Middle East Dilemma: Washington calls on France and Britain to arm Rebels; Iran to send troops to Assad

The Middle East is edging closer to a more precarious situation with the recent turn of events. The announcement by Washington to arm Syrian rebels and the recent meeting of Sunnis in Cairo have all added fuel to the Syrian crisis. The Sunnis vow to end the regime of Bashar al Assad.

The prompt result of this was the severing of diplomatic and political ties by the Egyptian President, Mohammed Morsi, with President Assad. President Morsi said there is 'no space or place for Hezbollah is Syria'. He made it resoundingly clear that Hezbollah must leave Syria. Morsi went further to demand a no-fly zone be imposed over Syria.

All this events happening barely 24 hours before the Iranian election (that of Washington) and within 24 hours after the election (that of President Morsi). Within 24 hours after Morsi's declaration, reports came out from Iran that the Islamic Republic will be sending 4,000 soldiers to Syria to help Assad.

Russia too is to go ahead in supplying his S-300 missile batteries to Assad. The US also calls on France and Britain to supply weapons to Syrian rebels thus creating a cold-war-like conflict in Syria. Syria definitely represents one of the last bastions of Cold War alongside North Korea and Cuba.

Hezbollah's involvement and its seemingly rising power after the Qusayr victory seems to have 'alarmed' Israel and its powerful lobby group in Washington. Hassan Nasrallah has vowed that Hezbollah will not leave Syria because it cannot afford it falling into the hands of Israel, the US and al Qaeda.

Washington upon the imposition of a Shi'ite regime in Iraq saw it bolstered Iran, hence, roughly calculates to counter-balance the trend by supporting rebels (Sunni and al Qaeda-linked rebels in Syria) while overlooking the brutality in Bahrain for fear of losing it to another Shi'ite group. Saudi, Bahrain and 'Syria' together will be a great buffer zone to cage Iran for the benefits of oil and Israel.

In now looks as if the main targets of the US and Israel are now becoming full participants; Iran and Hezbollah. This will definitely be a bad, catastrophic and colossal precedent for the Middle East as Washington and Israel have 'effectively' used the Sunni-Shi'ite divide well to their advantage. Arabs are the epitome of their own failure, instability and regional chaos with so-called Sunni-Shi'ite divide.

Their wall has cracked beyond repair to the advantage of Israel and Washington. Palestine is on its own once Iran is taken off the radar. Other Arab nations will only make much noise and Washington cum Tel Aviv can easily pocket them. Iran has been a kind of 'rational' player Israel finds hard to 'effectively' get off the table and the Syrian war looks pretty good for the job to be done. In all these calculations, it is the people that will get to suffer.

Nightmare over Hezbollah's rising power is the basis of US involvement in Syria

Indications are pointing to the US decisions to arm rebels in Syria as a resultant effect of Hezbollah’s involvement in the conflict, with Washington and Jerusalem seeing it as a chance to counter anti-Israeli actions, author and historian Gerald Horne has told RT.

US President Barack Obama has given the green light to military support for the Syrian opposition after his administration concluded that Assad’s regime had used chemical weapons against rebels numerous times over the last year. Allegations which are still unsubstantiated.

However, Horne, from the University of Houston, does not believe that the US will be able to produce evidence of the use of chemical agent sarin by regime troops, saying that he doubts such evidence exists.

Gerald Horne said they are under enormous pressure. Former US President Bill Clinton has released a statement criticizing the Obama administration for not intervening more deeply into the Syrian morass. Obama’s former election rival, Senator John McCain of Arizona, just took to the floor of the US Senate saying that arming the rebels is not enough.

Presumably, he has called for airstrikes to create a so-called no-fly zone. It seems this is a very dangerous and ominous moment, Horne said. Particularly since the Sunni clerics have just met in Cairo, Egypt and called for a Holy War against the Assad regime and Damascus. Instead of trying to calm things down, it seems that the Obama administration is about to throw fuel on the fire according to Horne.

The UN has suggested that everyone is on board for this Geneva conference, except the Syrians. The opposition, the rebels have made clear that they have no interest in negotiating with Assad. As they see it, they will win this conflict on the battlefield, and the Europeans; particularly the British and French will be sending them more weapons sooner rather than later. And, as they see it, they can win.

It is in contradiction with Washington's allegations, bearing in mind also that, just a few weeks ago, Turkish authorities found that some rebels residing in Turkey had sarin weapons. It is difficult to say whether these weapons were used, and if so, who used them?  For example, what was the chain of custody that allowed the Obama administration to conclude that it was Damascus and not the rebels?

How did those samples get from the battlefield to Washington? How do we know that a renegade soldier in the Syrian military used these weapons precisely to invite an intervention to Washington? There are so many questions. Horne revealed he is looking forward to seeing the evidence, though he doubts the administration will be able to provide any.

Horne said one reason the Obama administration is edging towards more direct intervention in Syria is that Assad’s forces are triumphing on the battlefield, not least because of the assistance they are receiving from Hezbollah forces in neighbouring Lebanon. This assistance has outraged the Israelis and the Israeli lobby in Washington. As they see it, they would like to see Hezbollah degraded on the battlefield of Syria and, therefore, the new call from Washington for military intervention in Syria in the views of Horne.

The American people are totally against this intervention in Syria. They see no advantage in arming Al-Qaeda forces, who are the tip of the spear of the rebels. It thus seems that US politicians do not have the best of this argument. Arming Syrian rebels is also a de facto message to Iran, coming officially the day she was having her presidential election. Fight Hezbollah through Syrian rebels and wait for Iran's reactions.

Hassan Nasrallah has vowed that Hezbollah will not leave Syria to prevent the regime from falling into the hands of Washington, Tel Aviv and most importantly al Qaeda, which will definitely target Lebanon after such a victory.

One Dead, Several Others Injured in anti-Hezbollah Protest in Lebanon

As activists gathered to protest the involvement of the Islamist group in Syria, violence broke out. At least one person has been killed and several others injured in gunfire during an anti-Hezbollah protest outside the Iranian Embassy in Beirut. .

Men in black shirts began to scuffle with protesters as they arrived in front of the Embassy in preparation for the demonstration, reports Lebanese publication the Daily Star. They also fired gunshots into the air to disperse the activists.

Lebanese state news reported that the army quickly restored calm and cordoned off the area following the outbreak of violence.

Hezbollah helped Syrian government forces to expel armed rebels from the strategic region of Qusayr on Saturday, a move that was criticised by Washington.

"Hezbollah and Iran should immediately withdraw their fighters from Syria," State Department spokesperson Jay Carney said, accusing the two of aiding the Syrian government in its battle for Qusayr. The US regards Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

The head of Hezbollah, Hasan Nasrallah, has justified the group’s involvement in the Syrian conflict, maintaining they are defending Lebanese-inhabited border villages inside Syria and Shiite holy sites.

Hezbollah has vowed never to allow Syria fall into the hands of Israel and the United States. It says it is ready to defend Syria and avoid the planting of a stooge of the two countries in Damascus.

Another Hezbollah-linked arms and ammunition found in Nigeria

Security operatives in Kano have discovered another Hezbollah-linked cache of arms and ammunition in the same location as they were unearthed last week.

Military spokesman Captain Ikedichi Iweha said the new cache involves a bunker beneath the master bedroom.  Three Lebanese nationals have been arrested.

The new discovery was made yesterday at the 3 Gaya Road, Bompai address where, last week, a large quantity of arms and ammunition was found in a warehouse, and four foreigners were arrested.

“After painstaking search of the whole premises, the search team uncovered an underground bunker in the master bed room where a large quantity of assorted weapons of different types and caliber and ammunition which were properly wrapped was recovered.

Report has it that the owner of the warehouse, a Lebanese national is under interrogation over the discovery.  The property was later found out to belong to one Abdul Hassan Taher Fadlalla, a Lebanese national, but that he is currently out of the country.

“On further search of the property, a cooler was recovered buried under the wardrobe which had in it, 80 indicators, 5 PPK pistols, 334 rds of 7.62mm special, 9 magazines, 4 pistol silencers, 18 36 hand grenades caps, 4 explosive fuses and 2 explosive devices.”

He recalled that on 28 May 2013, a combined team of the DSS and 3 Brigade Nigerian Army conducted a thorough search of a house at No 3 Gaya Road off Bompai Road Kano after a tip-off by the Israelis as revealed by the Israeli ambassador to Nigeria.

Lebanese consul denied a Lebanese owned the building housing the previously discovered weapons. He claimed it belonged to a Sierra Leonean.

Syrian Government announced it has taken over Qusayr; rebels confirmed withdrawal

For weeks, the battle for who controls the strategic town of Qusayr ranges on. Hezbollah was pounding the rebels from the Lebanese side while government forces with superior firepower were attacking from within Syria.

Syrian rebels said they withdrew from the Syrian town of Qusayr near the Lebanese border overnight Wednesday after an onslaught by the Syrian army and Hezbollah fighters.

“In face of this huge arsenal and lack supplies and the blatant intervention of Hezbollah… tens of fighters stayed behind and ensured the withdrawal of their comrades along with the civilians,” a statement sent to Reuters said.


The Syrian government later announced it has captured the key border town of Qusayr after battling for weeks to control the region on state TV. Qusayr is located near the Lebanese border, about 18 miles (29km) southwest of Homs.

It is seen as a key city for both sides, as it links the Syrian capital of Damascus with government strongholds on the Mediterranean coast and is a passageway for rebel supplies and fighters from Lebanon. The Syrian conflict has continued for more than two years, with the UN estimating that over 80,000 have died from the violence so far.

Israeli Airstrike aims at Weakening Syria's Military Research: A call for Hezbollah

Though Israel has not yet claimed responsibility for an airstrike targeting a military site near Damascus, experts believe that Tel Aviv aimed to further destabilize Syria and undermine its military capabilities.

Initial reports suggested that Israel conducted an airstrike on a convoy carrying sophisticated weapons that was preparing to cross the Syria-Lebanon border. Israeli officials said the vehicles may have contained chemical weapons and Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles intended for Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“This episode boils down to a warning by Israel to Syria and Hezbollah not to engage in the transfer of sensitive weapons,” a regional security source told Reuters.

But the latest reports from Syria suggest that the airstrike hit the Jamraya research center in the suburbs of Damascus, far from the Lebanese border. An anonymous diplomatic source told Reuters that chemical weapons may be stored at the center, and that the vehicles in Hezbollah convoy were unlikely to be carrying such arms.

Israeli officials have not commented on the airstrike, but the assault may have revealed Tel Aviv’s plans, experts believe. After months of sustained rebel assaults on Syrian air defense systems and bases, the Israeli airstrike follows a pattern of other recent attempts to undermine Syria’s military capabilities.

Israeli officials have frequently expressed fears that Syrian President Bashar Assad will lose control of the country’s chemical weapons stockpiles. But Dr. Ali Mohamad, editor-in-chief of the Syria Tribune news website, believes the fears of chemical weapons was a pretext to destroy Syria's military research centers and ensure that Damascus is unable to produce arms for its military or regional allies.

Syrians know that “this is not at all about chemical weapons,” Dr. Mohamad told RT. “It’s about stopping the Syrian scientists’ military research projects.”

“It finally makes sense because the rebels or as they like to call themselves the revolutionaries, they have been attacking air defense bases near Damascus for the past seven months,” Dr. Mohamad said. “They’ve managed to attack the S-200 base and over four other surface-to-air missile bases.

Now this followed by an airstrike from Israel. So it all adds up, it makes sense. It only shows that Israel has a great interest in the instability in Syria and that it is being helped by groups of armed rebels in Syria.”

“Military research centers are responsible for developing weapons, in particular land-to-land long range missiles,” and Israel wants to stop this research process, Dr. Mohamed explained. “Of course Israel will claim that this is connected to a chemical weapons arsenal, but this is of course not true because nobody stores chemical weapons in a research center.”

“Let’s remember that the Syrian official who was responsible for all military research projects has been assassinated in Damascus by the rebels,” he said. “Let’s also remember that the person who orchestrated the Syrian long-range missile project colonel Dawoud Rajiha was also assassinated in Damascus.

This is about stopping the Syrian scientific military research projects and is about breaking the link that will help [Israel] overcome the Lebanese resistance and the Palestinian resistance.”

Syria will likely retaliate, but not in the form of a direct attack on Israel. Instead, Damascus will seek to arm Hezbollah, the Lebanese resistance, Dr. Mohamed said.

Hezbollah also stated that the attack targeted a Syrian research center and was an attempt to cripple Syrian military capabilities. It declared its full solidarity for Syria’s “leadership, army and people” in a statement.

Russia condemns Israel's attack on Syria

The Russian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement expressing deep concern over Israel’s airstrike on Syria saying that it violates the UN Charter.

The Ministry website says; if this information is confirmed that would mean that we have to deal with unprovoked attacks on the territory of a sovereign state which is inadmissible, whatever objectives are declared as a justification.

Russia has again called upon the international community to stop the violence in Syria, prevent foreign intervention in the conflict, and assist the start of a nationwide dialogue based on the Geneva agreements.

Syrian military command had reported that Israeli aircraft bombed a research facility near the country’s capital Damascus on Wednesday killing two people and wounding five. The statement called the attack a “blatant act of aggression” and blasted Israel for supporting Syrian terrorists.

So far, the Israel has refused to comment, but unnamed sources in the US have told news agencies that the Israeli Air Force did strike a truck convoy on the Syria-Lebanon border that supposedly carried anti-aircraft weapons. Lebanese media has reported a number of air raids conducted by Israel war planes over its territory but said nothing about any strikes.

If confirmed, the air strike will be Israel’s first attack on a Syrian target since 2007 when the Israeli Air Force destroyed what they thought to be an almost complete nuclear reactor in the East of the country, near the border with Iraq. Syria denied the site was a nuclear facility.

Wednesday’s alleged attack would also be Israel’s first direct intervention into the almost-two-year Syrian crisis caused by the standoff between President Bashar Assad and an armed opposition supported by radical Islamists.

Russia has repeatedly called upon the international community to help stop the violence by forcing the opposing sides to negotiation table. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says it was the opposition that rejected talks in Syria adding that the crisis would end when the opposition abandons its obsession with ousting Assad, and if this does not happen the fighting will continue and more people will die.

At the same time, Lavrov pointed out that the Russian point of view was that preserving or deposing President Assad’s regime was not a priority. What really mattered, he said, is an immediate stop to the bloodshed and the stabilization of the situation in Syria.

Syria seems to be the last bastion of the Cold War struggle in terms of open support by Russia both in the media and at the UN and fragrant opposition by the US and other Western powers. The second unresolved Cold War dilemma is the Koreas.