BISMILLAHIRRAHMANIRRAHIM
Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi: "Desecration of Islamic denominations is forbidden"
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(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi, prominent Shia jurisprudent, attending the conference on moderation and solidarity of Islamic nations and scholars in Mashhad noted Muslim unity stabilizes if moderation is maintained.
He slammed extremism in religious issues reiterating,” That some keep biased views and disrespect others is against Islam.”
Iranian jurisprudent added that his fatwa banning desecration of other Islamic denomination is in reaction to demand of some Egyptians requiring his view on the issue.
Professor at Qom Seminary also criticized those who demand for leaving religious beliefs to boost unity among Islamic communities as a way as a solution to their problems and said,” Commonalities among Islamic denominations are so many that Muslims can come to unity in the light of these commonalities and moderation.
Interpreter of Holy Qur’an warned against enemies highlighting disagreements in the Islamic community and said,” They (enemies) are pursuing ways to spark hostility among Muslims; therefore, scholars have to foil their plots through moderation.”
“Enemies have waged war among Muslims in Egypt and other Islamic countries and laughing at their clashing each other.” said the jurisprudent noting sparking rift in the Islamic community as the mission of enemies.
Ayatollah Makarem concluded that Shia interpreters have never maintained sacrilegious views and added his respectful wording has increased the demands for his interpretations even from other countries.
Dua didakwa miliki bahan berkaitan Syiah
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Dua individu termasuk seorang doktor wanita hari ini mengaku tidak bersalah di Mahkamah Rendah Syariah di sini terhadap tuduhan memiliki dokumen dan buku berkaitan ajaran Syiah.
Dr Nur Azah Abdul Halim, 41, dan Mohammad Ridzuan Yusof, 31, didakwa mengikut Seksyen 16 Enakmen Jenayah Syariah Perak 1992 kerana mengingkari Fatwa Jabatan Mufti Perak.
Jika sabit kesalahan mereka boleh dikenakan denda RM3,000 atau penjara dua tahun atau kedua-duanya sekali.
Dr Nur Azah didakwa melakukan kesalahan itu di No 41, Jalan Medan Kamunting, Medan Kamunting manakala Mohammad Ridzuan dituduh melakukan kesalahan berkenaan di No 125 Lorong Jelutong, Kampung Jana Sambungan, Kamunting, kedua-duanya pada 5 Ogos lepas.
Hakim Syarie Azman Saad menetapkan 8 Okt untuk sebutan semula kes dan kedua-dua tertuduh masing-masing dibebaskan dengan jaminan RM3,000 serta seorang penjamin.
Syiah diwartakan haram oleh Muzakarah Khas Jawatankuasa Fatwa Majlis Kebangsaan Bagi Hal Ehwal Agama Islam Malaysia pada 5 Mei 1996.
- Bernama
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayeb told the Muslim Brotherhood that legitimacy could not be gained by “blood or chaos,” in a statement on Saturday night televised on State TV.
In his first reference to the organisation by name, Al-Tayeb said non-violent Brotherhood members still have a chance in shaping Egypt’s future if they “work for national peace” and “protect their country from strife.”
Al-Tayeb said the current strife had been planned by “external regimes,” and assured that Al-Azhar would remain unbiased.
The Grand Imam asked army and police forces to protect the lives of non-violent protesters, and to deal with the violent ones within the limits of the law.
“Political differences do not mean anybody is a traitor,” he added.
Al-Tayeb also addressed Christians and said the burning of churches is not from Islam “by any means.”
Media advisor to the presidency, Ahmed El-Moslimany, said the Grand Imam’s statement is “a great message from a dignified Imam”, state-owned Al-Ahram reported.
Jika sabit kesalahan mereka boleh dikenakan denda RM3,000 atau penjara dua tahun atau kedua-duanya sekali.
Dr Nur Azah didakwa melakukan kesalahan itu di No 41, Jalan Medan Kamunting, Medan Kamunting manakala Mohammad Ridzuan dituduh melakukan kesalahan berkenaan di No 125 Lorong Jelutong, Kampung Jana Sambungan, Kamunting, kedua-duanya pada 5 Ogos lepas.
Hakim Syarie Azman Saad menetapkan 8 Okt untuk sebutan semula kes dan kedua-dua tertuduh masing-masing dibebaskan dengan jaminan RM3,000 serta seorang penjamin.
Syiah diwartakan haram oleh Muzakarah Khas Jawatankuasa Fatwa Majlis Kebangsaan Bagi Hal Ehwal Agama Islam Malaysia pada 5 Mei 1996.
- Bernama
Kes miliki bahan Syiah;
 Dua individu mengaku tidak bersalah |
Agensi Berita Ahlul Bait (ABNA.co) - Dua individu yang ditahan oleh Jabatan Agama Islam Negeri Perak pada 5 Ogos lalu mengaku tidak bersalah atas pertuduhan memiliki dokumen dan buku berkaitan dengan ajaran Syiah. Kedua-dua tertuduh membuat pengakuan tersebut di Mahkamah Rendah Syariah Taiping di hadapan Hakim Syarie Azman Saad dan kes mereka akan disebut semula pada 8 Oktober nanti.
Kedua-dua tertuduh Dr Nur Azah dan Mohammad Ridzuan masing-masing didakwa mengikut Seksyen 16 Enakmen Jenayah Syariah Perak 1992 kerana mengingkari Fatwa Jabatan Mufti Perak. Jika disabitkan kesalahan mereka boleh dikenakan denda sebanyak RM3000 atau penjara dua tahun, atau kedua-duanya sekali.
Kedua-dua tertuduh dibebaskan dengan jaminan RM3000 serta seorang penjamin.
Sebelum ini Ketua Pegawai Penguatkuasa Jabatan Agama Islam Perak (JAIP) mengeluarkan kenyataan bahawa tindakan ke atas Syiah diambil berasaskan kebimbangan mereka terhadap konflik yang tercetus di Syria.
Kes penangkapan Syiah Perak
Fitnah konflik mazhab di Syria perangkap JAIP |
Agensi Berita Ahlul Bait (ABNA.co) - Ketua Pegawai Penguatkuasa Jabatan Agama Islam Perak (JAIP) mengeluarkan kenyataan yang mengejutkan apabila mendakwa tindakan ke atas pengikut Syiah diambil demi menjaga keselamatan negeri berikutan huru hara yang tercetus di Syria.
Pegawai tersebut, Ahmad Nizam Amiruddin dalam kenyataan yang disiarkan oleh televisyen Astro Awani berkata, "Syiah, kita kata isu yang sangat berat hari ini, kami pihak penguatkuasa akan cuba membanteras Syiah ini kerana kita tidak mahu apa yang berlaku di Syria, di Pakistan akan berlaku (di negeri ini), jadi kita buat pencegahan awal, supaya tidak menjejaskan keselamatan, keharmonian negeri kita."
Kenyataan aneh tersebut dibuat ketika ramai ulama Islam termasuk Presiden Parti Islam Semalaysia (PAS) memandang krisis di Syria sebagai percubaan melumpuhkan gerakan membebaskan Palestin dan bukan konflik mazhab Sunni - Syiah.
Ahmad Nizam Amiruddin bersama bahan rampasan ketika penahanan 2 individu yang dikaitkan dengan ajaran Syiah
Melanggar prinsip kebebasan menganut kepercayaan dalam Perlembagaan.
Sebelum ini Komunite Seni Jalan Telawi (KsJT), menganggap tindakan Jabatan Agama Islam Perak (JAIPK) itu jelas bertentangan dengan prinsip kebebasan menganut kepercayaan dalam Perlembagaan.
"KsJT juga mendesak JAIPK, jabatan-jabatan agama mahupun agensi penguatkuasaan tidak semberono membuat serbuan hanya kerana seseorang itu atau organisasi menyimpan bahan-bahan mengenai ajaran Syiah.
"Bukan sahaja serbuan sebegitu bersalahan dengan prinsip sebuah negara demokratik, liberal dan berperlembagaan malahan bercanggah dengan tatacara undang-undang di negara ini," kata mereka dalam akhbar Malaysiakini pada 7 Ogos lalu.
Kenyataan itu dikeluarkan oleh 13 pihak, termasuk exco kerajaan Pulau Pinang Dr Afif Bahardin, anggota Dewan Undangan Negeri Batu Caves Amirudin Shari dan bekas setiausaha akhbar Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Khalid Jaafar.
Antara yang membuat bantahan, ialah penulis lirik terkenal Budi Hekayat dan pendakwah bebas Wan Ji Hussin.
JAIPK pada 6 Ogos lalu menahan Dr Nur Azah Abdul Halim, 41, di Medan Kamunting dan Mohammad Ridzuan Yusof, 51, di Kamunting Lama bersama rampasan. Mereka ditahan mengikut Seksyen 16, Enakmen Jenayah Perak 1992 kerana mengingkari fatwa mufti dengan memiliki buku dan dokumen berkaitan Syiah.
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Presiden PAS;
Isu Sunni-Syiah lemahkan umat Islam |
Agensi Berita Ahlul Bait (ABNA.co) - Presiden Parti Islam Semalaysia hari ini mengingatkan umat Islam agar tidak terperangkap dalam agenda yang melemahkan umat Islam dengan memperalatkan isu Sunni - Syiah. Menurut beliau isu perbalahan mazhab tersebut hanya menjauhkan umat dari kebangkitan Islam di seluruh dunia hari ini di samping melupakan musuh sebenar, iaitu Israel dan kuasa-kuasa besar dunia.
“Sekarang kita (umat Islam) menghadapi zaman kebangkitan Islam. Kumpulan Islam menang di rata-rata dunia, bangkit sama ada secara sedar tapi bodoh atau pun jahil isu-isu lama ini ditimbulkan semula.
“Sehingga orang Islam lupa masalah kebangkitan Islam yang patut mereka tangani dan mereka lupa sepatutnya mereka (umat Islam) hadapi Israel dan kuasa-kuasa besar dunia. Asyik sibuk dengan masalah-masalah mazhab yang ditimbulkan,” tutur beliau.
Menurut Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi yang juga Ahli Parlimen Marang, kuasa besar dunia amat bimbang dengan kebangkitan negara Islam Sunni seperti Mesir dan Turki yang dikatakan mampu menguasai serta menerajui kepimpinan dunia Islam.
Selain itu beliau menasihatkan agar isu ini diselesaikan oleh pihak yang berautoriti sahaja seperti ahli agama dan ahli akademik, bukannya golongan yang 'bodoh' serta jahil.
“Dalam hal ini kita kena sedar dalam masalah mazhab ini sepatutnya dibincang oleh ahli-ahli ilmu, jangan yang bodoh. Dalam Sunni ada bodoh, dalam Syiah pun ada yang bodoh dan ini ‘penyakit’ yang kita sedang hadapi hari ini,” tambahnya lagi.
Selain itu beliau menjelaskan mazhab Syiah dalam masyarakat Melayu bukan perkara baru, malah sudah wujud sejak kedatangan Islam ratusan tahun yang silam.
Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar to Muslim Brotherhood: Legitimacy will not be gained by blood or chaos
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(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayeb told the Muslim Brotherhood that legitimacy could not be gained by “blood or chaos,” in a statement on Saturday night televised on State TV.
In his first reference to the organisation by name, Al-Tayeb said non-violent Brotherhood members still have a chance in shaping Egypt’s future if they “work for national peace” and “protect their country from strife.”
Al-Tayeb said the current strife had been planned by “external regimes,” and assured that Al-Azhar would remain unbiased.
The Grand Imam asked army and police forces to protect the lives of non-violent protesters, and to deal with the violent ones within the limits of the law.
“Political differences do not mean anybody is a traitor,” he added.
Al-Tayeb also addressed Christians and said the burning of churches is not from Islam “by any means.”
Media advisor to the presidency, Ahmed El-Moslimany, said the Grand Imam’s statement is “a great message from a dignified Imam”, state-owned Al-Ahram reported.
Egypt is paying compensation for Morsi’s mistakes
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(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The member of Teachers Association of Qom Seminary, Ayatollah Hasan Mamdouhi beckoned to the standing unrest rocking Egypt and underscored the ongoing plagued situation in the country derived from the dearth of leadership and what brought this nation to this very point of no return is egregious mistakes Morsi had made.
“Some parts of predicaments Egypt is gripped by derived from the Government’s support of Wahhabis,” the religious cleric mentioned.
Qom seminary instructor went on, “Egypt government supported measures Wahhabis perpetrated in Syria, sowing the seeds of their own actions thereafter.”
“The religious clerics of Egypt were not vigilant enough and could not get along well with their friends,” Ayatollah Mamdouhi underscored.
Over 80 Bodies of Anti-Shia Terrorists of Sipah-e-Sahaba Brought From Syria to Pakistan for Burial
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(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Eighty bodies of outlawed Sipah-e-Sahaba’s terrorists have been brought from Syria to Pakistan.
Informed sources have learnt reliably that the bodies of Sipah-e-Sahaba’s terrorists are being brought to Pakistan from Syria. Hundreds of bodies have been brought so far.
Latest reports said that around 50 bodies were brought to Dera Ismail Khan and 5 were shifted to Hazara Division of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa province. At least six were taken to Quetta and many other bodies were brought to Mastung in Baluchistan province. In Jhang district of Punjab province, 8 bodies were shifted.
All these bodies are being shifted from Syria for burial in Pakistan because of their nationality.
Foreign terrorists were brought to Syria for terrorism and civil war in Syria. Outlawed Taliban, its affiliated outlawed groups such as Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, also dispatched their terrorists to Syria for anti-Muslim and anti-Arab terrorism.
It is also relevant to add here that after a ban was imposed on Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, the outfits renamed as Ahl-e-Sunnat wal Jamaat to hoodwink Pakistanis and the world nations.
Informed sources have learnt reliably that the bodies of Sipah-e-Sahaba’s terrorists are being brought to Pakistan from Syria. Hundreds of bodies have been brought so far.
Latest reports said that around 50 bodies were brought to Dera Ismail Khan and 5 were shifted to Hazara Division of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa province. At least six were taken to Quetta and many other bodies were brought to Mastung in Baluchistan province. In Jhang district of Punjab province, 8 bodies were shifted.
All these bodies are being shifted from Syria for burial in Pakistan because of their nationality.
Foreign terrorists were brought to Syria for terrorism and civil war in Syria. Outlawed Taliban, its affiliated outlawed groups such as Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, also dispatched their terrorists to Syria for anti-Muslim and anti-Arab terrorism.
It is also relevant to add here that after a ban was imposed on Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, the outfits renamed as Ahl-e-Sunnat wal Jamaat to hoodwink Pakistanis and the world nations.
Al Saud feasts on blood while Muslims fast: Analyst
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(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - “While Muslims were fasting and praying for Ramadan, the House of Saud and its associates were all the time gorging on the deaths of thousands,” Finian Cunningham wrote in an article published by Press TV.
Earlier in August, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah donated USD 100 million to set up a UN centre for fighting terrorism, calling on the international community to support the centre “to get rid of the forces of hatred, extremism and criminality.”
Cunningham described the move as a “public relations exercise” and “a feat in doublethink and duplicity” aimed at whitewashing Saudi Arabia’s support for the heinous crimes of terrorists and extremists against Muslims in various countries.
“While King Abdullah was spilling Saudi coffers to ostensibly help fight terrorism, Ramadan was ending with thousands of Muslims having their blood spilled by terrorists funded by Saudi Arabia - terrorists of the state and non-state variety alike.”
“In Iraq, more than 1,000 people lost their lives in car bombs and gun attacks that targeted mainly Shia districts of the capital, Baghdad. It was the highest monthly death toll since 2007, according to UN figures. It is well-known that the House of Saud has been financing extremist Wahhabi groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda in Iraq over many years - even when these terrorists were killing thousands of soldiers belonging to its American sponsor,” Cunningham said.
Referring to an increase in terrorist attacks and bloodshed in Syria during Ramadan such as the massacre of more than 120 innocent people in the village of Khan al-Assal on 27 July, Cunningham said Saudi Arabia bought USD 50 million worth of weapons from Israel to send to its mercenaries in Syria.
These schemes, the political analyst added, are hatched by Saudi Arabia in collaboration with the US and Israel, with the aim of fueling “sectarian strife through mass killings… in order to undermine the central governments of those states [Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, etc].”
Saudi Arabia sponsors terrorists who kill Muslims
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Finian Cunningham
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan came to an end this year, Saudi King Abdullah marked the occasion of Eid al-Fitr with a “generous” donation.
The Saudi monarch revealed that the oil-rich kingdom was donating $100 million to the United Nations’ Center for Counter-Terrorism, based in New York.
With typical sycophancy, the Saudi state-backed Arab News said that the gift from the “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques of Islam … underlined the prominent role that he and the kingdom have long played in the challenging campaign, not just against the hidden killers of Al-Qaeda, but also against the distortion of Islam that lure young and impressionable people into the ranks of terror groups”.
Among those congratulating the Saudi king was US Secretary of State John Kerry, who said: “His majesty's generous donation, on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, demonstrates once again the kingdom's commitment to supporting multilateral institutions and strengthening international cooperation on counterterrorism.”
It was quite a feat in doublethink and duplicity. Even a mainstream publication like the Business Standard had to admit that there was more than a hint of incongruity. “In announcing the donation, the Saudi ruler has further reaffirmed his nation's position worldwide, belying some of the misperceptions about Saudi Arabia being a backer and funder of terrorism,” it wrote.
While King Abdullah was spilling Saudi coffers to ostensibly help fight terrorism, Ramadan was ending with thousands of Muslims having their blood spilled by terrorists funded by Saudi Arabia - terrorists of the state and non-state variety alike.
That would explain the generosity of Al Saud. A public relations exercise of enormous magnitude had to be wheeled out to cover up the appalling reality of Saudi-sponsored mayhem and bloodshed, and more, especially because that bloodshed was flowing from Muslims at the behest of the so-called Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
In Iraq, more than 1,000 people lost their lives in car bombs and gun attacks that targeted mainly Shia districts of the capital, Baghdad. It was the highest monthly death toll since 2007, according to UN figures. It is well-known that the House of Saud has been financing extremist Wahhabi groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda in Iraq over many years - even when these terrorists were killing thousands of soldiers belonging to its American sponsor.
This Saudi role was confirmed recently with the release of classified US cables in which former American ambassador, Christopher Hill, acknowledged that Saudi Arabia was a major backer of Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
But the Saudi sponsorship of terrorism is, of course, not confined to Iraq. During this Ramadan, there was a noticeable gear change in increased killings in Syria. Car bombs ripped through the capital, Damascus, and several neighboring districts. One of the deadliest bombings was in Jaramana, in which 18 people were killed on 7 August. It was the second such attack in two weeks on the same district. Then there was the sickening slaughter of more than 120, including women and children, in the village of Khan al-Assal on 27 July. Also, on what should have been the joyous occasion of Eid al-Fitr on 8 August, the holy Shia shrine of Sayyideh Zainab, near Damascus, was attacked with mortars injuring more than 20 pilgrims.
While Muslims were fasting and praying for Ramadan, the House of Saud and its associates were all the time gorging on the deaths of thousands. During the holy Muslim month, it was revealed that Saudi Arabia bought $50 million worth of weapons from Israel to send to its mercenaries - to kill Muslims in Syria. The historic assassination of Imam Ali by treacherous "Muslims" as he knelt saying his Ramadan prayers resonates disturbingly.
All these attacks in Syria were carried out by Takfiri groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and supported by Saudi Arabia. The escalation in terrorism came after Saudi Arabia took over the lead role in the Western-backed regime-change operation in Syria, after Qatar was sidelined in this duty two months ago. It was reported that Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan had earlier used his strong connections with American counterparts in order to oust the smaller Persian Gulf rival from the driving seat.
It was also reported that the Saudi spy chief set about his new task as terror paymaster with zeal, holding meetings with both US and Israeli military to plan the stepping up of attacks across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. The method was to intensify sectarian strife through mass killings. The objective was to sow chaos in order to undermine the central governments of those states. That would not only further the regime change agenda in all three countries, it would, very desirably, serve to isolate the main Shia power, Iran.
On 5 August, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Army, General Martin Dempsey, met with Israeli minister for military affairs Moshe Ya’alon in Tel Aviv. Top of the agenda were discussions on Iran and how to undermine the so-called “Axis of Evil,” a defamatory accusation leveled by Ya’alon against Iran, Syria and Lebanon. It is very plausible that Saudi Prince Bandar would have been privy to those discussions given his new US-appointed role as the region’s terror paymaster.
This is the context for the deadly bombing in Beirut this week. More than 20 people, including women and children, were killed when a massive car bomb hit the Zahiyeh district on Wednesday during evening rush hour. Hundreds more were injured in the mainly Shia area, which is strongly supportive of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Two little-known groups reportedly claimed responsibility: The Ayesha Brigade released a video statement gloating that more such violence was to follow soon; e another outfit calling itself the Special Forces 313 Brigade also claimed responsibility. They are probably just a front to hide the identity of the real authors of the terrorist act.
The day before the bombing - the second such attack in that area in four weeks - Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah made a defiant televised speech on the seventh anniversary marking the defeat of the US-backed Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 2006. Nasrallah also revealed for the first time that Hezbollah carried out the explosion on August 7 that injured four Israeli soldiers after they had illegally entered south Lebanese territory.
Following the Beirut blast, Lebanese President Michel Sleiman voiced the conclusion of many observers when he said that it bore “the fingerprints of Israel.”
The precise identity of who carried out the atrocity in Beirut this week may never be known. But we can be sure that this latest terrorist act is just one part of a continuum of chaos and suffering across the entire region. It is integral with state and non-state terrorism, attempting to unleash sectarian bloodletting between Sunni and Shia and between Muslims and Christians.
The state terrorism that we see in Egypt where hundreds have been killed this week bears the hallmarks of the state terrorism in Bahrain. This is, in turn, is consistent with the terrorism running amok in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. We know this because the same protagonists are involved in all cases. The US, Israeli and Saudi-backed murderous regimes in Egypt and Bahrain are but the official incarnations of the
US, Israeli and Saudi-backed terrorist mercenaries who are killing innocent people in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. To this Axis of Evil, we can also add the old colonial states, Britain and France.
Each of these terrorist sponsors has its own particular interests, some of which overlap, some of which may at times seem contradictory. But the bottom line that unites all of them is this: the defeat of democracy.
If democracy - that is, genuine people power and justice over the huge economic resources of the Middle East -were to prevail, then all the members of the nefarious imperialist, Zionist, Wahhabist Axis of Evil would be finished. That is why all of them are aligned to kill democracy using all means necessary, including mass murder of civilians.
And if we were to assign seniority in this axis of evil, it has to be the United States because its capitalist ruling elite has most to lose from democratic freedom, which is something of an irony, given that the phrase “Axis of Evil” was coined by one of its presidents, George W Bush, back in 2003.
The Saudi monarch revealed that the oil-rich kingdom was donating $100 million to the United Nations’ Center for Counter-Terrorism, based in New York.
With typical sycophancy, the Saudi state-backed Arab News said that the gift from the “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques of Islam … underlined the prominent role that he and the kingdom have long played in the challenging campaign, not just against the hidden killers of Al-Qaeda, but also against the distortion of Islam that lure young and impressionable people into the ranks of terror groups”.
Among those congratulating the Saudi king was US Secretary of State John Kerry, who said: “His majesty's generous donation, on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, demonstrates once again the kingdom's commitment to supporting multilateral institutions and strengthening international cooperation on counterterrorism.”
It was quite a feat in doublethink and duplicity. Even a mainstream publication like the Business Standard had to admit that there was more than a hint of incongruity. “In announcing the donation, the Saudi ruler has further reaffirmed his nation's position worldwide, belying some of the misperceptions about Saudi Arabia being a backer and funder of terrorism,” it wrote.
While King Abdullah was spilling Saudi coffers to ostensibly help fight terrorism, Ramadan was ending with thousands of Muslims having their blood spilled by terrorists funded by Saudi Arabia - terrorists of the state and non-state variety alike.
That would explain the generosity of Al Saud. A public relations exercise of enormous magnitude had to be wheeled out to cover up the appalling reality of Saudi-sponsored mayhem and bloodshed, and more, especially because that bloodshed was flowing from Muslims at the behest of the so-called Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
In Iraq, more than 1,000 people lost their lives in car bombs and gun attacks that targeted mainly Shia districts of the capital, Baghdad. It was the highest monthly death toll since 2007, according to UN figures. It is well-known that the House of Saud has been financing extremist Wahhabi groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda in Iraq over many years - even when these terrorists were killing thousands of soldiers belonging to its American sponsor.
This Saudi role was confirmed recently with the release of classified US cables in which former American ambassador, Christopher Hill, acknowledged that Saudi Arabia was a major backer of Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
But the Saudi sponsorship of terrorism is, of course, not confined to Iraq. During this Ramadan, there was a noticeable gear change in increased killings in Syria. Car bombs ripped through the capital, Damascus, and several neighboring districts. One of the deadliest bombings was in Jaramana, in which 18 people were killed on 7 August. It was the second such attack in two weeks on the same district. Then there was the sickening slaughter of more than 120, including women and children, in the village of Khan al-Assal on 27 July. Also, on what should have been the joyous occasion of Eid al-Fitr on 8 August, the holy Shia shrine of Sayyideh Zainab, near Damascus, was attacked with mortars injuring more than 20 pilgrims.
While Muslims were fasting and praying for Ramadan, the House of Saud and its associates were all the time gorging on the deaths of thousands. During the holy Muslim month, it was revealed that Saudi Arabia bought $50 million worth of weapons from Israel to send to its mercenaries - to kill Muslims in Syria. The historic assassination of Imam Ali by treacherous "Muslims" as he knelt saying his Ramadan prayers resonates disturbingly.
All these attacks in Syria were carried out by Takfiri groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and supported by Saudi Arabia. The escalation in terrorism came after Saudi Arabia took over the lead role in the Western-backed regime-change operation in Syria, after Qatar was sidelined in this duty two months ago. It was reported that Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan had earlier used his strong connections with American counterparts in order to oust the smaller Persian Gulf rival from the driving seat.
It was also reported that the Saudi spy chief set about his new task as terror paymaster with zeal, holding meetings with both US and Israeli military to plan the stepping up of attacks across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. The method was to intensify sectarian strife through mass killings. The objective was to sow chaos in order to undermine the central governments of those states. That would not only further the regime change agenda in all three countries, it would, very desirably, serve to isolate the main Shia power, Iran.
On 5 August, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Army, General Martin Dempsey, met with Israeli minister for military affairs Moshe Ya’alon in Tel Aviv. Top of the agenda were discussions on Iran and how to undermine the so-called “Axis of Evil,” a defamatory accusation leveled by Ya’alon against Iran, Syria and Lebanon. It is very plausible that Saudi Prince Bandar would have been privy to those discussions given his new US-appointed role as the region’s terror paymaster.
This is the context for the deadly bombing in Beirut this week. More than 20 people, including women and children, were killed when a massive car bomb hit the Zahiyeh district on Wednesday during evening rush hour. Hundreds more were injured in the mainly Shia area, which is strongly supportive of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Two little-known groups reportedly claimed responsibility: The Ayesha Brigade released a video statement gloating that more such violence was to follow soon; e another outfit calling itself the Special Forces 313 Brigade also claimed responsibility. They are probably just a front to hide the identity of the real authors of the terrorist act.
The day before the bombing - the second such attack in that area in four weeks - Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah made a defiant televised speech on the seventh anniversary marking the defeat of the US-backed Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 2006. Nasrallah also revealed for the first time that Hezbollah carried out the explosion on August 7 that injured four Israeli soldiers after they had illegally entered south Lebanese territory.
Following the Beirut blast, Lebanese President Michel Sleiman voiced the conclusion of many observers when he said that it bore “the fingerprints of Israel.”
The precise identity of who carried out the atrocity in Beirut this week may never be known. But we can be sure that this latest terrorist act is just one part of a continuum of chaos and suffering across the entire region. It is integral with state and non-state terrorism, attempting to unleash sectarian bloodletting between Sunni and Shia and between Muslims and Christians.
The state terrorism that we see in Egypt where hundreds have been killed this week bears the hallmarks of the state terrorism in Bahrain. This is, in turn, is consistent with the terrorism running amok in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. We know this because the same protagonists are involved in all cases. The US, Israeli and Saudi-backed murderous regimes in Egypt and Bahrain are but the official incarnations of the
US, Israeli and Saudi-backed terrorist mercenaries who are killing innocent people in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. To this Axis of Evil, we can also add the old colonial states, Britain and France.
Each of these terrorist sponsors has its own particular interests, some of which overlap, some of which may at times seem contradictory. But the bottom line that unites all of them is this: the defeat of democracy.
If democracy - that is, genuine people power and justice over the huge economic resources of the Middle East -were to prevail, then all the members of the nefarious imperialist, Zionist, Wahhabist Axis of Evil would be finished. That is why all of them are aligned to kill democracy using all means necessary, including mass murder of civilians.
And if we were to assign seniority in this axis of evil, it has to be the United States because its capitalist ruling elite has most to lose from democratic freedom, which is something of an irony, given that the phrase “Axis of Evil” was coined by one of its presidents, George W Bush, back in 2003.
US, Israel, Saudi Arabia: World-leper Axis of Evil
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(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - In an article Rodney Shakespeare described Washington, Tel Aviv and Riyadh as the “Evil Incarnate,” which is behind the upheavals plaguing the region.
Referring to the grisly crimes of the foreign-baked militants in Syria, Shakespeare said, “These three - USA, Israel and Saudi Arabia - who are Evil Incarnate, are behind the heart-eaters, the throat-slitters, the gas chokers and head-choppers of the Jabhat al Nusra, Wahhabis, Salafists and Takfiris in Syria.”
“They are behind the Egyptian military which, in one day, has slaughtered well over six hundred people … They are behind the destruction and creeping genocide of Palestine and they are behind yesterday’s bombing in Beirut,” he added.
Shakespeare was pointing to Thursday’s bomb blast in Beirut, which killed at least 21 people and injured over 200; and the Egyptian army’s violent clampdown on supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi a day earlier, which according to officials, claimed 638 lives and injured 4,200.
Shakespeare said the agenda of the trio goes beyond torturing, assassinations, bombings, and “smashing of countries.”
“It’s worse than that,” he said, “They are trying to ignite world-wide war.”
Shakespeare’s comments came after the Israeli Minister for Military Affairs Moshe Ya’alon in a meeting with Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey on August 14 branded Iran, Syria and Lebanon as the new “Axis of Evil” in the region.
The term was first used by former US President George W. Bush in January 2002 to refer to Iran, North Korea and the former Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein.
Shakespeare further pointed to the comments by US General Wesley Clark, former supreme commander of NATO forces in Europe, who revealed just days after the 9/11, “We’re going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran.”
“9/11 was done by the USA, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Iraq was done, and is being done, by the USA, Israel and Saudi Arabia. And Libya and Somalia and Sudan have been, or are being done, as is Lebanon. Furthermore, when the opportunity arises, another country gets done by the Axis and that’s what’s happening with Egypt.” wrote Shakespeare.
Shakespeare went on to say, “They are not just the Axis of Evil. They are becoming something else as well - pariahs, as they’ll find out one day when even their best friends will buck up the courage to tell them.”
He also said the recent remarks by former US Ambassador to Baghdad Christopher Hill that Saudi Arabia is sponsoring violence in Iraq only partially reflects the reality and was meant as a diversionary tactic.
“Yes, Saudi Arabia was fomenting violence but he said that to hide the fact that the USA and Israel were also fomenting the violence in Iraq,” Shakespeare said, adding, “And it’s the same with Egypt.”
Since it Failed in Syria, America Now Targets Hezbollah
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(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - After Hezbollah intervened in Syria, cursory analysis began circulating that the Iranians had ordered their Lebanese partners to intervene as a means of helping the government in Damascus as part of a new Iranian surge inside Syria. This stance refused to admit that Hezbollah is one of the main targets of the war in Syria or to acknowledge that Hezbollah itself intervened in Syria on the basis of its own security interests and the ongoing attack against the Lebanese towns on the Lebanese-Syrian border.
The war was literally going to be brought to Hezbollah and the same forces trying to topple the Syrian government were already preparing the brinkmanship for an attack on Lebanon through a series of false claims against Hezbollah and measures that were meant to instigate fighting with it in Lebanon.
Following Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria, the US government began targeting the Lebanese party with financial sanctions. Four Lebanese businessmen in the West African countries of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), the Republic of the Gambia, the Republic of Senegal, and the Republic of Sierra Leone would be accused of being informal Hezbollah envoys and thus have US sanctions imposed on them. In lockstep with Washington, the regimes of the Arab petro-sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates would start closing the businesses of Lebanese citizens, revoking their residencies, and then expelling them from their homes.
Although the prejudiced expulsion of Lebanese citizens is not necessarily a new policy among the Arab regimes of the Persian Gulf, there is a new prerogative tied to the conflict in the Levant. While newswires like Reuters have claimed that «the expulsions illustrate how the war in Syria has encouraged age-old tensions between Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims to spread across its borders and through the region,» the truth is something else altogether. Such narratives are camouflage that aims to hide the real political nature of the conflict through some type of constructed naturalist explanations that talks about the Sunnis and Shiites as natural blood enemies. Hezbollah’s Shiite character is irreverent. What the US and its allies are trying to do is tighten the noose around Hezbollah and cut off any potential sources of financial aid it receives either directly or indirectly through donations or remittances to Lebanon.
Has the EU provided Legal Cover for Renewed Israeli Aggression against Lebanon?
On July 25, 2013 the European Union added the military wing of Hezbollah to its list of terrorist organizations. The EU decision was the result of a compromise that was meant to end the intense pressure from the US and Israeli governments. In these efforts, Israel and the US were aided by the support lobbied by the governments of Britain and the Netherlands. Although the European Union’s decision was officially based on the unproven claims that Hezbollah was responsible for a terrorist attack in Bulgaria on a bus with Israeli tourists, the real reason was the legally unrelated Hezbollah intervention in Syria. The EU could have blacklisted Hezbollah much earlier if it believed the terrorism charges were justified. Even the Bulgarian government rejected them and refused to bow down to Tel Aviv’s instant demands that Bulgaria name Hezbollah as the culprit.
It is worth noting that the blacklisting of Hezbollah’s military wing by the EU partially satisfies the US and Israel. Since nothing is really known about Hezbollah’s military wing, little can practically be done. The way the EU blacklisted Hezbollah leaves the door open potentially for a flexible position among the European Union’s members and for the European Commission. Yet, it is a two-edged sword. The EU decision, however, could potentially be used as a political, legal, and economic weapon against Lebanon and Hezbollah when needed.
As a response to the European Union’s action, Hezbollah’s leaders in Lebanon have said that the European Union is now an accomplice in any future Israeli crimes against Lebanon. According to Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, the member states of the European Union will be responsible for a future Israeli attack on Lebanon, because they have given an EU legal cover to Israel for its next attack on Lebanon. What this means is that the Israelis will attack Lebanon and claim that they are fighting international terrorism. Undoubtedly Tel Aviv will parade the EU’s 2013 decision and mention it incessantly in its talking points as a means of convincing the international public that Israel is fighting Hezbollah as part of a fight against terrorism.
Ratcheting up the Propaganda in the Media War
Reuters took the unusual step of publishing a news article on July 21, 2013 that was basically a speculative opinion piece with the title of «Insight: By relying on Iran, Syria’s Assad risks irrelevance.» The opening statement is as follows: «Military support from Iran and its Shi’ite ally Hezbollah has given Syrian President Bashar al-Assad new impetus in his fight against the insurgents intent on ousting him, but at a price.» The Reuters article next goes on to suggest the following: «Assad now risks losing much of his autonomy to Tehran and becoming a pawn in a wider sectarian war between Sunni Muslims and Shi’ites that may not end even if he is forced to step down, military experts and diplomats in the region say.»
Business Insider would echo the position of Reuters by writing on July 24, 2013 that «Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been forced gradually to cede power to Iran to prop up his regime during the grinding conflict in Syria.» The above arguments are part of the standard propaganda talking points that started circulating in the sectors of the mainstream media that serve the foreign policy agenda of Washington. The aim is to naturalize the idea that sectarian hate exists among Muslims.
The propaganda talking points also include fabricated and exaggerated suggestions that the popularity of Hezbollah has declined regionally and even among its own Lebanese constituents in the Shiite community. For example, the Voice of America wrote thus on July 25, 2013: «Families of the hundreds of Hezbollah fighters killed in the recent battle for Qusair wonder why their loved ones died fighting other Arabs instead of Israel.» Even earlier another Reuters article wrote the following on July 5, 2013: «Many Lebanese see Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s support for Assad against an insurgency dominated by Syria’s Sunni majority as a miscalculation that will drag Lebanon into the Syrian quagmire, exacerbate fighting in Lebanon itself and deepen Sunni-Shi’ite sectarian rifts in the region.» The rocket attacks on Lebanon by the insurgents in Syria and the targeting of Lebanese remittances are also part of these talking points.
In all this propaganda, the success of the Syrian military has deliberately been downplayed. Instead the emphasis is that Iran, Hezbollah, and the volunteer groups from Iraq are winning the war for the Syrian government. For example, AFP wrote: «To help achieve this goal, the [Syrian] army is being backed by local militiamen operating in their own towns and villages and who have been trained in street warfare for several months in Iran and Russia, according to experts and sources close to Syria’s security forces.» This aspect of the talking points is actually old and has been used to explain why the Syrian government has not collapsed like the US and its allies have wrongly predicted.
There are even more examples. The Washington Post would report on June 1, 2013 that «sophisticated technology from Russia and Iran has given Syrian government troops new advantages in tracking and destroying their foes, helping them solidify battlefield gains against rebels, according to Middle Eastern intelligence officials and analysts.» It would further add: «The technology includes increased numbers of Iranian-made surveillance drones and, in some areas, anti-mortar systems similar to those used by [the Pentagon] to trace the source of mortar fire, the officials and experts said. Syrian military units also are making greater use of monitoring equipment to gather intelligence about rebel positions and jamming devices to block rebel communications, they said.» The Fox News Network would follow suit by reporting that «Syrian troops are now using sophisticated technology and tactics» coming from Iran and Russia. John Bolton, the highly unpopular former US ambassador to the United Nations, would weigh in on the Syrian conflict by telling Fox News that «within the last several months there seems to me to be little doubt but that Iran and Russia have both stepped up the quantity and quality of the assistance that they’re providing; more sophisticated communications and targeting capabilities, more financial assistance, and bringing in Hezbollah» in a June 2 interview with Eric Shawn.
Perhaps the worst dimension of these talking points that are being used to manufacture a false picture of the events in Syria is the one that claims that the Syrian government and its allies wants to divide Syria into multiple sectarian states. The Guardian would even claim, in an article by Martin Chulov and Mona Mahmood, on July 22, 2013 that the Syrian government approached «the former Israeli foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, late last year [in 2012] with a request that Israel not stand in the way of attempts to form an Alawite state, which could have meant moving some displaced communities into the Golan Heights area.» The same article writes: «‘There have been obvious examples of denominational cleansing in different areas in Homs,’ said local activist, Abu Rami. ‘It is denominational cleansing; part of a major Iranian Shia plan, which is obvious through the involvement of Hezbollah and Iranian militias. And it’s also part of Assad’s personal Alawite state project.’» The situation is the exact opposite in reality, it is the Israelis and their allies that want to divide Syria into a patchwork of smaller states. These objectives are now dishonestly and fancifully being attributed to the Syrian government as its goal.
Are Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks Tied to Israeli-US War Plans?
While some have described the renewed US-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian peace talks as an Israeli concession or exchange with the US in return for the American pressure that forced the EU into blacklisting Hezbollah’s military wing, the matter needs careful scrutiny. The Israeli-Palestinian talks have been scripted for reasons that are really tied to public relations and international diplomacy. The morally bankrupt Palestinian Authority is attending the peace talks because it was ordered to attend. Despite the cover being provided by the Israeli pledge to free a large number of Palestinian prisoners that have been held in Israeli prisoners, the Israeli government will not give it any major concessions whatsoever.
The timing of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks is tied to the US and Israeli agenda in the Levant. The announcement of the renewal of talks between the Israelis and the corrupt Palestinian Authority comes in close step with the EU’s decision to list Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist organization. Now that Hezbollah is openly supporting the Syrian government, the US and Israel could be planning on attacking it in some form or another. Another Israeli conflict with Lebanon, especially in the shape of a war, would be met with great international outrage and come at a high cost to Israel’s already tattered international image. Such an Israeli war on Lebanon would become a public relations disaster for Tel Aviv. This is why the renewed talks with the Palestinians could perhaps be a means of portraying Israel in a positive light before it gets involved in a new conflict with the Lebanese or any new regional adventures.
Regardless of the intentions behind the Israeli-Palestinians talks, Hezbollah is undeniably being targeted by the US and its allies. Such targeting does not necessarily mean a third Israeli war against Lebanon. Stoking the fires of sectarianism in Lebanon with the intentions of starting a civil war could be the main and best Israeli-US option. The terrorist attack on the neighbourhood of Bir Al-Abed, deep within Hezbollah’s stronghold in Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh, and covert support for violent groups, such as that of Sheikh Ahmed Al-Assir of Sidon which fought the Lebanese military, are all part of the strategy to tighten the noose around Hezbollah by setting its home turf ablaze with fire.
US sanctions, the choking of remittances to Lebanon, and the demonization of Hezbollah by designating its military wing as a terrorist organization are part of this campaign. More moves are to come. Writing for Fox News on July 23, 2013, Claudia Rosett and Benjamin Weinthal would rhetorically ask, as their article’s title suggests, «Where are the UN sanctions on Hezbollah?»
The war was literally going to be brought to Hezbollah and the same forces trying to topple the Syrian government were already preparing the brinkmanship for an attack on Lebanon through a series of false claims against Hezbollah and measures that were meant to instigate fighting with it in Lebanon.
Following Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria, the US government began targeting the Lebanese party with financial sanctions. Four Lebanese businessmen in the West African countries of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), the Republic of the Gambia, the Republic of Senegal, and the Republic of Sierra Leone would be accused of being informal Hezbollah envoys and thus have US sanctions imposed on them. In lockstep with Washington, the regimes of the Arab petro-sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates would start closing the businesses of Lebanese citizens, revoking their residencies, and then expelling them from their homes.
Although the prejudiced expulsion of Lebanese citizens is not necessarily a new policy among the Arab regimes of the Persian Gulf, there is a new prerogative tied to the conflict in the Levant. While newswires like Reuters have claimed that «the expulsions illustrate how the war in Syria has encouraged age-old tensions between Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims to spread across its borders and through the region,» the truth is something else altogether. Such narratives are camouflage that aims to hide the real political nature of the conflict through some type of constructed naturalist explanations that talks about the Sunnis and Shiites as natural blood enemies. Hezbollah’s Shiite character is irreverent. What the US and its allies are trying to do is tighten the noose around Hezbollah and cut off any potential sources of financial aid it receives either directly or indirectly through donations or remittances to Lebanon.
Has the EU provided Legal Cover for Renewed Israeli Aggression against Lebanon?
On July 25, 2013 the European Union added the military wing of Hezbollah to its list of terrorist organizations. The EU decision was the result of a compromise that was meant to end the intense pressure from the US and Israeli governments. In these efforts, Israel and the US were aided by the support lobbied by the governments of Britain and the Netherlands. Although the European Union’s decision was officially based on the unproven claims that Hezbollah was responsible for a terrorist attack in Bulgaria on a bus with Israeli tourists, the real reason was the legally unrelated Hezbollah intervention in Syria. The EU could have blacklisted Hezbollah much earlier if it believed the terrorism charges were justified. Even the Bulgarian government rejected them and refused to bow down to Tel Aviv’s instant demands that Bulgaria name Hezbollah as the culprit.
It is worth noting that the blacklisting of Hezbollah’s military wing by the EU partially satisfies the US and Israel. Since nothing is really known about Hezbollah’s military wing, little can practically be done. The way the EU blacklisted Hezbollah leaves the door open potentially for a flexible position among the European Union’s members and for the European Commission. Yet, it is a two-edged sword. The EU decision, however, could potentially be used as a political, legal, and economic weapon against Lebanon and Hezbollah when needed.
As a response to the European Union’s action, Hezbollah’s leaders in Lebanon have said that the European Union is now an accomplice in any future Israeli crimes against Lebanon. According to Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, the member states of the European Union will be responsible for a future Israeli attack on Lebanon, because they have given an EU legal cover to Israel for its next attack on Lebanon. What this means is that the Israelis will attack Lebanon and claim that they are fighting international terrorism. Undoubtedly Tel Aviv will parade the EU’s 2013 decision and mention it incessantly in its talking points as a means of convincing the international public that Israel is fighting Hezbollah as part of a fight against terrorism.
Ratcheting up the Propaganda in the Media War
Reuters took the unusual step of publishing a news article on July 21, 2013 that was basically a speculative opinion piece with the title of «Insight: By relying on Iran, Syria’s Assad risks irrelevance.» The opening statement is as follows: «Military support from Iran and its Shi’ite ally Hezbollah has given Syrian President Bashar al-Assad new impetus in his fight against the insurgents intent on ousting him, but at a price.» The Reuters article next goes on to suggest the following: «Assad now risks losing much of his autonomy to Tehran and becoming a pawn in a wider sectarian war between Sunni Muslims and Shi’ites that may not end even if he is forced to step down, military experts and diplomats in the region say.»
Business Insider would echo the position of Reuters by writing on July 24, 2013 that «Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been forced gradually to cede power to Iran to prop up his regime during the grinding conflict in Syria.» The above arguments are part of the standard propaganda talking points that started circulating in the sectors of the mainstream media that serve the foreign policy agenda of Washington. The aim is to naturalize the idea that sectarian hate exists among Muslims.
The propaganda talking points also include fabricated and exaggerated suggestions that the popularity of Hezbollah has declined regionally and even among its own Lebanese constituents in the Shiite community. For example, the Voice of America wrote thus on July 25, 2013: «Families of the hundreds of Hezbollah fighters killed in the recent battle for Qusair wonder why their loved ones died fighting other Arabs instead of Israel.» Even earlier another Reuters article wrote the following on July 5, 2013: «Many Lebanese see Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s support for Assad against an insurgency dominated by Syria’s Sunni majority as a miscalculation that will drag Lebanon into the Syrian quagmire, exacerbate fighting in Lebanon itself and deepen Sunni-Shi’ite sectarian rifts in the region.» The rocket attacks on Lebanon by the insurgents in Syria and the targeting of Lebanese remittances are also part of these talking points.
In all this propaganda, the success of the Syrian military has deliberately been downplayed. Instead the emphasis is that Iran, Hezbollah, and the volunteer groups from Iraq are winning the war for the Syrian government. For example, AFP wrote: «To help achieve this goal, the [Syrian] army is being backed by local militiamen operating in their own towns and villages and who have been trained in street warfare for several months in Iran and Russia, according to experts and sources close to Syria’s security forces.» This aspect of the talking points is actually old and has been used to explain why the Syrian government has not collapsed like the US and its allies have wrongly predicted.
There are even more examples. The Washington Post would report on June 1, 2013 that «sophisticated technology from Russia and Iran has given Syrian government troops new advantages in tracking and destroying their foes, helping them solidify battlefield gains against rebels, according to Middle Eastern intelligence officials and analysts.» It would further add: «The technology includes increased numbers of Iranian-made surveillance drones and, in some areas, anti-mortar systems similar to those used by [the Pentagon] to trace the source of mortar fire, the officials and experts said. Syrian military units also are making greater use of monitoring equipment to gather intelligence about rebel positions and jamming devices to block rebel communications, they said.» The Fox News Network would follow suit by reporting that «Syrian troops are now using sophisticated technology and tactics» coming from Iran and Russia. John Bolton, the highly unpopular former US ambassador to the United Nations, would weigh in on the Syrian conflict by telling Fox News that «within the last several months there seems to me to be little doubt but that Iran and Russia have both stepped up the quantity and quality of the assistance that they’re providing; more sophisticated communications and targeting capabilities, more financial assistance, and bringing in Hezbollah» in a June 2 interview with Eric Shawn.
Perhaps the worst dimension of these talking points that are being used to manufacture a false picture of the events in Syria is the one that claims that the Syrian government and its allies wants to divide Syria into multiple sectarian states. The Guardian would even claim, in an article by Martin Chulov and Mona Mahmood, on July 22, 2013 that the Syrian government approached «the former Israeli foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, late last year [in 2012] with a request that Israel not stand in the way of attempts to form an Alawite state, which could have meant moving some displaced communities into the Golan Heights area.» The same article writes: «‘There have been obvious examples of denominational cleansing in different areas in Homs,’ said local activist, Abu Rami. ‘It is denominational cleansing; part of a major Iranian Shia plan, which is obvious through the involvement of Hezbollah and Iranian militias. And it’s also part of Assad’s personal Alawite state project.’» The situation is the exact opposite in reality, it is the Israelis and their allies that want to divide Syria into a patchwork of smaller states. These objectives are now dishonestly and fancifully being attributed to the Syrian government as its goal.
Are Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks Tied to Israeli-US War Plans?
While some have described the renewed US-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian peace talks as an Israeli concession or exchange with the US in return for the American pressure that forced the EU into blacklisting Hezbollah’s military wing, the matter needs careful scrutiny. The Israeli-Palestinian talks have been scripted for reasons that are really tied to public relations and international diplomacy. The morally bankrupt Palestinian Authority is attending the peace talks because it was ordered to attend. Despite the cover being provided by the Israeli pledge to free a large number of Palestinian prisoners that have been held in Israeli prisoners, the Israeli government will not give it any major concessions whatsoever.
The timing of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks is tied to the US and Israeli agenda in the Levant. The announcement of the renewal of talks between the Israelis and the corrupt Palestinian Authority comes in close step with the EU’s decision to list Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist organization. Now that Hezbollah is openly supporting the Syrian government, the US and Israel could be planning on attacking it in some form or another. Another Israeli conflict with Lebanon, especially in the shape of a war, would be met with great international outrage and come at a high cost to Israel’s already tattered international image. Such an Israeli war on Lebanon would become a public relations disaster for Tel Aviv. This is why the renewed talks with the Palestinians could perhaps be a means of portraying Israel in a positive light before it gets involved in a new conflict with the Lebanese or any new regional adventures.
Regardless of the intentions behind the Israeli-Palestinians talks, Hezbollah is undeniably being targeted by the US and its allies. Such targeting does not necessarily mean a third Israeli war against Lebanon. Stoking the fires of sectarianism in Lebanon with the intentions of starting a civil war could be the main and best Israeli-US option. The terrorist attack on the neighbourhood of Bir Al-Abed, deep within Hezbollah’s stronghold in Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh, and covert support for violent groups, such as that of Sheikh Ahmed Al-Assir of Sidon which fought the Lebanese military, are all part of the strategy to tighten the noose around Hezbollah by setting its home turf ablaze with fire.
US sanctions, the choking of remittances to Lebanon, and the demonization of Hezbollah by designating its military wing as a terrorist organization are part of this campaign. More moves are to come. Writing for Fox News on July 23, 2013, Claudia Rosett and Benjamin Weinthal would rhetorically ask, as their article’s title suggests, «Where are the UN sanctions on Hezbollah?»
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