Tag Archives: Syria

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Gaddafi, the inevitable bloody end.

Sami Jamil Jadallah

Sami Jamil Jadallah

With the exception of Tony Blair, the modern day Lord Balfour who had “special” business and political relations with Gaddafi, every one in Libya and the Arab world is quite happy with the news of the end of Mouamar Gaddafi and his regime. It is only fitting for a bloody dictator and a regime to meet a bloody end. No one should shed tears. Contrary to his claim to die fighting, Gaddafi was pulled from a sewer pipe like a rat.

Like so many bloody kelpto-criminal dictatorships, Gaddafi was and for a time the darling of the West specially after abandoning his weapons of mass destruction program. The US George Bush dispatching Condi Rice to engage him and Hilary Clinton as recent as this January treated his son Moutasim as royalties warmly shaking hands with the towering Moutasim.

While the US did not sponsor Mouamar Gaddafi in certain periods of his regime, it did engage him and according to certain reports facilitated his coming to power and with the exception of Fiedel Castro the US engaged if not sponsored every dictator and dictatorships in Latin and Central America, in the Middle East, in East Europe, certainly in the Far East.

The US more than any other country in the world should take the blame for the millions who died and suffered under military dictatorship that not only killed and tortured its citizens but looted the country as well.

We all need to remember the likes of the late Shah of Iran who was brought back to power by coupe organized by the CIA with a planned budget of $1,000,000 with $100,000 distributed in cash to the streets and the remaining $900,000 was handed over by Kermit Roosevelt to Ardashire Zahedi as part of Operation Ajax.

The Shah who ruled his country with an iron fist relying on the CIA, Mossad and his torturous SAVAK also looted the country and allowed his close circle of generals and advisors to loot tens billions of dollars allowing them to live the good life in Switzerland, in West Europe, certainly in the US and around Washington DC.

While the people lived in dire poverty in the country side, the Shah was able to spend $100 millions on his coronation ceremony in 1967 in the city of Persepolis as King of Kings with heads of states, diplomats, movie starts counted among the guests with caviar, chefs and Baccarat crystals flown from France dinning on Limoges porcelain china.

We all should remember the end of the man, politicians and socialists adorned him as “emperor of emperors”, dejected pegging for a country to give him asylum and a place to die.

Nicolae Ceausescu was anther dictator much beloved and admired by American presidents who received him in White House, simply because who took an independent line from Moscow when it came to the Middle East and his relationship with Israel not withstanding his bloody and ruthless dictatorship and his looting of the country making every Romanian poor with the exception of his immediate family and his close circle of friends. I will never forget that night in a Geneva hotel when I saw his execution on December 25th, 1989.

General Suharto of Indonesia and General Ferdinand Marcos were among the many dictators the US not only supported but sponsored delivering weapons and riot fighting equipments allowing these two to loot their country blind and run authoritarian bloody regimes with wide spread corruptions, all in the name of supporting anti-Communist regimes.

In Latin and Central the US and over the last century have supported and given aid and comfort to a dozen of civilian and military dictatorship key among them the likes of Anatasio Somoza Garcia and his family, Fulencio Batista of Cuba, General Noriega of Panama, and of course General Augusto Pinochet who ruled Chile with an iron fist for 17 years, murdering in cold blood mover 3,000 and torturing hundreds of thousands.

In Central America, the US the could not find one military dictator it did not like. The US sponsored, trained and funded the many military rulers and dictators that ruled Central America where some 500,000 people died or killed as a direct result of these military dictatorship and the wars they waged against their people and the resulting civil wars.

In Africa the story was no different, American presidents disgraced the White House with receptions offered to killers and murderers the likes of Samuel Doe of Liberia, who upon taking control in a bloody coupe tied more than 17 members of Liberian cabinet to palm trees and shot them.

Mobuto Sese Seko of Zaire was another favored dictator favored in Washington, Paris, London and Brussels. Mubuto Sese Seko took over Zaire in a CIA sponsored coupe on 14 September 1960 and ran Zaire to the ground while looting its wealth. Western governments were only too happy to support such criminal dictators as long as they claim to fight Communism.

In the Middle East the story was no different. It is well known fact that the CIA not only provided safe house for Saddam when he was injured and fled the attempted assassination attempt on General Abdul-Kareem Qassem and later in 1968 sponsored his return to Iraq to become the VP of Iraq.

During the 8 years war with Iran, the US under the Reagan administration gave Saddam Hussein over $40 Billions in aid in his fight against Iran and forced the neighboring Arab Gulf countries to contribute hundreds of billions of dollars to Saddam, money and resources that could have done wonder in the development of the Arab world from Morocco to Yemen to Syria to Bahrain.

Until the evening of his invasion of Kuwait, Saddam was America and Europe favorite Arab dictators knowing well he ran a bloody criminal authoritarian regime were more than one million persons were killed or murdered and were for the first time chemical weapons were used against civilians targets, Iraqi Kurds killing 5,000 instantly and injuring 10,000. Donald Rumselfed was to deliver Ronald Reagan congratulations to the Iraqi dictator.

The United States played a key and critical role in perpetuating Saddam Hussein dictatorship providing it with money, economic and military aids and of course providing legal and international cover and immunity for its crimes. Thanks to a freedom loving American administration millions of people died during and after Saddam in Iraq, and in Iran and over $1.5 Trillions of Arab wealth simply disappeared and evaporated if not looted by the merchants of death.

Hosni Mubarak and Bin Ali were the darling of the United States the model of modern Arab rulers and police states where dictators rule with iron fists making sure the country and the West id free of “Islamists” and rewarding these two regimes for their openness and special relationship with Israel.

No doubt the US which contracted countries like Egypt, Syria, Jordan and other North Africa countries as “torture contractor” was only too happy to seek these rulers and dictators and their families not only loot the country clean but imprisoned, killed and tortures tens of thousands of citizens.

Kelpto-dictarotship touted by the World Bank and the IMF as model emerging economies were millions lived below poverty lines and with millions unemployed. International donors, financial instructions never looked beyond the “cooked” financial and economic books presented by the leadership of these countries and never bothered to leave their 5 stars hotels and see the utter misery the majority of people lived in.

With Mouamar Gaddafi meeting the bloody end he deserve the Arab Spring must continue and succeed in countries and against dictatorship
In Syria, in Yemen perhaps with these dictators meeting the same bloody end. Those who rule by the sword will die by the sword. Grieved, oppressed, tortures and dramatized people should not have mercy on those who rules them.

In closing I want to address this question to President Obama and the leaders of the West, why is it OK for the Libyans, the Syrians and the Yemenis, the Egyptians and the Tunisians to rise up against oppression and dictatorship and in the case of Libya to use force with support from NATO while denying the Palestinians the right to have a seat at the UN to seek freedom and independence from the Jewish Occupation, not by use of arms but by getting a UNSC resolution to demand the immediate end of the Jewish Occupation that lasted more than Gaddafi 42 years of bloody rule? An explanation is needed.

Sami Jamil Jadallah

Sami Jamil Jadallah

Sami Jamil Jadallah is an international legal and business consultant and is the founder and director of Palestine Agency and Palestine Documentation Center www.palestineagency.com and founder and owner of several business in technology and services. Sami also runs an online website (Jefferson Corner). His articles are also featured on PalestineNote and Veterans Today.

Articles on RamallahOnline by Sami Jamil Jadallah

Born in the Palestinian city of El-Bireh ( presently under Israeli Military Occupation, Armed Jewish thugs and settlers). Immigrated to the US in 62. After graduating from high school in Gary, Indiana was drafted into the US Army ( 66-68) received the Leadership Award from the US 6th Army NCO Academy in Ft. Lewis, Washington. Five of us brothers where in US military service about the same time. Graduated from Indiana University with BA-72, Master of Public Affairs-74 and Juris Doctor-77, and in senior year at IU,was elected Chairman of the Indiana Student Association.

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A Brown-haired Young Man

hassan Hijazi

Uri Avnery, 11 June 2011

hassan Hijazi

hassan Hijazi

MY HERO of the year (for now) is a young brown-haired Palestinian refugee living in Syria called Hassan Hijazi.

 

He was one of hundreds of refugees who held the demonstration on the Syrian side of the Golan border fence, to commemorate the Naqba – “Disaster” – the exodus of more than half the Palestinian people from the territory conquered by Israel in the war of 1948. Some of the protesters ran down to the fence, crossing a minefield. Luckily, none of the mines exploded – perhaps they were just too old.

They entered the Druze village of Majdal Shams, occupied by Israel since 1967, where they spread out. Israeli soldiers shot, killed and wounded several of them. The rest were caught and immediately deported back to Syria.

Except Hassan. He found a bus carrying Israeli and international peace activists who took him with them – perhaps they guessed where he came from, perhaps not. He does not look obviously Arab.

They dropped him near Tel Aviv. He continued his journey by hitchhiking and eventually reached Jaffa, the town where his grandparents had lived .

There, without money and without knowing anyone, he tried to locate the house of his family. He did not succeed – the place has changed much too much.

Eventually, he succeeded in contacting an Israeli TV correspondent, who helped him give himself up to the police. He was arrested and deported back to Syria.

Quite a remarkable exploit.

THE BORDER crossing of the refugees near Majdal Shams caused near panic in Israel.

First there were the usual recriminations. Why was the army not prepared for this event? Who was to blame – Northern Command or Army Intelligence?

Behind all the excitement was the nightmare that has haunted Israel since 1948: that the 750,000 refugees and their descendents, some five million by now, will one day get up and march to the borders of Israel from North, East and South, breach the fences and flood the country. This nightmare is the mirror-image of the refugees’ dream.

During the first years of Israel, this was a waking nightmare. On the day Israel was founded, it had some 650,000 Jewish inhabitants. The return of the refugees would indeed have swamped the young Israeli state. Lately, with more than 6 million Jewish citizens, this fear has receded into the background – but it is always there. Psychologists might say that it represents repressed feelings of guilt in the national psyche.

THIS WEEK, there was a repeat performance. The Palestinians all around Israel have declared June 5 “Naksa” Day, to commemorate the “Setback” of 1967, when Israel spectacularly defeated the armies of Egypt, Syria and Jordan, reinforced by elements from the Iraqi and Saudi armies.

This time the Israeli army was prepared. The fence was reinforced and an anti-tank ditch dug in front of it. When the demonstrators tried to reach the fence – again near Majdal Shams – they were shot by sharpshooters. Some 22 were killed, many dozens were wounded. The Palestinians report that people trying to rescue the wounded and retrieve the dead were also shot and killed.

No doubt, this was a deliberate tactic decided upon in advance by the army command after the Naqba day fiasco, and approved by Binyamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak. As was said quite openly, the Palestinians had to be taught a lesson they would not forget, so as to drive any idea of an unarmed mass action out of their mind.

It is frighteningly reminiscent of events 10 years ago. After the first intifada, in which stone-throwing youngsters and children won a moral victory that led to the Oslo agreement, our army conducted exercises in anticipation of a second intifada. This broke out after the political disaster of Camp David, and the army was ready.

The new intifada started with mass demonstrations of unarmed Palestinians. They were met by specially trained sharpshooters. Next to each sharpshooter stood an officer who pointed out the individuals who were to be shot because they looked like ringleaders: “The guy in the red shirt…Now the boy with the blue trousers…”

The unarmed uprising broke down and was replaced by suicide bombers, roadside bombs and other “terrorist” acts. With those our army was on familiar ground.

I suspect very much that we are witnessing much the same thing once more. Again specially trained sharpshooters are at work, directed by officers.

There is a difference, though. In 2001 we were told that our soldiers were shooting into the air. Now we are told that they aim at the Arabs’ legs. Then the Palestinians had to jump high into the air to get killed, now, it seems, they have to bend down .

THE WHOLE thing is not only murderous, but also incredibly dumb.

For decades now, practically all talk about peace has centered on the territories occupied in the 1967 war. President Mahmoud Abbas, President Barack Obama and the Israeli peace movement all talk about the “1967 borders”. When my friends and I started (in 1949) to talk about the two-state solution, we, too, meant these borders. (The “1967 borders” are, in fact, simply the armistice lines agreed upon after the 1948 war.)

Most people, even in the Israeli peace movement, ignored the refugee problem altogether. They were laboring under the illusion that it had gone away, or would do so after peace had been achieved between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. I always warned my friends that this would not happen – five million human beings cannot be simply shut out. It is no use to make peace with half the Palestinian people, and just ignore the other half. It will not mean “the end of the conflict”, whatever might be stated in a peace agreement.

But through years of discussions, mostly behind closed doors, a consensus has been reached. Almost all Palestinian leaders have agreed, either explicitly or implicitly, to the formula of “a just and agreed upon solution of the refugee problem” – so that any solution is subject to Israeli approval. I have spoken about this many times with Yasser Arafat, Faisal al-Husseini and others.

In practice, this means that a symbolic number of refugees will be allowed back into Israel (the exact number to be fixed in negotiations), with the others to be resettled in the State of Palestine (which must be big and viable enough to make this possible) or receive generous compensation that will allow them to start a new life where they are or elsewhere.

TO MAKE this complicated and painful solution easier, everyone agreed that it would be best to deal with this matter near the end of the peace negotiations, after mutual trust and a more relaxed atmosphere had been established.

And here comes our government and tries to solve the problem with sharpshooters – not as the last resort, but as the first. Instead of countering the protesters with effective non-lethal means, they kill people. This will, of course, intensify the protests, mobilize masses of refugees and put the “refugee problem” squarely on the table, in the center of the table, before negotiations have even started.

In other words: the conflict moves back from 1967 to 1948. For Hassan Hijazi, the grandson of a refugee from Jaffa, this is huge achievement.

Nothing could be more stupid than this course of action by Netanyahu and Company.

Unless, of course, they are doing this consciously, in order to make any peace negotiations impossible.

Uri Avnery

Uri Avnery

Uri Avnery is an Israeli writer and founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement. A member of the Irgun as a teenager, Avnery sat in the Knesset from 1965–74 and 1979-81.

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IDF reportedly laid new minefields in Golan ahead of Sunday demonstrations

Internationally recognised as Syrian territory occupied by Israel. Currently under Israeli civil administration. Claimed by Syria.

Internationally recognised as Syrian territory occupied by Israel. Currently under Israeli civil administration. Claimed by Syria.

Internationally recognised as Syrian territory occupied by Israel. Currently under Israeli civil administration. Claimed by Syria.

Marian Houk, 8 June 2011

There were several Israeli media reports published yesterday (in English) and today (in Hebrew) that the IDF has, in recent weeks, laid new minefields in the Golan — as part of the military preparations against continuing demonstrations at the “border”.

According to these reports, new minefields were laid in the weeks between the May 15 Nakba Day demonstrations [marking the expulsion of some 750,000 Palestinians in the fighting that surrounded the creation of the State of Israel in 1948] and the June 5 demonstrations held on Sunday [to mark the 1967 war and the start of the occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and Golan].

On May 15, Israeli officials were surprised by an infiltration of Palestinians and their supporters who managed to cross the lines and enter the Golan town of Majdal Shams. One of these infiltrators even managed to get as far as Yaffa, the birthplace and home town of his parents, where he went for a meal, looked around, and then turned himself in to Israeli police.

The Syrian Golan Heights was occupied by Israel in the June 1967 war — and annexed by Israel in 1980, a move that UN members said was “null and void”.

The well-informed Defense Correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, Yaakov Katz, wrote in an article published last night [06/06/2011 22:01] that “In general, the army was pleased with the way it handled the protests on Sunday … In the weeks before, the IDF prepared extensively, laying down new minefields, digging trenches and installing new barbed-wire fences … At least eight of the dead, IDF sources said on Monday, were killed by mines that exploded after the protesters threw Molotov cocktails in fields near the border, causing their premature detonation”. This was posted here.

Laying new minefields in the Golan raises serious questions — including whether proper notification was made, particularly to the Syrian authorities (also to the UN, which has peacekeeping missions there).

It also raises questions about whether such military measures — normally intended to address grave dangers and prevent invasions — are also intended as the Israeli response to protest demonstrations and civilian infiltration.

An earlier report in the JPost yesterday written jointly by Yaakov Lappin and Herb Keinon [published 06/06/2011 00:56] had this account: “Early on Sunday morning, Palestinians from the suburbs of Damascus had been bused to area across from Majdal Shams, and to the abandoned Syrian-border town of Kuneitra. They massed at the border without interference from Syrian troops … Soon after arriving in the Majdal Shams area, some 150 activists broke away from their fellows and descended a steep hill on the Syrian side, advancing toward the Israeli border. IDF soldiers shouted warnings in Arabic via loudspeakers asking the Palestinians to refrain from trying to cross the frontier, adding that those who did so would endanger their lives. The activists ignored the calls, crossed the Syrian border fence and made their way toward an Israeli forward-border fence erected by IDF engineers in recent weeks, entering a mined zone. ‘When the demonstrators continued toward the Israeli fence, shots were fired at their lower bodies. We know of 12 injuries’, an IDF spokeswoman told The Jerusalem Post at noon. Meanwhile, at Kuneitra to the south, a second infiltration attempt was under way. Between 200 and 300 demonstrators gathered in Kuneitra, and climbed on the roof of an abandoned cinema, from where they began throwing rocks at Israeli security personnel. Four land mines exploded on the Syrian side of the border, after the rioters threw gasoline bombs, which exploded in a field, starting a fire that then set off the mines. The IDF did not know how many infiltrators were hurt by the explosions. Throughout the pitched battles, paramedics on the Syrian side of the border asked that the IDF grant them cease-fires to clear the wounded. The army agreed to the request,but then saw activists exploiting the quiet to try and cut the border fence, bringing the truce to an end”. This report is published here.

A short while later [06/06/2011 01:46] Yaakov Lappin wrote in the JPost that “The IDF’s well-planned and cool-headed response to the new threat of flooding the nation’s borders with civilian rioters sent a firm message to hostile neighbors on Sunday that Israel takes its sovereignty seriously. The chaotic scenes of May 15, when Syrian-Palestinian ‘Nakba’ activists managed to cross into Israel, with one man even making it as far south as Tel Aviv, jolted the IDF’s Northern Command to fortify the northern border with a second barbed-wire perimeter and new lookout positions, and to position senior commanders on the ground, who could quickly respond to developments and issue new orders. This time around, although fewer activists turned up on the border, the situation could still have gone out of control and resulted in a far higher casualty count had the IDF not implemented several lessons from last month. The IDF concentrated forces in the right areas this time, near Majdal Shams and Kuneitra, and no one in the army was surprised when reports from Syria, which said that the mass marches set for Sunday had been canceled, proved to be false”. This was published here.

Amos Harel wrote in Haaretz today that “Four battalions are now spending their energy preparing for future border incidents. The 36th Division is meant to be trained for war, rather than border patrols – on what was until recently Israel’s quietest border. If the situation continues, the IDF will need to redeploy and possibly even create new Border Police units.
An initial inquiry found the IDF only fired several dozen sniper bullets at the protesters. A senior officer told Haaretz that only those who actively tried to uproot or cut the fence were targeted. The army also said that the IDF had nothing to do with the deaths of at least eight protesters who were killed when demonstrators rolled burning tires and threw Molotov cocktails onto a minefield on the Syrian side of the border, setting off several mines. But these explanations defending the Israeli troops’ activities, offered by the prime minister and defense minister, will have limited impact. Patience in the West for such incidents is beginning to wear thin. The only reason such incidents don’t have greater ramifications is because they occur against the backdrop of the Syrian regime relentlessly butchering its opponents. But Israel will find it very difficult to come out looking good from further clashes between unarmed civilians and soldiers, if the number of casualties increases”. This is published here.

And the UN is there…
The UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) has been in Jerusalem since 1948.
The UN Disengagement Observer Forces (UNDOF) have been in Syria since 1974, and has a logistical (provisions) base in Israel.
And the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been in south Lebanon since 1976 (also with a logistical base in Israel.
See UNTSO deployment map.

Here is the UN description of the UNDOF mandate: “From its numerous positions and through patrolling, UNDOF supervises the area of separation and intervenes whenever any military personnel enter or try to operate therein. This is accomplished using permanently manned positions and observation posts, foot and mobile patrols operating at irregular intervals by day and night, and closes contact and liaison with the host nations. On each side of the area of separation there is an area of limitation with three zones; a zone of 0 to 10 kilometres (6.21 miles) from the area of separation, a zone of 10 (6.21 miles) to 20 kilometres (12.43 miles) from the area of separation, and a zone of 20 (12.43 miles) to 25 kilometres (15.53 miles) from the area of separation. UNDOF inspects these areas every two weeks in order to ascertain that the agreed limitations in armaments and forces are being observed within these areas of limitation. UNDOF assists the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in facilitating the passage of mail, goods, and persons through the area of separation during special crossing events. Within the integral medical resources of UNDOF, medical treatment is provided to the local population on request. In UNDOF’s area of operation, especially in the area of separation, minefields continue to pose a threat to UNDOF personnel and local inhabitants. In consultation with the Syrian authorities, UNDOF instituted a minefield security and maintenance programme in the area of separation to identify and mark all minefields. UNDOF also supports activities to promote mine awareness among the civilian population“. This is posted here.

UNTSO is located in Government House, Jerusalem, a former British headquarters during the Mandate period. The UN website says: “Set up in May 1948, UNTSO was the first ever peacekeeping operation established by the United Nations. Since then, UNTSO military observers have remained in the Middle East to monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating and assist other UN peacekeeping operations in the region to fulfill their respective mandates“. This is posted here. Another web page says that “In the Middle East, groups of UNTSO military observers are today attached to the peacekeeping forces in the area: the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). A group of observers remains in Sinai to maintain a United Nations presence in that peninsula. Currently, UNTSO maintains its headquarters in Jerusalem with its liaison offices in Beirut (Lebanon), Ismailia (Egypt) and Damascus (Syria)”, and this is posted here.

Marian Houk PASSIA 2004

In the photo below, taken at a roundtable discussion in Jerusalem in July 2004, Marian Houk is the woman wearing the sort-of-orange-colored eyeglasses. Photo courtesy of PASSIA:

Marian Houk, a writer, reporter, journalist and analyst with long experience at the United Nations — in New York and in Geneva and more — as well as with the Middle East. She has reported on, and for a time also worked for, the United Nations. She is a former President of the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) at UNHQ/NY (1986), and is currently based in Jerusalem.

Marian Houk is the Editor of UN-Truth news site.

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The “Killing Fields” of Syrian Arab Republic.

A sign over a burned car says: "Caution! You are in Baniyas, not in Israel". Another says: "Down with the regime". (WikiMedia Commons)
A sign over a burned car says: "Caution! You are in Baniyas, not in Israel". Another says: "Down with the regime". (WikiMedia Commons)

A sign over a burned car says: "Caution! You are in Baniyas, not in Israel". Another says: "Down with the regime". (WikiMedia Commons)

Sami Jamil Jadallah, 23 May 2011

 

For the brief few hours of the early fights on the Golan Heights in 73, the Syrian Arab Army simply disappeared, gone into “mothball” and comes out only when needed to crush “Arab” citizens and bomb “Arab” towns. Having secured the northern borders with Israel, it is not used for the defense of the country, but keeps the Ba’athist regime of Bachar Assad in business and power.

We saw the Syrian Arab Army roll into Lebanon to take sides in the Civil War and quash the “nationalist forces” and of course to remain in Lebanon for 29 years until it was forced to pull out in shame and in disgrace in February 2005 shortly after the murder of the late Prime Minister Rafik Harriri.

The Syrian Arab Army is not known for the battles it won against Israel, but is known for the battles it lost to Israel and is better known for the battles it waged against the Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinians. While flexing its muscles against Lebanon like “Abu-Arab” it was taking a regular whipping by the IDF, firing no shots, not even a whisper.

We all should be reminded of the war waged against the City of Hama in 1982 by Refa’at Assad, the brother of Hafiz Assad and commander of “Defense Companies/Sarya el-Diffa” where Refa’at boasted of killing not less than 38,000 (according to Thomas Friedman in his book from Beirut to Jerusalem), not a bad harvest of innocent lives for few days of serious work on the part of the Syrian Arab Army.

Of course the situation was no better in Lebanon, where under the watchful eyes of the Syrian Arab Army and Syrian Military Intelligence over 100,000 Lebanese and Palestinians were killed, not to mention the looting of the country. In the 100 days war in 1978, the Syrian Army turning against its allies the Christians, bombed East Beirut with the same ferocity the Israelis bombed West Beirut in the invasion of 1982. No need to mention the active role of the Syrian Arab Army played in the massacres in Tal-Zaater were some 5,000 Palestinians were killed and murdered and over 15,000 made homeless.

During its stay in Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Army was more interested in doing business rather than fighting Israel or protecting Lebanon from the regular Israeli attacks. Its officers and senior military intelligence ran racketeering and smuggling business that puts the American mafia to shame. It operated protection rackets, it operated custom duties protection racket, it operated agriculture and drug trafficking, it did every thing one can image a mafia will do. 33% of the total labor forces in Lebanon were Syrian. Of course all of this could not have happened without the support, collaboration and partnership of powerful Lebanese allies on both side of the sectarian divide. The border town of Anjar was the capital of Occupied Lebanon.

Under its watchful eyes, many Lebanese personalities were murdered and killed, the likes of Kamal Jumblat, Salim Al-Lowzi, Riyadh Taha, Sheik Hassan Khalid, Danny Chamoun, Rene Mo’awad, Rachid Karami and many others. The army and its intelligence services allied themselves with well known Israeli collaborators and partners the likes of Eli Hobeika who was in charge of the massacre at Sabra and Shatilla. Hobeika worked very closely with Ghazi Kan’an , the Syrian High Commissioner in Lebanon and with then Abdul-Haleem Khadam deputy prime minister and foreign minister. With the approval of Hafiz Assad Hobieka was rewarded for his services, the ministry of Energy and Infrastructure.

Now Bachar Assad, his brother Maher, cousins and relatives are making good use of the Syrian Arab Army, taking it out of “mothballs” rolling and deploying its tanks in major cities and towns in Syria killing thousands and arresting tens of thousands in the name of Arab Nationalism.

No city is spared. Damascus, Douma, Homs, Hama, Banias, Latakia (Al Ladhiqiyah) and Al-Qamishli are all under tank attacks simply for wanting little freedom of expression, little freedom of having a say so in the affairs of their country, for protesting against the corruptions that goes all the way to the top of the echelon of government and ruling families, a say so against a Syrian parliament made up of “dummies” with double AA batteries, pre-approved and pre-recorded messages.

Over a 1000 killed and murdered by the Arab Syrian Army and its agents of mercenaries and tens of thousands jailed by its “Mokhabarat”. Of course if you hear the Syrian apologists on Al-Arabiya and on Aljazeera you would think that Syria was invaded by an army of “ Zionist outsiders” or “Islamist terrorists” or armed groups who are against Syria and its steadfastness against Israel (common on give me a break). If this is the case, then were is the Syrian Mokhabarat/Intelligence from all of this? Were is the Army and Air Force intelligence services? And where is the Political Intelligence from all of this? And how a country and security services that does not allow a fly or an insect to come into the country all of a sudden discover so many “armed terrorists” in the country? Bachar Assad then should take out the heads of all of his intelligence services and hanged them or better yet, let them commit suicide by having someone shoot a bullet to their heads.

More troublesome is the silence of so many claimed “Arab Nationalists” the likes of Sheik Nasrallah, Ahmed Jibril, Naif Hawatmeh, or Khalid Mishal, all of whom are either silent or give the criminal regime of Bachar Assad excuses for the crimes committed, but then they were all silent as Hamas and Fatah jails were full of political prisoners.

Dr. Bothayna Sha’aban was a regular columnist in Asharq-Alawsat used to dishing out her fire brand of Syrian Arab Nationalism, the one we see on the streets of Syria, her weekly column teaching us about “Arab Nationalism” the disease of American-Zionist immorality and crimes and how Syria is the bastion of Arab front against imperialist America and Israel, Syria is at the fore front of liberation of Palestine, and the corner stone of Arab resistance and then she comes out and proudly says” We are winning”.

Of course a regime that uses tanks and marksmen against unarmed civilians is bound to win, but at what costs? In the end, the Ba’athist regime of Bachar Assad will meet the same fate of his counter part in Iraq. Bachar and his family must start looking for a rat hole in the ground to hide in. Every one should be leery of a country that has the words “Arab” “Democratic” “People” in its name. Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan and Libya are good examples. Well, to all “Arab Nationalists” I say welcome to the Killing Fields of the Syrian Arab Republic. Enjoy the show.

Sami Jamil Jadallah

Sami Jamil Jadallah

Sami Jamil Jadallah is an international legal and business consultant and is the founder and director of Palestine Agency and Palestine Documentation Center www.palestineagency.com and founder and owner of several business in technology and services. Sami also runs an online website (Jefferson Corner). His articles are also featured on PalestineNote and Veterans Today.

Articles on RamallahOnline by Sami Jamil Jadallah

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Arab armies are taking a “detour”.

Sami Jamil Jadallah

Sami Jamil Jadallah, 2 May 2011

Syria, Yemen and Libya gives Arabs good reasons not to trust their national armies and must think twice if they decide to go to the streets to force change. The Egyptian and Tunisian armies proved to be an exception, giving hope to the rest of the Arab world. Arab citizens have to really worry about “Arab nationalist’s leadership” they prove once again, they are killers and murderers. Liberating Palestine starts with killing Syrians, Libyans, Iraqis, Yemenis, Algerians and Palestinians.

Every one around the Arab world held their breath as Hosni Mubarak and Omar Suleiman were pushing their luck too far, dismissing the “People Revolution” as an outside conspiracy and kids stuff, raising doubts of which side the Egyptian army takes, the regime or the people? Well we all know the outcome. Ben Ali ran away, when the Tunisian army proved it is the people’s army and not the regime army.

Arab armies are not known as the people’s army or national defense armies, not known to win battles and wars against the Israeli enemy. Arab armies for the most part are regime armies, to defend the regime but not the nation and the people as we see in Syria, Yemen, Libya, Sudan and Algeria.

Refa’at Assad, the brother of Hafiz Assad and uncle of Bachar, made good use of his “Saraya Defa’a” or Internal Security Army not to liberate the Golan Heights but to destroy and level the Syrian City of Hama where more than 25,000 people were killed. Once again, the Assad family is making good use of its army.

Saddam Hussein Ba’athist army was no different from its counter part in Syria. Saddam sent his tanks and planes bombing Helabja killing tens of thousands dropping napalms and nerve gas against his people. Saddam declared winning the Iran-Iraq war after 8 years of war, $300 billions down the drain, more than a million Iraqi dead, he started at Shat el-Arab and returned to Shat el-Arab.

Saddam, the Arab “nationalist leader” like Bachar would like to refer to himself, once again, made good and personal use of his army. This time not to kill Iranians but to invade Kuwait, a country that stood by his side in his war with Iran. He declared his war on the Arab Gulf as the “Mother of all Battles” and when he and his army were routed out of Kuwait, he took his revenge on the people of South Iraq, killing tens of thousands. No thanks to George Bush, Dick Cheney, Colin Powel and General Schwarzkopf, who did not finish the job leaving Saddam alone a decade to kill another million mostly children and of course we should not forget the more than 1.3 millions killed so far in the American invasion of Iraq.

Now Bachar Assad is following in the foot steps of his late father and uncle, making good use of the Ba’athist army to destroy and besiege Syrian towns and cities, killing hundreds, and injuring thousand, same excuses used by his late father and uncle. The Syrian army once again turned its guns against the people rather than toward the Golan Heights.

This is the” resistance and steadfastness army” as we hear from Syrian television, Hezbollah and Arab “nationalists”, same army that lost 82 fighters jets in few minutes in 82, as Israel shot them down like flies before the Syrian pilots were able to lift the landing gears. This is the same army that together with Lebanese forces killed and murdered over 5,000 Palestinians in Tel-Zaater, and same army that shared in the killings of tens of thousands of Lebanese, and the same army, the sitting ducks of Lebanon, as Israel was using it as a weekly target practice.

Of course we should not forget the humiliating way Israel took out the Syrian air defense batteries deployed in the Ba’aka Valley. The only thing one could hear from the leadership is that Syria regime, will chose the right time and right measures teach Israel a lesson. I guess destroying Da’ara is one way to teach Israel a lesson. The Syrian army is proving once again, it’s a lion against the people and a coward in the face of the enemy.

Muamar Gaddafi could not find a better use for his army and billions except to kill his own people and destroy Libyans cities simply because they had enough of 42 years of lunatic and criminal rule. No one expected the Libyan army to turn against its own people. I guess money, drugs and some Viagra can go a long way to incite loyalty to the “leader”. It is a truly shame the Libyan army turned out to be a Gaddafi army, not the Libyan or the people’s army

Sudan was no different. Omar Hassan Al-Bashir made good use of the Sudanese army to kill and murder over 400,000 in Darfur, not to mention the millions who lost their lives in the fight between North and South. Now he is threatening to renew war again.

Arafat liberation army having failed to liberate Palestine, retuned with Arafat to help the PLO manage the Jewish Occupation, became an auxiliary security forces for the Israeli army and the armed settlers, and help the PLO/PA run its police state. Arab citizens have good reasons to worry.

Sami Jamil Jadallah

Sami Jamil Jadallah

Sami Jamil Jadallah is an international legal and business consultant and is the founder and director of Palestine Agency and Palestine Documentation Center www.palestineagency.com and founder and owner of several business in technology and services. Sami also runs an online website (Jefferson Corner). His articles are also featured on PalestineNote and Veterans Today.

Articles on RamallahOnline by Sami Jamil Jadallah

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Hamas and Fatah; Reconciliation or Escape Forward!

Palestine Flag

Sami Jamil Jadallah, 28 April 2011

The news coming out of Cairo in the last hours are very surprising to every one. Most of all to Bibi Netanyahu who gave Mahmoud Abbas a choice, either peace with Israel or reconciliation with Hamas and who ordered his security forces to put more squeeze on Gaza. Bibi forgetting that Mahmoud Abbas has been knocking on the doors of Israel and begging for peace with or without Hamas for over 20 years and there was one answer, the Jewish Occupation and expansion of Jewish settlement colonies more important than peace with the Palestinians.

I do not want to throw cold water on what was agreed to in Cairo between Azzam Al-Ahmed and Musa Abu-Marzouk, though watching in depth interview with both gentlemen one can only come out with headlines. A new government of professional technocrats approved by both parties, calls for national elections and a new Palestine National Council within one year and a selected election commission of 12 members approved by both parties.

Of course Fatah and the PLO lost a sponsor and an advocate in Hosni Mubarak who is now in prison and may face hanging. Hamas is in deep trouble with its sponsor and advocate Bachar Assad who is in deep trouble and may lose power and may face the same fate of that of Hosni Mubarak, and Hamas could not count on Iran, as Iran too will also face an uprising that will sweep the government of the Mullahs.

Of course both organizations having lost their sponsors and afraid its leadership may face the same fate of both Hosni Mubarak and Bachar Assad, pre-empted all of this with a quick announcement of reconciliation. Saving their skin is no doubt one key factor that is behind the quick agreement.

So far and missing from all of this is the response from the US which funds and contributes $470 millions a year to the Palestinian Authority in partial defraying the costs of the Jewish Occupation. America does not contribute this kind of money for the black eyes of the Palestinians but for the interests of Israel first and foremost.

The questions that must be faced by both Hamas and Fatah will the new government continue to manage the Jewish Occupation as agreed to under Oslo? And will it continue to act as a security agent for the Israeli Occupation not different from Backwater?

The US and the EC and to a certain extent some Arab donors know that funding the Palestinian Authority and keeping it in business is also funding the Jewish Occupation and the money contributing is a saving for Israel to use in its settlement activities, costs it will have to dish out if the Palestinian Authority was not there to do the job for Israel.

Now the Palestinian Authority, the PLO, Fatah and Hamas will have to face what will come next, the suspension of funds to the Palestinian Authority and the expected US “veto” and will the Arab countries make up whatever short falls the Palestinian Authority have to face when and not if the United States suspend its contribution to the Palestinian Authority. For sure the American Knesset will not approve any more funds or contributions to the Palestinian Authority and Barack Obama facing a re-election could not afford to lose his big time American Jewish/Zionist donors, and is not in a position to take on the American Knesset in defiance of Israel and its King, Bibi Netanyahu, who will for sure use this event to squeeze more blood out of the American tax payers. When he speaks before the American Knesset and AIPAC.

Mahmoud Abbas only few days ago, announced he will do all he can to make sure there is no Third Intifada and I have no idea how Mahmoud Abbas and Khalid Mishal will try to reconcile their agreement and with the Palestinian Authority relations with both Israel and America when both are not ready and not willing to move forward with peace. So far and after 20 years of negotiations with Israel, and the US, Mahmoud Abbas lost of grounds (real land) to the Jewish Occupation and did not make any gains for the people whatsoever, except keep Fatah and the PLO in business managing the Jewish Occupation.

I have no idea how the Palestinian leadership plans to end of the Jewish Occupation since Israel and the US are not willing to move forward with negotiations that ends the Jewish Occupation, end the Settlement activities, let alone force the vacating of some 500,000 armed settlers ready to go war if Israel or any one else come to force them to move out. Obama is a lost cause and no one should count on him for any thing. The man who orders a “veto” of the UNSC resolution on Jewish settlements could not be counted on for any thing. He is not his own man.

Perhaps the only thing ahead for the Palestinian people is a Third Intifada, not like the one aborted by Arafat and Abu-Jihad as a prelude to Oslo, certainly not a Second Intifada which was so poorly managed and administer by Arafat that it not only allowed Israel to re-occupy areas it redeployed from with Oslo, but destroyed billions worth of infrastructures and creating a bunch of gangs and thugs in the name of liberation and created a state of ciaos in the Palestinian Territories.

The Third Intifada has to be civil, unarmed, persistent and consistent civil uprising, general strike, destruction and burning of all Israeli issued ID, s and it calls for all Palestinian big shots to give up their VIP passes and of course the Palestinian Authority has to disband since it should not do any service for and on behalf of Israel and must chose either it with the people in their uprising or is in a partner in the Jewish Occupation and manager for and on behalf of Israel.

The big question is how can Hamas or any one else, reconcile themselves with Oslo, were Arafat, Abbas and Qurai, recognized Israel with open borders, with Jerusalem as its capital, with no rights for refugees, with settlements as a right for Israel?

Sami Jamil Jadallah

Sami Jamil Jadallah

Sami Jamil Jadallah is an international legal and business consultant and is the founder and director of Palestine Agency and Palestine Documentation Center www.palestineagency.com and founder and owner of several business in technology and services. Sami also runs an online website (Jefferson Corner). His articles are also featured on PalestineNote and Veterans Today.

Articles on RamallahOnline by Sami Jamil Jadallah

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Nowruz, the feast of peace and purity

Haft-seen table setting
Haft-seen table setting

Haft-seen table setting

Kourosh Ziabari, 21 March 2011

 

Ornamented with precious values of the ancient Persian civilization, Nowruz is an Iranian festivity which marks the beginning of the new solar year on the first day of spring and vernal equinox.

Today, more than 300 million people around the world celebrate Nowruz and hold festivals and ceremonies to glorify this invaluable historical tradition.

People in the Persian-speaking countries of Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan celebrate Nowruz along with some groups of people in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Syria, Iraq, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, Albania, Macedonia and Georgia.

On February 23, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly recognized March 21st as the International Day of Nowruz and called for increased international attention to this ancient Persian tradition which is now encompassing the whole Middle East, Central Asia, Caucasus and Black Sea Basin.

The UN General Assembly “called on Member States that celebrate the festival to study its history and traditions with a view to disseminating that knowledge among the international community and organizing annual commemoration events.”

Prior to the recognition of March 21st as the International Day of Nowruz, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) had included this ancient Persian festival in its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity upon the submission of a proposal by Iran and its neighboring countries to the organization.

Nowruz is a festival which is celebrated during 13 days. According to the Jalali Calendar which was devised and designed by Omar Khayyam, the renowned Iranian philosopher, polymath and mathematician, the first day of Nowruz is coincided with the moment of the transition of the year or the commencement of vernal equinox in which the sun is observed to be directly over the equator, and the north and south poles of the Earth lie along the solar terminator; sunlight is equally divided between the north and south hemispheres.

The moment of the transition of the year has been symbolically and traditionally dear and cherished to the Iranian people. They believe that at this moment, the old year comes to an end and the New Year begins, so all of the improper habits, bad memories, animosities and enmities should disappear and be replaced by happiness, goodwill, friendship and benevolence.

A few hours prior to the beginning of the New Year, Iranians spread a table setting called Haft Seen. On this table setting, Iranians put seven items and materials whose names begin with the Persian letter “Seen” or the English “S” and represent a certain quality which is beloved by the people.

Some of the most popular items of Haft Seen table include “Samanu” which is a sweet pudding made from wheat germ and characterizes cheerfulness, rejuvenation and affluence, “Sib” or apple which symbolizes rebirth, health and well-being, “Sekkeh” or coins which represent wealth and richness, “Sonbol” or the fragrant hyacinth flower which announces the beginning of the new year and “Somaq” or sumac which stands for sunrise and power.

One of the most popular customs which is conventionally observed by the Iranians during the 13 days of Nowruz is family gatherings. Children of any age go to visit their parents and grandparents and get holiday gifts from them. The grandmothers and grandfathers retell ancient stories, tales and fables for the youngsters. Fathers and mothers bring dry nuts, sweetmeat, eggs and clothes for the newly-married couples.

The housewives and mothers usually grow wheat, barley or lentil sprouts in dishes and place them on the Haft Seen table. On the 13th day of Nowruz which is called Sizdah Bedar or the Day of Nature and is believed to be a day of blessing and bounty for the people, all of the families leave their homes, go out and camp in the groves or prairies and also throw their dishes of wheat, barely or lentil sprouts in the rivers so that the potential bad omen, immorality and evilness of the coming year disappear with the dish.

However, Iranians have rightfully mixed their ancient national traditions with religious symbols to make Nowruz an opportunity for moral and spiritual revitalization along with recreation and amusement.

Since the emergence of Islam in Iran, the people of Iran merged Nowruz with Islamic customs and used the opportunity of the New Year festivals to approach the Almighty God and enshrine their traditional religious beliefs. For the Muslim nation of Iran, Quran is the paramount component of the Haft Seen table which is put on the most elevated position of the table setting.

During the last moments of the old year in which all of the family members gather around the Haft Seen table and wait for the transition of the New Year, Iranians pray for the wellbeing of the patients, the improvement and progress of their country and propagation of goodwill and benevolence to all over the world.

Nowruz is a festival for peace and purity. You can find in it both enjoyment and spirituality. Terrestrial and divine beauties can be seen in Nowruz simultaneously. Nowruz is an opportunity for the enrichment of the self and integration and solidarity of those who celebrate it all around the world.

Kourosh Ziabari

Kourosh Ziabari

 

 

Kourosh Ziabari is an Iranian freelance journalist, and regular contributor to RamallahOnline.com. More articles by Kourosh Ziabari can be found here.

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Top 5 Effects of Egyptian Revolution

Juan Cole

Juan Cole, 14 Feb 2011

5. Thousands of protesters marched Sunday on the presidential palace of Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Salih, who has ruled since 1978. The United States has increasingly forged a relationship with the Yemeni military aimed at destroying the alleged al-Qaeda operatives in that country.

Aljazeera English has video on Yemen:

4. After 3,000 protesters came out in Algiers on Sunday, organizers announced that they would hold rallies every Saturday in their quest for the resignation of President Abdel Aziz Bouteflika.

3. Fearful of a Palestinian uprising against it, the Palestine Authority in the West Bank is instituting some reforms. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has dismissed his entire cabinet in favor of a smaller, leaner body.

 

2. Clashes broke out Monday morning between police and demonstrators over the latter’s plans to hold protest rallies in Manama. Reuters has background.

1. Iran’s Green Movement and its plans for big rallies in Iran on Monday are raising regime fears that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards may split, on facing the prospect of attacking innocent civilians.

US interests are affected by each of these. Algeria is a petroleum producer, and supplies are tight, increasing the value of stability in each of the OPEC countries. Bahrain has a bit of oil but its main importance is as a US naval base. Yemen is an object of anxiety about al-Qaeda, with which Saleh has been cooperating. Iran is a major target of US foreign policy angst and any significant change there will affect the tenor of the debate in Washington.

Juan Cole

Juan Cole

Juan R. I. Cole is Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan. For three decades, he has sought to put the relationship of the West and the Muslim world in historical context. His most recent book is Engaging the Muslim World (Palgrave Macmillan, March, 2009) and he also recently authored Napoleon’s Egypt: Invading the Middle East (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007). You can visit his site at http://www.juancole.com/