West Asia News and Discussions

[Austin]

These improvements would greatly increase the Shahab-3B's survivability against ABM systems such as Israel's Arrow 2 missile as well as being used for precision attacks against high value targets such as command, control and communications centres.

Shahab-3B RV is smiliar to Agni-3 RV its a manouvering RV (MaRV) , Iskander is a atmosheric BGRV type and not a reentry RV type system.

You can read more about Shahab-3 in this link

http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/printer_396.shtml

One good thing about Iran compared to other West Asia state is they have core competencies in developing advanced technology under extreme sanctions from west , they are really good with rocketry skills , now they have developed Khalije Fars antiship BM something the Chinese seems to have developed first.

Shows the video of Khalije Fars AShBM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc7eUO1aw9M

[ramana]

Austin, Are you nuts to bring in Agni 3 RV in same post as the Iranian vehicle? Think a little before posting.

[Prem]

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/in ... 259365.htm

Insurance Deal Lets India Resume Shipping Iran Oil

India has joined Japan in offering government-backed insurance for ships carrying Iranian crude in order to bypass European sanctions that have nearly halved Iranian oil exports to key markets.The first Indian ship to carry oil from Iran with Indian insurance is scheduled to load up in Iran on Wednesday, a shipping company executive said. This is a breakthrough for the Indian government, which has scrambled to maintain vital Iranian oil imports after European sanctions blocked third-party insurance in July.The MT Omvati Prem – a tanker contracted to carry 85,000 metric tons of crude oil from Iran for Indian state refiner Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. – is scheduled to arrive in India by Aug. 25, said Kowshik Kuchroo, president of shipping for Mercator Ltd., an Indian shipping company.
This being a government of India cargo, it has a different sense of importance. We’re not doing it just for business,” Kuchroo said Monday. “India is in definite need of the crude. At a short notice, we can’t just snap the supply.”Mercator is insuring the ship with $50 million in hull and machinery insurance, which covers physical damage to the ship, from state-owned New India Assurance Co. It’s insuring the vessel with another $50 million in protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance, which covers a broad range of liabilities, including environmental pollution and cargo damage, from government-backed United India Insurance.That is a far cry from the $1 billion in coverage Indian companies like Mercator got from European insurers, which used to underwrite most maritime coverage. European Union sanctions that prohibit EU companies from offering insurance on tankers carrying Iranian crude took effect July 1, part of the U.S.-led effort to tighten sanctions on Iran to cut off funds for its nuclear program

[brihaspati]

I was expecting some news about Bahrain sugar-rains from the royalty - for the sake of unbiased, all-round and balanced reporting on the ME people's struggles.

There has been sporadic clashes going on in Bahrain for the last week between activists and Bahraini righteous regime. The righst activist has been jailed for three years peaceful treatment in Bahraini jail.

I expect of course total silence on any of the kindnesses meted out by the Sunni-Saudi democratic regimes on people's movements.

[Virupaksha]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 539930.cms

India objects to OIC calling J&K a country

NEW DELHI: An Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) communique referring to Jammu & Kashmir as a country drew a sharp reaction from India which described it as wrong and unacceptable. Despite opposition from India, OIC continues to refer to the state as occupied territory or a separate country.


"The Summit affirms its solidarity and full support for Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan and J&K, Iraq, Yemen, Ivory Coast, the Union of Comoros and the Republic of Turkish-Cyprus in addressing the challenges facing these countries."

Wonder what spin, The "secular" govts of Saudis are the chaddi friends and business at forefront people will give.

[sum]

X-post:

India objects to OIC calling J&K a country

He was replying to India's position on OIC's reference to J&K in its meet in Makkah. Under the heading of Solidarity With Other Member States, the final communique at OIC Summit said, "The Summit affirms its solidarity and full support for Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan and J&K, Iraq, Yemen, Ivory Coast, the Union of Comoros and the Republic of Turkish-Cyprus in addressing the challenges facing these countries."

Democratic Secular Republics countries of OIC issuing a communique on Kashmir.

I wholeheartedly support Israel, US in their endeavor of "introducing democracy" in Middle east. The more it burns better it is for India.

Our West asian long lost brothers showing soladarity with India

[Austin]

Austin, Are you nuts to bring in Agni 3 RV in same post as the Iranian vehicle? Think a little before posting.

Ramana after reading the ACIG stuff my understanding is both are MaRV type RV , ofcourse Shahab-3B falls under IRBM class and are not as advanced as Indian RV specially in materials and guidance, but good enough to give its likely rival ABM system a big challenge.

The challenge would be the Laser INS ( they claimed they have developed one ) but Iran could some what circumvent it if they could integrate it civilian GLONASS signal , which unlike US GPS wont be degraded in any conflict with Israel.

[brihaspati]

X-post:

[He was replying to India's position on OIC's reference to J&K in its meet in Makkah. Under the heading of Solidarity With Other Member States, the final communique at OIC Summit said, "The Summit affirms its solidarity and full support for Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan and J&K, Iraq, Yemen, Ivory Coast, the Union of Comoros and the Republic of Turkish-Cyprus in addressing the challenges facing these countries."]

Democratic Secular Republics countries of OIC issuing a communique on Kashmir.

I wholeheartedly support Israel, US in their endeavor of "introducing democracy" in Middle east. The more it burns better it is for India.

Our West asian long lost brothers showing soladarity with India

We must rely on our Gulf benefactors. What they say is not so important - thats all bravado, face-saving measures, real-politik gimmick - nothing serious. But hang on there, if what they say is not so important, they could pretend after all - what about the other lovey-dovety things they say about India?

But we should not care about this as long as the infratsructural and other fronted moneys come in. They will help us become a sooperpower with their invezments.

[Theo_Fidel]

Until recently Syria was a OIC state regularly issued these such paki statements as well. Syria is one step closer to Al-Saud IMO. This not going to stop till it burns to the top. SYria needs to be over before the next state can start burning.

[devesh]

Turkey needs to become embroiled. turn the focus away from expansion of Saud Islamism and bring some tension in the form of nation-state politics. Syria has the potential to do it. either way, Iran should not completely loose its deposit in Syria. they should still have a seat at the Syrian table. and if both Turkey and Saudis also join in, it will be good. if the Shia side gets completely kicked out of Syria, I don't see that as positive outcome for India. Syria needs to be in a prolonged burn state.

[Mahendra]

Hush Kaffir

House of Saud be praised(PBUT) has taken one more step towards making India a super power by de-facto declaring that Kashmir is a country. This new relationship is sweeter than dates dipped in synthetic honey, the next step in this special relationship will be the appointment of an ambassador to the Sunni Wahabi republic of Kashmir

[pentaiah]

What is the big difference between J&K being shown as independent country by OIC and others showing maps with j&k as part of Pakistan for instance by Judeo christian countries?

[Mahendra]

Judeo christian countries are not making us a sooper powah, at least that isn't the theme being propagated on this thread that is the difference, a very major difference for those who want to see

[Surya]

This new relationship is sweeter than dates dipped in synthetic honey,

at this point it has gone beyond " go Native"

Until recently Syria was a OIC state regularly issued these such paki statements as well. Syria is one step closer to Al-Saud IMO.

link to show that yhis was regular?? Syria and syrians I have met have been least bothered about J&K and disliked pakis intensely

[Philip]

The UN abdicates its international role,to allow the West and its bum-chums,the Arab monarcho-despots to pour in heavy arms for the Syrian rebels.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/co ... 60088.html

Robert Fisk: UN leaves Syria to its bloody fate

Special report: As the international troops retreat, heavy arms will flood into what will become a free-fire zone

The UN's commander in Damascus bid a miserable goodbye to his mission yesterday, unconvincingly claiming that the UN would not abandon Syria, but in fact turning the country into a free-fire zone the moment his last 100 soldiers begin their retreat tomorrow. Whenever the UN withdraws its personnel from the Middle East, calamity always follows in its wake – the departure of UN weapons inspectors from Iraq in 2003 presaged the Anglo-American invasion – and, privately, the UN fears the way is now open for the West and Gulf Arabs to pour heavy weapons into Syria to assist the rebellion against the Assad regime.

As General Babacar Gaye was standing in the lobby of the luxury Damas Rose Hotel, absurdly wishing Muslims a happy Eid holiday following the fasting month of Ramadan, and insisting that "the UN will not leave Syria", his own officers were packing their bags and queuing to pay their last hotel bills on the other side of the atrium. "They couldn't even wait until Lakhdar Brahimi got here to take over as UN envoy," one of Gaye's officials grumbled. The general declined to tell journalists whether more Syrian lives might have been saved if the UN stayed on.

To watch footage of UN staff preparing for their depature from Syria, click on the following links Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4

Outside, in the bright, hot Damascus afternoon, the often empty streets and shuttered shops spoke of lassitude rather than collapse. Bashar al-Assad's regime does not appear to be on the verge of departure – as American and French diplomats fondly believe – but the signs of dislocation are everywhere. Soldiers are billeted in the old Ottoman Haj station in central Damascus – from which no trains have left for Syrian cities in months – but the daily Syrian government-controlled press (there is no other) carries front-page stories from the war front each day. The capture of "Free Syrian Army" weapons, the assassination of civilians in and around Damascus – always attributed to "terrorists", of course – and fighting speeches by government acolytes make no secret of the nation's peril.

Perhaps for this reason, Syrians in Damascus speak with increasing freedom about the chances of the regime's survival, openly debating Bashar's victory or defeat in cafés and restaurants. All know that just a few miles outside the capital, a dark zone begins, a land – thousands of square kilometres of it – in which terrible deeds are taking place hourly. The main highways north have been cut and phone lines to Aleppo have largely collapsed; most travellers choose to fly to the city from Damascus, even though the road from Aleppo airport to the city centre is itself dangerous. Syrian Arab Airlines' main ticket office in Damascus was packed with passengers yesterday, all seeking flights out of the country or pleading for overbooked seats for relatives on planes from Aleppo.

And yet. The regime, whose history and roots go deep into the land of Syria – however brutal and corrupting its opponents believe those roots to be – seems to have more life in it than the Clintons and the Panettas and the Laurent Fabiuses of this world might believe. When French foreign minister Fabius – after listening to refugees' stories of atrocities in Syria – announces that Bashar al-Assad "doesn't deserve to be on this earth", his words appear infantile rather than threatening; indeed they sound like the kind of nonsense often spouted by Arab dictators. Damascenes are looking to their families rather than revenge; one middle-class man I have known for years told me yesterday how his wife worked for a government office but he had "moved her to home" so that she would be safe. The information ministry have produced a DVD packed with tapes of "terrorist" bomb explosions across the country – while admitting that the disk doesn't yet take in last week's truck bombing near the UN's hotel.

General Gaye's last goodbye was as bleak as it was short. After UN troops had arrived on 21 April to monitor the withdrawal of heavy weapons and a ceasefire, violence declined, he said, but "by the middle of June, it was clear that the parties were no longer committed to the ceasefire". UN observers then tried "to facilitate pauses in the fighting" to assist humanitarian work. "I call upon all parties to stop the violence which is causing such suffering to the Syrian people," General Gaye proclaimed, adding that humanitarian law must be respected.

But, needless to say, humanitarian law is not – and will not – be respected, and from tomorrow there will be no-one left to "facilitate pauses in the fighting". When I asked the good general how he personally felt about the failure of his mission, he replied that he was comforted by the fact that "the UN will stay in Syria". But this was preposterous. Save for a tiny UN office – with perhaps 10 staff – which has still not been approved, there is no UN observer mission left here, save for the post-1967 war UNTSO (UN Truce Supervision Organization) force which is fully engaged on keeping the Syrian-Israeli peace on the Golan Heights. The UN soldiers who have bravely sat through the shellfire of Aleppo and Homs will be there no longer.

Should the UN's Syrian mission have been led by a diplomat rather than a soldier – no-one here appears to understand why the Norwegian General Mood, General Gaye's predecessor, left his post – and should it have spent more time talking to opposition forces outside Syria, were questions still being debated within the UN yesterday. And why end the mission now? Because there were some in UN headquarters in New York who knew from the start that the assignment was not intended to succeed? Or because the Western nations and Gulf sponsors do not want UN observers snooping into the amount of new and more lethal weaponry which they may be planning to send to the "Free Syrian Army" and its more bearded allies in those parts of Syria in which Bashar's writ no longer runs?

[shyamd]

x post

Ramana :

Syria Rebels 'Aided By British Intelligence'

Sky NewsSky News – 6 hours ago

Forces loyal to President Bashar al Assad have reportedly used helicopter gunfire and mortars in the battle for Aleppo, amid fresh claims British intelligence is helping rebel fighters to oust the Syrian leader.

According to an opposition official, information on Syrian troop movements is helping rebels launch successful attacks on regime forces in the second city, where both sides have been locked in fierce fighting for weeks.

"British intelligence is observing things closely from Cyprus," the official told The Sunday Times.

"It's very useful because they find out a great deal.

"The British are giving the information to the Turks and the Americans and we are getting it from the Turks."

The newspaper quoted the official as saying British authorities "know about and approve 100%" intelligence from their Cyprus military bases being passed through Turkey to the rebel troops of the Free Syrian Army (FSA).

"The British monitor communications about movements of the government army and we got information about reinforcements being on their way to Aleppo," the official continued.

"We hit at the government troops in Idlib and Saraqib (southwest of Aleppo), with success."

It is the first indication that British intelligence is playing a covert role in the anti-regime revolt.

Aleppo - the country's commercial centre - has become the focus of the 17-month conflict, partly because of its strategic location near the Turkish border.

On Saturday, opposition fighters clashed with Syrian troops close to the city's airport.

Meanwhile, Syria denied reports that Mr Assad's deputy, vice-president Farouq al Shara, had defected.

More than 18,000 people have died in the bloodshed so far and around 170,000 have fled the country, according to the United Nations.

the above is just only part of the story. British have deployed an extensive force for the first time since Iraq invasion.

A ship carrying German 007s monitors Assad's troops

(AGI) Berlin - A ship of the German "Bundesnachrichtendienst" (BND) secret service is cruising in front of the Syrian coasts.
Its aim is to monitor the movements of Assad's troops. The 'Bild am Sonntag' (BamS) reveals that the ship is equipped with sophisticated vigilance technology that is capable of monitoring the movements of troops 600 kilometers inland in the Syrian territory. The 'Bild am Sonntag' specifies that the information obtained on the military operations of Assad's army are then sent to the British and American secret services which then forward it to the Syrian liberation Army

[Pranav]

This new relationship is sweeter than dates dipped in synthetic honey,

at this point it has gone beyond " go Native"

Until recently Syria was a OIC state regularly issued these such paki statements as well. Syria is one step closer to Al-Saud IMO.

link to show that yhis was regular?? Syria and syrians I have met have been least bothered about J&K and disliked pakis intensely

From 2003 -

Vajpayee's visit affirms India's Historical Ties, Strong Friendship with Syria

November 17, 2003

Syria rolled out a warm red carpet to welcome Indian leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee in his significant visit to Syria, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 15 years. ...

PM Vajpayee and president al-Assad jointly inaugurated a Center for Biotechnology in the Damascus University established in cooperation with India. In addition, PM Vajpayee has announced a number of other initiatives such as line of credit, grants for multi-purposes institutions.

On the other hand, the Syria Time met. Tarun Vijay, Chief Editor of Panchjanya newspaper. Although his visit was short, Vijay could attain precise details as regards the county, and her people, speaking highly about Syrian women describing them as more dynamic than men. Asking him about his impression about his impression about Syria before coming to the country, Vijay said, "This is my first visit to this country. Syria is an Arab Muslim country, hence, I thought it must be a very conservative country, but when I came here I realized that I was totally wrong, all my perceptions were proved wrong,"

Women, Vijay went on to say, are treated equally in Syria, and in some ways they seem to be more dynamic than men.

"People are very warm and friendly to Indians, they have a special feeling for us which is cultural and civilizationl," Vijay affirmed.

I was also impressed by the way family values are respected here, It is essentially an oriental value and the secular rule of President Bashar Al-Assad is a significant contribution of Syria to the Arab world.
Regarding the places he visited, Vijay said, " I visited many places in Syria and I found some of them even more modern and progressive than many of our Indian cities.

We went to the Umayyad Mosque although we are Hindus, But we were welcomed honorably in the Mosque. We saw all areas of the Mosque. We saw all areas of the Mosque where prayers are performed, and I bowed my head in reverence, because to me God is one."

We, Vijay added, also went to Maaloula and visited Saint Takla Church.We found that Muslims and Christians are living happily in Syria and this is a very happy outcome of a great civilization that treats every one equally. However, I am deeply overwhelmed with modern liberal and futuristic outlook of Syrian people especially the young generation. They are full of confidence and are looking for opportunities to learn more and move ahead.

There is a spark in the eyes and fortunately your President is also very young.

I believe that young people from Syria should visit India. I'll be very happy that President Al-Assad who has accepted our Prime Minister Vajpayee's invitation to visit India, will be accompanied by a delegation that comprises young people working in the fields of culture, art, music as well as academics.

I also feel a great need for Syrian journalists to visit India and I will suggest to my Prime Minister to start program of youth exchange.

I took more than 200 pictures of Damascus, places, monuments and Syrian people, they were very happy although I was afraid that they would refuse.

"Syrians are very cultured, sophisticated and graceful. When I go back home, I will write my memories in Panchjanya newspaper. I pray that through Syria’s true efforts peace will be established in the Middle East and Indo- Syrian relations will grow stronger”, Vijay concluded.

http://202.131.117.199/meademo/articles ... with+Syria

[shyamd]

Indo Israeli partnership

http://tarmak007.blogspot.in/

Control navigation tests of LR-SAM conducted in Israel successful | Missile's vertical launch process established

By Anantha Krishnan M

Express News Service

Bangalore: Indian and Israeli missile scientists achieved a breakthrough with the successful control navigation tests (CNTs) of the Long-Range Surface to Air Missile (LR-SAM). Being jointly developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI), the Rs 2,606-crore Project LR-SAM aims to develop an advanced naval air defence system for Indian Navy's P-15A Kolkata Class destroyers. The missile has a range of 70 km, weighing around 275 kg. Interestingly, both the DRDO and the IAI officials succeeded in keeping the test schedule and its results under wraps for over a month.
Sources confirm to Express that the CNTs were held at one of the test ranges of IAI near Tel Aviv on July 16 and July 18. “Earlier tests (inclined launches) were to ascertain the ballistic performance and now we have done the CNTs. The latest tests (vertical launches) are initial steps towards validation of the systems. We will now have another set of tests with seeker and guidance systems, scheduled to be held in Israel, at the end of this year (December). This should pave way for production,” sources said.
During the recent tests, the missiles have reportedly shown good navigation and control performance, achieving all mission objectives. The missiles followed the text-book flight trajectories and all the onboard algorithms performed as designed. “We are excited about the test results as both the front and rear servo actuation systems performed as expected. The launcher performance and the critical vertical launch process were also achieved,” sources said.
The final validation tests are expected to begin in India by early 2013, followed user trials from the ships. “This is a very important joint venture weapon development project for India and Israel. We are developing a new weapon and there were some hiccups, which we have overcome now. The completion of CNTs shifts the focus to home-on-target tests and subsequent delivery of the LR-SAM systems to Indian Navy,” sources said.
Hyderabad-based Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), a top-rated DRDO lab, is spearheading LR-SAM's activities from the Indian side. The missile had its first successful ballistic flight test (short-range) in Israel in May 2010. The rear section of the missile is being developed by DRDL and the front section by IAI.
Naval sources tell Express that the weapon system, including radar, is currently being integrated on the first ship at Mazagon Dock Limited, Mumbai.
Copyright@The New Sunday Express

[shyamd]

Porsche says they sold more cars in Tehran than any other Israeli city. A friend of mine who was in Iran last year said you can see a lot of brand new benzes etc and people in the cities seem to have a lot of money. But this contradicts news of food queues in Iran and also 1kg of chicken costing $6

[shyam]

This could mean that some international group is trying to isolate and use it as a captive market for them through sanctions. Sanctions are imposed for some reason, and others are trying to use it for their advantage.

[Mahendra]

Shouldn't the makers of Porsche(pork) be under US sanctions for doing business with the guardians of the shia holy mosques?. Also, during the days of UN sanctions, Iraqis under Saddam were shelling out exorbitant prices for food items while Saddam and his cronies lived a lavish life.
India must truly have great chanakians who are running our foreign policy, we seem to have special relationship with the house of saud( custodian of the holy mosques), the Iranians and also with the Israelis. Now if only we have a special relationship with the Pakistanis !!!

[Philip]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... -iran.html

Obama's Last Chance Before Israel Bombs Iran
by Benny Morris Aug 16, 2012

There is only one thing that can prevent an Israeli assault on Iran’s nuclear installations before the US presidential elections—and that, short of an attack by America itself, which is seen as extremely unlikely, is an iron-clad guarantee by President Obama that he will destroy the Iranian installations soon after his prospective re-election if the Iranian do not desist under the impact of the ongoing economic sanctions

Of course, no guarantee is iron-clad; promises can be and often are broken. Still, were Obama to promise Israel, publicly or in writing, that, should he be re-elected, he will unleash the American Air Force and Navy say by March 1, 2013 to destroy the installations and would continue the military campaign, whatever and for as long as it takes, until Iran abandoned its nuclear weapons program, then it is likely that Binyamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak would call off the prospective Israeli assault.

In the absence of such a guarantee, Israel is likely to strike before the American elections for two reasons: Netanyahu believes that Obama will find it more difficult to condemn or punish Israel for doing something which Washington has pressured Israel to refrain from, despite the fact that it is a publicly stated American policy goal (to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons); and time is running short, both in terms of Iran’s attainment of its nuclear goals—observers say Iran is 12-18 months away from a bomb—and in terms of the completion of the Fardow nuclear enrichment site, which is under construction deep under a mountain near Qom. Observers believe that that is where Iran intends to mount its final dash towards bomb-making capabilities – meaning the enrichment of its stocks of Uranium from 20 per cent, the current level at which the material is being enriched in the existing major site at Natanz, to 90 per cent-plus, which is what is required for nuclear weaponry.

The debate over the prospective Israeli strike has been raging across Israel’s news media for the past month or so. Given the distances, the dispersal of the Iranian installations over a dozen sites, the fact that many are deep underground, and the existence of Iranian air defenses, most observers believe that Israel can mount a one-time strike that will put back Iran’s program by one to two years, no more. This is one of the reasons that senior Israeli military and intelligence officials—including, according to reports, the heads of military intelligence and the Mossad, and the IDF chief of staff—oppose the strike at the moment, saying that diplomacy, sanctions and Washington must be given more time.

Supporters of the strike argue that there is no time. A similar argument was used by critics of the prospective Israeli strike against Iraq’s nuclear reactor back in 1981 (the critics included then Labor Party head Shimon Peres, now Israel’s president, who reportedly is a major critic of the prospective attack on Iran). But that successful strike actually put paid to Saddam Hussein’s nuclear weapons program, which was never resurrected. The same appears to have happened in Syria, where in 2007 Israeli warplanes destroyed a North Korean-assisted nuclear plant at Deir Zor, apparently designed to produce Plutonium. Israel never officially acknowledged the attack and Syria’s President Assad didn’t respond militarily and desisted from renewing his nuclear program.

Of course, Iran is not Iraq or Syria. The Iranian ayatollahs, to judge by their indifference to the painful sanctions already imposed on their country, appear hell bent on attaining nuclear weaponry, in part, no doubt, in order to deter Western or Israeli attack. (The Israelis, of course, fear that Iran, which has vowed to destroy Israel, will ultimately use the bombs against Tel Aviv and Haifa.) In that sense, they no doubt look to the North Korean experience as a model; despite strong American language, Washington did not dare to take out the North Korean nuclear facilities after it got the bomb.

In the wake of an Israeli assault, the Iranians are likely to strike back—directly, with their own rocket arsenal, and indirectly, using proxies such as Hizbullah, using rockets and terrorist squads to hit Israeli and Jewish targets abroad. The Iranians may also retaliate, using proxies, against American targets in the Middle East or worldwide, arguing that Washington was secretly behind the Israeli strike though publicly calling on Israel to desist. The Iranians can also be expected to rebuild whatever Israel manages to destroy, and as quickly as possible—and they will be driven by a powerful urge to avenge the Israeli strike, making a nuclear war between the two countries all the more likely, should Iran in the end attain nuclear weapons.

But the Israeli calculation is that a an Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities will buy time—mainly time in which the international community, led by the US, can mobilize its economic and political resources, and if necessary, its military power to prevent a resurrection of the Iranian nuclear program. Perhaps the spectacle of an Israeli-Iranian conventional exchange, with the prospect of a nuclear war down the road, will galvanize Russia, China and the other countries currently shying away from imposing sanctions against Iran, to join the rest of the international community. Perhaps the Iranian response to the Israeli strike will suck in the United States, which will then unleash a second-round strike that will definitively put an end to the Iranian nuclear program.

But all this is down the road. Meanwhile, the Israeli military seem to be putting the finishing touches to their plans for the Iranian nuclear facilities while perfecting Israel’s own anti-rocket shield, primarily the Arrow and Iron-Dome batteries, and its civil defense organization. Whether President Obama will step in, at this last moment, and persuasively assure Israel that America will do the job, a job it can do far better than Israel, given its military capabilities, and do it in time, before the Iranians cross the nuclear threshold, remains to be seen.

The tragedy in all this is that the international community failed to impose severe sanctions against Iran back in 2000 or 2005. Then, the cumulative effect of several years of such sanctions might have persuaded the ayatollahs to abandon their nuclear ambitions. Now it is too late; sanctions will not do the job in time and, indeed, will only energize the Iranians to reach the nuclear finish line as quickly as possible. Which leaves the world only with the military option, Israeli or American—or the prospect of an Iran armed with nuclear weapons.

Like The Daily Beast on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for updates all day long.

Benny Morris teaches history at Ben-Gurion University, Beersheba, Israel. He is the author of Righteous Victims, A History of the Arab-Zionist Conflict, 1881-2001.

[Surya]

pranav

that was for theo to give links for the opposite where Syri regularly issues statements on J&K

[brihaspati]

Should be of interest to GCC.
http://www.chron.com/news/article/Syria ... 801504.php

In relinquishing border areas to Kurdish fighters, the Syrian regime may have had a dual motive — diverting forces from there to shore up overstretched troops fighting in the northern commercial hub of Aleppo and other parts of the country as well as sending a warning to Turkey.
[...]
Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Syria and make up around 10 to 15 percent of the country's 23 million people. Most of them live in the northeaster Hasakeh province near the border with Turkey. Large neighborhoods of Damascus and Aleppo also are Kurdish-dominated. Kurds have long complained of neglect and discrimination. Assad's government for years argued they are not Syrians, but Kurds who fled from Iraq or neighboring Turkey.

With the uprising, both the Syrian government and opposition forces began reaching out to the long-marginalized minority whose support could tip the balance in the conflict. Early on in the revolt, Assad ceded ground on a major Kurdish demand, granting citizenship to some 200,000 members of the ethnic minority who were registered as aliens before. Mindful of provoking the Kurds, security forces have refrained from using deadly force to put down protests in Kurdish regions. The opposition has courted the Kurds, staging demonstrations under Kurdish names in hopes of rallying the community against Assad. In June, Abdelbaset Sieda, a Kurd, was elected as head of the Syrian National Council.

The Kurds in turn took part in the anti-Assad protests staged every Friday, but carried their own flags and chanted their own slogans. In this way, they distanced themselves from the Turkey-backed, Sunni-dominated opposition movement, fearing they would not fare much better if the rebels came to power. Last month, villagers say, Syrian security forces simply abandoned posts in several border towns and villages outside Qamishli including Amouda, Dirbasiyeh, al-Malkia — as well as Ayn el-Arab and Afrin north of the city of Aleppo.

The government forces were quickly replaced by Kurdish fighters from the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD. The group is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, rebels fighting for autonomy in the Kurdish-dominated southeast region of Turkey. The PKK maintains bases in northern Iraq from where they launch hit-and-run attacks on Turkish targets.

"The regime is sending messages to Turkey through the PYD," said Mustafa Osso, a Kurdish lawyer and activist in the city of Qamishli. "The main message is that the Syrian regime has the capacity to spread chaos in the region."
The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union and has long been suspected of having close ties with Assad's Baathist regime. If Kurds in Syria seek greater autonomy, this in turn could trigger a strong separatist drive from Turkey's Kurds in the east and south-east of the country, a potential crisis for the government in Ankara.

Gerges called the regime pullout a win-win situation for the Syrian regime. "They know they cannot take on the Kurdish community and they realized that they have common interests with the PYD because the common enemy for both of them is Turkey," Gerges said. PYD officials deny they are affiliated with the PKK or that they coordinate with the Syrian regime. They say they will not allow Syrian authorities to return to the areas they relinquished — but nor will they allow Syrian rebel fighters to enter their areas. It is a unique opportunity for the Kurdish community in Syria, and residents say a politicization process has already started.

For the first time, Kurdish flags have replaced Syrian flags in towns and villages near the border areas. Cultural centers have sprung up and some people have begun taking up classes in the Kurdish language, which was forbidden by Assad. Kurdish parties also are beginning to build networks with their Kurdish counterparts in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, Massoud Barzani, confirmed last month that Syrian Kurds had received training in Iraqi Kurdistan although he said they had not taken part in fighting in Syria. Also last month, Barzani brokered an agreement between rival Kurdish factions PYD and the Kurdish National Council, the main Kurdish umbrella group, to control the vacated areas together. Osso says the reports of Kurdish empowerment and growing autonomy are exaggerated, adding that Syrian forces may return at any minute.

"But what is sure is that there will be no going back to the previous era of subordination and oppression," Osso said.

Although every Kurd aspires for statehood, Syria's Kurds say their goal is rather to become more autonomous.

[Virupaksha]

So defacto, syrian kurds are getting freedom. Wonder how long will this stay with the turks pressing on their back.

[pentaiah]

Now We have to see what Iranain and Iraqi Kurds ( who are already autonomous) do

[Philip]

Dubya/Blair and Saddam's WMDs as the fig leraf to invade,now warmonger Obama's tirade against Assad's Bio-Chem WMDs!
See how he considers even "movement" of these "WMDs" as reason enough for intervention!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... apons.html

Obama makes 'red line' warning over Syria chemical weapons

President Barack Obama has warned that the use or movement of chemical weapons by the Syrian government would be a “red line” that could trigger an American intervention.

By Raf Sanchez, Richard Spencer and Damien McElroy

20 Aug 2012
Mr Obama said that Bashar al-Assad would face “enormous consequences” if he deployed chemical weapons as he battles to put quell the 17-month uprising against his regime.

The threat of chemical weapons could “change the calculus” on the need to intervene, Mr Obama warned.

“We cannot have a situation where chemical or biological weapons are falling into the hands of the wrong people,” he said. “We’ve been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is if we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilised.”

Last month, Mr Assad’s government shocked the West by openly threatening to use its significant chemical weapons stockpiles, although it insisted they would only be deployed against foreign troops and would not be used in Syria’s internal conflict.

Mr Obama said that given the volatile situation on the ground he could not be “absolutely confident” that Syria’s weapons were still secure but said the US and its allies were closely watching sites where they are known to be stored.

Mr Obama’s warning came as the new UN envoy on the crisis had a disastrous first day in the office by angering both sides of the conflict.

Lakhbar Brahimi, a 78-year-old Arab diplomat, was pilloried by Damascus for suggesting Syria was in a civil war, and condemned by the opposition for backtracking on his predecessor’s belief that President Assad must leave office to stop the bloodshed.

Mr Brahimi, a veteran Algerian foreign minister who has been a troubleshooter in Lebanon and Iraq, said he would take no decision on the fate of the regime until he had met with leading figures at the UN and with Syria.

“There are a lot of people who say that we must avoid civil war in Syria; me I believe that we are already there for some time now,” Mr Brahimi said. “What’s necessary is to stop the civil war and that is not going to be easy.”

Syrian officials retorted that promoting talk of civil war amounted to joining the “conspiracy” against it.

Mr Brahimi also incurred the wrath of the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) after he refused to endorse remarks by Kofi Annan, the previous envoy, that Mr Assad must quit.

The SNC said such remarks took the pressure off the regime. “Whoever gives this criminal regime an opportunity to kill tens of thousands more Syrians and destroy what is left of Syria does not want to recognise the extent of the tragedy,” it said.

Turkey increased pressure for international efforts to contain the regime by formally raising the prospect of creating a safe zone for refugees inside Syria, saying it could not cope with many more arriving inside its border.

“If the number of refugees in Turkey surpasses 100,000, we will run out of space to accommodate them,” Ahmet Davutoglu, the foreign minister, told the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet. “We should be able to accommodate them in Syria. The United Nations may build camps in a safe zone within Syria’s borders.”

An estimated 70,000 Syrians have fled over the northern borders into Turkey. Tens of thousands more have fled their towns and villages but stayed in the country with relatives or in makeshift camps in schools and government buildings.

The numbers are threatening to overwhelm facilities provided by Turkey.

[shyamd]

At NAM in Tehran, Singh to balance energy interests with US ties

Jyoti Malhotra / New Delhi Aug 20, 2012, 01:08 IST

As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh heads to Tehran next week to represent India at the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit, all eyes will be focussed on the fine line he will walk between protecting India’s energy interests with Iran and Delhi’s all-important political-strategic relationship with the US.

Last week, the Indian ship, the MT Omvati Prem, carrying 85,000 tonnes of crude oil from Iran for the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd refinery, left Iranian shores. This is the first such Indian ship to leave Iran since the introduction of European Union sanctions this July. The ship’s cargo was backed by Mercator Ltd, a private Indian insurance company.

The ship is expected to arrive in India later this week. Although the $100-million insurance — $50 million in hull and machinery insurance from New India Assurance Co and $50 million in protection and indemnity insurance from United India Insurance — is one-tenth of the cover Indian companies usually received from European insurers before the sanctions were introduced, it shows the extent New Delhi is willing to go to protect its oil relationship with Iran.

India, say government officials, will be guided by ground reality: Though Delhi has reduced its oil dependency on Iran in the last six months — from 12 per cent to 10-11 per cent annually, by sourcing additional crude from Saudi Arabia, put into place a rupee-rial mechanism where up to 45 per cent of its Iranian crude purchases can be bought in rupees in exchange for wheat, rice and medicines that are not sanctioned by the UN — shutting off the Iran tap will only put the economy into a tailspin.

India’s oil purchases from Iran have dropped to about $11 billion annually, even as IAEA figures say that worldwide consumption of Iranian crude came down to 1 million barrels in July compared with 1.74 million barrels the month before.

However, Delhi is keenly aware that the Iranian leadership, led by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, will use the NAM rostrum to garner support against its chief adversaries, the US and Israel.

Officials say the Prime Minister will have no option but to hear out the Iranian leadership, especially as it cannot ignore Tehran’s role in the expanding civil war in Syria and in the larger Gulf and West Asia.

With Russia and China blocking all UN resolutions on Syria unless Iran is present in the discussions, alongside an informal Saudi Arabia-Turkey-Qatar alliance that wants the pro-Shia Alawite Assad regime to step down, the possibility of a Shia-Sunni conflict flaring in the heart of the Muslim world has only increased.

With the world’s second largest Muslim population as its citizens — of which nearly six million work in mostly Sunni countries in the Gulf and Saudi Arabia — India is unwilling to take sides. Saudi Arabia’s growing importance as an oil substitute for Iran is only matched by the fact that more than half of those six million Indians work in that country.

Meanwhile, despite US pressure to disengage from Iran and shift its oil needs to its Saudi ally, India seems unwilling to put all its eggs into the Saudi basket. Apart from oil, Iran’s Chabahar port will increasingly play a key role in accessing the Afghanistan market, especially as Pakistan is unlikely to open up its territory for Indian trucks to cross overland to its western neighbour.

In his bilateral talks with Ahmadinejad and Khamenei on the margins of the NAM summit, therefore, Manmohan Singh is likely to focus on the continuing importance of the energy relationship as well as on Iran providing the key missing link to India’s ambitious foray into Afghan space.

India seems concerned, however, that the NAM outcome document will be used as an America-bashing exercise. A senior officials’ meeting on the eve of the summit next week will give Delhi a real sense of where it can intervene and to what extent.

As for America itself, officials say India has explained its Iran interest to the US administration on several occasions and been received with considerable understanding.

“The US also wants a friendly nation to maintain links with the Iranians, especially on Afghanistan. Remember that the former US envoy on Afghanistan-Pakistan Richard Holbrooke had reached out to the Iranians before his death,” an official said.

Government officials pointed out that the “Americans realise that pushing India too hard on Iran might end up pushing India the wrong way”. The US demarche to India in late 2001 — in the wake of the September 11 incidents — not to open consulates in southern Afghanistan in deference to Pakistan’s sensitivities only persuaded India that it must open missions in Jalalabad, Kandahar and Herat.

As for the Indian ships carrying Iranian crude last week, the Indian move comes in the wake of Japan offering $7.6 billion per tanker in government-backed insurance to ships carrying Iranian crude to Japan. Officials say India is clearly not alone in pursuing its Iran interest.

[pentaiah]

If Israel is so cock sure of destroying by its own assault the Iranian facilities it would not wait for unkil to do it or approve of it.
Heck Israel doesn't even require unkils approval to build new settlements one has to stretch imagination really hard to think Israel is waiting unkil for go ahead when it's security is threatened

The fact is Israel wants unkil to take the burden of any Iranain retaliation and the expense in terms of resources and diplomatic fall out.
Or this is the biggest black mail of the POTUS to team up.

Added later

Actually Iran will whole heartily welcome Israeli attack as it can at best partially destroy Irans capacity ther by legitimizing its ambition and play yet another victim of Israel and had the balls to standup.

With out unkil Israel will be loser in this gamble hence the veiled threats more to POTUS than to Iran

[Philip]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... ation.html

Syria makes veiled hint of Bashar al-Assad resignation
Syria offered a veiled hint that it was prepared to discuss the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad, but in a proposal that was almost certainly too vague to be of interest to opposition groups fighting for his overthrow.

Qadri Jamil, the country's deputy prime minister, who was visiting Russia, said that the country would not allow negotiations predicated on Mr Assad standing down.

"As for his resignation, making his resignation a condition for dialogue effectively makes holding such a dialogue impossible," he said. "During the negotiating process any issues can be discussed, and we are ready to discuss even this issue."

Most Syrian opposition parties and rebels fighting inside the country have said they will not accept any solution to the crisis short of Mr Assad's resignation. The west has taken a similar stance, backing an Arab League proposal under which he would hand power to his vice-president, Farouq al-Sharaa.

Russia has backed an alternative approach under which the regime holds negotiations with internal opposition leaders to promote a "political transition plan" whose end result would be decided during the talks. Rebels fear such a plan would simply be an excuse to win time for the regime.

Mr Jamil also dismissed a warning by President Barack Obama that any hint of the deployment or transfer of Syria's chemical weapons was a "red line" that would trigger American intervention.

[Philip]

On the frontline with Fisk.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/co ... 70029.html

Xcpts:

Robert Fisk: 'No power can bring down the Syrian regime'
After gaining exclusive access to Bashar al-Assad's army officers, our writer reports from the Aleppo front line

Robert Fisk Aleppo
Wednesday 22 August 2012

Russia warns against West's intervention in Syria
Assad's gunships and tanks launch heaviest assault on Aleppo rebels

You know it's all true when the taxi driver turns off the motorway towards Aleppo. In front lies a mile of empty road, disappearing into the heat haze on its way to one of the oldest cities in the world.

But a halo of brown smoke embraces the horizon and the driver knows better than to follow the motorway signs from the airport. He turns left, gingerly bouncing over the broken median rail, then between two huge piles of rocks like a frightened cat. In front of us is a sea of burnt houses and wrecked cars, through which we drive slowly. The engine cuts out in the way my dad's car used to in France on bad post-war petrol, the accelerator cutting out nervously as we drive past two rubbish trucks upended to form a makeshift road-block.

But these are phantom check points. There are no gunmen, no militiamen, no al-Qa'ida, no "terrorists", no "gangs", no "foreign fighters" – how one grows sick of these eternal semantics – and not a civilian soul, because this battle is over – for now.

This is the suburb of Al Baz, won by the government army, we are told later, although we see neither soldiers nor policemen for miles. The army has come and gone, and the buildings are shell-smashed and bullet-scarred. We turn left onto a laneway of pulverised grey rubble, burning black garbage bags smoking on either side of us. Who set them on fire?

We drive on through these ghost streets. On our right is a spectral police station, its giant portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on its wall is intact. But above each window are the black stains of fires. The building is gutted, the fire station next door is abandoned and a fire truck has been driven into a wall. In four miles, I spot just one forlorn child in the ruins and a mother carrying a baby over an acre of dust. Only when the damaged Citadel of Aleppo appears to our right – dun-coloured ramparts remind us that history did not begin yesterday – are there families, small girls in their Eid dresses and a "shawarma" café.

"We cleaned these streets," a Syrian officer will tell me later. Well yes, insofar as you can beat street fighters with T-72 tanks and BMP troop carriers. The Syrian soldiers described to us how they have been fighting in Homs, Idlib, Hama and Deraa. President Assad has sent his battle-hardened men to fight for Aleppo but this is not, I am told, Maher al-Assad's infamous Fourth Division: "Absolutely not," a General tells me with a laugh – though I have no idea where Bashar's brother and his men are operating.

Now for the official figures – government army statistics of course, for we are on the "other side" of the Aleppo front line. Total "terrorists" dead: 700 "and many wounded". Total military deaths: 20. Wounded: 100. Internet and mobile lines were cut by rebels near Homs, so a land circuit to Damascus offers the only phone communication with the capital. In Iraq and Afghanistan, insurgents would pay to keep the mobile system operating as they needed the phones. But here, it seems they have enough "command and control" systems – courtesy of Washington and London if we are to believe our masters – to ignore Syria's domestic lines.

The "Free Syrian Army" can't surround Aleppo – but they can isolate it. A miserable Eid holiday, with richer residents camping in hotels to avoid gunfire in the suburbs, no newspapers and the local news agency so bereft of lines, it has 11 days of pictures waiting for transmission to Damascus.

The senior Syrian officers wear their camouflage fatigues without badges. "In wartime," a Maj-Gen tells me, "we take off our badges of rank for our own safety in order not to be recognised." There are, it seems, no Horatio Nelsons in the Syrian army, bedecked in medals for the snipers in the rigging. In Aleppo, the snipers are at apartment windows. Three times yesterday, they opened fire on soldiers and then vanished. Troops in steel helmets wandered through the public gardens near the disused railway tracks in a vain search for them.

I asked one of the Syrian military elite here if he had any reaction to US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, who announced two weeks ago that Aleppo would be "a nail in Assad's coffin" and that of the regime. This was the officer's reply: "The Syrian regime will stay for ever. No power on earth can bring it down. All regimes will fall – but Syria will stay, because God is on the side of those who are in the right."

Certainly – albeit infinitely smaller than the cost to Syria's civilian victims of this awful war – the army is paying its own price. Of the four Generals I have so far met in Aleppo, three have been seriously wounded in the fighting of the past 18 months, one still nursing a sling after receiving grenade shrapnel in his shoulder.

There were television sets in the officers' temporary quarters. I saw the anti-regime "Al Arabiya" and BBC World on the screen as well as Syrian television's own drudge-like coverage of the war. And soldiers, the army is quick to reveal, receive a daily lecture from their officers on the state of the conflict. Comment is sacred and I suspect facts are free. Any conversation has to begin with the government line: the army defends the homeland against aggression, an international conspiracy targets Syria because it is the only Arab nation to resist Israel. Foreign enemies at first supported demonstrations against the government and then gave the demonstrators weapons. There is no admission of troops using guns against unarmed demonstrators and no explanation of how armed Syrian demonstrators turned into "foreign" fighters.

But access to the Syrian army can sometimes produce a factoid more powerful than statistics. Ahmed, a 21-year-old conscript, tells me how his brother, Private Mohammed Ibrahim Dout, was "martyred" by a sniper. His comrade says: "We are sorry for our brother soldier, but he is now in paradise." A General tells me of a friend, a Lieutenant in the full-time Syrian army in the Damascus suburb of Douma: "He was married three months ago and was walking to his home in Douma when some men in a van greeted him and offered him a lift." Lieutenant Assem Abbas, 23, accepted the gesture in good faith.

"We found him later," the General says, "cut into two pieces and thrown into a sewage tank."

inShare3

[shyamd]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... ation.html

Syria makes veiled hint of Bashar al-Assad resignation
Syria offered a veiled hint that it was prepared to discuss the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad, but in a proposal that was almost certainly too vague to be of interest to opposition groups fighting for his overthrow.

Qadri Jamil, the country's deputy prime minister, who was visiting Russia, said that the country would not allow negotiations predicated on Mr Assad standing down.

"As for his resignation, making his resignation a condition for dialogue effectively makes holding such a dialogue impossible," he said. "During the negotiating process any issues can be discussed, and we are ready to discuss even this issue."

Most Syrian opposition parties and rebels fighting inside the country have said they will not accept any solution to the crisis short of Mr Assad's resignation. The west has taken a similar stance, backing an Arab League proposal under which he would hand power to his vice-president, Farouq al-Sharaa.

Russia has backed an alternative approach under which the regime holds negotiations with internal opposition leaders to promote a "political transition plan" whose end result would be decided during the talks. Rebels fear such a plan would simply be an excuse to win time for the regime.

Mr Jamil also dismissed a warning by President Barack Obama that any hint of the deployment or transfer of Syria's chemical weapons was a "red line" that would trigger American intervention.

He was quoted out of context - I saw the video myself.

[shyamd]

Bandar's appointment had 2 objectives: 1) Ensure fall of Bashar (2) Counter Iranian expansionism in the region.

His appointment is meant to boost KSA covert activity in the region.

[ramana]

Is Bandar still there?

[shyamd]

Very much so

[ramana]

Too bad!

Meanwhile Nightwatch eniter issue is devoted to WANA!

Nightwatch 21 August 2012

Iran-Egypt: In an interview with Egypt's state-run Al-Ahram newspaper that was published on 21 August, Iranian Foreign Minister Salehi said that Iran and Egypt are moving towards restoring diplomatic relations.

"Egypt is the cornerstone of the region and has a special stature in the Arab and Muslim countries... and we want relations of friendship and brotherhood with it," Salehi said. Salehi said Egypt's "revolution opened a new chapter in Egypt's relations with the outside world," adding that the Islamic republic welcomes Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi attending a Non-Aligned Movement summit later this month in Tehran.

A source at the Egyptian presidency said Mursi will attend the 30 August summit in Tehran at which the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) presidency will be passed from Egypt to Iran.

Comment: Mursi's visit to Tehran would be the first by an Egyptian president in three decades. Mursi is doing exactly what he said he would do: change the balance in Egypt's foreign affairs. Mursi's attendance at the NAM summit almost seems to turn the clock back to the time when Egypt was a leader of the NAM, with Nasser as its Second Secretary General (1964-1970), and Iran was an American ally. The symbolism will not be lost on the Arabs.

A commentator for Asia Times Online judged that improved Iranian ties with Egypt might counter-balance the Saudi -American strategy to bring down the government of Syria. Iran is the natural and only counterweight to offset 30 years of US ties and a treaty with Israel.

Egyptian links to Iran will never be as close as Syrian ties have been, but they don't have to move far to reshape the strategic power arrangements in the Middle East. Those arrangements are moving, but not in a pro-US direction.

Egypt-Israel: An Israeli government spokesman said Israel is 'troubled' by the entry of Egyptian tanks into the northern Sinai Peninsula without coordination with Israel. Unilateral action of this nature is a violation of the terms of the 33-year-old peace treaty between the two countries. Israel has asked Egypt to withdraw them.

Comment: Egyptian newspapers have countered with details of the extent of coordination that has occurred between Egypt, the US and Israel in connection with Egypt's Sinai operation, called Operation Eagle.

The Israelis are testing the new government's compliance with the letter of the peace treaty. They may be expected to continue to harass and probe the new government in Cairo as long as they are unsure of its friendship.

Mali: The foreign minister said Tuesday that winning back the Islamist-occupied north was the top priority of a unity government which was formed on orders from West African mediators. 'The priority is reconquest, the liberation of the north from dark forces currently occupying it,' said Tieman Coulibaly, who was appointed as foreign minister on Monday, joining 12 other new cabinet members in the government shake-up.

Comment: Formation of a functioning government would be a small, obvious, but important step towards reconquest. The pace is glacial.

Are we seeing a different form of Fatimid Egypt? i.e. one aligned with Syria and Persia?

[shyamd]

^^ If he does then MB will be in big trouble because the problems there are economic rather than political and the Gulf have a lot of influence. Many say that Morsi got bold after Qatar emir's visit with the 2 billion.

------------------------------
New foreign minister of KSA is a Iran and Syria specialist as well

[Philip]

If Margaret Thatcher was Reagan's "poodle",Tiny Blair Dubya's "deputy",then David Cameron has become Obama's "echo"! Can't he find something original to say to Assad,3xcept parroting whatever the White House resident says? The Russian's have already warned the US after Obama's warning,not to interfere in Syrian affairs.The neo-Cold War standoff in Syria is complete.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012 ... al-weapons

Cameron echoes Obama's warning to Syria over chemical weaponsUK prime minister talks with US and French presidents about offering more 'non-lethal' support to opposition.

[habal]

If Assad uses chemical weapons, it will deplete very quickly the existing group of rebels (after all only so many jihadis want to fight on side of USA) but it will also create a strong deterrent for those wannabe pro-US jihadis who would like to come to Syria. Also it will force USA into a corner and they will have to reveal their chemical weapon card as well. Doing so, is again counterproductive because it will kill both Sunni Syrians and Alawi Syrians. Obama's warning and by extension his poodle's yapping only means that use of chemical weapons makes it a zero-sum game for western interests.

[Philip]

More on the wannabe Jihadis here!

Robert Fisk: 'Rebel army? They're a gang of foreigners'
Our writer hears the Syrian forces' justification for a battle that is tearing apart one of the world's oldest cities

Robert Fisk Aleppo
Thursday 23 August 2012

1 / 1Private Abul Fidar of the Syrian army stands beside a damaged T-72 tank below the Aleppo Citadel
Latest in Robert Fisk

Syrian armoured column closes in on Aleppo

A victorious army? There were cartridge cases all over the ancient stone laneways, pocked windows, and bullet holes up the side of the Sharaf mosque, where a gunman had been firing from the minaret. A sniper still fired just 150 yards away – all that was left of more than a hundred rebels who had almost, but not quite, encircled the 4,000-year-old citadel of Aleppo.

"You won't believe this," Major Somar cried in excitement. "One of our prisoners told me: 'I didn't realise Palestine was as beautiful as this.' He thought he was in Palestine to fight the Israelis!"

Do I believe this? Certainly, the fighters who bashed their way into the lovely old streets west of the great citadel were, from all accounts, a ragtag bunch. Their graffiti – "We are the Brigades of 1980", the year when the first Muslim Brotherhood rising threatened the empire of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's father, Hafez – was still on the walls of the Syrian-Armenian hotels and silver shops. A 51-year-old general handed me one of the home-made grenades that littered the floor of the Sharaf mosque; a fluffy fuse poking from the top of a lump of shrapnel, coated in white plastic and covered in black adhesive tape.

Inside the mosque were bullets, empty tins of cheese, cigarette butts and piles of mosque carpets, which the rebels had used as bedding. The battle had so far lasted 24 hours. A live round had cut into the Bosnian-style tombstone of a Muslim imam's grave, with a delicate stone turban carved on its top. The mosque's records – lists of worshippers' complaints, Korans and financial documents – were lying across one room in what had evidently marked the last stand of several men. There was little blood. Between 10 and 15 of the defenders – all Syrians – surrendered after being offered mercy if they laid down their arms. The quality of this mercy was not, of course, disclosed to us.

The Syrian soldiers were elated, but admitted that they shared immense sadness for the history of a city whose very fabric was being torn apart, a world heritage site being smashed by rockets and high-velocity rounds. The officers shook their heads when they led us into the ramparts of the immense citadel. "The terrorists tried to capture it 20 days ago from our soldiers who were defending it," Major Somar said. "They filled gas cylinders full of explosives – 300 kilos of it – and set them off by the first entrance above the moat."

Alas, they did. The huge medieval iron and wooden gate, its ornamented hinges and supports – a defence-work that had stood for 700 years – has been literally torn apart. I clambered over carbonized wood and hunks of stone bearing delicate Koranic inscriptions. Hundreds of bullet holes have pitted the stonework of the inner gate. Below, I found a T-72 tank whose barrel had been grazed by a sniper's bullet which was still lodged in the sheath, its armour broken by a grenade. "I was inside at the time," its driver said. "Bang! – but my tank still worked!"

So here is the official scorecard of the battle for the eastern side of the old city of Aleppo, the conflict amid narrow streets and pale, bleached stone walls that was still being fought out yesterday afternoon, the crack of every rebel bullet receiving a long burst of machine-gun fire from Major Somar's soldiers. As the army closed in on the gunmen from two sides, 30 rebels – or "Free Syrian Army" or "foreign fighters" – were killed and an undisclosed number wounded. According to Major Somar's general, an officer called Saber, Syrian government forces suffered only eight wounded. I came across three of them, one a 51-year-old officer who refused to be sent to hospital.

Many of the rebels' weapons had been taken from the scene by the military "mukhbarat" intelligence men before we arrived: they were said to include three Nato-standard sniper rifles, one mortar, eight Austrian machine-pistols and a host of Kalashnikovs, which may well have been stolen by Syrian deserters. But it is the shock of finding these pitched battles amid this world heritage site which is more terrible than the armaments of each side. To crunch over broken stone and glass with Syrian troops for mile after mile around the old city, a place of museums and Mosques – the magnificently minareted Gemaya Omayyad stands beside yesterday's battleground – is a matter of infinite sorrow.

Many of the soldiers, who were encouraged to speak to me even as they knelt at the ends of narrow streets with bullets spattering off the walls, spoke of their amazement that so many "foreign fighters" should have been in Aleppo. "Aleppo has five million people," one said to me. "If the enemy are so sure that they are going to win the battle, then surely there's no need to bring these foreigners to participate; they will lose."

Major Somar, who spoke excellent English, understood the political dimension all too well. "Our borders with Turkey are a big problem," he admitted. "The border needs to be closed. The closure of the frontier must be coordinated by the two governments. But the Turkish government is on the enemy side. Erdogan is against Syria." Of course, I asked him his religion, a question that is all innocence and all poison in Syria these days. Somar, whose father was a general, his mother a teacher, and who practices his English with Dan Brown novels, was as quick as a cat. "It's not where you are born or what is your religion," he said. "It's what's in your mind. Islam comes from this land, Christians come from this land, Jews come from this land. That is why it is our duty to protect this land."

Several soldiers believed the rebels were trying to convert the Christians of Aleppo – "a peaceful people", they kept calling them – and there was a popular story doing the rounds yesterday of a Christian storekeeper who was forced to wear Muslim clothing and announce his own conversion in front of a video camera. But in wartime cities, you find talkative soldiers. One of the men who recaptured the entrance to the citadel was Abul Fidar, famous for walking between Aleppo, Palmyra and Damascus over 10 days at the start of the current conflict last year to publicise the need for peace. The president, needless to say, greeted him warmly at his final destination.

And then there was Sergeant Mahmoud Dawoud from Hama, who had been fighting in Hama itself, Homs, Jebel Zawi and Idlib. "I want to be interviewed by a reporter," he announced, and of course, he got his way. "We are sad for the civilians of this land," he said. "They were in peace before. We promise as soldiers that we will make sure a good life returns for them, even if we lose our lives." He does not mention all those civilians killed by army shellfire or by the "shabiha", or those thousands who have suffered torture in this land. Dawoud has a fiancée called Hannan who is studying French in Latakia, his father is a teacher; he says he wants "to serve his homeland".

But the thought cannot escape us that the prime purpose of men like Sergeant Dawoud – and all his fellow soldiers here – was not, surely, to liberate Aleppo but to liberate the occupied Golan Heights, right next to the land which the "jihadis" apparently thought they were "liberating" yesterday – until they discovered that Aleppo was not Jerusalem.