Washpost panic over Syria rebellion

"In recent months, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton promised that the United States would support the Syria opposition with non­lethal assistance, such as communications gear. Separately, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been arming the fighters. Communications equipment is crucial — allowing the resistance to coordinate during government-imposed Internet blackouts, providing warnings to civilians about approaching Syrian troops or sharing the location of makeshift medical facilities. It can also help the opposition wage an information war against the Assad regime, documenting atrocities and broadcasting propaganda. "  Washpost

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The editorial page of the Washington Post is a jacobin neocon mouthpiece.  The Post, far more than Israel, wants to see revolution for revolution's own sake spread across the Middle Eastern and Islamic worlds.  The fantasy that they have indulged themselves in at the Post to reach this "doctrine" is the idea that societies friendly to Israel and the West will result from such revolutions.  This belief springs from the notion that humans are so much alike everywhere that surely they must all want to become part of the West and in doing that reject their "worthless" outmoded ways.

The rebels in Syria are losing.  We will probably be spared the spectacle of a jihadi government there for a while.pl  

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-us-must-deliver-promised-aid-to-syrian-opposition/2012/08/21/4f0288ca-ebcd-11e1-aca7-272630dfd152_story.html

Comments

[Jim Ticehurst]

According to a Story over at Rreuters Today..Titled..Syria Says Preparing to Finalize Oil Deal With Russia"..Syrian deputy Prime minister for economic Affairs told reporters talks have been completed with Russian foreign minister Sergi Lavov..for such a deal...Syria will supply Russian with oil..Russia will refine the Oil and retur Oil Products such as Gas,Diesel and other Fuels needed to keep Syrias economy and Military Running..because current Sanctions are hurting the economy..

Syria plans to use russian Banks to get around the sanctions and is asking for off shore accounts to be setup..Syria also Hosts a Maintance facility for the Russian Navy on the Coast..Venezualia has currently been the other supplier of Diesel to Syria..

[toto]

Maybe the "support" from the US is more an attempt to counter-balance the massive support already enjoyed by the most militant djihadist factions in the rebel movement, who get large funds from Wahabi sympathizers Ummah-wide. The US seem to be trying to pick up and aid "good" rebels, not so much against Assad, but against their well-heeled, thick-bearded "allies".

Shades of a Chechen situation, with the djihadis simply pushing aside the secular resistance.

No idea how realistic that is.

[turcopolier]

Jim Ticehurst

Yes. If we are not careful we could trigger a violent Russian response. The US is simultaneously fighting salafism in Afghanistan and Yemen, sponsoring it in Egypt, and surrepticiously aiding it in Syria. pl

[Rd.]

"The editorial page of the Washington Post is a jacobin neocon mouthpiece." pl

and they keep losing circulation.. wonder why???

"Newspaper revenue was down 7 percent, while print advertising revenue at the Post fell 15 percent. Revenue from the company's online operations, including Washingtonpost.com and Slate, rose 8 percent.
...
Through the first six months of the year, the Post's Sunday circulation is down 6.1 percent. Daily circulation is down 9.3 percent."

http://www.moonofalabama.org/2012/08/why-the-washington-post-is-in-decline.html#comments

[Charles]

To go further down the rabbit hole ...
"Alice laughed: "There's no use trying," she said; "one can't believe impossible things."

"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

Alice in Wonderland.
http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Quotations/Dodgson.html

And so goes our Foreign Policy.

[Mark Kolmar]

Not to retread here, but I wanted to follow up on a discussion in an earlier thread and to comment on this post along the same line. I do not suppose that people generally in the Middle East and Islamic world want to emulate the West. If anything, signs point to a desire to recapture elements of a pre-colonial "golden age" in a way that is inherently regressive, and motivated in part by real and perceived grievances and resentment against the West. This is one reason why the neocon plan to make people free by force is a fantasy. Not everyone wants to be free, not least in the modern, Western, urbanized style. That is an area of political and cultural tension even in the U.S.

However, I do suppose that several countries will evolve toward systems of government that will check Islamic zeal in their own, characteristic ways that may contrast increasingly with the West. Even better if they are able to improve literacy, education, food security, etc., and people can broaden their conception of themselves, their desires, and aspirations. But, no, I do not think the tendency always or mostly is toward Westernization, and even less in the short term.

Meanwhile, are the dangers from jihadists and fundamentalists great enough that the earlier situation is preferable? Or is the risk that the situation, somewhere anyway, would deteriorate into wider, more severe conflict and chaos, along with governments that are more authoritarian than before, more social problems, worse economy?

[Will]

i have come around to the Col's thinking about Egypt and Mursi. The brotherhood is not Al-Qaeda, nor is it a secular western institution. It does not appear they will treat the Copts (Egyptian Christians) fairly.

Likewise, we are supporting Al Qaida in Syria. Churchill in his book says, why couldn't they have let the Kaiser's grandson become a constitutional monarch and preserving a link to the social fabric of the past. It's like when u take antibiotics un-necessarily and wipe out your gut bacteria, u don't know what is going to come back. Hopefully your appendix will work its role as the flora repopulation repository. we have wiped out the social fabric in Irak by wiping out the one national institution that was the symbol of that country- its Army. the country is now all in different pieces. Syria is next on our agenda w/ our support of Al-Qaida mercenaries to wreck havoc and make a peace agreement and accomodation impossible.

The Turks are playing w/ fire. Because Assad has played the Kurd card. A 1/3 of Turks (so called mountain Turks) are Kurds. Assad could stand to lose Syrian Kurdistan to preserve the rest of the country, but the Turks cannot afford to lose their Kurdistan.

[Babak Makkinejad]

I think all over the Middle East people are learning and emulating Western Europeans and North Americans - there is no doubt on that.

However, I think very many people are also no longer convinced that North Americans and Weste Europeans know best or that all of their experiences are relevant.

Different countries are adopting different ideas and methods at different rates and trying to incorporate them into their polities.

The answer to your last question is no as long as the 4 states of Iran, Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkey continue to exist.

[Fred]

Yes, but they are read by 535 members of the House and Sentate, thier staff and all the other media 'reporters'. The owners could care less about the money they lose as longer as they still get quoted and thus influence opinion.

[Jonathan]

Today: a confirmatory report about lack of support for rebels in Aleppo in al-Jazeera which has previously seemed to overstate the amount of support for the rebels.

"Some foreigners are fighting in Syria's largest city, Aleppo, alongside rebels who say they are disappointed that more residents have not joined their cause.

"Reporting from the frontline, Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr says the young rebels in the city have come mainly from the countryside of Aleppo province."

Full article at:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/201282345719523948.html

[Jim Ticehurst]

Colonel...

I believe that Russia is finally determined to draw the Line ..Between North and South..East and West...in Syria.. It must be Angry by now..over the Neo-Con deceptions in the UN over Iraq and Libya..and all the other Strategic Moves being made in the Middle East without them.

For Russia..there is alot at Stake in Syria..Just as China has Insured that The "Spice will Flow to Asia.." I think Russia now wants to Insure that its Pipeline of Spice..will "Flow to Europe.."

On your other Issue...there is a a good Article over at the Jamestown Foundation called "Understanding the Origins of Wahhabism and Salafism".. by Trevor Stanley...It explains how Saudi Arabia began embracing Pan-Islamism and exporting Wahhabism and Importing Safalism ..during the 1960's..

The United States Government does not seem to Understand anything about Pan-Islamism..Safalism..
or whats really going on..Nor..do they want to Listen to Experts like you..

The political Partys in the United States have stretched the Rubber Band so Tight now..They are
Proving that the United States is Indeed very Capable of its own..Mutually Assured(Self) Destruction.Policys..