4 New Messages
Digest #4792
Messages
Sat Aug 31, 2013 10:55 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://www.itar-
Itar-Tass
August 31, 2013
Russian FM: Any unilateral use of force bypassing UN SC would violate international law
MOSCOW: Washington’s latest statements containing threats to use force against Syria are unacceptable, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich has said.
“Instead of complying with the resolutions made by the G8 summit in Lough Erne and the follow-up agreements to present to the UN Security Council a comprehensive report by UN experts investigating the rumoured use of chemical weapons in Syria threats to deal a strike against Syria are being made despite the lack of any evidence. Even the United States’ allies have called for taking a “pause” to wait until the group of UN experts complete their work to have an impartial picture of what happened and to determine further steps to be taken in relation to the Syrian crisis. This is precisely the kind of approach that was proclaimed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon the other day.”
“Any unilateral use of force in bypass of the UN Security Council, however ‘limited’ it may be, would become direct violation of international law, upset the prospects of a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict in Syria and bring about a new spiral of confrontation and casualties,” Lukashevich said. “This march of events must be prevented.”
------------
http://en.rian.
Russian Information Agency Novosti
August 31, 2013
US Strike on Syria Inadmissible, Even if ‘Limited’ - Moscow
MOSCOW: A military strike on Syria not sanctioned by the UN Security Council would be inadmissible no matter how “limited” it is, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
US President Barack Obama said earlier in the day that a potential military strike on Syria would be a “limited” operation aimed at punishing the Syrian government for a chemical weapons attack it allegedly carried out last week.
“Any unilateral military sanction bypassing the UN Security Council, no matter how “limited” it is, will be a direct violation of the international law, [it will] undermine the possibility to solve the conflict in Syria by political and diplomatic means, [and] bring about a new round of confrontation and casualties,” Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement late on Friday.
He said that even some of US allies suggest that all decisions on Syria should be postponed until a team of UN chemical weapons experts completes its work in the country. The same proposal had earlier been voiced by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
“Threats of striking Syria are being issued instead of implementing the decisions of the G8 summit in Lough Erne [and] subsequent agreements to provide the UN Security Council with a comprehensive evaluation by UN experts, who investigate the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria,” the spokesman said.
Britain backed the US incursion into Iraq in 2003 to overthrow Saddam Hussein, but the British parliament on Thursday rejected military involvement in Syria.
At the same time, Turkey, a key US ally in the region and Syria’s neighbor, said a "limited" action against Syria will not be enough to satisfy Ankara and a full-fledged military intervention in Syria, similar to the one in Kosovo in 1999, is needed.
"A limited military action will not satisfy us. It [the intervention] should be like in Kosovo," Turkish daily Hurriyet quoted Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying.
The UN secretary general cut short his official visit in Europe on Friday and returned to New York for consultations on Syria with UN members. He said on Friday that the study of data and samples collected by the UN investigators on the site of the alleged attack might take about two weeks, Reuters reported citing diplomatic sources.
The UN team, deployed in Syria last Sunday, is set to leave the country on Saturday. A high-ranking team member, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane, is expected to brief the UN chief on the work of the mission later that day.
Earlier on Friday, the White House released a declassified intelligence assessment of an apparent Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs, which the administration asserts “with high confidence” was carried out by the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The report states that 1,429 people were killed in the alleged assault, including at least 426 children, though it said that assessment “will certainly evolve as we obtain more information.”
The Syrian authorities have repeatedly rejected all accusations. The country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement read out on State TV on Friday that the US report was "entirely fabricated."
"What the US administration describes as irrefutable evidence... is nothing but tired legends that the terrorists have been circulating for more than a week, with their share of lies and entirely fabricated stories," Agence France-Presse quoted the statement as saying.
------------
http://www.itar-
Itar-Tass
August 31, 2013
Putin: Syrian government did not use chemical weapons
VLADIVOSTOK: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that the Syrian government had never used chemical weapons and described the recent chemical attack in a Damascus outskirt as a provocation.
“As far as this incident is concerned, it is well-known that the Syrian government used to turn to the world community with a request to inspect, what it thought, cases of using chemical weapons against civilians by militants. Unfortunately, that did not happen,” the Russian leader told journalists.
The government troops are now on the offensive. “That is why I am convinced that the recent incident is nothing more than a provocation by those who want to drag other countries into the Syrian conflict and want to enlist the support of powerful international players, the United States in the first place.
============
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Stop NATO website and articles:
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============
Itar-Tass
August 31, 2013
Russian FM: Any unilateral use of force bypassing UN SC would violate international law
MOSCOW: Washington’s latest statements containing threats to use force against Syria are unacceptable, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich has said.
“Instead of complying with the resolutions made by the G8 summit in Lough Erne and the follow-up agreements to present to the UN Security Council a comprehensive report by UN experts investigating the rumoured use of chemical weapons in Syria threats to deal a strike against Syria are being made despite the lack of any evidence. Even the United States’ allies have called for taking a “pause” to wait until the group of UN experts complete their work to have an impartial picture of what happened and to determine further steps to be taken in relation to the Syrian crisis. This is precisely the kind of approach that was proclaimed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon the other day.”
“Any unilateral use of force in bypass of the UN Security Council, however ‘limited’ it may be, would become direct violation of international law, upset the prospects of a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict in Syria and bring about a new spiral of confrontation and casualties,” Lukashevich said. “This march of events must be prevented.”
------------
http://en.rian.
Russian Information Agency Novosti
August 31, 2013
US Strike on Syria Inadmissible, Even if ‘Limited’ - Moscow
MOSCOW: A military strike on Syria not sanctioned by the UN Security Council would be inadmissible no matter how “limited” it is, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
US President Barack Obama said earlier in the day that a potential military strike on Syria would be a “limited” operation aimed at punishing the Syrian government for a chemical weapons attack it allegedly carried out last week.
“Any unilateral military sanction bypassing the UN Security Council, no matter how “limited” it is, will be a direct violation of the international law, [it will] undermine the possibility to solve the conflict in Syria by political and diplomatic means, [and] bring about a new round of confrontation and casualties,” Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement late on Friday.
He said that even some of US allies suggest that all decisions on Syria should be postponed until a team of UN chemical weapons experts completes its work in the country. The same proposal had earlier been voiced by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
“Threats of striking Syria are being issued instead of implementing the decisions of the G8 summit in Lough Erne [and] subsequent agreements to provide the UN Security Council with a comprehensive evaluation by UN experts, who investigate the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria,” the spokesman said.
Britain backed the US incursion into Iraq in 2003 to overthrow Saddam Hussein, but the British parliament on Thursday rejected military involvement in Syria.
At the same time, Turkey, a key US ally in the region and Syria’s neighbor, said a "limited" action against Syria will not be enough to satisfy Ankara and a full-fledged military intervention in Syria, similar to the one in Kosovo in 1999, is needed.
"A limited military action will not satisfy us. It [the intervention] should be like in Kosovo," Turkish daily Hurriyet quoted Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying.
The UN secretary general cut short his official visit in Europe on Friday and returned to New York for consultations on Syria with UN members. He said on Friday that the study of data and samples collected by the UN investigators on the site of the alleged attack might take about two weeks, Reuters reported citing diplomatic sources.
The UN team, deployed in Syria last Sunday, is set to leave the country on Saturday. A high-ranking team member, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane, is expected to brief the UN chief on the work of the mission later that day.
Earlier on Friday, the White House released a declassified intelligence assessment of an apparent Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs, which the administration asserts “with high confidence” was carried out by the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The report states that 1,429 people were killed in the alleged assault, including at least 426 children, though it said that assessment “will certainly evolve as we obtain more information.”
The Syrian authorities have repeatedly rejected all accusations. The country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement read out on State TV on Friday that the US report was "entirely fabricated."
"What the US administration describes as irrefutable evidence... is nothing but tired legends that the terrorists have been circulating for more than a week, with their share of lies and entirely fabricated stories," Agence France-Presse quoted the statement as saying.
------------
http://www.itar-
Itar-Tass
August 31, 2013
Putin: Syrian government did not use chemical weapons
VLADIVOSTOK: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that the Syrian government had never used chemical weapons and described the recent chemical attack in a Damascus outskirt as a provocation.
“As far as this incident is concerned, it is well-known that the Syrian government used to turn to the world community with a request to inspect, what it thought, cases of using chemical weapons against civilians by militants. Unfortunately, that did not happen,” the Russian leader told journalists.
The government troops are now on the offensive. “That is why I am convinced that the recent incident is nothing more than a provocation by those who want to drag other countries into the Syrian conflict and want to enlist the support of powerful international players, the United States in the first place.
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Sat Aug 31, 2013 10:55 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://en.rian.
Russian Information Agency Novosti
August 31, 2013
Putin: US Claims About Syrian Chemical Attack ‘Unimaginable Nonsense’
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed the US on Saturday saying that Washington’s allegations about the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons against civilians were "unimaginable nonsense.”
“Common sense speaks for itself – government troops are advancing, in some regions they surrounded the insurgents,” Putin said. “In such conditions, giving a trump card to those who have always been calling for a foreign military intervention is simply unimaginable nonsense.”
“I am sure this was no more than a provocation by those looking to drag other countries [into the conflict] and obtain support of powerful international player, particularly the United States,” Putin said about the chemical attack that reportedly killed hundreds last week.
The United States said that the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad were behind the attack, but these claims require solid proof, Putin said, marking the first time he weighed in on the topic.
“Claims that the proof exists, but is classified and cannot be presented to anybody are below criticism,” Putin said during a trip to the far eastern city of Vladivostok. “This is plain disrespect for their partners.”
The White House released a report Friday blaming Assad’s regime for the attack, which cited “human, signals and geospatial intelligence,” as well as open source materials such as social media reports and videos of the alleged attack. The report explicitly stated that it omitted certain classified evidence, which was only made available to the US Congress.
Putin said Saturday that Russia denounced the use of chemical weapons and was ready for “consolidated participation in drafting measures to oppose such acts.”
He also denied discussing possible US military strikes on Syrian targets with his US counterpart Barack Obama on the phone.
But Putin said he was hoping to take up the Syrian issue with Obama during the upcoming G20 summit in Russia’s St. Petersburg on September 5-6.
Obama has explicitly blamed Assad for the attack and threatened missile and bomb strikes against selected Syrian targets in retribution for using weapons of mass destructions. He denied plans for a ground invasion of Syria or Assad’s overthrow.
Damascus has called the attacks a provocation by rebels it is battling since 2011.
A UN investigative team was dispatched on the site of the attack and is expected to present its findings in mid-September, but its mandate is limited to establishing whether the attack took place, not naming the guilty parties.
The British parliament ruled Thursday against supporting a possible US military operation in Syria. Putin said Saturday he was “astonished” by the move, which, he added, was made by people “motivated by nation’s interests and common sense.”
More than 100,000 died in internal strife in Syria since the conflict’s outbreak, according to UN figures.
------------
http://www.interfax
Interfax
August 31, 2013
Putin welcomes British parliament&#
VLADIVOSTOK: Russian President Vladimir Putin has welcomed the British parliament&#
"The British parliament&#
"We have been accustomed in the past years to the fact that everything in Western society is accepted without special discussions and in conformity with the will and position of the main partner, that is, the U.S., or at least it looked so. If something went wrong this time around, I should repeat that this is something I didn't expect; moreover, I am even surprised by this position," he said.
On the other hand, this decision, in Putin's view, shows that even in the United Kingdom, a key geopolitical ally for the U.S., there are people who are guided by national interests and common sense and who value their sovereignty. Putin also suggested that this is a result of analysis of what has happened in the Middle Eastern region and other countries in the past years.
"I am sure that people analyze events that happen, come to conclusions, and make their own decisions," Putin said.
It was reported earlier that the British parliament did not approve a government resolution on grounds for a military intervention in Syria. The resolution was supported by 272 parliamentarians, and 285 were against it.
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Russian Information Agency Novosti
August 31, 2013
Putin: US Claims About Syrian Chemical Attack ‘Unimaginable Nonsense’
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed the US on Saturday saying that Washington’s allegations about the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons against civilians were "unimaginable nonsense.”
“Common sense speaks for itself – government troops are advancing, in some regions they surrounded the insurgents,” Putin said. “In such conditions, giving a trump card to those who have always been calling for a foreign military intervention is simply unimaginable nonsense.”
“I am sure this was no more than a provocation by those looking to drag other countries [into the conflict] and obtain support of powerful international player, particularly the United States,” Putin said about the chemical attack that reportedly killed hundreds last week.
The United States said that the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad were behind the attack, but these claims require solid proof, Putin said, marking the first time he weighed in on the topic.
“Claims that the proof exists, but is classified and cannot be presented to anybody are below criticism,” Putin said during a trip to the far eastern city of Vladivostok. “This is plain disrespect for their partners.”
The White House released a report Friday blaming Assad’s regime for the attack, which cited “human, signals and geospatial intelligence,” as well as open source materials such as social media reports and videos of the alleged attack. The report explicitly stated that it omitted certain classified evidence, which was only made available to the US Congress.
Putin said Saturday that Russia denounced the use of chemical weapons and was ready for “consolidated participation in drafting measures to oppose such acts.”
He also denied discussing possible US military strikes on Syrian targets with his US counterpart Barack Obama on the phone.
But Putin said he was hoping to take up the Syrian issue with Obama during the upcoming G20 summit in Russia’s St. Petersburg on September 5-6.
Obama has explicitly blamed Assad for the attack and threatened missile and bomb strikes against selected Syrian targets in retribution for using weapons of mass destructions. He denied plans for a ground invasion of Syria or Assad’s overthrow.
Damascus has called the attacks a provocation by rebels it is battling since 2011.
A UN investigative team was dispatched on the site of the attack and is expected to present its findings in mid-September, but its mandate is limited to establishing whether the attack took place, not naming the guilty parties.
The British parliament ruled Thursday against supporting a possible US military operation in Syria. Putin said Saturday he was “astonished” by the move, which, he added, was made by people “motivated by nation’s interests and common sense.”
More than 100,000 died in internal strife in Syria since the conflict’s outbreak, according to UN figures.
------------
http://www.interfax
Interfax
August 31, 2013
Putin welcomes British parliament&#
VLADIVOSTOK: Russian President Vladimir Putin has welcomed the British parliament&#
"The British parliament&#
"We have been accustomed in the past years to the fact that everything in Western society is accepted without special discussions and in conformity with the will and position of the main partner, that is, the U.S., or at least it looked so. If something went wrong this time around, I should repeat that this is something I didn't expect; moreover, I am even surprised by this position," he said.
On the other hand, this decision, in Putin's view, shows that even in the United Kingdom, a key geopolitical ally for the U.S., there are people who are guided by national interests and common sense and who value their sovereignty. Putin also suggested that this is a result of analysis of what has happened in the Middle Eastern region and other countries in the past years.
"I am sure that people analyze events that happen, come to conclusions, and make their own decisions," Putin said.
It was reported earlier that the British parliament did not approve a government resolution on grounds for a military intervention in Syria. The resolution was supported by 272 parliamentarians, and 285 were against it.
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Sat Aug 31, 2013 10:55 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"mart unknown"
Forward from mart
Please Distribute Widely
*(Mint Press) - "Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind
Chemical Attack"
------------
mintpressnews.
*Mint Press
www.mintpressnews.
*
*Aug.29, 2013
*
*
EXCLUSIVE
Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack
Rebels and local residents in Ghouta accuse Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan
of providing chemical weapons to an al-Qaida linked rebel group.*
*By Dale Gavlak and Yahya Ababneh
August 29, 2013*
*Ghouta, Syria � As the machinery for a U.S.-led military intervention *in
Syria gathers pace following last week�s chemical weapons attack, the U.S.
and its allies may be targeting the wrong culprit.
Interviews with people in Damascus and Ghouta, a suburb of the Syrian
capital, where the humanitarian agency Doctors Without Borders said at
least 355 people had died last week from what it believed to be a
neuro-toxic agent, appear to indicate as much.
The U.S., Britain, and France as well as the Arab League have accused the
regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for carrying out the chemical
weapons attack, which mainly targeted civilians. U.S. warships are
stationed in the Mediterranean Sea to launch military strikes against Syria
in punishment for carrying out a massive chemical weapons attack. The U.S.
and others are not interested in examining any contrary evidence, with U.S
Secretary of State John Kerry saying Monday that Assad�s guilt was �a
judgment � already clear to the world.�
However, from numerous interviews with doctors, Ghouta residents, rebel
fighters and their families, a different picture emerges. Many believe that
certain rebels received chemical weapons via the Saudi intelligence chief,
Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and were responsible for carrying out the dealing
gas attack.
�My son came to me two weeks ago asking what I thought the weapons were
that he had been asked to carry,� said Abu Abdel-Moneim, the father of a
rebel fighting to unseat Assad, who lives in Ghouta.
Abdel-Moneim said his son and 12 other rebels were killed inside of a
tunnel used to store weapons provided by a Saudi militant, known as Abu
Ayesha, who was leading a fighting battalion. The father described the
weapons as having a �tube-like structure� while others were like a �huge
gas bottle.�
Ghouta townspeople said the rebels were using mosques and private houses to
sleep while storing their weapons in tunnels.
Abdel-Moneim said his son and the others died during the chemical weapons
attack. That same day, the militant group Jabhat al-Nusra, which is linked
to al-Qaida, announced that it would similarly attack civilians in the
Assad regime�s heartland of Latakia on Syria�s western coast, in purported
retaliation.
�They didn�t tell us what these arms were or how to use them,� complained a
female fighter named �K.� �We didn�t know they were chemical weapons. We
never imagined they were chemical weapons.�
�When Saudi Prince Bandar gives such weapons to people, he must give them
to those who know how to handle and use them,� she warned. She, like other
Syrians, do not want to use their full names for fear of retribution.
A well-known rebel leader in Ghouta named �J� agreed. �Jabhat al-Nusra
militants do not cooperate with other rebels, except with fighting on the
ground. They do not share secret information. They merely used some
ordinary rebels to carry and operate this material,� he said.
�We were very curious about these arms. And unfortunately, some of the
fighters handled the weapons improperly and set off the explosions,� �J�
said.
Doctors who treated the chemical weapons attack victims cautioned
interviewers to be careful about asking questions regarding who, exactly,
was responsible for the deadly assault.
The humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders added that health workers
aiding 3,600 patients also reported experiencing similar symptoms,
including frothing at the mouth, respiratory distress, convulsions and
blurry vision. The group has not been able to independently verify the
information.
More than a dozen rebels interviewed reported that their salaries came from
the Saudi government.
* Saudi involvement*
In a recent article for Business Insider, reporter Geoffrey Ingersoll
highlighted Saudi Prince Bandar�s role in the two-and-a-half year Syrian
civil war. Many observers believe Bandar, with his close ties to
Washington, has been at the very heart of the push for war by the U.S.
against Assad.
Ingersoll referred to an article in the U.K.�s Daily Telegraph about secret
Russian-Saudi talks alleging that Bandar offered Russian President Vladimir
Putin cheap oil in exchange for dumping Assad.
�Prince Bandar pledged to safeguard Russia�s naval base in Syria if the
Assad regime is toppled, but he also hinted at Chechen terrorist attacks on
Russia�s Winter Olympics in Sochi if there is no accord,� Ingersoll wrote.
�I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics next year. The
Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by
us,� Bandar allegedly told the Russians.
�Along with Saudi officials, the U.S. allegedly gave the Saudi intelligence
chief the thumbs up to conduct these talks with Russia, which comes as no
surprise,� Ingersoll wrote.
�Bandar is American-educated, both military and collegiate, served as a
highly influential Saudi Ambassador to the U.S., and the CIA totally loves
this guy,� he added.
According to U.K.�s Independent newspaper, it was Prince Bandar�s
intelligence agency that first brought allegations of the use of sarin gas
by the regime to the attention of Western allies in February.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the CIA realized Saudi
Arabia was �serious� about toppling Assad when the Saudi king named Prince
Bandar to lead the effort.
�They believed that Prince Bandar, a veteran of the diplomatic intrigues of
Washington and the Arab world, could deliver what the CIA couldn�t:
planeloads of money and arms, and, as one U.S. diplomat put it, wasta,
Arabic for under-the-table clout,� it said.
Bandar has been advancing Saudi Arabia�s top foreign policy goal, WSJ
reported, of defeating Assad and his Iranian and Hezbollah allies.
To that aim, Bandar worked Washington to back a program to arm and train
rebels out of a planned military base in Jordan.
The newspaper reports that he met with the �uneasy Jordanians about such a
base�:
His meetings in Amman with Jordan�s King Abdullah sometimes ran to eight
hours in a single sitting. �The king would joke: �Oh, Bandar�s coming
again? Let�s clear two days for the meeting,� � said a person familiar with
the meetings.
Jordan�s financial dependence on Saudi Arabia may have given the Saudis
strong leverage. An operations center in Jordan started going online in the
summer of 2012, including an airstrip and warehouses for arms.
Saudi-procured AK-47s and ammunition arrived, WSJ reported, citing Arab
officials.
Although Saudi Arabia has officially maintained that it supported more
moderate rebels, the newspaper reported that �funds and arms were being
funneled to radicals on the side, simply to counter the influence of rival
Islamists backed by Qatar.�
But rebels interviewed said Prince Bandar is referred to as �al-Habib� or
�the lover� by al-Qaida militants fighting in Syria.
Peter Oborne, writing in the Daily Telegraph on Thursday, has issued a word
of caution about Washington�s rush to punish the Assad regime with
so-called �limited� strikes not meant to overthrow the Syrian leader but
diminish his capacity to use chemical weapons:
Consider this: the only beneficiaries from the atrocity were the rebels,
previously losing the war, who now have Britain and America ready to
intervene on their side. While there seems to be little doubt that chemical
weapons were used, there is doubt about who deployed them.
It is important to remember that Assad has been accused of using poison gas
against civilians before. But on that occasion, Carla del Ponte, a U.N.
commissioner on Syria, concluded that the rebels, not Assad, were probably
responsible.
Some information in this article could not be independently verified. Mint
Press News will continue to provide further information and updates .
Dale Gavlak is a Middle East correspondent for Mint Press News and has
reported from Amman, Jordan, writing for the Associated Press, NPR and BBC.
An expert in Middle Eastern affairs, Gavlak covers the Levant region,
writing on topics including politics, social issues and economic trends.
Dale holds a M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Chicago.
Contact Dale at dgavlak@mintpressne
Yahya Ababneh is a Jordanian freelance journalist and is currently working
on a master�s degree in journalism, He has covered events in Jordan,
Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Libya. His stories have appeared on Amman
Net, Saraya News, Gerasa News and elsewhere.
------------
*Photo - (AP Photo/Shaam News Network - Aug. 22, 2013)*
- "*Bodies being buried in a suburb of Damascus, Syria during a funeral on
Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2013, following allegations of a chemical weapons
attack that reportedly killed 355 people.*"
http://mnpprodpubli
Please Distribute Widely
*(Mint Press) - "Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind
Chemical Attack"
------------
mintpressnews.
*Mint Press
www.mintpressnews.
*
*Aug.29, 2013
*
*
EXCLUSIVE
Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack
Rebels and local residents in Ghouta accuse Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan
of providing chemical weapons to an al-Qaida linked rebel group.*
*By Dale Gavlak and Yahya Ababneh
August 29, 2013*
*Ghouta, Syria � As the machinery for a U.S.-led military intervention *in
Syria gathers pace following last week�s chemical weapons attack, the U.S.
and its allies may be targeting the wrong culprit.
Interviews with people in Damascus and Ghouta, a suburb of the Syrian
capital, where the humanitarian agency Doctors Without Borders said at
least 355 people had died last week from what it believed to be a
neuro-toxic agent, appear to indicate as much.
The U.S., Britain, and France as well as the Arab League have accused the
regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for carrying out the chemical
weapons attack, which mainly targeted civilians. U.S. warships are
stationed in the Mediterranean Sea to launch military strikes against Syria
in punishment for carrying out a massive chemical weapons attack. The U.S.
and others are not interested in examining any contrary evidence, with U.S
Secretary of State John Kerry saying Monday that Assad�s guilt was �a
judgment � already clear to the world.�
However, from numerous interviews with doctors, Ghouta residents, rebel
fighters and their families, a different picture emerges. Many believe that
certain rebels received chemical weapons via the Saudi intelligence chief,
Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and were responsible for carrying out the dealing
gas attack.
�My son came to me two weeks ago asking what I thought the weapons were
that he had been asked to carry,� said Abu Abdel-Moneim, the father of a
rebel fighting to unseat Assad, who lives in Ghouta.
Abdel-Moneim said his son and 12 other rebels were killed inside of a
tunnel used to store weapons provided by a Saudi militant, known as Abu
Ayesha, who was leading a fighting battalion. The father described the
weapons as having a �tube-like structure� while others were like a �huge
gas bottle.�
Ghouta townspeople said the rebels were using mosques and private houses to
sleep while storing their weapons in tunnels.
Abdel-Moneim said his son and the others died during the chemical weapons
attack. That same day, the militant group Jabhat al-Nusra, which is linked
to al-Qaida, announced that it would similarly attack civilians in the
Assad regime�s heartland of Latakia on Syria�s western coast, in purported
retaliation.
�They didn�t tell us what these arms were or how to use them,� complained a
female fighter named �K.� �We didn�t know they were chemical weapons. We
never imagined they were chemical weapons.�
�When Saudi Prince Bandar gives such weapons to people, he must give them
to those who know how to handle and use them,� she warned. She, like other
Syrians, do not want to use their full names for fear of retribution.
A well-known rebel leader in Ghouta named �J� agreed. �Jabhat al-Nusra
militants do not cooperate with other rebels, except with fighting on the
ground. They do not share secret information. They merely used some
ordinary rebels to carry and operate this material,� he said.
�We were very curious about these arms. And unfortunately, some of the
fighters handled the weapons improperly and set off the explosions,� �J�
said.
Doctors who treated the chemical weapons attack victims cautioned
interviewers to be careful about asking questions regarding who, exactly,
was responsible for the deadly assault.
The humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders added that health workers
aiding 3,600 patients also reported experiencing similar symptoms,
including frothing at the mouth, respiratory distress, convulsions and
blurry vision. The group has not been able to independently verify the
information.
More than a dozen rebels interviewed reported that their salaries came from
the Saudi government.
* Saudi involvement*
In a recent article for Business Insider, reporter Geoffrey Ingersoll
highlighted Saudi Prince Bandar�s role in the two-and-a-half year Syrian
civil war. Many observers believe Bandar, with his close ties to
Washington, has been at the very heart of the push for war by the U.S.
against Assad.
Ingersoll referred to an article in the U.K.�s Daily Telegraph about secret
Russian-Saudi talks alleging that Bandar offered Russian President Vladimir
Putin cheap oil in exchange for dumping Assad.
�Prince Bandar pledged to safeguard Russia�s naval base in Syria if the
Assad regime is toppled, but he also hinted at Chechen terrorist attacks on
Russia�s Winter Olympics in Sochi if there is no accord,� Ingersoll wrote.
�I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics next year. The
Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by
us,� Bandar allegedly told the Russians.
�Along with Saudi officials, the U.S. allegedly gave the Saudi intelligence
chief the thumbs up to conduct these talks with Russia, which comes as no
surprise,� Ingersoll wrote.
�Bandar is American-educated, both military and collegiate, served as a
highly influential Saudi Ambassador to the U.S., and the CIA totally loves
this guy,� he added.
According to U.K.�s Independent newspaper, it was Prince Bandar�s
intelligence agency that first brought allegations of the use of sarin gas
by the regime to the attention of Western allies in February.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the CIA realized Saudi
Arabia was �serious� about toppling Assad when the Saudi king named Prince
Bandar to lead the effort.
�They believed that Prince Bandar, a veteran of the diplomatic intrigues of
Washington and the Arab world, could deliver what the CIA couldn�t:
planeloads of money and arms, and, as one U.S. diplomat put it, wasta,
Arabic for under-the-table clout,� it said.
Bandar has been advancing Saudi Arabia�s top foreign policy goal, WSJ
reported, of defeating Assad and his Iranian and Hezbollah allies.
To that aim, Bandar worked Washington to back a program to arm and train
rebels out of a planned military base in Jordan.
The newspaper reports that he met with the �uneasy Jordanians about such a
base�:
His meetings in Amman with Jordan�s King Abdullah sometimes ran to eight
hours in a single sitting. �The king would joke: �Oh, Bandar�s coming
again? Let�s clear two days for the meeting,� � said a person familiar with
the meetings.
Jordan�s financial dependence on Saudi Arabia may have given the Saudis
strong leverage. An operations center in Jordan started going online in the
summer of 2012, including an airstrip and warehouses for arms.
Saudi-procured AK-47s and ammunition arrived, WSJ reported, citing Arab
officials.
Although Saudi Arabia has officially maintained that it supported more
moderate rebels, the newspaper reported that �funds and arms were being
funneled to radicals on the side, simply to counter the influence of rival
Islamists backed by Qatar.�
But rebels interviewed said Prince Bandar is referred to as �al-Habib� or
�the lover� by al-Qaida militants fighting in Syria.
Peter Oborne, writing in the Daily Telegraph on Thursday, has issued a word
of caution about Washington�s rush to punish the Assad regime with
so-called �limited� strikes not meant to overthrow the Syrian leader but
diminish his capacity to use chemical weapons:
Consider this: the only beneficiaries from the atrocity were the rebels,
previously losing the war, who now have Britain and America ready to
intervene on their side. While there seems to be little doubt that chemical
weapons were used, there is doubt about who deployed them.
It is important to remember that Assad has been accused of using poison gas
against civilians before. But on that occasion, Carla del Ponte, a U.N.
commissioner on Syria, concluded that the rebels, not Assad, were probably
responsible.
Some information in this article could not be independently verified. Mint
Press News will continue to provide further information and updates .
Dale Gavlak is a Middle East correspondent for Mint Press News and has
reported from Amman, Jordan, writing for the Associated Press, NPR and BBC.
An expert in Middle Eastern affairs, Gavlak covers the Levant region,
writing on topics including politics, social issues and economic trends.
Dale holds a M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Chicago.
Contact Dale at dgavlak@mintpressne
Yahya Ababneh is a Jordanian freelance journalist and is currently working
on a master�s degree in journalism, He has covered events in Jordan,
Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Libya. His stories have appeared on Amman
Net, Saraya News, Gerasa News and elsewhere.
------------
*Photo - (AP Photo/Shaam News Network - Aug. 22, 2013)*
- "*Bodies being buried in a suburb of Damascus, Syria during a funeral on
Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2013, following allegations of a chemical weapons
attack that reportedly killed 355 people.*"
http://mnpprodpubli
Sat Aug 31, 2013 10:58 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"mart unknown"
Forward from mart
Please Distribute Widely
Link - (RootsAction) - Prevent an Attack on Syria Now!
------------
http://act.rootsact
Prevent an Attack on Syria Now!The terrible and widespread killing in Syria
will become even more terrible and more widespread if the U.S. military (or
a coalition of allies) launches an attack.
The choice is not between doing nothing and bombing the Syrian people.
<http://www.transcen
*Click below to let those who would bomb people in our names know that they
have alternatives:
*Click here: *
http://act.rootsact
------------
*Background:
*Bob Dreyfuss, The Nation: No War With Syria*
http://www.thenatio
*IPA: An Illegal War Forced on Syria That Benefits Al-Qaeda?*
http://www.accuracy
*
Mairead Maguire: Syria: No Armaments to Rebels*
http://www.transcen
------------
*Image - "No War On Syria!"
http://salsa.
[image: http://salsa.
Please Distribute Widely
Link - (RootsAction) - Prevent an Attack on Syria Now!
------------
http://act.rootsact
Prevent an Attack on Syria Now!The terrible and widespread killing in Syria
will become even more terrible and more widespread if the U.S. military (or
a coalition of allies) launches an attack.
The choice is not between doing nothing and bombing the Syrian people.
<http://www.transcen
*Click below to let those who would bomb people in our names know that they
have alternatives:
*Click here: *
http://act.rootsact
------------
*Background:
*Bob Dreyfuss, The Nation: No War With Syria*
http://www.thenatio
*IPA: An Illegal War Forced on Syria That Benefits Al-Qaeda?*
http://www.accuracy
*
Mairead Maguire: Syria: No Armaments to Rebels*
http://www.transcen
------------
*Image - "No War On Syria!"
http://salsa.
[image: http://salsa.
