Monday, June 06, 2011

The Arab Spring & Bahrain, Syria, Yemen & The Brutality Sanctioned By The USA

US ' contradictory self-serving policies in the Middle East and Africa- friends can do no wrong enemies can do nothing right period end of story.

When Iran uses deadly force against demonstrators we are told this is scandalous and America and the West won't stand for it.

But when the Israelis or Saudis or Bahrain regimes use deadly force on demonstrators we are told by the American government that they have a right to do so.

US allies are defended for their brutality against their own citizens while regimes which are not allied to the USA are condemned and invaded for taking similar actions against protesters, dissidents, government critics etc.

This is not surprising given that the Obama regime sends out its assassination teams and death squads to murder their so called enemies real or imagined in other nations ignoring the sovereignty of these nations and violating International Law.
Obama claims he no longer allows torture yet the so called "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques " being used are considered under International Law to be torture or tantamount to torture.



PBS Newshour: Uncertainty Reigns in Bahrain Amid Mix of Normalcy, State of Siege



Note the more well off Sunnis in Bahrain including those who work for the government-run propaganda Media welcome the crackdown while denying there was ever any discriimination against the Shiite majority or that there is any poverty in the country. ( Sounds a lot like the average delusional American in their attitudes towards American history and what America has become.)

If the Sunni Muslims and their government do not discriminate against Shiites then why in the middle of these protest has the government decided to destroy Shiite Mosques and isolate Shiite villages from the outside world.
Why are the Saudi soldiers invading villages and dragging people out of their homes at 3 and 4 AM.
Why are their videos of soldiers and police going through Shiite neighborhoods or villages smashing up cars and destroying Shiite businesses

And where is Saudi Arabia's and Bahrain's and the US, proof of Iranian monetary and military support for the protests in Bahrain.
And why is it considered okay for the people of Libya to arm themselves to fight the government forces but this is forbidden for the people of Bahrain or Saudi Arabia and so on.

The peoples that is the average citizens of the Gulf region , Middle East and Nothern Africa must realize that the USA is not on their side but is on the side of the elites, the rich and powerful in the region, or tyrants and dictators who are US friendly who can guarntee security and stability.
Security for America and the West trumps human rights everytime.




Uprisings, Questions Linger in Syria, Yemen, Bahrain
PBS NEWSHOUR June 3, 2011.

Bahrain has used brutal force to crackdown on protesters and critics of the government.
Robin Wright and interviewer gloss over US support for the crackdown in Bahrain. US government still pushing the "conspiracy theory " that Iran is behind protests in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
And once again they gloss over the dictatorship of the Royal family in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia while criticizing Syria for taking similar actions against the pro-reform uprisings.



Why is the US mainstream media including PBS, CNN etc. fearful or reluctant to condemn the brutal tactics used in Bahrain by the Bahrain & Saudi forces.

Of course in these situations the Media falls back on its notion of fairness and objectivity but ignores such a policy when it comes to Libya or in ignoring human rights violations in countries that are friendly to the USA.
Media objectivity is really in many instances a copout especially when it comes to obvious attacks on civilians and denying them their basic rights .
The example used is that of the Nazis in WWII in which we would be critical of journalists who even after being presented with evidence & eye witness reports refused to report the intended extermination of the Jewish people and others Gypsies/Roma. Gays, Communists, Catholics and so on.

In fact there were those Journalists and people in authority who were aprised of that situation at the time such as the Vatican or US government , the Canadian government who stood by and did nothing -Canadians, the Catholic Church, the US government were unwilling to take action against the extermination of the Jewish people because for the most part anti-semitism was still rampant in these nations and many others.

For instance for an example in more recent times the USA and Nato and UN etc. stoodby while genocide continued in Rawanda in which some 800,000 people were butchered while the world turned a blind eye. Why because Rwanda was a poor country and had little in the way of resources to be exploited especially by Western Nations so there was in their view no reason or motivation for a military interference to stop the killing.
That incident revealed the lack of concern for justice for human rights of the citizens of a poor powerless nation.
In Sarajevo/ Bosnia the Serbian Fanatical Nationalists were given the green light by the Western nations so the Serbian orthodox Christians could mass murder and terrorize the Serbian Muslims, Gypsies, Jews etc.

Historic protest in Ras al-Amud, Jerusalem
From: TheRealNews | May 29, 2011
For the first time in decades, Palestinians invite Jewish Israeli solidarity activists to Ras al-Amud, a neighborhood of Jerusalem referred to as "the daily intifadah".



Will Obama speak out about Yemen now that the violence has escalted by anti-government forces and government forces.
But unlike Qaddafi Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen is considered a US ally in the "War on Terror"
Saleh allowed or encouraged the US to bomb so called insurgents or terrorists in Yemen while Yemen publicly covering up for the Americans claimed that it was the Yemen military which was responsible for these military actions and not the USA.
Because Qaddafi is not 100% pro-America and pro-Israel Qaddafi is characterized as therefore being anti-Israel and Anti-American.

When the anti-government forces in Libya took up arms against Qaddafi Obama got Nato to take an active role on the side of the anti-government armed rebels.
The USA has been running an Anti-Gaddafi campaing for several decades not because of human rights or civil rights violations against his own people but because he has leaned to the left and is not a big supporter of USA interference in the Middle East or Africa.

The very idea that the US is out to protect the citizens of Libya is just a cover for removing Qaddafi from power in order to put in a USA/Israeli friendly regime.

If the USA and president Obama were concerned about human rights and civil rights in these various countries they would be on the side of the citizens in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in their protest against these regimes.
The Obama administration would also be much more critical of Israel's criminal treatment of the Palestinians, the people of Gaza or of East Jerusalem and those in the "occupied Territories"
In fact the US once again backed down and expects the Palestinians to accept the illegal post-1967 war borders in which Israel made a large land grab and continues to hold this land even though it has been condemned by the United Nations and the majority of the world's countries.

The Americans once again argue that anyone calling for Israel to withdraw from these lands or to stop its blockade of Gaza and incresing Jewish settlements is they believe by definition anti-semitic.

Instead the USA gave the regimes of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain the green light to crush any reform movent and protesters. Part of America's rationale is that the Shiite anti-government protesters in both regimes are merely the tools or pawns of the Evil Iranian government.
There is little or no evidence of such a connection.

We must remember that the Obama administration was supporting Hosni Mubarak of Egypt right up to his final days before he was ousted .
He had been a staunch ally of the USA and Israel so the Americans are more concerned with having a friendly pro-Israel regime in Egypt or any other nation in the region than with defending the rights of the average citizens of Egypt.
Even though military and police brutality including torture rape, murder etc. was the norm in Egyptian prisons the US turned a blind eye or in private encouraged such brutality as the Americans have done regarding Israel, Syria , Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Uzbekistan etc. while hypocritically condemning Iran for such activities real or imagined.

" Protesters celebrate departure of Yemen's leader President Ali Abdullah Saleh underwent surgery in Saudi Arabia after being wounded in an attack on his compound "BY AHMED AL-HAJ, ASSOCIATED PRESS via Salon.com, June 5, 2011
Protesters danced, sang and slaughtered cows in the central square of Yemen's capital Sunday to celebrate the departure of the country's authoritarian leader for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia after he was wounded in a rocket attack on his compound.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh was undergoing surgery to his chest at a military hospital in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, said a Yemeni diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity under diplomatic rules. One of Saleh's allies said the president, in his late 60s, was hit by jagged pieces of wood that splintered from the mosque pulpit when his compound was hit by a rocket on Friday

There was no official announcement on who was acting as head of state. But under Yemen's constitution, the vice president takes over for up to 60 days when the head of state is absent. Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi met Sunday with U.S. Ambassador Gerald Michael Feierstein, a strong indication that he is in charge.

Deputy Information Minister Abdu al-Janadi said Saleh would return to assume his duties after his treatment. But in the streets of the capital, joyful crowds were celebrating what they hoped would be his permanent exit after nearly 33 years in power.

...But for one day at least, the capital was celebrating. Protesters thronged Sanaa's Change Square, the epicenter of the nationwide protest movement since mid-February calling for Saleh to step down immediately. Some uniformed soldiers joined those dancing and singing patriotic songs and were hoisted on the shoulders of the crowd. Many in the jubilant crowd waved Yemeni flags, joyfully whistling and flashing the "V" for victory signs.

...But there were also fears that the president would attempt a comeback or that his son Ahmed, who heads the Republican Guard, would take power or even try to leave the country in ruins if he feels he has no way out.

...Yemen's conflict began as a peaceful protest movement that the government at times used brutal force to try to suppress. It transformed in recent weeks into armed conflict after the president's forces attacked the home of a key tribal leader and one-time ally who emerged as a dangerous rival after throwing his support behind the uprising. The fighting turned the streets of the capital, Sanaa, into a war zone.

Other forces rose against Saleh at the same time. There were high-level defections within his military, and Islamist fighters took over at least one town in the south in the past two weeks...

" Six killed as violence returns to streets of Sanaa With the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a deep power vacuum has arisen in Yemen "
BY AHMED AL-HAJ, ASSOCIATED PRESS, Via Salon.com, June 6, 2011

Violence threatened Yemen's capital with a return to chaos Monday -- at least three opposition and three government forces killed -- after a day of jubilation had gripped Sanaa with the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who underwent surgery in Saudi Arabia for wounds he suffered in a rocket attack on his compound.

The situation in Yemen threatened to unravel further with Saleh's absence. A deep power vacuum has arisen after three months of largely peaceful protests seeking his ouster turned violent in the last two weeks. Powerful opposition tribal figures took up arms in a bid to end the president's nearly 33 years in power.

Saleh flew to Saudi Arabia for surgery shortly after its King Abdullah brokered a cease-fire late Saturday. The truce held for just hours.

In the latest violence, the office of powerful opposition tribal leader Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar said three of his supporters were shot dead in the tense Hassaba neighborhood in the north of the capital. The district is headquarters for al-Ahmar's tribal operation.

Three other shooting deaths occurred late Sunday. A defecting military official said government gunmen opened fire on their checkpoint.

The six killings belied an offer by the acting president -- Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi -- to withdraw government forces from the area. It has seen some heaviest fighting in Yemen's four months upheaval.

Government officials said Hadi was meeting again Monday with security officials in an attempt to arranged a cease-fire that would hold.

Checkpoints were spread all along the road leading to the Hassaba neighborhood, which has been virtually a closed military area since May 23 as intense fighting broke out in the district.

Residents trying to return to their homes were fired on by rooftop snipers and forced to flee yet again, said a military officer from a defecting unit that was guarding access to the tribal chief's house.

"Street battles in Yemeni capital leave 41 dead Tribal coalition exchanges gunfire with embattled regime " BY AHMED AL-HAJ, ASSOCIATED PRESS, via Salon.com, June 1, 2011

and : "Ceasefire between tribesmen and Yemeni government agreed " via Monsters and Critics.com, Jun 5, 2011

and from Syria:


" Syrian troops block Palestinians at Israeli border
Police prevent protesters from crossing into Israeli-controlled Golan Heights one day after 20 were reported killed" by Daniella Cheslow, AP, Via Salon.com,June 6, 2011



Syrian police blocked dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters from approaching the Israeli frontier on Monday, a day after 20 demonstrators were reported killed trying to break through into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.

Syrian police set up a pair of checkpoints near the border area, including one just half a mile (one kilometer) away. Nearly 20 protesters, some waving Syrian flags, began walking down a hill leading to the frontier from Syria, when two police officers blocked them from advancing by extending their arms.

It was not clear why Syrian security forces were intervening Monday to prevent a new outbreak of violence. A day earlier, protesters had passed by Syrian and U.N. outposts on their way to the frontier.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak suggested that the Syrian regime might have instigated Sunday's border unrest -- and a similar incident three weeks ago -- to deflect attention from its violent crackdown on opposition forces at home.

and :
Israeli government and the IDF fear hundreds of unarmed protesters could cross the border into Israel and bring down the Israeli government so they murder some 23 protesters to send a warning to all others who might try to cross the border unarmed in the daylight.

Meanwhile the Obama regime praises any and all actions taken by the Israelis including killing peaceful protesters old men and women and children as young as seven .
The USA for whatever reason defends the use of torture by the IDF on those incarcerated again including torturing 9 year olds. The thing is that Israel according to the US government and the US media can do no wrong so journalists do not report about the brutality of the Israeli regime against all Palestinians, government critics , dissidents and human rights groups , medical personnel who give aid to Arabs, Palestinians etc. and Israel as is well known like the American armed forces both target journalists. As we see Americans in general only pay lip service to a free press or freedom of speech or protest especially if such people criticize Israel or the USA or Saudi Arabia, Bahrain or other American allies.


"Syria says 23 dead as Israel opens fire on Golan" Published by Radio Netherlands Worldwide June 5, 2011

Israeli troops opened fire on Sunday as protesters from Syria stormed a ceasefire line in the occupied Golan Heights, with Damascus saying 23 demonstrators were killed.

Hundreds of protesters rushed the ceasefire line, cutting through barbed wire as they tried to enter the Golan Heights in a repeat of demonstrations last month that saw thousands mass along Israel's north.

Similar protests were held in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip.

In Majdal Shams, on the occupied Golan, Israeli troops opened fire as demonstrators sought to push through the mined ceasefire line, which had been reinforced with several rows of barbed wire blocking access to a fence.

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