“Pursuant to E.O. 13460, any assets in Syriatel’s or Ramak’s names held in the United States or within the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked, and U.S. persons, therefore, are prohibited from engaging in business or transactions with Syriatel or Ramak.”

Just to make things clear to Syrians with US passports, you are not allowed to use Syriatel as your cellular carrier. It is also illegal to make phone calls from the US to Syriatel cellular phones in Syria. This can easily be monitored so do be careful.

Dr. Landis,

Syrians with American passports and American citizens are advised not to buy perfumes or Scotch from the Damascus Duty Free this summer.

The same advice covers any potential purchases of pre-paid Sim cards or other hardware from Syriatel.

Let us see if the State Department’s guidance page on travel to Syria will reflect the above advice.

This Makhlouf versus US Treasury-OFAC fight is getting crazier by the minute.

Wow for a minute I thought it was Buthayna Sha’baan. she even touched on Human rights!!

Wow “Ruthless and smart” Syria is talking about human rights…. 3eshna wa shefna

more realistic view from syria

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPYcCf5hoEQ

Syria’s official culture

http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/1749.htm

syria’s allies

http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/1776.htm

I can assure the Syrian Culture Minister of one thing:

He needs not worry. No one is likely to pay him $100,000 an hour

It is obvious that the EU starting with France is scrambling to have good relation with Syria , now that the US administration in it’s way out .

About Makhloof and the US , I wonder if Alwaleed bin Talal has anything to do with the sanctions, Didn’t he complain in early 2005 about Makhloof getting all the contracts in Syria because of his relation to the president , he complained to president Assad at that time .

Syria should never give any Saudi from the family of Saud any foothold in Syria and treat them the same way they treat the Syrians there .

I noticed that the customers for these poor Iraqi women are from the Gulf region as noted in the video , These poor Iraqi women were displaced by the invasion by the US troops and supported by these Gulf states especially KSA .

Shame on them.

Syria was the only Arab country to stand against the invasion, while the others were pandering to the US government and president BUSH .

I don’t care if I can’t buy from the Duty Free. I just hope that Makhlouf doesn’t own any part of Ghraoui chocolates…

So no Shame on the Syrian regime, mukhabarat , and nightclub owners for allowing underage prostitution using the poor Iraqi.

I have to admit that among all the regime cheerleaders around here you are the worst.

Or semiramis ….

Majhool,

Thanks for the link to MEMRITV.

Syrian Minister of Culture Riyad Na’san Al-Agha Justifies the Persecution of Syrian Intellectuals and Declares: I Am Optimistic that Israel Will Come to an End within 10 Years

I’ll wait for Shai’s excuse about the F-15s and how Israeli leaders aren’t discussing Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians.

Findalaawi

Shshsh…Stuart Levy may read your comment and start checking into Ghraoui chocolates and its ownership structure. You may ruin it for the rest of us.

Akbar Palace,

You are welcome. Funny thing is that he is far better than the rest; you should see the Mukhabarat heads. They are savage beasts.

Majhool,

Keep trying, your use of memri indicate what kind of so called Syrian you are , I wonder if you can get the hint.

Oh my God , now you are going to run and cry to Alex,

ya Alex

lemmo..

Saudi hate syndrome at SC

Syria is a dictatorship: that’s in order to protect it from the Saudis.

Education in Syria sucks: It’s the Saudi’s fault.

The majority of Syrians are threat to Syria: Because most don’t hate Saudis.

Economy sucks: Because of the Saudis

Golan is still Occupied: because of the Saudis

Sunni Dictatorships is not allowed: Because they will act like the Wahabi Saudis and finish off all Christians

Syria still does not have a postal service that deliver to homes also Because of the Saudis

Underage prostitution is allover: because of the Saudis

Prison Riot: Because of the Saudis

Kurdish Problem: Because of the Saudis

Syrians smoke like chimneys: Because of the Saudis

وحول أوضاع حقوق الإنسان في سورية, نفى الأسد وجود معتقلين سياسيين في سورية

Translation: with regard to Human rights in Syria, Bashar Assad denied the existence of any political prisoners in Syria.

طار فالهوا شاشي وانت ما تدراشي

Majhool existence is because of the Saudis.

Any one has any idea about R.M’s fortune. Please do not tell me that he is richer than Warren Buffet or Bill Gates. That would not be realistic. Is he Richer than Hariri?

Mahjool
memri!!!! “huh”, what a credible source for criticism of Syria, Arabs, or for that matter, semi-brown people?

they say he is worth $ 5+ Billion.

Also: 5.3 million people out of 20 million live with less than $2/day.

http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0199-6213475_ITM

Did Memri fake the interview? or was it a saudi man disguised as the Syrian minister of Culture? Should I look for his interviews in Tishreen.com?

Let me remind you that the folks here in SC reference Israeli newspaper as if it was the holy Quran. I am not advocating or supporting Memri, but does that mean that I cannot use a video clip that they recorded and made it available with subtitles? Should I stop using Intel Chips? some of the RD labs are in Israel

OTW,

No he is not , Syria has no forign debt while Lebanon has 40 billion Dollars of debt most of it ended in Hariri’s pocket.

I m starting to believe that Majhool and AIG are the same person.

What’s the same is persistence …lol

Lord! They are ganging up on me.

Yadak oaokata wa fooka nafahk.

You are clueless

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

Majhool
Thanks for the realistic answer, and also for the second link. That figure is appalling, and I hope that Syria undertakes serious steps towards real economic reforms.

Yet, and this is not in defense of any regime, the demise of the middle class is a worldwide problem and the gap between the rich and poor has been growing too fast over the past few decades, not only in Syria, but throughout the middle east and even here in the US. This is not a good start of the 21st century.

I do not have any problem with sanctions against corruption in Syria. My problem is with the hypocrisy of this particular U.S administration. Our history has never seen a more corrupt, bought and sole administration than this one, and they have the audacity to talk about fighting corruption. What a joke. It is reminiscent of one of their Icons, Paul Woolfowitz, who took the job at the world bank with the declared goal of fighting corruptions, and had to resign, in shame, for his own corruption.And thank you for reinforcing my comment about the criminality of this administration by showing our Dept. Recall that we started the Boy King first term without a dept.

In that regard, can any one of the economists here on SC tell us what is the percentage of the GNP goes into serving the huge US dept, and what is the Lebanese percentage, if that is the real measure?

Also, Where are the sanction against Saudi princes responsible for the Yamama fiasco?, where are the sanctions against Solidere’s near full monopoly of real-estate in Beirut (of course, if anyone has a solid argument to correct my impression, i would gladly accept it).

Yeah keep at it and be more persistent, AIG definitly changed lots of minds here and has lots of credibility!! But I will tell you how you are different, in case you forgot, he is Israeli and you are Syrian.

Off The Wall

I am no fan of the Saudis. I am against all hypocrisy and misinformation, especially when it comes to Syria. We have to keep it real and minimize adulation of this corrupt regime.

MNA,

So becasue i am syrian I am not supposed to expose our rotten regime?!! malla wataniyah, no Thanks

Let me tell you when I will quit..It’s when emergency laws are lifted. I promiss you that.

“They buy weapons they don’t need … just ot make personal profits on the deals”

Every time you hear that they bought tens of billions dollars of weapons that they are not allowed to use … remember that it was not only the 10 or 20% personal commissions that were lost … but the whole amount …

And they do that few times per year.

Syria’s regime buys weapons and use them against its own

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LBqNVup6LPM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hama_massacre

Interesting

The first link accuses the Syrian regime of fighting the Kurds,

the second link accuses the Syrian regime of supporting the Kurds

“Problems also arose from Turkey, which mobilized troops on its borders with Syria primarily to deal with Kurdish rebels and accused Syria of supporting and training the PKK rebels within Turkey.“

Norman & Majhool – can you please cut it out now?

Norman – your first comment about Walid bin Talal is how daft rumors start. I mean whats the basis of your argument? Any proof or is just a gut feeling? Maybe Sawaris pulled some strings after his bitter fight with Rami

MNA – I am not sure I follow your point. He cant criticize the government because one annoying Israeli agrees with him

Majhool – you make SOME very good points, but the way you communicate them is a disaster and it’s what turns people off. disagree with people all you want but once you start rambling on and on and on about the same thing in the same manner you get tedious and very annoying. this is a place for discussion not for your own personal campaign. i’m sure you feel very strongly about it but not everyone sees it your way. and you will never change minds the way you communicate.

Apologies for preaching

Interesting indeed. Seems like both massacres never happened! it must be the Saudis.

IC,

Thanks for your honesty. I Just cannot help it. I found my self forced to do it when I read some of the comments sugar coating the regime and accusing the Saudis of all ills in Syria and the world. in effect diluting the issues from any essence and objectivity. I am not trying to change minds. Just checks and balances and boy they gang up on me,

trustquest said:

Majhool, your comments were great, balanced and well reasoned. I commend you on your politeness and on your patient in controlling your tone in opposition to many and even sometimes provoked discussion. However, I still prefer to hear majority (instead of “Sunni majority”) in describing the people who are affected by minority and sectarian rule.

And thank you enlightened for reminding everyone with the reality of the oppressive regimes against their own people, which in reality those regime are fighting themselves by insisting on being part of the past and does not want to move forwards on human rights. Human’s rights abuses in the past 40 years in Syria are a hidden file and we heard fraction of the stories which belong to Arabian Nights not to this age. You mentioned the communist guy, but still there are the Islamists, the Assyrians, the Kurds and the list goes on and on. One of my relative, a student in last year in dentistry, in the 80s, subjected to torture and lost his mental accordingly (even he is a Bathist) for a visit he made to Iraq. I think it time to show those indivisible stories and hold the life of one person as an indictment to the whole system, we had enough from stepping on the humans lives in the name of defending the nation

“start rambling on and on and on about the same thing in the same manner you get tedious and very annoying”

When Alex, Norman,Offended & Nour quit then I would.

Clip for a clip. Redundancy for redundancy, reference for reference ..etc.

But what if we all stop taking sides and keep it real??! You will see a totally different Majhool and a totally different Syria Comment.

Anyways, Truce?

Norman,

Again, please try to not communicate directly with Majhool. It never lead to anything useful. I linked to Memri videos myself.

Majhool,

I am not in the mood for tolerating more of your personal attacks (disguised as sarcasm) which almost always relies on AIG tactics of trying to make others, who you disagree with, sound like “supporters of terror” and/or cheap regime supporters who have nothing better to do but to deny facts and cover up for regime brutality, or who hate Saudis and blame them for inflation in Syria …

Do us a favor and stay away from acting funny.

Alex,

No one personally attacked you.

You are not going by the rules of the forum. You go and block those who disagree with you, and when Norman lashes on others calling them names you just forget about your own rules.

You just made my day

Majhool said:

“Interesting indeed. Seems like both massacres never happened! it must be the Saudis.”

You can’t fluctuate between attacking and denying that you are attacking me.

If you were an idiot, I would forgive you for not understanding the point I made, but I know that you are intelligent enough to know what I meant here

https://joshualandis.com/blog/?p=788#comment-188090

Yet you intentionally come back and write that silly comment above that make me look like I am denying that Hama took place!

If you are not attacking me then tell me What kind of person would deny what happened in Hama??

And in case you want to come back playing naive and not understanding my comment, I will explain it to you:

your first anti-regime propaganda video clip was making the point that the Syrian regime hates and fights the Kurds (it started in 1962)

Your second link, made the point that Syria used to be the Kurds’ biggest supporter until Turkey threatened to invade Syria if Hafez Assad did not stop supporting the Kurds.

I was simply putting things in perspective … “the Syrian regime” did not always have problems with the Kurds … not at all.

It is this kind of Kurds that get in trouble with the regime:

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215330902697&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Metel Ma beddak. Good night

majhool,

they can sugar coat all they like, its NONE of your business. And if they “gang up” on you, so be it. As long as it’s done in a respectful manner it’s their right. But that should make you more determent to bring your argument across more constructively not more condescending & rude.

Now lets end this tit-for-tat and get back to the topic.

check out below article regarding tariffs that were put on lebanese trucks. I didnt know it even existed (sounds mean on the syrian part). its also interesting that the Saudis & Jordanians interfered like that. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=93977

IC,

With all due respect, I can also post links as I see fit and It’s none of anyones business. The forum has rules and the rules has to be respected.

Norman Said: Majhool,Keep trying, your use of memri indicate what kind of so called Syrian you are , I wonder if you can get the hint.Oh my God , now you are going to run and cry to Alex”

If this is not rude, and against the rules, I don’t know what is.

Now good night.

Majhool,
You are also capable of using techniques of misinformation and propaganda.

So what if Ryiadh Na’san Agha predicted the end of Israel within ten years? I haven’t even bothered to see the video, but you and I know that such talks used to happen on a daily basis around the times of Al Aqsa uprising (intifadit al aksa) when people were eager to let off some steam on Israel.

Al Shiekh Al Karadawi might have predicted or prayed for the end of Israel 50 times on Al Jazeera; that doesn’t make him a war criminal. Well I might argue that this is all result of the lack of peace culture which is the result of Israel aggressions from the first place. Little Israel has done in the past to make Arabs more capable of being friendly to her.

Give me a break, everybody in this region have argued, predicted, prayed, wished or even worked for the end of Israel at a certain point. Including your own father I am certain.

On the other hand; it’s really confusing with you people (I mean the so called opposition): what’s your position with regards to Syria versus Israel affair? Sometimes you say Israel is happy with Assad and supporting him, sometimes you accuse the Assad and his government of being anti-Semitic.

I can’t really figure out your position except that it is the total hypocrisy. It’s funny because you know what, average Syrians are smart enough to make out men with principle from those without. Debasing and discrediting such people and tactics couldn’t be any easier. The regime doesn’t even need to be brutal to undermine you. Thank you very much.

Underage Iraqi girls are having to work as prostitutes to make a living. Such a heart breaking story.

Some rhetorical grump will say: tamoot al hurat wa la ta’kulu min thadyayeha. But in reality, no one could or should judge these girls unless they are in their position.

Majhool, don’t you think that our women will end up in the same position should the US invade Syria?

Mohsen Bilal: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43132:

“Let me make it quite clear that if we arrive at direct negotiations with Israel for the complete and unconditional return of the Golan Heights — occupied by Israel since 1967 — to full Syrian sovereignty, we will never accept a peace process for ourselves at the expense of the Palestinian process,”

Bashar al-Assad: (L’orient le jour)

Q : Vous êtes en train de dire que la Syrie pourrait signer un accord avec Israël sans attendre le volet palestinien ?

R : Si Israël répond à nos revendications et restitue aux Syriens tous leurs droits, nous ne pouvons pas refuser de signer un accord

In English, Bashar said: we will accept a peace process for ourselves independently of the Palestinian process..

????

Jad,

President Bashar Al Assad said that a peace treaty can be signed without the Palestinians, but comprehensive peace can’t be achieved without them.

I am not sure what’s the difference, but I am sure there is significant gain for latter by achieving the former.

The regime has always encouraged and protected prostitution and depraved culture and promoted prostitution tourism in Syria,many of these brothels are covered if not managed by mukhabarat officiers.The last few years we have seen entire areas of night clubs and brothels in rif dimashq.Such things would be impossible without regime’s approval.
It’s normal when the damascenes see such upheavals in their “occupied” city they become susceptible to religious extremism.

The Lebanese are hours (or minutes?) away from a new cabinet.

Now that Jumblatt and Geagea have gotten over their mini-tantrums, all that is left is the issue of Qanso, which Berri has set about trying to solve.

This will mean that Suleiman will visit Paris as the head of a formed government, and he will likely meet with President Assad while he is there.

The US Treasury Department’s assessements of certain individual Syrians as reported above and as compared with the following reportage of an Israeli individual needs no further commentary.

To wit:

Israeli police have begun questioning Ehud Olmert, Israel’s prime minister, for a third time over allegations that he received thousands of dollars in illegal donations from an American businessman.

Rafi Yaffe, a police spokesman, said investigators were conducting the two-hour interview on Friday at Olmert’s official Jerusalem residence.

Media reports suggested police would question hi over documents and testimony investigators had gathered in the US.

Police and judicial sources say the case, which broke two months ago when detectives moved to question Olmert on short notice, involves hundreds of thousands of dollars in questionable cash payments over a decade from the early 1990s.

Authorities are trying to establish whether Olmert dispensed favours in exchange for funds before he became prime minister in 2006.

The case could force Olmert from office and hamper US-backed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

Al Jazeera’s David Chater, reporting from Jerusalem, said: “Police are already talking about a fourth round of interrogations.”

“What they’re looking at right now [is] an indictment for bribery.”

Olmert says he did nothing wrong in his dealings with Morris Talansky, a New York-based Jewish fundraiser, but has promised to step down if indicted.

In testimony on May 27, Talansky told the Jerusalem District Court that he had passed $150,000 to Olmert over a 15-year period, including loans that were never repaid.

Talansky said some of those funds were spent on expensive cigars, hotels and other extravagances.

Olmert says the money was used legally to fund election campaigns.

His lawyers plan to cross-examine Talansky starting on July 17 in court hearings expected to last several days.

The allegations have stirred new calls for Olmert’s resignation – and for early elections to be held – from within his Kadima party and its Labour allies.

Olmert averted a coalition crisis over the affair when he agreed to hold a party leadership election.

On Thursday, the Kadima party confirmed that it would hold a leadership election in September.

Tzipi Livni, Olmert’s deputy and foreign minister, appears favoured to win, a survey from Israel’s Yediot Aharonot showed on Friday.

Shaul Mofaz, Israel’s transport minister, and Avi Dichter, the public security minister, are also in the running, although it remains unclear whether Olmert himself will seek to run again.

Equality before the law!!!!

KARIM,

Your last comment is ……………….

The way you expressed your thought gives the following impression:

Bashar and his leadership huddle together behind closed doors and come out with a strategy that “encourages and protects” prostitution in the country. They call the heads of the Mukhabarat and instruct them to overlook and even “manage” the country’s brothels.

This is ridiculous and outragous.

You can certainly argue that the Syrian Government does not have a policy of actively fighting prostitution. But, to say that the “regime” itself encourages and protects the trade is just plain wrong.

Have you been to Bangkog or Tokyo?

Prostitution is everywhere in the former and just as available in the prestine latter. Many other capitals in the world are no different. Does it mean that the Thai or Japanese government encourage and protect the country’s brothels. I was in Dubai recently. Many readers here reside in that Emirate. Do you know how open the prostitution is over there? Does it mean that Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum protects and encourages that prostitution? In New York city, many prostitution rings operate with some rogue policemen protection. Does this mean that the mayor of NYC encourages and protecs the trade? In Beirut, prostitution is even more widespread than Damascus. Is Hariri or Seniora actively protecting and managing it?

The sex trade has been around since mankind existed on this planet. The Saudis do not visit Syria for its historical ruins. I am yet to see a single one of them visiting the famous castle of my native city Aleppo or the ruins of Tadmur before sunrise.

Your comment is………….Idiotic.

Ehsani eh should we say ,welcome to the new thailand of the middle east,Souria al mahabeh ?Your attempt to relativize this tragedy is not worthy of respect.And plz avoid us your sarcasm.
Damascus is an holy city and most of those who are related to this business are foreigner to the city, it’s true that prostitution always existed even under the Ottomans but it was marginal and restricted in small areas not in every corner,nowadays prostitution villages spring up only intended for this purpose and btw many of these prostitutes are syrians,i dont think it’s the case in dubai in which most are from eastern europe.
It’s so flagrant Ehsani that even the syrian medias were obliged to say a word about it but go understand why the judicial process was suddenly stopped.
http://www.elaph.com/elaphweb/ElaphWeb/Entertainment/2005/12/114817.htm?KeyWords=
دعارة وخطف أطفال بسورية
متواطئة مع الأمن وقضاة ومستشارين واطباء
أكبر شبكة دعارة وخطف أطفال في سورية

I recall an article on this site that mentioned that prostitution was in legal in Syria until 1959.

Your link is even more ridiculous. Elaph does not even bother stating that the picture of the three girls sitting a the edge of the street with their bras on has nothing to do with Syria. Niether do any of the other pictures. This is reporting of the lowest quality. For you to attach it to further your comment makes you look silly. You are not willing to listen or to learn how to help your own cause. I do not doubt that prostitution exists in Syria. I would even grant you that it is on the rise and that the government does not have an aggressive policy to fight it. Again, this does NOT mean that :

“The regime has always encouraged and protected prostitution and depraved culture and promoted prostitution tourism in Syria”.

When you make a statement like that you must support it with more than a story by Elaph.

Please define for me what you mean by the “regime”? Who specifically is meant by the word? Bashar, Maher, Asef, Naji Alutri? Do they all get together and decide to promote prostitution to help tourism?

I have been critical of the government and the leadership itself over many issues. I encourage people to speak up and use this forum to express their feelings. This is what it is all about. With all due respect, I think that you have gone overboard as far as accuracy is concerned.

I see your comment below:

So, just because Bahiya Mardini says “Damascus” under her name, I am supposed to assume that she is a perfect reporter? Is this story enough to conclude that the “regime” is promoting and protecting prostitution?

Cut it out.

Ugarit i think it was an article of Sami Mubayed.But sometimes Sami uses weak sources.So be careful.

Ehsani do u want links made in Syria ?

Btw ,Mrs Mardini works from inside Syria.

Ehsani,Maher and Bashar they have their own business and they are in full control so they know and are morally concerned.Without their laxity on such dangerous developement ,it would not be possible or not in these proportions.

You did not answer my question.

Are Maher and Bashar promoting and protecting prostitution?

Yes or no.

Don’t tell me that because they are not doing anything about, they are promoting and protecting it.

Just answer yes or no

Majhool –

I had to laugh when I read your post showing how everything wrong in Syria was the fault of the Saudis.

For a second, I thought the Saudis were jewish!;)

A for the discussion about your use of MEMRI and their supposed lack of objectivity, how can a translation of the government-owned Arabic media NOT be objective??

In any case, I agree with you, I’m certainly no fan of the Saudis. They and the rest of the ME have created this mess, and you’d think with all their money they could do something constructive to help solve the problem.

~sigh~

Anyway feel free to contact me at palace.akbar@gmail.com for a little chat and some Zionist propaganda;)

Oh, and one more thing, we Zionists are self-critical enough! We need to be more self-critical like the Syrians;)

Ehsani,why should they be directly involved if they have more prestigious or lucrative jobs and they are the head of the state ? ..there are 100’s of security officiers in Syria and each one of them has his quarter.And it’s logical to think that those involved in this affair are the officiers in control of some districts of Damascus.

Big news:

Suleiman Decrees Lebanon’s New Cabinet: 30 Ministers From Seven Sects

President Michel Suleiman on Friday decreed the formation of a national unity cabinet, the first in his six-year term.
The cabinet, headed by premier Fouad Saniora, groups 30 ministers from the seven major sects in a nation made up of 18 religious communities.

Maronite Ministers: Ziad Baroud, Nassib Lahoud, Tony Karam, Gebran Bassil and Mario Aoun.

Greek Orthodox ministers: Issam Abu Jamra, Elias Murr, Ibrahim Najjar and Tareq Mitri.

Catholic ministers: Elie Skaff, and Youssef Takla and Raymond Audi.

Druze: Talal Arslan, Ghazi Aridi and Wael Abu Faour.

Sunnis: Fouad Saniora, Bahia Hariri, Mohammed Safadi, Tammam Salam and Mohammad Shatah and Khaled Qabbani

Shiites: Mohammed Fneish, Ali Qanso, Ibrahim Shamseddine, Mohammed Jawad Khalifa, Fawzi Salloukh and Ghazi Zoayter.

Armenians: Jean Ogassapian and Alain Taborian.

Beirut, 11 Jul 08, 15:08

Excellent!

Akbar found his perfectly accurate Syrian to deserve Akbar’s most coveted award “Anyway feel free to contact me at palace.akbar@gmail.com“ which was reserved until now to new Israeli likundinks showing up on Syria Comment.

Qifa,

Finally! .. congratulations.

Don’t you sometimes wonder if these things are meant to wait until they can be dramatically announced in the right place and at the right time?

: )

Some people on this Blog remind with the bullies at school , They start a fight and when they lose they run and complain to the teacher and when they grow old they want free speech for themselves while asking to silence the opposition to their views.

They need more than time to grow up.

Mabrouk Qifa ,Inshallah we will have in Syria our government of Wehdeh Wataniyeh as like to preach it Bashar for the great Lebanon.it would even be more easy ,we dont have Sunna/Shia struggle or followers of Iran in Syria.
i’m happy for el set Bahia al Hariri.she is the first veiled minister woman in the history of Lebanon.

The new Lebanese Government should enhance Syria’s and Bashar Image in Paris , To the jealousy of Syria’s Haters.

QN

“President Sleiman a en outre souligné que « les droits de l’homme sont violés dans le monde arabe du fait de l’exode des Palestiniens et leur cantonnement dans des camps où sévit la pauvreté ». « C’est, a-t-il dit, le plus grand exemple mondial d’atteinte aux droits de l’homme, dont Israël s’est rendu coupable et sur lequel les puissances ferment les yeux lorsqu’elles prônent l’implantation des Palestiniens dans les pays où ils se trouvent. »”

This is reenforcing my position that solving the problem of the Palestinians refugees in Lebanon is an Israeli responsibility and that the international community should stand to their legal and human rights obligations and stop giving a blind eye by pushing for the naturalization of the palestinians in the host countries. Obviously Sleiman will be a tough cookie to digest for Israel in case of negotiations. Would Israel and their US friends start soon their campaign to disloge and weaken him before he becomes even bolder?

Norman ,bashar will die ,Syria and its people are eternal.

Shukran ya shabab…

It’s actually a good cabinet. The Aounis are pretty happy with the LF choice for Justice (Ibrahim Najjar), so it’s not playing like a big joke. He’s apparently independent.

Here’s the list of names according to ministry and political affiliation.

Why-Discuss

I couldn’t agree more; I hope that was always clear. It is Israel’s responsibility. But we have to be realistic about the solution. Even if there is financial compensation and some re-settlement in Palestine, many thousands will likely remain in Lebanon, just like many thousands will remain in Syria. Don’t you think?

Maybe some will go to Europe or the Gulf or America, but surely some will remain in Lebanon.

My hope is that Lebanon can begin transitioning towards a system of government whereby the addition of however many Sunnis to the population will not cause a political crisis.

I’m happy Bahia is there and Marwan is out.

Ali Qanso was approved?!

So who nominated Tamam Salam?

Lebanese army moves into one of the Shebaa Farms

The Lebanese army moved today into Bastara Farm, the only one of the occupied Shebaa Farms that the Israeli army evacuated when it pulled out of South Lebanon in 2000, an AFP correspondent said.

Lebanese army vehicles and bulldozers could be seen moving for the first time into the farm, which lies some 300 meters away from other farms, which Israel has occupied for more than 40 years.

A road has been reconstructed to link this new position to other Lebanese army posts in the southeast of the country.

Israel captured the 25-square-kilometers of land on the Israel-Lebanon-Syria border as part of the Syrian Golan Heights during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it along with the rest of the strategic plateau.

Lebanon today claims sovereignty over the territory with Syrian approval.

-AFP
NOW LEBANON

Norman,
It is you who is afraid of a discussion and is a bully.
Why am I limited to 4 comments per day and others aren’t?

Alex,
You are angry when you feel your views have not been represented correctly yet you attack Majhool for being a “likudnik” just because AP addressed him. Walla, how insecure are you?

Alex

Ali Qanso was approved when Saad al-Hariri went to the Serail and dropped his objection to him. He said that he would personally be responsible for “any repercussions” that resulted from Qanso’s nomination to the cabinet. Not sure what that means and how that happened.

As for Tamam Salam, he was nominated by M14; the same for Ibrahim Shamseddine.

its interesting to see how many ministers aoun got compare to his allies. his party got 5 (all cabinet ministers), amal got 3 and Hizbullah just got 1. very strange when you look at it like that

THanks Qifa

“Lebanon today claims sovereignty over the territory with Syrian approval.”

This is one of the other things Sarkozy can claim as “a success”. Until recently, M14, Saudi journalists and neocons were saying that Syria is playing games by not recognizing Lebanese sovereignty over the Shebaa farms.

I will be looking forward to the exact words used by Assad and Sarkozy when they announce Lebanon’s good news.

Syria will probably be happy allowing France to take over from Washington as Lebanon’s preferred western power.

Innocent_Criminal

Actually, both Talal Arslan and Ali Qanso were nominated by Hizbullah.

QN

“Maybe some will go to Europe or the Gulf or America, but surely some will remain in Lebanon.”
Of course, many palestinians are married with lebanese and would want to stay on. The most important is that Lebanon takes a very strong and repetitive stand toward the international communnity in oppposing a veto to any attempt to force on them the de-facto naturalization. Any hesitation or sign of division on the subject from any party in the arab world, as it has been, will encourage Israel and the Int community to avoid having to deal with the issue, as they have for 60 years…
Besides financial compensation, the Int community MUST offer a choice of home countries to receive the refugees. This is a complex effort in view of the protectionist attitude Europe has towards emigration. This is why Lebanon and the arab world have to stand united in rejecting any other alternatives.
Sleiman seems to have this kind of determination, I hope he will stay in that frame of mind.

Why-Discuss

Agreed.

QN,

Do you think that Hezbollah gave their seats to Aoun so the new Gov could be born , Another sacrifice from Hezbollah for the sake of the country.

Very amusing:

In an Iranian Image, a Missle Too Many
NY Times

I agree .. the three missile version does not look as impressive : )

Who is the lazy idiot who copied the thing as is? … it takes 5 minutes to modify the copy enough to look different from the source.

Ammo Norman,

I think that Hizbullah gave their ministers to Aoun for three reasons:

a) The Hizb is slowly dipping its toe into cabinet politics. It doesn’t want to jump in head first, because it is still benefiting from the image of being outside the dirty game of politics.

b) Given that this will be a short-lived cabinet, it wants to minimize any possibility of tarnishing its image before the important elections in 2009. If they had 5 or 6 ministers in the cabinet, there would be many opportunities for them to get embroiled in sticky little political messes, whether they are over telecommunications or the electricity plant, etc.

c) Hizbullah doesn’t really need ministers to maintain its agenda or its constituency. All the Shi`a are basically going to vote Hizbullah/Amal in the next election. The real swing vote is among the Christians (especially the Armenians). This is why they gave so many seats to Aoun (who has a sizable bloc anyway). They want to hold on to his supporters, to make sure they come out in droves to vote.

It was a smart bet on their part, I think. By giving 5 seats to Aoun they were effectively saying to the Christians: “We are equal partners, you and us.”

Q.N.

Congratulations. I am happy and hopeful. I think that it was a very wise decision to have both defense and interior be “presidential” ministries. I was hoping that either justice or finance would also be a presidential appointment, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be.

With Marwan out, and Ghazi being asked to lead a purely internal ministry, this cabinet has much better chance of improving relationship with Syria. Furthermore, with Amal given the foreign ministry, real talks about normalized formal diplomatic relationships between the two countries can now proceede without being poisoned by rhetoric.

Your analysis of HA position is good one. However, my own observations give me the impression that Aoun has a significant support among muslims who want a free Lebanon, without both Syrian and Saudi influence and without being a tool in the US hand. If I am wrong, please correct me

Again congratulation and good luck

OTW

From your mouth to God’s ears.

Thanks! Inshallah khayr.

Another master tweaking by Damascus on the eve of Bashar’s visit to Paris.

QN i think your reasoning on Aoun’s number of seats is quite right.

QN i think your reasoning on Aoun’s number of seats is quite right.

: )

QN ,
Very interesting analysis ,

you are an asset to Syria comment.

OK Alex , You too.

Is Alex IC.?

Norman,

You too : )

Where are the other assets? … Ausamaa? Simo?

Thank you Alex,
I know that Ausamaa is with president in Paris, at least that is what my sources told me .

AIG said:

Alex,
You are angry when you feel your views have not been represented correctly yet you attack Majhool for being a “likudnik” just because AP addressed him. Walla, how insecure are you?

AIG, You are just as good as AP and Majhool in twisting again and again my words.

Here is what I said:

“Akbar found his perfectly accurate Syrian to deserve Akbar’s most coveted award “Anyway feel free to contact me at palace.akbar@gmail.com” which was reserved until now to new Israeli likundinks showing up on Syria Comment. ”

If you were Syrian like me I would understand, but …. Do they teach you how to read English in New Jersey? … Did you read my “until now”? … which means NOW Akbar also sends his personal email to Syrians who, he believes, share his amazing views.

So .. tell me again .. did I “attack Majhool for being a Likudnik”?

And … “how insecure” am I?

Keep inventing your own reality.

SYRIA: Back on the world stage, with a fury

It’s payback time for Syrian President Bashar Assad. Just as he prepared to move his country out of almost four years of isolation imposed by Americans and Europeans, Assad pointed out that Syria was an important player in the fight against terrorism.

Even the French, who shunned Damascus for years, now acknowledge that developing relations with Syria was “in favor of Lebanon and the region.”

In an interview with the Arab daily Al Hayat published today, French official Claude Gueant said permanent solutions to Middle East’s problems would not be possible without Syria’s participation.

Assad is expected in France to attend a summit of European and Mediterranean countries in the next day. Recently, the Syrian president made a flurry of dovish remarks to a group of French journalists who interviewed him in his private retreat on the hills of Damascus.

One of those who interviewed Assad, Alain Gresh, editor of the French monthly publication Le Monde Diplomatique, described him as “confident, relaxed, talkative.”

In an article that appeared Thursday on the website of the publication and that was translated into English in the Monthly Review, Gresh quoted Assad as accusing the current U.S. administration of obstructing peace:

The biggest obstacle to peace is the White House. This is the first time a U.S. administration has advised Israel not to make peace.

Syria and Israel held indirect peace talks recently through Turkish mediation. But the prospects of quick breakthroughs remain slim. The West is trying to persuade Damascus to loosen its ties with Tehran, an unlikely prospect.

Asked about Iran, Assad described his country’s strong links to the Islamic Republic as a relationship between two equal allies:

We have been isolated by the United States and Europe. The Iranians have supported us, and yet I’m supposed to tell them: I don’t want your support — I want to be isolated! We don’t need to agree on everything to have relations. We see each other regularly for discussion. The Iranians do not try to change our position — they respect us. We make our own decisions, as in the time of the Soviet Union. If you want to talk about stability, and peace in the region, we must have good relations with Iran.

Talking about threats to peace in the region, Assad also criticized the way Americans have led their war on terrorism:

Terrorism is a threat to all humanity. Al Qaeda is not an organization but a state of mind that no border can block out…. I fear for the future of the region. We must change the soil that nurtures terrorism. This requires economic development, culture, an education system, tourism — and also an international exchange of information on terrorist groups. The army alone cannot solve this problem, as the Americans are trying to do in Afghanistan.

U.S. refusal to negotiate with his country was counterproductive, he said:

They must accept that we are part of the solution not just in Lebanon but also in Iraq and Palestine. They need us to combat terrorism in order to achieve peace. They cannot isolate us, nor can they solve the region’s problems by manipulating such words as “good” and “evil,” “black” and “white.” You need to negotiate, even if you do not agree on everything.

Assad’s official visit to France to take part in Bastille Day celebrations comes as a sign of international recognition after the signing of a peace agreement among Lebanese rivals in Doha in May. For the last few years, Syria had been accused by the international community of creating instability in Lebanon. But relations between the two countries are back on track with the presidents of both countries scheduled to meet in France.

In an earlier interview published Monday in the French daily Le Figaro, Assad expressed his hopes for the next U.S. administration:

Frankly, we do not think that the current American administration is capable of making peace. It doesn’t have either the will or the vision and it only has a few months left…. We are betting on the next president and his administration. We hope that it will be rather an advantage to have a change of president in the United States.

— Raed Rafei in Beirut

Photo: Syrian President Bashar Assad. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Assad makes remarkable comeback
By Roula Khalaf in Beirut

Published: July 11 2008 18:40 | Last updated: July 11 2008 18:40

After years of isolation Bashar al-Assad stages a diplomatic comeback on Saturday, courtesy of French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Still boycotted by some of his Arab neighbours and shunned by the US, the controversial Syrian president will be in the company of European leaders at the union for the Mediterranean summit in Paris. Most prestigious will be his appearance at Monday’s national day festivities, a privilege usually reserved for France’s warmest friends.

“This visit is, for me, a historic visit, an opening towards France and Europe,” Mr Assad told Le Figaro, the French daily.

The trip to Paris marks a remarkable turnround for a young leader whose behaviour at home and in the region had relegated Syria to the ranks of a pariah state. It was only three years ago that France, then under the leadership of Jacques Chirac, was leading the isolation of Damascus, much to the delight of the Bush administration which accused Syria of backing Iraqi insurgents.

Apparently convinced that the Syrian regime was responsible for the killing of Rafiq Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister and close friend of Mr Chirac, Paris was instrumental in forcing Syrian troops out of Lebanon in 2005. It also led the push for the creation of a UN investigation and a UN-backed tribunal for the Hariri case.

The Syrian president’s visit to Paris has provoked much criticism from France’s military and political establishment. Syrian-backed forces are still widely blamed for an explosion in Beirut in 1983 that killed 58 French peacekeeping troops.

But Mr Sarkozy came into office looking for a new direction. But it was the perception of a sudden, more co-operative attitude in Damascus in recent weeks that he seized on as an opportunity to re-engage with Mr Assad.

French officials point to two events in particular that suggested Syria was willing to moderate its policies and – crucially for Paris – eventually distance itself from Iran, its closest ally in the Middle East.

The first was Syria’s support for the Doha accord, the power-sharing deal struck by Lebanese leaders in the Qatari capital in May, paving the way for an election of a president, a move which Damascus’ allies in Beirut had been blocking. The second was Syria’s indirect peace talks with Israel, via Turkish mediators, a process that has gathered pace in recent months in spite of last year’s Israeli bombing of a suspected Syrian nuclear facility.

“Those were positive signals that we should encourage,” says a French official.

France’s embrace of Mr Assad, though supported by several European partners, has puzzled leading Arab governments, which had joined in putting pressure on Damascus and often received promises of co-operation that were rarely met.

In March, the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Egypt stayed away from the Arab League summit in Damascus, in protest at alleged Syrian meddling in Lebanon.

At the time, Arab diplomats said they were given the distinct impression that Syria would not help resolve the Lebanese crisis unless plans for a UN tribunal to try Hariri’s killers were scrapped. The Syrian government denies involvement in the killing.

“What’s incredible is that the Arab summit was only in March and all this has changed in a few months – and the change has been dictated by Europe,” says one western diplomat who keeps a close watch on Syria.

Arab officials (and the US of course) argue that rushing to reward Mr Assad could prove counter-productive.

The Doha accord, they note, was not a big concession on Damascus’ part, given that its Lebanese allies won the veto power in a new cabinet in return for allowing the presidential election to go ahead.

“Sarkozy is giving Syria a way out because he wants to take a different approach than Chirac. But you can’t be sure that there is a change of direction in Syria, despite the signals we’ve seen,” says a senior Arab official.

“The deal in Lebanon has to be consolidated. But will Syria continue to behave in a positive way?”

Analysts say that Syria’s recent moves may not amount to any significant shift as much as they are part of a repositioning before the arrival of a new US administration.

Mr Assad, who took over from his father in 2000, has also been attempting to capitalise on his alliances – with Iran and with Lebanese and Palestinian groups – and highlight to the world that he can positively influence these forces if he receives something in return. Syrian observers say that having survived the intense pressure of recent years, the regime has regained its confidence as it waits out the remaining months of the Bush administration.

Damascus now sees itself as a bridge between pro-western states in the region on one side and Iran and its non-state allies on the other, and argues that it can tilt the balance of power in the direction that it wants.

With his ambitions expanding, Mr Assad’s hope is that the next US president will abandon the policy of pressure and threats, opting instead for engagement.

He has already said that he wanted the US to mediate in the talks with Israel, in which Damascus is seeking the full return of the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. As Flynt Leverett, a Syria expert at the Washington-based New America Foundation, says, Mr Assad is now “auditioning for the next US administration”.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

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Innocent Criminal, Ammo Norman, Alex:

Shukran jazilan ya ikhwan. 😉

The Iranian missile Photoshop cut and paste reminds us that it is not only the CIA who can manipulate images like the famous biological trucks in Iraq presented in pompous ceremony to the UN. The trouble is that the CIA ones were so well done that they brought hell on Iraq.
The awkwardly done ones of the Iran missiles are maybe hinting that Iran is not such a threat after all, or maybe it is.

Where are the other assets? … Ausamaa? Simo?

Well I have a new laptop and I have spend days in transfering emails, updating 1478 windows security, service packets etc. The last problem (I hope) is how to get a bluetooth headphone sets microphone working.

I must say that I am also boored with arguing with AIG or even in “wanting” to read that lunatic “secular atheists” opinions and arrogant comments.

The following is not for discussion, it is just review and a reminder of the flip flop of the regime, which some will call it the art of possible. I would say it is the art of impossible.
Because, the art of possible, requires an important principal, which is dialogue, to disseminate your ideas between your group and consequently between the populace. That will require freeing those intellectuals who are with you on most of your policies and you need them to criticize you and to show them that you are right.

The interview on Memri, is conducted in April 2008 and reflects long standing policy for the regime in Syria. The funny thing that it did not take five years to answer the question of the “ 5 years”, in the interview, and the funny thing at that time the Syrians and Israeli were involve in secret talk for peace.

She asked Minster of education in Syria, Mr. Agha: what is your reaction when you know the regime itself contacted the Israeli government to make peace. His answer was: I will be thrown in jail.
She said: in five years, the government might call Israel and say, let’s put an end to this.
He said: I will be the first they will have to take to jail.
She said: Will we be saying that the president maintained “ dubious relations” with Israel?
He said: those who will want to do this, God forbid, will have to get rid of me and many others like me beforehand, and a lot like me.
They continue and then she suggests that people will get affected and get tired from sanction and pressure. He said: we don’t care about the tiredness of the people we have (bigger fry fish to fry).
He continues to say: By Allah, if this regime deviated from my principals, I would not remain in it, and nor would President Bashar Al-Assad. We are people with principles and values.

Conclusion it is too much for the Syrians to take in a short period of time, it is a reciepe for disaster. From here, AIG is right ( for different reason of what on his mind) on his continuous bombardment on the required openness from the regime, that is a must to the success of peace process and for the economical openness.

Majhool, first let me disagree with you regarding prostitution. Syrian regime has noting to do with creating this problem and the bad changing in the Syrian society and in the regime structure is not helping in countering it either.
Majhool, please do not defend the Saudi for a completely different reason. Do not forget that no one had said a bad word about the Saudi when the regime was in good term with them. I think when the regime will get back in bed with the Saudi soon, then you will see a lot of guys on this blog praising the Saudi, and this is coming sooner than anyone think.

Alex, you violated your own rules when you insinuate and used “Idiot” , “Silly” words, using “if” does not excuse it, towards Majhool, then you did not ban yourself. This is not fair )
A lot of people on this blog, do not show any respect to oppositions and their views which expressed sometimes on this blog by some. Atassi used to bring some balance and I wish he would devote more time on this blog, hi Atassi, The oppositions counts in large numbers, have structure, have presence and have elites speaking in their names. Those people who do not show respect to oppositions they themselves criticize exactly playing the rule of opposition. The regime need oppositions for its survival, one sided views is not going to live for long. The respond to each and any comment hurt the regime is just awful, it is like this regime is flawless. There is a need for respect to our intelligence, thanks god Joshua the owner of this blog is not on this league.

I believe that most of the oppositions are in support for the general direction of the regime foreign policy especially the peace negotiations, but no one will accept to be done individually without the collection effort of the ones with and without.

God bless you, I agree with you wholeheartedly even on the topic of prostitution. My comment was intended to add balance to the Norman’s disproportionate blame on Saudi customers she made it sound as if there were no Syrian customers at these nightclubs. The root cause of the phenomena remains the bloody violence in Iraq.