Archive for May 19, 2012
Sabbahi on Israel: the new Egypt
““I will support all forms of armed resistance” against Israel, Mr. Sabahi said, “whether it comes from Palestine’s land, from Lebanon’s land or from any other land.” “Egypt will no longer be a godfather for Israel in this region,” …
Posted on May 19, 2012 by As'ad
Queen Youtube was allowed out of the ruling palace in Amman
Posted on May 19, 2012 by As'ad
Who is running the show in Syria?
I received a detailed report from a Syrian with contact inside the regime. It has been confirmed to me that the Russian government (through its intelligence service) is running the show. Qadri Jamil is playing an increasingly important role…
Posted on May 19, 2012 by As'ad
Two meals
Arabs have been circulating this contrast picture on Twitter. The second one (below) shows the crown prince of Bahrain with the crown prince of Qatar.
Posted on May 19, 2012 by As'ad
On Kadri Jamil: the Syrian regime’s favorite opposition figure
From a Syrian reader: ”I have nothing personal against Kadri Jamil and his party: the “Popular Will Party” (PWP) but his long term patience provokes me a lot. It seems he never gives up. And here is another episode: In the last editorial of K…
Posted on May 19, 2012 by As'ad
Nuri Al-Maliki’s PR offensive
“Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, concerned by his portrayal in U.S. media as an autocratic leader intent on consolidating power, has invited several influential Washington scholars to Baghdad to meet his team next week. The rare invitation w…
Posted on May 19, 2012 by As'ad
So Ban Ki-moon basically said that what he said yesterday was a flat out lie
“At the United Nations, the secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, sought to clarify remarks he had made on Thursday regarding responsibility for a pair of suicide bombings in Damascus on May 10 that killed at least 55 people. Mr. Ban had said…
Posted on May 19, 2012 by As'ad
Propaganda about Syria
“Sheik Shadi Jebara, a Salafi leader from the city’s restive Sunni-majority Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood, said he knew of 50 to 70 men who had gone to Syria. Salafis represent a puritanical movement within Sunni Islam. “There are religious gr…
Posted on May 19, 2012 by As'ad
Funding the Arab counter-revolution
“The biggest single new initiative in the State Department’s $51.6 billion budget proposal for next year was a Middle East Incentive Fund– $770 million in mostly new money to help State respond to the Arab Spring by supporting emerging democracies and…
Posted on May 19, 2012 by As'ad
Qatar versus Saudi Arabia
It seems that Saudi Arabia is funding the campaign of Amr Musa while Qatar is funding the campaign of Abu Al-Futuh.
Posted on May 19, 2012 by As'ad
Sons of Zayid’s media
Basim sent me this: ”This article in The National titled: “Qatar’s ties with the Muslim Brotherhood affect entire region.” Despite that being very correct, it completely omits mention of the destructive influence of the two in Syria and their …
Posted on May 19, 2012 by As'ad
House of Saud’s columnists
Akram sent me this: ”Here is how Abdelwahab Badrakhan explains in Al-hayat newspaper (Arabic) why the efforts to unify the Syrian opposition groups (under the umbrella of the SNC off course) have failed:”Actually, the “Body” (National Coordinat…
Posted on May 19, 2012 by As'ad
Shadi Al-Mawlawi
“‘Sources Impeccables’ say that Deputy PM Al Attiya’s brother was apprehended along with Shadi Mawlawi (Al Attiya was Mawlawi’s main ‘benefactor’) after Lebanon’s DGSG (General Security) was tipped by a Jordanian operative at the behest …
Posted on May 19, 2012 by As'ad
The view from Damascus
A dissident in Damascus sent me his view (I am translating parts and took pains to protect his identity):”You are fully right, doctor, in disbelieving both sides but the reality is worse than what is being talked about. Opposition lies a lot in t…
Posted on May 19, 2012 by As'ad
Dunya TV
Dunya TV showed a Lebanese pro-Syrian regime journalist and he said that the best evidence for Obama’s “dirt” is his support for gay marriage.
Posted on May 19, 2012 by As'ad
Syrian-American intelligence sharing
I am told that the Syrian regime has resumed its intelligence sharing with the US government and that there are contacts between the two sides that we don’t know about.
Posted on May 19, 2012 by As'ad
The Taliban in Honduras and not US troops killed the pregnant women
“Residents of the isolated Mosquito Coast of Honduras have burned down government buildings and are demanding that American drug agents leave the area immediately, intensifying a dispute over whether an antidrug operation there last week left…
Posted on May 19, 2012 by As'ad
DFLP: the art of political opportunism
I receive the weekly issues of Al-Hurriyyah (the mouthpiece of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine) from Damascus (with postage stamps showing Bashshar, of course). There is not a single word about developments in Syria. Na…
Posted on May 19, 2012 by As'ad
DFLP: the art of political opportunism
I receive the weekly issues of Al-Hurriyyah (the mouthpiece of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine) from Damascus (with postage stamps showing Bashshar, of course). There is not a single word about developments in Syria. Na…
Posted on May 19, 2012 by As'ad