The Americans’ hypocrisy vis-à-vis Al-Qaeda and their predicament in Syria

News analysis

The Americans’ hypocrisy vis-à-vis Al-Qaeda and their predicament in Syria

The recognition by American Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta of the presence of Al-Qaeda in Syria and the fact that the suicide bombings carried its fingerprints featured a lot of hypocrisy and political imposture. Indeed, this recognition is not the first of its kind and falls in the context of a series of statements delivered by senior military and security commanders in the United States. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also contributed to this American rhetoric more than once, without the American officials reviewing their behavior towards the Syrian situation. Quite the contrary, they are growing more determined to escalate the pressures against the Syrian national state and the Syrian people who are resisting the terrorism and takfir which are earning international and regional sponsorship from an alliance directly led by the United States.

Firstly, Panetta said that the groups of Al-Qaeda were benefiting from the anarchy in some Syrian cities, knowing that this anarchy is due to the presence of armed gangs embraced by the American and Western intelligence apparatuses and for which the Turkish government has established bases on its soil near the Syrian border. In the meantime, the Saudi and Qatari governments are boasting their financing and arming of these groups since the beginning of 2011. If there is any anarchy in some Syrian territories, it is due to the American plan to destroy Syria and the American and Western support being earned by armed gangs and political fronts that are mobilized by the American intelligence apparatuses and embraced by the Turkish, Saudi and Qatari leaders. At this level, the remnants of Al-Qaeda are part of this mixture that is targeting the Syrian people’s lives and stability under American tutelage.

Secondly, no one in the world can accept the idea or presumption that Saudi Arabia would dare adopt a position or a decision without earning the American consent or without American orders. The same goes to the Qatari government and the government of the Ottoman illusion which established joint operations rooms with the American and French intelligence apparatuses at the
Incirlik base to lead terrorism in Syria. Certainly, no one can accept the American denial of the dispatch of weapons to Syria in favor of the terrorist gangs that are carrying out suicide bombings and killings, while the best proof for that is the Lutfallah II boat which was intercepted by the Lebanese army after it came from Libya. Indeed, Libya is under the control of American agents who previously shipped numerous arms and explosives to the Lebanese North, so that they are smuggled to Syria in cooperation with the March 14 forces that are led by Jeffrey Feltman and Bandar Bin Sultan.

Thirdly, since the beginning of the events, the Syrian state announced the presence of terrorists, the existence of activities carried out by the groups of takfir and the dispatch and gathering of the Al-Qaeda remnants inside Syria and near its border with the neighboring states, especially Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. The hypocrite American was denying those facts while accompanied by the choir of agents in Syria and in the region headed by Hamad Bin Jassem. Logically, the Syrian state should be receiving international support to fight terrorism based on the consecutive recognitions of the American government which has claimed throughout the past years that it was waging war against terrorism. However, it is the one that mobilized and supported the terrorist gangs to use them in the context of its attempts to undermine the Syrian state. The Americans and their agents fear the rise of the Syrian power in the region, just as they fear the establishment of the new international equation which emerged against the backdrop of the Syrian steadfastness in the face of terrorism and sabotage and their rallying behind the state, the army and the reform project led by President Bashar al-Assad. There is also the precedent which was instated by the Russian dynamism at the Security Council following the double veto.

Fourthly, the progress achieved by the Syrian state at the level of the reforms and the successful legislative elections that were recently held are accompanying the progress achieved at the level of the implementation of the articles stipulated in the cooperation protocol between the Syrian Foreign Ministry and the international observers’ mission. On the other hand, the armed groups that are sponsored by the Americans have confirmed their commitment to the escalation of the assassinations and explosions, thus targeting the observers in Daraa one day before the horrific suicide bombing which rocked Damascus. Today, Russia seems to be about to engage in a battle in the face of the American practices through its determination to prevent the smuggling of arms into Syria. It has the ability to do so thanks to its fleet in the Mediterranean basin and its satellites and intelligence networks throughout the region. Moreover, Russia has moved to the stage of diplomatic attacks through the call to impose sanctions on the states involved in the exportation of weapons and terrorism into Syria and in the financing of the terrorist gangs on Syrian soil. This will be the content of the international political conflict in the next period, considering that these sanctions will affect the governments and involved groups in Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

The loss of the terrorist gangs on the ground means the toppling of the American pressure card in Syria. This is why the Americans and their agents are trying to maneuver around the observers’ mission. But Annan’s initiative and Russia will be present inside and outside the Security Council to deter that hypocritical and conniving behavior adopted by the American administration due to its failure to undermine Syria.

Explosions

The explosions and armed attacks were absent from the day on which the legislative elections were staged in Syria, although efforts had been deployed on the highest levels to present an electoral scene allowing the challenging of the electoral process and its expression of the Syrian public’s opinions. In the meantime, the explosions went back to targeting the major cities, i.e. Damascus and Aleppo consecutively, which confirms that these explosions do not convey the size and strength of the armed groups but are rather the result of the control of some groups over certain areas. Indeed, on electoral day, the security measures that were adopted particularity in Rif Damascus, Rif Aleppo and Edlib, allowed the closing of these region. But the security forces had to alleviate their grip on these areas’ gates during the days that followed due to the overlapping between the activities of the armed groups and the needs of the ordinary citizens.

The return of the explosions and the electoral day experience after what happened with the observers’ mission in Daraa in terms of the explosion which targeted their convoy, grant the Syrian government the legitimate right to mobilize a military campaign in order to cleanse these closed areas that are under the control of the armed men and have turned into dens to set up bombs and booby-trapped cars which are targeting the Syrian people’s lives. The depletion which terrorism is imposing on the Syrians prevents anyone from calling on the Syrian government to tolerate it in light of Annan’s mission.

Editorial

The reality of the Muslim Brotherhood exposed by the spring

Following the events witnessed by the Arab countries since the beginning of the year, facts and information became clear to the Arab public in regard to the reality and political behavior of the international organization of the Muslim Brotherhood. Indeed, this organization used to carry out underground work and earned some sympathy in the ranks of the people. But in the Arab countries affected by the wave of the so-called Arab spring, the last few months exposed numerous facts which were previously hidden, after the organization moved to the forefront of the events and after its foreign connections and political behavior emerged to the spotlight.

Firstly, the behavior of the MB command reveals a dangerous opportunism on the political level, revolving around the fact that everything goes in exchange for the monopolization of power. Consequently, a deal was made with the United States based on a pledge to protect Western hegemony, renew its foundations and commit to Israel’s security in the region in exchange for the American and Western acceptance of the MB as an essential force in the reinstatement of the authority in collaboration with the political or military groups linked to the American intelligence apparatuses. This reality emerged in Egypt through the pledge to protect the Camp David accord and its security and economic stipulations, in Tunisia through the commitments made by leader of Ennahda Movement Rached al-Gannouchi in Washington, and in Libya via the opening of the country before the NATO and Israeli intelligence bodies and via the secret and public relations between the new leaders and Tel Aviv under the sponsorship of Bernard-Henri Levy. In Syria, the MB constitutes the cornerstone of the Istanbul council which is trying to undermine the Syrian state through calls for a military invasion of the country, the adoption of the activities of the armed terrorist gangs and the direct pledge to guarantee the Israeli interests based on the political project aiming at moving Syria from its strategic position in the resistance and independence bloc to a state affiliated with Western colonial hegemony. Hence, in all the latter countries, the MB emerged as a passageway for the project to renew colonial hegemony and the protection of Israeli security. As to those within the MB who rebelled against these inclinations, they were severely punished by the organization’s command, which generated divisions especially in Egypt after the MB youth contributed to the storming of the Israeli embassy. In the meantime, Hamas is living in a state of anxiety and political turmoil due to the divergence between its belonging to the resistance system and its political affiliation with the command of the international organization, especially in regard to the Syrian issue.

Secondly, at the level of its activities, the MB group summoned alternative extremist groups to work in its shadows. In Syria, it thus allied with the gangs of takfir and the remnants of Al-Qaeda, while many MB elements led a number of armed gangs which participated alongside these takfiri and Al-Qaeda remnants in the perpetration of massacres against the civilians and the military. Moreover, they organized suicide bombings to undermine Syrian security and terrorize the public, thus generating a climate of hatred aiming at tearing the country apart on sectarian bases. This was confirmed by the killings and the kidnappings which were carried out in many Syrian provinces and the most dangerous of which was what happened in the city of Homs where the Christians saw their churches burned and were displaced from their homes. The same was done by the MB in Egypt where extremist, takfiri and Al-Qaeda groups started targeting the Coptic citizens and churches and are still posing a threat at the level of the Egyptian people’s national unity. These actions go in line with the American doctrine that is based on the dismantlement of the Arab national states and entities and at transforming societies into warring components to establish a political reality governed by turmoil and conflicts to protect Israel.

Thirdly, and at the same time, the MB leaders revealed the reality of their economic and social choice which is based on the sustainment of poverty and affiliation with the West and on the spread of beggary in the ranks of the popular classes instead of adopting a comprehensive program to rebuild Egypt’s national economy. In Syria, the comprehensive destruction plan being carried out by the MB targets national economy, which cost the Syrians major sacrifices during previous decades. At this level, the Istanbul council did not conceal its commitment to the economic project being promoted by the Americans in the region in order to revive their hegemony under the headline of the free and open market, which in Syria and Egypt means nothing but the destruction of the economic and social acquisitions of the people in favor of massive capitalist monopolies affiliated with colonialism. In Syria in particular, the MB is seeking this program to eradicate self-sufficiency which characterizes the Syrian national state.

Arab affairs

Syria

Elections were held in Syria to choose the members of the People’s Assembly for the first legislative term in 2012, in light of the country’s new constitution which was ratified last February. The process was staged in a climate of calm and under the best security and electoral conditions.

In the meantime, the Security Council listened to a video intervention by United Nations’ Envoy Kofi Annan in regard to the situation in Syria. During a press conference following the Security Council’s session, Annan stated there was a need to understand that all the facets of the six-point plan must be implemented to create the climate that will lead to the stage of political dialogue. He added it was important to achieve progress at the level of political dialogue but that the current situation was making it hard to achieve. He considered that the observers’ mission was the only opportunity left to solve the crisis in Syria, calling for the ending of violence and the launching of political dialogue.

In Daraa the international observers’ team which includes observers, security men and journalists from the various international news agency and papers were targeted by an explosion placed along the delegation’s path. Head of the UN observers’ mission to Syria General Robert Mood said that this explosion revealed the existence of violence and the challenge of the events in Syria. On Thursday, 10-5-2012, two suicide bombings rocked Damascus, thus causing the death of fifty six citizens and the injuring of around 370 others.

Sudan

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir accused the ruling Sudan’s People Liberation Movement in South Sudan of having chosen the path of deceit and treason and of having undermined his country’s honest intentions to build special relations with South Sudan in order to turn political secession into economic complementarity and social communication.

Palestine

Around 1,600 Palestinian detainees are still sustaining their hunger strike amid a determination to see all their demands met, while warnings are being issued about the deterioration of their health condition and the entry of some into a critical stage.

Israeli file

The Israeli papers issued this week were preoccupied with the political bomb dropped by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the agreement that was reached to form a national unity government with the participation of Kadima leader and former Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz. After having been taken off guard, the papers tried to compensate for the fact that they did not know about the talks between Netanyahu and Mofaz by resorting to opinion polls to learn about the Israelis’ positions towards the new government. They shed light on the lack of political and popular confidence in the motives and reasons put forward by Netanyahu and Mofaz to justify the agreement over the formation of the government and the non-staging of new general elections.

In regard to the American position, Maariv said that the American administration demanded clarifications from Israel in regard to the impact of the formation of the national unity government formed by Benjamin Netanyahu this week and Shaul Mofaz’ accession to the government on any future decision related to a military strike against Iran during the next months of September and October, i.e. prior to the American elections that are to be held in November.

Lebanese affairs

News analysis

The archetype of the resistance at the level of deterrence and construction.

The great end historical accomplishment secured by the resistance through the Waad project to reconstruct the Southern Suburb which was destroyed by the Israeli enemy complements the realistic image of the resistance movement within Lebanese society as a force of liberation, defense and construction.

Firstly, the speech delivered by Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese resistance, on the occasion of “the most beautiful promise”, featured a practical and political display of the reality of this project which accomplished its goals as an archetype for the logic of social solidarity, i.e. the main strength which characterized the resistance ever since its launching and seen in the popular lap from which the movement drew its freedom fighters and its martyrs. The resistance was able to move forward thanks to this popular rallying around it as a national liberation option that toppled once and for all the state in which the Lebanese people were left since the violation of Palestine by Israeli aggressions under the equation of “Lebanon’s strength lies in its weakness” that was applied by the sectarian political regime. This regime which conspired against the resistance through the engagement of the March-14 forces and the global war led by the United States in 2006 to crush the resistance, was planning –as it was said by Sayyed Nasrallah in his speech- on postponing the return of the Southerners to their villages, cities and towns which were destroyed by the Israeli aggression. This regime was also wagering on the mechanism to implement resolution 1701, one which featured the principle conveyed by Condoleezza Rice to Speaker Nabih Berri when she confronted his stringent talk about the people’s return upon the announcement of the ceasefire by saying that this was prohibited before three months. The American and Israeli plan was to transform the area south of the Litani into a buffer zone to protect Israel’s security. And indeed, the popular march towards the South following Nasrallah’s and Berri’s calls on August 14, 2006 established a strategic equation against which the powers implicated in the global, regional, and Lebanese July war could not turn. Hence, UNIFIL’s rules of engagement came in accordance with the will of the resistance and the army expressed at the time by President Emile Lahoud and the national ministers around the cabinet table. At the time, a lot was said about the reconstruction trap set up for Hezbollah, whether in the South or in the Suburb among other areas affected by the aggression, while the command of the resistance and the political officials allied with it created a political dynamism which thwarted the plan and the trap as indicated by Nasrallah and as conveyed in his speech.

Secondly, Sayyed Nasrallah offered a new gift to the Lebanese people and the Lebanese state by announcing the increase of the deterrence power enjoyed by the resistance to protect Beirut and the Suburb from an Israeli aggression, thus assuring that the resistance was now capable of responding in the event of any Israeli targeting of the capital or the suburb, by striking Tel Aviv and destroying hundreds of buildings in exchange for each Lebanese house destroyed by the enemy. More importantly, Sayyed Nasrallah revealed the resistance’s ability to accurately strike any Israeli headquarters in Tel Aviv, and the Israeli experts will closely read into this speech which constitutes a major turning point in the defensive deterrence equation established by the resistance.

As much as the resistance is continuing to develop its capabilities in the face of the Israeli threat, it offered a creative and innovative archetype in reconstruction and popular solidarity which was managed and respected by Waad. This is an accomplishment worth studying in order to draw the lessons at the level of any serious planning to solve the problems resulting from the randomness of the Lebanese system and its way of dealing with all the issues related to the rural areas, the cities and the construction activities.

Lebanese file

During the week, a UNIFIL Spanish officer violated Lebanese sovereignty after he crossed Lebanon’s borders into Israel and came back inside the Lebanese territories twenty minutes later. An official complaint was consequently filed to the UNIFIL command, demanding that the officer in question be expelled since he had violated the joint protocol signed between Lebanon and the United Nations.

On Saturday, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah assured during a speech delivered on the occasion of the completion of the Waad reconstruction project that the resistance had become stronger and more apt to achieve deterrence and victory, reiterating the Suburb-Tel Aviv equation by saying that each building that is destroyed in the suburbs will be met with the destruction of buildings in Tel Aviv.