We all know it from the movies of Costa-Gavras: once “the leaders of the free world” start visiting your country frequently, carnage won’t be far behind. Nowadays, the capital city of Turkey, Ankara, looks very much like the set of a Costa-Gavras movie (except, of course, what we really want to see happens off-camera). […]
Geography Archives: Middle East
Sectarian Syrian Oppositionists: For Israel, GCC, and USA, Against Bahraini and Palestinian Liberation Struggles?
The attempt by sectarian Syrian oppositionists to silence Bahraini and Palestinian voices documented below by Maath Musleh and Sara Yasin occurred at a demonstration ostensibly for all Arab revolts organized by Amnesty International at Trafalgar Square, London, 11 February 2011. (It is noteworthy, though, that Amnesty International itself gives top billing to Syria in its […]
Targeting Iran on a Syrian Battlefield
Still stinging from the “travesty” of their defeat in the United Nations Security Council over the weekend, the United States and the “international community” have already begun to hatch their next ploy for intervention into Syria. On Monday — with the Security Council, and ostensibly diplomacy as well, having been deemed “neutered” by Secretary of […]
Our Common Goal
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is the Secretary General of Hezbollah. This speech was delivered on 7 February 2012. The tweets above are Mazen Shaer‘s translation of the speech, plus one note of his and one note of sshusma‘s. See, also, twitter.com/#!/Amani_Lebanon, twitter.com/#!/les_politiques, and twitter.com/#!/rania_masri for other translations and notes. | Print
ALBA Reaffirms Its Support for Syria
Communiqué The heads of state and government of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) reiterate their condemnation of the systematic policy of interference in and destabilization of the brother Syrian Arab Republic, the aim of which is to impose, by force, regime change on the Syrian people. The ALBA member […]
Syria, Iran, and Imperialism
Jorge Insunza: Look, the Communist Party of Syria, which is a great, serious, and responsible Communist Party and which is not part of the Syrian government, says that it is necessary for Syria to make progress in the deepening of the real exercise of democratic rights. That there have been flaws and errors is […]
Report of the Head of the League of Arab States Observer Mission to Syria for the Period from 24 December 2011 to 18 January 2012
Excerpt: 26. In Homs and Dera’a, the Mission observed armed groups committing acts of violence against Government forces, resulting in death and injury among their ranks. In certain situations, Government forces responded to attacks against their personnel with force. The observers noted that some of the armed groups were using flares and armour-piercing projectiles. […]
Amnesty Demands Russia Let Imperialists Turn Syria into Another Libya
Dear Amnesty (amnestyis@amnesty.org): “Russia’s threats to abort a binding UN resolution on Syria for the second time are utterly irresponsible,” said José Luis Díaz, Amnesty’s representative to the UN. “Russia bears a heavy responsibility for allowing the brutal crackdown to continue.”1 With Libya still suffering the lethal consequences of western military “liberation,” with Iran gravely […]
Arundhati Roy, Anuradha Ghandy, and ‘Romantic Marxism’
a This is the full-text of the introductory remarks made by the author at the Fourth Anuradha Ghandy Memorial Lecture delivered by Arundhati Roy on 20th January 2012 at St Xavier’s College, Mumbai. I woke up this morning to the chirping sounds of the swallows. Arundhati Roy seems to have brought in those love-birds that […]
One State, Two States: Who Is the Subject of Palestinian Liberation?
One state or two? Boycott of Israeli goods or goods from the settlements? Is the lobby the genesis of American wrongdoing in Palestine or is it imperialism? The questions — regarding vision, strategy, and analysis — produce sharp cleavages on the Left. Indeed, generally ones much deeper than they need to be. And they remain […]
No War with Iran
Below is a statement by the UNAC CC on the assassination of Iranian scientists and the growing threat of war against Iran. Also, UNAC members participated in a national conference call on Tuesday with many other antiwar and Iranian groups. The meeting called for demonstrations on February 4 to protest the threat of war against […]
Who Is Killing Whom in Syria? Interview with Jeremy Salt
Jeremy Salt: I don’t think there’s any doubt at all that a large number of military, of civilians, have been killed by armed gangs and by defectors. So, what we actually need to do is to disaggregate these (casualty) figures. How many people have been killed by the Syrian Army? How many of them […]
Ahmadinejad, Iran, and the Yankee Empire
At yesterday’s meeting I saw the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, absolutely calm and composed, completely indifferent to Yankee threats, confident in his people’s capacity to confront any aggression and in the efficacy of Iran’s arms, which are in large part produced by Iranians themselves, for the purpose of imposing on aggressors an impossibly high cost. […]
Dead Iraqis Occupy Wall Street
With the war in Iraq now officially over and the Occupy Wall Street movement less visible, life in New York was expected to return to normal. Instead, several recent passersby in Manhattan’s financial district have reported seeing thousands of deceased Iraqi civilians taking up residence at Zuccotti Park. The park served for two months in […]
Venezuelan People and Government Condemn Attacks against Syria
Communiqué The president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Comandante Hugo Chávez, in the name of the Venezuelan people and government, condemns the terrorist attack perpetrated today in Damascus, the capital of the brother Syrian Arab Republic, in the strongest and most unequivocal terms, and stands in solidarity with the brave Syrian people, in sending […]
Burhan Ghalioun
Ibrahim Jaza is a Syrian cartoonist. Note: “Ghalioun” means “pipe” in Arabic. See, also: “Now, irresponsible people have taken over the leadership of the Syrian revolt. . . . From the beginning the SNC was marching toward the UN Security Council. The SNC wanted to exclude Syria from the Arab League and get the Arab […]
“Free Syrian Army”
Ibrahim Jaza is a Syrian cartoonist. See, also: “To those of you who don’t believe that the #Syria-n rebels have israeli arms, take a look. Nothing’s hidden anymore. pic.twitter.com/mOTfVyT4” (Joud, 25 December 2011); “الهيئة ” و “المجلس” يوقعان اتفاقا “مفخخا” يسمح ضمنا بتدخل عسكري عربي في سوريا لإسقاط النظام (SyriaTruth.org, 31 December 2011). | Print
The Last Refuge of Hosni Mubarak
Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian cartoonist. | Print
The Epidemic of Terrorism under Turkey’s Mubarak
A new epidemic has broken out in Turkey. It’s called “terrorism.” This ideologically transmitted disease (ITD) appears to be extremely infectious. Otherwise how can we explain the large and growing number of terrorists in the country? The Associated Press carried out a survey on terrorism convictions in the world. The figures are worrying. According […]
On the Terrorist Attacks in Damascus, Syria
The Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Cuba energetically condemns the criminal attacks by car bombs that took place in Damascus, Syria, causing dozens of dead and wounded. Cuba condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and firmly opposes the attempts to undermine the stability of Syria, foreign interference, and the threats to its […]
