"It's Best Not to Mess With Us."
"Thank God, I think no one is thinking of unleashing a large-scale conflict with Russia."
"I want to remind you that Russia is one of the leading nuclear powers."
Russian President Vladimir Putin
Casual comments, imbued with pride and the slightest nudge of a threat by a man who knows his comments, wherever they take place, will be repeated for public consumption to a far wider audience than those to whom these remarks were directly aimed, Russian youth attending a pro-Kremlin summer camp on the banks of a lake not far from Moscow.
Those remarks were unleashed just as European leaders were preparing their emergency summit a day later. And the remarks follow on the presence of over one thousand regular Russian troops in eastern Ukraine, according to NATO surveillance and Ukrainian intelligence. Regular Russian troops are outgunning, outmanning, outmanoeuvring Ukrainian forces diligently working to unseat the ethnic Russian rebels in Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
Those Russian troops appear to represent the backbone of a counter-offensive aiding the rebels in eastern Ukraine to once again take back control of swaths of territory from Ukrainian government forces, turning the tide though just a week earlier government forces had good reason to believe they had the momentum required to destroy the rebel network and remove them from their positions of control.
Now, speaking for the separatists in the coastal town of Novoazovsk, the man identifying himself as the 'president' of the 'Donetsk Peoples' Republic' boasts of their plan to push westward to the port city of Mariupol, 35 kilometres' distant. Underlining concerns that the aim is to establish a land bridge linking the Russian mainland to the Crimean Peninsula now in Russian possession. Eastern Ukraine is being gradually eviscerated.
An area that is mineral rich with resource deposits that Russia is hungry for is within reach, even as Russia consolidates its Crimean Peninsula gain with direct overland access, shutting out the legal owners of the land, the people of Ukraine. The mysterious "humanitarian aid" trucks that passed through a border crossing in rebel control had a purpose, to loot Ukrainian munitions and parts manufacturers of their warehoused parts, before withdrawing.
Mariupol represents the next major battle that Ukrainian forces brace for when the assault finally materializes. Western hopes that sanctions imposed on Russia would succeed in persuading Vladimir Putin to stand down from his ambitions have obviously failed to gain their purpose. NATO leaders plan to meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko next week in Newport, U.K. to demonstrate NATO's "unwavering support", whatever that means, to a non-NATO member.
"Russian forces are engaged in direct military operations inside Ukraine. Russia continues to supply the separatists with tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery and rocket launchers. Russia has fired on Ukraine from both Russian territory and within Ukraine itself", Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO secretary-general accused. Ukraine is now expected to ask for a package of aid; thousands of new uniforms, helmets, body armour and communications gear.
Its defence chiefs would also greatly appreciate access to sophisticated American and NATO satellite images of Russian troop positions. And while they're at it, generous offers to supply badly needed newer-technology armaments to supplement what Ukraine already possesses. Least, certainly not last, Arseny Yatseniuk, Ukraine's prime minister, announced his country is prepared to make application to join NATO.
A move that would obligate NATO to the active defence of Ukraine and possibly lead to an all-out war between revanchist Russia and a very, very reluctant West, though Europe is moving more emphatically toward that kind of mindset. As in
"something must be done"!Labels: Aggression, Civil War, Conflict, NATO, Russia, Secession, Ukraine
75 UN troops flee into Israel to escape Syrian rebels
75 UN troops flee into Israel to escape Syrian rebels
Israel
confirms entry of UNDOF peacemakers across Golan border; al-Nusra
rebels attack troops near DMZ; Irish troops extricate some Fijian
colleagues
By Times of Israel staff, AP and AFP
August 30, 2014, 11:53 am
Updated: August 30, 2014, 3:18 pm
Seventy-five UNDOF peacekeepers
in the Golan Heights fled Syrian territory for the Israeli-controlled
Golan on Saturday after their positions were attacked by rebel forces.
An
Israeli military spokesman confirmed that a number of UN peacekeepers
entered Israel. He spoke on condition of anonymity. Channel 2 said 75 UN
troops had crossed the borders, after two UN positions on the Syrian
side of the border were targeted by al-Nusra rebel forces.
Earlier in the day, the Philippine defense
chief said that Filipino peacekeepers in the Golan Heights were attacked
by Syrian rebels, who are also holding dozens of Fijian troops hostage.
Clashes continued in the area through Saturday.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin told
reporters Saturday in a series of text messages that Filipino troops
manning one UN encampment had been “extricated,” while soldiers in
another encampment were “now under attack.”
Asked if there was a fresh firefight Saturday, Gazmin replied: “Yes.”
Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ramon
Zagala later told AFP that “there is still an ongoing standoff but there
was a firefight earlier today.”
“All our troops are safe,” he said.
Activists and officials confirmed to AP that
clashes had erupted between the al-Qaida-linked Syrian rebels and UN
peacekeepers, after the militants surrounded their encampment.
They also said other UN peacekeepers were able
to flee from a different encampment that that was also surrounded by
rebels of the Nusra Front, al-Qaida’s Syrian affiliate.
The clashes came after Syrian rebel groups,
including the Nusra Front, overran the Quneitra crossing — located on
the frontier between Syrian and Israeli controlled parts of the Golan
Heights — on Wednesday, seizing 44 Fijian peacekeepers.
The Nusra Front also surrounded the nearby Rwihana and Breiqa encampments, where other UN peacekeepers were holed up.
Saturday’s gunbattle began early in the
morning at the Rwihana base some 1.5 miles (2.3 kilometers) from
Quneitra, where 40 Filipino peacekeepers were surrounded by Nusra
fighters who were ordering them to surrender, said Rami Abdurrahman of
the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Abdurrahman, whose information comes from a
network of activists throughout Syria, said he was not aware of any
fatalities among the 40 Filipino peacekeepers in the Rwihana encampment
as sporadic fighting continued throughout the day.
The 35 Filipino UN peacekeepers at the Breiqa
encampment were extracted on Saturday morning, with the assistance of
Irish peacekeepers who rushed to the scene, said officials.
The Irish UN peacekeeper battalion, which is
tasked with emergency responses, evacuated all the Filipino UN
peacekeepers on Saturday morning, said a military official.
He said there was no shooting involved, and no
injuries. He said that the Irish battalion also evacuated another base
on Friday but provided no further details.
Gazmin confirmed that peacekeepers from his country were “extricated.”
The Nusra Front has recently seized hostages to exchange for prisoners detained in Syria and Lebanon.
The situation of the peacekeepers, tasked with
monitoring a 1974 disengagement accord between Syria and Israel,
remains “very, very fluid,” the UN secretary-general’s spokesman,
Stephane Dujarric, told reporters Friday at the UN headquarters in New
York.
The UN said in a statement that it had
received assurances from credible sources that the 44 Fijian
peacekeepers seized Wednesday “are safe and in good health.”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the detention of the Fijians and called for their immediate release.
The UN mission, known as UNDOF, has 1,223
troops from six countries: Fiji, India, Ireland, Nepal, Netherlands and
the Philippines.
Various rebel groups have been engaged in intense fighting with the Syrian military in and near the Golan Heights.
Also Saturday, a Syrian activist released a
video showing extremists from the Islamic State group opening fire and
killing dozens of men stripped down to their underwear.
The men in the video were likely those who
were captured after the extremists overran a Syrian airfield on Sunday;
Syrian soldiers who were stuck behind front lines after the northeastern
Tabqa air base fell to the Islamic State group.
The video, released by an activist who uses
the name Abu Ibrahim Raqqawi, corresponded with The Associated Press
reporting of the event. It matched a series of other videos that were
released since Wednesday. One video showed the men being held in a
concrete-floor room; another showed the men forced to march through a
barren landscape in their underwear, herded like sheep. Another showed
their seemingly lifeless bodies in piles on the ground.
The British-based Observatory earlier said around 120 captive government troops from Tabqa were killed near the base.
There was no immediate comment from the Syrian government.
The Islamic State group uses violence and
images of violence, from mass-killings to beheadings, to instill fear in
its opponents and win recruits as it seeks to expand a proto-state it
has carved out in Syria and Iraq.
Earlier Saturday, a spokeswoman for President
Benigno Aquino said he was “keeping a close watch” on the fate of the
troops who were serving as part of the peacekeeping force on the Golan
Heights.
The head of Filipino troops on UN missions
Colonel Roberto Ancan said in Manila on Friday that “we can use deadly
force in defense of the UN facilities.”
Meanwhile, Fiji military officials confirmed
Saturday that they no longer know the whereabouts of the 44 peacekeepers
captured by al-Qaeda-linked Syrian rebels in the Golan Heights.
“Their whereabouts at this stage,
unfortunately, I cannot confirm,” Brigadier Mosese Tikoitoga told
reporters after speaking to the head of the UN team negotiating for
their release.
“They confirmed that our men are safe and they
are all well. [But] they have been moved to a location out of the
bombardment range of any security forces or the Syrian security forces.
“It is out of the UN territory. But again it’s
the word of the group. We’ve got no verification what so ever, no
communication but we’re only relaying the message that was delivered to
us by the negotiators.”
Australia’s foreign minister on Saturday condemned the detention of the peacekeepers.
“Australia condemns the detention … of 44 Fiji
peacekeepers in the Golan Heights by armed groups,” Foreign Minister
Julie Bishop said in a statement. “As a member of the UN Security
Council, Australia demands the unconditional and immediate release of
all the detained United Nations peacekeepers.”
The situation of the peacekeepers, whose
mission monitors a 1974 disengagement accord between Syria and Israel,
remained “very, very fluid,” the UN secretary-general’s spokesman
Stephane Dujarric told reporters Friday at the UN headquarters in New
York.
The UN said in a statement it has received
assurances from credible sources that the Fijian peacekeepers “are safe
and in good health.”
The statement added that they had been
informed “the intention behind holding the peacekeepers was to remove
them from an active battlefield to a safe area for their own
protection.”
Labels: Conflict, Israel, Security, Syria, United Nations
Ukraine's president has said his country is "close to a point of no return - full scale-war".
Petro Poroshenko was speaking in Brussels, where he said a
meeting of EU leaders had agreed to prepare more sanctions against
Russia.
Outgoing EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton earlier accused Russia of "direct aggression" in east Ukraine.
Russia denies that its forces are backing rebels, who have been gaining ground on Ukrainian forces.
Mr Poroshenko said Ukraine was a victim of "military aggression and terror".
He said: "I think that we are very close to the point of no return. Point of no return is full-scale war.
"Any offensive action which would be undertaken [by
Russia]... would be a point of no return. And that's why we undertake
enormous efforts to stop that."
Mr Poroshenko said that new EU sanctions against Russia would
be prepared and would be implemented depending on the success of a
proposed peace plan.
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite says Russia is "practically in a war against Europe"
He said: "Based on my proposals, which were supported by the
majority of the member states, there are possible sanctions that would
be implemented."
He said he hoped to publish a draft of his peace plan next week.
Mr Poroshenko also said that he would discuss the possibility
of a ceasefire at a meeting in Belarus on Monday of the Contact Group,
which includes Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
The EU and the US have already imposed sanctions against
dozens of senior Russian officials, separatist commanders and Russian
firms accused of undermining Ukrainian sovereignty.
Residents flee fighting in Mariupol in the south-east
Baroness Ashton said there was "deep concern" over "direct
aggression by Russian forces". She called on Russia to stop the flow of
arms, equipment and personnel into Ukraine.
As she arrived at the talks in Brussels, Lithuanian President
Dalia Grybauskaite said Russia was "practically in a war against
Europe".
She said: "We need to support Ukraine, and send military
materials to help Ukraine defend itself. Today Ukraine is fighting a war
on behalf of all Europe."
UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the EU faced "a
completely unacceptable situation of having Russian troops on Ukrainian
soil. Consequences must follow if that situation continues".
Ukrainian military vehicles evacuate from Starobesheve
French President Francois Hollande said the Ukraine crisis was the biggest since the end of the Cold War.
He said: "What's happening in Ukraine is so serious that the
European Council will be obliged to react by increasing the level of
sanctions if things remain as they are."
However, the BBC's Chris Morris in Brussels says there are
still divisions within the EU on how to deal with the Ukraine situation.
Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said the "jury is
still out" on whether sanctions had worked, adding: "We need to find a
ceasefire, a peace plan."
Federica Mogherini, named on Saturday as Catherine Ashton's
successor, said there could be no military solution to the crisis and
that while sanctions were being worked on, the diplomatic process would
need to continue.
Government forces have lost ground in recent fighting.
A Ukrainian military spokesman said on Saturday that Russian
tanks had attacked the town of Novosvitlivka near Luhansk and "destroyed
virtually every house".
Spokesman Andriy Lysenko said troops had been ordered to retreat from Novosvitlivka.
Troops are also reportedly trying to evacuate Ilovaisk in the Donetsk region. It has been surrounded by rebels.
Rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko told the Russian News
Service radio station a new offensive was being planned to create a
corridor between Donetsk and Luhansk.
In south-eastern Ukraine, people have been leaving the port
city of Mariupol, after advancing rebels captured Novoazovsk to the
east.
Western and Ukrainian officials say this offensive has been
substantially helped by Russian regular troops, opening a new front.
Russia denies the accusation.
Some 2,600 people have died in fighting in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions since April.
The conflict erupted following Russia's annexation of Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula a month before.
War in eastern Ukraine: The human cost
- At least 2,593 people killed since mid-April (not including 298
passengers and crew of Malaysian Airlines MH17, shot down in the area) -
UN report on 29 August
- 951 civilians killed in Donetsk region alone, official regional authorities said - 20 August
- In some particularly dangerous places, such as Luhansk region,
victims are said to have been buried informally, making accurate counts
difficult
- Rebels (and some military sources) accuse the government of concealing true numbers
- 155,800 people have fled elsewhere in Ukraine while at least 188,000 have gone to Russia
Labels: Aggression, Conflict, EU, NATO, Russia, Secession, Ukraine
Sorry to Remind You, but Golda Meir Was Right - Part III of IV
So in the EU-candidate Turkey, a
pianist should be punished for his re-tweets, but a pop-singer should be
congratulated for her first-class racist hate-speech. This is
contagious.
No reporter present at Mr. Ihsanoglu's campaign launch speech thought
about asking him if his commitment to the "Palestinian cause" included
any affirmation of the Hamas Charter, in particular a section that says,
"…The stones and trees will say, 'O Muslims, there is a Jew behind me,
come and kill him.'"
Turkey is also the country where a few years earlier, a group of
school teachers (yes, school teachers!) gathered in a demonstration to
commemorate Hitler.
Part II of this mini-series ended with a colorful quote from the
Turkish Kurdish pop star, Yıldız Tilbe, whose tweets wished God to
"bless Hitler," and predicted that, "It will be Muslims again who will
bring the end of Jews." Perhaps Ms. Tilbe thinks (or hopes) Hitler was
Muslim.
No doubt, thanks to her tweets, she has the talent to rise even
higher in the hall of fame. Such tweets are absolutely normal in a
country where the Islamists' occasional after-Friday-prayers slogan,
"Now I understand Hitler," has always won hearts and minds. It is also
the country where, a few years earlier, even a union of school teachers
(yes, school teachers!) gathered in a demonstration "to commemorate
Hitler."
But we all know Turkey well enough to guess that the Hitler-fetish is
not a reflection of any possible feeling of admiration for the 20
th century's greatest psycho. Instead, it is a childish expression of the oriental thinking that adores "the enemy of my enemy."
Last year, in the EU-candidate Turkey, a world-renowned pianist,
Fazil Say, was sentenced to a (suspended) 10-month sentence for
re-tweeting a few lines dubiously attributed to Omar Khayyam, a 12
th
century Persian polymath. The judges ruled that his tweets "endangered
public order and peace by insulting religious values embraced by whole
or a part of the society."
In the "new Turkey," where the abnormal is the new normal, Ms.
Tilbe's tweets blessing Hitler cannot have insulted the religious or
ethnic values embraced by the extremely small part of the society --
because they are too small.
So, in the EU-candidate Turkey, a pianist, Mr. Say, should be
punished for his re-tweets, but a pop-singer, Ms. Tilbe, should be
congratulated for her first-class racist hate-speech.
Renowned
Turkish pianist Fazil Say (right) was sentenced to 10-months in prison
(suspended) for re-tweeting quotes attributed to the 12th century
Persian polymath Omar Khayyam.
|
This is contagious. When, in society and politics, an abnormal
practice becomes the norm, the abnormal becomes "the new normal." Take
Anti-semitism in Turkey, a craze becoming increasingly as trendy as a
'selfie,' and mixed up with opportunism. It can come from a bureaucrat
who wants to win promotion; from a pop star who wants to look charming
to the government to boost his or her popularity; from a corporate
employee who wants a better position or salary. Or it can come from a
politician who wants to address the largest possible chunk of the voter
base.
For example, the opposition's presidential candidate, Ekmeleddin
Ihsanoglu, otherwise a most refined gentleman with an impressive
academic and diplomatic background. When asked by reporter from a
state-run news agency to clarify his earlier statement that "Turkey
should be impartial over Middle Eastern disputes," he quickly sensed
that this was a trick-question aimed at portraying him as an "unbiased
man" in the Arab-Israeli dispute. But of course he was partial. He spoke
for several minutes, listing his career achievements -- proving how
deeply he felt for the "Palestinian cause" -- which included a
decoration.
For understandable reasons, Mr. Ihsanoglu enjoyed reminding reporters
of his "lifelong struggle devoted to the Palestinian cause." He further
decorated his campaign speech by adding that it was his honor to have
prayed at the al-Aqsa mosque (in Jerusalem), and that the rest, for him,
was unimportant.
No reporter present at Mr. Ihsanoglu's campaign launch speech thought
about asking him if his commitment to the "Palestinian cause" included
an affirmation of the Hamas Charter, in particular a section that says,
"The Day of Judgment will not come until Muslims fight the Jews, when
the (last) Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees
will say, 'O Muslims, O Abdullah, there is a Jew behind me, come and
kill him.'"
How fabulous that, after a foreign minister whose greatest foreign
policy goal is to pray at the al-Aqsa mosque "in the Palestinian capital
Jerusalem," now we have a presidential candidate who too is proud to
have prayed at the same mosque.
Meanwhile, more and more Palestinians are dying as Turkish (and Arab
and Persian) dignitaries remain wholeheartedly committed to the
Palestinian cause -- in words. But our Palestinian brothers keep on
dying happily, do they not, for us? Is that not a stairway to heaven?
And all while the poor victims' masters and brothers remain so proud to
be committed to the Palestinian cause.
(to be continued)
Burak Bekdīl, based in Ankara, is a Turkish columnist for the Hürriyet Daily News and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
Related Topics: Palestinian Authority, Turkey | Burak BekdilLabels: Anti-Semitism, Islamism, Israel, Jews, Political Realities, Turkey
Sorry to Remind You, but Golda Meir Was Right - Part II of IV
A front-page headline was particularly revealing: They (Israel) bombed a mosque in Gaza! Including the exclamation mark!
A quick internet search, if you typed "mosque bombing Shiite-Sunni," would give you 782,000 results on July 16.
Why did we not hear one single Turkish voice protest the death of 300,000 Muslims in Darfur?
Hamas's Charter is must-read fun.
Jihadists keep on saying that "they love death more than we love life." Good for them.
Then there are the proxy jihadists. In 2012, Iran's Revolutionary
Guard Corps commander, Mohammad Ali Jafari, said that, "Iran provided
the Palestinian organizations the technology to produce Fajr-5 and other
missiles, and they can now produce these missiles themselves in large
quantities." Apparently, Iran will fight Israel down to the last
Palestinian. And so will Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan the Sunni mullah. It's
one of the rare qualities Sunni and Shiite Islamists feature: They have
an obsession about fighting Israel at times when their Sunni and Shiite
militants are not busy killing each other.
A recent front-page headline in Turkey's flagship newspaper,
Hürriyet,
was particularly revealing: They (Israel) bombed a mosque in Gaza!
Including the exclamation mark! Yes, the exclamation mark, at times when
sectarian mosque bombing is so routine that it cannot find even a few
column inches of space in Muslim newspapers. A quick internet search, if
you typed the words "mosque bombing Shiite-Sunni," would give you
782,000 results on July 16.
But again, the "they-(Israel)-bombed-a-mosque" shock on Muslim faces is not too unfamiliar. From my column on June 3, 2010, "
Why is Palestine 'a second Cyprus' for Turks?":
"But why do the Turks have the 'Palestine fetish' even
though most of them can't point the Palestinian territories out on a
map? Why did they not raise a finger when, for instance, the mullahs
killed dissident Iranian Muslims? Why did the Turks not raise a finger
when non-Muslim occupying forces killed a million Iraqi Muslims? Why did
we not hear one single Turkish voice protesting the deaths of 300,000
Muslims in Darfur?
"Subconsciously (and sadly) the Muslim-Turkish thinking tolerates it
if Muslims kill Muslims; does not tolerate it but does not turn the
world upside down when Christians kill Muslims; pragmatically ignores it
when too-powerful Christians kill Muslims; but is programmed to turn
the world upside down when Jews kill Muslims."
What else, other than that hatred, could bring two otherwise
unmatchable people into precisely the same line of thinking? One is an
Egyptian cleric with the typical bigotry of an Egyptian cleric; and the
other is a Turkish-Kurdish female singer who burst onto the pop song
scene along with a life full of scandals, including drug abuse and a
conviction.
Muhammad al-Zoghbi, the Egyptian cleric, said in a May 3 television
interview that, "not a single Jew will remain on the face of this
earth." The TV program's theme was, "The war on the Jews, their
annihilation or the eradication of their country." But here comes into
the picture the charter of the organization Mr. Erdoğan does not hide
his deep admiration for: Hamas.
Hamas's charter is must-read fun. My favorite section prophesizes
that: "The Day of Judgment will not come until Muslims fight the Jews,
when the (last) Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and
trees will say, 'O Muslims, O Abdullah, there is a Jew behind me, come
and kill him.'"
Mr. al-Zoghbi's interviewer must be an intellectual man, as he asked
the cleric if the section about speaking trees and stones was an
allegorical expression, to which Mr. al-Zoghbi replied: "Whoever says
this is an allegory (that trees and stones will speak) is wrong. The
trees will actually talk. And the walls as well."
But Yıldız Tilbe, the Turkish-Kurdish pop star, is apparently less
patient than waiting for the moment when the trees and stones will guide
Muslims to the last standing Jew so that they can kill him. Hers is a
nostalgic, probably too-difficult-to-fulfil wish, unless Arabs, Turks or
her Kurdish kin invent the time machine.
On her Twitter account last week, she wrote: "May God bless Hitler.
He did far less (than he should have)." And that: "It will be Muslims
again who will bring the end of Jews." To which the honorable mayor of
Ankara, Melih Gökçek replied: "I applaud you."
(to be continued)
Burak Bekdīl, based in Ankara, is a Turkish columnist
for the Hürriyet Daily News and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum. This
article was originally published in slightly different for form on July
18 in the Hürriyet Daily News.
Related Topics: Burak BekdilLabels: Anti-Semitism, Iran, Islamism, Israel, Jews, Turkey
Sorry to Remind You, but Golda Meir Was Right - Part IV of IV
In Turkey however, the protests were not peaceful. They included smashing a sculpture than was neither Jewish nor Israeli.
It was the usual "We-Muslims-can-kill each other-but-Jews-cannot" hysteria.
If Turkish crowds were protesting against Israel in a political
dispute, why Koranic slogans? Why were they protesting in Arabic rather
than their native language? Do Turks chant German slogans to protest
nuclear energy?
Finally, Adolf Hitler is a Turkish hero! With the current pace of events, a boulevard in Ankara can be named after him.
But the Turks' newfound Holocaust-fetish is not a response to one of the 20
th century's greatest crimes; nor is their love affair with the funny moustached little man.
The Fuhrer also once said something that might perfectly fit Turkey
seven decades later: "I use emotion for the many and reserve reason for
the few."
Turks love Hitler because they hate Jews (not Israelis or the Israeli
government). Why, otherwise, would Turks be targeting, in every way
possible, Turkish Jews -- who are full Turkish citizens like themselves?
Bulent Yildirim, for instance, one of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan's favorite Islamists, said that, "Turkish Jews will pay dearly
for Israel's actions."
According to Prime Minister Erdogan, Israel, with its offensive on
Gaza, which has killed more than 2000 people, "has gone beyond Hitler."
Mr. Erdogan knows that 2000 is not greater than 6 million. So what makes
him think that the deaths of 2000 Palestinians is "genocide" but the
killing of hundreds of thousands by his good friend Omar al-Bashir in
Sudan was
not genocide? Well, Mr. Erdogan once explained that Muslims don't commit genocide. Good.
Mr. Erdogan's top Islamic cleric, however, has offered a different --
and, no doubt, more accurate account -- about Muslim deaths. Professor
Mehmet Gormez, head of the Religious Affairs Directorate, said: "A
thousand Muslims are being killed each day, and 90% of the killers are
other Muslims."
If Professor Gormez is not a Zionist agent, Mr. Erdogan's (and half
the Turks') Jewish witch-hunt cannot be a response to "Muslims are being
killed": no one, for instance, has even attempted to destroy the
diplomatic missions of Iraq where the latest Gaza death toll could be
merely any month's count.
It was the usual "We-Muslims-can-kill-each-other-but-Jews-cannot" hysteria. In a way, "it's religion, stupid."
During the past few weeks, there have been democratic protests
against Israel's Operation Protective Edge in many cities across the
world -- except in Arab cities.
In the West, protesters marched, chanted slogans, carried placards
and protested Israel peacefully -- over political disagreements. Because
for them this is a political dispute and they side with the
Palestinians. That's all perfectly democratic.
In Turkey, however, the protests were not peaceful. They included
smashing a sculpture that was neither Jewish nor Israeli. But the
Turkish protests featured something different from the others and quite
revealing: they were constantly accompanied by Koranic rehearsals,
Muslims prayers and the famous Arabic slogan "Allah-u akbar" [Allah is
the greatest].
Anti-Israel
protesters in Istanbul are shown waving the flags of Hamas and the PLO,
as well as the black flag of jihad, July 19, 2014. (Image source:
PressTV YouTube video screenshot)
|
If the Turkish crowds were wherever they were to protest against
Israel for killing Palestinians in a political dispute, why Koranic
slogans? Why were they protesting in Arabic rather than their native
language? Do Turks chant German or Portuguese slogans when they gather
to protest nuclear energy, or negligence regarding the deaths of more
than 300 miners in Soma? So, what makes Arabic the lingua franca at
every anti-Israel (more realistically, anti-Jewish) protest? Is this a
mere coincidence that repeats itself every time, everywhere?
The title of this four-part series was intended to be a forceful
reminder at times like this that Hitler was right to think that
(religious) emotion is reserved for the many and reason for the few.
Golda Meir, the fourth prime minister of Israel, had a perfectly
realistic point when she said that peace in the Middle East would only
be possible "when Arabs love their children more than they hate us." I
now think her line was incomplete: Peace won't come just when Arabs love
their children more than they hate Jews; it may come when they also
love their children more than they hate 'other' Muslims.
Burak Bekdīl, based in Ankara, is a Turkish columnist for the Hürriyet Daily News and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
Related Topics: Israel, Turkey | Burak BekdilLabels: Anti-Semitism, Israel, Jews, Turkey
Amid a trail of Al Qaeda atrocities, world leaders call on someone else "to stamp out the disease"
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis August 30, 2014, 11:29 AM (IDT)
Al Qaeda executions in Sinai
US Secretary of State John Kerry tried to turn
attention away from President Barack Obama highly-criticized admission
Thursday, Aug. 28, "We don't have a strategy yet" for dealing with
Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq” - with an article in the
New York Times, calling for a “coalition of nations… to stamp out the disease of the Islamic state group.”
Obama said only that the strategy under preparation won’t be ready before next month.
debkafile’s
counter-terrorism sources note that until then, and until Kerry’s
coalition of nations comes together and decides what to do, Al Qaeda’s
IS’s campaign of bloody atrocities and conquests will remain unchecked.
And so will the spread of what the British Prime Minister David Cameron
called, in a special news conference Friday, “the poisonous ideology of
Islamist extremism.”
Cameron warned that, while there was much talk about the threat to
Europe of returning home-grown Islamists, “IS is already here.” The
return of at least 500 people from fighting in Syria and Iraq "for
Islamic State extremists attempting to establish a caliphate”
represented a "greater and deeper threat to our security than we have
known before.”
New laws, said the British premier, would make it easier to take
passports away from people traveling abroad to join the conflict.
Announcing the elevation of the UK terror threat from “substantial”
to “severe,” Cameron cited the example of the British Islamist who took
part in the beheading of the American journalist James Foley on Aug. 18.
He also confirmed that Al Qaeda’s Islamic State perpetrated the May
24 attack on the Jewish Museum of Brussels, in which the Israeli couple,
Emanuel and Miriam Riva, was murdered - as further evidence that
Islamist terror was already loose on the streets of Europe.
He was the first prominent world leader to assign the Brussels attack
to Al Qaeda, which Israeli officials have so far avoided doing.
The "severe" threat level was imposed in the UK only twice before: in
2006 after the discovery of liquid bombs aimed at airliners and when,
the following year, extremists attempted to bomb Glasgow Airport and
London's West End.
Friday, IS released another indescribable video showing the beheading
of a Kurdish soldier among 15 captured Peshmerga in orange boiler
suits, who were grouped before a Mosul mosque. It was labeled “2nd
Message to America” and threatened to execute the entire group if Iraqi
Kurdistan continued to cooperate with the United States.
Just a few hours earlier, footage was shown of the mass execution of
300 Syrian soldiers forced to run through the desert in their underwear.
They were said to have been taken prisoner at the Syrian air base of
Tabqa.
Those barbaric scenes were flashed across the world by international media.
Less noticed was the video tape released on Thursday, Aug. 28, by Al
Qaeda’s Sinai branch, Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, which showed the beheading
of four local citizens and their admission that they had collaborated
with Israeli intelligence to identify targets for Egyptian and Israeli
air raids. This tape runs 30 minutes.
Egyptian security sources said the four had been abducted Tuesday near the northern Sinai town of Sheikh Zuwaid.
And not far away, in the Gaza Strip, Hamas last week summarily executed
29 alleged collaborators with Israeli intelligence, three of them women,
and seven in a public square.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has characterized Hamas as
belonging to the same family of murderous extremists as the Islamic
State. Israel did indeed fight a limited, inconclusive war on the
Palestinian fundamentalists, but no order has gone out for an operation
to rescue the 43 Fiji members of the UN Disengagement Observer Force,
who were abducted by the Syrian Al Qaeda Nusra Front just 150 meters
from its Golan border.
UNDOF policed the Golan buffer zone for 40 years until it was overrun
in the fighting between Syrian insurgents including Islamists and the
Syrian army. So far there have been no executions, but the danger to the
observers is ever present.
Saturday, Saudi sources reported that Qatar had undertaken to broker
their release from Nusra on behalf of the UN. Israel, which spurned
Qatar in the role of middleman for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, now
finds the emirate, which champions Islamist terrorists in the Middle
East, assigned a task in its northern back yard. An IDF rescue operation
would have prevented this intervention, as well as delivering a timely,
preemptive blow to Al Qaeda fighters sitting on Israel’s borders.
It would also have gone far toward muting the many Israeli critics of
their government’s decision to curtail the 50-day Gaza operation by a
truce, before Hamas was finished off for good.
Bur after the IDF campaign against Hamas, the Israeli prime minister was
ready to line up with Western leaders, who make speeches about the
horrors of the Islamist extremists and shore up their defenses, while at
the same time avoiding putting their hands in the wasps’ nest and their
boots on the ground, for tackling them in their Middle East lairs.
“Coalitions” and “allies” are assigned the brunt of this mission.
Hoping against hope to jerk them into action, Saudi King Abdullah
Saturday issued a wake-up call. He asked Western foreign ambassadors
summoned to his palace in Jeddah to convey an urgent message to their
leaders: Terrorism at this time is an evil force that must be fought
with wisdom and speed," said King Abdullah. "And if neglected I'm sure
after a month it will arrive in Europe and a month after that in
America."
Labels: Al- Qaeda, Defence, ISIS, Islamists, Israel, Middle East, Security, Terror, United States
Russia Confronted, Ukraine Invaded
"Columns of heavy artillery, huge loads of arms and regular Russian servicemen came to the territory of Ukraine from Russia through the uncontrolled border."
"The situation is certainly extremely difficult and nobody is going to simplify it. Still, it is controlled enough for us to refrain from panic."
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko
"There was a regrouping of our troops to better protect Mariupol."
Col. Andriy Lysenko, spokesman, national security council, Ukraine
"There are active soldiers fighting among us who preferred to spend their vacation not on the beach, but with us, among their brothers, who are fighting for their freedom."
Alexander Zakharchenko, prime minister, 'Donetsk People's Republic'
Oleksandr Ratushniak / AFP / Getty Images Armed
Ukrainian servicemen comb the area after being shot at by
pro-Russian
militants at their check-point near the small city of Dzerzhynsk, in the
Donetsk region, on Thursday.
Panic, goes the thinking, is useful to the enemy, if it can be instilled in the public of Ukraine. It is a utilitarian weapon, similar to tanks, armoured personnel carriers and rifles, according to the president. This is the other side of the terror coin; when terrorists succeed in instilling terror in a population through committing horrendous atrocities, its usefulness can be seen in costly steps taken by governments in hopes of preventing further such events.
Even as Mr. Poroshenko addressed his national security council to order mandatory conscription for the armed forces, NATO released satellite images corroborating accusations that Russian forces were actively engaged in the fighting in Ukraine. Over one thousand Russian soldiers had joined the separatists fighting the Ukrainian military, NATO emphasized.
According to Col. Andriy Lysenko, speaking for the national security council, the Ukrainian military was preparing for a counteroffensive against
"more and more Russians" appearing within Ukraine. Russia, he said, was sending new anti-aircraft defence systems to eastern Ukraine where separatists, with Russia's help, were holding the town of Novoazovsk, when Ukrainian forces were forced to retreat a day before.
Although Russia repeatedly protests the accusations that it has sent soldiers or weapons to Ukraine, the rebels themselves are not media-shy about boasting of their invaluable assistance. The leader of the major separatist group in southeastern Ukraine stated on Russian television that up to four thousand Russians, active-duty soldiers on leave included, were fighting against Ukrainian government forces.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, speaking in advance of next week's NATO summit to be held in Wales, stated that the alliance is prepared to open new bases in eastern Europe where troops from member countries will rotate for stays of months at a time As well, NATO was creating a spearhead unit within an existing rapid reaction force to deal with emergencies in the east as they arise.
DigitalGlobe via NATO What
NATO claims are Russian military units moving in a convoy formation
with self-propelled artillery in the area of Krasnodon, Ukraine.
Since the conflict began in the spring, between 3,000 and 4,000 Russians had fought with the separatists. Tensions between the United States and the European Union have arisen where the British and French are among those warning the deployment of Russian troops in Ukraine was unacceptable, and additional measures to punish Russia must be contemplated.
Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, didn't bother to deny that Russians were actively fighting in eastern Ukraine, claiming they were volunteers. On the other hand, he asserted, the Ukrainian government was
"waging war against its own people". Describing the soldiers as volunteers evades the issue of direct Russian involvement when in fact Russia is determined to go even further than simply annexing Crimea.
The latest incursion from Russia involving armoured personnel carriers, troops and weapons and the confrontation in the south has raised the potential of a direct clash between Ukrainian forces and Russian military. Ukraine's intelligence fears the armoured columns that captured Novoazovsk outgunning Ukrainian forces now threatening Mariupol, far from the fighting in Luhansk and Donetsk, has aided the separatists by diverting Ukrainian forces.
Added to that is the fact that the Russian advance could very well be the initiation of a ground offensive with plans to seize Ukrainian territory to establish for Russia a land route connecting it to Crimea. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, raised in East Germany, speaks Russian, the only Western leader who speaks regularly with Vladimir Putin, though her patience with him appears to be waning.
That Russian troops were taken by Ukrainian forces well within Ukrainian territory, and recent military funerals held in Pskov, northern Russia for troops killed in Ukraine, and the questions that Russians themselves are finally asking of their government, gives rise to other questions. Why the continued provocations, what will be the end of them, and how to adequately respond?
Poland is agitating for NATO to base several army brigades in Poland on a permanent basis. As members of NATO, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, all concerned that they have ethnic Russian citizens and Moscow has rumbled about its concerns over the well-being of its nationals living in the near abroad, raises other concerns for NATO which by law, must come to the aid of any of its members. Good enough reason why Ukraine is now resurrecting its wish to be a NATO member.
Since Russia's annexation of Crimea, NATO has operated back-to-back military exercises in eastern Europe, sent warships to the Mediterranean and the Black sea, and has quadrupled the number of fighter jets on call to defend alliance airspace. None of which has stirred the back hairs on Vladimir's Putin's neck one iota.
Labels: Aggression, Conflict, NATO, Russia, Secession, Ukraine
Surrounded By Threats
"We are taking the necessary steps and precautions to be prepared for any spillover of violence into Israel."
"We have substantial forces on the ground and we have visual intelligence to help us protect our border."
"In the last year we established a new division to maintain that line of defence. We have a rapid response force well prepared and well organized and trained to address that type of threat."
Peter Lerner, Israeli army spokesman
 |
Syrian rebels from the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front
Reuters
|
A day after Syrian rebel groups along with the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front captured the Quneitra border crossing between Syria and Israel on the Golan Heights, 50 Philippine nationals working as United Nations peacekeepers were kidnapped while heavy fighting was taking place in the area. The crossing was wrested from soldiers of the Syrian regime.
The danger and violence in the area had prompted the government of the Philippines to announce it was recalling its 331 participants in the UN force. That recall was to take place in October. It has been pre-empted. There is no word yet with respect to the position of the abducted peacekeepers.
But logic might have it that holding 50 non-combatants in the very midst of ongoing violence between rebel forces and government troops would prove a cumbersome nuisance to whomever is holding the unfortunate bystanders whose work as peacekeepers is absurd, under the obvious circumstances.
The United Nations is wrapped up in its sacrosanct role as peacekeepers, even though they have never been able to do much in preserving peace wherever they have been stationed, from Rwanda to Bosnia, to the Golan Heights where, presumably, one of their jobs, just as it is between Lebanon and Israel, is to ensure that weapons are not smuggled into the hands of Hezbollah.
The United Nations takes its obligation to participating countries offering their nationals in goodwill gestures of peacekeeping, very seriously. As it should. It was, it announced, making every effort to secure the captives' release. Without naming who the captors might be, other than the usual suspects; the rebels.
According to Mr. Lerner this represents the second time rebels have taken the Syrian side of the border crossing. A year earlier, after the first rebel installation at the crossing, Israel had changed its deployment there to build a border fence making infiltration into Israel quite difficult. Once again, Israel has to resort to building fences to keep its myriad-and-endless enemies' assaults in check.
And while Israeli intelligence doesn't foresee an imminent rebel attack, should they defeat the regime, Israel would be next in their sights. For Israel, better the devil you know than the evil you don't want to become intimately involved with.
Labels: Al-Qaeda, Civil War, Conflict, Defence, Israel, Security, Syria
Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen: "Russia is blatantly violating Ukrainian sovereignty"
BBC News online -- 29 August 2014
Nato
has accused Russia of a "blatant violation" of Ukraine's sovereignty
and engaging in direct military operations to support pro-Russian
rebels.
Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that "despite
hollow denials", it was now clear that Russia had illegally crossed
Ukraine's border.
He said Nato would respect any Ukrainian decision on
security, after its PM said he was putting the country on course for
Nato membership.
Russia denies sending troops and arms.
Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the Ukrainian
government for the crisis, comparing its siege of two cities held by
separatists, Donetsk and Luhansk, to the siege of Leningrad by Nazi
Germany in World War Two.
"It is necessary to make the Ukrainian authorities start substantial talks [with the rebels]," he said.
Putin: "The situation sadly reminds me of the Second World War"
Nearly 2,600 people have been killed since April, the UN says,
when Russia's annexation of Crimea prompted the rebels to take control
of large parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Heavy fighting is continuing near Ukraine's strategic port of
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea. Rebel forces are trying to capture the city
but Ukrainian government troops are digging in.
The rebel advance there has raised fears that the Kremlin might seek to create a land corridor between Russia and Crimea.
On Thursday the separatists seized the nearby town of Novoazovsk.
Separatists are also reported to have surrounded government soldiers in several places further north, near Donetsk city.
Ukrainian forces near the town of Ilovaysk say they are cut off and have been urgently asking for supplies and reinforcements.
Ukraine has long insisted Russian is sending troops and hardware to support eastern rebels
This Ukrainian tank was destroyed in fierce fighting at Savur-Mohyla, east of Donetsk
Residents of the strategic city of Mariupol staged an anti-war rally on Thursday
Earlier, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said the government was reopening the question of Nato membership.
He said it was sending a bill to parliament calling for
Ukraine's non-aligned status to be cancelled, in effect paving the way
for Ukraine to join Nato.
Speaking at a news conference after an emergency meeting of
Nato ambassadors, Mr Rasmussen said that it was clear Russia was engaged
in direct military operations in Ukraine.
"This is not an isolated action, but part of a dangerous
pattern over many months to destabilise Ukraine as a sovereign nation,"
he said.
"This is a blatant violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and
territorial integrity. It defies all diplomatic efforts for a peaceful
solution."
This satellite image provided by the
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe shows what Nato identifies as
Russian self-propelled artillery in Ukraine
He called on Russia to cease military action, stop supporting
the rebels and "take immediate and verifiable steps towards
de-escalation of this grave crisis".
Mr Rasmussen indicated Nato was open to considering Ukraine's application to join if it met the conditions.
In 2008, Ukraine applied for Nato membership under then-President Viktor Yushchenko.
But the
plans were shelved
two years later when Viktor Yanukovych came to power and ended
Ukraine's Nato ambitions in favour of mending relations with Russia.
Mr Rasmussen said on Friday: "I am not going to interfere
with political discussions in Ukraine, but let me remind you of Nato's
decision taken at the Bucharest Summit in 2008 according to which
Ukraine will become a member of Nato, provided of course that Ukraine so
wishes and provided that Ukraine fulfils the necessary criteria."
On Thursday, Nato released satellite images it said showed
columns of Russian armed forces inside Ukrainian territory, adding that
more than 1,000 Russian troops were operating inside Ukraine.
War in eastern Ukraine: The human cost
- At least 2,593 people had been killed since mid-April, not
including the 298 passengers and crew of the Malaysian Airlines MH17
shot down in the area, a UN report on 7 August said
- 951 civilians have been killed in Donetsk region alone, the official regional authorities said on 20 August
- Official casualty counts only record certified deaths while in
some particularly dangerous parts of the war zone, such as Luhansk
region, victims are said to have been buried informally, for instance in
gardens
- Rebels (and some military sources) accuse the government of concealing the true numbers of soldiers killed
- 155,800 people have fled elsewhere in Ukraine while at least 188,000 have gone to Russia.
Labels: Aggression, Civil War, Conflict, Russia, Ukraine
Take Your Pick
"The Syrian opposition fully supports a comprehensive U.S.-led campaign to launch military strikes in Syria against the Islamic State terrorist army and al-Qaeda affiliates.
"Assad was a key ingredient in the rise of the Islamic State. He and his regime turned Syria into a launching pad for terrorism over the years and fostered the environment in which transnational terrorist forces grew in the country."
Oubai Shahbandar, Washington-based adviser to the Free Syria foreign mission
"I am no apologist for the Assad regime. But in terms of our security, ISIS is by far the largest threat."
Ryan Crocker, former U.S. ambassador to Syria
"Washington also needs to consider how best to protect the American population."
Professor Max Abrahms, terror analyst, Northeastern University
Ammunition: A Syrian rebel fighter loads an
anti-aircraft machine-gun on an armoured vehicle in the northern town of
Atareb, 25km east of Aleppo
Syria has been making overtures to the United States, to continue to view it as a partner in the battle against raging Islamist jihad. To reconsider their former ties and reject the unfortunate misunderstandings that have led to a frosty period of estrangement and blame between the U.S. administration and the Alawite Baathist regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Make up, and all will be forgiven in their joint desire to counter the ISIS advance. Belated on both their accounts.
And a line of thought has indeed been circulating within the United States where there are those who feel the U.S. should hold its nose and ally itself with the regime for the greater purpose of fighting the Islamic State. On the other hand, considering the horrible atrocities that the regime has visited on its Sunni Syrian population over the past three years, from chemical attacks, to helicopter gunships strafing civilian enclaves, to barrel bombs and chlorine gas attacks, arrests, torture, rape and slaughter the impulse is to gag.
No one doubts that Bashar al-Assad is directly behind all the atrocities that his regime instructs the Syrian military to commit, including its alliance with the terrorist group Hezbollah, with Iran inciting them to have no mercy on the Sunni insurgents. So these would be strange bedfellows indeed for a U.S.-Syrian alliance with the common goal of defeating the Sunni-led Islamist State jihadis who have committed atrocities equally monstrous and often chillingly greater to that of the regime.
Which beast better to be allied with? The Syrian regime has warned the U.S. that it will not countenance the freedom given it by the government in Baghdad to conduct air strikes on ISIS forces in Iraq. Any entry by American war planes into Syrian space will be viewed, they warn, as a strategy of war against Syria and the Syrian response will correspond to that situation accordingly. The regime will not abide by the insult of unilateral strikes in its airspace, but see it as naked "aggression".
Struggling with the potential of proffering greater aid to the Syrian Sunni Free Army, which the U.S. declined to deal with at an early stage when Islamist infiltration was in its infancy, is another choice, but one viewed with grave suspicion with the certain knowledge that any weapons supplied to the Free Syrian Army will filter through eventually to al-Qaeda militias, leaving the stark choice of whom to concentrate on: al-Qaeda or ISIS.
Labels: Civil War, ISIS, Islamist Sectarian Conflict, Jihadists, Syria, United States
Libya's Democratic Transition....
"...Yet activists tell us that dozens of homes have been damaged by rocket attacks, mortar shelling and anti-aircraft weapons."
"It is extremely hard to establish which side is causing damage because the shelling is reckless."
Magdalena Mughrabi, researcher, Amnesty International
Outside interference in Libya exacerbates current divisions and undermines Libya's democratic transition. [Libya was in a] very fragile place."
Jen Psaki, spokeswoman U.S. State Department
"[Reports of an Egyptian role are] unsubstantiated rumours. We have no direct connection to any of the military operations on the ground in Libya."
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri
Smoke
billows from buildings during clashes between Libyan security forces
and armed Islamist groups in the eastern coastal city of Benghazi on
Aug. 23, 2014. (ABDULLAH DOMA/AFP/Getty Images)
Gangs of armed men went on a rampage, burning and destroying the homes of government supporters, levelling entire neighbourhoods in Tripoli. Libya's airport and seaport are now closed, destroyed, leaving a shortage of fuel and food. And thousands of Libyans have fled their homes in a search for safety. Between five thousand to six thousand Libyans were reported to have crossed into neighbouring Tunisia daily, leaving authorities in Tunisia to close the border.
The danger level is intense enough to persuade some international aid groups to recall their employees, while many countries have chosen to close their embassies and consulates because of the violence.
For months Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, the Middle East's strongest Sunni Muslim nations have looked on in dismay as Libya falls apart -- a weak government with no military of its own, but using militias they pay to act on their behalf -- tremulously attempts to portray themselves in control, even though violence forced them to move parliament from Tripoli to another city where they are felt to be safer.
This violence began in the wake of Libya's June parliamentary elections when the Islamist-dominated parliament lost to liberal and federalist candidates. As in Egypt, with the unseating of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Brotherhood elite and its followers' refusal to accept their loss of power, the Islamists and their backers would not recognize the newly elected body forcing the new MPs to move from the capital to establish parliament in the eastern city of Tobruk.
Now the Islamists have resurrected the old parliament in Tripoli as it was before elections took place and they have as well installed their own prime minister, gifting a country at war with itself with two prime ministers and two parliaments.
Powerful militias have seized the initiative in this power vacuum leaving the central government incapable of creating a police force or unified military. But Islamist forces have now had to contend with a counter-offensive after losing their place in parliament, led by former Gadhafi-era officer, now rebel, General Khalifa Hifter.
Who has the support of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, but not Washington which has more or less washed its hands of interference in Libyan affairs, just as the current American administration is rarely seen on the international stage where eruptions of chaos and madness reign.
Bullet
shells litter the ground as a member of the Islamist-linked militia of
Misrata walks past following three days of battles in the area of
Tripoli's international airport, on Aug. 21, 2014. (Mahmud
Turkia/AFP/Getty Images)
Airstrikes against the Islamists looking to gain complete control of the country were thought at first to be the work of Gen. Hifter's forces until it emerged that Egypt and the United Arab Emirates had secretly carried them out. Although the US administration had been made aware of their plans and cautioned strongly against such action, the two countries carried through regardless in support of Gen. Hifter, in the hopes that he might stem the Islamist tide they fear will gravitate onward.
Britain, France, Germany and Italy echoed the concerns for non-involvement of the United States, but in fact, this is not their geography and it is time enough that the powerful, populous and wealthy countries of the Middle East exert their influence and their up-to-date military to hold back fanatical Islamists with their jihadist campaigns. According to several Egyptian officials, Egypt has been involving itself closely in Libya's power contest for months.
Egyptian intelligence garnered data on training camps, hideouts and barracks for extremist groups in the east like Ansar al-Shariah, blamed by the United States for the 2012 attack on its Benghazi mission and the murders of four American diplomatic personnel. The Egyptian intelligence operation was complete with an Egyptian elite force named "Rapid Intervention" formed by President Abdel al-Sissi to counter terrorism within and outside of his country.
Seeing it in Egypt's interest to work with Saudi, UAE and Libyan military officials in support of Gen. Hifter's counteroffensive.
Labels: Conflict, Egypt, Islamists, Libya, Saudi Arabia, UAE, United States
Israeli forces caught up in Al Qaeda’s complex toils in both Golan and Gaza
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis August 28, 2014, 11:26 AM (IDT)
The cross-border incident on the Golan Wednesday, Aug. 27, in which
an Israeli officer was injured by stray fire from the fighting between
Syrian army and rebel forces near Quneitra, put this battle zone on the
front pages. However,
debkafile’s
military sources report that this incident, fought by only 300
combatants on each side backed by 10 tanks, had no real military
importance for the Syrian conflict at large. The Syrian army, helped by
Iran and Hizballah, is winning and the rebel side is crumbling.
The battle for Qoneitra, fought 200 meters from the Israeli border,
is much more important as a touchstone in quite a different setting,
that concerns not only Israel but the complicated US posture against the
many-headed Al Qaeda peril in the Middle East.
The US, Jordan and Israel are quietly backing the mixed bag of some
30 Syrian rebel factions which Tuesday, Aug. 26, seized control of the
Syrian side of the Quneitra crossing, the only transit point between
Israeli and Syrian Golan. However – here comes the rub - Al Qaeda
elements have permeated all those factions.
The crossing is formally under the control of UNDOF, an
international peacekeeping force, which too is falling apart as
contingents are recalled by their governments.
Damascus hit back at the rebels Thursday, Aug. 28, by sending the Syrian
air force to destroy the new rebel positions. This was a flagrant
contravention of Israel-Syrian armistice agreements. The Israeli air
force might have been justified in scrambling to combat the Syrian air
incursion, but was not ordered to do so.
This appeared to contradict a fact which Israel has kept very
dark: The 30-strong or so Syrian rebel offensive to wrest Quneitra would have
stood no chance without Israel’s aid - not just in medical care for
their injured, but also in limited supplies of arms, intelligence and
food. Israel acted as a member, along with the US and Jordan, of a
support system for rebel groups fighting in southern Syria. Their
efforts are coordinated through a war-room which the Pentagon
established last year near Amman.
The US, Jordanian and Israeli officers
manning the facility determine in consultation which rebel factions are
provided with reinforcements from the special training camps run for
Syrian rebels in Jordan, and which will receive arms.
All three governments understand perfectly that, notwithstanding all
their precautions, some of their military assistance is bound to
percolate to Al Qaeda’s Syrian arm, Jabhat Al-Nusra, which is fighting
in rebel ranks. Neither Washington or Jerusalem or Amman would be
comfortable in admitting they are arming Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front in
southern Syria.
And not only Nusra: It turned out in this week’s incident that some
of the rebel fighters come from the terrorist group Ansar Beit
al-Maqdis, a coalition of Al Qaeda contingents based in the Egyptian
Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip. Another piece of this dissonant jigsaw
is Al Maqdis’ close alignment for its violent operations with the
Palestinian Hamas ruling Gaza, with which Israel has just been locked in
a deadly 50-day war.
Wednesday night, at his news conference to sum up that war, Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu included in his list of Israel’s diplomatic
successes, the winning over of world opinion to the perception that
Hamas and Al Qaeda belong to the same family of terrorists and share the
same fundamentalist ideology, which must be fought.
As he spoke, Al Qaeda fighters, intermingled with Syrian rebel factions,
fetched up just yards from Israel’s northern border fence.
debkafile’s
military sources say that Washington, Amman and Jerusalem can expect to
keep the embarrassing fact fairly quiet only until the first black Al
Qaeda flag is raised over a rebel position at the Quneitra crossing or a
captured Syrian post opposite the line of Israeli positions on the
Golan. Israel will then face a new dilemma on this sensitive front,
which will take some explaining.
Labels: Conflict, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Terrorists, United States
U.S. builds alliance for war on ISIS in Syria
U.S. officials said Washington could act alone if necessary against
ISIS militants, who have seized a third each of Iraq and Syria. (File
photo: Reuters)
Staff writer, Al Arabiya News
Thursday, 28 August 2014
While the United States is intensifying its push to build an
international campaign against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
militants, Britain and Australia are considered as potential
candidates, Reuters reported U.S. officials as saying on Wednesday.
Obama
administration officials also said that Washington is recruiting
partners for potential joint military action against the al-Qaeda
breakaway group ISIS.
“We are working with our partners and
asking how they might be able to contribute. There are a range of ways
to contribute: humanitarian, military, intelligence, diplomatic,” State
Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.
On Thursday,
French President Francois Hollande warned that Syria’s Bashar al-Assad
is not the West’s partner in the fight against terrorism but an ally of
Islamic extremists wreaking havoc in Syria and Iraq.
“Assad
cannot be a partner in the fight against terrorism, he is the de facto
ally of jihadists,” he told a Paris gathering of ambassadors from around
the world.
Instead, Hollande urged for the arming of opposition to defeat ISIS.
“France asks the United Nations... to organize exceptional support for Libyan authorities to restore their state,” he added.
Meanwhile,
Germany said on Wednesday it was in talks with the United States and
other international partners about possible military action against ISIS
but made clear it would not participate.
It’s unclear how many
nations will sign up. Some such as trusted allies Britain and France
harbor bitter memories of joining the U.S.-led “coalition of the
willing” in the 2003 invasion of Iraq that included troops from 38
nations. The claims of the existence of weapons of mass destruction
which spurred the coalition to act were found to be false.
The
United States, the officials said, could act alone if necessary against
the militants, who have seized a third each of Iraq and Syria, declared
open war against the West and want to establish a hub of radicalism in
the heart of the Arab world.
Senior White House aides met this
week to discuss a strategy for expanding its assault on ISIS, including
the possibility of air strikes on the militants’ stronghold in eastern
Syria -- an escalation that would almost certainly be riskier than the
current U.S. campaign in Iraq.
While Iraq’s government welcomed
the role of U.S. war planes to attack the militants, Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad has warned that any strikes conducted without its
permission would be considered an act of aggression, potentially
plunging any U.S.-led coalition into a broader conflict with Syria.
(With Reuters)
Last Update: Thursday, 28 August 2014 KSA 12:20 - GMT 09:20
Labels: Intervention, Iraq, ISIS, Terrorism, United States
BBC News online -- 28 August 2014
Ukraine's president has cancelled a visit to Turkey, citing "Russian troop deployments" in the country's east.
His
remarks came as pro-Russian rebels opened a new front in the south by seizing the coastal town of Novoazovsk.
Nato says it has detected a significant increase of Russian arms being supplied to the rebels over the past two weeks.
Russia has denied that its forces have crossed Ukraine's
border. At least 2,119 people have been killed in four months of
fighting.
The United Nations Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting in New York on Thursday at 18:00 GMT to discuss the crisis.
Nato Brigadier General Niko Tak told the BBC that there had
been a "significant escalation in the level and sophistication of
Russia's military interference in Ukraine" over the past two weeks.
Pro-Russian rebels have been fighting Ukrainian forces in the city of Donetsk for months
"[Nato has] detected large quantities of advanced weapons,
including air defence systems, artillery, tanks, and armoured personnel
carriers being transferred to separatist forces in eastern Ukraine," he
said.
"Russia is reinforcing and resupplying separatist forces in a
blatant attempt to change the momentum of the fighting, which is
currently favouring the Ukrainian military."
More than 1,000 Russian troops are reportedly operating
inside Ukraine, both supporting the separatists and fighting on their
side.
On Thursday, President Petro Poroshenko said he had called a
meeting of the Ukrainian security council in light of the deteriorating
situation.'
"I have made a decision to cancel my working visit to the
Republic of Turkey due to the sharp aggravation of the situation in
Donetsk region... as Russian troops were actually brought into Ukraine,"
Mr Poroshenko said in a statement.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said Russia had
"unleashed a war in Europe", adding that the world should take
"effective steps".
Ukrainian prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk: "Russian military boots are on Ukrainian ground."
But Russia's envoy at the Organisation for Cooperation and
Security in Europe (OSCE), Andrey Kelin, denied there were any Russian
troops.
Government forces had made significant advances against the
separatists in recent weeks, but these gains seem in doubt with rebels
now operating in two distinct areas of Donetsk region.
Separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko told Russian TV that 3-4,000 Russian citizens were fighting in their ranks.
He said many of the Russians were former service-people or
current service personnel on leave, insisting that all were volunteers.
In other developments:
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded an explanation from Russia's President Vladimir Putin amid the reports of an incursion
- French President Francois Hollande said it would be
"intolerable" if Russian troops were in Ukraine, and demanded that
Russia stop sending aid to the rebels
- The OSCE is holding a special meeting in Vienna to discuss developments in Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces are being deployed to help defend the southern city of Mariupol
Shelling is continuing in Donetsk, hitting buildings including this school
Railway lines in eastern Ukraine have been destroyed in the fighting
Ukraine's security and defence council confirmed reports that
Novoazovsk had been captured by the rebels, whom they described as
"Russian troops".
It said it had withdrawn its forces to save lives, and that
Ukrainian soldiers were now reinforcing the defences of the strategic
port city of Mariupol.
The port has until now been peaceful and cut off from rebel positions.
A Ukrainian company commander, Vladimir Shilov, told
Ukrainian TV that he had heard from sources inside the town that it was
blocked by tanks and no-one was allowed to leave. Local officials had
already fled to Mariupol, he added.
Francois Hollande: "If it were to be proven that
Russian soldiers are on Ukrainian soil, this would be intolerable and
unacceptable"
A spokesman for the rebels told Interfax news agency that
Novoazovsk was under their control and they would soon "liberate"
Mariupol.
Pro-Russian fighters have been trying for weeks to break out
of an area further north in the Donetsk region where they are almost
encircled.
Analysts say the separatists could also be seeking a land
link between Russia and Crimea, which would give them control over the
entire Sea of Azov.
Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in March.
War in eastern Ukraine: The human cost
- At least 2,119 people had been killed and 5,043 wounded since mid-April, a UN report on 7 August said
- 951 civilians have been killed in Donetsk region alone, the official regional authorities said on 20 August
- Official casualty counts only record certified deaths while in
some particularly dangerous parts of the war zone, such as Luhansk
region, victims are said to have been buried informally, for instance in
gardens
- Rebels (and some military sources) accuse the government of concealing the true numbers of soldiers killed
- 155,800 people have fled elsewhere in Ukraine while at least 188,000 have gone to Russia.
Labels: Aggression, Civil War, Conflict, Russia, Secession, Ukraine
