Showing posts with label Libya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Libya. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

International Crisis Group Sweating over Syria


Baath Party Headquarters
Tony Cartalucci, Contributing Writer

The International Crisis Group (ICG) has been at the center of the unfolding "Arab Spring" since the very beginning.

Mohamed ElBaradei, a member of the ICG board of trustees, was literally leading the color revolution in the streets of Cairo along with his admitted underling, Google executive Wael Ghonim. The ICG has also recently made a heeded call for intervention in the Ivory Coast.

ICG includes George Soros and Zbigniew Brzezinski, two men notorious for their extraterritorial meddling and their fomenting of color revolutions in far flung lands.

To explain why they are so eager to pry their way into sovereign nations, despoil, topple, and rebuild them, one only has to look at ICG's corporate supporters.

They include such ignoble organizations as Chevron, Morgan Stanley, and Deutsche Bank Group with equally ignoble intentions that are confidently expressed through ICG's nefarious agenda.

In the ICG's most recent report, "Syria: Quickly Going beyond the Point of No Return," they worryingly state that, "By denouncing all forms of protest as sedition, and dealing with them through escalating violence, the regime [Syria] is closing the door on any possible honourable exit to a deepening national crisis. With little the international community can do, the optimal outcome is one whose chances are dwindling by the day: an immediate end to the violence and a genuine national dialogue to pave the way for a transition to a representative, democratic political order."In other words, the window is closing on Western-engineered regime change in Syria.

The ICG goes on to state that "the regime blames all casualties on its foes -- agents provocateurs and, more recently, jihadis," but they concede that "one cannot exclude possible foreign involvement in the ongoing crisis..." ICG's report degenerates into a hypocritical, somewhat bizarre and uncharacteristically incoherent rant stating that even though foreign influence is evident and that "there are plausible reports of security forces being ambushed by unidentified armed groups, as well as of protesters firing back when attacked," Syria's bid to restore order amidst a clearly violent, foreign-funded insurrection is a "violent, unlawful and disorderly response."

Perhaps the deep pockets of George Soros and the myriad of influential world leaders that populate the International Crisis Group's board of trustees and serve as advisers, are unable to afford a copy of the New York Times paper stating that the entire "Arab Spring" was prepared and directed years in advance by the US. Perhaps the ICG is incapable of reading AFP reports openly stating that Syrian protesters were trained abroad by the US and sent back to Syria to fuel a "ripple effect."

It seems they are also absent-minded of the corporate-funded Brookings Institution report, "Which Path to Persia?" which gives specific acknowledgment to the Smith Richardson Foundation, upon which Zbigniew Brzezinski sits as an acting governor.

In this Brookings report, fueling simultaneous popular revolutions, armed insurgencies, and tempting military units to carry out a coup are openly talked about as viable options used in tandem to destabilize a targeted nation. In addition, "some form of military support" is cited as an absolute necessity when fomenting a popular revolution to prevent it from being crushed by competent security forces. Judging from Damascus' daily claims, video, and photographic evidence, coupled with eye witness accounts from the protesters themselves of mysterious gunmen, it appears the "Which Path to Persia?" doctrine is being carried out in earnest within Syria's borders.

The untenable position the global corporate-financiers are in to intervene further is illustrated in ICG's report where they conclude, "the international community clearly has an important stake in the outcome of the current crisis, even if little capacity to influence it." ICG recognizes how further intervention will make it abundantly clear to the general population that indeed this is an orchestrated, foreign-funded plot - something the world's leaders, from Cairo to Damascus, from Minsk to Beijing have already pointed out.

Despite ICG's apparent resignation to sitting the Syrian conflict out on the sidelines (apparently not counting the already admitted funding and support the US has given the Syrian opposition) it should be noted that a campaign to build up support for a Libyan-style military intervention in Syria is already underway.

The Economist notes that the missing component is the Arab League's support - without which, military intervention is almost unimaginable. We can then expect a concerted and furious effort made to twist arms in Riyadh, Cairo, Amman, and even Istanbul to match Qatar's fervent support for this Western-driven regional conflagration. The impetus to wring out such a concession however, is almost unimaginable.  

Tony Cartalucci's articles have appeared on many alternative media websites, including his own at 
Land Destroyer Report.  
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Sunday, May 1, 2011

EXCLUSIVE – UPDATED: SAIF AL ARAB, SON OF GADDAFI, BELIEVED KILLED

April 30, 2011 posted by Gordon Duff

MODERATE, PEACEMAKER KILLED IN AIR STRIKE

REPUTATION AS “BRAT-PACK” PARTYIER  OVERSTATED
By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER/Senior Editor

Libya announced today that Saif Al Arab, the 29 year old son of Colonel Gaddafi along with 3 children were killed in a NATO airstrike today.
Veterans Today offers its sincere condolences to Colonel Gaddafi, his family and the Libyan people.
This was an excellent young man who would have played a significant part in the future of Libya.
Saif Al Arab Gaddafi, a student,  was tasked by his father to open secret backchannel discussions with the United States to bring a rapid end to hostilities and bloodshed in Libya.




In a process that involved staffers of Veterans Today and their associates, Saif attempted unsuccessfully to open a dialog through Secretary Clinton’s office and through retired members of the intelligence and advisory staff of President’s Reagan and Bush1 and 2.

Netherland's photo of "Seif Al Arab Kadaffi"
one of many..mislabeled, confusing

 There are unconfirmed but reliable reports that Saif should have been en-route to Washington at the time of his death, despite the travel ban reportedly imposed on him by NATO.   However, there should have been NO travel restrictions placed on Saif Al Arab but rather his older brother Saif Al Islam.

There has been significant confusion in Washington and among NATO powers as to Colonel Gaddafi’s sons, Saif Al Islam, 39 and his younger son, Saif Al Arab, 29.
Sources indicate that Colonel Gaddafi ordered Libyan security services to remove all traces of his younger son from the internet.  Several websites that had included photos of the younger son are now carrying sophisticated malicious
programs.  (viruses)

Unlike his older brother, Saif Al Arab has no history of involvement in military or security issues.
His death is both unexpected and highly suspect.
However, we will accept the announcement at face value, out of respect, and reserve judgement.


Gaddafi Family Album

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

LIBYA AND DONALD TRUMP…

GORDON DUFF: SUNDAY MORNING “MAY DAY 2011″

May 1, 2011 posted by Gordon Duff ·

IF ONLY WE HAD THE MORAL CLARITY OF OLD LINE COMMUNISM IN OUR FACE AGAIN….


A LITTLE TALK RADIO
By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER/Senior Editor

Those of us who remember the Cold War, can’t help but reflect on May 1.  Moscow and parades, red flags everywhere, announcements of new superweapons, of 3rd world leaders turning to socialism, the heady days of moral clarity replaced by the lateralism of the 21st century.  On even more reflection, that past we remember gains the stain of the present era, globalists, oil and banking cartels, as alive then as they are now, we just didn’t see it.  Increasingly, history is likely to show that one man, perhaps the most vilified man in history, had foreseen it all.
I’m not going there, this isn’t the day to resurrect the ghost of Adolf Hitler.  Until we do, however, until we deal with it honestly, we will never know how we got where we are today. We have other “fish to fry,” as it were, today.
It’s about truth.  What we get now is mythology, the offal of a long diet of wartime propaganda certified as history and pop culture.  Without truth, there is slavery.  Thus, we move on to Libya and try to play with that evasive and too often esoteric element of perception, “truth.”  Talking about truth isn’t enough.  You have to “do’ truth.  Let’s take a shot at it.

LIBYA
Yesterday, NATO air strikes killed Saif Al Arab, the 29 year old son of Colonel Gaddafi.  Libya, of course, is playing the death to the hilt, milking it for public relations play as best they can.  But, is this wrong?  Let’s take a moment to look at the situation.
Back in February, we recommended quick air strikes against Gaddafi.  Curiously, some purporting to support the rebels opposed US intervention.  All the while, the real rebels were being slaughtered and were screaming for American help.
This early duplicity, bought by Gaddafi and his army of Washington propagandists (mostly Bush insiders and some rented from the Israeli lobby) would set the tone for one of the nastiest disinformation campaigns in history.

Back to reality.

Assessments showed the rebels to be joined by inferior and poorly organized military forces, to have no backing anywhere and to be a genuine reformist political movement as in Tunisia, Egypt and other nations.
“Surgical strikes” on command and control would have pushed the military to the rebels and Gaddafi would have gotten the “deal of the century” to leave.  Egypt and Libya could have formed a loose coalition as had been proposed in the past and a progressive and moderate bloc of democratic regimes could emerge to replace the sheikdoms and dictatorships that have, so profitably for some, helped destabilize the world.
That ship hasn’t entirely sailed already.  Egypt now stands alone in its move to open the Gaza blockade.
If both Gaddafi and the rebels chose to offer support for Egypt in this, it could offer an opening for many things in the region.  This may be a time when something more important than Arabs killing each other should be considered.
Waiting in the wings were two plots.  One was hatched in Switzerland, to force Gaddafi into alienating France and Italy.  The initial move in that plot?  One of Gaddafi’s sons was beaten up and arrested by Swiss authorities in 2008, a “set up.”
Who are the players?  Banks, call them “Rothschild” or call them, more accurately, “the Federal Reserve,” wanted to seize Libya’s cash reserves that were left a bit too vulnerable.  As time has dragged on, that plot is now in full motion and billions are being swindled from the Libyan people.
That should have been stopped and could have been prevented.
The second plot is oil.
The big winners after 2003 were BP and Haliburton.  The ‘Bush/Blair’ camp made and is making billions in Libya.  Not only that, Gaddafi agreed to fund anything else they were doing, as he funded elections in France and Italy.  The rapprochement with Libya was more like something out of The Godfather than international relations.  When Tony Blair went to Gaddafi in 2004, he went as consigliere for the Bush/Cheney/Blair crime families.
He was there to carve out “territories.”  Bush, Cheney and Blair got a big piece of Libya while Gaddafi got, well, the meeting could actually have been out of the movie itself;
Sollozzo (Gaddafi): Bene, Don Corleone. I need a man who has powerful friends. I need a million dollars in cash. I need, Don Corleone, all of those politicians that you carry around in your pocket, like so many nickels and dimes

Conciliegere Tom Hagen looks on..
Don Corleone (Blair): What is the interest for my family?
Sollozzo (Gaddafi): Thirty percent. In the first year your end should be three, four million dollars.(plus oil contracts for BP and weapons contracts for BAE)  And then it would go up.
Don Corleone (Blair): And what is the interest for the Tattalgia(Bush/Cheney) family?
Sollozzo (Gaddafi): [smiles at Tom] My compliments [Conciligiere Tom Hagen gives a formal nod]
Sollozzo (Gaddafi): I’ll take care of the Tattaglias (Bush/Cheney), out of my share.
Don Corleone (Blair): So, I am to receive thirty percent for finance, for legal protection and political influence. Is that what you’re telling me?
Sollozzo (Gaddafi): That’s right.
As the situation has “matured” into a full scale tribal/civil war, with forces from a dozen countries or more “not so covertly” taking part, that second cabal, the “oil thieves” are already carving up Libya and its oil and gas reserves.  This also could have been prevented.
How do we know this?

The United Nations Security Council authorized use of force in Libya to protect civilian lives.  No mention was made of “regime change” or assassination yet, from this March 21, 2011 headline from the Daily Mail:
There had been no value judgements in the United Nations debate on intervention, no decisions as to the validity of the Gaddafi government but rather an authorization of a limited response based on humanitarian issues only.  This was how things began.  As time went on, the rats awakened.
In fact, whenever things seem to move well for the rebels or Gaddafi, either one, there is more than minor evidence that the application of force by NATO was ramped up or withdrawn to “play” the conflict for a broad international audience.
Additionally, wild rumors about Al Qaeda or CIA involvement with rebel forces was played much the same way, filling the press one day and denied as “wingnut conspiracy theory” the next, sometimes by the same sources.
Settle it!  Cease fire!  Gaddafi isn’t leaving, get used to it, certainly not leaving “with his tail between his legs.”
Gaddafi isn’t Mubarak.

DONALD TRUMP AND VIETNAM, “IT AIN’T JUST DONALD”

Last week, Donald Trump was caught in a lie involving his lack of military service.  He told reporters he had a “high draft number” and missed service in Vietnam because of that.  He thought that story would fly.  Veterans Today picked up the story on March 31.

Trump had been approached by The Veterans Revolution, a highly reputable and respected group in Los Angeles that works without funding to support the needs of homeless veterans.  When they asked Trump for help, his handlers gave them a major smackdown.

They very carefully explained that Donald Trump was not interested in working with veterans.
We also knew there was a dark and nasty secret behind “the Donald’s” lack of military service during the Vietnam War.

10 million American served in the military during the war, almost 3 million in Vietnam.
75% of those who served in Vietnam were volunteers.  I was one of them, serving as a Marine infantryman in I Corps.  Like over 2 million others that served in Vietnam, like over 7 million that served in America’s military during the war, I volunteered.

That is simply what most Americans did at that time.  It was considered our duty as Americans.
What we learned is that, for 5 years, Donald Trump received deferment after deferment, first college, then graduate school and finally, after being found healthy and fit for years, when his student deferments ran out, he suddenly became “unfit” for service.
But, it wasn’t just Donald Trump.  Music by CCR with John Fogerty, sit down for a minute and look for some of America’s self proclaimed national heroes:



*Currently, nearly half the people featured on this video are facing indictment outside the United States for Crimes Against Humanity
This is just too convenient.

At that time, reserve units and National Guard did not routinely serve on active duty and very very seldom in Vietnam.
Those with resources who choose to avoid military service but not leave the country typically, if they had either “luck” or, more likely political connections, were put in National Guard units.
Congress is filled with such people, those who back war but ducked service are called Chickenhawks.

NOW STARRING DONALD TRUMP
Trump was caught in a lie but Trump, at least, took the question.  Did anyone ever ask President Bush, “How did you get into the National Guard when there were no openings?”  Try following that up with questions about going AWOL or failed drug tests and you will be faced with a stonewall of classified documents, things that are public record for every other citizen.  Criminal records?  Yes, those too!
Rather than belaboring the persecution of Donald “the Chump” Trump, the kind of screw-up that President Obama must have been praying for, we can make our minor point, and close for the morning:
The question isn’t whether Donald Trump had his medical records falsified so he could avoid military service.
The point is that Donald Trump believed that claiming to have a “high draft number” was an excuse for not serving his country.  (Notwithstanding the fact that there were no “draft numbers” given out until Donald Trump had already avoided services for over 5 years
Those who volunteered and those who accepted the draft are dishonored by, not only Trump but the entire gang as well.
Singling out Trump isn’t fair.  Nobody has forgiven any of them, and it goes much further than Trump and it never stopped as 10 years of “invisible war” and “throwaway veterans” teaches us every day.
…and so it goes…



River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Monday, April 25, 2011

"... Every country, it seems, is now within range of someone’s aircraft..."

FLC

"There are few things more pitiful than a fading star trying to hold onto past glory. It’s a common phenomenon among athletes and entertainers. Empires frequently do the same. They strut, posture, and whine long after people stop paying attention to them. The U.S. likely will eventually do the same. Uncle Sam is effectively bankrupt. Rising powers increasingly will deter the American government from intervening against them. Countries around the world, friend and foe alike, will be less inclined to take orders from Washington. Still, the U.S. remains the most powerful state. It will be able to preen as the world’s number one for some time.
Sarkoleon
France has no such luck........ France lost its colonial empire after spilling much blood in a vain attempt to retain Vietnam and Algeria. ...... France maintains a potent but limited military. It is impressive by European standards, but that isn’t much of a standard. ....... President Nicolas Sarkozy is in political trouble. Which means he is ready for military adventure........ the hyperactive French president is marching about in platform shoes, bombing one nation and threatening many others. It is behavior fit for an old Jerry Lewis comedy........ The stated grounds were fraudulent—Libya’s civil war was no worse than many others around the globe—but provided a convenient opportunity for Nicolas Sarkozy to climb atop the world stage......... The good news was President Obama said yes. The bad news was President Obama was serious about turning responsibility over to NATO. Which meant Messrs. Sarkozy and Cameron quickly found their countries at war essentially alone. While the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg pronounced in favor of the necessity of war, it had no airplanes to contribute. ..... Qaddafi  was supposed to “just go,” allowing President Sarkozy to march through the Arc de Triomphe to mass applause. However, victory was giving way to embarrassment........  Sarkozy is not the first politician to have foolishly plunged into an unnecessary war with fantastically optimistic assumptions about the outcome. Plan A was for Washington to fight his war. Apparently there was no Plan B......
Although the attention of the Elysee Palace is focused on Libya, Nicolas Bonaparte Sarkozy’s ambitions are not limited to that nation. France intervened in the violent political crisis in the Ivory Coast—nominally in the name of democracy, but Paris long has manipulated its old Francophone African empire, and rarely for humanitarian purposes.
However, shortly after initiating the Libyan adventure, France decided to become an empire for democracy. Foreign Minister Juppe said that the Libyan campaign should serve as a warning to Arab autocrats: “I say sometimes that the job of a dictator is now a high-risk job.” Singling out Saudi Arabia and Syria, he added: “Let’s hope that all this will serve as an example.”
But Sarkoleon, as some now call him, didn’t stop there. His list of potential targets was far longer. At the European Union summit in mid-April, he told the press that the Libyan mission created a precedent for the so-called “responsibility to protect.” He declared: “Every ruler should understand, and especially every Arab ruler should understand that the reaction of the international community and of Europe will be from this moment on each time be the same: we will be on the side of peaceful protesters ..."...  Every country, it seems, is now within range of someone’s aircraft.
But most important, there remains the small question: Whose military?....... it won’t be France........  Sarkoleon can’t even force Muammar Qaddafi to flee into exile. The pitiable French president has been reduced to asking Belgium, the Netherlands, Croatia, and Bulgaria, among other NATO members, for help. The real Napoleon didn’t have to go around with a tin cup begging for military aid. He had the best army on the continent and imposed his will at will. He made allies through conquest and extracted assistance through threats. When Napoleon Bonaparte spoke, countries listened. When today’s Napoleon-wannabe speaks, people snicker...."
Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 4:40 PM
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Saturday, April 23, 2011

How can you support a council that has the stamp of approval from Sen. McCain?

"“I have met these brave fighters, and they are not Al Qaeda,” said Mr. McCain, Republican of Arizona. “They are Libyan patriots who want to liberate their nation.” His comments came after a brief visit that included meetings with the members of the Transitional National Council, led by a former justice minister, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, and a former interior minister, Abdul Fateh Younes, who both defected when the uprising began in February."
Posted by As'ad AbuKhalil at 9:55 AM
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Friday, April 22, 2011

Was it for the oil after all?

Via FLC

Anon reader sent this link:

"... Let’s not be too simplistic. In a leader the Independent was careful to point out that these documents “do not prove that the British government’s invasion was primarily motivated by a commercial desire to profit from Iraq’s oil.” And it would be “too simplistic” to present any single factor as the motivation “for this calamitous misadventure.” The only thing these documents do make clear is that oil was something that ministers were thinking about in those months prior to the invasion, contrary to their pleas otherwise. Most importantly, the Indie added, is that these documents were not reviewed by the Chilcot inquiry, which has been tasked with investigating Britain’s involvement in the Iraq invasion. “That is manifestly unsatisfactory.”..."
Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 10:40 AM
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Shouldn’t Libyan rebels be thanking Israel?

America's unrequited love for Israel

From the New York Times:

U.S. Sen. John McCain, one of the strongest proponents in Congress of the American military intervention in Libya, said Friday that Libyan rebels fighting Moammar Gadhafi’s troops are his heroes.

The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee made the remark after arriving in Benghazi, a city that has been the opposition capital in the rebel-held eastern Libya.
McCain said he was in Benghazi “to get an on the ground assessment of the situation” and planned to meet with the rebel National Transition Council, the de-facto government in the eastern half of the country, and members of the rebel military.
“They are my heroes,” McCain said of the rebels as he walked out of a local hotel in Benghazi. He was traveling in an armored Mercedes jeep and had a security detail. A few Libyans waved American flags as his vehicle drove past.
If the democracy training programs of the National Endowment for Democracy’s GOP half, the International Republican Institute, fail to achieve the desired outcome, its chairman can always help “expand the frontiers of freedom” with promises of drone strikes. But if the grateful Libyans knew anything about where McCain’s allegiance lies, shouldn’t they have been waving Israeli flags instead?



Written by Maidhc Ó Cathail
April 22, 2011 at 11:59 am

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Al Jazeera's War on Gaddafi


Based on its recent Libyan and Gulf states reporting (or lack thereof), Qatar-based Al Jazeera's credibility appears extremely compromised.

A previous article said the following:
Overall, its Libya misreporting has been deceitful, functioning more as a propaganda arm for Washington, NATO and insurgents, indistinguishable from US and other western media, representing imperial conquest, colonization, and pillaging of another non-belligerent country.

In late March, moreover, Front Page writer Mohammed al-Kibsi accused Al Jazeera of airing old Iraqi prisoner abuse video, broadcast by Al-Arabiya in 2007, in fabricating news about Yemen.

Yet it was aired repeatedly, claiming it showed Yemeni Central Security forces torturing protesters. Later admitting its mistake, Al Jazeera blamed a technical error and apologized, too late to undue the damage to those blamed and its own reputation, badly tarnished by frequent misreporting on the region, despite earlier worthy efforts that built its standing as a reliable broadcaster. That now is very much in question.

California State University Professor As'ad AbuKhalil runs the Angry Arab News Service, accessed through the following link:


His recent comments on Al Jazeera's Libya coverage include:

April 20: "According to Al Jazeera's legal opinion," UN Resolution 1973 permits use of nuclear weapons.

America, in fact, has an arsenal of so-called deep-penetrating mini-nuke buster busters, able to destroy underground targets with varying yields from one to 1,000 kilotons. Hiroshima's bomb was about 15 KT, Nagasaki's about 21 KT.

Since the Bush administration's 2001 Nuclear Policy Review, Washington claimed a unilateral right to use first-strike nuclear weapons preemptively, including against non-nuclear states under three conditions:

-- against targets able to withstand non-nuclear weapons;

-- in retaliation against nuclear, biological or chemical WMDs; or

-- against any perceived real or contrived national security threat.

April 20: "Al Jazeera now wants a ground invasion," citing Misurata residents and UAE officials also wanting intensified bombing.

April 17: "Al Jazeera and the Qarari-Saudi conflict" benefitted the broadcaster early on, then compromised its credibility after rapprochement between their royals. "That severely narrowed the limitations of speech. I have heard many complaints from (Al Jazeera) hosts about the terrible impact of the....reconciliation on their coverage and programming."

"Now what happened recently was worse:" establishing a solid alliance compromising it more. As a result, "only criticisms of countries that are not on good terms with Saudi royals (are) allowed."

April 15: AbuKhalil "was thinking yesterday while doing (his) laps: (He) may have appeared for the last time ever on Al Jazeera but (he's) glad that (his) last words were about Bahrain. The Saudi-Qarati-financed Arab media want us to forget about Bahrain, but we won't."

April 14: "Bahrain - Al Jazeera's scant reports are hilarious. They are one sentence or two. They read - as they are - like Bahraini propaganda press releases. Today, the network had a line or two about (its) government planning to prosecute opposition groups," with no comments from them aired.

April 14: "Al Jazeera and Syria." Despite good Qatari - Syrian relations, Al Jazeera's coverage has been "negative, and government propagandists are visibly mocked and ridiculed. And lately the channel relies on sensational Saudi propaganda sheets for coverage."

April 14: "Al Jazeera: the new Qatari foreign policy. Bahrain does not exist as far as Al Jazeera is concerned, and they have avoided inviting" on air Bahraini, Omani and Saudi critics. "Most glaringly, Al Jazeera" suppresses criticisms of Bahraini repression. As a result, GCC countries have "closed ranks and Qatar may be rewarded with the coveted post of" Arab League secretary-general.

April 11: "Al Jazeera's coverage of Libya is not only politically bad and professionally over the top, but it is also worse than all that - it is boring."

March 23: "Shame on Al Jazeera. (Its) sinister role (has) gotten worse, much worse" with its "obsessive non-stop (Libyan) coverage" at the expense of important omitted news. "It seems that Al Jazeera now operates according to the Western standards," providing one-sided propaganda, not unbiased reporting.

February 17: Bahrainis "are on there own now. There is no Al Jazeera to support their cause and expose the regime, and the US and EU will do their best to rationalize and support government repression. Shame on Al Jazeera Arabic for abandoning the people of Bahrain, and for invoking a sectarian element in their coverage, implying that only Shi'ites are protesting."

On February 25, Monthly Review contributor Yoshie Furuhashi headlined, "Al Jazeera Promotes Libya's 'Crown Prince' Who Calls for Military Intervention in Libya," saying:

Covering regional uprisings, Al Jazeera's reporting "began to deteriorate....when revolutionary sparks" ignited in GCC states, including Bahrain. About the same time, Libya was affected, another oil-producing country. Henceforth, Bahain was forgotten to focus on Gaddafi.

"Now there's nothing wrong with (doing it) if the purpose is to convey accurate information. (But there's) everything wrong with" propagandizing at the expense of truth. "And I'm afraid that's exactly what Al Jazeera" did, supporting imperial intervention.

"In both Arabic and English," it features "members of the National Front for the Salvation of Libya," the main CIA/Saudi/French intelligence funded opposition group, then combined with others to form the National Conference for the Libyan Opposition umbrella organization.

On February 24, Al Jazeera "hit a new low, (giving) the self-styled 'Crown Prince' of Libya - Muhammad as-Senussi," its so-called heir to the Senussi Crown, a platform to urge "the international community to help remove Gaddafi from power and stop the (claimed) massacre." In fact, most casualties and destruction were caused by daily Western bombing and support for extremist rebels - a combination of untrained civilians, former soldiers, and CIA-backed paramilitary Libya Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) insurgents, cutthroat killers acting as a proxy NATO force.

Al Jazeera's Fall from Grace

Launched in November 1996, the satellite channel once aired "dissenting views, for example on call-in shows," according to Wikipedia, adding that it "created controversies" among GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, and its home base, Qatar.

Its chairman, Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, is a distant cousin of Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. Wadah Khanfar is director general and managing director of the Arabic channel. Ahmed Sheikh is its editor-in-chief, Mohamed Nanabhay holding the same English channel position.

Its Arabic channel reaches 50 million or more global viewers, its English one up to twice as many, a remarkable achievement in less than 15 years with little US penetration where most viewers must do it online. Elsewhere it's available by satellite or cable.

Reportedly, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi hosts its most popular program, ash-Shariah wal-Hayat (Shariah and Life) and has significant overall editorial influence. He's written over 80 books, serves as chief religious scholar for IslamOnline, received eight international prizes for Islamic scholarship, and in 2004 was an Oxford University Center for Islamic Studies trustee. In 2008, Foreign Policy magazine ranked him third among public intellectuals worldwide, despite his controversial views.

Since 1999, however, he's prohibited from entering America, and in 2008, Britain refused him a visa. On February 16, Der Spiegel contributor Alexander Smoltczyk headlined, "Islam's Spiritual 'Dear Abby:' Yusuf Qaradawi, The Voice of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood," saying:

"(F)ew (others) have as much influence on Sunni Muslims....(He's) a word machine, a one-man talk show that leaves no subject unexamined....He's a driven man. (There's) only one Islamic scholar like (him), who (memorized) the Koran (at age 10)....the only man who can help the faithful understand the world." For the past 15 years, Al Jazeera's broadcast his "Shariah and Life" program Sundays, viewed by up to 60 million Muslims.

Now aged 84, he's "a blend of pope and service hotline, a spiritual 'Dear Abby' for all (aspects of) Muslim life," claiming moderate credentials about which some disagree, among other reasons for issuing a pro-Western fatwa against Gaddafi.

However, on February 2, 2009, the extremist pro-Israeli Anti-Defamation League denounced him for "support(ing) terrorist groups that seek to undermine a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," and for "inciting violence against Jews and Israel."

On February 22, the Los Angeles Times headlined, "Libya: Popular TV cleric issues fatwa against Kadafi,"
live on Al Jazeera, saying:

"It is not heroism to fight your people and to hit them with missiles....I say to my brothers and sons who are soldiers and officers of the Libyan Army to disobey when (the government) gives orders to kill the people using warplanes....I now issue a fatwa urging officers and soldiers who can to kill" him....This man wants to annihilate the people."

Qaradawi, in fact, chose sides, using Al Jazeera's platform to display a remarkable one-sidedness and lack of scholarship for a man of his credentials, ignoring facts to support Western imperial war, conquest, colonization, and exploitation of another Muslim country. As a result, he's Al Jazeera's leading hawk against Libyans and others across the region suffering repressively under despotic regimes, including GCC ones Al Jazeera supports.

A Final Comment

Al Jazeera feature stories since April 15, include:

April 15: "Western leaders insist 'Gaddafi must,' go," vowing to keep fighting until he's gone, quoting Obama, Sarkozy, and Cameron's day before propaganda, saying:

"It is unthinkable that someone who has tried to massacre his own people can play a part in their future government."

April 15: "Gaddafi forces 'cluster bombing Misurata,' " based solely on what insurgent leaders as well as Western officials and media claim with no verifiable proof, categorically denied by Libya's military saying they have none.

April 19: "Libya death toll 'reaches 10,000,' " again based solely on what insurgents claim, ignoring the toll from heavy NATO bombing, using depleted uranium and other terror weapons.

April 22: "(Senator) McCain urges recognition of Libyan 'heros,' " - imperial proxy killers, in fact, Al Jazeera disgracefully supports, propagandizing like their Western media counterparts, allied in the same dirty war on truth.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
posted by Steve Lendman @ 1:16 AM

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Obama approves use of armed drones in Libya

Via FLC

... “President Obama has said that where we have some unique capabilities, he is willing to use those,” Gates said. “And in fact he has approved the use of armed Predators.” “What they will bring that is unique to the conflict is their ability to get down lower, therefore to be able to get better visibility on targets that have started to dig themselves into defensive positions,” Cartwright said. “They are uniquely suited for urban areas.”
Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 4:34 PM
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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Three different names for the same Libyans.

FAD

http://www.independent.co.uk/multimedia/dynamic/00597/misrata_597284s.jpg
The machine-gun has three legs ,
while the man on the right has only one !!

In Libya,
we have now reached a more clear picture:

Half of Libya wants a change
and the other half does not obviously.
The NATO bombs the second half
and sometimes also the first-half , but by mistake.

When NATO kills Libyans it is called Collateral-damages
When Qaddafi kills his own citizens it is called Human-rights-violation
When the Insurgents kill the Qaddafi-loyal´s it is called Civil-War.

I wonder if it matters, really ,for the poor victims ,
what name will be used ??


Raja Chemayel
Posted by Tlaxcala at 9:43 PM
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian