US Moves to Isolate Iran with Full Syria Embassy
TIMES ONLINE: The United States is to appoint a new ambassador to Syria after a gap of four years, the strongest sign yet of President Obama’s desire to re-engage the pariah state and draw it away from the influence of Iran.

The move to a fully staffed embassy will be an important boost to Syria, which has suffered years of diplomatic isolation because of its strong trade and strategic ties with Iran.

The US Administration hopes that engaging with Damascus will encourage it to further pursue peace talks with Israel, most recently held under the previous Israeli Government of Ehud Olmert.

George Mitchell, the US Middle East envoy, has described Syria as playing and [sic] “integral role” in the peace process. Syria has called for America to act as mediator in any future direct talks between it and Israel, in which it is demanding a return of the Golan Heights, a strategic border plateau captured by Israel in 1967.

Syria is still under US sanctions over its support of Islamist insurgents crossing into Iraq to fight the US-backed Government there. Washington withdrew its last ambassador in 2005 after the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, in which Syria was believed to have played a role.

The new Administration believes that wooing Syria back into the diplomatic fold may encourage it to withdraw its support to insurgents in Iraq, loosen its ties with Iran and prevent the flow of weapons from Iran to Hezbollah, the Shia militia that operates as a state-within-a-state inside Lebanon. The US also hopes that forging ties with the Syrian Government may put pressure on the Hamas leadership in exile in Damascus. >>> James Hider, Middle East Correspondent | Wednesday, June 24, 2009

“It’s Hard to Believe, But Syria’s War Is Getting Worse”: World Powers Clash as Civilian Deaths Soar

Tensions across northern Syria are escalating sharply amid a series of clashes between external and internal powers, including Israel, Iran, Turkey, Russia and the Syrian government. On Saturday, Israel shot down what it says was an Iranian drone that had entered Israel’s airspace after being launched in Syria. Israel then mounted an attack on an Iranian command center in Syria, from where the drone was launched. One of the Israeli F-16 military jets was then downed by a Syrian government anti-aircraft missile. Meanwhile, also in northern Syria on Saturday, a Turkish Army helicopter was shot down by U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters near the Syrian Kurdish city of Afrin, where Turkey has launched a bombing and ground offensive. All this comes as the United Nations is warning of soaring levels of civilian casualties in Syria. For more, we speak with Anne Barnard, The New York Times bureau chief in Beirut, Lebanon. Her recent articles are titled “Israel Strikes Iran in Syria and Loses a Jet” and “It’s Hard to Believe, But Syria’s War Is Getting Even Worse.” And we speak with Syrian-Canadian researcher Yazan al-Saadi.

'Intervene in Iraq and Syria Or Britain Will Face Terror Attacks': Blair Warns UK Should Get Involved as He Defends Decision to Topple Saddam

MAIL ON SUNDAY: Former PM says Middle East terror will return to Europe if it's not faced fown [sic] / Calls for intervention in Iraq to stop ISIS terrorists taking Baghdad / Says biggest single threat for the UK is returning British jihadist fighters

Tony Blair this morning said Britain needed to take action in Iraq and Syria - or face terror attacks in at home.

The former Prime Minister said the UK needed to intervene to stop a 'total disaster'. He insisted that he was not calling for troops on the ground - but suggested the 'selective use of air power' was one option on the table.

Mr Blair said: 'If we don't deal with the Syria issue then the problems are not just going to be for Syria and for the region, the problems are actually going to come back and they are going to hit us very directly even in our own country.'

He added: 'If you talk to security services in France and Germany and the UK, they will tell you their biggest single worry today returning jihadists fighters - our own citizens by the way - from Syria.

'We have to look at Syria, and Iraq and the region in context. We have to understand what's going on there and engage.'

He said that didn't mean 'ground troops' but it we shouldn't 'wash our hands of it and walk away'.

Mr Blair's remarks this morning come as extremist fighters from the al-Qaida-inspired 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' bear down on Baghdad.

Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr show [sic] Mr Blair said an ISIS victory would be a 'total disaster and it mustn't be allowed to happen'.

He said: 'We are going to have to engage with it and if we don't then the consequences will come back on us.' » | Tom McTague, Mail Online Deputy Editor | Sunday, June 15, 2014

Iraq, Syria and the Middle East – An essay by Tony Blair: The civil war in Syria with its attendant disintegration is having its predictable and malign effect. Iraq is now in mortal danger. The whole of the Middle East is under threat. » | Office of Tony Blair | Saturday, June 14, 2014

Grand Mufti of Syria Threatens Europeans at EU Parliament, EU Media Silent
Photo of the Grand Mufti of Syria courtesy of Klein Verzet
THE BRUSSELS JOURNAL: This information was brought to my attention by the blog Snaphanen. As a part of the deliberate merger of Europe and the Islamic world that is the policy of the European Union at the highest levels, yet almost never debated in European media, 2008 will be a "Year of Intercultural Dialogue," which means that Europeans will be bombarded with propaganda about how good it will be to submit to Islamic rule, and some veiled threats about what happens if we don't. The visiting Grand Mufti of Syria threatened Europeans over the "misuse" of free speech to criticize Islam. This has been carefully left out of the official EU reports from his speech at the EU Parliament.

One of the EU Commissioners, or unelected pan-European Ministers, addressed the European press a while ago, hoping that they would participate in this brainwashing of the public. Not in those exact words, of course, but the journalists got the message, and disturbingly enough didn't seem to protest. This is the hallmark of a totalitarian state, where the authorities instruct the press on what to write and which ideologies to broadcast. That is what the EUSSR is rapidly becoming, as former Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky has warned.

Perhaps the most shameful aspect of the history of Eurabia is how the supposedly critical media has allowed itself to be corrupted or deceived by the Eurabians. Most of the documents about the Euro-Arab Dialogue place particular emphasis on working with the media, and the Eurabians have played the European media like a Stradivarius. A conference on "Racism, Xenophobia and the Media" in Vienna in May 2006 was coordinated by the EU. By the end of 2006, the network of media practitioners involved in the Euro-Arab Dialogue had grown to over 500 (pdf). These included people, media and organizations from all 37 countries of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. European and Arab journalists produced dozens of recommendations on how to enhance their cooperation and promote "mutual understanding" between their cultures and religions in the media.

Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy (read: Eurabian affairs), addressed the assembly of journalists. According to her, "we do not believe the media should be regulated from outside, but rather that you find ways to regulate yourselves. [...] 2008 is the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue, and I am determined that by then we will have made significant improvements in the level of mutual respect and understanding our communities have for one another. In the months and years to come we must reach beyond the elites to the man and woman on the street. That is a vital part of the fight against racism and xenophobia. And you will be the key to achieving that."

This document is available on the Internet, but I doubt most Europeans have heard about it. Ferrero-Waldner also stated that "Freedom of expression is not the freedom to insult or offend. Hate speech is always abhorrent." The EU has in numerous agreements with Muslim countries made it clear that "Islamophobia" is a form of racism and hate speech.

The EU is now practicing this media censorship. According to Dutch blogger Klein Verzet, the Grand Mufti of Syria threatened Holland: "Should it come to riots, bloodshed and violence after broadcasting the Quran movie by PVV-leader Geert Wilders, then Wilders will be responsible. This was said by the Grand Mufti of Syria, Ahmad Badr Al-Din Hassoun, Tuesday in the European Parliament, where he gave a speech at the invitation of the fraction presidents. If Wilders tears up or burn a Quran in his film 'this will simply mean he is inciting wars and bloodshed. And he will be responsible', according to the Grand Mufti. Al Hassoun thinks it is 'the responsibility of the Dutch people to stop Wilders'."

If you read the official texts by the EU media, this threat has been totally removed. Euractiv.com, a website subsidized by the EU, reports today:

No 'conflict of cultures', Islamic leader tells EU Parliament

The Grand Mufti of Syria yesterday told MEPs that he did not believe in the conflict of cultures because "we are all building one culture", becoming the first religious leader to address the Parliament during the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. A series of eminent religious and cultural leaders are set to address the plenary session of the European Parliament on the subject of intercultural dialogue throughout 2008. The Grand Mufti of Syria, Ahmad Badr Al-Din Hassoun, yesterday (15 January) told Parliament's Strasbourg plenary that perceived clashes of culture were instead conflicts of "ignorance, terrorism and backwardness". Grand Mufti of Syria Threatens Europeans at EU Parliament, EU Media Silent >>> By Fjordman

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Tony Blair Calls for Intervention in Syria

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Tony Blair has criticised the Government’s failure to intervene in the conflict in Syria as he called for a no-fly zone in the region and said Britain should consider arming the rebels in the country.

Mr Blair, the former Prime Minister, said that the civil war in Syria has caused more deaths that the conflict in Iraq since 2003.

“Personally I think we should at least consider and consider actively a no-fly zone in Syria,” Mr Blair told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Mr Blair said: “A refusal to engage, as you see from what’s happening in Syria at the moment, where, after all, as a proportion of the population there’s now been more people that have died in Syria in a civil war that shows absolutely no sign of ending than in the entirety of Iraq since 2003. So, you know, inaction is also a policy and a decision with consequence.” » | Peter Dominiczak, Political Correspondent | Monday, July 08, 2013

My comment:

Old Tone has screwed up the UK and made us bankrupt into the bargain, so now he wants us to use the little money we have left to go and screw up Syria too. The hubris of this codger beggars belief. He is supposed to be a peace envoy for the Middle East, but he's more like a warmonger. Further, there's got to be plenty of money in it for him. This man thinks only of himself and his fortune. We should ignore his advice until such time that we can get him tried in the Hague for crimes against humanity. – © Mark

This comment also appears here

Russian Says Western Support for Arab Revolts Could Cause a ‘Big War’
THE NEW YORK TIMES: MOSCOW — Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, warned Wednesday that outside encouragement of antigovernment uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa could lead to “a very big war that will cause suffering not only to countries in the region, but also to states far beyond its boundaries.”

Mr. Lavrov’s annual news conference was largely devoted to a critique of Western policies in Iran and Syria, which he said could lead to a spiral of violence.

His remarks came on the heels of a report on state-controlled television that accused the American ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, who has been in Moscow for less than a week, of working to provoke a revolution here. Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, at an impromptu meeting with prominent editors, also unleashed an attack on the liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy, which he said was serving American interests.

Mr. Lavrov said Russia would use its position on the United Nations Security Council to veto any United Nations authorization of military strikes against the government of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. The United Nations has repeatedly called for Syria end a crackdown on opposition demonstrators, which Arab League monitors say resulted in hundreds of deaths over the past month.

“If someone conceives the idea of using force at any cost — and I’ve already heard calls for sending some Arab troops to Syria — we are unlikely to be able to prevent this,” Mr. Lavrov said. “But this should be done on their own initiative and should remain on their conscience. They won’t get any authorization from the Security Council.”

Mr. Lavrov said foreign governments were arming “militants and extremists” in Syria, and he gave a bristling response to Susan E. Rice, the American ambassador to the United Nations, who on Tuesday expressed concern about possible Russian arms shipments to Syria.

“We don’t find it necessary to explain or justify anything,” Mr. Lavrov said. “We are only trading goods with Syria that are not prohibited by international law.” » | Ellen Barry and Michael Schwirtz | Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Op-Ed Contributor: A Plea for Caution From Russia

What Putin Has to Say to Americans About Syria
THE NEW YORK TIMES: MOSCOW — RECENT events surrounding Syria have prompted me to speak directly to the American people and their political leaders. It is important to do so at a time of insufficient communication between our societies.

Relations between us have passed through different stages. We stood against each other during the cold war. But we were also allies once, and defeated the Nazis together. The universal international organization — the United Nations — was then established to prevent such devastation from ever happening again.

The United Nations’ founders understood that decisions affecting war and peace should happen only by consensus, and with America’s consent the veto by Security Council permanent members was enshrined in the United Nations Charter. The profound wisdom of this has underpinned the stability of international relations for decades.

No one wants the United Nations to suffer the fate of the League of Nations, which collapsed because it lacked real leverage. This is possible if influential countries bypass the United Nations and take military action without Security Council authorization.

The potential strike by the United States against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria’s borders. A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism. It could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further destabilize the Middle East and North Africa. It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance.

Syria is not witnessing a battle for democracy, but an armed conflict between government and opposition in a multireligious country. There are few champions of democracy in Syria. But there are more than enough Qaeda fighters and extremists of all stripes battling the government. The United States State Department has designated Al Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, fighting with the opposition, as terrorist organizations. This internal conflict, fueled by foreign weapons supplied to the opposition, is one of the bloodiest in the world.

Mercenaries from Arab countries fighting there, and hundreds of militants from Western countries and even Russia, are an issue of our deep concern. Might they not return to our countries with experience acquired in Syria? After all, after fighting in Libya, extremists moved on to Mali. This threatens us all. » | Vladimir V. Putin | Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Traveller's Guide: Syria
THE INDEPENDENT: Rogue state or not, this Middle Eastern nation is packed with attractions that will dazzle anyone who visits, says Matthew Teller

Libya, Iran, Iraq, Cuba, North Korea and... Syria: according to the last Bush administration, these half-dozen nations comprise the Axis of Evil. Yet walking by the Mediterranean coast, threading through the timeless streets of Damascus or clambering around a desert citadel, it is hard to reconcile Syria as a "rogue state". For its urbane self-possession, borne out of cultural roots which plunge deeper than anything Europe can match, Syria fascinates. Above all, the joviality and irreverent approachability of the Syrian people make the greatest impression on the visitor.

A country this old has had plenty of time to gather legends. Muslim tradition recalls that the Prophet Mohammed, arriving in the hills overlooking Damascus – a city then enveloped by gardens and the flowing River Barada – refused to go on. Paradise was unique, he reasoned: entering Damascus would rob him of the chance to enter heaven.

The gardens have gone and the Barada is mostly dry, but Syria's capital – perhaps the world's oldest continuously inhabited city – can still draw on 10,000 years of history to boggle the imagination.

In land area, Syria is nearly as big as Britain. Most of the 22 million people are Muslim, though there's a substantial Christian minority of around 10 per cent. Desert aside, Syria has 200km of Mediterranean coastline, with beach resorts around Lattakia backed by forests and orchards. Just inland, fertile mountains run parallel to the coast, cresting 2,000 metres in places: the walking here, on rural tracks between farming villages, is as good as anywhere in the Middle East. Motorways and high-speed trains connect the cities. >>> Matthew Teller | Saturday, March 05, 2011

Canada Declares ‘Voluntary Evacuation’ from Syria

THE GLOBE AND MAIL: The federal government has delivered a stark warning to roughly 5,000 Canadian citizens in Syria to get out now, hinting the embassy in Damascus won’t be there much longer to help them.

“The time to leave Syria is now,” Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Thursday.

Mr. Baird has warned Canadians in Syria to leave since October. But escalating violence in Syria, combined with sanctions that have reduced the number of flights out of the country, have sparked Ottawa to declare a “voluntary evacuation” from the country. Mr. Baird urged Canadians to get travel documents and book a flight.

Federal officials said they estimate there are roughly 5,000 Canadian citizens in Syria, though only 1,512 have registered with the embassy in Damascus.

Most are believed to be dual citizens who live in Syria, federal officials said. But the complication is that their families are not always all Canadian citizens, and they may require visas to come to Canada. » | Campbell Clark | Ottawa | Thursday, December 15, 2011

Assad's Fall Would Create Shockwaves from Tehran to Tel Aviv
THE OBSERVER: Unrest in Syria has greater potential consequences than any other event in the Arab Spring so far

As decades-old dictatorial regimes crumbled around him in January, Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, denied that revolution would spread to his country. Balhermep, the Ba'athist concept of "the ruling of the people", would keep his country together.

But as demonstrations in towns and villages across Syria seemed only to be spreading last week, even as the regime intensified its crackdown, that notion appeared to be unravelling.

The international consequences of regime change in Syria are many and complex. The fallout will be particularly marked in Lebanon and Palestine, and there will also be impacts on the country's alliances with Iran, Turkey, and Iraq, and, perhaps most importantly, on its relationship with Israel.

Damascus's influence has always been strong in these areas. Syria is vital to Hezbollah, which leads a Lebanese coalition supporting Assad. Lebanon has no land borders except with Syria on the east and north, and with Israel to the south. To the west is the Mediterranean, swimming with battleships and an international force to prevent the smuggling of weapons. Hezbollah's links with Syria are, in turn, the linchpin of the alliance between Tehran and Damascus, for the party's first loyalty is to Iran and the supreme leader of its Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The fall of the Assad regime would mean the loss of Iran's only ally in the region and thus a weakening of the clerical regime. This could boost the enthusiasm of Iranian reformers, who have been sidelined and repressed since the disputed presidential elections in Iran in 2009. » | Zaki Chehab, The Observer | Sunday, May 01, 2011

US Accuses Iran and Syria of Arming Hizbollah with New Rockets and Missiles
THE TELEGRAPH: Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, has accused Iran and Syria of arming Hizbollah with increasingly sophisticated rockets and missiles, saying the militia's arsenal undermined stability in the region.



"Syria and Iran are providing Hezbollah with rockets and missiles of ever-increasing capability," he said at a joint news conference with his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Barak.

"And we're at a point now, where Hizbollah has far more rockets and missiles than most governments in the world, and this is obviously destabilizing for the whole region and we're watching it very carefully."

Mr Gates did not say if Syria was supplying Hizbollah with Scud missiles as Israel has alleged. Mr Barak voiced serious concern over Syria's support for Hizbollah but did not repeat the allegation that it was providing Scuds to the Lebanese Shia militia. Damascus has vehemently rejected the charge.

Mr Barak said Syria was arming Hezbollah with "weapons systems that can turn or disrupt the very delicate balance in Lebanon", adding "we do not intend to provoke any kind of a major collision in Lebanon or vis-a-vis Syria". >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Wednesday, April 28, 2010

John Kerry Statement on Syria Polarises World Leaders

THE GUARDIAN: Iran and Russia stand alongside Bashar al-Assad's regime while the UK, France and Australia follow Washington's lead

As the US moves towards military intervention in the Syrian conflict, world leaders have issued a string of belicose statements, with Iran and Russia standing alongside the Assad regime against a western alliance led by the US, UK, France and Australia.

In their toughest terms to date, David Cameron and US secretary of state, John Kerry, spoke of the undeniable and "asbolutely abhorrent" and use of chemical weapons in Syria. In response, the Assad regime and Iran warned that foreign military intervention in Syria would result in a conflict that would engulf the region.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Abbas Araqchi, intimated that Tehran would respond, should the west strike.

"We want to strongly warn against any military attack in Syria. There will definitely be perilous consequences for the region," Araqchi told a news conference. "These complications and consequences will not be restricted to Syria. It will engulf the whole region."

Walid al-Moallem, Syria's foreign minister, also vowed that the regime would defend itself using all means available in the event of a US-led assault.

"I challenge those who accuse our forces of using these weapons to come forward with the evidence," he told reporters at a press conference in Damascus. "We have the means to defend ourselves, and we will surprise everyone."

Shia Iran is Syria's closest ally and has accused an alliance of militant Sunni Islamists, Israel and western powers of trying to use the conflict to take over the region. » | Paul Lewis in Washington, Martin Chulov in Beirut, Julian Borger, Nicholas Watt and agencies | Tuesday, August 27, 2013

US-Russia Military Talks on Syria as Kremlin Says It 'Will Consider Sending Troops to Help Assad'

Vladimir Putin warned earlier this week that Isil's influence
has spread "far beyond" the borders of Iraq and Syria, but
that it is as yet "too early" to talk about air strikes in support
of Assad against Isil

THE TELEGRAPH: Kremlin gives clearest indications to date that troop deployments in Syria to help regime fight Islamic State jihadists may be imminent.

US and Russian defence chiefs spoke for the first time in over a year on Friday, breaking their silence to discuss the crisis in Syrian as Moscow's increasing military buildup raised the prospect of coordination between the former Cold War foes.

The Pentagon said the call lasted about 50 minutes and included an agreement for further US-Russian talks about ways to keep their respective militaries out of each other's way.

Washington last year cut off high-level military talks with Moscow after Russia's annexation of Crimea and intervention in Ukraine.

But Russia's military buildup in Syria has raised the possibility of simultaneous US and Russian air combat missions in Syrian airspace.

A US officials said Friday that Russia has recently deployed four fighter jets to Latakia airbase in Syria where it has been building up forces in recent weeks.

The talks came as Russia said it will consider any request from the embattled Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad to send its troops to fight Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

With concerns already growing over Russia’s military presence in war-torn Syria, the comments are one of the clearest indications to date that troop deployments in Syria may be imminent. » | Howard Amos, Moscow | Friday, September 18, 2015

US Accuses Iran and Syria of Arming Hizbollah with New Rockets and Missiles
THE TELEGRAPH: Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, has accused Iran and Syria of arming Hizbollah with increasingly sophisticated rockets and missiles, saying the militia's arsenal undermined stability in the region.



"Syria and Iran are providing Hezbollah with rockets and missiles of ever-increasing capability," he said at a joint news conference with his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Barak.

"And we're at a point now, where Hizbollah has far more rockets and missiles than most governments in the world, and this is obviously destabilizing for the whole region and we're watching it very carefully."

Mr Gates did not say if Syria was supplying Hizbollah with Scud missiles as Israel has alleged. Mr Barak voiced serious concern over Syria's support for Hizbollah but did not repeat the allegation that it was providing Scuds to the Lebanese Shia militia. Damascus has vehemently rejected the charge.

Mr Barak said Syria was arming Hezbollah with "weapons systems that can turn or disrupt the very delicate balance in Lebanon", adding "we do not intend to provoke any kind of a major collision in Lebanon or vis-a-vis Syria". >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Syria: Iran Vows It Will Not Allow Assad to Fall
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iran pledged that its "axis" with Syria will "never" be allowed to break when Tehran sought to bolster President Bashar al-Assad by sending a senior envoy to Damascus.

Mr Assad made his first appearance on state television for over a fortnight, promising to continue the struggle against his enemies "without respite".

Iran has been trying to guarantee the survival of Mr Assad, who serves as Tehran's only reliable ally in the Middle East, by supplying Syria's regime with funds, weaponry and expert personnel to aid the campaign against rebels.

Saeed Jalili, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, came to Damascus as a visible symbol of that support.

"Iran will never allow the resistance axis – of which Syria is an essential pillar – to break," he said. The "axis of resistance" refers to the Middle East's anti-Western powers: Iran, Syria and the armed groups, Hizbollah and Hamas, although in reality the latter has already broken away by ending its presence in Damascus.

Iran and Syria both claim that foreign countries have caused the uprising against Mr Assad with the aim of destroying the "axis". During his visit, Mr Jalili echoed that message. "What is happening in Syria is not an internal issue but a conflict between the axis of resistance on one hand, and the regional and global enemies of this axis on the other," he said. » | David Blair, Richard Spencer in Aleppo | Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Why All Is Quiet on the Syrian Front
THE DAILY STAR: As millions of Arabs stir their respective countries with demonstrations and slogans of change and transition, certain Arab states have been generally spared, including some oil-rich countries and Syria. Syria stands out as a powerful regional player without the benefit of economic prosperity and with a domestic political climate that leaves a lot to be desired. Some say it combines the heavy-handedness of the Tunisian regime, the economic woes of Egypt, the hereditary rule aspects of Morocco and Jordan, and a narrower leadership base than any other country across the Arab world. Why, then, is all relatively quiet on the Syrian front?

We can delude ourselves by resorting to facile explanations related to the threat of severe coercion facing a potential uprising in Syria – which certainly does exist. But the reality of the matter is more complex. To begin with, one must account for the unexpected: a clumsy incident involving a disproportionately brutal reaction against civilians, even in Syria, will spin structural variables out of control.

Any cursory review of the Syrian press, or the press on Syria, reveals that many Syrians empathize with the grievances of their rebellious Arab brethren and share many of them. This includes those who actually protested in small numbers and were harassed or beaten, or both, on Friday, Feb. 4, the planned “Day of Anger” in Syria, and during the few days prior. Other sporadic incidents took place in the past few weeks, but none rose to the level of an explicit anti-regime demonstration, as happened in Egypt and elsewhere. This puts Syria in stark contrast with Egypt. >>> Bassam Haddad | Monday, March 14, 2011

Syria Crisis: Hillary Clinton Calls UN Veto [‘]Travesty’
BBC: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has described as a "travesty" Russia and China's veto of a UN resolution condemning Syria's crackdown against anti-government protesters.

Speaking in Bulgaria, Mrs Clinton said efforts outside the world body to help Syria's people should be redoubled.

The US, she said, would work with "friends of a democratic Syria" to support opponents of Syria's president.

The vetoing of the resolution drew an angry reaction from around the world.

"What happened yesterday at the United Nations was a travesty," Mrs Clinton said in strongly worded remarks during a visit to the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.

"Faced with a neutered Security Council, we have to redouble our efforts outside of the United Nations with those allies and partners who support the Syrian people's right to have a better future," she said.

"We will work to expose those who are still funding the regime and sending it weapons to be used against defenceless Syrians, including women and children."

Mrs Clinton also said the US would work to tighten "regional and national" sanctions against Syria to hamper its ability to use arms against the protesters.

Human rights groups and activists say more than 7,000 people have been killed by Syrian security forces since the uprising began in March.

The UN stopped estimating the death toll in Syria after it passed 5,400 in January, saying it was too difficult to confirm.

The government says at least 2,000 members of the security forces have been killed fighting "armed gangs and terrorists". (+ video) » | Sunday, February 05, 2012

Assad: Challenge Syria At Your Peril

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, has warned that Western action against his country would cause an "earthquake" that would "burn the whole region".

In his first interview with a Western journalist since Syria's seven-month uprising began, President Assad told The Sunday Telegraph that intervention against his regime could cause "another Afghanistan".

Western countries "are going to ratchet up the pressure, definitely," he said. "But Syria is different in every respect from Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen. The history is different. The politics is different.

"Syria is the hub now in this region. It is the fault line, and if you play with the ground you will cause an earthquake … Do you want to see another Afghanistan, or tens of Afghanistans?

"Any problem in Syria will burn the whole region. If the plan is to divide Syria, that is to divide the whole region." » | Andrew Gilligan, in Damascus | Saturday, October 29, 2011

Syria: Assad Regime 'Ready to Use Chemical Weapons'

BBC: The most senior Syrian politician to defect to the opposition has told the BBC the regime will not hesitate to use chemical weapons if it is cornered.

Nawaf Fares, ex-ambassador to Iraq, said unconfirmed reports indicated such weapons might have already been used.

The comments were made as clashes were reported in Baghdad Street, central Damascus, and fighting spread in suburbs around the city.

Syria peace envoy Kofi Annan is due to hold talks with Russia's president.

Russia is a key ally of Syria and the meeting comes amid mounting pressure for tougher international action against the country.

Syria has been in turmoil since March last year when an uprising against the government of President Bashar al-Assad began.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is due in Beijing for talks with the Chinese leadership, which has joined Russia in vetoing sanctions.

Diplomat[ic] efforts come as UN officials complained of huge obstacles put in the way of its aid operation in Syria.

'Wounded wolf'

Syria is known to have a significant stockpile of chemical weapons. There have been growing concerns in neighbouring countries and among Western governments about the security of such weapons should the regime fall.

Asked if he thought President Assad might use chemical weapons against the opposition, Mr Fares told BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner in an interview in Qatar that he would not rule it out, describing Mr Assad as "a wounded wolf and cornered". » | Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Iran
YNET NEWS: The fact that Iran stands today able to challenge or even defy the United States in every sphere of American influence in the Middle East attests to the dismal failure of the Bush administration’s policy toward it during the last six years. Feeling emboldened and unrestrained, Tehran may, however, miscalculate the consequences of its own actions, which could precipitate a catastrophic regional war. The Bush administration has less than a year to rein in Iran’s reckless behavior if it hopes to prevent such an ominous outcome and achieve, at least, a modicum of regional stability.

By all assessments, Iran has reaped the greatest benefits from the Iraq war. The war’s consequences and the American preoccupation with it have provided Iran with an historic opportunity to establish Shiite dominance in the region while aggressively pursuing a nuclear weapons program to deter any challenge to its strategy. Tehran is fully cognizant that the successful pursuit of its regional hegemony has now become intertwined with the clout that a nuclear program bestows. Therefore, it is most unlikely that Iran will give up its nuclear ambitions at this juncture, unless it concludes that the price will be too high to bear. That is, whereas before the Iraq war Washington could deal with Iran’s nuclear program by itself, now the Bush administration must also disabuse Iran of the belief that it can achieve its regional objectives with impunity.

Thus, while the administration attempts to stem the Sunni-Shiite violence in Iraq to prevent it from engulfing other states in the region, Washington must also take a clear stand in Lebanon. Under no circumstances should Iranian-backed Hizbullah be allowed to topple the secular Lebanese government. If this were to occur, it would trigger not only a devastating civil war in Lebanon but a wider Sunni-Shiite bloody conflict. The Arab Sunni states, and especially Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan are terrified of this possible outcome. For them Lebanon may well provide the litmus test of the administration’s resolve to inhibit Tehran’s adventurism but they must be prepared to directly support US efforts.

In this regard, the Bush administration must wean Syria from Iran. This move is of paramount importance because not only could Syria end its political and logistical support for Hizbullah, but it could return Syria, which is predominantly Sunni, to the Arab-Sunni fold. Mr. Bush must realize that Damascus’s strategic interests are not compatible with Tehran’s and that the Assad regime knows only too well its future political stability and economic prosperity depends on peace with Israel and normal relations with the United States.

President Assad may talk tough and embrace militancy as a policy tool, yet he is the same president who called, more than once, for unconditional resumption of peace negotiations with Israel and was rebuffed. The stakes for the United States and its allies in the region are too high to preclude testing Syria’s real intentions, which can be ascertained only through direct talks. It is high time for the Administration to reassess its policy toward Syria and begin by abandoning its schemes of regime change in Damascus. Syria simply matters; the Administration must end its efforts to marginalize a country that can play such a pivotal role in changing the political dynamics for the better throughout the region. Ending Iran’s Defiance by Alon Ben-Meir

Mark Alexander