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Category: Syria

Russia warships to enter Syria waters in bid to stem foreign intervention

Syrian official says Damascus agrees ‘in principle’ to allow entrance of Arab League observer mission; 22-member body proposed sending hundreds of observers to the to help end the bloodshed.

By Jack Khoury and Haaretz

Russian warships are due to arrive at Syrian territorial waters, a Syrian news agency said on Thursday, indicating that the move represented a clear message to the West that Moscow would resist any foreign intervention in the country’s civil unrest.

Also on Friday, a Syrian official said Damascus has agreed “in principle” to allow an Arab League observer mission into the country.

Russia President Dmitry Medvedev, right, and Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, May 10, 2010. Photo by: AP

But the official said Friday that Syria was still studying the details. The official asked not to be named because the issue is so sensitive.

The Arab League suspended Syria earlier this week over its deadly crackdown on an eight-month-old uprising. The 22-member body has proposed sending hundreds of observers to the country to try to help end the bloodshed.

The report came a day after a draft resolution backed by Arab and European countries and the United States was submitted to the United Nations General Assembly, seeking to condemn human rights violations in the on-going violence in Syria.

Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia were among Arab states that joined Germany, Britain, and France to sponsor the draft submitted to the assembly’s human rights committee. In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. would sign on as a co-sponsor of the resolution.

The draft demanded an end to violence, respect of human rights and implementation by Damascus of a plan of action of the Arab League.

The move comes as clashes escalated in Syria and after Russia and China used their veto in October to block a Security Council resolution that would have condemned the Syrian government of President Bashir for the violence.

Such a veto is not applicable in the 193-nation assembly, which will consider the issue after the human rights committee reports back to it.

The UN says more than 3,500 people have been killed since unrest erupted in spring against Assad.

www.haaretz.com, 18.11.11

November 20, 2011
France and Turkey Call for Pressure on Syria

By NADA BAKRI

BEIRUT, Lebanon — France joined Turkey in calling for greater international effort to exert pressure on Syria to stop its bloody crackdown on protesters, as at least 15 more people were reported killed on Friday.

At the same time, Syria made its first response to a proposal by the Arab League to send a delegation of more than 500 military and civilian observers to the country, but critics said it appeared to be a stalling tactic.

The Arab League chief, Nabil al-Araby, said he received a letter from Syria’s foreign minister, Walid al-Moallem, asking him to amend the proposed plan. “These amendments are currently being studied,” Mr. Araby said.

On Nov. 2, Syria said it had agreed to an Arab League-brokered plan under which it would halt all violence and withdraw armed forces from civilian areas, but the bloodshed continued, prompting the league to vote last weekend to suspend Syria. The proposal to send observers effectively delayed the suspension, and the current back and forth appears to push it back further.

Activists said that three people were shot in Irbin, a town on the outskirts of Damascus; two were shot in Homs and three in Hama, two of the most restive cities in central Syria. At least seven protesters were also killed in the southern city of Dara’a, from where the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad broke out in mid-March.

On Friday, Syrian state television said that three soldiers were killed and an officer was critically wounded in a bomb blast in Hama.

With the situation in the country deteriorating, foreign leaders are themselves struggling for some kind of effective response.

France’s foreign minister, Alain Juppé, on a visit to Ankara, Turkey, on Friday, called the situation “no longer sustainable.”

At a news conference alongside his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, Mr. Juppé also called on the Syrian opposition “to avoid recourse to an armed insurrection,” saying, “A civil war would, of course, be a true catastrophe.”

Asked whether France would support military action by Turkey, including the entrance of forces to establish a kind of buffer zone as the opposition has proposed at various times, Mr. Juppé answered that any military action, no matter by whom, would have to be approved by the United Nations.

Such a development, however, would appear extremely unlikely.

Eight months into the uprising, the Syrian opposition is too fractured and diffuse to offer a unified position on what the international community should do.

“The Arab League has offered us huge support, and we will never forget that,” said an activist named Ayman, 25, from Al Qaboun, a town on the northern outskirts of Damascus. “We believe that Arab states and Turkey are very close to figuring out how to help us.”

Some dissidents said that the league’s latest offer to send monitors was too little, too late and that the government would find a way to foil their work.

Separately on Friday, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia called for “restraint and caution.” France’s prime minister, François Fillon said at the same news conference: “We consider that the situation is becoming more and more dramatic. Bashar al-Assad has stayed deaf to the calls of the international community and has not followed up reform promises, and the massacres are continuing. We think that it is indispensable to increase international pressure, and we have tabled a resolution at the United Nations. We hope it will find as wide support as possible.”

Neil MacFarquhar contributed reporting from Cairo.

A version of this article appeared in print on November 19, 2011, on page A4 of the New York edition with the headline: New Calls To Press Syria From France And Turkey.

via France and Turkey Call for Pressure on Syria – NYTimes.com.

November 19, 2011
What can Syrian opposition give Russia? Nothing

The visit of the delegation of the Syrian National Council headed by Burhan Ghalioun to Moscow ended in a failure for the opposition. In particular, the Associated Press news agency referred to Ghalioun’ statement in which he condemned “the actions of the authorities of the Russian Federation, supporting the Assad regime” and pointed to the need for Moscow to abandon this course. According to him, Russia’s support of the current Syrian regime “plays a negative role” in Syria.

The visit of Ghalioun to Moscow took place on November 15. News agencies reported that he arrived in Russia at the invitation of the Society of Solidarity and Cooperation among the Peoples of Asia and Africa.

Vice-President of the Society Kim Koshev talked about the visit of the immigrant from France of Syrian origin Ghalioun in an interview with “Pravda.Ru”:

“Yes, indeed, we invited representatives of the Syrian opposition to Moscow. However, this is not because we take a side in this conflict. Russia is a great country and in this case we act as a father who reconciles his fighting children. We invited them in order to clearly hear their position and establish a dialogue between Syrians. We tell the Syrian Opposition: “Your slogans are “Overthrow Bashar Assad!” you say: “Go away, and we shall rule!” And then what? Where is the guarantee that you will not be even tougher than he is?

This is clearly not a constructive position. You should put forward specific requirements of what you want. Create, finally, a full-fledged party, point out Assad’s errors. Indeed, at the moment Ghalioun does not represent anyone. They are behind the times and so far have not shown significant ability to compete with the government.

So we tell them: learn to conduct a dialogue! In Syria, meanwhile, there are shootings. We want to remind both parties that the life was given by God, and that nobody has the right to take it from someone. We are telling both sides: you cannot shoot! Both sides are killing. A case in point is that it is not only the opposition members who are affected, but policemen are wounded as well.

The nature of the actions of those who shoot at the Syrian military says that they are trained. I want the Syrian intelligence agencies to really work. So far they believe that this problem can be solved by the army. ”

However, the hope that the Syrian opposition will show a constructive approach was in vain. During the talks with the Syrian opposition the Russian side represented by the Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged the Syrian opposition to begin a dialogue with the authorities in Syria.

The following response was received from the opposition: “The opposition does not intend to pursue any negotiations with the regime in Damascus. Russia should appeal to Assad with an offer to resign … The only possible negotiations would be about establishing of a new, democratic, civil society in Syria. This should be preceded by the release of prisoners detained on charges of involvement in anti-government rallies, the dissolution of the police, army and security services and presence in Syria of “blue helmets” of the UN. International guarantees are necessary for international monitoring to determine the situation in the country. “

In other words, the Syrian opposition insists on external intervention. In addition, it does not rule out the intervention of the military, adding that Bashar Assad unwilling to resign would be to blame for it.

However, Russia has rejected these outrageous claims. As for the resignation of Assad, Sergei Lavrov reminded that even the countries of the Arab League that recently suspended the membership of the Arab Republic in the organization do not act in a manner consolidated with this similar requirement.

According to him, the Syrian opposition is interested in the peaceful settlement of the situation in Syria. But who then proceeds to kill Syrian military from around the corner? Take, for example, a recent attack on the buildings of the Air Force Intelligence in the suburb of the Syrian capital. One gets the impression that Ghalioun really does not control the radicals, or is fooling Russia regarding the peaceful aspirations of the opposition.

However, Ghalioun acknowledges that the visit of the members of the SNA to the Russian capital reaffirms the commitment to looking at Russia’s role as key in achieving balance and stability in the Middle East. The Syrian opposition will continue discussions with the Russian partners to find a way out from the current situation in Syria.

Meanwhile, the Syrian opposition calls on Russia not to persist in supporting the Assad regime, pointing out that in the case of its coming to power all Russia’s interests in Syria will be respected.

Among other things this means that the only foreign-based point of Russian navy in Tartous will remain untouched. But can we trust the Syrian opposition funded by the French, Americans and Saudis who to varying degrees conduct subversive activities against the Russian interests?

Is this the reason why they are trying to overthrow the only remaining conductor of the Russian influence in the Arab world Bashar al-Assad? It is possible that someone from the opposition does have amicable attitude towards Russia. However, it must be remembered that the Syrian opposition is extremely loose. Ghalioun’s guarantees are not worth much since the main force of anti-Assad movement are not the liberal intellectuals fed by the West but Wahhabi and Salafi groups funded by Qatari intelligence.

Sergei Balmasov

Pravda.Ru, 18.11.2011

November 18, 2011
Danger Middle East may yet ‘go ballistic’

IN more than two decades of Middle East watching, I’ve got used to unexpected events and endless predictions of doomsday scenarios.

But, even by its own politically volatile and labyrinthine standards, there have been some very ominous and shadowy things taking place there of late.

Doubters of course might argue that what I’m about to say is only being alarmist and that we’ve been here before. But such a take just doesn’t wash. Recently within the region the implications of both words and deeds have been mind boggling.

Indeed, I’d even go so far as to say that, cumulatively, much of what has been said and done lately displays the potential to merge into the kind of perfect storm of violence and instability rarely before witnessed in the Middle East.

Where to begin, though, when trying to weigh this up? Well, let me first flag up just a few of the dangerous components in this regional timebomb before looking at the mechanisms that in some cases inextricably link them.

To start with, every day that passes indicates a full-scale civil war is emerging in Syria. While many of the stories surfacing from the country are independently difficult to verify, should Wednesday’s attack on an air force intelligence complex near Damascus indeed prove to have been the work of defecting soldiers calling themselves the Free Syrian Army, then the political struggle there has escalated into a new and intensified phase. It is, of course, still early days in terms of writing off President Bashar al Assad.

That said, there are now clear indications of the opposition beginning to wage a co-ordinated insurgency against his Alawite regime, and Syria’s suspension from the Arab League along with other international diplomatic pressure would suggest the president’s days are numbered. This growing regional consensus should be seen for what it is; the product of a rapidly changing geopolitical dynamic across the Middle East and a dangerous one at that.

With the United States nearing its year-end withdrawal of forces from Iraq, Washington and its allies know all too well that Iran is poised to fill the power vacuum in this predominantly Shi’ite Muslim nation. For Tehran it stands as a perfect opportunity to consolidate Shi’ite influence extending from Iraq to Syria, where al Assad’s regime and Hizbollah in neighbouring Lebanon have long provided Tehran with a base from which to threaten Israel.

If the al Assad regime should fall and Syria be returned to Sunni power, however, no doubt many of the region’s key players – Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States among them – would breath a sigh of relief over Iran’s loss of influence and ability to arm and fund its militant proxies like Hizbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian Territories. Put another way, if Iran can’t be controlled in Iraq, then a return of a Sunni regime to Damascus would at least clip its wings in Syria.

And, speaking of clipping Iran’s wings, brings me to the second potentially incendiary component currently threatening the region’s stability – Tehran’s nuclear programme. For some time now alarm bells have been ringing in Israel over Iran’s capacity to develop atomic weapons. Those concerns appear to have been borne out by recent reports from the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA).

Certainly there are some within the Israeli political and military establishment who, if they had their way, would have already neutralised that threat by whatever means necessary, including a pre-emptive military strike against Iran’s uranium enrichment programme and missile installations. To that end, some observers say a covert war of “black ops” has for some time been waged against Iran.

The assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists on the streets of Tehran, the Stuxnet Worm computer virus cyber attacks and its recent successor which goes by the name of Duqu that have played havoc with Iran’s nuclear enrichment centrifuges, all point to the fact that someone, somewhere, is determined to deprive Iran of a nuclear weapons arsenal.

Recently, though, the ante has well and truly been upped. Last week a huge explosion at an Iranian Revolutionary Guard base killed Major General Hassan Moghaddam and 16 others. Major Moghaddam was generally seen as the “godfather” of Iran’s missile programme, which has deployed ballistic missiles with ranges of up to 1500 miles –enough to reach Europe.

While Tehran has long insisted the Israeli intelligence service Mossad, or the CIA, have been behind such things, both Jerusalem and Washington have remained schtum. That said, there were some curious remarks in the aftermath of the blast when Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak commented that, while he didn’t know the extent of the explosion, “it would be desirable if they multiplied”.

Curiously, too, around the same time as the blast near the Tehran base, elsewhere in the region – Dubai to be precise – another Iranian, Ahmed Rezaie, the son of a high-ranking Tehran official Mohsen Rezaie, secretary of the powerful Expediency Council and former Revolutionary Guards commander, was found dead in the city’s Gloria Hotel. Mystery surrounds the specific circumstances of his death. Even Israeli sources, however, admit the method used to kill him strongly resembled those used in January last year in another Dubai hotel to assassinate Mahmoud al Mabhouh, a Palestinian official who was seen as Hamas’s contact man with Tehran. A murder that many believe was the work of Mossad despite Israeli denials.

As was evident on that occasion, last week’s slaying of Rezaie revealed little signs of violence on the body and according to some sources the Iranian had been injected with a muscle relaxant called Suxamethonium before being smothered with a pillow.

Like pieces in a complex political jigsaw puzzle, all these events – from civil war in Damascus, to bomb blasts in Tehran and murders in Dubai – point to a new and bitter tussle for power across the Middle East that is being executed and perpetrated both openly and covertly. On one level it is a struggle for dominance between Sunni and Shia, between Saudi Arabia and Iran. On another, it is about containing Iranian political and military ambitions and protecting Israel and US interests across the region.

What is most worrying about all of this is both its direction and momentum are unpredictable and the stakes immeasurably high.

One can only begin to imagine, for example, what the simultaneous effects of Syria imploding into civil war and an Israeli military strike against Iran would mean not just for the region but globally.

So many factors could now ignite the blue touch paper and standing well back would be a near impossible option for the international community. The Middle East might just be about to go ballistic, and I’m not simply talking about a few missiles in Iran.

www.heraldscotland.com, 18 Nov 2011

November 18, 2011
Turkey’s Involvement In Syria Raises the Stakes For Its Government

Turkey’s Involvement In Syria Raises the Stakes For Its Government

Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 8 Issue: 211

November 15, 2011

By: Saban Kardas

Turkey has accelerated its contact with the Syrian opposition, while maintaining its criticism of the regime’s ongoing violent crackdown on the uprising. This development is in parallel to the growing involvement of the Arab League in the Syrian uprising. A recent deal agreed between the Arab League and Damascus heightened expectations for ending the months-long bloodshed. However, in a move reminiscent of the Baath regime’s delaying tactics while Turkey was seeking to convince President Bashar al-Assad to heed protesters’ calls earlier this year, the Syrian security forces continued their violent campaign even after the deal was announced. This reckless behavior prompted the Arab League to suspend Syria from membership. Rather than backing down in the face of growing regional isolation, the Baath regime preferred to launch a verbal assault on fellow Arab nations, accusing them of pursuing a very dangerous course of action (www.aljazeera.com, November 14).

Pro-regime protestors have attacked several diplomatic representations, which included attacks on the Turkish embassy in Damascus by a crowd of 1,000, and on consulates in Aleppo and Latkia. In response, the Turkish government issued an official protest, evacuated the families of diplomats, asked its citizens not to travel to Syria, and summoned the Syrian charge d’affaires in Ankara (www.mfa.gov.tr, November 13). While the Syrian Foreign Minister, Waled al-Moallem, issued an apology for the attacks, this did not prevent his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu from arguing that Turkey would adopt a “decisive attitude” against these attacks and continue to support “the Syrian people’s rightful struggle” (Today’s Zaman, November 14).

These developments lend support to the arguments of the Syrian opposition. The opposition for a long time broke ranks with the Damascus regime, making clear that they would not settle for political reforms alone and their struggle would continue until Assad relinquishes power (EDM, June 7). In the intervening period, the opposition has been working hard to gain international recognition, and generate larger international momentum behind the military option – similar to the Libyan case.

In the aftermath of these recent events, Davutoglu met with the Syrian National Council, a group seeking to form a united front against the Syrian regime, which reportedly asked for permission to open an office in Turkey (Anadolu Ajansi, November 13). Previously, Turkey had hosted several meetings of the opposition groups, and Davutoglu had also received representatives from the Syrian opposition (Sabah, October 18). Moreover, Turkey has provided shelter to refugees fleeing the crackdown in tents inside Turkish border. At the same time, Ankara has imposed an arms embargo on Damascus and expressed its readiness to impose further sanctions.

With these courageous steps and Turkish leaders’ constant calls on the Syrian regime to listen to the people’s voice, Turkey has emerged at the forefront of international efforts for pro-democratic regime change in the country. Normally, Turkey’s pursuit of such a policy might have jeopardized its ties to other authoritarian Arab nations in the region, but given the increasing number of deaths in Syria, even monarchies in the region have asked Assad to leave power. Thus, the recent toughening of the Arab League’s position eases Turkey’s restraint in this unfolding crisis, as it provides a regional endorsement for its actions. Turkey is also acting in close coordination with the Arab League.

However, there is a strong body of opinion in Turkey critical of the government’s increasingly vocal confrontation with Syria. For many analysts, this new state of affairs in relations with Syria marks an obvious weakness in the government’s “zero problems with neighbors” policy, under which Turkey had sought to forge closer relations with Damascus and other capitals in surrounding regions. The fact that Turkey is on the brink of going to war against a leader with whom Turkish leaders had established a close friendship is seen as an indication of the failure of Turkey’s Middle Eastern policy.

Another line of criticism argues that the government is going too far in its stance on the Syrian regime and its decision to support the opposition. They question the prudence of extending shelter to the opposition groups of a neighboring country, which contradicts Turkey’s established state traditions, and argue that if Assad succeeds in surviving this challenge, Ankara will be left with no options to maintain normal relations with Damascus. Yet another criticism presents the Syrian uprising as being orchestrated by Western powers to change the political map of the region. In that view, Turkey’s assertive policy is also part of the same plan and is imposed upon it by Western powers. This somewhat conspiratorial thinking is at times raised even by members of the main opposition, the Republican People’s Party (Cihan, November 10).

While defending the government’s policy during a parliamentary hearing on his ministry’s budget, Davutoglu rebuked such allegations of “subcontracting.” Davutoglu defended Turkey’s position by saying that “in foreign policy, we make the plans, set the principles and develop the discourse. Sometimes when this is just and right, it might be in harmony with the United States. Sometimes with Iran … sometimes with Russia … sometimes with the EU. Thus, just because the United Sates is also taking a stance, shall we turn a blind eye to Syria?” Davutoglu justifies Turkey’s policy on humanitarian grounds and rejects any suggestion that Turkey’s “zero problems with neighbors” policy has failed. In this view, Turkey’s solidarity essentially lies with the Syrian people, and in an environment where the regime oppresses unarmed civilians Turkey cannot remain impassive (www.haberturk.com, November 14).

Granted, this new policy raises several security challenges. Since Iran, Russia and China still support Damascus, Turkey risks severing its ties with Iran over this issue (EDM, October 11). Moreover, Assad signaled several times that if Damascus is cornered, there will be extreme repercussions in the region, creating security challenges for all the regional actors. For Turkey, such threats usually bring to mind the issue of Damascus resorting to the “PKK card,” meaning it could use its leverage over some groups within the PKK to accelerate attacks on Turkish civilian and military targets. While President Abdullah Gul and other Turkish officials have warned Syria not to inflame the PKK (Star, November 9), there is no guarantee that Damascus will not choose this option when needed, nor is it clear what instruments Turkey will use to deter Damascus from following that path.

https://jamestown.org/program/turkeys-involvement-in-syria-raises-the-stakes-for-its-government/

November 17, 2011
Is Erdogan worried about Strategic Relationship with Syria? He should
Is Erdogan worried about Strategic Relationship with Syria? He should

Erdogan, should worry, Turkey has the same Syrian, religious/ethnic political landscape. So, if Syria falls, Turkey could be NEXT. If Syria survive (IT will), Turkey would lose everything build via the Syrian Gate.

In Arabic we say in Arabic, those who have a Glass home should avoid throwing stones on neighbors.

It’s not about democracy, it has never been.

It’s about dividing the divided,

“As the Arab Spring enters its fourth month, it faces challenges but also presents opportunities. Despite setbacks in Libya, Yemen, and Syria, the democratic wave has already begun to change the Middle East’s political landscape.” Thus said Erdogan’s advisor who ignored or failed to see the RISKS so far presented by “Arab Spring”, a civil war in Libya, and may be in Yemen,

To stop loss, yesterday Erdogan called Assad to express keenness on Strategic Relationship with Syria.

And yesterday Syrian customs seized 36 automatic rifles inside a truck coming from the Turkey.

I am not saying that Erdogan stands behind smuggling arms to Syrian “outlaws” but according to Ibrahim Kalin his senior adviser, “Over the last decade, Turkey has developed different types of relationships with the countries of the Middle East, targeting improved relations with both governments and the public. Indeed, Turkey is probably the only country that has been able to promote relations at the two levels in the Arab world.”
Translating, Kalin’s statement on Syria, Turkey developed improved relations with Exiled Muslim Brothers, and ignored its “Zero Problem” Foreign Policy, with its neighbors, and main gate to Arab world. Muslim Brothers are now meeting in Istanbul instead of London.

Blinded by the 4 months old ” Arab Spring “, and despite the setbacks, Kalin, is still hoping the Syrian unrest may present an opportunity for Turkey. What opportunity??

The opportunity to engage Muslim brothers, and their offspring, Hamas, “publicly and directly, as Turkey has done, with USA and europe. After all, they are now part of the emerging political order in the Arab world”
He concluded “A democratic and prosperous Arab world will make Turkey’s standing in the region stronger, not weaker.”

Again, what opprtuny, what change, and what political landscape??

Let us connect the Dots

After Jully war , 2006, Saad El-Hariri predicted “In a week, two weeks, when it starts raining, and the economy’s crumbling. Then people will be annoyed with Hizballah.” Even the Shi’a will begin looking around and realizing that “their society has been pulverized,” and while “it’s fine and dandy to have 10,000 dollars, where are the jobs?! What will they eat?!” Plus, it will be hard to encourage any kind of investment in Lebanon as long as Hizballah remains armed and dangerous.”

Saad urged that now is a golden opportunity for the international community to “weaken” Bashar. The USG needs a clear, new policy to isolate Syria. “My belief is, if you don’t isolate Syria, if you don’t put a blockade, they will never change.” By subduing Syria, you remove Iran’s main bridge for playing the troublemaker in Lebanon and Palestine. “If you weaken Syria,” Saad suggested, “then Iran has to work alone.” The Saudis and other Arab states have all had enough of young Bashar, according to Saad, and no longer want to try a conciliatory approach to the Syrian regime. After Bashar’s recent speech threatening civil war in Lebanon, they are no longer interested in “talking” with Damascus. Saad said he had hear this directly from the Saudis, and that Prince Bandar is delivering this message in Washington now (Comment. It is also interesting that Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal made similar comments, but about Iran specifically, during an 8/22 meeting with Ambassador Oberwetter, as reported in reftel. End Note).

“The Saudis and Egyptians have turned. Look into that.” When Talwar asked what the United States could do to increase the pressure on Syria, Saad suggested forging ahead on the special tribunal with international character on the Hariri assassination and organizing international sanctions on Syria. “

“Getting a little more animated as the conversation continued, Saad argued that the Syrian regime needs to be gotten rid of entirely. “

“If the regime were to fall in Syria, who would be there to fill in the vacuum?…, Saad suggested that the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, in partnership with ex-regime figures like Abdel Halim Khaddam and Hikmet Shehabi (“though he’s still close to the regime”), could step into the void. Saad claimed that the Syrian Brotherhood is similar in character to Turkey’s moderate Islamists. “

“They even support peace with Israel.” Saying that he maintains close contact with Khaddam (in Paris) and Syrian Muslim Brotherhood leader-in-exile Ali Bayanuni (in London), Saad urged us to “talk to Bayanuni. See what he’s like. You will see wonders.“

Let us check the wonders of of Bayanuni, and the new middle east landscape:
The So-called “Syrian revolution” after failure to atract the Syrian masses, turned into violance, and failed again. They failed in both attracting or dividing the Syrian army.

What’s left??

The last card:”humanitarian intervention”,

Most likely, Russia shall not burn it’s fingers as it did in Libya, instead it will burn the zionist’s last card, so there would be no “No Fly Zone”

Moreover, the fall of Syria, would pave the way towards the fall of Tehran, and that would be the last step in changing the “World’s Political Landscape”. Therefore, I claim both Russia, and China, would do everything to keep Resistance Axis a main player in the “Middle East’s political landscape” fighting both Condi’s new middle east and new world order

Again, Erdogan should be worried, and should at least change his political advisors. Palestine, the resistance option is the only way to “make Turkey’s standing in the region stronger”
Ask Ahmadinejad , Mubarak, and Bashar.
Palestine saved Bashar, and kicked the ass of Pharaoh.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

President al-Assad Receives Call from Erdogan Expressing Turkey’s Keenness on Strategic Relationship with Syria
May 28, 2011
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The underground diplomacy

DAMASCUS, (SANA)- President Bashar al-Assad on Friday received a phone call from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey expressing Turkey’s keenness on the strategic relationship between the two friendly countries and people and preserving the level of this relationship and developing it in the future.
President al-Assad and Erdogan discussed the situation in the region and in Syria, with Premier Erdogan stressing Turkey’s standing by Syria and keenness on its security, stability and unity.

Both sides reiterated determination to continue the warm and transparent relationship between their countries and upgrading it in the interest of both countries and people and the region as a whole.

Last March, President al-Assad received a phone call from Erdogan.

During the call, Erdogan affirmed the solid Syrian-Turkish relations, lauding the reformative decisions taken by the Syrian leadership and stressing Turkey’s support to Syria.

Turkey and the Arab Spring

(Ibrahim Kalin is senior adviser to the prime minister of Turkey. | DP-News- Project Syndicate)

Ankara – As the Arab Spring enters its fourth month, it faces challenges but also presents opportunities. Despite setbacks in Libya, Yemen, and Syria, the democratic wave has already begun to change the Middle East’s political landscape.

The national reconciliation agreement in Palestine between Fatah and Hamas, signed in Egypt on May 3, is one of the major results of this sea change. Other substantial developments are certain to follow – and Turkey stands to gain from them. Indeed, the Arab Spring strengthens rather than weakens Turkey’s position in the Arab world, and vindicates the new strategic thrust of Turkish foreign policy.

Turkey’s policy of engaging different governments and political groups in the Arab world has transformed Middle Eastern politics. Turkish officials have stated on various occasions that change in the Arab world is inevitable and must reflect people’s legitimate demands for justice, freedom, and prosperity. Moreover, change must occur without violence, and a peaceful transition to a pluralist democracy should be ensured.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sought to achieve this in Libya before the ongoing fighting in that country broke out. Erdoğan’s quiet, behind-the-scenes diplomacy sought to ensure a peaceful transition to a post-Qaddafi era. This gradualist approach complements Turkey’s principled position on the need for reform in the Arab world, including Syria, with which Turkey shares a 900-kilometer border.

Over the last decade, Turkey has developed different types of relationships with the countries of the Middle East, targeting improved relations with both governments and the public. Indeed, Turkey is probably the only country that has been able to promote relations at the two levels in the Arab world.

This engagement policy has paid off in several ways, in the process raising Turkey’s profile in the region. Arab intellectuals, activists, and youth leaders of different political inclinations have taken a keen interest in what some describe as the “Turkish model.” Turkey’s stable democracy, growing economy, and proactive foreign policy have generated growing appreciation of the country’s achievements, which has augmented its “soft power” in the region.

This is reflected in the Arab world’s lively debate about how Turkey has been able to reconcile Islam, democracy, and economic development. That debate, more importantly, is about how Arab countries should restructure themselves in the twenty-first century. The growing gap between governments and people in the Arab world has become an unsustainable deficit – a point that has gained new significance as the Turkish experience has gained greater salience in these countries.

As the Arab Spring unfolds at different speeds in different countries, Turkey continues to urge Arab governments to undertake genuine reform. Arabs deserve freedom, security, and prosperity as much as any other people, and Turkey stands to gain from a democratic, pluralist, and prosperous Arab world.

A democratic era promises to give the Arab world a chance to be the author of its own actions. It will also enable Arabs to develop a new paradigm for relations with the West, based on equality and partnership – a position that Turkey has come to symbolize.

Finally, Turkey’s policy of engaging various actors in the Middle East – repudiated by some as controversial, extreme, and even terrorist – has played a significant role in bringing at least some of these forces into mainstream politics. Given the new political realities in Egypt, Tunisia, and the Palestinian territories, as well as in Lebanon, Libya, and elsewhere, the more important of these actors are no longer secret or illegal organizations.

Simply put, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the Nahda Movement in Tunisia, and Hamas in Palestine will all play important and legitimate roles in the political future of their respective countries. This means that Americans and Europeans will need to engage these groups publicly and directly, as Turkey has done. After all, they are now part of the emerging political order in the Arab world,

A democratic and prosperous Arab world will make Turkey’s standing in the region stronger, not weaker.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian Posted by uprooted Palestinian at 12:28:00 AM
November 17, 2011