[Pak Daily Times] Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... 's tough cop Chaudhry Aslam Khan, a leader of the terrorist-battered Awami National Party (ANP) Mian Mushtaq, several security personnel guarding the Pakistain Mohammedan League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Amir Muqam and, of course, the hero of Hangu, young Aitzaz Hassan were all martyred at the hands of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) in the past several days. Elsewhere in the world such attacks would have triggered a swift and befitting response by the state, but not in Pakistain. Why would it be any different now?
Had this country not opted for inaction when Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... was martyred? Did it move at all when the lionhearted Bashir Bilour was slain? Before that, did the state not fail to budge after the deaths of the Inspector General Police (IGP) Malik Saad, Superintendent Police (SP) Khan Raziq and scores of ANP workers in one bombing? Pakistain, it seems, has a remarkably high pain tolerance. Every time agony is inflicted on its people by the terrorists, the Pak leadership squanders the opportunity to build consensus for decisive action. Choosing dithering and confusion over resolve and clarity has become the hallmark of the Pak state.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... 's timely but tepid recognition of the sacrifice rendered by the 15-year-old Aitzaz and Mr Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... reprimanding his own government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... for failing to reach out to the young hero's family is somewhat of a departure from the past but why could Mr Sharif not be his usual magnanimous self in honouring Aitzaz? The boy rendered the ultimate sacrifice -- his conscious decision by all accounts -- laying down his life to save his schoolmates from a terrorist maniac. What more could he do to earn the Nishan-e-Shujaat, the top civilian award for gallantry? Why did the prime minister settle for the third highest award, the Sitara-e-Shujaat, is better known to him and is his prerogative. However, a lie repeated often enough remains a lie... he may wish to consider that if only the Pak state had the guts to grapple with gunnies like Aitzaz did, things may have been different today.
Mr Imran Khan's statement is welcome but, yet again, he condemned only the murder and not the murderers whom he calls his brothers and 'our people'. His coalition partner, the Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... 's (JI's) Liaquat Baloch called Aitzaz a shaheed (martyr). Just months prior, the JI's chief had called the TTP ringleader, Hakeemullah Mehsud, a martyr. Mr Khan and his JI partners cannot have their jihadist cake and eat it too. They will have to choose sides. Aitzaz is a martyr and Hakeemullah was a merciless killer and thug. The TTP may be Mr Khan's 'own people' but they are enemy number one of the Pak people. Mr Khan and the JI types cannot have it both ways -- they must come clean on terrorism. The opium of negotiations that they have been peddling has paralysed the Pak state. Mr Khan, with massive help from the media, has reduced the complex issue of jihadist terrorism to merely a reaction to the drone attacks. His solution is fantastically simple too: talk to what is the lunatic fringe even among the terrorists. The Pashtuns are facing an existential threat: families are moving out of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. in droves, the jihadist extortion is rampant and the TTP is encroaching upon the outskirts of the city. It is no different in Charsadda, Mardan and Nowshera. The people do not have the luxury to wait for Mr Khan's experiments in governance.
However, a lie repeated often enough remains a lie... the ultimate responsibility to pull the country out of this morass still rests with Mr Nawaz Sharif. His interior minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, has been shooting -- or more accurately talking -- in the dark. It seems that he has ghost emissaries reaching out to ghost Taliban and conducting ghost negotiations. The process that Chaudhry Nisar has been promising for six months never did take off. There were no talks before the TTP honchos Wali-ur-Rehman and Hakeemullah Mehsud were killed and none whatsoever afterwards. The interior minister owes the people a candid explanation. Someone recently wrote that the interior minister is leaning towards a Plan B, i.e. military action against the TTP. The fact is that the PML-N government is merely plodding along and has no comprehensive plan whatsoever to tackle the militancy nationwide.
Whatever the PML-N's understanding with the Punjab-based jihadists is, it seems to be working. Nawaz Sharif's government appears in no hurry to take the terrorism bull by the horns so long as the beast remains in FATA and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The PML-N's cavalier attitude to even its preferred solution of talks is reflected by reportedly asking Maulana Samiul Haq ...the Godfather of the Taliban, leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as Mullah Sandwich for his habit of having two young boys at a time... to act as an intermediary with the Taliban. It cannot be lost on the government that, as recently as a few weeks ago, the Haqqani network men were conducting prayer services for their assassinated leader Nasiruddin Haqqani in the vicinity of Maulana Samiul Haq's Haqqaniyah Madrassa in Akora. The PML-N has to get its act together, and soon. Relying on Samiul Haq types is a recipe for bigger disasters.
The Taliban are trying to project power but, by all accounts, still remain on the ropes. There is bickering among various TTP factions and with their transnational jihadist cohorts. A spike in extortions -- including in Islamabad -- and new recruitment videos indicate an element of desperation in the TTP. The Mehsud faction apparently is refusing to share the kitty left behind by Hakeemullah. This is when the state has its chance to assert its power instead of the interior minister's wishy-washy statements about how difficult it is to fight terrorism. Mr Nawaz Sharif must put his house in order if he wishes to do something meaningful about the TTP hordes. Given the abysmal performance of some of his lieutenants, he may even have to consider a cabinet reshuffle. He simply cannot afford to have his ministers waffling at such critical junctures.
The military seems inclined to take on the TTP and General Raheel Sharif's tribute to the hero of Hangu was perhaps the most unequivocal one in Pakistain. Whether the military will abandon its Afghan proxies is highly suspect but, unless it cuts them loose, it may just be chasing its tail. However, a lie repeated often enough remains a lie... for all of that to happen, the narrative has to be wrestled back from the jihadists' advocates in the political parties and the media. This is where Mr Sharif will have to take charge, pronounce his vision clearly, set the goals and cut through the confusion spread by TTP apologists. Things as they stand are untenable but is Mr Sharif up to the task? Unfortunately, his tepid outrage over terrorism suggests otherwise.
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01/18/2014 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] At the age of 15, Aitzaz Hussain Bangash did what the leadership of this country, both civilians and men in uniform, has failed to do. He died a hero's death so that his schoolmates could live on and realise their worldly dreams. He cut his life short so others could blossom. Aitzaz could have listened to the pleas of his friends and run away like them, he could have reasoned with himself, he could have thought of his family and his unfulfilled dreams, he could have been smart like our leaders by saving his skin and letting the jacket wallah blow dozens of children up in flames but he chose otherwise. He confronted the bomber with the intention of preventing an attack.
Aitzaz Hussain died in the incident that took place last week in Ibrahimzai, a Shia-dominated region of Hangu district ... Hangu is famous for its greenery, hills, beauty and water. Most of the people of this area are Bangash & Orakzai Pashtuns. Part of the Bangash are Shia. The Orakzai and the Sunni Bangash are determined to kill them... . Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the brightest knife in the national drawer... should know that Aitzaz's school was neither training drone operators nor was it a launching pad for drones. What Imran Khan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... would never say publicly is that the children were targeted because of their faith -- a Shia faith. Imran Khan acclaimed the hero but timidly avoided condemning the villain.
His friend Nayed Ali was right on the money when he told the media that it was time people came out and fought these turbans on their own. His despair was visible with the security forces, which have failed to protect the lives and property of innocent Paks. In another incident, we lost an intrepid police officer, Chaudhry Aslam Khan, to a suicide kaboom in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... . According to media reports, he had survived several earlier attempts on his life, including a devastating attack on his residence in 2011. This time around, Chaudhry Aslam's luck had, unfortunately, run out, as a powerful bomb targeted his van.
The bravery of his wife, Noreen Aslam, was heartening. She said her husband knew that he was "living to die". He was top on the list of the Taliban and other criminal gangs but he never shied away from his duty to take on these brutes. He indeed had conquered the fear of death.
And what did we give these two brave souls in return? We lamented their death with shallow condemnations from our leaders, with strings attached that talks with the turbans are the road to peace. The typical condemnatory statements that their blood would not go wasted and that their sacrifices would be remembered forever appeared on television channels as they do somehow after every such incident. To make sure that their deaths, and those of the many more before them, do not go in vain, the government has to take firm action to uproot all violent bully boy outfits.
The Frankenstein monster that our security forces created to hurt the interests of our neighbouring countries is biting back. Afghanistan President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... was right when he said that the earlier Pakistain realises the perils of nurturing terrorists, the better it will be for Pakistain and Afghanistan: "Terrorism is a snake and when you train a snake, you cannot expect it will only go into the neighbour's house." Pakistain has nurtured snakes like the Razakars, al Badr, al Shams, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Harkatul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... , Jaish-e-Muhammad, and the list goes on. The first target were the unarmed Bengalis in former East Pakistain, which ultimately gained freedom to become Bangladesh. Almost 20 years later, these private militias were sent to Kashmire to stoke the fires of separatism. The recent phenomenon is the launching of the lashkars (collective tribal forces) in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), frontier regions and districts bordering the tribal belt to fight against the Taliban, thus exposing the rustics to turbans and creating chaos in a society that is already passing through difficult times. One wonders what the purpose is of holding a large military apparatus if the battles are going to be waged by civilian militias.
It is no secret anymore that Pakistain supported the war in Afghanistan against the former Soviet Union, funding and arming several jihadi groups. After the withdrawal of Soviet forces, the military establishment pitched one group against another, which resulted in infighting costing thousands of Afghan lives.
Following 9/11, the rules of the game changed and more multi-ethnic turbans arrived in the tribal belt when the government of General Musharraf looked the other way. The tribal belt turned into a large guesthouse where these turbans stayed, relaxed and left on their missions, furthering their expansionist ideology.
After the death of every brave soul, our leaders do not waste a moment in declaring them to be a shaheed (martyr), implying that the dead have received their reward already. It is time we expunge this word shaheed from our national psyche for two reasons. One, with its religious overtones, it becomes the property of religious parties, which they use as they will. Second, it glorifies death and is a tool in the hands of rulers who employ it to rule. One wonders that, if being a martyr is such a coveted position, why do the preachers of martyrdom, the generals, politicians and the contractors of paradise, the mullahs, not aspire to embrace martyrdom? "They say my son is a martyr. He died during a sacred month but who will feel my pain, the pain of losing a son?" the late Chaudhry Aslam's father said with tearful eyes.
Being a country without heroes, Pakistain needs heroes but those who are alive, not dead. This business of making deaders has to stop. The business of worshipping dead heroes has to end.
Can we humbly ask the leadership of Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... (JI) and Jamaat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) to enlighten us about who they think is a shaheed: Aitzaz or the suicide bomber, Chaudhry Aslam Khan or his attacker, Naeemullah?
The former chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, has been provided with a bulletproof vehicle on the court's order. It is another matter that the vehicle could have been used by soldiers fighting turbans but being at the end of his life's journey, who is Justice Chaudhry really afraid of? Liberals do not appreciate violence and fanatics have the highest regard for him. The Taliban have said that if they respect anyone in Pakistain, it is Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. I rest my case.
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[Pak Daily Times] I said it before, I will say it again: if you were to open up a textbook, it will give you the elaborate details on why the Mohammedans of the subcontinent ended up demanding a separate territory. It was perceived that when the British were going to vacate India, the Mohammedans would face the hegemony and persecution from a more vocal and dominant Hindu majority. The religious angle was exploited to the core at that juncture and, needless to say, it serves as a rallying cry till this day. When you look at it very closely, it is hollow and, at least in this scribe's unpopular opinion, a brazen eyewash.
Independence is celebrated with utmost fervour and people get tangled with clichés, catchphrases, patriotic songs, couplets, slogans and dialogues. Yet, very rarely, people reflect what it truly means to be independent, to lead one's life without fear, persecution, exploitation and within the ambit and framework of law -- all constitutionally protected freedoms, such as religion, assembly and free speech, without any negative influence of the state or any other actor. There needs to be access to the basic necessities of life like food, water, clothing, utilities, access to education and the potential of elevating life on the basis of economic opportunities, where competition is fair and innovation thrives, where law is respected and justice is truly blind. If this narrative sounds very utopian and as if it is taken out of some movie script, then I am afraid and very respectfully say that we are enjoying make-believe independence.
What an irony that, in this day and age, the same country is under constant threat and fear from its co-religionists and the 'misguided' citizens. Peaceful citizens are afraid to assemble in their places of worship or celebrate certain days without constant intimidation. A prevailing sense of insecurity looms over the shoulders of many, not knowing if they will make it back to their homes from school or work. The mouthpieces of the holy government shrug their shoulders and act helpless and hapless, reminding ordinary citizens how this is a fact of life. Roll the tape back to let us say March or April 2013, and it was all because of a careless man called Zardari that this country was in such a mess. No, this is not my opinion but the ones who wanted the people to shell out their vote -- this was the perfect piñata to beat. Now, with Zardari removed from the front seat and his colourful interior minister, with his equally colourful neckties gone, it sure seems like the traffic of reality hits a new glitch every day.
The current interior minister is focused on the pitch of 'talks'. He wants to 'talk' the walk and knows full well that when it comes to the 'walk', you have to just do it. This man comes up with new ideas every day to convince his fellow co-religionists, who are 'upset' about something, to take these overtures of peace very seriously. The other side has given the interior minister a clear rejection on any such offers but he is one man made of one heck of a thick material, thicker than steel. Unaffected by any such rejections, he tries to improve on his 'pick up' lines. Heck, the Maulana who has a strange relationship with sandwiches and the other who is hell bent on sending dogs to heaven have been approached to mediate as well. One sits and wonders how in the world these two holy men became near and dear to unholy warriors. This is of course a million dollar question, and no one dares to answer it.
The state is busy bestowing the title of martyr on daily victims. The newswires show a new martyr a day. The land has become self-sufficient in producing this group of people without fail. Sometimes it is soldiers, sometimes women and kiddies, sometimes coppers and occasionally schoolchildren who are supposed to be inside their classrooms, battling with jacket wallahs and, of course, earning the title of 'deaders'. People take comfort in this martyrdom business because it gives them something to feel good about. In the prevailing sense of despair, if nothing else, the people are creating and supplying a daily army of heroes.
Without diminishing the role of such victims who become deaders every day so that they become the basis of a new hash tag on Twitter, one is compelled to ask: freedom where art thou? The citizens come together to better their lives and the lives of their loved ones in a country. Here they end up giving their lives for the sake of some 'feel good' cliché. When it comes to bestowing the title of martyr, everyone is for it but let me ask a few painful yet extremely simple questions: who are you at war with? What do they want and what do you want? If you are at war, then accept and own this war. Do not play the confused lamb. Admit it and go all the way. Let me part with another painful reality. Day by day, the grip on the capital is eroding. At this rate, that day is coming closer when our enemy will be in the capital -- provided we consider them our enemy. The people claiming to be right at this moment will keep their heads buried deeper and deeper in the sand. It sure seems like they are talking. The fact is it is always good to talk, especially when you are talking to yourself.
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[Foreign Affairs] A lengthy, but compelling article which does not speak kindly to politics or 'nation building.' Be sure to read George Hoffman's piece in the comments.
[Ynet] Analysis: Drugs and radical religious indoctrination go together a little too well in Syria's true battle over the hearts and minds of young men enlisted to join ranks of radical al-Qaeda inspired groups. Dr. Yaron Friedman analyzes the rise to power of Hezbollah and new al-Qaeda-linked group, claiming they pose a bigger threat than the Syrian conflict itself
The sheikh's identity isn't known to anyone. He never received official religious training, and in a sense, he invented his own version of Islam. He recruits young stray children, using drugs to intoxicate them, promising them dreams of paradise in heaven, all on the condition that they listen to what he says. On his command they commit suicide in order to kill, in an effort to plant fear and terror in the streets of Syria.
The aforesaid description is not from our postmodern age, but rather from the 12th Century's cult of Shiite Nizari-Ismali, who used the drug hashish before killing their enemies. They became known as assassins, which is linguistically traced back to the word hashish.
But despite the aged depiction, the account can just as well be adapted to the Syrian al-Qaeda leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
In recent months, there has been a worrying rise in the power of radical forces in Syria. The opposition forces that started the revolt against Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators... in 2011 is fading away, and the Islamic Front, a merger of another seven rebel groups, is also withdrawing from the action.
The Al-Nusra Front, who has been one of the most successful rebel groups, is also in danger of being wiped out -- all due to the rise of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original... , known by its acronym ISIL, or Daish in Arabic.
In the past week ISIL have taken over Raqqah, a key city in the north and a rebel stronghold. Media reports said the 700 people were killed on both sides during the two-week battle. A hundred prisoners of war from Al-Nusra Front were executed and buried in a mass grave. Other rebels in the area were only spared from the cruel death that their comrades in action had after swearing allegiance to ISIL.
The defeat of moderate Islamists was felt in other areas in the country as well, such as Homs and al-Hasakah in the north. ISIL is trying to take over the entire northern region of the country, and they have had more than one confrontation with Turkish soldiers. At this rate, ISIL is expected to take over the region, and all other rebel opposition forces will be subdued.
The battle will be solely between ISIL and Assad's army.
ISIL, which is made up mostly of foreign volunteers, is strengthening the theory that is making its way around the Arab world -- ISIL bully boyz are another military arm of Assad's regime.
Who's running ISIL?
No one can explain the recent success of ISIL to fill in the vacuum and chaos that took over Syria. It's fairly simple to trace the support and funding of groups like the Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... and the Islamic Front, which come from Persian Gulf countries and Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... respectively. But the al-Qaeda branch in Syria's support is very hard to find.
The fact that its leaders are always masked only adds to the mystery. The claim that it's independently funded isn't viable considering the amounts of ammunition and supplies it has.
From a tactical perspective, ISIL serves the Syrian regime's interests in all its respects. The group is strengthening Assad's propaganda that the rebel groups aren't more than bully boyz whilst weakening the non-military wings that are calling themselves an alternative to Assad's government.
ISIL is threatening to turn the rebel forces into an ineffective party in the Geneva peace talks this month, as well as block any attempt for Western intervention that the other rebel forces want so desperately.
Due to the fact that the funding of al-Qaeda challenges the interests of the Persian Gulf countries, as well as Saudi Arabia, the Arabic media has been spreading a conspiracy theory that ISIL is on the end of the Syria-Russia-Iran trail.
These countries, along with Shiite leaders in Iraq, are secretly funding the group, Arabic papers say. Those trying to uphold the conspiracy theory are saying that ISIL big shots are radical Islamists who were released from jail in Iraq and Syria by Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party.... and Assad.
The moderate prisoners were killed and the gunnies were released in order to form a military group that would destroy the rebels from within Syria.
Al-Arabiyya revealed the group's recruiting details, in addition to its drug-dealing connections.
Drugs and brainwashing
The Daish recruitment framework is built on volunteering young Jihadists from all over the world, primarily via Facebook. Saudi psychologist Dr. Jamal Tuirki told Al-Arabiya television that a significant number of these recruits were youths and young men who were looking for meaning in their lives and were easy to manipulate.
Once recruited, the young men were subjected to brainwashing and told to grow a beard. At the end of the process, they were taken to Syria or Iraq ready to become shahids (deaders) and commit suicide if ordered, out of utter conviction that they would reach paradise. The "sheikhs" who prepare them are not men of faith at all, but skilled terrorists.
According to varying sources, the recruitment process the young men undergo involves copious amounts of drugs, primarily heroin, marijuana and the Syrian-made amphetamine Captagon. Daish smuggles the drugs across Syria's borders for use in training and to distribute to the fighters. In Jordan, for example, the authorities have caught dozens of Syrian drug smugglers in the past year. Daish also uses the drugs as a source of income, thereby giving weight to the conspiracy theory that the primary producer of Captagon is Hezbollah .
Hezbollah: Assad's terrorists
Syria's western front has also been overrun by terrorists, in this case the Shiite Hezbollah organization. Hezbollah's evolution into a major fighting force in Syria is largely connected to the mass defections from the Syrian army in the first year and a half of the civil war still raging in the country. Syria's army traditionally fell along social lines -- the elite party faithful, the Alawites, went into the elite ranks, such as the air force and armored corps.
The less desirable classes, such as the Sunnis, went into the less desirable units, such as the infantry, and that was where the first defectors came from. When war erupted, the Syria regime found itself with an army without foot soldiers who could take control of areas on the ground.
It was into this vacuum that Hezbollah entered, with a strong number of infantry men, it was able to pick up the slack and take over the areas which the Syrian air force and artillery destroyed, just like what happened in Qusair.
Hezbollah, like its new rival Daish, is only a pawn at the hands of larger power, and is completely controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The group also drugs its younger recruits, both with zealous religiosity and actual narcotics. Like Daish, Hezbollah also receives support from Iraqi Death Eaters.
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.
Nawaz Sharif
Nouri al-Maliki
