The Freedom Watch

Saudi Arabia Pushes US Toward Military Strike in Syria

"Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal urged the Arab League to back a military strike against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime after the chemical attack on Ghouta in which hundreds of Syrians were killed. Away from humanitarian concerns over the Syrian victims of chemical attacks, the Saudi antagonism to Assad’s regime started in 2006, when it appeared that together with Iraq, Syria was beginning to drift even more toward the Iranian sphere of influence and away from the Saudi-led Arab position, causing discomfort in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia aims to return Syria to its fold after years of estrangement and even hostility." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSaudi Arabia Pushes US Toward Military Strike in Syria

Glenn Greenwald: Obama, Congress and Syria

"The Congressional vote which Obama said he would seek appears, in his mind, to have no binding force at all. There is no reason to believe that a Congressional rejection of the war's authorization would constrain Obama in any way, other than perhaps politically. To the contrary, there is substantial evidence for the proposition that the White House sees the vote as purely advisory, i.e., meaningless. Recall how - in one of most overlooked bad acts of the Obama administration - the House of Representatives actually voted, overwhelmingly, against authorizing the US war in Libya, and yet Obama simply ignored the vote and proceeded to prosecute the war anyway." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Obama, Congress and Syria

Military Members Speak Out Against Syrian War Through Anonymous Meme

"Are we witnessing the beginnings of a new military member internet meme? Military members are donning their uniforms and posting pictures of themselves with signs covering their faces that read, 'I didn’t join the [military service branch name] to fight for Al-Quaeda in a Syrian civil war.' The first image surfaced on the internet a few days ago and now another military member has made their own version. Have military members finally found a way to speak out against U.S. Imperial foreign policies?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMilitary Members Speak Out Against Syrian War Through Anonymous Meme

Amash: Military Members Keep Telling Me To Vote No On Syria

"After President Obama delivered a speech in the Rose Garden where he said the United States 'should' strike Syria following a deadly chemical weapons attack, Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) took to Twitter to dispute that claim with comments from those who would likely carry out that order. Since Amash's initial tweet, he's been retweeting comments that have been sent in from military members and veterans. Many of my own military sources have expressed reservations with action in Syria, especially following service in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmash: Military Members Keep Telling Me To Vote No On Syria

Obama Refers to U.S. Armed Forces as ‘My Military’

"In case you missed it, President Obama referred to the United States armed forces as 'my military' during a statement to the media regarding the Syrian crisis Friday. 'But as I’ve already said,' Obama noted, 'I have had my military and our team look at a wide range of options.' And Twitter users went and got themselves into a bit of a twist. What do you think? Innocent semantics, a slip of the tongue…or something else?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama Refers to U.S. Armed Forces as ‘My Military’

Gorbachev warns of Syrian intervention risks

"Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said in Geneva on Monday that US President Barack Obama was right to seek backing from Congress for military action in Syria, but he warned that intervening raised dire risks. 'If he's not decisive enough in shooting and bombing, I think it's a good kind of indecisiveness,' Gorbachev told a conference of Green Cross International, a peace and environmental organisation he founded in 1993, two years after his Kremlin ouster. 'If, however, they decide to shoot without regard for the opinion of the people everywhere, including the United States, then I think the consequences could be very bad,' he warned." Continue reading →

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Saudi princess snaps up luxurious Geneva estate for $62 million

"Princess Latifa Bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who is 54 and a daughter of former king Fahd, bought the 18,800-square-metre (202,362-square-foot) estate from the wealthy Nordmann family that co-owns upscale department store chain Manor and the maker of Lacoste clothing. The purchase price for the property is the second-highest on record in the city. The villa on the estate, known as Hauterive, is protected along with other properties overlooking Lake Geneva. Al Saud joins a number of other Saudi royals who already live in luxurious settings in the canton of Geneva." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSaudi princess snaps up luxurious Geneva estate for $62 million

On Obama’s Plan, a Message Emerges in Israel: Stay Quiet

"Israel has a powerful American lobby with bipartisan strength that could be uniquely positioned to help the White House shore up support in Congress. Yet there were no outward signs on Sunday that Israel would attempt to influence the outcome, and numerous experts on the Israel-American relationship said it would be deeply dangerous to try. 'It would be a mistake to overplay the Israeli interest,' said Itamar Rabinovich, who was Israel’s ambassador to the United States and also its chief negotiator with Syria in the 1990s. 'It’s bad for Israel that the average American gets it into his or her mind that boys are again sent to war for Israel. They have to be sent to war for America.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOn Obama’s Plan, a Message Emerges in Israel: Stay Quiet