Archive for March 2, 2012

Tell that to Bashshar Al-Ja`fari

So the Syrian ambassador at the UN, Bashshar Al-Ja`fari, finally had mild words of criticisms against Saudi Arabia.  He even even criticized Saudi military intervention in Bahrain.  Al-Ja`fari should be reminded that his government–the Syria…

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad

Arguments for armed Palestinian resistance

All the arguments that are invoked by Western commentators in favor of arming the Syrian opposition can–nay should–be applied to the case of Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation.  I can’t wait for the next Western person to lecture to Pa…

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad

Flash: Syrian TV and raw propaganda footage from Aljazeera and CNN

It seems that Syrian regime had agents among the rebels; or it seems that the Syrian regime obtained a trove of video footage from Baba Amru.  They have been airing them non-stop.  They are quite damning.  They show the correspondent or …

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad

For the sake of the Syrian people

I sure hope that the Syrian regime ends its “reform” and brings back the state of emergency, and I sure hope that the Free Syrian Army stops protecting civilians.  

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad

conspiracies in Syria

My weekly article for Al-Akhbar: “Conspiracies in Syria”.

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad

The Homs Revolutionary Council

The Homs revolutionary council is basically a cocktail of Wahhabis, Ikhwan, Hizb at-Tahrir, free lance religious fanatics, and informers for the Syrian regime.

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad

Battalion of Yazid Bin Mu`awiya

I have mentioned before that the lousy Free Syrian Army chooses Islamic names for its units and battalions.  But comrade Amer observed that they named one battalion after Yazid bin Mu`awiyah: the man was no military commander and his only claim to…

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad

Lebanese Anonymous

“Cyber activists hacked into four Lebanese governments websites on Thursday, defacing the home pages in an apparent bid to raise awareness over the country’s rampant corruption.  The activists, referring to themselves as Lebanon Anonymous claimed …

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad

Pro-Democracy Activists

Yesterday, on the BBC they kept referring to the staff of the various American NGOs as “pro-democracy activists”.  I thought it was hilarious.  So everybody who works for Freedom House or Republican Institute is automatically a “pro-democracy…

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad

Fear in their eyes

The interviews with residents in Baba Amr that were aired on Syrian regime TV were very disturbing.  The residents looked afraid as they talked to the regime’s reporters.  

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad

psychological operations

I classify this story under the file of psychological operations: “he State Department has begun coordinating with Syria’s neighbors to prepare for the handling of President Bashar al-Assad’s extensive weapons of mass destruction if and when his regime…

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad

Feltman

Can someone send me the full text of the remarks by Jeffrey Feltman on Syria from yesterday? I want to make a few comments. Oh, and I want them NOW.

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad

Stratfor:

Documents of Stratfor have not impressed me one bit.  They basically are press selections with little original information.  Look at this one about CIA operations in Lebanon.  Nothing new in it.

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad

lies of the Syrian Ikhwan-led opposition

“Activists said that they had been planning their retreat for days, with scores of residents led to safety before the withdrawal was announced.”  So they have been lying all these weeks when they claimed that the residents were trapped?  Is t…

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad

Neil MacFarquhar and agitation against `Alawites in the New York Times

Look at this sinister sentence: “During the biggest demonstrations to date in Damascus, on Feb. 18, Alawite civilians emerged to help suppress a mostly Sunni demonstration.”  What is his source for this claim?  And how would his informants kn…

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad

Burhan Ghalyun

Syrian opposition website, Al-Haqiqah, claims to “uncover” the true background of Burhan Ghalyun.  It claims that Ghalyun was a spokesperson for the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood’s armed wing.  There is absolutely no evidence of that whatsoever. …

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad

New York Times

New York Times casually open its op-ed pages for Israeli officials or former Israeli officials to call for and agitate for bombing of Iran, or some Arab country.  Would the New York Times allow Arabs to write “opinion pieces” in which they call fo…

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad

Slaughter in Syria

A student pointed out to me this: like there is an academic panel at the University of Massachusetts titled “Slaughter in Syria.”  I don’t have a problem with the title if the same panel would allow for a panel titled “Slaughter in Palestine”…

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad

hilarious

It is hilarious when Saudi media mock Syrian constitution (when Saudi Arabia has no constitution) and they mock Iranian elections (when Saudi Arabia has no elections to speak of).

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad

Did you Syrian regime infiltrate the rebels of Baba Amr?

Nasser sent me this: “It’s very clear that the Syrian were watching everything and had agent inside baba amr shooting some of the events of media coveragePhoner with cnnAljazeera correspondent phonier from baba amr and ordering shooting when he comes o…

Posted on March 2, 2012 by As'ad