The American veto topples the “Arab Spring” propaganda

Arab affairs

Editorial: The American veto topples the “Arab Spring” propaganda
The United States and the Western colonial countries are trying to exploit the climate of the so-called Arab Spring in their battle to improve their image ever since the occupation of Iraq and the loss of two global wars to eliminate the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine.
Despite the exposure of the colonial character of NATO’s war in Libya with the launching of the race to divide the oil and reconstruction cake - as it is recognized by some Western media outlets - and despite the blunt Israeli dimension in the Western war on Syria, the prior decision of President Barack Obama’s administration to use the veto right to prevent the recognition of a fictive Palestinian state marks the epitome of arrogance and hostility in expressing the reality of Western policy in which Israel’s hegemony is the main motor.
Dozens of reports and studies were drawn up by US and European foreign policy groups following the September 11 events in an attempt to grasp the source behind the hostility towards Western hegemony and the spread of radical movements in the Arab and Islamic countries. Most of them reached the conclusion that the US and Western support to Israel generated a climate of hatred among the East’s populations and the decision-making circles believe that the activation of the so-called pace process would allow the overcoming of this predicament. But as usual, they proceeded behind the Israeli conditions and became directly involved in Israel’s wars.
The American Congress decided to stop funding the Palestinian authority in case it were to head to the UN to request recognition. As for the weak head of the Palestinian authority whose salaries are threatened with severance, he is risking his fate after the political process reached a dead end. Washington’s position is exposing a great lie accompanying the empty talk about the spring of the Arabs which the Americans tried hard to keep away from Israel by targeting Syria and the resistance forces and by wagering on the active Turkish role and that of the international organization of the Muslim Brotherhood.

News analysis

Gul and the reality of the Israeli shield in Turkey
The announcement of the installation of a NATO radar system as part of the missile defense shield in Turkey, constituted a political turning point at the level of regional reality and balances. Russia, Iran Syria and the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance forces received this development with acute concerns due to the strategic dimensions it features, especially since the information carried by the Turkish newspapers and revealed by the opposition leaders in Istanbul assured that the batteries of the long range missiles featured in the NATO-affiliated radar system were placed near the Syrian border.
On Friday, the statements which Turkish President Abdullah Gul was quoted as saying confirmed the doubts surrounding the task of the NATO shield in protecting Israel, as he hinted to the fact that they targeted the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance movement when he limited their task to the deterrence of the threat of armed organizations. By saying so, he was not referring to the PKK and its possible threat to Turkish security, rather to the missile capabilities of armed organizations which are Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Palestinian resistance factions, at a time when the threatened side is Israel and none but Israel.
The European shield in Turkey is an American-NATO attempt to protect Israel from the missiles of Syria, Iran and the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance movements, while some fans of fictive scenarios considered it to be a preparation for an attack on Syria, which is a possibility that must be placed in the calculations of the regional wars.
The step adopted by Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government constituted an proclamation of Turkey’s involvement in any possible confrontation with the three influential states located in Turkey’s surrounding, i.e. Russia, Iran and Syria. These neighboring states are extremely concerned about Turkey’s move away from the building of partnerships based on the zero-problem policy to the provocation of many problems in the search for new role under Western hegemony.

Editorial

Syria’s targeting: comprehensive war or a game on the brink of the abyss?
The international and regional positions towards the Syrian events witnessed new developments. Indeed, while Russia and China confirmed their stringent position against international intervention in all its forms, France, Turkey and Qatar tried to corroborate their hostile tone and their leaders’ promotion of an impression which they tried to instate in the international and Arab political and media circles since the month of July, regarding the imminent fall of the regime in Syria.
– Firstly, the dangerous paradox affecting the way the Syrian situation is perceived abroad is that the Arab and international media machine used to convey the protests infection since March, is promoting a large amount of rumors, lies and exaggerated reports giving the international and Arab public opinion the impression that major incidents are occurring on the ground. This is also being promoted by the Syrian opposition in all its formations in the hope of increasing the pressures that reached the point of requesting international protection and foreign intervention at any cost.
– Secondly, the facts on the ground indicate that what is happening on Syrian soil can be called many things except for “peaceful protests,” as it is being reiterated by the media platforms participating in the war on Syria. This has become the object of mockery and disgust inside the country where the majority of the Syrians are watching the images being circulated with surprise and condemnation. This phenomenon reflects an effort to compensate for the failure on the field and to cover up the impotence.
– Thirdly, it has become clear that the illusion of a military intervention in Syria, whether by Turkey or NATO, is being obstructed by numerous complications, the most prominent of which being Syria’s status in the resistance system.
In the meantime, the new turn in Egypt and the Palestinian defiance which might generate a new uprising in the occupied West Bank came to enhance the Syrian strength and the ability of the resistance with all its components to stand fast. Moreover, it is creating a climate that could prompt the Israeli command to engage in war sooner than later, due to the fear of seeing Syria and Egypt quickly recovering, which will mark the full strategic suffocation of the Hebrew state and the colonial influence in the region.

International affairs

News analysis: Turkey and Israel: temporary tensions or a real crisis?
The attack launched by Israeli forces against a Turkish aid ship which was heading to Gaza last year and the killing of nine Turkish activists who were on board led to the emergence of tensions between Turkey and Israel. What fueled this deterioration were the leaks of the UN report over the incident, seeing how it considered that the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip was a legitimate security measure to prevent the smuggling of arms and described Israel’s use of force as being excessive and unjustified and the fall of victims as being unacceptable.
In the meantime, Turkey has been trying to get Israel to apologize for the incident and pay compensations to the families of the victims, while the latter has been rejecting the Turkish request and considering it was in a state of self-defense.
In the latest developments at the level of Israeli-Turkish relations, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkish warships will accompany the Turkish aid ships heading to Gaza in the future, adding that Turkey will no longer allow Israel to monopolize the exploitation of the wealth in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea.
On September 2, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced the ousting of the Israeli ambassador from Ankara and the lowering of the level of its diplomatic representation in Israel. But can we consider that the flotilla massacre led to a real crisis between the two allies or is it just a diplomatic and political escalation in parallel to the implicit upholding of the deep relations and joint inetersts between the two sides, whose close ties are sponsored by the United States and NATO?
The relations between Turkey and Israel are similar at the level of their strength and depth to the relations between Israel and the United States, since neither would relinquish the other despite the clouds that emerge in the skies of their relations from time to time. It seems that Turkey, through its ongoing escalation while giving the impression there is a deep crisis with Israel, is trying to save face on the Turkish street and impact the Arab street that is opposed to the Israeli presence, namely the Palestinian one.
All experts thus agree that this crisis will be overcome and that the relations will continue to serve both sides because none of them will be able to relinquish its ally, especially Israel which cannot afford losing the Turkish ally for the time being after it lost its Egyptian ally which was considered to be the strongest in the region.

The Arab file

Libya
The Algerian prime minister assured that the members of Gaddafi’s family who are present in the country were Algeria’s responsibility and that their hosting was for humanitarian reasons among other humanitarian cases handled by Algeria. In the meantime, Colonel Gaddafi denied in a voice message having escaped to Niger, reiterating his threats to NATO that it will be defeated in Libya.
Human Rights Watch said that documents found in the office of the former Libyan intelligence chief in Tripoli indicated that the American and British intelligence apparatuses helped Gaddafi persecute the Libyan oppositionists.
On the field, violent confrontations erupted between the revolutionary forces and those loyal to Gaddafi in the coastal city of Sirte and the city of Bani al-Walid, southeast of Tripoli, after Gaddafi’s loyalists in both cities refused to surrender within the deadline that had expired.
For its part, Interpol issued a “red warrant” in which it asked its 188 member states to arrest Colonel Gaddafi, his son Sayf al-Islam and his son-in-law Abdullah al-Sannoussi, against whom arrest warrants were issued by the international criminal court.

Yemen
Yemen is witnessing violent clashes between the forces loyal to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and those opposing him.
The ruling People’s Congress Party presented its own vision for the mechanism to implement the Gulf initiative and resolve the current crisis, saying that this implementation must be done in accordance with the Yemeni constitution. For its part, the opposition assured that the results of the consultations of the ruling party did not offer anything new, rather came up with new ways to maneuver around the Gulf initiative and place additional obstacles in the face of its implementation, to gain time in the face of the internal and external consensus over the necessity for President Saleh to step down and ensure a transition of power.
As for the transitional council, it warned against the attempts by the regime’s remnants to lead the country towards a cycle of violence and armed conflict through additional escalation and the distribution of arms in the ranks of the citizens.

Egypt
The Cairo criminal court held several sessions to try former President Hosni Mubarak, his sons Alaa and Gamal, his former interior minister Habib al-Adli and his aides in the case of the killing of the demonstrators. The court listened to the testimonies of several witnesses and Judge Ahmad Rifaat decided to summon head of the ruling military council Field Marshal Mohammad Hussein Tantawi, Chief of Staff Sami Anan, former Interior Minister General Mahmud Wagdi, current Interior Minister Mansour al-Issawi and former Vice President Omar Suleiman to attend a secret session and deliver their testimonies. This will take place from September 11 to September 15 and will only be attended by the defense attorneys and the prosecution, without the presence of journalists or the families of the victims.
On the “Friday of Course Correction,” thousands of Egyptians demonstrated on Tahrir Square in Cairo and in the cities of Alexandria and Suez. The participating forces put forward fifteen demands. The thousands of demonstrators headed from Tahrir square to the Israeli embassy in Giza and were able to destroy the concrete wall that was built in front of it while yelling “the people want to bring down the wall”. These incidents raised fear inside of Israel and prompted it to pull out its ambassador and diplomats from the embassy’s headquarters, leaving only one diplomat to tend to the embassy’s affairs. Many victims fell among dead and wounded throughout the process, at a time when American President Barack Obama was calling on the ruling forces in Egypt to protect the embassy.

Palestine
The United States officially announced on Thursday it will use the veto right against any attempt by the Palestinians to earn the recognition of their state at the United Nations. For its part, the Palestinian command assured on Thursday following its meeting which was chaired by President Mahmud Abbas it will definitely head to the United Nations to request the full membership of the state of Palestine.
What was noticeable at this level was the position of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon who announced his full support to the recognition of the Palestinian state, considering it was about time that the Palestinians had their own state. As for Tony Blair, the head of the international Quartet Committee, he considered that the Palestinian step was a sign of despair, adding that the Palestinian state could only be established through negotiations with Israel.

Syria
This week, the preliminary meetings for the national dialogue session were launched at the level of the provinces and the universities to discuss the preparations and the formation of the preparatory committees before the beginning of dialogue, in accordance with the timetable that expires on September 20.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad assured during his meeting with Chairman of the Red Cross International Committee Jakob Kellenberger in Damascus that it was important to become directly informed about the situation in Syria, welcoming the committee’s work “as long as it is independent and operating objectively, far away from politicization.”
A presidential statement said that the head of the Red Cross thanked President Assad for the great collaboration and the numerous facilitations offered by the Syrian government to the delegation to reach Syrian cities and areas, assess the situation in them and visit the detention camps.
A five-member delegation from the Turkish Republican People’s Party conducted a tour in Syria. SANA quoted the head of the delegation, Faruk Logoglu, as saying: “We perceive Syria as being a brotherly state and not as a neighboring state and we convey a message of friendship to the Syrian people”, assuring: “Syria’s stability means the stability of the entire region.” He then condemned the foreign interference in Syria’s domestic affairs, pointing to the Syrian people’s ability to resolve their internal problems without the need for the intervention of whichever side.
In the meantime, the armed terrorist groups carried out additional acts of terrorism, killing and kidnapping in a number of areas, while Russia believed that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could maintain power despite the popular protests against his rule. It is worth mentioning in this respect that the visit conducted to Moscow by a delegation representing the Syrian opposition was a total failure, considering that the delegation’s members were unable to meet with any prominent Russian official and were faced with a Russian position that was supportive of President Al-Assad and the reforms he was trying to implement.

Israeli file

The invasion of the Israeli embassy in Cairo on Friday night occupied the main headlines of the Israeli papers which indicated that the Israeli Foreign Ministry established an emergency room and launched ongoing contacts with the Egyptian authorities and the Israeli representatives.

On the other hand, Turkish-Israeli relations seized a lot of attention in the Israeli papers issued this week, after the Turks arrested forty Israelis upon their arrival to Istanbul Airport and after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that his country will send warships from the Turkish navy to accompany any aid ships destined to the Palestinians.

In the meantime, the Israeli papers shed light on the criticisms announced by former American Secretary of Defense Robert Gates against the policy of the Israeli prime minister, as he considered the latter to be ungrateful and to be jeopardizing Israel due to his refusal to deal with its increasing isolation on the international arena and the democratic challenges resulting from its ongoing control over the West Bank.

On the other hand, the papers tackled the partial revival of the infrastructure of the resistance movement Hamas in the West Bank and the statements of the head of the Home Front Command General Eisenberg regarding the fact that it was highly probable to see the eruption of war and that some organizations might resort to the use of weapons of mass destruction.

The Lebanese file

In the face of the fierce campaign launched by the Future Movement against parliament Speaker Nabih Birri against the backdrop of the alleged Wikileaks cables, head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc deputy Mohammad Raad stated: “The Future Movement exceeded all the red lines in its attempt to undermine the resistance, attack the religious and national symbols and instigate against the army that is guaranteeing the country’s security and stability. Its speech did not spare a mufti, patriarch, army commander, deputy, leader or party.” He added: “Their decadent political rhetoric prompted them to intentionally destroy the remaining bridge of communication with the Lebanese nationalists through the targeting of Speaker Nabih Birri who always tried to secure dialogue among the political opponents to maintain the country’s stability and its higher interests. The events in the region and the false wagers might have given the callers for strife the impression that they can attack the men of national unity.”

In the meantime, the media office of Parliament Speaker Nabih Birri responded to the campaign led by the Future Movement by saying: “They want us to believe we are with America and they are against it. They want us to believe that in 2007, and following the establishment of the tribunal in an unconstitutional way, we were against President Emile Lahoud who was trying to get rid of it, forgetting we refused to be delivered any draft law which was not signed by the president and that were are still upholding this position until now.”

In Paris, and following his meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi said in response to a question about the situation in Syria that he feared two things: “reaching civil war or seeing Syria among other states being governed by more stringent and extremist regimes.” During a press conference, Al-Rahi called for giving Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a chance because he had already started the reforms, assuring that the West perceived Hezbollah as a force directing the people. He added: “This is painful for us. Hezbollah is saying it is fighting Israel which is occupying Lebanese soil and we have asked France among others why they have not implemented the Security Council resolutions to block the way before Hezbollah and eliminate its pretexts? Why are the international resolutions not being implemented? Why is Israel not withdrawing from the occupied territories? But there is no answer.”