	Generational Dynamics
	Forecasting America's Destiny ... and the World's

\| HOME \| WEB LOG \| COUNTRY WIKI \| COMMENT \| FORUM \| DOWNLOADS \| ABOUT \|

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 28-Apr-2013
28-Apr-13 World View -- Qatar and Saudi Arabia funneling money and weapons to Syria jihadists

Web Log - April, 2013

28-Apr-13 World View -- Qatar and Saudi Arabia funneling money and weapons to Syria jihadists

Future of Korea's Kaesong industrial park in doubt after South pulls out workers

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

Syria calls chemical weapons claims a 'barefaced lie'
UK's David Cameron says that 'the lessons of Iraq have been learned'
Qatar and Saudi Arabia funneling money and weapons to Syria jihadists
Future of Korea's Kaesong industrial park in doubt after South pulls out workers

Syria calls chemical weapons claims a 'barefaced lie'

Bashar al-Assad, the sleaziest and most disgusting politician on the planet, worthy of a sewer (Gulf News)

Bashar al-Assad, the sleaziest and most disgusting politician on the planet, worthy of a sewer (Gulf News)

Syria's information minister Omran Ahed al-Zouabi said on Saturday:

"First of all, I want to confirm that statements by the US Secretary of State and British government are inconsistent with reality and a barefaced lie. I want to stress one more time that Syria would never use it - not only because of its adherence to the international law and rules of leading war, but because of humanitarian and moral issues."

This is a totally laughable statement from the sleaziest and most disgusting regime on the planet today. The regime of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad started by slaughtering peaceful protesters, then moved on to massacring women and children in their beds, as well as young college students asleep in their dormitories, and forcing millions of innocent people from their homes to become refugees in Syria and in neighboring countries. Bashar al-Assad is a man with no morals whatsoever, a man who is worthy of a sewer, with no credibility at all. His word isn't worth spit. There is no doubt whatsoever that he would use chemical or biological methods to kill or torture innocent civilians.

It's not surprising that al-Zouabi's statement ran in "Russia Today." Russia and Iran are actively contributing to the massacre of innocent women and children, and no doubt would supply chemical or biological weapons to al-Assad if he didn't already have them. We're seeing massive, historical crimes being committed here, and Russia and Iran are just as culpable as al-Assad. Russia Today

UK's David Cameron says that 'the lessons of Iraq have been learned'

British prime minister David Cameron says that he fears that international action in Syria may be being held back because of fears of a repeat of the Iraq war. The Americans and the British justified the 2003 ground invasion of Iraq because Iraq had developed and used chemical and biological weapons in the past, and international intelligence services were finding that Saddam Hussein was still stockpiling similar weapons. Cameron says that the Iraq experience may cause the West to fail to act in Syria:

"I choose my words carefully, but what I see does look very much like a war crime is being committed in our world, at this time, by the Syrian government.
I would want to reassure people and say the lessons of Iraq have been learned. There are proper processes in place to try and make sure that what people say is properly backed up by the information.
If anything, I would argue that because people are so worried about what happened in Iraq, it's actually quite important now to come forward - as the Americans have done and I think [US President] Barack Obama has done it in a very clear and measured way. ...
Let me absolutely clear, I think the Iraq lesson must be about how we marshal and use information and intelligence and I think that lesson has been learnt - but I think it is very important for politicians and leaders of this generation to look at what is happening in Syria and ask ourselves what more we can do. ...
The reason we could act in Libya was because we had an opportunity, if we acted quickly, to stop a dictator in his tracks. We could do that. It is very important that the ability is there and we have to think about that carefully."

The political pressure for Western military intervention in Syria appears to be growing. But after over two years of war, military intervention in Syria may just lead to total chaos. BBC

Qatar and Saudi Arabia funneling money and weapons to Syria jihadists

Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been supporting the opposition to the regime of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, by providing money and weapons to the opposition militias. It increasingly appears that the Qataris and Saudis have been competing with each other for influence among opposition militias. This extends to the al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra Brigade, with both countries providing money and weapons to rival groups of jihadist fighters. This comes at a time when thousands of fighters from Iran-backed Shia militias supporting al-Assad, and Sunni jihadists fighting al-Assad are pouring into the country.

At the same time, sectarian violence is growing in Iraq, with 215 people killed in just the last five days. Prime minister Nouri al-Maliki blames the increase in sectarian violence on the strife in Syria:

"[This strife] came back to Iraq, because it began in another place in this region. Sectarianism is evil, and the wind of sectarianism does not need a license to cross from a country to another, because if it begins in a place, it will move to another place.
Strife is knocking on the doors of everyone, and no one will survive if it enters, because there is a wind behind it, and money, and plans."

I have no way of knowing what would have happened if the West had intervened in Syria two years ago, when the al-Assad regime started its extermination slaughter of innocent protesters. Any such attempt at intervention was blocked by the Russians, who claimed that military intervention would make things much worse in Syria. That Russian claim has by now been pretty much proven completely wrong, as it's hard for anyone to argue that any action would have been a worse disaster for Syria than the current state of non-action. But at least the Russians still have their naval base at Tartus, so they can be proud of themselves, no matter how many innocent women and children are maimed, tortured, or exterminated. The Russians certainly know how to set priorities. Telegraph (London)

Future of Korea's Kaesong industrial park in doubt after South pulls out workers

The very survival of the Kaesong industrial park in North Korea, thought to be the last remaining symbol of cooperation between North and South Korea, is in doubt after South Korea decided Friday to withdraw all of its workers there. North Korea pulled out all its 53,000 workers on April 9, as part of its war threat circus. South Korea demanded to hold talks with the North over Kaesong, and the North refused that invitation. So on Friday, the South said it will put out all of its 175 workers remaining in Kaesong. The closure of Kaesong will deprive the North of tens of millions of dollars, and will discourage foreign investment in North Korea. It will also increase the level of hostility between the two nations. Yonhap (Seoul)

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 28-Apr-13 World View -- Qatar and Saudi Arabia funneling money and weapons to Syria jihadists thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (28-Apr-2013) Permanent Link
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Donate to Generational Dynamics via PayPal

Web Log Pages

Current Web Log

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 28-Apr-2013 28-Apr-13 World View -- Qatar and Saudi Arabia funneling money and weapons to Syria jihadists

Syria calls chemical weapons claims a 'barefaced lie'

UK's David Cameron says that 'the lessons of Iraq have been learned'

Qatar and Saudi Arabia funneling money and weapons to Syria jihadists

Future of Korea's Kaesong industrial park in doubt after South pulls out workers

Web Log Pages

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 28-Apr-2013
28-Apr-13 World View -- Qatar and Saudi Arabia funneling money and weapons to Syria jihadists