Day: September 12, 2013

Arms Come To The Rebels

Inkwell Institute

Middle East Desk

Before I go any further I need to apologize to my readers…..I do get a bit anal when it comes to the Middle East, but that is because part of my university days was spent studying international relations and the Middle East and topped with I use to work in the region I have a deep interest that I feed daily by reading Middle East newspapers and news sources.  I feel I need to help my readers make some sense of the Middle East situation, all of them.  The Syrian situation is not as straight forward as the MSM would like for you to believe……

For instance, months upon months the hawks in Congress have been screaming that we need to arm the rebels to help bring down the Assad regime…….and now they have their heart’s desire……

In mid-June, the US said it would send weapons to the Syrian rebels; after many weeks of delay (much to the recent consternation of Sen. Bob Corker and other lawmakers), we’ve apparently made good on the promise, at least according to US officials and “Syrian figures” who spoke to the Washington Post. The paper reports that weapons began arriving in the country roughly two weeks ago; they’re being sent by the CIA, while the State Department is providing things like vehicles and high-tech communications devices. CNN similarly spoke with an unnamed US official who confirmed the delivery, but it reports that the Syrian National Coalition and the Free Syrian Army say they have gotten no such lethal aid thus far. And while the Post’s report says that aid is being directed toward the rebels fighting under Free Syrian Army Commander Gen. Salim Idriss, NPR’s Steve Inskeep talked to Idriss this morning; he, too, says “no lethal materials” have arrived as of today. But the Post maintains that “light weaponry” is being sent, and spoke to an opposition official who seems to confirm this, describing the weapons they’re receiving—which do not include the antitank and antiaircraft weapons that the rebels really want—as “better than nothing.” The Post reports that the CIA’s shipments are being routed through recently built “clandestine bases” in Turkey and Jordan.

Is this the good news that so many hawks have been waiting for…….once I heard the news I set about identifying the opposition…..now there is a sure way to give yourself a huge long lasting migraine……after scratching my head and getting eye strain I found a post on wikipedia that answered all my questions……the biggest question is ….who are the rebels?

The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces is a coalition of opposition groups in the Syrian civil war. It formed on 11 November 2012 at a conference of opposition groups held in Doha, Qatar. It includes organisations such as the SNC. Islamic preacher Moaz al-Khatib serves as the president of the coalition, Riad Seif and Suheir Atassi were elected vice presidents. Mustafa Sabbagh is the coalition’s secretary-general.

    • The Syrian National Council, a coalition of Syrian opposition groups based in Istanbul, formed in 2011 during the Syrian civil war.[15][16] Key people include chairman as of 2013 George Sabra, and former chairmen Burhan Ghalioun and Abdulbaset Sieda.
      • Muslim Brotherhood: Islamist party founded in 1930. The brotherhood was behind the Islamic uprising in Syria between 1976 until 1982. The party is banned in Syria and membership became a capital offence in 1980. The régime of Bashar al Assad, and others, have accused the Muslim Brotherhood of being key players in the Syrian uprising that escalated into a civil war. Other sources have described the group as having “risen from the ashes”, “resurrected itself” to be a dominant force in the uprising. Current leader is Ali Sadreddine Al-Bayanouni.
      • Coalition of Secular and Democratic Syrians: nucleus of a Syrian secular and democratic opposition that appeared during the Syrian civil war. It came about through the union of a dozen Muslim and Christian, Arab and Kurd parties, who called the minorities of Syria to support the fight against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. The Coalition has also called for military intervention in Syria, under the form of a no-fly zone similar to that of Kosovo, with a safe zone and cities. The president of the coalition, who is also a member of the SNC, is Randa Kassis.
      • Damascus Declaration: Opposition bloc from 2005. Twelve members were sentenced to 2.5 years in prison in 2008. Syrian journalist and activist Michel Kilo launched the declaration, after the Syrian writer and thinker Abdulrazak Eid had written its first draft. Riad Seif, another democracy activist, became the first signatory.The “five small opposition groups” signing the declaration were
        • the Arab nationalist National Democratic Rally
        • the Kurdish Democratic Alliance
        • the Committees of Civil Society
        • the Kurdish Democratic Front
        • the Movement of the Future. The Movement for Justice and Development in Syria (MJD) also subscribes to the Damascus Declaration. In a series of splits 2007-2009, most members left the Damascus Declaration, leaving the MJD and SDPP (see below) as the only remaining factions of any consequence, along with a number of independents.
      • Syrian Democratic People’s Party: A socialist party which played a “key role” in the creation of the SNC. The party’s leader George Sabra (a secularist born to a Christian family) is the official spokesman of the SNC, and also ran for chairman.
      • Supreme Council of the Syrian Revolution: Syrian opposition group supporting the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s government. It grants local opposition groups representation in its national organization.
      • Assyrian Democratic Organization: A party representing Assyrians in Syria and long repressed by the Assad regime, it has been a participant in opposition structures since the beginning of the conflict. Abdul-Ahad Astepho is a member of the SNC.
      • Syrian Turkmen Assembly: A recently formed assembly of Syrian Turkmens which constitutes a coalition of Turkmen parties and groups in Syria. It is against the partition of Syria after the collapse of Baath regime. The common decision of Syrian Turkmen Assembly is: “Regardless of any ethnic or religious identity, a future in which everybody can be able to live commonly under the identity of Syrian is targeted in the future of Syria.”
      • Syrian Democratic Turkmen Movement: An opposition party of Syrian Turkmens, which was constituted in Istanbul on 21 March 2012. The leader of Syrian Democratic Turkmen Movement is Ziyad Hasan.
      • Syrian Turkmen National Bloc: An opposition party of Syrian Turkmens, which was founded in February 2012. The chairman of the political party is Yusuf Molla.
    • Local Coordination Committees of Syria: Network of local protest groups that organise and report on protests as part of the Syrian civil war, founded in 2011. As of August 2011, the network supported civil disobedience and opposed local armed resistance and international military intervention as methods of opposing the Syrian government. Key people are activists Razan Zaitouneh and Suhair al-Atassi.

And there is the problem…..of all those “rebel” factions….who do we arm and who do we stay away from….and who will make those decisions……..this is just one example of the complexities that are the situations in Syria…..

Lobbyists–The New Anti-Christ

If you follow my blog with any regularity you will know that I think very little of lobbyists…..I think blackmailers under the guise of civility is a blotch on the otherwise good conduct of the country…….personally, I think that a congressperson should have a waiting period of 10 years before they can do any lobbying……but I digress….

I saw an article that made me sick………

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — As a lobbyist in New York’s statehouse, Stephen Acquario is doing pretty well. He pulls down $204,000 a year, more than the governor makes, gets a Ford Explorer as his company car and is afforded another special perk:

Even though he’s not a government employee, he is entitled to a full state pension.

He’s among hundreds of lobbyists in at least 20 states who get public pensions because they represent associations of counties, cities and school boards, an Associated Press review found. Legislatures granted them access decades ago on the premise that they serve governments and the public. In many cases, such access also includes state health care benefits.

……….

The debate is more about principle than big money, since the staffs of such organizations are relatively small and make barely a ripple in huge state retirement systems. The eight New York associations, for example, have fewer than 120 total employees out of 633,100 current workers in the state’s $158.7 billion pension system.

Still, the issue raises a public policy question as many states and taxpayers struggle to fund their pension obligations required by law.

“There is liability for taxpayers,” said Keith Brainard, research director of the National Association of State Retirement Administrators. “Providing a pension benefit involves some amount of risk for the state and when you provide access to employees of entities that are not in control of the state.”

Unlike state government, for example, these groups aren’t bound by salary restrictions — significant salary increases would result in increasing pension benefits.

These people have way too much influence and way too many benefits that they do not deserve…..

At NO point are lobbyists a government employee……..they are paid by special interests to bribe and blackmail elected official into complying to the wishes of their handlers…….no where is this acceptable….but I guess if enough palms are greased they can do whatever they like……thoughts?