SYRIA PERKUAT CENGKERAMAN
http://cahyono-adi.blogspot.com/2013/10/syria-perkuat-cengkeraman.html#more
Menghadapi kemungkinan berlangsungnya perundingan Genewa II bulan depan,
pihak-pihak yang bertikai di Syria semakin mengintensifkan pertempuran
demi meraih "posisi tawar" yang lebih baik. Dalam konteks ini militer
Syria berhasil memperkuat cengkeramannya atas kawasan-kawasan strategis
di sekitar Damaskus dan kota-kota besar lainnya. Hal inilah yang membuat
Presiden Bashar al Assad tampak lebih percaya diri dibanding
waktu-waktu yang lalu.
Media Iran Press TV hari Selasa lalu (22/10) melaporkan bahwa militer Syria berhasil merebut kembali penguasaan atas kawasan industri al-Muqaddimah di luar Damaskus yang selama beberapa waktu terakhir telah menjadi medan pertempuran sengit antara pasukan pemerintah dan pemberontak.
Para pemberontak telah menghancurkan sebagian besar peralatan pabrik-pabrik dan membangun barikade yang kuat di sekitar pabrik segera setelah mereka menguasai kawasan itu sekitar 2 bulan lalu. Namun militer berhasil merebut kembali kawasan itu setelah melalui pertempuran sengit.
"Pada tgl 24 Agustus lalu para pemberontak menduduki pabrik saya. Mereka menyabot sebagian peralatan kami, menembak komputer-komputer dan menggunakan beberapa pabrik sebagai benteng mereka. Namun militer berhasil merebutnya kembali dan mereka memanggil saya untuk mengecek kondisi barang-barang milik kami," kata Rami Issa, seorang pemilik pabrik tekstil kepada Press TV.
Beberapa bagian lain dari al-Muqaddimah, seperti kawasan al-Moddarras dan Hamdan juga telah berhasil dikuasai kembali oleh pemerintah.
Seorang perwira militer Syria mengatakan kepada Press TV bahwa sebelum pertempuran militer telah mengevakuasi sebagian besar penduduk di sekitar medan pertempuran. Selanjutnya mereka berhasil merebut kawasan tersebut hanya dalam waktu beberapa jam saja dan berhasil membunuh sejumlah besar pemberontak yang sebagian di antaranya adalah warga asing.
Pemberontak yang kini secara de facto dikomandani oleh kepala intelijen Saudi Pangeran Bandar berusaha keras untuk meraih kemajuan strategis mulai dari Aleppo di utara hingga Daraa dan Golan di Selatan Syria. Bandar percaya kemajuan tersebut akan memaksa Rusia untuk menerima solusi politik yang dituntutnya, yaitu tersingkirnya Bashar al Assad dari kekuasaan. Namun Bandar kurang memahami bahwa pemerintah dan rakyat Syria serta kekuatan-kekuatan pendukung mereka seperti Iran, Rusia dan Hizbollah pun tidak pernah lengah dengan rencana itu.
"Apa yang dilakukan musuh-musuh Syria selama 2,5 tahun terakhir telah lebih dari cukup untuk menjatuhkan kekuasaan Assad. Mereka tidak kekurangan uang, senjata dan personil. Masalahnya bagi mereka adalah kami melawan dengan keras dan tahu bagaimana menggagalkan rencana mereka," kata seorang perwira militer Syria.
Para pengatur strategi militer Syria meyakini bahwa tahap berikut dari konflik Syria akan berakhir seperti tahap-tahap sebelumnya dengan kegagalan di tangan pemberontak, dan Pangeran Bandar akan terusir dari Syria sebagaimana ia terusir dari Beirut tahun 2008. Sebagaimana diketahui pada tahun 2008 Bandar merancang sebuah gerakan militer dan politik sekaligus untuk mengusir Hizbollah dari Lebanon. Untuk itu ia membentuk satuan-satuan milisi bersenjata lengkap untuk menghadapi Hizbollah yang telah dikenal ketangguhannya. Namun hanya dalam waktu satu hari milisi-milisi bentukan Bandar itu lumpuh di tangan Hizbollah.
Pemberontak kini memusatkan offensifnya di 4 front: Aleppo, Al Raqaa, Latakia dan Salmiyah. Di Aleppo pemberontak berhasil menguasai sebagian pangkalan udara Meng. Di al Raqaa pemberontak mengepung markas satuan Brigade ke-17 AD Syria. Namun di 2 front terakhir pemberontak mengalami kegagalan total.
Menurut para pejabat militer Syria tujuan pemberontak saat ini hanyalah meraih "kemenangan public relation" untuk menunjukkan bahwa pemberontak berhasil membalas kekalahan di Damaskus, Qusayr, dan Homs, dan meraih keuntungan dari penyelesaian politik yang kini tengah digalang oleh masyarakat internasional.
REF:
"Army tightens noose around militants near Damascus"; Press TV; 23 Oktober 2013
"Bandar, the Prince of Jihad: Expect a Syrian Shift in Power"; Hassan Illeik; al Akhbar; 6 Agustus 2013
Media Iran Press TV hari Selasa lalu (22/10) melaporkan bahwa militer Syria berhasil merebut kembali penguasaan atas kawasan industri al-Muqaddimah di luar Damaskus yang selama beberapa waktu terakhir telah menjadi medan pertempuran sengit antara pasukan pemerintah dan pemberontak.
Para pemberontak telah menghancurkan sebagian besar peralatan pabrik-pabrik dan membangun barikade yang kuat di sekitar pabrik segera setelah mereka menguasai kawasan itu sekitar 2 bulan lalu. Namun militer berhasil merebut kembali kawasan itu setelah melalui pertempuran sengit.
"Pada tgl 24 Agustus lalu para pemberontak menduduki pabrik saya. Mereka menyabot sebagian peralatan kami, menembak komputer-komputer dan menggunakan beberapa pabrik sebagai benteng mereka. Namun militer berhasil merebutnya kembali dan mereka memanggil saya untuk mengecek kondisi barang-barang milik kami," kata Rami Issa, seorang pemilik pabrik tekstil kepada Press TV.
Beberapa bagian lain dari al-Muqaddimah, seperti kawasan al-Moddarras dan Hamdan juga telah berhasil dikuasai kembali oleh pemerintah.
Seorang perwira militer Syria mengatakan kepada Press TV bahwa sebelum pertempuran militer telah mengevakuasi sebagian besar penduduk di sekitar medan pertempuran. Selanjutnya mereka berhasil merebut kawasan tersebut hanya dalam waktu beberapa jam saja dan berhasil membunuh sejumlah besar pemberontak yang sebagian di antaranya adalah warga asing.
Pemberontak yang kini secara de facto dikomandani oleh kepala intelijen Saudi Pangeran Bandar berusaha keras untuk meraih kemajuan strategis mulai dari Aleppo di utara hingga Daraa dan Golan di Selatan Syria. Bandar percaya kemajuan tersebut akan memaksa Rusia untuk menerima solusi politik yang dituntutnya, yaitu tersingkirnya Bashar al Assad dari kekuasaan. Namun Bandar kurang memahami bahwa pemerintah dan rakyat Syria serta kekuatan-kekuatan pendukung mereka seperti Iran, Rusia dan Hizbollah pun tidak pernah lengah dengan rencana itu.
"Apa yang dilakukan musuh-musuh Syria selama 2,5 tahun terakhir telah lebih dari cukup untuk menjatuhkan kekuasaan Assad. Mereka tidak kekurangan uang, senjata dan personil. Masalahnya bagi mereka adalah kami melawan dengan keras dan tahu bagaimana menggagalkan rencana mereka," kata seorang perwira militer Syria.
Para pengatur strategi militer Syria meyakini bahwa tahap berikut dari konflik Syria akan berakhir seperti tahap-tahap sebelumnya dengan kegagalan di tangan pemberontak, dan Pangeran Bandar akan terusir dari Syria sebagaimana ia terusir dari Beirut tahun 2008. Sebagaimana diketahui pada tahun 2008 Bandar merancang sebuah gerakan militer dan politik sekaligus untuk mengusir Hizbollah dari Lebanon. Untuk itu ia membentuk satuan-satuan milisi bersenjata lengkap untuk menghadapi Hizbollah yang telah dikenal ketangguhannya. Namun hanya dalam waktu satu hari milisi-milisi bentukan Bandar itu lumpuh di tangan Hizbollah.
Pemberontak kini memusatkan offensifnya di 4 front: Aleppo, Al Raqaa, Latakia dan Salmiyah. Di Aleppo pemberontak berhasil menguasai sebagian pangkalan udara Meng. Di al Raqaa pemberontak mengepung markas satuan Brigade ke-17 AD Syria. Namun di 2 front terakhir pemberontak mengalami kegagalan total.
Menurut para pejabat militer Syria tujuan pemberontak saat ini hanyalah meraih "kemenangan public relation" untuk menunjukkan bahwa pemberontak berhasil membalas kekalahan di Damaskus, Qusayr, dan Homs, dan meraih keuntungan dari penyelesaian politik yang kini tengah digalang oleh masyarakat internasional.
REF:
"Army tightens noose around militants near Damascus"; Press TV; 23 Oktober 2013
"Bandar, the Prince of Jihad: Expect a Syrian Shift in Power"; Hassan Illeik; al Akhbar; 6 Agustus 2013
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Army tightens noose around militants near Damascus
Wed Oct 23, 2013 1:30AM
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/10/23/330820/syria-tightens-noose-around-militants/
The Syrian army continues to tighten the noose around foreign-backed militants in the Damascus countryside of al-Muqaddimah, Press TV reports.
Syrian government forces have regained control of al-Muqaddimah’s industrial zone, which has been a scene of a fierce battle between the army and the militants, a Press TV correspondent reported on Tuesday.
The Syrian army accompanied the Press TV team to the heart of the area since an armored vehicle is essential to avoid sniper fire from the extremists.
The militants have destroyed some of the equipment in factories. They have fortified themselves in some blocks for over two months and have created solid barriers for themselves. However, the army has secured the factory area.
“On August 24, armed groups occupied my factory. They sabotaged some parts of it. They shot at computers, and used some of the fabrics to make barriers. The army has regained control and called us to come back and check our property,” Rami Issa, a textile factory owner, told Press TV.
Other parts of al-Muqaddimah, namely the al-Moddarras and Hamdan neighborhoods, have also been secured by the army.
An army officer told Press TV that the troops evacuated civilians in the area before starting the operation and “purged the area of the militants within hours.”
He added that the army killed a large number of militants, including several foreigners.
The government troops have recently conducted successful clean-up operations across the country, inflicting heavy losses on the militants.
A recent British defense study showed that about 100,000 militants, fragmented into 1,000 groups, are fighting in Syria against the government and people.
The extracts of the study by defense consultancy IHS Jane's were published on September 16.
IHS Jane's estimates that some 10,000 militants are fighting for groups affiliated with al-Qaeda such as al-Nusra Front and the rest fight for different militant groups.
The analysis also said that a large number of extremists from foreign countries are also active in Syria.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since March 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and a total of 7.8 million of others displaced due to the violence.
GJH/MHB/AS
'Foreign-backed mercenary operation in Syria constitutes war crime'
Sat Sep 21, 2013 9:54AM GMT
1
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/09/21/325191/rebels-operations-in-syria-war-crime/
Interview with Ken Stone
From
the point of view of Anti-War Movement here in Canada, the
foreign-backed mercenary operation in Syria is a war crime, it is a
foreign intervention designed to destabilize and overthrow the regime in
Syria, which is about violation of the UN charter and all precedent in
International Law."
Press
TV has conducted an interview with Ken Stone, with Hamilton Coalition
to Stop the War, from Ontario, over the recent statement released by the
National Syrian Coalition (SNC), admitting being overpowered by Takfiri
militants.
What follows is an approximate transcription of the interview.
Press TV: We have the Western-backed opposition in Syria, admitting being overpowered by the foreign-backed Takfiris, just how all this internal conflict undermine opposition and weaken it to the advantage of the Syrian government?
Stone: Well, in English we have a saying when thieves fall out, honest men come into their own; that means the foreign-backed mercenaries in Syria are fighting amongst themselves. Let us hope that it would be that much easier for the Syrian army to drive them right out of the country.
From the point of view of Anti-War Movement here in Canada, the foreign-backed mercenary operation in Syria is a war crime, it is a foreign intervention designed to destabilize and overthrow the regime in Syria, which is about violation of the UN charter and all precedent in International Law.
We think that really the only solution is a diplomatic solution, not a military solution. What needs to be done, thanks to skillful Russian diplomacy is to reconvene Geneva II and come to a political solution for the crisis.
Press TV: You spoke about the fighting, this is a war crime; from a legal aspect, can this issue be dealt with internationally?
Stone:Absolutely, around the world people have made it known to their governments that they do not want to see a war on Syria; that is the reason that [British Prime Minister David] Cameron was defeated in the House of Commons in a historic defeat.
That is why [US President Barack] Obama had to submit to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s skillful diplomacy. It is because people around the world realize what is happening and that the Syrian war is part of their war on terror or what we call “the war of terror,” that has been waged since 9/11 by the United States. We know that …, so that they were going to seven countries on the hit list and Syria was one of them.
What is happening is that the American ruling class … it used to be a democracy, but not the United States, it is an empire and the empire wants to pillage the resources of the global …; it wants to get cheap labor and it wants to position its troops for further attacks, for example on Tehran (the capital of Iran) or perhaps on China or perhaps on Russia.
People of the world do not want any part of this; what needed too is to keep up the pressure on our governments, not to become embroiled in any unilateral US attack on Syria and to force our governments, for example the Harper government in Canada was recently revealed or shown to have given USD 5.3 million to the rebels and that has been followed by a further report here in Canada that shows that perhaps USD 100 million earmarked as humanitarian aid has actually been used to promote the rebel cause in Syria.
We think this is terrible and even the supporters of the Harper government are shocked that the Harper government is giving money to al-Qaeda terrorists in Syria, while we have troops ostensibly in Afghanistan to fight al-Qaeda, what a double standard.
So, we are calling on people in Canada and we are working with people around the world, including people inside Syria who are working for national reconciliation to have a peaceful diplomatic solution to the crisis and make a Syrian solution, so that we can avoid another war in the Middle East which could easily develop into regional or even a global conflict, another World War III; so that is what we, in the Anti-War Movement here, think in North America.
MM/NN
Saudi King Moves His Son One Step Closer to Throne
A
picture taken on 4 December 2011 shows then Saudi intelligence chief
Prince Muqrin bin Abdul-Aziz al-Saud attending the 'The Gulf and The
Globe' security forum in Riyadh. (Photo: Fayez Nureldine - AFP)
The top posts thus remain in the hands of the first generation, despite their old age and ill health. For instance, the king recently underwent several successive surgeries that left him weaker. Salman has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and at many times cannot remember his own name.
Meanwhile, Muqrin, the newcomer, is rumored to be a womanizer, frequently indulging in alcohol, which caused him to be sacked last year from his post as intelligence chief.
But the Saudi king’s move may be construed as an attempt to clear a path to the throne for his son Mutaib, currently the commander of the National Guard.
The famous Twitter activist @mujtahidd told Al-Akhbar, “Abdullah is seeking to put his son Mutaib on the throne. If he waits for the long line of Abdul-Aziz’s sons [to pass], then his son will never reach the throne. But the king wants his son to take the crown while he is still alive.”
@mujtahidd added, “Muqrin has two characteristics that allow the king
to exploit him to get what he wants. First, he is the youngest and last
son of Abdul-Aziz. Second, he is extremely weak-willed to the extent
that he perceives his brothers as his masters, because his mother was a
black slave.”
Concerning the timing of the announcement, @mujtahidd said, “Abdullah wanted to appoint him now because, in a while, it will become unequivocally clear that Salman’s Alzheimer’s will force his departure, after which Muqrin would be appointed as the crown prince. The king will then appoint his son Mutaib as his second deputy.”
The next step, according to @mujtahidd, would be for Muqrin to abdicate, following which Mutaib would be appointed as his successor. The Twitter activist went on to say that “Muqrin’s health makes this possible.”
@mujtahidd also mentioned that he was aware of some reactions to Abdullah’s decision, particularly from Prince Ahmed and Prince Turki (II) bin Abdul-Aziz. While “Prince Abdul-Rahman and Prince Talal are upset, naturally,” @mujtahidd said, “Ahmed and Turki are more important.”
He reckoned that “Ahmed is relatively active and healthy,” while “Turki has since recovered from his troubles in Egypt and regained some respect in the family.” @mujtahidd then predicted that Salman’s sons would side “with anyone distraught by these developments.”
In previous tweets, @mujtahidd describes Muqrin as an “unimportant man, both as the Governor of Ha’il and as head of the intelligence. He remained inconsequential after being sacked and there is nothing worth pointing out in his record.”
He also said that Muqrin “is often preoccupied with women and alcohol, and has completely delegated his functions to his chief of staff, which led to catastrophic intelligence failures in Egypt, Iraq, Iran, and even in simpler issues such as the case of Princess Sara Bint Talal, who sought asylum in Britain.”
In the issue of Princess Sara in particular, @mujtahidd wrote, it became clear that “Muqrin knew nothing about intelligence work, and was preoccupied instead with forbidden pleasures.” Muqrin, he added, “put his chief of staff [Abdul Aziz bin Saleh] al-Hawas, who was with him when he was governor [of Ha’il], in charge of his entire intelligence agency. He granted him full powers that exceeded even those of Abdul Aziz bin Bandar.” Prince Muqrin is the youngest son of the founder king. His selection as second deputy follows a series of appointments made by the king, which propelled the second generation of princes to the forefront. For this reason, the king’s move came as a surprise.
Two weeks earlier, the king issued a round of decrees that dismissed a number of governors from their posts and appointed others. Thus, Prince Saud bin Nayef replaced Prince Mohammed bin Fahd, as the governor of the Eastern Province, reportedly as a result of the latter’s mishandling of the unrest there.
The king also appointed Prince Faisal bin Salman as the governor of Medina, relieving Prince Abdul-Aziz bin Majed bin Abdul-Aziz.
Muqrin was appointed as advisor to the king at the time – an honorary position. Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah was also appointed as Minister of State and Commander of the National Guard.
This had sparked widespread speculation that the move was an indication of the second generation finally being given sensitive ministerial posts. Interestingly, the appointments relieved Prince Mohammed bin Fahd from his post without being appointed to any other key position, which meant that the late King Fahd’s sons had been sidelined.
Prince Muqrin’s appointment as second deputy prime minister was announced in a brief statement by the official Saudi news agency. This is the third most important position in the hierarchy of power in the kingdom, after the king and crown prince.
(Al-Akhbar)
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition
Concerning the timing of the announcement, @mujtahidd said, “Abdullah wanted to appoint him now because, in a while, it will become unequivocally clear that Salman’s Alzheimer’s will force his departure, after which Muqrin would be appointed as the crown prince. The king will then appoint his son Mutaib as his second deputy.”
The next step, according to @mujtahidd, would be for Muqrin to abdicate, following which Mutaib would be appointed as his successor. The Twitter activist went on to say that “Muqrin’s health makes this possible.”
@mujtahidd also mentioned that he was aware of some reactions to Abdullah’s decision, particularly from Prince Ahmed and Prince Turki (II) bin Abdul-Aziz. While “Prince Abdul-Rahman and Prince Talal are upset, naturally,” @mujtahidd said, “Ahmed and Turki are more important.”
He reckoned that “Ahmed is relatively active and healthy,” while “Turki has since recovered from his troubles in Egypt and regained some respect in the family.” @mujtahidd then predicted that Salman’s sons would side “with anyone distraught by these developments.”
In previous tweets, @mujtahidd describes Muqrin as an “unimportant man, both as the Governor of Ha’il and as head of the intelligence. He remained inconsequential after being sacked and there is nothing worth pointing out in his record.”
He also said that Muqrin “is often preoccupied with women and alcohol, and has completely delegated his functions to his chief of staff, which led to catastrophic intelligence failures in Egypt, Iraq, Iran, and even in simpler issues such as the case of Princess Sara Bint Talal, who sought asylum in Britain.”
In the issue of Princess Sara in particular, @mujtahidd wrote, it became clear that “Muqrin knew nothing about intelligence work, and was preoccupied instead with forbidden pleasures.” Muqrin, he added, “put his chief of staff [Abdul Aziz bin Saleh] al-Hawas, who was with him when he was governor [of Ha’il], in charge of his entire intelligence agency. He granted him full powers that exceeded even those of Abdul Aziz bin Bandar.” Prince Muqrin is the youngest son of the founder king. His selection as second deputy follows a series of appointments made by the king, which propelled the second generation of princes to the forefront. For this reason, the king’s move came as a surprise.
Two weeks earlier, the king issued a round of decrees that dismissed a number of governors from their posts and appointed others. Thus, Prince Saud bin Nayef replaced Prince Mohammed bin Fahd, as the governor of the Eastern Province, reportedly as a result of the latter’s mishandling of the unrest there.
The king also appointed Prince Faisal bin Salman as the governor of Medina, relieving Prince Abdul-Aziz bin Majed bin Abdul-Aziz.
Muqrin was appointed as advisor to the king at the time – an honorary position. Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah was also appointed as Minister of State and Commander of the National Guard.
This had sparked widespread speculation that the move was an indication of the second generation finally being given sensitive ministerial posts. Interestingly, the appointments relieved Prince Mohammed bin Fahd from his post without being appointed to any other key position, which meant that the late King Fahd’s sons had been sidelined.
Prince Muqrin’s appointment as second deputy prime minister was announced in a brief statement by the official Saudi news agency. This is the third most important position in the hierarchy of power in the kingdom, after the king and crown prince.
(Al-Akhbar)
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition
Bandar, the Prince of Jihad: Expect a Syrian Shift in Power
http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/16652
A
Syrian rebel fighter fires from a truck during clashes with forces
loyal to the regime in the eastern Syrian town of Deir Ezzor on 1 August
2013. (Photo: Ahmad Aboud)
In theory, Syrian opposition fighters now have one single
commander: Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan. The man, who had a failed
military adventure in Beirut, is vying today to alter the balance of
power in Syria. But his foes say they will not let him win this time
either.
Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi intelligence chief, is no ordinary policymaker in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom ruled by his family. According to sources familiar with his history, Bandar is “at once the solution and the problem in his country’s diplomatic crisis.”
To be sure, the “legendary” ambassador in Washington has compensated for the total absence of senior decision-makers in the ruling family, who are either passive by nature, or are incapacitated because of their illnesses – from King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, to Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, all the way to Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul-Aziz and the Second Deputy Prime Minister Muqrin bin Abdul-Aziz.
Bandar is essentially the only member of the House of Saud to have a proactive diplomatic approach, with access to the major decision-making capitals of the world, from Washington to Moscow.
Bandar recently visited Moscow to negotiate in his capacity as the “Prince of the Mujahideen” in Syria, including those who hail from Chechnya, Dagestan, and the Caucasus in Russia’s backyard. From Dagestan alone, more than a hundred fighters are enlisted in the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, which is active in northern Syria.
Many of these Russian fighters and their Syrian comrades are (theoretically) under the command of a single man: Bandar bin Sultan. For one thing, the top Saudi security man is their main financier, arms source, and their virtual political spokesperson, whether directly or through his deputy, the head of the Syrian National Coalition Ahmad al-Jarba.
But Bandar himself represents a problem for Saudi. Unlike the calm diplomacy pursued by Riyadh – even if only superficially – Bandar usually has very unrealistic expectations.
His most recent experience of a military nature took place in Lebanon, after 2006, when Bandar convinced the Saudi king to bankroll a militia for Saad Hariri. Some observers familiar with that experience say that Bandar spent more than $200 million to build this paramilitary force, only for the whole plan to meet a catastrophic defeat in less than 20 hours of fighting, in May 2008.
In Syria, Bandar bin Sultan did not deviate from his usual approach. He has set very high expectations, and today, according to some who met him over the past few weeks, he sees no issue more important than Syria. For instance, Bandar rarely mentions Yemen, Iraq, or Lebanon, except from the standpoint of defeating Iran and Hezbollah in the Levant.
Bandar is optimistic about Syria, and has told those who met with him recently that he has been given up to eight months to arm and consolidate the rebel ranks to tip the balance of power on the Syrian battlefield. Bandar did not say that he wants to dramatically reverse this balance of power, but only to alter it to deny the Syrian regime the upper hand in any upcoming political negotiations.
Bandar has purported that the coming two months will see the efforts to train and arm the opposition start to bear fruit. But the Saudi intelligence chief also spoke to his visitors about the difficulties he is facing, including the fragmentation of the fighters and the inability to train more than 300 rebels each month. Concerning arms, Bandar complained about how the weapons he sends often ends up in the hands of al-Qaeda fighters and their ilk. Nevertheless, these concerns did not prevent Bandar from wagering on his fighters’ achievements over the next few months. For instance, the Saudi prince wants to see breakthroughs by the rebels in northern Syria, starting in Aleppo, and in the south, where he will try to convince the Jordanian regime to allow fighters and weapons to flow into Daraa and the Golan.
Bandar believes that such breakthroughs would prompt Moscow to accept a political solution in which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would have no role to play. However, it seems that Bandar’s plans, as per what has been attributed to him, ignore the fact that the other side is not sitting idly by.
In Damascus, Beirut’s southern suburbs, Tehran, and Moscow, there are those working relentlessly to thwart Bandar’s plans. No efforts are being spared to this end, including weapons, funding, planning, training, and even personnel.
The Syrian regime’s plans “after the liberation of the central region” will receive the full support of all its backers. The latter, who have been apprised of Bandar’s plans, react by saying, “What Damascus’ enemies have done in the past two years at all levels, would have been enough to topple Assad. They did not lack money, weapons, fighters, or plans. Their problem did not lie in this aspect, but in the fact that we resisted and knew how to prevent them from achieving what they wanted.”
The pro-regime camp asserts that the next phase of the Syrian conflict will be just like the previous rounds, stressing that altering the balance of power would be very difficult – if not impossible – and that Bandar bin Sultan will be driven out of Syria just as he was driven out of Beirut in 2008.
Retribution for Qusayr and Homs
The Syrian opposition is fighting four primary offensives: Aleppo’s northern countryside, where the opposition has more or less taken control of the Meng military airbase; al-Raqqa, where the opposition has laid siege to a base of the army’s 17th brigade; Latakia’s northern countryside, where the opposition has launched attacks on a number of villages and military posts; and in the eastern countryside of the city of Salmiyah, east of Hama.
According to high-ranking officials in Damascus, the opposition is able to achieve progress in Meng against the 17th brigade. But in Latakia and Salmiyah, all the opposition is going to achieve, they say, will be massacres against civilians, after which the Syrian army will inflict heavy losses on the militants.
The same Syrian officials say that the real goal of all four offensives is to achieve a “public relations victory, to suggest that the opposition has avenged the defeats it suffered in the Damascus countryside, Qusayr, and Homs, and attempt to exploit this in the political negotiations being prepared between Moscow and Washington.”
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.
Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi intelligence chief, is no ordinary policymaker in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom ruled by his family. According to sources familiar with his history, Bandar is “at once the solution and the problem in his country’s diplomatic crisis.”
To be sure, the “legendary” ambassador in Washington has compensated for the total absence of senior decision-makers in the ruling family, who are either passive by nature, or are incapacitated because of their illnesses – from King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, to Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, all the way to Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul-Aziz and the Second Deputy Prime Minister Muqrin bin Abdul-Aziz.
Bandar is essentially the only member of the House of Saud to have a proactive diplomatic approach, with access to the major decision-making capitals of the world, from Washington to Moscow.
Bandar recently visited Moscow to negotiate in his capacity as the “Prince of the Mujahideen” in Syria, including those who hail from Chechnya, Dagestan, and the Caucasus in Russia’s backyard. From Dagestan alone, more than a hundred fighters are enlisted in the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, which is active in northern Syria.
Many of these Russian fighters and their Syrian comrades are (theoretically) under the command of a single man: Bandar bin Sultan. For one thing, the top Saudi security man is their main financier, arms source, and their virtual political spokesperson, whether directly or through his deputy, the head of the Syrian National Coalition Ahmad al-Jarba.
But Bandar himself represents a problem for Saudi. Unlike the calm diplomacy pursued by Riyadh – even if only superficially – Bandar usually has very unrealistic expectations.
His most recent experience of a military nature took place in Lebanon, after 2006, when Bandar convinced the Saudi king to bankroll a militia for Saad Hariri. Some observers familiar with that experience say that Bandar spent more than $200 million to build this paramilitary force, only for the whole plan to meet a catastrophic defeat in less than 20 hours of fighting, in May 2008.
In Syria, Bandar bin Sultan did not deviate from his usual approach. He has set very high expectations, and today, according to some who met him over the past few weeks, he sees no issue more important than Syria. For instance, Bandar rarely mentions Yemen, Iraq, or Lebanon, except from the standpoint of defeating Iran and Hezbollah in the Levant.
Bandar is optimistic about Syria, and has told those who met with him recently that he has been given up to eight months to arm and consolidate the rebel ranks to tip the balance of power on the Syrian battlefield. Bandar did not say that he wants to dramatically reverse this balance of power, but only to alter it to deny the Syrian regime the upper hand in any upcoming political negotiations.
Bandar has purported that the coming two months will see the efforts to train and arm the opposition start to bear fruit. But the Saudi intelligence chief also spoke to his visitors about the difficulties he is facing, including the fragmentation of the fighters and the inability to train more than 300 rebels each month. Concerning arms, Bandar complained about how the weapons he sends often ends up in the hands of al-Qaeda fighters and their ilk. Nevertheless, these concerns did not prevent Bandar from wagering on his fighters’ achievements over the next few months. For instance, the Saudi prince wants to see breakthroughs by the rebels in northern Syria, starting in Aleppo, and in the south, where he will try to convince the Jordanian regime to allow fighters and weapons to flow into Daraa and the Golan.
Bandar believes that such breakthroughs would prompt Moscow to accept a political solution in which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would have no role to play. However, it seems that Bandar’s plans, as per what has been attributed to him, ignore the fact that the other side is not sitting idly by.
In Damascus, Beirut’s southern suburbs, Tehran, and Moscow, there are those working relentlessly to thwart Bandar’s plans. No efforts are being spared to this end, including weapons, funding, planning, training, and even personnel.
The Syrian regime’s plans “after the liberation of the central region” will receive the full support of all its backers. The latter, who have been apprised of Bandar’s plans, react by saying, “What Damascus’ enemies have done in the past two years at all levels, would have been enough to topple Assad. They did not lack money, weapons, fighters, or plans. Their problem did not lie in this aspect, but in the fact that we resisted and knew how to prevent them from achieving what they wanted.”
The pro-regime camp asserts that the next phase of the Syrian conflict will be just like the previous rounds, stressing that altering the balance of power would be very difficult – if not impossible – and that Bandar bin Sultan will be driven out of Syria just as he was driven out of Beirut in 2008.
Retribution for Qusayr and Homs
The Syrian opposition is fighting four primary offensives: Aleppo’s northern countryside, where the opposition has more or less taken control of the Meng military airbase; al-Raqqa, where the opposition has laid siege to a base of the army’s 17th brigade; Latakia’s northern countryside, where the opposition has launched attacks on a number of villages and military posts; and in the eastern countryside of the city of Salmiyah, east of Hama.
According to high-ranking officials in Damascus, the opposition is able to achieve progress in Meng against the 17th brigade. But in Latakia and Salmiyah, all the opposition is going to achieve, they say, will be massacres against civilians, after which the Syrian army will inflict heavy losses on the militants.
The same Syrian officials say that the real goal of all four offensives is to achieve a “public relations victory, to suggest that the opposition has avenged the defeats it suffered in the Damascus countryside, Qusayr, and Homs, and attempt to exploit this in the political negotiations being prepared between Moscow and Washington.”
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.
Comments
Submitted by Vic Watson (not verified) on Wed, 2013-08-28 10:04.
Go Bandar go, you are the man for the job
Submitted by Vic Watson (not verified) on Wed, 2013-08-28 07:13.
It is easy to make comments about someone that you do not know well
but I had the great pleasure of working for Bandar for over 10 years in
Washington DC and he is a great statesman and a real gentleman. He is
the best man to be involved in Syria at this time and we in the west
should support him in every possible.
Submitted by anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 2013-09-12 16:47.
You seem to ignore the quest of power of Bandar. Is he really a great statesman when he
finances and arms a punch of barbaric fighters for destroying Syria and killing thousends of
innocents? You should distinguish between the man in the saloon and the man in the desert.
There is a big difference! He is a dangerous and barbaric game player!
finances and arms a punch of barbaric fighters for destroying Syria and killing thousends of
innocents? You should distinguish between the man in the saloon and the man in the desert.
There is a big difference! He is a dangerous and barbaric game player!
Submitted by OAB (not verified) on Thu, 2013-08-08 09:05.
Suppose the opposition (jarba et al) agree to negotiations and
suppose they come to an agreement with the Syria government, how will
Bandar deliver Alnusras agreement? These people don't care about Bandars
politics and they certainly don't take orders from him, only money and
weapons. As a matter of fact, he and his family are probably on their
to-do list.
Submitted by carlos flores (not verified) on Wed, 2013-08-07 06:54.
Keep aiming stoopid, you mist that little child!
21 nations after resolution against US spying at United Nations
Sun Oct 27, 2013 10:7AM GMT
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http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/10/27/331519/nations-after-resolution-against-us-spying/
The
National Security Agency’s global spying activities have prompted 21
countries to seek a resolution against the United States at the United
Nations.
The resolution would be the first major international effort aimed at restraining the spy agency’s surveillance programs against other nations, The Foreign Policy magazine reported.
Brazil and Germany are circulating a draft copy of the resolution to diplomats representing 19 other countries.
UN member states are “deeply concerned at human rights violations and abuses that may result from the conduct of extra-territorial surveillance or interception of communications in foreign jurisdictions,” according to the draft.
“Emphasizing that illegal surveillance of private communications and the indiscriminate interception of personal data of citizens constitutes a highly intrusive act that violates the rights to freedom of expression and privacy and threatens the foundations of a democratic society.”
The global outrage over US government surveillance further spiked after The Guardian -- citing a confidential memo obtained from American whistleblower Edward Snowden - revealed that the NSA is illegally eavesdropping on phone conversations of 35 world leaders.
Close American allies like France, Germany and Mexico, as well as rivals like Cuba and Venezuela, are all targets of massive US surveillance, according to the document.
German newspaper Der Spiegel said German chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone had been listed by the agency’s Special Collection Service (SCS) since 2002 and her number was still on a surveillance list in June 2013.
The German foreign ministry said the UN resolution would be about the protection of privacy in electronic communication.
"It is very general, but we think this is a very important topic, that's why we are drafting it. It is still at a very early stage, so we don't know when it will be presented or if other countries will join," a German foreign ministry spokesman said.
On Friday, European leaders expressed "deep concerns" about the NSA’s widespread spying on world leaders.
"A lack of trust could prejudice the necessary cooperation in the field," the leaders warned in a statement.
On Thursday, White House spokesman Jay Carney acknowledged that Washington’s alliances around the world have taken a hit from the revelations about the NSA programs.
"The revelations have clearly caused tension in our relationships with some countries, and we are dealing with that through diplomatic channels,” Carney said.
"These are very important relations both economically and for our security, and we will work to maintain the closest possible ties," he added.
On Friday, the State Department announced that the US initiated a review of its surveillance programs in order to "balance security needs with privacy concerns."
However, individuals in the intelligence and defense community are concerned that the NSA’s spying activities have proven too damaging.
"This is an example of the very worst aspects of the Snowden disclosures," a former defense official with deep experience in NATO told The Foreign Policy. "It will be very difficult for the US to dig out of this, although we will over time. The short term costs in credibility and trust are enormous."
The UN resolution is expected to be presented in front of the United Nations General Assembly human rights committee before the end of the year.
AGB/HJ
