Islamic Crescent

Has US ‘Red Line’ On Syria Been Crossed?

[March 2013] "Four days after House Intelligence Committee Chairman (and former FBI agent) Mike Rogers reiterated in the Washington Post that the US 'red line' for military intervention in Syria would be that government's use of chemical weapons, the US-allied opposition fighters have apparently used some sort of chemical device in Aleppo, killing at least 26, including 16 Syrian Army soldiers. Does the 'red line' count if it is the US allies using the weapons? In other words, does the US attack the Syrian government anyway now that the line has been crossed even though government troops and innocent civilians are the victims of the attack?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHas US ‘Red Line’ On Syria Been Crossed?

Muslim leaders urge ‘decisive action’ against Syria

"The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Wednesday condemned alleged poison gas attacks in Syria, blaming the government and calling for 'decisive action' in response. The world’s largest grouping of Muslim nations 'stressed the need to hold the Syrian government legally and morally accountable for this heinous crime and to bring its perpetrators to justice'. The OIC called on the UN 'Security Council to discharge its duty of preserving international security and stability, taking a unified position against this monstrous crime and its perpetrators.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMuslim leaders urge ‘decisive action’ against Syria

Mystery Sponsor Of Weapons And Money To Syrian Mercenary “Rebels” Revealed

"The tiny gas-rich state of Qatar has spent as much as $3bn over the past two years supporting the rebellion in Syria, far exceeding any other government, but is now being nudged aside by Saudi Arabia as the prime source of arms to rebels. The cost of Qatar’s intervention, its latest push to back an Arab revolt, amounts to a fraction of its international investment portfolio. But its financial support for the revolution that has turned into a vicious civil war dramatically overshadows western backing for the opposition. For Qatar, owner of the world’s third-largest gas reserves, its intervention in Syria is part of an aggressive quest for global recognition, following its backing of Libya’s rebels." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMystery Sponsor Of Weapons And Money To Syrian Mercenary “Rebels” Revealed

Thousands of hungry and scared Syrian refugees enter Iraq

"Faced with brutal violence and soaring prices, thousands of Syrian Kurds have poured into Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, seeking respite from privation and fighting between Kurdish fighters and jihadists. Government forces pulled out of most Kurdish-majority areas of northern and northeastern Syria last year, leaving Kurdish groups to run their own affairs. But Al-Qaeda loyalists, who have played a significant role in the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, see the region as a vital link to fellow jihadists in Iraq and have been locked in deadly fighting with Kurdish militia in recent months. More than 1.9 million Syrians have fled their homeland, with most in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThousands of hungry and scared Syrian refugees enter Iraq

US photojournalist recounts horror of captivity after escaping al-Qaeda in Syria

"A US photojournalist who escaped from Syrian rebels after seven months in captivity revealed details of his ordeal Friday and spoke of his anguish at leaving a fellow hostage behind. Matthew Schrier, 35, fled the clutches of a rebel group aligned to Al-Qaeda in July after being kidnapped while leaving the Syrian city of Aleppo on December 31 last year. Schrier is one of 15 Westerners who have been kidnapped or who have disappeared this year. The experience of Schrier illustrates the increasing dangers for foreigners and moderate Syrians in the country, which has been ravaged by a vicious civil war for more than two years, with mounting numbers of heavily armed extremist groups on the ground." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS photojournalist recounts horror of captivity after escaping al-Qaeda in Syria

Iraq Kurds reach out to Baghdad to fight surging al Qaeda

"The Shi'ite-led Iraqi government and Kurdish authorities are now looking at examples like the Shirqat attack and considering the once unthinkable - launching joint security operations and sharing intelligence - to combat the common enemy of al Qaeda. Such cooperation has been extremely rare since U.S. troops left at the end of 2011, while the central government and the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region in the north have been locked in an increasingly hostile dispute over land and oil. That the two sides are publicly contemplating working together underlines how worried they are about the insurgency and the threat of Iraq slipping back into all-out sectarian war." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIraq Kurds reach out to Baghdad to fight surging al Qaeda

White House says Egypt’s new regime is on the ‘wrong path’

"The White House once again avoided using the word 'coup' to describe the recent overthrow of president Morsi – a move which would trigger an automatic congressional ban on US aid to the Egyptian military. Washington has suspended a recent shipment of F16 jets and said it was re-assessing whether to restart its $1.3bn of military aid, but its fears that a permanent severing of aid risks removing the only leverage it has in restraining the generals. For the moment, the White House insists it is simply continuing to evaluate its support, while stepping up its threat to sever ties if the military does not change tack." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhite House says Egypt’s new regime is on the ‘wrong path’

Army won’t suspend contracts with Al Qaeda-tied companies, citing ‘due process rights’

"The U.S. Army is refusing to suspend contracts with dozens of companies and individuals tied to Al Qaeda and other extremist groups out of concern for their 'due process rights,' despite repeated pleas from the chief watchdog for Afghanistan reconstruction. In a scathing passage of his latest report to Congress, Special Inspector General John Sopko said his office has urged the Army to suspend or debar 43 contractors over concerns about ties to the Afghanistan insurgency, 'including supporters of the Taliban, the Haqqani network and al Qaeda.' Sopko wrote that the Army 'rejected' every single case." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArmy won’t suspend contracts with Al Qaeda-tied companies, citing ‘due process rights’

More than 1,000 Iraqis killed in July, highest monthly toll since 2008

"More than 1,000 Iraqis were killed in sectarian violence in July, the highest monthly death toll since 2008, the United Nations said, as Sunni Islamist groups stepped up their insurgency against Iraq’s Shi’ite-led government. Most of the 1,057 victims were civilians, killed in a relentless campaign of bombings and shootings that some Iraqis fear could drag the country into another war. July’s toll brought the number of people killed in militant attacks since the start of the year to 4,137. Last week hundreds of convicts ran free after simultaneous attacks on two high-security prisons, raising questions about the ability of the security services to combat al Qaeda." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMore than 1,000 Iraqis killed in July, highest monthly toll since 2008