Former U.S Marine, Ken O'Keefe
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Sunday, March 24, 2013
A Draft-Dodging, Zionist Friendly, Right-wing Texan Islamist to lead Syria?
A Draft-Dodging, Zionist Friendly, Right-wing Texan Islamist to lead Syria?
by FRANKLIN LAMB
Originally Posted at Veterans Today
(Damascus) - For the past year, a plan C or D, depending on how one numbers the failed US-Israel projects in Syria was badly needed for those presuming to topple the Assad government.
And this week, according to Congressional staffers, both Tel Aviv and the White House are pinching themselves in disbelief over their good luck with installing republican leaning conservative Dixie businessman, the congenial, Ghassan Hitto, as Syria’s new interim Prime Minister.
Securing the key position for Mr. Hitto, a decision made last year, was not so easy and had to be approached gingerly. But finally, after weeks of sometimes intense debate within Syrian opposition circles, Washington, Ankara, Doha and Tel Aviv among others, managed to appoint their preferred guy. “The White House thought Hitto was the best of a bad lot”, one Congressional committee source, whose work load includes Syria, explained to this observer. “Bottom line, he’s an American, nearly thirty years here makes Ghassan one of us. And who cares if he came here as young man to dodge military service in Syria. Many of us dodged our draft during Vietnam and what’s important is that we can count of him!”
And just as some Americans were beginning to believe that our government may be afflicted with a congenital incapacity to learn from our past mistakes, installing Hitto, “should keep hope alive and we should not give up”, according to our Ambassador in Beirut, Maury Connelly. “Look what we achieved in Libya” she lectured a visiting delegation recently. After the meeting, one participant deadpanned, “Good lord! If that woman had not been Jeff Feltman’s office favorite for whatever reason, she might still be serving coffee to State Department visitors at 2201 C St NW, Washington, DC!” Having quoted that snide comment, Maury, dear readers, is reputed to be a lovely lady. Just ask her frequent visitor, Samir Geagea of the Lebanese Forces, who is reputed to be her special confident these days and her very favorite Lebanese politician.
One recalls how Washington installed nearly one dozen Libya ex-pats during the uprising just as the NATO no-fly zone was being launched. Most of them knew foreign countries better than their birth country and some needed to get their hands on a US supplied “non-lethal weapon” i.e. a GPS and a National Geographic map to find the places in west Libya which they were meant to govern. Not to drop names, but in late June 2011, Saif el-Islam, now locked up in Zintan west of Tripoli, told this observer, referring to the influx into Benghazi and Misrata of “Team USA-UK” as Saif referred to those NATO chose to form an alternative government so they could be recognized quick as the “sole legitimate government “of Libya, “Franklin, you know Libya better than these foreigners do!”
Mr. Hitto’s “election” solves several immediate Syria problems for the White House. Or so they are hoping. At minimum, Hitto will be an American ‘potted plant’ who can be recognized and around whom NATO can corral an implant some of the desperate factions vying for power. Ghassan appears willing to take orders and is now involved in a crash-course to learn what he needs to know about Syria and how to implement the game plan. One congressional aide who helped vet Mr. Hitto clams he has “spunk and can be tough. And we think he will play ball.”
One proposal that Hitto has reportedly agreed to is the Dennis Ross/AIPAC idea for a “political isolation law.” If adapted by the Hitto provisional government, this decree would ban nearly the whole ruling class in Syria from having any role in government. Its intension is to eliminate anyone who worked with either the Hafez or Bashar Assad regimen from 1970 until today. “We need a clean break in Syria”, Ross reportledly told fellow conferees at the recent AIPAC convention.
Washington has also encouraged Hitto to reject dialogue with the Government of Syria because neocons in Congress are insisting that “negotiations” with the Assad government will drag on interminably and allow the current regime to eradicate pockets of resistance and bring in more help from Russia and Iran. Citing negotiations with Iran, Arizona Senator John McCain recently told Fox News that “if you try to negotiate with these people (Iran’s government) you will lose. And we did. We need action!” Some in Congress are telling the White House that the same is true with the Syrian government and it appears Mr. Hitto agrees that dialogue is a bad thing.The staffer also pointed out that “there has been a misreading of John Kerry’s recent position which in fact does not reflects a notable change in the American position nor does it represent a step-back from the statements that President Obama made earlier concerning the need for Al-Assad to step down. Obama and Hitto are on the same page.”
No sooner than Grassan Hitto was set in place than two insatiable US Senate war-mongers, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) used the occasion of conflicting and unconfirmed reports of chemical weapons being used in Syria by increasing pressure on President Obama to belatedly approve U.S. military involvement in Syria. “The White House response should include the provision of arms to vetted Syrian opposition groups, targeted strikes against Assad’s aircraft and Scud missile batteries on the ground, and the establishment of safe zones inside Syria to protect civilians and opposition groups,” the senators continued in their statement. ”If today’s reports are substantiated, the tragic irony will be that these are the exact same actions that could have prevented the use of weapons of mass destruction in Syria.” Graham went even further and seemed to endorse a plan to put U.S. on the group in Syria during an interview recently with Foreign Policy. Said he: “We need a real partner in Syria.”
In Ghassan Hitto, Senators Graham and McClain just may have one.
Washington and Tel Aviv see in their choice of Mr. Hitto, as a likely solution to numerous barriers to their goals in Syria. They believe that Mr. Hitto can help end the infighting among the opposition to the current regime that has caused a stalemate. While Hitto is no Mohammad Morsi he does lean toward the Muslim Brotherhood and they supported him while knowing he was Washington’s choice. Hitto, some in Washington believe, can help neutralize the MB. The White House has reportedly told the EU that “the CIA recommended Hitto in order to preempt the crazies in this circus and Hitto can, as much as other of our prospects, help with the formation of a US backed international bloc to get rid of Salafist groups in Syria.”
The in-depth US training of Ghassan has begun. An ‘advisory team’ is already appointed to indoctrinate him with the ‘message’ and he is being given an intensive cram course of what to do and what pitfalls to avoid. He will be expected to learn from missteps in Libya, Egypt and Iraq. Mr. Hitto has already been clued that if he wants to achieve more than to be Syria’s First “Interim” Prime Minister he will need to be a quick learner, able to adapt fast to the “manual”, and above all, become a reliable team player. “We aren’t looking for another Hugo Chavez around here”, Ghassan was told recently in Istanbul, shortly before announcing his candidacy.
Hitto’s CIA handlers gave him the script and he read it well. In his first public address he deadpanned that he recognized the very difficult task that lies ahead for his administration. He has pledged to provide the services that many Syrians are lacking. He has also promised free and fair elections in a post-Assad regime Syria.
John Kerry says he is ready to work with Hitto. But since Kerry told members of Congress two years ago that he connected with and respects Bahar al-Assad and that “we can deal with him like we deal with the Canadians” he once told ultra Zionist Congressman Barney Frank. In private Kerry told staff members on the Senate Foreign Reasons Committee, “I like this guy Bashar and we can trust him much more than the Israelis. He’s good.” Having changed his tune, some are wondering how firm his support is for Mr. Hitto.
Mr. Hitto is reportedly eager for both and ready to get started. Earlier this week while giving a speech in Istanbul, he insisted that his priority was to utilize “all conceivable means” to topple President Bashar al-Assad and provide desperately-needed aid to the beleaguered people of Syria.” Washington understands that providing “desperately-needed aid” will soon include weapons.
Still, the White House and Tel Aviv knows that it will be a daunting task building legitimacy for Hitto’s fledgling administration, because he is lacking the support of many high-profile members of his own coalition. He was voted in by 35 of the 49 coalition members, who cast ballots, but another 15 members were not present, some bought off with cash it is rumored, and with several walking out in protest over Hitto’s suspected links to the Muslim Brotherhood and its backers in Qatar. “I have backed the idea of an alternative government for a long time,” said veteran opposition figure Haitham al-Maleh. “But I put my ballot in without a name because there were no candidates from inside Syria. I want a prime minister from inside Syria.” “The proposed government is controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood and the Qatar government,” one coalition member, Mr al-Labwani said. “We will be against this government and will not give it legality. Democracy is from the land and from the people not from a council that is composed by the governments of America and Qatar.” According to a staffer in Kerry’s former Senate Foreign Relations Committee “Many Syrians, regard our appointment of Hitto with suspicion. Since the announcement, I have heard both Syrian nationalist figures and those from some minority communities criticize this move.”
It appears Washington, Doha and Tel Aviv has got their man in place. What the Syrian people will think of their selection will likely be known soon.
----------------------------------------------------------
Franklin Lamb is doing research in Lebanon and Syria and can be reached c/o fplamb@gmail.com
And this week, according to Congressional staffers, both Tel Aviv and the White House are pinching themselves in disbelief over their good luck with installing republican leaning conservative Dixie businessman, the congenial, Ghassan Hitto, as Syria’s new interim Prime Minister.
Securing the key position for Mr. Hitto, a decision made last year, was not so easy and had to be approached gingerly. But finally, after weeks of sometimes intense debate within Syrian opposition circles, Washington, Ankara, Doha and Tel Aviv among others, managed to appoint their preferred guy. “The White House thought Hitto was the best of a bad lot”, one Congressional committee source, whose work load includes Syria, explained to this observer. “Bottom line, he’s an American, nearly thirty years here makes Ghassan one of us. And who cares if he came here as young man to dodge military service in Syria. Many of us dodged our draft during Vietnam and what’s important is that we can count of him!”
And just as some Americans were beginning to believe that our government may be afflicted with a congenital incapacity to learn from our past mistakes, installing Hitto, “should keep hope alive and we should not give up”, according to our Ambassador in Beirut, Maury Connelly. “Look what we achieved in Libya” she lectured a visiting delegation recently. After the meeting, one participant deadpanned, “Good lord! If that woman had not been Jeff Feltman’s office favorite for whatever reason, she might still be serving coffee to State Department visitors at 2201 C St NW, Washington, DC!” Having quoted that snide comment, Maury, dear readers, is reputed to be a lovely lady. Just ask her frequent visitor, Samir Geagea of the Lebanese Forces, who is reputed to be her special confident these days and her very favorite Lebanese politician.
One recalls how Washington installed nearly one dozen Libya ex-pats during the uprising just as the NATO no-fly zone was being launched. Most of them knew foreign countries better than their birth country and some needed to get their hands on a US supplied “non-lethal weapon” i.e. a GPS and a National Geographic map to find the places in west Libya which they were meant to govern. Not to drop names, but in late June 2011, Saif el-Islam, now locked up in Zintan west of Tripoli, told this observer, referring to the influx into Benghazi and Misrata of “Team USA-UK” as Saif referred to those NATO chose to form an alternative government so they could be recognized quick as the “sole legitimate government “of Libya, “Franklin, you know Libya better than these foreigners do!”
Mr. Hitto’s “election” solves several immediate Syria problems for the White House. Or so they are hoping. At minimum, Hitto will be an American ‘potted plant’ who can be recognized and around whom NATO can corral an implant some of the desperate factions vying for power. Ghassan appears willing to take orders and is now involved in a crash-course to learn what he needs to know about Syria and how to implement the game plan. One congressional aide who helped vet Mr. Hitto clams he has “spunk and can be tough. And we think he will play ball.”
One proposal that Hitto has reportedly agreed to is the Dennis Ross/AIPAC idea for a “political isolation law.” If adapted by the Hitto provisional government, this decree would ban nearly the whole ruling class in Syria from having any role in government. Its intension is to eliminate anyone who worked with either the Hafez or Bashar Assad regimen from 1970 until today. “We need a clean break in Syria”, Ross reportledly told fellow conferees at the recent AIPAC convention.
Washington has also encouraged Hitto to reject dialogue with the Government of Syria because neocons in Congress are insisting that “negotiations” with the Assad government will drag on interminably and allow the current regime to eradicate pockets of resistance and bring in more help from Russia and Iran. Citing negotiations with Iran, Arizona Senator John McCain recently told Fox News that “if you try to negotiate with these people (Iran’s government) you will lose. And we did. We need action!” Some in Congress are telling the White House that the same is true with the Syrian government and it appears Mr. Hitto agrees that dialogue is a bad thing.The staffer also pointed out that “there has been a misreading of John Kerry’s recent position which in fact does not reflects a notable change in the American position nor does it represent a step-back from the statements that President Obama made earlier concerning the need for Al-Assad to step down. Obama and Hitto are on the same page.”
No sooner than Grassan Hitto was set in place than two insatiable US Senate war-mongers, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) used the occasion of conflicting and unconfirmed reports of chemical weapons being used in Syria by increasing pressure on President Obama to belatedly approve U.S. military involvement in Syria. “The White House response should include the provision of arms to vetted Syrian opposition groups, targeted strikes against Assad’s aircraft and Scud missile batteries on the ground, and the establishment of safe zones inside Syria to protect civilians and opposition groups,” the senators continued in their statement. ”If today’s reports are substantiated, the tragic irony will be that these are the exact same actions that could have prevented the use of weapons of mass destruction in Syria.” Graham went even further and seemed to endorse a plan to put U.S. on the group in Syria during an interview recently with Foreign Policy. Said he: “We need a real partner in Syria.”
In Ghassan Hitto, Senators Graham and McClain just may have one.
Washington and Tel Aviv see in their choice of Mr. Hitto, as a likely solution to numerous barriers to their goals in Syria. They believe that Mr. Hitto can help end the infighting among the opposition to the current regime that has caused a stalemate. While Hitto is no Mohammad Morsi he does lean toward the Muslim Brotherhood and they supported him while knowing he was Washington’s choice. Hitto, some in Washington believe, can help neutralize the MB. The White House has reportedly told the EU that “the CIA recommended Hitto in order to preempt the crazies in this circus and Hitto can, as much as other of our prospects, help with the formation of a US backed international bloc to get rid of Salafist groups in Syria.”
The in-depth US training of Ghassan has begun. An ‘advisory team’ is already appointed to indoctrinate him with the ‘message’ and he is being given an intensive cram course of what to do and what pitfalls to avoid. He will be expected to learn from missteps in Libya, Egypt and Iraq. Mr. Hitto has already been clued that if he wants to achieve more than to be Syria’s First “Interim” Prime Minister he will need to be a quick learner, able to adapt fast to the “manual”, and above all, become a reliable team player. “We aren’t looking for another Hugo Chavez around here”, Ghassan was told recently in Istanbul, shortly before announcing his candidacy.
Hitto’s CIA handlers gave him the script and he read it well. In his first public address he deadpanned that he recognized the very difficult task that lies ahead for his administration. He has pledged to provide the services that many Syrians are lacking. He has also promised free and fair elections in a post-Assad regime Syria.
John Kerry says he is ready to work with Hitto. But since Kerry told members of Congress two years ago that he connected with and respects Bahar al-Assad and that “we can deal with him like we deal with the Canadians” he once told ultra Zionist Congressman Barney Frank. In private Kerry told staff members on the Senate Foreign Reasons Committee, “I like this guy Bashar and we can trust him much more than the Israelis. He’s good.” Having changed his tune, some are wondering how firm his support is for Mr. Hitto.
Mr. Hitto is reportedly eager for both and ready to get started. Earlier this week while giving a speech in Istanbul, he insisted that his priority was to utilize “all conceivable means” to topple President Bashar al-Assad and provide desperately-needed aid to the beleaguered people of Syria.” Washington understands that providing “desperately-needed aid” will soon include weapons.
Still, the White House and Tel Aviv knows that it will be a daunting task building legitimacy for Hitto’s fledgling administration, because he is lacking the support of many high-profile members of his own coalition. He was voted in by 35 of the 49 coalition members, who cast ballots, but another 15 members were not present, some bought off with cash it is rumored, and with several walking out in protest over Hitto’s suspected links to the Muslim Brotherhood and its backers in Qatar. “I have backed the idea of an alternative government for a long time,” said veteran opposition figure Haitham al-Maleh. “But I put my ballot in without a name because there were no candidates from inside Syria. I want a prime minister from inside Syria.” “The proposed government is controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood and the Qatar government,” one coalition member, Mr al-Labwani said. “We will be against this government and will not give it legality. Democracy is from the land and from the people not from a council that is composed by the governments of America and Qatar.” According to a staffer in Kerry’s former Senate Foreign Relations Committee “Many Syrians, regard our appointment of Hitto with suspicion. Since the announcement, I have heard both Syrian nationalist figures and those from some minority communities criticize this move.”
It appears Washington, Doha and Tel Aviv has got their man in place. What the Syrian people will think of their selection will likely be known soon.
----------------------------------------------------------
Franklin Lamb is doing research in Lebanon and Syria and can be reached c/o fplamb@gmail.com
Friday, March 15, 2013
The Unraveling of the Syrian "Revolution."
Let whoever argues that Assad be overthrown, and lends their support to hard-line militant Islamists who are waging war not only on the his regime but the Syrian people as well, be quickly reminded of the consequences in Libya. A failed state, warlord state, a sanctuary for Al-Qaeda. A same scenario there ensued where the West legitimized terrorists and used them to overthrow then leader, Muammar al-Qaddafi.
In his 2007 article, The Redirection: Is the Administration's new policy benefiting our enemies in the war on terrorism?, Seymour Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist revealed the conspiracy of the West, along with the cooperation of the feudal gulf monarchs, to destroy countries like Syria.
Western countries especially France, are leading the charge, calling for more aid to the rebels. The West is desperate, eager to destroy Syria and install client regime like it did in Libya, much to the desecration of the Syrian people. It has been two years and there is nothing significant to show for all their effort. The rebels are losing ground and losing it fast. At first, the West gave a timetable for what they perceived would be Assad's "inevitable" fall, yet as the days marched on, and so did his (Assad's) army, these prognostications became more and more laughable.
In a recent peace by PressTV, an Iranian official made note that the Syrian rebels were on their last legs. The true nature of the rebels have been shown. Their extremist, hard-line militant view of Islam is too much to bear. Their incompetence and lack of cohesion, coupled with a barbaric penchant for atrocities, (most if not all of which they are responsible for in Syria), will eventually make them (if it hasn't already) public enemy number one. Throughout Syria, the public is continually and increasingly rejecting their rule. They see clearly the choices before their very eyes: Either unite under the Assad regime (with all its faults) and work towards slow and progressive change, or live in the nightmare that is a failed state, filled with chaos, genocide, and perpetual human suffering at the hands of these rebels.
The True Nature of the Rebels
At the beginning of this Western-Saudi backed jihadist incursion by these Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists in Syria, these rebels were first called "freedom fighters" in the Western Media. I wonder why they are no longer being called that. Mountains upon mountains of evidence have been leaked, showing these rebels committing wars crimes on a mass scale. Numerous reports have come out (most notably by the U.N) revealing that the rebels are now using child soldiers and children as human shields. Many of these rebels are sympathizers of Al-Qaeda. In addition they also murder captives, or anyone that they suspect of being an Assad supporter, opposed to their position, etc.
In a recent editorial titled, An open letter to Syria's opposition: you have failed us, the author Jasmine Roman (a pseudonym for the writer), reveals the outright grisly reality of the rebels.
She states in her open letter to the opposition:
In his 2007 article, The Redirection: Is the Administration's new policy benefiting our enemies in the war on terrorism?, Seymour Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist revealed the conspiracy of the West, along with the cooperation of the feudal gulf monarchs, to destroy countries like Syria.
Western countries especially France, are leading the charge, calling for more aid to the rebels. The West is desperate, eager to destroy Syria and install client regime like it did in Libya, much to the desecration of the Syrian people. It has been two years and there is nothing significant to show for all their effort. The rebels are losing ground and losing it fast. At first, the West gave a timetable for what they perceived would be Assad's "inevitable" fall, yet as the days marched on, and so did his (Assad's) army, these prognostications became more and more laughable.
In a recent peace by PressTV, an Iranian official made note that the Syrian rebels were on their last legs. The true nature of the rebels have been shown. Their extremist, hard-line militant view of Islam is too much to bear. Their incompetence and lack of cohesion, coupled with a barbaric penchant for atrocities, (most if not all of which they are responsible for in Syria), will eventually make them (if it hasn't already) public enemy number one. Throughout Syria, the public is continually and increasingly rejecting their rule. They see clearly the choices before their very eyes: Either unite under the Assad regime (with all its faults) and work towards slow and progressive change, or live in the nightmare that is a failed state, filled with chaos, genocide, and perpetual human suffering at the hands of these rebels.
The True Nature of the Rebels
At the beginning of this Western-Saudi backed jihadist incursion by these Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists in Syria, these rebels were first called "freedom fighters" in the Western Media. I wonder why they are no longer being called that. Mountains upon mountains of evidence have been leaked, showing these rebels committing wars crimes on a mass scale. Numerous reports have come out (most notably by the U.N) revealing that the rebels are now using child soldiers and children as human shields. Many of these rebels are sympathizers of Al-Qaeda. In addition they also murder captives, or anyone that they suspect of being an Assad supporter, opposed to their position, etc.
In a recent editorial titled, An open letter to Syria's opposition: you have failed us, the author Jasmine Roman (a pseudonym for the writer), reveals the outright grisly reality of the rebels.
She states in her open letter to the opposition:
When you were given legitimacy by the international community, did you believe that that made you the "legitimate" representative of the Syrian people?
Have you ever thought how we, mainstream Syrians, view your statements and your inaction? That it is embarrassing and humiliating for us when you keep praising certain donors, then turn us into beggars as you plead for more humanitarian assistance, for international intervention and for heavy weaponry?
You know that many Syrians don't want Bashar Al Assad's regime, but have you approached us to ask what concrete and pragmatic political, economic or social reformative programmes we do want?
She continues...
When we critique the opposition, it is only because we need to have things right from the beginning, and you have put yourselves above criticism or accountability. You have taken on the same machinery and mindsets that the Baath regime has used. Your reactions to any analysis or criticism do not serve Syrians well. Nor do they help your own political future, in case you plan on having one.
Have you ever thought of the losses when you insist that the "revolution" will continue "even if half of the Syrians die"? When you say the president must go "regardless of the price"? Do I need to say that the price paid by all Syrians is already high and painful? ---An open letter to Syria's opposition: you have failed us
If this is any indication of the general feeling and consensus of the Syrian people, then the so-called revolution is over. The Syrian people have no interest in rule under these rebels. They lack a socio-economic, and political platform, never mind populist as Roman has clearly revealed. They are murderous, incompetent, and downright foul. All that awaits the Syrian people is death and destruction at the hands of these rebels. Yet unconditional support for these rebels by the West, despite these realities and the cry of the Syrian people, shows the depravity of the West. If this is their idea of freedom, it is safe to suffice, the world doesn't need nor want it. The conflict has been estimated to have taken 70,000 lives and counting with much more in casualties and refugees.
The Solution
Russian, China, and Iran should effectively continue to employ all efforts to abort any and all efforts by the West to destroy Syria. Anyone who knows the true nature of the civil war in Syria (something that the West itself started and is posing as the solution for) should keep re-instating the facts. As Bob Marley once made a stupendous point, evil doesn't take a day off, so neither should we. The Syrian people must unite together to sack the terrorists from their country in compliance with the Syrian army that is fighting desperately to save them and to save itself.
The afro-middle eastern region cannot afford another crime against humanity like it did in Libya. Stopping the terrorists from taking Syria effectively halts the march of Western Imperialism in its tracks.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Demagogue Beppe Grillo Betrays Italian Voters, Demands Brutal Energy Austerity; Five Million New Productive Jobs Would Shut Him Down
Dr. Webster Tarpley, of Tarpley.net, a Historian and Investigative Journalist on RussiaToday (RT).
This Video can also be found on his official website.
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