Syrian National Council المجلس الوطني السوري al-Majlis al-Waṭanī as-Sūri Encumena Nîştimaniya Sûrî
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Pre-Ba'athist "Syrian Independence Flag"
Abbreviation	SNC
Formation	23 August 2011 (10 months ago)
Purpose/focus	Opposition to President Bashar al-Assad
Headquarters	Istanbul
Location	Turkey
Region served	Syria
Membership	270 members (February 2011)
Official languages	Arabic
Chairman/President	Burhan Ghalioun
Executive Board	Haitham al-Maleh Samir Nashar Ahmed Ramadan
Spokesperson	Bassma Kodmani Radwan Ziadeh
Parent organization	Syrian opposition
Website	syriancouncil.org

The Syrian National Council (Arabic: المجلس الوطني السوري‎ Kurdish: Encumena Nîştimaniya Sûriye Turkish: Suriye Ulusal Geçiş Konseyi) (al-Majlis al-Waṭanī as-Sūri), sometimes known as SNC,^[1] the Syrian National Transitional Council,^[2] or the National Council of Syria is a coalition of Syrian opposition groups based in Istanbul, Turkey. It formed as a Syrian opposition coalition in 2011 during the Syrian uprising against the government of Bashar al-Assad.^[3][4] After the formation, the council itself asked for international recognition, but denied seeking to play the role of a government in exile,^[5] but this changed a few months later, when violence in Syria became increasingly intense.^[6][7][8] The Syrian National Council seeks the end of the Bashar Assad's rule and the establishment of a modern, civil, democratic state. The SNC National Charter lists human rights, judicial independence, press freedom, democracy and political pluralism as its guiding principles.^[9] SNC runs the Free Syrian Army, a paramilitary that is composed of defected Syrian Armed Forces personnel, who have been active during the uprising.^[10]

Background[link]

When the Arab Spring broke out, Syrian protesters began consolidating numerous opposition councils. The SNC's formation was announced in the city of Istanbul, Turkey on 23 August 2011, after a succession of meetings in Turkey and elsewhere. Its intended purpose is to "represent the concerns and demands of the Syrian people".^[3][4] The creation of the SNC was celebrated by the Syrian protestors since the Friday protest following its establishment was dubbed "The Syrian National Council Represents Me".^[11][12] Yaser Tabbara, the council's spokesman at that time, said the membership of the council would include 115 to 120 members from all Syrian opposition groups, including the now defunct National Council of Syria. It has so far unveiled the names of 71 members, mostly in exile. On 2 October 2011, the council formally declared its organizational affiliations and structure, to include a General Assembly, a General Secretariat and an Executive Board.^[13][14]

Membership[link]

Bassma Kodmani (L), Burhan Ghalioun (C) and Haitham al-Maleh (R) at SNC's first congress in Tunis, 19 December 2011.

The SNC's membership includes many members of the exiled Syrian wing of the Muslim Brotherhood^[15], and is supported by the Damascus Declaration's exile wing^[16], the Assyrian Democratic Organization,^{[citation needed]} some Kurdish dissidents,^{[citation needed]} and the Local Coordination Committees,^{[citation needed]} a group involved in advertising and coordinating demonstrations. The SNC itself claims to represent approximately 60 percent of the Syrian opposition.^[5] The only Kurdish party from inside Syria to have declared itself an affiliate of the SNC is the Kurdish Future Movement Party under the leadership of Mashaal Tammo, who was assassinated shortly after the announcement in the northeastern city of Qamishli.^[17]

Paris-based Syrian academic Burhan Ghalioun has served as its most prominent spokesperson and was named in September 2011 as chair of the council.^[18][19] Former Muslim Brotherhood leader Ali Sadr el-Din Bayanouni admitted that Ghalioun was chosen because he “is accepted in the West and at home and, to prevent the regime from capitalizing on the presence of an Islamist at the top of the SNC.”^[20][21]

Plagued with internal conflict, the SNC on March 13, 2012 saw three prominent members resigning, giving as their reason that the SNC "had not gotten very far in working to arm the rebels,". The three were Haitham al-Maleh, a former judge and long-standing dissident, Islamist leaning liberal and opposition leader Kamal al-Labwani and human rights lawyer Catherine al-Talli.^[22][23] Their reasons for resigning were that the SNC is corrupt, a liberal front for the Muslim Brotherhood and had not made significant progress in arming the rebels.^[24][22] One secular member of the SNC claimed that more than half of the council are Islamists.^[25]

On March 27, 2012, the recently resigned members, including Maleh and Labwani, agreed to rejoin the SNC, under the condition that SNC would agree to be more democratic and expand, although Labwani expressed doubts whether the opposition would be able to hold together, but said that for now their accord will help Arab and Western governments make Assad stop his brutal repression. Abdual al-Haj of the SNC said that “now the international community no longer has an excuse to withhold support for the revolution, help arm the Free Syrian Army and establish safe zones to protect the civilian Syrian population.” ^[26] This happened at a meeting in Istanbul called by Turkey and Qatar. Despite the National Coordination Committee not attending and the Kurdish delegation as well as an unnamed senior dissident walking out, the BBC reported from the meeting that "[a]ll but one of Syria's disparate opposition groups have agreed to unite behind the Syrian National Council."^[27]

Political positions[link]

On October 28, 2011, the SNC expressed worries about the Libyan scenario (with the violent overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi) being reiterated in Syria. It warned against a militarization of the conflict and insisted that the revolution was not sectarian but included all factions of the Syrian society. It also put its hopes in the multiplications of acts of civil disobedience as they “can be generalized, developed and expanded. This is because they are peaceful. These will be supported by businesses and others who are afraid of the costs of war. Peaceful methods are generalizable.”^[28]

However, the SNC came to review its position on the peaceful nature of the uprising. According to the SNC, the opposition is now faced with two options: "greater militarization of local resistance or foreign intervention." With China and Russia veto impeding a Security Council resolution, the international intervention scenario is unlikely to unfold.^[29] As a result, in the context of increasing defections in the military and the escalating violence in Syria, the SNC and the Free Syrian Army struck a deal in January 2012, recognizing the units of anti-government rebels fighting in Syria. The SNC said that it was the duty of the opposition "to assist the rebels." While the SNC asserted that it would not provide arms directly to the Free Syrian Army, it will provide funds to "keep the Free Syrian Army afloat." For this reason, donations can be made on the SNC website.^[30]

Critics[link]

The SNC's formation has met with mixed reactions and some criticism from the another Syrian opposition coalition, the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCC), ^[31][32] A spokesman for the NCC characterized the SNC in April 2012 saying that "[t]he SNC consists of too many groups, and each of them is not really in true coordination with the other […] Some of them depend mostly on Turkey, others on the Gulf States, while a third part depends on France and other Western countries. So it’s not easy to deal with the SNC as a united group.”^[33]

Bassam Hassad, director of Middle East Studies at George Mason University claimed in a February 2011 interview with the Real News Network that the SNC was totally dependent on external powers and funding, and also having become far less transparent and far less insistent on their actual plight, it was instead almost exclusively focusing on what will give the SNC increased support internationally and regionally. Hassad's contention is that the SNC's focus is dictated by its dependence on conservative Arab countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, some European countries, as well as the United States.^[34]

According to Abdulhakim Bashar, Secretary-General of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Syria, The SNC is too "much influenced by Turkey". He demands guarantees for the Kurdish population in Syria by the SNC and says that Turkey would, in turn, be obliged to grant full rights to Turkey's Kurdish population.^[35]

Support and recognition[link]

As of 21 January 2012, the Syrian National Council is recognised or supported in some capacity by 12 UN member states, with three of those being permanent members of the Security Council, France,^[36] the United States,^[37] the United Kingdom,^[38] Spain, Bulgaria, Tunisia, and also Libya's National Transitional Council,^[39] who announced that it had been in talks with the Syrian National Council and is considering to give weapons, volunteer fighters, and training via National Liberation Army to the Free Syrian Army.^[40] Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, and Turkey do not yet recognise the council to be at least a partner in dialogue, although the council has obtained unofficial support, and has received support of the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.^[41] The Foreign Ministers of Portugal, Russia, and Norway have met with representatives of the council, but have yet to recognise or support it officially in any capacity nor have they rejected the Assad government.

Map of states that have recognised the Syrian National Council

  Syria

  States that have diplomatically recognised SNC as the sole legitimate government of Syria

  States that have official support/recognition for SNC as partner for dialogue

  States that have unofficial support for SNC as partner for dialogue

  States with informal relations with the SNC

  States that have not supported Syrian National Council

UN member states[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2012)

Rank	Entity	Date/Status of recognition	Notes
1	Libya[39]	Recognised on 19 October 2011 (as legitimate authority)	"The National Transitional Council has decided after a meeting today to recognise the Syrian National Council as the sole legitimate government in Syria," NTC member Mussa al-Koni said on 10 October. Koni also announced the closure of the Syrian Embassy in Tripoli.[39] On 19 October, the NTC formally announced its recognition of the SNC as Syria's "legitimate authority".[42] The NTC promised the representatives of SNC to hand them over the embassy of Syria in Tripoli.[43] The Libyan NTC also announced that it had been in talks with the Syrian National Council and was considering supplying weapons and volunteer fighters of the National Liberation Army to the Free Syrian Army.[44]
2	France[36]	Recognised on 21 November 2011 (as legitimate interlocutor) Recognized on 24 February 2012 (as legitimate representative)	"The Syrian National Council is the legitimate interlocutor with which we will continue to work," French foreign minister Alain Juppe stated on 21 November 2011. France recognized the SNC as the legitimate representative the Syrian people on 24 February 2012
3	Spain[45][non-primary source needed][46][non-primary source needed]	Recognised on 23 November 2011 (as representative of Syrian people)	Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiménez confirmed that the Spanish government will look to SNC to discuss issues concerning Syria, and that the channels of dialogue with the Syrian regime have been closed. Jiménez said "Spain support for the SNC as the main interlocutor of the Syrian people, who are seeking freedom and democracy".
4	United States[47]	Recognised on 5 December 2011 (as legitimate representative)	The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, deemed the Syrian National Council as an “leading and legitimate representative of Syrians seeking a peaceful democratic transition,” and that the United States was “committed to helping... make this transition.”[48]
5	United Kingdom[49]	Recognised on 24 February 2012 (As legitimate representative)	Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt met SNC members in Paris on 12 October 2011. Burt stated, “The establishment of the Syrian National Council marked a positive step in bringing together a broad range of Syrian opposition representatives."[50] The following month, Foreign Secretary William Hague met with representatives of the SNC and National Coordination Body on 21 November. Speaking about the meeting, Hague remarked, “We will continue our contacts with the Syrian opposition. I’ve appointed a senior official to lead our liaison and coordination with them... The message for the regime is that the rest of the world is talking to the Syrian opposition, that we are looking to a different future for Syria, for the Syrian people to decide for themselves what, what we want is what so many people in Syria want, a free and democratic future for the people of Syria. And I think the Assad regime will find that more and more Governments around the world are willing to work with the opposition to step up the level of their contacts as we have done today as part of the increasing pressure on this regime and its completely unacceptable behaviour.” After a meeting with the Friends of Syria in Tunis, William Hague said the UK will recognise the Syrian National Council as a legitimate representative of the Syrian people[51]
6	Egypt[52]	Recognised on 24 February 2012 (As an opposition group)	On 24 February 2012, on the heels of the inaugural Friends of Syria Group meeting in Tunis, Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr revealed that Cairo recognizes all Syrian opposition factions.
7	Albania[53]	Recognised on 1 April 2012 (as representative of Syrian people)	During a meeting with the new ambassador of Qatar in Albania the Prime Minister of Albania, Sali Berisha said "The government of Albania is following with concern the events in Syria where the regime of Bashar al-Assad is using its power as a permit to kill the innocent civilians and the Syrian people."[54] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania on 18 February 2012 strongly condemns the violence already spread throughout Syria, as well as increasing the number of victims caused by the regime of Bashar Al Assad on the innocent population of his country.[55]The Ministry of Foreign Affairs supports the conclusions of the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the European Union, held on 27 February in Brussels, on developments in Syria, as well as the additional sanctions that the European Union has adapted against the Assad regime, sanctions that aim to paralyze the apparatus and finances of the repressive machine against the Syrian people. The Albanian Foreign Ministry expresses sympathy and support for the progressive forces, which have embraced the aspiration to transform Syria into a democratic, open and pluralistic state, which respects the rights of all communities living in this country. By coordinating its contributions to those of the international community, the Republic of Albania joins the Friends of Syria Group, believing that this is the secure way to help the Syrian people.[56] During the meeting on 1 April 2012 Friends of Syria in Istanbul the Minister of foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania, Edmond Haxhinasto too spoke in the meeting, emphasizing that the issue of human rights is not an internal affair belonging to the states, but a responsibility of all the international community. He expressed the need to intensify the pressure against the current regime of Damascus not just politically, but also through a concentrated action of all international mechanisms. Haxhinasto stressed the position of the Albanian Government to support the efforts of the UN, the EU, the Arab League and other international bodies in putting an end to the violence towards the civilian population from the Damascus regime, and establishing the conditions for a democratic process. He praised the Mission of the UN Special Envoy, Mr. Kofi Annan and his plan to stop the bloodshed and violence, achieve national reconciliation and establish a democratic government in Syria. In conclusion, Minister Haxhinasto underlined the support of the Albanian Government for the Syrian democratic opposition represented by the Syrian National Council, as well as its war for freedom, human dignity and progress.[53]
8	Turkey[41]	Rejection of Assad government[41] Formal relations from 14 December[57] Verbal Support	On 15 November 2011, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Turkey, has expressed his support for the Syrian National Council, saying that "Turkey had lost confidence in the leadership of Bashar al-Assad," and that "the Syrian leader will pay the price sooner or later".[41] On 14 December 2011, SNC opened it's first office in Istanbul.[57]
9	Tunisia	Verbal recognition by strongest political party on 2 November[58] Rejection of Assad government[58] Informal relations Verbal support & statement of future recognition	Rashid al-Ghannushi, president of Ennahda Movement, Tunisia's largest party stated on 2 November that SNC is the legitimate representative of Syria, at the same time he closed Syrian embassy in Tunis and ousted Syrian ambassador.[58] On 16 December, SNC hold three-day congress (its first international congress) in Tunis where Tunisia's newly-elected president, Moncef Marzouki, participated in the talks and had a press conference with SNC's president Burhan Ghalioun.[59][60] On 19 December Burhan Ghalioun announced that the new Tunisian government will officially recognise the Council.[61] Tunisia expelled the Syrian embassador and withdrew its recognization of Bashar Assdad's government on February 4, 2012.[62]
10	Italy	Informal relations[63][64] Verbal support Rejection of Assad government	On 25 November Italian Foreign Minister, Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata reiterated Italy's support to "organised opposition" in the shape of SNC.[63] On 11 December, Terzi met SNC's president Burhan Ghalioun and said Italy would intensify its contacts with SNC which grouped "an important segment" of the Syrian opposition.
11	Bulgaria[65]	Verbal support Rejection of Assad government Informal relations	Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov announced that the Syrian National Council "is an important partner in dialogue on the future of Syria".
12	Canada[66]	Rejection of Assad government Informal relations Discussions on future assistance	Foreign Minister John Baird, in a 16 December speech in the House of Commons stated, ""Assad will fall. The government will fall. It's only a matter of time". Later that day, Baird met with a Syrian National Council delegation led by Council President Burhan Ghalioun. The council expressed its gratitude for Canada's assistance to the SNC, including international lobbying for new UN Security Council resolutions and its rejection of the Assad government. Discussions were held on Canada's participation in humanitarian assistance during a transitional period and in the rebuilding of a post-Assad Syria.[67][non-primary source needed]
13	Netherlands	Verbal support Rejection of Assad government Informal relations	Minister of Foreign Affairs Uri Rosenthal met with Burhan Ghalioun, the leader of the Syrian National Council on 17 January 2012. Rosenthal has pledged to continue to increase pressure on the Assad government, specifically by promoting EU sanctions and UN Security Council resolutions toward this end. Rosenthal further stated, "It’s time for this to stop: Assad must step down and make way for a democratic Syria."[68] He went on to praise the courage of the Syrian demonstrators and the SNC's role in "representing Syrian issues at an international level."[69][non-primary source needed]
14	Germany	Verbal support Rejection of Assad government discussions on future assistance Informal relations	In a 6 August 2011 interview, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle remarked that "I don't believe that Assad has a political future ahead of him which is supported by the Syrian people". The German foreign ministry is reportedly in talks with the Syrian opposition.[70] In November 2011, a Syrian National Council delegation met with Westerwelle and other high level foreign policy decision makers to brief them on developments in Syria. Westerwelle said "we cannot remain quiet to the human rights violations in Syria.” He then lauded the efforts of the National Council and discussed future cooperation with the SNC regarding the transition phase to democracy.[71][non-primary source needed]
15	Belgium[72][non-primary source needed]	Verbal support Informal relations	A group of Belgian Foreign Ministry officials, headed by Foreign Minister Didier Reynders met with a delegation of the Syrian National Council on 5 January 2012. At the meeting, Reynders informed the delegates that he would to refer the SNC requests for the establishment of a European assistance fund for the Syrian people to the European Union, and would work to "support the SNC's goals until they become a reality on the ground."
16	Portugal[73][non-primary source needed]	Informal relations	A Syrian National Council delegation, headed by Burhan Ghalioun, met on 3 January 2012 with Foreign Minister Paulo Portas in Lisbon. After a briefing on the current situation in Syria, Portas was requested by the delegation to formally reject the Assad regime, and to use Portugal's influence with Brazil to get the South American country to do the same.
17	Norway[74][non-primary source needed]	Informal relations	A Syrian National Council delegation visited Oslo and met with foreign ministry officials, along with political, and humanitarian groups to promote its cause from 9–11 December 2011. The council delegation met with the foreign minister, whom had a reaction to their requests that the delegation reported as "generally positive."
18	Russia[75][non-primary source needed]	Informal relations	The Syrian National Council sent a delegation to Moscow to meet with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on 15 November 2011 in response to an official invitation. While in Moscow, the council met with high level Russian government officials, notably the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Mikhail Bogdanov; and the Vice Chairman of the Russian Federation, Ilyas Umakhanov.

Non-UN member states[link]

•  Kosovo: On 23 August 2011 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo with a statement said that the government and the people of the Republic of Kosovo support "the efforts of the Syrian people as they strive towards freedom and democracy". He also mentioned that: "The Republic of Kosovo joins all democratic countries in opposing the violence and repression against the Syrian demonstrators. By ordering the repression of his own people through violent acts that have resulted in numerous fatalities, President Assad has lost the right to govern the country. The People of Syria have the right to build their lives in freedom, with freedom of speech, and with the guarantee that their human rights will be respected by the government."^[76]

Autonomous regions[link]

•  Iraqi Kurdistan: On 11 January, President Massoud Barzani met with a SNC delegation and "pledged his support in the coming weeks for enhanced cooperation between the SNC and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in implementing the will of the Syrian people."^[77]

International organisations[link]

•  EU: On 10 October 2011, EU officially supported SNC and "welcomed their initiatives", but without recognition.^[78]
• International Union of Muslim Scholars: On 15 October 2011, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, president of IUMS recognised SNC as the sole representative of Syria.^[79]
•  Arab League: On 12 February, a resolution in the Arab League calling for "opening communication channels with the Syrian opposition and providing all forms of political and material support to it" was passed.^[80]

Political parties and legislatures[link]

•  Egypt: On 11 October 2011, Democratic Alliance for Egypt (largest political bloc) has stated its support for the council as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.^[81]
•  Pakistan: On 19 October 2011, Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan recognised SNC and requested the Pakistani government and Islamic countries to do the same thing.^[82]
•  Kuwait: On 28 October 2011, National Assembly of Kuwait requested from the Kuwaiti government to recognise the SNC as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people.^[83][84] On 6 December 2011, Kuwait's Emir Al-Sabah dissolved the assembly so it is still unknown whether the new one will have the same level of support towards the SNC.^[85]
•  Algeria: On 14 November 2011, Abbassi Madani, president of Islamic Salvation Front in Algeria recognised the SNC as the sole representative of Syria.^[86]
•  Jordan: On 15 November 2011, Islamic Action Front, political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan recognised the SNC.^[87]

Syrian Patriotic Group[link]

On 27 February Haitham al-Maleh and Kamal al-Labwani along with 18 other members of the SNC formed a sub-group called the Syrian Patriotic Group. The leading activists of the SNC consider many of the SNC members to be too slow in taking action, and so the group is designed so that while still remaining SNC members, the 20 leading activists would speed up "backing the national effort to bring down the regime with all available resistance means including supporting the Free Syrian Army".^[88]

See also[link]

• Arab Spring
• National Council for the Forces of the Peaceful Revolution (Yemen)
• National Transitional Council (Libya)
• Syrian uprising (2011–present)
• Syrian opposition

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

National Council may refer to:

Conservation[link]

• National Council for Science and the Environment, a US-based non-profit organization which has a mission to improve the scientific basis for environmental decisionmaking
• National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens, a British registered charity

Economics[link]

• National Competitiveness Council, an independent policy advisory body in the Republic of Ireland
• National Council of Welfare, a Canadian citizens' body
• National Council on Economic Education, a nationwide non-profit organization that leads in promoting economic and financial literacy
• National Economic Action Council, a main governing body which solved the economic crisis in Malaysia between 1996-1998
• National Economic Development Council, a corporatist economic planning forum set up in the 1962 in the United Kingdom to bring together management, trades unions and government in an attempt to address Britain's relative economic decline

Education[link]

• Kenya National Examination Council, the national body responsible for overseeing national examination in Kenya
• National Assessment and Accreditation Council, an autonomous body funded by University Grants Commission of Government of India based in Bangalore
• National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, a council of educators created to ensure and raise the quality of preparation for their profession
• National council for the social studies, a US-based association devoted to supporting social studies education
• National Council for the Training of Journalists, an organisation that oversees the training of journalists for the newspaper industry in the United Kingdom
• National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, a national non-profit organization composed of engineering and land surveying licensing boards representing all U.S. states and territories
• National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts, the most influential organization in the United States promoting ceramics as an art form
• National Council on Educational Reform, a governmental organization in Japan
• National Council for Teacher Education, a governmental organization in India.

Politics[link]

• Coorg National Council, a political party in the Indian state of Karnataka
• Estonian National Council, one of the oldest and largest Estonian central organisations in Sweden
• Garo National Council, a political party in Meghalaya
• Iraqi National Dialogue Council, a Sunni Arab political party initially established as an umbrella organization of approximately 10 smaller Sunni parties to take part in the 2005 Iraqi Constitution drafting process
• National Advisory Council, an advisory body set up to monitor the implementation of the UPA government's manifesto
• National Councils in Poland existed from 1952 till the end of the People's Republic of Poland as local government institutions
• National Council for the Defense of Democracy, a former ethnic Hutu rebel group that now functions as a political party in Burundi
• National Council of La Raza, a non-profit, non-partisan political advocacy group in the United States
• National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons, a Nigerian political party from 1944 to 1966
• National Council of Resistance of Iran, an Iranian exile organisation
• National Council of the Union of Burma, a liberal resistance organisation in Burma
• National Council of Venezuelan Indians, a political party in Venezuela
• National Council of Women's Organizations, an American non-profit political organization headed by Martha Burk
• National Electoral Council (Venezuela), the institution in charge of all electoral processes that take place in Venezuela
• National Operations Council, an emergency administrative body which attempted to restore law and order in Malaysia after the May 13 Incident in 1969
• National Peace Keeping Council, a Thai military junta that overthrew the civilian elected government of Chatichai Choonhavan in 1991
• United African National Council, a party led by Abel Muzorewa

Legislative bodies[link]

• Federal National Council, the legislature of the United Arab Emirates
• National Council was the second chamber of the National Assembly of Estonia 1938–1940.
• National Council of Austria, one of the two houses of the Federal Assembly of Austria
• National Council of Bhutan, the upper chamber of the parliament of the Kingdom of Bhutan
• National Council of Monaco, the parliament of the Principality of Monaco
• National Council of Namibia, the upper chamber of the country's bicameral Parliament
• National Council of Nepal, a national legislature
• National Council of Provinces, the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the constitution which came into full effect in 1997
• National Council of Switzerland, the large Chamber of the parliament
• National Council of the Slovak Republic, the parliament of Slovakia since 1 October 1992
• Palestinian National Council, the parliament in exile of the Palestinian people
• Provisional National Defence Council, the Ghanaian government after the People's National Party's elected government was overthrown by Jerry Rawlings
• Sahrawi National Council, the legislature of the government in exile of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
• State National Council, a parliament-like political body formed in the late stages of the Second World War in the Soviet Union

Racial Reconciliation[link]

• Chinese Canadian National Council, an organization whose purpose is to monitor racial discrimination against Chinese in Canada
• Métis National Council, a national representative of the Métis people in Canada
• National Council for Combating Discrimination, an agency of the Romanian government
• National Council of American Soviet Friendship, the successor organisation to the National Council on Soviet Relations
• National Council on Canada-Arab Relations, a non-profit organization dedicated to building bridges of understanding and cooperation between Canada and the Arab world
• National Iranian American Council, a non-partisan, non-political, non-sectarian, and non-profit organization
• National Unification Council, a governmental body in the Republic of China on Taiwan whose aim is to promote unification with Mainland China

Religion[link]

• National Council of Churches, a religious organization consisting of 35 Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, African-American and historic Christian denominations in the United States
• National Council of Churches in Australia, an ecumenical organisation bringing together a number of Australia's Christian churches in dialogue and practical cooperation
• National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, a nonprofit organization that promotes the use of its 300-page Bible curriculum in schools throughout the United States

Science[link]

• National Science Council, the main governmental promotion and funding body for science research in Taiwan
• National Scientific and Technical Research Council, an Argentine government agency which directs and co-ordinates most of the scientific and technical research done in public universities and institutes

Social aid[link]

• National Council of Women of Australia, an Australian organization founded in 1931
• National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, an American organization
• National Council on Compensation Insurance, a U.S. insurance rating and data collection bureau specializing in workers compensation
• National Council on Disability, an advisory board within the Department of Education
• National Council on Problem Gambling (Singapore), a council set up in Singapore on 31 August 2005 to address problem gambling
• National Temperance Council, a 1913 establishment

Unionization[link]

• National Council of Trade Unions, a national trade union center in South Africa
• National Council of Unions of the Industrial and Lower Income Group of Government Workers, a national trade union center in Malaysia

Volunteering[link]

• Boy Scouts of America National Council
• National Council for Voluntary Organisations, the umbrella body for the voluntary sector in England
• National Council of Jewish Women, a volunteer organization
• National Council of Negro Women, a voluntary non-profit membership organization with the mission to advance the opportunities and the quality of life for African American women, their families and communities

Other[link]

• Australian National Kennel Council, the peak body in Australia responsible for promoting excellence in breeding, showing, trialling, obedience, and other canine-related activities
• Greek National Council for Radio and Television, an independent supervisory and regulatory administrative authority of the radio and television market
• National Advertising Review Council, an organization based in New York US that provides self-regulatory services to the American advertising industry
• National Chicken Council, the non-profit trade association representing the U.S. chicken industry
• National Council (Slovenia), the constitutional representative of social, economic, professional and local interest groups
• National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy, the most significant rebel group active in the Burundi Civil War
• National Council for the Maltese Language, an associate member of the European Federation of National Institutions for Language in the EU
• National Council for the Traditional Arts, a private, non-profit arts organization based in the United States that promotes the traditional arts
• National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, the professional association of architectural registration boards of the various states in the United States
• National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, a U.S. organization which seeks to formulate and widely disseminate information, guidance and recommendations on radiation protection
• National Crime Prevention Council, an American educational nonprofit organization whose mission is to enable people to create safer and more caring communities by addressing the causes of crime and violence
• National Fire Information Council, a United States agency that encourages and perpetuates the use of a standardized national incident reporting system as a means of addressing the nation's fire problem and related emergency services issues
• National Foreign Trade Council, a US-based business lobby group for free trade and multinational corporations
• National House Building Council, the National House Builders Registration Council in the United Kingdom
• National Intelligence Council, the center for midterm and long-term strategic thinking within the United States Intelligence Community
• National Multicultural Greek Council, an umbrella council for thirteen Multicultural Greek Letter Organizations established in 1998
• National Pan-Hellenic Council, an umbrella organization for nine historically-black, international Greek letter fraternities and sororities
• National Peace Council, the co-ordinating body for almost 200 groups across Britain
• National Safety Council, a not-for-profit safety organization that was chartered by the US government in 1913
• Singapore National Olympic Council, a registered society
• The National Council Against Health Fraud, a US-based organization

See also[link]

• Armenian National Council
• National Arts Council (disambiguation)
• National Council of Teachers (disambiguation)
• National Economic Council (disambiguation)
• National Research Council (disambiguation)
• National Security Council
• National Youth Council (disambiguation)
• Slovak National Council (disambiguation)

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Tarpley attending the 2005 Axis for Peace conference

Webster Griffin Tarpley (born 1946) is an American historian, author, journalist, lecturer, and critic of US foreign and domestic policy. Tarpley maintains that the September 11 attacks were engineered by a rogue network of the military-industrial complex and intelligence agencies as a false flag operation.^[1] His writings and speeches describe a model of terror operations by a rogue network in the military/intelligence sector working with moles in the private sector and in corporate media, and locates such contemporary false flag operations in a historical context stretching back in the English speaking world to at least the Gunpowder Plot in England in 1605.

Education[link]

The "rogue network" which Tarpley suspects of the September 11 attacks

Tarpley was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1946. He received a BA degree summa cum laude in English and Italian from Princeton University in 1966. While a student at Princeton he became a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and was a Fulbright Scholar at University of Turin in Italy.^[2] Tarpley also obtained a MA degree in humanities from Skidmore College. As well as a Ph.D. from The Catholic University of America in History.

Career[link]

In 1971, Tarpley was on the editorial board of The Campaigner, a National Caucus of Labor Committees' journal, according to its masthead.^[3]

As a European based journalist in the 1980s, Tarpley wrote a study on the assassination of Prime Minister Aldo Moro. The study claimed that the murder was a false flag operation orchestrated by the Propaganda Due, a Masonic Lodge, with the cooperation of senior members of Italian government secret services but blamed on the Red Brigades.^[4]

Tarpley was president of the Schiller Institute of the United States in the 1980s^{[5][clarification needed]} and in 1993.^[6] In 1986 Tarpley attempted to run on Lyndon LaRouche's U.S. Labor Party platform in the New York State Democratic Party primary for the U.S. Senate, but was ruled off the ballot because of a defect in his nominating petitions.^[7] He was a frequent host of "The LaRouche Connection" which its producer LaRouche's Executive Intelligence Review News Service^[8] describes as "a news and information cable television program."^[9]

Tarpley first gained attention for co-authoring, with Anton Chaitkin, ("history editor of Executive Intelligence Review") a 1992 book on George H. W. Bush, George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography, which was published by Executive Intelligence Review, run by Lyndon LaRouche.^[10] He has expounded the "Versailles Thesis" laying the blame for the great wars of the 20th century on intrigues by Britain to retain her dominance.^[11] He gained experience as a political operative during his years with the LaRouche movement but broke away sometime after 1995.

In 2005, Tarpley published 9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA. He speaks at length about the themes in the book during an interview in the film Oil, Smoke, Mirrors.

Since March, 2006, Tarpley has had a weekly online talk radio show called World Crisis Radio,^[12] currently hosted on GCNLive.com. Tarpley is a member of the "world anti-imperialist conference" Axis for Peace, of Scholars for 9/11 Truth and of a research Netzwerk of German 9/11 authors founded in September 2006. He is featured in the film, Zero: an investigation into 9/11 (2007–2008).^[13]

Tarpley is a critic of the Dalai Lama; in 2010 he told Russia Today that "pre-1959 Tibet ... was probably the closest thing to hell on earth that you had ... social reform was impossible." In the interview he criticizes US funding of pro-Dalai Lama organizations, which he says amounts to US$2 million per year, saying "this is a bad deal for the American taxpayers."^[14]

He also maintains that "The notion of anthropogenic global warming is a fraud."^[15]

Bibliography[link]

• Chi ha ucciso Aldo Moro? (Who Killed Aldo Moro?), a study commissioned by a member of the Italian government and published in Rome in 1978 The Larouchian, Partito Operaio Europeo http://www.movisol.org/moro.htm, which broke open the affiliation of the Red Brigades with the neofascist lodge P2.
• George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography (1992) (co-authored with Anton Chaitkin, son of the lawyer who indicted Prescott Bush under the Trading with the Enemy Act for collaboration with Nazi Germany.) Reprinted 2004, ISBN 0-930852-92-3.
• Against Oligarchy (1996)
• Surviving the Cataclysm: Your Guide through the Worst Financial Crisis in Human History (1999); updated edition, 2009.
• 9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA - Myth of the 21st Century (2005), Foreword by Thierry Meyssan, ISBN 0-930852-31-1, Fourth edition ISBN 0-930852-37-0 (April 2007).
  • Version française: La Terreur Fabriquée, Made in USA : 11 Septembre, le mythe du XXIe siècle (Sept. 2006). ISBN 2-9525571-4-4
  • In Italiano: La Fabbrica del Terrore (Sept. 2007). ISBN 978-88-87307-36-6
  • En Español: 11-S, El Falso Terrorismo Jan. 2008 ISBN 0-930852-98-2.
• Obama - The Postmodern Coup: Making of a Manchurian Candidate (Apr. 2008) ISBN 0-930852-88-5.
  • Deutsche Fassung: Barack Obama: Wie ein US-Präsident gemacht wird (Aug. 2008) ISBN 978-3-938516-74-4.
  • Japanese Edition: Obama: Dangerous Geometry (Nov. 2008) ISBN 4-88086-239-8
  • Barack H. Obama: The Unauthorized Biography (Aug. 2008) ISBN 0-930852-81-8; Japanese edition, March 2009.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tarpley's Website
• Tarpley's Show on the Genesis Network
• Ground Zero Grassy Knoll - Feature article in New York Magazine (March 20, 2006)
• Publisher's web site
• Amazon.com's Webster Griffin Tarpley page

Audio and Video Links:

• Webster Tarpley lecture and interview videos

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