But… But… Will He Ever Become Our Own So-And-So?
Posted on March 6, 2009
Filed Under Ahmadinejad, Ahmedinajad, An Nahar, Arab League, Arabs, Assad, Assad Jr., Barak Obama, Bashir al-Assad, Fouad Saniora, Hamas, Hezbollah, Hillary Clinton, Internation Court in The Hague, International, Iran, John Kerry, Lebanese PM Fouad Saniora, Lebanon, Lebanon Now, Mahmoud Abbas, Middle East, Nancy Pelosi, Obama, Obama's policies, Sa'ad Hariri, Senate Foregn Relation Committee, abusing power, appeasement, appeasing IslamoFascism, murder, political cowardice, political fumbling, political ineptitude, political naivete, putrid little maggot Ahmedinajad | 3 Comments
Much has been done by the Obama administration, in its first five weeks, to renew ties with Syria’s Baby Assad. All this on the assumption that he’s genuinely interested in hobnobbing with the West, and under the illusion that we can wean him away from Teheran while we lessen the Iranian threat to the region and the World.
The US State Department, under Hillary’s aegis, said last month:
U.S. State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said at a press conference Wednesday that Syria could play a positive role through efforts to bring peace and stability to the Middle East.
“Syria can play a role, and a positive role, in the region by trying to help bring peace and stability to the Middle East, and I think that the Syrians understand that they can do that,” Duguid told reporters. “That is what the U.S. would like to see all nations in the region do.”
Hmmmnnn… I wonder what other nation(s) is the Obama administration referring to as not trying to help bring peace and stability to the Middle East… Can you name some other candidates for this dubious honor, gentle reader?
[...]On the other hand, U.S. senators visiting the Middle East said Wednesday that Syria needs to change its behavior to improve relations with the United States.
The United States has also criticized Syria for supporting militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah and has accused Syria of not doing enough to prevent foreign fighters from crossing into Iraq. Syria has said it is doing all it can to safeguard its long, porous border.
[...]After meeting with Assad, Cardin said the U.S. administration will be watching Syria’s actions very carefully.
Cardin said he blamed Syria for the deteriorated relations, saying Syria has isolated itself by sponsoring international terrorism, providing safe haven for terrorist organizations and Syria’s troubling relations with Iran.
“The question we came to try and answer here in Syria is whether or not Syria is ready to make important and significant decisions that bring us closer rather than lose this opportunity to move forward,” Cardin said.
Senator Kerry, the current head of the Senate’s Foreign Relations committee, who visited Syria last month, declared this past Wednesday:
A prominent U.S. senator said Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar Assad told him last month in Damascus that Syria is prepared to resume peace negotiations with Israel and embrace a 2000 Arab initiative offering peace in exchange for territory captured from the Arabs in the 1967 Mideast war.
“Syria would like direct American participation in these peace talks,” said Sen. John Kerry, a Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Reversing the Bush administration’s dismissive stance on Syria, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced Tuesday during a visit to Israel she would send two senior officials to Damascus this week.
Endorsing President Barack Obama’s decision to dispatch the U.S. envoys to Damascus, Kerry said Assad is looking past Iran to improved relations with Arab countries and with the West.
Kerry said Assad is looking past Iran to improved relations with Arab countries and with the West. Is Assad Jr, suddenly so weary of his protectors and financiers in Iran that he would abandon them just for an American smile? The Assad family and their cronies, control everything of value in Syria while engaged in a ruthless dictatorship, subjugating their own people. Are we Americans so naive as to believe that at the time when a UN Tribunal has convened to determine the depth of involvement Assad’s regime had in the murders of Rafik Hariri and other anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians and journalists, Jr. would leave the safety of his patrons for an American embrace… unless… the US manages to scuttle that UN Tribunal? If we do that it will signal a dangerous betrayal of a free Lebanon and one more proof that allies and morals are expendable when a despot has far more to offer. Before we examine the possibility of Assad switching allegiances, let us take a closer look at the man, how he is perceived throughout the world, including the Arab worldand the Tribunal and how he is perceived throughout the world, including the Arab world. Lebanon Now wrote two days ago:
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon remained at the center of attention Wednesday morning as a prominent daily reported a bitter confrontation between Syrian and Lebanese officials in Egypt over the investigation. The UN, too, turned to Lebanon, as its secretary general released his ninth report on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701. Lebanese dailies were also spotted with reports of renewed US attention to Lebanon.
Despite opposition ministers’ dislike of Article 3 of the memorandum of understanding between the Special Tribunal and the Lebanese government, agreement is expected to surface at a cabinet meeting chaired by President Michel Sleiman in Baabda on Thursday, according to the Lebanese press.
Syria, Lebanon lock heads over tribunal in Cairo
An-Nahar quoted government sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, as saying a “major confrontation” between the representatives of Lebanon and Syria at the Arab Foreign Ministers Meeting in Cairo broke out over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
While Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem “did his best” not to make any reference to the tribunal, the daily reported, Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh and Lebanon’s delegate to the Arab League, Ambassador Khaled Ziadeh, tried to include the words “welcome the launch of the tribunal” in the meeting statement. Mouallem reportedly refused the words, at which point Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora was “contacted urgently” and spoke more than six times with his FM. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa also intervened, An-Nahar reported, to confront the “Syrian refusal of the agreement between the Lebanese government and the United Nations.”
“If Syria wants to maintain its position, then Lebanon is adamant in maintaining its position, and let that be recorded in the minutes of the meeting and raised at the Arab Summit,” the daily quoted Siniora as saying. “If they want us – and ask us – to say that former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination came about through a car accident or that he shot himself, let them raise the matter at the Arab Summit.”
Shouldn’t Assad and company have welcomed the Special Tribunal, if as Jr. claims Syria had nothing to do with Hariri’s untimely death?!?!?
Ban releases ninth report on UNSCR 1701
In New York, the UN was busy with other matters, as Secretary General Ban Ki-moon released the ninth report on the implementation of Resolution 1701.
The report centered on the ongoing presence of military bases, and the bases for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command and Fatah al-Intifada, in Lebanon and the threat their presence posed to the country’s stability.
Ban called on the Lebanese government to dismantle military bases as agreed on through the national dialogue and urged Syria, “which has an impact on such groups,” to support efforts in this regard.
The report also said there should be no postponement of efforts to define and demarcate a common border between Lebanon and Syria and raised the need for an unconditional prohibition of the transfer of arms between the two countries. “Regional parties, especially those on good terms with Hezbollah and other groups in Lebanon, must remain committed to the prohibition of arms transfers in full,” Ban said.
The Lebanese Armed Forces, unfortunately lacks the weaponry to confront Hizbullah, plus many of its officers are sympathizers and have friends and relatives within Hizbullah. Even given the fire power to confront Hizbullah, how can they be trusted to follow through even if ordered to do so by Prime Minister Siniora? UNIFIL forces – which never came up to the full numbers originally announced – have better, more modern weapons and even they are admittedly scared of Hizbullah!
Feltman, Shapiro in Lebanon within days
US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and Daniel Shapiro of the US National Security Council are to visit Beirut in the coming days, An-Nahar reported Wednesday.
The two officials are set to visit Lebanon “to learn firsthand the conditions prevailing in the country and the transfer of the new US administration’s position on Lebanon, in terms of Washington’s continued support for the sovereignty and independence of Lebanon and its territorial integrity.” The two men will be there “to support the holding of parliamentary elections smoothly and transparently and to confirm the continuation of the armament and training of the Lebanese army,” the report read.
Feltman and Shapiro are also set to meet with President Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri, the daily reported.
Feltman and Shapiro are also set to meet with President Michel Sleiman… One of the reasons Lebanon lacked a President for a long time, is because the majority of Lebanon was not overly thrilled about General Sleiman’s (as head of the LAF), good relations with Damascus.
Meanwhile back on our shores:
US Legislators request higher sanctions against Syria for interfering in Lebanon
A group of US legislators submitted a bill proposal to the Senate calling for harsher measures against Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs, according to al-Mustaqbal’s Wednesday edition.
Under the bill, dubbed the “Accountability Act and Syrian Liberation,” the new measures could include an international sanction against the Syrian Arab Republic, the daily reported, as the proposal calls on President Barack Obama to request the UN Security Council place Syria under international sanction as per Article 41 of the UN Charter.
Haaretz describes some of the problems that Assad has contributed to in the Middle East’s latest crises:
[...]Syria, which is under U.S. sanctions, hosts the exiled leadership of Hamas and has influence on the Palestinian group.
[...]“Syria could be, in fact, very helpful in helping to bring about a unity government,” Senator John Kerry told reporters after meeting President Bashar Assad.
“If you achieve that, then you have made a major step forward not only in dealing with the problems of Gaza but you have made a major step forward in terms of how you reignite discussions for the two-state solution … I think that Syria indicated to me a willingness to be helpful in that respect.”
Again the naivete is unbelievable, Syria’s own Arab brethren are weary of Assad, how can we then believe in his so far non-existent good will?!?!?
The Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has historically been on poor terms with Damascus.
Abbas broke off peace talks with Israel during its 22-day offensive against Hamas in Gaza but later criticized the Islamist group for what he described as reckless decisions that invited the invasion.
Syria backed Hamas during the conflict, deepening the rift between Damascus and U.S. allies Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Syria backed Hamas during the conflict, deepening the rift between Damascus and U.S. allies Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The Arab press is filled with denunciations of Assad, filled with acoounts how deeply he is in Iran’s pockets. Can we hope to accomplish that which his own Arab brethren who – understand him far better than we ever will – despair of accomplishing, so much so that they themselves push for the Tribunal to try him and cronies in Syria and Lebanon?!?!?
Diplomats in Damascus cautioned that any thaw in relations between Syrian and the United States might not be quick. They said Syria was showing no signs of abandoning support for Hezbollah, or changing its relationship with Iran.
A strengthened alliance between the two countries has irritated Washington although Obama said the United States could open a dialogue with the Islamic Republic.
I have no doubt that while Obama is ready to sit down with no preconditions with Ayatollahs, Iran will have a ton of conditions before they sit down for a talk.
But what about the Tribunal, what is it all about? As the Financial Times in the UK wrote earlier this week:
A unique criminal tribunal opened on Sunday in the crowded arena of international law in The Hague: the investigation into the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister, by a vast van bomb in Beirut in February 2005.
This was the public if extrajudicial execution of Lebanon’s pre-eminent political leader, around whom the country’s drive for independence against the Syrian Anschluss in the Levant was fast coalescing.
It triggered a civic uprising that ended the 29-year Syrian military occupation that began during the 1975-90 civil war in Lebanon, and it led to the United Nations Security Council establishing a tribunal like the courts set up to try war crimes in the former Yugoslavia and Sierra Leone – only in this case it was to investigate a sort of regicide.
The legal process deserves wide support. This was an act of cross-border gangsterism, through which Syria intended to continue vassalising Lebanon, where elements in the ruling elites of Damascus have lucrative business and racketeering, as well as political, interests.
In August 2004, President Bashar al-Assad personally warned Hariri that Syria would never be forced out of Lebanon – as reported in the Financial Times days before Hariri’s murder and subsequently confirmed by UN investigators.
Those investigators detected a trail leading to the heart of the conjoined Syrian-Lebanese security apparatus, leading to the arrest of four Lebanese generals, part of a single chain of command originating in Damascus, although Syria denies any part in Hariri’s murder.
But whether or not the tribunal can meet the evidentiary standards to make these allegations stick, it is important its work goes ahead. Those arrests electrified the Arab world, suggesting its despotic culture of impunity could be resisted. The demonstration effect of the rule of law – backed by France and the US, which had been so at odds over invading Iraq – has commanded much more support than the shock and awe of the Iraqi bloodbath.
Paris, London and, to a lesser extent, Washington have since paid court to Mr Assad, who has gleefully exploited their vain attempts to peel Syria off from its alliance with Iran. They congratulated Syria for helping resolve last May’s Lebanese crisis, which its local allies, led by Hizbollah, had largely created.
There will surely be more crises, and further attacks, during the drawn-out legal process. Watch what happens when the arrested generals are transferred to The Hague, and in the run-up to June’s Lebanese elections. That is exactly why this tribunal is so important.
In all fairness to Obama, Clinton, Kerry et al., kissing up to Baby Assad is not something the new administration suddenly came up with. This is merely a process, the self proclaimed “most powerful woman in the world,” Nancy Pelosi started in 2007. Nevertheless, the question remains… in order to offer Assad a bigger carrot than the one offered him by the putrid little maggot Ahmadinejad, will we sacrifice a democratic Lebanon to this blood soaked tyrant? And even if we do, what guarantee is there this universally acknowledged SOB. will ever truly become our own SOB, rather than him make us promises to exact ever bigger gifts while giving little or nothing in exchange? Ah, the horrible fumbling of of our foreign policy!
Chaim
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3 Responses to “But… But… Will He Ever Become Our Own So-And-So?”
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Last week and the week before it, two or three of your bloggers wrote about people in their churches who are former Moslems but current Christians. Not only do i agree and many of us see it my own church, but there is even a book about it now. The book is called, “Why We Left Islam: Former Muslims Speak Out” and it available through the usual places. It is filled with 27 stories written by former Islam members who ran for their lives!!
Anyway, now to this weeks report. First, I must say that again Mr. Chaim is a great reporter because he brings statistics and facts and quotes, not just a bunch of words.
Also, this past week on Tuesday, Clinton and Bibi met and both agreed that Iran better watch it’s twisted loudmouth announcements or a military response from Israel (with support from the USA) is again a possibility. Baby Asad is in big trouble. The USA looks like it’s offering him a deal, but that only happens when they are about to smack his face and kick him.
Also, the Mad Job is so hated in Iran that even the students who did not protest, are all mumbling revolution. So, to fix that, they are all talking about a MODERATE who might come in to replace Anmadenijabbadintub.
Boys and girls, there is no moderate Moslem activist, it is just another lie to make everyone think that a big change is comeing. Guess what? NO CHANGE IS COMING except for the name of the new big mouth when Mad Job is fired while he they will say he stepped down.
These “people” only understand power and force and war. They will get all of that very soon. I want to introduce you all to Mr. Netanyahu and Mrs. Clinton. they already know each other for many years and they are on the same track now. Their train is coming in very soon.
If the Pope would support the US, the world would see that the new Catholics are ready to fight to live. The Moslems tell the Jews, “Look at those pig eating dumb Christians.” The same Moslems tell the Christians, “Look at those Christ killing lousy Jews.” I hope the Pope sees through the Moslem liars.
Obama is a fence sitter. His helpers are going to make all the real decidings. He is just waiting to listen to them advisers and then he talks.
This Obama guy does not really knows what to do because he is now blind from all the spotlights and he cant believe he won. Every decision is gonna be from the people who are around him but not from him. Obama is a great speech maker and a smiler. That is it. Soon the terrorists are going to realize that the American people voted for a guy who is a charmer but with nothing else that is important. He likes the title but he isnt makin any decisions. I hope the Pope sees this and shuts him up.
Magdalena said it right at the end of her blog. We are the new Catholics. We will turn the other cheek for the small things but we carry an iron pipe and other weapins when they threaten our lives. This is the area where we will stand even with the Protestants.
The effing Islamists don’t care if we are Catholic or Protestant and they don’t even care if were Budhists too also or Jews. They just like to kill to show off to the other Islamists how religious they are that they wood kill! They show how much they kill to prove they are with mohamed. Fakers and phonees! I hate them liars. This is like a mostly Jewish site here but if its against the terrorists i am here to say yes. I dont care if this a Jewsih place i just care if it helps the Christians against the killers.
Peace lovers, run for your lives because you are exactly what they call infidels. You know already what they do to infidels. Wake up peace lovers.
Purim is already upon us and we remember what could happen if we don’t stand strong as Jews.
We almost don’t have to remember. Every year or so, some no Jew, usually it’s a Moslem, is going to do things that will remind us that we are Jewsih even if we should forget! If they ignored us and left us alone, we might just fade out, but d makes sure that they will do something hatefula dn dumb, and zoom we are again awakened. it’s Purim time.
It’s the time when things turn around. Just look at what is happening! The Christians who used to hate our guts and kill us, are now mostly helping and protecting us because because they finally got very wise and realized, “Gd doesn’t want His people to kill His people.” Only the Moslems scream abgout killing and raping and chopping off heads. The Christians will not do that. The Jews will not do that. The Buddhists will not do that. The Moslems are the ones who yell hate and kill, no one else does that in the whole world.
Gd made us all, He did not just make Jews or just Christians.
He made us and we thank Him. We are all His creations. Let us all praise Him. He is the One. He is the Only One. There is no other.