Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was born April 28, 1937 and died December 30, 2006. He was the fifth President of Iraq, holding that position from July 16, 1979 until 9 April 2003. He was one of the leading members of the revolutionary Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party, and afterward, the Baghdad-based Ba’ath Party and its regional organization Ba’ath Party, Iraq Region, which advocated ba’athism, an ideological marriage of Arab nationalism with Arab socialism. (Patricia Ramos, july 2013)

"The national security of America and the security of the world could be attained if the American leaders [..] become rational, if America disengages itself from its evil alliance with Zionism, which has been scheming to exploit the world and plunge it in blood and darkness, by using America and some Western countries.
What the American peoples need mostly is someone who tells them the truth, courageously and honestly as it is.
They don’t need fanfares and cheerleaders, if they want to take a lesson from the (sept. 11) event so as to reach a real awakening, in spite of the enormity of the event that hit America.
But the world, including the rulers of America, should say all this to the American peoples, so as to have the courage to tell the truth and act according to what is right and not what to is wrong and unjust, to undertake their responsibilities in fairness and justice, and by recourse to reason..."

Saddam Hussein, INA 15-9-2002

Washington 2009: Joe Biden said that the Obama administration would seek the unvarnished truth from its spies, whether or not their information supported the goals of the government.
Standing in the foyer of the CIA agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia. before the wall of 89 stars representing the CIA staff who have died in the line of duty, Mr Joe Biden said:
"We expect you to provide independent analysis, not to engage in group think. We expect you to tell us the facts as you know them wherever they may lead, not what you think we want to hear." (Tim Shipman, Telegraph, 20-2-2009)

"Knowledge is a natural right of every human being which nobody has the right to deprive him of under any pretext except in a case where a person himself does something which deprives him of that right. Ignorance will come to an end when everything is presented as it actually is and when knowledge about everything is available to each person in the manner that suits him." Muammar Gaddafi (in: The Green Book)

Saddam Hussein: "Zionism [..] has transformed into an imperialistic claw used against the Arab nation. Zionism has partnered wit imperialism and participated in its economic and political plans. Moreover, it relies on its unfounded, historical belief for the purpose of destroying the Arab nation... This means maintaining the weak state of the Arab nation...
Zionism regards unity of Arabs as contradictory to its existence. Therefore, Zionism's line of defense is based on the principle that the Arab nation must be broken....
It is necessary for Zionism to revive all the old historical frictions that took place in the path of nationhood, so it can use them [..] to break up the fabric of Arab nations." (The Saddam's tapes, 1978-2001, page 67)

Vladimir Jabotinsky: Don't give them hope.
No Mercy, No Compassion, No Justice

"Zionist colonisation must either stop, or else proceed regardless of the native population. Which means that it can proceed and develop only under the protection of a power that is independent of the native population – behind an iron wall, which the native population cannot breach. That is our Arab policy; not what we should be, but what it actually is, whether we admit it or not. ..."
"We all demand that there should be an iron wall. Yet we keep spoiling our own case, by talking about "agreement" which means telling the Mandatory Government that the important thing is not the iron wall, but discussions. Empty rhetoric of this kind is dangerous...."
"What is impossible is a voluntary agreement. As long as the Arabs feel that there is the least hope of getting rid of us, they will refuse to give up this hope in return for either kind words or for bread and butter..." Vladimir Jabotinsky, in The Iron Wall (1923)

"A lot of rulers today still view principled people, who persist in defending their noble and just causes and who refuse to compromise at the expense of their peoples, their nations, the honour of their cause, their integrity and their principles, as a burden on them.
The policy of the United States still finds in this kind of genuine, honest and loyal people an obstacle before their evil and futile ambitions towards the world and humanity at large..." Saddam Hoessein, Oath and Speech, INA 17-10-2002

"America controls the world, we control America. Never before have Jews exerted such an immense influence on the center of world power. But this tendency troubles me.
We are like a gambler, who bets all his money and his future on one horse. A good horse, a horse with no current competitor, but still one horse. The neo-cons will cause a long period of chaos in the Arab and Muslim world. The Iraqi war has already shown that their understanding of Arab realities is shaky. Their political assumptions did not stand the test, only brute force saved their undertaking.
Some day the Americans will go home, but we shall remain here. We have to live with the Arab peoples. Chaos in the Arab world endangers our future.
Wolfowitz and Co. may dream about a democratic, liberal, Zionist and America-loving Middle East, but the result of their adventures may well turn out to be a fanatical and fundamentalist region that will threaten our very existence." Uri Avnery, CounterPunch 10-4-2003

"The Jews always defined themselves as 'the compassionate sons of the compassionate'. They believed that compassion is a Jewish invention and quoted the old texts (such as the Sabbath injunction in the Ten Commandments, ordering Jews to relieve their slaves and draft animals every seventh day.)
The new Hebrew society that was created in this country was always proud of its "mutual responsibility", the fact that nobody went hungry in our society, that the incapacitated, sick, old and unemployed were protected by the whole of society.
Once, when I was asked what being a Jew meant to me in my childhood, I mentioned compassion, together with seeking justice, hating violence, striving for peace and loving education." Uri Avnery, 21-4-2003

"Before the creation of Israel, when speaking about our future state, nearly all of us here used the words "Hebrew State". This is what we shouted in innumerable street demonstrations, this is what was written in the newspapers and demanded in political speeches. (Uri Avnery, 14-5-2016)

"The West creates enemies; in the past it was the communism then it became Islam, and then it became Saddam Hussein for a different reason. Now, they want to create a new enemy represented by Bashar. That's why they say that the problem is the president so he has to leave. That is why we have to focus of the real problem, not to waste our time listening to what they say." (Bashar al-Assad, 9-11-2012)

"Syria is the heart of the Middle East. Everybody knows that. If the Middle East is sick, the whole world will be unstable. In 1991, when we started the peace process, we had a lot of hope. Now, after over 20 years, things are not at square one; they’re much below that square.

So the policy should be to help peace in the region, to fight terrorism, to promote secularism, to support this area economically, to help upgrade the mind and society like you did in your country. That is the supposed mission of the United States, not to launch wars. Launching war doesn’t make you a great power." (Bashar Al-Assad, 26-1-2015)

President Bashar, 'Le Figaro' interview 3-9-2013:

"How can the parliamentarians convince the French public that their country is secular, yet at the same time it supports extremism and sectarianism in other parts of the world? How can France advocate for democracy but yet one of its closest allies – Saudi Arabia – is still living in medieval times?"
"My message to the French Parliamentarians is: go back to the principles of the French Revolution that the whole world is proud of: Liberty, Justice, Equality."

About political holism

Political holism is based on the recognition that "we" are all members of a single whole. There's no "they," even though "we" are not all alike. Because "we" are all part of the whole, and therefore interdependent, we benefit from cooperating with each other. Political holism is a way of thinking about human cultures and nations as interdependent.
Political holists search for solutions other than war to settle international disagreements. Their model of the world is one in which cooperation and negotiation, even with the enemy, even with the weak, promotes political stability more than warfare.
In an overpopulated world with planet-wide environmental problems, the development of weapons of mass destruction has rendered war obsolete as an effective means to resolve disputes.

Political dualists consider political holists unpatriotic for questioning the necessity to defeat "them." In times of impending war, political dualists tend to measure patriotism by the intensity of one's hostility to the country's immediate enemy.
Naturally, they would view as disloyalty any suggestion that the enemy is not evil, any call for cooperation with the enemy, any criticism of one's own country.
To political dualists, cooperation with the enemy means capitulation, relinquishment of the nation's position of dominance.

At its extreme, political dualism is essentially tribalism. (Betty Craige, 16-8-1997)

British Labour MP suspended for saying Hitler supported Zionism
Ynetnews, 28-4-2016

Former London mayor and British Parliamentarian Ken Livingstone was suspended by his own Labour Party after he sparked an outcry on by claiming Hitler supported Zionism on Thursday.
In a BBC Radio interview, Livingstone was asked to comment on the scandal that erupted after his party member Naz Shah called to "relocate" Israel to the United States, and responded, "It's completely over the top but it's not anti-Semitic. Let's remember when Hitler won his election in 1932, his policy then was that Jews should be moved to Israel. He was supporting Zionism – this before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews."
He added that, "The simple fact in all of this is that Naz made these comments at a time when there was another brutal Israeli attack on the Palestinians."
The Labour MP asserted that there was "well-orchestrated campaign by the Israel lobby to smear anybody who criticized Israeli policy as anti-Semitic."

More than 20 MPs called for Livingstone to be removed from the party, including shadow cabinet member Luciana Berger and London mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan.
Livingstone later claimed in an interview with Sky News that he was merely "stating historical facts."

Gilad Atzmon: "The Left is a dead concept"

For years I have suggested that the Left is Jewish by proxy, but Corbyn’s Labour exceeds the realm of proxy. Corbyn’s Labour is now unequivocally a spineless club of Sabbos Goyim.
The Labour party’s policies are now compatible with Jewish culture: intolerant to the core and concerned primarily with the imaginary suffering of one people only. These people are not the working class, they are probably the most privileged ethnic group in Britain. Corbyn’s Labour is a Zionist Occupied Territory.
I would have never believed that Jeremy Corbyn would engage in such colossally treacherous politics. I did not anticipate that Corbyn would become a Zionist lapdog. Corbyn was a great hope to many of us.
I guess that the time has come to accept that The Left is a dead concept, it has nothing to offer... (26-4-2016)

George Galloway
"The suspension of Ken Livingstone is a crime against Labour. Worse than that, it is a gigantic blunder. The consequences will be grave." (Twitter, 28-4-2016)
"You can't be expelled for telling the truth. Oh, wait! That's what happened to me over Iraq!" (Express, 29-4-2016)

Flashback 2003: Galloway expelled by Labour
BBC, 24-10-2003

MP George Galloway has been expelled from the Labour Party in the wake of his outspoken comments on the Iraq war.
The Glasgow Kelvin member immediately denounced the decision as "politically motivated" and said Labour would rue the day it decided to throw him out. Mr Galloway predicted he would "certainly" contest the next election as an independent and said he might quit to run against Labour in a by-election.
He faced charges relating to a number of television interviews, including one during the war in which he accused Mr Blair and George Bush of acting "like wolves" in invading Iraq.
The charges faced by Mr Galloway were understood to be that: he incited Arabs to fight British troops, he incited British troops to defy orders, he threatened to stand against Labour, he backed an anti-war candidate in Preston.
Mr Galloway said: "This was a politically motivated kangaroo court whose verdict had been written in advance in the best tradition of political show trials."

Labour & the Zionist Oligarchs
April 29, 2016 - Gilad Atzmon

Leftists tend to call each other comrade; they shove the word ‘comradeship’ into every political statement. Apparently, they are unable to grasp what comradeship is all about.
Corbyn’s ‘comradeship’ was on display when he failed to stand up for the heroic Ken Livingstone who told the well-established and undeniable truth about Hitler’s support of Zionism and the Havara Agreement...
For some time, I have thought the Left a dysfunctional masturbatory concept. But Corbyn was exciting, he seemed to support the oppressed.
For decades he was the patron of the dysfunctional Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC). Corbyn promised to care for whatever is left of the British working people. He said all the most exciting things but he has delivered the opposite.

Thanks to the Jewish Lobby and Jewish donors, the Labour Party is not a free place. It is intolerant, it is oppressive, it is an occupied territory. It cares for one people only and these people are not the working class. They are, practically speaking, a bunch of Jewish oligarchs, by far the most privileged people on this planet.
Next we are going to learn that Corbyn’s Labour will remove Karl Marx from Labour’s heritage for writing 'On The Jewish Question'.
In 1843, Marx realised that “emancipation from huckstering and money, consequently from practical, real Judaism, would be the self-emancipation of our time.” Marx thought that in order to emancipate the world from capitalism, the world must be emancipated from “Judaism.”

Rouhani allies win second round of Iran parliament elections
Middle East Online, 30-4-2016

TEHRAN - Reformist and moderate Iranian politicians allied with President Hassan Rouhani won second round parliamentary elections, preliminary results said Saturday, capping a remarkable comeback after years of isolation.
The outcome represents a significant realignment of competing factions in the Islamic republic, with conservative MPs losing their dominance and being outnumbered for the first time since 2004.
The result is an implicit public vote of confidence for Rouhani, who won a landslide election victory in 2013 and went on to clinch a historic deal with world powers over Tehran's nuclear programme that lifted sanctions.

Although Iran's parliament has marginal powers -- under the country's theocratic rule clerics can veto legislation -- the result will make economic reforms easier and could also speed up social change demanded by reformists.
Iran does not have rigid party affiliations, making election outcomes notoriously opaque. Some candidates were backed by both camps and others stood as independents. But of the 68 seats being contested Friday, 36 went to the pro-Rouhani List of Hope coalition and 17 to conservatives with just four constituencies yet to be declared, according to official results.
That would give reformists at least 131 seats in the new 290-member parliament, 15 shy of a majority but more than their rivals' 124 MPs. Remaining seats went to independents who could hold the balance of power.

In stark contrast to the first two-and-a-half years of his presidency the result should give Rouhani a supportive parliament. The outgoing conservative-led chamber repeatedly blocked him and even impeached one of his ministers.
Iran's reformists have encouraged foreign investment, support moves for greater diplomatic rapprochement and seek social change and fewer political restrictions at home.

Assad’s focus is still firmly on Aleppo
Josh Wood , The National (UAE), April 30, 2016

Even when Syria peace talks in Geneva were still alive in early April, the Syrian government was already bragging about an impending assault on Aleppo to drive rebels from the city...
To the government, Aleppo remains the major prize at this point in the war. As Syria’s largest city before the conflict began, routing the rebels from Aleppo would be a huge morale boost for supporters of the government.
For the rebels, losing Aleppo would be a disastrous blow. They would no longer have a foothold in any of Syria’s major cities. The rebels would go from holding part of what is perhaps the country’s most important city to only having strongholds in the country’s backwaters.
Symbolically, the rebels have been able to hold on to parts of Aleppo for nearly four years now, long giving the opposition some hope even as some of their other bastions such as Homs fell.
Recapturing all of Aleppo could put the Syrian government in a significantly better position to negotiate an end to the conflict that favours the regime. That is, of course, if they truly want to negotiate an end to the war.

The government has also remained focused on Aleppo as they believe it is a battle they can now win. The rebels in Aleppo are beaten down, nearly cornered and have little backup.
In the weeks before the February 27 truce brokered by the US and Russia, rebel units around Aleppo suffered major losses as pro-government forces backed by heavy Russian air strikes made lightning gains. Rebel units were thrown into retreat and they quickly lost the main route linking rebel-held Aleppo to the Turkish border. By the time a ceasefire was called, only a narrow strip of territory connected rebels hunkered down in the city with their fellow fighters elsewhere in north-western Syria.

With the ceasefire now dead in Aleppo, the rebels in the city find themselves in the same dire situation. This time however, it appears pro-government forces have put themselves in a better position to take the city by deploying additional troops and Russian artillery to the area. Rebels north of Aleppo have been cut off from the city and are now stuck in a shrinking pocket between Kurdish YPG fighters, ISIL and the Turkish border.
There are also signs that the US may be giving up on rebels in Aleppo as a siege of the city appears imminent.

Last week, US military spokesman Col Steve Warren said “it’s primarily Al Nusra who holds Aleppo", referring to Al Qaeda’s Syria branch Jabhat Al Nusra and adopting a line often repeated by the Syrian government and Russia.
Later on Friday, state department spokesman Mark Toner denied the US was giving up on Aleppo, saying that they hope that if the truces in Latakia and Eastern Ghouta go well, it could pave the way for a reduction of violence in Aleppo.

Syria Islamist rebels under Kurdish fire in Aleppo
ARA News, 1-5-2016

KOBANE – Subsequent to clashes with Islamist rebel groups, Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) destroyed an ammunition warehouse and a military vehicle for the Islamists in the vicinity of the mainly Kurdish neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo, military sources reported on Saturday.
The YPG’s Media Center released a statement, obtained by ARA News, saying: “The terrorists [Islamist rebels] launched an offensive on the areas of the Muthallath, Ashrafiyeh, Youth Housing, Shaqif Housing near the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood in Aleppo city, northern Syria.”
“As they [Islamists] were trying to break into the neighborhood, our units [YPG] were able to deter the terrorists-led attack and destroy a military vehicle in Shaqif Housing area,” the statement reported.
“Then clashes erupted in the Muthallath area and our forces were able to destroy a number of headquarters for terrorists who were using them [headquarters] as warehouses for ammunition,” it said.

In the meantime, militant fighters of the Islamic State (ISIS) tried to break into the Tishrin Dam area in the western suburbs of Kobane in Aleppo province by a bombed car, but the YPG forces were able to detonate it before reaching its target, according to the Kurdish leadership.
With the arrival of the US special forces in the Kurdish-held areas in Syria’s north and northeast, clashes renewed between the YPG forces and ISIS militants in the vicinity of Tishrin Dam as well as near the town of Ain Issa in northern Raqqa, eastern Syria.

Stop the ANTI-INTELLECTUAL Counter-Revolution
Egypt's pope urges educated elite to confront conflicts and terror
Ahram Online, Sunday 1 May 2016

Egypt's Coptic Pope Tawadros II urged intellectuals and the country's educated elite to stand in the face of conflicts and terrorism around the world.
The Pope made his call during the Easter eve service held at St. Mark's Cathedral in Cairo on Saturday that was attended by some 3,000 people including a slew of top government officials and local dignitaries.
"Humanity needs owners of enlightening ideas, intellectuals, visionaries...and those with constructive knowledge to stand in the face of dark minds that hold back the progress of societies," the Pope said during his sermon.
"What kind of human mind can conceive of wars, conflicts, acts of murder and terror that have prevailed in many places east and west?" he wondered.

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, the defence minister and other top government officials sent messages of congratulations and representatives to attend the religious celebration, which lasted for hours. Also present were a number of western and Arab ambassadors including those of Canada, USA, Britain and Jordan.

Why I do not want an Islamic state or an Islamic law
Rasha Awad, Almuslih (Arabic for 'The Reformer') website

I am well aware that simply the above title is enough for the inquisition courts to unsheathe their swords, and for fatwas declaring me an infidel to be unleashed, or appeals made for me to repent, and sermons to be delivered – some well-meaning, others apparently religious but in reality harbouring some political manoeuvring.
But I chose this title deliberately, because I believe that one of the reasons for the spread of ‘political Islam’ [..] is the approach of appeasement, the avoidance of confronting it critically and radically, and the at times ‘unconscious identification’ by politicians, and liberal, secular intellectuals with those who promote a discourse of political Islam.

Principal is the question of whether it is possible for a devout Muslim to support secularism and the democratisation of the state, or to interact positively with the achievement of the modern mind.
Whenever Islamists pose questions such as: ‘do you, or do you not, accept the Islamic state and Islamic law?’ My reply, for which I bear personal responsibility, is to say that I totally and unequivocally reject political Islam, for reasons outlined here:

-- Secondly: Muslims have need of the institution of the state in that they are beings that require integrated institutions to perform the functions needed in managing their livelihoods: functions such as providing security, law enforcement, and the organization of public life in its various forms.
Muslims do not need a state for them to be Muslims! The state is a historical entity which constantly changes and develops in step with the alterations in place and time and as a consequence of demands made over various historical periods by political, economic and social conditions. Indeed, even over a single period a state can vary from one place to another.

Rouhani: Education growth necessary
Mehr News Agency, Wed 4 May 2016

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the development of our country certainly starts with the development of education. Speaking during the ceremony to celebrate National Teacher’s Day [..] Rouhani said “Today we need to illustrate different aspects of Islamic culture and the Islamic Revolution.
"Ayatollah Shahid Morteza Motahari called Revolutionary Islam a big threat against Islamic Revolution," underlined Rouhani, noting "Islamic Revolution means great social, economic and political mobility in a society on the basis of Islam and Islamic values; however, revolutionary Islam is setting the basis on revolution and fighting and accepts just parts of Islam benefiting these goals." Rouhani assured “someday we will be proud that our society’s education is better than other nations.”

President Rouhani, noting the importance of learning foreign languages, said the schools all around the country must diversify and qualify the teaching of foreign languages and especially any language that conveys deeper knowledge. "Learning a new language means a new window to global knowledge and understanding..."
To clarify the importance of strengthening hope within the community, Rouhani asserted nothing is worth more than hope for the future of our country. “If our young generation misses hope, we can never achieve development,” Rouhani said... The educational system must provoke hope, unity, balance and positive energy. “If we are concerned about culture, we have to focus on improving education and training budget.”

Syrian army battles Al-Qaeda affiliated jihadists
and their allies battleground city of Aleppo
Middle East Online, 6-5-2016

"Victory is coming, the mujahideen (jihadists) have reunited..." (6-5-2016), Shaykh Abdullah al Mohaisany (Saudi preacher who first traveled to Syria in 2013 and who has carried out fundraising and propaganda efforts for Salafi jihadist factions in Syria including Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS).

ALEPPO - Fighting between Syrian regime forces and Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadists and their allies has left more than 70 dead south of the battleground city of Aleppo, a monitor said on Friday. Al-Nusra Front and allied Islamists seized Khan Tuman and surrounding villages after less than 24 hours of clashes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Groups involved in the attack included Ahrar al-Sham, Ajnad al-Sham, and other factions under the command of the Army of Conquest. "At least 43 Al-Nusra and allied fighters, including a local commander, and 30 on the side of the regime and allied militia were killed in the battle," said the British-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources in Syria. Pro-regime troops had driven the jihadists out of Khan Tuman, located about 10 kilometres (six miles) southwest of Aleppo, in December. "The recapture of the area and surrounding villages means that the regime's lines of defence south of the country's second city have been pushed back," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. A 48-hour truce in Aleppo between the regime and non-jihadist rebels appeared to be largely holding as it entered a second day on Friday.

The Army of Conquest (Jaish al-Fatah, abbreviated JaF), is a joint operations room of Islamist Syrian rebel factions participating in the Syrian Civil War. The alliance was formed in March 2015 by Islamist rebel factions mainly active in the Idlib Governorate, with some factions active in the Hama and Latakia Governorates. It is actively supported by Saudi Arabia and Turkey. (Wikipedia)

Staff of recently-bombed Aleppo hospital stand in solidarity with SAA
By Zen Adra, Al-Masdar News, 07/05/2016

Kerry's Ultimatum to Assad
Sputnik News, 7-5-2016

US Secretary of State John Kerry has given Syrian President Bashar al-Assad an ultimatum: either to begin "political transition" or risk the consequences of a new US approach toward ending the Syrian civil war, Tony Cartalucci notes in his recent article for New Eastern Outlook.
Citing Bradley Klapper of the Associated Press (AP) the geopolitical researcher stresses that the US Secretary of State has even gone so far as to give an ultimatum to the legitimate, democratically elected Syrian government.
Klapper's report reads: "Secretary of State John Kerry warned Syria's government and its backers in Moscow and Tehran on Tuesday that they face an August deadline for starting a political transition to move President Bashar Assad out, or they risk the consequences of a new US approach toward ending the 5-year-old civil war."
According to the American journalist, the White House is unlikely to authorize the deployment of extra US troops in Syria, instead "US allies like Saudi Arabia might be able to give the rebels new weapons to fight Assad, such as portable surface-to-air missiles."
It seems Washington is not shy about cooperating with Saudi Arabia and Turkey despite the fact the two realms are up to their eyeballs involved in arming and funding terrorists in the region.
Cartaculli quotes the Independent report that says the two countries [Saudi Arabia and Turkey] are backing the Jaish al-Fatah group (the Army of Conquest) a joint command structure for Syrian jihadists that includes al-Nusra Front.

"Considering the verified nature of the so-called 'opposition' in Syria and the verifiable nature of what US foreign policy has done to Libya — leaving it to this day in the hands of state-sponsored terrorist organizations including the notorious 'Islamic State' or ISIS [Daesh] — what the US is essentially demanding of Syria and its allies is capitulation to al-Qaeda," Cartalucci underscores.

Bashar Assad: "Colin Powell demanded Syria should revise its ties with Russia"
Sergei Balmasov, Pravda 13-12-2011

Q: Until recently, you were considered a respectable leader in the West. Why do you think the situation has changed so much?"
BA: "The current pressure on Syria from the West has not become something unexpected for us. In September 2001, US President George Bush launched a crusade against the countries that were running US-independent policies. The crusade was guised under the struggle against terror. Afghanistan became the first on the list, Iraq followed next. Clouds began to gather above Syria too, and the USA said that Syria was another link in the axis of evil (Iraq-Iran-North Korea).
"The changes became especially noticeable in 2003, soon after the US and its allies attacked Iraq and toppled Saddam Hussein. Then US Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in Syria and demanded Syria should revise its ties with Russia. He said that Syria's policies with Russia must change by 180 degrees. We were told to terminate all agreements with Russia. They virtually told us to turn our back on Russia.
"They threatened to conduct aggression against my country otherwise. Powell stated that US troops had already been deployed in Iraq. He said that military hardware and combat aviation could be used against Syria.
We did not succumb to the pressure and rejected the ultimatum suggestion. They started to put unprecedented pressure on Syria afterwards. We've been able to stand the pressure, and Russia has been helping us a lot here. We are very grateful to Russia for this assistance."

Hindsight: Reflections on 15 Years of the War on Terror
Neither Israel nor Palestine were mentioned at all
By Philip Giraldi, The American Conservative, May 6, 2016

It’s been almost a decade and a half since 9/11, but the foreign-policy establishment still cannot admit that continuous American intervention in the Middle East has been a failure.
I recently attended a (Center on national Security's) conference entitled “Hindsight: Reflections on 15 Years of the War on Terror”>
With a wide range of highly respectable speakers, I naively expected that the panels would conclude that the so-called “global war on terror” had been a misguided project ab initio, that the United States continues to repeat mistakes in its national security policy that promote rather than discourage terrorism—and that the terrorism threat itself has been grossly inflated for largely political and economic reasons.
Apart from a single comment by a former U.S. Army general who correctly characterized American involvement in the Middle East as an overly robust response to what is in reality a “low threat, low national interests” situation for Washington policymakers, I was greatly disappointed.
Everyone seemed to accept without any real question the presumption that the United States has a preemptive right to use military force to change foreign governments, ignoring that factor as a source of terrorism and only criticizing those actual interventions that have been badly implemented like Iraq and Libya...
Neither Israel nor Palestine were mentioned at all in an hour and a half panel discussion on foreign policy “challenges” coming from the Middle East, an omission that one has to consider to be curious.

There were nearly four hours of more and the same, to include hubristic snapshots of Russia and China as eternal enemies and several comments suggesting that Syria would not be so bad now if “we” had taken down Bashar al-Assad a few years back...
It occurred to me that the narrative being fed was conditioned by one overriding factor: nearly every speaker benefits personally from the continued existence of the war on terror. They are all part of the establishment and supporters of the Washington foreign policy consensus even if they don’t identify themselves that way.
Even those academics and lawyers who criticize the war frequently do so in a restrained and high-minded fashion because the status derived from being a player in the continuation of the unending global conflict is as much in their interest as it is in the interests of those who are working for the government or a defense contractor.

The Center on National Security is a research and education think tank which focuses on issues of national security with particular attention to the legal and constitutional issues raised by domestic and foreign policy in the field. International terrorism, domestic terrorism, foreign affairs, the Middle East, counter-radicalization, the FBI and law enforcement, drones and targeted killings, surveillance law and policy, the evolving military, cybersecurity, and the conflicts that have emerged between the executive branch, the courts, and the Congress are among the areas that have been studied for the past fourteen years...

Ken Livingstone: 'Creation of Israel was fundamentally wrong'
Ynetnews, 7-5-2016

Ken Livingstone has described the creation of the State of Israel as "a great catastrophe" and said Jewish people should have been resettled in the UK and America after the Second World War.
In an interview broadcast in Arabic by TV station Al Ghad Al Arabi on Wednesday, and posted by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), he said the creation of Israel had been "fundamentally wrong."
“The creation of the state of Israel was a great catastrophe,” he repeated. “We should have absorbed the post-World War II Jewish refugees in Britain and America. They could all have been resettled, whereas 70 years later, the situation is still very tense, and there is potential for many more wars....”

Prior to the creation of the Jewish state, he said, “there were large Jewish communities that never suffered threats or attacks. They lived in peace alongside their Arab neighbors. But all of this was destroyed with the establishment of the State of Israel, and all the Israeli communities in the Arab world were deported to Israel.”
The veteran politician also blamed Israel’s ongoing conflict with the Palestinians for global terrorism...
“I have always believed that the failure to resolve the (Palestinian) problem fuels the terrorist attacks,” he said. “The West must deal with the injustice, or will continue to fuel terrorism.”

Palestinians & Jewish History
Alex Grobman, Arutz Sheva, 10-5-2016

A recent speech by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reinforces the necessity for PA recognition to ensure genuine peace according to Itamar Marcus, the director of Palestinian Media Watch...
In a speech in Morocco, Abbas described Jewish history in Jerusalem as a "delusional myth", declaring that Israel is attempting to create a Jewish history "by brute force." (Official PA TV, January 17, 2014).
This is not the first time Abbas has sought to deny Jewish history. In another lecture, he described Jewish history in Jerusalem as "illusions and legends" and portrayed the Temple in Jerusalem as the "alleged Temple," a phrase employed by the PA to refute that there ever had been a Jewish Temple. (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, August 22, 2012).
Whenever an archeological discovery is made with Jewish symbols and Hebrew texts proving Jewish connection to the land of Israel, the PA assures their people that Israel fabricated it distorted it or placed it there to be found.
At the Munich Security Conference on January 31, 2014, Saeb Erekat asserted that Palestinian Arabs cannot accept Israel as the Jewish state because they lived in the area many years before the Jews. He told Tzipi Livni that "When you say, 'Accept Israel as a Jewish state,' you are asking me to change my narrative.”
Erekat defended his allegation by saying that his ancestors were the real descendants of the Canaanities and lived in the area for "5,500 years, before Joshua Bin-Nun came and burned my hometown, Jericho."(Daniel Siryoti, Shlomo Cesana, “Chief Palestinian negotiator: We were here before the Jews,” Israel Hayom, February 2, 2014)...
PA’s refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state is not a simply an insignificant detail, but part of a strategy to negate thousands of years of Jewish history in Israel in order to deny Israel’s right to exist.

Al-Qaeda leader calls on Islamist rebel groups to unite in Syria
By Chris Tomson | Al-Masdar News, 08/05/2016

In an online audio statement earlier today, al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri pleaded with Islamist forces in Syria to unite against their common secular foes.
“We have to want the unity of the Mujahideen in Sham (Syria) so it will be liberated from the Russians and Western crusaders. My brothers … the matter of unity is a matter of life or death for you,” Zawahiri said.
While especially praising the al-Qaeda offshoot Jabhat al-Nusra, he also rather ironically condemned the Islamic State fighters as “renegade extremists”.

In 2013, Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS fought under one banner and were considered part of the armed Syrian Opposition (see picture: McCain meeting the Mujahideen in Syria). However, clashes erupted between the two jihadist groups in early 2014 with the Islamic State quickly expelling rebel forces from eastern Syria and most of northern Syria.
In the audio statement, Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri also urged rival jihadist factions in Syria to “unite or risk death”.
The al-Qaeda leadership can boast many allegiances in Syria; these groups include not only the al-Nusra Front but also most notably Jund al-Aqsa and Ahrar ash-Sham.

Senator John McCain visited rebels in Syria, may 2013. McCain entered Syria through Turkey, and remained in the country for several hours. While in Syria, McCain met with Gen. Salem Idris, the leader of the Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army, according to Mouaz Moustafa with the Washington-based Syrian Emergency Task Force that was involved in planning the trip. He spent about an hour meeting with Free Syrian Amry commanders from various parts of the country including Aleppo, Homs, and Idlib. (CNN, 27-5-2013)

Truce in Aleppo, Lattakia Extended for 48 Hours: Syrian Army
Al-Alam News, 10-5-2016

The truce in Aleppo and its countryside has extended for 48 hours as of 1.00 AM on Tuesday until 24 PM Wednesday, General command of the Syrian army and armed forces announced on Monday. Later, the General Command of the Syrian Army and Armed Forces extended on Monday the truce in the countryside of Lattakia for 48 more hours.
The General Command said in a statement that the truce in the countryside of Lattakia is extended for additional 48 hours as of 01:00 Tuesday, May10, 2016 till 24:00 Wednesday, May 11, 2016.
Earlier, the General Command announced truce on April 30, 2016 to preserve the cessation of hostilities agreement which included Eastern Ghouta, Damascus and northern countryside of Lattakia for 72 hours which was extended later, SANA reported.

IRGC: Syrian Army, Allies to Retake Khan Touman
& Other Areas from Terrorists Soon
FARS News Agency, 10-5-2016

TEHRAN (FNA)- Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami underlined superiority of the Syrian army and its allies over the terrorist groups, and said the recently-occupied regions, including Khan Touman, will be won back soon.
"The situation in Khan Touman is a tactical change and development and doesn’t have any strategic effect on the entire battlefield (of Syria)," Salami told reporters in Tehran on Tuesday.
Noting that Iran is certain about the future of the war in Syria, he said, "We consider the Syrian government as a part of the resistance front and we are in full control of the situation."
Salami underscored that the Syrian forces and their allies will make their best efforts to take back Khan Touman and other areas occupied by terrorists in recent days. He also said that the situation in the battlefield and political scene in Syria is moving to the opposite direction of what the interfering powers, including the US, Europe and their regional allies want.

The Syrian army alongside the National Defense Forces and Hezbollah fighters regained full control over the town of Khan Touman in December. Ever since then the city has fallen back to the terrorists twice, with the second time being last weekend.
Following an unsuccessful truce that was repeatedly violated by the terrorist groups, the Al-Nusra Front - the Syria arm of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group - could relocate some 20,000 terrorists to Northern Aleppo via Turkey's soil to launch a large-scale attack on pro-government positions in several key cities in Aleppo province, including Khan Touman in the Southwest.

UNSC Rejects Russia’s Call to Blacklist Jaish Al-Islam, Ahrar Sham
Al-Manar News (Lebanon), 11-5-2016

Russian request to add two Syrian militant groups to a United Nations terror blacklist was rejected by Britain, France, the United States, and Ukraine, diplomats said on May 10.
Russia had requested that Jaish Al-Islam (Army of Islam) and Ahrar Al-Sham be added to the sanctions list because of their ties to Al-Qaeda and the ISIL Takfiri groups that already have been blacklisted.UNSC
Adding names to the UN sanctions list requires a consensus decision by the 15-member UN Security Council, however, and objections were raised by the United States and three other current council members.
A spokesperson for the US mission to the UN told AFP that the designation would have had "damaging consequences" for the cessation of hostilities that the United States and Russia are trying to piece together in Syria...
A Security Council diplomat told AFP that isolating the groups from the mainstream opposition would result in a more hard-line stance and drive them away from the search for a political settlement of Syria's five-year civil war.

Jaish Al-Islam is a member of the coalition of opposition groups known as the Higher Negotiations Committee that is participating in Syrian peace negotiations in Geneva.
Ahrar Al-Sham is among the most powerful extremist groups in Syria, but it did not join the opposition coalition and it has known ties to the Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda's blacklisted Syrian affiliate.
Moscow did not comment directly on the rejection of its bid at the UN on May 10, but it warned that Russia still considers any opposition group that collaborates with the Al-Nusra Front to be a fair target for Russian and Syrian forces.

Jaish al-Islam is one of the many Islamist rebel organizations in Syria fighting to depose Bashar al-Assad. (It has a very simplistic political program: "Assad is the devil. Kill the devil and life will be good").
Jaish al-Islam joined six other militant organizations to found the Islamic Front in December 2013. Saudi Arabia initiated the unification of the brigades making up Jaish al-Islam in an attempt to counter the influence of Al Qaeda and its affiliates in Damascus. It has acted as an advocate and intermediary for the organization, urging the U.S. to supply the group with anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles... Finally, in addition to its influence in forming Jaish al-Islam, Saudi Arabia reportedly played a large role in the establishment of the Islamic Front.

"The West creates enemies; in the past it was the communism then it became Islam, and then it became Saddam Hussein for a different reason. Now, they want to create a new enemy represented by Bashar. That's why they say that the problem is the president so he has to leave....
That is why we have to focus on the real problem, not to waste our time listening to what they say." (Bashar al-Assad, 9-11-2012)

Sergei Ivanov, spokesman for the Russian reconciliation center:
"People in Syria are born to work the land, trade and raise their children"
TASS News Agency, May 11, 2016

AL-SAMRA /Syria. A group of gunmen controlling the area near the village of al-Samra in Syria’s Hama province has joined the agreement on reconciliation and ceasefire and handed over its weapons to representatives of the Syrian government.
The agreement brokered by the Russian Center for reconciliation was signed by the village’s elders, Hama Province Governor Ghassan Omar Khalaf and Chairman of the security commission in Hama General Muaffak Asaad, spokesman for the Russian reconciliation center Colonel Sergei Ivanov has told reporters.
According to the document, representatives of this populated locality must stop hostilities and ensure the work of the federal authorities and law enforcement agencies in the village.
The villagers who previously took part in the fighting alongside the illegal armed groups handed over their weapons to the competent authorities and were able to return to civilian life.
Before the signing of the agreement Sergei Ivanov addressed the villagers saying that Russia sees how much the Syrian government is doing to restore peaceful life in the country and provide its citizens with everything they need. Russia supports this process in every possible way:
"People in Syria are born to work the land, trade and raise their children. The government fully assists them in this. We want the Syrian people to live in peace, harmony and teach their children," Ivanov added.

Muaffak Asaad assured the villagers that the Syrian army would ensure security in Al-Samra and protect it from terror attacks. "We call on all citizens, residents of this village to return to their homes, to their land, to their work. We, on the part of the government, will do everything possible to ensure the village’s life, and the Syrian army will ensure your safety and protection," the general said.
Maner Hussein al-Hasan, one of the gunmen who laid down their arms, said he had fought alongside the Ahrar al-Sham group for two years. However, he realized that he had chosen the wrong path and decided to return to his family. "As for other militants in other units, I think they will follow our lead. They send signals that they will too soon return to peaceful life," the former gunmen said.

Majorities of Muslim Arabs in N. Africa want a Separation of Religion and State
By Juan Cole | May. 11, 2016

It turns out a lot of Muslims want a separation of religion and state, according to a new poll by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Arab Observatory. They polled people in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.
Although the respondents reported themselves to be, in the main, personally religious and to put a high value on the practice of Islam, majorities in all five states support the separation of religion and state. In Tunisia, the percentage rose to an astonishing 73%.
Except for Morocco, majorities also thought the interference of religious leaders in politics had a negative impact on the whole.
Again, the Tunisians are off the charts on this issue, with 3/4s of them feeling this way.
People think Islamic ideals and values are a positive, they just don’t want clerics intervening directly in civil politics.

People in all five countries also have extremely negative views of Daesh (ISIS, ISIL), associating it with terrorism, barbarism and murders and massacres. It is clearly a tiny, very marginal movement, even in Libya, where it has a small toehold.

Sarkozy (France), Cameron (UK), Levy (Zionism) supporting political islam (inclusive Al-Qaeda) in Libya

International community needs to focus on Takfiri ideology: Iran
Press TV, May 12, 2016

Addressing a UN Security Council open debate on countering terrorism, ​Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Gholam Hossein Dehqani said Tehran has long been consistent in fighting terrorism.
“Iranians of all ages and affiliation, particularly the youth, have been consistent in rejecting and fighting violent extremism, ranging from the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Daesh and other similar forces in Yemen, Iraq and Syria,” he said.
Iranians have also tried to help fight extremists on the ground, and provide a path to combat their ideology, including through promoting ‘dialogue among civilizations’ and ‘world against violent extremism’.
Dehqani said Takfiri ideology lies at the "very core of the predicament that we now face," adding "the international community needs, first and foremost, to focus on this vicious ideology" and its opponents. Takfiri proponents, he said, seek to instill hatred and anger in the hearts and minds of the youth everywhere in the Muslim world and beyond....

Saudi FM: Fighting al-Qaeda now a priority in Yemen
Saudi Gazette, Saturday, 14 May 2016

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said on Friday that the priority in Yemen is no longer to wage a war against the Houthis but to fight al-Qaeda.
In an interview in the French newspaper Le Figaro, Jubeir said Al-Qaeda and ISIS are two terrorist organizations and they need to be contained. Le Figaro said Jubeir’s statement is evidence of a change in the situation on the ground in Yemen.
Jubeir added: “Al-Qaeda and ISIS are terrorist organizations. However, the Houthis are Yemenis and are our neighbors with whom one can hold talks.”
He expressed optimism about the ongoing talks in Kuwait between the Houthis and the government.
In tweets from his official account, Jubeir said whether we disagree or agree with the Houthis, they remain a part of the social fabric of Yemen.
He also said in another tweet: “ISIS and al-Qaeda are terrorist organizations that should not be given the chance to exist neither in Yemen, nor in any other part of the world.”

Obama: ‘Ignorance is not a virtue’
Al-Arabya|AFP, Monday, 16 May 2016

US President Barack Obama, speaking to students at Rutgers University, criticized the populist campaign of Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, decrying “anti-intellectualism” and noting that “ignorance is not a virtue.”
Obama did not specifically name the brash New York real estate developer during his remarks at a university graduation ceremony in New Jersey, but it was clear he was referring to the candidate who is running on a slogan of “Make America Great Again!”
The Democrat told students not to pine for an American golden age of years past, saying, “The good old days were not all that good,” as he pointed out problems with racial discrimination, poverty and lack of equality for women.
“The world is more interconnected than ever before and it is becoming more connected every day. Building walls won’t change things,” Obama said...
Obama noted that no wall could stop outbreaks of infectious diseases like Ebola and Zika, or help the United States remain competitive in a time of globalization. “Suggesting that we can build an endless wall along our borders and blame our challenges on immigrants, that does not just run counter to our history as the world melting pot,” Obama said. “It contradicts the evidence that our growth and our innovation and our dynamism has always been spurred by our ability to attract strivers from every corner of the globe.”
The US president also denounced politicians who hold themselves up as examples of straight-talkers but shun political correctness.
“In politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue. It’s not cool to not know what you’re talking about,” he said. “That’s not challenging political correctness. That’s just not knowing what you’re talking about.”

Netanyahu: Iran ‘preparing another Holocaust’
Al-Arabya|AFP, 15 May 2016

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced an anti-Israel cartoon contest themed around the Holocaust, accusing Iran of denying and belittling it as well as “preparing another Holocaust.”
The exhibition, totaling 150 entries from 50 countries, with many entries deriding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government’s Middle East policies, opened Saturday in Tehran.
“Over the weekend Iran convened a special Holocaust-denial cartoon contest,” Netanyahu said at the beginning of his weekly cabinet meeting. “We raise this here because it must be understood what our problem with Iran is,” he said.
“It is not just its policy of subversion and aggression in the region; it is the values on which it is based. It denies and belittles the Holocaust and it is also preparing another Holocaust.”
The Iranian government has distanced itself from the contest, which Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said was organized by a non-governmental organization without any support from the authorities.

iranian cartoonists on the web

Saudi Arabia & The Palestinian Homeland
Arab News, 16 May 2016

Sunday, May 15, marked the 68th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe) — the Palestinians’ dispossession and loss of their homeland.
Observing Nakba Day is important for the Palestinian people. Almost every family has a story to tell about that day in 1948 when so many Palestinians were forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in less troubled lands.

From the beginning, the Kingdom supported the Palestinian cause during all its stages as well as on the political, economic, social and military levels. This was due to its duty stemming from its creed and religion, its conscience, and its Arab and Islamic loyalty.
During the reign of King Abdul Aziz, Saudi Arabia supported the Palestinian struggle against the Jewish occupation, which continued until its peak in 1948... The first Saudi king was keen to highlight the lawful rights of the Palestinians...
The Kingdom was the first among Arab countries to support the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1969... One of King Faisal’s most significant acts was the halting of oil exports in 1973 to Western countries which supported the Zionist entity.

The support of Saudi kings for the Palestinians continued during the reign of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz.
The King Fahd Plan for Peace was announced at the Arab Summit in the Moroccan city of Fez in 1982...
The King Fahd Project specified that Israel withdraw from all Arab territories occupied in 1967 including Jerusalem, to dismantle Israeli settlements built on Arab land after 1967, to guarantee freedom of worship for all religions in the holy places, to affirm the lawful rights of the Palestinian people and to compensate those who do not wish to return.
The West Bank and Gaza would have a transitional period under the supervision of the United Nation which would see the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, allow all states in the region to live in peace and with the United Nations or member states to guarantee the implementation of these provisions.
Saudi Arabia presented a second initiative for the resolution of the problem; it was known as the King Abdullah Initiative and was announced at the Beirut Summit in 2002.

1985: US & Israel reject the Fez plan

Most points in the Fez plan are unacceptable to Israel, including the idea of giving back all of the West Bank to Jordan, the Golan Heights to Syria and East Jerusalem to the Arabs. The Israelis and the Americans also reject the idea of a separate Palestinian state.
The United States, when it uses the term ''legitimate rights,'' means that the Palestinians should have a say in their future....
Mr. Reagan in his initiative called for negotiations eventually leading to an association between Jordan and an autonomous Palestinian region... (New York Times, 14-2-1985)

Zionist activist Bernard-Henri Levy supports the Kurdish cause
By Fiachra Gibbons, Times of Israel, May 17, 2016

French intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy made a dramatic late entry into the Cannes film festival Monday with a “close-up look” at the Kurds’ battle against the Islamic State group in Iraq... The 67-year-old philosopher — long a supporter of the secular Kurdish cause — filmed battles between Kurdish autonomous region forces and the jihadists for “Peshmerga.”
His producers said the film, which will be premiered on Friday, was shot on the front lines around Kirkuk and Sinjar, and that they used drone cameras to get images from inside the IS-held city of Mosul. “The film is a homage to the brave (Kurdish) men and women who are defying death to become the world’s rampart against the Islamic State,” Margo Cinema said in a statement.
Levy said he wanted the film to give a “moral recognition” to a Kurdish homeland “on this the 100th anniversary of the Sykes-Picot Agreement (between France and Britain during World War I) that set in stone the dismemberment of the Kurdish people into four different countries.” An estimated 25 to 35 million Kurds are spread between Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran. “This film pleads that the injustice done to the ‘People of the Mountains’ be remedied,” he added.

Levy, a major media figure in France known by his initials “BHL,” is credited with persuading former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to help Libyan rebels topple dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
His film about his role in putting an international coalition together to help the rebels, “The Oath of Tobruk,” was also a late entry to the festival the following year. The film industry bible Variety noted that “followers of global politics will be surprised to learn that Bernard-Henri Levy is responsible for the downfall of Gaddafi.”

"The intervention in Libya [..] has created two million refugees, hundreds of thousands of corpses, and a terrorist state.
One might suppose that a little re-thinking of interventionism would be in order..." David Horowitz, 16-5-2016