Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Micahel Lumish: The Post-Colonial Hangover and the Jihadi Bomb
One thing that is striking about this political moment is the fact that the western Left seems entirely complacent with the idea of a nuclear bomb controlled by the ayatollahs.French experts rule out foul play in Arafat’s death
This is rather odd since the Left, in general, opposes nuclear proliferation. Yet few seem disturbed at the idea of a theocratic-authoritarian regime, grounded in al-Sharia, that hangs Gay people from cranes, and that has incessantly called for the destruction of Israel, gaining a nuclear arsenal that could devastate anything on the planet.
How unusual.
When Barack Obama told the world that it was US policy to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb, he lied.
Jeffrey Goldberg, writing in The Atlantic, in the fall of 2012, said this:
But the record is the record: Given the number of times he's told the American public, and the world, that he will stop Iran from going nuclear, it is hard to believe that he will suddenly change his mind and back out of his promise.The Obama administration changed its stated, if not actual, policy from preventing an Iranian bomb to enabling an Iranian bomb.
Democrats still complain about Netanyahu's speech as a violation of protocol. This is transparent nonsense. The problem that Obama has with Netanyahu's speech has nothing to do with protocol and everything to do with the fact that Netanyahu alerted the world that Obama's "deal" enables a Jihadi bomb in the not too distant future.
French experts have ruled out that the 2004 death of iconic Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was the result of poisoning, a prosecutor told AFP Monday.Chuck Norris says vote Netanyahu
The prosecutor of the western Paris suburb of Nanterre said the experts found there was no foul play in Arafat’s death, which sparked immediate and enduring conspiracy rumors.
The findings echo those of Russian experts, but a Swiss team has said that the poisoning theory is “more consistent” with their own test results.
A center in the Swiss city of Lausanne had tested biological samples taken from Arafat’s personal belongings given to his widow after his death, and found “abnormal levels of polonium” — an extremely radioactive toxin — but stopped short of saying that he had been poisoned by polonium.
The French experts “maintain that the polonium 210 and lead 210 found in Arafat’s grave and in the samples are of an environmental nature,” Nanterre prosecutor Catherine Denis said. (h/t Bob Knot)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got a last minute hand from Hollywood action man Chuck Norris, who published a video on Monday calling on the Israeli public to back the prime minister in the coming general elections.Chuck Norris: Please vote for Prime Minister Netanyahu!
“You have an incredible country, and we want to keep it that way,” said Norris, who stood in front of a banner for Netanyahu’s Likud party during the minute-long, Hebrew-subtitled clip, called, “Please vote for Prime Minister Netanyahu!”
Norris recalled his close ties with Israel — where he has made three movies, including “Delta Force” — and declared that Netanyahu is a strong leader, “which is absolutely crucial for the safety of the Israeli people.”
The actor, 75, closed by making a direct appeal to Israelis that they vote for Netanyahu in Tuesday’s election.
Netanyahu Won’t Create a Palestinian State. Neither Will Herzog.
Netanyahu is talking tough now that he needs center-right voters to abandon the small parties they have embraced because they assumed the Likud would lead the next government. So rather than appeal to moderates, he’s now telling them that if they want to avoid the nightmare of a terrorist run state in Jerusalem, they must vote for the Likud. But throughout his nine years as prime minister he has always shown a willingness to negotiate and even make concessions on settlements and territory. It was he who withdrew Israeli troops from Hebron during his first term. He froze settlement building in the West Bank during his second term though he got no credit from President Obama for doing so. And it was Netanyahu, despite his current impassioned denials, who made it clear to both the Americans and the Palestinians that he would agree to a Palestinian state on terms very similar to the generous offer made by his predecessor Ehud Olmert. If he is reelected, you can bet he will saunter back to the center as he has done before.US Orchestrated Anti-Bibi Bomb May Bite its Backers
By contrast, for all of the expectations he has encouraged about making progress toward peace, Herzog has campaigned in Israel opposing the division of Jerusalem, a sine qua non for any agreement that Abbas would even think about discussing. Nor does he oppose building in the Jewish neighborhoods built in the city since the 1967 war. And he supports holding onto the same West Bank settlement blocs that the Obama administration has blasted Netanyahu for building up. Like Netanyahu, Herzog will demand that the Palestinians give up the right of return for the descendants of 1948 refugees.
Remember Al Capone?Khaled Abu Toameh: In private, Abbas, Palestinian officials reportedly voice hope that Netanyahu will lose
He was the notorious American gangster who met his downfall by the inelegant and unexciting – but sometimes deadly – U.S. tax code. So, too, may be the ultimate fate of the ubiquitous and well-funded Obama-style campaign machine gunning for Netanyahu, known as V15.
That entity and its creators are barred under US tax law from attempting to achieve its two stated goals: defeating Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and changing Israeli law in order to create a Palestinian State.
For some reason the fact that V15 is an avowed effort to oust Netanyahu did not raise enough eyebrows when it was first announced.
The lack of sustained attention back in January caused some to scratch their heads. That V15 was run by the same folks, and in the same style, as U.S. President Barack Obama’s notorious street theater, in your face, take no prisoners-style campaign director, Jeremy Bird; that its financial, emotional and political source received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the U.S. State Department; and even though that same source is an entity which has tax exempt status in the U.S. – which means it cannot fund projects to either support or defeat a political candidate in the U.S. or anywhere else, did not lead to a long media shelf life.
Although the Palestinian Authority’s official stance has been that the elections are an internal Israeli affair, some officials in Ramallah expressed hope that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his Likud would lose the vote.PA Warns: Hamas May Attack Israel on Election Day
“We hope Israeli voters will wake up and vote this man out of office,” said a senior Fatah official. “A vote for Netanyahu and the right-wing parties is a vote against peace and for more war and bloodshed.”
PA President Mahmoud Abbas said last week that the Palestinians would respect the choice of the Israeli voters and work with any leader they elect.
In private, however, Abbas and many senior Palestinian officials have been quoted as voicing hope that the rightwing bloc would be weakened and removed from power.
Echoing this sentiment, the Palestinian daily Al-Quds, which is affiliated with the PA, published an editorial Monday in which it strongly criticized Netanyahu and right-wing leaders like Yisrael Beytenu’s Avigdor Liberman and Bayit Yehudi’s Naftali Bennett for “waging a campaign of incitement and lies against the Palestinians and their leaders and rights.”
The PA estimated Monday that Hamas would specifically choose election day to carry out an attack, Channel Ten reported. As a preemptive measure, the PA's security forces scaled the areas of Judea and Samaria they control with widespread arrests.PreOccupied Territory: Israel Election Shocker: Arab List Wins With 31 Seats (satire)
In addition to their security efforts, the PA also took the opportunity to espouse the Joint Arab List and note their desire for a change in Israel's leadership.
"It's no secret that we prefer Israel to have a revolution," an official in the Palestinian Authority said, echoing language often used by Labor leader Yitzhak Herzog.
Another non-secret is the PA's encouragement of Israeli Arabs to choose the Joint Arab List on Tuesday.
Israel underwent an electoral upheaval today as a political party representing the Arab ethnic minority swept into power, soundly defeating the longtime powerhouses Labor and Likud.Jennifer Rubin: Obama’s Iran scheme is laid bare
The Joint List, a consortium of four Arab parties that came together amid concerns each alone would fall short of the electoral threshold, garnered 31 Knesset seats out of the Knesset’s 120. They thus outperformed the Zionist Union led by Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni, and incumbent Binyamin Netanyahu’s Likud, each of which earned only 20 seats. Surveys had consistently put the Joint List at 12 or 13 seats, lagging behind Likud and Zionist Union, which had leapfrogged each other in the low twenties since December.
Voter turnout proved decisive, with the majority Jewish population choosing to stay home instead of selecting the lesser of many evils. Turnout hovered at the 28% mark, a record low for national elections and a glaring indication of a deeply disillusioned electorate. In contrast, traditionally apathetic Arab voters turned out in droves, polling far beyond their strength as a percentage of the population, which stands at about 20% of Israel’s 8 million citizens.
Congratulations poured in from all over the world as the victory was confirmed Tuesday. The first phone call to the head of the Joint List, Ayman Odeh, came from US President Barack Obama. “It is gratifying to me personally and as an American to see this historic day finally arrive,” the president told Odeh. “The true people of the land of Palestine will finally control their fate.” Other leaders joined the list of well-wishers, such as Egyptian President al-Sisi, Turkish President Erdogan, and even Saudi King Salman, heralding what they hoped would be a “new era in the Middle East,” as Salman put it. Even Russian President Vladimir Putin emerged from oblivion to congratulate Odeh, putting an end to speculation over his whereabouts and welfare.
There is one more problem for Obama. Our Sunni allies are not dim. They have every reason to be alarmed. They are already taking steps to “to match the nuclear capabilities Iran is allowed to maintain as part of any final agreement reached with world powers. This could include the ability to enrich uranium and to harvest the weapons-grade plutonium discharged in a nuclear reactor’s spent fuel.” An Obama deal of the type described would set off a Middle East arms race. Perhaps Congress should invite the king of Jordan or of Saudi Arabia to speak.Experts: Taking Nuke Deal to U.N. Could Hurt U.S. Security in Future
No wonder the White House was infuriated with Cotton: By suggesting there is a flaw in Obama’s scheme to leave out Congress, he made it less likely that the Iranians will be rewarded for their conduct and more likely that the next president would be able to extract concessions from Iran. He shined a light on what the administration was up to and let Democratic colleagues know they were being entirely left out of the loop by the president of their own party. He alerted the public to Obama’s belief that the U.N., not Congress, will be driving the Iran appeasement train. If the result of Cotton’s letter is to cement sanctions in law so that the president cannot waive them in his quest to appease Iran, the senator will be heralded as a heroic defender of the West’s security. If the result is to set the stage for a massive repudiation of Democratic leadership in both the Senate (should Democrats choose to drag their feet on cementing sanctions) and the White House, we can draw some comfort in the prospect of a large GOP majority in both houses and a Republican in the White House. Maybe they will have the gumption to prevent Iran from going nuclear. In any case, the message to Iran should be clear: The president’s shenanigans will not guarantee your quest for nuclear power; the only real insurance that your regime will survive is a binding treaty — and that is not happening unless you comply with existing U.N. resolutions.
If United Nations Security Council sanctions against Iran are removed as part of a deal over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, it could lead to a situation where Iran would have the “‘high ground’ as a victim of American lawlessness in future confrontations over its nuclear ambitions,” according to an analysis written yesterday by former Department of Justice lawyers David Rivkin and Lee Casey for The National Interest.Senators May Vote Next Week on Iran-Related Legislation
Rivkin and Casey write that “the Security Council-centric approach, while solving some of the Administration’s political problems, would impose very significant long-term costs on the United States, and would not ultimately achieve a binding deal that cannot be altered.” They then list four significant flaws to this approach.
The first problem is that, despite Secretary of State John Kerry’s claim that the deal would be non-binding and thus did not require Congressional approval, lifting sanctions through the Security Council “would bind the United States as a UN member.” The second problem with the Security Council approach means that any future imposition of sanctions would have to be done through a new Secuirty Council resolution. A related issue cited by Rivkin and Casey is that any determination of an Iranian violation would be made by the Security Council itself. The fourth flaw with the Security Council scheme is that the administration could use it to try to lift Congressionally mandated sanctions. While Rivkin and Casey maintain that such an approach would be “legally flawed,” they express concern that “it might give the administration some political cover to lift sanctions against Iran.”
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is planning to act as soon as next week on a bipartisan bill that would allow Congress to approve or reject any nuclear agreement that President Barack Obama reaches with Iran, Politico reported on Monday.What France Really Thinks of U.S. Iran Policy
The panel’s chairman, Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), said he hopes to move forward on the measure as early as March 25, one day after a rough deadline set by the White House for a deal to wind down Iran’s nuclear program.
“That is my hope, yes,” Corker said when asked if he will move forward next week, according to Politico. “I just think waiting until the 25th certainly should accommodate many of the Democrats’ … concern. I would hope to mark it up next Tuesday or Wednesday.”
The legislation, unveiled two weeks ago, would mandate that Obama submit the text of any pact with Iran to Congress and bar the administration from suspending congressional sanctions on Iran for 60 days.
French leaders think the U.S. president is dangerously naïve on Iran's ambitions, and that his notion of making Iran an "objective ally" in the war against ISIS, or even a partner, together with Putin's Russia, to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis, is both far-fetched and "amateurish."European Ministers Report Little Progress in Talks with Iran
When Claude Angéli says that both France's Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, and its President, François Hollande, have told friends that they rely on "the support of the US Congress" to prevent Obama from giving in to Iran's nuclear ambitions, it is the kind of quote you can take to the bank.
French diplomats worry that if Iran gets nuclear weapons, every other local Middle East power will want them. Among their worst nightmares is a situation in which Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia join the Dr. Strangelove club.
French diplomats may not like Israel, but they do not believe that the Israelis would use a nuclear device except in a truly Armageddon situation for Israel. As for Egypt, Saudi Arabia or Turkey going nuclear, however, they see terrifying possibilities: irresponsible leaders, or some ISIS-type terrorist outfit, could actually use them. In other words, even if they would never express it as clearly as that, they see Israelis as "like us," but others potentially as madmen.
European powers and Iran made little progress on Monday toward reaching an agreement to end the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program as an end-of-March deadline closes in, The Associated Press (AP) reported.Iranian Dissidents Criticize Obama’s Nuclear Diplomacy
"We're still making progress but there is a long way to go if we're going to get there," British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said after talks in Brussels with his French, German and Iranian counterparts plus European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.
The talks are geared towards turning an interim 2013 deal into a permanent agreement.
Under the interim deal, Iran committed to limit its uranium enrichment to five percent and is gradually winning access to $4.2 billion of its oil revenues frozen abroad and some other sanctions relief.
Talks to reach a permanent deal have continuously stalled and two deadlines for a final deal have been missed.
A group of Iranian dissidents and political prisoners have lashed out at the Obama administration, lambasting its ongoing diplomacy with Iran, according to two open letters sent to the White House in recent days.Expert Fears White House Deliberately ‘Whitewashing’ Iran, Hezbollah Terror Threat
As Tehran and the United States move closer to a final deal aimed at stalling Iran’s nuclear breakout time at around one year, opponents are stepping forward to register their skepticism and anger over the agreement, which they say does little to address the Islamic Republic’s poor human rights record.
In each letter, the dissidents—most of whom are currently political prisoners in Iran—criticize the White House for ignoring the issues of human rights and democracy in Iran as they push to finalize a deal with a regime that the dissidents says is murderous and untrustworthy.
Iranian reformers and those seeking a change in the country’s leadership say they do not view the agreement as representing the plurality of Iranians.
“Any deal in which the real representatives of Iranian people are not present and human rights are ignored, is basically a deal between President Obama and Khamenei’s agents, and Iranian people will not consider it to be legal,” 21 Iranian political prisoners wrote in an open letter to Obama that was translated from Persian for the Washington Free Beacon.
A recent US Intelligence report which appears to downplay the terrorist activities from Iran and its proxy groups has raised questions about what could have motivated the change from previous similar reports.Jordan Concerned About Iranian Expansion Near Its Borders
Cliff May, President of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a Washington DC think tank, called the Director of National Intelligence’s 2015 Worldwide Threat Assessment “disturbing.” May said he is worried that the Administration is attempting to minimize the terror threat of Iran and Hezbollah in an effort to lift sanctions against Iran, and further nuclear negotiations.
As first reported in The Times of Israel, the 2015 report to the Senate Armed Services Committee by James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, appears to largely omit the terrorism threat posed by Iran and Hezbollah when compared to previous reports.
“People are very concerned that the White House is whitewashing Iran and Hezbollah’s involvement with terrorism,” May told The Algemeiner. “If that’s the case, the next question is why. The working presumption might be to facilitate the nuclear negotiations. A related concern: that this could be a way to unravel the sanctions on Iran that are based on terrorism, rather than illicit nuclear activities. If any of that is accurate it should be alarming.”
The expansion of the areas in Syria under the control of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps towards contested areas near neighboring Jordanian villages and towns constitutes a dramatic and dangerous development for the Hashemite monarchy, according to reports from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and opposition activists.Washington Denies Blair Being Pushed Out of Quartet
These leadership elements have verified that thousands of IRGC operatives, supported by Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraqi, Afghani and Tajik Shi’a militias are holding three points on the border, separated from Jordan by a mere few kilometers.
While the FSA sources confirmed to Al-Jazeera that Jordan is worried about this Iranian expansion towards its borders, and that there are continuous intelligence communications between Jordanian authorities and some of the Syrian factions which are fighting on the ground, Amman has maintained its silence over the matter.
However, media reports have linked the Iranian expansion to the recent surprise visit by Jordanian Foreign Minister, Nasser Judeh, to Tehran. The leaks indicate that Judeh received an explanation from the Iranians regarding the purpose of their presence near his country’s borders with Syria, and Amman aimed to receive some assurances regarding this development.
The Financial Times said Sunday that Blair was stepping down after eight years in the job, and was preparing to take up a new role which could be announced later in the week.Tony Blair looking to expand peacemaking role in the Middle East
While Psaki confirmed Blair had met with Secretary of State John Kerry in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh over the weekend, she did not go into details of their discussion.
Blair has been "a valued partner in the effort to bring peace to the Middle East. We'll continue to value his support," she said, according to AFP.
The United States was "grateful for his service and efforts on his behalf of the Quartet for the past eight years," Psaki said.
But she added, "This is a natural time to reflect on the way forward for the Middle East peace process and the role of the Quartet going forward."
Quartet envoy and former British prime minister Tony Blair is not stepping away from the Mideast peace process, though there are discussions about what exactly his role will be, a source close to Blair said on Monday.EU to name new special envoy to Mideast peace process
The source's comments came following a report in the Financial Times on Sunday saying that Blair, who has been the Quartet's envoy for the last eight years, is preparing to step back from that role.
According to sources close to Blair, he initiated discussions that have been taking place for some time both with the Americans and the Europeans about the role of the Quartet, as well as his role. In recent weeks there has been some talks about expanding the Quartet, which includes the US, EU, UN and Russia – to also include some Arab countries as well.
According to the sources, the discussion are revolving around ways to enhance Blair's role – which has focused on economic development of the Palestinian Authority – and giving it a regional focus, in addition to dealing with the Palestinian economy.
Fernando Gentilini, who previously served as the EU’s special representative in Kosovo, has never been directly involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but sources say the Europeans appointed him because he’s an expert on mediation and conflict resolution.In Interview, Sisi Expresses Security Concerns, Lauds Cooperation with Israel
Gentilini’s appointment is to be announced by the EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, on Monday at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.
As new EU special representative to Middle East peace process, Gentilini would succeed the German-born Andreas Reinicke, who served in that capacity between February 2012 and June 2013.
Sources in Jerusalem said Gentilini has no background in Middle East affairs and that, as of now, it is unclear what mandate he will receive. Therefore, the sources added, it is impossible to know what to expect from his appointment.
In an interview with The Washington Post published Thursday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi lauded security cooperation with Israel while expressing his concern about the Islamist extremism his country faces. Sisi blamed the Muslim Brotherhood for recent violence in the Sinai Peninsula and on the Egypt-Libya border, referring to the group as “the parent organization of extreme ideology. They are the godfather of all terrorist organizations. They spread it all over the world.”Feiglin Banned from Temple Mount on Son's Wedding Day Despite plea to Netanyahu
A series of attacks erupted in Egypt’s restive Sinai Peninsula, this week. On Tuesday, a suicide bomber targeted a police compound in the city of el-Arish in northern Sinai. Shortly after, a roadside bomb exploded near an armored vehicle. In total, the attacks on Tuesday killed two people and wounded more than 30. The jihadist group Sinai Province, formerly known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis before pledging loyalty to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), claimed responsibility for the suicide attack. On Thursday, militants fired rocket-propelled grenades at a checkpoint south of el-Arish, wounding an officer and two soldiers.
Despite a direct plea to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, MK Moshe Feiglin was unable to visit the Temple Mount this morning on the day of his son's wedding.EU 5 Praise Israel's Gaza Work
However, his son David visited Judaism's holiest site anyway, with the MK escorting him to the Temple Mount gates and waiting patiently outside until he had finished his visit.
Feiglin has been banned from ascending the Mount after the prime minister himself intervened to end his regular monthly visits. The official reason given has been "security concerns" over his high profile activism for Jewish rights on the Temple Mount, but Feiglin himself - and other Temple Mount advocates, including some MKs - have decried the move as an attempt to appease extremist Muslims.
Jewish access to the Temple Mount in general is severely limited due to Muslim pressure and threats of violence by Islamist groups. Despite it being Judaism's holiest site Jews are forbidden from praying or carrying out any other forms of worship, and may only visit in small groups during a small window of time during the day. Sometimes Jewish access is barred entirely.
This, despite numerous rulings by Israeli courts calling for free access to all, regardless of religion.
The five are Britain, Italy, France, Spain, and Germany. Their consul-generals met last week with senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official Alon Ushpiz to tell him of their approval. They specifically complimented Israel's cooperation with the United Nations reconstruction apparatus, the fact that it doubled its water supply to Gaza, and the recent easing of export restrictions from Gaza.Gazan gets 15 years’ hard labor for ‘spying’ for Israel
COGAT - the Coordinator of [Israeli] Government Activities in the Territories – announced several days ago that Israel would double the amount of water it provides Gaza, given that a coastal aquifer it uses is becoming ineffective.
Meanwhile, Hamas continues to brag that it has successfully rebuilt military bases and is ready for war with Israel once again.
The five EU diplomats also met with Palestinian Authority representatives and told them off for not cooperating regarding efforts to rebuild Gaza. An unnamed European diplomat was quoted by Haaretz as saying, “The Israelis are removing hurdles and assisting reconstruction. At the same time, reconstruction is still stuck because of the internal fights on the Palestinian side, Egyptian behavior, and failure to deliver funds pledged by the Arab states.”
Just nine days ago, Nicholas Kristof – who writes a twice-weekly column in The New York Times – sharply criticized Israel in a Times op-ed. “Israel sustains a siege that amounts to economic warfare on an entire population," he wrote, ignoring developments such as: allowing 45 tractors into Gaza for farmers, as well as 50 trucks and 15 buses; allowing 5,000 merchants (up from 3,000) to cross out of Gaza per month; permitting 56,000 tons of construction materials into Gaza; and more.
A court in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip has handed a Palestinian convicted of “spying” for Israel to 15 years’ hard labor, a judicial source said on Monday.Report: Israel treating al-Qaida fighters wounded in Syria civil war
The 53-year-old man was found guilty of “providing the occupier personal names and the location of sites belonging to the resistance,” said the source.
The defendant had been found to have “collaborated with the occupier since 1988″ and had spent a year in the Jewish state.
Under Palestinian law, those convicted of collaboration with Israel, murder and drug trafficking face the death penalty.
Since the start of the year, at least one person convicted of “collaboration” with Israel has been sentenced to death in the West Bank.
Israel has opened its borders with Syria in order to provide medical treatment to Nusra Front and al-Qaida fighters wounded in the ongoing civil war, according to The Wall Street Journal.Nearly 13,000 Syrians tortured to death by Assad regime, 20,000 vanished since beginning of war
The prominent American newspaper reported that Nusra Front, the Sunni Muslim al-Qaida offshoot which is currently fighting the Iranian-backed axis of Bashar Assad and Hezbollah, "hasn't bothered Israel since seizing the border area last summer" along the Golan Heights.
While Israel views al-Qaida and its allies as enemies, it is far more disturbed by what it views as an even bigger menace – Iran and its proxies. According to The Wall Street Journal, this attitude has caused tension with the United States, which has also targeted al-Qaida and Nusra Front fighters in Syria.
According to figures provided by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights to AFP, 12,751 Syrians have been tortured to death by the Assad regime since the beginning of the country's bloody civil war in March of 2011.State Dept.: Assad Will 'Never' be Part of Syria Peace Talks
The figures issued by the Britain based monitor, which include 108 children, the youngest of whom was merely 12 years old, also include rebels, political activists, protesters and other forms of dissidents who have made up the nearly 200,000 people detained by the regime in the last four years.
The most feared torturers reportedly came from the military and security establishment, with particular emphasis on the Syrian Air-force's Intelligence service and the Damascus' Intelligence services. Those arrested were taken to their detainment centers where they were subjected to techniques ranging from starvation to psychological abuse. Victims were also often hung by their wrists and beating them with rods, while in other cases rape and sexual abuse was used instead or in addition.
The head of the monitor, Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP that some 20,000 Syrians had been 'disappeared' after their arrest and that their fates were covered up.
United States officials Monday denied there were any plans to meet Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, saying he would "never" be part of any peace negotiations to end the brutal civil war.NYTs: Turkey’s Drift From NATO
The clarification came after Secretary of State John Kerry appeared to suggest in a weekend interview that Washington would have to talk with Assad eventually if peace was to be forged.
"[I]f he's ready to have a serious negotiation about the implementation of Geneva I, of course, if people are prepared to do that. And what we're pushing for is to get him to come and do that," Kerry said in the interview.
On Monday, however, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki moved to clarify that assertion.
"As we have long said, there always has been a need for representatives of the Assad regime to be a part of that process," said Psaki, according to the AFP news agency.
"It would not be, and would never be -- and it wasn't what Secretary Kerry was intending to imply -- that that would be Assad himself."
There are other troubling aspects of Turkey’s behavior. The government says it is still considering buying from China a $3.4 billion air defense system that involves radars and long-range ground-to-air missiles that can shoot down enemy missiles. The purchase is opposed by the American and European allies because they view this military purchase from China as a risk. They are also disturbed that Turkey is not purchasing a system from them, because they have borne the cost of defending Turkey against a Syrian attack by stationing Patriot missile batteries on Turkish territory. Moreover, the Turkish defense minister last month said the government did not plan to integrate whatever air defense system it bought with NATO’s air defenses and radars so that the various parts would work together, though the presidential spokesman later said the system would be integrated with NATO’s.Turkey slams European Parliament’s call to recognize ‘Armenian genocide’
NATO would not integrate its system with a Chinese system because the two are not compatible, a Chinese system might contain risky software, and members of Congress oppose it. If Turkey refuses to link its defense system with NATO’s, “they are weakening the defense of their territory and weakening NATO at the same time,” said Ivo Daalder, a former American ambassador to NATO.
Meanwhile, Turkey is supposed to sign an agreement this year that will allow Russia to build a natural gas pipeline to Turkey, thus bypassing Ukraine. The Erdogan government, ignoring Western sanctions, has been exploiting a rift between Russia and the West over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to gain energy supplies at bargain prices. Russia also plans to build Turkey’s first nuclear power plant.
American officials say they don’t think Turkey will ever withdraw from NATO. Of course, such a move would be a catastrophic mistake. But the fact that the possibility is even raised by officials and defense experts shows how concerned the allies are about relying on Turkey in any crisis.
Turkish Foreign Ministry on March 14 slammed the human rights report adopted by the European Parliament, saying that the report lacked historical reality and legal basis.Turkish Quran Teacher Told Students They 'Deserved Rape' for Forgetting Hijab
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tanju Bilgiç said in a written statement that the report interpreted the event with a one-sided approach and disregarded Turkey's realistic and constructive initiatives relating to the matter.
The European Parliament adopted on March 12 the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World in 2013.
Article 77 of the report called "ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, on all the member states to legally acknowledge it, and encourages the member states and the EU institutions to contribute further to its recognition."
"We find the statements remarkably problematic in every aspect and regret them," Bilgiç said, adding that the report also raised "illogical and unlawful" demands.
"These steps, which were taken by those who do not know this historical event, damage Turkey-EU relations and make it difficult for Turks and Armenians to build their future together," said Bilgiç.
A female Quran teacher is on the hot seat after she told some female students at a middle school they “deserve rape” when they attended class without a headscarf.Turkey Recalls School Book Teaching Children Women Should Not Work
“You don’t cover your head anyway, so raping you or doing evil to you is permissible [in Islam],” said the teacher, identified only as L.Y.İ.
The incident occurred at the Rifat Pasa Middle School in the province of Tokat on March 9. The substitute teacher was teaching an elective class on the Quran. She lashed out at the seventh grade students when they refused to listen to her lessons. She also “chided students who attended a march in memory of a young woman named Özgecan Aslan, who was brutally killed in February after she allegedly resisted rape.”
“You ran to the demonstration,” she yelled at the students. “She is under the ground now. Did you cite al-Fatiha [opening chapter of the Quran]? You may end up like Özgecan.”
Turkish education officials are pulling a textbook from grade schools featuring a children’s story in which hyenas dismiss the idea of women being freely able to choose their own careers for fear that they will “not even want to start a family.”Woman handed 70 lashes and forced to pay fine for insulting a man on private messaging service WhatsApp in Saudi Arabia
The book, Flower Garden, was recalled this week after parents in an Istanbul school protested that their fourth-graders were being taught that women do not belong in the workplace, as well as unsavory stereotypes about artists.
A woman in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to 70 lashes after 'insulting' a man on private messaging service WhatsApp.
The unnamed 32-year-old will also have to pay a 20,000 Saudi Riyal fine for tarnishing the reputation of the man, a court has ruled.
The case was filed at Al Qatif criminal court in eastern Saudi Arabia by the man following an argument.The nature of the row is unknown.
The defendant pleaded guilty to insulting the man but rejected the court ruling, according to a Gulf News report.
Article Three of the Saudi Anti-Cyber Crime Law states that any person who commits 'defamation and infliction of damage upon others' using technological devices might have to face imprisonment for up to a year and a fine not exceeding 500,000 Saudi Riyal.
