The Empire in numbers

"This year, U.S. Special Operations forces have already deployed to 135 nations, according to Ken McGraw, a spokesman for Special Operations Command (SOCOM).  That’s roughly 70% of the countries on the planet.  Every day, in fact, America’s most elite troops are carrying out missions in 80 to 90 nations, practicing night raids or sometimes conducting them for real, engaging in sniper training or sometimes actually gunning down enemies from afar. As part of a global engagement strategy of endless hush-hush operations conducted on every continent but Antarctica, they have now eclipsed the number and range of special ops missions undertaken at the height of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan." (thanks Krim)

Western arms industries heart Gulf regimes

"The most obvious examples are those with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, who at various times have helped prop up the pound, ploughed their oil riches into the UK economy, and virtually bankrolled the British military industry with enormous arms purchases (to say nothing of their role in the supply of energy)."

Israelis shout obscenities at dying Palestinian child

"Onlookers can be heard shouting insults at the bleeding boy, including, “Die, son of a whore!” Another person tells the police to “give him one in the head.” The video has generated shock even among Palestinians regularly exposed to the occupation’s violence. Wattan TV said that it demonstrated the “ISIS-like and terrorist” mentality of Israeli occupation forces and settlers toward Palestinians."

France's socialists are now the closest allies of the Saudi reactionary regime

"France has signed deals worth 10 billion euros ($11.4 billion) with Saudi Arabia, said French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Tuesday, underscoring the shared foreign policy stances that have helped deepen the two countries' military and economic ties." (thanks Amir)

Politics in an American colony in the Arabian desert

"Power politics suggests that the current stalemate could continue awhile. King Salman controls the money; Mohammed bin Nayef controls the interior ministry and its surveillance network; and Mohammed bin Salman controls the key oil and economic ministries. The deputy crown prince told a recent visitor that he didn’t expect to be king until he was 55, which is roughly Mohammed bin Nayef’s age. That informal comment is hardly a guarantee of stability, however."

Job description of a US president

In the US, Republican and Democratic candidates for president are always asked to prove that they would be willing to go war as presidents. It is considered a key job qualification. 

Hillary

Hillary Clinton's statement about Israel yesterday has the same premise of Ben Carson's view of Muslims.  Yet, she never got in trouble for it.

Bernie Sanders

Politics aside: after watching Sen. Bernie Sanders in the debate, I for the life of me can't get that some progressives are excited about his candidacy.  He is not very intelligent and not very knowledgeable and has the charisma and charm of a grumpy old man.

Let Arabs do this or that: who are those Arabs?

When Democratic and Republican candidates talk about "Arabs" (as in Arabs should do this or that) they are talking about the Saudi regime.  Yesterday, I discovered that the socialist Bernie Sanders wants the Saudi regime to lead the socialist revolution in the Middle East on his behalf.

Is General Qasim Sulaymani everywhere?

Here he was addressing yesterday Lebanese fighters of Hizbollah preparing for the battle of Aleppo.  It is the battle for Palestine that I am eager for, not this one.

I Call on You

From the poem I Call On You by Palestinian poet Tawfiq Zayyad (my translation):

“I call on you
I press your hands
I kiss the ground under your feet
and I say: I sacrifice myself for you
I give you as a gift
the light of my eyes
and the warmth of heart, I give you
My tragedy that I live
Is my share of your tragedies
I call on you
I press your hands
I kiss the ground under your feet
and I say: I sacrifice myself for you
I did not humiliate myself in my homeland
and I did not lower my shoulders
I stood facing my oppressors
orphaned, naked, and bare foot
I call on you
I press your hands
I kiss the ground under your feet
and I say: I sacrifice myself for you
I carried my blood on my palm
I never lowered my flags
and I cared for the green grass
over the graves of my ancestors”

US aid to Israel

A Saudi living in exile in his satirical show on Youtube

The rest died...

"According to Israeli authorities, a dozen of the slain Palestinians were attackers; the rest died in clashes with Israeli forces."

And the US dropped tons of weapons to them

"A new report from Amnesty ­International suggests that Kurdish forces in northern Syria, among the most significant U.S. ground partners in the fight against the Islamic State, may have committed war crimes with a campaign of displacement and home demolitions aimed at the local Arab population."

Saudi-Israeli alliance: The front page of Al-Arabiyyah (the news station of King Fahd's brother-in-law)

these are the names and ages of Palestinians killed since the beginning of this month (1 October).

Hillary speaks on Palestine

"There is not a word in that statement about Palestinians, dozens of whom have been killed in recent days. There is not even a signal in this statement that Palestinians living under occupation for nearly 50 years might have a right to resist. The entire statement is from the standpoint of Israeli Jews."

Among the sins of Ben Carson, according to the New York Times

"later calling an objection by the Anti-Defamation League “total foolishness.”"

The problem with Oslo and Madrid are not technical: they are fundamental

"The P.L.O. leadership, for its part, played a weak hand poorly. It failed to capitalize on the expertise that its delegation had accrued in Madrid and Washington in the two years prior, sending to Oslo inexperienced negotiators with little knowledge of the situation in the occupied territories or international law."

Israelis have killed 25 Palestinians in two weeks

"The latest deathbrings the total number of Palestinians killed to 25 since the beginning of October. On Sunday, Israeli forces shot dead a 13-year-old boy during clashes south of al-Bireh in Ramallah district, medics said. The child, identified as 13-year-old Ahmad Sharaka, was shot in the neck with a live round, medics said.He was also the third 13-year-old to be shot dead by Israeli forces in the same time period."

Israeli mob violence against Palestinians

"Israeli society is already a heavily armed society. In 2013 about 160,000 permits were issued for private citizens to carry firearms, and 130,000 for organisations." "Indeed, on 9 October, a mob of right-wing Israelis formed to hunt Arabs in the streets of Jerusalem and beat them to death. They planned their route to areas where Arab cleaning crews would be employed in order to assault them, and asked passers-by for the time, looking for people who answer with an Arab accent. The police was unable or unwilling to cope with the dimensions the mob." "This mob mentality is not new. Mass arming of the population and mobilisation against the common Arab “enemy” have been commonplace and were among the tools which were used to take over territory, to win wars and build a stable (albeit unequal) political regime."

130 Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the last week

"In fact, there have been more than 130 Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the last week, according to the PLO’s Negotiations Affairs Department."

Don't forget and don't forgive the Israeli terrorists who kill Palestinian children for fun

Israel in India

From comrade Marcy: 'I think it's a mistake to blame this transformation of Indian people's sense of what's happening in West Asia on Hindutva. From where I stand, it's far more insidious than that. Whether Congress or BJP, India would have been sending political officials to Israel sooner or later. And so India is making history next week by sending its President, Pranab Mukherjee, to Israel. This visit comes at a time of intensified violence from Gaza to Jerusalem. It comes at a time when Israel is escalating its killing and detention of children and of firing on young Palestinian protestors whose only weapons are stones. 

Palestinian voices seem to be relatively absent in India today except when being described in AP reports about "violence" or "terrorism". It makes me think of Martin Luther King Jr.'s aphorism that "violence in the language of the unheard". And yet even with the escalation of violence in Palestine, why is it so hard for us to listen to Palestinians in the India of today?"

The morale of Syrian rebels

In Arabic, the stories are that Syrian rebels have a low morale because of Russian intervention. In the Western press, the story is that Syrian rebels have a high morale because of Russian intervention.  Also, are Anne Barnard and Liz Sly not going too far--as usual, of course--in really believing the claims of military victories by Syrian rebels? If they read Arabic I would show them their daily claims of downing Syrian and Russian jet fighters.  

Western correspondents lobby again for more arms for Syrian rebels

In the last few years, Western correspondents in Beirut have been arguing that Western governments need to supply Syrian rebels with arms because that would make them become moderate and would force them to shave their beard and become secular and liberal..  This week there is a new argument: that Syrian rebels need to be armed more because that would defeat the Russian intervention and would weaken the alliance between the remnants of Free Syrian Army and Al-Qa`idah--and the latter is listed nowadays as one of the "relatively secular groups".

Look how New York Times lists casualties in Palestine and look how Israeli murder of Palestinians is given justifications

"Two Israelis have been killed and more than 20 hurt in more than 15 knife attacks across the country just this month. About 10 Palestinians have been fatally shot by the security forces while they were carrying out, or attempting to carry out, attacks, or after snatching weapons from soldiers or police officers."

Those poor Free Syrian Army remnants: they are uncomfortable aligned with Al-Qa`idah, says Anne Barnard

"It is a tactical alliance that Free Syrian Army commanders describe as an uncomfortable marriage of necessity".  You read this and feel sorry for the Free Syrian Army. Poor them.

Anne Barnard and fabrications

Forgot to mention as I was away, a few days ago Anne Barnard in an article on Russian intervention in Syria claimed that both Putin and Bashshar refer to all Syrian rebels as "terrorists".  But Putin clearly invited Free Syrian Army to join his campaign against "terrorism" only a few days ago.  Also, Barnard says: "Russia has so far refused to make a distinction between the Army of Conquest and the Islamic State".  So she is bothered that one would make a distinction between ISIS and Nusrah Front (the official Al-Qa`idah branch and the backbone of Army of Conquest) because she thinks that Nusrah is feminist and secular and moderate?

Would you believe it if I tell you that this writer and I were once in full political agreement back in the 1980s at Georgetown U?

"The security and the stability of Saudi Arabia was at stake. Hence, the UAE had no choice but to stand by Saudi Arabia in its time of need. There was a collective Gulf need to stand up to expansionist Iran. Yemen was the place to draw the line.

On top of all these geopolitical imperatives, the UAE is in Yemen to send a clear message to all that it is a rising regional soft power that bites, and when it is called upon it knows how to fight the fight.

The UAE’s fighting skills have impressed friends and foes alike. It has even far exceeded everyone’s expectations at home — where it matters the most. The feeling of patriotism is running deep and UAE citizens are rallying behind the flag like they have never done since December 2, 1971.

For these good reasons the UAE is in Yemen, not in a symbolic sense but in an important and tangible way. It is determined to finish the job of restoring the legitimate government and help build a stable and prosperous Yemen."

this is cute: so Bashshar is fighting ISIS and "Syrian opposition"

"Mr. Assad’s son Bashar while fighting the opposition and Islamic State".  What is cute is that Al-Qa`idah is included among the "opposition".  So was Al-Qa`idah an opposition in all countries in which it pretreated its terrorism?

Really? what about US defense of Moroccan, Egyptian, Jordanian, and GCC autocrats?

"In some ways, his defense of Syria’s autocrat is a defense of his own authority against rebellion".

American retreat from the region?

"After the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991...American retreat from the region".  Was that when the US invaded the Middle East to restore the Kuwaiti royal throne?

You know what is the irony about this? All three dictators were at some point sponsored and supported by Western governments

"When Nasser’s successor, Anwar Sadat, expelled the Russians, they cultivated a trio of dictators, Muammar el-Qaddafi in Libya, Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Hafez al-Assad in Syria. All three, running merciless, dynastic-Mafia regimes behind the facade of socialistic parties, central planning and Stalinesque cults of personality, took quickly to their new benefactors".

By Khalid AlBaih

Saudi regime alliance with Israel

Saudi regime media are quite adamant in supporting in Israeli propaganda. I maintain that Saudi regime has become the closest Arab ally of Israel since 1948.  In two days in the last three days, the headline of Al-Hayat, the mouthpiece of Khalid bin Sultan, said: "Israel imposes calm".  And it and Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat (mouthpiece of King Salman and his brats) refers to Israeli murder of Palestinians as "clashes".  They are on the footsteps of the New York Times in coverage.

Nobel Peace Prize

"It is perhaps not coincidental that Nobel Committee Chair Kaci Kullmann Five is a former chairwoman of the Norwegian Conservative Party, a business consultant, a managing director of one of Norway’s largest holding companies, and a member of the board of directors of several other large privately held corporations as well as Norway’s largest petroleum company, Statoil. A committee led by someone with these credentials might not recognize, or might not wish to acknowledge, that it was the preeminent role of the UGTT along with strikes, occupations of public space, and street demonstrations that broke Tunisia’s political logjam, not simply “peaceful dialogue . . . to find consensus. . . .”

The Nobel Committee correctly noted that Tunisia still faces political, economic, and security challenges. The security issue has received the most attention after the major terrorist attacks in March and June of this year. The government subsequently proclaimed a state of emergency and adopted a new anti-terrorist law. Eight international NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Carter Center, and the International Federation of Human Rights criticized the new law as “imperil[ing] human rights and lack[ing] the necessary safeguards against abuse.” Many consider the new law uncomfortably similar to the 2003 law enacted by the Ben Ali regime, which was largely unenforced from his departure in January 2011 until May 2015."

Israel kills toddler & pregnant mother

"This video shows Yahya Hassan embracing and bidding farewell to his baby daughter Rahaf in Gaza on Sunday. “Wake up, my daughter,” the inconsolable father says, and asks relatives to “leave her with me.” The toddler died along with her pregnant mother Nour Rasmi Hassan in an Israeli air strike."

When civilians are killed by US

"Civilian casualties overall in America's 2003-2011 Iraq war were anywhere from 140,000 dead to upwards of 500,000, with many killed by artillery, aerial bombs and depleted uranium munitions, indiscriminate weapons unique to American forces." "America's allies, equipped with American weapons, follow a similar pattern in making war. Saudi Arabia in Yemeni cities, and Israel in urban Gaza, employ cluster munitions." "Though not confined to cluster munitions alone, the deployment of these US-made weapons by the Saudis in Yemen has only added to the carnage. Almost 4,000 people have been killed, with 19,000 injured. In Gaza in 2009, the Israelis used cluster munitions, white phosphorus - a flesh burning agent also used by the US in Iraq - as well as standard artillery, all against dense urban areas. The UN estimates over 1,400 civilians, of whom 495 were children, were killed in the attacks. The Israelis also destroyed a hospital in Gaza, attacked two others, and shelled UN-run schools in 2014." (thanks Amir)

non-Jihadi?

"rebel groups claim has almost exclusively targeted non-jihadi opposition groups." Non-Jihadi? And you are talking about Jaysh Al-Fath and Nusrah Front. Those are non-Jihadis?

A woman who reminded Columbus that he was the son of a weaver had her tongue cut out

"Columbus was clearly no friend of native peoples, but a document discovered10 years ago in Simancas, Spain, suggests he was an equal-opportunity tyrant. Witnesses testified that his brief government of Hispaniola was marked by routine cruelty not only to the native Taínos but also to Spaniards who defied or mocked him. A woman who reminded Columbus that he was the son of a weaver had her tongue cut out. Others were executed for minor crimes."

Washington Post tries very hard to make the US bombing of a hospital in Kunduz justifiable

Read the report: every other word is "taliban".

Washington Post explains why unarmed Palestinians are killed by Israelis: William Booth does a stint for the Israeli army

"“popular resistance” to the Israeli occupation — meaning large, often violent demonstrations".  Well, the demonstrations are often violent by virtue of Israeli shooting on demonstrators.

Ambassador Ford is the king of hard evidence

Here he proves that Nusrah Front only obtained two TOW missiles: "“Nusra made a big public display of having these two missiles,” said Ford, who is now a fellow at the Middle East Institute. Had they acquired more, he said, “they would be using them now.”" This guy should be an investigator.