Obama UN Ambassador Tries To Claim Protests Had Nothing To Do With Obama Policies

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US tells Syria's Assad to lead transition or leave

Assad said the unrest was coming to an end
© AFP/SANA

AFP

DAMASCUS (AFP) - The United States told Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday to lead a transition or step down and slapped him with sanctions in its latest effort to press him to end deadly violence against his people.

The news came as Syrian forces were accused of killing at least eight people in a besieged border town and as Assad said the two-month-old revolt against had been mishandled by the authorities but was now drawing to a close.

US President Barack Obama hit Assad and six top aides with sanctions to "increase pressure on the government of Syria to end its use of violence and begin transitioning to a democratic system that ensures the universal rights of the Syrian people," said an executive order.

US imposes sanctions on Syria

© AFP/File Ramzi Haidar

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on Friday imposed new sanctions on Syria over its brutal repression of mass protests, and again singled out Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which it said was aiding the crackdown.

The asset freezes and restrictions on financial transactions notably targeted Maher Al-Assad, the powerful brother of President Bashar Al-Assad, who commands Syria's feared Fourth Armoured Division.

Also named in an executive order signed by President Barack Obama were Ali Mamluk, director of Syria's Intelligence Directorate, and Atif Najib, the ex-head of intelligence in Daraa province, the epicenter of political violence.

Globalist War Machine Fixates on Syria

Syria told to yield to "peaceful" arsonists or suffer Libya's fate. 

Protesters across Syria have been burning both government & commercial
buildings. Pictured above is Deraa's burned out Baath Party HQ

Tony Cartalucci, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

Bangkok, Thailand April 17, 2011 - With the war in Libya set only to expand, the precedent for attacking a sovereign nation based on unverified reports to then assist foreign funded, armed insurrection is already being used to lay the groundwork for a similar campaign against Syria. The "Libyan Precedent" was already an articulated doctrine within the corporate-financier think-tanks long before Joe Lieberman and Nicolas Sarkozy began parroting it in speeches and interviews.

In a February 26, 2011 Brookings Institute report titled, "Libya's Test of the New International Order," the intervention in Libya was described as "a test that the international community has to pass." Failure would "shake further the faith of the people's region in the emerging international order and the primacy of international law." Succeeding, the report would go on to say, would "demonstrably draw a line in the sand to deter other Arab autocrats who resort to attacking their people rather than dialogue and genuine reforms." Of course by reforms, Brookings means integration into the "international system" its corporate-financier sponsorship lords over.

In late March after bombing began in Libya, Sarkozy of France would echo Brookings' sentimentsstating, "Every ruler should understand, and especially every Arab ruler should understand that the reaction of the international community and of Europe will from this moment on each time be the same: we will be on the side of peaceful protesters who must not be repressed with violence." He would go on to say there is a "new post-UNSC 1973 model of "world governance."

Egypt's Revolution Doing Damage Control

Cheap stunts to head off counterrevolution. 

Tony Cartalucci, Contributing Writer

Activist Post 

Bangkok, Thailand April 16, 2011 - Just as the subjects of foreign aid and Israel were used as rhetorical pawns to usher Hosni Mubarak out of power, the same two points of leverage are being used to bolster US International Crisis Group member Mohamed ElBaradei, his underling,Google executive Wael Ghonim and their sputtering revolution.

It was only last month that ElBaradei came under attack by protesters who pelted him with rocks while astutely shouting "American agent" at the interloping globocrat.Fearing a counterrevolution and perhaps a real awakening in Egypt, ElBaradei became the recipient of yet another fortuitous Wikileaks release, this one claiming that the US was unhappy with ElBaradei during his stint at the UN IAEA. Perhaps to be on the safe side, ElBaradei resorted to the tried and true rallying cry used often by the very dictators the "Arab Spring" was supposed to replace, threatening war with Israel.

Clinton urges Arab leaders to move faster on reform

Clinton said Arab youth will no longer "accept the status quo"
© AFP/File Jim Watson

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pushed for Arab leaders to embrace a "spirit of reform" that has swept the region and move swiftly to respond to the growing demands of their citizens.

"The long Arab winter has begun to thaw," said Clinton on the opening day of the US-Islamic World Forum being held in Washington, praising Arab youth for rising up against "false narratives" that she said had choked political and economic reform for generations.

"All the signs of progress we have seen in recent months will only be meaningful if more leaders in more places move faster and further to embrace this spirit of reform," she said.

Before an audience that included representatives of more than 30 Muslim nations, the top US diplomat said in the wake of historic unrest in the region that "for the first time in decades there is a real opportunity for change."

Arab uprisings disrupt US counter-terror effort

Yemeni anti-government protesters, 
© AFP Mohammed Huwais

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Arab unrest is shaking the foundations of US counter-terror efforts that have long relied on spy agencies under authoritarian regimes to help fight Islamist militants.

With popular protests toppling rulers in Tunisia and Egypt and threatening leaders in Yemen and elsewhere, US intelligence agencies are struggling to adjust to a radically changed landscape, US officials, former intelligence officers and experts say.

The United States for years has counted on Arab allies to back up its diplomatic and security interests, enlisting their help to combat Al-Qaeda with harsh tactics and interrogations.

But the political wildfire spreading across the region means US spy services will have to deal with new intelligence chiefs more wary of Washington and more reluctant to cooperate on covert projects that might be unpopular with their citizens.

"The immediate effect, there's no question, is that a lot of relationships which we have built over the years to fight Al-Qaeda and like-minded terrorists are over," said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer.

US hedges its bets on Syria: analysts

© AFP Anwar Amro

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Although the Assad regime in Syria has long been a thorn in Washington's side, the Obama administration is not yet ready to throw its lot in with anti-government protesters there, analysts said.

The unrest gripping Syria comes as President Barack Obama pursues a new US policy of engaging with a former foe in a bid to promote a broader Arab-Israeli peace by driving a wedge between Syria and its ally Iran.

His administration may be hedging its bets because it will still have to deal with the regime if President Bashar al-Assad and his powerful security forces end up crushing the unrest.

Ammar Abdulhamid, a Washington-based Syrian dissident and democracy activist who has political contacts in Washington, said some US officials fear a change and prefer to work with Assad, at least for now.

If Bahrain fails to reform, Iran will meddle: Gates

Gates with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa
© AFP Mandel Ngan

AFP

ABOARD A US MILITARY AIRCRAFT (AFP) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Saturday that Bahrain's leaders needed to move quickly to adopt major reforms or else risk interference from Iran.

Although there were no signs Shiite-led Iran was behind unrest in the Gulf kingdom or elsewhere in the region, Tehran would likely work to meddle in Bahrain's politics amid sectarian tensions, Gates told reporters on his plane after a visit to Manama.

"I expressed the view that we had no evidence that suggested that Iran started any of these popular revolutions or demonstrations across the region," said Gates, recounting his talks with the country's king and crown prince.

"But there is clear evidence that as the process is protracted, particularly in Bahrain, the Iranians are looking for ways to exploit it and create problems," Gates said.

"So I told them, in this instance, time is not our friend."


Bahrain, a Shiite-majority state ruled by a Sunni dynasty, has been gripped by protests calling for political change since February 14.

The US defence chief, who arrived Friday evening in Bahrain, said he came away encouraged that Bahrain's king and crown prince were ready to take "far-reaching steps" to accommodate anti-government protesters.

But Gates said he warned them that minor changes would not be enough to address the political crisis.

"And I also said that under the circumstances and with the impulse behind the political and economic grievances across the region, that baby steps probably would not be sufficient... that real reform would be necessary."

Washington suspects Iran has tried to persuade Shiite opposition groups in Bahrain to boycott any talks with the kingdom's leadership, a US defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters.

With unrest sweeping the Middle East and North Africa, the United States has tried to balance its longstanding ties with Arab regimes with support for protests demanding democratic reform.

Gates said that Arab governments needed to recognise the scale of the change shaking their countries.

"I told both the king and the crown prince that across the region I did not believe there could be a return to the status quo ante," he said. "That there was change, and it could be led or it could be imposed."

"And obviously leading the reform and being responsive is the way we'd like to see this move forward," he said.

Gates also said the unrest in Bahrain posed no immediate threat to US interests in Bahrain.
The US military relies on a vast network of bases and alliances across the Gulf, and the Navy's strategic Fifth Fleet headquarters is based in Manama.

Earlier Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, speaking to reporters in Manama after his talks with Gates, said he favored holding a referendum once a dialogue with opposition groups produces an agreement.

"When we agree, we will put it to another referendum. The people of Bahrain in one vote will be the final arbiters if there is agreement on a deal or not," said the crown prince, according to a television pool report.

He said he was optimistic that opposition groups would participate in a dialogue with the government.

"I'm hopeful that they will join the dialogue without preconditions. We have given them the best deal they can hope for," he said.

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United Front Against Iran

Brookings/ex-CIA Wonk Reveals 
Middle East Agenda

Tony Cartalucci, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

"Which Path to Persia?" was a Brookings Institute report written in 2009 describing in excruciating detail the Anglo-Americans' designs against Iran. It included plans for provoking war with Iran, arming and supporting terrorists within Iran, and the funding and organizing of a color revolution, all within the admitted backdrop, not of protecting the continental United States from a dangerous Iran, but rather protecting American hegemony in the Middle East. And of course, the overthrow and reformation of Iran serves to further isolate Russia and China and reassert Anglo-American unipolar global hegemony.

One of the authors of this report was Brookings policy wonk, former CIA Persian Gulf military analyst, and Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) member, Kenneth Pollack. One might wonder what ever became of the "Which Path to Persia?" report and what policy wonks like Pollack might be saying about the current conflagration consuming the Middle East and Northern Africa. Wonder no more.

In a recent article published in the globalist clearinghouse "The National Interest" titled "Bifurcating the Middle East," Pollack provides us with an encore presentation and a disturbing confirmation of many geopolitical analysts' worst fears regarding the current power play in progress. Pollack describes the situation in the Middle East as one where a line has been draw dividing regimes committed to the next step in "democratization" (read: globalization) and regimes who have opted for the "bad old Middle East."


Libya, Syria, and Iran are, not surprisingly, part of the "bad old Middle East" while Tunisia, Egypt, and even Saudi Arabia are lauded for having responded positively to US threats and acts of destabilization. It appears, judging from Pollack's analysis, that regimes like Jordan and Saudi Arabia responded with preemptive concessions to the Anglo-American establishment in order to forgo the uncertainty of challenging Western-backed full-scale destabilization efforts.

Pollack goes on to state that America will now back these "progressive," "reformist" camps and identify Iran as a continued "major threat" in a way that "rallies the Arab street to our side and against Iran and is consistent with our new emphasis on reform and transformation."

This echos the forewarning of historian and noted geopolitical analyst Dr. Webster Tarpley who has from the beginning stated that the various possible governments resulting from these engineered revolutions "could then be used to support the fundamental US-UK strategy for the Middle East, which is to assemble a block of Arab and Sunni countries (notably Egypt, Saudis, Gulf states, and Jordan) which, formed into a front with the participation of Israel, would collide with the Iranian Shiite front, including Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas, and various radical forces."

In a recent BBC interview with globalist George Soros, the man underwriting the current destabilization efforts and the "Funding Father" of the new Egyptian constitution, he stated that the Iranian government would be overthrown in the "bloodiest of the revolutions." Going back the the blueprint for Iranian regime change co-authored by Kenneth Pollack and considering his latest sentiments that regime change is being pursued with renewed vigor, it is important to note why someone like Soros may suspect a bloodbath is on the horizon.

Soros' comments about high oil prices triggering "revolutions" in other parts of the world is also very alarming. China in particular would be very vulnerable to rising energy prices coupled with potential disruptions of their oil supplies in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Brookings "Which Path to Persia?" report concludes that Iran will most assuredly crush the next "green revolution" at any cost, ensuring its failure. To counter this inevitable failure, several options are put on the table (p 109, 110):

"Consequently, if the United states is to pursue this policy, Washington must take this possibility into consideration. It adds some very important requirements to the list: either the policy must include ways to weaken the Iranian military or weaken the willingness of the regime’s leaders to call on the military, or else the United states must be ready to intervene to defeat it."

It can be assumed that intervention will take the form and tone of the West's current operations in and around Libya and its armed rebellion as well as the expansion of the already "in-progress" covert war being run inside of Iran. During the 2010 globalist-backed "red" color revolution in Bangkok, Thailand, similar military support was provided, albeit domestically, to aid the efforts of the lightly-armed protesters, which included an April 10 ambush and massacre of 8 Thai soldiers and rolling gun battles and grenade attacks over the course of 2 months. Ultimately such militant support failed, and it is likely to fail in Iran as well, unless extreme and more direct measures are taken.

To assess the accuracy of Pollack's analysis, the upcoming Saudi "Day of Rage" on March 11 and whether or not it is thrown under the bus or propelled to the height of violence, chaos, and disruption seen in Egypt and Libya, must be considered. Should the Saudis come out the other side unscathed, concessions will have been agreed upon, and as Dr. Tarpley has warned, we will be one step closer to war with Iran.

One final note should be made. The "Neo-Con" wing of the globalist oligarchy who has been actively supporting and funding the various color revolutions around the world, also produced a very timely propaganda piece titled "Iranium." Out of the studios of the "Clarion Fund," literally chaired by the likes of PNAC members Frank Gaffney and Daniel Pipes, it was released fortuitously in January 2011, right in the midst of the various ongoing "Arab uprisings." The concluding theme of "Iranium," of course is "a new revolution" in Iran.



Such a revolution in Iran will only be crushed again if Washington and London are unable to create the support needed to "intervene" on behalf of the protesters. Kenneth Pollack's recent affirmation confirms that indeed, this "consensus" and support is already in the process of being created.

Tony Cartalucci's articles have appeared on many alternative media websites, including his own at Land Destroyer. 

Related Article by Tony Cartalucci:
George Soros and Egypt's New Constitution

  

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Why is Hillary Not Defending the Rights of Saudis to Protest?

Hillary Clinton AFP/File image

Eric Blair
Activist Post

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had been exhaustively in front of cameras promoting the right for people to protest in Egypt, Bahrain, Iran, and Libya.  She's been touting the freedom to use social networking sites as a way for Arab people to organize against their oppressive regimes.  Now, the Administration is even considering arming the opposition in Libya.

Clinton's perpetual propaganda efforts exposed her blatant hypocrisy when a silent peaceful protester was violently removed from one of her recent speeches on the very subject. However, the hypocrisy now seems to go much deeper in her deafening silence over the prospect for protests in Saudi Arabia.

After Human Rights Watch revealed that a nationwide "Day of Rage" protest had been planned in Saudi Arabia for this week, March 11th, Bloomberg reported that the Saudi government claims that demonstrations and marches are "strictly" prohibited by law.  A Saudi Interior Ministry official said protests "contradict Islamic values" and "They harm public interest, infringe on the rights of others, spread chaos and lead to bloodshed."

This prohibition of popular dissent proves beyond a shadow of doubt that Saudi Arabia is indeed the most tyrannical authoritarian regime in the Arab world.  Yet, U.S. Administration officials have been strangely silent about supporting the people's uprising there.


Perhaps they think the protests won't be large enough to warrant a response.  Well, that certainly did stop their best propaganda push to stoke the puny protests in Iran, so the size or ferocity of unrest shouldn't matter to their exploits of supposedly backing human freedom.  And one would think that given what has happened to oil prices due to the unrest in Libya and Egypt, even a minor protest in the largest oil-producing dictatorship in the world would draw more public response from the White House.

Or perhaps the Administration believes that the hastily-crafted $35 billion social aid package ordered by King Abdullah will be enough to tamp down escalating tensions in Saudi Arabia.  So far, there have only been reports of small Shiite protests in Saudi Arabia, mostly demanding the release of political prisoners held by the Sunni monarchy.

These protests would seem to be very minor in comparison to the sea of people revolting in Cairo. However, the revolutionary whispers must clearly be getting louder as the Saudi stock market plummeted 11% in just two days of wild trading to its 7-year low on fears of civil unrest.  It's noteworthy that the plunge was reportedly led by large banks and insurers.

If Clinton is to stand by her new-found rhetoric, certainly she'll call for restraint on the part of the Saudi government should a protest erupt, right?  And surely she'll demand that the kings of Internet censorship in the Arab world, Saudi Arabia, will open communication channels so the people can freely unite, right?  And if push comes to shove in Saudi Arabia, she'll definitely support arming the people's opposition to the royal family, right?  Eh hum . . . don't count on it.

Regardless, many analysts believe the Saudi regime is the next to fall with or without the prodding of the U.S.

RELATED ARTICLES:
Obama's 6 Hypocritical Guidelines For Peaceful Protest
6 Reasons to Start WW3 if You're a Globalist

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The Struggle for Self-Determination in the Arab World: The Alliance between Arab Dictators and Global Capital

Is 1848 Repeating Itself in the Arab World?  Is history repeating itself? Have the events of 1848 in Europe repeated themselves in the Arab World? Will 2011 see the same outcomes as 1848? Only the Arab people can decide. Their fate is in their hands, but they should learn from the mistakes of 1848 and seriously address the role of the capitalist class.

Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya

Global Research  

The Arabs are seeing their second wave of revolt against colonialism. The first wave of revolt started between the First World War and at the end of the Second World War. It involved the Great Arab Revolt, with British and French support, against Ottoman Turkey during the First World War and then Arab revolt against Britain, France, and Italy during and after the Second World War. [3]

During the formal period of colonialism, the authority of the colonial powers (Britain, France, and Italy) were politically visible. Today, the Arab World is under the "invisible authority" of the neo-colonial powers.  These include the U.S., Britain, and France.

The modern-day neo-colonial powers maintain control over Arab countries through the supervision of their economies and the control of their political leaders, who serve neo-colonial interests as vassals. Thus, 2011 is not only the start of the second wave of Arab revolt against foreign rule via imposed dictators and corrupt regimes, but it is also part of a broader struggle against neo-colonialism.

Starting with Tunisia, revolts and protests have broken out across the Arab World. Algeria, Yemen, Jordan, the Israeli-occupied Palestinian Territories, Mauritania, Sudan, and Egypt have all been electrified with activism. Added to this is the political tension in Lebanon, continued instability in Iraq under American-led foreign military occupation, building tensions in Bahrain, and the balkanization of Sudan.

At first glance the Arab World seems to be in turmoil, but there is much more than meets the eye.

The people of the Arab World have not awoken, they were already awake. They have watched the resources and wealth of their countries being handed out to foreign corporations and squandered by their corrupt leaders. The Arab people have watched as these same leaders supported the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003. They have watched as Israel has oppressed the Palestinians with the help of their governments, they have watched as Lebanon was attacked in 2006 with the tacit blessing of their regimes, they have watched as the Gaza Strip was re-invaded in 2008 by the Israeli military, and they have watched as the Egyptian regime has helped Israel starve Gaza.

The Arabs have not awoken, they have watched in anger and frustration. The Arab people are now mobilizing. The Arab masses, like the immune system of a body, are now combating the diseases that have been infecting the Arab World. The Arabs are in action.

Arab Leaders as Comprador Elites serving Foreign InterestsClass polarization has grown as the gap between the rich and the poor widens. Intergenerational mobility, a change in social class that takes place in one person's lifetime, and intragenerational mobility, a change that takes place from one generation to the next generation within a family, have been stunted.

The Arab people grasp the fact that their ruling class and governments are not only corrupt regimes, but also comprador elites, namely the local representatives of foreign corporations, governments, and interests. The capitalist class that these local Arab comprador elites are subservient to are properly called parasite or parasitic elites, because they siphon off local wealth and resources on behalf of their neo-colonial masters.

This structure of comprador elites prevails in Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Authority.

In Egypt, Gamal Mubarak (who was being groomed by his father, Mohammed Husni Mubarak, for the presidency) worked for Bank of America.

In Tunisia, Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali was a military officer trained in French and American military schools who, once in power, served U.S. and French economic interests.

In Lebanon, Fouad Siniora was a former Citibank official before he became prime minister and Rafik Al-Hariri worked for both the French construction company Ogre (before he established Saudi Orgre) and Saudi interests (which in turn serve U.S. interests) before he became Lebanese prime minister.

Within the corrupt Palestinian Authority, Salam Fayyad worked for one of the banks forming the U.S. Federal Reserve and the World Bank before he became the Palestinian finance minister and then the kangaroo Palestinian Authority prime minister in the West Bank appointed under the semi-dictator Mahmoud Abbas.

Moreover, almost all Arab finance ministers are affiliated to the major global banking institutions. All of them also strictly adhere to the Washington Consensus of the International Monetary Fund (I.M.F.) and the World Bank.

Read Full Article

RELATED ARTICLES:

The Tipping Point Has Passed: Sweeping Change is at Hand

6 Reasons to Start WWIII If You Are a Globalist

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