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By Afro-Middle East Centre (AMEC)

The 4 December death of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, at the hands of his former Houthi coalition partners, is a culmination of the differing interests that informed the coalition’s initial inception, and alludes to the intractable and unwieldy nature of the conflict’s many belligerents. Saleh’s death foreshadows further fragmentation of the warring coalitions, and is likely to ensure that ‘smaller’ wars transpire in the country’s northern highlands in addition to the existent southern conflicts. In addition, the rapid consolidation of the Houthi in Sana’a represents a blow to Saudi Arabia’s attempts to extricate itself from the unwinnable Yemeni quagmire and the UAE’s intention to support regional strongmen in an attempt to contain participatory Islamists.

Having once equated the task of governing Yemen to ‘dancing on the heads of snakes’, Saleh’s death was the result of his incessant duplicity, which saw him fight six wars with the Houthi between 2004 and 2010, with limited success, yet later successfully enticing them to unite with him in efforts to force the Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi government out of Sana’a in 2014. Prior to this Saleh emerged victorious in two civil wars between Yemen’s South and North; angered the USA by not supporting the 1991 Gulf War, but then received US support for his claimed role in the ‘global war on terror’; and withstood the 2011 Arab uprisings, in which he survived a failed suicide bombing in 2011. At the heart of Saleh’s actions was his belief that he alone could only hold Yemen together, and that the November 2011 Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative, negotiated by GCC states in an attempt to contain the Yemeni uprising from initiating real change, had betrayed him. Under the initiative, Saleh received immunity in return for his transfer of power to his then deputy, Hadi. He remained in control of the General People’s Congress (GPC) and was allowed to remain in Yemen, although he was forced to cease his attempt to transfer power to his son Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh. Saleh’s thirty-three years in control of Yemen had allowed him to entrench alliances with the country’s disparate military, civil and tribal elements, and he remained in de facto control over the elite Republican Guard and tribal leaders in the North. His acquiescence was thus imperative in ensuring the success of the Houthi takeover of Sana’a; Republican Guard forces refused to halt the Houthi move southward, especially in Sana’a and Abyan.

However, the partnership between Saleh’s GPC and the Houthi was bound to fail in light of their differing agendas, and was mainly a ‘marriage of convenience’. At the time, both Saleh and the Houthi were aggrieved at being left out of governing following the implementation of the GCC initiative. Despite having a place at the national dialogue conference between March 2012 and January 2014, which intended to chart a path forward for the country, both quickly realised that a Hadi-Islah coalition still controlled the day-to-day running of the state.

The Houthi remain sceptical of the GPC in light of their history of opposition, while many in the GPC oppose the Houthi’s religious fervour. The alliance was thus tactical; both sought to extend their influence by creating parallel governance structures. Already in February 2015 Saleh criticised the Houthi decision to dissolve the then government, and in March that year, Houthi–GPC conflict erupted over control of the Raymat military base in Sana’a. The subsequent Saudi coalition aerial intervention in March 2015 only served to postpone this inevitability.

Tensions had since increased owing to Houthi weariness over UAE attempts to lure Saleh away from the coalition. As part of these attempts, in June 2017 Saleh’s son Ahmed, the current ambassador to the UAE, met with Ahmed al-Asiri, Saudi Arabia’s former army spokesperson in charge of the Yemeni war and current advisor to Saudi’s defence minister, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. Subsequently, ties frayed between Saleh and the Houthis as the Emirates sought to more overtly back the former president as an alternative to Hadi. In August, the intra-coalition violence heightened when the Houthi unsuccessfully sought to halt the GPC’s thirty-fifth anniversary celebrations. Last week’s clashes resulted in the deaths of over two hundred people and Saleh announcing his defection. The Houthi had been preparing for this eventuality since August and had consolidated control of the North’s religious institutions and finances.

Seeking to extricate itself from Yemen, Saudi Arabia supported the defection, and has since provided aerial cover to troops loyal to Saleh. However, Saleh’s death likely means that Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has miscalculated on regional matters once again, especially since the Houthi have largely consolidated control over Sana’a. Further, the reported clash between MBS and Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2015 would ensure that Riyadh does not wholly support him as an alternative to Hadi, inhibiting the fruition of UAE interests in the country. This is in a context in which Abu Dhabi is supporting the Southern Hirak and Southern Belt forces in Aden and Taiz in an attempt to counter the influence of the participatory Islamist Yemeni Islah party, which still receives support from Saudi Arabia.

Houthi troops have since managed to consolidate control of the Sawad and Raymat military bases, the two main GPC-affiliated bases in Sana’a; Saleh’s nephew Tariq, who commanded the Republican Guard, was killed, and his two sons, Salah and Madyan were arrested; and tribal shaykhs, such as the Hashed’s Mabkhout Mashraqi, have been forced to defect. This alludes to the fact that although the Houthi governance of the North is tenuous, the group’s military capacity has increased, and its control over finances in Sana’a has meant that it remains able to pay combatants.

Consequently, clashes in northern provinces are likely to intensify, especially since many tribes support Saleh, and because the UAE will intensify its support for Ahmed. Intra-northern clashes, similar to those between groups in the South, will increase, making a political solution more unlikely. This is especially since the GPC remains popular, as demonstrated by the tens of thousands that gathered in Sabeen Square in August 2017, in defiance of Houthi attempts to halt the party’s thirty-fifth anniversary celebrations. Further, the party’s long existence has enabled it to develop its institutional capacity, and it continues to maintain influence over Republican Guard units. In addition, Saleh’s death will make it more difficult for MBS to conceive a face-saving solution to the conflict, even though the Houthi have expressed their willingness to enter into negotiations. The current civil war is thus likely to continue, ensuring the country’s further fragmentation, and making it more difficult to envisage a solution that will allow the various political, tribal and military elements to reunite.

9 December 2017

Source: http://www.amec.org.za/yemen/item/1554-yemen-death-of-the-snake-dancer.html

By Abdus Sattar Ghazali

American Muslim civil advocacy groups Thursday (Dec 7) vehemently opposed President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.

They were of the view that Trump’s announcement serves no one’s interest but undermines the Middle East peace process couple with inflaming anti-U.S. sentiment across the globe.

On Wednesday, a coalition of Muslim, Interfaith and human rights groups held a news conference outside the White House in Washington, D.C., to respond to President’s Trump’s announcement on the status of Jerusalem.

The Muslim groups argue that Trump’s announcement has offended the religious sensibilities of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims, and empowered political and religious extremists of all stripes at home and abroad.

Israel captured Arab East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. It later declared both halves of the city as its “eternal and undivided capital”. The declaration is not recognized internationally. The Palestinians want the eastern sector as capital of their promised state and fiercely oppose any Israeli attempt to extend sovereignty there.

The status of Jerusalem is one of the most contentious issues of the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Most of the international community does not formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, insisting the issue can only be resolved through final-status negotiations.

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee [ADC]

President Trump’s announcement serves no one’s interest; instead, it will have an immediate and catastrophic impact internationally by undermining the Middle East peace process and inflaming anti-U.S. sentiment across the globe, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) statement said adding:

“Israel’s annexation and claim over Jerusalem is completely illegal under international law, as recognized by the entire world. The fate of Jerusalem has always been understood to be resolved by a completed peace deal between Israel and Palestine. Up until today, this was the U.S.’s official stance on Jerusalem. Today, President Trump has completely reversed U.S. policy and greatly weakened the prospect any long-term chance at a substantive peace deal in the Middle East.”

“By endorsing Israel’s annexation of Jerusalem, President Trump is acting against international law, hurting U.S. interests at home and abroad, and destroying U.S. credibility on an international stage. The Trump Administration’s actions will not promote peace; conversely, the decision destroys the prospect of peace, promotes violence, and dismantles the U.S. credibility as a diplomatic force around the world,” the ADC statement concluded.

Council on American-Islamic Relations [CAIR]

On Wednesday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, joined a coalition of Muslim, Interfaith and human rights groups at a news conference outside the White House in Washington, D.C., to respond to President’s Trump’s expected announcement this afternoon on the status of Jerusalem.

CAIR is calling on Americans of all backgrounds to contact their elected representatives to oppose Trump’s “reckless” change of policy on Jerusalem.

In a statement reacting to the president’s announcement on Jerusalem, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:

“By overturning a decades-long policy adopted by administrations of both parties, President Trump is casting aside America’s role as a mediator in the Middle East conflict, harming our Muslim allies and our nation’s strategic foreign policy interests, offending the religious sensibilities of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims, and empowering political and religious extremists of all stripes at home and abroad. This dangerous, counterproductive and self-serving move should be rejected by every American who looks forward to a just and comprehensive resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

Muslim Public Affairs Council [MPAC]

The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) said that President Trump’s decision has derailed the peace process and it is a disaster for peace.

In a statement the MPAC said the U.S.’s role in the Middle East conflict is critical, but Trump has diminished American leadership not just in the peace process but in the entire Middle East. “Because of his misguided, uninformed decision, Trump can expect political unrest, stifled peace processes, and further limitations to freedom of religion and freedom of speech.”

Trump’s move eliminates the possibility of the U.S. acting as a peace-broker and overturns decades of U.S. policy towards the region, including a longstanding position that Israeli-Palestinian grievances must be resolved through negotiations, the MPAC said adding: Trump has reversed 70 years of international consensus and many global leaders believe that he derailed any peace initiative between the Israelis and Palestinians.

UNSC resolution 478 declared Israel’s enactment of the 1980 Basic Jerusalem Law — that proclaimed a unified Jerusalem as the ”eternal and indivisible” capital of Israel — as a violation of international law. In 2016, former Secretary of State John Kerry said the city “is the most sensitive issue for both sides” and suggested it be the “internationally recognized capital of the two states,” the MPAC statement recalled.

A sacred site for Jews, Muslims, and Christians

Jerusalem is also a part of the Occupied Territories. Israelis moving into these territories is a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Trump’s recognition of the city as the capital of Israel will cause a sharp spike in unrest and conflict.

In recognizing Israeli settlements in and around Jerusalem as legitimate, the U.S. is now out-of-step with the rest of the international community who consider these settlements to be illegal.

This land has historical significance to all three Abrahamic faiths. Jerusalem is the de facto capital of the Holy Land for Jews, Muslims, and Christians. The U.S. is violating the religious freedom of Palestinians by recognizing the city as the capital of the Jewish state. Past Israeli attempts to add oversight to Jerusalem have sparked violence.

Domestic implications of Trump’s recognition

To understand the reasoning behind this move, we must understand a segment of Trump’s Christian evangelical base. Some evangelicals believe that the return of the Jews to Israel, and Jerusalem in particular, is a prerequisite for the Second Coming of Jesus.

According to a Pew Research Center poll, support for Israel is stronger among American evangelicals than it is even among American Jews. The poll found that 82 percent of white evangelicals think God gave Israel to the Jewish people. Less than half as many American Jews or American Catholics agree.

In a Bloomberg poll, almost 60 percent of evangelicals say the U.S. should support Israel even if its interests diverge with American interests. In recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Trump is fulfilling a campaign promise to this constituency at the expense of American interests.

Jewish Voice of Peace

Jewish Voice of Peace described Trumps decision as reckless, deeply irresponsible decision: for Palestinians, Israelis, and all of us. And it’s on us to stand up.

In an email Rabbi Alissa Wise, Deputy Director of JVP, said:

“What we need is a U.S. policy that recognizes and addresses the root causes of the ongoing crisis in Israel/Palestine, not one that drastically inflames already existing inequities.

“Trump’s announcement overtly aligns the U.S. with an increasingly expansionist Israel, at the expense of Palestinian people’s lives and rights, and without any regard for diplomacy.

“No country in the world has an embassy in Jerusalem today, because the international community doesn’t recognize Israeli jurisdiction over the city. And there’s near-global consensus that moving the Embassy is a very bad idea — from Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and other countries in the region, and from Germany, France, and the European Union, not to mention many senior U.S. State Department officials.”

Is Donald Trump about to set the Middle East ablaze?

Jonathan Freedland wrote in the Guardian, President Trump is walking into a bone-dry forest with a naked flame, the world’s most intractable conflict. “It is the issue that has foiled multiple efforts at peacemaking over several decades. Both Israelis and Palestinians insist that Jerusalem must be the capital of their states, present and future, and that that status is non-negotiable.”

Freedland  quoted the Palestinian ambassador to London as sayings that Trump’s move amounts to “declaring war on 1.5 billion Muslims”.

“Why is Trump doing it? Perhaps he wants to show that he’s honoring his campaign pledges: now, along with his tax cut for the rich and his travel ban from mainly Muslim countries, he can tick the box marked Jerusalem. He said he would do it, and now he’s doing it, and to hell with the consequences,” Freedland concluded.

To borrow Stephen Lendman, fire and fury Trump warned North Korea about could erupt in Occupied Palestine and the Arab street.

Claiming to seek regional peace is a useful fiction, giving Israel maximum time to steal all valued Judea and Samaria land for exclusive Jewish development, Leman said adding:

“Trump’s decision is further proof of the peace process hoax, the latest chapter dead before initiated, according to Lendman. East Jerusalem as Palestine’s exclusive capital is fundamental for Palestinians.   The issue is nonnegotiable.

“Without it, peace is unattainable – precisely what Washington and Israel want, pretending otherwise. A legitimate peace process never existed, for sure not now with Ziofascists infesting the Trump administration.”

Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Chief Editor of the Journal of America (www.journalofamerica.net) email: asghazali2011 (@) gmail.com

8 December 2017

Source: http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/12/08/american-muslims-reject-trumps-move-to-recognize-jerusalem-as-capital-of-israel/

By Dan Lieberman

You do not have to be an insider, a foreign policy expert, or a political pundit to realize that the Unholy Trinity, the new axis of evil – United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia – are preparing joint military actions against Iran and Hezbollah. The Spanish colloquial word, Ojo, meaning eye, expresses it all – careful – be on watch for the miscreants who have given us decades of war, civil strife, terrorism and destruction and have rarely had a day when they were not using their advanced weapons on some weak adversary. Events in the weeks of October, November, and early December 2017 tell the story.

The events:
(1) United States President Donald Trump refused to recertify the Iran nuclear agreement.
(2) Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri traveled to Saudi Arabia, where he announced his intended resignation because of fear of being targeted and because “Iran has a grip on the fate of the region’s countries… Hezbollah is Iran’s arm not just in Lebanon but in other Arab countries too.”
(3) President Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a move that will certainly provoke all Muslim nations and people, especially Iran.(4) Syrian government reported that Israeli missiles and warplanes attacked a military base near Damascus, which is reportedly used by Hezbollah and Iranian militia.
(5) Severe propaganda against Hezbollah revives aged and unproven accusations. Politico magazine, in an article, How Trump Is Going After Hezbollah in America’s Backyard, by Matthew Levitt, November 30, 2017.

The Trump administration is pushing back aggressively against what the intelligence community often refers to as the “Iran Threat Network” or ITN, and as part of that campaign it is especially keen to focus on the activities of Hezbollah, the pro-Iranian Lebanese militia, in Latin America. Now, new revelations about a Hezbollah cold case from 1994 underscore the importance of rolling back the group’s footprint in the region.

…the group (ED: Hezbollah) sent a suicide bomber to take down a flight on Alas Chiricanas Airlines, a Panamanian commuter airliner carrying mostly Jewish passengers, including several Americans. The case languished for years, but the FBI appears to have recently collected new information which, together with evidence gleaned from other current investigations, is likely to serve as the basis for a variety of actions aimed at Hezbollah, the lynchpin of the ITN and Iran’s most powerful proxy group.

(6) While pulverizing Yemen, Saudi Arabia accused Iran, without much evidence, of instigating and fortifying the Houthi’s in Yemen.
(7) Talal Silo, a senior commander and acting spokesperson of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), told a Turkish news agency “the SDF was actually founded as a cover for the U.S. arms aid to the YPG, adding that the United States did not monitor the provided weapons.”
(8) After Hadi al-Ameri, the head of the Iraq Badr Organization, said, in an interview with Iran’s Press TV, November 30, 2017, that Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces “will not allow a single U.S. soldier to remain in Iraq now that ISIS is being driven out of its last pockets in the country,” U.S. CIA Director Mike Pompeo sent a letter to a top Iranian military official on December 2, 2017, and warned that “the United States would hold Tehran accountable for any attacks it conducted on American interests in Iraq.”
(9) Jared Kushner, President Trump’s Middle East peace envoy, met with Saudi Arabia officials, and reports indicate he did this without consulting the State Department.
(10) Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in a speech during December, said the Islamic Republic seeks to “conquer the Middle East,” and warned that Israel will not allow Iran to establish a foothold in Syria.

Why the sudden actions?

• Syrian President Bashar al- Assad has strengthened his failing power and allowed Iran to establish a military presence in Syria.

• Iran and Hezbollah have advanced their military capabilities and influence in the region.

• Houthis remain as the principle power in Yemen

• Kurds, who are friendly with Israel, failed to establish an independent state.

• United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia all have growing internal problems and are exhibiting increased isolation from other nations. They need a diversion.

• Russia is replacing the United States as the Middle East power broker

• The call is out – Stop Iran and Hezbollah before it is too late.

What do they actually fear?
Israel and Saudi Arabia have been able to disguise their true fears, and these fears are not what many believe. Iran and Hezbollah are no direct threats to the Saudis. Neither of these appointed antagonists have the capability or power to attack the Arabian Peninsula. Even, if they could accomplish the task, neither of them could gain anything. The U.S. fleet in the Persian Gulf makes certain Iran does not cross the waterway. So, what is the problem?

The House of Saud has a major problem – it takes in all the revenue, as if it is the casino manager, and continues repressing the Shi’a citizens in the Eastern province. Because the Shi’a citizens of Saudi Arabia consider themselves to be the original inhabitants of the peninsula and sit on the oil fields without enjoying an equal share of the profits from the black gold, the kingdom fears a rebellion and assumes that Iran and Hezbollah will support that rebellion. Meanwhile, the paranoid Saudis react to every stroke of protest in the region as if they are being attacked and hide their support for the oppressors by pretending that the Islamic State and Hezbollah are the instigators of the oppressed reaching out for their justified rights. The Saudis, who are the culprits, play victim and use Iran and Hezbollah to disguise their nefarious actions.

Israel, which constantly expands territory by seizing Palestinian lands, is determined to control all of Jerusalem, including the Haram al/Sharif (why it needed U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as its capital), feels no remorse in totally destroying the Palestinians, and finds Iran and Hezbollah as the last standing antagonists who can prevent it from accomplishing the Zionist objectives. Other antagonists have been sidetracked

• The Sudan, a perceived Israel antagonist, which had potential of becoming a major nation, has been carved up to become two hapless nations, much due to U.S. actions.

• The U.S. invasion overthrew Saddam Hussein and prevented Iraq from becoming a major power in the Middle East and a threat to Israel.

• Libya, another Israel antagonist, from NATO military actions, has been destroyed and driven to anarchy.

• Egypt and Jordan have been pacified.

• Saudi Arabia and Gulf States are not a threat.

Israel expected Syria’s Assad would be defeated and a new government would eschew relations with Iran and Hezbollah. Overthrow of the Assad regime and replacement by a new government would deprive Hezbollah with a friendly border and easy access to its Iran ally. In Iraq, a Kurd success in establishing an independent state would have given Israel a lonely friend on the borders with Iraq and Iran. Because none of these expectations have been realized, a new approach to debilitating Iran and Hezbollah is being arranged.

Powerful and aggressive Israel behaves as the ultimate victim, mauling defenseless people, acting as if it is always being viciously attacked and must defend itself. Built on the most outrageous falsehoods and distortions of history (Israel’s PM Netanyahu: “There is no more historically justified and correct step now than recognizing Jerusalem, which has been the capital of the Jewish people for the past 3,000 years, as the capital of Israel.”), Israel condemns itself – if a nation cannot represent itself through historical truth and persists in acquiring identity by audacious prevarications, it is not a valid nation

The United States remains an anomaly in all the activities. Neither Sudan, nor Iraq, nor Libya posed any threat to the United States. Just the opposite from what was contemplated has happened; Iraq no longer counters Iran; the U.S. overthrow of Hussein has given Iran a dominant role in Iraq; the result of the Iraq and Libyan wars has been an expansion of international terrorism. Here we have the United States shedding blood to dethrone the leaders of states and not achieving any benefits but rather receiving more problems. Israel, which shed no blood, has received the major benefits. Is it improper to conclude that those who benefited mostly from the wars had maneuvered the United States into these engagements? The same with Syria – the United States has no interest in Syria and no reason to contend Hezbollah or Iran – neither of the latter is prepared to do damage to the United States. A revitalized Iran, with increased oil exports would benefit the United States by keeping oil prices low and enabling trade.

What are their objectives?
Evidently, the mighty triple alliance wants Iran and Hezbollah militarily subdued and Syria, similar to Jordan, as a pacified nation without contacts to Hezbollah and Iran. What can they do to achieve their objectives? They can

• Keep Syria in a constant civil war and hope to install an anti-Iranian government – more years of death, destruction, and population displacement in Syria. Possible scenario.

• Obtain agreements from Russia and Turkey that they will support a compromise, where Assad maintains present power, but Iran and Hezbollah leave Syria. Very likely.

• Provoke a civil war in Lebanon in an effort to destroy Hezbollah’s military wing. Unlikely the Lebanese will be drawn into this plan.

• Continually bomb military bases in Syria and Lebanon. Might happen, but will need to go on forever.

• Bomb military bases in Iran. Too much effort, with too many losses, and no decisive outcome.

Go through the options and no result will entirely satisfy the Unholy Trinity. Iran’s homegrown military capability will still grow, Hezbollah will remain as an upstart, and Iran’s influence in Iraq can expand. Iraq and Iran cannot be easily contended without severe repercussions

What could happen?
The United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia have demonstrated their contempt for international law and willingness to use massive destruction to achieve their aims.

The U.S. has dropped an atomic bomb, and been quick to engage in wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, which caused hundreds of thousands, if not millions of casualties.

Israel has fought several wars against defenseless adversaries in Lebanon and Gaza, tried out their new weapons against civilians, and inflicted horror on many populations.

Saudi Arabia, in Libya, Bahrain, and Yemen, has involved itself in military actions against others who cannot easily retaliate. In Yemen, where a sovereign nation is engaged in a protracted civil war, Saudi Arabia has mercilessly bombed civilian targets and is perpetrating catastrophes leading to starvation and disease.

Neither the United States, nor Israel, nor Saudi Arabia ever considers limits of power. They have shown they will use all power, regardless of the damage to others, to accomplish their objectives. This portends Ojo! More disasters are ready to happen in the Middle East. I recommend circulating this Ojo warning to every person in the world and stuffing it in the mailboxes of every responsible authority. The possibility of a huge conflict is not small, its occurrence will be brutal, and everyone will greatly suffer.

Ojo!
Beware!

Dan Lieberman is DC based editor of Alternative Insight, a commentary on foreign policy, economics, and politics. He is author of the book A Third Party Can Succeed in America, a Kindle: The Artistry of a Dog, and a novel: The Victory (under a pen name). Dan can be reached at alternativeinsight@earthlink.net.

8 December 2017

Source: http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/12/08/ojo-more-disasters-are-ready-to-happen-in-the-middle-east/

By Brandon Turbeville

29 Nov 2017 – Despite the best efforts of State Department/Soros-funded Reporters Without Borders, the Swiss Press Club refused to cave to RWB’s grandstanding, threats, and bullying and the event surrounding the truth about the White Helmets continued as scheduled.

Rather than attend the event to ask questions and present its side of the argument, RWB responded with insults and hid away under the guise of boycotting the panel. Pouting in the corner and refusing to take part in the discussion, however, did not stop the discussion from taking place.

As 21st Century Wire reports,

The western-driven myth of the White Helmets continue to disintegrate. Despite the efforts of alleged ‘free speech’ advocate NGO Reporters Without Borders to shut this event down, Swiss Press Club head Guy Mettan went ahead as scheduled. Reports Without Borders even went as far as to draft a formal complaint demanding the event be cancelled, alongside protestations by UK-based ‘Syrian opposition’ group Syria Campaign.

Today at the Swiss Press Club in Geneva, 21st Century Wire Associate Editor Vanessa Beeley(pictured above) presented a dossier on the dubious UK-backed NGO known as the ‘White Helmets’ which included up-to-date information on their links to al Qaeda affiliates in Syria, as well as exposing the western propaganda organisation’s many bogus claims, including having ‘saved 99,220 lives‘ since the western-funded construct based in Turkey was created in late 2013.

The press event featured presenters Beeley, along with Richard Lebaviere and Prof. Ferrada De Noli from Swedish Doctors for Human Rights. A factual film (in contrast to the Netflix fiction) exposing the White Helmets was shown to attendees and media, followed by presentations by the three aforementioned speakers with a Q&A session.

**************************
For those unfamiliar with the true nature of the White Helmets, the following articles are recommended reading:

• The Real Syria Civil Defense VS The White Helmets – Brandon Turbeville

• MSM Attempts To Promote White Helmets While Hiding Syria Civil Defense – More ‘Fake News’ From Corporate Press – Brandon Turbeville

• White Helmets NGO: A “Rescue And Assist” Operation Under Guise Of Human Rights – Brandon Turbeville

• White Helmets Video And Supporters’ Demonstrations Confirm Lack Of Credibility – Brandon Turbeville

• The REAL Syria Civil Defense Exposes Fake “White Helmets” As Terrorist-Linked Imposters – Vanessa Beeley

• The White Helmets “Black Record:” Vanessa Beeley Talks To RT About French Gov’t Collusion With Al-Qaeda-Linked Group – Vanessa Beeley

• Who Are Syria’s White Helmets? – Vanessa Beeley

• Interviews With Syrian Civilians Reveal White Helmets And Nusra/al-Qaeda Are The Same Thing – Brandon Turbeville

Additional articles by writers at 21st Century Wire:

• 21st Century Wire: New Report Destroys Fabricated Myth of Syria’s ‘White Helmets’

• Initial Investigation into White Helmets: Who are Syria’s White Helmets?

• 21st Century Wire article on the White Helmets: Syria’s White Helmets: War by Way of Deception ~ the “Moderate” Executioners

• Who Funds the White Helmets? Secret £1bn UK War Chest Used to Fund the White Helmets and Other ‘Initiatives’

• Original investigative report: The REAL Syria Civil Defence Exposes Fake White Helmets as Terrorist-Linked Imposters

• Irish Peace Prize Farce Tipperary’s White Helmets Peace Prize: A Judas Kiss to the Antiwar Movement and Syria

• White Helmets Executions WHITE HELMETS: Severed Heads of Syrian Arab Army Soldiers Paraded as Trophies

• CNN Fabricate News About the White Helmets A NOBEL LIE: CNN’s Claim That ‘White Helmets Center in Damascus’ Was Hit by a Barrel Bomb

• White Helmets Links to Al Nusra WHITE HELMETS: Hand in Hand with Al Qaeda and Extremist Child Beheaders in Aleppo

• Report by Patrick Henningsen AN INTRODUCTION: Smart Power & The Human Rights Industrial Complex

• Open Letter by Vanessa Beeley White Helmets Campaign for War NOT Peace – Retract RLA & Nobel Peace Prize Nominations

• Staged Rescue Videos (VIDEO) White Helmets: Miraculous ‘Rag Doll Rescue’

• White Helmets Oscar Award Farce: Forget Oscar: Give The White Helmets the Leni Riefenstahl Award for Best War Propaganda Film

• Cory Morningstar report: Investigation into the funding sources of the White Helmets, including Avaaz, Purpose, The Syria Campaign

• Open letter to Canadian MPs from Stop the War Hamilton (Canada): Letter from the Hamilton Coalition to Stop War to the New Democratic Party in Canada ref the White Helmet nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize:

• Open letter to Canada’s NDP Leader on Nobel Prize: Letter to NDP from Prof. John Ryan protesting White Helmet nomination for RLA and Nobel Peace Prize.

READ MORE WHITE HELMETS NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire White Helmets Files

READ MORE SYRIA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Syria Files

Also follow Vanessa Beeley’s work at 21st Century Wire and The Wall Will Fall.

Brandon Turbeville is the author of seven books, Codex Alimentarius — The End of Health Freedom, 7 Real Conspiracies, Five Sense Solutions and Dispatches From a Dissident, volume 1 and volume 2, The Road to Damascus: The Anglo-American Assault on Syria, The Difference it Makes: 36 Reasons Why Hillary Clinton Should Never Be President, and Resisting The Empire: The Plan To Destroy Syria And How The Future Of The World Depends On The Outcome. Turbeville has published over 1000 articles on a wide variety of subjects including health, economics, government corruption, and civil liberties. His website is BrandonTurbeville.com

4 December 2017

Source: https://www.transcend.org/tms/2017/12/despite-western-funded-ngos-boycott-vanessa-beeley-exposes-white-helmets-at-swiss-press-club/

By Brandon Turbeville

28 Nov 2017 – Self-proclaimed “press freedom watchdog” Reporters Without Borders launched a new campaign that it deemed of urgent importance – shutting down a short panel discussion by journalist Vanessa Beeley and Swedish Doctors for Human Rights.

The USAID/NED-funded RWB wrote an open letter published in the Tribune de Geneve addressed to Guy Mettan, Executive Director of the Swiss Press Club, the organization that was hosting the event, where it dismissed Beeley as a “so-called” journalist who is cited only by “Russian media propaganda” and claimed that Doctors for Human Rights is merely “a tool of Russian propaganda.” The letter urged Mettan to cancel the event or risk tarnishing the image of the Swiss Press Club.

The event was entitled “They don’t care about us: About White Helmets True Agenda,” where Vanessa Beeley, who has reported extensively from inside Syria would present alongside fellow panel members Richard Labeviere’ and Marcello Ferranda De Noli editor of the Proche et Moyen Orient and Swedish Doctors For Human Rights respectively were scheduled to present. As the title suggests, the event was merely a platform to discuss the possibility that the reputation of the White Helmets in Western countries may be different from the reality on the ground. Beeley was included not only because of her expertise in terms of research but also because of her extensive on-the-ground experience in Syria, her length of time in country, and her numerous interviews and investigative reports from Syria itself.

Faced with the impending reality that the White Helmets would be exposed in this short presentation, Reporters Without Borders resorted to what State Department backed engines of deceit and Western propaganda outlets typically resort to – bullying and censorship. Ironically whining about Russian propaganda in its letter, RWB immediately calls on a press club to censor and silence statements from a reporter that do not fit the State Department narrative, thus exposing its own narrative as propaganda or, at the very least, one based upon flimsy evidence.

Thankfully, Mettan did not back down and kowtow to the calls for censorship. In fact, not only did he refuse but he leveled a healthy dose of criticism back at the RWB organization.

“For the 20 years I have been working at the Swiss Press Club, I have always been under pressure to prevent people from expressing themselves. But so far these pressures have always come from authoritarian or dictatorial regimes, such as China, Saudi Arabia, Egypt or Bahrain,” wrote Mettan.

This is the first time that a defense organization for journalists from a democratic country has sent me such a request. It goes without saying that I cannot act on it. It would dishonor a job that, I hope, is still yours.

Mettan called for the RWB to attend the event and present its view rather than call for censorship.

But Mettan should not have been so surprised. Reporters Without Borders is a fully funded organization receiving money from the National Endowment for Democracy, USAID, International Republican Institute and George Soros’ Open Society Foundation. As F. William Engdahl wrote in his article “Reporters Without Borders seems to have a geopolitical agenda,”

After years of trying to hide it, Robert Menard, Paris-based Secretary-General of Reporters Sans Frontieres or RWB, confessed that the RWB budget was primarily funded by “US organizations strictly linked to US foreign policy.” [6] Those US organizations behind RWB include the Open Society Foundation of billionaire speculator, George Soros, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Congress’ National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Also included is the Center for Free Cuba, whose trustee, Otto Reich, was forced to resign from the George W. Bush Administration after exposure of his role in a CIA-backed coup attempt against Venezuela’s democratically elected President Hugo Chavez. [7]

As one researcher found after months of trying to get a reply from NED about their funding of Reporters Without Borders, which included a flat denial from RSF executive director Lucie Morillon, the NED revealed that Reporters Without Borders received grants over at least three years from the International Republican Institute. The IRI is one of four subsidiaries of NED. [8]

The NED, as I detail in my book, Full Spectrum Dominance:Totalitarian Democracy in the New World Order, was created by the US Congress during the Reagan administration on the initiative of then-CIA Director Bill Casey to replace the CIA’s civil society covert action programs, which had been exposed by the Church committee in the mid-1970s. As Allen Weinstein, the man who drafted the legislation creating the NED admitted years later, “A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.” [9]

Thus, there should be no surprise to anyone that Reporters Without Borders would launch a jihad against any facts or alternative opinion that does not coincide with the narrative peddled by the U.S. State Department. After all, it is just one tentacle of the color revolution apparatus and COINTELPRO operation aimed at the domestic population.

UPDATE: Thankfully, the event was not cancelled and the presentation continued as scheduled.

Brandon Turbeville is the author of seven books, Codex Alimentarius — The End of Health Freedom, 7 Real Conspiracies, Five Sense Solutions and Dispatches From a Dissident, volume 1 and volume 2, The Road to Damascus: The Anglo-American Assault on Syria, The Difference it Makes: 36 Reasons Why Hillary Clinton Should Never Be President, and Resisting The Empire: The Plan To Destroy Syria And How The Future Of The World Depends On The Outcome. Turbeville has published over 1000 articles on a wide variety of subjects including health, economics, government corruption, and civil liberties. His website is BrandonTurbeville.com

4 December 2017

Source: https://www.transcend.org/tms/2017/12/reporters-without-borders-tries-to-shut-down-independent-press-event-discussing-white-helmets/

By rt.com

The Moscow stock exchange will soon issue nearly $1 billion-worth of yuan-denominated bonds. It could become the start of a new financial system not based on the US dollar, analysts say.

Russia will issue the 6 billion yuan (about $900 million) bonds with a five-year maturity in December or January. The Central Bank says it is testing the water for future investments.

“Such steps will make it possible to remove the dollar from mutual settlements and use only yuan and rubles (mostly yuan for the moment) in the mid-term, if more specialists from the Russian financial sector work in this direction,” Gleb Zadoya, Head of Analytics at Analitika Online told RT.

Russian bonds in yuan could be interesting for the Chinese, as China has trillions of dollars of excessive liquidity, as well as hundreds of thousands of new investors who are interested in trying new markets, the analyst said.

For Russia, facing a new round of US sanctions aimed at its bond market, it is a great opportunity to get closer to China, according to Zadoya.

Petr Pushkarev, Chief Analyst at TeleTrade, says investing in Russian yuan bonds is a great opportunity for Chinese investors to diversify their dollar-dominated portfolios.

“The step itself is more symbolic for now, because $1 billion is too little given the relations between Russia and China. Yet this is the beginning of a long journey, and this is a landmark move that shows the international monetary system is moving towards multipolarity, and that Russia is ready to take active steps in this direction with a certain development of events,” he told RT.

According to Pushkarev, It is very natural for China, Russia and other countries to want to create a dollarless system.

“By doing so, they can gradually abandon the obsolete system of dollar settlements, where the US dominates and doesn’t fully accept Russia or other countries as equal and respected partners,” said Pushkarev.

The Russian bonds boast high yields, and even western investors are likely to find ways to bypass any possible American sanctions, says Ivan Kapustiansky, Forex Optimum analyst.

“The five-year Russian euro bonds are trading at 3.2 percent per annum, and the Chinese government securities boast a 3.6-3.9 percent yield. However, Russian bonds in yuan are likely to offer a better yield than the Chinese national debt,” he told RT.

4 December 2017

Source: https://www.rt.com/business/411877-russia-china-bonds-dollar/

By Jake Johnson

With the FCC set to vote on chairman Ajit Pai’s plan to kill neutrality in just over a week, a diverse coalition—ranging from consumer protection organizations to progressive lawmakers to Harvard professors—is denouncing the FCC’s proposals and scheduling nationwide protests to combat the agency’s move to let massive telecom companies “cash in on the internet” at the expense of consumers.

This is the free speech fight of our generation and internet users are pissed off and paying attention,” Evan Greer, campaign director of Fight for the Future, said in a statement. “Ajit Pai may be owned by Verizon, but he has to answer to Congress, and lawmakers have to answer to us, their constituents.”

Since Pai revealed his plan to gut net neutrality rules just before Thanksgiving, public outrage has continued to grow—even as corporate media outlets have neglected to cover it. Adding to the already record-breaking number of public comments submitted to the FCC over the last several months, more than 760,000 calls have flooded congressional phone lines since November 21, according to Battle for the Net.

Furthermore, protests have been planned throughout the nation over the coming days in opposition to the FCC’s “scorched-earth” attack on net neutrality: More than 600 demonstrations are scheduled to take place at Verizon stores and congressional offices across the country on Thursday, exactly one week ahead of the FCC’s planned vote.

“With what would be a catastrophic vote by the FCC to repeal net neutrality looming, people are ready to take to the streets in protest and to offer Congress one last chance to answer the question: ‘Do you stand for your constituents’ ability to communicate and connect, or do you stand for Verizon’s bottom line?” said Mark Stanley, director of communications for Demand Progress, citing the overwhelming bipartisan support for net neutrality rules found in poll after poll.

Demonstrations against Pai’s plan have also taken place online. Last week, internet users took to Reddit’s front page to highlight their senator’s support—or lack of support—for net neutrality and detail how much money their representatives have taken from the telecom lobby.

Building on the outrage expressed by the American public, a group of 27 senators including Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) delivered a letter to Pai on Monday demanding that the FCC vote be delayed in the face of evidence that the public “record may be replete with fake or fraudulent comments, suggesting that your proposal is fundamentally flawed.”

A coalition of over 40 consumer protection groups also called on the FCC to postpone its vote on repealing net neutrality in a letter to Pai on Monday, citing a pending court case that could ultimately “leave consumers at the mercy of internet service providers.”

The case under consideration by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit involves whether or not the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the legal authority to regulate broadband providers.

Because one component of Pai’s plan is to give the FTC significant responsibility for shielding internet users from corporate throttling, any ruling that concludes the FTC does not have such legal authority would effectively leave telecom companies in charge of regulating themselves.

“If Chairman Pai and his fellow Republicans truly believe that the FTC will protect consumers, they have a responsibility to wait for the Ninth Circuit to decide if the FTC can actually do the job,” the groups’ letter concludes.

Craig Aaron, president and CEO of Free Press, told the International Business Times that even if the court rules in the FTC’s favor, “[t]he idea that the FTC will come to the rescue if net neutrality is destroyed at the FCC is a bad joke.”

“The heads of the Trump FCC and FTC are defanging their own agencies, watchdogs which had just started to show some bite during the last years of the Obama administration,” Aaron concluded. “And that’s exactly how AT&T wants them: toothless, tied up, and with their tails between their legs.”

Jake Johnson is a staff writer for Common Dreams. Follow him on Twitter: @johnsonjakep

5 December 2017

Source: http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/12/05/protests-planned-across-usa-as-vote-on-fccs-catastrophic-plan-to-kill-net-neutrality-looms/

By Dr Binoy Kampmark

What ramifications and when?  The recognition of Jerusalem as the natural capital for the State of Israel by US President Donald J. Trump was promised by the buffoonish steward of the empire.  Delivering on it was not necessarily expected – US presidents, keen on courting pro-Israeli groups, had been promising to do so for years.

Overthrowing the shackles of convention is something Trump believes is a valuable substitute for good sense.  Ruffle feathers, dirty assumptions, and hope that it catches.  One such convention is the steadfast refusal on the part of states to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital in any de jure sense.

From the White House, Trump claimed he had “judged this course of action to be in the best interests of the United States of America, and the pursuit of peace between Israel and the Palestinians.”  Such best interests evidently did not include Palestinians as such, but was “nothing more or less than a recognition of reality”.

This is a reality born of brute force rather than guiding law.  In the case of the latter, it is without any distinct foundation, unless intangible spirits are accorded corporeal dimensions.  UN Resolution 181, passed by the UN General Assembly on November 29, 1947, deemed the city “a corpus separatum under a special international regime”.

Subsequent moves based around the force of arms were made in contravention of the resolution, though these never had the blessing of international law: Israel claimed West Jerusalem during the Arab-Israeli War of 1948; Jordan assumed control of East Jerusalem in 1950.

The Six-Day War of 1967 saw Israel seize the eastern portion of the city, an act that generated a string of finger pointing resolutions from the UN Security Council.  Resolution 267 (Jul 3, 1969), confirming resolution 252 (May 21, 1968) reaffirmed the position that “acquisition of territory by military conquest is inadmissible”.

Since then, the internal assumptions of the Israeli state have been unmistakable: legalise domination and legitimise control over the Holy City.  The Knesset, in 1980, decided to treat Jerusalem’s status as an internal matter. “Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel.”  The UN Security Council gave a different serve, calling on all states “that have established diplomatic missions” in Jerusalem to withdraw them.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had certainly scored a coup, calling the move a “genuine milestone in the glorious history of this city.”  The US Congress, heavily lobbied by AIPAC and then Israeli opposition leader Netanyahu, did much the same in 1995, passing legislation requiring the move of the US embassy to Jerusalem.  This measure effectively compelled administrations to sign a waiver every six months delaying the move.

Trump, in refusing to issue another waiver, delighted local political punters.  The Republican Jewish Coalition was so thrilled at the move from the White House, it took out an advertisement in the New York Times congratulating the President for “courageously recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s Eternal Capital.”

Such moves are given the deceptive, even dangerous clothing of spiritual, immutable eternity.  Ever ready for the pulp fiction narrative, Trump would tweet that the city “has been the focus of our hopes, our dreams, our prayers for three millennia.”

In the at times unsteady world of international law and deliberation, the approach to Jerusalem has generally been stable: refuse to acknowledge any one claim to sovereignty over the city in favour of an international administration or accept an outcome drawn from a peace process.

The tangible outcome of the declaration is hard to say, though its message is unmistakable, treading with disdain on Palestinian assumptions that East Jerusalem be the capital of any future state.  It accords primacy to Israeli supremacy, and, importantly, the status of Judaism.  The status of the city, intended to be the subject of future discussion as outlined in the 1993 Israel-Palestinian peace accords, is directly brought into question by Trump’s move.  This is the nature of unilateral punchiness writ large.

Allies have been left stunned; Islamic states are waving their fists with threatening promise, more concerned with the reactions of their own populaces than anything else.  To predetermine the outcome of the fate of the Holy City, claims Mouin Rabbani with some colour, “would constitute an act of premeditated political pyromania with unforeseen local, regional and global consequences.”

Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority has been put in a particularly difficult situation, caught between having to take a frothily angered stand (Palestinian figures are clamouring for three days of rage), but also what can be made of an essentially moribund peace process. “This,” he rightly notes, “is a reward to Israel.”

Inflammatory outcomes are also promised with typical relish.  Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, imam of Egypt’s al-Azhar mosque, claimed Trump’s move would incite “the feelings of anger among all Muslims and threatens world peace.  The gates of hell will be opened in the West before the East.”

Most strikingly is the notion that unilateralism is tolerable, even desirable, when it comes to matters Israeli.  When other states, without Israeli consultation, choose to recognise anything Palestinian, even in terms of a nominal status, unilateral conduct becomes a matter for abuse and derision.

Short of not packing the diplomatic bags and upping stakes from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, governments will maintain stony faces and deem such moves complicating, conditioned by a good degree of apocalyptic rhetoric against the US-Israel alliance. But over the years, the Palestinians have retreated into the recesses of a consciousness numbed by international rivalries among Muslim states.  They are no longer the poster boys and girls of revolutionary justice.

From the war in Syria to the conflict in Yemen, states of various shades of Islam are shoring up allies and rivalries with murderous consistency.  Such continuing disunity is exactly what Israel, and its US backers, will be hoping for, letting the babble over Jerusalem slide into its own eternity.

Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge.  He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne.  Email: bkampmark@gmail.com

7 December 2017

Source: http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/12/07/recognising-jerusalem-unilateralism-international-law-and-the-trump-white-house/

By Dr Vivek Kumar Srivastava

In a major policy shift US President Donald Trump has decided to recognize the Jerusalem as capital of Israel and has directed the official to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem which in his opinion the previous Presidents had promised but did not deliver. The President said “I’ve judged this course of action to be in the best interests of the United States of America and the pursuit of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. This is a long-overdue step to advance the peace process and to work towards a lasting agreement. Israel is a sovereign nation with the right like every other sovereign nation to determine its own capital. Acknowledging this as a fact is a necessary condition for achieving peace. It was 70 years ago that the United States, under President Truman, recognized the State of Israel. Ever since then, Israel has made its capital in the city of Jerusalem — the capital the Jewish people established in ancient times.”

This move has sparked the global reaction and Saudi Arabia the staunchest ally to USA has condemned it. Even the UNO has treated it as a matter of grave concern. UN Secretary General Guterres has called it as a time of great anxiety. He also emphasized that two nation state concept is the only way to solve the problem in the region. UK PM who recently had some tense relations with Donald Trump on the issue of terrorism has called East Jerusalem as part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Her statement suggests that UK is not in tune with USA on this issue. The Prime Minster Theresa May said: ‘We disagree with the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem and recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital before a final status agreement. We believe it is unhelpful in terms of prospects for peace in the region. The British Embassy to Israel is based in Tel Aviv and we have no plans to move it.’

UK has traditional friendship with USA and in two other occasions in Middle East-invasion in Iraq and removal from power seat of Col. Gaddafi in Libya, UK had stood with USA without any weakness but this time it has expressed its departure from the previous policies.

Countries like India have remained consistent supporter to the Palestinian cause but in the recent time relations with Israel have been upgraded. India is now close friend of Israel but has not diluted its commitment to support to Palestinian cause. It has committed at political level itself to return of situation to pre 1967 status when Israel occupied much of the area in six Day War which included Golan Heights, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, West Bank, and Old City of Jerusalem.

In response to queries regarding India’s position on recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel by the US, the Official Spokesperson said:”India’s position on Palestine is independent and consistent. It is shaped by our views and interests, and not determined by any third country.” (MEA)

President Trump has strong base in the US Jews lobby which is an important player in the political relationship system between US and Israel. Such a move inside Republican Party has been welcomed by this constituency. Trump is aware that he has unleashed a lethal force in the form of diplomatic decision and its repercussions may not be without troubles. Anticipating such a development he has therefore stated that ‘so today, we call for calm, for moderation, and for the voices of tolerance to prevail over the purveyors of hate.’ He also stated that ‘Jerusalem is today, and must remain, a place where Jews pray at the Western Wall, where Christians walk the Stations of the Cross, and where Muslims worship at Al-Aqsa Mosque.(and) to maintain the status quo at Jerusalem’s holy sites, including the Temple Mount, also known as Haram al-Sharif to maintain the status quo at Jerusalem’s holy sites, including the Temple Mount, also known as Haram al-Sharif’ but major issue is- how much US support the real establishment of peace in the region? As the establishment of two states can be fashioned by US if it influences Israel in diplomatic terms.

The US policy shift has caused a quake in the region though US has said that United States would support a two-state solution if agreed to by both sides. This is a problem zone as it will be much difficult to make convince both parties to reach a deal on the Two State solution; hence US should exercise its diplomatic power to realize this dream for Palestinians.

As the days pass the real impact of the decision will be seen but a diplomatic turmoil has started in the international politics. The national interests will determine the extent of impact of this particular move on the global politics and bilateral relations and in regional milieu.

Dr. Vivek Kumar Srivastava,Vice Chairman,CSSP, Kanpur; e mail: vpy1000@yahoo.co.in

7 December 2017

Source: http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/12/07/us-recognition-of-jerusalem-as-capital-of-israel-a-new-phase-in-global-politics/

By Baxter Dmitry

A 79-year-old retired officer of the CIA, Bill Oxley, has made a series of stunning confessions since he was admitted to the Mercy Hospital in Maine on Monday and told he has weeks to live. He claims he committed 17 assassinations for the American government between 1974 and 1985, including the music icon Bob Marley.

Mr. Oxley, who worked for the CIA for 29 years as an operative with top-level security clearances, claims he was often used as a hitman by the organization, to assassinate individuals who could represent a threat to the goals of the agency.

Trained as a sniper and marksman, Mr. Oxley also has significant experience with more unconventional methods of inflicting harm upon others, like poisons, explosives, induced heart attacks and cancer.

The 79-year-old operative claims he committed the assassinations between March 1974 and August 1985, at a time when he says the CIA “was a law unto itself.” He says he was part of an operative cell of three members which carried out political assassinations across the country and occasionally in foreign countries.

Most of their victims were political activists, journalists, and union leaders, but he also confesses to assassinating a few scientists, medical researchers, artists and musicians whose ideas and influence “represented a threat to the interests of the United States.”

He claims he had no problem with going through with the assassination of Bob Marley, because “I was a patriot, I believed in the CIA, and I didn’t question the motivation of the agency. I’ve always understood that sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the greater good.”

But Mr. Oxley confesses that Bob Marley remains unique among his victims, as he was the only victim he “felt anything for.”

“The others were assholes. Bob Marley was Bob Marley. I was no closer to being a long-haired hippy back then than I am now, but I must admit Bob’s music did move me. It held some power over me.”

He claims to have “mixed feelings” about Bob Marley’s death. On the one hand, Marley was “a good man, a beautiful soul” with “profound artistic gifts” who did not deserve to have his life cut short. But according to Mr. Oxley, Bob Marley was also placing the goals of the CIA in jeopardy and threatening the existence of the United States:

“He was succeeding in creating a revolution that used music as a more powerful tool than bullets and bombs. Bob Marley in 1976 was a very serious threat to the global status quo and to the hidden power brokers implementing their plan for a new world order. As far as the agency was concerned, Bob Marley was too successful, too famous, too influential… A Jamaican Rastaman who started using his funds and fame to support causes around the world that were in direct conflict with the CIA… To be honest, he signed his own death warrant.”

“It’s not like we didn’t warn him. We sent a few guys to shoot up his house in Kingston,” Mr Oxley says, referring to a shooting in the Marley residence that left the singer with an injured arm and chest.  “We had a message for him. We impressed upon him the gravity of the situation he found himself in. He didn’t listen.”

“Two days later, in the mountains, I stuck him with the pin.“

How Bob Marley was murdered by the CIA

Two days after Bob Marley was shot in the left arm by one of three gunmen who ambushed the singer and some of his crew in his house in Kingston, and after a brief stint in hospital, Bob Marley travelled to the protective hills of the Blue Mountains and spent time at the highest point in Jamaica, rehearsing for an upcoming concert.

According to Mr. Oxley, he used press credentials to gain access to Bob Marley during his Blue Mountains retreat. He introduced himself as a famous photographer working for the New York Times, and gave Bob Marley a gift.

“I gave him a pair of Converse All Stars. Size 10. When he tried on the right shoe, he screamed out ‘OUUUCH.‘

“That was it. His life was over right there and then. The nail in the shoe was tainted with cancer viruses and bacteria. If it pierced his skin, which it did, it was goodnight nurse.”

“There had been a series of high-profile assassinations of counter-culture figures in the United States in the late sixties, early seventies. By the time Bob Marley’s time came around, we thought subtlety was the order of the day. No more bullets and splattered brains.”

Mr. Oxley says he kept close contact with Marley during the final years of his life, ensuring the medical advice he received in Paris, London and the United States “would hasten his demise rather than cure him.” He died from cancer in May 1981. He was just 36 years old.

“The last time I saw Bob before he died he had removed the dreadlocks, and his weight was dropping like a stone,” he says.

“He was very withdrawn, unbelievably small. He was shrinking in front of us. The cancer had done it’s job.”

“The day he died in Miami was definitely one of the most difficult moments in my career. I felt real bad. For a long time I wasn’t comfortable with my part in his death. But eventually I came to realize it had to be done, for America.”

Baxter Dmitry is a writer at Your News Wire. He covers politics, business and entertainment. Speaking truth to power since he learned to talk, Baxter has travelled in over 80 countries and won arguments in every single one. Live without fear.

20 November 2017

Source: http://yournewswire.com/cia-agent-deathbed-bob-marley/