Middle East

Iran to ‘remove any ambiguity regarding our country’s nuclear program’

"The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation, Ali Akbar Salehi, said separately Tehran could conceivably agree to allowing the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to conduct snap inspections of its facilities. Their remarks come as Iran’s new president, Hassan Rowhani, has expressed keenness to move forward quickly with serious, transparent negotiations, while not abandoning the country’s rights. Salehi said he understood international concerns, and that Iran was ready to allay them 'using every treaty, regulation and mechanism at the international level'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIran to ‘remove any ambiguity regarding our country’s nuclear program’

Putin: Syria chemical attack is ‘rebels’ provocation in hope of intervention’

"The alleged chemical weapons use in Syria is a provocation carried out by the rebels to attract a foreign-led strike, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the G20 summit. There was no 50/50 split of opinion on the notion of a military strike against the Syrian President Bashar Assad, Putin stressed refuting earlier assumptions. Only Turkey, Canada, Saudi Arabia and France joined the US push for intervention, he said, adding that the UK Prime Minister’s position was not supported by his citizens. Russia, China, India, Indonesia, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa and Italy were among the major world’s economies clearly opposed to military intervention." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPutin: Syria chemical attack is ‘rebels’ provocation in hope of intervention’

Who Wants War with Syria?

"According to the latest Rasmussen poll, 73 percent of Americans are opposed to going to war with Syria (euphemistically called 'a surgical strike' by Pentagon propaganda). In Favor of Expending American Blood and Treasure in a War on Syria: Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (representing 52 organizations); American-Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC); Simon Wiesenthal Center; Anti-Defamation League; 'Avowedly pro-Israel' members of Congress (in the words of the Washington Post)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWho Wants War with Syria?

Obama will address country on Syria; calls crisis ‘threat to global peace’

"President Barack Obama, facing hardened international opposition to a strike against Syria and returning home to a skeptical American public, will address the country Tuesday to make his case. Obama said that he would tell Congress and the public in coming days that any American strike would be 'limited and proportionate.' He did not directly answer a question about whether he would go forward with an attack without the approval of Congress. Military officials on Friday told NBC News that the White House asked the Pentagon for an expanded list of potential targets in Syria, and one senior official warned that it could represent 'mission creep.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama will address country on Syria; calls crisis ‘threat to global peace’

Gold and Syria

"We are confronting authoritarians with such an appetite for power that they become afraid to wield it for fear of losing it. It is a subject fit for a Dostoevsky or Shakespeare. It was a cause for rejoicing when the British Parliament refused the Queen’s Prime Minister authority to let slip the dogs of war on Syria. It was the first such refusal since 1782 when, incidentally, Parliament voted down further war against the rebellious American colonies. It will be a welcome sign of a dawning realization that the U.S. Empire has exhausted itself financially and in folly if the House refuses to pass Obama’s Syrian war resolution. But if it does approve another front in the U.S. Mideast war, buy gold with both hands." Continue reading →

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Vladimir Putin: The US Administration is Lying Shamelessly about Syria

"The Russian President then said the Al-Nusra Front terrorist organization, which pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda, has been at the forefront of the rebel groups fighting Assad's forces, and that the US is well aware of that. 'Well, he [Kerry] lies. And he knows that he lies. This is sad,' Putin remarked. Speaking of Kerry's confidence in that Assad's forces used chemical weapons, Putin recalled former US Secretary of State Colin Powell's rhetoric on the eve of American invasion in Iraq. Powell even brandished some test tube with a white powder as he attempted to persuade the international community that Iraq has chemical weapons, Putin said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVladimir Putin: The US Administration is Lying Shamelessly about Syria

Kerry Bloody Hands Protest

"Anti-war protesters held up blood-red hands behind Secretary of State John Kerry Wednesday as he made the Obama administration's case for military action in Syria. During Kerry's remarks to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, protesters dressed in pink were scattered in the gallery behind the former senator with the palms of their hands painted red — to symbolize blood — and bright pink duct tape over their mouths." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKerry Bloody Hands Protest

Syria Resolution Intentionally Vague, Obama Can Put Boots On The Ground

"JUDGE ANDREW NAPOLITANO: It's a tremendous amount of wiggle room for a couple of reasons. As a practical matter, as your previous guest Aaron just said, when you send missiles into a country, you need boots on the ground to guide the missiles where they're going to land. So Secretary Kerry may very well shrewdly have been mincing words. The government considers military troops out of uniform, out of uniform, or CIA in their nonuniform garb not to be 'boots on the ground.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSyria Resolution Intentionally Vague, Obama Can Put Boots On The Ground

Amash: Syria strike supporters ‘might as well start cleaning out your office’

"Federal lawmakers who plan to vote in favor of a U.S. military strike against Syria 'might as well start cleaning out' their office, U.S. Rep. Justin Amash said Thursday. Amash, R-Cascade Township, tweeted that the 'unprecedented level of public opposition' to military intervention in the country should beg for dissenting votes. Amash garnered national attention for hosting 11 town hall meetings this week to gauge opinion on President Barack Obama's request for Congress to approve a Syria strike. The sophomore lawmaker, whose mother was born in Syria, estimated 95 percent of those who turned out at meetings throughout his district were opposed to intervention." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmash: Syria strike supporters ‘might as well start cleaning out your office’

Calls to Congress 499 to 1 against Syria war

"Americans are slamming at least 24 members of Congress with thousands of phone calls and emails, urging lawmakers not to approve a military strike on Syria – by a margin of as much as 499 to 1. A national debate is raging on Twitter. Tweets and statements from members of Congress – both Democrat and Republican – show tremendously strong opposition to President Obama’s call for an air strike on Syria. Meanwhile, U.S. men and women in the military are taking to social media to anonymously demand that the Obama administration refrain from sending them to fight Syria." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalls to Congress 499 to 1 against Syria war