[AlAhram] Tunisian Education Minister Salem Labyedh resigned in frustration over death of Mohamed Brahmi Thursday
Tunisian Education Minister Salem Labyedh has resigned, the prime minister's front man said on Wednesday, as pressure mounts on the Islamist-led government to step down amid a growing political crisis.
Last week's killing of a leftist politician, the second to be slain by suspected Islamist Death Eaters in six months, is disrupting a tense political transition that began when Tunisians toppled an autocratic leader in 2011.
Opposition parties, the largest labour union and the secular Ettakatol party, the ruling Islamist Ennahda party's junior coalition partner, have all demanded the government's departure.
Labyedh, a secular independent, had said he was considering resigning after fellow-leftist Mohamed Brahmi was rubbed out on Thursday in an liquidation the government has pinned on hardline Salafi Islamists. The opposition blames Ennahda.
The opposition is also calling for the dissolution of the transitional Constituent Assembly, just weeks before the elected body completes a new draft constitution.
Ennahda has softened its rejection of opposition demands, saying it was open to the possibility of a new government, but has firmly rejected demands to disband the Assembly.
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[AlAhram] Sudanese refugee and rights activist Mohamed Suliman Mohamed had been facing harassment in Cairo from Sudanese authorities, according to colleagues
A Sudanese refugee who has faced harassment after gathering testimonies of alleged war crimes in his native Darfur could be deported from Egypt, colleagues say.
"We're busy with our own revolution, bud. Go take your problems somewhere else."
Mohamed Suliman Mohamed, a refugee from Nyala in the Sudanese state of South Darfur, was locked away Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! by Egyptian security forces on 25 July, according to Sudanese activist Bashir Suliman.
Suliman told Ahram Online that Mohamed, who had been living in Egypt since 2004, had been subject to "harassment" from the Sudanese embassy for several years, which intensified a year ago.
"Mohamed was coordinating with Abu Talib Hassan Iman, a Darfurian laywer, who is working with the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... ...to gather information about victims of genocide in Darfur who live in Cairo," said Suliman, who is a member of the Cairo-based Sudan Center for Contemporary Research and Development (SCC).
"He told us he faced a lot of harassment from the Sudanese embassy, in the streets, or in his cell phone...and finally they captured him in the airport."
According to Suliman, who has spoken to Mohamed by phone since his arrest, Mohamed was arrested at Cairo International Airport and remains in detention at the site.
"I know he spoke to someone from UNHCR protection team but they were not allowed to meet him at the airport," he added.
UNHCR's Egypt office told Ahram Online that it is "following the case of Mohamed Suliman with the Egyptian authorities and the community in order to avoid his deportation."
Deportation of a refugee to the country where they were persecuted is a breach of the international refugee convention, to which Egypt is a signatory.
Suliman told Ahram Online that a number of refugees in Cairo who work on human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. issues have faced harassment by Sudanese authorities.
In May 2011, Moneim Suliman Atron, a Sudanese refugee and then director of the SCC, was similarly arrested and threatened with deportation from Egypt to Sudan. Following international pressure, he and his family were resettled to Norway.
Sudanese foreign affairs front man Abu-Bakr Al-Sideeq could not be reached for comment.
[AlAhram] National Alliance to Support Legitimacy has called for mass demonstrations after the cabinet says it will take steps to disperse pro-Morsi sit-ins
They'll keep doing what once worked until they learn the hard way that it won't work anymore.
The Moslem Brüderbund-led National Alliance to Support Legitimacy has called for mass protests on Friday under the banner of "Egypt against the coup."
Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt's cabinet issued a statement saying it would take "all legal measures necessary to confront acts of terrorism and road-blocking" in an apparent warning to supporters of deposed Brotherhood president Mohamed Morsi, who have been camping out at two sit-ins in Cairo since the president's ouster on 3 July.
The pro-Morsi alliance responded with a statement read by a front man and aired on Al-Jazeera ... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means the Peninsula, as in the Arabian Peninsula. In recent years it has settled in to become slightly less biased than MSNBC, in about the same category as BBC or CBS... on television calling for million-man protests on Friday.
"The alliance affirms that the Egyptian nation now recognises the true faceless myrmidons after several massacres committed by the putschists against pro-Morsi protestors," said the statement.
Over 80 pro-Morsi demonstrators were killed in violent festivities with police in the early hours of Saturday morning, a short distance away from the main sit-in in Nasr City.
Speaking about the interior ministry, which the cabinet statement charged with dispersing the protests, the alliance statement read: "Whatever they do, we will not be silent about their thugs...Let the world know who is peaceful and who is inciting terror."
The alliance backs continued peaceful protest until demands for Morsi's return are met.
"Our peacefulness will prove stronger than their bullets," said the front man.
In a plea to the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... , the Moslem Brüderbund-led coalition called on the international organization to oppose the "coup" and condemn the mass killing of protestors.
The front man denied claims that protesters at the Nasr City demonstration are armed, and invited television channels to search for weapons at the sit-in.
The statement called for the constitutionally-guaranteed right to peaceful assembly to be upheld and appealed to the armed forces and police to refrain from directing bullets at "their Egyptian brothers."
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[AlAhram] Delegation of senior African figures meets Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Morsi a day after he met EU envoy Catherine Ashton
It's rather sweet that they all need to go through the ritual of publicly kicking former President Morsi in the teeth.
An African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... (AU) delegation met with deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi on Tuesday.
The African Union Wise Men Committee delegation, led by former Malian president Alpha Omar Konare, spent an hour with Morsi at some holy man's guesthouse an undisclosed location, state news agency MENA reported.
This is the second meeting between a foreign delegation and Morsi since he was ousted by the military on 3 July amid nationwide protests against his rule.
EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton confirmed on Tuesday that she had met Morsi for two hours late on Monday.
Earlier on Tuesday, the AU delegation met a number of Egyptian officials, including army chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and interim Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy.
Egypt was suspended from the AU following Mohamed Morsi's removal.
Egypt's interim leaders have sent six special envoys to African countries to explain their version of events.
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[AlAhram] Egypt's 10-member constitutional experts committee say amendment process underway after submission of proposals from various state and civil actors
The details don't matter, though they can be seen at the link. Key is that the Army, representing the will of the Egyptian people, strongly disapprove of the changes the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists had intended ti impose.
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#1
Key is that the Army, representing the will of the Egyptian people
Or common sense---which is better since there is no such thing as "Egyptian people".
[AlAhram] Following second liquidation of opposition figure, tensions with ruling Islamists lead many activists to replicate Egypt's grass-roots signature drive 'Tamarod'
The killing of Tunisia's opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi opened fire on the ruling Islamist party Ennahda, which faced an angry wave of protests during the last week.
This is not the first incident, as another opposition figure, Chokri Belaid, was assassinated on 6 February leading to a wave of political tensions between the government and the opposition in Tunisia.
The Arab Spring pioneer state seems uncertain about its democratic future, especially amid the absence of a joint political vision.
Who Killed Brahmi?
The assassinated parliamentarian Brahmi was rubbed out by unidentified gunnies outside his home on 25 July in the exact way in which Belaid lost his live.
President Moncef Marzouki said the killing was aimed at derailing the Arab Spring and called it a "second national catastrophe" after Belaid's murder as many opposition forces accused Ennahda of committing both crimes.
Last week, General Union of Tunisian Labour (UGTT) called for general strikes across the North African country, which was implemented "100 percent," said Mahmoud El- May, a member of the Constituent Assembly (ANC), which is in charge of drafting Tunisia's new constitution.
"For instance, all airports were closed; however, it is difficult to see what happened in Egypt because of the un-politicised military and consensus on the constitution-writing process," added El-May, a member of the centrist Al-Joumhouri Party.
Tunisia Prime Minister Ali Larayedh, heading an Ennahda-led coalition, that includes the centre-left Ettakatol Party and Congress for the Republic (CPR), called for a general election for 17 December following an emergency meeting intended to reduce political tensions as anti-government protests called for the ouster of the government.
He insisted that the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) will complete the drafting of the constitution by 23 October.
This statement coincided with a warning by one of Ennahda's coalition partners, Ettaktol, to withdraw unless a new national unity government is formed, claiming it is necessary to "end the widespread and increasingly violent protests."
Ennahda's international spokesperson Yusra Ghannouchi spoke to Ahram Online on the issue.
"There are some calls for exploiting the tragic and heinous liquidation crime to attempt once again to obstruct the completion of the democratic transition and the organization of elections by those who are not committed to the democratic process," Ghannouchi said.
She said that a full draft constitution has been completed. The assembly has already started to discuss it in preparation for amendments and adoption. Several fundamental commissions (media, judiciary etc.) have been formed and the electoral commission that will oversee the organization of elections by the end of this year "is almost ready."
Egypt-inspired Tamarod movement
The way Egypt's ex-president Mohamed Morsi was ousted inspired many Tunisian anti-government activists.
The so-called Tamarod (Rebel) movement collected 22 million signatures against the Islamist president in Egypt, sparking nationwide protests that called for his ouster.
Tunisia is currently replicating this experience.
Opposition activists launched their own version of Tamarod, accusing Ennahda of attempting to create a religious state that restricts personal freedoms and criticising it for its failure to manage the economy.
Meriem Dhaouadi, a Tunisian youth activist, said that Tamarod aims at reaching 2 million signatures within the next few weeks, calling for the formation of a consensual government, dissolution of the elected NCA and creation of a "body of experts" to draft a new constitution.
"I do expect the leading Ennahda government to fall down pretty soon. The people are angry from the course of liquidations, as well as the almost-same neo-liberal economic policies implemented under the dictatorship of Ben Ali," she said.
"Although the troika is leading Tunisia today, in reality it is a one party rule, that of Ennahda, while the other parties seem not to be involved in the decision-making," Dhaouadi added.
On 14 July, Tamarod announced the collection of 870,000 signatures out of 10-million people, but the claim could not be verified, according to AFP.
Larayedh, in a radio interview, described Tamarod last week as a "copycat group" that represents a danger to the democratic process.
Mabrouka Mbarek, a CPR Constituent Assembly member, said that asking the government to resign is a legitimate demand, but calling for the dissolution of the NCA is "irresponsible." "The government was not able to prevent the liquidation of a politician," she asserted.
Mbarek said that Tunisians need to "wrap up the job and get this transition to an end," otherwise the 'counter-revolution' will get stronger and take us back to a dictatorship."
Ghannouchi said "some nihilistic and irresponsible attempts" in Tunisia seek to exploit the "tragic situation" in Egypt in order to destroy the whole political process.
"No sane person would wish to take their country into the same direction into which Egypt is being dragged, and secondly because the arguments used by some to justify the coup in Egypt simply do not exist in Tunisia," Ghannouchi noted.
According to most news reports, dozens of Tunisian MPS have been boycotting parliamentary sessions since Brahmi's liquidation, a situation that led NCA speaker
Mustapha Ben Jaafar to call for "restraint" and urge them to resume work on the delayed constitution.
Local authorities accused Al-Qaeda-linked Salafist group Ansar Al-Sharia, of assassinating Brahmi; the latter denied their involvement.
Brahmi was buried next to Belaid in El-Jellaz cemetery, where hundreds of thousands of mourners took the streets of the capital Tunis during his funeral on Saturday.
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[Ynet] The United States still plans to hold a major military exercise called Bright Star in Egypt in mid-September, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Wednesday, even after the Egyptian military's toppling of the president and the violence that has ensued.
"We're planning on going ahead with it," Hagel told news hounds at a Pentagon news conference.
[FoxNews] A world history textbook being used in Florida public schools is raising serious concerns over its alleged Islamic bias. The textbook, used in ninth grade Advanced Placement classes in Brevard County for the past three years, is now under review by the school board.
Kudos to the alert parents who caught this and passed the word to a Fox News reporter. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.
The book contains an entire chapter devoted to "Musselmen Civilizations." Sean Hannity noted that it has zero chapters on Christianity or Judaism. The chapter teaches about the Prophet Muhammad and how he became God's messenger. It even describes jihad as a "holy war to defend Islam [...] much like the Crusades to defend Christianity."
Fox News Radio's Todd Starnes has obtained a copy of the textbook. He told Hannity, "Through the entire chapter, Sean, Islam is defended. They talk about how wonderful Islam is to women. I mean, you'd think that they were having Victoria's Secret stores over there."
Starnes said the book attempts to re-write history by likening bad things in Christianity's history to a "massacre," but for Islam it's referred to as an "occupation."
Hannity asked why the text didn't cover comparative religions if it was going to discuss religion at all. Starnes said he hasn't received an answer from the publishing company, Pearson, on that question. In a prepared statement, they told Starnes, "A review of the book shows there is balanced attention given to the beliefs of Islam, Judaism and Christianity."
Starnes said this problem is bigger than Brevard County, Florida. He cited a survey by the Citizens for National Security that found that at least 80 textbooks currently in use are filled with Musselmen bias.
#3
I have substituted at two middle schools since I retired a few years ago. I too have noticed this bias but when I mentioned it I was reprimanded for "
I was reprimanded for "questioning a teacher".
What I asked was since religion could not be taught in schools why were the tenets and rites of Islam being taught?
One school doesn't make much of it but the other is far too close to Sharia compliance for my taste.
#5
Everyone involved in the purchase of this new textbook should be named and forced to defend it or admit they just rubber stamped it without doing their jobs. I'd like to see the squirming.
[Ynet] Refugees struggle and rebel fighters languish as Assad forces, aided by Hezbollah, reverse losses; 'the revolution has stalled,' Syrian refugee laments
As the regime of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Horror of Homs... has reversed losses on the battlefield and Syrian rebels have begun fighting amongst themselves, the revolution that the world cheered on has ground to a halt. Foreign journalists no longer call Jablawi and his fellow activists and most do not dare venture into a country where jihadists are eager to capture them. There are just a handful of journalists in rebel areas, although the government is beginning to allow journalists to enter for the first time since the civil war began. Most journalists cover the fighting from Leb or Turkey.
As a result, the activists, fighters and humanitarian aid workers who worked so hard to cultivate their revolution are now ruminating about where their uprising went awry.
Sartawi says that when the regime began going on the offensive in May, the wealthy Persian Gulf donors who funded the group's operations gradually stopped giving. "They didn't want to fund an open ended operation. They are scared this is a never-ending revolution."
Syrian activists believe the revolution took a turn for the worse when the Lebanese organization Hezbollah entered the fray on the side of the regime in the spring. But they also blame the internecine quarrels that have paralyzed the rebel-led Free Syrian Army (FSA). "No one trusts each other anymore," complained a 28 year old activist in Aleppo who only gave his name as Amr. "The FSA brigades are fighting between themselves for resources more than they are fighting Bashar."
Amr and others complain that the FSA has lost its bearings, transforming itself from a band of Robin Hoods protecting the people to a gang of outlaws bent on fleecing them. "Some brigades no longer fight," noted Hamdi Suleiman, a 24 year old activist from the city of Idlib. "They spend all their time stealing. The people don't like this."
As Syrians turn against the FSA, the logistical networks which worked in its shadows have suffered. "People don't want to help us anymore," humanitarian aid worker Hamza Rida told The Media Line. "Pharmacists used to give us free medicine. Grocers handed out food. But now they say they have nothing for us."
Frustrations such as these have pushed activists like Jablawi to leave Syria. "There is not much we can do to help the revolution when Syrians don't want to help us," he said. "But even worse, the foreign journalists don't want our help anymore either.
As the international media is fixated on the struggle between the military and the Moslem Brüderbund in Egypt, few news hounds are focusing on Syria. In addition, a spate of kidnappings of foreign journalists in Syria has made the country a mini-Iraq that few want to venture into. "It's dangerous and getting worse by the day," says a correspondent for a major Western publication. "If no one is asking for articles, why should we risk it?"
And as the world turns its back on the country, the risks Syrians took for their revolution are looking more and more like a futile effort.
[AnNahar] Violence in Iraq killed 989 people in July, government figures released on Wednesday showed, making it the deadliest month since April 2008.
The dead comprised 778 civilians, 88 police, 55 soldiers and 68 bad boys, according to the figures compiled by the health, interior and defense ministries. Violence also maimed 1,567 people in July -- 1,356 civilians, 122 police and 89 soldiers.
The figures make July the deadliest month since 2008, when Iraq was emerging from a bloody sectarian conflict.
In April of that year, 1,428 people were killed, according to official figures -- 966 civilians, 69 police, 38 soldiers and 355 bad boys.
Iraq has faced years of attacks by myrmidons, but analysts say widespread discontent among the Sunni Arab minority, which the government has failed to address, has fueled this year's spike in unrest.
Sunnis accuse the Shiite-led government of marginalizing and targeting their community, including unwarranted arrests and terrorism charges. Protests that erupted in Sunni areas at the end of 2012 are still ongoing.
In addition to major security problems, the government is also failing to provide adequate basic services such as electricity and clean water, and corruption is widespread. Political squabbling has paralyzed the government, which has passed almost no major legislation in years.
#1
Yes, the Iraqis miss the stability US troops provided. They miss the $$$. The US leftist politicians and media miss being able to say our presence there fuels unrest.
But they still hate us. We need to learn from that...
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[AnNahar] The government began implementing strict entry controls on Syrians fleeing the turmoil in the neighboring in an attempt to confront the soaring numbers of refugees.
Syrians: the new Palestinians beloved and welcomed for their own sweet selves wherever they go.
Boy howdy, it's so hard to understand why the Lebanese wouldn't open their hearts and homes to Syrians...
According to An Nahar newspaper published on Wednesday, the security measures are implemented on all border crossings with Syrian including al-Masnaa border crossing in the east, al-Abboudiyeh in Akkar district, al-Aridah in North Leb and several others.
The measures aim at preventing "terrorist" and anti-Lebanese army groups from entering the country.
"Only people with valid identification cards or passports can enter and they are filling applications that identify them whether they are refugees or workers," the report said.
Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel previously said that the measures aim at organizing the refugees legal permits.
The residency permits will have a timeframe of six months, Charbel noted.
Ministerial sources told An Nahar that the entry controls don't target the Syrians but rather aim at safeguarding the Lebanese.
Concerning the government's decision to shut down unlicensed businesses owned by Syrians across Leb, the deadline for them acquire the legal permits was extended to August 31.
The Lebanese state argues that the Syrians the right to work to feed themselves on building sites or other sectors but not in trade or in businesses that require a permit.
Many Syrian refugees are forced to sleep rough on the streets because they can not afford to rent somewhere to live.
But the presence of 600,000 alongside a population of just four million has sparked mounting friction.
A recent opinion poll found that 54 percent of respondents believed Leb should close its doors to the refugees. A full 82 percent said that the refugees were stealing jobs from Lebanese.
Really, we need to label Syria on battlefield in The War of Shiite Aggression.... or is it of Sunni Aggression?
Depends which side you're on...
[AnNahar] Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri ... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... said that Hizbullah had been exposed as a 'tool of Iranian expansionism,' in an audio message posted online on Wednesday.
Zawahiri said that Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah's public acknowledgement in late April that its fighters had intervened in neighboring Syria in support of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... , a key Tehran ally, "tore off the mask he always hid behind."
"The jihadist uprising in Musselmen Syria has exposed the ugly face of Hasan Nasrallah, the head of the rejectionist (Shiite) Safavid (Iranian) plan for Syria," the al-Qaeda leader said.
"It has been revealed to the Islamic Umma that he is just an instrument in the rejectionist Safavid plan that aims to spread the hegemony of the vali-e faqih," he said, referring to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollahi Ali Khamenei.
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08/01/2013 01:04 ||
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#1
Hizbullah had been exposed as a 'tool of Iranian expansionism,
Boy Howdy!! Nothing gets by those head bumps. I think this also needs a "Master of the Obvious".
[AlAhram] Iran extends aid to President Bashar al Assad's government as it signes a deal this week with Syria to buy oil products
Syrian authorities and Iran signed a deal this week to activate a $3.6 billion credit facility to buy oil products with long term payment terms, officials and bankers said on Wednesday.
We all did wonder how Syrian units continued to be mobile, and now we know. How much longer will the Iranian purse be able to pour out the bullion, though?
The deal, which was agreed last May between the two allies and will allow Iran to acquire equity stakes in investments in Syria, was part of a package to extend Iranian aid to President Bashar al Assad's government, its main political ally.
Another $1 billion credit line to Damascus has already been extended to buy Iranian power generating products and other goods in a barter arrangement that has helped Syria export textiles and some agricultural produce such as olive oil and citrus, trade officials say.
Syria is short of diesel for its army and fuel to keep the economy running because of U.S. and European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... sanctions imposed after a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. Its main supplier of petroleum products by sea has been Iran.
Despite political support from China and Russia, which have blocked U.N. draft resolutions which could have led to further sanctions on Syria and opposed military intervention to end the conflict, Assad's fuel and cash lifelines have all but dried up.
Iran has steadily expanded economic ties with Syria to help it withstand Western economic sanctions and sealed a free trade deal that granted Syrian exports a low 4 percent customs tariff.
Last January, Tehran agreed during a visit by Prime Minister Wael al-Halki to deposit $500 million in Syria's central bank vaults, banking sources say.
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[Ynet] American intelligence analysts have concluded that a recent alleged Israeli Arclight airstrike on a warehouse in Syria did not succeed in destroying all of the Russian-made anti-ship cruise missiles that were its target, the New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... reported.
So generous of them to share their conjecture with the whole world. Betcha the NYT journalistic staff felt a mutual frisson as they prepared this report.
According to the report, Israel carried out an attack on July 5 near Latakia to destroy the missiles, which Russia had sold to Syria. But the report said that while the warehouse was destroyed, analysts have now concluded that at least some of the Yakhont missiles had been moved from the warehouse before the attack.
[Ynet] Rebel video of chopper interception shows use of SA-8 air defense system -- mobile, autonomous, hard to detect, poses direct threat to Israeli airspace
Click on the headline above to see video at the link.
The video released by Syrian opposition forces which allegedly documents the tracking and interception of an army helicopter shows that rebels have managed to get their hands on Russian-made SA-8, or OSA, air defense system, and now pose a direct threat on the Israeli, Lebanese and Syrian airspaces.
However, there's more than one way to skin a cat... the system is relatively outdated, and the Syrian army holds a far more dangerous development of the same system, the SA-17, which it purchased from Russia with Iranian funds.
The Syrian army has several SA-17 regiments, but some systems are probably meant for Hezbollah .
According to foreign reports, in January, Israel bombed a weapons convoy making its way from Damascus to Leb, allegedly carrying this type of anti-aircraft system to Hezbollah.
The SA-8 and SA-17 are especially dangerous, as they are both mobile (and at least partly amphibious) and autonomous -- the vehicle mounted with the system can independently track and intercept aircraft.
As vehicles mounted with the SA-8 can move rapidly from place to place and hide easily in urban areas and in Syria and Leb's many caves, finding them can be most difficult.
For these reasons Israel views transfers of the SA-8 system to Hezbollah as a game changer, which must be thwarted even at the risk of conflict with Syria.
The threat posed to Israel by these mobile and stealthy systems may become even more crucial should the IDF decide to act against Hezbollah and Syria's rocket and missile arrays aimed at Israeli cities and military bases.
The Syrian Orbit TV channel, affiliated with the Syrian opposition, aired on Tuesday a detailed report on the issue, claiming that the Al-Islam Brigade, one of the armed rebel groups operating on the outskirts of the capital, put their hands on an SA-8 system, mounted on a vehicle, termed "the greatest spoils of the campaign," after taking over a 264 Unit base in December 2012.
According to the report, in recent months the group has upgraded the system, finally succeeding in downing a Syrian helicopter.
Army officers interviewed in the report noted the use of the system is a "qualitative turning point" in the Syrian war power balance.
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#1
OTOH a Pert was ranting warning on the Net that outdated non-MANPAD SAMS may be converted into SR SSMS targeted at either Israel, Jordan or Turkey.
By definition, the above infers dedicated Iranian andor NOKOR assistance.
#3
You don't want to be going Man'O Mendiola, the Capital Markets > Penn State are at his command. Go with infer, keep Madonna under control > away from the button.
[IBTimes] Iran's outgoing president Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad has said 5,000 new centrifuges are ready to start operating at the country's nuclear facilities. These are in addition to the 12,000 centrifuges already in operation.
"12,000 centrifuge machines are now running in our nuclear sites and 5,000 new centrifuges are ready to start operation," the hardline president told the country's IRIB1 TV.
The development has come despite Yukiya Amano, director of the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), expressing concern over Iran's controversial nuclear programme.
The IAEA said in June that Tehran was violating international regulations by increasing the number of centrifuges.
Meanwhile, ...back at the dirigible, Cynthia backed into the galley, the barbecue fork held in front of her. Jack! she called. Where the hell are you?... a US thinktank has noted that Iran may be able to achieve weapons-grade uranium by mid-2014.
The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) said Iran could achieve this by installing thousands of centrifuges at its Natanz and Fordow nuclear facilities.
"Iran could have time to make enough weapon-grade uranium for one or more nuclear weapons," says the ISIS in its July report.
The American body, citing images of Iran's nuclear sites obtained from commercial satellites, had earlier said Tehran was trying to hide the links between its Lashkar Ab'ad nuclear facility and firms involved in laser technology.
At the Lashkar Ab'ad facility, experiments of enriching uranium through laser isotope separation have been conducted in the past. However, death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate... IAEA officials, who probed the facility, say laser is used for civilian purposes.
Ahmadinejad, while speaking elsewhere, also noted that the country had achieved the technology to enrich uranium to higher purity levels through lasers.
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#1
Lindsey Graham's Sept-Oct 2013 timeline occurs roughly at the same time as Japan's fear of China making a forced landing in the Senkakus wid former or ex-PLA veterans which again coincides wid China's construction in the disputed Spratlys + the possible establishment of Kurdistan "pro forma" in Syria.
N-O-T counting anything else between now + then.
POTUS Bammer = sequester-hit USA, UDOD may be facing a "perfect storm" of geopol dangerous crises in the ME + East Asia long before the formal US Campaigning for 2014 even starts???
Iff Iran is to go Weaps Nukulaar + China to take over the "Second Island Chain" e.g. GUAM-CNMI-WESTPAC by 2020, then pragmatically the time for them to do so is when the Radical Islamist-described "weakest US President in history" is now in the Oval Office + under Sequester, etc.
N-O-T come Jan 2017 when he isn't.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
International Criminal Court
... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
