The unidentified projects reference “bullshit”, make believe and oil with no known means of extraction

Al Nusrah Front, foreign jihadists seize key Syrian base in Aleppo
By Bill Roggio – 10 December, 2012

The Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, an al Qaeda-linked jihadist group that is fighting Bashir al Assad’s regime in Syria, and allied jihadist groups took control of the last major Syrian Army base in western Aleppo after a two-month-long siege. The base is believed to be involved in Syria’s chemical weapons program.

The Sheikh Suleiman base, or Base 111, fell to the Al Nusrah Front and “several Islamist rebel battalions linked to it,” a representative of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP. Foreign fighters are also said to have played a key role in the assault that led to the fall of the Sheikh Suleiman base, while nearby units of the Free Syrian Army stood by and watched.

“Many of the fighters were from other Arab countries and Central Asia,” AFP said, based on observations from one of its reporters who covered the area. An estimated 300 to 400 Syrian soldiers defended the base before it fell to the jihadist alliance. Al Qaeda’s black flag of jihad was raised over one of the buildings on the base as the fighting took place.

The two other Islamist groups who fought alongside Al Nusrah were identified as the Mujahedeen Shura Council and the Muhajireen group, according to The Associated Press. The term muhajireen means emigrants, a strong indication that many of its fighters are from outside of Syria.

Some of the fighters who took the base are non-Syrian. One of the leaders involved in the battle to take the base identified himself to AFP as Abu Talha and said he was from Uzbekistan. Other foreign fighters said, “We are all mujahedeens and muhajireens.”

Captured base said to be part of Syria’s chemical weapons program

The Sheikh Suleiman base is rumored to be involved in the Assad regime’s chemical weapons program. The base “contained a clandestine scientific research whose purpose was unknown even to the rank and file,” AFP reported in late November, based on a claim from a soldier who defected.

US officials have expressed concern that the Syrian government has been preparing to use chemical weapons against the rebels after suffering a string of defeats throughout the country. The US is also training Syrian rebels in Jordan to secure chemical weapons sites in the event that the Assad regime falls, CNN reported.

The Syrian government has warned that rebels may also use chemical weapons after the Al Nusrah Front took control control of a chlorine factory in Aleppo last week.

Islamists hold sway over new rebel military command

The fall of the Sheikh Suleiman base to jihadist forces took place just days after the supposedly secular rebels established a joint military command that is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood and individuals linked to the various Salafist-jihadist groups.

“Its composition, estimated to be two-thirds from the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies, reflects the growing strength of Islamist fighters on the ground and resembles that of the civilian opposition leadership coalition created under Western and Arab auspices in Qatar last month, France 24 reported.

Senior military officers who defected from the Assad regime as well as military commanders opposed to the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists were excluded from the joint command.

The Al Nusrah Front’s position on the newly established joint military command is unclear. In mid-November, the Al Nusrah Front and 13 other jihadist groups based in Aleppo rejected the Western-backed National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, and instead called for the establishment of an Islamic state.

“We declare our legitimate rejection of what came to be called the ‘national alliance.’ An agreement has been reached to establish a just Islamic State and to reject any foreign project, alliances or councils that are forced on us domestically from any entity, whatever it is,” according to a statement that was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group

…more

Thierry Meyssan: “Syrian terrorists were trained by the KLA in Kosovo”
by Thierry Meyssan – Voltaire Network – 10 December 2012

[excerpt]
Geopolitika: Mr. Meyssan, what is the current situation in Syria, the situation on the front and the situation in the Syrian society? Are Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as Western countries who want to violently topple the political system of President Bashar Assad, close to fulfilling their goal?

Thierry Meyssan: Of the 23 million Syrians about two to two and a half million support armed groups trying to destabilize the country and weaken his army. They took control of several cities and vast rural areas. In no case will these armed groups be able to overthrow the regime.

The plan provided that the initial Western terrorist actions would create a cycle of provocation / repression justifying international intervention on the model of the KLA terrorism and repression by Slobodan Milosevic, followed by the NATO intervention. By the way it has been attested to that fighting groups in Syria were trained in terrorism by members of the KLA on Kosovo.

This plan failed because Vladimir Putin’s Russia is not that of Boris Yeltsin. Moscow and Beijing have interdicted NATO intervention and since then the situation has stagnated.

Geopolitika: What do the United States, France, Britain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar hope to accomplish by toppling President al-Assad?

Thierry Meyssan: Each member state of the coalition has its own interest in this war and believes it can be satisfied, even though these interests are sometimes contradictory.

At the political level, there is the desire to break the “Axis of Resistance to Zionism” (Iran-Iraq-Syria-Hezbollah-Palestine). There is also the desire to continue the “remodeling of the broader Middle East.”

But the most important issues are economic: huge reserves of natural gas have been discovered in the south-eastern Mediterranean. The center of this deposit is near Homs in Syria (more precisely, à Qara).

Geopolitika: Could you tell us a bit more about the rebellion of Al Qaeda in Syria, whose relations with the United States are contradictory to say the least, if you look at their actions on the ground? You said in an interview that the relationship between Abdelhakim Belhadj and NATO were almost institutionalized. For whom is Al-Qaeda really waging war?

Thierry Meyssan: Al-Qaeda was originally nothing but the name of a database, a computer file, listing the names of the Arab mujahideen sent to fight in Afghanistan against the Soviets. By extension, Al-Qaeda refers to the jihadist milieu in which these mercenaries were recruited. Then Al-Qaeda designated fighters around bin Laden and by extension, all groups in the world who claim bin Laden’s ideology.

According to the times and the needs, this movement has been more or less populated. During the first war in Afghanistan, the war in Bosnia and Chechnya wars, these mercenaries were “freedom fighters” as they fought against the Slavs. Then, during the second war in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq, they were “terrorists” because they were attacking the GI’s. After the official death of bin Laden, they have again become “freedom fighters” during the wars in Libya and Syria because they are fighting alongside NATO.

In reality, these mercenaries have always been controlled by the Sudeiris’ clan, the pro-US and arch-reactionary faction of the Saudi Royal Family, and more specifically by Prince Bandar bin Sultan. The latter, whom George Bush Sr. has always presented as his “adopted son” (that is to say, as an intelligent boy he would have liked to have fathered) has ceased to act on behalf of the CIA. Even when Al-Qaida GIs fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, it was still in the best interest of the United States because it could justify their military presence.

It turns out that in recent years, Libyans have become the majority in Al-Qaeda. NATO naturally used them to overthrow the regime of Muammar al-Gaddafi. Once this was done, they named the number two organization, Abdelhakim Belhaj, military governor of Tripoli, although he is wanted by Spanish justice for his alleged responsibility for the Madrid bombings. Subsequently, they transferred his men to fight in Syria. For their transport, the CIA used the resources of the High Commissioner for Refugees thanks to Ian Martin, Special Representative of Ban Ki-Moon in Libya. The so-called refugees were taken to Turkey to camps which served as a rear base from which to attack Syria. Access to these camps was forbidden to Turkish parliamentarians and the press.

Ian Martin is also known to your readers: he was Secretary General of Amnesty International, and representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Geopolitika: Syria is the location not only of a civil war, but also the site of a media war and of manipulations. We ask you as a direct witness, someone who has been on the ground, what really happened in Homs and Hula?

Thierry Meyssan: I am not a direct witness to what happened in Houla. However, I’ve served as a trusted third party in negotiations between the Syrian and French authorities during the siege of the Islamic Emirate of Baba Amr. Jihadists were entrenched in this area of ​​Homs from which they had expelled infidels (Christians) and heretics (Shiites). In fact, only forty Sunni families were left behind amongst about 3,000 fighters. The latter had introduced sharia, and a “revolutionary court” sentenced more than 150 to have their throats publicly slit.

This self-proclaimed Emirate was secretly managed by French officers. Syrian authorities wanted to avoid a direct assault and so they negotiated with the French authorities for the insurgents to surrender. Ultimately, the French were able to leave the city by night and fled to Lebanon, while loyalist forces entered the Emirate and the fighters surrendered. A bloodbath was avoided, there were less than 50 killed during the operation.

Geopolitika: Apart from the Alawites, Christians are also targeted in Syria. Could you tell us a bit more about the persecution of Christians in this country and why the so-called Western civilization, whose roots are Christian, shows no solidarity with fellow believers?

Thierry Meyssan: The jihadists pick on those who are closest to them: first the progressive Sunni and Shia (including Alawites) and only then followed by Christians. Generally, they torture and kill only a few Christians. On the other hand, they systematically expell them and steal their possessions. In the region near the border with northern Lebanon, the Free Syrian Army gave the Christians a week to flee. We witnessed a brutal exodus of 80,000 people. Those who did not flee in time were massacred.

Christianity was founded by Saint Paul in Damascus. Syrian communities predate those of the West. They have retained their ancient rites and their extremely strong faith. Most are Orthodox. Those who are attached to Rome have retained their ancestral rites. During the Crusades, the Christians of the East fought with other Arabs against the soldiers sent by the Pope. Today, they are fighting with their countrymen against jihadists sent by NATO.

[Read more →]

Bahraini activist jailed for “inciting hatred”
10 December, 2012 – Al Akhbar

A prominent Bahraini rights activist has been arrested on charges of “inciting hatred against the regime” after attempting to visit a hospital patient shot in the face by riot police, her friends announced Monday.

Bahrain’s public prosecution office on Monday told Zainab al-Khawaja that she will spend at least one week in prison pending an investigation over the charges after she was arrested over the weekend during a visit to Salmaniya Hospital to check up on a patient.

A court had already sentenced Khawaja to one month in prison and fined her 100 Bahraini dinars ($265) earlier on Monday for participating in a non-sanctioned demonstration in Manama’s Pearl Square in February.

Khawaja, who is widely known by her Twitter pseudonym Angry Arabiya, faces three additional court verdicts this month over participation in anti-government protests in the wake of Bahrain’s massive uprising last year.

She had previously served a one-month prison sentence in May and two-month term in September and October over charges related to her activism.

She is the daughter of a leading human rights defender also behind bars. Her father, Hadi al-Khawaja, is serving a life sentence over charges of “plotting against the state.”

Khawaja’s latest arrest in Bahrain’s main hospital occurred after briefly visiting 20-year-old Aqeel Abdul Mohsen. Abdul Mohsen suffers a shattered jaw after police shot him during an anti-government rally last Wednesday in the town of Bani Jamra.

…source

Mosques Under Construction Re-Demolished by Authorities in Bahrain
09 December, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses concern over the continued attacks on religious freedom represented in the re-demolishing of Shia mosques, which have been under construction since they were initially attacked and demolished during the government crack-down in 2011.

On December 1st, 2012, government bulldozers demolished four mosques for the second time; no notification was given to the people nor to the municipalities representative. These mosques belong to the Shia sect in the Hamad Town, and were under construction at the time. These four mosques are among the approximately 35 mosques that were demolished in 2011 during the intensive crackdown that followed the pro-democracy protests (for more details on demolished mosques in 2011 see: bahrainrights.org/en/node/4295 ). Although the government promised to rebuild the demolished mosques, following to the release of the BICI report in Nov 2011, it has not taken any concrete steps for the implementation of their plans. However, citizens have taken the initiative to start the construction process of these mosques in the same area where they were formerly located.

The four re-demolished mosques are:

1 Al-Imam AlSajad Mosque, located in Karzakan

2 Fadak AlZahra Mosque, located in Hamad Town R2, There has been formal communication between the municipality and the ministry of Islamic affairs that the land has been assigned to the mosque (2008/2010)

3 Abu Talib Mosque, located in Hamad Town R19, Had a building permit and formal authorization to put a temporary cabin on location (prior to April 2011)

4 Imam Hasan AlAskari Mosque, located in Hamad Town R22, On private land, had a construction permit, Had a formal authorization to put a temporary cabin on location (prior to April 2011)

A sign was placed next to the “AlSajad Mosque” (so photo on the top), which had the name of the Ministry of Justice and the Jaffari Waqf, and stated its intentions for a project to re-construct the mosque. However, the sign was ignored, and the government’s bulldozers took down the walls of the under-construction mosque. …more

Is the U.S. Congress Starting to Get Its Human Rights Mojo Back?
By Adotei Akwei – 10 December, 2012- Amnesty International

Late last week, Congress reclaimed some of its human rights mojo when the bi-partisan Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) announced its new Defending Freedoms Project. The TLHRC was established in 1983 by the late Rep. Thomas Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor to have served in Congress.

The project kicked off with the TLHRC co-chairmen Frank R. Wolf adopting Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng and James P. McGovern taking on the case of jailed Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab.

The goal of this new partnership is to increase respect for religious freedom and other human rights around the world through a focus on individual cases of human rights defenders and those who have been unjustly imprisoned for exercising their human rights. Members of Congress will “adopt” at least one political prisoner, using their clout to highlight each case and push for an end to the human rights violations to which the highlighted individual is being subjected.

The launch of the Defending Freedoms project coincides with Amnesty’s annual Write#4rights, when AI members around the world will write letters to highlight the plight of individuals who are at risk for simply expressing themselves and seeking to enjoy their human rights.

By working on behalf of behalf of political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, participating members of Congress will also encourage countries to draft laws and adopt policies protecting freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom from torture and ill-treatment, the right to a fair trial and other universal human rights.

The launch took place a day before a report by Amnesty International was released detailing increasing attacks against human rights defenders in Latin America, just one stark reminder of the need for leadership and an increased focus on human rights by the United States and the international community.

The Lantos Commission, US Commission for International Religious Freedom and AIUSA hope to grow this initiative and pair more congressional offices with prisoners of conscience to advocate publicly for their release and push for systemic reforms. …source

Bahrain: Shiite clerics must ‘prohibit’ violence
AP – 7 December, 2012

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Bahrain’s Shiite religious leaders must more forcefully denounce violence as a key step to ease the kingdom’s 22-month uprising, the country’s crown prince said Friday at the opening of an international security conference.

The appeal by Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa underscores the view of Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy that Shiite clerics should be held partly responsible for rising violence in the strategic Gulf nation. It also suggests authorities could increase pressure on top Shiite clergymen, whom he referred to as ‘ayatollahs’ — a term more often associated with senior religious figures in rival Iran.

“I call on all those who disagree with the government, including the ayatollahs, to condemn violence on the street unequivocally . And more, to prohibit violence,” the crown prince told policymakers and political figures gathered for the annual two-day conference known as the Manama Dialogue. “Responsible leadership is called for and I believe dialogue is the only way forward,” he added.

More than 55 people have died in the unrest since February 2011, when Bahrain’s majority Shiites escalated a long-simmering drive for a greater political voice in the Sunni-ruled country.

The monarchy has offered some concessions, including giving the elected parliament expanded powers. But it falls far short of Shiite demands to loosen the Sunni rulers’ controls over key government appointments and policies.

Shiite religious leaders, including the most senior cleric Sheik Isa Qassim, have never publicly endorsed violence, but have encouraged peaceful anti-government protests to challenge authorities. Breakaway groups during demonstrations often clash with riot police.

The conference includes high-level envoys from Bahrain’s Western allies, which have so far stood behind the kingdom’s leadership but are increasingly troubled by rising violence and continued crackdowns on the opposition. The U.S. delegation is led by Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and includes Arizona Sen. John McCain.

The crown prince thanked a host of nations for assistance during the crisis, but noticeably did not refer to the U.S. in his remarks — an omission that underlined the two countries’ increasingly strained ties. He criticized nations that “selectively” criticize Bahrain’s leadership, without citing specific countries.

Washington has called for dialogue in Bahrain, but sharply condemned its leaders’ decision late last month to ban political rallies. The country hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, the Pentagon’s main hub against Iran’s rising military profile in the Gulf.

Earlier, the leaders of Bahrain’s main opposition group urged participants at the summit to press Bahraini officials to open wide-ranging talks.

Sheik Ali Salman told thousands of supporters that the international envoys should push Bahrain’s rulers to recognize the “demands of the people” and open negotiations. …source

US tightens military noose around Syria
by Bill Van Auken – WSWS

Amid an escalating drumbeat about a supposed threat that Syria’s government is preparing to use chemical weapons against its own people, Washington has deployed a naval armada off the country’s coast.

The USS Eisenhower carrier strike group was sent through the Suez Canal from its deployment in the Persian Gulf earlier this week and has reportedly arrived in the Mediterranean near Syrian shores. The deployment joins that of an amphibious battle group already present in the eastern Mediterranean, consisting of the USS Iwo Jima, the USS New York and the USS Gunston Hall, which together carry a contingent of 2,500 US Marines.

Between the two naval forces, Washington now has 17 warships, 70 fighter-bombers and 10,000 military personnel within close striking distance of Syria. This is in addition to the Air Force’s 39th Air Base Wing stationed at the Incirlik base in Turkey together with tens of thousands of US ground troops deployed in Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Citing US military sources, the Times of London reported Wednesday that Washington is ready to launch a military attack on Syria “within days.”

“It won’t require major movement to make action happen,” an unnamed US official told the British newspaper. “The muscle is already there to be flexed.”

Pentagon sources have suggested that an intervention carried out on the pretext of securing Syria’s chemical weapons would require some 75,000 troops.

In a further threat of direct US-NATO intervention, NATO governments are moving ahead to implement Tuesday’s decision of the NATO foreign ministers conference to deploy Patriot missile batteries on Turkey’s border with Syria. Germany’s defense and foreign ministers announced a decision to deploy some 400 German troops on the border. Similar detachments will also be sent by the US and the Netherlands.
While Turkey claimed it needed the missiles to defend itself from a supposed threat that Syria would fire missiles carrying chemical weapons towards its border, the Patriot batteries could also be used to impose a de facto “no-fly zone” over northern Syria, allowing the US-backed “rebels” to consolidate control over territory and creating the conditions for the installation of a Western-backed government on Syrian soil.
US officials have reiterated threats made by President Barack Obama and others in the administration about the government of President Bashar al-Assad crossing a “red line” and facing military action if it uses chemical weapons.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Thursday described the US administration as “very concerned that as the opposition advances, in particular on Damascus, that the regime might very well consider the use of chemical weapons.”

Panetta referred to unspecified intelligence as the cause of these supposed concerns. Media outlets like the New York Times, CNN and NBC News have trumpeted this “intelligence,” citing unnamed US officials as the sources for vague and often contradictory accounts of developments that have allegedly pointed toward a potential use of chemical weapons in Syria.

Syria’s deputy foreign minister, Faisal Maqdad, charged Thursday that the allegation made by the US and other NATO countries about Syria’s chemical weapons were designed to create a “pretext for any subsequent interventions.”

“Syria stresses again, for the tenth, the hundredth time, that if we had such weapons, they would not be used against its people,” said Maqdad in an interview with Lebanon’s Al Manar television.

Speaking at the NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Washington and its allies of manufacturing the alleged chemical weapons threat.

“As soon as we get these rumors [about chemical weapons] we engage in constructive demarche; when we get confirmation that nothing of that type is happening we share this information with our American colleagues,” Lavrov told the media.

There are no grounds to grant any credibility to the claims made by Washington and its media servants in presenting a supposedly imminent threat of a chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government as a trigger for war.

To the extent that there is any genuine content to these claims, it was expressed on Wednesday by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who declared that Washington was concerned “that an increasingly desperate Assad regime might turn to chemical weapons, or might lose control of them to one of the many groups that are now operating within Syria.”

The statement raised for the first time the prospect that the real threat in Syria is that the so-called rebels that the US and its allies are backing could overrun Syrian military facilities and capture chemical weapons.

Citing unnamed US officials, CNN reported on Wednesday that the US State Department is preparing to add Jabhat al-Nusra, a Syrian Islamist militia that is playing the leading role in the military campaign against the Assad government, to its list of “Foreign Terrorist Organizations.”
According to recent reports, the Al Qaeda-connected al-Nusra militia has fielded as many as 10,000 fighters, many of them foreign Islamists who have been funneled into Syria. The group is said to be the best-armed element waging the war for regime change and is credited with recently overrunning two Syrian military bases.

Much of the weaponry going to the group has reportedly been sent in by the US-backed monarchy in Qatar. The CIA set up a command-and-control headquarters in southern Turkey earlier this year to coordinate the distribution of these arms and other aid going to the “rebels.”
The designation of the al-Nusra militia as a terrorist organization would no doubt be meant to publicly distance Washington from the Al Qaeda elements upon which it has relied to wage the sectarian civil war to oust Assad. It would amount to a damning self-indictment, however, with the US government effectively making a formal admission that it has been supporting a terrorist war in Syria, replete with suicide bombings and sectarian massacres.

One reason for the pending terrorist designation is to pave the way for the US and its allies to intervene more directly in arming the “rebels,” while claiming to distinguish between “secular-democratic” elements—found largely in luxury hotels in Doha—and Islamist militias, which are bearing the brunt of the US-backed war.

Such a move is likely in conjunction with a “Friends of Syria” meeting to be held in Marrakech, Morocco next week in which Washington may join with its NATO allies in recognizing a new “rebel” front—the National Coalition for the Opposition Forces—which was cobbled together under the direction of the US State Department.

In a related development, the New York Times published a front-page article Thursday that cited unnamed US officials explaining that in last year’s war for regime change in Libya, “the Obama administration secretly gave its blessing to arms shipments to Libyan rebels from Qatar” that resulted in “turning some of these weapons over to Islamic militants.” The newspaper said that evidence had yet to emerge that these weapons were used in last September’s assault on the US consulate and a secret CIA facility in Benghazi that killed the US ambassador and three other Americans.

There is little new in the article, which stresses that the Libyan experience “has taken on new urgency as the administration considers whether to play a direct role in arming rebels in Syria, where weapons are flowing in from Qatar and other countries.”

No doubt underlying these reports and maneuvers are bitter divisions within the US military-intelligence apparatus over the tactics being pursued in the wars for regime change, first in Libya and now in Syria. It would be surprising if elements within the American military did not have serious reservations about a policy founded on the US arming and supporting of forces tied to Al Qaeda.

However, an examination of the trajectory of US policy in the Middle East points to a definite relationship between Washington’s attempts to assert its hegemony by military means and Al Qaeda that is sharply at odds with the official narrative of the “war on terrorism.”

Over the past decade, every regime targeted by US imperialism for military overthrow in the Middle East, from Iraq to Libya to Syria, has been hostile to Al Qaeda and the Islamist agenda. In each of these countries, Islamist and Al Qaeda-linked forces had no real power until the US intervened. The principal target for US militarism, Iran, is a nation whose population is composed predominantly of Shiite Muslims, who have been targeted for attack by Al Qaeda elements in Iraq and elsewhere.

The motivation for military action against these countries has not been to further a “war on terror,” much less to promote democracy or humanitarianism, but rather to assert US hegemony over an oil-rich and strategically vital region of the world.

To the extent that there is a genuine issue regarding chemical weapons in Syria, it is because the Obama administration has backed a “rebel” force that is dominated by Al Qaeda-linked militias into whose hands these weapons may fall, posing the threat that they may be used in terrorist attacks elsewhere. …source

Saudi Arabia commits War Crime by Forced Use of Prisoners in Syria Insurgency
10 December, 2012 – nsnbc

SA Forced Use of PrisonersAn official and classified Saudi Arabian document reveals that the government of Saudi Arabia releases its most dangerous prisoners who are sentenced to death under the condition that they take part in the attempted subversion in Syria. The practice constitutes a serious war crime. Earlier in 2012 PRESS TV and Al Alam journalist Maya Naser was assassinated shortly after he began investigating the same crime being committed by Turkish authorities.

The official, classified document shows that the authorities of Saudi Arabia have ordered the release of a group of the most dangerous criminals who have been sentenced to death in exchange for going to fight in Syria. Prior to their deployment to Syria the convicts are to be trained in unconventional warfare, terrorism, or in what is euphemistically described as Jihad.

The group of convicts includes 105 Yemeni, 21 Palestinian, 212 Saudi, 96 Sudanese, 254 Syrian, 82 Jordanian, 68 Somali, 32 Afghan, 194 Egyptian, 203 Pakistani, 23 Iraqi and 44 Kuwaiti citizens. It is unlikely that this group is the only such group that is going to be deployed from Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia´s release of convicts with death sentences is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions which among other regulate the wartime rights of civilian and military prisoners. Their deployment to Syria is likely to constitute forced use of prisoners and could potentially lead to a prosecution of the Saudi government at the International Criminal Court in The Haag.

According to the US Special Forces Training Circular TC 18-01 the US military will for the foreseeable future be predominantly involved in irregular warfare. (1) Post 25th NATO Summit NATO doctrine, which describes the illegal war on Libya as teachable moment and model for future interventions has underpinned this tendency. (2) It is thus not surprising that Saudi Arabia is not the sole country within the anti-Syria alliance that deploys convicts.

In September 2012 PRESS TV and AL Alam journalist Maya Naser was killed by snipers in Damascus when he reported from the scene of two bomb blasts in Damascus. According to reliable sources the snipers have been positioned two hours before the blasts. It is highly probable that the targetting of Maya Naser and the timing was no coincidence.

During the week prior to his assassination, Maya Naser was investigating Turkey´s forced use of prisoners. Naser began his investigation after it transpired that several of the killed or captured insurgents in Syria were convicts who according to their sentences should be incarcerated in Turkish prisons. (3) Naser had copies of several passports to substantiate the claim.

Some of the killed or captured Turkish convicts had ties to Al Qaeda associated organizations. One of the more prominent among these convict insurgents was the brother of the leader of the 2003 HSBC bombers. The bombing of the HSBC bank in Istanbul in 2003 killed 67 and wounded more than 700 people. The Saudi document indicates that the forced use of prisoners in Saudi Arabia and Turkey is part of a GCC-NATO strategy rather than isolated incidents.

The evidence provided by Maya Naser and the Saudi Arabian document warrant an investigation and prosecution of Turkey, Saudi Arabia as well as against NATO at the International Criminal Court, ICC.

Whether any of the war crimes will be investigated or prosecuted however, is more than just uncertain. For one it is unlikely that any of the western nations will demand an investigation or prosecution. For the other, both Russia and China are most likely considering the already very tense bilateral and multilateral relations between respectively Russia, China and the USA, UK and France. Iran which is currently chairing the Non Aligned Movement is under sustained pressure from the USA, Canada, the EU and its Gulf-Arab neighbors. The Tehran government is likely to think twice before it risks worsening diplomatic relations to the west.

In other words, Turkey´s, Saudi Arabia´s and NATO´s blatant violations of the Geneva Conventions, their forced use of prisoners and state sponsored terrorism is likely not to be noticed by the ICC, which ten years after the Rome Treaty has exclusively prosecuted, imprisoned and sentenced heads of state and government officials who dared to oppose US, EU and NATO hegemony.

If the document ever makes it into western mainstream media, which also is highly doubtful, it may cause a half-baked scandal and it may be used for scapegoating and positioning the one or the other with the implicit purpose of justifying or covering up ones own crimes. It will hardly result in an investigation, prosecution, or a cessation of state sponsored terrorism and forced use of prisoners. …source

Celebrating Human Rights Day
by Michael H. Posner – 10 December, 2012

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Esther Brimmer addresses the Human Rights Council Urgent Debate on Syria in Geneva, February 28, 2012. [U.S. Mission Geneva/ Public Domain]

Michael Posner serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.

Sixty-four years ago today, on December 10, 1948, the world came together to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). In the UDHR, the United States and governments from around the globe recognized that human beings are, by virtue of their birth, endowed with certain inalienable rights, and that these serve as “the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world.” Today, we affirm this commitment and look to the Universal Declaration not just as a reminder of values, but as a guide for action.

Last Thursday in Dublin, Secretary Clinton emphasized the important role that human rights has played and will continue to play in our foreign policy. As she said, “Human rights cannot be disconnected from other priorities. They are inextricably linked with all of the goals we strive for in our countries and around the world.” Regardless of gender, race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, or physical or mental disability, all people deserve the freedom to pursue happiness and fulfillment, to speak openly, to come together with others and organize peacefully, to believe and worship as they see fit, and to participate fully in the public life of society with confidence in the rule of law. In upholding and advancing these freedoms, we live up to our values, we honor our international commitments, and we create an environment for every individual to reach their full potential.

There is much to celebrate — renewed leadership in the international community on human rights issues, including freedom of expression and freedom of religion; systematic engagement with civil society; a landmark policy supporting respect for the rights of LGBT persons; an international effort to advance the rights of persons with disabilities; a National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security and U.S. Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence Globally; and much more. I am proud of our progress and it has been a privilege and a pleasure to work with the Secretary and scores of talented and passionate human rights activists and defenders from around the world, both in and out of government. Human Rights Day is the perfect opportunity to commend their work and ask that they never tire in the fight for a more free and just world.

For those of us in government, there is a lot more to do. We must continue to support countries making the difficult transition to democracy, in the Middle East and around the world. We must continue to engage with and support our colleagues in civil society, as governments attempt to restrict their ability to operate. And, we must continue to work to ensure that no one is left behind in the struggle to realize the fundamental truth of the Universal Declaration that “all persons are created free and equal in dignity and rights.” …source

Bahrain sentences activist’s daughter to jail
Liliana Mihaila – 10 December, 2012 -Egypt Daily News

Dubai (AFP) – A Bahraini court on Monday sentenced the daughter of prominent opposition activist Hadi Al-Khawaja to one month in jail for taking part in an unauthorised demonstration, her lawyer said.

Zainab Al-Khawaja, the eldest of the Shi’a rights activist’s daughters, was found guilty of entering the “prohibited area” of Pearl Square, the main symbol of 2011 protests crushed by security forces, on February 12, the lawyer said.

She also was fined 100 dinars ($258).

Her lawyers disputed the charges, saying there was “no formal decision declaring that Pearl Square is a forbidden area.”

Zainab Al-Khawaja, whose father is serving a life sentence for plotting against the state, has faced justice on several occasions already this year.

In October, she was freed after serving a two-month jail term for destroying government property.

The judiciary accused her of tearing apart a portrait of King Hamad during detention, according to Amnesty International.

In May, she served a one-month prison sentence for assaulting a police officer.

Bahrain came under strong criticism from international human rights organisations over last year’s deadly crackdown on the protests, led by the majority Shi’a in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.

An international panel commissioned by King Hamad to probe the government’s clampdown found that excessive force and torture had been used against protesters and detainees. …