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WESTERN PUSH TO OUST SYRIAN REGIME ESCALATES
By Oliver Campbell
January 31, 2013 "Information Clearing House" - Statements by
top Iranian officials last weekend are another indication of the
destabilising impact of the escalating efforts by the US and its
allies to oust the Syrian regime of President Bashar al Assad. Ali
Akbar Velayati, a top aide to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told the media
that "an attack on Syria would be considered an attack on Iran and
Iran's allies."
The warning, the sharpest by Tehran since the civil war in Syria began,
came as batteries of patriot missiles deployed by the US and NATO on
the Syria-Turkey border, manned by hundreds of NATO troops, began to
go operational. On Saturday, a pair of missile batteries provided by
the Dutch government became active at Adana in Southern Turkey.
According to media reports, a German security official confirmed
on Tuesday that the two German missile batteries, stationed near
the city of Kahramanmaras, 100 kilometres from the Syrian border,
also became functional as of Monday. The US government has deployed
two missile batteries to the border region.
The US, NATO and the Turkish government claim that the missile
batteries are purely defensive-aimed at protecting civilians in
southern Turkey from Syrian missiles. In reality, the deployment of
the missiles is a preparation for the imposition of a no-fly zone and
a campaign of aerial bombardment to support anti-Assad militias-along
the lines of the Libyan regime-change operation.
On Tuesday, the US government committed $155 million in "non-lethal"
and "humanitarian aid" to be channelled into pro-Western forces in
Syria. A CNN report noted that previous "non-lethal" aid to anti-Assad
fighters had included advanced technology, such as phones, computers
and cameras.
On Sunday, Israel stepped up the pressure on the Assad regime. The
Israeli military deployed two missile systems, part of an "Iron
Dome" battery, near the northern Israeli city of Haifa, close to the
Israeli-Syrian border. While some Israeli security officials claimed
the deployment was a routine rotation of military infrastructure,
it coincided with a significant ratchetting up of the threats against
Syria.
Following meetings among Israeli security officials, Israel's vice
prime minister Silvan Shalom suggested that Israel could launch an
attack on Syria, using the pretext of preventing Syrian chemical
weapons coming into the hands of Hezbollah, or Al Qaeda-linked
organisations. Speaking on an army radio station, Shalom declared
that such a possibility "would be crossing a line that would demand
a different approach, including even action." He did not rule out a
pre-emptive attack.
Chemical weapons have been repeatedly raised as a possible pretext
for war since last December, when unspecified American intelligence
reports first claimed that Assad's regime could unleash chemical
weapons against the opposition. Allegations that the Syrian government
is preparing to use chemical weapons, or transfer them to other
organisations, have never been backed up by evidence. In December,
it was revealed that the Israeli government had twice asked Jordan for
support and assistance in carrying out Israeli strikes against Syria.
On Monday, the French government pressed for a stronger support for
the Syrian National Coalition (SNC)-the puppet regime-in-waiting
being established by the US and its allies. While content to allow
Al Qaeda-linked militias inside Syria to weaken the Assad regime
militarily, there are growing concerns in Paris and other imperialist
centres that such groups could marginalise the overtly pro-Western
SNC and its associated fighters.
Late last year, the US and other major powers reshaped the Syrian
National Council into the SNC in a bid to bring opposition groups more
firmly under their control. Inside Syria, however, Islamist extremists
such as al Nusra have remained in the forefront of the fighting.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius called on the Friends of Syria
group meeting in Paris to provide greater finance to the SNC, warning:
"Facing the collapse of a state and society, it is Islamist groups
that risk gaining ground if we do not act as we should... Chaos is
not tomorrow, it is today and we need to end it."
At a meeting in Marrakech last month, the Friends of Syria group,
which involves more than 50 nations, pledged $100 million to support
the SNC. But SNC vice president George Sabra complained that the
money had not arrived and was insufficient. He said that at least
$500 million was needed to set up a viable government-in-exile,
and repeated an appeal for arms.
The SNC has been recognised by over 100 countries, but is yet to form
a provisional government. France, which is playing an increasingly
prominent role in the predatory scramble for Africa and the Middle
East, was the first country to recognise the organisation as the
"legitimate representative" of the Syrian people. The SNC is dominated
by Islamists with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Around two-thirds
of the 30-member unified military command elected at an SNC conference
in December reportedly also had links to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Another push for greater Western intervention and arms emerged at the
World Economic Forum held at Davos last week. Prince Turki Al-Faisal,
former chief of Saudi intelligence, called on the major powers
to provide the Syrian opposition with sophisticated anti-aircraft
weaponry, noting that this would strengthen their ability to "select
the good guys, and ... build their credibility."
These comments underline the danger that the Syrian civil war conflict
will expand into a broader regional conflict. With the backing of
the US and its European allies, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States
are deliberately fanning sectarian animosities, along Sunni-Shiite
lines, not only in Syria but throughout the Middle East, directed in
particular against the Shiite regime in Iran.
The warning by top Iranian officials last weekend against Western
intervention to oust its Syrian ally demonstrates just how quickly
a broader conflagration could erupt.
This article was originally posted at World Socialist Web Site.
By Oliver Campbell
January 31, 2013 "Information Clearing House" - Statements by
top Iranian officials last weekend are another indication of the
destabilising impact of the escalating efforts by the US and its
allies to oust the Syrian regime of President Bashar al Assad. Ali
Akbar Velayati, a top aide to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told the media
that "an attack on Syria would be considered an attack on Iran and
Iran's allies."
The warning, the sharpest by Tehran since the civil war in Syria began,
came as batteries of patriot missiles deployed by the US and NATO on
the Syria-Turkey border, manned by hundreds of NATO troops, began to
go operational. On Saturday, a pair of missile batteries provided by
the Dutch government became active at Adana in Southern Turkey.
According to media reports, a German security official confirmed
on Tuesday that the two German missile batteries, stationed near
the city of Kahramanmaras, 100 kilometres from the Syrian border,
also became functional as of Monday. The US government has deployed
two missile batteries to the border region.
The US, NATO and the Turkish government claim that the missile
batteries are purely defensive-aimed at protecting civilians in
southern Turkey from Syrian missiles. In reality, the deployment of
the missiles is a preparation for the imposition of a no-fly zone and
a campaign of aerial bombardment to support anti-Assad militias-along
the lines of the Libyan regime-change operation.
On Tuesday, the US government committed $155 million in "non-lethal"
and "humanitarian aid" to be channelled into pro-Western forces in
Syria. A CNN report noted that previous "non-lethal" aid to anti-Assad
fighters had included advanced technology, such as phones, computers
and cameras.
On Sunday, Israel stepped up the pressure on the Assad regime. The
Israeli military deployed two missile systems, part of an "Iron
Dome" battery, near the northern Israeli city of Haifa, close to the
Israeli-Syrian border. While some Israeli security officials claimed
the deployment was a routine rotation of military infrastructure,
it coincided with a significant ratchetting up of the threats against
Syria.
Following meetings among Israeli security officials, Israel's vice
prime minister Silvan Shalom suggested that Israel could launch an
attack on Syria, using the pretext of preventing Syrian chemical
weapons coming into the hands of Hezbollah, or Al Qaeda-linked
organisations. Speaking on an army radio station, Shalom declared
that such a possibility "would be crossing a line that would demand
a different approach, including even action." He did not rule out a
pre-emptive attack.
Chemical weapons have been repeatedly raised as a possible pretext
for war since last December, when unspecified American intelligence
reports first claimed that Assad's regime could unleash chemical
weapons against the opposition. Allegations that the Syrian government
is preparing to use chemical weapons, or transfer them to other
organisations, have never been backed up by evidence. In December,
it was revealed that the Israeli government had twice asked Jordan for
support and assistance in carrying out Israeli strikes against Syria.
On Monday, the French government pressed for a stronger support for
the Syrian National Coalition (SNC)-the puppet regime-in-waiting
being established by the US and its allies. While content to allow
Al Qaeda-linked militias inside Syria to weaken the Assad regime
militarily, there are growing concerns in Paris and other imperialist
centres that such groups could marginalise the overtly pro-Western
SNC and its associated fighters.
Late last year, the US and other major powers reshaped the Syrian
National Council into the SNC in a bid to bring opposition groups more
firmly under their control. Inside Syria, however, Islamist extremists
such as al Nusra have remained in the forefront of the fighting.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius called on the Friends of Syria
group meeting in Paris to provide greater finance to the SNC, warning:
"Facing the collapse of a state and society, it is Islamist groups
that risk gaining ground if we do not act as we should... Chaos is
not tomorrow, it is today and we need to end it."
At a meeting in Marrakech last month, the Friends of Syria group,
which involves more than 50 nations, pledged $100 million to support
the SNC. But SNC vice president George Sabra complained that the
money had not arrived and was insufficient. He said that at least
$500 million was needed to set up a viable government-in-exile,
and repeated an appeal for arms.
The SNC has been recognised by over 100 countries, but is yet to form
a provisional government. France, which is playing an increasingly
prominent role in the predatory scramble for Africa and the Middle
East, was the first country to recognise the organisation as the
"legitimate representative" of the Syrian people. The SNC is dominated
by Islamists with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Around two-thirds
of the 30-member unified military command elected at an SNC conference
in December reportedly also had links to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Another push for greater Western intervention and arms emerged at the
World Economic Forum held at Davos last week. Prince Turki Al-Faisal,
former chief of Saudi intelligence, called on the major powers
to provide the Syrian opposition with sophisticated anti-aircraft
weaponry, noting that this would strengthen their ability to "select
the good guys, and ... build their credibility."
These comments underline the danger that the Syrian civil war conflict
will expand into a broader regional conflict. With the backing of
the US and its European allies, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States
are deliberately fanning sectarian animosities, along Sunni-Shiite
lines, not only in Syria but throughout the Middle East, directed in
particular against the Shiite regime in Iran.
The warning by top Iranian officials last weekend against Western
intervention to oust its Syrian ally demonstrates just how quickly
a broader conflagration could erupt.
This article was originally posted at World Socialist Web Site.