A Peek into Others' mind » July 14, 2008

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• July 15, 2008
• 7:57

  Test Your Skills

   » ‎ IMINT & Analysis
  While fumbling around the web I came across a very interesting page on the Australian MoD's website:
  
  Testing Your Skills in Imagery Analysis
  
  Basically, you have fifteen minutes to answer questions about an overhead image. This is not a military facility of any sort, so it will really test your ability to figure out some of the answers. It's not a representative example of the intense amount of training that professional imagery analysts must endure, but it is a pretty good example of the kinds of details you have to be able to pick up on when analyzing overhead imagery. Give it a try and see if you can hack it!Authored by Sean O'Connor Visit geimint.blogspot.com for the article in its entirety.

• 7:41

  World Briefing | Middle East: Israel: Setback for Governing Coalition

   » ‎ NYT > Middle East
  The governing coalition of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert came under further strain when the Labor Party, a main coalition partner, joined a no-confidence motion in Parliament.
  
  
• 7:34

  In France, Syrian Stirs Tensions

   » ‎ NYT > Middle East
  President Bashar al-Assad of Syria was a guest of honor at France’s annual Bastille Day parade, in a sign that his diplomatic isolation is ending.
  
  

• 6:48

  Arab Democracy: A Syrian crane made in France

   » ‎ Syria Planet
  By Bachir Habib
  
  

  Picture: www.lefigaro.fr
  
  What we witnessed in Paris was not a Euro Mediterranean summit. The French are not dupe, neither the Europeans; and the occasion provided a good cover. What we witnessed was simply Syria’s reintegration into the International Community. Bashar Assad’s visit to Paris is his first successful international visit since 2004.
  This visit has to be placed in a context, and that context is not European, it is purely Middle Eastern and challenging after the failure of the regional American project. What happened in Paris is also a European move on the international foreign policy chessboard; a daring maneuver from French President Nicolas Sarkozy who succeeded in convincing his European counterparts that the time was right for distancing themselves from previous alignment on US policy towards the region. This is even more necessary before Washington itself operates a foreign policy shifting leaving Brussels behind. Not to forget that in the United States, it is now “Time to Change” as said by the Democratic presidential contestant Barack Obama.
  Sarkozy opened wide the gates of Europe and the world to the Syrian President. Paris tried to show that Assad is received only because he responded positively to the French demands: Reducing interference in Lebanon or using positive influence to help in unlocking the Lebanese political deadlock, pushing towards a Hamas – Israel truce through pressure on his Palestinian allies, and finally proving a true will to make peace with Israel and continue visibly what started secretly between the two countries two years ago as the July 2006 war raged on Lebanese soil.
  This is the tip of the iceberg, but at its base resides a more serious issue: A new balance of power is being formed in the Middle East, there’s a decline (at least temporary) of American influence after decades of direct management of the region while a new Iranian (de facto) regional super power will emerge in case Teheran’s nuclear program is not halted.
  This new context is highly important to France and Europe, because it’s not only the American “Greater Middle East” that is broken, but because the post cold war American Dream of a Unipolar World that has been crushed.
  Is it the new dawn of Multipolarity that we’re witnessing? It might be. But it is definitely not the Multipolarity the West was dreaming of. It is one where Europe and the US will have to deal with countries like Iran, Pakistan and Venezuela (…) as regional super powers that have a National Interest to protect, same as Washington, Brussels or Moscow.
  French diplomacy reveals its conviction that reintegrating Syria in the international community is the only way to take it back from Iran’s arms. But Assad declared this week that following a request from France, Syria would hold talks with Iran to try and resolve the crisis over its nuclear programme! Nicolas Sarkozy knows that this is not how Assad can be stolen from Ali Khamenei, and it is unrealistic, at least for now, to expect Damascus to take a distance from Teheran. It is rather the Iranians who are on the verge of being recognized as a great regional power, by using a Syrian crane made in France.
  By the way, was Husni Mubarak there? And even if Saudi King Abdullah was with him, Assad would have remained the only star. It is simply not a good time for US allies.

• 6:30

  Scott Horton: Six Questions for Jane Mayer. ...

   » ‎ War and Piece
  Scott Horton: Six Questions for Jane Mayer. Cheney leaned on CIA Inspector General:The fact that John Helgerson—the inspector general at the CIA who is supposed to act as an independent watchdog—was called in by Cheney to discuss his tough report...

• 5:19

  Discovery Institute Shill Strikes Out

   » ‎ Little Green Footballs

  Note to Discovery Institute shill Casey Luskin:

  To prevent future embarrassment when “critiquing” scientific papers, please look up the words you don’t understand.

  The word “eponymous” means “named after.”

  Missing The Wrist.

  A couple weeks ago Louisiana passed a new science education act that promotes “critical thinking skills, logical analysis, and open and objective discussion of scientific theories being studied including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning.” Along with the regular textbook, the law states, teachers “may use supplemental textbooks and other instructional materials to help students understand, analyze, critique, and review scientific theories in an objective manner.” The law “shall not be construed to promote any religious doctrine, promote discrimination for or against a particular set of religious beliefs, or promote discrimination for or against religion or nonreligion.”

  What the law does not make clear, however, is how schools will determine whether the extra instructional material is good science or nonsense. There is nothing in the law that would keep a teacher from introducing a bogus non-argument about gravity and the revolution of the planets.

  I was reminded of this sad fact when I read a post published today by Casey Luskin, a staffer at the Discovery Institute, an outfit that promotes intelligent design. Luskin has been one of the leaders of the Discovery Institute’s efforts to get so-called “academic freedom” bills passed in states around the country. He personally testified in Louisiana in favor of their new education bill. When he’s not busy with politics, Luskin writes posts at the Discovery Institute’s “Evolution News and Views” site, where he “critiques” research on evolutionary biology, claiming to find major flaws. But his critique make as much sense as the falling-or-revolving challenge to gravity.

  The subject of the post is a 375-million-year-old fossil that helps reveal the transition of our ancestors from the water to land, known as Tiktaalik. I’ve written about Tiktaalik here, and you can get more details from the book Your Inner Fish, written by Neil Shubin, one of Tiktaalik’s discoverers. (Here’s a review I wrote in Nature.)

  Luskin claims that Neil Shubin calls Tiktaalik a fish with a wrist, but “from what I can tell, Tiktaalik doesn’t have one.” The bulk of the post is taken up by Luskin’s fruitless search for a diagram or some other helpful information, either in Shubin’s book or the original papers. He is frustrated not to find a picture showing a wrist on Tiktaalik compared to the wrist of a tetrapod (a land vertebrate). This sort of “evidence” leads Luskin to conclude that Shubin has something to hide. “In the end, it’s no wonder Shubin chose not to provide a diagram comparing Tiktaalik’s fin-bones to the bones of a real tetrapod limb,” he writes.

  Instead, Luskin is forced to read a scientific paper. He writes:

  So we are left to decipher his jargon-filled written comparison in the following sentence by sentence analysis:

  1. Shubin et al.: “The intermedium and ulnare of Tiktaalik have homologues to eponymous wrist bones of tetrapods with which they share similar positions and articular relations.” (Note: I have labeled the intermedium and ulnare of Tiktaalik in the diagram below.)

  Translation: OK, then exactly which “wrist bones of tetrapods” are Tiktaalik’s bones homologous to? Shubin doesn’t say. This is a technical scientific paper, so a few corresponding “wrist bone”-names from tetrapods would seem appropriate. But Shubin never gives any.

  Um...Shubin did give them. They are called the intermedium and ulnare. (I just double-checked, for example, in Vertebrates by Ken Kardong, on p.332.) Shubin and his colleagues found two bones in the limb of Tiktaalik that bear a number of similarities to the intermedium and ulnare in the tetrapod wrist–in terms of their arrangement with other limb bones, for example. That’s why Shubin and company refer to the bones in Tiktaalik’s limb by the same two names. They are homologous–in other words, their similarities are due to a common ancestry.

  So Luskin wants to know what bones in the tetrapod limb are homologous to Tiktaalik’s intermedium and ulnare. The answer is...the intermedium and ulnare. He has unwittingly answered his own question. Now, perhaps Luskin got tripped up in Shubin’s “jargon-filled” writing. But that doesn’t change the facts–merely Luskin’s understanding of them.

  I remain skeptical about the Discovery Institute’s version of “intelligent design,” but this story is pretty good evidence in favor of stupid design.

  

• 4:58

  NYT: Keep It On the Down Low

   » ‎ Little Green Footballs

  New York Times “standards editor” Craig Whitney warns the staff not to let their true feelings show: The Times is No Place for ‘Funny, Bittersweet, or Just Bitter or Idiotic’ Political Bumper Stickers.

  On a recent road trip, I found numerous funny, bittersweet, or just bitter or idiotic political bumper stickers a welcome distraction from $4.50 gas, but also thought I should remind everybody who has anything to do with creating or displaying news content why they shouldn’t display their own political views, on cars or elsewhere, in this campaign season or afterward.

  The following two provisions of our Ethical Journalism policy apply:

  Journalists have no place on the playing fields of politics. Staff members are entitled to vote, but they must do nothing that might raise questions about their professional neutrality or that of The Times. In particular, they may not campaign for, demonstrate for, or endorse candidates, ballot causes or efforts to enact legislation. They may not wear campaign buttons or themselves display any other insignia of partisan politics. They should recognize that a bumper sticker on the family car or a campaign sign on the lawn may be misread as theirs, no matter who in their household actually placed the sticker or the sign.

  Staff members may not themselves give money to, or raise money for, any political candidate or election cause. Given the ease of Internet access to public records of campaign contributors, any political giving by a Times staff member would carry a great risk of feeding a false impression that the paper is taking sides.

  Thanks for your cooperation.

  Craig Whitney

  (Hat tip: MSMediaCritic.)

  

• 4:50

  GlobalVoices Online - Syria: MENA: Reactions to the Mediterranean Summit

   » ‎ Syria Planet

  French President Nicolas Sarkozy joined leaders from more than 40 countries on Sunday for the inauguration of the new Union for the Mediterranean. The union, nicknamed “Club Med,” has the lofty goal of solidifying relations between southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Balkans, and will be co-chaired by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Sarkozy himself.

  Every invited country was represented, with the notable exception of Libya, whose de facto leader Muammar Qaddafi, refused to attend. Libyan blogger Anglo-Libyan expressed frustration:

  Yet again the Libyan rulers prove they have no respect for their own people, for many years Libya has been portraying itself to the outside world as Jamahereya, which means something like the nation or land that is ruled by the masses i.e. Libyan people! yet in reality we all know that the country is ruled by one family and its followers.

  The blogger explained Libya's absence from the summit and concluded:

  Europe might not be perfect but it is for sure a better choice for Libya if life there is to improve for everyone, what can Libya loose from such a union? at the end of the day they can opt out if it is not for them.
  I am sure Libyan people are just about sick of all that nonsense they keep hearing about why Libya can not become a part of the developed world.

  God bless Libya and its people….

  The attendance by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, on the other hand, was a pleasant development for many. On Saturday, al-Assad confirmed that Syria and Lebanon intend to establish embassies in each other's capitals, normalizing relations between the neighbor countries. Syrian blogger sasa explained the significance of this development:

  Syria said it would open an embassy in Beirut when a friendly government is formed. That happened yesterday, and so Syria has come good on its promise.

  But why does all this matter? When Lebanon was carved out of western Syria, and the two countries gained independence, Syria refused to recognise Lebanon as an independent entity. As Hafez Al-Assad said, one country, two governments. Syria retained its territorial claim on Lebanon until Bashar came into power.

  Rime Allaf, referring to the French media's treatment of Syria, remarked:

  As usual, not only has the subject been totally ignored by Syrian media, government and embassies (what a shock, I know), but most of them aren't even apparently aware that an anti-Syrian campaign is taking place in France. Isn't it time to put a stop to this, and to give Syria equal rights and equal duties to the others? And isn't it time Syria's position was explained by Syrians, and its image drawn by something other than Lebanese, Israeli or American paintbrushes?

  Also from Syria, On Olives & Sake acknowledged the significance of the event but wondered what his country's leader was thinking as he headed to Paris:

  On the other hand, as beautiful and elegant our First Gentleman and First Lady look together as they walk down that red carpet, I can’t help wondering whether people like Michel Kilo, Anwar al-Bunni or Aref Dalileh even cross their minds as they smile and shake hands. As they walk triumphantly through the streets of Paris, what kind of a country do they think of, that country that they left behind. What do they think of that? The poverty, the corruption, the pollution, the monopolies, and the stagnant social, educational, political and cultural life. What about Seydnaya?

  

  Nearly as significant as President al-Assad's attendance at the summit was the notable absence of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, who sent his brother, Prince Moulay Rachid in his place. Although the King had a prior engagement, the press speculated that the King's aim was to avoid Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

  Western Sahara Info. believes that the King's decision not to attend is justifiable:

  After considerable coaxing, President Bouteflika of Algeria decided to go, while King Mohammed VI of Morocco sent his brother carrying some lame excuse. Some Moroccans are annoyed, but in all frankness, in this case, the Sarkozy government's slobbering over Bouteflika, contrasted with the shrug that accompanied M6's absence, probably had less to do with any preference for Algeria, or even for its gas/oil millions, than with the fact that Morocco has been cooperative all along, whereas Bouteflika threatened to try and undermine the summit by being absent as a point of principle — therefore, he was needed, while the king could send a representative instead, and no one would mind.

  the a la menthe doesn't think the summit will have an effect on Algerian-Moroccan relations:

  I hardly think warmer relations between Algeria and Morocco are imminent, particularly in light of the parlous state of the Algerian government, but I guess Sarkozy gets points for trying.

  General opinion on the summit seemed to vary, though much of the blogosphere found some fault in it. Some bloggers, including Egyptian ramsesthesecond were less than impressed:

  In his speech, Mr Mubarak, seemed very optimistic by the idea of the union, its aims and expected results… indeed his speech would be a dream come true if the things he said were done..
  Common Projects, investments, progress, development and even cultural co operation, which is a strange idea from the man who refuses to establish normal relationship with Israel after more than 30 years of peace!

  The blogger did acknowledge Sarkozy's role in bringing Syria and Israel into the same room, however:

  Indeed it is a big victory for the French president to be the first man to get both Syrian president and Israel's prime minister below one roof for a common idea of development…

  Tunisian blogger Stupeur!! Un Nouveau Départ!!! [fr] is displeased with the idea:

  Alors bénite soit cette union. Union POUR la méditerranée vous avez dit ? Merci, ne vous unissez pas pour moi ni à mon nom. Je vous aurais pourtant prévenu.

  So this is the holy union. A union for the Mediterranean, you said? Please, do not unite for me or my name. I should have been warned!

  Finally, from Tunisia, blogger Kissa-Online قصة اون لاين [fr] disagrees with the union, making a rather poetic point:

  Je ne veux pas de votre union car elle est à sens unique :
  Liberté totale pour vos capitaux
  Les barques de la mort pour mes frères et sœurs.

  I do not want your union because it is like this:
  Total freedom for your capital
  The boats of death for my brothers and sisters.

  Creative Commons-licensed photo by whodisan215

• 4:47

  No Values Voters Appallingly Disenfranchised

   » ‎ Little Green Footballs

  [Video not shown]

  (Hat tip: AP.)

  

• 4:11

  Huckabee to Host a Fox News Show?

   » ‎ Little Green Footballs

  Fox News is getting ready to give Mike Huckabee his own show.

  I hear Pat Buchanan is free, too. And Ron Paul needs some more exposure.

  

• 3:50

  Zooming In

   » ‎ Israellycool

  As I posted yesterday, the foreign press photographers are portraying child-murderer Samir Kuntar as anything but the monster he is, taking photo after photo of small children holding up his picture.

  Today, we have this stark example of the lengths they will go to.

  

  A Palestinian boy (L) holds a picture depicting Lebanese prisoner Samir Qantar during a protest in Gaza City calling for the release of prisoners held in Israeli jails July 7, 2008. REUTERS/Ismail Zaydah

  Despite the fact the picture contains many people holding up pictures of different prisoners terrorists, somehow the caption refers only to the palestinian boy who is holding up the picture of Kuntar. The absurdity of this is amplified by the fact the caption writer has to note the child’s location, given he is but one of a crowd of people.

  Reuters, could you get any more obvious?

  ShareThis

• 3:19

  First Impressions of iPhone 3G

   » ‎ Little Green Footballs

  TidBITS has an interesting review of the iPhone 3G: First Impressions of the iPhone 3G and iPhone 2.0.

  

• 2:53

  Israel tested new Russian radar bought by Iran

   » ‎ Israel Matzav
  During last month's exercise in which some 100 Israeli fighter jets flew 900 miles over the Mediterranean, Israel tested its ability to evade the new Russian S-300 radar that is being purchased by Iran. It was able to do so with the cooperation of the Greek government, in whose airspace it flew, and which owns the same radar the Iranians are buying. A pivotal factor in Israel’s military strategy

• 2:25

  Henry Waxman writes letters:Dear Mr. Payne: I ...

   » ‎ War and Piece
  Henry Waxman writes letters:Dear Mr. Payne: I am writing regarding a report that you solicited funds for the George W. Bush Presidential Library in return for access to senior U.S. foreign policy officials. This is a matter that the Oversight...

• 0:40

  An Israeli film is screened in Egypt for the first time

   » ‎ BBC News | Middle East | World Edition
  An Israeli film is shown in Cairo for the first time since Egypt and Israel agreed a peace deal nearly 30 years ago.

• 0:37

  Foreign Policy: Seven questions for Carnegie's Karim ...

   » ‎ War and Piece
  Foreign Policy: Seven questions for Carnegie's Karim Sadjadpour on what Iran wants....
• 0:26

  LA Times publisher resigns. Chicago Trib top ...

   » ‎ War and Piece
  LA Times publisher resigns. Chicago Trib top editor resigns....

• 0:25

  SyriaComment.com: America’s Role in Israel-Syria Talks

   » ‎ Syria Planet

  Here are excerpts from a significant position paper written by a group of academics, diplomats, and politicos, among them Robert Malley, Ambassador Edward Walker, and Thomas Dine (former executive director of AIPAC).

  For nearly 60 years the United States has tried to encourage peace and reconciliation between Israel and all of its neighbors. Only recently have there emerged new policy priorities—the “global war on terrorism,” the invasion and occupation of Iraq and support for Lebanese independence—that have complicated a commitment deeply rooted in American national interests. While the Bush administration hopes to bequeath to its successor serious progress on the Israeli-Palestinian track of the peace process, it has signaled no such ambition with respect to the Israeli-Syrian track.

  Indeed, the announcement of Turkish-mediated Israeli-Syrian peace talks was greeted with less than enthusiasm by the Bush administration. “That Israel has been able to open somesort of indirect conversation about these matters with the Syrian government, with thegood offices of Turkey, is a good thing,” said Assistant Secretary of State David Welch. “I mean, I’m not saying it’s not. And we hope it prospers. But where we’re making the major investment right now is on the Palestinian track.”

  The Israeli-Palestinian track is indeed the “main event” of the Arab-Israeli peace process. Moreover, Syria has presented problems for Washington with respect to Iraq (both before and after the 2003 invasion) and more recently in Lebanon. Indeed, Syria and its Lebanese allies (led by Hezbollah) have thoroughly frustrated the emergence of a pro-American Lebanon; something President Bush had hailed as a dividend of regime change in Iraq. The administration sees the Syrian regime as murderous and duplicitous; as a state sponsor of terrorism, an ally of Iran, a conduit for foreign fighters to Iraq, and an enemy of Lebanese democracy and independence.

  The Israeli view of the Assad regime differs little in substance from Washington’s, and President Bush was applauded in the Knesset when he declared, “Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along.” Still, Israel cannot afford to operate in accordance with the view that diplomacy aims for conversion and repentance.

  • Peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan have produced little in the way of warmth and nothing in the way of apologies for past behavior, but they have gone far toenhance Israel’s national security.
  • Likewise, no serious Israeli expects Palestinians to insert the phrase, “We were wrong all along” into a treaty of peace setting the terms for a sustainable two-state solution.
  • Just as the United States seeks common ground with a regime in Pyongyang easily as noxious as any on earth, so Israel is exploring the possibility of peace with a country that has, at times, been the bitterest of its enemies.

  From Israel’s perspective the potential benefits of peace with Syria are great:

  Syria would no longer provide support for armed action by Hamas and other militant Palestinian groups against Israel;

  • A treaty with Syria would clear the way for formal peace with Lebanon;
  • A treaty with Syria would mean the end of arms shipments to Hezbollah;
  • Comprehensive peace on all tracks would trigger normalization with the entire Arab world in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative; and
  • Iran’s posture in the Arab-Israeli arena would be weakened and Syria’s relationship with Iran would be stripped of its anti-Israeli content.

      […]

  Iran’s overt hostility toward Israel and Syria’s close relationship with Tehran makes the
  current round much more than a technical discussion of how to reconcile Syria’s desire for a specific boundary with Israel’s security, water, and normalization concerns.

  • Unless Iran itself enters into a détente with the United States, Israel, and the West in general, it will not be possible for Syria to be at peace with Israelunless the Damascus-Tehran relationship undergoes a fundamental change.
  • In the 1970s Egypt’s relationship with the Soviet Union changed fundamentally. Yet while Anwar Sadat had somewhere to go—the United States—President Bashar Al Assad faces the road to Washington blocked by harsh words and economic sanctions: obstacles largely of his own making.
  • Sadat—the unchallenged ruler of a legitimate government—was himself not inclined to dive blindfolded into a potentially empty pool when he dismissedthe Soviets. Assad—who rules a markedly weaker state than Egypt—will want someplace safe to land if he has to break from the embrace of an Iran still hostile toward Israel. That someplace would be the United States.

      […]

  As a practical matter, therefore, the question of what to do about Israeli-Syrian peace talks may well fall squarely on whoever occupies the Oval Office on the afternoon of January20, 2009. We think the following factors are worth considering:

  • As Iraq shows signs of gradually stabilizing, American-Syrian talks might yield agreements producing substantial benefits for the government in Baghdad while helping to relieve Syria of the enormous Iraqi refugee burden it is carrying.
  • If there is a degree of genuineness in this Turkish-Syrian-Israeli initiative, the parties can conduct their respective “due diligence” processes and tackle some technical negotiating details without American assistance between now and early 2009…
  • Contrary to the apparent beliefs of the Assad regime, a new American president—Republican or Democrat—will not automatically sign up to the proposition that the United States should dive into Israeli-Syrian talks forthwith and approach the bilateral relationship with Damascus with a blank slate. Iraq and Lebanon will be inherited issues. If Syria wants a positive relationship with
    Washington, cooperation over Iraq and an accommodation over Lebanon are essential. The new administration would do well to define what it wants, when it wants it, and what it is prepared to give in return. In short, tough-minded and disciplined diplomacy should come back into vogue—it is a tool of American power that no American commander-in-chief should be reluctant to use.
  • If Damascus proves unwilling to be helpful with Iraq and determined to restore its suzerainty over Lebanon, it will be difficult for any American administration to obtain the requisite domestic political support to play an active role in helping Syria, through facilitation and mediation, recover the lands it lost to Israel in 1967.
  • The dilemma for which Damascus holds an important key is that notwithstanding its bad relationship with Washington, a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace is essential to American national security interests. As the United States tries to rebuild its image, influence, and prestige in the Arab and Muslim worlds, the quality of its efforts to bring about a comprehensive peace between Israel and all of its neighbors will be of transcendent importance. While no American need ever apologize for the special relationship between the United States and Israel and while no one need ever doubt the depth and permanency of America’s commitment to Israel’s security, it is important that the United States be seen as striving for peace and justice in the Arab-Israeli context. Without sacrificing any legitimate national security interest, Syria—if it wants a good relationship with Washington and if it wants a vital American role in its discussions with Israel—can help make it possible for the next president (and even this one) to pursue a peace whose achievement would disappoint only Osama bin Laden, his disciples, like-minded extremists, and Iran.

  Therefore, success of the Turkey mediated Israeli-Syrian talks would promote vital US interests in the region. If the current US administration is not prepared to facilitate and join them, we urge the next president to do so as soon as possible after he takes office.

  – July 7, 2008

  Marshall Breger, Nathan Brown, Thomas A. Dine, Frederic C. Hof, Scott Lasensky, Ambassador Samuel Lewis, Robert Malley, Ambassador Robert Pelletreau, Steven L. Spiegel, Ambassador Edward S. Walker.

  

• July 14, 2008
• 23:37

  International Court Seeks Indictment of Sudan President

   » ‎ GlobalSecurity.org
  The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo has asked for an arrest warrant for Sudan President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, accusing him of masterminding genocide and war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region
• 23:36

  US & Assessment Process in Iraq

   » ‎ GlobalSecurity.org
  Even with the positive trend lines in Iraq, leaders will not rush the assessment process for determining U.S. force levels in the country, Pentagon officials said
• 23:36

  DoD & Pakistani Cooperation in Afghanistan

   » ‎ GlobalSecurity.org
  No description
• 23:35

  Iraq Ops Update

   » ‎ GlobalSecurity.org
  Coalition forces detained 5 suspects during operations in Mosul and the Tigris River Valley
• 23:33

  USAFCENT July 13 airpower summary

   » ‎ GlobalSecurity.org
  No description

• 23:19

  NYT: 86 charged in Turkey coup ...

   » ‎ War and Piece
  NYT: 86 charged in Turkey coup plot....

• 23:10

  JUDICIAL INC HAS ANOTHER TROJAN

   » ‎ Wake Up From Your Slumber - The Truth Will Set You Free

   

   

  JUDICIAL INC HAS

  BEEN MINED AGAIN,

  read more

• 22:36

  SyriaComment.com: Iran Warns Syria Against Peace with Israel

   » ‎ Syria Planet

  

  
  

  
  

  ANALYSIS / At Paris summit, Assad has all the answers to Mideast conflict

  By Zvi Bar'el and Barak Ravid, Haaretz, 14/07/2008

  …….A few hundred meters away, a new star was born: Assad. He was the man with all the answers to regional conflicts. He solved the Lebanese conflict at the last minute; Hamas and Islamic Jihad are his guests and therefore are subservient to the well-known rules of hospitality. In the peace process with Israel he is considered the good guy.

  France had fully renewed relations with Assad, and Washington watched with frustration how its policy of sanctions against Syria was taking a nosedive.

  No wonder Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem was very happy, even though he looked drawn and pale. Every half hour he came down the elevator with one high-level visitor to Assad, and took another one up. Cypriot President Demetris Christofias was there, and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon disappeared into Assad's room and came out smiling embarrassedly a while later.

  "Did you see Terje Larsen's face?" a member of the Syrian delegation asked a Haaretz reporter. "When he went in it was white and when he came out it was red. He must have gotten an earful from Assad."

  Terje Roed-Larsen, responsible for implementing UN Resolution 1559 calling on Syria to withdraw from Lebanon, said some angry things about the peace process with Assad, which he saw as giving in to terror. Larsen is frustrated but his boss is happy.

  Then came Assad's press conference. Things went fine in the elevator. The Syrian security detail was not quite together and allowed an Israeli reporter to reach the floor where the briefing was taking place. The cream of the Lebanese and Syrian press corps was wandering around waiting for Assad. No one fled when they heard the words "Israeli journalist."

  A few years ago Syrian journalists would clam up or leave; this time, it was as if peace had already broken out. But the Syrian security men had not heard about it.

  A short time later one of them "with all due respect" asked the reporter to leave. "This is only for Syrian journalists," he said. To the retort that Lebanese journalists were present, he responded: "Syria and Lebanon are one country."

  He had apparently not heard Assad's announcement that a Syrian embassy was to open in Lebanon.

  Hussein Shariatmadari, an advisor to Iran's supreme leader and editor-in-chief of Kayhan, warns Syria of the negative impact 'peace' will have on relations with Tehran….  He said that Iran does not recognize the Jewish State and does not look favorably on a Muslim country like Syria or Turkey carrying out negotiation with it….

  
  مستشار لخامنئي يحذر سوريا من عواقب "السلام "على علاقتها بطهران

  حسين شريعتمداري يرأس أيضاً تحرير صحيفة "كيهان" المحافظة

  دبي- العربية.نت

  حذر مستشار للمرشد الأعلى لإيران آية الله علي خامنئي من أن توقيع أي اتفاق سلام بين سوريا واسرائيل سيكون له "عواقب وتغييرات جوهرية" على طبيعة علاقات طهران ودمشق، مؤكداً أن بلاده "لا تعترف بدولة اسمها اسرائيل، ولا تشعر بالرضا لقيام دولة إسلامية، مثل سوريا أو تركيا، بالتفاوض معها".

  في المقابل، اعتبر حسين شريعتمداري، ممثل المرشد الأعلى في صحيفة "كيهان" الإيرانية المحافظة التي يرأس تحريرها، أن مفاوضات حماس مع إسرائيل، عبر مصر، للتوصل إلى هدنة، أو مفاوضات حزب الله مع إسرائيل عبر الوسيط الألماني، توصلاً لصفقة لتبادل الأسرى، هو "شيء مختلف" عن المحادثات السورية الإسرائيلية عبر تركيا

  Syria basks in diplomatic breakthrough
  By Sami Moubayed

  DAMASCUS - "Our telephone number is 202-456-1414. When you are serious about peace, call us." These were the words of former United States secretary of state James Baker in June 1990 when he suspended dialogue with Yasser Arafat, claiming the Palestine Liberation Organization was still committed to armed war with Israel and thereby not interested in peace. …..

  …From France's perspective, in the past two months the following has been achieved:

• The election of a president for Lebanon, after a vacuum that had existed since November 2007. France - the former colonial power in Lebanon - remains very much committed to Lebanon and was sincerely worried about Lebanese affairs, unlike the Americans, who used Lebanon for political reasons to achieve other ends (like Iraq) since 2005.
• French credibility was restored in the eyes of ordinary Lebanese - even the Shi'ites among them - thanks to Sarkozy's even-handed policy of standing at arm's length from all parties and talking with everyone - Hezbollah included.
• The French balance in the entire Middle East was restored after things became too personal in 2005-2007, due to Chirac's links with the Hariri family. France now returns to Syria, both politically, culturally and economically. One immediate result of the rapprochement is a contract for a French firm to build two cement factories in Syria, worth US$1.2 billion. Another is serious talk about granting a French firm the right to construct a metro in Damascus. [Landis adds: France is also discussing supplying Air Syria with Airbus planes to replace the antiquated Boeing jets for which Syria is unable to purchase spare parts because of sanctions.]

From the Syrian perspective, the following are important:

Syria sidelined all of the anti-Syrian candidates running for the presidency and secured the election of Michel Suleiman, a man who is a friend of both Damascus and Hezbollah. It got its way when saying that it would not allow an anti-Syrian statesman to become the new master of the Baabda presidential palace. Suleiman is a staunch supporter of resisting Israel and will not tolerate any force being used to disarm Hezbollah. He is also a non-sectarian figure who believes in excellent relations with Syria and is on the payroll of neither the Americans nor the Saudis.

• Greater representation has been given to the Hezbollah-led opposition in the 30-seat cabinet created by Siniora this weekend. They received 11 seats - thereby granting them veto power to obstruct any anti-Hezbollah legislation pushed for by the anti-Syrian March 14 coalition of political parties. Hezbollah got three portfolios - but only one will be occupied by an actual Hezbollah member - Labor Minister Mohammad Fneish.
• Syria patched up with France without having to change a single policy it had been preaching since 2005. Nor did the Syrians have to make any concession with regard to Lebanon, such as cuddling up to Siniora or March 14, or working against Hezbollah's interests, or abandoning Iran. …

Spotlight on Israel and Syria at Paris summit
By Tony Barber in Paris for Financial Times
Published: July 14 2008 03:00 | Last updated: July 14 2008 03:00

The European Union and its Mediterranean neighbours launched a new platform for their relationship yesterday at a summit boosted by a promise from Lebanon and Syria to open embassies in each other's capital.

Leaders of more than 40 countries attended the inaugural session of the Union for the Mediterranean, a project conceived by Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, as a way to bridge differences between the EU and the states of north Africa and the Middle East.

As the ceremonies got under way at the majestic Grand Palais in Paris, the spotlight fell on Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister, and Bashar al-Assad, Syria's president, whose countries, bitter enemies since 1948, have held three rounds of indirect talks since March with Turkey as mediator.

It was the first time an Israeli and a Syrian leader had been seated in the same room, but the new union's plenary session was carefully choreographed so that Mr Assad and Mr Olmert neither exchanged words nor shook hands.

Moreover, Mr Assad made it plain that he saw no prospect of direct peace talks with Israeli leaders at least until George W. Bush, the US president, left office. He told French television after the summit that it would take up to two years to reach a Syrian-Israeli peace deal….

"We can say that Lebanon has moved from being a zone of turbulence, a war zone, to a more pacified zone where the Lebanese, and only the Lebanese, have the right to determine their own future," Mr Assad said after talks with Michel Suleiman, Lebanon's president….