By Ghassan Kadi
23 October 2013
BANDAR; THE MAN WHO WOULD NOT BE KING:
King Abdul Aziz Al Saud, the founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who gave the Kingdom the very name of his father, had 45 sons out of whom 36 survived into adulthood.
When he died in 1953, succession was aged-based. Saud, his eldest son was his Crown Prince and until he was deposed by his half-brother Faisal in 1964.
Since then, all Saudi Monarchs have been the direct sons of Abdul Aziz, the founder of the monarchy and the family line.
It is not surprising that all of his sons are now getting on with age, but such is the Saudi succession system. The first in line has to be from the first generation irrespective of his age, until they all die. What happens after all of Abdul Aziz’s sons die? No one really knows.
When Faisal became king in 1964 and until has was assassinated in 1975, the first in line, his Crown Prince was his half-brother Prince Khaled who was already old. Faisal therefore groomed Prince Fahed, another half-brother, the second in line, to be the acting king after he dies.
Khaled became a tokenistic king and Prince Fahed was the power man. Under Khaled, Fahed was the first in line, followed by half-brothers Abdullah (the current king) and Sultan (father of Bandar). This offered the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia a stable succession and a sense for stability.
By the time Fahed became king, he too was too old and Abdullah became the power man and Sultan became his successor.
However, the succession became a bit murky, and Abdullah did not have a power man who would be a good candidate to take the role of the acting king. By then, Sultan was getting too old himself and the generational change was bound to happen sooner or later.
Bandar Bin Sultan (ie son of Sultan) was hoping that his father, the Crown Prince would become king albeit for one day for him (Bandar) to become the power man and the first second generation king. But to Bandar’s utter disappointment, his father (Sultan) died in 2011 whilst Abdullah was still king.
Bandar’s dreams of his father (Sultan) becoming king and appointing him as his successor were shattered. Bandar’s ultimate dream would have been to see his father outliving all of Abdul Aziz’s sons. If that happened, Sultan would have started his own legacy and passed on his throne to Bandar without Bandar having to make any special effort to prove his worth.
With the premature death of prince Sultan and the appointment of prince Nayef (son of Abdul Aziz) as Crown Prince, who died a year after (in 2012) and was replace by another son of Abdul Aziz, prince Salman (born 1935), the generational change was still on the agenda.
The sons of the late Crown Prince Nayef did not have any clout, and if they did, they lost it when their father died before he became king. The sons of the current Crown Prince Salman are not known in the international arena and do not carry any clout of their own either.
This bolstered the dreams of Bandar to become the first king of the second generation, and hopefully to be officially named as Crown Prince, but this time, he had a succession mountain to climb and he had to prove his worth.
With his African slave mother, his fight to the top had to be a huge climb. Saudi Arabia is not only a radical fundamentalist state, but also one that is very racist and Africans are still seen as “niggers” (pardon the expression).
With his complex as being half African combined with his fundamentalist outlooks and unrelenting desire to be king, Bandar has put his utmost effort to present to the Saudi Royalty that he is the man who can protect the Kingdom from the Iranian/Shiite peril (as Sunni fundamentalists see Iran).
Dubbed Bandar Bush being closely allied to the Bush administration(s), being very close to Israel albeit covertly, Bandar found in Syria what he thought was his winning card to curb what he sees as the Shiite invasion of the Sunni world and his passport to become the unrivalled Saudi king.
Syria looked like free-game to him. He thought that by bolstering an alliance against Syria, he would appease his American and Israeli friends, round up enough international propaganda , call for Jihad and lure Islamist recruits with the ultimate objective to topple Bashar. That would also make him the all-Saudi hero who defeated Iran and the Shiite expansion.
Believing that the Americans regarded him as an ally and a spokesperson, he dared to venture to Russia trying to incite Putin to play the US game. When his negotiations with Putin failed, he took another dare when he left the meeting with Putin with a threat. He even threatened Putin that now that the negotiations have failed, the failure meant war and Chechen terrorists wreaking havoc in Russia and the upcoming Winter Olympics.
Little did he know that he was threatening an aspiring world leader of a major power and that he is/was not a true ally of the United States; only a puppet chasing his own dreams of grandeur, fanaticism and crown.
His next effort was based on creating a convincing argument for American intervention in Syria, and hence the alleged chemical attack in Ghuta that he orchestrated.
More and more dreams of Bandar were shattered again and again, the last of which was when Putin put a red line to the USA and said to them (in more ways than one) to keep off Syria.
Bandar now stands alone. He is now frothing and threatening to walk away from his
American allies.
Bashar Assad stood alone for quite a long time, and before him his father Hafez Assad stood alone when Yeltsin’s Russia was not even able to provide him with spare parts for military hardware.
Hafez and Bashar had their people behind them. Their legacy will be recorded in history as men who stood and won against all odds.
Bandar stands alone because he wants to be king. He will be recorded in history as the man who was destined to never be king.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
DANGERS OF MERGING HEZBOLLAH AND IRAN (written in September 2011)
A little piece from 2011 that I had forgotten about and
found the other day...
DANGERS OF MERGING HEZBOLLAH AND IRAN
By Ghassan Kadi , 21 September 2011.
As someone who cares about Palestine in specific and in justice
in general, I find that the main purpose behind any writing I do is to serve
this objective. The road towards such an objective is long and narrow and can
get at times foggy. In other instances, one may have to make interim alliances
that serve a common objective. The eyes have to be wide open and the mind needs
to be alert.
Israel and its lobby have been running a very diligent
propaganda campaign for decades and there is nothing new in this. The campaign
is multi-faceted and does not always necessarily come out as black and white.
Some of it is very covert and subtle and hard to identify as Zionist
propaganda.
Perhaps whole books can be written about this subject, but
the main objective of this note is to highlight a danger that Israel is
capitalizing on, namely the issue of the relationship between Iran and
Hezbollah.
In its attempt to gain international sympathy and support,
Israel is always trying to portray that it is surrounded by ruthless and
powerful enemies. Iran is now being portrayed as the big bully that is
threatening Israel. It is also trying to make Hezbollah and Iran appear as
inseparable entities; twins, and hence is always trying to promote the idea
that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization and should not have any
representation in the Lebanese cabinet even when it wins votes with an
overwhelming majority.
But this view of Hezbollah does not only serve the Israeli
propaganda, but it also plays on domestic Lebanese politics which are very
vulnerable and always underestimated.
The anti-Hezbollah camp in Lebanon is also constantly trying to
portray Hezbollah as an Iranian satellite. They argue that any support for
Hezbollah means a support for the regional Iranian rise to power and its
hegemony. When sectarian Sunni/Shiite passions are added to the argument, the
final cocktail becomes very easily taken in by Sunnis who feel fearful about
what has been recently dubbed “Tashyeeh”, a word that is best translated as
Shiit-ification.
Hezbollah is an organization that is protecting Lebanese
sovereignty by guarding the Lebanese borders from Israeli incursions. The
liberation of South Lebanon from Israeli occupation in 2000 and the subsequent
defeat of Israel in July 2006 were thus far its greatest achievements.
Hezbollah undoubtedly relies heavily on Iranian and Syrian
support, but within Lebanon, Hezbollah has its own independent political modus
operandi that finds it having common grounds with the Tayyar movement, a
political party headed by the ex Army Chief (General Aoun) who is a Maronite
Christian.
Whether one supports Hezbollah, Syria, Hamas, the PA,
Turkey, General Aoun, Iran or any other power player within Lebanon or the
region as a whole, facts dictate that there are two major political and
military forces in the Levant; one that supports Israel and its agenda, and one
that is against it.
Sadly, there are many divisions within the latter side.
Those divisions are so powerful at times that they push some very staunch
anti-Israelis to argue and fight within themselves.
In the ideal world, those who oppose Israel and its
oppressive policies should be united by that cause and be able to realize that
what unites them is far stronger and more substantial than what divides them.
When they cannot work together, the least they can do is not to work against
each other and not to get into propaganda war against each other throwing
around accusations of corruption and treachery.
Sadly also, a very active FB member, under a nom de plume, is very active in strongly promoting the concept of unity of Hezbollah and Iran. This
very vehement affirmation can easily serve Israeli propaganda and can also
inflame anti-resistance sentiments and more divisions within Lebanon.
The regurgitation of Israeli propaganda and the divisive
rhetoric of ultra right wing Lebanese politics cannot be of any good in serving
the main objective of the struggle against Israel and ensuring justice for
Palestinians.
The objective here is not to slander that particular person
and/or get into a tit-for-tat FB war with any one. This is about offering a
view about a very seemingly benign issue in the hope that its ramifications can
become clearly visible.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
OGARITE DANDACHE'S AUGUST August 2013 DOCUMENTARY ON LATTAKIA MASSACRE
In mid August 2013, this documentary was finally aired. Ghassan and I decided after nothing being said of the events in any media and merely news coming in frantic letters from Lattakian friends, that we would describe it in English. Translating it word for word was not an option so whilst some parts are word for word translations other parts are mere descriptions/interpretations of the one hour long documentary.
Ogarite Dandache's documentary is about the massacres, kidnappings and destruction in the Lattakia countryside in the first week of August this year. I have pasted here the description and the link for the documentary as well as the list of names of victims and kidnapped that was collected in the very early days. No doubt this list is more detailed now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUBOAHQvj2Y
Ogarite Dandache of Mayadeen TV produced a special report on the massacres, kidnappings and attacks in the Lattakia area in the first week of August 2013.
The documentary is in Arabic. The following is an interpretation of what the documentary was about.
____________________________
The first part of the documentary interviews survivors. One child describes how she hid for three days without food or water. Fifteen people from her village, including relatives were killed. One of the children was recognised in a hospital in Turkey and was brought back to Syria. A doctor speaks about the child’s case. He says the girl has had surgery but as shrapnel is still inside her body he is unable to ascertain what her operation was for. There have been reports of kidnappings with the victims being taken to Turkey for organ harvesting. The little girl says all she remembers was being taken to Turkey with her mother.
Another little girl was hiding in the forest for eleven days without food or water until rescued by the army. Her Aunty is with her in the hospital and said the child has hardly spoken but described that the terrorists came from all directions and took many hostages who till today are still missing. The Aunty described her niece as so traumatized that she barely speaks at all and appears scared of everyone including her family. The child recollected walking with her father and brothers when suddenly they came under attack. She was unsure whether her father was hit by gunfire but she hid in the forest. The Aunty ponders how this child will react when she comes out of shock and realises that 50 members of her family have been killed. The final toll of victims is still unknown.
A boy speaks of being outside when he and his family were shot at by machine gunfire. His father was hit and his male cousin was taken hostage. The boy hid in his cousin’s house with his grandmother and other relatives and things got worse as the house was shelled and his brother was hit in the back and died.
An elderly woman shares her harrowing experience. She came from a small hamlet comprised of three houses. Realising that the terrorists were closing in from all directions she said to her husband that they were coming to kill them. Her husband said they would have to kill him first before anything happened to the family. He was killed. The elderly woman felt great fear for the girls in the family. They managed to hide but the shelling was so bad and the terrorists kidnapped members of the family.
Ogarite showed a map of the areas where the attacks happened. She stated that the terrorists had been in the area for some time and that it wasn’t the first time there had been attacks. She revealed that these attacks were made possible due to some traitors inside the Syrian Arab Army who had defected and given inside information. She explained that the terrain and conditions were not easy for the terrorists to hold and they either retreated or were killed after a short period.
The terrorists aim was to strike a psychological blow to the President and the nation by hitting the village of the birthplace of the Assads. The terrorists had become desperate for some gains due to their failures throughout the country and their failed goal of declaring on Eid an Islamic Emirate in Aleppo. Another objective was to inflame sectarian tensions in Lattakia but that aslo failed. They wanted to lure other militants into the area to support them and to ease pressure off their colleagues in Aleppo by creating a side battle.
In a village called Nabi Younis, the terrorists were faced by strong resistance and were unable to take over. The village is on a hill top in a strategic area. The reporter interviewed the Army commander in charge of defending this town. He explained that it is a key point between the coast and Hama as well as between Idlib and Aleppo and control of this area blocks the terrorists from advancing on other fronts. The commander said their fight was one to defend the country, one of principles and this ground had to be held as imperative.
At the time of this documentary being filmed there were areas where the battles were still going on. Another strategic hill top was under heavy fire and sniper fire. From this point onwards soldiers had to clear the area with artillery and then proceed with hand to hand combat. The journalist had to stop for some time shielding herself from gunfire.
All these areas at the time of the documentary being filmed were close to being secured by the Army.
Ogarite Dandache continued throughout various locations with the Army coming across many abandoned weapons and devices. In one place there were packages of charges and explosives left behind, most likely to be used to block the road leaving it impassable. Packages of foodstuffs and water were found, water and food packages made in Turkey, dates from Qatar amongst other items.
The soldiers came across and ancient cave church called Tallet Al Khodr . It is a shrine to an Islamic saint with pictures of Mother Mary adorning it.
The Army and journalist entered the area near Balouta, a village in the hands of the terrorists. They prepare to take the village back under control. Entering the village they see deceased villagers and a donkey runs around hysterically. Missiles being launched are seen close by. Soldiers take positions throughout the olive groves.
In the village plastic chairs strategically placed in sunny spots sit empty and forlorne. The once idyllic and picturesque village is all smashed up. More foodstuffs are found. The packaging is written in Turkish. Throughout the village homes are completely smashed, photographs of the inhabitants lie everywhere on the ground, photos of children, weddings and happy moments.
Various banners and scrawled messages are around indicating which gangs of terrorists were in this village. Battles went on for two weeks in this village. Some of the names of the gangs were displayed; “Jabhat al Nusra”, “Dawat al Islam”, “Katibet Soukour al-Iz”, “The Islamic State of Iraq and Sham” and “Haraqat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyyah”.
The land is back in the hands of the people but the people are not there. Many have been killed, many taken hostage and many will return to see their homes in ruins.
_____________________________
Names of the victims of the massacres which wiped out entire families, committed by #Al_Nusra_Front backed by hundreds of terrorists from (#Baghdad_and_Al_Sham_Islamic_State_Army ) terrorist group against the civillians in 8 villages in the countryside north-eastern city of#Latakia and #Slenfeh.This happened at the dawn of Sunday 4/8/2013 :
Victims names in village "#Nabata":1 - Hafez Mehrez Shehadeh, 80 years old.2 - Kamal Mohammed Shehadeh and his wife and their three children:- Rend a 11-year-old girl.- Nasr 9 years.- Mohammed 7 years.7 - Jafar alSheikh .... a child of 4 years,he was scared so he asked for water to drink ..., a bearded man stabbed him to death.8 - Yassin Najdat Shehadeh.9 - Jaudat Shehadeh.10 - Emad El Sheikh.11 - Tamadur Salim Shehadeh,17 years old.12 -Khitam Adeeb Shehadeh.13 - Ibrahim AlSheikh.
Names of kidnapped people from village "#Nabata":1 - Hajja Sheikh Ibrahim (Hafiz Shehadeh's wife).2- Fahima Mohamed Osman.3- Ramza al Sheikh and (4)her daughter Tayma.5- Child: Amer Ghassan Yahya6- Ahmed Shehadeh and (7) his wife Shaza Hattab and (8) their little baby :9 months old.9- Ali Hattab10- Kazem Mehrez Shehadeh and (11) his wife Dyaa Sweid and their three children:(12)Ola - (13)Haider - (14) Zain: one year old.15- Mona Fatima (Kidnapped After they slaughtered her husband)17- Samara alSheikh.18- Lotus alSheikh.19- Marah alSheikh.20- Anaam alSheikh, 13 years old.21- Bashar al-Sheikh,11 years old.22- Ahmed Alhiekh.23- Aktham AlSheikh.
Victims names in village "#Alhmbushiah" mostly children:1- Hani Shakouhi.2- Hamza Maryam.3-Tahir Maryam.4- Munther Darwish .5- Hala: Munther Darwish' wife, she was pregnant, the terrorists cut her stomach after killing her and grabbed the baby out and threw him away.6- Ayman Maryam (a little boy).7- Lina Qadera (a little girl).8- Ahmad Maryam (a little boy).9- Refaat Maryam.10-Dalaa Maryam (a little girl).11-Marah Maryam (a little girl).12-Farah Maryam (a little girl).13- Mohammad Maryam (a little boy).14- Jaafar Ismail (a little boy).15- Wesal Tamer.16- Taim Shakouhi (one year old boy).17- Tamer Shakouhi (3 years old boy).18- Lamia Shehadeh and all of her children.19- Intesar Maryam.20- Asrar Maryam.21- Narjes Maryam.22- Wahieb Maryam.23- Nazier Arifu.24- Adel Maryam.25- Wael Maryam.
Names of kidnapped people from village "#Alhmbushiah" by Al-Nusra Front:1- Fadel Shakouhi.2- Wazifa Shakouhi.3- Kenanah Shakouhi.4- Afief Shakouhi.5- Moustafa Shakouhi.6- Faten Maryam.7- Wedad Maryam.8- Elien Maryam.9- Doaa Maryam.
Victims names in village "#AlBalouta" ,Where entire families were wiped out :1- Azab Salim.2-Taim Salim (1 year old).3- Sameir Salim.4- Haider Salim.5- Wafik Ibrahim and his 3 children:6- Shadi Ibrahim.7- Meqdad Ibrahim.8- Ghaidaq Ibrahim.9- Nihad Deip.10- Fawzia Deip.11- Ghadir Deip.12- Amjad Deip.13- Ziena Deip14- Ziad Deip (1 year old).15- Hussein Ibrahim.16- Mariam Ibrahim.17- Zahra Ibrahim.18- Ismail Ibrahim.
Names of the kidnapped people from this village are not known yet.
Victims names in village "#Bermseh"1- Solaiman Fatima and (2) his wife Samira Ghanem.3- Mohamed Fatima and (4)his wife Fekriah Yassin.5- Nadi Fatima, and (6) his wife and (7) (8) their two sons.9- Basem Fatima and (10) his wife and (11)(12)(13) their 3 children.
Names of the kidnapped people from this village are not known yet.
Victims names in village of "#Abu_Mecki":1- Asaad Solaiman Qadra.2- Mohamed Kamel Qadra.3- Faeqa Haidar, a school teacher.
I could not document more information about the fate of this village.
Village "#Aubin" was burned by the terrorists and we don't know anything about the civilians fate there, yet.
Village "#Esterbeh" close to #Salma. the civilians escaped but the terrorists occupied the village.
These information are documented but it's not the final and complete report
**Prior to establishing this blog, our work on this was posted on Facebook where it was shared widely and unfortunately in at least one instance presented as if it is to work of others. Here is a record of it here being shared with a link to the original, a link which no longer works as FB deleted my "Intibah Wakeup" account.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/tim-anderson/the-lattakia-massacres-august-2013/10151658224806234
*Note. Working with my husband on translating/describing this documentary was a very distressing effort as he has witnessed massacres and other traumas from the Lebanese Civil War and earlier conflicts. Our most modest work was published on https://australiansforreconciliationinsyria.org/massacre-in-lattakia-august-2013/ and from there it was shared on many other sites. Whilst published on that site and not attributed to us despite a request to do so we trust eventually it will be acknowledged when the Webmaster gets to it.
News of this terrible event published also in:
https://syrianperspective.com/2017/02/syrian-army-liberates-more-towns-and-villages-in-aleppo-hostages-freed-in-latakia-syrian-army-crushes-attack-by-alqaeda-in-latakia.html
Ogarite Dandache's documentary is about the massacres, kidnappings and destruction in the Lattakia countryside in the first week of August this year. I have pasted here the description and the link for the documentary as well as the list of names of victims and kidnapped that was collected in the very early days. No doubt this list is more detailed now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUBOAHQvj2Y
Ogarite Dandache of Mayadeen TV produced a special report on the massacres, kidnappings and attacks in the Lattakia area in the first week of August 2013.
The documentary is in Arabic. The following is an interpretation of what the documentary was about.
____________________________
The first part of the documentary interviews survivors. One child describes how she hid for three days without food or water. Fifteen people from her village, including relatives were killed. One of the children was recognised in a hospital in Turkey and was brought back to Syria. A doctor speaks about the child’s case. He says the girl has had surgery but as shrapnel is still inside her body he is unable to ascertain what her operation was for. There have been reports of kidnappings with the victims being taken to Turkey for organ harvesting. The little girl says all she remembers was being taken to Turkey with her mother.
Another little girl was hiding in the forest for eleven days without food or water until rescued by the army. Her Aunty is with her in the hospital and said the child has hardly spoken but described that the terrorists came from all directions and took many hostages who till today are still missing. The Aunty described her niece as so traumatized that she barely speaks at all and appears scared of everyone including her family. The child recollected walking with her father and brothers when suddenly they came under attack. She was unsure whether her father was hit by gunfire but she hid in the forest. The Aunty ponders how this child will react when she comes out of shock and realises that 50 members of her family have been killed. The final toll of victims is still unknown.
A boy speaks of being outside when he and his family were shot at by machine gunfire. His father was hit and his male cousin was taken hostage. The boy hid in his cousin’s house with his grandmother and other relatives and things got worse as the house was shelled and his brother was hit in the back and died.
An elderly woman shares her harrowing experience. She came from a small hamlet comprised of three houses. Realising that the terrorists were closing in from all directions she said to her husband that they were coming to kill them. Her husband said they would have to kill him first before anything happened to the family. He was killed. The elderly woman felt great fear for the girls in the family. They managed to hide but the shelling was so bad and the terrorists kidnapped members of the family.
Ogarite showed a map of the areas where the attacks happened. She stated that the terrorists had been in the area for some time and that it wasn’t the first time there had been attacks. She revealed that these attacks were made possible due to some traitors inside the Syrian Arab Army who had defected and given inside information. She explained that the terrain and conditions were not easy for the terrorists to hold and they either retreated or were killed after a short period.
The terrorists aim was to strike a psychological blow to the President and the nation by hitting the village of the birthplace of the Assads. The terrorists had become desperate for some gains due to their failures throughout the country and their failed goal of declaring on Eid an Islamic Emirate in Aleppo. Another objective was to inflame sectarian tensions in Lattakia but that aslo failed. They wanted to lure other militants into the area to support them and to ease pressure off their colleagues in Aleppo by creating a side battle.
In a village called Nabi Younis, the terrorists were faced by strong resistance and were unable to take over. The village is on a hill top in a strategic area. The reporter interviewed the Army commander in charge of defending this town. He explained that it is a key point between the coast and Hama as well as between Idlib and Aleppo and control of this area blocks the terrorists from advancing on other fronts. The commander said their fight was one to defend the country, one of principles and this ground had to be held as imperative.
At the time of this documentary being filmed there were areas where the battles were still going on. Another strategic hill top was under heavy fire and sniper fire. From this point onwards soldiers had to clear the area with artillery and then proceed with hand to hand combat. The journalist had to stop for some time shielding herself from gunfire.
All these areas at the time of the documentary being filmed were close to being secured by the Army.
Ogarite Dandache continued throughout various locations with the Army coming across many abandoned weapons and devices. In one place there were packages of charges and explosives left behind, most likely to be used to block the road leaving it impassable. Packages of foodstuffs and water were found, water and food packages made in Turkey, dates from Qatar amongst other items.
The soldiers came across and ancient cave church called Tallet Al Khodr . It is a shrine to an Islamic saint with pictures of Mother Mary adorning it.
The Army and journalist entered the area near Balouta, a village in the hands of the terrorists. They prepare to take the village back under control. Entering the village they see deceased villagers and a donkey runs around hysterically. Missiles being launched are seen close by. Soldiers take positions throughout the olive groves.
In the village plastic chairs strategically placed in sunny spots sit empty and forlorne. The once idyllic and picturesque village is all smashed up. More foodstuffs are found. The packaging is written in Turkish. Throughout the village homes are completely smashed, photographs of the inhabitants lie everywhere on the ground, photos of children, weddings and happy moments.
Various banners and scrawled messages are around indicating which gangs of terrorists were in this village. Battles went on for two weeks in this village. Some of the names of the gangs were displayed; “Jabhat al Nusra”, “Dawat al Islam”, “Katibet Soukour al-Iz”, “The Islamic State of Iraq and Sham” and “Haraqat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyyah”.
The land is back in the hands of the people but the people are not there. Many have been killed, many taken hostage and many will return to see their homes in ruins.
_____________________________
Names of the victims of the massacres which wiped out entire families, committed by #Al_Nusra_Front backed by hundreds of terrorists from (#Baghdad_and_Al_Sham_Islamic_State_Army ) terrorist group against the civillians in 8 villages in the countryside north-eastern city of#Latakia and #Slenfeh.This happened at the dawn of Sunday 4/8/2013 :
Victims names in village "#Nabata":1 - Hafez Mehrez Shehadeh, 80 years old.2 - Kamal Mohammed Shehadeh and his wife and their three children:- Rend a 11-year-old girl.- Nasr 9 years.- Mohammed 7 years.7 - Jafar alSheikh .... a child of 4 years,he was scared so he asked for water to drink ..., a bearded man stabbed him to death.8 - Yassin Najdat Shehadeh.9 - Jaudat Shehadeh.10 - Emad El Sheikh.11 - Tamadur Salim Shehadeh,17 years old.12 -Khitam Adeeb Shehadeh.13 - Ibrahim AlSheikh.
Names of kidnapped people from village "#Nabata":1 - Hajja Sheikh Ibrahim (Hafiz Shehadeh's wife).2- Fahima Mohamed Osman.3- Ramza al Sheikh and (4)her daughter Tayma.5- Child: Amer Ghassan Yahya6- Ahmed Shehadeh and (7) his wife Shaza Hattab and (8) their little baby :9 months old.9- Ali Hattab10- Kazem Mehrez Shehadeh and (11) his wife Dyaa Sweid and their three children:(12)Ola - (13)Haider - (14) Zain: one year old.15- Mona Fatima (Kidnapped After they slaughtered her husband)17- Samara alSheikh.18- Lotus alSheikh.19- Marah alSheikh.20- Anaam alSheikh, 13 years old.21- Bashar al-Sheikh,11 years old.22- Ahmed Alhiekh.23- Aktham AlSheikh.
Victims names in village "#Alhmbushiah" mostly children:1- Hani Shakouhi.2- Hamza Maryam.3-Tahir Maryam.4- Munther Darwish .5- Hala: Munther Darwish' wife, she was pregnant, the terrorists cut her stomach after killing her and grabbed the baby out and threw him away.6- Ayman Maryam (a little boy).7- Lina Qadera (a little girl).8- Ahmad Maryam (a little boy).9- Refaat Maryam.10-Dalaa Maryam (a little girl).11-Marah Maryam (a little girl).12-Farah Maryam (a little girl).13- Mohammad Maryam (a little boy).14- Jaafar Ismail (a little boy).15- Wesal Tamer.16- Taim Shakouhi (one year old boy).17- Tamer Shakouhi (3 years old boy).18- Lamia Shehadeh and all of her children.19- Intesar Maryam.20- Asrar Maryam.21- Narjes Maryam.22- Wahieb Maryam.23- Nazier Arifu.24- Adel Maryam.25- Wael Maryam.
Names of kidnapped people from village "#Alhmbushiah" by Al-Nusra Front:1- Fadel Shakouhi.2- Wazifa Shakouhi.3- Kenanah Shakouhi.4- Afief Shakouhi.5- Moustafa Shakouhi.6- Faten Maryam.7- Wedad Maryam.8- Elien Maryam.9- Doaa Maryam.
Victims names in village "#AlBalouta" ,Where entire families were wiped out :1- Azab Salim.2-Taim Salim (1 year old).3- Sameir Salim.4- Haider Salim.5- Wafik Ibrahim and his 3 children:6- Shadi Ibrahim.7- Meqdad Ibrahim.8- Ghaidaq Ibrahim.9- Nihad Deip.10- Fawzia Deip.11- Ghadir Deip.12- Amjad Deip.13- Ziena Deip14- Ziad Deip (1 year old).15- Hussein Ibrahim.16- Mariam Ibrahim.17- Zahra Ibrahim.18- Ismail Ibrahim.
Names of the kidnapped people from this village are not known yet.
Victims names in village "#Bermseh"1- Solaiman Fatima and (2) his wife Samira Ghanem.3- Mohamed Fatima and (4)his wife Fekriah Yassin.5- Nadi Fatima, and (6) his wife and (7) (8) their two sons.9- Basem Fatima and (10) his wife and (11)(12)(13) their 3 children.
Names of the kidnapped people from this village are not known yet.
Victims names in village of "#Abu_Mecki":1- Asaad Solaiman Qadra.2- Mohamed Kamel Qadra.3- Faeqa Haidar, a school teacher.
I could not document more information about the fate of this village.
Village "#Aubin" was burned by the terrorists and we don't know anything about the civilians fate there, yet.
Village "#Esterbeh" close to #Salma. the civilians escaped but the terrorists occupied the village.
These information are documented but it's not the final and complete report
**Prior to establishing this blog, our work on this was posted on Facebook where it was shared widely and unfortunately in at least one instance presented as if it is to work of others. Here is a record of it here being shared with a link to the original, a link which no longer works as FB deleted my "Intibah Wakeup" account.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/tim-anderson/the-lattakia-massacres-august-2013/10151658224806234
*Note. Working with my husband on translating/describing this documentary was a very distressing effort as he has witnessed massacres and other traumas from the Lebanese Civil War and earlier conflicts. Our most modest work was published on https://australiansforreconciliationinsyria.org/massacre-in-lattakia-august-2013/ and from there it was shared on many other sites. Whilst published on that site and not attributed to us despite a request to do so we trust eventually it will be acknowledged when the Webmaster gets to it.
News of this terrible event published also in:
https://syrianperspective.com/2017/02/syrian-army-liberates-more-towns-and-villages-in-aleppo-hostages-freed-in-latakia-syrian-army-crushes-attack-by-alqaeda-in-latakia.html
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
FROM TEA TO TEA: Ghassan Kadi 16 October 2013
FROM TEA TO TEA:
Ghassan Kadi
16 October 2013
It seems that the “ Tea Revolution” that heralded the American uprising against the British colonialists and eventually led to American Independence, is now likely to be repeated, albeit by name only, in the form of a TEA, a TEA Party Revolution that has within in the unmaking of the United States.
The Tea Revolution Take One and the events that followed it were based on nation-building and forward vision. They brought forward to humanity one of the greatest success stories and a nation that had the potential to reign in greatness and needlessness of colonies, as the wealth of this nation was truly beyond description.
A nation rich in fresh water, millions upon millions of acres of fertile soils, great climate, mineral deposits, oil and gas and plenty of them….there wasn’t almost a single inch of land in the newly-formed 13 United States of America that was waste land. As the nation expanded more towards the Western frontier and then added Alaska to its territory, it truly became the richest nation ever known in human history.
To say that this has all been squandered would be a gross understatement. Reality tells a story of great wealth has been used by corrupt ultra-right wing American politicians to create havoc in the world leaving America heavily in debt and virtually with no resources left. Even ground water has been almost depleted.
This is TEA Revolution Take Two. What is ironic this time is that many of those lunatics who are currently behind the standoff, who orchestrated the American shutdown, who are refusing to lift the debt ceiling, who are putting more pressure of the already weak and squeezed US Dollar, they are themselves the ones who have created the situation that they are protesting about.
What is concerning and rather dangerous is that they do believe that they have a mandate from God to fight the anti-Christ (ie Obama) and that God will provide a way out of the economic disaster they are creating once the anti-Christ has been deposed.
What is really dangerous is the way that those fanatics will deal with the demise. Will the Union withstand the re-emerging and ever-growing schism between South and North? Will America see another Civil War that will break it up?
Having grown up in the Middle East and listening to songs such as “I want to live in America”, living in America seemed the universal global dream back then, and when the Beach Boys sang “everybody’s surfing, surfing USA”, it seems that this slogan has now changed into “everybody’s dodging, dodging USA”.
The demise of America will ultimately bring down the nasty culprits as they become powerless, but it will sadly close a great chapter in human history. Despite its many misgivings all the way from its wars against native Americans, slavery, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq to name a few, America will always be remembered by its true great men and women and many great achievements.
This may sound like a eulogy for the United States, and it is.
Ghassan Kadi
16 October 2013
It seems that the “ Tea Revolution” that heralded the American uprising against the British colonialists and eventually led to American Independence, is now likely to be repeated, albeit by name only, in the form of a TEA, a TEA Party Revolution that has within in the unmaking of the United States.
The Tea Revolution Take One and the events that followed it were based on nation-building and forward vision. They brought forward to humanity one of the greatest success stories and a nation that had the potential to reign in greatness and needlessness of colonies, as the wealth of this nation was truly beyond description.
A nation rich in fresh water, millions upon millions of acres of fertile soils, great climate, mineral deposits, oil and gas and plenty of them….there wasn’t almost a single inch of land in the newly-formed 13 United States of America that was waste land. As the nation expanded more towards the Western frontier and then added Alaska to its territory, it truly became the richest nation ever known in human history.
To say that this has all been squandered would be a gross understatement. Reality tells a story of great wealth has been used by corrupt ultra-right wing American politicians to create havoc in the world leaving America heavily in debt and virtually with no resources left. Even ground water has been almost depleted.
This is TEA Revolution Take Two. What is ironic this time is that many of those lunatics who are currently behind the standoff, who orchestrated the American shutdown, who are refusing to lift the debt ceiling, who are putting more pressure of the already weak and squeezed US Dollar, they are themselves the ones who have created the situation that they are protesting about.
What is concerning and rather dangerous is that they do believe that they have a mandate from God to fight the anti-Christ (ie Obama) and that God will provide a way out of the economic disaster they are creating once the anti-Christ has been deposed.
What is really dangerous is the way that those fanatics will deal with the demise. Will the Union withstand the re-emerging and ever-growing schism between South and North? Will America see another Civil War that will break it up?
Having grown up in the Middle East and listening to songs such as “I want to live in America”, living in America seemed the universal global dream back then, and when the Beach Boys sang “everybody’s surfing, surfing USA”, it seems that this slogan has now changed into “everybody’s dodging, dodging USA”.
The demise of America will ultimately bring down the nasty culprits as they become powerless, but it will sadly close a great chapter in human history. Despite its many misgivings all the way from its wars against native Americans, slavery, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq to name a few, America will always be remembered by its true great men and women and many great achievements.
This may sound like a eulogy for the United States, and it is.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
HAMAS' DIRECTION REGARDING SYRIA. By Ghassan Kadi 21 December 2011
HAMAS' DIRECTION REGARDING SYRIA
Ghassan Kadi
21 December 2011
I don’t know how reliable this bit of news is, but it seems that Haniyyeh is visiting Turkey. How interesting!! Unless he is planning to make Tel Aviv as his next destination, there is little point in him going to Ankara first.
The man cannot go to his bedroom without being watched by Israeli drones. How can we not but believe... that his visit to Ankara is done under the blessing of Israel?
If Haniyyeh truly believes that Erdogan is a friend to rely on, he would have to be totally naive. All that Erdogan did was to huff and puff about Mavi Marmara. Nothing more. He recalled his ambassador in Israel, but did not sever ties. His country suspended the military exercises with Israel, but did not cancel them. He is a NATO member. He is hosting the missile bases etc……
Location of original post
https://www.facebook.com/groups/283089981710448/permalink/321858337833612/
Ghassan Kadi
21 December 2011
I don’t know how reliable this bit of news is, but it seems that Haniyyeh is visiting Turkey. How interesting!! Unless he is planning to make Tel Aviv as his next destination, there is little point in him going to Ankara first.
The man cannot go to his bedroom without being watched by Israeli drones. How can we not but believe... that his visit to Ankara is done under the blessing of Israel?
If Haniyyeh truly believes that Erdogan is a friend to rely on, he would have to be totally naive. All that Erdogan did was to huff and puff about Mavi Marmara. Nothing more. He recalled his ambassador in Israel, but did not sever ties. His country suspended the military exercises with Israel, but did not cancel them. He is a NATO member. He is hosting the missile bases etc……
Sell out Iran and Syria, and you shall receive some scraps. This seems to be the obvious carrot that Hamas is chasing up now. It seems that the hierarchy of Hamas is now reconsidering whether or not the organization is to continue with the demand for the total liberation of Palestine.
What is happening with Hamas?
It would seem that Hamas has finally lost its sectarian battle. It has finally succumbed to the pressure of the inter-Islamic divide and decided to rebunk with the new-found big-brother; Turkey. Whether the support funds come from Turkey itself or other Sunni brothers (some of whom like the Qatari’s have strong ties with Israel) does not seem to be relevant any more, for as long as they are Sunnis.
The PLO has already agreed to sell out most of Palestine on political deals that never eventuated anyway, and now Hamas is gearing up to sell out some more of Palestine on Sunni grounds by going to bed with the friends of Israel.
The sell-out I am talking about is not necessarily in terms of territory and geography as some might jump up and start defending. It is the sell-out of Palestinian rights and dignity.
Strange days indeed.
What is happening with Hamas?
It would seem that Hamas has finally lost its sectarian battle. It has finally succumbed to the pressure of the inter-Islamic divide and decided to rebunk with the new-found big-brother; Turkey. Whether the support funds come from Turkey itself or other Sunni brothers (some of whom like the Qatari’s have strong ties with Israel) does not seem to be relevant any more, for as long as they are Sunnis.
The PLO has already agreed to sell out most of Palestine on political deals that never eventuated anyway, and now Hamas is gearing up to sell out some more of Palestine on Sunni grounds by going to bed with the friends of Israel.
The sell-out I am talking about is not necessarily in terms of territory and geography as some might jump up and start defending. It is the sell-out of Palestinian rights and dignity.
Strange days indeed.
Location of original post
https://www.facebook.com/groups/283089981710448/permalink/321858337833612/
Thursday, October 3, 2013
HISTORY'S SHORTEST EPIC September 2013
History’s Shortest Epic
We did not author this but played an active role in promoting it to the West.
It was received with great scepticism and misunderstanding of the role and prestige of Al Manar as a presenter of accurate reports and also an important disseminator of information through “leaks” from Russia, Iran and Syria – the allies of Hezbollah. For those who doubted this report, confirmation in their minds may have resulted when it transpired that Obama made a last minute call to Hollande to call off an attack on Syria.
Daoud Rammal from Assafir Newspaper, Beirut. 13 September 2013
We did not author this but played an active role in promoting it to the West.
It was received with great scepticism and misunderstanding of the role and prestige of Al Manar as a presenter of accurate reports and also an important disseminator of information through “leaks” from Russia, Iran and Syria – the allies of Hezbollah. For those who doubted this report, confirmation in their minds may have resulted when it transpired that Obama made a last minute call to Hollande to call off an attack on Syria.
Daoud Rammal from Assafir Newspaper, Beirut. 13 September 2013
(from a link on Al Manar) * Please note Al Manar is very careful to only publish valid, verified information
Translated/Interpreted by Ghassan Kadi and Intibah Wakeup.
The Offensive Came to
an End When the Two Ballistic Missiles Fell in the Mediterranean.
A well informed diplomatic source has revealed to Assafir very serious information that is relevant to the development of the Syrian crisis which clearly shows, first and foremost, Russia’s military capability and secondly, its diplomatic one in playing this game. It has placed the American aspirations and options subject to the ethical standing of the Russian administration which is exhibiting an icy Siberian temper, rationality and clear knowledge of what it wants and where it’s heading to.
A well informed diplomatic source has revealed to Assafir very serious information that is relevant to the development of the Syrian crisis which clearly shows, first and foremost, Russia’s military capability and secondly, its diplomatic one in playing this game. It has placed the American aspirations and options subject to the ethical standing of the Russian administration which is exhibiting an icy Siberian temper, rationality and clear knowledge of what it wants and where it’s heading to.
The source reveals that the American war on Syria has
already started and ended the moment two ballistic missiles were launched, the
full story of which remained subject to conflicting reports, Israeli denial and
Russian confirmation. This culminated in an official Israeli report claiming
that they were a part of a joint American-Israeli exercise and that they fell
in the sea and had nothing to do with the Syrian conflict.
But what’s the true story that is pertinent in this event?
Are there any other relevant matters that were not brought out to the surface
because of serious considerations, the most pertinent of which perhaps is the
struggle on world domination after the monopoly of the United States ruled
supreme in the New World Order?
The same source reveals, assuredly, that those two missiles
were launched by American forces from a NATO base in Spain. They were detected by Russia’s early warning
systems and Russian defences were immediately launched to intercept them. One
was shot down in mid-air whilst the other was deviated from its course and fell
into the sea.
The source added: the Russian Ministry of Defence Report, which
refers to two ballistic missiles having been launched towards the eastern
Mediterranean, has deliberately ignored two issues: the first, the source of
the launch and the second one, shooting them down. Why? Because, as soon as this happened, the
chief of Russian Intelligence contacted the American Intelligence and told them
that targeting Damascus is tantamount to targeting Moscow. He added that they
have deliberately omitted from the Report any reference to shooting down the
missiles because they did not want to damage the (Russian- American) bilateral
relationship and to prevent further escalation. He added that America needed to
quickly reconsider its policies, directions and intentions about the Syrian
conflict and they could rest assured that Russia cannot be kept out of the
Mediterranean.
The source added: this direct and undeclared confrontation
between Moscow and Washington has further compounded Obama’s administration and
its certainty that Russia will go all the way until the end in the Syrian
crisis, and that there is no way out of this trap for America except through a
Russian initiative that will save America’s face. It further means that there
is no peace or war in Syria that excludes Russia, he said.
The source also added that: to avoid further American
embarrassment, and after Israel denied any knowledge about those two missiles
in its first statement, which was the truth, Washington asked Tel Aviv to adopt
the story in a way that saves America’s face before the international
community. This was particularly because those two missiles were meant to be
the first of a series of attacks last week and a signal for launching the
American operation. Obama was then supposed
to go to the G20 afterwards to negotiate with Russia (from a position of power)
and make negotiations concerning the head of the President of Syria, Bashar al
Assad and, instead, found himself going there looking for a way out of this
trap.
The source indicated that after the American-Russian missile
confrontation, Moscow increased the number of its military experts inside Syria
and bolstered its presence in the Mediterranean by sending more vessels. It further chose the timing of its initiative
concerning the prevention of attack on Syria after the G20. Many meetings occurred during the period of
the Summit which were followed by two consecutive visits (to Moscow) one by the
deputy Iranian Foreign Minister and the other by the Syrian Foreign Minister.
During these meetings the Russian initiative was cooked up with Syrian
pre-approval suggesting the handing over supervision of Syrian chemicals to International Observers and assuring Syria’s
willingness to sign up to the UN Chemical Weapons Convention.
The source argues that one of the first results of the
American-Russian ballistic confrontation was the UK House of Common’s “No” vote
against partaking of war against Syria which was followed by several similar
Europeans stands, the most prominent being that expressed by the German
Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
WHY DO I DEFEND SYRIA By Dr Omar Thaher 29 January 2012 Translated by Intibah and Ghassan Kadi
WHY DO I DEFEND SYRIA
29 January 2012
This is an article that I read approximately 2 weeks ago written by an Iraqi scholar (Dr. Omar Thaher). I was very touched by this article and decided to translate it into English and did not get the chance to do this till now. Better late than never.
Author: Iraqi Scholar Dr. Omar Thaher
Translated by: Ghassan and Intibah Wakeup (Kadi)
Original: http://www.safsaf.org/word/2012/jan/41.htm
Why Do I Defend Syria ?
It is very wrong for anyone to assume that those who are currently defending Syria are necessarily supporters of Bashar Al Assad and that they want him to be president for life and to later pass on the presidency to his son. Quite the contrary, some of those defenders could be very staunch critics of the regime but, not from the perspective of Syria’s own Ahmed Jalabi (ie Burhan Ghalyoun), but rather from the perspective of care and respect of the Syrian people and a conviction that the people deserve to have a government that gives its people their rightful place in humanity. Some of those defenders may well be some of those who have in the past had a taste of the harshness of the regime. The writer of this article is a man who ran away from Syria in 1984 three years after escaping to Syria from Iraq, and did not manage to return to Syria for 22 years and is still unable to go back to Iraq.
I cannot forget the “hospitality” of Section 279 and what I endured in 1982. It was a reminder of the previous hospitality of Security Police in Baghdad. But that was the tip of the iceberg and I often wondered that the timing of a volcanic eruption is only a question of time as the Syrian citizen, just like his Iraqi compatriot suffers daily from the atrocities of the “Defence Brigades”, the Intelligence (Mukhabarat) that are so intimidating for the visiting tourist, let alone the residing citizen.
When I returned to Syria in 2006 it was not because I missed the hospitality of section 279 but because I miss some family members that I haven’t seen for over a quarter of a century and could not reunite with them except for in Syria. How often after my return did I contemplate writing to President Bashar Al Assad warning him that Syria in 2006 is the same one into which Eli Cohen infiltrated over four decades ago and that Israel could smuggle into Syria anything including hydrogen bombs on a daily basis without having to pay more than $10 by the courier as a bribe to the customs police. Isn’t this sadly the case? Otherwise, how did this huge arsenal of weapons reach the terrorists today in a manner than allows them to wreak fear and havoc in so many areas and even challenging the army itself?
The Syrian revolution came a bit too late. This is fine. But it came unlike other popular uprisings. It is coming from Mosques and not from universities or factories. There is nothing wrong with this either, what really matters is that the masses need to rise in order to earn with their own hands what is rightfully theirs. Yes, we must emphasise the concept of earning with ones own hands what is rightfully ours. In this respect I pledged my heart, my soul and my pen and all that I possessed to support anyone who struggled against Saddam Hussein in the past.
I did this because for years on end my friends and I dreamt of an Iraq without Saddam, only to spend many years later lamenting in pain because in hindsight we did not know back then that every word we said and every letter we wrote against Saddam and every drop of blood we shed to get rid of him was only enriching the argument of the enemies of Iraq, beginning with Israel and America and not forgetting the Sheikhs and the Kings of the Gulf, not forgetting Ahmed Chalabi, Iyad Allawi, Nouri Al Maliki, Tarek Al Hashemi and their cohorts. Saddam has gone but what dawn has risen on us? Or should we say what night has fallen upon us? Saddam was bad? But Iraq used to be beautiful and great, secure and advanced and a country with a powerful State and stature and an army; but we did not see this.
We did not know back then that despite everything, we had a country and that rulers can come and go but the country is here to stay. And of course we did not know that opposition groups were betraying their people and their country; even our communist leaders repeated the slogan “free country and happy people” until it came out of our ears whilst they were salivating under the CIA payroll. They betrayed the country and sold out their people and blessed the occupation, and eventually worked under the auspices of Bremer. We wanted Saddam to go, but they wanted Iraq to go, and it did. We wanted a popular revolution to topple Saddam or at least a military coup to get rid of him, but they were preparing for a destructive occupation, sectarianism and dreadful deaths. Is history not repeating itself in Syria today? I say this whilst I insist that Bashar Al Assad is not a bad person even though he did not have the right to inherit his position and/or to pass it on to his children.
Our national assets were taken away from the hands of the Saddam regime, but in whose hands are they now? Definitely not in ours. It will take only a fool to repeat the Iraqi experience elsewhere, and a fool is the Syrian citizen who spends a single moment of his life and an ounce of his energy in fighting Bashar Al Assad for as long as he doesn’t know that if he removes Al Assad, God forbid, nothing will be achieved other than turning Syria into a furnace, devouring its people and an open slather for crime and do I need to say what Iraq has been transformed to? Perhaps we were excused because we were taken by surprise because events were changing overnight, turning Iraq into the target of the assault rather than Saddam. But the Syrian citizen of today has no excuse at all because he can clearly see that the finances and the weapons that are supporting his “revolution” are coming from the rotten Gulf rulers, and hence this revolution can only be for their own benefit and how can what benefits them be of any good for Syria?
It is only a total moron and a fool who puts the assets of Syria in the hands of the rulers of the Gulf, the same hands that carry the blood of the children of Iraq and of Libya. We say there is corruption in Syria and a million unemployed. This is a tragedy indeed but whoever cannot find work today may find work tomorrow after those beasts return to their altars. A million unemployed is far better than a million dead and a million widows and four million orphans and six million homeless and scattered all over the world, and a million cancer victims and a million deformed new born, deformed by the illegal weapons used by the Americans and paid for by the Saudi rulers. Yes, my Syrian brother, this is what the servant of the Americans and Israelis want for you, and this is what the master of regression and backwardness in Qatar is promising you.
And since when my dear Syrian Citizens were the mentally retarded King of Saudi Arabia and the Prince of Qatar so caring about your freedom or the freedom of others? Those people have no conscience and no integrity. We turned Iraq for eight long years into an eastern gate, protecting the nation from Iran and we paid for this with the blood of hundreds of thousands of our young men and we spent every Dinar in our Treasury to protect those apes from Iran. And what would have been our reward had we won? They stole our oil and they flooded the international market with cheap oil to destroy the Iraqi economy, then they allowed half a million American and Israeli soldiers to land on the sacred land of Prophets and they financed two wars against Iraq to return it to the Stone Age. And they danced on the corpses of our fallen ones, the Dance of the Swords just like predecessors did on the day of Ohod; the day they danced and ate the livers of the fallen ones. And why? Because their hearts and minds still rot with ignorance “jahaliyyeh”. And why would you think that what they want for Syria is different to what they wanted for Iraq? They, my dear Syrian citizens want nothing for you except war and destruction.
Despite its corruption and corrupt ones, Syria is beautiful, gracious, great, civilized, proud, independent, united, free and it enjoys the dignity of the lion (Assad). And if you want to know the beauty of Syria you have to read the writings of Oussama Fawzi because he covers more about Syria than other contemporary writers and portrays how wonderful Syria is.
You say corruption? You are right. But, who is going to salvage you from this corruption? The old man of Hijaz who is so rotten to the core that it has penetrated into his bone marrow? These people do not have in store for you any freedom or dignity or privileges. All they have in store for you is nothing but traps, blood, sectarianism, destruction, poverty and humiliation. They believe that they can humiliate people with their dirty money and they have indeed bought the traitors of Syria. Those primitive Bedouins have the love of killing and bloodshed running in their veins and they are envious of any Arab country that has true civilization and culture, that has art and literature and intellectuals and this is why they do all they can to destroy Syria and deliver it into the hands of ruthless tyrants.
I defend Syria because I do not want to see the assets of the Syrian people going out of its hands and into the hands of rotten scoundrels who have a grudge against Syria and/or some gangs under the pay of Sarkozy.
I defend Syria because I love Syria and its people and I do not want to see another Iraq getting amputated and having its people getting killed right, left and centre in the streets, mosques or churches.
I defend Syria because I do not want to see American or French tanks in the streets of Damascus with Israeli journalists covering the news freely, reporting scenes of falling statues of Assad with the intention of having them replaced with statues of apes. This did happen in Iraq.
I defend Syria because I do not want to hear that Jewish extremists have come to swim in Barada River, claiming that they have been promised to do so as they are doing now at the River Tigris.
I defend Syria because I see in it the Grenada of today, the last Arabic bastion of dignity. If it falls, God forbid, that will be the end of Arabs.
Syrian brothers, do not allow Netanyahu to enter Damascus disguised with Saudi head dress and a Qatari sandal.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/283089981710448/permalink/347437495275696/
29 January 2012
This is an article that I read approximately 2 weeks ago written by an Iraqi scholar (Dr. Omar Thaher). I was very touched by this article and decided to translate it into English and did not get the chance to do this till now. Better late than never.
Author: Iraqi Scholar Dr. Omar Thaher
Translated by: Ghassan and Intibah Wakeup (Kadi)
Original: http://www.safsaf.org/word/2012/jan/41.htm
Why Do I Defend Syria ?
It is very wrong for anyone to assume that those who are currently defending Syria are necessarily supporters of Bashar Al Assad and that they want him to be president for life and to later pass on the presidency to his son. Quite the contrary, some of those defenders could be very staunch critics of the regime but, not from the perspective of Syria’s own Ahmed Jalabi (ie Burhan Ghalyoun), but rather from the perspective of care and respect of the Syrian people and a conviction that the people deserve to have a government that gives its people their rightful place in humanity. Some of those defenders may well be some of those who have in the past had a taste of the harshness of the regime. The writer of this article is a man who ran away from Syria in 1984 three years after escaping to Syria from Iraq, and did not manage to return to Syria for 22 years and is still unable to go back to Iraq.
I cannot forget the “hospitality” of Section 279 and what I endured in 1982. It was a reminder of the previous hospitality of Security Police in Baghdad. But that was the tip of the iceberg and I often wondered that the timing of a volcanic eruption is only a question of time as the Syrian citizen, just like his Iraqi compatriot suffers daily from the atrocities of the “Defence Brigades”, the Intelligence (Mukhabarat) that are so intimidating for the visiting tourist, let alone the residing citizen.
When I returned to Syria in 2006 it was not because I missed the hospitality of section 279 but because I miss some family members that I haven’t seen for over a quarter of a century and could not reunite with them except for in Syria. How often after my return did I contemplate writing to President Bashar Al Assad warning him that Syria in 2006 is the same one into which Eli Cohen infiltrated over four decades ago and that Israel could smuggle into Syria anything including hydrogen bombs on a daily basis without having to pay more than $10 by the courier as a bribe to the customs police. Isn’t this sadly the case? Otherwise, how did this huge arsenal of weapons reach the terrorists today in a manner than allows them to wreak fear and havoc in so many areas and even challenging the army itself?
The Syrian revolution came a bit too late. This is fine. But it came unlike other popular uprisings. It is coming from Mosques and not from universities or factories. There is nothing wrong with this either, what really matters is that the masses need to rise in order to earn with their own hands what is rightfully theirs. Yes, we must emphasise the concept of earning with ones own hands what is rightfully ours. In this respect I pledged my heart, my soul and my pen and all that I possessed to support anyone who struggled against Saddam Hussein in the past.
I did this because for years on end my friends and I dreamt of an Iraq without Saddam, only to spend many years later lamenting in pain because in hindsight we did not know back then that every word we said and every letter we wrote against Saddam and every drop of blood we shed to get rid of him was only enriching the argument of the enemies of Iraq, beginning with Israel and America and not forgetting the Sheikhs and the Kings of the Gulf, not forgetting Ahmed Chalabi, Iyad Allawi, Nouri Al Maliki, Tarek Al Hashemi and their cohorts. Saddam has gone but what dawn has risen on us? Or should we say what night has fallen upon us? Saddam was bad? But Iraq used to be beautiful and great, secure and advanced and a country with a powerful State and stature and an army; but we did not see this.
We did not know back then that despite everything, we had a country and that rulers can come and go but the country is here to stay. And of course we did not know that opposition groups were betraying their people and their country; even our communist leaders repeated the slogan “free country and happy people” until it came out of our ears whilst they were salivating under the CIA payroll. They betrayed the country and sold out their people and blessed the occupation, and eventually worked under the auspices of Bremer. We wanted Saddam to go, but they wanted Iraq to go, and it did. We wanted a popular revolution to topple Saddam or at least a military coup to get rid of him, but they were preparing for a destructive occupation, sectarianism and dreadful deaths. Is history not repeating itself in Syria today? I say this whilst I insist that Bashar Al Assad is not a bad person even though he did not have the right to inherit his position and/or to pass it on to his children.
Our national assets were taken away from the hands of the Saddam regime, but in whose hands are they now? Definitely not in ours. It will take only a fool to repeat the Iraqi experience elsewhere, and a fool is the Syrian citizen who spends a single moment of his life and an ounce of his energy in fighting Bashar Al Assad for as long as he doesn’t know that if he removes Al Assad, God forbid, nothing will be achieved other than turning Syria into a furnace, devouring its people and an open slather for crime and do I need to say what Iraq has been transformed to? Perhaps we were excused because we were taken by surprise because events were changing overnight, turning Iraq into the target of the assault rather than Saddam. But the Syrian citizen of today has no excuse at all because he can clearly see that the finances and the weapons that are supporting his “revolution” are coming from the rotten Gulf rulers, and hence this revolution can only be for their own benefit and how can what benefits them be of any good for Syria?
It is only a total moron and a fool who puts the assets of Syria in the hands of the rulers of the Gulf, the same hands that carry the blood of the children of Iraq and of Libya. We say there is corruption in Syria and a million unemployed. This is a tragedy indeed but whoever cannot find work today may find work tomorrow after those beasts return to their altars. A million unemployed is far better than a million dead and a million widows and four million orphans and six million homeless and scattered all over the world, and a million cancer victims and a million deformed new born, deformed by the illegal weapons used by the Americans and paid for by the Saudi rulers. Yes, my Syrian brother, this is what the servant of the Americans and Israelis want for you, and this is what the master of regression and backwardness in Qatar is promising you.
And since when my dear Syrian Citizens were the mentally retarded King of Saudi Arabia and the Prince of Qatar so caring about your freedom or the freedom of others? Those people have no conscience and no integrity. We turned Iraq for eight long years into an eastern gate, protecting the nation from Iran and we paid for this with the blood of hundreds of thousands of our young men and we spent every Dinar in our Treasury to protect those apes from Iran. And what would have been our reward had we won? They stole our oil and they flooded the international market with cheap oil to destroy the Iraqi economy, then they allowed half a million American and Israeli soldiers to land on the sacred land of Prophets and they financed two wars against Iraq to return it to the Stone Age. And they danced on the corpses of our fallen ones, the Dance of the Swords just like predecessors did on the day of Ohod; the day they danced and ate the livers of the fallen ones. And why? Because their hearts and minds still rot with ignorance “jahaliyyeh”. And why would you think that what they want for Syria is different to what they wanted for Iraq? They, my dear Syrian citizens want nothing for you except war and destruction.
Despite its corruption and corrupt ones, Syria is beautiful, gracious, great, civilized, proud, independent, united, free and it enjoys the dignity of the lion (Assad). And if you want to know the beauty of Syria you have to read the writings of Oussama Fawzi because he covers more about Syria than other contemporary writers and portrays how wonderful Syria is.
You say corruption? You are right. But, who is going to salvage you from this corruption? The old man of Hijaz who is so rotten to the core that it has penetrated into his bone marrow? These people do not have in store for you any freedom or dignity or privileges. All they have in store for you is nothing but traps, blood, sectarianism, destruction, poverty and humiliation. They believe that they can humiliate people with their dirty money and they have indeed bought the traitors of Syria. Those primitive Bedouins have the love of killing and bloodshed running in their veins and they are envious of any Arab country that has true civilization and culture, that has art and literature and intellectuals and this is why they do all they can to destroy Syria and deliver it into the hands of ruthless tyrants.
I defend Syria because I do not want to see the assets of the Syrian people going out of its hands and into the hands of rotten scoundrels who have a grudge against Syria and/or some gangs under the pay of Sarkozy.
I defend Syria because I love Syria and its people and I do not want to see another Iraq getting amputated and having its people getting killed right, left and centre in the streets, mosques or churches.
I defend Syria because I do not want to see American or French tanks in the streets of Damascus with Israeli journalists covering the news freely, reporting scenes of falling statues of Assad with the intention of having them replaced with statues of apes. This did happen in Iraq.
I defend Syria because I do not want to hear that Jewish extremists have come to swim in Barada River, claiming that they have been promised to do so as they are doing now at the River Tigris.
I defend Syria because I see in it the Grenada of today, the last Arabic bastion of dignity. If it falls, God forbid, that will be the end of Arabs.
Syrian brothers, do not allow Netanyahu to enter Damascus disguised with Saudi head dress and a Qatari sandal.
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