2013, Would The World Change?

english.pravda.ru

The Mayan calendar that many say predicted the end of the world this December of 2012 was a little off.  Actually, it was quite late. In truth, the world ended approximately two decades ago.  Oh, we are still physically here and breathing.  But what are we?  Who are we?  Is this really the  phenomenon that we call living?

We had a fairly balanced world.  We had progress in human relations, respect for the human dignity of others, people becoming free from oppression.  We had the rule of law, international law.  We had a semblance of civilization.  We had human rights.

Basically, civilization can only happen when those with power respect the laws founded by mankind to prevent abuses...international law, the Geneva Convention, the UN Declaration of Human Rights are examples.  The inviolability of borders, respect for one's neighbors.

However, it just so happened that one powerful country went mad.  Mad with the lust for power and resources.  It decided that it is not bound by such laws.  It decided that, like its capitalist social system, it would operate on the law of the jungle.

The big and the powerful would eat those who were weaker and could not defend themselves.  The world lost its alternative to unfettered, unbridled greed. All pretense of "defending": itself was removed.  The power became haughty and insatiable for more power and more resources, not caring how many millions it had to destroy to achieve its aims of global domination.

The first victim was Yugoslavia.  Gangs of terrorists from their Afghanistan campaign entered the country in order to destabilize it. With the force of arms, not of law or even dedication to the principles of the democracy they claimed to support, they fractured the country and tore out its heart, making the heart of that country, Kosovo, into a hotbed for drug trafficking, people trafficking and terrorist trafficking.

Iraq, Afghanistan again and Libya became its victims.  Now their efforts are concentrated on Syria.

We also have these hungry, insatiable, gluttonous power elites taking away from the workers every achievement made in the previous decades.  The workers are expected to fund every error, every miscalculation and every vestige of greed of this power elite.  They call it "austerity."  It is nothing short of outright thievery and robbery.

Not only are wages affected, but basic rights.  The right to education.  The right to housing.  The right to health care.  Pay or die.  Pay or the lights get shut off.  Pay or there will be no heat.   Pay or you will be thrown out in the street.

And the world has changed...ended as we know it because people remain largely silent, perhaps turned into zombies by a Goebbels-like corporate media.  They remain apathetic while the world as we knew it, civilization, is collapsing around them.

They might only wake up when the savages are knocking on their door.  When the unbridled terrorism personally affects them.  When their wives and daughters are raped, have their breasts cut off.  When their sons are castrated, beheaded.  When their homes are burned to the ground or they are evicted from them.

Until then, it's just happening to someone else.  Nothing can be done about it.

Voices were meant to be raised.  Life was meant to be lived.  People were meant to be free from the horror of terrorism, violence and mutilation.  It may serve the so-called super power, but it is not an acceptable presence on this planet.

So the question is, will 2013 take us back to those values so treasured by our forefathers or will we continue to allow our world to end.  Will we allow civilization and the respect for law to end?  Do we really think the law of the jungle..the bomb bay door and the barrel of the gun is the way we want to live in 2013?

Terrorists Trying to Infiltrate Into anti-Government Protests: Maliki

Iraqi protestors hold banners and wave national flag during an opposition demonstration in Azamiyah district of Baghdad, January 4, 2013.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has warned that terrorists are trying to infiltrate into anti-government protests in the western province of Anbar to provoke confrontations between security forces and the demonstrators.

Maliki’s office said in a statement that al-Qaeda and the remnants of former Ba’athist regime are trying to instigate violence disguised as protesters, warning of possible "terrorists attacks" against protesters. 

"The security agencies have learnt that armed terrorist groups plan to infiltrate into protests in Anbar to carry out terrorist acts with the aim of causing chaos and dragging the armed forces into a confrontation," al-Maliki's office said, according to independent Iraqi website Alsumariya News.

Iraq has been the scene of anti-government demonstrations since December 23, when bodyguards of Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi were arrested on terrorism-related charges. In Anbar, protesters have blocked a major road in the province which connects Iraq to Syria and Jordan. 

The demonstrators allege that the arrests were made on sectarian grounds and demand an end to anti-terrorism laws. The government says it is up to the parliament to decide on abolishing those laws. 

On Wednesday, Maliki said Baghdad would use force to end the protests in Anbar. The Iraqi government says there are foreign agendas behind the protests. 

"I warn you against continuing [to block the highway] because this is against the Iraqi constitution. We have been very patient with you," Maliki said. 

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/01/04/281798/terrorists-seek-to-infiltrate-iraq-protests/

Salafi Insurgency in Syria Now Approaching Iraq???

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called upon Anbar protesters to end their demonstrations that have led to several days of blockage of a major road in the western province of Anbar connecting Iraq to Syria and Jordan.

The Iraqi premier said the protesters should “end their strike before the state intervenes to end it.” “I warn you against continuing (blocking the highway), because this is against the Iraqi constitution. We have been very patient with you.”

The protesters have blocked off the key trade highway since December 23, following the arrest of Finance Minister Rafia al-Issawi’s bodyguards on terrorism charges.
On Dec 26, Thousands of Iraqis protested in a Sunni-dominated province west of Baghdad on Wednesday, determined to keep up the pressure on a Shia-led government that many accuse of trying to marginalize them.

BBC published about Iraqi on-going protests that In the "media tent", young men with laptops organize events, write statements, and update the movement's Facebook page.

"We shall continue the revolution which began in Syria," one of them told me.

The demonstrators allege that the arrests were made on sectarian grounds and demand the release of the detainees.

Maliki, however, says the bodyguards were arrested following an independent judicial inquiry based on the anti-terrorism law.

Last week, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the Iraqi government of sectarian behavior, saying that Iraq could soon be plagued with unrest like what is now happening in Syria.

Baghdad-Ankara relations turned sour last year after Turkey expressed support for fugitive Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi and gave him refuge. Hashemi has been sentenced to death in Iraq over involvement in terrorism-linked activities.

http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=78791&cid=23&fromval=1&frid=23&seccatid=24&s1=1

FSA Continues to Shine Like a "Dead Star"

Thierry Meyssan
www.voltairenet.org

The countdown has begun. As soon as the new Obama administration will be confirmed by the Senate, it will present a peace plan for Syria to the Security Council. Legally, though President Obama succeeds himself, his former administration is only responsible for the managing of current affairs and can not take any major initiative. Politically, Obama failed to react when, in the midst of the presidential race, some of his colleagues torpedoed the Geneva Agreement. But he proceeded with a general housecleaning right after the announcement of his reelection. As expected, General David Petraeus, the architect of the war on Syria, fell into the trap that had been set up for him and was forced to resign. As expected, the NATO and Missile Shield chiefs - adverse to an agreement with Russia - have been put under investigation for corruption and obliged to remain silent. Also as expected, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been taken out of the game. Only the method chosen to eliminate her came as a surprise: a serious health accident that plunged her into a coma.

Foreign Backed FSA Terrorist Insurgents Involved in Attacking Syrian Civilians

Meanwhile back at the UN, things have moved on. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) signed a Memorandum with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in September. In October, it monitored CSTO maneuvers in Kazakhstan simulating a deployment of "blue chapkas" in Syria. In December, the DPKO convened the military representatives of the permanent Security Council members to brief them on the manner in which the deployment could be carried out. Despite their opposition to this solution, the French and the British bowed to the wishes of the United States.

Nevertheless, France attempted to use the Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States, Lakhdar Brahimi, to modify the Geneva peace plan in line with the objections it had raised on June 30th. Ultimately, Brahimi carefully refrained from taking a position, and instead contented himself with transmitting messages to and fro between the various parties to the conflict.

The truth is that on the ground the upper hand is held by the Syrian government. The military situation has been reversed. The French themselves have ceased to mention the "liberated zones" they yearned to govern through a United Nations mandate. These areas have been steadily shrinking, and those that are still holding out are in the hands of the disreputable Salafists. The FSA troops were instructed to abandon their positions and regroup around the capital for a final assault. The Contras were hoping to rally the Palestinian refugees, mainly Sunni Moslem, against the inter-denominational Syrian regime in the same manner that the Hariris in Lebanon tried to arouse the Sunni Palestinians of the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp against the Shiite Hezbollah. As in Lebanon this objective failed because the Palestinians know very well who their friends are and who is really fighting for the liberation of their land. Concretely, in Israel’s recent 8-day war on Gaza, it was the Iranian and Syrian weapons that saved the day, while the Gulf monarchies did not move a finger.

Certain elements of Hamas, loyal to Khaled Meshaal and funded by Qatar, opened the doors of the Yarmouk camp to a few hundred fighters of the Front to Protect the Levant (Syrian-Lebanese branch of Al-Qaeda), also related Qatar. They fought mainly against members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC). Via SMS, the Syrian government asked the 180 000 camp residents to evacuate the premises as soon as possible and offered them temporary accommodation in Damascus hotels, schools and gyms. Some preferred to go to Lebanon. The next day, the Syrian Arab army attacked the camp with heavy artillery and regained control. 14 Palestinian organizations then signed an agreement declaring the camp a "neutral zone". The FSA fighters withdrew in an orderly fashion and resumed their war against Syria in the surrounding countryside, while the civilians returned to their homes. They found a devastated camp where schools and hospitals had been systematically destroyed.

In strategic terms, the war is already over: the FSA has lost the popular support it had enjoyed at one point and has no chance of achieving victory. The Europeans still think they can replace the regime by bribing top officials and causing a coup, but they realize that it will be impossible to bring off with the FSA. Contras continue to roll in, but the flow of money and weapons is drying up. Much of the international support has stopped although the consequences on the battlefield cannot yet be seen, much like a star that can continue to shine long after its death.

The United States has clearly decided to turn the page and to sacrifice the FSA. It gives it senseless instructions that lead the Contras to their death. Thousands were killed last month. Meanwhile, in Washington, the National Intelligence Council cynically announced that "international jihadism" will soon disappear. Other allies of the United States should now ask themselves whether this new equation does not imply that they too will be sacrificed.

US Unconventional Warfare And The Syrian "Revolution"

"The intent of U.S. [Unconventional Warfare] UW efforts is to exploit a hostile power’s political, military, economic, and psychological vulnerabilities by developing and sustaining resistance forces to accomplish U.S. strategic objectives…For the foreseeable future, U.S. forces will predominantly engage in irregular warfare (IW) operations."

So begins the 2010 Unconventional Warfare (UW) Manual of the US Military’s Special Forces. The manual attached here (TC 18-01) is an interim publication, developed to address the definition of Unconventional Warfare and some other inconsistencies in UW Doctrine. The new UW document (ATP 3-05.1) is in the initial draft and not yet available, though sources tell me it is unlikely to differ much from TC 18-01.

But most of us have not had the pleasure of leafing through this truly revelatory blueprint that shows how America wages its dirty wars. These are the secret wars that have neither been approved by Congress, nor by the inhabitants of nations whose lives – if not bodies – are mauled by the directives on these pages.

A quote from President John F. Kennedy in 1962 opens the document. These few lines illustrate a core Washington belief that US forces have the right to destabilize, infiltrate, assassinate, subvert – all in service of questionable foreign policy objectives, with no evident consideration of a sovereign state’s preparedness or desire for change:

There is another type of warfare—new in its intensity, ancient in its origin—war by guerrillas, subversives, insurgents, assassins; war by ambush instead of by combat, by infiltration instead of aggression, seeking victory by eroding and exhausting the enemy instead of engaging him. It preys on unrest.

Target. Middle East:

The Bush Doctrine paved the way for the mainstreaming of unconventional warfare by establishing the principle of pre-emptive actions against a state that may one day pose a threat to American interests. It didn’t offer any specific criteria to gauge those threats, nor did it attempt to explain why anyone outside the United States should be held accountable for US “interests” – be they commercial, security or political.

Iranian Pres. Ahmadinijad, Syrian Pres. Bashar alAsad, Hezbollah's Nasr Ullah

The doctrine went largely unchallenged, and has been played out with disastrous results throughout the Middle East in the past decade. The prime targets of UW have traditionally been nations and groups that oppose US primacy in the region – mainly the Resistance Axis consisting of Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas – but UW has been carried out to some degree in virtually any nation where this Axis carries some influence.

The most nefarious aspect of UW - aside from the obvious violations of international law pertaining to sovereignty, territorial integrity and loss of human life/property, etc – is the proactive and aggressive effort to psychologically sway a population against its government. It is at this entry point where UW fails every American test of “values.”

The Arab Intifadas of 2011 provided a unique opportunity – amidst regional and sometimes domestic chaos – to ramp up UW activities in “hostile” states, whether or not populations sought regime change. Prime examples are Iran, Syria and Libya – all of which have been UW targets in the past year, at different levels of infiltration and with markedly different results.

Operation. Regime Change in Syria:

In Syria, the UW task would have been a mix of the two. Because of the domestic popularity and strength of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad revealed here in a 2006 Wikileaks Cable, UW activities would necessarily need to start with some subversion of the population before graduating to a Libyan-style scenario.

an FSA insurgent

Just as the Wikileaks cable recommends identifying “opportunities” to expose “vulnerabilities” in the Syrian regime and cause sectarian/ethnic division, discord within the military/security apparatus and economic hardship, the UW manual also instructs special forces to “exploit a hostile power’s political, military, economic, and psychological vulnerabilities.”

The Syrian demographic landscape is reflected in the UW manual: “In almost every scenario, resistance movements face a population with an active minority supporting the government and an equally small militant faction supporting the resistance movement. For the resistance to succeed, it must convince the uncommitted middle population…to accept it as a legitimate entity. A passive population is sometimes all a well-supported insurgency needs to seize political power.”

To turn the “uncommitted middle population” into supporting insurgency, UW recommends the “creation of atmosphere of wider discontent through propaganda and political and psychological efforts to discredit the government.”

As conflict escalates, so should the “intensification of propaganda; psychological preparation of the population for rebellion.”

First, there should be local and national “agitation” – the organization of boycotts, strikes, and other efforts to suggest public discontent. Then, the “infiltration of foreign organizers and advisors and foreign propaganda, material, money, weapons and equipment.”

Syrian National Coalition (heavily backed by Obama & Hillary) meeting at Doha, Qatar

The next level of operations would be to establish “national front organizations [i.e. the Syrian National Council] and liberation movements [i.e. the Free Syrian Army]” that would move larger segments of the population toward accepting “increased political violence and sabotage” – and encourage the mentoring of “individuals or groups that conduct acts of sabotage in urban centers.”

Now, how and why would an uncommitted – and ostensibly peaceful - majority of the population respond to the introduction of violence by opposition groups? The UW manual tells us there is an easy way to spin this one:

"If retaliation [by the target government] occurs, the resistance can exploit the negative consequences to garner more sympathy and support from the population by emphasizing the sacrifices and hardship the resistance is enduring on behalf of “the people.” If retaliation is ineffective or does not occur, the resistance can use this as proof of its ability to wage effect combat against the enemy. In addition, the resistance can portray the inability or reluctance of the enemy to retaliate as a weakness, which will demoralize enemy forces and instill a belief in their eventual defeat."

Saudi Detains Dozens for "Plotting to Celebrate Christmas"

Saudi religious police stormed a house in the Saudi Arabian province of al-Jouf, detaining more than 41 guests for “plotting to celebrate Christmas,” a statement from the police branch released Wednesday night said.

The raid is the latest in a string of religious crackdowns against residents perceived to threaten the country's strict religious code.

The host of the alleged Christmas gathering is reported to be an Asian diplomat whose guests included 41 Christians, as well as two Saudi Arabian and Egyptian Muslims. The host and the two Muslims were said to be “severely intoxicated.”

The guests were said to have been referred to the "respective authorities." It is unclear whether or not they have been released since.

The kingdom, which only recognizes Islamic faith and practice, has in the past banned public Christmas celebrations, but is ambiguous about festivities staged in private quarters.

Saudi religious police are known to detain residents of the kingdom at whim, citing loose interpretations of Sharia and public statements by hardline religious leaders to justify crackdowns.

Saudi Arabia's head mufti Sheikh Abdel Aziz bin Abdullah had previously condemned “invitations to Christmas or wedding celebrations.”

A member of the Higher Council of Islamic scholars in Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Mohammed al-Othaimin recently prohibited sending holiday wishes to "heretics" on Christmas or other religious Christian holidays.

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-detains-dozens-plotting-celebrate-christmas

Truth About Halfaya "Bakery" Massacre

The ‘Halfaya bakery massacre’ is a propaganda event with little basis in terms of evidence, spread by CNN, Al Arabiya, Reuters and other media channels worldwide, the main elements of which are that Syrian MIG jets bombed a bakery in Halfaya killing more than a hundred (CNN) and at least 300 (Al Arabiya) people. Versions of the propaganda story include the jets firing four rockets into a crowd up to 1,000 standing in line due to hunger.

The evidence given for the story are witness statements by ‘Syrian activists,’ video footage provided by these ‘activists’ and (in the case of CNN) has even included imagery from a far more substantial explosion – that of a terrorist car bombing in Baghdad which happened on the same day.

This propaganda exercise coincides with the visit of Lakhdar Brahimi to the Syrian capital.

The story being peddled by CNN etc is undermined by even a cursory look at the actual video evidence. The “journalists” responsible for the story are relying on the likelihood that people will not bother to watch the video footage, that if they do they will be so shocked by its gruesome nature that all rational analysis of the actual evidence will be suspended and that the powers that be, and the media owners, approve of this propaganda so they are unlikely to be held to account.

The video footage from Halfaya, a small town which has recently come under rebel control after a long battle, shows the results of an apparent explosion outside a two-story building. The number of bodies shown at the scene is around a dozen, at most, mainly gathered around the rear of a pick-up truck parked just outside the building:

A smaller number of people appear to be injured. The evidence that the building is a bakery rests on the statements of ‘activists’ and photographs of a bloodied loaf of bread. The video footage actually shows someone throwing fresh bread onto some blood on the road:

The building in front of which the bodies are shown appears relatively undamaged but there is a large amount of rubble and concrete blocks in front of it, including over the bodies. The pickup truck is parked right up against one of the doors of the building as if it is loading something from the inside the building. The small crater, such as it is, is a few feet behind the pick-up truck.

It is probable there was an explosion on the scene. It may have been caused by a (single) mortar round or an explosion of some ammunition being loaded into the pick-up or possibly a grenade (eg from a rival battalion.) It is unlikely this is an airstrike as the physical damage is so minor. The concrete blocks suggest that an attempt may have been made to ‘enhance’ the scene or that there was some protection in front of the building, perhaps as it was being used as a HQ or ammunition store.

All of the bodies appear to be of men of fighting age, apart from a single body in woman’s clothing. Some of the casualties are wearing camouflage. It takes about 8 minutes to clear the site of all the bodies and the wounded and the widespread reports of sixty, a hundred or more casualties, including women and children, are nonsense.

The use of the word “activist” in describing the propaganda of the various brigades is almost universal and very effective in giving unwarranted credence to rebel propaganda. Any serious journalist is well aware of the fact that so-called ‘activists’ using advanced communications equipment, provided by the US and UK, are producing rebel propaganda which is of almost no evidentiary value – but hey, why let the truth get in the way of a good story?