both leaders left the scene within a short span of time and there have been no authoritative leaders on both sides who could've sold an agreement to either side.RIP

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/j ... haron-dies
Former Israeli PM Ariel Sharon dies after eight-year coma
Death of Sharon, aged 85, comes as less of a shock to Israel than stroke that felled him at height of his premiership in 2006

Former Israeli PM Ariel Sharon dies after eight-year coma
Death of Sharon, aged 85, comes as less of a shock to Israel than stroke that felled him at height of his premiership in 2006
Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
theguardian.com, Saturday 11 January 2014 12.33 GMT
Ariel Sharon, who has died eight years after falling into a coma following a massive stroke. Photograph: L Kahane/Israel Sun/REX

Ariel Sharon, the controversial self-styled "warrior" who dominated Israel's military and political landscape for decades, has died eight years after a massive stroke left him in a vegetative state.

The former army general and prime minister suffered multiple organ failure over the new year. His sons were at his bedside at the Sheba Medical Centre, a long-term care facility near Tel Aviv, where Sharon has lain since May 2006.

Shimon Peres (left) with Ariel Sharon Shimon Peres (left) with Ariel Sharon in Egypt in 1975. Photograph: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Television networks interrupted their scheduled coverage to break the news. But Sharon's death, at the age of 85 and after eight years in a coma, was less of a shock to Israel than the devastating stroke that felled him on 4 January 2006 at the height of his premiership.

Even so, for many Israelis he will be mourned as a giant figure who played a key role in shaping Israel both as a soldier and a statesman. His passing severs the last link to the iconic generation which fought in the 1948 war that followed the declaration of the state. His reputation as a fearless – and controversial - soldier was matched by his uncompromising ideology as a politician.

Among Palestinians and leftwing Israelis, he will be remembered as a powerful and reviled champion of Israel's colonial settlement project, and the political force behind the construction of the vast concrete and steel separation barrier that snakes through the West Bank. Many will not forgive his role in the killing of hundreds of Palestinians in refugee camps in Beirut in the 1980s.
Ariel Sharon, Mahmoud Abbas Ariel Sharon (right) shakes hands with the Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas, watched by the US president George W Bush following a summit meeting at the Royal Palace in Aqaba, 2003. Photograph: Hussein Malla/AFP/Getty Images

His body is expected to lie at the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, to allow members of the public to pay their respects ahead of an official state ceremony, to which international figures will be invited. The former prime minister is expected to be buried at his ranch in the Negev desert, next to his wife's grave.

Sharon suffered a first stroke on 18 December 2005 at the age of 77. The prime minister had long indulged his gargantuan appetite for rich food and cigars, despite doctors' repeated warnings that he needed to lose weight and take exercise. The prime minister was kept in hospital for 48 hours.

Seventeen days later Sharon had another, much bigger, stroke at his Negev ranch. Despite paramedics urging his immediate transfer to the nearest major hospital, one of Sharon's personal doctors insisted the prime minister should be kept at home until the physician could personally examine him.

However, following a further collapse while waiting for the doctor's arrival, an ambulance was called. Instead of being taken to the nearest hospital, the doctor directed the ambulance staff to drive to the Hadassah hospital on the outskirts of Jerusalem, a journey of around an hour.

Sharon underwent several long operations but never recovered consciousness. Four months after the stroke he was transferred to a long-term medical facility near Tel Aviv, where he remained – apart from one brief home visit in 2010 to assess whether he could be moved to his Negev ranch – until his death on Saturday.

There was a glimmer of hope last January when doctors said the former prime minister had exhibited "robust activity" in his brain during tests. Scans showed Sharon responding to pictures of his family and recordings of his son's voice. However, medical experts said the chances of him regaining consciousness were almost zero.

Sharon – known as "Arik" to his friends, "the Bulldozer" to his critics – was a giant figure, both literally and metaphorically, in Israel. He was accused of war crimes after between 800 and 2,000 Palestinians were butchered at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in 1982 in Lebanon by Phalangist Christians while Israeli forces stood by. Sharon was defence minister at the time.

But his reputation as a belligerent and uncompromising rightwinger was challenged in the period immediately preceding his stroke by his astonishing decision to withdraw Israeli forces and settlers from the Gaza Strip, and his determination to carry out the evacuation in the face of virulent opposition and accusations of betrayal.

Analysts were divided over whether the man who had been a driving force of the settlement enterprise then intended to initiate a much more complex withdrawal of settlers from the West Bank, or whether he had "sacrificed" Gaza in order to maintain Israel's hold on the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Following his incapacitation, Ehud Olmert assumed the role of prime minister. Kadima, the party Sharon founded after breaking with the rightwing Likud shortly before his demise, won the largest number of seats, with Olmert at its helm, in the general election of March 2006.

Kadima, on the centre-right of the Israeli political spectrum, was predicted to reshape the electoral landscape. But the party has floundered in the vagaries of Israeli politics, with its multitude of parties and unstable proportional representation electoral system. In last January's election, the party won only two seats.

Olmert was seen as technocratic leader in contrast to the colourful, ideological, strongman image that Sharon enjoyed.

In a foreword to Sharon's autobiography, Warrior, the late Israeli journalist Uri Dan wrote: "Though much of the world knows him by the title of this autobiography, he is fundamentally a man of peace." Many assessments of Sharon's life and legacy will dispute that.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 12 Jan 2014 05:04

Philip, Sharon would not hold a candle to Paki Mard-e-Momin who killed countless Bangladeshis, Pashtuns and not to mention Ahmediyas.

RIP Sharon!!!

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 12 Jan 2014 06:17

Yes,the Paki ungodlies are a species aaprt.

Fisk on Sharon.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/com ... 53699.html

Robert Fisk

Sunday 12 January 2014
Ariel Sharon: Peacemaker, hero... and butcher

He was respected in his eight years of near-death, with no sacrilegious cartoons to damage his reputation; and he will, be assured, receive the funeral of a hero and a peacemaker. Thus do we remake history

More from Fisk.Simply hilarious if it was not so tragic.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/com ... 39977.html

Sunday 5 January 2014
Now it's Middle Eastern regimes fighting al-Qa'ida, while the US ties itself up in knots
This is “Arab unity” as we have never seen it before. But watch out

And so, for the first time in recent history, it seems that the “war against terror” – and specifically against al-Qa’ida – is being fought by Middle East regimes rather than their foreign investors.

Sure, American drones still smash into al-Qa’ida operatives, wedding parties and innocent homes in Pakistan. But it’s General al-Sisi of Egypt, President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of Iraq, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran – even powerless President Michel Sleiman of Lebanon – who are now fighting “terrorists”.

It shows how powerful the bad guys have become that mutually antagonistic dictators and satraps can gang together against America’s enemy. This is “Arab unity” as we have never seen it before. The Ottoman Empire lives again. But watch out.

You need to put on a tin hat to avoid the ironies crashing out of the sky. John Kerry – now the most outrageously funny Secretary of State in US history, he who promised an “unbelievably small” airstrike against Syria – says America supports the secular rebels against Assad, who are fighting the Islamist rebels who are fighting against Assad even though the US still wants the overthrow of – you guessed it – Bashar al-Assad.

Meanwhile the Saudis are still pouring money into Syria to help the al-Qa’ida-associated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) – against whom Bashar and the secular Free Syrian Army are now fighting – while the Saudis also contribute billions to Sisi’s army in Egypt which is fighting identical al-Qa’ida-linked “terror” in Sinai and now, it appears, in Cairo itself. And if you are confused by all this, try Lebanon.

Last week, the authorities claimed to have arrested Majid bin Mohamed al-Majid, one of the “most wanted” al-Qa’ida men in Saudi Arabia. All they had to do to confirm this extraordinary detention was to use DNA to check the man’s identity. This came only weeks after Lebanese Shias blamed Saudi “terrorists” for blowing up the Iranian embassy in Beirut, an attack followed by the assassination of a prominent Sunni politician and then – last week – by a further attack on Shias in the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital. No sooner had Sunni ex-minister Mohammed Chatah been car-bombed to death, than the Americans promised more money to the Lebanese army. How, then, could the Lebanese avoid being drawn into the “anti-terrorist” war after arresting Majid? Miraculously – and there have been a lot of miracles in the Middle East region, as we all know – the Lebanese not only confirmed that they had indeed got the right man, but that he had regrettably died of organ failure while in their custody. Phew!

Majid al-Majid, who died today in custody in Lebanon, is the alleged leader of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, an al-Qa'ida-linked group that has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Iranian embassy in Beirut in November Majid al-Majid was the alleged leader of the group that claimed responsibility for the attack on the Iranian embassy in Beirut in November

But US support for the Lebanese military will go ahead. Just as Washington is now offering more missiles and planes to the Shia sub-dictator President Maliki of Iraq if he goes on biffing Sunni insurgents and al-Qa’ida men in Anbar province. History, of course, repeats itself in Fallujah and Ramadi, the two cities repeatedly conquered and then re-conquered and then re-conquered for a third time by US forces after the illegal invasion of 2003. In 2004, the Marines claimed they had wiped out al-Qa’ida in Fallujah, then handed the city over to Baathist policemen. Then the Americans virtually destroyed the city around the heads of al-Qa’ida after another few months – we will not mention the use of US phosphorous shells and the outbreak of childbirth abnormalities more than five years later – and now the largely Shia Iraqi army is fighting the Sunni tribesmen of Fallujah. Who are in turn (be patient, readers) claiming they are fighting the local al-Qa’ida groups, just as the Free Syrian Army insists that it is now in combat against the same al-Qa’ida groups in Syria.

Meanwhile Kerry – who has not invited the Iranians to the Geneva 2 talks on Syria – says Iran might play a valuable role “on the sidelines” (has ever an invitation to Iran appeared more insulting?) while the main Syrian opposition forces have no intention of taking part in the Swiss conference. Geneva 2, in other words, is a dead duck; just like the Palestinian-Israeli talks of which Kerry still speaks with optimism – a sure sign that this particular duck is also dying.

Who now remembers the Arab Awakening – or “spring” as some of my colleagues still insist on calling it? Well, let’s just take a look at an ominous statement this past weekend in which the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the latest bomb in Beirut – the one that killed at least four civilians in the Hezbollah suburbs. So now Isil – as I suppose we must call it – acknowledges it is fighting on three fronts: Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. So we have Arab regime unity at last. As for America – well, I guess they’ll go on supporting the Free Syrian Army which is fighting al-Qa’ida which is fighting Bashar whom Washington wants to dethrone.

America’s Muslim Brotherhood friends in Egypt have just been formally classed as “terrorists” by Sisi who is supported by the country which is paying – long live Salafism – for Islamist “terror” in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. And Saudi Arabia – the key to the whole fandango, though no one will say this – remains a close and “moderate” friend of America. Say no more.
Let there be an end to all these clichés

Linguistic resolutions for 2014: an end to clichés, to invented words and to verbal lies.

Please may we have no more guns that “fall silent”, not a single politician “on the campaign trail”, no more “deadly” ambushes/riots/wars, diseases and – please – no more “iconic” paintings or personalities. And no more “eponymous” events. Nor “dystopian” narratives. I fear I’ve committed a few of these sins in my past (I distinctly remember “iconic”). But no excuse.

Let me never have to read again of “negativity” or “positivity” or – most ghastly of all – “suicidality”. A close second: “gendering”. Let us have done with politicians, families and villages which have to “come to terms” with grief, who “seek closure” or need to “move on” (the latter an officially declared – and understandable – desire of the Labour Party over Iraq).

Please, less “shuttle” diplomacy”, fewer “tit-for-tat” killings and no more cities “under lockdown”. And no more bloody “space”: editors should ban all references to “theatrical space”, “psychological space” and “public space”.

The same goes for television listings: let there be an end to “festive” events/programmes/editions/spirits/giggles (I kid thee not)/games/songs/food.

Please don’t talk about “issues” when you mean “problems”. And if there are any real issues, don’t “prioritise” them. Suffocate any “spokesperson” who, after hours of airport delays, announces that he apologises “if anyone has been inconvenienced”. And let me croak if I ever have to read again that oldest of clunkers which appeared in last week’s Irish Times, which announced the engagement of a regional sports star: “Clare captain pops the question”. Aaaaaaaaaagh, indeed.
React Now

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 13 Jan 2014 04:50

http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/l ... z2qEJFdc7T
Iran reaches terms with U.S., others to carry out nuclear deal

Iran and six world powers said Sunday they have agreed on a plan of implementation for their first-phase nuclear deal, a sign the fragile effort to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions remains on track.
The implementation agreement, worked out in a month of talks between technical experts and diplomats, will lay out how the group will carry out their plan to limit Iran's nuclear progress while they try to negotiate a long-term agreement.Officials of the United States, Iran and the European Union hailed the agreement as another step forward. However, the details of the agreement are key, and it was not immediately clear whether the terns for Iran were strict or conciliatory.
Iran and the six powers signed a preliminary agreement Nov. 24 that was written in vague statements that left much to be argued out later.Secretary of State John Kerry hailed the implementation agreement as a "critical, significant step" toward reaching a deal that will prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb making capability.He said the agreement means the two sides will be able to start implementing the deal Jan. 20, on schedule with their past expectations.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Jan 2014 07:00

firstpost.com

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Gunmen killed Libya's deputy industry minister as he drove home from a shopping trip in the city of Sirte late on Saturday, in an attack officials blamed on hardline Islamist militants. Libya is still plagued by violence and assassinations more than two years after civil war ousted Muammar Gaddafi. Militants, militias and former rebels often resort to force to impose demands on the fragile government. The minister, Hassan al-Drowi, was shot several times, a senior security official said, asking not to be identified. "They opened fire from another car while he was driving, he was shot multiple times," the official said. "Later, they found explosives attached to his car. The theory is, the bomb failed, so they shot him instead."

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/world/gunmen-a ... ef_article

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 13 Jan 2014 09:28

I had thought this in September, 2012 :
http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/postin ... &p=1342326

The question now is : if we are to collate the two types of perspectives on what is happening, on the one hand we have the claim that "Saudi millions" and "western" special-forces are converting the "ragtag rebels" into an "army". On the other we have the perspective that - west is wary of Saudi money which is primarily being targeted to promote Salafist-Sunni Saudi loyal Islamist jihadis, but also wary of supplying sufficient hardware to rebels on ground for fear of a "blowback".

Thus there is a clear conflict of interest between that of the "west" and the "Saudis" as to the exact ideological nature of the future rebel movement. Whatever the west does, combined with its failure to acknowledge the ideological nature of the genocidic meme inherent in the Saudi version, as well dependence on Saudi oil, the general perception of west as merely useful tools on the way to Caliphate by the islamists, means that the west is at a disadvantage w.r.t the Saudis.

Saudis will increase their control or influence among the rebels, and Islamists will increase in influence among the rebels. Ultimately Assad or no Assad, the minorities will seek a more consolidated or mangeable territory - and if at all war stops, it will be a virtual partition. Territorial gains of course will be made by the Saudi linked islamists.

FSA is a misnomer, as it will increasingly become an AIS - army of Islamic Syria. Now this should be a good lesson to study a potential route to power for Saudi linked Islamists in India too.

and before that :

Friends : please do consider what I had suggested quite sometime before about Syria/Iran based on completely public domain sources,

(1) Rebels are not as swiftly winning "victory" as made out by gulf propaganda
(2) proposals for a virtual partition being considered
(3) Kurdistan getting closer to formation
(4) Germany may play a double-face role and not necessarily what is made out on the basis of so-called intel ops against Assad
(5) things may have a spinoff that goes against the gulf powers.

I didnt need any special sources for this, and if you analyze the info publicly available - you will get it too.

Knowledgeable folks with access to the inner ears of high strategists of India, laughed at this. But its 1 1/4 years past that now. I have been waiting for Assadfall - my name for an event promised to happen every next day but never happens for 2 years now.

I feel what I sensed was not that off the mark, and therefore what I am more worried about is a similar experiment on the subcontinent itself. People feel free to discount this logically. I will be most happy to be contradicted for Bharat in case.

devesh · Post by **devesh** » 13 Jan 2014 10:12

brihaspati ji,

ultimately, it's hard to imagine because the Northern plains are still heavily Hindu. and the Islamics do not have the sheer quantity of arms and ammunition required to mouth an offensive against the Indian State. in Syria's case, several countries came together and turned the border into a porous one, to arm the "rebels". in India's case, the border is guarded by the army/paramilitary. and so far, since 1947, the armed forces have proven they're capable of defending the borders. so, borders turning into virtual open fields of heavy enemy movement into and out of country seems out of question. do you think the Islamists inside India can mount an offensive and overturn the current govt? more importantly, do you think such overt attempts at overthrowing the State will happen without any response from the Indian State? there is Police, several different branches of paramil, and finally the Army itself. Islamists might have the capability to cause havoc through terror, but outright overturning the State seems like a tall task.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 14 Jan 2014 04:33

Most interesting interview on the Beeb today,with the Sheikh of Dubai,who wanted sanctions imposed on Iran to end,giving Iran a chance as it was opening up its N-plants in an agreement.

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 14 Jan 2014 17:01

Zee News ‏@ZeeNews 2m

Britain-US threaten to pull support if Syrian opposition fails to attend peace talks - http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/bri ... 04030.html …

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 14 Jan 2014 17:10

Reuters Top News ‏@Reuters 1m

Syrian government forces advance as rebel infighting rages http://reut.rs/1cZFiGL

(Reuters) - The Syrian government has retaken territory around the northern city of Aleppo, the military said on Tuesday, after two weeks of rebel infighting that has weakened the insurgency against President Bashar al-Assad.

The internecine conflict among some within the chaotic plethora of rebel groups will allow Assad to portray himself as the only secular alternative in Syria to a radical Islamist regime when peace talks begin in Switzerland on January 22.

His military advances will give the Syrian government delegation greater leverage at the negotiating table.

An army statement said government forces had pushed out from their base at Aleppo's international airport, southeast of the city, and were moving towards an industrial complex used as a rebel base and the al-Bab road, urgently needed by insurgents to supply the half of Aleppo under their control.

It said that government forces, along with militia loyal to Assad, were in "complete control" of the Naqareen, Zarzour, Taaneh and Subeihieh areas along the eastern side of Aleppo, which was the major Arab country's commercial hub and most populous city before the conflict erupted in 2011.

Fighting between the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and rival Islamists and more moderate rebels have killed hundreds of people over two weeks and shaken ISIL, a militant faction led by foreign jihadists.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 16 Jan 2014 21:16

From the Syrian ashes a new allaince is being formed. It is both sectarian (Shia based:Iran and Syria) and great power based(Russia vs US supporting the Sunnis)

Hindu reports:
Russia Forges new axis in Middle East

Russia forges axis with Iran, Syria

Vladimir Radyuhin

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the Iranian leadership for their role in getting off the ice talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme.

“I am convinced that this has occurred in large measure thanks to the efforts of the Iranian leadership,” Mr. Putin said opening a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in the Kremlin on Thursday.

“It is important that the agreements reached do not remain on paper only and that we move forward,” Mr. Putin said.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Putin said relations between the two countries were poised to “scale new heights.”

“The potential for bilateral cooperation is great and is far from having been exhausted,” the Russian leader said after accepting credentials from Iran’s new envoy to Russia on Thursday.

The Foreign Ministers of Russia, Iran and Syria held an unprecedented trilateral meeting in Moscow on Thursday to fine-tune their positions ahead of Syria peace talks next week.

The three Ministers discussed “the situation in Syria and around it in the context of preparations for the Geneva-2 international conference opening on January 22,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The meeting appeared to confirm the West’s long-standing suspicions of an emerging Russia-Syria-Iran axis, even as Foreign Minister Lavrov denied the three countries had any secret plan.

The Iranian Foreign Minister and his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moallem arrived in Moscow on Wednesday on the same plane from Damascus where Mr. Zarif met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Mr. Lavrov said the three countries shared “common positions” on the Syrian crisis, but denied they had any “hidden agenda” or a “trilateral project.”

At his talks with Mr. Zarif Mr. Lavrov vowed to push for Iran’s participation in Geneva-2.

“We are proceeding on the basis that Iran should and inevitably will be part of a set of measures to settle the Syria problems,” Mr. Lavrov told a joint press conference with Mr. Zarif.

Mr. Zarif said Iran would attend Geneva-2 if invited, but would reject any “preconditions.”

Washington insists that Tehran must first commit to results of the first Geneva conference on Syria in 2013.

Mr. Zarif’s visit to Russia comes amid reports that the two countries are negotiating a mega deal to barter 500,000 barrels of Iranian oil a day for Russian goods. The deal would boost Iranian oil exports by 50 per cent.

Russian government sources confirmed to the Kommersant daily that the deal was in the pipeline, but the Iranian Foreign Minister denied the issue would be discussed during his current visit.

Reports also said Mr. Zarif was planning to discuss Russia’s offer to sell Iran Antey-2500 long-range air defence missiles in replacement of an earlier contract for S-300 missiles, which Russia cancelled in 2010.

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 16 Jan 2014 22:14

David Rohde ‏@RohdeD 32m

'More fighting now under al Qaeda banner than ever' RT @reuters From Falluja to Maghreb, a new, diffuse al Qaeda http://reut.rs/1i1yrBl
------------------------------>>

LONDON, Jan 16 - More than two years after the death of Osama bin Laden, the turbulent aftermath of the "Arab Spring" has helped his group - or more accurately, its offshoots and successors - gain ground.

Two weeks ago, fighters from al Qaeda affiliate the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took over much of the central Iraqi city of Falluja, reversing their defeat at the hands of U.S. forces and local tribal allies almost a decade ago.

Western officials fear associated groups will carve out havens in Libya, Syria, West Africa and perhaps Afghanistan once NATO troops withdraw.