Infinite Unknown

More info on Al-CIAda down below.

Al-Qaeda’s Syrian wing is helping to finance its activities by selling the product of oilfields that once helped to prop up the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

- Al-Qaeda’s Syrian wing takes over the oilfields once belonging to Assad (Telegraph, May 18, 2013):

Up to 380,000 barrels of crude oil were previously produced by wells around the city of Raqqa and in the desert region to its east that are now in rebel hands – in particular Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda off-shoot which is the strongest faction in this part of the country.

Now the violently anti-Western jihadist group, which has been steadily extending its control in the region, is selling the crude oil to local entrepreneurs, who use home-made refineries to produce low-grade petrol and other fuels for Syrians facing acute shortages.

The ability of Jabhat al-Nusra to profit from the oil locally, despite international sanctions which have hindered its sale abroad, will be particularly worrying to the European Union, which has voted to ease the embargo but at the same time wants to marginalise the extremist group within the opposition.

In the battle for the future of the rebel cause, the oil-fields may begin to play an increasingly strategic role. All are in the three provinces closest to Iraq – Hasakeh, Deir al-Zour, and Raqqa, while the Iraqi border regions are the homeland of the Islamic State of Iraq, as al-Qaeda’s branch in the country calls itself.

It was fighters from Islamic State of Iraq, both Iraqi and Syrian, who are thought to have founded Jabhat al-Nusra as the protests against the rule of President Assad turned into civil war.
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Tags: Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaida, Bashar Assad, Global News, Government, Middle East, Politics, Syria, Terrorism

- Bashar al-Assad issues defiant message: ‘I’m here to stay’ (Guardian, May 18, 2013):

Syria’s embattled leader Bashar al-Assad has used a rare interview – carried out amid the sound of artillery fire resounding through his presidential palace in Damascus – to warn the United States and Russia that their efforts to bring about talks will do little to halt the civil war laying waste to his country, and that he has no intention of stepping down.

In an exclusive interview for the Argentinian newspaper Clarín, shared with the Observer, Assad says he welcomes attempts at dialogue, but believes that western states are looking for ways to fuel the violence, rather than stop it, and are seeking to topple his regime regardless of the toll.

Moscow and Washington have been in dispute over the anti-Assad uprising since it began in March 2011 but are now trying to find common ground to quell the bloodshed and destruction as its effects continue to reverberate across the region. If successful, there are hopes talks could take place at the end of this month and lead to a multilateral summit attended by key protagonists.

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Tags: Bashar Assad, Global News, Government, Israel, Middle East, Politics, Syria, U.S.

The S-300-P surface-to-air missile system

- 5 Questions on Russian S-300 Missile System Sales to Syria (RIA-Novosti, May 14, 2013):

MOSCOW, May 14 (Alexey Eremenko, RIA Novosti) – If fresh media reports are true, Russia, Syria’s longtime supplier of military equipment, may soon provide Damascus – or already has – with advanced S-300 air defense systems, tipping the balance in the devastating 26-month conflict in the Middle Eastern country. But the “if” is a big one.

The missile batteries would give Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime a powerful weapon against foreign air strikes – one of the options being bounced around as a form of international intervention – and could fracture the fragile accord on Syria reached last week between Moscow and Washington, which hope to get the warring sides to negotiate.

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Tags: Bashar Assad, Global News, Government, Middle East, Military, Missile Defense Systems, Politics, Russia, S-300, Syria

What Really Happened in Benghazi?

- Benghazi’s Dirty Little Secret (Veterans Today, May 11, 2013):

Americans (at least the ones who know where Libya is) are understandably confused and angry about the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack that killed US ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi.

If they are looking to the current congressional hearings to clarify what really happened, they will be greatly disappointed.

Despite accusations by Republican leaders that Obama committed has treason and is trying to cover it up, they have no more interest than Democrats in bringing out the truth. No one wants the dirty little secret coming out that Stevens was involved in a covert CIA operation to funnel Libyan weapons and jihadists to Syria to fight the Assad regime.

The funding, arming and training of Al Qaeda terrorists for geopolitical ends is a well-established pillar of US foreign policy. (National Counterterrorism Center Report on Terrorism 2011). This isn’t a partisan issue, as CIA support for jihad has received equal levels of support from both Obama and his predecessor George W Bush.

The Road to Damascus Starts in Benghazi Continue reading »

Tags: Africa, Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaida, Barack Obama, Bashar Assad, Benghazi, Bush administration, CIA, George Bush, Global News, Government, Libya, Middle East, Muammar Gaddafi, Obama administration, Politics, Syria, Terrorism, U.S.

- White House Says Ignore Facts, Assad “Likely” Behind Syrian Chemical Weapons After All (ZeroHedge, May 6, 2013):

When it comes to the deep hole of lies and inconsistencies that US foreign policy is vis-a-vis Syria, it has two options: stop digging or double down. Following the earlier report by the UN that outright rejected the full blown White House propaganda push to make it seem that it was Assad’s regime that was using chemical weapons as a front to stage a military incursion against a very unappealing despot, that it was the Al-Qaeda assisted and potentially US-armed rebels who had in fact been using toxic sarin gas, there was some hope that the digging would stop. Instead, the doubling down began.

From AP:

The White House says it’s highly likely that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, not the rebel opposition, was behind any chemical weapons use in Syria.

White House spokesman Jay Carney says there is certainly evidence that chemical weapons have been used. But Carney says the U.S. is highly skeptical of claims that rebels put them in play.

Indeed, when presented with fact, Carney gets highly skeptical. Recall from earlier:

Carla Del Ponte, a member of the UN independent commission of inquiry on Syria, said that testimony gathered from casualties and medical staff indicated that the nerve agent sarin gas was used by rebel fighters.

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Tags: Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaida, Barack Obama, Bashar Assad, Global News, Government, Middle East, Obama administration, Politics, Syria, Terrorism, U.N., U.S., White House

- Syria Threatens “Surprise” Response To Israel Air Raid; Iran And Russia Pile In (ZeroHedge, Jan 31, 2013):

In the aftermath of yesterday’s surprising attack by Israel on Syrian soil, an act which any prior justification notwithstanding is a clear act of war sovereign aggression, it was only a matter of time before Syria responded, at least diplomatically at first. And as we also noted yesterday that “Iran has previously warned that any attack on Syria is the same as an attack on Iran” it was safe to assume that Iran would have a thing or two to say in response as well. Earlier today they did just that, with Syria warning that a “surprise” response to the Israel attack is forthcoming, while the “Iranian deputy foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian said the attack “demonstrates the shared goals of terrorists and the Zionist regime… It is necessary for the sides which take tough stances on Syria to now take serious steps and decisive stances against this aggression by Tel Aviv and uphold criteria for security in the region.” Finally yesterday we wondered “how Russia and/or China which have made clear that Syria is a strategic geopolitical center for both in the past will react”, and today we know: “Russia, which has blocked Western efforts to put pressure on Syria at the United Nations, said that any Israeli air strike would amount to unacceptable military interference.” So far nothing from China, which has in the past let Russia be its proxy on Syrian matters.And while the rhetoric has soared on all sides, it remains to be seen if Syria will indeed challenge Israel or if it will retain its bluster, an act which will simply invite Bibi to launch ever more offensive sorties until one day something finally does snap.

From Reuters:

Syria protested to the United Nations on Thursday over an Israeli air strike on its territory and warned of a possible “surprise” response.

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Tags: Barack Obama, Bashar Assad, Global News, Government, Iran, Middle East, Military, Politics, Russia, U.S., War, WW III

- US and Russia back bid to find end to Syrian war (Telegraph, Dec 22, 2012):

The United States and Russia have backed a final bid to find a political solution to Syria’s civil war, as Moscow said it was prepared to accept President Bashar al-Assad’s departure.

Lakhdar Brahimi, the United nations special envoy to Syria, is reportedly planning to fly from Cairo to Damascus to present a deal to the Syrian president.

The plan would create a transitional government made up of regime and opposition figures, according to diplomatic sources.

It would require Mr Assad to hand over power quickly and he would be encouraged to accept an orderly exile. He has said he wants to keep his post, which his family has held for four decades, until 2014.

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Tags: Barack Obama, Bashar Assad, Global News, Government, Middle East, Obama administration, Politics, Russia, Syria, U.S., Vladimir Putin

Oh, sure!

Using Al-Qaeda to ‘secure’ chemical weapons?

- Syrian Rebels: ‘When We Finish With Assad, We Will Fight The U.S.’

- US-Created ‘Syrian Opposition’ Led by Big Oil Rep

- Syrian Insurgents Reject West-Imposed Coalition, Declare Own Islamic State

- ‘Clinton & Al-Qaeda On One Side Of Syrian War Barricades’ (Video)

- The CIA’s Muslim ‘Outfit,’ – The Muslim Brotherhood (Veterans Today)

- Mossad, CIA And Blackwater Operate In Syria – Report

- Syria: Clinton Admits US On Same Side As Al Qaeda To Destabilise Assad Government (Global Research)

- U.S. Fighting On The Same Side As Three Terrorist Groups In Syria

What could possibly go ‘wrong’?

- Sources: U.S. helping underwrite Syrian rebel training on securing chemical weapons (CNN, Dec 9, 2012):

The United States and some European allies are using defense contractors to train Syrian rebels on how to secure chemical weapons stockpiles in Syria, a senior U.S. official and several senior diplomats told CNN Sunday.

The training, which is taking place in Jordan and Turkey, involves how to monitor and secure stockpiles and handle weapons sites and materials, according to the sources. Some of the contractors are on the ground in Syria working with the rebels to monitor some of the sites, according to one of the officials.

The nationality of the trainers was not disclosed, though the officials cautioned against assuming all are American.

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Tags: Barack Obama, Bashar Assad, chemical weapons, EU, Europe, Global News, Government, Middle East, Military, Obama administration, Politics, Syria, U.S.

- Bashar al-Assad, Syria, and the truth about chemical weapons (Independent, Dec 8, 2012):

Bashar’s father Hafez al-Assad was brutal but never used chemical arms. And do you know which was the first army to use gas in the Middle East?

The bigger the lie the more people will believe it. We all know who said that – but it still works. Bashar al-Assad has chemical weapons. He may use them against his own Syrian people. If he does, the West will respond. We heard all this stuff last year – and Assad’s regime repeatedly said that if – if – it had chemical weapons, it would never use them against Syrians.

But now Washington is playing the same gas-chanty all over again. Bashar has chemical weapons. He may use them against his own people. And if he does…

Well if he does, Obama and Madame Clinton and Nato will be very, very angry. But over the past week, all the usual pseudo-experts who couldn’t find Syria on a map have been warning us again of the mustard gas, chemical agents, biological agents that Syria might possess – and might use. And the sources? The same fantasy specialists who didn’t warn us about 9/11 but insisted that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction in 2003: “unnamed military intelligence sources”. Henceforth to be acronymed as UMIS. Continue reading »

Tags: Barack Obama, Bashar Assad, CIA, Germany, Global News, Government, Iran, Iraq, Middle East, Military, NATO, Obama administration, Politics, Saddam Hussein, Syria, U.S., War

See also:

- US, French Troops Prepare For Syria Invasion In Response To ‘Chemical Weapons’ Threat

Flashback:

On record: Interview With US General Wesley Clark (Ret.): US Government Planned To ‘Take Out 7 Countries In 5 Years’: ‘Starting With Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan And Finishing Off Iran’ (Video)

Originally from Belfast, Ireland, Finian Cunningham (born 1963) is a prominent expert in international affairs. The author and media commentator was expelled from Bahrain in June 2011 for his critical journalism in which he highlighted human rights violations by the Western-backed regime. He is a Master’s graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in journalism. He is also a musician and songwriter. For many years, he worked as an editor and writer in the mainstream news media, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent. He is now based in East Africa where he is writing a book on Bahrain and the Arab Spring.

- ‘West moves in for Syrian endgame and war on Iran’ (PressTV, Dec 5, 2012):

US President Barack Obama’s renewed warning against Syria this week, that any use of chemical weapons by Syrian government forces is a red line triggering direct military assault on the country, can be seen as the Western powers moving towards their endgame of “regime change.”

Washington first raised the specter of Syrian chemical weapons several months ago and warned then that it would be forced to act militarily in order to “secure” such alleged stockpiles.

Now the American president and his officials are rekindling fears of this contingency, with the added alleged development that the Syrian government of President Bashar Al Assad has become so desperate to survive that it is preparing to mobilize chemical warheads.

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Tags: Bashar Assad, chemical weapons, EU, Europe, Global News, Government, Hillary Clinton, Iran, Middle East, Military, Politics, Sarin, Syria, U.S., War, WW III