Trump places Iranian Pasdaran on list of 'terrorist organisations'

President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the United States is designating Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also called Pasdaran, a foreign "terrorist organisation", marking the first time Washington has formally labelled another country's military a "terrorist group".

Responding to the move, Iran immediately declared the US as "state sponsor of terrorism" and US forces in the region "terrorist groups", state media reported. 

Iran also condemned the US decision as an illegal act prompted by Tehran's regional influence and "success in fighting against Islamic State," Iranian state TV said, referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS).

The US has already blacklisted dozens of entities and people for affiliations with the IRGC, but not the organisation as a whole.

US Senate votes to stop American support for war in Yemen and declares MbS guilty of Khashoggi murder

The US Senate voted on Thursday to approve a resolution calling for an end to United States involvement in the Saudi-UAE-led military campaign in Yemen, setting the stage for a potential showdown next year between Congress and President Donald Trump over US military support for Saudi Arabia.

The Senate also approved a resolution saying that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, is responsible for the murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi. 

US politicians have grown increasingly outraged as the number of civilians killed in Yemen by Saudi and UAE air attacks using US-made weapons has risen dramatically in the past two years. The Saudi-UAE coalition launched an intervention in 2015 through a massive air campaign targeting Houthi rebels. 

The final vote of the Yemen resolution was 56-41, with seven Republicans breaking with their party to vote in support of the measure. The Yemen resolution had been tabled by the Senate in a 55-44 vote on March 20, but after the October 2 killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, widespread anger in Washington prompted politicians to bring the Yemen measure forward.
Trump administration officials had urged Congress not to undermine the Pentagon's ability to support Saudi Arabia.

Trump chooses to ignore CIA conclusion about Saudi crown prince's involvement in Khashoggi murder

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the "United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia to ensure the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region."

""Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information," Trump said of the Khashoggi killing, but added that "it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn’t. We may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi. In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They have been a great ally in our very important fight against Iran," Trump said in a statement.

"After my heavily negotiated trip to Saudi Arabia last year, the Kingdom agreed to spend and invest $450 billion in the United States. This is a record amount of money," Trump said. "It will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, tremendous economic development, and much additional wealth for the United States," he continued, adding that "of the $450 billion, $110 billion will be spent on the purchase of military equipment from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and many other great U.S. defense contractors."

President Tump attacks Syria with cruise missiles in reaction to ''Syrian chemical bombardment''

The United States has for the first time interved directly in Syria in the seven years that the conflict is running in that country.  On Friday it fired 59 cruise missiles at a government-controlled airbase in Syria, in retaliation for a suspected chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town that killed scores of civilians.
The Pentagon said the Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from two warships in the Mediterranean at the Shayrat airfield, targeting the base from where US officials believe Tuesday's attack in Khan Sheikhoun had been launched. At least six people were killed in the early morning strike, according to the Syrian army, which denounced the US "aggression" as a violation of international law.
US President Donald Trump said in a televised statement after the strike: "There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the chemical weapons convention and ignored the urging of the UN Security Council."

Large majority of U.S. Senate pushes Obama to boost Israel aid

More than four-fifths of the U.S. Senate have signed a letter urging President Barack Obama to quickly reach an agreement on a new defense aid package for Israel worth more than the current $3 billion per year.Eighty-three of the 100 senators signed the letter, led by Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Chris Coons. Senator Ted Cruz, a 2016 presidential candidate, was one of the 51 Republicans on board. The Senate's Democratic White House hopeful, Bernie Sanders, was not among the 32 Democrats.
"In light of Israel's dramatically rising defense challenges, we stand ready to support a substantially enhanced new long-term agreement to help provide Israel the resources it requires to defend itself and preserve its qualitative military edge," said the letter, which was first reported by Reuters.
It did not provide a figure for the suggested aid. Israel wants $4 billion to $4.5 billion in aid in a new agreement to replace the current memorandum of understanding, or MOU, which expires in 2018. U.S. officials have given lower target figures of about $3.7 billion. They hope for a new agreement before Obama leaves office in January.

Hillary and her opposition to a change in the policy towards Israel

Photo AP

Politico gave an account of the letter that Hillary Clinton wrote to Jewish leaders about her opposition to BDS and her support for Israel. It is clear that the Israeli peace camp has not much to look forward to if she will be the next Democratic candidate for the US presidency.

Hillary Clinton has penned a letter to mega-donor Haim Saban and Jewish organization leaders expressing her strong and unequivocal support for Israel in the face of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement, known as “BDS.”
“I know you agree that we need to make countering BDS a priority,” she writes, asking for aid working “across party lines” to “fight back against further attempts to isolate and delegitimize Israel.”
The former secretary of state has pushed foreign policy to the backburner so far in her presidential campaign, focusing instead on domestic economic issues. But her letter comes as she has tread carefully while discussing the negotiations over a nuclear deal with Iran — something Jewish donors and supporters of Israel are watching closely.

New York Times: Many of Saddam's former men now have positions in IS

President George W. Bush in December 2004 awarded the Presidential Freedom Medal to L. Paul Bremer III. Bremer had ben the highest American in Command in occupied Iraq. During his term he disbanded the regular Iraqi army and removed thousands of Baath-members from their positions. lateron many of them were recruited by Al-Qaeda.   

The New York Times (and The Indepeint) carry an article about the army of the Islamic State (IS/Daesh)  being ''stuffed'' with former Baathist allies of Saddam Hussein: 
 When Abu Hamza, a former Syrian rebel, agreed to join Isis, he did so assuming he would become a part of the group’s promised Islamist utopia, which has lured foreign jihadists from around the globe.
Instead, he found himself being supervised by an Iraqi emir and receiving orders from shadowy Iraqis who moved in and out of the battlefield in Syria. When Abu Hamza disagreed with fellow commanders at an "Islamic State" meeting last year, he said, he was placed under arrest on the orders of a masked Iraqi man who had sat silently through the proceedings, listening and taking notes.
Abu Hamza, who became the group’s ruler in a small community in Syria, never discovered the Iraqis’ real identities, which were cloaked by code names or simply not revealed. All of the men, however, were former Iraqi officers who had served under Saddam Hussein, including the masked man, who had once worked for an Iraqi intelligence agency and now belonged to the Islamic State’s own shadowy security service, he said.
(For the rest of the article click here)

Rouhani: 'Nuclear deal is first step towards new relationship with the world'

Joy in the streets of Tehran after the breakthrough was announced.  (Photo EPA)

Iran's president Hassan Rouhani said on Friday that a framework for a nuclear deal was just the first step toward building a new relationship with the world. In a televised speech he said the nuclear talks were just the start of a broader policy of opening up. "This is a first step towards productive interactions with the world. Today is a day that will remain in the historic memory of the Iranian nation," he added. "Some think that we must either fight the world or surrender to world powers. We say it is neither of those, there is a third way. We can have cooperation with the world."
U.S. President Barack Obama also hailed the agreement, which was the most significant step towards rapprochement  between the twio countries since the Iranian revolution of 1978, as a "historic understanding". Diplomats, however, cautioned that hard work lies ahead to strike a final deal.

US lifts suspension of military aid to Egypt

Photo AP

President Barack Obama on Tuesday released military aid to Egypt that was suspended after the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. The White House said Obama notified Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi in a phone call Tuesday. It said that Egypt will remain the second-largest recipient of U.S. foreign military financing worldwide.
The funds were suspended 21 months ago after the ouster of president Mohammed Morsi. Washington could not provide the annual aid package until it certified advances by el-Sisi's government on democracy, human rights and rule of law,  or issued a declaration that such aid is in the interests of U.S. national security. Now that Egypt demonstrates to what extend it is combatting the extremist threat in the region, the U.S. will be sending 12 F-16 fighter jets, 20 missiles and up to 125 tank kits, while continuing the $1.3 billion in military assistance for Egypt and the f unds so far upheld, according to Al Ahram Online.

Saudis and allies attack Houthis in Yemen

Saudi Defence Minister Mohammad bin Salman coordinated the strikes from the Royal Saudi Air Force operations centre near Riyadh (Photo SPA]

Saudi Arabia and a coalition of regional allies have launched a military operation in Yemen against the Houthi rebels, who deposed the US-backed Yemeni president last month.
Adel al-Jubair, Saudi ambassador to the US, said on Wednesday that a coalition consisting of 10 countries, including the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), had begun airstrikes at 7pm Eastern time.
"The operation is to defend and support the legitimate government of Yemen and prevent the radical Houthi movement from taking over the country," Jubair told reporters in Washington.
At least 17 civilians were killed in Sanaa during the overnight offensive, civil defence sources told AFP news agency.
Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV channel reported that 100 Saudi warplanes were involved in the attacks. 
An Egyptian official told AFP news agency that Egypt would participate in the Yemen offensive. Saudi Arabian newsagency SPA said that also Pakistan, Jordan, Morocco and Sudan, have "expressed a desire to participate in the operation" which has got the name "Firmness Storm".

US and allies kill tens of IS and Nusra militants in bombing raids in Syria

The United States and its Arab allies early Tuesday launched bombing raids against Islamic State militants in Syria, opening up a new front in the battle against the jihadist group after more than a month of US air strikes in Iraq. Military officials have said the US would target militants’ command and control centres, re-supply facilities, training camps and other key logistical sites.
The strikes were aimed at the Islamic State's stronghold of Raqqa as well as near the Iraq border, with targets including weapons supplies and buildings used by the group, a US official told Reuters on Tuesday. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which gathers information from a network of activists on the ground, tens of ISIL fighters were killed or wounded in the strikes on Raqqa and surrounding areas.  "More than 20 members of ISIL were killed in strikes on two of the organisation's positions in Raqqa province. The strikes completely destroyed the two positions as well as vehicles stationed there," the monitoring group said.
Airstrikes were also carried out against positions of al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate Al-Nusra Front, the observatory said, adding that multiple attacks targeted an area in western Aleppo province, killing at least seven people, both fighters and civilians.

US bombs positions of the Islamic State and drops food for the Yazidis

 
Outside Arbil airstrikes could be seen. 

U.S. warplanes bombed Islamist fighters marching on Iraq's Kurdish capital on Friday after President Barack Obama said Washington must act to prevent "genocide". The Islamic State fighters have advanced to within a half hour's drive of Arbil, capital of Iraq's Kurdish region and a hub for U.S. oil companies.They have also seized control of Iraq's biggest dam, Kurdish authorities confirmed on Friday, which could allow them to flood cities and cut off vital water and electricity supplies.
The Pentagon said two F/A-18 aircraft from an aircraft carrier in the Gulf had dropped laser-guided 500-pound bombs on the fighters' artillery and other air strikes had targeted mortar positions and an Islamic State convoy.
 The U.S. Defense Department said planes dropped also additional bundles of supplies, bringing the total to 36,224 ready-to-eat meals and 6,822 gallons of drinking water, for threatened civilians near Sinjar, home of the Yazidis. They are ethnic Kurds who practice an ancient faith related to Zoroastrianism. The Islamic State considers them to be "devil worshippers". After fighters ordered them to leave, convert or die, most fled their towns and villages to camp out on Sinjar mountain, an arid peak where they believe Noah settled after the biblical flood.

The Six and Iran conclude interim deal, Israel is angry

(L - R) British Foreign Secretary William Hague, Germany's Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry,Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius (Reuters)

Iran and six world powers reached a breakthrough deal early on Sunday to curb Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for limited sanctions relief, in what could be the first sign of an emerging rapprochement between the Islamic state and the West.
Aimed at ending a dangerous standoff, the agreement between Iran and the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia was clinched after more than four days of tortuous negotiations in the Swiss city of Geneva.
 Halting Iran's most sensitive nuclear work, it was designed as a package of confidence-building steps to ease decades of tensions and confrontation and banish the specter of a Middle East war over Tehran's nuclear aspirations.
Israel denounced it as a "bad deal" and said it would not be bound by it.
"This is a bad agreement that gives Iran what it wanted: the partial lifting of sanctions while maintaining an essential part of its nuclear programme," said a statement issued by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The specifics of the deal have yet to be released, but negotiators indicated the broad outlines:

US cuts military aid to Egypt out of concern for democracy

Egypt on Thursday criticised the U.S. decision to halt some aid to the army-backed government following a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. Washington said on Wednesday it would withhold deliveries of tanks,fighter aircraft, helicopters and missiles as well as $260 million in cash aid but left some other aid programmes intact.
"The decision was wrong. Egypt will not surrender to American pressure and is continuing its path towards democracy as set by the roadmap," Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty told a private Egyptian radio station Radio FM. "(Egypt) will take decisions relating to internal affairs with complete independence, without external influences and will work on guaranteeing to secure its vital needs in a continued and orderly manner, especially with regards to national security," he added. But he also said that Egypt "was keen on continuing good relations with the United States".
The decision was made pending progress on democracy and human rights but the State Department said it would continue military support for counter terrorism, counter-proliferation and security in the Sinai Peninsula.It will also continue to provide funding in areas such as education, health and private sector development.
U.S. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel called Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to tell him about the decision, stressing the relationship's importance but underscored that Egypt must move towards democracy.

Obama makes history and phones Rohani

 
The Iranian press showed an Obama calling Rohani.

 President Barack Obama and President Hassan Rohani of Iran spoke by telephone on Friday as a sign that they are serious about reaching a pact on Tehran's nuclear program. The phone call was arranged by Obama's staff, after Rohani had signalled that he was willing to talk top Obama on the phone, Reuters reports. A source close to Rohani said the United States had reached out after positive talks between Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif a day earlier, according to Reuters. The conversation between Obama and Rohani was the first direct contact between American and Iranian heads of state since the occupation of the American embassy in Tehran in 1979.
 
President Obama afterwards gave the following - remarkably positive - statement:  

Just now, I spoke on the phone with President Rouhani of the Islamic Republic of Iran.  The two of us discussed our ongoing efforts to reach an agreement over Iran’s nuclear program.  I reiterated to President Rouhani what I said in New York — while there will surely be important obstacles to moving forward, and success is by no means guaranteed, I believe we can reach a comprehensive solution.

Attacking Syria remains a bad idea

President Obama's efforts to persuade the U.S. Congress to back his plan to attack Syria were met with skepticism on Monday from lawmakers in his own Democratic Party who expressed concern the United States would be dragged into a new Middle East conflict.
Obama's abrupt decision to halt plans for a strike against Assad's forces and instead wait for congressional approval has generated a hot debate just as the president prepares to depart on Tuesday on a three-day trip to Sweden and Russia.The biggest obstacle he faces is winning the support of members of his own party in the House of Representatives and conservative Republicans who see little need for the United States to get involved in distant civil wars.
Secretary of State John Kerry, who was among the Obama advisers on the call for the Democrats, urged support for giving Obama a resolution to use force, saying Syria had reached a "Munich moment," according to participants.
The White House argument is that Syria must be punished for the chemical weapons onslaught and that at stake are the integrity of an international ban on such weapons and the need to safeguard U.S. national security interests and allies Israel, Jordan and Turkey.
Syria has blamed the attack on rebel forces.
While Obama faced obstacles at home, key U.S. ally France said it had evidence showing that Assad's government had ordered chemical attacks.The French government released a nine-page intelligence document that listed five points that suggested Assad's fighters were behind the "massive and coordinated" August 21 chemical attack.

Secretary general Nabil al-Arabi of the Arab League has said military intervention in Syria is not an option - a further blow to the United States' efforts to act. Following emergency meetings in Cairo on Monday, Al Arabi said the League held the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad responsible for the August 21 attack, but a "military option is out of the question". Al Arabi added that he considered that only the UN, "as the official representative of the international community" could "take action to stop those who committed this crime". Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council and an ally of Assad, has said there is no evidence that the chemical attack was launched by the Assad regime.

Maybe it is good to quote as yet Stephen Walt's Op Ed in the New York Times of 26 August. Even if Assad may have used chemical weapons, Walt argues (which of course is bad, although not necessarily that much worse than 'using 500-pound bombs, mortar shells, cluster munitions, machine guns, or icepicks') it is still a bad idea, to strike him:

Airstrikes cannot eliminate Assad’s chemical arsenal and are unlikely to tip the balance in favor of the rebels. And even if they did, this situation would give Assad a bigger incentive to use these weapons more widely. Assad’s fall would create a failed state and unleash a bitter struggle among the various rebel factions. The Syrian uprising may have started as a peaceful reform effort, but today the most powerful rebel groups are jihadi extremists, the last people we want in power in Damascus. These prudential concerns still apply, regardless of the weaponry Assad's forces may have employed.
Lastly, Obama may be tempted to strike because he foolishly drew a “red line” over this issue and feels his credibility is now at stake. But following one foolish step with another will not restore that lost standing. U.S. power is most credible when it is used to protect vital U.S. interests. The United States has little interest in getting bogged down in Syria, and the use of chemical weapons by Syrian government forces does not alter that fact.

I think Walt is right. 

Was it (in part) Israeli fears that caused the US to change its mind on Syria?

The most remarkable news of this week was without doubt the volte face that the US has made with respect to the uprising in Syria. So far the US stand has always been to refrain from direct intervention. But at the  same time it demanded that president Assad must go and it supplied the rebels with arms, in cooperation with Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Also it was at odds with Russia and China, who both refused a to let Assad down a priori and campaigned for a negotiated settlement. 

This week these differences were solved at once. The American Secretary of State John Kerry payed a visit to Moscow, during which he held lengthy meetings wit both President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. And Tuesday evening at the of the visit, both Kerry and Lavrov announced that Russia and the US have agreed to work towards convening an international conference to find a political solution to the conflict in Syria.

The conference should be convened at the end of May and must try to convince both the Syrian government and opposition to accept a solution based on the core elements of the final communique issued on 30 June 2012, after the UN-backed Action Group for Syria meeting. This meeting of a year ago called for an immediate cessation of violence and the establishment of a transitional government that could include officials serving under President Bashar al-Assad and members of the opposition. Kerry said that the conclusion e of this meeting, which was never carried out, as yet was ''the important track to end the bloodshed in Syria." And he added that 'it must not be a "piece of paper" but rather "the roadmap" for peace."The alternative is that there is even more violence," he added. "The alternative is that Syria heads closer to an abyss, if not over the abyss and into chaos."
So all at once the US dropped the demand that Assad must leave beforehand (although American offcials said that the US still prefers that he steps down)  and left the military option. Russia at the other hand is no longer so adamant that Assad stay. "We are not concerned by the fate of any individual,'' minister Lavrov said. ''We are concerned by the fate of the Syrian people." .
Apparently the US have realized that continuing this war and pushing for the fall of Assad is not bringing the desired solution. What changed the US-diplomats' mind? Was it the fact that the war - which so far already cost some 70.000 people their lives and has caused millions to flee their homes - does not seem to lead to a conclusion soon? Far that islamist factions in the end would be the winners? That Syria was on its way to become a second Iraq?   

At any rate, Abdel Bary al-Atwan, the editor in chief of the Arabic daily Al-Quds al-Arabi had an answer (I quoted this from Juan Cole's blog):

What is the secret word that caused this big change in the US stand and imposed this sudden retreat and shift from the military options that were put on the table before to diplomatic options to reach a political solution through negotiations between the rival parties that have resorted to weapons and bloody confrontations throughout the past two years?
This secret word is made up of seven letters, Israel, in addition to the fear for Israel’s existence within safe and stable borders, ridding it of the specter of war, removing the biggest danger that faces it, which is chaos, and the fear that Syria might become a base for Al-Qa`ida.

And although I doubt that this was the only reason behind the US decision to back down, Al-Atwan may have a point. Take a look for instance at these recent comments (In Foreign Affairs) on the Syrian situation by the former director of the Israeli secret service Mossad,  Efraim Halevy:

 Israel knows one important thing about the Assads: for the past 40 years, they have managed to preserve some form of calm along the border. Technically, the two countries have always been at war -- Syria has yet to officially recognize Israel -- but Israel has been able to count on the governments of Hafez and Bashar Assad to enforce the Separation of Forces Agreement from 1974, in which both sides agreed to a cease-fire in the Golan Heights, the disputed vantage point along their shared border. Indeed, even when Israeli and Syrian forces were briefly locked in fierce fighting in 1982 during Lebanon’s civil war, the border remained quiet.
Israel does not feel as confident, though, about the parties to the current conflict, and with good reason. On the one hand, there are the rebel forces, some of whom are increasingly under the sway of al Qaeda. On the other, there are the Syrian government’s military forces, which are still under Assad’s command, but are ever more dependent on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah, which is also Iranian-sponsored. Iran is the only outside state with boots on the ground in Syria, and although it is supporting Assad, it is also pressuring his government to more closely serve Iran’s goals -- including by allowing the passage of advanced arms from Syria into southern Lebanon. The recent visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Salehi to Damascus, during which he announced that Iran would not allow Assad to fall under any circumstances, further underscored the depth of Iran’s involvement in the fighting. It is entirely conceivable, in other words, that a post-Assad regime in Syria would be explicitly pro–al Qaeda or even more openly pro-Iran. Either result would be unacceptable to Israel.

How a killer by remote control was branded a defender of American values

 Al Jazeera English carried an acerbic article about Obama's choice  of  the man who is going to lead the CIA. From torturer to specialist of the targeted killings programme to leader of the secret service. An interesting career. But at least the 3000 people that the USA has killed in this way and the expanding network of drone bases around the world are now widely discussed in the press:
 The timing couldn't have been coincidental. Just as a previously secret memo to Congress from the US Department of Justice's Office of Legal Council was released by NBC News and picked up by every major media outlet, the process of rebranding President Obama's pick to head the CIA, John Brennan, from enabler of torture and mastermind of the drone assassination, to a crusader for peace and civil rights began in earnest.

Brennan

This is the second time Brennan has been nominated for the Directorship of the CIA by Obama. His first nomination, back in 2009, was scuttled because of his alleged involvement in the Bush Administration's torture program. He remained at the core of the President's intelligence and counter-terrorism coterie, however, serving as his Advisor for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security. In this capacity, according to the President, he “developed and has overseen our comprehensive counterterrorism strategy -- a collaborative effort across the government, including intelligence and defence and homeland security, and law enforcement agencies.”
As far as Obama is concerned, the strategy Brennan has designed and executed—including widening the use of drones for assassinations and continuing the extraordinary rendition program, has not only helped to “embed our efforts in a strong legal framework” but reflects a deep level of integrity and commitment “to the values that define us as Americans.”
 (...)
Brennan, a twenty-five year veteran of the CIA, is routinely described as someone who well knows the Arab/Muslim world. He is “fluent” in Arabic, and even wrote an MA thesis on Human Rights in Egypt.
Interestingly, however, he argued that there is no such thing as “absolute human rights” that would be applicable to Egyptians, for example, which is why he supported censorship of the media and abuses of power, this at a time—the late Sadat era, when Egypt clearly was at a tipping point, as evidence by the assassination of Sadat soon thereafter. Such a rationale clearly has little room for supporting democracy, particularly if democracy contradicts US policies.
Not only does this attitude reflect US support for Sadat and then Mubarak, but it accounts for the untrammelled support for even more corrupt and venal client states like Saudi Arabia, where Brennan in fact served as station chief for several years, and where it now turns out--Surprise! Surprise!--that the US is operating a secret drone base.

Continue reading .. 

Read also: Where the Drones Are, Mapping the launch pads for Obama's secret wars, by Micah Zenko and Emma Welch, about the expansion of the drone programme in the last few years.

'Friends of Syria' recognize Syrian opposition, shortly after military command chose new Islamist leadership

 World powers meeting in Marrakesh recognized Syria's new opposition coalition as "the legitimate representative of the Syrian people" and called on President Bashar al-Assad to "stand aside", according to a draft declaration obtained on Wednesday.
The declaration by 130 international representatives comprising the "Friends of Syria" group of nations warned that any use by Assad's government of chemical or biological weapons would be met by a "serious response".
"Participants acknowledge the National Coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people and the umbrella organization under which the Syrian opposition are gathering," said the draft declaration obtained before the meeting of major powers, excluding Russia and China.
"Bashar al-Assad has lost legitimacy and should stand aside to allow "a sustainable political transition" process," said the text of the draft declaration obtained by Reuters.
The recognition comes a day after the America president Barack Obama announced in an interview with ABC that his government has decided to recognize the opposition as legitimate representative of the Syrians. The US at the same time placed the Jebhat al-Nusra (Al-Nusra Front) on the black list of terrorist organizations. This Front has been responsible for several car bomb attacks in Damascus and Aleppo in the past. It is presumably linked to Al-Qaida.

The recognition comes shortly after the opposition reorganized its military command at a meeting in Antalia, Turkey, with was also attended by Western and Arab representatives. Reuters reported that the rebel groups in doing so came firmly under the command of islamist linked groups. Brigadier Selim Idris, a former officer in President Bashar al-Assad’s army, who led the uprising by Sunnis in the city of Homs, was chosen to head the military command. Islamist commanders Abdelbasset Tawil from the northern province of Idlib and Abdelqader Saleh from the adjacent province of Aleppo were named to serve as Idris’s deputies, the source said.

The unified command includes many with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and to Salafists, who follow a puritanical interpretation of Islam. It excludes the most senior officers who had defected from Assad’s military. Its composition, estimated to be two-thirds from the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies, reflects the growing strength of Islamist fighters on the ground and resembles that of the civilian opposition leadership coalition created under Western and Arab auspices in Qatar last month.

Other news of the past few days was that, in the wake of the placement of the al-Nusra Front on the list of terrorist organizations  29 armed resistance groups have signed a declaration that they 'are all Jebhat al-Nusra'.    

Syrian National Council elects new leaders after US attempt to replace it failed

George Sabra

The opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) has elected George Sabra,a leading secular Christian opposition figure, for a six-month term as its leader. Farouq Tayfour, a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood, was elected Sabra's vice president.
Sabra, born in Qatana near Damascus, is a leading member of the leftist Syrian Democratic People’s Party. He was arrested several times by Assad's government. Earlier, the SNC elected 11 members to its executive committee, having already elected a 41-member secretariat.
The elections, on Friday, took place after several days of discussions in Doha, Qatar, after an American initiative to replace the SNC with an alternative body had failed. The US no longer considers the SNC as the representative of the Syrian opposition, as divided as it is and as ineffective as far as the coordination of military activities is concerned. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week called the SNC unrepresentative of opposition forces on the ground and said it "can no longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition."
In the Doha conference the US this past week tried to erect a new body, called the Syrian National Initiative, consisting of an umbrella body of some 60 members, representing several groups active on the ground, armed groups, Muslim scholars and others. This body would in turn form a transitional government of some 10 members, and a military council. The SNC would be represented by 15 members in the new initiative. As the leader of the new group, the US put forward Riad as-Seif, a member of the SNC. The formation of the new body was coordinated by former US ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, and had strong backing from Great-Britain. (Britain's Prime Minister Cameron also suggested this week thet Britai would guarantee Assad immunity whe he would leave the country). France and the Gulf States were said to be favourable of the plan as well.
However, there was sytrong opposition of the SNC, which refused to be marginalised. It accused Washington of undermining the revolt and "sowing the seeds of division." Many members criticized the fact that the new initiative was in fact imposed by the US. Mockingly Al-Seif was called 'Ford's sword', a pun on the fact the Seif means 'sword'in Arabic.
As a result of the sever criticism Al-Seif on Wednesday lost his seat in the SNC and he withdrew. Also three of the dissident bodies seen as integral to the US-backed initiative said that they had refused to attend. That was the end of the plan, which was a severe setback for Hillary Clinton and the American attempts at reforming the Syrian opposition.

Riad al-Seif (r) with the outgoing SNC-leader Abdel Basset Seda during the meeting i Doha(AP). 

However, the SNC adopted the plan in an modified form. On Friday it proposed to hold ''a national congress of 300 members in liberated territories" in order to add "revolutionary legitimacy" to any executive, according to SNC member Najati Tayara. Such a congress would form a transitional government that would run territories seized by the rebels, channel humanitarian aid and direct military operations, he said. Burhan Ghalioun, a former SNC chief, said any accord "could boost the uprising" as it would enable the opposition to unite the different military groups battling regime forces.

Joshua Landis reports o his blog that shortly before the Doha effort to put together a Syrian government in exile collapsed, Ambassador Ford, the State Department’s ambassador to the Syrian opposition, inisted to exiles that Syrians must find a “political solution and not a military solution to their problem.” He reportedly told Syrian Opposition leaders that the international community will not create a “no fly zone” over Syria and that it will not support the Free Syrian Army militarily.” “There is no military solution to the Syrian problem,” he insisted. There is only a political solution.”