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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 12-Mar-2012
12-Mar-12 World View -- Gulf Arab states consider a 'unified Gulf army' to counter Iran

Web Log - March, 2012

12-Mar-12 World View -- Gulf Arab states consider a 'unified Gulf army' to counter Iran

Tit for tat violence in Gaza poses dilemma for Hamas

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com.

Syria's Bashar al-Assad rebuffs Kofi Annan's peace bid
Tit for tat violence in Gaza poses dilemma for Hamas
Gulf Arab states consider a 'unified Gulf army' to counter Iran
European finance ministers meet on Monday for final Greek bailout approval
Sarkozy threatens to close France's borders

Syria's Bashar al-Assad rebuffs Kofi Annan's peace bid

Syrian Grand Mufti Ahmed Hassun (C) and other religious figures meet with Kofi Annan in Damascus (AFP)

Syrian Grand Mufti Ahmed Hassun (C) and other religious figures meet with Kofi Annan in Damascus (AFP)

Syria's president Bashar al-Assad on Sunday rebuffed a peacemaking mission by former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan. At the same time, his regime's security forces mounted a major assault on Idlib in north Syria. Panicked civilians clutching blankets attempted to flee, but were trapped after the army sealed all exits. Human Rights groups said that 54 civilians, mostly in and around Idlib, were killed over the weekend. Rebel fighters, many of them army defectors, held their positions for several hours, sheltering behind walls to return fire against the advancing tanks with automatic weapons. But as their casualties began to mount, most fighters withdrew, leaving only pockets of resistance, activists in Idlib said. Telegraph

Tit for tat violence in Gaza poses dilemma for Hamas

Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip yesterday killed a 12-year-old boy and two other Palestinians, bringing the death toll during three days of fighting to 18 Palestinians, according to medical sources. The spike in tit-for-tat violence is one of the worst since Israel launched its three-week war on the Palestinian enclave in December 2008. Analysts attributed the escalation of mortar and rocket fire, in part, to a bid by Gaza's Hamas rulers to prove they had not gone soft on Israel. Previously, the Palestinian-Islamist group had prevented such attacks. Hamas is under a lot of pressure because they've angered Iran by severing ties with Syria, as the Bashar al-Assad regime massacres innocent Arabs. The National (UAE)

Gulf Arab states consider a 'unified Gulf army' to counter Iran

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a political confederation of Gulf Arab states led by Saudi Arabia, is considering a "unified Gulf army" able to respond to external and domestic security threats, especially from Iran and from Iran-suppported anti-government protests. The army will be an extension of the already existing Peninsula Shield Force (PSF) that was successfully deployed last year to control violent street protests by Bahrain’s Shia minority. That isn't Saudi Arabia's only concern, however. If Syria's turmoil escalates further, Syria and Iran might use it to try to destabilize the Saudi regime by empowering the two million strong Saudi Shia minority, concentrated mainly in the Eastern Province (al-Sharqiyah), which holds the world's largest oil fields. Saudi Arabia has in the past tried and failed to convince Israel to abandon its nuclear weapons, and now that Iran may be seeking to possess a nuclear bomb, the kingdom has to protect its people through all possible options, according to Prince Turki al-Faisal. Jamestown

European finance ministers meet on Monday for final Greek bailout approval

The Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday to give final approval to the second bailout package for Greece. The €130 billion bailout loan package comes after Greece succeeded in "restructuring" its debt by forcing investors to swap their Greek bonds for new guaranteed bonds, but with only 25% of the nominal value of the old bonds. Now that the Greece problem is "solved," the eurozone finance ministers will turn their attention to other problem areas. First on the agenda will be Spain, whose prime minister just announced will be far higher than previously forecast. Portugal and Ireland will be on the agenda, as they may demand a loan "restructuring" similar to the one Greece got. And, last but not least, Greece's second bailout will not solve its problems by any means, and a third bailout may be required. AFP

Sarkozy threatens to close France's borders

Illegal immigration is turning into a major hot-button issue in France's presidential campaign, mainly because of the increasing popularity of Marine Le Pen of the anti-immigration National Front party, considered by many to be a far-right party. Current president Nicolas Sarkozy, who is well behind Socialist Party candidate François Hollande in the polls, made a move that some are considering a desperation move to prevent votes from being siphoned off by Le Pen. He threatened Sunday to pull France out of the European Union's Schengen zone, a zone which permits visa-free travel, with no border checks, among all 27 EU member states except Britain and Ireland. As we reported yesterday, Austria and Germany are suggesting that their borders with Greece be closed because of illegal immigrants entering Greece from Turkey. The Schengen zone is an extremely emotional issue with many Europeans, because they consider it to be a significant achievement in the plan to prevent anything as horrible as a repeat of World War II in Europe. AP

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 12-Mar-12 World View -- Gulf Arab states consider a 'unified Gulf army' to counter Iran thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (12-Mar-2012) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 12-Mar-2012 12-Mar-12 World View -- Gulf Arab states consider a 'unified Gulf army' to counter Iran

Syria's Bashar al-Assad rebuffs Kofi Annan's peace bid

Tit for tat violence in Gaza poses dilemma for Hamas

Gulf Arab states consider a 'unified Gulf army' to counter Iran

European finance ministers meet on Monday for final Greek bailout approval

Sarkozy threatens to close France's borders

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 12-Mar-2012
12-Mar-12 World View -- Gulf Arab states consider a 'unified Gulf army' to counter Iran