Fri. 18 Feb. 2011

LATIMES SYRIA: Activists protest police beating ………………...…..1

ECONOMIST Syria's government bonds: Captive market ………………….1

FINANCIAL TIMES Wary Syrians test Middle East ‘domino theory’ ……….……3

WASHINGTON TIMES Obama’s anti-Israel agenda …………………………...……..5

YEDIOTH AHRONOTH The war on Israeli goods …………………………….………8

THE NATIONAL Syrian prisons 'crowded and plagued by corruption' says

report…………………………………………………...…..14HUFFINGTON POST

Time for a Syrian Revolution …………...…………………17

THE NEWS Israeli army’s video hints at Syria, Iran attacks’ …….…….20

GUARDIAN Islamism has lost its monopoly on dissent ………………....21

DAILY TELEGRAPH WikiLeaks: US wanted 'derogatory' information on Bahrain

king's sons………………………………………………….23

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HOME PAGESYRIA: Activists protest police beating, call for investigation LATimes,February 17, 2011

Hint: the link 'here' leads to the video LATimes published in which Syrian young people tell the Syrian Interior Minister –moment 2:55 in the video- that police is torturing and beating Syrian people. The minister answers them that this is a demonstration then, but the Syrian people confirmed their love to HE President Assad and refused to consider it as a demonstration.. This video taken during the ‘demonstration of love’ to HE Mr. President after the pray at Ummayad Mosque. It’s titled “Syrian Day of Rage” and it was dated 17 Feb…

Syrian human rights activists say 1,500 people demonstrated in the Damascus neighborhood of Al Hariqa on Thursday after a young man was unjustly beaten by police.

According to staff at the Washington-based Freedom House, Syria's interior minister promised to hold police accountable for the beating. Syrian human rights groups have called for an investigation.

Freedom House said in a statement that protesters gathered spontaneously, chanting, "The Syrian people will not be humiliated," and demanding police be held accountable. The demonstration continued for three hours, according to the statement.The group also posted video on YouTube of the protest, filmed by a local human rights group.

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Syria's government bonds: Captive market How to sell government debt in the middle of a regional crisis The Economist,17 Feb. 2011,

TRYING to flog sovereign debt three days after the fall of a neighbouring president appears audacious. But the Syrian

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government’s offering of three billion Syrian pounds ($63.9m) of six-month bills and three-year bonds on February 14th—following a trial run in December, the first in decades—was less risky than it looked. Nine banks bought, and the auction was oversubscribed.

The sale reflects the relative stability of Syria’s government. But it has more to do with the scarce choices available to domestic banks, the only permitted bidders. Fourteen private banks, all of which are subsidiaries of Arab banks, have opened since Syria’s centrally planned economy started to creak open in 2000. But they suffer from limited currency convertibility and a lack of investment opportunities. Undeveloped credit scoring and a lack of transparency hamper their ability to issue retail loans. Surplus liquidity currently sits interest-free in Syria’s central bank.

That gives the government plenty of scope to drive down its borrowing costs. Private banks groan about yields below the rate of inflation: the six-month bills yielded 1% and the three-year bonds just over 2.7%. “The government is in effect asking private banks to lend it money at a subsidised rate,” moans one banker. “But we have no other option.”

More sales will follow: this year’s projected bond issuance is 30 billion Syrian pounds. Syria’s government has long been urged by the IMF to issue bonds to finance its budget deficit—funded until now by internal borrowing. The deficit is modest, predicted at 5.8% of GDP this year, thanks to a rise in the price of oil. But Syria’s oil reserves are diminishing, and plans to do away with subsidies may be diluted as the government keeps a wary eye on regional unrest. The country is also looking to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure projects

What the government does not want, however, is to rely on foreign creditors for its borrowing. Syria is not planning to issue international bonds. A preoccupation with sovereignty and problems with transparency contribute to that, says Abdulkader Husrieh, a local financial analyst. And complain though they might, domestic banks can be counted upon to lap up the debt.

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Wary Syrians test Middle East ‘domino theory’ By FT reporters Financial Times,February 17 2011,

Televisions everywhere in Damascus, from fancy new cafés to satellite dish-studded slums, have been permanently tuned to the Egyptian uprising. “My heart is on fire with the people,” said Fatima, a widow living in one of the Syrian capital’s slums, who did not want to give her full name.

Syria – like Tunisia, whose uprising triggered the wave of protests now rocking the Middle East – has a highly repressive state apparatus and suffers from endemic corruption, a bulging youth population and large numbers of people struggling with rising prices.

But on February 4, when Facebook pages, largely supported by people outside the country, had called for a “day of rage” in Syria, the only presence felt on the streets was that of the leather-jacketed mukhabarat, or secret police.

People demonstrating in solidarity with Egyptian protesters on previous days had been detained and several activists were reported to have been warned against protesting.

It is not clear that these pre-emptive measures were necessary. The Damascus Declaration for National Democratic Change, a coalition of Syria’s mainstream opposition activists, hailed Tunisia’s revolution last month but did not endorse the call for action on February 4. One human rights activist said an uprising in Syria “won’t come from people calling from behind the scenes on Facebook”.

For most Syrians the deterrent to political activism existed well before the mukhabarat appeared on the streets. In the 1980s the state’s response to a Sunni Islamist uprising left thousands dead.

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Many dissidents were imprisoned and, as a result, people became either depoliticised or too afraid to discuss politics.

Analysts in Damascus insist that the anti-Israeli and hardline foreign policy of Bashar al-Assad, the president who assumed office after his father’s death in 2000, plays well at home. The violence that followed the change of regime in Iraq after the 2003 US-led invasion also helped Mr Assad, as his regime pointed to chaos as the only alternative to the status quo.

Mr Assad is seen as someone whose reform efforts are hampered by officials inherited from his father – although in reality the younger man is believed to have sidelined the old guard.

Some analysts feel, however, that the lack of economic opportunities for Syria’s youths and the repressive security apparatus make the regime vulnerable in the long term.

The unemployment rate is estimated to be about 20 per cent, and the slow pace of job creation fuels resentment among those excluded from state patronage networks. “If you ask young people, they will say wasta [connections] will put you in charge,” said one young man, who did not want to be named. He added that many Syrians believed education and talent counted for nothing.

Economists say that, given declining oil revenues, officials have no choice if they want to create new jobs but to move the economy away from the command model developed by the president’s father. Removing subsidies is politically risky, though, particularly at a time when commodity prices are high.In the short term the regime is expected to delay further easing of subsidies, while campaigning against corruption and perhaps announcing limited political reforms. A ban on Facebook has just been rescinded.

Whether such measures will contain the frustrations of the young – and upset the “domino theory” of democratic uprisings in the region – remains to be seen.

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According to Suhair Attassi, one of the organisers of a candlelit vigil in support of Egyptian protesters earlier this month, Syrians are full of “repressed anger”. But with public expression closely monitored it is hard to tell what people actually think.

People who want to see social change, meanwhile, are watching and waiting. “We’re just trying to survive,” said a human rights activist. Since the events in Egypt and Tunisia, there was hope “for the first time in five or six years”.

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Obama’s anti-Israel agenda Echoes of president’s Jew-baiting pastor in foreign policyJeffrey T. Kuhner,Washington Times,Thursday, February 17, 2011

President Obama is siding with Israel‘s enemies. He is slowly fracturing America’s long-standing alliance with the Jewish state and leaving it isolated on the world stage.

The administration recently told Arab governments Washington will support a U.N. Security Council resolution that stipulates the world body “does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity.” The move is almost unprecedented. America has almost never publicly criticized Israel - our best friend in the Middle East and the region’s only genuine Western-style democracy - at the U.N. The reason: The organization is dominated by anti-Semitic, anti-American dictatorships obsessed with condemning the Jewish state. Israel is lambasted constantly while the rampant human rights abuses of other countries - especially Arab regimes, Russia and China - are barely noticed. The United States has opposed this double standard - until now.

The result will be to drive a wider wedge between Washington and Jerusalem. Israelis rightly will conclude that Mr. Obama is

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willing to betray a pivotal pro-American ally in order to appease the “Arab street.” Radical Islamists also will realize that Washington’s support is fickle; their dream of driving the Jews into the sea no longer seems unattainable. In fact, now it is entirely possible.

Mr. Obama‘s decision to betray Israel should come as no surprise. He is a privileged liberal who reflects the values and prejudices of the academic left. The cultural milieu of his intellectual formation was steeped in hatred of America and the West. His father was an anti-colonial socialist determined to destroy European imperialism. His mentor was Frank Marshall Davis, an avowed communist. His pastor was the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, a black nationalist known for his Jew-baiting. His seminal intellectual influences were revolutionary Marxists such as Frantz Fanon and Edward Said. They championed the belief - prevalent among college radicals - that Israel symbolizes Western subjugation of Third World peoples. In their view, it is a militaristic, quasi-fascist state based on oppression and Zionist expansion. In other words, for the hard left, Palestine is a continuation of the anti-imperial struggle - a mass movement for liberation from Western occupation. That is why progressives have only two real enemies: the United States and Israel.

During his presidency, Mr. Obama has appeased and emboldened radical Islamists. He has apologized for America to the Muslim world. He has prematurely withdrawn U.S. troops from Iraq, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. He has undermined President Hamid Karzai‘s government in Afghanistan, enabling the Taliban to make significant inroads. He has turned a blind eye as Turkey becomes increasingly Islamic and Hezbollah has taken control in Lebanon. In 2009, he did not lift a finger - or even say a word of encouragement - to the Green pro-democracy movement in Iran. When it came to supporting the secular, pro-American demonstrators of Tehran, Mr. Obama was stone silent. In fact, he publicly said Washington should not “interfere” in Iranian “internal” affairs. Even today, as brave Iranian democrats battle the forces of tyrant Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president cannot

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muster the indignation he demonstrated toward former Egyptian autocrat Hosni Mubarak. Mr. Obama refuses to demand that the Persian strongman step aside - as he did with the Egyptian pharaoh.

The fall of the Mubarak regime signifies a major victory for the Muslim Brotherhood. Egypt’s military is in control. The top brass has promised to hold elections in about six months. The Brotherhood is the most disciplined, organized and effective political force on the Nile. It is the oldest modern Islamist movement in the Middle East, comprising a vast underground that has been patiently waiting to seize power. The Brotherhood is the future; secular moderates are the past.

The Brotherhood aims to erect an Iranian-style theocracy. Its founder, Hassan al-Banna, sought to imitate the fascist movements of the 1930s. Instead of desiring a world dominated by a German master race, he wanted a global caliphate - the restoration of an Islamic empire stretching from the Middle East to Europe. Last year, the Brotherhood‘s supreme guide, Mohammed Badie, said that the defeat of Israel and America could only occur “by raising a jihadi generation that pursues death just as the enemies pursue life.” The Brotherhood is a mortal threat to Israel and to the West.

Rather than confronting this ugly reality, the administration insists on whitewashing the Brotherhood‘s true intentions. Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper recently claimed that the Brotherhood was “largely secular.” At a Senate hearing on Wednesday, he said the group had no “specific agenda” and was “heterogeneous,” consisting of multiple political wings. Mr. Clapper is a liar and should be told to resign.

The Brotherhood has one primary goal: the destruction of the Jewish state. Its leaders call for scuttling Egypt’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel. The group openly glorifies Mr. Ahmadinejad and Iran‘s one-party, fundamentalist regime. Its Palestinian branch is Hamas, which is dedicated to the extermination of the Jews. By abandoning Mr. Mubarak, Mr. Obama has paved the way for the

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radicalization of Egypt. Israel now faces the specter of being strategically encircled by anti-Semitic bellicose states - Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Bashir Assad’s autocracy in Syria and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Behind them stands Iran. Mr. Ahmadinejad is inching closer to acquiring the nuclear bomb and fulfilling his vow to “wipe Israel off the map.”

The Jews are reliving the nightmare of the late 1930s. Except this time, it is Islamic fascism that threatens their very existence. They were alone then, and they are increasingly alone today. Mr. Obama has shown that Israel cannot count on the White House in its hour of need.

Jeffrey T. Kuhner is a columnist at The Washington Times and president of the Edmund Burke Institute.

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The war on Israeli goods Boycott movement fails to make financial impact but damages Israel's global image Yedioth Ahronoth18 Feb. 2011,

Trionfale Market, suburban Rome. A dozen activists dressed in produce vendor outfits bearing the logo of Israeli produce exporter Carmel Agrexco descend upon the street, offering shoppers avocado smeared with blood.

"Madam, buy our avocado and support the occupation," one of them yells towards a spectator. "The color of the avocado is red because the water that we Israelis steal is so good.

"It's the best water in Palest... oh, Israel. Buy Carmel. It's very tasty," he adds.

Some passersby ignore the spectacle, while others take interest, asking to look at brochures that the activists distributed.

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This anti-Israeli protest is only a fraction of the growing movement that uses demonstrations and media outlets to promote the boycott of Israeli products across Europe. This is not a new phenomenon, but its effects on the Israeli economy are marginal. It has been far more damaging when it comes to the negative image that it spreads.

'No Israeli products sold here'A group of activists entered a supermarket in Paris recently, grabbed Israeli-made products off the shelves and threw them on the floor. A London coffee shop hung a sign reading, "No Israeli products are sold here." Spanish newspapers published articles stating that a chain of toy stores is removing Rummikub, a game manufactured by Israeli company KodKod (the chain later changed its mind.)

"Currently the leaders of this movement are groups of rabble-rousers from the margins of society, anti-globalist, anti-American, anarchists, Islamists and others acting on their own accord," said DJ Schneeweiss, who coordinates the Foreign Ministry's anti-boycott strategy. "Sometimes these are people who believe in various conspiracy theories.

"Their core group is very small and they know it," he added. "This is why they take steps to increase their influence on public awareness through the media and through ties with professional associations, churches and foundations."

However, these facts do not stop the Foreign Ministry from identifying the trend as "a growing danger."

An extensive review conducted by the European Friends of Israel, an organization that liaises between parliamentary groups that work to protect Israeli interests, shows that activities calling for a boycott of Israel took place in almost every European nation over the past year.

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Activists make headway in UKThe epicenter of the anti-Israel movement can be found in the UK, where the movement's greatest success was achieved last year when the government issued a recommendation urging businesses to label products that were made in the settlements or the Golan Heights.

Furthermore, following Operation Cast Lead, British supermarket giant Tesco added a special extension to their customer service phone line to provide information to callers wishing to boycott Israeli products. The chain reported that the large volume of calls made the phone line crash. The hotline was eliminated a few months after its establishment because of pressure from Jewish organizations.

Tesco spokesman David Nieberg told Yedioth Ahronoth this week that the extension was added as result of the numerous inquiries, as part of the company's policy to respect its customers' wishes and political opinions. He apologized on behalf of Tesco for any offense it may have caused.

A popular target of UK's boycott movement is Dead Sea cosmetics company Ahava. The reason for their abhorrence of the company? Its headquarters are located in Mitzpe Shalem, which the leaders of the movement consider a "criminal settlement in an occupied territory."

Ahava's London flagship storefront, which is located Covent Gardens, one of the city's busiest districts, has turned into the protestors' Saturday hangout; every weekend hordes of people are exposed to the demonstrations that often end with police intervention. More than once, the store suffered damages when the activists threw objects at the window or tried to cause mayhem inside.

And it was only this week that a protest was staged at a British university against Mey Eden, a mineral water company that operates in Europe under the Eden Springs label.

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The movement's efforts have not been successful in stunting sales of Israeli goods in the UK, and no damage was caused to commerce with Israel. The Palestinian lobby for boycott legislation in the British parliament yielded no results so far.

YouTube as weaponThe anti-Israel organizations often operate on a lean budget, so in order to make as much noise as possible they resort to using provocative signage, which includes images of bleeding Israeli oranges, tanks bearing logos of Israeli brands, photographs of injured and dead Palestinian children, and slogans the likes of "Israhell" and "Shopping can kill."

Naturally, they also use the Internet as a tool to promote their cause, most prominently YouTube. One video clip features a group of activists entering an H&M store in protest of the chain's entrance into the Israeli market. They carry plastic guns and wear camouflage. Another video documents a demonstration staged in front of cosmetics store Sephora in Paris, protesting against its sale of Ahava products. The video calls for a boycott, withdrawal of investments and sanctions against the Jewish state.

"Not every YouTube clip with 100 views is a blow to Israel's image," a Foreign Ministry source said. "Most of the shoppers probably treat the group of weird people with contempt, but one of the group members films the activity and uploads it on YouTube. If a local Jewish newspaper writes about the video, they feel like they've done their part."

Using this simple measure the groups have been able to extend the reach of their activity without the need to increase their number or budget.

False advertisementThe Foreign Ministry official also said some retail chains give in to the protestors' demands. "When we reach out to them and explain that this is just false propaganda, they fix the situation," he

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said. "Meanwhile, the anti-Israeli organizations present it as a grand achievement, even though the situation was already fixed."

Such was the case of Spanish toy store chain Abacus, which announced its decision to replace the Rummikub game with a Chinese knockoff. Anti-Israel organizations proudly displayed the newspaper article that covered the announcement last June, shortly after the events surrounding the Turkish flotilla to Gaza. It was only a day later that Abacus published an announcement denying the content of the article. A chain spokesperson told Yedioth Ahronoth this week that the Chinese version was supposed to be sold as a cheap alternative to the original game; it was not meant to replace it.

In May of last year, a local group called the Italian Coalition Against Carmel-Agrexco, published a notice that the Coop and Nordiconad supermarket chains will suspend sales of produce exported by the Israeli company. While the companies did make such an announcement, explaining that it cannot make the distinction between produce from the territories and Israel, it never actually took the goods off its shelves.

An Agrexco spokesperson told Yedioth Ahronoth this week that it has been dealing with European chains for over 50 years, and through the positive relationships that it has cultivated no harm was done to its business. However, he did say that there is a need for greater government preparation against such attacks.

"The Italians don't like it when the crazy Middle Easterners bring the hatred and extremism into their grocery stores," said one source familiar with the Italian market. "They aren't big Zionists but they don't love the Palestinians too much either. They just want to but their olive oil and mozzarella in the supermarket without a big commotion. The government does not lean towards the leftists organizations, so Israel is not the subject of the stern feelings it gets in other European states."

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The situation is more worrisome in Germany. Public attitude is reportedly turning against Israel. Over the course of many years the mere mention of the subject made people quite uncomfortable, especially in light of the fact that the first measures that the Nazis implemented to isolate the Jews in the '30s was to boycott their businesses. But a constant stream of negative opinion of Israel has been steadily eroding moral sensibilities.

Downplaying Israel on labelsDespite the fact that their attempt to implement a sweeping boycott has generally failed, the anti-Israel activists occasionally do achieve their local goals. In July of 2010, the local government of Villanueva de Duero, Spain banned Eden Springs water from its municipal buildings, due to a campaign lead by the BDS Spain organization. The town of Cigales followed suit the following October. But there are many Israeli companies not willing to take risks. One example is Spicy Way, which markets spices and tea infusions to the UK, and marks "Made in Galilee" on the labels – not mentioning Israel.

"We had some uncomfortable incidents when we wrote on the label 'Made in Israel,'" says Karen Pomerantz, one of the two British importers of Spicy Way products. "When we write that the products are made in Galilee, people don't know where Galilee is, and they don't necessarily know that they are made by Israelis."

"Galilee is known around the world as a fertile region with a rich history, and the company is trying to make that stand out," a spokesperson for Spicy Way said. "Downplaying Israel on the packages contributes in a certain way to marketing it to a wider consumer base."

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HOME PAGESyrian prisons 'crowded and plagued by corruption' says reportPhil Sands The National,Feb 18, 2011

DAMASCUS // Syrian prisons remain crowded and plagued by corruption, according to a study by independent human rights monitors in Damascus.

The latest Annual Prison Assessment, co-authored by the Syrian Association for Human Rights (SAHR) and the Arab Organisation for Penal Reform, criticises the authorities for failing to meet minimum international standards on detention facilities.

It also details allegations of torture by the security services, including the death of at least one inmate, Mohammad Jalal Qubaissi, and underlines ongoing concerns about the suppression of a violent uprising at Sednaya prison, north of Damascus, in 2008.

According to the report, as many as 42 detainees held in Sednaya at the time remain unaccounted for, with no official word from the government as to their fates. In addition, up to six security officers are believed to have been killed in the riot. The authorities have resisted repeated calls by domestic and international human rights organisations to publicly reveal details of their inquiry into the incident.

The 2010 Annual Prison Assessment was published in Damascus on Saturday. The previous two annual reports, in 2008 and 2009, were never released because of a crackdown on civil society campaigners inside Syria, researchers involved in compiling the 30-page document said. Despite "a difficult situation " again this year, they decided to publish.

Human rights groups in Syria are not officially granted operating licences and are not allowed access to jails to directly monitor

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conditions. Instead, the report relies on the testimonies of former inmates, particularly from Adra prison, in Damascus, where political prisoners are held alongside criminals, and Aleppo central prison, the two largest jails in the country. The report does not cover detention facilities run by Syria's various security agencies.

Abdul Karim Rehawe, the director of the Syrian League for the Defence of Human Rights, who has assisted in compiling the yearly prison assessment since 2005, said: "It is very difficult to get reliable information from prisons because people are reluctant to speak to us.

"The report is not as thorough as we would have liked but under the circumstances, it's acceptable and we only published things that we felt we had been able to properly confirm."

One of the report's key findings is that ordinary prisoners suffer from massive overcrowding. "Cells designed for 20 inmates are now being used for 80 people. Prisoners sleep on the floor and in corridors," the report says. "Adra prison was built to house 2,000 prisoners, it now has 9,000."

Corruption inside prisons is another problem, the report says. "There is not much of a budget for food, which pushes the prisoners to buy their own, and this is a source of a lot of corruption and blackmail. There is corruption among the guards and prisoners must pay for everything, all the time."

Bed space and family visits can require the payment of bribes, the report says. Mr Rehawe said former prisoners had complained that it can cost as much as US$20 (Dh73.4) to rent a mattress for the night, and those unable or unwilling to pay often have to sleep on the floor. Prisoners with money are able to have private, unmonitored meetings with visitors, while poor inmates say they can find it hard to arrange visits with family or friends.

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The report makes a series of recommendations to the Syrian authorities, including that prisons better prepare inmates for civilian life once their sentences are over. "Jails should be for rehabilitation and reform of prisoners, but they are not," the report says.

Prison authorities are, however, given credit for some of the facilities offered to inmates. "Toilets and washing areas are acceptable, prisoners are allowed to exercise every day and there are telephones, televisions and computers available for education purposes," the report states. "Prisoners can continue their formal education while in detention, although in practice this is only followed by a few prisoners."

It also said that medical services were of a reasonable quality but again, that bribes were often required for access to care.

In November, Anand Grover, a UN special rapporteur for human rights, was unexpectedly given limited access to Adra prison, as part of an mission looking at national health services. It is believed to be the first time a non-Syrian observer has ever been allowed into a Syrian detention facility, a step that was welcomed by civil liberties campaigners.

In the same month, however, Human Rights Watch said 12 women, including at least one political prisoner, Tuhama Maruf, were being held in Adra, a predominantly male facility where they were subjected to harassment.

Muhannad al Hassani, a Syrian human rights lawyer, is currently serving a three-year sentence in Adra for his work in covering legal proceedings at the state security court. He was assaulted by another inmate there last year, two weeks after being awarded the prestigious Martin Ennals prize for human rights.

Another leading civil liberties campaigner, the former judge Haitham al Maleh, 80, is also currently being held in Adra, after

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being convicted last year under repressive emergency laws of "weakening national sentiment".

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Time for a Syrian Revolution Hussain Abdul-Hussain (Alrai- Kuwait newspaper- Correspondent)Huffington Post,Posted: February 17,

"I know we've had political differences, but there are only about a hundred people in Syria who care about political differences. We can easily throw them in jail," Hafez Assad told a political opponent he was trying to win over to his side, according to Joseph Kraft, reporting for The New Yorker from Damascus, in June 1974.

Assad's son and successor, Bashar, has honored this tradition. This week, a court sentenced 19-year old blogger Tal al-Mallouhi to five years in prison on some obscure charge of passing on secrets to the United States. Out of supposed patriotism, the girl's father publically "admitted" to his daughter's wrong-doing.

This is the Syria that the administration of President Barack Obama has been trying to engage since 2008. So adamant on engagement America has been that this president has appointed Robert Ford as US Ambassador to Syria during Congressional recess.

The reason behind engagement goes something like this: Assad intends to become America's friend, but his allies in Iran and his entourage have been misleading him with wrong advice. Sending back an ambassador will allow Washington to win Assad's ear and give him proper advice, or so engagement lovers argue.

Proper advice to Syria, however, excludes domestic issues, such as human rights, and is restricted to the realm of regional politics. When in Assad's presence, Ford is supposed to convince this

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autocrat of the rewards his regime will collect if it breaks with Iran and Hezbollah, and sign a peace treaty with Israel.

How much convincing do the Assads, the father and the son, need to go for peace with Israel? After all, the first peace conference was held in Madrid in 1991. Since then, eight prime ministers have governed Israel and four presidents have lived in the White House, all of whom have been engaged in Syrian-Israeli peace talks.

Exactly how complicated is it to negotiate the return of the Golan Heights, whose area is a mere 450 square miles, from Israeli to Syrian sovereignty?

This shows that the Assads were never interested in peace. Instead, they have entered talks whenever they fell out of favor with peace-seeking Washington. As long as Syria can win international acclaim for the never-realized peace, the world will look the other way when Assad throws all Syrians in prison.

But Tunisia and Egypt have shown that the popular political mood in the Middle East is changing, and so should American policy. Despite rampant anti-Americanism in Arab countries throughout the past decades, President Obama was seen to be fair, and was hoped to take the side of the Egyptian people against Washington's longtime ally Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, which he did. As a result, anti-American sentiment was invisible during the Egyptian revolution.

Siding with freedom and democracy in Egypt should apply to Syria too. The Assad regime is brutal, corrupt and has -- like Iran -- defied the world by turning down requests from the international community's nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, to inspect Syrian sites believed to have been part of a nuclear reactor that Israel destroyed in 2007.

If Washington was able to sacrifice Mubarak, there is no reason why it should engage Assad, knowing that Mubarak's 30-year

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autocracy pales in front of 40 years of brutal rule of the Assad dynasty.

Assad the father acceded to power after a coup in 1971. His son succeeded him in 2000 in the only succession of its kind in the banana republics of the Middle East. After the demise of Saddam Hussein and his sons and the toppling of Mubarak, only Libyan autocrat Moammar Qadhafi hopes to follow in the footsteps of the Assads by pushing one of his sons take over Libya.

By all international standards, Syria has ranked close to the bottom in all governance indicators and freedom placements. Despite the Syrians' miserable life standards, Assad argued that his regime would not face the fate of Tunisia or Egypt because he was staunchly anti-America and anti-Israel, thus winning favor with his subjects.

The revolution of Egypt and the rallies of Iran, in 2009 and this week, show that peoples of the Middle East are taking to the streets regardless of international politics. Instead, they are asking for their basic human rights and for better lives for themselves and for their children.

For Syrians to finally depose their dictator, like Egyptians did, they have to go to the streets, despite the regime's promised violence. If they do, America should be the first to endorse the Syrian revolution. Signs that Washington is prepared to do so, and not let the Syrians down, will help brew the revolution in Damascus.

Today is the time for a Syrian revolution. The Syrians should not miss their chance.

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HOME PAGEIsraeli army’s video hints at Syria, Iran attacks’ The News (Pakestani daily)Friday, February 18, 2011

OCCUPIED-AL-QUDS: A video of the accomplishments of Israel’s recently-retired military chief hints at Israel’s unacknowledged role in attacks on the Iranian and Syrian nuclear programmes, according to an Israeli daily.

The video, shown on Monday at a farewell ceremony for outgoing chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi, showed scenes from the bombing of a suspected nuclear reactor in Syria in 2007, and of the damage caused by the Stuxnet computer worm which ravaged Iran’s nuclear programme, the Haaretz newspaper said.

The article was only published in Hebrew and did not appear in the paper’s English language version.

Both of these events occurred during Ashkenazi’s four-year tenure as military chief, but Israel has never admitted involvement in either event.

The clip also showed news footage asking if Israel could have been involved in the two attacks, Haaretz said. A military spokeswoman said the army “did not intend to elaborate,” on the report.

While Israel has declined to comment on the 2007 attack, WikiLeaks documents indicate that the Israeli air force bombed a Syrian nuclear reactor just weeks before it went online.

“On September 6, 2007, Israel destroyed the nuclear reactor built by Syria secretly, apparently with North Korea’s help,” then US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice wrote in a cable dated April 2008. “We have good reason to believe that the reactor was not built for peaceful purposes,” she wrote.

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Former US president George W. Bush recounted in his memoirs that he resisted Israeli pressure to bomb the site.

The second element of the video referred to the destructive Stuxnet worm which apparently shut down a fifth of Iran’s nuclear centrifuges in November and helped delay its ability to make its first nuclear weapons.

There has been widespread speculation Israel was behind it and Tehran has also blamed Washington and the Jewish state for the killing of two nuclear scientists in November and January.

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Islamism has lost its monopoly on dissent The uprisings in the Middle East have shown that viable political opposition is no longer the preserve of Islamists aloneRichard Phelps,Guardian,17 Feb. 2011,

The question: Is Islamism dying?It is likely that the political futures of both Tunisia and Egypt will involve Islamist parties participating in formal politics in some capacity. Regimes in both countries have long evoked such a spectre in order to purchase silence and support from overseas in favour of their own continued rule. The current uprisings will not herald the demise of Islamism in the short term, but nor will they usher in an era of theocratic rule. In fact, events have made clear for all to see that there exists an alternative both to the Islamists and to their ruling antagonists: the general will. In the longer term, Islamists of all kinds – militant and electoral – are likely to emerge weakened from the current contestation.

For over 80 years, Islamists such as the Muslim Brotherhood have formed part of the political landscape in the Middle East. Such organisations have served as a long-time opposition to the ruling regimes, and have survived pressures far worse than the end of a

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particular dictator's rule. Yet for many supporters of Islamist parties, the parties' appeal lies precisely in their status in dissenting from the ruling regimes.

The culture of brutality that saturated the Mubarak and Ben Ali regimes, the corruption and graft that characterised their rule from the macro to micro level, and the frustration at their failure to provide for their subjects have all served as recruiting sergeants for Islamist parties. That the recent contestation across the Arab world has been over these issues but has not been led by Islamist parties shows that viable opposition is not the preserve of Islamists and Islamism alone. There is clearly another way.

Those who are disaffected with the status quo do not have to turn to Islamism as the only viable and credible channel for dissent. Such a perceived monopoly over dissent has ended, but this is not something that has been changed by the recent protests. Rather, it is something that has been proved by them.

It is often said that parties oppose in poetry and govern in prose. In Egypt, the Brotherhood – long referred to by the regime simply as "the proscribed organisation" – has now been explicitly named in state media as a party that the regime is talking to. Any future involvement of Islamists in formal politics is likely to bring new challenges for them. It is far easier, from this perspective, for them to criticise the status quo than to implement constructive change.

Previous experiences where Islamist parties have been allowed to participate in parliamentary systems, or have seized power, have often proved detrimental to their popularity for they began to share the responsibility for governmental shortcomings. "Who ever liked a government that was ruling them?" the younger brother of the Muslim Brotherhood's founder once asked the author John Bradley. "To survive in power, they would have to make compromises, even with their deepest held principles."

The most important aspect of the recent protests is the sense of empowerment it has given to populations governed by

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authoritarian regimes. The coercive rule of a "strong man" is not a necessary part of the Arab political landscape, and the demonstrators have shown that they can challenge dictators and shape their own future. Compare the humiliation felt by the toppling of Saddam Hussein in Iraq with the sense of empowerment at the Tunisian people ousting Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. Iraq was a case of a people arriving from overseas to lord it over another, whereas the Tunisian case shows a group of people taking assertive action to determine their own future. The jubilation expressed at one toppling was manufactured; at the other it was genuine. It is a sense of humiliation and powerlessness that so often inspires rejectionist forms of Islamism of the al-Qaida kind, and the recent protests are likely to serve a blow to this. Disaffected subjects need not take to the mountains when they see they can take to the streets.

How events play out in either country is yet to be seen. Despite the similarities of the protestors' demands, for various reasons Tunisia's chances of a meaningful democracy are far higher than Egypt's. It is not unreasonable to think that Egypt's overseas allies consider the regime – not to be confused with its leader– to be "too big to fail". "Failure", in this case, would mean the risk of Egypt's people choosing their own government, which may include Islamists. If one despot replaces another then Islamism could well flourish, since the causes of its popularity as a protest movement would remain profoundly unaddressed. On the other hand, the success of protesters in discarding despotic rulers cannot but highlight the fact that there is an activism and an ideology available to them that is an alternative to Islamism.

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WikiLeaks: US wanted 'derogatory' information on Bahrain king's sons The US State Department secretly asked its diplomats in Bahrain to report any "derogatory" information about two of the King's sons and evidence of "rivalry" with senior members of the ruling royal family, leaked documents show. Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter,

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Daily Telegraph,17 Feb. 2011,

The office of Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State, wanted to know if Prince Nasir bin Hamad al Khalifa or Prince Khalid bin Hamad al Khalifa took drugs, drank alcohol or "caused problems" within the monarchy.

Embassy staff in the Bahraini capital of Manama were also asked whether the princes had any friends among the country's Shia Muslim majority, which is behind this week's protests against the minority rule of the Sunni regime.

Prince Nasir, 23, who is serving in the Bahrain Defence Force, and Prince Khalid, 21, are King Hamad's sons by his second wife and there have been fears in the region that hardliners from neighbouring countries might try to influence them.

In October 2009 a diplomatic cable from Mrs Clinton's office, marked "secret", described the princes as "important emerging targets of leadership analysis".

As well as asking for basic biographical details on each prince, including their date of birth, ability to speak English and educational background, the cable, obtained by WikiLeaks and seen by the Daily Telegraph, asked about possible tensions with the King's heir apparent, Crown Prince Salman.

"Is there a rivalry between (either) Prince and Crown Prince Salman?" Mrs Clinton's staff asked. "If so, what is the nature of this rivalry? Has it caused problems within the family?" King Hamad, 61, has seven sons and five daughters by his four wives, including three sons who are older than Sandhurst-trained Prince Nasir.

The cable also asked: "Does (either prince) have any Shia friends? What are his views on how the ruling family should address the Shia majority in Bahrain?"

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The communiqué ends: "Is there any derogatory information for either prince?

Does either prince drink alcohol? Does either one use drugs?"

Exactly why the US wants such information is not explained.

Any rift within the Bahraini royal family on the issue of constitutional change would be crucial to the US, as Bahrain – home to the US 5th Fleet – is of vital strategic importance within the Middle East.

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Washington Post Editorial: ‘Bahrain's crackdown threatens U.S. interests’..

LATIMES Editorial: ‘Democracy by Internet’..

Jerusalem Post: 'Our mysterious man on the Nile'.. (a long article tells how Mossad recruited Marwan Ashraf [the son-in-law to President Jamal AbdulNaser], and it tells the information he gave to Israel..)..

Haaretz: 'Helen Thomas: Jews didn't have to leave Europe following Holocaust'..

Haaretz: 'Obama calls Abbas in bid to prevent UN vote on settlements'..

Haaretz: ''Israel closes missions in Turkey due to Hezbollah threat''..

Jerusalem Post: ''Syrian embassy aided Hezbollah prisoner's escape''..

NYTimes Editorial: 'Now Bahrain'.. HOME PAGE

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