Chemical Weapons: 'Easy to Make and Disperse, Impossible to Get Rid Of'

Anyone with a few years of training in chemistry and access to some freely available raw materials could easily produce chemical weapons like sarin gas, chemical weapons expert and Rice University professor James Tour told RT

'Plea for Caution': Putin Warns against Diminishing International Law Rôle

It is alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts has become commonplace for the US, President Vladimir Putin said in an editorial for The New York Times. Putin however has welcomed Barack Obama's decision to develop a compromise on Syria

Related: Putin’s Op-Ed Piece »

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

As Obama Pauses Action, Putin Takes Center Stage

THE NEW YORK TIMES: MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin has been many things to President Obama: a partner at times, an irritant more often, the host of the elusive Edward J. Snowden and “the bored kid in the back of the classroom” who offered so little on the administration’s foreign policy goals that Mr. Obama canceled plans to hold a summit meeting in Moscow last week.

Yet suddenly Mr. Putin has eclipsed Mr. Obama as the world leader driving the agenda in the Syria crisis. He is offering a potential, if still highly uncertain, alternative to what he has vocally criticized as America’s militarism and reasserted Russian interests in a region where it had been marginalized since the collapse of the Soviet Union. » | Steven Lee Myers | Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Iran Threatens Widespread Retaliation against US and Allies

THE DAILY CALLER: Iran is ramping up its threats to the United States even as the American effort against Iranian client state Syria has ground to a crawl.

President Obama made his case to the American people and the world community Tuesday night that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad must not be allowed to escape the consequences of using chemical weapons on civilians as the two-year-long Syrian civil war drags on.

Iran, a staunch ally of the Assad regime, is warning that any military action against Syria will cause a military and terrorist reaction on U.S. targets and allies. » | Wednesday, September 09, 2013

Battle for Syria Christian Town of Maaloula Continues

BBC: A BBC correspondent in Syria has said the battle for an ancient Christian town is continuing, despite reports that government forces had retaken it.

Jeremy Bowen said that a heavy gunfight with rebels was continuing in Maaloula, with smoke rising into the sky.

He added that he had not seen evidence confirming religious sites had been damaged by al-Qaeda-linked jihadists.

Fighting over the town, 55km (34 miles) north of Damascus, began last week after rebels attacked a checkpoint.

Free Syrian Army (FSA) units and members of the jihadist al-Nusra Front occupied Maaloula for several hours on Thursday before withdrawing when their positions were bombed by government warplanes.

Then on Sunday, activists said government soldiers and pro-government militiamen had been forced to pull back to the outskirts following a fresh rebel assault.

Since then, most of the town's 3,300 residents have fled to safer parts of the country including Damascus, where some told the BBC that three people had been killed and six kidnapped.

They said al-Nusra fighters had desecrated churches and statues.

However, our correspondent in Maaloula has seen statues in churches which were left undamaged. (+ videos) » | Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Assad Will Fight to the End Despite Setbacks

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad took power more than 12 years ago pledging reforms but has become one of the region's most ruthless leaders as he wages an increasingly brutal war to crush a rebellion.

German Television Interviews the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad

Excerpts of an interview with the Syrian President featured in a new documentary on the conflict by the filmmaker Hubert Seipel.

The interview was conducted in English but later overdubbed in German for broadcast on the network ARD. This clip is from the documentary in which Mr. Assad's remarks can be heard in the original English.

The filmmaker said that he wanted to speak directly to Mr. Assad because "misinformation and psychological warfare make up a large part of the Syrian civil war." He said that he was frustrated by watching Syria's war unfold in YouTube clips selectively edited by the two sides. So, he said, "my intention was just to let Mr Assad speak about his point of view, so that our viewers can make their own judgment."

Assad Supporters – Syria (2011)

A rare look at Assad's side of the Syrian story

'Footage of Chemical Attack in Syria Is Fraud'

RT.COM: There is proof the footage of the alleged chemical attack in Syria was fabricated, Mother Agnes Mariam el-Salib, mother superior of St. James Monastery in Qara, Syria, told RT. She says she is about to submit her findings to the UN.

Mother Agnes, a catholic nun, who has been living in Syria for 20 years and has been reporting actively on what has been going on in the war-ravaged country, says she carefully studied the video featuring allegedly victims of the chemical weapons attack in the Syrian village of Guta in August and now questions its authenticity.

In her interview with RT, Mother Agnes doubts so much footage could have been taken in so little time, and asks where parents of the supposedly dead children are. She promises to send her report to the UN.

The nun is indignant with the world media for apparently turning a blind eye to the Latakia massacre by rebel extremists, which left 500 civilians including women and children dead.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has called on the international community to pay attention to revelations made by Mother Agnes Mariam el-Salib. » | Friday, September 06, 2013

It's Official: Barack Obama Is Now a Lame Duck President

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – CON COUGHLIN: If any lesson is to be drawn from Barack Obama's White House speech, it is that he has no interest in providing the kind of decisive leadership we have come to expect from American presidents.

For anyone hoping for a clear explanation of where Obama stands on the Syria issue, last night's speech failed to provide the answers. The president says he wants to give Russia's proposal to disarm Syria a chance, and therefore doesn't want Congress to vote on whether or not to take military action. Read on and comment » | Con Coughlin | Wednesday, September 11, 2013

My Book The Dawning of a New Dark Age Is Now Available in Several eBook Formats

Please check out the following links for my book, The Dawning of a New Dark Age, in various eBook formats.

It is available from various vendors. Here is a limited selection:

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Barnes & Noble

W. H. Smiths

Indigo

With sincere thanks,

Mark Alexander

Only Ground Troops Will End Bloodshed in Syria, Says Commander of UN during Rwandan Genocide

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Syria's situation is as dangerous as that in Rwanda before the genocide, according to the commander of the UN forces who tried in vain to convince the world to intervene.

Lt General Romeo Dallaire, head of the UN in Rwanda at the time, made increasingly desperate attempts to rally the world and send soldiers to stop the genocide. But, unwilling to intervene in a far-off land, the UN members did not respond – and 800,000 people were killed in 100 days.

"The parallel is the ineptitude of the international community, given a whole bunch of politicians worried about self interest and political capital back home," he said. "Not statesmen who are able to take risks and explain essentially where they want to go with this thing.

"Why should people want to engage when the politicians go at it half-assed? If the politicians, who are supposed to be the leaders, are hedging their bets, then why would the population be convinced?

"That's not leadership. That's just fiddling with the books."

But Mr Dallaire, who is now a senator in his native Canada, said that the only way to resolve the conflict was to send in troops.

He described the idea of a targeted, military strike as "absolute bull ----," and said that only with boots on the ground would the sides be separated and a diplomatic solution achieved. Ground forces should be sent in, he argued, under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter – the clause which authorises action with respect to threats to the peace and acts of aggression. » | Harriet Alexander | Wednesday, September 11, 2013

President Obama, Member Of Muslim Brotherhood? Egypt Paper Claims To Have Proof

THE INQUISITR: Is President Obama a secret member of the Muslim Brotherhood? “That would explain a lot” his detractors might say. “What would that explain?” you might shoot back. Umm…

Let’s go back to the start of the latest “Barack Obama is secretly a Muslim” nonspiracy. A few days ago, Shadi Hamid, the Director of Research at the Brookings Doha Center, posted a couple of pictures of a local Egyptian paper on Twitter.

Said paper claims that President Obama is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, and further, the paper says it has proof.

“If you missed it, ‘liberal’ Egyptian newspaper has front page headline claiming Obama as full-on member of Muslim Brotherhood international,” Hamid wrote.

“Newspaper also claims that son of MB leader threatened Obama with release of ‘papers’ revealing his MB membership,” he continued.

The paper also alleges that President Obama’s half-brother Malik is an al Qaeda activist. » | Wednesday, September 04, 2013

Francois [sic] Hollande: David Cameron Committed 'Schoolboy Error' on Syria

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron committed a "schoolboy error" in allowing himself to be beaten in a parliamentary vote over Syria and came out of it "weakened", Francois [sic] Hollande is reported to have said.

The French president, who unlike the British Prime Minister chose to forego seeking parliamentary approval for taking military action against Syria, is reported to have made the undiplomatic comments during a chat with French journalists, according to Le Canard Enchainé, the investigative and satirical weekly.

While the Socialist French leader "understands" Barack Obama's 'U-turn" on choosing to consult Congress over strikes against the regime of Bashar al-Assad (now postponed), Le Canard said he was far more disparaging when it came to Mr Cameron.

"He committed a schoolboy error," he is cited as telling journalists last week. "He overestimated his strength and didn't find a way of convincing his [parliamentary] majority as he lost by just five votes, with 30 abstentions and 30 votes against, with a dozen Conservatives failing to take part."

"Cameron comes out of this affair weakened," he is cited as saying. "And it's not good for Great Britain." France is the only other country other than the US to commit publicly to intervene militarily and Mr Hollande has been criticised by the opposition Right for allowing France to become diplomatically isolated. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Yemeni Child Bride Dies of Internal Bleeding on Wedding Night — Activist

ARAB NEWS: • Local authorities tried to cover up incident
 • Yemen ignored campaign to ban child marriages

SANAA: An eight-year-old Yemeni girl died of internal bleeding on her wedding night after marrying a man five times her age, a social activist and two local residents said, in a case that has caused an outcry and revived debate about child brides.

Arwa Othman, head of Yemen House of Folklore and a leading rights campaigner, said the girl, identified only as Rawan, was married to a 40-year-old man late last week in the town of Meedi in Hajah province in northwestern Yemen.

“On the wedding night ... she suffered from bleeding and uterine rupture which caused her death,” Othman told Reuters. “They took her to a clinic but the medics couldn’t save her life.”

Othman said authorities had not taken any action against the girl’s family or her husband. » | Reuters | Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Inside Story: Will Syria Give Up Its Chemical Weapons?

As Obama considers Russia's non-military proposal for Syria, we ask if a diplomatic solution is still feasible.

'Rebels Had Motive to Carry Out Chemical Weapon Attack in Syria'

President Assad was not behind a chemical weapon attack last month - the rebels carried it out as a provocation. That's what a letter sent to Barack Obama from former US intelligence and military officials says - citing their own security sources. It was signed by twelve ex-officials. Former US Army Judge Advocate Todd Pierce is one of them and joins RT right now.

'Diplomatic Chaos: Obama in Weak Position, Nation Split'

It looks like President Obama is toning things down after weeks of bombastic statements and threats that the Syrian government deserves a U.S. strike. In an address to his nation - which according to recent polls is against America getting involved into a brand-new war - he agreed to give way to diplomacy first.
 ¶
 The prospect of America's strike against Syria has revealed deep public and political chasms within the U.S. - putting president Obama in a very uncomfortable position. That's the belief of Manuel Ochsenreiter - who's been extensively writing on the matter.

Related »

Recruited by Al-Qaeda: Foreign Fighters in Damascus Jail Tell Their Stories

Rebels, foreign Jihadists and government troops have been condemned by a UN report - which found them all guilty of war crimes - including civilian massacres and indiscriminate shelling. Meanwhile, international mercenaries and militants continue to flood the country... convinced they're carrying out the will of God. But what forces men to such extremes? RT's Maria Finoshina has been investigating.

Barack Obama Addresses the Nation on Syria

Charlie Rose’s Full Interview with Bashar al-Assad

CBS News’s Charlie Rose sat down with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over the weekend.

Ann Coulter to Hannity: Putin Is Making a 'Monkey' Out of Obama on Syria

Rolling Back the EU Threatens Return to 'War and Trenches' Says José Manuel Barroso

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Critics of the European Union "who want to roll back our integration" threaten to take Europe back to the divisions that led to the First World War, José Manuel Barroso has warned.

The European Commission president has used his annual "state of the Union" speech to MEPs to warn Eurosceptics that their hostility to the EU could again plunge Europe into war.

In a thinly veiled reference to those like David Cameron, the Prime Minister, who want to roll back the EU's powers, Mr Barroso said that next year's centenary of the First World War should be a reminder of the "Union's" role of keeping the peace in Europe.

"Let me say to all those - including some in this House - who rejoice in Europe's difficulties and who want to roll back our integration and go back to isolation: the pre-integrated Europe of the divisions, the war, the trenches, is not what people desire and deserve," he said.

"The European continent has never in its history known such a long period of peace as since the creation of the European Community. It is our duty to preserve and deepen it," he said. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Wednesday, September 11, 2013

9/11 Anniversary to Be Marked with Somber Tributes

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: NEW YORK (AP) — Sept. 11 victims' loved ones were gathering at ground zero early Wednesday to commemorate the attacks' 12th anniversary with the reading of names, moments of silence and serene music that have become tradition.

At a morning ceremony on the 2-year-old memorial plaza, relatives will recite the names of the nearly 3,000 people who died when hijacked jets crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pa., as well as the 1993 trade center bombing victims' names. Beforehand, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, musician Billy Joel, firefighters and others are expected to join in a tribute motorcycle ride from a Manhattan firehouse to ground zero.

"No matter how many years pass, this time comes around each year — and it's always the same," said Karen Hinson of Seaford, N.Y., who lost her 34-year-old brother, Michael Wittenstein, a Cantor Fitzgerald employee.

"My brother was never found, so this is where he is for us," she said as she arrived for the ceremony with her family early Wednesday. » | Jennifer Peltz, Associated press | Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Vladimir Putin Threatens UN Syria Vote over US Threat of Force

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Washington: An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council has been cancelled and the diplomatic initiative to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons is under threat after Russian President Vladimir Putin said the US and other nations must renounce the use of force against Bashar al-Assad's regime.

A lot of people say nothing focuses the mind like the prospect of a hanging. Well, it's the credible threat of force that has ... brought this regime to even acknowledge that they have a chemical weapons arsenal.

Putin's remarks complicate the outlook for the Russian proposal a day after it was presented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who seized on comments in London by US Secretary of State John Kerry about the possibility of Syria turning over its chemical-weapons stockpile.

Kerry and Lavrov plan to meet in Geneva on September 12 to discuss Syria, according to a State Department official who asked not to be identified in advance of an announcement. » | Bloomberg, AFP | Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Birmingham College Bans Muslim Veils

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A college has been accused of discrimination after it banned Muslim students from wearing religious veils.

Birmingham Metropolitan College ordered all students, staff and visitors to remove any face coverings so individuals are "easily identifiable at all times".

The move led to claims that Muslim students were being discriminated against after women were told they could not wear the niqab, a veil that leaves only a slot for the eyes.

The disclosure comes as proposals to ban face coverings in public places are being debated in Parliament.

A private members bill proposed by Philip Hollobone, the Conservative MP for Kettering, would make it an offence for someone to wear “a garment or other object” intended primarily to obscure their face, in public. » | Edward Malnick | Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Putin: Syria Chemical Arms Handover Will Work Only If US Calls Off Strike

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Syria's chemical arms handover will only work if the US and its allies renounce the use of force against Damascus

Drohender Militärschlag: Syrien will kompletten Chemiewaffen-Bestand offenlegen

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Das syrische Regime beugt sich offenbar dem internationalen Druck. Laut Angaben der russischen Agentur Interfax hat Assads Außenminister zugesagt, der internationalen Gemeinschaft Zugang zu allen Giftgas-Depots zu verschaffen und die Produktion einzustellen.

Moskau - Syrien hat angekündigt, sämtliche Forderungen des russischen Chemiewaffen-Plans zu erfüllen. Entsprechend äußerte sich Außenminister Walid al-Muallim. "Wir sind bereit anzuzeigen, wo sich die Chemiewaffen befinden, die Produktion zu stoppen und die Anlagen Vertretern Russlands und anderer Uno-Staaten zu zeigen", kündigte Muallim am Dienstag laut der russischen Nachrichtenagentur Interfax an. Das Land werde sich von allen chemischen Waffen trennen, sagte der Minister weiter. Sein Land sei dazu bereit, um einen US-Militärschlag zu verhindern. » | ler/AFP/dpa | Dienstag, 10. September 2013

President Assad: US 'Foolish' to Strike Syria

BBC: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has warned of the regional repercussions if the US was to launch military action against Syria.

Speaking to Charlie Rose in a PBS interview, the president said the US would be "foolish" to pursue strikes.

"If you strike somewhere you have to expect the repercussions somewhere else in different forms, in ways that you don't expect," he said. Watch BBC video » | Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Inside Story: Why Intervene in Syria Now?

We ask why, when bullets and bombs have killed tens of thousands, it took an alleged chemical attack to inspire outrage.

Talk to Al Jazeera: Peter Singer: A Moral Case for Intervention?

The controversial philosopher shares his views on the use of chemical weapons and a military strike on Syria.

WIKI: Peter Singer »

Concert in Kashmir Causes Political Storm

Locals furious over German performance and orchestra itself has accused organisers of "hijacking" the event.

Maher al-Assad: Syrian Leader's Brother Is Most Ruthless in Family, Analysts Say

Read the CNN article here | Brian Rokus and Brian Todd, CNN, Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Norway Swings Right in Election Two Years after Breivik Massacre

Norway's set for a change at the helm. That's after a general election saw the country's current government lose to a coalition of parties formed by the Conservatives and their right-wing allies. Conservative leader Erna Solberg, who's eyeing the premier's seat, has hailed the triumph of the right, as historic. And as Lucy Kafanov explains the poll's result echoes a steady trend across Europe. Johannes Bergh, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Research in Oslo, thinks the conservative party's invitation to the right-wing group to form a coalition government could be risky...

Syria Welcomes Russia's Call to Handover Chemical Weapons

Syria has agreed to Russia's proposal that it put its chemical-weapon stockpiles under international control. US Secretary of State John Kerry initially suggested such a scheme - as a way to avoid a military strike on Syria. The US State Department, though, has since issued an apparent retraction, saying it wasn't a genuine offer

'US Neocon Fanatics Will Target Syria No Matter What Assad Does'

Barack Obama's hard-pressed to avoid repeating the mistakes of his predecessor, who attacked Iraq without UN approval and under what turned out to be a false pretext. Reaction on this, RT is joined by British journalist and broadcaster Neil Clark.

Obama Backs Russia's Chemical Handover Proposal, May Shelve Syria Strike

President Obama is willing to "absolutely" put on pause a military strike on Syria if Bashar Assad accepts Russia's proposal to hand over control of the country's chemical weapons to the international community

Charlie Rose’s Assad Interview

Source: The Daily Beast »

Charlie Rose Interviews Syria's Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus

Bashar Assad tells Charlie Rose U.S. should "expect every action" in response to Syria strikes Charlie Rose interviewed Syria's president Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Sunday.

Pays-Bas: un ex-député du PVV, reconverti à l'Islam, lance un parti politique islamique

ATLAS INFO.fr: Un ancien député du parti pour la liberté (extrême-droite-PVV), reconverti à l'Islam, a décidé de lancer un parti politique basé sur les principes et les valeurs islamiques.

Arnoud van Doorn avait fait sensation, en mars dernier, en révélant publiquement sa conversion à l'islam, quittant le parti de Geerts Wilders, connu pour sa propagande islamophobe. Wilders était par ailleurs à l'origine du film anti-islam +Fitna+ qui a suscité une vague de contestation dans le monde musulman.

Le nouveau parti sera fondé sur "les principes et les valeurs islamiques et ouvert à tous, sans discrimination", a expliqué Van Doorn sur Twitter.

Van Doorn siège toujours au conseil de la ville de La Haye en tant qu'indépendant. [Source: Atlas Info.fr] | lundi 09 septembre 2013

Syrian Rebels Plan Chemical Attack on Israel from Government-controlled Lands - RT Sources

A number of anonymous sources close to the Syrian conflict have told RT that rebel forces are planning to launch a 'provocation-attack' using chemical weapons - against Israel. RT's Paula Slier in Tel Aviv reports.

'Unfocused' and 'Indecisive' Obama Losing Ground on Syria?

John Bolton reacts to president's news conference at G20

Will Rand Paul Filibuster a Vote on Syrian Resolution?

Kentucky senator on 'Fox News Sunday'

If the US Is 'Wrong' on Syria, What Would It Mean for Iran?

Sen. Graham sounds the alarm

Should Obama Act Without Public Support

Inside Story: Ready for War?

As Obama argues for a strike on Syria, we discuss how generals on both sides are preparing for the potential fight.