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Showing posts with label israel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label israel. Show all posts

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Propaganda War against Syria, Hezbollah and Iran

I already posted when the Der Spiegel article came out Click here for that

My thoughts on Syria having a nuclear program, weather for weapon or power, is completly fabricated and BS. The cost and time aloone would be prohibitive. Asssad is currently financial cut off. So conserving what Syria has in treasure and man power would come first.
 - Ian Bach


Timothy Alexander Guzman, Silent Crow News – Former White House Chief of Staff for President Barack Obama and the current Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel once said “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” Der Spiegel’s report on Syria’s alleged nuclear weapons program titled ‘Assad’s Secret: Evidence Points to Syrian Push for Nuclear Weapons’ is a true testimony to what Emanuel meant. The terror attacks in the offices of the French satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo took place on January 7th; two days later Der Spiegel’s report is published. The timing is perfect. Israeli media is running with it. The Tel-Aviv based www.ynetnews.com published an article titled ‘Syrian rebels: Iranian officers spotted near site of reported nuclear facility’ which confirms Der Spiegel’s accusations:
Following reports Syrian President Bashar Assad was building an underground nuclear facility, a senior Syrian rebel official told Saudi paper Okaz on Sunday that the Free Syrian Army has noted suspicious Syrian and Iranian movements in the town of Qusayr on the outskirts of Homs, where the facility is said to be.
According to the official, Abu Muhammad al-Bitar, the Free Syrian Army noted the presence of Iranian officers and “unprecedented” Hezbollah security in the area. Al-Bitar said the Friday report on Der Spiegel has been discussed at length in command meetings of rebel factions in the Kalamoon area. He went on to say that “what can be confirmed is that what’s going on there is happening under direct Iranian supervision and the Syrian regime is only a cover-up for this”
Now the Free Syrian Army is a trusted source of information? Why would the editors of Der Spiegel release their findings regarding “Assad’s Secret” nuclear weapons program right after the terrorist attack in Paris? Officials in Iran and Syria reject Der Spiegel’s claims. According to ynetnews:
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif. rejected the Der Spiegel report on Sunday as “ridiculous,” saying “the magazine’s allegation is one of the attempts made by those circles whose life has been based on violence and fear to cloud the international community with illusion and create imaginary concerns about the Islamic Republic,” according to the FARS news agency
Would Iran jeopardize the upcoming summit with U.S. officials concerning its nuclear program by assisting the Syrian government in developing nuclear weapons? A media source told the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA):
that Syria refutes these allegations in their entirety, asserting that the allegations, which were made by a magazine that often publishes preposterous allegations devoid of credibility, contradict the most basic rules of journalism ethics, and that they are part of the conspiracy and media misdirection campaign targeting Syria
Part of the report specifically focuses on the “intercepted Communication” by a high-ranking Hezbollah official and Ibrahim Othman, the head of the Syrian Atomic Energy Commission:
However, the clearest proof the report cited was an intercepted communication by radio traffic recently intercepted local spies, in which the voice identified as belonging to a high-ranking Hezbollah official can be heard calling the place an “atomic factory” specifically naming Qusayr as the area.  More importantly, the Hezbollah official frequently updated Ibrahim Othman, the head of the Syrian Atomic Energy Commission. The Syrian regime has transferred 8,000 fuel rods to the plant that had been planned for a facility at Al-Kibar, it added
The new propaganda campaign against the Syrian government is a dangerous elevation towards war. Der Spiegal’s report can be a starting point for a Western media propaganda blitz that will follow their government’s line, especially in the U.S. The allegations bring back memories of Ahmed Chalabi, the Iraqi politician who provided false information regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD’s) and Saddam’s alleged connection to Al-Qaeda. The information led to the Bush administration’s decision to invade and eventually occupy Iraq in 2003.
Der Spiegel and Israeli media are following Rahm Emanuel’s advice with the recent terror attacks in Paris. With more than 40 World leaders in attendance at a Paris solidarity movement against Islamic extremism this past Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were at the forefront with French President Francois Hollande. Can Netanyahu be exploiting the terrorist attacks in Paris for an Israeli propaganda campaign against its adversaries back home because they too, face terrorism on a daily basis? Can he be as cynical as Madonna when she sent a “Je Suis Charlie” image on Instagram with a Hashtag promoting her new album ‘Rebel Heart’? Yes, of course he can. The point is that people in power especially politicians, will exploit any crises to their advantage, in this case, new accusations that Syria is in the process of developing nuclear weapons. Israeli officials in the past has warned that terrorists can eventually use “nuclear suitcases” in New York and other European cities as reported by the Washington Examiner in 2013:
An Israeli official warned that the agreement could result in a nuclear attack on the United States. “If a nuclear suitcase blows up in New York or Madrid five years from now, it will be because of the deal that was signed this morning,” Naftali Bennett, the nation’s minister of trade, industry, and labor
Bennet was speaking about Obama’s diplomatic efforts concerning Iran’s nuclear program. The Israeli government wants hegemony in the Middle East but it has a few obstacles in the way, and that is Syria and Iran. Many people in Israel prefer that the U.S. and its European allies to attack Syria. In 2013, a Gal Hadash poll was published in Israel Hayom, an Israeli national Hebrew-language newspaper and stated that more than 66 percent of respondents are in favor of a U.S. and European military intervention in Syria. For the Israeli government, a U.S-NATO attack on Syria would give the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) an open opportunity to pursue a war with Hezbollah and eventually Iran. Israel can use Der Spiegel’s report to its advantage no matter how preposterous it sounds. Right now, the world is mourning the 12 people who were gunned down in cold blood by Islamic extremists in Paris, France and you can bet Israel will exploit the tragedy to discredit its perceived enemies in the Arab world.
Israel is prepared for another war with Hezbollah as it is also awaiting the outcome of the upcoming nuclear talks between Iranian and U.S. officials which will resume on January 14th. One thing is for sure, 2015 is proving to be a very dangerous year for war and it can begin in Syria. Der Spiegel has ignited a new propaganda campaign against Syria as did the New York Times who made the same tragic mistake right before the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. But the question we need to ask is, will the world buy their story?

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Hezbollah and Syrian army take new ground near Israeli border

Operation against rebel-foothold of southern Syria was spearheaded by Lebanese militia, monitor says.

Hezbollah fighters
Hezbollah fighters hold their party flags, as they parade during a rally to mark the 13th day of Ashoura in the southern market town of Nabatiyeh, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 7, 2014. Photo by AP

Syrian troops and fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah group seized several towns and villages south of Damascus on Wednesday, state media and activists said, advancing in a region bordering the Israeli Golan Heights.
The government counteroffensive aims at recapturing areas seized by Syrian rebels and the Al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, whose recent advances had brought them closer to embattled President Bashar Assad's seat of power.
The government late last year lost large parts of the Quneitra region on the edge of the Golan. State television said troops gained control of the town of Deir al-Adas and the village of Deir Maker, as well as the nearby areas of Tal al-Arous and Tal al-Sarjeh.
"The operations are being led by Hezbollah's special forces," said Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "Their aim appears to be to eventually reach areas bordering the occupied Golan and set up a border zone under Hezbollah's control."
The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists around the country, said Iranian volunteers are also taking part in the fighting. It said 20 opposition fighters were killed there on Tuesday alone.
Hezbollah has been fighting alongside forces loyal to Assad, saying it is battling Sunni Islamic extremists who pose a threat to the whole region. Israeli officials accuse Iran, through Hezbollah, of working to establish a base in southern Syria to launch attacks against the Jewish state. Hezbollah denies seeking any military presence there.
On Jan. 18, an Israeli airstrike near the Golan killed seven people, including an Iranian general, a top Hezbollah commander and the son of a slain top commander. Hezbollah said the fighters were inspecting positions in the Golan. Part of the strategic plateau was seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.
Although Syrian state television and Hezbollah's Al-Manar satellite channel purportedly reported live from Deir al-Adas, a rebel spokesman said they only captured the town briefly before being forced out.
Gen. Ibrahim Jbawi, a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army's southern front, said the fighting killed or wounded 200 government forces and Hezbollah fighters. He said rebels also destroyed 13 tanks. His report could not be independently confirmed.
"The (Syrian) regime is trying to regain some of its standing" in the area, Jbawi said.
In Damascus, Syrian President Bashar Assad met with UN envoy Staffan de Mistura to discuss his proposal for reducing the violence, starting with a hostilities freeze in the northern city of Aleppo.
De Mistura did not disclose details of the meeting, but state-run news agency SANA said the two discussed "new details" in the UN plan to freeze fighting in Aleppo "in a positive and constructive climate."

Thursday, November 20, 2014

CANADA WOMAN 32 GOES TO KOBANI TO HELP DEFEND IT FROM ISIL

http://ianbachusa.wordpress.com/2014/11/20/canada-kurdish-woman-32-goes-to-kobani-to-help-defend-it-from-isil/

A Canadian woman has become the first foreign female to join the Kurds battling the Islamic State in Syria, a report has revealed.
Gill Rosenberg, 31, was interviewed on Israel Radio where she said she had traveled to Iraq, was training with Kurdish guerrillas and would go into combat in neighboring Syria.
The station did not name their interviewee, who spoke North American-accented Hebrew, but a source involved in the report identified her as Rosenberg.
'They (the Kurds) are our brothers. They are good people. They love life, a lot like us, really,' Rosenberg said, explaining why she joined up after contacting the guerrillas over the Internet.
Rosenberg, a civil aviation pilot, enlisted in an Israeli army search-and-rescue unit before being arrested in 2009. She was then extradited to the United States where she was jailed over an international phone scam, one of her former lawyers said.
A source in the Kurdistan region with knowledge of the issue said Rosenberg was the first foreign woman to join YPG, the Kurds' dominant fighting force in northern Syria. 
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9KsTu4WkeY[/embed]
way cool video on YouTube, this is perfect ammo for COIN

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Middle East peace conference in Annapolis

I am optimistic about this new peace process. I think Condie Rice and Bush can do some great things in this arena, and I am certain that Syria and Palestine are ready and eager. Here is the quick and easy copy paste of the what I found so far (without a lot of my analysis/take) - I will add more in-depth info and insights later in comments. - Ian Bach

The Washington Post reports on its front page that "Russia and the United States are tentatively planning a second Middle East peace conference, in Moscow in early 2008, with major parties hoping to begin a comprehensive peace effort that would include direct talks between Israel and Syria, according to US, Russian, Arab and European officials." The Post adds, "Syria's delegate to this week's talks in Annapolis said yesterday that Damascus wants a Moscow gathering in order to begin negotiations between Syria and Israel over the Golan Heights, a border region seized by Israel during the 1967 war."

Rice Links Own Experience To Crisis The Washington Post, in a positive review of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's performance, reports, "When the cameras were turned off at the Middle East peace conference in Annapolis on Tuesday and the media were hustled out of the room...Rice and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni provided some of the most arresting moments of the private gathering of top international officials." According to the Post, Livni "opened her speech with a challenge" to her Arab counterparts present, saying, "Why doesn't anyone want to shake my hand? "Why doesn't anyone want to be seen speaking to me?" The Post moves on to Rice, who "brought the meeting to close with highly personal and reflective comments that connected her childhood in the segregated South with the challenges facing Israelis and Palestinians." To the Israelis, Rice spoke of the experience of having local black churches bombed by white separatists, and to the Palestinians, she said "I know what it is like to hear to that you cannot go on a road or through a checkpoint because you are Palestinian. ... I understand the feeling of humiliation and powerlessness."

Palestinian Negotiator Upbeat A number of media reports on the budding Mideast peace process appear to reflect the cautious sense of optimism of the participants in the Annapolis conference. Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat, for example, said on PBS's NewsHour, "After seven years of stalemate, seven years of killing fields between Palestinians and Israelis, President Bush managed to provide this opportunity for us, the Palestinians and Israelis. ... The difference between yesterday and Camp David so many years ago was the Arabs were here, all of them, and the Syrian presence was very significant, and the Saudi presence was very significant. ... Nobody could have done what happened in Annapolis but President Bush. Now, people can say, 'Why did he wait seven years? Why did he do this?' But I believe that, in the last two years, Secretary Rice, to her credit, has done a fantastic job, in my opinion. She went all the way. She got the knowledge of all the little issues. She's very, very well aware now."