Reader’s links for Feb. 11 – 2016

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About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

80 Replies to “Reader’s links for Feb. 11 – 2016”

  1. SYRIA CRISIS: ’15 million MORE refugees head to Europe’… and rebels say BRITAIN to blame (express, Feb 11, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/643067/Syria-crisis-Yasser-Abdulrahim-Britain-Aleppo-Bashar-Assad

    “SYRIAN rebels have claimed 15 million more refugees could flee the war-torn country – because they are not being supported by Britain.

    A senior rebel commander said a lack of support from the West has led to Bashar al-Assad’s regime tightening its grip on Aleppo.

    The US-trained rebels are losing ground daily in Syria’s largest city, with more than 500 people killed in the last fortnight

    And it is feared the advance by Assad’s regime – backed by Russian air strikes and Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters – could make the refugee crisis worse.

    Major Yasser Abdulrahim told the BBC the West has “abandoned” the rebels, saying: “The West is so scared of the [Islamic State] ghost they have chosen Bashar al-Assad.

    He added: “The rebellion won’t be over [if the regime takes Aleppo]. But some 15 million Syrians will flee to Europe and different countries all over the world.

    “Resistance to the regime will continue as long as the olive trees are here.”…”

  5. Afghan Policeman Opens Fire on Colleagues, Kills 4 (abcnews, Feb 11, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/afghan-policeman-opens-fire-colleagues-kills-36854222

    “Four Afghan policemen were killed and another seven wounded when one of their colleagues opened fire on them in the volatile southern province of Kandahar, an official said on Thursday.

    The rogue policeman was shot dead by another officer in the incident late Wednesday night, said Zia Durrani, spokesman for the provincial police.

    The shootings, which took place in the Zhari district, are the latest in a string of recent insider attacks in Afghanistan. Last month a rogue cop in Uruzgan province shot dead 10 colleagues.

    The Taliban claimed responsibility for the Wednesday night attack.

    The Taliban consider Kandahar their heartland, along with neighboring Helmand where poppy production accounts for most of the world’s heroin.

    Insurgents have attacked most districts across Helmand in recent months, in an effort to reclaim and protect smuggling routes for drugs, minerals, arms and men.

    The U.S. military announced that it would boost its presence in Helmand, where Afghan troops have been battling Taliban attacks for months.

    The Afghan military is currently rebuilding is main corps in Helmand, rotating in new leaders to deal with a range of problems from exhaustion to corruption.

    The United States will add a battalion of troops with some advisers to its current deployment to the province, but will not be boosting troop numbers overall.

    U.S. Army Col. Mike Lawhorn, spokesman for the U.S.-NATO mission in Afghanistan, said the incoming troops would be replacing an outgoing battalion from the same base. Lawhorn would give no further details on numbers. A battalion numbers up to 800.

    The total U.S.-NATO deployment is around 13,000 troops, 9,800 of them from the United States, operating under the Resolute Support mission’s “train, advise and assist” mandate.”

  6. Spanish border police reveal the different methods ruthless people traffickers use to smuggle migrants INSIDE cars

    One man was found struggling to breathe and tied to a bumper by ropes

    Originally from Guinea, he was trying to enter Spanish enclave of Melilla

    Police found him when sensors detected a heartbeat coming from the car

    Other photographs show migrants hidden in petrol tanks and car seats

    A young boy was found curled up inside a standard-sized suitcase

    And a fully grown man was hidden underneath a vehicle’s dashboard

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3442046/Border-police-reveal-different-methods-ruthless-people-traffickers-use-smuggle-migrants-INSIDE-cars.html

  8. A female Zurich prison guard and the Syrian inmate she helped escape from his cell have probably fled to Syria, according to the guard’s husband.

    The guard’s husband told 20 Minuten that he had noticed his wife had changed a lot recently.

    She had started to read the Koran and become very interested in Syria, he said. “I think she has also become a Muslim.”

    http://www.thelocal.ch/20160211/prison-guard-and-syrian-escapee-likely-off-to-syria

  9. Turkey threatens to open the gates and send refugees to Europe
    There could come a point at which Turkey says “goodbye” to migrants, Recep Tayyip Erdogan warns EU

    Turkey is at breaking point and the time could come when the country would open the gates for refugees to travel to Europe, the Turkish president has threatened.
    ADVERTISING

    Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the West’s handling of the refugee crisis in a speech which sees the Turkish leader step up the pressure on Europe to act.

    He also repeated his criticism of Brussels and comments he made to EU leaders in leaked minutes, which he said he was proud of.

    “I am proud of what I said. We have defended the rights of Turkey and the refugees. And we told them (the Europeans): ‘sorry, we will open the doors and say ‘goodbye’ to the migrants’,” Mr Erdogan said in his speech on Thursday.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/12151701/Turkey-threatens-to-open-the-gates-and-send-refugees-to-Europe.html

  10. Denmark separates underage spouses in asylum centres

    Couples seeking asylum in Denmark will be separated if one party is below the age of 18, Integration Minister Inger Støjberg announced on Wednesday following reports of ‘child brides’ as young as 14 in Danish centres.

    Metroxpress reported that a political majority within parliament supports denying asylum to men who have so-called ‘child brides’.

    “It’s called paedophilia when a man gets a 14-year-old pregnant. We can give asylum to the 14-year-old but we should kick the grown man out,” Conservative spokesman Naser Khader told the newspaper.

    http://www.thelocal.dk/20160211/child-brides-in-danish-asylum-centres-to-be-separated-from-spouses

  11. North Korea says South’s pulling out of industrial zone ‘declaration of war’

    PAJU, South Korea (Reuters) – North Korea said it was kicking out all South Koreans from the jointly run Kaesong industrial zone on Thursday, calling the South’s move to suspend operations, in retaliation for Sunday’s rocket launch by the North, a “declaration of war”.

    The North declared the industrial park, run by the rivals as a symbol of cooperation for more than a decade, a military control zone, the agency that handles its ties with Seoul said, according to the official KCNA news agency.

    Dozens of South Korean trucks were already returning across the border earlier in the day, laden with goods and equipment, after the South said it was pulling out.

    “Unpardonable is the puppet group’s act of totally suspending the operation in (Kaesong), finding fault with the DPRK’s H-bomb test and launch of a satellite,” the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said, referring to South Korea.

    Isolated North Korea regularly dismisses the South as a puppet of the United States and just as regularly accuses both of acts of war against it.

    DPRK is short for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. North Korea tested what it said was a hydrogen bomb on Jan. 6 and on Sunday launched a rocket, putting a satellite into orbit.

    http://www.oann.com/north-korea-says-souths-pulling-out-of-industrial-zone-declaration-of-war/

  12. Greeks at frontline of migrant crisis angry at Europe’s criticism

    ABOARD THE AGIOS EFSTRATIOS, Aegean Sea (Reuters) – Greek Captain Argyris Frangoulis lifts his binoculars and with eyes fixed on the Aegean Sea horizon, steers his patrol boat out near the Turkish border to a dinghy full of stranded refugees.

    He zeroes in on the target and gasps – “My God!” – another grey rubber motor boat packed with about four times as many people as it can hold, many of them young children and babies.

    “Everybody safe, OK?” he yells at the passengers, mainly Syrians and Afghans, approaching the coast guard vessel bewildered and in near-silence. “Stay calm and do not panic!”

    About 50 people are pulled aboard one by one, smiling but too exhausted to speak. By the time they stagger wearily to the boat’s rear, a dinghy is spotted in the distance. Then another, and another, crammed almost entirely with women and children.

    By midday, the Agios Efstratios, a gunboat with 29-member crew who work in shifts, had plucked more than 600 people from sea and ferried them to the port of Lesbos, the island on the frontline of Europe’s migration crisis.

    From Greece’s islands, the refugees and migrants travel to the mainland and then to the northern border with non-European Union member Macedonia. Most of them are trying to reach Germany.

    http://www.oann.com/greeks-at-frontline-of-migrant-crisis-angry-at-europes-criticism/

  13. French left-winger to run for presidency in setback for Hollande

    PARIS (Reuters) – French left-wing firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon said he would run for the presidency again next year, a move that risks splitting the left-of-center vote and hurting Socialist President Francois Hollande’s chances of re-election.

    Hollande, who is widely expected to announce a cabinet reshuffle on Thursday to prepare for the 2017 election, has tried to discourage candidates to his left, arguing this could prevent any left-of-center politician reaching the second round runoff.

    Melenchon, 64, a former Socialist lawmaker who has become a staunch critic of Hollande, could draw votes away from the president, who already faces an uphill battle for re-election due to public anger over high unemployment and other factors.

    “I am presenting my candidacy for 2017,” Melenchon said on a video posted on his website late on Wednesday. “This election can be a chance for the people. It is the opportunity to turn the page peacefully and democratically on an unfair and cruel system that our country and continent are sinking into.”

    Melenchon gained 11.1 percent of the votes in the first round of the last presidential election in 2012, helped by Communist backing.

    Their Left Front union has not fared well in local elections since then, but a Viavoice poll on Tuesday showed Melenchon himself remains popular, with 10 percent of left-wing voters considering him the best candidate for the Left in 2017, only three percentage points behind Hollande.

    http://www.oann.com/french-left-winger-melenchon-to-run-for-presidency-in-upset-for-hollande/

  14. Iranian commander to USA: We’re the boss of you

    The real problem with Iran’s hardening attitude, in the months since the Obama sell-out called the “Iran nuclear deal,” is that it shows a loss of respect for the American people.

    Not respecting Obama is one thing. Who does respect him? But in 2016, Iran no longer fears that Americans will do something other than watch helplessly as our president squanders the remaining core of our geopolitical capital. The Iranians have concluded – and I don’t think they’re wrong – that the American polity is profoundly disordered.

    America no longer knows who she is. Whatever protects her now, it’s not the vigilance of free men. The free, vigilant men have enough to do defending themselves against a predatory state, which weaponizes government against them and attacks their most precious hopes with Stalinist propaganda forced on their children.

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2016/02/10/iranian-commander-to-usa-were-the-boss-of-you/

    • Iran: Defiant Rouhani says Iran will “never succumb to pressure and threats”

      Our nation will never succumb to pressure and threats” said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, during a rally commemorating the anniversary of the 37th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, in Tehran on Thursday.

      SOT, Hassan Rouhani, Iranian President (Farsi): “Those hegemonic powers who had been dealing with Iranians with the language of coercion and denigration, have come to this conclusion that our nation will never succumb to pressure and threats.”

      SOT, Hassan Rouhani, Iranian President (Farsi): “Today we defeated the Iranphobia project and showed the world that the Iranian people are logical and want a peaceful life, and to be friendly with regional countries, and that Iran is not a threat to international peace and security.”

  17. Surging number of attacks in Germany’s migrant centres sees Christians, women and homosexuals forced to flee from Muslim men

    Christians, women and gay men among those targeted in repeated attacks

    Campaigners say Muslim asylum seekers are responsible for the violence

    These groups are now being sent to separate, often secret, refugee centres

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3442529/Surging-number-attacks-Germany-s-migrant-centres-sees-Christians-women-homosexuals-forced-flee-Muslim-men.html

  18. Germany: Merkel announces ?€500 million loan to Iraq to aid reconstruction

    Germany will provide Iraq with a ?€500 million loan ($566 million) to help rebuild the country’s infrastructure, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced during a joint press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Berlin, Thursday.

    SOT, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor (German): “The challenges that the Iraqi government are facing are great and Germany is working hard. We have, in previous years, done that through chairing the G7, but continuing on from this this, we are doing all we can to help Iraq stabilise itself, with respect to the serious security challenges but also with respect to economic challenges. The decreased or low oil price is a real issue and discussion point for the greater situation in Iraq. What is needed is an economic upswing and infrastructure projects for the states that could be freed from IS. And, in as far as Germany is concerned, we have provided the Iraqis with an unrestricted ?€5 million loan, to be directly employed for the reconstruction of the country’s infrastructure, and, with this, to offer the people of Iraq hope for their own lives and to prevent them from needing to leave their country. Because that is neither good for Iraq, nor does it help attempts to improve the living situation for people who really want to – as we discussed yesterday – stay in their homeland.”

  21. Imam Urges Denmark To Allow Muslim Child Brides: ‘It’s Part Of Their Culture’ (breitbart, Feb 11, 2016)
    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/02/11/imam-hits-out-at-danish-government-after-plan-to-rescue-child-bridge-migrants-its-part-of-our-culture/?

    “Child brides being brought to Europe by their often considerably older migrant husbands are to be separated in Denmark, but one high profile Imam is urging the government to accept “that it is a different culture”.

    A number of recent cases where marriages of adult men to girls as young as 14 years of age, sanctioned by the Danish state, has become a national scandal. Now, right-wing immigration minister Inger Støjberg has vowed the children will be protected in future, with couples where one of the parties is under 18 being separated whether they have already arrived in Denmark or not — although the age of consent in the country is just 15.

    “It is completely unacceptable that there are currently minors within the Danish asylum system living with their spouses or partners and I have asked the Danish Immigration Service to immediately put a stop to it”, said Støjberg this week. In at least one case an adult husband was allowed to see his pregnant young wife under supervision, and in another the authorities were misled over the age of the wife and she was allowed to live with her husband in migrant accommodation unchecked.

    It is reported eight married children in Danish asylum centres are already pregnant, or have given birth. The government is now planning to deport migrant men who marry and impregnate children, while giving the girls refuge.

    Despite the strong Danish reaction to the practice of marrying children among some migrants, Imam Oussama El-Saadi of the Aarhus mosque has said the Danish government must relax their laws and respect migrant families, whatever age the brides are.

    Speaking to Danish newspaper Metroxpress, the Imam said: “One should look at these cases from a different perspective. It is an extraordinary humanitarian situation, and I think you have to take care of these families. They’re married, and even if the man is twice as old as they have built a family. We have to accept that it is a different culture, and we can not destroy family life”.

    The marriage of young children to older men went even further than just foreign and unfamiliar cultures arriving in Europe, said the Imam, but it was also a side-effect of the migrant crisis, he said: “If you look at the situation in the refugee camps, it is often filled with violence and uncertainty.

    “If your daughter marries early and gets a man, it can give the family a safer situation”.

    The Imam was of the opinion that girls married off early during the migrant crisis would be more sheltered and protected than those who were not, but added he wouldn’t allow his own daughter to marry until she turned 18.

    While the youngest married girl seeking asylum in Denmark so far has been 14, other northern European states have seen similar problems, and worse. Norway saw dozens of migrant children arriving married in 2015, with one girl just eleven years old. Most of the married children came from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, as reported by Breitbart London at the time.”

  23. Soldiers in Austria VOLUNTEER to stay in service so they can block migrants (express, Feb 11, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/643273/Migrant-crisis-Austrian-army-rise-volunteers-police-border-Slovenia

    “AUSTRIA’S army is being boosted by conscripts who are volunteering to extend their stay in the military to help block migrants travelling from the Middle East to the heart of Europe.

    In one company of 200 soldiers, almost half opted to remain policing the country’s southern borders in an effort to stem the flow of illegal immigration.

    Austria, along with Germany, has been at the centre of Europe’s biggest migration crisis since World War Two.

    The small, landlocked nation has deployed soldiers to help police deal with the hundreds of thousands of migrants who have streamed over its border since September.

    The volunteers will man the land next to Slovenia in the coming weeks….”

    • This number should give the left nightmares, it says that patriotism is still alive and well in Austria.

  30. Germany: Initiative to curb child sex abuse launched as 4,500 refugee children vanish

    A new initiative to protect children from sexual abuse in Germany was announced by independent commissioner Johannes-Wilhelm Roerig during a joint presser with Chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany Aiman Mazyek in Berlin, Thursday. The news comes as large numbers of refugee children have disappeared since their registration in Germany, with fears that many of the youngsters may be subject to manipulation or abuse.

    SOT, Aiman Mazyek, Chairman of Central Council of Muslims in Germany (German): “We have 60,000 unaccompanied refugee children in Germany, and, from these, we have around 4.5 thousand who have vanished without a trace. And the Federal Criminal Police Office spoke of around 4,500. It’s certain that there is still an innacuracy in the figures. And I don’t want to offer the worst case scenario, which is that all of these children are abused in some way or another, or consider what has happened to them. But we can go by this, that a lot of these children have potentially fallen victim of certain criminal organisations, that they have had their organs removed or that they have been forced into prostitution. Honestly, I regret the absence of a so-called ‘outcry’ within our community. I don’t want to utilise the polemic of New Year’s Eve, or rather of a ‘cartel of silencing’. The silence is already very loud; it rings out with respect to the 4,500 refugee children who are missing. And if the protection of children is close to our hearts, then we must speak about this; we must tackle this directly.”

    SOT, Johannes-Wilhelm Roerig, Independent Commissioner for Questions on Sexual Abuse of Children (Germany): “As the first attempt, we have worked together on the first information material, in the form of a flyer under the name ‘Who helps me to help?’ The flyer provides information about sexual violence, and about the strategies of predators. It also informs people how they may find help and why protection measures are so important on this issue.”

    SOT, Johannes-Wilhelm Roerig, Independent Commissioner for Questions on Sexual Abuse of Children (Germany): “Refugee children urgently need our particular protection, also with regards to sexual violence. Refugee children have, in their lands of origin and on their journey, often experienced awful things. Therefore, they are seriously in need and also very vulnerable. A fifth of these children suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.”

  31. Orban Accuses Germany And Turkey Of Secret Pact To Flood Europe With Another 500,000 Illegals

    Mr. Orban claimed to have knowledge of an agreement between Turkey and Germany so shocking the nations involved do “not yet dare to make it public”. Remarking the deal had now been agreed, but was still goinh through a “bargaining phase”, Mr. Orban said when executed — at Turkey’s leisure — it would mean the “direct transportation” of half a million migrants to Germany.

    Once they had arrived in Germany, these migrants would then be distributed around the continent by binding EU resettlement rules designed to take the burden off the most popular European nations, said Mr. Orban.

    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/02/11/orban-accuses-germany-and-turkey-of-secret-pact-to-flood-europe-with-another-500000-illegals/

  33. GREECE -Archbishop Ieronymos queries plans for mosque

    Archbishop Ieronymos, the head of the Church of Greece, has expressed caution toward plans to build a mosque in Athens while warning that shutting down Greece’s northern borders will turn the country into a holding pen for refugees.

    “Who are we going to build a mosque for?” Ieronymos said during an interview with Skai TV late Wednesday, adding that Sunni and Shiite Muslims “are killing each other.”

    “Are these people going to pray there or will mosques become schools for jihadism and fundamentalism? Who is going to monitor this?” he said.[…]

    Speaking about the ongoing refugee crisis, Ieronymos warned that recent developments were “preplanned.”

    “We should all ask ourselves why these people left Syria and are drowning in the Aegean Sea. Who is responsible? Who bombed them? Who is conducting this war and for what reason?” he said.

    “Everything that is happening today is part of a plan for the next 50 years.”

    http://www.ekathimerini.com/205897/article/ekathimerini/news/archbishop-ieronymos-queries-plans-for-mosque

  34. Russia PM warns foreign offensive in Syria could spark ‘world war’

    Munich (Germany) (AFP) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned Thursday that if Arab forces entered the Syrian war they could spark a “new world war” and urged ceasefire talks instead.

    Asked about proposals by some Arab countries to enter the conflict under a US command, Medvedev said, “that would be bad because ground offensives usually lead to wars becoming permanent”.

    “The Americans and our Arabic partners must think hard about this: do they want a permanent war?” he was quoted as telling the German Handelsblatt business daily in an interview.

    “Do they really think they would win such a war very quickly? That’s impossible, especially in the Arabic world. There everyone is fighting against everyone… everything is far more complicated. It could take years or decades.”

    “Why is that necessary?” he added, according to a pre-released excerpt from the daily’s Friday edition. “All sides must be forced to the negotiating table instead of sparking a new world war.”

    http://news.yahoo.com/russia-pm-warns-foreign-offensive-syria-could-spark-182731598.html

    Russia raises spectre of permanent or ‘world war’ if Syria talks fail

    MUNICH (Reuters) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev raised the spectre of a permanent or a world war if powers failed to negotiate an end to the conflict in Syria and warned against any ground operations by U.S. and Arab forces.

    Medvedev, speaking to Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper on the eve of a security conference in Munich, said the United States and Russia must exert pressure on all sides in the conflict to secure a ceasefire.

    Asked about Saudi Arabia’s offer last week to supply ground troops if a U.S.-led operation were mounted against Islamic State, he said:

    “This is bad as a ground offensive usually turns the war into a permanent one. Just look at what happened in Afghanistan and many other countries. I don’t need to remind you what happened in poor Libya.”

    “The Americans and our Arab partners must think well: do they want a permanent war?” It would be impossible to win such a war quickly, he said according to a German translation of his words, “especially in the Arab world, where everybody is fighting against everybody”.

    “All sides must be compelled to sit at the negotiating table instead of unleashing a new world war.”

    Russia is carrying out bombing sorties around the key city of Aleppo, in support of advances by troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. U.S. and other Western air forces are also involved in air strikes in northern Syria.

    THE “PRIZE” OF ALEPPO

    Capturing Aleppo, Syria’s biggest city before the war but now divided between rebel- and government-held sectors, would represent a major military victory for Assad and a symbolic prize for Russia.

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Moscow had submitted proposals for implementing a ceasefire in Syria and was waiting for a reaction from international powers.

    Lavrov was speaking ahead of a meeting in Munich with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss Syria.

    Members of the United Nations Security Council pressed Russia on Wednesday to stop bombing Aleppo in support of the Syrian military offensive and allow humanitarian access ahead of a meeting of major powers in Germany on the conflict.

    “You have no one power that can act alone,” Medvedev said. “You have Assad and his troops on one side and some grouping, which is fighting against the government on the other side. It is all very complicated. It could last years or even decades. What’s the point of this?”

    http://news.yahoo.com/russia-raises-specter-world-war-nations-fail-negotiate-181359503.html

  36. Senate HS Chair Endorses Bill to Name MB as Terrorists
    It names the CAIR, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) as Muslim Brotherhood entities

    Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, is now a cosponsor of the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act. The Clarion Project has been giving briefings on the Brotherhood to policy-makers and their staffs and readers have played a major role by contacting their representatives.

    In addition to being the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Johnson is the first member of the Foreign Relations Committee where the Senate version of the bill (S2230) was referred to.

    If passed, the bill would state that Congress believes the Muslim Brotherhood fits the State Department’s criteria of an FTO (foreign terrorist organization). The secretary of state would be required to designate the Brotherhood within 60 days or to provide a detailed report explaining why it does not.

    The legislation explicitly identifies the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) as U.S. Muslim Brotherhood entities and includes evidence tying them to a Hamas support network.

    http://www.clarionproject.org/news/senate-hs-chair-endorses-bill-name-mb-terrorists

  37. 150,000 Soldiers Set to Fight ISIS; What’s the Play?
    Saudi Arabia announced it will head a 150,000-strong force to fight ISIS in Syria. Iran warned this will inflame the situation. Ran Meir examines the issue.

    It’s almost five years since the civil war erupted in Syria. To most of us it’s not that clear who is fighting whom and why?

    This confusion is only increasing with time. Now, Saudi Arabia intends dispatching ground forces and leading the coalition against ISIS in Syria.

    Is that something to be welcomed?

    Let’s try to understand the complexities in a few words and then predict where things are headed.

    So What’s Happened in Syria in Recent Years?

    The civil war started in early 2011 along with the Arab Spring. First came the protests against the Assad regime, which quickly turned into outbreaks of violence between government security forces and the opposition. This eventually led to the full-blown civil war.

    http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/150000-soldiers-set-fight-isis-what%E2%80%99s-play

  39. CAIR Intertwines With US-based, Terror-Linked Fuqra Group
    Clarion Project’s Ryan Mauro presents a detailed explanation of the links between them and explains why Americans should be concerned.

    The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its “moderate” image is suffering from a self-inflicted wound now it has become intertwined with the Muslims of the Americas, a radical anti-Semitic front for the Jamaat ul-Fuqra terrorist group.

    CAIR’s Massachusetts chapter now shares an official with MOA and two CAIR officials spoke at MOA’s International Islamophobia Conference.

    The Massachusetts chapter of CAIR recently chose MOA’s general counsel, Tahirah Amatul Wadud, as a board member. CAIR, a U.S. Muslim Brotherhood entity banned for its own terror links in the UAE, wisely omitted mention of MOA. It described her generically as a “general counsel for a New York Muslim congregation.”

    Wadud reportedly posted an article by MOA’s Pakistan-based leader, Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani, on her Facebook claiming the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) is a puppet of the British government and a Jewish conspiracy perpetrated the attacks on Pearl Harbor and September 11, 2001. The Clarion Project was the first to report on the inflammatory article.

    http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/cair-intertwines-us-based-terror-linked-fuqra-group

    • Russia says U.S. planes bombed Syria’s Aleppo on Wednesday

      MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday that two U.S. aircraft had bombed the Syrian city of Aleppo on Feb. 10, and that Russian planes had not been operating in the area.

      A Pentagon spokesman had accused Russian and Syria government forces on Wednesday of destroying Aleppo’s two main hospitals with air strikes, though he did not specify when the strikes were alleged to have taken place.

      The Syrian army has made rapid advances near Aleppo in recent weeks with the help of Russian air strikes.

      But Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement that “only aviation of the anti-ISIS coalition flew over the city yesterday”, referring to the U.S.-led alliance of countries fighting the Islamic State militant group

      “At 1355 Moscow time, two U.S. Air Force A-10 attack aircraft entered Syrian airspace from Turkish territory. Reaching Aleppo by the most direct path, they made strikes against objects in the city.”

      He said the Russian targets on that day had been at least 20 km (12 miles) from the city.

      When asked on Wednesday whether the U.S.-led coalition could do more to help rebels in Aleppo or improve access for humanitarian aid to the city, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said that the coalition’s focus remained on fighting Islamic State, which was “virtually non-existent in that part of Syria”.

      Capturing Aleppo, Syria’s biggest city before the war but now divided between rebel- and government-held sectors, would represent a major military victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a symbolic prize for his ally, Russia, to help justify its bombing campaign in Syria.

      Members of the United Nations Security Council pressed Russia on Wednesday to stop bombing Aleppo in support of the Syrian military offensive and allow humanitarian access ahead of a meeting of major powers in Germany on the conflict.

      http://news.yahoo.com/russia-says-u-planes-bombed-syrias-aleppo-wednesday-080053958.html

    • Saudi’s decision to send troops in Syria ‘final’

      Saudi’s decision to send troops to Syria in an attempt to bolster and toughen efforts against militants is “final” and “irreversible,” the Saudi military spokesman announced on Thursday.

      Brig. Gen. Ahmed Al-Assiri, said that Riyadh is “ready” and will fight with its U.S.-led coalition allies to defeat ISIS militants in Syria, however, he said Washington is more suitable to answer questions on further details about any future ground operations.

      “We are representing Saudi’s [decision] only” in sending troops, he said.

      He also sent a message to Iran, saying that if Tehran is serious in fighting ISIS, then it must stop supporting “terrorism” in Syria or Yemen.

      Riyadh has long accused Tehran of supporting the Houthi militia in Yemen against the internationally-recognized government there. Iran is also a key ally to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

      The statement comes as Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman visited NATO headquarters in Brussels to discuss the Syrian civil war.

      The military spokesman also said that the Islamic Military Alliance will take effect within two months.

      Thirty-five Muslim countries released a joint statement announcing the formation of the alliance against terrorism in December last year.

      The alliance’s joint command center is located in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

      http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/02/11/Spokesman-Saudi-decision-to-send-troops-in-Syria-is-final.html

    • Syrians turned back at Turkish border return to Aleppo province

      As a Russian-backed regime onslaught in northern Syria continues, thousands have fled towards the Turkish border crossing of Bab al-Salama further north, but the crossing remains closed. On Wednesday, dozens of families who were turned back at the border gate were taken by bus to the town of Daret Ezza, west of Aleppo province, by passing through the town of Afrin controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the main Kurdish force in Syria.

    • Erdogan slams EU, UN, threatens to send refugees outside Turkey

      Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatens to send the millions of refugees in Turkey to European Union and United Nation member states.

    • France’s Hollande urges Russia to stop backing Assad

      French President Francois Hollande on Thursday called on Russia to stop harming civilians in Syria and reiterated calls for President Bashar al-Assad to leave power.

      “I ask that the Russian actions stop because we have thousands of people displaced by the bombardments,” Hollande said in a televised interview after a cabinet reshuffle in France. “We have to ensure that Bashar al-Assad leaves power.”

      He said that Assad was massacring his people, helped by Moscow. Hollande praised his new Foreign Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, as an experienced former prime minister suited to take over France’s work in Syria, replacing Laurent Fabius.

      http://www.todayszaman.com/world_frances-hollande-urges-russia-to-stop-backing-assad_412093.html

      Hollande calls for Russia to halt action that supports Assad

      Paris (AFP) – French President Francois Hollande called Thursday for Russia to halt its military action in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

      “We need to ensure that Bashar al-Assad leaves power and at the moment, helped by the Russians, he is massacring some of his own people, even if he is also taking action against a certain number of terrorists,” Hollande said, adding: “I ask that Russia’s actions stop.”

      As Hollande was speaking, the main players in the Syrian conflict were meeting in Munich to attempt to persuade Russia to agree to a ceasefire.

      Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said as he began talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry that Moscow had made “propositions for a ceasefire that are quite specific”.

      Russia has refused to confirm reports that its ceasefire would not take effect before March 1, allowing another three weeks for an ongoing regime offensive against Aleppo, which the UN says could leave 300,000 people under siege.

      Bombing from Russian planes is assisting Syrian forces.

      http://news.yahoo.com/hollande-calls-russia-halt-action-supports-assad-200623139.html

  44. I wonder how firmly King Salman’s head is connected to his body?

    The Shift in Saudi Foreign Policy
    While many believe that Riyadh’s Yemen campaign and oil policy are sowing the seeds of domestic instability, the kingdom’s activist approach is likely to endure for the foreseeable future given Washington’s recent track record.

    ?The ascendance of King Salman to the throne last January signaled a more robust Saudi approach to countering Iranian regional subversion. The new Saudi foreign policy is a reaction to the Obama Administration’s diplomatic overtures to Tehran in the context of the nuclear agreement. More broadly, it represents pushback from Riyadh against what President Obama has described as a “new geopolitical equilibrium…between Sunni, or predominantly Sunni, Gulf states and Iran.”

    ?The Saudis are especially concerned that the nuclear agreement would purchase Iran immunity from U.S. reprisal for its regionally destabilizing behavior, which would be exacerbated by the release of over $100 billion in frozen funds. In the months since the JCPOA was signed, the distance between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia has only increased as Washington has seemingly embraced Tehran as a potential force for regional stability.?   
    Beyond its airstrikes targeting the Iran-backed, nominally Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen and its backing of Syrian rebels in their fight against the Iranian-backed Assad regime, the more aggressive Saudi approach can also be seen in Riyadh’s decision to keep oil production high and oil prices low, a policy calculated to undermine the Iranian and Russian economies.?   

    In the aftermath of the Syria chemical weapons red-line debacle, the U.S. move away from its 2015 commitment to remove Assad, and the nuclear deal with Iran, Riyadh has determined that Washington is no longer a reliable ally.

    http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/the-shift-in-saudi-foreign-policy

  45. Rescuing Ex-Muslims: Leaving Islam

    Around the world, people who leave the faith of Islam face state persecution, imprisonment, torture, and even execution, as well as violence, death threats, and ostracization from their own communities.

    Many ex-Muslims risk so-called honor killing, forced marriage, kidnap, and communal violence at the hands of their families for “bringing shame” on their community. In Western countries, ex-Muslims are often thrown out of the family and face isolation and exclusion.

    VICE News has gained access to an underground network in London who help rescue ex-Muslims. We follow the network as it helps a young atheist escape Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and provides support and shelter for young British people on the run from their families and communities.

  48. Bret Stephens: The next US president may not be pro-Israel
    The winner of the US presidential election in November may not be supportive of Israel at all, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bret Stephens warned on Wednesday.

    “I think, if I were an Israeli decision-maker, I would say, ‘We might hope, but we should not assume, that the next president of the United States is going to be pro-Israel, and even pretend to be pro-Israel,’” Stephens told senior editors at The Jerusalem Post.
    A former editor-in-chief of the Post who is currently deputy editorial page editor of The Wall Street Journal, Stephens is visiting Israel from the US to participate in meetings of the Israel Democracy Institute’s International Advisory Council.

    Not known for being a strong supporter of President Barack Obama, Stephens said his successor may be even worse for Israel.

    http://www.jpost.com/US-Elections/Bret-Stephens-The-next-US-president-may-not-be-pro-Israel-444512

    • CNN – World powers agree to Syria ceasefire

      The proposed ceasefire would not apply to any terrorist organizations operating in Syria.

      And Kerry stressed to reporters the road to end the nation’s five-year civil war will not be easy, saying that peace is not possible without a political transition.

      “What we have here are words on paper. What we need to see in the next few days are actions on the ground, in the field,” he said.

      http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/11/middleeast/syria-ceasefire-talks/