“I think that President Obama realizes that we cannot count on a uni-polar world with the US at the top”
Contradicts
“ and we need to work to establish a system based on combinations of nations led by the US, in which combinations shift according to the issue. This is our most realistic future.”
“I suppose it is time turn over a new leaf, all the while trying to snoop through the old one.”
Is this a surprise? Just look at Pakistan, having Afpak on your border and supporting armed insurgency in your neighborhood does that with more to come.
“fate of Syria’s al-Assad”?
Do we pick a president for the united state or for the world? We talk of MLK but act as Mike Tyson.
Des any reasonable person see this 3 ring circus for more than it really is, smoke and mirror blown up humanities’ ace.
“It would not be impossible to prove with sufficient repetition and a psychological understanding of the people concerned that a square is in fact a circle.
Dr. Joseph Goebbels
If the average Islamic Joe chose to join one of the most barbaric and inhuman movements because of Trumps rhetoric’s, then by all mean make Hillary the president, never mind the stalwart support of expansionist Zionism or the unbending friendship with exclusive families running some of the most intolerant countries in the Islamic world “which our gullible press presents as champion and representative of the Muslims everywhere.” Bring out the think tanks and fire a full load at Trump who never did a minute of thinking. Play it again AhMad. link to youtube.com
“I don’t understand Sec. Clinton’s idea of supporting dictators and also working to promote democracy.”
With due respect for Dr. Cole, there is an English word that explains her (and others) position.
It’s called “Hypocrisy”. The most abundant inclination in our political “Culture” universe.
Let see, the conservative and the liberals hate him, the congress and the Knesset hate him, the media and the prince hate him. Let’s not go with the lesser of evil again. Our choices are not the good, the bad and the ugly, it’s the stupid, the full of it and the nutcase. the nutcase is our man and hopefully he will fire them all.
Could “Trumpism” rekindle the fire for democracy or fascism be a precursor to a revolution?
Maybe Trump is exactly what we need now rather than kicking this can down the road.
Here is evidence of ignorance lace with malice, pouring salt on the afghan open wound.
There are people (general petraeus) Looking forward to working with our new allies. link to twitter.com
Now Zarif should teach them how to surrender their deterrence and minority and majority in ME can kiss their collective ace goodbye. Obama’s zombie foot soldiers and NATO are unstoppable.
It is not all doom and gloom, there are too many fronts, some bog down or village changes hand but mayday and distress call from all major armed groups and fracture in their terror comradery tells a different story. The air base is particularly important, it improves moral and can be a staging ground to secure the Turkish border. Only this will separate the moderate willing to negotiate and the salafi jihadi extremist needing to be killed. France actions in Syria are contradictory and illegal.
“Will it send in an expeditionary force, say a brigade of 3,000 men, to Eastern Syria?”
France token attacks on terrorists could be the cause but France and England pushed to lift the EU wide arm embargo in Syria and Assad warned them back then. Using fanatics to reach political end has its problems as evident in Afghanistan destroyed civil society. Now France is to use a self inflected wound and invade Syria? Nuclear powered aircraft carrier? After the event of these last months, how do the coalition members even look each other in the face? That’s you France and Qatar and…
Why, it is on the march, winning battles and showing pride and has terrorists on the run, it has resources and population and a pool of battle hardened citizens to secure Iraq as never before. ISIS is crumbling mostly by its harsh and inhuman rule over the very same people who welcomed them in. if Iraqi prideful people step away from violence against each other, they will be a force to reckon with.
Passing of an Age of Lies and the beginning of an age of half truth, like when he arm twisted nations into a coalition, or when his army shocked and awed Saddam or when he embezzled so much money the world over had to bail bankers. Chalabi was nothing but a willing pinch of ingredient in whatever it was they were cooking in white house kitchen. And that is what’s missing in whatever it is the Obama administration is cooking for Syria and it is not for lack of trying, maybe it is just too many cooks.
Lebanon’s civil war did not end because it got to a ripe age of 15. It ended because Syria occupied and enforce peace for decades.
If Assad is a criminal for bombing, so are the people who haphazardly are arming malcontents in urban setting, creating terrorist and human shields at the same time. The war against Assad is personal, economic, military and propaganda. Saudi foreign minister cannot wait to wake up and see Assad has gone because Assad could win elections even now witch they lack over there in KSA. I believe the Saudi
Do not mind the war at all, it entrenches sectarianism and mummifies the nice little kingdom they got.
That is nothing compare to the choices for the Syrian Kurds and the real pressure is in Baghdad.
The Iraqi Kurds depend on turkey and are allies of US already and there is nothing to be gained by angering either. The challenge for Iraqi Kurds is in fact internal and political, why don’t you enlighten us about that.
From here it looks like a bad case of home grown Islamic fundamentalism. Left untreated, it could be fatal. And to think an Islamic state in Syria will solve Turkish, Kurdish problem or creating an AfPak condition on your border is desirable, could be a sign of dementia and insanity. It is possible to go from almost European membership to a fail state in as little as ten years.
Leaving Middle East policy to Israel and gulf Arabs, the peaceable nation builders that they are is a risk.
The message of Putin on no outside interference, and stability above all should sound pretty good to gulf Arabs. Putin says he wants to protect Syria’s national integrity, but the card up his sleeve leaves him the prime real state when Syria is on the chopping block. Another generation of violence and professional regime changers in US and I can see gulf Arabs as his clients too, just when the oil and payment will really matter.
Massoud Barzani is in good position, while him too can be overruled, he will go on to demand more from US and Turkey but I believe PKK and YPG will welcome Russia as US, an ally of turkey cannot offer them anything other them being cannon fodder against ISIS outside Kurdish territory while being bombed by turkey. Turkey is in a fix and any escalation with Russia will probably be matched by Russia. With no military solution in sight, US policy of sending four men to fight ISIS and tens of thousands of al Qaeda and affiliates to fight Assad is approaching the hour of decision and clarity. The objection of Sunni parliamentarians to any Iraqi collaboration with these countries leaves no doubt why the average man in the street is ISIS, al Qaeda, their affiliates, moderate, Hashed and such. US and Russia will have to play modern day Sykes Picot and enforce peace.
This civil war has drag on for too long with no end in sight. Radicalized and armed, none can put Syria together.
Consolidate area deemed necessary for the Alawite state,
Ceasefire, population transfer, referendum and let Turks, the Saudi have their State.
“Tehran would like nothing better to deploy 100,000”
I hope not. Only enough to help defend a heavily mined border, same goes for Iraq. Subduing the wild-eyed wahabi is best left to the people who can make profit out if it, let build a new just, secular government and let islamist govern themselves and live productive lives with the help of its friends.
“or accept the de facto partition of Syria”
Not only they have accepted it, they will implement it. (Rebels) will be allowed to govern their own enclave at first, some population transfer and defined borders, bingo, everyone live happily ever after.
“NATO abandoned that country after the successful intervention of 2011.”
Unbeknown to anybody but me, they had to, the rebel did not want NATO anymore then they wanted Gaddafi, Nato would of had to put troops on the ground and feed the meat grinder, much like Benghazi, Afghanistan, Iraq or Lebanon. So the score was settled (Mission accomplished) and on to Damascus.
Yes, it is not a nice world. But it has been the nicest for a long while. Used to be revolutionaries earned their pedigree and credentials under torture and in jail and rabble rouser were piled like a mound.
Rebels Fret? Whatever for? they made their bed, they allied themselves with takfiri foot soldiers, slave traders and subhuman rapists. Their record of atrocity of past 4 years is even scaring their benefactors and king of all Arabs. Assad seems like a decent man by comparison and will probably be visible politically in Syria’s future. You have won. Declare ceasefire and renounce violence for sake of future generations.
Its political campaign season and campaign promises and burst of American exceptionalism is as meaningless as Friday prayer chants. Trust fallows when loyalty is earned with betrayal waiting in the wing.
To ignore the source of illicit financing and supplying the terror groups ”the red line and the rat line” and condemn legal transfer of aid is at most shallow journalism, but to propose lost weapons and lives is the source of terror groups firepower is in fact intellectual ejaculation.
“Likewise, the US now seems willing to negotiate with al-Assad.”
Actually, the US wants to negotiate Assad’s surrender, Assad wants to negotiate Rebel surrender and the Rebels are not united or “astute” enough to negotiate themselves out of a wet paper bag.
So there will be no negotiations, till Assad is out of barrel bombs or Syria out of knuckle dragging thugs, which seem unlikely. Only arming Assad, Sisi , Houthis , Kurds and all other minorities, can curtail the Salafi zeal for destruction.
Is at all possible, that Russia might have genuine security interest to supply and support the only credible force, preventing a tragedy in and around Syria, trough Caucasus Mountains to central Asia.
Or is it just a passé emotional tantrum for attention by Russia.
“I hope his parents bankrupt the school district and the police force.”
Please stop over reacting, the kid is obviously a tinkerer, but to put a timer in a suitcase and take it to school shows lack of Judgment. There is no reason to target educational institutions, even those wary of Muhammad and his suitcase clock.
Day dream has to be Plausible, however improbable. Yours is borderline fantasy. But the past can tell us what the future will hold. The congregation of freedom fighters and holy warriors in AfPak brought immense human misery to south Asia and lead to the tragedy of September 11. Now the same actors and directors are at it again, from North Africa to south Arabian Peninsula. Arab spring was hijacked, sold, raped, drowned, beheaded and ground into fertilizer for more of the same.
“Maybe the Assads & their worst henchmen get an exile in Russia”
And all the minorities’, Women, his supporters, historical artifacts and religious and archeological sites
“not because they hate Shiism but because they oppose the Houthi take-over of Yemen’s government in the north.”
And the church in Lahore, what was that for? How many gropes have attacked worshippers and claimed responsibility, could various grope like AQAP and ISIS surrogates cooperate for such an attack? This attack could be simply religious to obtain blessings. link to youtube.com
If they want to finish ISIS threat, the only way displaced civilians can go back, they have to follow ISIS to Syria and probably will, including many Sunnis too, as mercenaries coordinating with Assad to end this nightmare, what comes next? Reforms, independence or autonomy, territorial arbitrations, rebuilding the cities, old grudges and fresh wounds. Is anybody looking that far forward?
First, Sweden recognized Palestine, Second, they canceled arm sales to SA. Only because the foreign minister was invited, she respected her hosts by wearing head covering, they insulted her (for being a female) and prevented her from addressing them, you have come a long way Sweden.
But the credit goes to Daesh, its thuggish rule and primitive world view. ISIS inhabitant’s wishes for liberation and a promise to keep Daesh down and out, enter Iraq’s PMU (trained and equipped by Iran, their salaries’ are paid by Iraq) and as more Sunni population is freed, their participation and confidence in Daesh destruction will increase.
Are you setting us up for “U.S. to Give Some Syria Rebels Ability to Call Airstrikes” link to wsj.com
In the afghan war many civilian died because of personal and tribal vendetta. If and when the curtain drops for the thugs in Iraq and Syria, what would become of them, would Yemen and Libya look attractive to them, especially if Italians get mixed up in Libya and how would the survival of the chain of supply “an army to feed an army” be explained after years of aerial warfare.
“Boehner seem to have concluded that new sanctions on Iran, even if it aborts negotiations and brings on a war with Iran, will be rewarded by the electorate in 2016.” Patrick Buchanan link to buchanan.org
Considering that most Muslims are not Arabs and most Arabs are in fact Semites, I will replace Muslims with Arabs in his speech in an Arab center. Let’s try that whenever we hear Muslims, there! All is fixed and everything is clearer now, even Charlie’s old cartons.
How about “al-Da`wa Mosque and Farid Benyettou.” Or the people who armed them with machine guns and rocket launcher or the vaunted French intelligence who left killers deliver pizza unattended. To blame everything on one man or his administration for all the ill will in the world is passé. You might as well go back to genghis khan.
“unless your intention is to build the bomb”
One bomb, two bomb, 99 nuclear bombs? How is Iran to compete with countries sucking up the world resources to maintain their tens of thousands?
Why would any country give up its sovereign rights? Nuclear industry is used for medical, agricultural and food processing industry and science. Knowing how to is not illegal, stockpiling hundreds by hook or by crook is just plain nasty. If they are to pump water, either thru purification plants or thou out the country, they need nuclear power.
“(Those who wonder whether he should have been overthrown should remember that he provoked his own overthrow.)”
There is a Persian proverb "az mast ke bar mast" from a poem by Naser Khosrow.
Meaning, what happens to us is our fault and from us. Because, no other is responsible for us.
An advice mushy middle will do well to remember.
Dr. Huntington has no monopoly in the term” Islamic civilization” which like, all civilizations is imploding from within and not because of a “clash or lack of mono cultural world” or “moral failing or a warming planet” even the moguls did not end Islamic civilization, Islamic civilization ended them as they adopted Islam, its administrative and cultural norms and build enduring kingdoms. Time for a little constructive self criticism from the citizens of this civilization and some flexibility and foresight form the religious scholars, the other common denominator in this civilization.
Replace the “Arab” with “Islamic” and you have “the collapse of Islamic civilization”.
Not so farfetched now. You could even say the religion itself if not in decline is in crises.
“Where will Mr. Obama find them?”
Please pardon my persistent ignorance. The only credible force is led by and is majority Sunni with a better chance of success then blowing up wedding parties now and again.
There are some contradiction in driving isil out of Iraq. Where to you sagest they go?
I think the victory belong to the residents of Amerli who resisted isil. Everybody else show up months later to help. Your last paragraph says it all. A house to house fight with ied and suiciders will be different. a pointless meat grinder and a disaster for the army, peshmerga and militia.
“International Criminal Court”! Does a joke about a joke is still funny?
An Israeli, an American and a Palestinian happen to expire at the same time and arrive at the gate of hell for the same reasons. The attendants offer them a last call home to set their affairs straight. The American gives his number and it is $254.63 for him, which he pays, the Israeli gives his number and its $43.50 for him which the American also also pays. When the Palestinians give his number and it’s only a quarter, the other two protest why do they have to pay more? The horned one explains. Well his call is local.
By the time of Rumi’s birth, Persian literature was churning out poetry for two hundred years which would influence Rumi and in turn his work would influence the pace for the next two hundred years.
Few of the hundreds of poets are known outside Persian speaking cultures and even fewer in the west.
Only speaking Persian can help differentiate between poems that might come as repetitious or the same in translation.
But to write of Rumi and omit the one he knew you would!
Hundreds of millions of twenty something with no socioeconomic status or a fully developed frontal lobe are going to changed the world and for the better? Would we see an Arab Mandela or Gandhi with revolutionary credential, which can unite and inspire the new “youth” in a decade or two? With all the environmental damage and a warming planet, “youth” are like worms, hooked, but wiggling.
Most every piece of hardware runs on simple firmware “software”. Before any operating system boot up to run an application or before any custom industrial machine resets “finds home “dozens of firmware and logic circuits are already activated. In the transportation industry the temperature, load, RPM, road grade and such are logged and transmitted. The engines on flight 370 were reporting their condition hours after reported missing. As popular as banking data is, I would not be surprised if its privacy has been violated since the very first bank opened.
I was looking for also at least 3 or 4 reasons she is, you were asking which numb skull arranged for presidents wall mart speech, look no further as this Amazon served on the board of directors and has presidential ambitions. link to youtube.com
In Syria majority of those on both sides that are fighting and dying are Sunnis but if you are going to write about sectarian fighting and massacres, please do a piece on Pakistan, where one grope exclusively does the terrorizing and killing and the other exclusively does the dying and Bering traumatized and explain the indifference of each sects head honchos or the whole world for that matter.
(In fact, there are saner versions of Zionism, which is a form of nationalism like other nationalisms)
Nations have defined borders but Zionist are busy jerking out of socket, every lever of power in every nation and organization of consequence and then we have the (Taco**live mas nations). And the"poof"is in the pudding ,Your link has no “poof”in it, just the same old song and dance of threats and innuendos. Headlines have changed and the hasbara machine, including the poofer’s department is spinning faster than the Iranian centrifuge. Don’t you know that P in the “poof” is for Palestine.
The blame game, facts or fictions, all smoke and mirror. Senatorial shenanigans and imperial pugmark zigzagging the planet only benefits one country and it isn’t the US.
© 2026 All Rights Reserved
Churnalism at its best.
Republican or democrat, left or right, we have met the enemy (existential threat) and they are us.
If the US can have tactical alliance with al Qaeda, Why can’t other groups.
link to youtube.com
“I think that President Obama realizes that we cannot count on a uni-polar world with the US at the top”
Contradicts
“ and we need to work to establish a system based on combinations of nations led by the US, in which combinations shift according to the issue. This is our most realistic future.”
“I suppose it is time turn over a new leaf, all the while trying to snoop through the old one.”
That’s a problem with starting fires as wet and dry burn together.
Is this a surprise? Just look at Pakistan, having Afpak on your border and supporting armed insurgency in your neighborhood does that with more to come.
“fate of Syria’s al-Assad”?
Do we pick a president for the united state or for the world? We talk of MLK but act as Mike Tyson.
Des any reasonable person see this 3 ring circus for more than it really is, smoke and mirror blown up humanities’ ace.
“It would not be impossible to prove with sufficient repetition and a psychological understanding of the people concerned that a square is in fact a circle.
Dr. Joseph Goebbels
If the average Islamic Joe chose to join one of the most barbaric and inhuman movements because of Trumps rhetoric’s, then by all mean make Hillary the president, never mind the stalwart support of expansionist Zionism or the unbending friendship with exclusive families running some of the most intolerant countries in the Islamic world “which our gullible press presents as champion and representative of the Muslims everywhere.” Bring out the think tanks and fire a full load at Trump who never did a minute of thinking. Play it again AhMad.
link to youtube.com
Running with the hare and hunting with the hounds is confusing one and all.
“I don’t understand Sec. Clinton’s idea of supporting dictators and also working to promote democracy.”
With due respect for Dr. Cole, there is an English word that explains her (and others) position.
It’s called “Hypocrisy”. The most abundant inclination in our political “Culture” universe.
Secretary John Kerry's Letter to Iranian FM Zarif Regarding Visa Waiver Reform.
link to payvand.com
To worship the one god and defile his creations for profit and pleasure is infract worshiping oneself.
link to youtube.com
“Palestinian Attacks”? The west will only see the “attacks” and sympathize with the Zionist. Let’s call the ghetto uprising and hope for the best.
Are king Salman and the prince the new Saddam, will we in decade read about how US and UK were arming the despots? "It's like déjà vu all over again."
Let see, the conservative and the liberals hate him, the congress and the Knesset hate him, the media and the prince hate him. Let’s not go with the lesser of evil again. Our choices are not the good, the bad and the ugly, it’s the stupid, the full of it and the nutcase. the nutcase is our man and hopefully he will fire them all.
Could “Trumpism” rekindle the fire for democracy or fascism be a precursor to a revolution?
Maybe Trump is exactly what we need now rather than kicking this can down the road.
Here is evidence of ignorance lace with malice, pouring salt on the afghan open wound.
There are people (general petraeus) Looking forward to working with our new allies.
link to twitter.com
“caliph” is only a symptom, it is Cognitive dissonance you suffering from.
We were promised change and Trump will likely deliver. For better or worst does not matter, anything other than status quo is an improvement.
These Status only prove one thing, there are more American worthy of the Nobel peace prize then the rest of “civilized world”.
And how did we end up back in the 80es?
link to twitter.com
link to youtube.com
Now Zarif should teach them how to surrender their deterrence and minority and majority in ME can kiss their collective ace goodbye. Obama’s zombie foot soldiers and NATO are unstoppable.
It is not all doom and gloom, there are too many fronts, some bog down or village changes hand but mayday and distress call from all major armed groups and fracture in their terror comradery tells a different story. The air base is particularly important, it improves moral and can be a staging ground to secure the Turkish border. Only this will separate the moderate willing to negotiate and the salafi jihadi extremist needing to be killed. France actions in Syria are contradictory and illegal.
“Will it send in an expeditionary force, say a brigade of 3,000 men, to Eastern Syria?”
France token attacks on terrorists could be the cause but France and England pushed to lift the EU wide arm embargo in Syria and Assad warned them back then. Using fanatics to reach political end has its problems as evident in Afghanistan destroyed civil society. Now France is to use a self inflected wound and invade Syria? Nuclear powered aircraft carrier? After the event of these last months, how do the coalition members even look each other in the face? That’s you France and Qatar and…
Why, it is on the march, winning battles and showing pride and has terrorists on the run, it has resources and population and a pool of battle hardened citizens to secure Iraq as never before. ISIS is crumbling mostly by its harsh and inhuman rule over the very same people who welcomed them in. if Iraqi prideful people step away from violence against each other, they will be a force to reckon with.
No need for journalistic contortions, this is how we get manipulated.
link to c-span.org
“What is not generally understood is that the U.S. itself was manipulated”
It could be our mental capacity.
Any of those things could get him impeached if not lynched, let us fantasize how would trump negotiate and deal with bibi
here they are
link to youtube.com
Passing of an Age of Lies and the beginning of an age of half truth, like when he arm twisted nations into a coalition, or when his army shocked and awed Saddam or when he embezzled so much money the world over had to bail bankers. Chalabi was nothing but a willing pinch of ingredient in whatever it was they were cooking in white house kitchen. And that is what’s missing in whatever it is the Obama administration is cooking for Syria and it is not for lack of trying, maybe it is just too many cooks.
Lebanon’s civil war did not end because it got to a ripe age of 15. It ended because Syria occupied and enforce peace for decades.
If Assad is a criminal for bombing, so are the people who haphazardly are arming malcontents in urban setting, creating terrorist and human shields at the same time. The war against Assad is personal, economic, military and propaganda. Saudi foreign minister cannot wait to wake up and see Assad has gone because Assad could win elections even now witch they lack over there in KSA. I believe the Saudi
Do not mind the war at all, it entrenches sectarianism and mummifies the nice little kingdom they got.
And blackness since birth.
That is nothing compare to the choices for the Syrian Kurds and the real pressure is in Baghdad.
The Iraqi Kurds depend on turkey and are allies of US already and there is nothing to be gained by angering either. The challenge for Iraqi Kurds is in fact internal and political, why don’t you enlighten us about that.
That horse has already left the barn, now you have to be a multi millionaire to even get in.
From here it looks like a bad case of home grown Islamic fundamentalism. Left untreated, it could be fatal. And to think an Islamic state in Syria will solve Turkish, Kurdish problem or creating an AfPak condition on your border is desirable, could be a sign of dementia and insanity. It is possible to go from almost European membership to a fail state in as little as ten years.
Leaving Middle East policy to Israel and gulf Arabs, the peaceable nation builders that they are is a risk.
The message of Putin on no outside interference, and stability above all should sound pretty good to gulf Arabs. Putin says he wants to protect Syria’s national integrity, but the card up his sleeve leaves him the prime real state when Syria is on the chopping block. Another generation of violence and professional regime changers in US and I can see gulf Arabs as his clients too, just when the oil and payment will really matter.
Massoud Barzani is in good position, while him too can be overruled, he will go on to demand more from US and Turkey but I believe PKK and YPG will welcome Russia as US, an ally of turkey cannot offer them anything other them being cannon fodder against ISIS outside Kurdish territory while being bombed by turkey. Turkey is in a fix and any escalation with Russia will probably be matched by Russia. With no military solution in sight, US policy of sending four men to fight ISIS and tens of thousands of al Qaeda and affiliates to fight Assad is approaching the hour of decision and clarity. The objection of Sunni parliamentarians to any Iraqi collaboration with these countries leaves no doubt why the average man in the street is ISIS, al Qaeda, their affiliates, moderate, Hashed and such. US and Russia will have to play modern day Sykes Picot and enforce peace.
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
Rumi
This civil war has drag on for too long with no end in sight. Radicalized and armed, none can put Syria together.
Consolidate area deemed necessary for the Alawite state,
Ceasefire, population transfer, referendum and let Turks, the Saudi have their State.
“Tehran would like nothing better to deploy 100,000”
I hope not. Only enough to help defend a heavily mined border, same goes for Iraq. Subduing the wild-eyed wahabi is best left to the people who can make profit out if it, let build a new just, secular government and let islamist govern themselves and live productive lives with the help of its friends.
“or accept the de facto partition of Syria”
Not only they have accepted it, they will implement it. (Rebels) will be allowed to govern their own enclave at first, some population transfer and defined borders, bingo, everyone live happily ever after.
“NATO abandoned that country after the successful intervention of 2011.”
Unbeknown to anybody but me, they had to, the rebel did not want NATO anymore then they wanted Gaddafi, Nato would of had to put troops on the ground and feed the meat grinder, much like Benghazi, Afghanistan, Iraq or Lebanon. So the score was settled (Mission accomplished) and on to Damascus.
Yes, it is not a nice world. But it has been the nicest for a long while. Used to be revolutionaries earned their pedigree and credentials under torture and in jail and rabble rouser were piled like a mound.
Rebels Fret? Whatever for? they made their bed, they allied themselves with takfiri foot soldiers, slave traders and subhuman rapists. Their record of atrocity of past 4 years is even scaring their benefactors and king of all Arabs. Assad seems like a decent man by comparison and will probably be visible politically in Syria’s future. You have won. Declare ceasefire and renounce violence for sake of future generations.
Its political campaign season and campaign promises and burst of American exceptionalism is as meaningless as Friday prayer chants. Trust fallows when loyalty is earned with betrayal waiting in the wing.
To ignore the source of illicit financing and supplying the terror groups ”the red line and the rat line” and condemn legal transfer of aid is at most shallow journalism, but to propose lost weapons and lives is the source of terror groups firepower is in fact intellectual ejaculation.
“Likewise, the US now seems willing to negotiate with al-Assad.”
Actually, the US wants to negotiate Assad’s surrender, Assad wants to negotiate Rebel surrender and the Rebels are not united or “astute” enough to negotiate themselves out of a wet paper bag.
So there will be no negotiations, till Assad is out of barrel bombs or Syria out of knuckle dragging thugs, which seem unlikely. Only arming Assad, Sisi , Houthis , Kurds and all other minorities, can curtail the Salafi zeal for destruction.
"Statisticians reckon only one in five migrants claiming asylum in Europe are from Syria."
link to metro.co.uk
Is at all possible, that Russia might have genuine security interest to supply and support the only credible force, preventing a tragedy in and around Syria, trough Caucasus Mountains to central Asia.
Or is it just a passé emotional tantrum for attention by Russia.
The solution is obvious.
Let’s arm the rioters as NATO provides air cover, for the sake of humanity.
The first teacher told him not to show it to anybody, the second, annoyed by its beeping, thinks it a hoax and it escalates from there.
“I hope his parents bankrupt the school district and the police force.”
Please stop over reacting, the kid is obviously a tinkerer, but to put a timer in a suitcase and take it to school shows lack of Judgment. There is no reason to target educational institutions, even those wary of Muhammad and his suitcase clock.
Day dream has to be Plausible, however improbable. Yours is borderline fantasy. But the past can tell us what the future will hold. The congregation of freedom fighters and holy warriors in AfPak brought immense human misery to south Asia and lead to the tragedy of September 11. Now the same actors and directors are at it again, from North Africa to south Arabian Peninsula. Arab spring was hijacked, sold, raped, drowned, beheaded and ground into fertilizer for more of the same.
“Maybe the Assads & their worst henchmen get an exile in Russia”
And all the minorities’, Women, his supporters, historical artifacts and religious and archeological sites
“not because they hate Shiism but because they oppose the Houthi take-over of Yemen’s government in the north.”
And the church in Lahore, what was that for? How many gropes have attacked worshippers and claimed responsibility, could various grope like AQAP and ISIS surrogates cooperate for such an attack? This attack could be simply religious to obtain blessings.
link to youtube.com
If they want to finish ISIS threat, the only way displaced civilians can go back, they have to follow ISIS to Syria and probably will, including many Sunnis too, as mercenaries coordinating with Assad to end this nightmare, what comes next? Reforms, independence or autonomy, territorial arbitrations, rebuilding the cities, old grudges and fresh wounds. Is anybody looking that far forward?
Perhaps a letter campaign to European and Security Council members to enriches their knowledge and promotes mutual understanding and clarity.
“The Other Iran Letter”
link to nytimes.com
Khamenei just does not get it. You cannot hide behind international law. US can, Has and will bend and break international law whenever appropriate.
First, Sweden recognized Palestine, Second, they canceled arm sales to SA. Only because the foreign minister was invited, she respected her hosts by wearing head covering, they insulted her (for being a female) and prevented her from addressing them, you have come a long way Sweden.
It is not only Shias, Santa too!
link to facebook.com
But the credit goes to Daesh, its thuggish rule and primitive world view. ISIS inhabitant’s wishes for liberation and a promise to keep Daesh down and out, enter Iraq’s PMU (trained and equipped by Iran, their salaries’ are paid by Iraq) and as more Sunni population is freed, their participation and confidence in Daesh destruction will increase.
This is not a classic military operation. Looks like a pilgrimage of some kind.
Here you can get info, reading between the lines.
link to twitter.com
Let hope they have enough competence to take the fight all the way to Syria, the site of the caliph and finish ISIL.
They even had imported intelligence on tap, piped in thru the kitchen.
Are you setting us up for “U.S. to Give Some Syria Rebels Ability to Call Airstrikes”
link to wsj.com
In the afghan war many civilian died because of personal and tribal vendetta. If and when the curtain drops for the thugs in Iraq and Syria, what would become of them, would Yemen and Libya look attractive to them, especially if Italians get mixed up in Libya and how would the survival of the chain of supply “an army to feed an army” be explained after years of aerial warfare.
What percentage of the 400 are coming back and the percentage of their fans at home is the 6 million dollar question.
With this trajectory, it should be called devolution.
Is any village idiot with access to guns a ‘lone wolf’ ?
Is it not obvious that religion is a red herring and human bigotry, greed and tribal politics trumps “god” any old day?
“Boehner seem to have concluded that new sanctions on Iran, even if it aborts negotiations and brings on a war with Iran, will be rewarded by the electorate in 2016.” Patrick Buchanan
link to buchanan.org
More sanctions will end status quo which Obama wants extended permanently.
What about hydrogen fuel cell, with promising performance like this one
link to toyota.com
Considering that most Muslims are not Arabs and most Arabs are in fact Semites, I will replace Muslims with Arabs in his speech in an Arab center. Let’s try that whenever we hear Muslims, there! All is fixed and everything is clearer now, even Charlie’s old cartons.
Whoever wins, it is French, European and citizens the world over who are going to lose more freedom and privacy.
How about “al-Da`wa Mosque and Farid Benyettou.” Or the people who armed them with machine guns and rocket launcher or the vaunted French intelligence who left killers deliver pizza unattended. To blame everything on one man or his administration for all the ill will in the world is passé. You might as well go back to genghis khan.
Ever the optimist. When will they realize that sanctions are permanent and there is nothing to make a deal about?
Heavy weapons of IS are operated by ex baathist military men and are not a tribal toy things to fire in the weddings.
“unless your intention is to build the bomb”
One bomb, two bomb, 99 nuclear bombs? How is Iran to compete with countries sucking up the world resources to maintain their tens of thousands?
Why would any country give up its sovereign rights? Nuclear industry is used for medical, agricultural and food processing industry and science. Knowing how to is not illegal, stockpiling hundreds by hook or by crook is just plain nasty. If they are to pump water, either thru purification plants or thou out the country, they need nuclear power.
“(Those who wonder whether he should have been overthrown should remember that he provoked his own overthrow.)”
There is a Persian proverb "az mast ke bar mast" from a poem by Naser Khosrow.
Meaning, what happens to us is our fault and from us. Because, no other is responsible for us.
An advice mushy middle will do well to remember.
Dr. Huntington has no monopoly in the term” Islamic civilization” which like, all civilizations is imploding from within and not because of a “clash or lack of mono cultural world” or “moral failing or a warming planet” even the moguls did not end Islamic civilization, Islamic civilization ended them as they adopted Islam, its administrative and cultural norms and build enduring kingdoms. Time for a little constructive self criticism from the citizens of this civilization and some flexibility and foresight form the religious scholars, the other common denominator in this civilization.
Replace the “Arab” with “Islamic” and you have “the collapse of Islamic civilization”.
Not so farfetched now. You could even say the religion itself if not in decline is in crises.
Not collective guilt, which would imply punishment, but collective shame which entrails explanation and understanding.
“Where will Mr. Obama find them?”
Please pardon my persistent ignorance. The only credible force is led by and is majority Sunni with a better chance of success then blowing up wedding parties now and again.
There are some contradiction in driving isil out of Iraq. Where to you sagest they go?
I think the victory belong to the residents of Amerli who resisted isil. Everybody else show up months later to help. Your last paragraph says it all. A house to house fight with ied and suiciders will be different. a pointless meat grinder and a disaster for the army, peshmerga and militia.
“International Criminal Court”! Does a joke about a joke is still funny?
An Israeli, an American and a Palestinian happen to expire at the same time and arrive at the gate of hell for the same reasons. The attendants offer them a last call home to set their affairs straight. The American gives his number and it is $254.63 for him, which he pays, the Israeli gives his number and its $43.50 for him which the American also also pays. When the Palestinians give his number and it’s only a quarter, the other two protest why do they have to pay more? The horned one explains. Well his call is local.
By the time of Rumi’s birth, Persian literature was churning out poetry for two hundred years which would influence Rumi and in turn his work would influence the pace for the next two hundred years.
Few of the hundreds of poets are known outside Persian speaking cultures and even fewer in the west.
Only speaking Persian can help differentiate between poems that might come as repetitious or the same in translation.
But to write of Rumi and omit the one he knew you would!
Hundreds of millions of twenty something with no socioeconomic status or a fully developed frontal lobe are going to changed the world and for the better? Would we see an Arab Mandela or Gandhi with revolutionary credential, which can unite and inspire the new “youth” in a decade or two? With all the environmental damage and a warming planet, “youth” are like worms, hooked, but wiggling.
This cnn news is déjà vu.
link to counterpunch.org
Here is animation of south Florida predicament.
link to youtube.com
Here you can smash galaxies.
link to deimos.astro.columbia.edu
Most every piece of hardware runs on simple firmware “software”. Before any operating system boot up to run an application or before any custom industrial machine resets “finds home “dozens of firmware and logic circuits are already activated. In the transportation industry the temperature, load, RPM, road grade and such are logged and transmitted. The engines on flight 370 were reporting their condition hours after reported missing. As popular as banking data is, I would not be surprised if its privacy has been violated since the very first bank opened.
Someone has to be held accountable for the Libyan tragedy, failing that, the ballad of Benghazi will do.
You do regime change with the extremist you got, not the extremist you wish you had.
Now in solidarity with Azyz Amami.
link to youtube.com
I was looking for also at least 3 or 4 reasons she is, you were asking which numb skull arranged for presidents wall mart speech, look no further as this Amazon served on the board of directors and has presidential ambitions.
link to youtube.com
In Syria majority of those on both sides that are fighting and dying are Sunnis but if you are going to write about sectarian fighting and massacres, please do a piece on Pakistan, where one grope exclusively does the terrorizing and killing and the other exclusively does the dying and Bering traumatized and explain the indifference of each sects head honchos or the whole world for that matter.
Is it too much to hope and ask for an Israeli Palestinian unity government?
Beautiful birds, what teas these Pakistanis, how is a fat prince to get a fill on a morsel of only 100 of these birds.
(In fact, there are saner versions of Zionism, which is a form of nationalism like other nationalisms)
Nations have defined borders but Zionist are busy jerking out of socket, every lever of power in every nation and organization of consequence and then we have the (Taco**live mas nations). And the"poof"is in the pudding ,Your link has no “poof”in it, just the same old song and dance of threats and innuendos. Headlines have changed and the hasbara machine, including the poofer’s department is spinning faster than the Iranian centrifuge. Don’t you know that P in the “poof” is for Palestine.
The blame game, facts or fictions, all smoke and mirror. Senatorial shenanigans and imperial pugmark zigzagging the planet only benefits one country and it isn’t the US.