NATO backs off while London and Paris still scheming

• To impose its narrative of events in Syria, NATO has resorted to novelists. The fictional piece by Tahar Ben Jelloun, as well as the pseudo-documentary by Jonathan Little, have been translated into various European languages​​. After France and Spain, they appeared today in the Italian press.

• ABC devotes three pages to the key figures of the Assad clan. Each personality is thoroughly denigrated, then the family is equated with the Alawite religion which is also denigrated. The purpose is to give the impression of a family that leans on sectarian blindness to appropriate a country.

• In the Independent, Charlotte McDonald-Gibson argues that it is the Alawites who feel most at risk and are trying to flee the country. Like the other minorities, Christian, Druze, Ismaili, etc.., they fear that a victory by the rebels may give the signal for their slaughter.

• The Mail on Sunday tells us that Naomi Campbell wanted to organize a charity event for victims of violence in Syria, but was advised against it by her entourage. The famous model holds annual charity events during London Fashion Week and the Cannes Film Festival. She would have liked to deal not only with victims of natural disasters (Haiti, Japan), but also of oppression. It’s trendy, but her endeavour could have turned sour in case of a political reversal.

• The Washington Post editorial bemoans that there is no way of forcing Bashar al-Assad to end the repression. All the options considered by the State Department are either unviable or inappropriate. We’ll simply have to get used to the idea that the regime will still be around for some time to come.

• In the Jerusalem Post, Yaakov Katz is curious about Ehud Barack’s motives for announcing on a regular basis since 20 June that al-Assad only has a few weeks left. The statements of the Israeli defense minister are all the more peculiar and reckless that U.S. military leaders have stated instead that the regime is stable and will not fall.

Cartoons of the day

Cartoonists reacted belatedly to Syria’s condemnation by the United Nations General Assembly.

© Plantu, Le Monde

In Le Monde a Blue Helmet soldier invites the peace dove to join in the celebration with UN officials. But the dove attaches no importance to the General Assembly vote and asks the soldier to awaken her only when the Security Council gets a move on.

©R Rogers, The Pittsburg Post-Gazette

In The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a UN Blue Helmet arrives with a resolution from the Security Council, but it’s too late...Syria has died.

© Times of Oman

Conversely, the Times of Oman dredges up the past. It depicts a United Nations proud to be fighting against the dictatorship of Muammar el-Gaddafi in the name of a consumerist dictatorship, one of erotic business, of global culture etc.. While on the square, Western flags are waving: the snake, shark, the devil, etc.