Editorial

Al-Assad and the East’s message of dialogue from Paris

In each foreign appearance by President Doctor Bashar al-Assad, the world learns more about the personality, wide culture and logical and convincing rhetoric of the Syrian president. Indeed, this rhetoric is far from any humoring and is capable at the same time of extending the bridges of communication and dialogue with the public opinion and the contradicting intellectual and political inclinations whose promoters belong to different cultures. Al-Assad’s visit to Paris featured a series of stops which were covered by European and especially by French media outlets. It also earned wide attention in the Arab media whose platforms carried news reports and comments, the objective of which featured a clear recognition of the Syrian president’s intellectual and conversational capabilities. This generated positive impressions among the French intellectuals and writers with whom he met. Some of them expressed their appreciation of Syria’s status and role and the future ambitions of its president in the region that extends from Central Asia to Europe.
In addition to the special charisma of the young Arab leader, the content, the logic and the choice which he conveyed during his visit was a message from the Arab East to the public opinion and decision-making circles in Europe, whose states participated during the last ten years in the comprehensive American-Israeli attack aiming at subjugating the forces of liberation and resistance in the region, with Syria as their Arab hub.
With a clear diplomatic language, President Al-Assad proved once again that Israel and the United States were responsible for the discontinuation of the so-called peace process by use of evidence and facts. He also confirmed the chronic Israeli violation of the international resolutions, thanks to the Western protection with which it was provided, pointing to the major threats that this tense situation carries and could affect European security in particular and Western security in general. Al-Assad thus based his sovereign speech on the logic of rights, calling on Europe to carry out an autonomous action and play a role going hand in hand with its responsibilities in confronting the Israeli policy which is increasingly hostile in light of the international inability to contain it.
Al-Assad also succeeded in enhancing the relation with French President Sarkozy following the downfall with his predecessor President Jacques Chirac, thus confirming that the attempts to isolate Syria have failed. This would explain the renewed European and French openness towards Syria. What was noted in this context was the warm reception with which President Al-Assad and his wife were hosted by the French presidency throughout their stay.

Arab Affairs

An Israeli military plan in the West Bank

Israeli journalistic sources close to the Israeli military intelligence apparatus revealed that a few months ago, the Israeli army drew up a plan to confront the different possibilities that could emerge after the dead-end reached by the negotiations with the Palestinian authority.
To the Israelis, the failed negotiations scenario is the most dangerous. Military sources believe that this scenario which features the deterioration of the situation on the field will not be immediate as it was seen in September 2000. Indeed, protests maybe staged but the deterioration toward military confrontation will happen gradually.
Firstly, the Palestinian police which was recreated by General Dayton and whose efficiency in pursuing the factions’ militants is flaunted by the Israelis, will be the first victim of the political deadlock and its repercussions. This is how the military intelligence perceived the situation, noting that the activities of the police were fueled by the contradiction between Fatah and Hamas after the Gaza events and what followed them in terms of collective and exchanged assassinations and arrests. The Israeli reports say that things will change once the Palestinians realize that the political process no longer exists.
Secondly, the threat of seeing the dismantlement of the Palestinian authority will become imminent and will jeopardize the structure of the current Palestinian command, one which is very comfortable for both Israel and the Americans according to the Israeli intelligence.
Journalistic sources say that Abu Mazen and Salam Fayyad are currently following up on the activities of Mohammad Dahlan and Toufik al-Tirawi with a lot of concern, as the latter are trying to build power centers in the West Bank and to arm groups that are loyal to them, while Mahmud Abbas is trying to form his own security groups. In case the negotiations are halted and the deadlock affecting the political process is exposed, these conflicts will become more acute and the Palestinian regions could turn into a war arena from which Hamas and the other factions will benefit to reactivate their military operations against the Israeli army.
Thirdly, the Palestinian authority considers that the confrontation of vacuum at the level of the political process will lead to the announcement of an independent Palestinian state in a unilateral way in September 2011, knowing that Obama’s administration pledged to obstruct this move through the use of its veto right at the UN Security Council. According to Israeli security sides, over one hundred states will immediately recognize the Palestinian state, while the preliminary signs for that were the recognitions made this week by Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.
These Israeli predictions prompted the hastening of the settlement activities, the Judaization of the land in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank and the implementation of a preemptive military deployment allowing the invasion of Palestinian cities and villages at any given time, in order to disband the police formations in the context of an emergency plan that is already in place.
In that same context, the Israelis are strongly relying on the support of the Egyptian president and the Jordanian king to see the continuation of the negotiations, while fearing unpleasant surprises, such as seeing the Palestinian street heading toward an action or a rebellion against Abbas’ command.

The Israeli file

Twenty six European leaders call for the imposition of sanctions on Israel.
The Haaretz newspaper mentioned that during the last decade, twenty six among Europe’s leaders called for the imposition of sanctions on Israel and the suspension of relations with it in light of its settlement policies and its refusal to abide by international law.
The newspaper indicated that the European leaders are calling for the ending of the importation of the settlements’ products, assuring that Israel was violating the law by intentionally abstaining from differentiating between the products made inside the settlements and those made inside Israel. They said that this constituted a violation of the agreement with the European Union.

The concern: an Iranian retaliation

Yediot Aharonot mentioned that during the last few days, a dangerous and urgent warning was sent to all the Israeli envoys and representatives around the world against a possible attack undertaken by Iran and Hezbollah in retaliation for the murder of Iranian nuclear scientists in Tehran.
The paper said that security sides inside Israel issued this alarming warning which was accompanied by a request to adopt strict precautionary and security measures to the Israeli envoys and representatives abroad, starting with the ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps, going through scientists and academicians, and ending with hundreds of envoys who represent Zionist organizations around the world.

Carmel fire exposes Israel’s readiness in case of emergency

Four days after the eruption of the fires and with the arrival of the giant American aircrafts and rainfall, the massive fire on Mount Carmel in Haifa was extinguished. However, a political fire erupted over the Israeli inability to confront the situation at hand and protect the domestic front in case of emergency.

The Iron Dome in Israel

Renowned Israeli analyst and researcher Dr. Reuven Pedatzur, said that Israel did not have defense systems to face the missiles which will be launched against it in the upcoming war, assuring that all those who were saying otherwise were misleading and misled.
He added that thousands of rockets and missiles were directed toward each location deep inside Israel.

Lebanese file

“The politicization of the special tribunal for Lebanon and how it contradicts justice norms” was the headline of the press conference held by the head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc Deputy Mohammad Raad with the participation of former member of the Constitutional Council Judge Salim Jreisati, who indicated that the mechanism for the ratification of the STL entirely violated the Lebanese sovereignty and constitution.
As for the second headline, it was conveyed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from Paris. He said: “In the end, there is no initiative. There are Syrian-French and Saudi-French coordination efforts for Lebanon. These efforts have been ongoing for months. However, the solution is a Lebanese one.” Al-Assad added: “No one will adopt an accusation based on political suspicions,” assuring that he discussed with his French counterpart the necessity of working through the Security Council to stop politicization and interference at the level of the tribunal’s work. In the meantime, STL registrar Herman Von Hebel said that the indictment will come out “very very soon.” These were the headlines featured in the Lebanese press, while the website of Al-Akhbar newspaper was hacked after having published a number of Wikileaks documents related to Lebanon.
American Ambassador Maura Connelly said after meeting with Prime Minister Al-Hariri: “Once it is issued, the indictment will mark a new stage in the course of a transparent judiciary, in order to put an end to the absence of accountability at the level of the horrific and tragic acts of violence that affected all the Lebanese communities.” She added: “Calling for choosing between justice and stability is wrong,” condemning the intentional and un-authorized exposure of any secret documents and warning against the possible attempts to harm the relations between the United States and Lebanon.
Syrian Ambassador to Beirut Ali Abdul Karim also assured after meeting with Prime Minister Al-Hariri that the latter was very optimistic about the Syrian-Saudi efforts to produce solutions that would please all the sides and defuse any crisis that might be exploited in this country. He assured that Damascus’ doors were open before the prime minister.
Head of Hezbollah’s bloc deputy Mohammad Raad held a press conference headlined “The politicization of the special tribunal for Lebanon and how it contradicts justice norms”. He said: “The way the political crisis has been proceeding in Lebanon ever since the issuance of international resolution 1559 and what it created in terms of flaws at the level of the overall situation in the country, clearly reveals that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon increased the state of domestic deterioration and division between the Lebanese, thus exposing the country to the blunt interference of the Western powers and the Israeli infiltration inside vital sectors. This was proven by the infiltration which affected the telecommunications sector and the official databases of many Lebanese apparatuses, institutions and public facilities.”

Wikileaks

The Lebanese Wikileaks documents subjected the website of Al-Akhbar newspaper to hacking, which was perceived by a number of media and political forces as being an attack against freedoms, after the newspaper had carried a number of documents related to Lebanon.
In that same context, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah assured that “What will be revealed in the future will be much more dangerous.” He assured that that the obedience and discipline of Hezbollah’s resistance fighters were among the reasons behind the victory in the 2006 war.
It is important to note that Al-Akhbar carried information regarding the instigation deployed by Defense Minister Elias al-Murr against Hezbollah during several meetings he held with former US Ambassador to Lebanon Michele Sison. In this context, Chef Editor of Al-Akhbar newspaper Ibrahim al-Amin wrote an article headlined: “Who will hold Elias al-Murr accountable?” This drove Al-Murr to accuse the pro-resistance circles of targeting him, thus threatening to boycott the Cabinet session until the proper measures are taking against them.
Jihad Bazzi from As-Safir noted that the latter “minister of the two mandates” is used to not being held accountable, thus repeating his mistakes and continuing to be rewarded with Cabinet portfolios. He added that it was not odd for current President Michel Suleiman to keep him in his post, considering that he thinks that Al-Murr was behind his appointment as president and army chief.

News analysis. Wikileaks: The shuddering of the empire

In any case, the result is the same and the details of the leaks and the way Wikileaks acquired the documents are no longer as important as these facts which now belong to the people and reveal the obstruction of the American imperial project which is collapsing due to the resistance shown by the free people. Through the cracks of this shuddering colonial regime, numerous crimes which it set up with its local agents all around the world are being exposed. This information is filling the internet by the minute. The collapse of the Russian empire following its defeat in WWI exposed the Sykes-Picot agreement, while the defeat of the United States in Vietnam led to the exposure of numerous Pentagon documents and cables that were collected in a book studied by the liberation movements of the world. It is thus certain that the failed American wars during the last decade will reveal more secrets, since we are now seeing the chapters of the Department of State’s documents and have not yet seen any of the documents of the American intelligence, the National Security Council, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Central Command and especially the office of Vice President Dick Cheney where the most dangerous plots were weaved to carry out assassinations, falsification, recruitment of mercenaries and killings, whether collective or individual ones.

The American file

Leaders of European states seriously consider boycotting the US.
The New York Times revealed that the European countries were violently criticizing the US, against the backdrop of what was carried by the Wikileaks website regarding the secret cables which the US exchanged with other states and revealed the real American intentions and goals to be secured at the expense of other countries. This prompted the leaders of the European countries to consider boycotting the United States in certain areas and restrict their strong diplomatic ties with it, considering it must be hiding something in regard to the European countries.

Iranian nuclear file in Geneva

The talks over the Iranian nuclear file have resumed in Geneva after a long halt and in parallel to the announcement made by the Islamic Republic regarding the beginning of the production of what is known by the yellow cake.
The round of talks ended without any practical results, as Tehran’s representative to the meeting, Chief Nuclear Negotiator Saeed Jalili, and his counterparts who represented the P5 +1 states, agreed to hold a new round in the Turkish city of Istanbul in January. It is worth mentioning that the statements of International Atomic Energy Agency Chief Yukiya Amano regarding his full support of the American positions towards Iran’s nuclear program have cast doubts over the role of the international agency and prompted the staging of the first round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 group in Geneva and the second in Istanbul, not in Vienna.

The unbalanced relationship between Israel and the US

The Los Angeles Times tackled American-Israeli relations by saying that Israel was on the brink of collapse although it enjoyed unique privileges as it was revealed by its nuclear status. In general, the American officials are criticizing nuclear proliferation while saying it poses a threat to humankind. But this is only at the level of the Iranian nuclear program, regardless of its actual purpose, because when it comes to Israel, Washington is adopting a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
It added: “Despite the comprehensive support granted to Israel, this will not protect it from the criticisms made against its wrongful methods at the United Nations, and Israel will not relinquish its actions towards Jerusalem just because it is threatened by Hamas, Hezbollah or the aid convoys heading toward Gaza. In the future, everybody will know that its behavior with the US will have consequences.”

The British file

The Saudi foreign minister requests US support to destroy Hezbollah

The Guardian revealed that Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faysal suggested the establishment of an Arab force with the support of the US and the aerial and maritime backup of NATO, in order to intervene in Lebanon and destroy Hezbollah. This request was made two years ago, at the peak of the Lebanese crisis.
The paper said that the Saudi foreign minister proposed the plan to American special advisor in Iraq David Satterfield, but that Washington expressed doubts over the military purpose behind the implementation of this plan. Al-Faysal thus assured that Hezbollah’s victory in Beirut meant the end of the government of former Prime Minister Fouad al-Siniora and consequently Tehran’s control over Lebanon. He continued that the situation in Beirut – at the time - had become “completely militarized,” and that the solution should also be military, adding that the situation required the establishment of an “Arab force including the Arab neighboring states to be deployed in Beirut under the cover of the United Nations.”

Saudi Arabia biggest source of funding for armed Islamic groups

The Independent said that the latest leaks revealed that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized the Riyadh government, describing Saudi Arabia as being the greatest source of funding for armed Islamic groups.
In the document dating back to December 2009, Clinton added: “Riyadh only carried out limited work” to prevent the flow of funds to the Taliban movement and other groups which are waging attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

Qatar used Al-Jazeera channel for tradeoffs at the level of foreign policy

The Independent said that the leaked documents contradicted the claims of Al-Jazeera channel regarding the fact that it was independent on its editorial level. The report added that the American embassy in Doha said in a cable sent to the US that the relationship between Qatar and Saudi Arabia “was improving in general after Qatar contained the criticisms toward the Saudi royal family on Al-Jazeera channel.
The newspaper continued that the American ambassador in Qatar said: “Al-Jazeera’s ability to influence the public opinion throughout the region is a key source of influence for Qatar.”

Secret cable confirms Mubarak’s candidacy in the next presidential elections

The Guardian published the cable sent by the American ambassador in Egypt to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington, a cable which was leaked one day after former International Atomic Energy Agency Chief Mohammad el-Baradei announced he was not running in the upcoming elections and called on all the Egyptians to boycott them.
The ambassador said it was more likely for Mubarak to die on his presidential seat than to voluntarily step down.
She added: “Mubarak’s vision for a just and a strong successor could undermine the chances of his son Gamal to reach the presidency, especially since he lacks any military experience. This would explain his quasi-neutrality at the level of this issue, as he seems to be relying on the army and security apparatus to ensure the smooth transition of power.

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