Assad: We’ll liberate Golan Heights

[ECH1969]

Syrian President Bashar Assad said his country is prepared for any war that may break out with Israel, adding that he is convinced that the chances for peace have decreased and that “the Golan Heights will be liberated by Syria.”

Syria and the resistance (referring to Hizbullah) read the situation correctly in that we predicted the confrontation. There have been extensive preparations for the current battle.

Referring to the international community’s intervention in the conflict, President Assad said “they intervene only when Israel is in pain; but when the Lebanese, Palestinians and others suffer – no one intervenes.”

Assad took the opportunity to praise Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah , describing him as “a unique commander in the history of the noble Lebanese resistance’; he also lauded Hizbullah TV station Al-Manar, saying it was the first time that the Arab media ‘defeated’ the enemy’s.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3291338,00.html

[Pavulon]

1. Translation

We will be asking for a un resolution denouncing the bombing and occupation of Damascus.

[Hardrada]

11. That would be a real stretch for Invincible Israel

at the present time. Gott sei danke!

[Delphinus]

13. And what good does a UN resolution do? n/t

[scarletwoman]

2. Man, the propaganda is going to get WAAAAAAY hot'n'heavy from now on.

The neocon/PNACers are FREAKED over the IDF debacle/practice run for Iran in Lebanon. I hope folks are sharpening their critical thinking skills -- we are about to be carpet bombed by the War Party, we'd better have our counter rockets ready and our defenses dug in.

sw

[davidinalameda]

3. another dictator on his way out

[HongKonger]

12. Sy Hersh Bashar al-Asad

And I’ve obviously -- maybe not so obviously, but I’ve interviewed the President of Syria, Bashar al-Asad, a couple of times. And one of the last times, with great pain he told me -- I think he showed me, even showed me, he was -- this was in 2005. He's written letters to George Bush, saying, “Let's get together. Let's talk. We have a lot in common. We can help you. We and Iran basically both have more -- we can do more for you in Iraq than any other country. Why aren't you using us? We don't need a Somalia on our borders. We're not interested in chaos there.” And this White House doesn't believe it. And the letters weren't answered, he told me. His ambassador here in Washington, Imad Mustafa, is absolutely isolated. All this talk that the White House has made, Condoleezza Rice, about having openings to Iran, to Syria, are just, you know -- they're not worth much. There's been some low-level talk. Nobody has made any efforts.

Syria has, as I’ve written in the New Yorker years ago, was one of the biggest helpers we had after al-Qaeda struck us, because Syria is -- the old man Asad, the father of the current president, hated Jihadism. He did not like the Muslim Brotherhood. They were his opponents. And he kept the best books going on the Muslim Brotherhood, which is very closely connected to al-Qaeda. In fact, we learned more about al-Qaeda from Syria after 9/11 than from any other country. Asad, the president, gave us thousands access -- agreed to give us access to thousands of files. And I wrote a story, I think in ’02 or ’03 for the New Yorker, in which I quoted a senior intelligence official of Syria saying, “We're willing to even talk about our support for Hezbollah with you. We want to see you win the war on terror.”

So it's been an amazingly horrific performance by this White House, which is of par. You know, I don't think any of us -- I certainly won't breathe easy until we get to 2009, inauguration of a new president. But there's just no question that if we were to approach Syria right now, something else I didn't write at the time -- that's because I wasn't writing about it -- I don't think there's any question that Israel was interested in talking to Syria in ’03, even about the Golan Heights, which is a tough issue for them, and --

SNIP

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/14/1358255

[agincourt]

34. more evidence

that this administration likes terrorism. It keeps the sheeple in line. It wants war with all Islam EXCEPT al-Qaeda. A crimminal government in no uncertain terms.

[DoYouEverWonder]

31. Yeah right

Assad may even outlive Castro at this rate.

You did notice that the IDF lost this last round?

[MrPrax]

4. Well-Earned Bragging Rights n/t

[PurityOfEssence]

5. Just like Junior: trying to prove himself better than daddy

Will the pathetic blustering never stop?

[aquart]

6. Ah. The point of the operation is now clear.

Pity Lebanon had to be trashed for it.

[Zynx]

7. Hezbollah probably fought better than Syria could fight. Empty rhetoric.

[Nevernose]

9. People fight for their homes

Which explains both Hezbollah's and Israel's tenaciousness. Regardless of whose side you take in the latest conflict, if any, all that matters is the perceptions of the people actually doing the fighting, and both of them believe their nation's very existance is at stake.

The same can't be said for Syrian troops.

[Zynx]

14. Syria also has no faith in their government.

The Assad regime has always held on by fear and intimidation. Hezbollah had no such morale problems.

[HereSince1628]

8. As I wrote earlier, this ceasefire isn't going to work.

It may never have been meant to work. I personally feel much of the effort was to draw Syria into combat.

Now that the claim can be seriously made that Hezbollah held its place and fought Israeli ground forces to a standstill the risks rise on both sides. Countries with a territorial grudge against Israel, like Syria, may be emboldened by Israel's apparent weakness while at the same time Israel _must_ get into another episode of warfare to demonstrate its strength. And the US is still begging for a reason to take out "state sponsors" of terror.

[Zynx]

15. Syria's problem is that Israel will fight on its own ground.

Israel will not invade Syria and get bogged down in urban guerilla fighting like in Lebanon and Syria cannot contend with Israel's airforce.

[CHIMO]

10. Fore Warned Is ..

Dan Gillerman: "The tragedy that we have seen in our region over the past weeks, it tells us, is but a preview of the coming attraction, produced by Iran, directed by Syria, acted by terrorist groups, soon to be seen in a theatre near you."

Israeli Ambassador Defends Israel’s Actions
At the United Nations, Israel’s ambassador Dan Gillerman defended Israel’s actions over the past month.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/14/1358247

And if anyone thinks that Russia or China will stop this, then they don't realize what the costs are to all the parties and the blow back.

[David__77]

16. It needs to be liberated and returned to Syria.

Of course that is a just demand of Syria and is demanded by UN resolution which Israel ignores. Syria should not use conventional military tactics though because obviously Israel has the upper hand in that arena.

[leftchick]

17. Syria: U.S. Mideast plan an 'illusion'

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/mideast_syria

DAMASCUS, Syria - Syrian President Bashar Assad said Tuesday that the U.S. plan for a "new Middle East" has collapsed following Hezbollah's successes in fighting against Israel.

Assad, speaking to a journalists' association in Syria, said the region has changed "because of the achievements of the resistance (by Hezbollah)."

"The Middle East they (the Americans) aspire to ... has become an illusion," he said.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said early in the war between Hezbollah and Israel that any settlement should be durable and lead to a "new Middle East" where extremists have no influence.

Assad said the fighting in Lebanon had been planned by Israel for some time, but the endeavor had failed. "The result was more failure for Israel, its allies and masters," Assad said.

[Demeter]

18. That's Just Dumbya, Creating His Own Reality

Ignore him---everybody else does!

[tnlefty]

19. But peace cannot be acheived under the Bush** administration. An

administration that adopts a policy for pre-emptive war. No peace in the foreseeable future.

Could someone please explain to me again just how the Bush** Doctrine, The Prince of Darkness himself, or this administration has helped much of anything either here at home or in the world?

[MrPrax]

20. Assad needs better writers --

Why use illusion, when 'mirage' translates quite well into English...

Dictionary

1. An optical phenomenon that creates the illusion of water, often with inverted reflections of distant objects, and results from distortion of light by alternate layers of hot and cool air.
2. Something illusory or insubstantial.

Thesaurus

An erroneous perception of reality: delusion, hallucination, ignis fatuus, illusion, phantasm, phantasma, will-o'-the-wisp. See real/imaginary.

All fits...

[erik-the-red]

21. Empire Building

One of the problems of the current administration is the moralist stance on foreign policy. Everything has to be "right" instead of "effective."

[MrPrax]

22. Syria hails 'a new Middle East'

Syria hails 'a new Middle East'

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says a new Middle East has emerged as a result of what he called Hezbollah's victory over Israel in southern Lebanon.

He said the vision of the region the US aspired to had become an illusion.

....

Mr Assad, speaking in Damascus a day after the UN-brokered ceasefire took effect, was giving his first speech on the crisis since it began more than a month ago.

He praised the "the glorious battle" he said had been waged by Hezbollah, and said peace in the Middle East was not possible with the Bush administration in power in Washington.

"This is an administration that adopts the principle of pre-emptive war that is absolutely contradictory to the principle of peace," he said. "Consequently, we don't expect peace soon or in the foreseeable future."

....

Mr Assad said there was no more need for defeatism among Arabs - a feeling echoed across the Arab world, our correspondent adds.

BBC -- banner story

[CHIMO]

23. Syria: Resistance shows Arab strength

The Syrian president has said that resistance against Israel is necessary because the world will not consider Arab interests "unless we are strong".

In a speech to the Arab Journalists Association conference, held in Damascus, Bashar al-Assad praised Lebanon's Hezbollah for fighting off Israel for nearly five weeks and said that their actions would make Israel think twice before pursuing "terrorist policies" in the region.

"The world will not consider our interests unless we are strong. The resistance, in all its aspects, is the alternative to regain our rights. The world would not move unless Israel is harmed and we become powerful.

"This resistance is a medal to pin on the chest of every Arab citizen, not only Syria," he said, adding that the Shia fighters had "shattered the myth of an invincible army".

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C243ABA5-853D-4700-9953-4BD83A4F7215.htm

Seems like a quantum shift has occurred.

[Solo_in_MD]

24. The Arab nations are feeling some success against Israel

for the first time in 40 years and are getting cocky. The IDF tried to fight a limited war in Lebanon and was not particularly successful. Arab and Muslim politics are fueled by religous fervor and testosterone. Syria may well get stupid, but the IDF having just finished poorly in a scrimage is looking for some ass to kick (they have a lot of testosterone issues too). Syria also supplied the advanced AT weapons that caused most of the casualities in Lebanon. Assad may feel he has to do something to help control the Islamic fundie forces in Syria. It would be a mistake. The IAF would own the skies and the only recourse Syria would have is SCUDs. The results would be a good field test of the upgraded Patriot batteries, and some serious airstrikes in Damascus. The IAF has some excellent EA systems that would also be demonstrated. Ugliness all the way 'round, but the long term would most likely be Syria looking a lot like Lebanon with extensive cluster munitions thrown in for good measure. Israel would not escape unscathed, but would sruvive. I doubt Assad's government would.

[daleo]

27. You could say that about politics in a lot of places, including Israel

and parts of the U.S.

"fueled by religous fervor and testosterone"

[Drum]

28. true true...wish they'd declare a STFU. n/t

[Solo_in_MD]

29. Actually Israel is strongly secular, but the Sabra attitude

is just amazing. I really don't think its from being Jewish, it seems more the product of having neighbors that want to drive you into the sea killing everyone along the way. Aggressive does not begin to cover the social behaviors, and its not just the men.

This also gives the current fracas in Lebanon some serious importance. The Sabras expected a cakewalk, and while the IDF was militarily successful, since it was not a crushing defeat ala 1967 and 1973, it will be called a defeat. I fully expect the current government to call, the Kadina party will not win the elections, and the hawks will take over. Meanwhile in Syria and elsewhere, for the same reason (it was not a crushing defeat) the Arab/Muslim neighbors will be getting chesty as well. As I posted earlier in this thread, a recipe for serious ugliness.

[daleo]

30. There is a significant minority with religious fervor, though

And that can influence the political debate disproportionately, as it has in the United States. But the fact of being an embattled population surrounded by fairly hostile neighbors no doubt accounts for a lot of the belligerence (or assertiveness, if you prefer).

I agree that an ambiguous outcome like this could encourage hot-heads on all sides. The Israelis will be concerned about "re-establishing deterrence" and Syria, Iran, etc. will feel at least somewhat emboldened.

[bunyip]

25. LOL

If Syrian citizens really were strong they would lynch that preening peacock and actually implement their official, democratic constitution.

The entire Middle East suffers from a kind of political gridlock, domestically as well as diplomatically.

[FlavaKreemSnak]

26. That is what people keep saying but it just seems weird to me

I don't think that the war is over, and I don't think that America and Israel have finished doing what they want to do there.

[tom_paine]

33. Sadly, the end is not even close. Israel has made a deal with the Devil

Just about literally, as the Busheviks are the closest things to Nazis America has ever been ruled by (adjusting for the relativity of the age, in the 1850s, even the freest societies in the world would look incredibly tyrannous and oppressive to our modern eyes, for the most part).

I will stand by those comments until the endgame makes it quite clear.

Israel is now relegated to the status of the Imperial Proxy Army, nothing more. It fights it's wars now for the same reason Imperial Amerika does...to improve the political fortunes of Amerikan Imperials, and make the "elections" close enough to easily manipulate without risking blowing cover.

Poor Israel. In what must be the irony of the century, the Jewish State has become Mussolini to the New Kinder and Gentler Hitler.

An even greater irony, the only reason so many of the Busheviks want to assist the Jewish State is that Revelations says the Jewish State and the Jews are necessary for the Rapture and Second Coming.

At which point, of course, the Jews will be scourged unless they convert.

Pretty ironic, eh?

[ckramer]

32. Well said

“they intervene only when Israel is in pain; but when the Lebanese, Palestinians and others suffer – no one intervenes.”

[HuffleClaw]

35. israel and BushCo. really really miscalculated their plans

and now have exposed israel as NOT being quite the invincible force they'd thought they were. and this; “they intervene only when Israel is in pain; but when the Lebanese, Palestinians and others suffer – no one intervenes.” is right on the money.