How Israel kills 2-year-old "terrorists" in Gaza

Israel is renowned for its "precision-guided missiles", fired remotely from pilotless drones with such accuracy they cause "minimal collateral damage". So the two Palestinian 2-year-olds killed within two days must have been "terrorists".

By Alison Weir
Antiwar.com
24 August 2011

Malek Sha’at, aged two, killed by an Israeli drone attack, August 2011

He looks at the camera with bright eyes and the beginning of a smile, wearing a miniature dark blue zipper sweatshirt, the cuffs folded up a bit to make it fit.

I can imagine his mother dressing him that morning, making sure he would be warm enough. I wonder if she’s the one who took the picture. Someone has written on the photo “kisses.”

It’s not a formal picture. He’s outside on a sunny day. It looks like he was probably moving when the picture was snapped; his arms seem to be swinging a little. As with most almost two-year-olds, I suspect it was hard to get him to stay still long enough for a photo.

It’s a happy picture, the kind that makes you smile; perhaps it reminds you of funny, energetic little children you know or remember.

Until you see the next picture. It was taken on his second birthday. His name was Islam Quraiqe.

Death from a drone strike is not pretty. The small body is charred, ripped apart; internal organs are pouring out.

He had been riding with his father and uncle on a motorcycle in Gaza when the missile hit them. His 29-year-old father, a member of the Palestinian resistance, and 32-year-old uncle physician were also killed. Five bystanders, including a woman, were injured.

The missile was fired remotely by an Israeli sitting in front of a video screen and operating one of the many drones that periodically fly over Gaza and shoot Palestinians like fish in a fishbowl. The operators are usually female, the preferred group for this kind of desk job.

The drones, which look like small, pilotless jets, are equipped with precision-guided missiles.

Those operating them receive real-time video feeds from sensors located on the drone: a color nose camera, a TV lens, an infrared camera for low light and night, and a synthetic radar for looking through smoke, clouds, or haze. The cameras produce full-motion video as well as still-frame radar images.

Numerous articles extol the virtues of Israeli drones. An Aug. 17 article by David Rodman reports: “The Israel Air Force (IAF) has a rich history of employing unmanned aerial vehicles in battle with excellent results.” Rodman crows that, with the possible exception of the United States, “Israel is the country most closely identified with [drone] operations in the post-World War II period.”

Islam was the second 2-year-old to be killed by Israeli forces in two days.

The first was killed by an Israeli “precision” rocket the day before. The boy’s name was Malek Sha’at. His father was also killed. The only picture available online is of a small shrouded body.

An article at WorldNetDaily.com by reporter Aaron Klein proclaims that Israeli weapons are “capable of taking out stationary and moving targets with minimal collateral damage.”

Perhaps Klein is right. Two years of life is decidedly minimal. Intolerably so.
Those who operate against us will be decapitated

During this period (Aug. 18-20, 2011) Israeli forces killed approximately 15 Palestinians, including at least one other child, a 13-year-old, and injured about 60, nine of them children. Gazan resistance forces killed one Israeli and injured about 20. Gazan hospitals, hard hit by the years-long Israeli siege, report that they have run out of 150 medicines and 160 types of medical equipment.

The Israeli assaults were allegedly triggered by attacks, by unknown gunmen on the Egyptian border with Israel, that killed eight Israelis on Thursday, Aug. 18. Israeli forces killed the attackers in Eilat, also shooting dead, according to the BBC, five Egyptian policemen. The Israeli defense minister told Egypt afterward that “Israel regrets the deaths.”

There is no evidence connecting Gazan resistance groups to the attack, and they have denied responsibility for it. Hamas and all the armed factions in Gaza had maintained a unilateral de facto ceasefire since 2009. A handful of small groups, however, have refused to abide by the ceasefire.

Groups in Egypt have periodically taken actions opposing Israel. Egyptian authorities say they have identified three of the attackers, who appear to have been based in the Sinai, there are reports that Israeli intelligence warned of the attack ahead of time, and there is mounting information suggesting that the attackers may have been Egyptian, not Gazan.

While many reports describe the Israeli actions as retaliatory, Israeli attacks on Gaza occur regularly and were already ongoing before the Eilat attack.

Two days earlier, on Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike killed a 29-year-old Palestinian man in the morning, and Israeli ground soldiers killed a disabled teenager later in the day. The youth was shot more than 10 times, mostly in the head. On Wednesday night there were more Israeli air attacks throughout Gaza. (The Los Angeles Times called this a period of “relative calm.”)

Some analysts suggest that the recent Israeli escalation against Gaza may have been prompted, at least in part, by Netanyahu’s desire to deflect energy from the massive social protests that have been enveloping Israel recently.

The death toll among Gazans and Israelis has been notably disproportionate. In Israel’s December-January 2008-2009 “Cast Lead” assault, Israeli forces killed approximately 1,387 Gazans, while resistance forces killed nine Israelis. In the preceding year, Israeli forces killed 713 Gazans, while Gazan resistance fighters killed eight Israelis. Between Cast Lead and the end of July 2011, Israeli forces killed approximately 200 Gazans, while Palestinian resistance groups killed approximately five Israelis.

Most of Gaza’s residents are refugee families who were forcibly pushed out by Israel in its 1947-49 founding war, in which non-Jews, who originally made up over 70 percent of the inhabitants, were expelled.

In violation of international law, they have been prohibited from returning to their homes and have lived under crippling Israeli occupation for decades. Palestinian land is continually confiscated by Israel for Jewish-only use. A popular uprising against Israeli occupation began in the fall of 2000.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Aug. 21: “Those who operate against us will be decapitated.” That night at least 100 Israeli military vehicles stormed into the West Bank city of Hebron, closing the city off for hours and rounding up more than 50 Palestinians, including several academics and members of charitable associations.

On Saturday, Aug. 20, Israeli Aerospace Industries proudly unveiled its latest drone, known as the GHOST, which the company announced “is at the forefront of technology thanks to years of experience and knowledge acquired in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles.”

Israel partisan and author David Rodman reports that Israeli drones “played a substantial part” in Israel’s 1982 Lebanon War (in which Israeli forces killed at least 17,825 Lebanese, compared to approximately 368 Israelis killed by the Lebanese resistance) and that their use in what he acknowledges in profound understatement were “asymmetric conflicts” — the 2006 Second Lebanon War (Israeli forces killed at least 1,125 Lebanese, almost all civilians, a third of them children; Lebanese resistance forces killed 164 Israelis, almost three-quarters of them soldiers) and the Cast Lead operation – “sparked renewed global interest in Israeli drone operations.”

Rodman states: “In terms of the technological sophistication of its UAV force, Israel is unquestionably well ahead of the pack. Only the United States is in the same league.”

http://www.stopwar.org.uk/index.php/palestine-and-israel/732-how-israel-kills-two-year-old-qterroristsq-in-gaza

London Riots: Another Face of Terrorism

As we are near to the tenth anniversary of 9/11 a stark realization must be dawning upon those who have used certain acts of terrorism as a means of creating a bi-polar perception of humanity, a “them and us.” Typically, this has been manifest in religion, specifically Islam, which has been presented as a conquering force. But as events of late have shown, this isn’t actually the case.

Just a few days ago Norway suffered the wrath of a right-wing extremist. We have been told that this was ‘unexpected”. Yet I wonder if this is complacency based on political agenda no better illustrated in the fiasco that was Herman Cain’s candidacy where he spent much time criticizing Muslims only to later backtrack when he realized that his policy of gaining election through fear wasn’t quite working.

Whether it is a group of people blowing up the twin towers in NY, a group bombing the London underground, an individual murdering children in Norway, or rioters and looters in London; these and other groups have a single objective in mind, to protest – not lawfully, but through any means possible, irrespective of the consequences of their actions, be it the loss of life or the destruction of property.



Crucially, the mindset is not singular to any faith group; rather it is a matter of intolerance and impatience.

Where Everything Starts

I’ve been following the riots, not through traditional media rather through first-hand reporting via twitter and Facebook – these are real time updates where I’ve noticed published media tend to be 15-30 minutes behind. On the issue of technology there have been widespread requests to shutdown the Blackberry Messenger service, which some believe has been fundamental in organizing these riots, to shutting down the entire mobile network.

Both are of course mute points and side issues as the same technologies are helping the emergency services and citizens report and warn on incidents.

Amongst the many groups on Facebook that have popped up garnering tens of thousands of supporters is a matter of hours is one where a rioter claims that Mark Duggan, the man who was shot, around whom these riots were apparently instigated, was his friend.

Putting aside reports that he was a gangster and a drug dealer, after his opening status, “I’m loving what is happening…mark wasn’t just any random guy like yourself. He was someone who took care of our own community. In every way possible you imagine in your head”

My initial and simple response to his statement was to question how he is honoring the death of a man who ‘looked after his own community’ by destroying the communities of other people. This, sadly, is the same mindset employed by every terrorist group – the destruction of something else, to express your own anger.

Stripped down, this attitude is not a reflection of any religion, rather, it is the disturbing reality of a poor, selfish, character, unaware of the impact of his actions; just so long as when he goes home to bed at night he has safety and security – a luxury he has no hesitation in denying others.

Responsibility...
Herman Cain isn’t a foolish man; a quick look at his bio on Wikipedia shows a smart, successful businessman. Yet for someone with his position, he has shown the same level of irresponsibility as thugs currently rioting and looting. Sure the two are at different extremes, the mindset is however the same.
As people of conscious, we need to redefine a few things, the first being this war on terrorism. It is already a marginalized phrase as the only terrorists it seems as (crazy) Muslims, while anyone ‘white’ is ‘disenfranchised.’ And secondly, we need to address our approach based on common values – it is possible to have very different faiths while sharing core common values.
If instead of stereotyping large swathes of our communities based on color or creed, we focus more on understanding people and their concerns; addressing those concerns instead of sidelining them, we may be a step closer to stability in our societies.
If a person wishes to cause harm to themselves or to others, in reality there is probably very little any of us can do to stop them. However if our police and security services are going to stand a chance of doing just that, stopping them, they need the support of people across colors, across creeds; they need that relationship of trust to be in place.
The problem is, every time society suffers in this way, it is so much easier to blame someone else than to reflect on whether we were part of the problem in the first place; e.g. spending billions on wars which many of us did not believe we needed in the first place all the while basic services are being cut.
Nearly 12 months ago home Secretary Theresa May said, ‘We can cut police budget without risking violent unrest.’
Instead of cutting our basic services as a means of getting out of this recession, we need to start investing in our people and in our industries. For as it stands some of the rioters opined that their stealing during akin to the bankers who we bailed out while they continue to reward themselves with excessive bonuses. If we’re going to clear the apartment block, let’s look at every floor, not just the lower echelons.
As to the rioters a simple message: Mark Duggan died leaving behind three children. There is much heartache and misery. Be the better persons, and do not inflict heartache onto other people. As if he was a good person, who did good things, by doing bad, you are dishonoring his memory.

Farrukh I. Younus holds a master's degree in international business management and works in the emerging telecommunications industry across Europe and Asia. Dedicated to understanding and delivering solutions based on new technology, Younus has spoken on the subject to the European Parliament in Brussels, and regularly attends industry-leading conferences worldwide. His cross-cultural knowledgebase is strengthened with extensive international travel that includes visits to China on more than 25 occasions. His interests include travel, nouvelle cuisine, and chocolate.

Article @ source

A "Humanitarian War" on Syria? Military Escalation. Towards a Broader Middle East-Central Asian War?

"As I went back through the Pentagon in November 2001, one of the senior military staff officers had time for a chat. Yes, we were still on track for going against Iraq, he said. But there was more. This was being discussed as part of a five-year campaign plan, he said, and there were a total of seven countries, beginning with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia, and Sudan." General Wesley Clark

An extended Middle East Central Asian war has been on the Pentagon's drawing board since the mid-1990s.

As part of this extended war scenario, the US-NATO alliance plans to wage a military campaign against Syria under a UN sponsored "humanitarian mandate".

Escalation is an integral part of the military agenda. Destabilization of sovereign states through "regime change" is closely coordinated with military planning.

There is a military roadmap characterised by a sequence of US-NATO war theaters.

War preparations to attack Syria and Iran have been in "an advanced state of readiness" for several years. The Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003 categorizes Syria as a "rogue state", as a country which supports terrorism.

A war on Syria is viewed by the Pentagon as part of the broader war directed against Iran. President George W. Bush confirmed in his Memoirs that he had "ordered the Pentagon to plan an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities and [had] considered a covert attack on Syria" (George Bush's memoirs reveal how he considered attacks on Iran and Syria, The Guardian, November 8, 2010)

This broader military agenda is intimately related to strategic oil reserves and pipeline routes. It is supported by the Anglo-American oil giants.

The July 2006 bombing of Lebanon was part of a carefully planned "military road map". The extension of "The July War" on Lebanon into Syria had been contemplated by US and Israeli military planners. It was abandoned upon the defeat of Israeli ground forces by Hizbollah.

Israel's July 2006 war on Lebanon also sought to establish Israeli control over the North Eastern Mediterranean coastline including offshore oil and gas reserves in Lebanese and Palestinian territorial waters.

The plans to invade both Lebanon and Syria have remained on the Pentagon's drawing board despite Israel's setback in the 2006 July War: "In November 2008, barely a month before Tel Aviv started its massacre in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military held drills for a two-front war against Lebanon and Syria called Shiluv Zro’ot III (Crossing Arms III). The military exercise included a massive simulated invasion of both Syria and Lebanon" (See Mahdi Darius Nazemoraya, Israel's Next War: Today the Gaza Strip, Tomorrow Lebanon?, Global Research, January 17, 2009)

The road to Tehran goes through Damascus. A US-NATO sponsored war on Iran would involve, as a first step, a destabilization campaign ("regime change") including covert intelligence operations in support of rebel forces directed against the Syrian government.

A "humanitarian war" under the logo of "Responsibility to Protect" (R2P) directed against Syria would also contribute to the ongoing destabilization of Lebanon.

Were a military campaign to be waged against Syria, Israel would be directly or indirectly involved in military and intelligence operations.

A war on Syria would lead to military escalation.

There are at present four distinct war theaters: Afghanistan-Pakistan, Iraq, Palestine and Libya.

An attack on Syria would lead to the integration of these separate war theaters, eventually leading towards a broader Middle East-Central Asian war, engulfing an entire region from North Africa and the Mediterranean to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The ongoing protest movement is intended to serve as a pretext and a justification to intervene militarily against Syria. The existence of an armed insurrection is denied. The Western media in chorus have described recent events in Syria as a "peaceful protest movement" directed against the government of Bashar Al Assad, when the evidence confirms the existence of an armed insurgency integrated by Islamic paramilitary groups.

From the outset of the protest movement in Daraa in mid-March, there has been an exchange of fire between the police and armed forces on the one hand and armed gunmen on the other. Acts of arson directed against government buildings have also been committed. In late July in Hama, public buildings including the Court House and the Agricultural Bank were set on fire. Israeli news sources, while dismissing the existence of an armed conflict, nonetheless, acknowledge that "protesters [were] armed with heavy machine guns." (DEBKAfile August 1, 2001. Report on Hama, emphasis added)

"All Options on the Table"

In June, US Senator Lindsey Graham (who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee) hinted to the possibility of a "humanitarian" military intervention directed against Syria with a view to "saving the lives of civilians". Graham suggested that the "option" applied to Libya under UN Secuirty Council resolution 1973 should be envisaged in the case of Syria:

“If it made sense to protect the Libyan people against Gadhafi, and it did because they were going to get slaughtered if we hadn’t sent NATO in when he was on the outskirts of Benghazi, the question for the world [is], have we gotten to that point in Syria, ...

We may not be there yet, but we are getting very close, so if you really care about protecting the Syrian people from slaughter, now is the time to let Assad know that all options are on the table,” (CBS "Face The Nation", June 12, 2011)

Following the adoption of the UN Security Council Statement pertaining to Syria (August 3, 2011), the White House called, in no uncertain terms, for "regime change" in Syria and the ouster of President Bashar Al Assad:

"We do not want to see him remain in Syria for stability's sake, and rather, we view him as the cause of instability in Syria," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Wednesday.

"And we think, frankly, that it's safe to say that Syria would be a better place without President Assad," (quoted in Syria: US Call Closer to Calling for Regime Change, IPS, August 4, 2011)

Extended economic sanctions often constitute a leadup towards outright military intervention. A bill sponsored by Senator Lieberman was introduced in the US Senate with a view to authorizing sweeping economic sanctions against Syria. Moreover, in a letter to President Obama in early August, a group of more than sixty U.S. senators called for "implementing additional sanctions... while also making it clear to the Syrian regime that it will pay an increasing cost for its outrageous repression."

These sanctions would require blocking bank and financial transactions as well as "ending purchases of Syrian oil, and cutting off investments in Syria's oil and gas sectors." (See Pressure on Obama to get tougher on Syria coming from all sides - Foreign Policy, August 3, 2011).

Meanwhile, the US State Department has also met with members of the Syrian opposition in exile. Covert support has also been channelled to the armed rebel groups.

Dangerous Crossroads: War on Syria. Beachhead for an Attack on Iran

Following the August 3 Statement by the Chairman of the UN Security Council directed against Syria, Moscow's envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin warned of the dangers of military escalation:

"NATO is planning a military campaign against Syria to help overthrow the regime of President Bashar al-Assad with a long-reaching goal of preparing a beachhead for an attack on Iran,...

"[This statement] means that the planning [of the military campaign] is well underway. It could be a logical conclusion of those military and propaganda operations, which have been carried out by certain Western countries against North Africa," Rogozin said in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper... The Russian diplomat pointed out at the fact that the alliance is aiming to interfere only with the regimes "whose views do not coincide with those of the West."

Rogozin agreed with the opinion expressed by some experts that Syria and later Yemen could be NATO's last steps on the way to launch an attack on Iran.

"The noose around Iran is tightening. Military planning against Iran is underway. And we are certainly concerned about an escalation of a large-scale war in this huge region," Rogozin said.

Having learned the Libyan lesson, Russia "will continue to oppose a forcible resolution of the situation in Syria," he said, adding that the consequences of a large-scale conflict in North Africa would be devastating for the whole world. "Beachhead for an Attack on Iran": NATO is planning a Military Campaign against Syria, Novosti, August 5, 2011)

Dmitry Rogozin, August 2011


While Libya, Syria and Iran are part of the military roadmap, this strategic deployment if it were to carried out would also threaten China and Russia. Both countries have investment, trade as well as military cooperation agreements with Syria and Iran. Iran has observer status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Escalation is part of the military agenda. Since 2005, the US and its allies, including America's NATO partners and Israel, have been involved in the extensive deployment and stockpiling of advanced weapons systems. The air defense systems of the US, NATO member countries and Israel are fully integrated.


The Role of Israel and Turkey

Both Ankara and Tel Aviv are involved in supporting an armed insurgency. These endeavors are coordinated between the two governments and their intelligence agencies.

Israel's Mossad, according to reports, has provided covert support to radical Salafi terrorist groups, which became active in Southern Syria at the outset of protest movement in Daraa in mid-March. Reports suggest that financing for the Salafi insurgency is coming from Saudi Arabia. (See Syrian army closes in on Damascus suburbs, The Irish Times, May 10, 2011)
The Turkish government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan is supporting Syrian opposition groups in exile while also backing the armed rebels of the Muslim Brotherhood in Northern Syria.

Both the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood (MB) (whose leadership is in exile in the UK) and the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir (the Party of Liberation) are behind the insurrection. Both organizations are supported by Britain's MI6. The avowed objective of both MB and Hizb-ut Tahir is ultimately to destabilize Syria's secular State. (See Michel Chossudovsky, SYRIA: Who is Behind The Protest Movement? Fabricating a Pretext for a US-NATO "Humanitarian Intervention", Global Research, May 3, 2011).

In June, Turkish troops crossed the border into northern Syria, officially to come to the rescue of Syrian refugees. The government of Bashar Al Assad accused Turkey of directly supporting the incursion of rebel forces into northern Syria:

"A rebel force of up to 500 fighters attacked a Syrian Army position on June 4 in northern Syria. They said the target, a garrison of Military Intelligence, was captured in a 36-hour assault in which 72 soldiers were killed in Jisr Al Shoughour, near the border with Turkey.

“We found that the criminals [rebel fighters] were using weapons from Turkey, and this is very worrisome,” an official said.

This marked the first time that the Assad regime has accused Turkey of helping the revolt. ... Officials said the rebels drove the Syrian Army from Jisr Al Shoughour and then took over the town. They said government buildings were looted and torched before another Assad force arrived. ...

A Syrian officer who conducted the tour said the rebels in Jisr Al Shoughour consisted of Al Qaida-aligned fighters. He said the rebels employed a range of Turkish weapons and ammunition but did not accuse the Ankara government of supplying the equipment." (Syria’s Assad accuses Turkey of arming rebels, TR Defence, Jun 25 2011)

The Israel-Turkey Military Cooperation Agreement

Israel and Turkey have a military cooperation agreement which pertains in a very direct way to Syria as well to the strategic Lebanese-Syrian Eastern Mediterranean coastline (including the gas reserves off the coast of Lebanon and pipeline routes).

Already during the Clinton Administration, a triangular military alliance between the US, Israel and Turkey had unfolded. This "triple alliance", which is dominated by the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, integrates and coordinates military command decisions between the three countries pertaining to the broader Middle East. It is based on the close military ties respectively of Israel and Turkey with the US, coupled with a strong bilateral military relationship between Tel Aviv and Ankara. ....

The triple alliance is also coupled with a 2005 NATO-Israeli military cooperation agreement which includes "many areas of common interest, such as the fight against terrorism and joint military exercises. These military cooperation ties with NATO are viewed by the Israeli military as a means to "enhance Israel's deterrence capability regarding potential enemies threatening it, mainly Iran and Syria." (See Michel Chossudovsky,"Triple Alliance": The US, Turkey, Israel and the War on Lebanon, August 6, 2006)

Meanwhile, the recent reshuffle within Turkey's top brass has reinforced the pro-Islamist faction within the armed forces. In late July, The Commander in Chief of the Army and head of Turkey's Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Isik Kosaner, resigned together with the commanders of the Navy and Air Force.

General Kosaner represented a broadly secular stance within the Armed Forces. General Necdet Ozel has been appointed as his replacement as commander of the Army the new army chief.

These developments are of crucial importance. They tend to support US interests. They also point to a potential shift within the military in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood including the armed insurrection in Northern Syria.

"New appointments have strengthened Erdogan and the ruling party in Turkey... [T]he military power is able to carry out more ambitious projects in the region. It is predicted that in case of using the Libyan scenario in Syria it is possible that Turkey will apply for military intervention." ( New appointments have strengthened Erdogan and the ruling party in Turkey : Public Radio of Armenia, August 06, 2011, emphasis added)

MB Rebels at Jisr al Choughour

Muslim Brotherhood Rebels at Jisr al Shughour Photos AFP June 16, 2011

[Note: this photo is in many regards misleading. Most of the rebel gunmen are highly trained with modern weapons.]

The Extended NATO Military Alliance

Egypt, the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia (within the extended military alliance) are partners of NATO, whose forces could be deployed in a campaign directed against Syria.

Israel is a de facto member of NATO following an agreement signed in 2005.

The process of military planning within NATO's extended alliance involves coordination between the Pentagon, NATO, Israel's Defense Force (IDF), as well as the active military involvement of the frontline Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, Egypt: all in all ten Arab countries plus Israel are members of The Mediterranean Dialogue and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative.

We are at a dangerous crossroads. The geopolitical implications are far-reaching.

Syria has borders with Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq. It spreads across the valley of the Euphrates, it is at the crossroads of major waterways and pipeline routes.

Syria is an ally of Iran. Russia has a naval base in North Western Syria (see map).

Establishment of a base in Tartus and rapid advancement of military technology cooperation with Damascus makes Syria Russia's instrumental bridgehead and bulwark in the Middle East.

Damascus is an important ally of Iran and irreconcilable enemy of Israel. It goes without saying that appearance of the Russian military base in the region will certainly introduce corrections into the existing correlation of forces.

Russia is taking the Syrian regime under its protection. It will almost certainly sour Moscow's relations with Israel. It may even encourage the Iranian regime nearby and make it even less tractable in the nuclear program talks.( Ivan Safronov, Russia to defend its principal Middle East ally: Moscow takes Syria under its protection, Global Research July 28, 2006)

World War III Scenario

For the last five years, the Middle East-Central Asian region has been on an active war footing.

Syria has significant air defense capabilities as well as ground forces.

Syria has been building up its air defense system with the delivery of Russian Pantsir S1 air-defense missiles. In 2010, Russia delivered a Yakhont missile system to Syria. The Yakhont operating out of Russia's Tartus naval base "are designed for engagement of enemy's ships at the range up to 300 km". (Bastion missile systems to protect Russian naval base in Syria, Ria Novosti, September 21, 2010).

The structure of military alliances respectively on the US-NATO and Syria-Iran-SCO sides, not to mention the military involvement of Israel, the complex relationship between Syria and Lebanon, the pressures exerted by Turkey on Syria's northern border, point indelibly to a dangerous process of escalation.

Any form of US-NATO sponsored military intervention directed against Syria would destabilize the entire region, potentially leading to escalation over a vast geographical area, extending from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border with Tajikistan and China.

In the short run, with the war in Libya, the US-NATO military alliance is overextended in terms of its capabilities. Whiel we do not forsee the implementation of a US-NATO military operation in the short-term, the process of political destabilization through the covert support of a rebel insurgency will in all likelihood continue.

Source

Fierce Street Battles In Egypt As Families Demand Justice for Loved Ones Killed During the Uprising

In Egypt, nearly 600 people have been reported injured in Cairo’s Tahrir Square after security forces attacked a large group of protesters overnight with tear gas and rubber bullets. Tensions erupted over the lack of accountability and justice for the nearly 1,000 people people killed during the 18-day popular uprising that led to the fall of former president, Hosni Mubarak. Many of those attacked on in the ongoing clashes are family members of protesters killed during the uprising. We speak with Democracy Now!’s Sharif Abdel Kouddous who reports from Cairo.

US sponsors war-based economy

The United States is constantly seeking new conflicts around the world in order to sell weapons and keep its economy afloat, political activist Ralph Schoenman says.


“The US economy has entirely been dependent on arms production ... since the mid-1930s, since the Great Depression,” Schoenman told Press TV on Thursday.

“Arms economy requires permanent wars,” he added.

Schoenman accused “US imperialist capitalists” for waging wars around the globe and using poor African-Americans, immigrants and working class youngsters as “their cannon fodder.”

Schoenman also noted that the Pentagon receives huge financial support from the US government in terms of subsidies.

“They (the Pentagon) have received...ten trillion dollars in the space of four decades. Well that is more than the entire production of everything put together in the US taken together,” he said.

“The terrible genocidal weapons...that are inflected on the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan and of the region, affect the US soldiers as well," the political analyst said.

“Go to the website for the Iraq Veterans Against the War and the Afghanistan Veterans Against the War and look at the statistics of how many soldiers have been maimed, permanently harmed neurologically and systemically by these foolish weapons,” he added.

On Wednesday, the US Congress introduced a resolution that would give the US president wide latitude of powers to wage war on other countries as part of the "war on terror."

The fiscal 2012 Defense Authorization bill, sponsored by chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Howard P. “Buck” McKeon will expand the legal basis for the war on terror, and is moving through Congress amid harsh criticism from civil liberties groups.

The American Civil Liberties Union says the proposed bill is problematic as it does not specify an end date to the so-called war on terror, adding that the legislation is widely viewed as a frantic attempt to find and end to the escalating conflicts and abuses of power in the name of fighting terrorism.

MN/HGH/MMN

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/179688.html

Bin Laden videos fail to prove US claims

Videos released by the Pentagon to allay uncertainty about circumstances of Osama bin Laden's death, fails to support US claim that the al-Qaeda leader was killed in Pakistan last week.

US President Barack Obama claimed that bin Laden was killed by US forces on May 1 in a hiding compound in Pakistan, resisting while unarmed.

Washington claims that during US raid last Monday, five videos were seized at the secret compound in Pakistan where bin Laden was hiding.

On Saturday the Pentagon released some of the videos in an attempt to quell doubts about bin Landen's death.

In the first home videos reportedly filmed in October or November 2010, bin Laden who is wearing a white skullcap and white robes, speaks to the camera in the style of his previous video messages.

There is no audio on the film, but Pentagon officials claim it was a message to the US.

In another video, bin Laden is seen watching a program about himself on Arabic language television.

There are no indications in the videos to prove that they were filmed in the secret compound where bin Laden was killed. The footages also fail to prove that the notorious al-Qaeda leader was alive until May 1.

Following Obama's announcement, a US official said that bin Laden's body was abruptly buried at sea, falsely boasting that his hasty burial was in accordance with the Islamic law, requiring burial within 24 hours of death.

However, burial at sea is not an Islamic practice and Islam does not specify a timeframe for burial.

US officials also claimed that their decision to give bin Laden a sea burial was made because no country would accept his remains, without elaborating on which countries were actually contacted on the matter.

Analysts, however, have raised serious questions as to why US officials did not allow for the application of a DNA test to officially confirm the identity of the corpse before the quick sea burial. Although officials claimed that DNA obtained from the body confirmed that he was actually Osama bin Laden.

MYA/HGH/MMN

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/178754.html

Uganda police clash with opposition

Security forces in Uganda have clashed with supporters of opposition leader Kizza Besigye as they marched towards the capital Kampala for the presidential inauguration.

Security forces used teargas, water cannons and batons to disperse the protesters on Thursday, as President Yoweri Museveni was being sworn in for a fourth term, Reuters reported.

The demonstrators were welcoming back Besigye as he returned to Kampala. Thousands lined the streets as Besigye and his wife Winnie Byanyima drove home from the airport.

He had gone to Nairobi to receive medical treatment from injuries sustained after being brutally arrested by police during an opposition protest two weeks ago.

Since April, Besigye has lead opposition demonstrations against rising fuel and food costs, leading to his arrest four times. He has led "walk to work" protests to demonstrate against the rising prices and government corruption.

At least nine people have been shot and killed by government forces since the protests began, according to Human Rights Watch.

Meanwhile, Museveni has declared that he would stamp out any "disrupting schemes" made by the opposition during his inaugural ceremony. He has blamed the rising prices on drought and increasing global crude oil prices.

Museveni also announced a plan to buy fuel in bulk and that Uganda would be supplying domestic oil within three years.

Museveni has been in power for the past 25 years.

Besigye has contested the last elections, saying that both he and Museveni received less than 50 percent of the vote, requiring a run-off.

LF/MGH

Egyptians stage anti-Israeli rallies

Thousands of Egyptian activists have taken to the streets of the capital, Cairo, and other major cities to voice their support for the Palestinian cause.

Egyptians gathered at Cairo's Liberation Square -- the epicenter of the Egyptian revolution that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak's regime.

The Cairo rally -- named a million-man march -- coincides with the anniversary of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories in 1948.

Activists have called for a march to neighboring Gaza, which is under Israel's siege.

Meanwhile, several thousand also held protest outside the Israeli consulate in Alexandria, calling for an end to Cairo's relations with Tel Aviv.

They demanded their military rulers to abandon Israel and lift the blockade on the besieged Gaza Strip.

Protesters have threatened to continue massive protest rallies if the current government does not move to cut off ties with the Israeli regime.

Egypt's political parties say the Gaza blockade serves the interests of Israel and the US and threatens regional stability and independence.

Under the US-backed Mubarak regime, Egypt consistently served Tel Aviv's objectives in the region by helping to impose a crippling blockade on the impoverished Strip after the democratically-elected Hamas government took control of the territory in 2007.
The huge gathering also dubbed as national unity rally comes in the wake of the recent fatal sectarian unrest in Egypt.

Sectarian clashes between Salafis and Coptic Christians in Cairo left at least 12 people dead and hundreds of others wounded last week.

The protesters also want their unmet demands to be fulfilled.

The demonstrators want Mubarak to be tried and the figures affiliated with his regime to be sacked.

JR/HGH/MMN

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/179734.html

Syrian security forces open fire on thousands at protest; at least 6 killed

By Zeina Karam, The Associated Press

BEIRUT — Syrian security forces opened fire on thousands of protesters Friday, killing at least six people as soldiers tried to head off demonstrations by occupying mosques and blocking public squares, human rights activists said.

A leading activist told The Associated Press that three people were killed in Homs, two in Damascus and one in a village outside Daraa, the southern city where the nationwide uprising began in March. He asked that his name not be used for fear of reprisals by the government.

In Damascus, the capital, three rallies were held - the largest number of protests held at one time in the city during the two-month revolt against President Bashar Assad.

Thousands in Syria have persevered with the demonstrations, turning up in huge numbers on Fridays - the Islamic day of prayer - only to be met with bullets, tear gas and batons by security forces.

One activist in Homs, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said security forces dressed in black and shadowly pro-regime gunmen known as "shabiha" were doing the shooting. He said the regime forces first fired in the air, then shot directly into the crowd as protesters continued their way.

Human rights groups say that between 700 and 850 people have been killed since the start of the revolt against Assad's repressive regime.

In Damascus, security forces fired tear gas in the Zahra neighbourhood, forcing scores of people to disperse. In nearby Mazzeh, protesters ran away when security forces arrived. In Muhajereen, security forces used batons to scatter dozens of people, activists said.

Assad has come under scathing criticism for the crackdown, with the United States and Europe imposing sanctions.

On Friday, Britain summoned Syria's ambassador to warn that new sanctions will target the regime's hierarchy if Assad does not halt the country's violent crackdown on protesters.

Syrian Ambassador Sami Khiyami was called in for talks with political director Geoffrey Adams - the second time in recent weeks he had been ordered to explain his government's actions.

In several volatile areas of Syria, residents said soldiers occupied mosques and blocked off major public areas Friday to prevent people from leaving their homes.

"The army has transformed major mosques in the city into military barracks where soldiers sleep, eat and drink," said a resident in the coastal town of Banias. "They've put up barriers and sandbags around the mosques."

Up to 1,200 security forces have deployed in the public square in the centre of town, and soldiers and armed thugs have broken into shops, offices and homes to intimidate people.

There is a media blackout in Syria, making it impossible to confirm witness accounts independently. Witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear for their personal safety.

Other protests were around the northeastern city of Qamishli, where about 5,000 people marched in the streets chanting "Freedom!" and "Freedom to political prisoners!" said rights activist Mustafa Osso.

Thousands also were demonstrating in the nearby towns of Amouda and Derbasiyeh, he said.

The government's crackdown has increased in intensity in recent days. On Wednesday, the army shelled residential areas in central and southern Syria, killing 19 people, a human rights group said.

On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton slammed the Syrian government's assault on demonstrators and said the violence indicates that Assad is weak, though she stopped short of saying he must quit.

"Treating one's own people in this way is in fact a sign of remarkable weakness," Clinton said during a trip to Greenland.

The revolt was touched off in mid-March by the arrest of teenagers who scrawled anti-regime graffiti on a wall. Since then, the protests have spread nationwide and the death toll already has exceeded those seen during the uprisings in Yemen and Tunisia.

http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m77673&hd=&size=1&l=e

Inside Story - Who is winning the Libyan conflict?

In recent days, rebel groups have been hit hard by pro-Gaddafi forces. The situation on the ground remains uncertain, but latest reports suggest those loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, the Libya leader, have recaptured Azzawiya - 30 km to the west of Tripoli. The frontline is now moving towards the east. Just who is winning this conflict? And are hopes that the Libyan leader would be ousted proving premature?

63 Nakba: Protests Erupt throughout Palestine

Editor Palestine Monitor

Today protests ignited throughout the West Bank and Jerusalem, jumpstarting the anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba on 15 May. 63 years ago, approximately 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes to make way for the creation of the state of Israel with a Jewish majority.

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Clashes on Al Quds Street right before Qalandiya checkpoint.

Qalandiya, Ramallah

At Qalandiya checkpoint, youth from the Qalandiya refugee camp entered the Al Quds Street after Friday prayer finished. Setting tires on fire and flinging rocks at the mammoth Qalandiya checkpoint, which separates Qalandiya from Occupied Jerusalem, the young men engaged in clashes with the Israeli Border Police until nightfall, at around 8:30 pm. The checkpoint was closed to cars coming from Ramallah from the early afternoon onwards.

“We will be here today, tomorrow and on Sunday,” one boy said.

Yaher Fayyad, 20, who was working at a sweet-shop during the clashes told the Palestine Monitor that he would be in the streets on Sunday, for the Nakba, “We hope there is something big on Sunday, to change it all to something good, not to something bad.”

Thaera Awwed, 22, who was working with Yaher said, “63 years we are trying, but nothing changed. We will have our change, inshahallah.”

Silwan/Ras el-Amoud, Jerusalem

Also this afternoon, clashes erupted in the besieged city of Silwan in East Jerusalem. The Wadi Hilweh Information Center, silwanic.net, reported that a 16-year-old from the Ras el-Amoud neighborhood was shot with live ammunition in the stomach. Silwanic.net details that the bullet entered his stomach and exited through his back. The young boy, Morad Ayyash, reached the Muqassed hospital in critical condition, with no pulse.

Also in Ras el-Amoud, Silwanic.net has reported that an additional three Palestinians were injured with rubber bullets.

According to a report by the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, 19 protesters were injured in clashes between residents of Silwan and Israeli forces and a total of 11 were arrested.

As the night fell, Jerusalem police began raiding Silwan houses detaining residents.

Nabi Saleh, Ramallah

Nabi Saleh, whose weekly Friday demonstrations have become the target of escalated Israeli military aggression, also erupted in violence after the protest came to a close. According to eye-witnesses, the protest had been relatively calm before the Border Police officers clashed with villagers and protesters. According to PSCC’s report, the Israeli Border Police began dispersing the peaceful demonstration by shooting ample tear gas and beating protesters with batons.

PSCC reported that approximately 25 protesters were injured. One Palestinian woman in her fifties was beaten by the Police to the point of hospitalization; her condition was critical enough that she was moved from the Salfeet Hospital to the better equipped Rafidiya Hospital in Nablus.

In addition, a 25-year-old American protester endured a serious head injury and one Israeli activist suffered two open fractures in his hand. All injuries were caused by the Border Police shooting tear-gas projectiles from short-frange, directly at the demonstrators, in direct contravention of the IDF’s open fire regulations.

The PSCC is also reporting that four protesters were arrested.

Nabi Saleh, a village outside of Ramallah, holds non-violent weekly demonstrations in protest of the Apartheid Wall’s confiscation of its land.

Elsewhere in the West Bank

According to PSCC, Ma’asara, a village south of Bethlehem Israeli forces shot tear-gas into a peaceful demonstration, arresting two protesters, including a member of the village’s popular committee.

http://palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1808

Israel is confusing victimhood with foreign policy Israel's belief that 'the world is against it' has in recent years turned into a real obsession, a sense that we are constantly under attack, a fear of delegitimization, an insanity of persecution.

In an op-ed piece published in The Washington Post, Richard Goldstone wrote that if he knew then what he knows today, the report would have looked different and that it would have been best had Israel cooperated with him.

In fact, it was immediately after Goldstone's report was publicized that many here concluded that it would have been best for Israel to lend its cooperation to the UN-appointed committee, according to a study conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute. Indeed, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel made a recommendation along these lines to the government before the Goldstone commission was even formed.

But this is not the conclusion that Israel's leadership has drawn. Both Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that the decision not to cooperate with Goldstone "was the correct one."

While Israel had reasons to believe that an inquiry commissioned by the UN's Human Rights Council would be hostile, in this extraordinary case, it was possible to think otherwise. Goldstone is known to be a particularly serious individual, a Jew and a supporter of Israel. Indeed, he was opposed to the original mandate which required that he focus his probe solely on Israel. Goldstone agreed to lead the investigation after he was given clearance to examine Hamas' actions as well. Israel had nothing to lose by cooperating with Goldstone.

This lesson could have been learned from a previous episode - the 2004 hearings held in the International Criminal Court in The Hague involving the West Bank separation fence. The ICC is an important, independent legal authority. There was no reason to suspect that it would be one-sided. But then, too, Israel refused to recognize its authority. It did not take part in the discussion nor did it present its position, all so that it could later claim that the ruling handed down was one-sided and caused Israel serious international damage.

It is often said that a wise man learns from the mistakes of others, while a fool learns from the mistakes of his own. Those who do not learn from their own mistakes confirm that insanity is repeating the same act while expecting a different result. In our case, this insanity is an insanity of persecution.

Our belief that "the world is against us" has in recent years turned into a real obsession, a sense that we are constantly under attack, a fear of delegitimization, an insanity of persecution. It is unclear whether Israel is truly capable of differentiating between a real enemy and those who wish it well, or if it is simply complaining about being persecuted because it believes this serves its interests. Now the prime minister is demanding that the Goldstone report be nullified, while the defense minister is calling for "Goldstone to be compelled (! ) to speak before the UN." If this gambit doesn't succeed, it will serve as yet further proof that we are being persecuted.

As the years pass, Israel has grown stronger militarily, economically, and demographically. This has not prevented our leaders from intensifying their warnings about the campaign to get us. They are wont to complain about the one-sidedness and the bias in favor of our enemies. They are also quick to warn against attempts to delegitimize, even destroy, Israel.

There are great parallels between our leaders' statements decrying the persecution of the State of Israel and their statements decrying the persecution aimed at them personally. This holds true for Lieberman, Ehud Olmert and Benjamin Netanyahu. As our leaders feel increasingly persecuted on an individual basis, they respond by ratcheting up the rhetoric that all of us are the victims of persecution.

Aside from the instinctive reflex of all Israelis to assume the role of victims, there is also cynical exploitation here of real hostility that does exist. As such, there is no room for an honest analysis of these statements, and reality becomes distorted.

As he laments the "persecution" to which he and his wife are subjected, much the same way that he railed against the "persecution" of Israel, Netanyahu is so deeply immersed in his suffering that he doesn't even notice that in both cases, the whining simply does more damage - both to him personally and to the image of the State of Israel. Complaining about persecution is not a policy, nor is it a strategy. Rather, it is a tactic that just inflicts more damage on us.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/israel-is-confusing-victimhood-with-foreign-policy-1.354141