Bahrain and the Arab Spring
INTERVIEW by Ahmed Mohammed – 17 July, 2012 – International Socialist Review

The small island nation of Bahrain sits in the Persian Gulf, between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. When the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings toppled US-backed dictators last year, all of the region’s dictatorships trembled, including that in Bahrain. The winds of change inspired Bahrain’s downtrodden, and the country’s monarchy barely managed to maintain its grip on power. Ahmed Mohammed, a Bahraini activist visiting the United States, spoke with Zach Zill about Bahrain’s rebellion and what the future holds.

CAN YOU talk about how the movement in Bahrain unfolded last February? What brought out thousands of people to Pearl Square? What were the people calling for in the protests?

THE PROTESTS had originally aimed to make the government fulfill the promises of the king. These promises were made in a referendum the king put to the people in 2001. The referendum offered us a bargain: to turn Bahrain into a kingdom and the emir into a king. In return, the dreaded state of emergency law would be ended, and a parliament with full legislative powers would be instated. He basically offered what the opposition had been demanding throughout the uprising in the 1990s. The referendum was widely welcomed and approved.

The king reneged on his promise. On February 14, 2002, the king announced a new constitution in which he concentrated power in his own hands. The constitution did give us a parliament, but it also thoroughly rigged the system. The parliament, contrary to the promises in the referendum, has virtually no legislative powers. I call the king’s existing power a triple veto system. In order to get to parliament, one has to go through gerrymandered constituencies, which dilute opposition votes. So that’s one veto: a guaranteed progovernment majority in parliament.

Those who do beat the odds and make it to parliament (the opposition often occupies seventeen to eighteen seats in parliament) find themselves in the unfortunate position of having to collaborate with pro-government MPs to pass bills. Say a miracle happens and such collaboration successfully passes an opposition-sponsored bill. They pass it to the upper chamber of parliament—which is appointed entirely by the king. So that’s another veto.

Let’s say another miracle happens that day and the upper chamber decides to turn against their employer. They decide okay, you know what, this makes sense, screw the king, we’re going pass this—here, the king has the authority to directly veto the bill.

In response to this setup, the opposition parties boycotted the first parliamentary election in 2000. By 2006, they realized, okay, the government is not budging; they are ignoring the boycott. So they decided to run for elections. This caused a split in the opposition. It gave rise to the rejectionist camp, which recognized that political participation in such a thoroughly rigged system cannot possibly work in bringing about the desired changes.

As the years went by, the regime plotted to permanently disempower the opposition and ensure the regime’s power in the long term. This effort materialized in various forms. One way was political naturalization. A former confidant of the royal family leaked documents proving a government plan to naturalize large numbers of poor Sunni Arabs from Syria, Yemen, Jordan, and elsewhere. [Seventy percent of Bahrainis are Shia—ed.]. The regime employs a mercenary police force and a mercenary army that’s almost entirely non-Bahraini and are invited for the sole purpose of occupying these positions. So the plan was basically to create a permanently loyal quasi-mercenary constituency. That way, the regime also gets to expand its secret police, police force, and the army, in preparation for future challenges.

The effects of political naturalization are profound. First, they exacerbate the already-high level of unemployment in Bahrain. According to the Economist, unemployment in Bahrain’s villages (which are small towns but are referred to as villages) was as high as 50 percent. Second, political naturalization increases the sense of xenophobia among Bahrainis, which is convenient for a regime that’s eager to divide and conquer. Third, the sudden increase in population meant higher demand for homes—which were already becoming out of reach for the working class. Worst of all, this policy revealed the regime’s deep-seated distrust of its own people.

It appears that the royal family’s hatched long-term plans to disempower the opposition and secure its power permanently, all the while keeping the opposition weak and divided. It all fell apart as their conspiracies began to leak to the public, just as WikiLeaks did with US embassy cables. Probably the most scandalous leak of all is a document that reveals a transaction between a businessman and the king’s uncle, the prime minister. The latter, who is the world’s longest-serving prime minister and is a universally hated figure in Bahrain, bought a state-of-the-art financial development project called the Bahrain Financial Harbor for one dinar. That’s $2.65 for skyscrapers in the capital’s busiest district.

As all this became public knowledge, and as it became increasingly clear that the regime had no intentions of reforming the rigged political system, a lot of anger and resentment began building up. People within both wings of the opposition had been warning that this situation is not tenable and it would explode at some point. The government had been aggravating it with even more repression in the lead-up to February 14 [the beginning of the mass movement against the government in Bahrain—ed.].

The departure of Tunisia’s Ben Ali in January set Bahraini activists’ imagination on fire. A Facebook group was set up to mark the tenth anniversary of the hated constitution as Bahrain’s day of rage. There was about a monthlong gap between Ben Ali’s departure and February 14. What happened in between was even more exciting . . .

EGYPT.

YES, EGYPT. Mubarak fell just days before February 14. The Bahraini regime was in a panic. In a matter of hours after Mubarak’s departure, Bahrain national television (BTV) announced that the government would give a thousand dinars to every household. That’s $ 2,650. Of course, the stated reason for this sudden act of generosity was the upcoming tenth anniversary celebrations of the “reform era.”

IN THE United States, in the media at least, you often hear about how “cosmopolitan” the Bahraini ruling family is, and how it’s this model of reform compared to the other Gulf monarchies.

IT’S COMPLETELY unfounded. This is among the world’s most reactionary regimes. Where, other than the Persian Gulf, do absolute monarchies exist in the twenty-first century? The royal family runs the country as a private firm. The majority of the ministries are headed by royal family members. This portrayal is not just ridiculous. It’s also offensive to people who are suffering under their rule.

The US government rarely misses a chance to shower praise upon this royal family, too. Just a few months before the uprising of February 14, Hillary Clinton visited Bahrain. She told journalists in a press conference that she was impressed with Bahrain’s progress. When pressed to specify on which fronts she sees progress happening, she replied, “on all fronts.”

…more

Mideast Peace Slips to Second Billing for US
17 July, 2012 – Associated Press – by Bradley Klapper and Josef Federman

JERUSALEM – Mideast peace, America’s defining issue for decades of dealings with Israel and its Arab neighbors, was just a postscript Monday as Hillary Rodham Clinton made perhaps her final visit to the region as secretary of state.

Three years after President Barack Obama declared the plight of the Palestinians “intolerable,” his administration no longer sees the failing Arab-Israeli peace efforts with the same immediacy. U.S. interests are focused now on Iran and Syria, though the deep differences between Israel and the Palestinians are not ignored.

“Peace among Israel, the Palestinian people and all of Israel’s Arab neighbors is crucial for Israel’s long-term progress and prosperity,” Clinton said following discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country’s president, foreign minister and defense minister.

Clinton also met Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, but she couldn’t report any progress toward an accord that might secure an independent Palestine and an Israel at peace with its neighbors.

In a departure from the usual pattern for top U.S. diplomats, she did not travel to the Palestinian Authority’s West Bank seat of government in Ramallah.

The Palestinians said a visit was unnecessary because Clinton had met with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, just a few days earlier in Paris.

Israel has defied Obama’s call to halt settlement construction in occupied lands, and the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank has refused to resume negotiations, leaving peace hopes in a tense status quo with no breakthrough in sight.

Both Israelis and Palestinians are frustrated with one another and with Obama’s peace efforts so far.

Palestinian spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi said Obama’s Mideast policy has been a “disaster.”

“The American standing and credibility have never been worse than now,” she said. “A major power is being constantly humiliated by Israel, and they put up with it and they take it.”

Obama acknowledged frustrations in an interview Sunday, but in many ways the region’s crises and Washington’s priorities have moved on. Syria’s civil war, Egypt’s political instability and the Iranian nuclear program have all overshadowed the moribund peace process.

Asked what he believed he failed at in his first term, Obama cited Arab-Israeli peace efforts in an interview with WJLA-TV, a Washington, D.C., station.

“I have not been able to move the peace process forward in the Middle East the way I wanted,” he said. “It’s something we focused on very early. But the truth of the matter is that the parties, they’ve got to want it as well.”

Iran’s nuclear program has become the most pressing problem for the U.S. and Israel, and one that is a far easier cause to take up for an American administration in an election year. Republicans have consistently criticized Obama for putting too much pressure on Israel in the peace process and being too weak on Iran.

Obama rejects the criticism, and his aides point to what they call unprecedented U.S.-Israeli security cooperation. Still, his frosty relationship with Netanyahu has fueled the perception that U.S.-Israeli relations have deteriorated, a potential problem for Obama with Jewish voters in the swing state of Florida.

Israel is getting more attention at the moment as the U.S. political race proceeds. …more

Strategically Timed Syrian Massacre
by Stephen Lendman – 17 July, 2012 – Mostly Water

Insurgents are enlisted, armed, funded, trained, and directed by Western and regional special forces.

They decide strategy, targets, and timing. Armies need leadership to operate effectively. So do killer gangs.

Special forces have tactical expertise. They’re directing Washington’s war on Syria. They plan and lead attacks and bombings.

Treimseh’s massacre was strategically timed. Questions about it remained unanswered. More on that below.

Coming when the Security Council considered harsher anti-Assad measures raises obvious red flags.

Why then is clear. At issue is pressuring Russia and China to bend. So far both countries hold firm. They oppose further sanctions and outside intervention.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov was clear, saying.

“In case (Western countries) decided to submit the draft resolution for voting on Thursday although they already know that it is rejected, Russia will veto the draft resolution.”

Washington won’t quit trying. Hillary Clinton is an unabashed war criminal. She had direct involvement in America’s war on Libya. She’s at it again targeting Iran and Syria.

She’s pushing for Security Council authorization for war without saying so. On July 13, a State Department Press Statement headlined “Assad Regime Massacre in Traymseh,” saying:

She’s “outraged (about) another massacre committed by the Syrian regime” she claims killed “over 200 men, women, and children….”

Official death toll numbers aren’t known. Reports suggest insurgents comprised most of them.

Despite no corroborating evidence, she claims “the regime deliberately murdered innocent civilians. Syria cannot be peaceful, stable, or democratic until Assad goes and a political transition begins.”

“Those who committed these atrocities will be identified and held accountable.”

(T)he international community must keep increasing the pressure on the regime….”

“The Security Council should put its full weight behind” regime change.

There must “be consequences for non-compliance.”

“History will judge this Council. Its members must ask themselves whether continuing to allow the Assad regime to commit unspeakable violence against its own people is the legacy they want to leave.”

Washington’s bloodstained hands are all over the Treimseh massacre. Obama officials also bear direct responsibility for earlier Houla and Qubair ones.

Expect much more ahead. Likely larger-scale false flags are planned. Assad will be wrongfully blamed.

Washington will either get Security Council authorization for intervention or circumvent it. None approved war on Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, or Libya.

International law is clear. The UN Charter prohibits attacking another nation except in self-defense – until the Security Council acts. It has final say.

The right of self-defense is limited solely to deterring armed attacks, preventing future ones after initial assaults, or reversing the consequences of enemy aggression, such as heavily armed Western-backed Syrian insurgents.

International law supports Assad. He’s obligated to defend his people under armed attack.

At the same time, he must conform to the principles of necessity, distinction, and proportionality.

Necessity permits only attacking military targets.

Distinction pertains to distinguishing between civilian and military ones.

Proportionality prohibits disproportionate force likely to damage nonmilitary sites and/or harm civilian lives.

A fourth consideration requires preventing unnecessary suffering, especially affecting noncombatant civilians.

If these objective aren’t possible, attacks are prohibited, but not when civilian lives are threatened by hostile elements doing most of the killing.

Clearly that’s the case in Syria.

Just war, humanitarian intervention, and/or responsibility to protect (R2P) notions don’t wash. International law is clear and unequivocal. So is constitutional law. Only Congress can declare war, not presidents.

It hasn’t deterred America’s permanent war policy. Multiple direct and proxy ones rage illegally. Obama itches for more. So does Clinton. Media scoundrels support them. …more

Clinton in Cairo – What’s the U.S. Up to in Egypt?
Counter Punch – by ESAM AL-AMIN – 17 July, 2012

Over the past weekend Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Egypt for the first time since the election in late June of Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Dr. Muhammad Morsi. During her visit, Clinton not only met with the new president but also sat with Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), the same military council that has been effectively ruling the country since Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February 2011.

According to the New York Times, Clinton declared during her meeting with the Egyptian Islamist president that the U.S. “supports the full transition to civilian rule with all that entails” and emphasized the need for “building consensus across the Egyptian political spectrum.” The following day Clinton met with Tantawi after which she declared that the U.S. would like to see the Egyptian military return to “purely national security role.”

Across the region her statements were interpreted as a thinly disguised, yet conditional, pledge of support to the new president and a warning to the military not to upset the nascent democratic process in Egypt. Last month as the election results were deliberately delayed by the pro-SCAF Elections Commission the Washington Post reported that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned his Egyptian counterpart Tantawi in two separate phone calls not to alter the results in favor of the military’s candidate and Mubarak’s last prime minister, Gen. Ahmad Shafiq, but honor the will of the Egyptian electorate and the democratic process.

So what is one to make of the American policy in Egypt and the broader Middle East, especially after the Arab Spring?

After the rise of American global power in the aftermath of WWII, American global strategy focused for decades on its rivalry with the Soviet Union. The theatre of this conflict was mainly in Europe, as the Middle East was just a backdrop to this conflict between superpowers. The American strategy could simply be summed up during that time as: Keeping the Americans in, the Germans down, and the Soviets out.

With the collapse and disintegration of the communist empire, but especially after the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration devised a new national security strategy that focused on the Middle East as its new theatre of operations launching three successive wars in a matter of few years: in Afghanistan, Iraq, and a broader so-called “war on terror.” According to military strategist Thomas Barnett, for almost a decade the strategy of the American administration in the Middle East was: Keeping the Israelis strong, the Saudis safe, and the “fundamentalist radicals” out. During the last decade, as the United States expended massive resources on fighting elusive and largely unidentified groups, the world witnessed the rise of other global and regional powers not only… ...more

This Week in Internet Censorship: Netizens Sentenced in Oman, Malaysia, and Bahrain; Maldivian Blogger Attacked; New Human Rights Watch Report on Iraqi Cybercrime Bill
16 July, 2012 – By Jillian C. York – EFF

Bloggers Under Fire in the Gulf

In Bahrain and Oman, netizens are coming under fire once again. In Bahrain–where opposition activists have frequently been detained and maligned on social networks–Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, a fellow member of IFEX, wassentenced on July 10 to three months in prison for a tweet. Rajab was arrested in May and charged with inciting protest on social networks. After being released on bail, he was then arrested again on June 6 on charges of “insulting in public” after tweeting for Bahrain’s rulers to step down. Rajab has been persecuted by the Bahraini government for more than a year for his activism as part of their broader crackdown on opposition. EFF once again calls on the international community to condemn the persecution of bloggers and citizen journalists at the hands of Bahrain’s regime.

In neighboring Oman, where a spate of netizen arrests have occurred in the past year, four young men have received similarly harsh sentences for content posted to social networks. Hamoud Al Rashidi was sentenced to six months in prison and a fine of 200 rials, while Hamad Al Kharousi, Mahmoud Al-Rawahi, and Ali Al-Mikbali were all sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of 200 rials, all for “defaming” ruler Sultan Qaboos on social networks. Al Rashidi was convicted under Article 126 of Oman’s Criminal Law, which criminalizes defamation of “His Majesty the Sultan or his authority publicly.” The other three men were convicted under Article 126 and Articles 16 and 19 of Oman’s Cybercrime Law. EFF condemns the sentencing of these four men and calls on the Omani authorities to immediately overturn the convictions.

Maldivian Blogger Attacked; Government Denies Political Motivation

Long before Egypt’s infamous blackout, the Maldives was the first country to cut off Internet access to its citizens. In 2004, then-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom cut off access in the wake of protests against his ruling regime. Although press freedom improved in the country following the end of Gayoom’s 30-year rule in 2008, attacks on journalists have increased since demonstrations in January that resulted in the ousting of President Mohamed Nasheed.

Most recently, the country’s best known blogger, Ismail Rasheed (more commonly known as “Hilath”), was stabbed in the throat and forced to flee the country. Though Rasheed, who has received death threats in the past has blamed the attack on Islamists, a Maldivian government spokesperson told the AFP that the attack had “nothing to do with religious extremism or his work as a journalist” and was the work of a rival gang. Another official condemned the stabbing but implied that Rasheed should have known he was a target, stating: “We are not a secular country. When you talk about religion there will always be a few people who do not agree.” …more

Syria – UN Resolution On Arms Embargo Necessary Against Western Power and Allies Arming Rebels
16 July, 2012 – By Padmini Arhant –

The continuous violence in Syria attributed to armed infiltration across the country necessitating authority response in state defense.

Most recent killings at al-Treimseh village in Hama Countryside reportedly an exchange between foreign aided terrorists and military personnel – the operation apparently carried out subsequent to evacuation procedure specifically aimed at terror hideouts minimizing civilian casualties in the war torn nation.

However, loss of innocent lives regrettable in any instance and those occupying civilian areas perpetuate combat situation confirming ill-fated purpose.

The terror groups scattered around the state wreaking havoc targeting civilians and security forces primarily deployed by western powers and Gulf allies for regional destabilization.

Geneva Agreement calls for ceasefire on all sides unlike western misinterpretation demanding compliance from the state alone while exempting them despite being responsible for widespread massacre earlier in Yemen, Bahrain, Libya and now Syria.

Not excluding benefactor status with Egypt in generous military aid to Supreme Council for Armed forces (SCAF) liberally used in crackdown against peaceful dissent in Tahirir Square.

The current dilemma faced by nations dealing with western orchestrated coup d’état, arbitrary drone strikes, military intervention and economic sanctions – all of these provocative measures not only undermine sovereignty but also directly affect population rendering life impossible.

Unfortunately, decision making in international affairs by UNSC,ICC on the political and judiciary front respectively failed to demonstrate fairness and reliability thus far considering the ongoing brutality in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Israel not addressed with enforceable action.

In the financial context – institutions like IMF, World Bank, European Central Banks and privately owned Federal Reserve again controlled and directed by western oligarchy especially finance, energy and defense industry prominent among counterparts viz. biotech agro giant Monsanto – objectives to gain unlimited access to foreign resources and human capital deny global society decent existence.

Notwithstanding EU, US, England and Israel along with other selective members collusion in the privileged club constitute existential threat to world peace,security and progress.

Syrian crisis exacerbated with western and Arab league represented so-called opposition rejecting international binding treaty on all warring factions without exception for pervasive disarmament.

The western ultimatum to Syrian government to honor peace plan within ten days or be subjected to economic sanctions evidently desperation to punish one party compelled to fight in protecting territorial integrity and,

Concurrently ignoring similar consequences on another i.e. external powers hired mercenaries committing atrocities at will taking advantage of the lack of accountability pose major credibility problem for western double standard. …more

Secret Wars, Secret Bases, and the Pentagon’s “New Spice Route” in Africa

Obama’s Scramble for Africa
By Nick Turse – Tom Dispatch – 12 July, 2012

They call it the New Spice Route, an homage to the medieval trade network that connected Europe, Africa, and Asia, even if today’s “spice road” has nothing to do with cinnamon, cloves, or silks. Instead, it’s a superpower’s superhighway, on which trucks and ships shuttle fuel, food, and military equipment through a growing maritime and ground transportation infrastructure to a network of supply depots, tiny camps, and airfields meant to service a fast-growing U.S. military presence in Africa.

Few in the U.S. know about this superhighway, or about the dozens of training missions and joint military exercises being carried out in nations that most Americans couldn’t locate on a map. Even fewer have any idea that military officials are invoking the names of Marco Polo and the Queen of Sheba as they build a bigger military footprint in Africa. It’s all happening in the shadows of what in a previous imperial age was known as “the Dark Continent.”

In East African ports, huge metal shipping containers arrive with the everyday necessities for a military on the make. They’re then loaded onto trucks that set off down rutted roads toward dusty bases and distant outposts.

On the highway from Djibouti to Ethiopia, for example, one can see the bare outlines of this shadow war at the truck stops where local drivers take a break from their long-haul routes. The same is true in other African countries. The nodes of the network tell part of the story: Manda Bay, Garissa, and Mombasa in Kenya; Kampala and Entebbe in Uganda; Bangui and Djema in the Central African Republic; Nzara in South Sudan; Dire Dawa in Ethiopia; and the Pentagon’s showpiece African base, Camp Lemonnier, in Djibouti on the coast of the Gulf of Aden, among others.

According to Pat Barnes, a spokesman for U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), Camp Lemonnier serves as the only official U.S. base on the continent. “There are more than 2,000 U.S. personnel stationed there,” he told TomDispatch recently by email. “The primary AFRICOM organization at Camp Lemonnier is Combined Joint Task Force — Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA). CJTF-HOA’s efforts are focused in East Africa and they work with partner nations to assist them in strengthening their defense capabilities.”

Barnes also noted that Department of Defense personnel are assigned to U.S. embassies across Africa, including 21 individual Offices of Security Cooperation responsible for facilitating military-to-military activities with “partner nations.” He characterized the forces involved as small teams carrying out pinpoint missions. Barnes did admit that in “several locations in Africa, AFRICOM has a small and temporary presence of personnel. In all cases, these military personnel are guests within host-nation facilities, and work alongside or coordinate with host-nation personnel.”

Shadow Wars

In 2003, when CJTF-HOA was first set up there, it was indeed true that the only major U.S. outpost in Africa was Camp Lemonnier. In the ensuing years, in quiet and largely unnoticed ways, the Pentagon and the CIA have been spreading their forces across the continent. Today — official designations aside — the U.S. maintains a surprising number of bases in Africa. And “strengthening” African armies turns out to be a truly elastic rubric for what’s going on.

Under President Obama, in fact, operations in Africa have accelerated far beyond the more limited interventions of the Bush years: last year’s war in Libya; a regional drone campaign with missions run out of airports and bases in Djibouti, Ethiopia, and the Indian Ocean archipelago nation of Seychelles; a flotilla of 30 ships in that ocean supporting regional operations; a multi-pronged military and CIA campaign against militants in Somalia, including intelligence operations, training for Somali agents, a secret prison, helicopter attacks, and U.S. commando raids; a massive influx of cash for counterterrorism operations across East Africa; a possible old-fashioned air war, carried out on the sly in the region using manned aircraft; tens of millions of dollars in arms for allied mercenaries and African troops; and a special ops expeditionary force (bolstered by State Department experts) dispatched to help capture or kill Lord’s Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony and his senior commanders. And this only begins to scratch the surface of Washington’s fast-expanding plans and activities in the region. …more

In the Orwellian world drawn up by NATO, wars are processes that allow the wealth of the people to flow to the cash registers of multinationals engaged in the manufacture of weapons. That same money will buy the media of the “free world”, ensuring the promotion of wars invented for “humanitarian” reasons and hidden economic objectives. Strange these democracies in which people are informed about conflicts precisely by firms having the greatest interest in propagating war.

THE ART OF WAR – The Afghan bottomless pit
by Manlio Dinucci – Voltaire Network – 17 July 2012

“It is wonderful to hear the birds, who are singing about the beautiful day here in Kabul.” With these romantic words Hillary Clinton opened the official ceremony among the trees of the uber-armored presidential palace in the Afghan capital.

As she spoke, other birds with stars and stripes on their tails plied the Afghan sky: F/A18s taking off from aircraft carrier Stennis in the Arabian Sea. After selecting their prey, these devices attack with missiles, laser-guided bombs and 20 mm cannons capable of firing bursts of 200 rounds of depleted uranium. These aircraft, and others, are each worth more than $ 100 million and cost $ 20 000 per flight hour. As each mission lasts about 8 hours, spending rises to more than $ 150 000 plus the price of arms and ammunition used.

Last year, according to official figures, the U.S. and NATO conducted 35 000 strike missions in Afghanistan. It is therefore not surprising that the U.S. alone has so far spent 550 billion in that war. A true bottomless pit, which will continue swallowing billions of dollars and euros.

In Kabul, Hillary Clinton announced the good news: “I have the pleasure to announce that President Obama has officially designated Afghanistan a major non-NATO ally.” That means that Afghanistan falls in the same category as Israel and according to the “Strategic Partnership Agreement,” the United States is committed to ensuring the “security” of that country. According to Administration officials, the U.S. will keep 10 000 to 30 000 men in Afghanistan, mainly special forces, backed by private military companies. And in Afghanistan the U.S. will continue using its own air force, including attack drones (pilotless aircraft).

The “largest non-NATO ally” will receive NATO military aid amounting to over 4 billion a year. Italy, which is committed to deliver 120 million a year, will continue to provide, in the words of Defense Minister Di Paola, “aid and support for Afghan security forces.” The Afghan government will also receive, as decided at the ’donors’ conference meeting in Tokyo, some 4 billion for “civil requirements.” Also in this context, said Foreign Minister Terzi, “Italy will do its part.” According to the official explanation, this will aid “Afghan civil society.” Which really means that every dollar and euro, officially spent for civilian purposes, will be used to strengthen U.S. / NATO rule in Afghanistan. …more

Iran says West supplying chemical agents to Bahrain
17 July, 2012 – Al Akhbar

Iran accused the West of providing chemical warfare agents to the Bahraini government on Tuesday, and that authorities there have used them to quash anti-regime protests.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, deputy foreign minister for African and Arab affairs, told the official Iranian News Agency IRNA, “I am expressing Tehran’s concern over the use of lethal chemical gases by Bahraini authorities against the Bahraini people.”

The Iranian official said unspecified Western nations were providing Manama with chemical choking agents, which has led to the death or injury of tens of citizens.

The allegations come on the heels of a report by a British parliamentary committee on Friday that questioned whether British military exports to the island kingdom were being used for internal repression.

The report did not mention exports of chemical choking agents, which are forbidden under international arms control agreements.

Bahrain has witnessed mass pro-democracy protests since February 2011, with the regime resorting to brute force in a so far failed attempt to crush the uprising. …source

New supervirus hits Iran
17 July, 2012 – Al Akhbar

Security experts have uncovered an ongoing cyber espionage campaign targeting Iran and other Middle Eastern countries that they say stands out because it is the first such operation using communications tools written in Farsi.

The cyberwarfare tool is the fourth discovered targeting Iran in as many years, following Stuxnet, Duqu, and Flame, which security analysts agree were almost certainly built and unleashed by national governments.

Israel and the United States were largely suspected of being behind the Flame supervirus that targeted Iran’s nuclear program.

Israeli security company Seculert and Russia’s Kaspersky Lab said on Tuesday that they identified more than 800 victims of the operation.

The targets include critical infrastructure companies, engineering students, financial services firms and government embassies located in five Middle Eastern countries, with the majority of the infections in Iran.

Seculert and Kaspersky declined to identify specific targets of the campaign, which they believe began at least eight months ago. They said they did not know who was behind the attacks or if was a nation state.

“It’s for sure somebody who is fluent in Persian, but we don’t know the origin of those guys,” said Seculert Chief Technology Officer Aviv Raff.

The Mahdi Trojan lets remote attackers steal files from infected PCs and monitor emails and instant messages, Seculert and Kaspersky said. It can also record audio, log keystrokes and take screen shots of activity on those computers.

The firms said they believed multiple gigabytes of data have been uploaded from targeted machines.

“Somebody is trying to build a dossier of a larger scale on something,” Raff said. “We don’t know what they are going to do at the end.”

Seculert and Kaspersky dubbed the campaign Mahdi, a term referring to the prophesied redeemer of Islam, because evidence suggests the attackers used a folder with that name as they developed the software to run the project.

They also included a text file named mahdi.txt in the malicious software that infected target computers. …source

Israel takes over 2 offshore Egyptian gas wells, geologist says
17 July, 2012 – PressTV

Egyptian geologist Khaled Odeh says Israel has taken over two natural gas wells located in Egypt’s territorial waters.

Odeh said in Cairo on Monday that the wells are located in the Mediterranean Sea between Egypt and Cyprus, IRNA reported.

He added that Israel took advantage of Egyptian officials’ inaction and started drilling operations in the area in April 2012.

Odeh also stated that the wells are over gas fields containing about $100 billion worth of gas reserves.

One of the wells is 19 kilometers north of the Egyptian city of Damietta and 235 kilometers west of Haifa in the occupied Palestinian territories, and the other well is 114 kilometers north of Damietta and 237 kilometers from the shores of Palestine.

The issue of supplying gas to Israel has always been a contentious topic for Egyptians, who view Israel as an enemy and oppose engaging in any form of business with it.

According to a $2.5 billion export deal with Tel Aviv, signed in 2005, Israel receives around 40 percent of its gas supply from Egypt at an extremely low price.

Relations between Cairo and Tel Aviv have deteriorated since last year’s revolution that overthrew former dictator Hosni Mubarak, a long-time and staunch ally of Israel. …source

Human Rights Worse After Gaddafi
By Mel Frykberg – 17 July, 2012 – IPS

TRIPOLI, Jul 14 2012 (IPS) – “The human rights situation in Libya now is far worse than under the late dictator Muammar Gaddafi,” Nasser al-Hawary, researcher with the Libyan Observatory for Human Rights tells IPS.

Hawary showed IPS testimonies from families whose loved ones have been beaten to death in the custody of the many militias that continue to control vast swathes of Libya.

“At least 20 people have been beaten to death in militia custody since the revolution, and this is a conservative figure. The real figure is probably far higher,” says Hawary, pointing to photos of bloodied bodies accompanying the testimonies.

Hawary is no fan of the Gaddafi regime. The former Salafist and political oponent of Gaddafi was imprisoned numerous times as a poitical dissident by Gaddafi’s secret police.

Hawary emerged from his periods of incarceration beaten and bloodied, but not broken. Far worse happened to his Islamist friends under the Gaddafi regime which was fiercely opposed to Islamic fundamentalism.

Hawary eventually escaped to Egypt where he remained until Libya’s February 17 revolution in 2011 made it safe for him and other Islamists to return.

Revenge attacks, killings and abductions against former Gaddafi supporters and against black men, who the rebels perceive as having worked as mercenaries for Gaddafi during the war, continue well after the “liberation” of the country.

Several months ago Muhammad Dossah, 28, was abducted by armed militia men at a checkpoint in the northern city Misrata as he was driving his employer Forrestor Oil Company’s car from the city Ras al Amoud to capital Tripoli.

“I don’t know if he is dead or alive. We haven’t heard from him since he disappeared from the militia checkpoint and the police investigating his disappearance say the trail has gone cold,” his brother Hussam Dossah, 25, tells IPS.

The police managed to trace the car through several cities down the eastern side of Libya but there the trail ended. There has been no sighting of Muhammad since then, and his family have no idea what has happened to him.

“He could have been abducted because he is black or because the gunmen wanted the car he was driving. We are Libyan but my father is from Chad,” says Hussam.

Hussam’s story is one of many of abductions, random killings, torture and robbery as militia men continue to take the law into their hands.

Despite the interim National Transitional Council’s (NTC) pledge to bring the more than 6,000 detainees currently in detention to trial or to release them, only some have been freed while the atrocities committed by pro-revolutionary rebels have been overlooked.

Armed militias controlling the streets and enforcing their version of law and order is a problem even in the major cities where the NTC has supposedly retaken control.

Gunfire punctuates the night regularly in Tripoli, and sometimes the day. “All the young men here have guns,” former rebel fighter Suheil al Lagi tells IPS. “They are accustomed to sorting out political differences and petty squabbles this way, or they rob people using weapons. The high unemployment and financial hardship is aggravating the situation.” …more

Bahrainis’ new demand: USA stop arming killers
16 July, 2012 – by Yusuf Fernandez, Al Manar – The Archers of Okcular

On July 7, Bahraini people took to the streets in several towns and villages to stage anti-government rallies and express their anger at US for meddling with their country´s internal affairs. Bahrain hosts the US Fifth Fleet, which patrols the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea, and is among the Persian Gulf countries that receive weapons and military systems from the United States.

For more than one year now, demonstrations have been taking place day after day across Bahrain against the brutal regime of King Hamad Al-Khalifa. Dozens of protesters have been killed since the revolution started. Bahraini police and army killed at least thirty people during the mass demonstrations of this year to demand political and social rights.

Over 1,000 people have been detained and many of them have been tortured. Thousands of public sector workers have been fired for allegedly taking part in protests against the regime.

Recently, a military tribunal in Manama sentenced twenty doctors to prison terms of up to 15 years. The doctors faced shameful charges, including hiding weapons in hospitals, “occupying a hospital,” and acting to overthrow the regime. No credible evidence against the doctors was presented in the court and they suffered abuse and torture in prison and were denied full access to their lawyers.

US weapons for Bahrain

The US has been for a long time the major supplier of weapons to the Bahraini regime. A TomDispatch analysis of the Pentagon documents showed that “since the 1990s, the United States has transferred large quantities of military material, ranging from trucks and aircraft to machine-gun parts and millions of rounds of live ammunition, to Bahrain´s security forces”.

According to data from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the US has sent Bahrain dozens of tanks, armoured personnel carriers, and helicopter gunships. The US has also supplied the Bahrain Army with thousands of .38 caliber pistols and millions of rounds of ammunition, including .50 caliber ammunition for sniper rifles, machine guns etc. In 2010, Washington sold over $200 million worth of weapons to Bahrain, up from $88 million in 2009.

Despite all above-mentioned violations of the human rights, US Defense Department recently agreed to provide the Bahraini government with another $53 million worth of weapons, the first one since the revolution began. The resumption of military sales took place shortly after a visit to Washington by Bahrain Crown Prince Salman Hamid al-Khalifa. There, he met Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

According to ForeignPolicy.com’s The Cable Blog, the US-Bahraini arms deal includes six harbor patrol boats, communications equipment for Bahrain’s US-made air-defense system, ground-based radars, air-to-air-missile systems, Seahawk helicopters, parts for F-16 fighter engines, Cobra helicopters, and night-vision equipment.

The agreement also includes 44 armored vehicles -of the type used to crush the demonstrations-. Igt is noteworthy to point out that US weapons have been used by Bahraini security forces for cracking down on pro-democracy protesters since last year.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D – VT) has criticized the resumption of arms to Bahrain. Although he claimed to be pleased because no tear gas will be included in this sale, Leahy thinks that the deal still sends “the wrong message.” Brian Dooley, director of the Washington-based charity Human Rights First, also condemned the arms sale as a “reward” for the Bahraini dictatorial regime.

No matter how the US Administration tries to sell its decision, it will be seen as a clear support for the Al-Khalifa dictatorship. ““You really should be nicer to the people you are oppressing; oh, by the way, here are the weapons you were expecting” is what Manama will hear from Washington”, complained Mohammed al-Maskati, a Bahraini human rights activist: “It is a direct message that we support the authorities and we don’t support democracy in Bahrain, we don’t support protestors in Bahrain.” …more

Russian rights envoy expresses “great concern” about the situation in east Saudi, comments the kingdom calls “hostile”.

Saudi hits out at Russia over rights comments
15 July, 2012 – AlJazeera

Saudi Arabia has condemned comments by Russia’s human rights envoy on the situation in the kingdom as “hostile” and an unjustified interference in the kingdom’s internal affairs, Saudi state media reported.

Russian Human Rights envoy Konstantin Dolgov expressed “great concern” about the situation in eastern Saudi Arabia following what he described as clashes between law enforcement and peaceful demonstrators in which two people were killed and more than 20 were wounded, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry website.

The Saudi interior ministry has said there were no clashes but that two people were killed by unknown assailants last Sunday in the east, where the country’s minority Muslim Shia population is concentrated.

“The Kingdom learned with strong astonishment and surprise about the comment by the Russian Foreign Ministry’s representative on human rights which represents a blatant and unjustified intervention… in the internal affairs of the kingdom,” the Saudi news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry statement, attributed to an “official source”, as saying on Saturday.

The agency said the government of Saudi Arabia condemned such comments as “hostile”.

Dolgov had said that people in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia were protesting “against the existing, according to their opinion, impairment of the rights of the Shi’ite community on the part of the authorities of the Kingdom”.

Saudi Arabia said that minor protests took place after the arrest of a cleric on charges of sedition, and after he and a group with him opened fire on police.

It said that two men who were killed had been shot by unknown assailants and an investigation into who killed them was underway.

The rare public exchange appeared to reflect tensions over the 16-month-old uprising in Syria where Russia has resisted introduction of Western- and Arab-backed sanction against President Bashar al-Assad.

“The kingdom hopes that this strange comment was not intended to divert attention from the savage and ugly massacres that the Syrian regime is practising against its own people with support and backing from known parties that are obstructing any honest effort to end the bloodshed of the Syrian people.”

Russia has blocked two UN Security Council moves to press Assad to end his crackdown. Saudi Arabia has been in the forefront of Arab countries backing the rebels. …more

Libya Bans Unauthorized Protests
16 July, 2012 – POMED

The Libyan Ministry of the Interior announced Saturday a ban on all unlicensed protests, which some believe will include strikes as well. All future protests will require the permission of the Interior Ministry, and all unauthorized protesters will be held responsible for any injury or property damage resulting from the illegal protests. Libyan human rights groups condemned the ban, with some calling it a return to Gaddafi-era bans on protesting.

Also, armed gunmen kidnapped Ahmed Nabil al-Taher al-Alam, the chief of Libya’s Olympic Committee, in Tripoli Sunday. Between eight and nine armed men stopped Alam’s car only blocks from the Tripoli Olympic headquarters, taking him in their car and driving away but leaving a friend of Alam behind. Additionally, two journalists captured while reporting on Libya’s historic election have been freed in exchange for the release of several Gaddafi loyalists. Yusuf Baadi and Abdul Qader Fusuq were in Bani Walid last Sunday on their way back from covering the election for a Misrata TV station when they were detained. Successive negotiation attempts failed throughout the week until Mistrata authorities offered the release of several Gaddafi loyalists detained since the revolution, none of whom are charged with criminal activity.

Umar Khan argues that the biggest surprise of the incoming election results is not how poorly the Muslim Brotherhood seems to be doing, but rather that a National Forces Alliance (NFA) majority is by no means certain given that genuine independents will have the majority. The NFA will likely take around 40 of the 200 seats, while independents will have 120, and the results coming in show independents with no clear leanings towards the NFA. …more

US Navy attack “threatens regional security”: Iran foreign ministry
17 July, 2012 – Reuters

(Reuters) – Iran on Tuesday criticised the actions of a U.S. navy ship that shot at an approaching fishing boat off the United Arab Emirates, saying the incident showed foreign forces threatened regional security.

One Indian national was killed and three others injured on Monday when the U.S. refuelling ship, the USNS Rappahannock, opened fire on a small motor boat which U.S. officials said ignored repeated warnings to halt its approach.

The United States has been building up its presence in the Gulf as Washington seeks to ramp up pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme which it suspects is aimed at producing nuclear bombs. Tehran denies the accusation.

“We have announced time and again that the presence of foreign forces can be a threat to regional security,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said during a news conference broadcast on state television.

“Certainly regional countries with the help of one another can provide security in the best possible way. If they join hands, with their defensive capabilities, they don’t need the presence of foreign forces. Anywhere where you see insecurity we have always seen the hand of foreign forces there.”

The shooting took place in waters near the UAE port of Jebel Ali, across the Gulf from Iran, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in a statement. The UAE state news agency, quoting a government official, identified all of the dead and wounded as Indian nationals.

U.S. officials have not blamed terrorism or claimed any link between Iran and Monday’s incident, and it appears the incident may have been due to a misunderstanding. An investigation is underway, the U.S. navy said.

Iran’s repeated threats to close the Strait of Hormuz – through which 40 percent of the world’s sea-borne oil exports are carried – have alarmed Western capitals over the impact such an action could have on the price of oil. …more

Clinton warns Iran after talks in Jerusalem
17 July, 2012 – By Jo Biddle – Agence France Presse

JERUSALEM: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday said Washington would use “all elements of its power” to prevent Iran going nuclear and was working in “close consultation” with Israel over how to do so.

And she said a resumption of talks between Israel and the Palestinians would only come about if the parties “do the hard work for peace.”

Speaking to reporters at the end of a whirlwind 24-hour visit to Jerusalem, Clinton said that Iran not yet decided to curb its nuclear ambitions, and warned that Washington would stop at nothing to prevent it from getting a nuclear bomb.

“We will use all elements of American power to prevent Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon,” she said in remarks which carried an implied threat of military action — a course of action never ruled out by Washington.

Thanks to US efforts to rally the international community to tackle the Iranian nuclear threat, Tehran was “under greater pressure than ever before,” Clinton said, indicating that the Obama administration was “pressing forward in close consultation with Israel.”

“I think it is fair to say we are on the same page at this moment, trying to figure our way forward to have the maximum impact on affecting the decisions that Iran makes,” Clinton said.

Clinton arrived in Israel late on Sunday at the tail end of a nine-nation tour, holding talks with top officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres, Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

Although Israel has warned a nuclear Iran would pose an existential threat to the Jewish state and has refused to rule out a military strike on its nuclear facilities, Peres expressed confidence in Washington’s tough stance on Tehran.

“I think the coalition we have built, and the measures you have taken are beginning to have their impact… they are the right start,” he told Clinton.
…more