http://www.youtube.com/v/zrqC6OKLEng?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Link to original: Syrian National Coalition discusses rebels’ videos
Syria coalition publishes videos on rules of war
http://www.youtube.com/v/owhH_z8lPQw?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata See the article here: Syria coalition publishes videos on rules of war
‘Assad must go’: Western-Gulf intransigence bulwarks peace in Syria
The joint effort recently announced by Moscow and Washington to bring the government and insurgents to an international conference in line with the Geneva Communiqué is a welcoming development, but some major issues have already come to the fore. There is an ongoing disagreement over who should represent the opposition in a Syrian peace process; in addition to the blatant Qatari proxies in the Syrian National Coalition, Russia has requested that the National Coordinating Body also be present. In stark contrast to the foreign-based SNC (lined with figures who have spent the past few decades in the West), the NCB is the internal opposition, and it has caught a lot of flak because it opposes the armed uprising and also talks to the Syrian government. The SNC has maintained it could not accept an invitation to dialogue unless President Assad’s removal was guaranteed. Russia will not allow for Assad’s departure to be a precondition of talks, and US Secretary of State Kerry looks to have shifted the US position by saying Assad’s exit should be the outcome of negotiations on a transitional government, rather than a starting point. Let’s be clear – before this conflict started in 2011, Assad oversaw a political system that was certainly authoritarian. The economy was stagnant, the state poorly handled overpopulation issues, the agricultural sector was suffering from long periods of drought. When Bashar Assad took over from his father, he granted more political breathing space to dissidents, and then back-pedalled on reforms when popular movements fast took shape. In combating the insurgency, Syrian forces killed many of their own citizens in the crossfire. No matter what anybody thinks of Assad, it is not the place of Washington, London, or Doha to decide his political fate.Let’s look at the situation on the ground; after more than two years of fighting, the Ba’ath establishment is firmly intact and functioning. The state controls the vast majority of territory, there are no major defections, and the business communities in the major cities support Assad. No one denies that many Syrian civilians want to see the end of Ba’athist rule, but the swathes of Assad supporters and their plight are almost universally obfuscated from the mainstream narrative.Bashar al-Assad, for better or for worse, heads the legitimate government of Syria, and excluding him from any peace talks or transitional government will simply negate the success of peace efforts. If Assad faces an opposition coalition in the scheduled 2014 elections, and international monitors confirm his victory with a fair democratic majority, can anyone expect those sharks and vultures of the NATO-GCC bloc to respect the people’s choice? But let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet.It seems like those attempting to broker peace in Syria subscribe to two separate versions of reality. A group of UN human rights investigators headed by Carla Del Ponte has compiled evidence thatSyrian rebels were behind sarin nerve gas attacksthat killed dozens in Aleppo and elsewhere. British PM David Cameron seems to think otherwise, maintaining the Assad regime holds responsibility; Kerry, too, maintains “strong evidence” exists to blame the regime, despite the fact that UN officials and other US officials say there is no evidence. Despite UN findings, Britain and France continue their push to end arms embargoes to Syria, allowing them to openly arm militants who more-than-likely used chemical weapons. The Obama administration is also flirting with providing “direct lethal aid” to the insurgents – as in anti-tank guided missiles and surface-to-air missiles. The idea of flooding more arms into a country where civil war has killed some seventy thousand can only be described as one thing: pathological – not to mention giving weapons to non-state actors that are on record for committing war crimes! It’s ‘batshit’ crazy. A decade after Iraq, right wing and liberal hawks are again joining forces to call for stronger US military intervention in Syria.In keeping with US mafia-minded protocol, all options remain on the table, and there is now talk of imposing a no-fly zone and air strikes against Assad’s forces, and some in the US political establishment are behind the use of American and other ground troops to secure Assad’s chemical weapon stockpiles. And all the while, Western mainstream media remains totally complicit and presents an up-side-down version of events to their audiences. AsIsrael transparently violates international lawand kills dozens by striking inside Syrian territory, Russia is the bad guy for honoring contracts already signed to provide defensive weapons to Syria. Western media perpetuates the idea that Syria – the victim of a brutal foreign-backed insurgency campaign, the recipient of numerous Israeli strikes, and a country partially under occupation – having the capabilities to defend itself as totally unacceptable and a threat to regional peace.It’s difficult to shake the feeling of living in a ‘bizarro’ world when commentators and analysts on television highlight the egregious violations committed by Iran and Hezbollah in Syria, while completely obfuscating the vicious role of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, or the CIA throughout this conflict. Syria tells us important things about the international policy system as it exists; mainly, that some countries can trounce international law while others must forfeit the right to defend themselves, and that the UN is an ineffective body incapable of meting out justice to global hegemons. All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. The odds are stacked against the foundation of a fragile peace. The Saudis and Qataris are pushing for the allocation of Syria’s seat at the UN to the Western-supported opposition.Nasrallahclaims that transfer of the weapons to Hezbollah would be Syria’s “strategic response” to the air strikes that hit the outskirts of Damascus. Syria says any new Israeli assault would bring a “harsh and painful” response. No matter how bad Assad is, the ‘Tablianization’ of Syria is no solution. As this regional conflict deepens and Syria teeters on red lines of all sorts, the world cannot expect ruthless purveyors of violence to become effect purveyors of peace. … Read More
Sharif claims early victory in Pakistan election, poised for third term
Of the 86 millions of Pakistanis eligible to vote, some 60 percent turned out to polling stations despite threats of violence from the Taliban.“If this election was between despair and defiance, defiance did win,” said RT correspondent Lucy Kafanov, who was following the events in Pakistan. “People did turn out in droves. We saw immense excitement at the polling stations.”The Pakistani Taliban assailed what they called an ‘anti-Islamic election,’ killing over 30 people in a series of blasts and gun attacks on polling stations across the country. Despite the chaos, the Election Commission commended the extraordinary voter turnout, cited as the highest since 1977.Sharif declared victory late on Saturday. He announced the unofficial triumph of his Pakistan Muslim League ( N ) (MPL-N) to a crowd of supporters in Lahore. Saturday’s voting eliminates decades of two-party dominance by the PML-N and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and marks the first-ever electoral transition between civilian governments in the country’s history.Preliminary results showed that Sharif’s party took an overwhelming lead, but may fall just short of winning a simple majority of 272 directly elected National Assembly seats; he may now be forced to broker a coalition government with other parties.The high turnout is seen as a sign of Pakistanis’ desire for change. “By and large, we can say that this was a successful democratic election, across the country,” Kafanov said, commenting on Sharif’s victory announcement. “Mr Sharif [is] on the road to being PM for a 3rd time in his career, and in fact he took to the stage… saying that the party thanks Allah for the opportunity to serve Pakistan again,” she added.Imran Khan, a cricket star-turned-politician, also commanded a large support base, waging a motivational campaign at the country’s younger generation. His Pakistan Movement for Justice (PTI) didn’t win the “tsunami of support” he predicted during the campaign, but may become part of a coalition government should MPL-N fail to win enough seats, or lead the opposition.Khan’s party is “poised to become Pakistan’s second-largest party,” Kafanov said, underlining the significance of the support for him for the Pakistan People’s Party, which formed the outgoing government.“It shows a mandate for change, it shows that Pakistanis do want difference in their electoral outcome, and it certainly shows that the large problems that the outgoing government has had to deal with – unemployment, economic problems, the rising threat of violence – they have not been addressed significantly – so Pakistanis, with their ballot, are saying they do want change,” she added.Local media were also optimistic about the prospects offered by a fresh government: “The team that we elect today will determine whether the rot will be stemmed or whether we will slide further into the abyss,” prominent lawyer Babar Sattar wrote in on local news site News International.The success of MPL-N and PTI may be in part because they made changing Pakistan’s strained relationship with the US a key plank in their campaigns, said Robert Naiman, policy director at Just Foreign Policy rights organization.“[It was] a humiliating defeat for the PPP. In the campaign both Sharif and Khan said that they are going to redefine Pakistan’s relationship with the United States. Khan was saying this much more strongly than Sharif, but basically the voters were choosing between the two different formulations,” he said.Pakistanis are unhappy with the “perception of subservience, the tremendously unpopular drone strikes. We will see change in that direction under the Sharif government with Khan as the main opposition party,” Naiman predicted. … Read More
U.S. wants to keep nine bases in Afghanistan: Karzai
After more than 11 years of US-led military intervention in Afghanistan, the two countries are hammering out a deal to allow a limited US troop presence to remain after the international coalition leaves next year. The size of the “residual” force has not been agreed, with numbers…
EU arms embargo on Syria: Scrap it or drop ‘non-lethal’ wording, says UK
The UK has been on a crusade to start arming the Syrian opposition and has lobbied hard in Brussels to amend the arms embargo placed on Damascus. In a leaked six-page long draft proposal circulated to EU diplomats over the past week, London is suggesting two options for amending current sanctions to give weapons to the Syrian National Coalition. The paper says the situation in Syria is “deteriorating sharply” and the EU must apply more pressure on the Assad government to negotiate.The first option pushes for full exemption of the main opposition bloc from the EU arms embargo, while the second proposal is to amend the language of the sanctions to remove the word “non-lethal” thus opening the gate for weapons to flow.Such a move would, the paper says, strengthen the opposition and “head off any reliance by the moderate Syrian opposition on Islamist-backed armed groups.” The UK also argues that such an approach would place the EU in a better position to fight potential use of chemical weapons.“Crucially, it will ensure we can respond flexibly to a major escalation in the conflict, such as chemical weapon attacks,” the paper added. Another idea is to ease financial transactions by amending bank sanctions to rebel-held territory.The EU is divided on the issue whether to adopt the British proposal which is also showing strong support from the French. The fierce debate in Brussels intensified after US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel stated that Washington is rethinking its position on providing arms to the opposition, saying “arming the rebels — that’s an option.” Discussions over lifting the embargo are expected to continue until the deadline of June 1. EU foreign ministers are scheduled to discuss the matter on May 27. Last month the EU agreed to allow purchases of oil from the opposition, lifting the sanctions originally imposed in May 2011. Spain, Austria and Sweden are worried that lifting the ban on arms sales will further destabilize the situation as it could arm al-Qaeda linked terrorist cells such as the al-Nusra Front. Austria for instance says that it might be forced to recall its troops from the UN peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights, because it would challenge EU’s impartiality.Britain argues that only the Syrian National Coalition will receive the weapons and if the EU allows arms sales, it would need to monitor how any equipment was used.“We have worked over many months to build effective relations with the opposition and have gradually extended our network of contacts. We already identify the recipients of any assistance very carefully,” UK said. Germany, the diplomats say could be open for compromise on the issue, but is discussing how to alter financial restrictions to help the rebels and pressure Assad.Russia has recently warned the EU not to lift its arms embargo. In Late April, Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov said if the embargo is removed, “the international obligations of the EU countries, which prohibit supplies of arms and ammunition to non-government actors, are not going anywhere.”On Tuesday, Russia and the US reiterated their commitment to bringing all sides of the Syrian conflict for talks and announced an international conference to be called by the end of May which will serve as a follow-up to the Geneva Communiqué, the current peace road-map.Although talking peace, the US at the same time is considering the possibility of arming the opposition. The future of a bill recently introduced to the US Congress depends on “the state of the evidence in respect to chemical weapons” US Secretary of State John Kerry said after meeting with Russia’s President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov.Meanwhile, the Syrian National Coalition, the main benefactor from a potential lifting of the arms embargo, has welcomed the US-Russian negotiations.“The National Coalition welcomes all international efforts which call for a political solution to achieve the aspirations of the Syrian people and their hope for a democratic state, so long as they begin with the departure of Bashar al-Assad and his regime.”British Prime Minister David Cameron has also welcomed the results of the negotiations and is scheduled to have discussions with President Putin in Russia on Friday. But at the same time, Cameron once again accused the Syrian forces of using chemical weapons. “There is a growing body of limited but persuasive information showing that the regime has used and continues to use chemical weapons including sarin and the room for doubt about this continues to diminish,” Cameron told parliament. This, despite recent revelations by a leading United Nations investigator, Carla del Ponte who stated that their probe found “strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof” that it’s the rebels, not President Bashar Assad‘s forces, who have used chemical weapons. … Read More
‘Worse than AIDS’ – sex ‘superbug’ discovered in Japan called disaster in waiting
“This might be a lot worse than AIDS in the short run because the bacteria is more aggressive and will affect more people quickly,” Alan Christianson, a doctor of naturopathic medicine, told CNBC.The new strain of gonorrhea, H041, was first discovered in 2009 after a sex worker fell victim to the superbug in Japan. Medical officials reported that the medication-resilient ‘sex superbug’ was discovered in Hawaii in May 2011, and has since spread to California and Norway, the International Business Times reports.Nearly 30 million people die from AIDS-related causes each year, and the H041 superbug could have similar consequences, according to Alan Christianson, a doctor of naturopathic medicine.”Getting gonorrhea from this strain might put someone into septic shock and death in a matter of days,” Christianson said. “This is very dangerous.”The gonorrhea strain has not yet claimed any lives, but the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have asked Congress for $54 million to find an antibiotic to treat the strain.In a Capitol Hill briefing last week, health officials said an education and public awareness campaign is crucial in minimizing the effective of HO41. William Smith, executive director of the National Coalition for STD Directors, said that if the ‘sex superbug’ spreads, it could quickly kill many people before a treatment is discovered. And that risk becomes increasingly more likely if Congress does not provide the funds to find a cure, he said.”It’s an emergency situation. As time moves on, it’s getting more hazardous,” he told members of Congress.”We have to keep beating the drum on this,” he added. “The potential for disaster is great.”In the United States, there are 20 million new STD infections each year, which results in about $16 billion in medical costs, the CDC reports. More than 800,000 of these cases gonorrhea infections, most of which occur in young people ages 15 to 24. Gonorrhea is sometimes difficult to detect, since it shows no symptoms in about half of all women. Those who fall ill to the deadly strain may not notice it until it’s too late.“That’s what’s kind of scary about this,” Smith said.Although health officials have widely reported that cases of H041 were discovered in California, Hawaii and Norway, the CDC has disputed those claims and told CNBC on Monday that the infection has not been confirmed anywhere outside of Japan. The CDC did, however, make an announcement in 2011 that it was noticing greater gonorrhea bacterial resistance to certain types of antibiotics in Hawaii and California. CDC officials said that the US and Norwegian cases were treated effectively with antibiotics not routinely recommended and that these cases were mistakenly identified as H041. But the agency continues to urge Congress for research funding, indicating that the risk of infection is high regardless of where the cases occurred.Christianson is urging people to practice safe sex and get STD tests if they are in a new relationship, since a superbug infection could be around the corner.”This is a disaster just waiting to happen,” he told CNBC. “It’s time to do something about it before it explodes. These superbugs, including the gonorrhea strain, are a health threat. We need to move now before it gets out of hand.” … Read More
