Archive for April 19th, 2010
Iran and Syria: A difficult 30 years alliance
Posted by: adonis49 on: April 19, 2010
Iran and Syria: A difficult 30 years alliance; (Apr. 20, 2010)
Almost every day, news media analyze the alliance between Syria and Iran. Since the Iranian nuclear program was launched, the western media and the so-called “moderate” Sunni Arab dictators and monarchs’ media would like to witness any kinds of rift in the alliance, sort of an illusion made to sound a reality anytime soon: they would also like to relieve Israel of a “psychological” nuisance that Islamic countries can also own nuclear capability if they set their mind to it.
Actually, there are no lack of brain power and money for Egypt, Syria, or Saudi Arabia to fulfill this project if the Arab League was up to its name. The USA and Europe are actively working to destabilizing Iran and threatening harsher economical embargo so that Iran desist “manipulating” the dangerous products, even for civilian use such as hospital and generating electricity. So far, Iran is within the boundaries of Atomic Energy Agency guidelines; that is why the UN is unable to threaten strong arm interventions.
Syria’s Baath Party tried to re-unite with Iraq’s Baath branch and then have strategic alliance between the two States in 1979 but Saddam Hussein foiled the attempt of Syria Hafez Assad. Iran of the Shah was the strongest ally to the US and Israel; Saddam Hussein went along with the Shah’s policies in partitioning the water passageway (Shat al Arab) and the Kurdistan problems. When Khomeini revolution succeeded then Syria allied with the new Islamic regime and still is, even during the devastating 8 years war between Iraq and Iran.
In the Near East (for example, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, and Syria), Iran needs the alliance with Syria more than any other States because Syria can put the squeeze on the US and Israel if conditions deteriorates. In global politics, especially securing veto powers of China and Russia in the UN, Syria badly need the heavy weight of Iran to circumvent any economical embargoes or blockades on Syria and also for securing military credits and hardware. In the last two decades, Syria wooed Turkey and managed to establish one of the closest alliances in the region. As long as Turkey lacks the requisite caliber to weight on Russia and China in the UN as Iran can, then Syria has no option but to put more eggs in Iran’s basket.
Syria has assimilated the idiom: “Never put all your eggs in one basket” and is not about to change this strategic policy. This article focuses on the deal between Iran and Syria on Lebanon. Iran grasped early on that the fundamental strategy of Syria is: “Syria military strategy is one with Lebanon”. Thus, Hezbollah may resume its political leaning toward Iran but in no situation should Hezbollah undertake any military activities without prior consent of Syria and complete coordination with Syria. The other deal is that the other Chiaa political faction of AMAL should share equally, if not a bit more than Hezbollah, in the parliament, government, municipality, and civil administrations. AMAL is headed by Nabih Berry, over 30 years as head of the Lebanese Parliament, and was created by late Iranian Imam Moussa Sadr in 1972 who was assassinated in Libya in 1983. AMAL is the main political party totally at the beck of Syria instructions; thus, when any Lebanese file or problem is turned exclusively to Nabih Berry for consideration then it means that the resolution is in the hands of Syria.
Currently, the most urgent demand of Syria on Lebanon’s government is to let go of the International Court investigating the assassination of late Rafic Harri PM in 2005. Syria knows that this Court was created as a political weapon by the US to pressure Syria into political concessions. After 5 years of heavy political pressures on Syria, now the Court is turning the weapon on Hezbollah. Syria knows that targeting Hezbollah is implicitly targeting Syria. The international political usage of this Court has to end and very soon or Lebanon will suffer great instability if Saad Hariri PM keeps his uncertain position and refuses to step down. Most probably, another Prime Minister ready to bring the International Court to Lebanon’s jurisdiction would be selected. Fact is, France declined to resume financing the Court; a signal that France no longer sees any benefit of the Court to its current policies in the Near East.
States Blackmails: Elected by multinational money? (Apr. 19, 2010)
Frequently, politics of governments, especially in election campaign periods, is to blow sands and divert the attention of citizens from the nasty important issues in order to cover up huge financial wastes in forms of aids to multinationals that contributed to finance election campaigns.
Two examples might shed lights to the direct connections among issues meant to sidetrack citizens and the critical problems that affected societies.
After the latest financial crash, President Sarkozy of France bailed out the French financial institutions with over 20 billions dollars with no return whatsoever to the French treasury; not even a share of the French State in these institutions. The social security was in deficit of over 22 billions dollars and the French citizens were asked to tighten their belt along with reduced health care benefits, welfare systems, and retirement rights. The government of Sarkozy tried to obscure this striking blunder by bringing up the irrelevant issue of Moslem women wearing veils in schools and public administrations.
To put things in perspective, only 400 Moslem women among all the Moslem communities in France wore veils. The French voters were not duped by this political gimmick and defeated hands down the party of Sarkozy in the latest municipal election.
The same process occurred in 1988 in the USA. Vice President Bush Senior was campaigning for the Presidency to replace Ronald Reagan. Bush Senior had extended 500 billions dollars to the saving and loans financial institutions with no return to the Federal treasury. Thus, Bush Senior took out the skeleton of “patriotism” from the closet as his campaign slogan; mainly, banning the burning of the US flags.
To put this slogan in perspective, only seven flags were burned that year in all the USA. Since the saving and loans had contributed massively to re-elections of 90% of the members of the House of Representatives, then this House supported the slogan of the campaign. The Supreme Court intervened and cancelled this faked and unlawful act that abridged the liberty of expression of the US citizens.
The objective political observer can discover very high correlations linking faked campaign issues and huge highway robbery of financially aiding multinationals.
Sarkozy was defeated in the municipal election for another very serious trampling of France dignity, honor, and sovereignty. The ultra Zionist Sarkozy made it his policy to tone down all Israel’s attempts at dishonoring the status of France. For example, in 2009 two incidents in Israel were covered up; the director of French cultural center in Naplouse (Palestine) was beaten badly by Israeli soldiers; one soldiers said “I can kill you”.
The other incident happened in Gaza during Israel slaughter war there. Soldiers barged in the residence of the French consul and stole expensive and luxury items. In 2008, the consulate of France in Jerusalem was detained 17 hours in abject conditions. In 2009, French Foreign Affairs Bernard Kouchner met Israel’s racist Foreign Affairs Lieberman and then turned a blind eye to the new construction phase of 900 apartments in Jerusalem. This year, Kouchner bowed down to the demand of Israel not to visit Gaza. Palestinian students in Gaza with scholarships to studying in France were denied passports to leave this sad enclave.
Sarkozy lied to the French people in 2008 when Israel invaded Gaza claiming that Israel was reacting to Hamas missiles; facts from the Israeli Foreign Affairs documents stated that Hamas had respected the deal and no missile had fallen in Israel till November when Israel launched her savage pre-emptive war on Gaza. Sarkozy is leading the file of Western hawks encouraging bombing of Iran. Before Iran, Israel used to demand pre-requisites of bombing Egypt and then Iraq before resuming any negotiations with the Palestinians.
Gaza is suffering the worst economical blockades. French Ambassador to Israel Christophe Bigot stated: “Gaza is receiving foodstuff through tunnels: saying there is blocus of Gaza is a strong term”. The demolished hospital in Gaza that France had extended assistance to rebuild and that Israel agreed to facilitate the task is still undone: Israel has blocked the arrival of the necessary materials.
Lately, Sarkozy is defying the European Union laws prohibiting imports of products from Israel colonies in the West Bank; he went as far as prosecuting any French company abiding by the EU laws and instructing judges to crackdown on law abiding French enterprises. Britain reacted mildly by discrediting the Israeli military attaché in London after the blunder of the Mossad’s assassination of a Hamas leader in Dubai using European forged passports, including French passports; France Sarkozy didn’t make any waves of that incident.
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