Defecting Syrian Diplomat Tells All
July 17, 2012 16:35 by Pesach BensonIranian Atomic Urgency
• Elliott Abrams notes that Hillary Clinton hasn’t visited Israel for two years — a long time for an administration that put the Mideast conflict at the top of its To-Do list. But Abrams says Clinton has some good reasons for not spending as time as her predecessor, Condi Rice. Meanwhile, an AP analysis says the Mideast peace process took a back seat to Iran, Syria and Egypt.
• For the first time, Abu Dhabi exported oil pumped through a pipeline bypassing the Straits of Hormuz. More at Bloomberg News.
Arab Spring Winter
•A pro-Assad “shabiha” captured by rebels explained to the Daily Telegraph how he became drunk on power in pro-Assad militia:
For the equivalent of £300 a month, plus a £100 bonus for every victim, he had become a hired killer for President Bashar al Assad, he said. What was more, he had enjoyed every minute of it.
“We love Assad because the government gave us all the power – if I wanted to take something, kill a person or rape a girl I could,” he said, in a calm, quiet voice devoid of remorse . . .
He was not particularly interested in defending President Assad’s regime, he said, nor the Syrian leader’s minority Alawite sect, from which most Shabiha are drawn. “It wasn’t for Bashar. I didn’t care about Bashar al Assad. All I cared about was that I got the power.”
• The Atlantic takes a look at the Syrian chemical weapon arsenal and whether the West can realistically secure or destroy the stockpiles. What’s at stake?
The nightmare scenario is that the custodians of the chemical-warfare facilities might defect and sell the materials to the highest bidder, potentially to Hamas and Hizbullah.
• Syria’s Neighbors Facilitate Arms Transfers to the Opposition
• Sinai Bedouins release two kidnapped American tourists. AP coverage.
Rest O’ the Roundup
• The newly appointed NY Times public editor, Margaret Sullivan, talked to the Columbia Journalism Review about her hopes:
[I plan] to move the position much more strongly into the digital world. We’re talking about an ongoing conversation with readers about all the issues that come up at the Times. So I would see the blog being a place to aggregate and curate conversation and criticism and discussion about the Times in one place and have plenty of back-and-forth and response, and have it happen in real time.
Sullivan replaces Arthur Brisbane, who steps down in September.
(Image of Fares via YouTube/Souria2011archives)
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simon
5:45 pm
Jul 17, 2012
Interesting that comments and ratings on YouTube for the 3 Little Tirds is disabled.
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Barry
8:10 pm
Jul 17, 2012
comments and ratings? what are those needed for? i KNOW that these singers are so well informed of the situation in Israel and the middle east as to be considered experts on the subject. what else must be said? i wonder what tunes they would come up with should Israel start implementing similar laws to those now on the books in almost all Arab countries. no one seems to be singing about that, or of the plight of Coptic Christians, or other non Muslim minorities, the plight of those selling land to Jews, or even being Jews. no songs for Iranians imprisoned in their own land. simply put “Hatred against the State of Israel and Israel bashing is nothing else but hatred against the Jewish people”
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Barry
8:43 pm
Jul 17, 2012
i find it amazing and mind boggling that “human rights activists” appear unconcerned with human rights anywhere in the middle east (or the world) other than within the sole democracy in that entire region. and while no democracy is perfect, the “infractions to human rights” there, pale in contrast to those occurring in the rest of the region daily. even genocides in the rest of the world go unprotested. the sufferings of countless others throughout the world matters little. only “perceived” violations of Palestinians rights matter. hypocrisy of these people knows no bounds. these are not innocent and well meaning protests FOR the Palestinians. these are malicious demonizations AGAINST Jews.
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simon
8:53 pm
Jul 17, 2012
Barry – all good points – of course the world will scream murderer at the death of a palestinian donkey – and remain silent over the death of untold thousands in Syria – it is a halacha – a ruling from the Torah – that Eysav will always hate Yakov – but it does not say in the Torah that we need to continually appease them – relinquish land – expell Jews from parts of Israel -
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Barry
8:59 pm
Jul 17, 2012
i fully agree with you! we leave that part to the politicians!
not to the people who continually spill their blood defending Israel on those lands.
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Barry
8:56 pm
Jul 17, 2012
and here’s just one other example of what has been said. “The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority government has named a summer program for the bloodthirsty terrorist who killed 37 civilians in 1978, Dalal Mughrabi”. where are the protests over that? can you imagine the outcry if Israel were to announce “Camp Baruch Goldstein”? lousy bunch of anti Semitic shameless, self serving, holier than thou, hypocritical, troglodytes. the only human rights violations in the world happen in Israel.
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Defecting Syrian Diplomat Tells All | The Conservative Papers
12:45 pm
Jul 23, 2012
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JT
10:03 pm
Jul 23, 2012
“The opera ain’t over ’till the fat lady sings” now has a corollary: “The investigation ain’t over ’till Israel’s at fault.”
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