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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
| Concern About Possible Coup In Syria | |
| 2006-02-06 | |
Tehran, 6 Feb. (AKI) - The Iranian Republican Guard has reportedly been put on alert to forestall a coup in ally Syria by military figures loyal to former vice president Abdul Halim Khaddam, currently in exile in France. In a reportage from Damascus, the Iranian website Saztab - close to the Republican Guard (Pasdaran) - announced the Pasdaran are examining the backgrounds of many army and airforce officers considered close to the former vice president.
According to Baztab, Abdolhalim Khaddam who several weeks ago announced he wanted to create a government in exile, is mobilising discontented officers to overthrow the regime of presdent Bashar al-Assad. The former vice president, according to the site, can count on the support of France, the US and Israel in effecting 'regime change'. | |
| Posted by: |
| #18 SteveS - LOL |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-02-06 20:00 |
| #17 There's a sizeable IRGC contingent in Syria that serves to support the operations of Hezbollah (which may as well be IRGC irregulars) in Lebanon. The key thing to keep in mind here is that the Syrian military and most of the ruling elite is made up of Alawites who use the veneer of Baathism to stay in power as the ruling minority and have done so for the last several decades. Assad rules at the sufferance of the Alawite leadership and Khaddam, while himself a Sunni, may try to enlist them in order to depose his former boss under the argument that if they don't they could end up like the Sunnis in Iraq. For those who are curious, Alawites follow a sort of Islamic Gnosticism. They have the Qu'ran, but use the al-Hayfat al-Sarif to interpret it and instead of traditional Muslim creeds recite "I testify that there is no god but God; Muhammad is his messenger and Ali ibn Abi Talib is his wali (protector)" in public and ""There is no god but Ali ibn Abu Talib" in private. You can easily see from that alone how far apart they are from the foundations of mainstream Islam, which is one of the reasons they are so anxious to maintain their grip on Syria at any cost. |
| Posted by: Dan Darling 2006-02-06 19:58 |
| #16 Ah, yes, but if a tree falls in the forest, and the media doesn't report it, did it REALLY happen? |
| Posted by: Bobby 2006-02-06 19:52 |
| #15 Boys WILL be boys, you know ..... and that desert is so boring ..... More seriously, there's a quiet trend going on here. The Iraqi general says WMD in Syria. IIRC there's an intel conference coming up in a week or two at which (supposedly) "a contractor will discuss the documents he found in Baghdad" that tie Saddam to WMD in the runup to Gulf II. A former Syrian VP announces his intent to form a government in exile. Various conservative media have begun calling for public disclosure of the contents of documents found and xlated from Iraq. We'll see if this is all smoke or if something of substance is uncovered soon that shifts the terms of debate on the WMD front. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-02-06 19:19 |
| #14 Gosh, I hope those little scamps in the Special Operations Forces have not been playing mischievious tricks like scattering leaflets saying "Everyone meet at Ali's house for the Big Coup". That would be soooo naughty. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2006-02-06 19:10 |
| #13 Brett - I've found it helps to watch this unfold in much the same way I watch a French Farce. The players don't matter, they are all interlinked - and only the writer has the next chapter in the typewriter. But we do know, like the farce, all will out in the end. The truth does become known, in all its silly, sordid details. Find the author. |
| Posted by: Hupomoger Clans9827 2006-02-06 18:47 |
| #12 No one, but no one is more byzantine like a muzzie politician. I get vertigo just trying to follow all the permutations of this Mohammedean thingie as it continuously winds, unwinds and spawns yet another sub-group of even more crazed muzzies. How can one keep up? |
| Posted by: Brett 2006-02-06 18:17 |
| #11 It would be nice to watch a new Syrian dictatorship that (a) turned over any WMD (especially Iraqi WMD) (b) Left Lebanon alone and cut off Hezzbolah (c) Closed the border with Iraq. If they did those three things I think the Neocons would be happy to take them off the list and let them have a dictatorship for awhile longer. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2006-02-06 18:11 |
| #10 Red on red! Red on red! Red on red! If I were baby Assad, I'd be nervous about those IRG guys. Them and the Mukbharat. How do we know they're not working for Khaddam already? Or can't be bought? |
| Posted by: Mike 2006-02-06 17:27 |
| #9 Indeed, Barbara - I was so upset about the stability issue I shortchanged it - my bad. ;-) |
| Posted by: .com 2006-02-06 17:22 |
| #8 Coup da Grassy! Coup da Grassy! |
| Posted by: Snaggle P 2006-02-06 17:08 |
| #7 As I recall, Syria hosts a contingent of the IRG. Perhaps Dan Darling can tell us more. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2006-02-06 17:01 |
| #6 .com - wouldn't that be the "brutal" Syrian winter? It's important we get the |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-02-06 16:56 |
| #5 Oh no! What about M.E. stability? And the Syrian winter? |
| Posted by: .com 2006-02-06 16:41 |
| #4 Let's see...exactly how would the "Iranian Republican Guard" get to Syria to forestall a coup? Inquiring minds want to know! |
| Posted by: anymouse 2006-02-06 16:40 |
| #3 Khaddam needs to be used and milked dry for any useful information or action. Afterwards, his empty shell should be discarded with the rest of the trash. |
| Posted by: danking_70 2006-02-06 16:29 |
| #2 Er, who exactly is 'concerned' here? Although maybe we should be? Khaddam is/was one of the architects of the authoritarian Baath party policies... |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-02-06 16:07 |
| #1 The Iranian Republican Guard has reportedly been put on alert to forestall a coup ... The former vice president, according to the site, can count on the support of France, the US and Israel... And thus starts the next phase? |
| Posted by: Penguin 2006-02-06 16:04 |