Disinformation, Deception, Denial, Dirty Deals

It's hard to know what's really going on with all the dirty deals, disinformation, deception, denial and questionable actions going on today.

"A variety of signals have been coming out of the international community proving that the nearly three-year embargo on Syria has finally started to crumble and come to an end," according to Asia Times. In fact, it seems most U.S. efforts in the past to derail Syria have gone by the wayside.

"During Israel's war with Hezbullah in 2006, Russian military advisors in Syria provided real-time intelligence to both Syria and Hezbullah." (Jerusalem Post) Russia has and continues to supply advanced arms to both Syria and Iran.

Diplomatically, Russia has acted as Syria's and Iran's shield in the UN Security Council and other international forums. It has placed obstacles on the UN investigation of the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. It has prevented the Security Council from taking any consequential actions against Iran's nuclear weapons program. And it has continued its sponsorship of Iran's nuclear program by maintaining its involvement at the Bushehr nuclear reactor which it built. Just this week, the pro-Iranian IAEA approved Russia's plan to ship nuclear fuel to Bushehr. (continue reading)

American intelligence agencies based this week's surprise assessment that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 on notes obtained from Iranian military officials; however, the "CIA was so concerned that the notes might be part of an elaborate disinformation effort by Tehran that it organized a “red team” to check their veracity." Times Online.

The intelligence finding has unnerved Arab nations in the Middle East because they believe that the receding prospect of a US military strike will embolden Iran. Although countries such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt oppose a military strike, they welcomed the threat of one as it served to preoccupy Tehran and curb its ambitions in the region.

The Sunni Arab nations view Shia Iran as the greatest strategic threat in the Middle East. With further UN sanctions also unlikely, they do not disagree with President Ahmadinejad's declaration that the US intelligence assessment was a “victory” for Iran. (more)

Tom Rants asks:

# Is it possible that Iran stopped this program, only to start a new one further underground in the fallout from the US invasion of Iraq? # Is it possible that Iran actually did shut down its programs altogether because of the US invasion of Iraq? # Is it possible that the NIE, put out by friends of Valerie Plame, was cooked? Is it possible that an anti-Bush agenda, including a bit of vengeance for an anti-Bush former comrade, trumped national security? (continue reading)

From Asia Times: " ...the morning after the Annapolis shindig, we learned that Syria and the US had a common choice in General Michel Suleiman (who also happens to be close to Hezbollah) for the unfilled Lebanese presidency."

And then we saw on Sunday Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz entering the conference hall of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Doha flanked by Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. The GCC, flag-carrier of US regional strategy for three decades, had never before invited Iran to its meetings.

By Monday morning, the Bush administration had released declassified extracts of the sensational National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on the Iranian nuclear problem, [snip] And now we learn that Bush will be packing his bags for his first-ever visit in his presidency to the Holy Land and Palestine. (continue reading)

The news agency Mehr reported that a senior Revolutionary Guards commander, Brigadier General Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, who is staunchly allied to hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has stepped down from the influential post of Deputy Interior Minister. (Iran Focus) Why? Why would this man resign???

Zolqadr, who was once the deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), is currently Iran's Deputy Interior Minister with overall responsibility for internal security.

The United Nations Security Council has added his name to a list of senior IRGC commanders who are banned from traveled abroad because of their role in the country’s suspected nuclear weapons program.

Syria Key to Middle East Peace Process: (Syria Comment)

... I think many people were surprised that Syria showed up, albeit with a deputy foreign minister instead of a foreign minister. How did this happen? ...

Syria was wooed. There was intense diplomacy prior to Syria’s accepting. [snip]

WHY? [snip] And there were two agendas going on here: One agenda was to push the peace process forward and try to get the Bush administration committed to it in a serious way. The other factor on the agenda was to create some sort of Arab community in order to isolate Iran and raise the pressure on Iran, because I think it’s widely understood that the only way you’re going to isolate Iran in the future is to repair the deep schisms and divisions between Arab states—and this schism is primarily between Syria and Saudi Arabia, because Iran’s reach into the Arab world, and its influence, is largely through Syria. (continue reading)

Shimon Peres "warned that it was impossible for any intelligence agency to know the exact nature and scope of the technological knowledge purchased from North Korea and Russia at high prices", saying "We are likely to wake up one morning and discover that comprehensive nuclear technology was passed on without interruption and is close to implementation." (YNet)

So much for peace in the Middle East:

Bethlehem – Ma'an A spokesperson of Islamic Jihad's military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, on Monday threatened to carry out bombing operations deep inside Israel and to launch homemade projectiles that can reach as far as the far north of Ashkelon city if Israel invades the Gaza Strip.

From the Jerusalem Post:

The ever-dwindling Christian communities living in Palestinian-run territories in the West Bank and Gaza are likely to dissipate completely within the next 15 years as a result of increasing Muslim persecution and maltreatment, an Israeli scholar said Monday.

"The systematic persecution of Christian Arabs living in Palestinian areas is being met with nearly total silence by the international community, human rights activists, the media and NGOs," said Justus Reid Weiner, an international human rights lawyer in an address at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, where he serves as a scholar in residence.

Perhaps we need advice from The Perfect Counselor, Creator of this world and all it's inhabitants. The only perfect person to walk in the Middle East. Only He know what needs to be done if peace is possible, despite what some people think. Read about Him at Sharper Iron.

Other reading:

I can't believe that NBC Refuses to Thank Troops. The Strong Conservative has the story here. Go read it and watch the video/ad.

Remember that NBC gave Al Gore FREE air time to preach his propaganda on global warming. Now, NBC is refusing to run the ad put out by the conservative group Freedom Watch.

Al-Qaeda urged to attack Knights of Malta in Cairo, AKI

A message posted on Islamist websites close to al-Qaeda is urging jihadists to carry out a terrorist attack on the embassy of the Roman Catholic Order of Malta in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. (continue reading)

Stop the ACLU OTA
Pearl Harbor: 66 years MM

Elderly Woman Ministers to Her Mugger, Brings Tears to His Eyes, Stop the ACLU

Comments

[A.C. McCloud]

Excellent piece, Debbie. We keep forgetting Russia, and we should not.

It certainly seems this NIE was released for a specific reason. Some have said it was to head off an eventual leak, but Cheney's comments were awfully non-threatening. Something is amiss when Cheney is saying that while the Gulf Sunni states are disappointed and the EU countries are saying they won't give up on the carrot and stick to keep the pressure on.

I still wonder whether that building they blew up in the Syrian desert had any bearing on all of this.

[Stormwarning]

I think the question of the NIE, its accuracy, its politicization, its biases, the motivations behind its release is alot more complicated than attributing it to the "4 D's."

[PALADIN]

INTERESTING POST FROM THE JERUSALEM POST ABOUT PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS. WE SHOULD NOT FORGET ABOUT THEM. THEY ARE PERSECUTED AND HAVE TO PAY JIZYA (PROTECTION MONEY) TO THE ISLAMIC SCUMBAGS. WHY CAN,T WE BRING THEM TO OUR COUNTRIES AS REFUGEES??? THERE IS A FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT POP OF LEBANESE CATHOLICS AND COPTS HERE IN ALBERTA. I KNOW QUITE A FEW PERSONALLY. THEY ARE FINE, FINE, PEOPLE AND HAVE INTEGRATED INTO OUR SOCIETY COMPLETELY. THEY ARE LOYAL AND VERY PATRIOTIC , AND EVERY SUPPORT THE TROOPS RALLYS I HAVE GONE TO THERE HAVE BEEN MANY OF THEM. THE MOHHAMEDISTS ON THE OTHER HAND DO NOTHING BUT WHINE AND PISS ABOUT WHAT A TERRIBLE PLACE THIS IS. SEEMS TO ME WHOM THE RIGHT PEOPLE WOULD BE TO IMMIGRATE FROM THE MIDDLE EAST. DON,T GET TOO UPSET ABOUT WHATS GOING ON WITH THE SYRIAN SCUMBAGS. COULD BE PART OF A BIGGER GAME PLAN?