Haifa Wahbah's reference to cannibals motivated by blind hatred is directed against the Free Syrian Army. It is strange that their role in this crisis is not being mentioned.
The longer that Morsi is held, the more questions arise. As this article notes, both he and the arrested M.B. members are entitled to a trial - but ... on what charge? The notion of putting him on trial for busting out of jail during the last days of the Mubarak era seems really lame.
I have another question - this is a bit off topic - but what do people think of the new Egyptian govt's attack on the Gaza supply tunnels? They seem to be eager to step up the blockade, and it is really affecting the people of Gaza. Also, an Egyptian military helicopter overflew Gaza and buzzed Rafah - they say it was by accident - which of course I do not believe.
Very good idea. The Lady Fatemeh Trust, a registered charity in Britain, also has a program for distributing solar powered cells for households in Iraq, and elsewhere.
the attack itself Israel demonstrates again ... sheer folly for them to risk a much broader conflict, not to mention their continuing disregard for the sovereignty of their neighbors ...
I agree, and I am surprised that these Israeli bombing raids are not more controversial.
"Earlier this week, rebels in Aleppo executed some leaders of a local Alawite ghost brigade death squad."
The men killed were not members of an Alawite death squad. They have been identified as from the Berri family, a leading Sunni family in Aleppo, and one of those executed was Hassan Berri, a Syrian MP, and therefore a regime supporter.
Did you notice that they were stripped to their underwear and had wounds running with blood? They had evidently been tortured.
I wish the US would do more for the Iraqi refugees, but they do scarcely anything - they are shunned, while billions gets poured into war efforts. The refugees in Syria are helped by the UN (until recently, when the staff and mission were withdrawn with the sanctions on Syria) and also, a great deal is done by religious charities - Catholic charities and Shia charities, who both have an existing presence in Damascus. The staff who work for these charities are real heroes - patient, generous, idealistic and paid very little.
It is a hard life for the Iraqi refugees. And it is not safe to return, because the tide of violence is rising again in Iraqi, and some of these Salafist militias are now operating on both sides of the Iraqi/Syrian border.
"Sunni clerics and activists have for some years complained of missionary work by Iraqi Shiite refugees in Syria, aimed at converting local populations ... I don’t know whether the allegation has any truth to it ..."
No, the allegation does not have any truth to it. It is not true that the Shias have been acting as missionaries (they are very much in poverty, and tend to want to keep all their charities, and piligramage sites, and resources, for themselves. They don't seem to want a whole lot of Syrian Sunnis to come and join them.) It is also not true that this is the basis for the FSA's determination to drive them out.
Think for a moment about why these Iraqi Shias are in Syria, in the first place. It is because they were driven out of Iraq, by militants of the same forces and ideology which are now active in Syria. This is not about allegations of missionary activity, but rather a very strong Islamic ideology which cannot tolerate the Shias because they are believed to be pagans and apostates. For that, they are under sentence of death.
When the Free Syrian Army overran the border posts and killed the Syrian troops, they raised the Al-Qaida flag. This affiliation presupposes a view of Shias which is based on a long history.
I agree with Ron. Look at the difference between Obama's policy toward Bahrain - where a peaceful democratic opposition movement is being crushed by foreign (Saudi) troops with US aid - and Yemen, where a militant and armed opposition is being fought by the US. If the Syrian government used the tactics we see in Yemen, there would be an uproar.
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Well said, John Wilson. It is Libya which is the hovering issue, which politicians would rather not mention.
I was wondering about that, also. I wonder also if they will put Morsi on trial, or just disappear him.
Haifa Wahbah's reference to cannibals motivated by blind hatred is directed against the Free Syrian Army. It is strange that their role in this crisis is not being mentioned.
"Alarabiya was still only reporting 5 dead several hours after the push against the squares began ..."
Alarabiya was lying.
The longer that Morsi is held, the more questions arise. As this article notes, both he and the arrested M.B. members are entitled to a trial - but ... on what charge? The notion of putting him on trial for busting out of jail during the last days of the Mubarak era seems really lame.
I have another question - this is a bit off topic - but what do people think of the new Egyptian govt's attack on the Gaza supply tunnels? They seem to be eager to step up the blockade, and it is really affecting the people of Gaza. Also, an Egyptian military helicopter overflew Gaza and buzzed Rafah - they say it was by accident - which of course I do not believe.
Funnily enough, Syria has been making the same complaint about Turkey - for quite some time.
Very good idea. The Lady Fatemeh Trust, a registered charity in Britain, also has a program for distributing solar powered cells for households in Iraq, and elsewhere.
the attack itself Israel demonstrates again ... sheer folly for them to risk a much broader conflict, not to mention their continuing disregard for the sovereignty of their neighbors ...
I agree, and I am surprised that these Israeli bombing raids are not more controversial.
"Earlier this week, rebels in Aleppo executed some leaders of a local Alawite ghost brigade death squad."
The men killed were not members of an Alawite death squad. They have been identified as from the Berri family, a leading Sunni family in Aleppo, and one of those executed was Hassan Berri, a Syrian MP, and therefore a regime supporter.
Did you notice that they were stripped to their underwear and had wounds running with blood? They had evidently been tortured.
I wish the US would do more for the Iraqi refugees, but they do scarcely anything - they are shunned, while billions gets poured into war efforts. The refugees in Syria are helped by the UN (until recently, when the staff and mission were withdrawn with the sanctions on Syria) and also, a great deal is done by religious charities - Catholic charities and Shia charities, who both have an existing presence in Damascus. The staff who work for these charities are real heroes - patient, generous, idealistic and paid very little.
It is a hard life for the Iraqi refugees. And it is not safe to return, because the tide of violence is rising again in Iraqi, and some of these Salafist militias are now operating on both sides of the Iraqi/Syrian border.
"Sunni clerics and activists have for some years complained of missionary work by Iraqi Shiite refugees in Syria, aimed at converting local populations ... I don’t know whether the allegation has any truth to it ..."
No, the allegation does not have any truth to it. It is not true that the Shias have been acting as missionaries (they are very much in poverty, and tend to want to keep all their charities, and piligramage sites, and resources, for themselves. They don't seem to want a whole lot of Syrian Sunnis to come and join them.) It is also not true that this is the basis for the FSA's determination to drive them out.
Think for a moment about why these Iraqi Shias are in Syria, in the first place. It is because they were driven out of Iraq, by militants of the same forces and ideology which are now active in Syria. This is not about allegations of missionary activity, but rather a very strong Islamic ideology which cannot tolerate the Shias because they are believed to be pagans and apostates. For that, they are under sentence of death.
When the Free Syrian Army overran the border posts and killed the Syrian troops, they raised the Al-Qaida flag. This affiliation presupposes a view of Shias which is based on a long history.
I agree with Ron. Look at the difference between Obama's policy toward Bahrain - where a peaceful democratic opposition movement is being crushed by foreign (Saudi) troops with US aid - and Yemen, where a militant and armed opposition is being fought by the US. If the Syrian government used the tactics we see in Yemen, there would be an uproar.