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/

THE NEW 'NEW WORLD ORDER' By Ghassan Kadi 4 Feb 2012

The New "New World Order"
By Ghassan Kadi. 4 Feb 2012

Fifty years ago this week, and on the new year’s eve of 1962, the Syrian Socialist National Party (SSNP) made a failed coup d’etat in Lebanon and most of its members were imprisoned. But even if that coup succeeded, it was certain to face global opposition and intervention later on. It was doomed to fail.

Nasser in Egypt and the Baath Party in Syria were better strategists than the SSNP. They had the backing of the USSR and the West had to sit back and watch. And even though Egypt was attacked by Britain, France and Israel in 1956, rescue came from the most unlikely friend, the USA, because red lines were drawn and the sovereignty of Egypt was not to be questioned. And though Nasser emerged as the hero that he was, he soon realized that he needed to bolster his ties with the USSR as his super-power support base.

Baathist Syria learned this lesson from as early as 1963, but after the demise of the USSR, Syria was left alone in the wilderness. The weak Yetlzin administration did not know whether or not to stay on the side of the old friends of the USSR and/or to get rid of them in order to appease the West.

The game of nations is such that smaller nations cannot secure their sovereignty without the blessing of a super power. But the so-called New World Order that George Bush Sr. often bragged about was actually tantamount to American hegemony. It was during this period of international wilderness that the USA got away with attacking Iraq in 1991 and again in 2003, not forgetting Afghanistan.

Bullies however normally refuse to see that they have lost their stature when they lose it. America and Israel are no exception. The recent “triumph” of NATO in Libya is perhaps adding to the arrogance of the bully. The United States is still riding on its early 1990’s status; a time when it was an unopposed super power both militarily and economically.

Israel is also still riding on its victory in 1967. Despite is losses to Hezbollah and Hamas, at a deep level, the Israelis are still convinced that they have an invincible army. Perhaps after the next showdown they will well and truly start believing otherwise.

The world however is on the verge of a new “New World Order”. It is still ill-defined at this stage, but what is clear about it is that the USA is not going to have the hegemony it had for nearly a quarter of a century. This is a global fact. It seems that the free lance that NATO had over Libya is going to be the last chapter in the history of the New Wolrd Order of the 1990’s.

Global facts have regional reverberations all over the world; the loudest of which is the one that is now heard in the UN corridors about Syria. The red lines that China and Russia have put against NATO interventions against Syria are not only a breath of relief for Syria, but they are loud and clear messages to the USA that game is over. China and Russia are telling the ailing and bankrupt giant that it can no longer do what it pleases when it pleases, anywhere in the world; beginning with Syria.

To compound the situation even further, there are other regional issues at play. With Erdogan having one foot inside the door of the West and another foot inside the door of his dream Turkish Islamic empire, the role of Turkey will not be one that is stable until Turkey decides what it wants. Nonetheless, the emergence of Turkey is adding another wild card which may or may not eventually play into the American dream.

What is clear however is that Iran has made up its mind, and has demonstrated that it will, if pushed, close the Strait of Hormuz.

Fortunately for Syria, the emergence of the new “New World Order” is placing America between a rock and a hard place. Not only it has been given those vehement messages from China and Russia, but it cannot go into a war that it cannot afford to have, and its allies cannot be counted on as they have their own financial woes to contend with.

The real question to ask is not to what extent will Russia and China defend Syria. The Syrian affair is not just about what is happening inside Syria and who is behind it. The real question to ask is to what extent will Russia and China continue to push for their place in the new “New World Order”.

https://www.facebook.com/ghassan.kadi.7/posts/227948010614687 

THE NO OPTIONS OPTION OF THE ANTI-SYRIAN COALITION By Ghassan Kadi 5 Feb 2012

THE NO OPTIONS OPTION OF THE ANTI-SYRIAN COALITION
By Ghassan Kadi

5 February 2012

As Mr. Obama, the Nobel Prize winner for Peace is trying to shred Syria to pieces under a UN cover, the new New World Order does not serve him with only ONE VETO, but TWO.

This development... in the UNSC is of great significance on many levels. The first Veto was “necessary” to stop the resolution demanding intervention in Syria. The second Veto was a loud and clear message to the NATO alliance that it no longer controls the world.

As the last Arab bastion standing, the battle for Syria’s independence is not over. But the US and its henchmen have to redraw the lines of attack and conjure up new strategies. What options do they still have?

The USA is desperately trying to export the Arab Spring into Russia, but so far, to no avail. But even if Putin is not re-elected and even if Russia is destabilized, which will have to be a long shot for US policy maker to achieve, the US has absolutely no control over China. And if anything, any more covert US intervention in Russia is going to lead to more Anti-American Chinese resilience.

Another option for the NATO camp is to form a new coalition of the willing and replicate the Iraqi invasion of 2003 without UN approval.

However, Syria is not Iraq. When the US attacked Iraq in 2003, Saddam had only a handful of supporters who were prepared to die defending him. Baghdad fell in a few days and Bush made his infamous “mission accomplished” speech on the US Navy Ship. But even the weak, fragmented, starved, diseased, impoverished and anti-Saddam Iraq turned out to be a big bog for US troops and the rest is history.

The West does not believe and/or refuses to believe that at least 80% (and this is a very conservative figure) of Syrians are with Assad in this stand. This includes those who are very staunch critics of the government, those who are very strong advocates of reform, those who are totally against the one-party rule, those who want to implement democratic reforms, those who are strong fighters of corruption, etc….. They now stand behind Assad because they are fighting for Syria, its independence and its integrity.

An invasion of Syria therefore will not be a walk in the park. But if NATO is silly enough to take this step, it will first have to find a diplomatic cover that enables it to deal with or ignore the presence of Russian Navy ships in Tartous. But this will be NATO’s smallest concern. Perhaps the USA will first stronger aim at de-stabilizing Russia first, before they attack Syria, not that it can achieve this.

But even if the strong unlikelihood of America’s ability to destabilize Russia comes to fruition, and even if China lifts its protectiveness of Syria, and these two ifs are very highly unlikely, and then NATO decides to strike without a UN cover, Syria will continue to have three very strong aces up its sleeve; its people, Iran, and Hezbollah.

The majority of Syrians are intelligent patriotic people who know that this is the fight for their nation’s freedom. They know that they are surrounded by enemies. In the sea and the in skies, lurk the NATO danger. In the north, there is the former colonialist Turkey that still occupies a part of Syria and a nation that is a NATO member and fully entrenched with the West. To its south, is Jordan, a state with a king who is a western puppet and a friend of Israel. To its east, there is Iraq, under totally US hegemony. To its south-west is its arch-enemy; Israel.

Syria’s only bordering friend is Lebanon; at least some of Lebanon.

In as much as Syrian patriots know that this is their fight for freedom, so do the Lebanese patriots. Members of the Anti-US coalition in Lebanon will fight to the death as much as their Syrian brothers.

Hezbollah knows for certain that should Syria fall, God forbid, its support base will be discontinued. Hezbollah has paid for its stature of total independence and for the freedom of Lebanon with very precious blood, and Hezbollah will fight to the death. With it, its political and strategic friends will stand hand by hand, especially the Syrian Social National Party (SSNP).

Hezbollah takes orders from no one and will not wait for any diplomatic resolutions. It is very highly likely that the first NATO missile to hit Syria will be responded to by a battery of rockets to hit Tel Aviv.

If America thinks that it can strike Syria without causing an avalanche of events that will resonate first and foremost in Israel, and in the most catastrophic manner possible then America would have to be very remote from reality.

This is not to forget the Iran factor. Iran can and probably will intervene, but even if it does not draw first blood, NATO will find it very difficult to attack Syria, then be drawn into Lebanon as Hezbollah draws itself in, and at the same time be able to avoid a confrontation with Iran. If anything, the hawks in the US policy making may see in this an “opportunity” to attack Iran and get it over and one with. After all, the USA has been threatening to strike Iran for some years now.

The involvement of Iran will add a totally new equation, needless to mention an oil crisis and the oil barrel reaching USD 200 if not more. Furthermore, Iran is a force to be reckoned with, and the war could turn into a long and very expensive protracted war that could very well be the last nail in the economic coffin of the US and Europe.

Israel will probably sit back and watch the US do its dirty work, but even if it does get involved, it will not add much to the already very powerful NATO alliance. The only other regional ally that NATO can count on is perhaps Turkey. But if this war reaches this level, the biggest losers within Syria will be the minorities, the same minorities that give Turkey its domestic concern and latent instability. If and when those minority groups in Turkey, such as Kurds, Alawis, etc… find their cousins being persecuted in Syria, instability will ensue in Turkey. The UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, even Saudi Arabia itself are not immune to those divisions. If/when the Shiite population of those countries see that they are going to be targeted, they will rise and the whole region will succumb into a sectarian bloodbath.

In other words, apart from taking a very ill-calculated and risky military gamble that is highly doomed to fail or at best spiral out of control, all that the West and the Shiekhs of Arabia can do against Syria and its government is more of the same of what it is doing today; ie send paid thugs into Syria and buy some more local traitors in the hope that in time, Assad will relent. In reality, if anything at all, this is bolstering support around Assad and sorting out who among Syrians truly love his/her country and who is prepared to sell his/her soul to the devil.

The anti-Syria coalition does not seem to have many options. In fact, it only has one option, an option that will perhaps once and for all sort the good citizens of Syrians from the sectarian fundamentalist thugs who can be bought and sold.
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GIVING UP YOUR RIGHTS 20 March 2012

Once you accept giving up your rights, you will eventaully lose them all
من يتنازل لمرة واحدة فسوف يتنازل كثيرا بعدها حتى يسلب منه كل شيء

HOW FAR WILL A DESPERATE RADICAL AMERICA GO? By Ghassan Kadi 18 April 2012

HOW FAR WILL A DESPERATE RADICAL AMERICA GO?
Ghassan Kadi. 18 April 2012

There is little doubt that the global financial power shift is moving from West to East. If there is any controversy about the subject, it is only about its timing, but it is clear to all that China’s economy surpassing that of the US will happen in the near future.

The big question is what will America do to delay this process and/or try to totally prevent it. America’s “action” will largely depend on which America are we talking about, the mind-set in the Whitehouse, and the driving force behind the President at the time.

That said, a very small percentage of Americans are likely to take giving the centre court to China lightly. But how many will take it sitting down, and to what extent are they going to stand up and do something about it?

There is little doubt that fundamentalism in the whole world is on the rise, and America is not an exception. The white ultra-right TEA party is on the rise. This is not to forget the many number of heavily armed right-wing militia groups. If anything, the economic demise will bring about more job losses, and the anger will serve as an excellent recruitment tool for the radicals. In this climate, it is only likely that as America’s economy falls deeper and deeper into trouble, radicalism and fundamentalism will swell.

To imagine that by the time the Chinese economy gets close to be on par with that of the US and that the White House will have an incumbent President who will make Sarah Palin look like Mother Teresa is not unfathomable. In fact, it is highly likely.

Even now, the American economy is truly in tatters and only narrowly escaping official bankruptcy, firstly by virtue of still being able to get away with “financial easing”, a politically correct term that truly means printing money, and secondly, by still being able to borrow money either from overseas lenders and/or domestically.

This scenario cannot continue for much longer and, soon enough Americans are going to realize that their government has borrowed trillions of dollars (3-4) from the private retirement funds of average moms and dads. This is money that the treasury is not going to be able to repay. The dirt will hit the fan when those investors reach their retirement age and realise that their nest-egg has been blown away. Yet more food for anger and more fuel for radicalism.

For America to be able to pull of this mess in the near future or the lesser mess it is in now, it will need resources, determination, and proper planning.

The natural resources have been but wiped out, oil and minerals have been exploited, and the vast irrigated plains are already running out of ground water. The human resource in America cannot compete with the massive Chinese numbers. China is already producing more science graduates than the USA, and the gap will only to widen.

Determination does not seem to be in the right place of Americans hearts. Proper determination should begin with tightening the belt and rolling up the sleeves. Instead, Americans are not trying to reduce their spendings and they are blaming only banks, big business and the government and seem unprepared and unwilling to make any sacrifices.

Proper planning also seems to be missing because, in America, this implies totalitarianism and is tantamount to Communism. The only situation in which the American government is able to take a totalitarian action is that of declaring war.

Totally bankrupt, with an army that hasn't the funds to fight a conventional war, and even if it did have such funds, it would not be strong enough to spread wide, deep and far enough in order to be able to capture territory and keep the Chinese and Russians at bay. Hence, the only foreseeable supremacy that the US would possess is its nuclear power.

It must be borne in mind however that for China to surpass America’s defence technology and prowess, that will come decades after China’s economy becomes the largest in the world.

The USA is always accused of keeping its hands on the oil resources of the Middle East. For fairness, by-and-large, it is “only” controlling its flow, but still paying for it; albeit in printed money.

A bankrupt, desperate and oil-thirsty USA may feel compelled to threaten oil-rich countries with air-strikes and even nuclear attacks, should they continue to supply oil to the Chinese and Russians.

In an escalated situation, at stage two, an isolated oil-thirsty USA may become tempted to literally steal this oil. The USA may start with easy, close targets such as Venezuela. A desperate USA with a radical President in the Whitehouse will possibly be tempted to take over by force the oil fields of such soft targets. This can be the beginning of a long path of piracy.

How far can this path be pursued is anyone’s guess. The next target can be a puppet state like Qatar, even Saudi Arabia itself.

In such a desperate stage, the USA can only rely on its nuclear supremacy in order for it to be able to force its way. It will not have the financial resources to put boots on the ground, and any ensuing internal strife potentially caused by financial woes will add to the expense and risks of this exercise.

The radical hawks will be up-in-arms calling for the use of nuclear weapons, and any country that stands in the way of America can be nuked. There will be preachers and instigators calling for the nuking of Mecca and the takeover of oil from the Islamic terrorists.

And the Middle East will probably be full of Islamic terrorists by then. After all, the so-called Arab Spring has been hijacked by the USA, but with the short-sightedness of American foreign policies, at the end of the day, the Arab World is being handed to the Islamists on a silver platter. Only Syria, Iran and Lebanon are standing in the way of the master US/Israeli plan.

To predict that in a few more years the rule of the Saudi family will come to an end is not unrealistic. If/when they get toppled, the only candidates for taking over are the Islamists. Would this not be enough incentive for the radical ultra-right wing US President of that time to invade the land of the former ally and forcefully take over the oil, even at the risk of instigating a small scale nuclear war?

And if the home-grown hawks are not crowing loud enough to implement radical action by their Federal Government, the Israel Lobby will be in a much more desperate situation. By that time, Israel will be surrounded by radical regimes and will be facing a struggle for survival. If America does not draw the first nuke-blood, Israel may take this initiative and drag America into a decision it was not able to make on its own.

Realistically, no nation is close to winning any nuclear war with the USA. In the event of a major nuclear escalation with say China, the USA will be able to wipe out all the major Chinese cities before it suffers any serious retaliation from the Chinese.

The only real nuclear threat is Russia, and the USA can either avoid confrontation with Russia and/or rely on its superiority in the field and the fact that most of the Soviet era nukes have deteriorated beyond repair.

In reality, a full-on nuclear confrontation with Russia will inflict more harm to the USA than a confrontation with the Chinese, but it will annihilate Russia before it inflicts any serious damage on the USA.

The radical hawks will be pushing the nuclear agenda whilst America is still the strongest nuclear power and before it loses this opportunity.

During the Cold War, a nuclear confrontation was averted because the two powers were virtually on par with each other and none were in a stage of desperation. When the USSR crumbled, the state of desperation came from within and a confrontation with the USA would not have solved the problem.

Last but not least, in the 1950’s-80’s, the USA was not prepared to take any nuclear risk of any magnitude. But a bankrupt USA may become more than prepared to sacrifice a major city or two.

Any other confrontation, ie other than nuclear, will hasten America’s demise. The Iraq/Afghanistan wars have cost the treasury a total of three trillion dollars of borrowed money. Even another regional conventional war with Iran may become the financial straw that will break America’s economic back.

So when push comes to shove, if America does not accept the changes of the tides, and if it remains determined to keep its stature by hook or by crook, its only option will have to be nuclear-backed piracy and quick and decisive nuclear action.

WE TOLD YOU SO: Ghassan Kadi 21 May 2012

WE TOLD YOU SO:
Ghassan Kadi
21 May 2012
 

So… the Syrian events are spilling into Lebanon. I hate to say the I/we who know about the region, have told you that it would. I hate to also say that when we said it would, we were not talking about a so-called Arab-Spring... spilling into Lebanon, the like of which we saw in Egypt, and which called for reform and freedom. Our fear was purely about a bloody sectarian conflict. Yes, we told you so.

In Syria now, the calls for freedom and democracy have all but gone silence. We also told you so. And they have been replaced by Allah Akbar and pure sectarian calls to turn Syria into a Sunni fundamentalist state. We also told you so.

A Sunni Sheikh, Ahmed Abdel Wahed gets killed in Lebanon, and Lebanon is on the brink of yet another sectarian war.

No rational person condones killing in any given situation, but a rational analysis of the killing of the Sheikh can perhaps give a possible explanation of how and why it happened.

To begin with, Abdel Wahed was an outspoken supporter of Hariri, the core of Sunni fundamentalism in Lebanon. The Hariri camp refers to Abdel Wahed as a martyr and a man of God. His opponents describe him as a sectarian rascal spreading sectarian anti-Alawite hatred in the hearts and minds of young Sunni Lebanese youth as well as a militarised arms trader. No one seems to be able to pin point what he really was with clear evidence.

But why would a Lebanese army checkpoint shoot to kill?

If there was truly a Lebanese Army conspiracy to kill Abdel Wahed as his mourners claim, the Army intelligence would have found a way to do so in a manner that does not overtly implicate it. Would it not?

Even during the ugly Lebanese Civil War when all sorts of militia groups were in control of the streets and check points, the “rule” for passing traffic was to stop at checkpoints and accept being searched. Shots were fired only and only when the travelling car did not stop. And when they did not stop, they did so for good reasons because they had something or someone to hide.

So if the rogue combatant militia run and led by thugs stuck to this rule, it is only rational to think that the regular Lebanese army would also stick to this rue. There is no reason as to why it would not.

The most likely scenario is that the Sheikh and his companion driver had some “thing” to hide, not some “one” to hide. Most likely, they were hiding weapons that they were couriering from some point A to another point B.

In any which way one looks at the situation, outsiders are not in a position to understand the complexity of the situation in the Middle East.

The uprising in Syria is not about reform. It is not about democracy. It is about sectarianism, sponsored by the Sunni Arab funds (Saudi Arabia and Qatar) under the blessing of the USA with a political objective to maintain Israel’s military superiority in the region and a financial objective to keep in control of the oil.

Targeting Syria is for “good” reasons, because it is the only Arab state left that opposes Israel, and the only one in which Moslems and Christians live under a law that gives equal rights to all.
This tragedy can spill into Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia…. and sees Sunnis and Shiites engaging into a blood bath the likes of which has not been seen for centuries anywhere in the world. Nothing can serve Israel better.

I just hope that I won’t have to find myself in a situation in the future to say to the pundits and cynics, those who support the Syrian uprising; I told you so.

Originally Published:

In Syria now, the calls for freedom and democracy have all but gone silence. We also told you so. And they have been replaced by Allah Akbar and pure sectarian calls to turn Syria into a Sunni fundamentalist state. We also told you so.

A Sunni Sheikh, Ahmed Abdel Wahed gets killed in Lebanon, and Lebanon is on the brink of yet another sectarian war.

No rational person condones killing in any given situation, but a rational analysis of the killing of the Sheikh can perhaps give a possible explanation of how and why it happened.

To begin with, Abdel Wahed was an outspoken supporter of Hariri, the core of Sunni fundamentalism in Lebanon. The Hariri camp refers to Abdel Wahed as a martyr and a man of God. His opponents describe him as a sectarian rascal spreading sectarian anti-Alawite hatred in the hearts and minds of young Sunni Lebanese youth as well as a militarised arms trader. No one seems to be able to pin point what he really was with clear evidence.

But why would a Lebanese army checkpoint shoot to kill?

If there was truly a Lebanese Army conspiracy to kill Abdel Wahed as his mourners claim, the Army intelligence would have found a way to do so in a manner that does not overtly implicate it. Would it not?

Even during the ugly Lebanese Civil War when all sorts of militia groups were in control of the streets and check points, the “rule” for passing traffic was to stop at checkpoints and accept being searched. Shots were fired only and only when the travelling car did not stop. And when they did not stop, they did so for good reasons because they had something or someone to hide.

So if the rogue combatant militia run and led by thugs stuck to this rule, it is only rational to think that the regular Lebanese army would also stick to this rue. There is no reason as to why it would not.

The most likely scenario is that the Sheikh and his companion driver had some “thing” to hide, not some “one” to hide. Most likely, they were hiding weapons that they were couriering from some point A to another point B.

In any which way one looks at the situation, outsiders are not in a position to understand the complexity of the situation in the Middle East.

The uprising in Syria is not about reform. It is not about democracy. It is about sectarianism, sponsored by the Sunni Arab funds (Saudi Arabia and Qatar) under the blessing of the USA with a political objective to maintain Israel’s military superiority in the region and a financial objective to keep in control of the oil.

Targeting Syria is for “good” reasons, because it is the only Arab state left that opposes Israel, and the only one in which Moslems and Christians live under a law that gives equal rights to all.
This tragedy can spill into Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia…. and sees Sunnis and Shiites engaging into a blood bath the likes of which has not been seen for centuries anywhere in the world. Nothing can serve Israel better.

I just hope that I won’t have to find myself in a situation in the future to say to the pundits and cynics, those who support the Syrian uprising; I told you so.
Originally Published:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=318591938216960&set=a.108568162552673.13501.100001984705808&type=3

يا حيف عطرابلس و اهالي طرابلس 24 May 2102

 

يا حيف عطرابلس و اهالي طرابلس

لست من طرابلس ولكنني اعرفها تمام للمعرفه و افهم تفكير اهلها و تكفيرهم.

فمنذ الزمن الذي عشته و أتذكره، فان طرابلس كانت و لا تزال مسرحا لانعدام القانون و المنطق.
...
فمنذ "ثورة" ١٩٥٨ لحين يومنا هذا، و طرابلس متأرجحة بين استسلام الغوغاء و التارجح بين هذا و ذاك و لوم الاخرين لما يحصل لها.

فأثناء صعود عبدالناصر، كرست المدينة نفسها رمزا للعروبة و رفضت كل الرفض كونها لبنانية الكيان. وأيام الوحدة العربية، كانت طرابلس تتباهى بإسم طرابلس الشام وتتنحل من كل ما هو لبناني وكانت صور عبدالناصر تتصدر كل منزل وشارع. و كان كل ما هو لبناني يعتبر و كانه أميركي استعماري. و كان الجيش اللبناني و العلم و الارزة كلهم معرضون للسخرية و الذم.

و عندما استقال عبدالناصر اثر هزيمة حزيران ٦٧، قامت القائمة و تظاهر زعران البلد و احرقوا كل متجر يحمل اسما بحروف لاتينية، فطرابلس بنظرهم كانت معقل
العروبة.

و فيً اواخر الستينات، قام فاروق المقدم بعصيان مدني. و لم لا؟ فسيطرة آل كرامي السياسية للمدينة أقلقت راحته و هو الذي اعتبر نفسه مغبونا و ان أسرته قد تحجمت.

فباسم محاربة الإقطاع، جاهد الإقطاعي المغبون استرجاع جاه نسبه ولكن "ثورته" لم تقم لها قائمة الا بعد اندلاع الحرب الاهلية عام ٧٥.

و لن ننسي دولة المطلوبين برئاسة احمد القدور و من آزره.

كل هذا و ذاك حصل تحت انف العائلات الطرابلسية "العريقة" و دون اي رد فعل عملي و واقعي.

وعند إندلاع الحرب الأهلية أصبحت طرابلس آنذاك مدينة الثورة حصن اليسار والحركات التقدمية ضد الانعزاليين و الإمبرياليين و من شابه.

و فجأة، و بسحر ساحر، اصبحت طرابلس قلعة المسلمين، و ها هي اليوم بعد المزيد من الشقلبات بلد فالت بيد زعران سعد الحريري و لا نقمة عند اهلها الا ضد سورية و المقاومة ضد اسرائيل و تقف اليوم يدا بيد مع اليمين المتطرف المسيحي ضد كل ما هو سوري او شيعي.

المضحك المبكي ان اهالي طرابلس اليوم قد وجدوا بديل لآل كرامي، و معظمهم يدعي انهم يريدون تحرير البلد من العصابات، و معظمهم أيضاً غاضبون من نزوح زبالة الضنية و عكار و لكنهم يواكبون الحريري و هو الذي يمول المذكورين و يمدهم بالمال و السلاح.

فكيف تتحول تلك المدينة من عاصمة العروبة لعاصمة الدفاع عن الثورة الفلسطينيه ضد الإنعزالية و"الصليبية" لعاصمة الاسلام لمعقل اللبننة و دعم عصابات جعحع و الحريري السعودي الأميركي و المتواطئون مع أميركا ؟ من يدري.

إذا كان هذا التحويل الغريب علامة تطور ونضوج، لرأينا ملامح نهضة وإرتقاء، ولكن كل ما نراه هو دلائل إنحطاط وتقهقر. فيا حيف عطرابلس و اهالي طرابلس.

لما كان رشيد كرامي زعيم طرابلس كانت الطاسة ضائعة ولكن إذا قيس وضع البلد آنذاك بما هو عليه اليوم، فحقاً سنقول أن الدنيا كانت بألف خير. وذلك لأن من يسمون أنفسهم الزعماء الجدد سلموا البلد للزعران لأنهم أنفسهم زعران.

من كان يشك بالأمر فلينظر يمينا و شمالا. طرابلس اليوم مدينة تحت قيد الإعتقال و سجانيها هم الكلاب المسلحة و التي يباركها نواب البلد.

آل كبارة معروفون و تاريخهم يوضح أنهم شحاذون يعيشون عالخبز و الزعتر و مشايخهم يحجون عن الأموات مقابل أجر، أو يلوون بألسنتهم في كلام الله في الأتراح و يسمونه تجويدا أيضا مقابل أجر، أو و أو يعتكفون في الجوامع أيضاً و أيضاً مقابل أجر مادي، .يتاجرون بالدين و يشترون به ثمنا قليلا. لعن الله صلاتهم و قيامهم و قعودهم فهم أهل نفاق. يدعون أنهم من سلالة الرسول الكريم و هم من سلالة الدجال اللعين ونطفةٌ من صرب إبليس. سماهم في قبح وجوههم فجعلهم كالقرود إيعاذاً بمسخهم يوم يقولون ليتنا كنا ترابا. .

.
و خالد ضاهر حقير و منافق رخيص و عوني مصباح الأحدب كان يلحق صبيان. يا عيني على هكذا نواب ويا حسرة عليك يا طرابلس فقد نامت نواطيرك عن ثعالبك و بعون الله سيعود الكل لأصله قريبا.

أما الصفدي فجمع أمواله بأموال الزنا و الحرام وهو نفسه الذي جعل من قبر ابنه مزارا و كأنه من موالينا الأنبياء و الرسل.

أما داعي الشيطان الشهال فلم يقدر أن يدخل البرلمان و هو بنظره حق له فهو من آل
الشهال و بنظره آل الشهال لهم نفس الحق كحق آل كبارة و ميقاتي و غيرهم من القرود و الأفاعي التي أفسدت الارض بعد سقوط الإمبراطورية الكرامية. فرضي بدور رئيس عصابة مرتزقة لأن يده لم تطل أكثر. قتله الله .

وحتى الميقاتي نفسه، وهو الشريف بالنسبة لهم، لم يصبح مليونير حتي سرق الشعب ولم يقدر أن يبقى في باب السياسة إلى بعد أن إنصاع لطاعة سعد بيك، ولما كثف ريشة، أكل الطعم ويكفينا ما حصل للصنارة.
فيا حسرتاه لهكذا زعماء الذين جلبوا عكاريت آل حسون و هرموش وغيرهم من البجم والغجر والبربر و من عاشرهم من ذوي السلطان الأكبر ليجروا البلد لحرب مذهبية بأموال حرامي الحرمين و قطر و قواد لبنان الأكبر سعد الحريري لعن الله ذكره.

لا يخجل هؤلاء الكلاب ومن آزرهم من أبناء البلد والعائلات "العريقة" من وضع اللوم و كل اللوم بأهالي جبل محسن، تلك الضاحية الصغيرة المطوقة و المعدومة الموارد و التي يعيش أهلها تحت فقر مدقع و أحوال لا تبعد كثيرا عن أحوال غزة. ولكن حقدهم المذهبي أعماهم و أموال المحرضين تغريهم و ما يحصل للبلد فهو ليس مهم لهم ، لعنهم الله.

فيا حيف على طرابلس وأهالي طرابلس، ولكن مثلما تكونوا يولى عليكم، فلا تلوموا إلا أنفسكم. لا تكذبوا وتتظاهروا انكم غير راضون عن وضع بلدكم. فمعظمكم حريريون طائفيون مذهبيون منافقون وتفضلون إسرائيل على سورية. اخترتم مواكبة القواد، فاشربوا علقم كأسه هنيئاً لكم.

See Translation

EXPOSING THE ASSAD LEGACY 30 May 2012

EXPOSING THE ASSAD LEGACY: It has been confirmed. This is the list of atrocities committed by the Assad legacy of Syria.

1. Building the Berlin Wall.
2. Establishing Zionsim.
3. Starting World wars I & II.
4. Global warming, and
5. Dropping the A-Bomb on Hiroshima

Originally published
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=323684621041025&set=a.108568162552673.13501.100001984705808&type=3 

NOT ANOTHER CASE OF 'I TOLD YOU SO'. By Ghassan Kadi 3 June 2012

Not Another Case of “I told you so”.

By Ghassan Kadi

3 June 2012

The Houla massacre has demonstrated that the Syrian opposition will not stop at anything in order to perpetrate lies and pour oil on fire. As usual, and without any investigations, the US was quick to condemn the Syrian government knowing very well that for 40 years of Assad rule, any form of sectarianism was illegal.

There is no point trying to defend the ...Syrian government with logic and giving examples. This is because those who have decided to condemn the government belong to either one of the following groups: (1) Fanatics with sectarian agendas; (2) Mercenaries who are paid to stand up; (3) well intentioned people who have been goofed by the lies of Western media; (4) the perpetrators and conspirators themselves.

It is amazing how the Western media are totally ignoring the fact that the Syrian opposition has kidnapped 11 Lebanese Shia pilgrims. There is absolutely no doubt in anyone’s mind that the perpetrators are the Opposition and that the act was that of sectarian prejudice. Knowing that this same opposition managed to draw quite a bit of mileage from its Houla massacre this is the scenario I fear: The opposition thugs would now be thinking that if the Houla massacre wasn’t effective enough to instigate foreign military intervention, those mindless thugs may execute their hostages and then plan the execution of some Sunnis in Lebanon in the blatant attempt to blame Hizbollah in order to push Lebanon again into the abyss of tit-for-tat sectarian war.

It should not be difficult for these thugs to identify some Sunnis who do not support them and/or personal enemies, thereby literally killing two birds with one stone and making their own victims appear like martyrs.

I would hate to see myself in a few days saying “I told you so”.
https://www.facebook.com/ghassan.kadi.7/posts/326145167461637

THE ALLIANCE OF THE FEARFUL By Ghassan Kadi 10 June 2012

THE ALLIANCE OF THE FEARFUL

By Ghassan Kadi
10 June 2012

 Sheikh Abdullah Tamimi is a rather insignificant figure in the Levant and the future of Syria is not contingent upon his radical views, but when he appears on Israeli TV (Channel 2. Link below, in English with a... short Arabic intro)) proclaiming that Syria and Israel are not enemies, he is in fact talking about a paradigm shift, a shift that is trying to draw new lines and new alliances in what an analytical assessment of the recent events in the Levant can only regard as one that is desperate.

His stand is an overt exposure of what is better known as the Arab Spring; a term that was meant to signify self-expression, deposing dictators, and the establishment of long-awaited political freedom in the Arab World.

The desperate nature of this shift is a direct result of reality; a reality that implies that time is neither on the side of the foreign policies of the USA, nor it is on the side of the expansive aspirations of Israel.

There is little doubt that Israel reached its peak on the eve of its 6-Day War victory in 1967. The military triumph soon turned into a nightmare, and Israel is still reeling from the downfall of its victory not knowing and not able to deal with the land and people it occupied.

Several Intifadas in Palestine and several defeats in Lebanon later have painted Israel in a corner; not knowing if a military solution is any longer feasible, albeit conceivable.

To compound Israel’s dilemma further, the clock is ticking and the economic demise of the USA is only a question of time. Even if this demise does not eventuate in a crash as some pundit predict, there is little doubt that America will soon lose its global economic superiority and that as a consequence, the flood of funds to Israel will be reduced to a trickle and even perhaps be totally cut off.

Knowing that it can no longer win wars without taking huge risks that could well and truly challenge its very existence, Israel is trying to turn some of its regional foes into friends and even perhaps allies.

It is fortuitous for the strategists in Israel that the Sunni/Shiite divide has been rekindled in the region. The rise of Iran has evoked dormant fears within the hearts and minds of Sunnis who fear what they refer to as “Tashyee’a” (ie turning the region into a Shiite enclave).

The Arab states that are most fearful of this spectre are the “Gulfies”; ie the Saudis, Qataris, Bahrainis, etc… Ironically, the ongoing uprising in Bahrain is not seen as part-and-parcel of the Arab Spring, but to the ruling families of the Gulfies, they regard it as a pilot light, a fire that could engulf them all.

Iran’s aspirations, including its nuclear agenda, are any one’s guess.
On the surface, Iran defines itself as an Islamic State with Shiite Islam being its foundation.

A closer look at the current military map of the region however clearly shows that Iran is surrounded by NATO troops, in Afghanistan, Iraq, bases in Turkey, naval ships in the Persian Gulf, and last but not least a strong logistic base in Qatar and a virtually endless oil supply in Saudi Arabia. And this is not to mention the on-going Israeli threats of military action and cyber warfare.

If Iran indeed has aspirations to develop an A-Bomb to create a deterrent, strategic military thinking would “justify” such an aspiration. After all, events in the last few decades have indicated that having a nuclear arsenal was the only guarantee that the USA would leave a nation that does not tow the US line alone..

The above scenario exposes two rising groups in the Levant; the fearful and the hopeful.

The hopeful group is the one that can see the unstoppable tide of change, a change that can bring Israel to its knees. This group includes Iran, Syria, and all other factions who oppose Israel.

The fearful group is one that has two main subdivisions; those who want to maintain the status quo (ie Israel and US interests), and those who are fearful of being swallowed up by a Shiite take-over; ie the Sunni fundamentalists.

The fearful subgroups, when/if united, constitute very odd bed fellows to put it mildly. After all, NATO is still engaging in a deadly war in Afghanistan against the Talibans.

Recent developments in Syria and Lebanon have however clearly indicated that both of those fearful subgroups are prepared to turn a blind eye to Afghanistan. The interview of Sheikh Abdullah Tamimi says it all; if one is able to read in between the lines.

There is little doubt that we are seeing the emergence of the most unlikely alliance; an alliance that includes Sunni fundamentalists, Israel and the USA.

All the while, Turkey is watching with the eyes of a vulture because it has its own regional historic ambitions. It may join this group and/or wait to form its own, under a new Ottoman umbrella.

That said, the sovereignty of Syria and Syrians should only be decided by its people. This however cannot be achieved before decisions are made at national level. And when Syrians reach this level of awakening, decisions of this nature will need to overcome volatile sectarian divisions that find easy and multitude of sponsors to support.

Syria has been on this path. For the last forty years or so, it stood alone as an independent self-sufficient secular state that opposed the Israel lobby and the NATO plans in the region.

It is little wonder why Sergey Lavrov Russian Foreign Minister has recently said that: “The way world is in the future depends on the outcome of the Syrian crisis”.

Originally Published here
https://www.facebook.com/ghassan.kadi.7/posts/142071819262148

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xbu864lfwg&feature=youtu.be&fb_source=message

Salafist Cleric tells Israel's Channel 2: 'We Rebels in Syria are with Israel' - ENG

In an interview with Israel's Channel 2, Sheikh Abdullah Tamimi, an exiled Imam from the Syrian city of Homs, said that the Syrian Opposition does not have, ...

PRO-PALESTINE ACTIVISTS SEE THE LIGHT…PALESTINE IS A PART OF SYRIA Ghassan Kadi 11 June 2012

PRO-PALESTINE ACTIVISTS SEE THE LIGHT…PALESTINE IS A PART OF SYRIA
Ghassan Kadi
11 June 2102

 Personal opinions cannot turn fact into fiction and cannot alter reality. Palestine is a historic, geographic, cultural and national part of Syria. The same applies to Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.

Historically, that part of the Levant has been known and referred to as Greater Syria also known as the Fertile Crescent.

There is no need to turn fact into a great political argument and a huge debate; at least not herein for the purpose of this article. But in any which way one looks at this argument, whether he/she wants to draw the boundaries of the nation of Syria a few kilometres this way or that way, there is little doubt that the history of this region implies similarities that cannot be ignored even by the most ardent supporters of the independence and nationhood of the current states.

It must be remembered that the borders of the current states of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq have been drawn by the French and British colonialists in the 1920’s, and the Palestine that was mapped and drawn was what became that area that was snapped away by the Hebrew state.

This is not about a lesson in history, but rather about stating facts that many people in the West ignore. As a matter of fact, an average run-of-the-mill Westerner does not need to know this information if he/she does not want to form a view about the political situation in that part of the world and tried to understand how and why it is affecting his/her welfare.

But for the Western activist, the one who can see the atrocities perpetrated by the state of Israel against the people of Palestine, some knowledge of history becomes paramount.

It is rather ironic that many Western pro-Palestinian activists seem to view the Middle East as a mosaic of distinct nations without being able to connect the dots. It is even more amazing how they can have great passion and devotion for Palestine, and do not seem to give a damn about say Lebanon or Syria. The truth of the matter is that one cannot separate the events in any of those territories from any other.

But to be fair, what is more ironic is that many Arabs do not see the great links that connect the fates of their states with each other. But if one probes underneath the skin, it becomes easy to see that Arabs of this calibre either have personal vested interests that could be jeopardised otherwise, and/or blinded by some form of sectarianism or tribalism.

But when those sectarian tribals go out to the West and start preaching their ideologies to listening ears, their words are taken like gospel and only a handful stop to question their ideologies and motives. The biggest example to this category of people is Ahmad Jalabi who duped the West about the Iraqi WMD’s for personal gain.

Palestinians are not any more or less “educated” in this field than their Arab compatriots. Those with developed national understanding and aspirations are quite aware of their belonging to a bigger entity albeit Greater Syria or the whole Arab World. That said, some Palestinians are isolationists in the sense that they believe in the “Palestinian decision”.

The truth of the matter is that without Syria and Syrian support you can kiss Palestine goodbye.

The Palestinian Resistance in both of its major incarnations; the PLO and Hamas, have been fostered by Syria. The only major military defeat that Israel has ever suffered was done by the hands of Hezbollah and which would have never been able to get its members trained and armed without the support of Syria.

But with the level of ignorance and bigotry that is predominant in many hearts and minds, it is not at all uncommon to find Palestinians taking political sides that not only do not serve the Palestinian cause, but in fact are for its detriment.

It is therefore not very unusual, for example, to find some Palestinians supporting Hezbollah only and only for kicking Israel’s hide, but at the same time, taking very strong anti Hezbollah stands for the simple reason that Hezbollah is a Shiite organization.

Likewise, it is not at all unusual to find Palestinians supporting the Syrian rebels, and thereby taking the same political stand as the Israeli cabinet has recently proclaimed.

But if fanatic Palestinians, fanatic ultra rightwing Christian Lebanese, fanatic Sunni fundamentalists have dogmatized views, their position can be known and defined as being such. What is hard to explain is the position of the Western so-called pro-Palestinian activists. Why do they stop at hearing half truths?

Instead of pontificating and making statements that clearly reveal their total ignorance of the region, if those Western activists were indeed interested in the welfare of the people of the region, they must first realize that Palestine and Syria are one. If they cannot see this and understand it, they might as well go home and be quiet. Hey are doing us more harm than good. It is our fight, we do not need them.

This may sound like a very harsh and ungrateful statement to make and this is not the intention. There is no doubt at all that most of the Western pro-Palestinian activists are well intentioned decent human beings who are shocked by the actions of Israel. But not unless they educate themselves about the region, the whole region, then they may inadvertently end up as meddlers who can in fact cause harm.