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		<title>US Concerns Grow Over Possible Israeli Strike on Iran</title>
		<link>http://www.j-hady.com/us-concerns-grow-over-possible-israeli-strike-on-iran/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:55:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>NN</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[ Talk of a possible attack on Iranian nuclear facilities is again rumbling in Tehran, Jerusalem, and Washington. Israel is reported to be increasingly anxious about Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program and at least one U.S. official is reported to be warning that an Israeli attack is not far off. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak says the world is running out of time to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear weapons power.  U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is reported to believe Israel could launch strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities within the next five months.  Iranian officials deny any intention to build nuclear weapons and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned Friday Iran will retaliate in full force if its nuclear facilities are attacked. But there are differences between the U.S. and Israel over how to deal with the situation.  A 2007 U.S. National Intelligence Estimate on Iran - the highest collective judgment of all U.S. intelligence agencies - said that while Iran was making technical advances, it had not yet committed to actually assembling nuclear weapons. In a 2009 VOA interview, then-CIA Director Leon Panetta predicted Iran could have a nuclear bomb sometime between 2010 and 2015, but had not yet decided whether to take that final step. "Well, our view is and our intelligence is that while they are proceeding to develop a nuclear capability in terms of power and low-grade uranium that there's still very much a debate going on within Iran as to whether they should proceed further," Panetta said at the time. Iran Intelligence Revised A revised intelligence estimate last year came to the same conclusion about Iran's nuclear program, U.S. officials said. "They (the Iranians) are certainly moving on that path, but we don't believe they've actually made the decision to go ahead with a nuclear weapon," James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, told a congressional committee on Tuesday. But the view is very different in Jerusalem, where Iran's nuclear program is seen as a threat to Israel's very existence.    Israeli journalist Ronen Bergman, writing in the prestigious New York Times Magazine Jan. 25, quoted top officials in Jerusalem as saying that Israel could not wait much longer before striking Iran's nuclear facilities. Iran has so far enriched uranium to a level of 20 percent purity.  Experts say Iran would have to reach at least 90 percent to use it in a weapon. "If Iran is indeed enriching to bomb grade - and I haven't seen anything suggesting that we know that they are or that we strongly suspect that they are - then they're that much closer to the proverbial one screw turn away (from a bomb)," Thomas Fingar, former chairman of the U.S. intelligence Council, told VOA this week.   "Uranium is the critical dimension, and in the time line that was laid out in the public portion of the 2007 estimate, we're in the window, the first half of this decade," Fingar added. Washington Prefers Sanctions The Obama administration is opposed to any military action against Iran at this time, and is instead counting on stiffer international sanctions against Iran's critical oil industry to force Tehran away from any weapons development.   Fingar backs that strategy, adding that a preemptive attack on Iran could backfire. "If it's correct that Tehran has not yet made the decision to go for a bomb, attacking the facilities would seem to greatly increase the likelihood of rallying the (Iranian) public behind not just the nuclear program and the government, but the need to have an independent deterrent capability, a nuclear deterrent capability," Fingar said.   Intelligence analysts say it is difficult to determine when Iran crosses the so-called "red line" into nuclear weapons production because so much of the technical work is "dual use" - usable for both military and peaceful purposes. CIA Director David Petraeus told a congressional committee this week a key indicator would be if Iran begins enriching uranium to 90 percent purity. "There's no commercial use for that arguably- in fact, not arguably," Petraeus said. "I think factually the amount of 20 percent enriched uranium that they have exceeds any requirement, for example, for the Tehran Research Reactor for the foreseeable future." But while Washington has publicly spelled out its so-called "red line" on Iranian nuclear development, Israel has not. Some U.S. officials worry that the "red line" for Israel may be when Iran moves key sections of its nuclear facilities to hardened underground sites out of the reach of missiles and bombs. Whatever its threshold, Israeli Defense Minister Barak said this week Israel cannot wait until it is reached.  "Whoever says later," Barak told a gathering of security experts, "may find out that 'later' is too late." As if to emphasize his point for a Western audience, he switched from Hebrew to English for the phrase. ]]></description>
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		<title>US Forces Rescue Kidnapped Westerners in Somalia</title>
		<link>http://www.j-hady.com/us-forces-rescue-kidnapped-westerners-in-somalia/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:01:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>NN</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[ U.S. defense officials say an American woman and a Danish man who were kidnapped last October in Somalia are safe, after being rescued by U.S. commandos in a daring operation northwest of the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Pentagon officials say American forces swept into an encampment in the vicinity of the town of Cadaado, northwest of Mogadishu, and pulled American Jessica Buchanan and Poul Thisted, a Danish national, to safety. Western officials said U.S. special forces arrived aboard helicopters early Wednesday. Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters the kidnappers were heavily armed. Military Raids to Free Hostages in Somalia There have been several foreign military operations to free hostages held in Somalia or off its coast. Most of the captives were taken by pirates in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. February 22, 2011: Four Americans are killed by their captors aboard their yacht S/V Quest as U.S. forces move to free them. September 9, 2010: U.S. Marines rescue the crew of the German owned Magellan Star seized in the Gulf of Aden. April 27, 2010: Yemeni forces capture the oil tanker Qana seized off Yemen's coast. April 5, 2010: A Dutch navy frigate frees the German cargo ship Taipan taken off the coast of Somalia. February 5, 2010: NATO special forces free 25 crew members of the Slovenian cargo ship Ariella captured in the Gulf of Aden. April 12, 2009: The U.S. Navy rescues Richard Phillips, captain of a captured U.S. vessel, and kills three of his four captors. “They had explosives nearby and there were very concrete plans for removing the kidnappers and placing them in detention,” said Little. U.S. officials say that opportunity did not present itself. The raid lasted several hours and by the end of it, U.S. forces had killed nine suspected kidnappers. The Pentagon did not say whether there was an exchange of gunfire. No Americans were killed. The kidnapped victims were working for a Danish aid agency when they were abducted by gunmen in October. The raid began as President Barack Obama was preparing to give his State of the Union address Tuesday night in Washington. By the time the president approached the podium to begin his speech, he already had learned that the hostages had been safely retrieved.   Microphones overheard him praising U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta as he entered the room. “Good job tonight. Good job,” said Obama to Panetta. Defense officials say the decision to carry out the raid came after getting word Buchanan’s health was deteriorating due to a pre-existing health condition. They did not say what that condition is. After her rescue, she was under the care of  U.S. military medical personnel.   Defense officials did not disclose her location, but news reports said she was taken to a U.S. base in neighboring Djibouti.   The operation happened as the Pentagon prepared to release its new budget, which is expected to contain the first significant cuts since the September 11 attacks of 2001. The budget is expected to raise funding for special operations and unconventional warfare teams. The Obama administration this month announced a new military strategy to create what it says will be a leaner, more agile force. The administration has also said it wants to focus more on Africa, where officials say the State Department-designated terrorist groups al-Shabab and al-Qaida are operating in Somalia. Pentagon officials described the kidnappers killed in the Somalia raid as criminal suspects and gave no indication of whether they were part of a terrorist network. ]]></description>
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		<title>Syrian Uprising Moves Closer to Capital</title>
		<link>http://www.j-hady.com/syrian-uprising-moves-closer-to-capital/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:16:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>NN</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[ Damascus has been spared much of the violence gripping Syria, although there are signs that the uprising is moving closer on the capital. The body of a Syrian general is on its way to burial.  Chopin's Funeral March merges with trilling laments and chants of pro-government slogans. Watch related video clip: Officials say General Mohammed Abdul-Hamid al Awad was on his way to work this week when an "armed terrorist group" attacked him outside his Damascus home. His funeral procession is attended by Arab League monitors.  Afterward, they are shown the bodies of at least six young men officials describe as soldiers killed in recent fighting. A morgue official counts a total of 58 stab wounds to one body, many of them, he says, inflicted after the man died. The post-mortem wounds raise questions, but many government accounts are rejected by the opposition as manipulated or fabricated. Even without all the answers, the killing of a prominent military figure in the capital, once seemingly immune to the unrest, adds to fears following two suicide bombings in the past month.   In some ways, Damascus appears normal.  Shops and restaurants are open, though financial sanctions have turned it into a cash-based system.  More telling are the checkpoints and sandbagged positions around the city, speaking to fears of further troubles.  Amal, who gives just her first name, says the military is justified in its actions, in what she sees as a bid to maintain security. "People are killing each other because of sect, because of religion, because whatever it is.  So the military needs to go on the streets because this is the country's military," she said. "If somebody is wrong, they need to enforce law." Despite ongoing security efforts, the government has not been able to quell the unrest in towns ringing the capital.  And in Zabadani, 40 kilometers away, opposition forces say they have reached a ceasefire with government troops.  If confirmed, it would be a rare concession by the state on the military strength of its opponents.   Join the conversation on our social journalism site - Middle East Voices . Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page. ]]></description>
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		<title>Taliban Ready For Afghan Peace Talks</title>
		<link>http://www.j-hady.com/taliban-ready-for-afghan-peace-talks/</link>
		<comments>http://www.j-hady.com/taliban-ready-for-afghan-peace-talks/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Jan 2012 07:33:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>NN</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[ The Taliban says its political wing is ready to enter peace talks to end the war in Afghanistan, but that it will not give up its armed struggle against international forces. A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahed, said the insurgent group has stepped up its efforts to bring about peace in the troubled nation.  But, in the e-mailed statement, he also reiterated the Taliban's opposition to the current Afghan constitution and referred to the government led by President Hamid Karzai as a "stooge" administration. The comments come as the U.S. special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman, prepares to lead a delegation to Afghanistan next week in an effort to get approval from President Karzai for the resumption of preliminary talks with the Taliban. Earlier this month, the Afghan Taliban said it had reached a preliminary agreement to open a political office in the Gulf state of Qatar, in a move that could help facilitate the talks. Spokesman Mujahid said in a statement that the Taliban is asking for the release of prisoners held at the U.S.-run Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba. In Washington Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said no decisions have been made about releasing Taliban prisoners. Clinton said the United States was ready to support an Afghan-led reconciliation process.  But she reiterated that any power-sharing deal would have to involve insurgents renouncing violence, breaking ties with al-Qaida and accepting the Afghan constitution. The secretary also indicated progress in efforts to open a Taliban political office in Qatar, citing "positive statements" from President Karzai and the Taliban. In December, Vice President Joe Biden said the Afghan Taliban are not America's enemies, and that the insurgent group did not represent a threat to the United States unless it continued to harbor al-Qaida terrorists. U.S.-led forces ousted Afghanistan's Taliban government following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.  Those attacks were carried out by al-Qaida, which had training camps in Afghanistan. The Taliban's statement on peace talks comes as violence continues in Afghanistan. A suicide car bomber killed five people, including a local district chief, in southern Afghanistan on Thursday. Provincial officials say the governor of Kandahar province's Panjwayi district, Fazluddin Agha, was traveling in his car with his two sons when the bomber rammed a vehicle full of explosives into them near Kandahar city.  All three were killed, as well as two of the district governor's guards. Officials say nine police officers and a civilian were wounded. There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack. Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters. ]]></description>
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		<title>US Rescues Iranians Held Hostage by Pirates</title>
		<link>http://www.j-hady.com/us-rescues-iranians-held-hostage-by-pirates/</link>
		<comments>http://www.j-hady.com/us-rescues-iranians-held-hostage-by-pirates/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Jan 2012 15:23:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>NN</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[ A U.S. Navy ship has rescued 13 Iranians being held hostage by pirates in the Arabian Sea, days after Iran warned U.S. vessels not to return to the Persian Gulf. The U.S. Navy announced Friday that it detected the pirates' skiff alongside the Iranian fishing vessel, the Al Molai , on Thursday after receiving a distress call from the Iranian ship. The Navy said a team of military personnel from the destroyer USS Kidd boarded the Iranian vessel, or dhow, and detained 15 pirates who were holding the Iranians hostage. The Navy said the Iranian vessel had been under the control of the pirates for more than a month and was being used as a headquarters for pirate operations. It said the hostages are believed to have been forced to help with piracies. A U.S. Navy spokeswoman told VOA Friday that the U.S. naval team was aware before the rescue that the dhow was flying an Iranian flag.  Lieutenant Rebecca Rebarich says vessels are "obligated" to assist any "distressed" sailors, regardless of nationality. Rebarich said the head of the Iranian crew expressed his "sincere gratitude" to the U.S. Navy, saying he feared that without the U.S. assistance, his crew would have been held hostage for months. The Navy said the Iranians were given food and medical care, and were released wearing USS Kidd embroidered hats. Navy officials say the sailors are now on their way home and most likely not aware of the recent tensions between Tehran and Washington. Iran has recently threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, in the Persian Gulf, and warned the U.S. not to operate aircraft carriers in the area - something the U.S. routinely does. U.S. officials have made clear that operations will continue as usual in the Gulf. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Friday the U.S. has not communicated with Iran about the rescue that she called a "humanitarian gesture." "The very same ship and set of vessels that the Iranians protested on its last voyage through Hormuz, the John C. Stennis carrier strike group, just rescued this Iranian dhow from pirates," said Nuland. The pirates - believed to be Somalis - are in detention at sea on the U.S. aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis . Some information for this report was provided by AFP. Join the conversation on our social journalism site - Middle East Voices . Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page. ]]></description>
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		<title>Syria&#8217;s Unrest Spreads in Mass Protests, At Least 14 Killed</title>
		<link>http://www.j-hady.com/syrias-unrest-spreads-in-mass-protests-at-least-14-killed/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:17:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>NN</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[ Mass protests erupted in Syria Friday as activists say Syrian forces killed at least 10 people after tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators turned out across the country. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the civilians were killed when forces opened fire in the Daraa and Hama regions.   The group also says about two dozen people were injured after forces used nail bombs and tear gas on rock-throwing protesters in Douma. Activists also say four people were killed in a government ambush near the Lebanese border. Separately, the state-run SANA news agency says "massive crowds" of supporters of President Bashar al-Assad rallied on Friday  in favor of national unity. The pro and anti-government demonstrations were held a day after Arab League peace monitors visited several flashpoint cities. The government said the monitors "met a number of citizens" in the Damascus, Homs, Daraa and Hama regions. About 60 observers are in the country to check the government's compliance with pledges to end the crackdown on dissent and release political detainees. On Friday, Syria's ally Russia said it is "satisfied" with the initial results of the Arab League observer mission. The foreign ministry said in a statement that the situation in the restive city of Homs "seems to be reassuring," based on initial observer reports.   Syria pulled some of its tanks from  Homs and released about 800 prisoners. But opposition leader Burhan Ghalioun said the government continues to hold more than 100,000 people, "some of them in military barracks and aboard ships off the Syrian coast." Syrian authorities agreed to the observers under international pressure and threats of Arab sanctions. The plan requires the government to give the monitors freedom of movement except for sensitive military sites. The United Nations estimates 5,000 people have been killed since March in violence linked to Syria's unrest. Syria says armed terrorists are driving the revolt. It accuses them of killing 2,000 security personnel since March. Meanwhile, pro-Syrian government protesters chanted slogans and held pictures of Assad in the flashpoint city of Homs in central Syria, Thursday. Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters. Join the conversation on our social journalism site - Middle East Voices . Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page. ]]></description>
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		<title>US Ends Military Mission in Iraq</title>
		<link>http://www.j-hady.com/us-ends-military-mission-in-iraq/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2011 01:00:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>NN</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[ The U.S. military has formally ended its mission in Iraq.  At a ceremony in Baghdad, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta watched as American troops lowered their command's flag, marking an end to the nearly nine-year war that drove out Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein.   It was a solemn, low-key ceremony outside a terminal at Baghdad's airport in a fortified area surrounded by concrete barriers. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta flew in briefly for the ceremony, which was held in front of scores of U.S. troops and foreign media. There was a seat reserved for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. But he did not attend. Soldiers took the flag representing the U.S. military command in Iraq, rolled it around the staff, and slipped into a camouflage cloth case. The gesture marked the symbolic end of Operation New Dawn and the war that lasted nearly nine years, killed more than 4,000 Americans along with tens of thousands of Iraqis, and unleashed sectarian violence in the country. Panetta called’s Thursday’s ceremony a historic occasion. "To be sure, the cost was high, in blood and treasure for the United States and for the Iraqi people. Those lives were not lost in vain," he said. "They gave birth to an independent, free and sovereign Iraq." People chant anti-US slogans during a demonstration in Fallujah, 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Iraq, December 14, 2011. What U.S. forces leave behind is a stability that is fragile at best. Violence has diminished in the past few years, but continues to flare, with attacks carried out by insurgents, some of them operating with Iranian support. Some U.S. officials had wanted to keep several thousand troops in place beyond a December 31 deadline that Washington and Baghdad set three years ago. However, President Obama announced a total withdrawal in October after his administration failed to reach an agreement for Iraq to provide immunity to U.S. troops. At the time of the announcement, there were about 50,000 troops in Iraq. That number is down to a few thousand as the last convoys of trucks make their way south to bases in Kuwait. In his remarks Thursday, Panetta said Washington will remain engaged in Iraq. “Let me be clear," said Panetta. "Iraq will be tested in the days ahead by terrorism and by those who would seek to divide it; by economic and social issues; by the demands of democracy itself. Challenges remain, but the U.S. will stand by the Iraqi people as they navigate those challenges to build a stronger and more prosperous nation.” The American embassy in Baghdad houses the United States’ largest diplomatic presence in the world, and a small number of troops will remain, mainly to protect diplomats. Some Iraqis this week celebrated the departure of U.S. troops, while others expressed concern that the country could again slip into chaos and violence. Whatever the outcome, the future of Iraq remains in the hands of its people. Timeline of the Iraq Invasion Loading timeline... Join the conversation on our social journalism site - Middle East Voices . Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page. ]]></description>
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		<title>Despite Concessions, Egyptians Protest</title>
		<link>http://www.j-hady.com/despite-concessions-egyptians-protest/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Nov 2011 09:27:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>NN</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.j-hady.com/despite-concessions-egyptians-protest/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Anti-government protests in Egypt continued for a fifth day Wednesday in-and around the iconic Tahrir Square in Cairo, despite concessions announced by the head of the ruling military council designed to ease discontent. On Tuesday, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, pledged to speed the transition to civilian rule with presidential elections before July 2012. But protesters were pressing their demand for the country's military rulers to step down immediately.  At least 35 people have been killed during the past five days in clashes between security forces and protesters in Cairo and other main cities. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Wednesday urged Egyptian authorities to end what she called "clearly excessive force against protesters" called images of the brutal beatings of subdued protesters "deeply shocking." Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities said Wednesday three American students arrested during protests in Cairo earlier this week are being questioned by local police in the presence of a lawyer and a U.S. embassy official. Egyptian media report that the three, all students at American University in Cairo, were detained along with other protesters while throwing petrol bombs at police.   No formal charges have been brought against the students, who insisted they did nothing wrong.    Parliamentary elections are set to begin on Monday and Tantawi pledged the polls would go forward as planned.  But many opposition leaders believe that to be increasingly doubtful. In another apparent concession to demonstrators, the military council earlier issued a law that bans anyone convicted of corruption from running for office or holding a government position. The move could restrict members of ex-president Hosni Mubarak's former ruling party from competing in the upcoming elections. Amnesty International on Tuesday accused Egypt's rulers of brutality sometimes exceeding that of Mr. Mubarak. Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters. Join the conversation on our social journalism site - Middle East Voices . Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page. ]]></description>
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		<title>Syrian Army Defectors Go on Offense, Militarizing Syria&#8217;s Uprising</title>
		<link>http://www.j-hady.com/syrian-army-defectors-go-on-offense-militarizing-syrias-uprising/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Nov 2011 01:04:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>NN</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.j-hady.com/syrian-army-defectors-go-on-offense-militarizing-syrias-uprising/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Thousands of Syrian army deserters who joined the country's opposition movement have been staging more frequent and deadly attacks on forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in recent days. Those offensive operations by the lightly-armed and loosely-organized Free Syrian Army have increasingly militarized what has been a largely peaceful eight-month uprising against the government. In recent weeks, the rebels engaged in battles with pro-Assad troops in the northwestern province of Idlib, central province of Homs and southern province of Daraa. On Wednesday, the Free Syrian Army escalated the fighting by attacking military facilities on the outskirts of the capital, Damascus for the first time. Syrian opposition activists say the rebels struck an air force intelligence complex in the suburb of Harasta with rockets and gunfire. Watch a related report by Elizabeth Arrott Chris Phillips, a Syria expert with the Economist Intelligence Unit in London, says the air force base is notorious for using repression to prevent dissent within the military. He says he believes the attack on the base was a symbolic effort by the rebels to intimidate pro-Assad forces rather than an attempt to seize facilities controlled by the much stronger military. A Look At Syria's Main Opposition Groups Syrian National Council: - Turkey-based coalition of varying ideologies is Syria's largest opposition grouping. - Secular dissident Bourhan Ghalioun announced the council's formation in October and said it rejects foreign intervention. Rejects dialogue with President Bashar al-Assad's government and has been urging him to resign. - Has created a general assembly, a general secretariat and an executive committee whose members will chair the council on a rotating basis. National Coordination Committee: - Primarily based in Syria. - Wants the government to enact reforms though dialogue and by building new civilian institutions. - Headed by Hassan Abdul-Azim, who has been demanding an end to President Assad's crackdown as a condition for any dialogue between the government and the opposition. Free Syrian Army: - Comprised of military defectors. - Initially formed to protect civilians but has increasingly gone on the offensive against pro-government forces. - Activists say the group launched a high-profile attack Wednesday against a military intelligence complex near Damascus. It used rockets and other weapons to damage the building. Also, the group says it has created a temporary military council that intends to unseat President Bashar al-Assad's government. - The group claims to have at least 15,000 members but those claims have not been independently verified. - Colonel Riad al-Asaad formed the group shortly after he defected in July. Phillips also says the Syrian rebels have been emboldened in recent days by the Arab League's decision to suspend the Syrian government's membership and by Jordanian King Abdullah's call for Assad to step down. He says the rebels have interpreted those moves as an opportunity to bring their fight to the capital, which has been largely quiet since the uprising began in March. "I believe that by attacking the outskirts of Damascus, they're trying to send a message to the, for want of a better word, undecided people in Damascus - to let them know that this is going to start affecting their lives as well, and now is the time to join the uprising, to play their cards,"  said Phillips. The Free Syrian Army released a statement late Tuesday saying that it has formed a temporary military council whose goal is to weaken the Syrian security forces. But Phillips says the rebels have given mixed messages in the past week about their desire to militarize the uprising, indicating that they remain fragmented. "We're talking about a lot of different pockets of people, rather than a clear, structured, united command," he said. Phillips says the Syrian rebels do not appear ready to engage in the kind of armed rebellion that overthrew Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. The Syrian military has not yet seen whole units or generals defecting to the opposition as they did in Libya. And the Syrian rebels do not control a territory. Libyan transitional forces used the city of Benghazi as a launching point for their rebellion that grew out of a largely cohesive opposition base. Syria's opposition is fragmented into at least three groups. VOA's Elizabeth Arrott speaks with Syria analyst Nadim Shehadi via Skype about the attacks and what they mean for activists advocating peaceful protest: Nadim Shehadi, an associate fellow of the London-based Chatham House, says divisions will hinder a united militarized movement to civil war. "The opposition narrative - the dominant opposition narrative - is still that of a non-violent and peaceful protest," he says. And, Shehadi adds, that makes international military moves less likely. "The Syrian National Council has sent a document to the Arab League and to the U.N. appealing for the protection of civilians under the duty-to-protect laws which is a universal obligation under U.N. rules, so there is a call for protection of civilians, under the duty to protect but it is different than calling for a foreign military intervention as we understand it," he says. Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page. ]]></description>
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		<title>Syria&#8217;s Homs Pays Heavy Price in Uprising</title>
		<link>http://www.j-hady.com/syrias-homs-pays-heavy-price-in-uprising/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Nov 2011 22:09:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>NN</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.j-hady.com/syrias-homs-pays-heavy-price-in-uprising/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Syria's third-largest city of Homs has paid a heavy price as one of the centers of the country's eight-month old opposition uprising. Rights activists say Syrian security forces have killed more than 1,100 civilians in the city and its surrounding province since the uprising began, more than any other part of the country. Experts say the unrest has escalated in Homs because of the region's poverty, its role as a natural home for army defectors and its history of anti-government protest. History of Homs Homs has a history of opposition to Syria's ruling Baath party that goes back to the 1960s, when Baathists took power in a coup. Business owners and religious conservatives in Homs organized protests in 1964 against the Baath party's socialist and secular agenda. But Syria's Baath-led government ordered security forces to suppress the uprising, keeping the city quiet for decades. Steven Heydemann discusses Sunni protesters: Steven Heydemann, a senior adviser for Middle East initiatives at the U.S. Institute of Peace , says resentment of Baath rule in Homs persists. "What we're seeing in some respects is the revival of an ethos of protest and resistance to the Baath government that anyone familiar with Homs would recognize from its past, but which is really taking very new forms and reflects very contemporary grievances," he said. A Look At Syria's Main Opposition Groups Syrian National Council: Turkey-based coalition of varying ideologies is Syria's largest opposition grouping. Secular dissident Bourhan Ghalioun announced the council's formation in October and said it rejects foreign intervention. Rejects dialogue with President Bashar al-Assad's government and has been urging him to resign. Has created a general assembly, a general secretariat and an executive committee whose members will chair the council on a rotating basis. National Coordination Committee: Primarily based in Syria. Wants the government to enact reforms though dialogue and by building new civilian institutions. Headed by Hassan Abdul-Azim, who has been demanding an end to President Assad's crackdown as a condition for any dialogue between the government and the opposition. Free Syrian Army: Comprises thousands of military defectors. Formed initially to protect civilians but has shown an increased willingness to go on the offensive against pro-government forces. Among the new grievances fueling this year's uprising in Homs are poverty and government corruption, says Mousab Azzawi of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , an opposition group. The Britain-based activist says anti-government sentiment is strong in the city's Baba Amr district, which has seen months of peaceful street protests against the 11-year rule of President Bashar al-Assad. "Baba Amr, as the oldest and poorest part of Homs, was severely affected," he said. "The people there are very poor and very vulnerable, they feel that this regime put them so badly below the edge of poverty. So they are the real powers that are moving the acts of uprising in Homs." Hub of defectors Homs and the surrounding province also have become a hub for thousands of army deserters who have refused orders to attack the protesters. Rights activists say Homs is a natural refuge for the defectors because many of them are from the province, the nation's largest. Syria's government blames the violence in Homs and other protest hubs on troublemakers. It says religious extremists from the Sunni majority are terrorizing minority Alawites and Christians and attacking security forces. Homs is about 40 percent Sunni, 30 percent Alawite and 30 percent Christian. Syria's Alawite-dominated leadership says it is trying to protect minorities by cracking down on the extremists. But Heydemann says there is little evidence of Sunni protesters in Homs pursuing an extremist ideology or organizing sectarian attacks. Heydemann sees the Syrian government as exaggerating an Islamist threat to try to divide and weaken the opposition movement. Exiled Syrian dissidents say the government also is trying to incite sectarian violence in Homs by recruiting Alawite mercenaries. Ausama Monajed, a London-based member of Syria's main opposition coalition, the Syrian National Council, says community leaders have formed committees to counter the violence. Ausama Monajed speaks about violence in Homs: "When the notable people from both sides discuss the issue, they realize neither Sunnis did this, nor the Alawites or the Christians," he said. Free Syrian Army Opposition activists in Homs are counting on an important ally - military defectors who formed the Free Syrian Army - to defend civilians. The Free Syrian Army has fought increasingly deadly battles with pro-Assad troops in and around Homs in recent weeks. Dissidents say the defectors also have formed protective lines around protests and urged demonstrators to remain peaceful. But Heydemann says army defectors and protest leaders are not yet united. "There tend to be divisions between them about which tactics are most effective in the long run," he said. "And there are peaceful protesters who are actually disturbed by the increasing use of force by groups opposed to the government." Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page. ]]></description>
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