Syria – the opposition organizes a National Council
سورية -- المعارضة ينظم المجلس الوطني
Syrian infantry and tank units have been active in and around Homs, Hama, Deir Az Zair and in the suburbs of Damascus. The regime is under intense pressure to stop the killing, from the Arab League, Turkey, the EU, the USA and the UN. But the rulers of Syria see things differently. They had long been tracking dissidents, and had no experience with mass protests. In consequence they greatly over-reacted, killing hundreds.
Vengeance runs deep in these societies, but there were usually ways by which could expiate oneself, usually by paying money. Every town and village has its learned elders (ulema), ready to negotiate, reconcile. Islamic societies have long dealt with people different than themselves.
Keeping these cultural truths in mind, is the only way out of the impasse facing the Syrian people. I see no victory for either side; both have made their points. The citizens protesting are harder pressed: Syrian intel is detaining several thousands, mostly young men. The regime is also photographing protests, then using the photos to identify and prosecute protesters. Although millions work for the Syrian regime as informers, I doubt they can trace many down this way.
On the 16th of Sept., Syrian democrats in Turkey announce the formation of a Syrian National Council. Many of its members are in Syria.
Libya – searching for the mad dog of Tripoli البحث عن الكلب المسعور طرابلس
The search for Qaddafi goes on. Readers of this report have studied the changing military situation. There exists a road along the coast, but inland, many tracks, some running parallel, others heading south into the desert. As we said, Qaddafi can escape using these roads.
Again, let us use inference to track down the Mad Dog of the Maghreb. Qaddafi was born of Bedouin parents, outside the coastal town of Sirte. He spent his high school years in Sabha, capital of the Fezzan, in the southeast of Libya, in the Sahara Desert.. Qaddafi went to high school there. In Sabha Qaddafi became a law-breaking revolutionary.
Curiously, on Sept. 14, NATO aircraft attacked Sabha for the first time, targeting radar and missile installations. Sabha is so far south that these NATO jets must be using air refueling, which means the Americans are involved.
While writing this we received a report that Libyan democratic rebels have broken in Sirte. Qaddafi's people fortified the east and southeast of their town. The rebels attacked from the west and the southwest, achieving surprise. We trust Sirte will surrender within the week, but this is the center of the Al Qaddaf tribe. Other tribes close to Qaddafi: Al Warfala, Al Migrahi
The leaders of Britain and France made personal visits to Tripoli, to show their support and discuss matters with NTC chief Mustafa Abdul Jalil and NTC prime minister Mahmoud Jibril. Everyone is searching for ways to build a new government and re-start the economy.
Some confusion attends the move south to Niger of convoys containing Qaddafi loyalists. Few newsmen even looked at their maps. There is no road going to Niger from the Fezzan: the fugitives drove from Ghat into Algeria, through Iizzili province, through the very remote village of Djennet with its air strip at Inedberried. From there they made their way along a dirt track through the Erg al Admer, to Agadez, Niger. From there some were flown to Niamey, the capital. Apparently Niger is keeping all the Qaddafi die-hards under house arrest. As for Qaddafi himself, he may be in Sabha, close to this overland escape route. He may also be in a rat hole somewhere in that navigable strip of land that runs parallel to the main coastal highway. That position would permit him to take charge of mercenaries and loyalist officers, in waging a protracted guerrilla war.
Israel/Palestine – they go together إسرائيل وفلسطين -- يذهبون معا
The US government vetoed any upgrade of status in the UN. If not, Israel would have been completely isolated. I worked in Israel, married into an Israeli family, which makes me ask: why does the USA provide cover for the annexation of the West Bank of Palestine? Even if they drive out the remaining Arabs (or take their water), that land will always remain stolen, hence a cause for war. Israel has done nothing for peace: all the peace settlements it signed at Oslo, Camp David, Rye River and with Egypt and Jordan, stipulated that Israel address the plight of Palestinian Arabs and support the creation of a Palestinian state. Israel was created by the UN (and the USA) as part of a two-state arrangement, so its legal foundation depends of recognizing a Palestinian nation.
American Republicans are generally in the camp of the Christian Zionists. They believe, like the ultra-right in Israel, that the Bible is good textbook, offering chances of expansion and dominance. It doesn't matter if innocent families are evicted from their homes, or that civilians die. Its war in Lebanon killed some 26,000 non-combatants. Its war in Gaza killed some 1,400, less that half of whom were militants.
Iraq - a wound that does not heal العراق -- جرح لا يلتئم
The third massive truck bomb exploded in Baghdad, while outside of Kerbala, some 22 Shi'a males were executed. These kind of events lead to another civil war. But most terrorists are waiting till US soldiers leave.
America – drifting off course
We noted that the arch-conservative governor of Texas Richard Perry has taken foreign policy lessons with Douglas Fife and Donald Rumsfeld: the architects of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. That unnecessary war, plus Bush's tax cuts for the rich, sucked up America's discretionary spending. Thanks to a de-regulation of the financial industry (under R. Reagan), its massive corruption, a full $20% of America's non-land wealth went up 9in smoke. The government sunk into deep debt. It is not clear whether the nation will recover. If not, it may break up. Governor Perry is an avowed secessionist and there are active secessionist movements in some 35 states.
Why cannot the Republicans learn from men who have not made such tragic mistakes: George Schultz, Richard Lugar and John Huntsman – follow these men. Huntsman, during a recent Republican debate, said “The smart people live in Massachusetts.” No wonder this small state can regularly field both Democratic and Republican presidential candidates. And we are nothing if not international.
-John Paul Maynard Amherst, Massachusetts Sept. 16 2011
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