Russian delegation visits Syria
President al-Assad: We Appreciate Russia's Objective Stance towards Events in Syria
http://www.sana.sy/eng/337/2011/11/21/383038.htm
Nov 21, 2011
Russian Delegation Starts a Solidarity Visit to Syria to Convey Reality to Russian People (Russian MPs, journalists and academics)
http://www.sana.sy/eng/337/2011/11/21/382725.htm
Nov 21, 2011
Russian Delegation Visits Injured Army and Law-Enforcement Personnel
http://www.sana.sy/eng/337/2011/11/21/383026.htm
Nov 21, 2011
لافروف: النداءات الغربية للمعارضة السورية برفض الحوار استفزاز سياسي على النطاق الدولي والمجموعات المسلحة تغلغلت في المعارضة السورية
Lavrov: Western Calls to Opposition to Reject Dialogue Constitute Political Provocation
http://www.sana.sy/ara/3/2011/11/21/382989.htm
http://www.sana.sy/eng/337/2011/11/21/383005.htm
Nov 21, 2011
MOSCOW, (SANA) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said some western countries urge the Syrian opposition not to join dialogue with the Syrian leadership, which constitutes a political provocation at the international level.
Lavrov said in a press conference held on Monday that it is essential to stop violence, but this call should address the armed groups infiltrating in the Syrian opposition.
While the Arab League calls for stopping violence and beginning dialogue, western capitals and some countries in the region launch counter-calls asking opposition directly not to go for dialogue with the Syrian leadership, the Russian Minister pointed out, describing that as a "political provocation at the international level."
Khanouf: Syria is a Key Country in Middle East, AL Decision Influenced by Foreign Powers
http://www.sana.sy/eng/22/2011/11/21/383190.htm
Nov 21, 2011
DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Russian magazine Odnako, Bakhtiar Ahmad Khanouf, stressed on Monday that Syria was and still remains a key country in the Middle East, pointing out that the current events in Syria will affect other countries of the region.
In an interview with the Syrian TV, Khanouf said, "We have seen with our own eyes how the armed terrorist groups attacked peaceful civilians, soldiers and law-enforcement forces," adding that relaying the reality of events in Syria serves the best interests of Russia.
Khanouf said that the Arab League decision against Syria did not defend the Arab interest; rather the AL decision was influenced by foreign powers to serve their interests.
كازاخستان تدعو الى وقف العنف وتحرير المجتمع واجراء اصلاحات في سوريا
Kazakhstan calls for halt to violence and the liberalization of society and the reforms in Syria (OIC)
http://www.aksalser.com/index.php?page=view_news&id=27f5060ebe32b0af1907776628740716&ar=242526284
Monday - November 21 - 2011 - 11:45:10
He Yerzhan Kazykhanov, Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan said that his country supports the cessation of violence in Syria and the start of the dialogue and the liberalization of society and the reforms.
The Kazykhanov, in the context of his response to a question about his country's position as chair Cooperation Organization of the Islamic about the current events in the Middle East and North Africa, "We are involved in the talks and consultations on these issues, and take into account the political, economic and humanitarian alike."
He Kazykhanov during a news conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov said: "I plan in the near future chaired the meeting in the framework of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to discuss this matter (the situation in Syria)," adding that Kazakhstan supports the cessation of violence in Syria, "and the dialogue and the liberalization of society and to reform."
The official noted that the Kazakh cooperation of the Islamic Organization has allocated $ 500 million in aid to the countries of the Horn of Africa that suffer from famine.
For his part, Lavrov expressed hope that the member states of the Organization of Islamic cooperation "approach well thought out and responsible and wise to the ongoing events in those areas," a lecturer of the minds that events in Libya, "is not over yet .. there is a search difficult for a common denominator between the groups has a different system to shoot down Gaddafi. "
He said he expected to be considered the legal consequences of the arrest of former Libyan leader, and the extent of compliance with the laws that determine the actions of both sides in armed conflict. "
Lavrov stressed that "we support the work of the Kazakhstan president of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation."
وفد أكاديمي وإعلامي بلغاري: بإمكان السوريين حل مشاكلهم بأنفسهم
Bulgarian Delegation Visits Syria, Stresses Rejection of Foreign Interference
http://www.sana.sy/ara/2/2011/11/21/383111.htm
http://www.sana.sy/eng/337/2011/11/21/383116.htm
Nov 21, 2011
DAMASCUS, (SANA) – A Bulgarian delegation, comprised of academic and media figures visited Syria to witness the reality of its events.
Members of the delegation stressed their rejection of attempts at foreign interference in the Syrian internal affairs, adding that the Syrians are able to solve their problems by themselves.
Journalist Mitio Dimitrov told SANA that after his tour in Damascus Sunday night, he became convinced that there are misleading media reports about the situation in the city.
He stressed that he will convey the real image to the Bulgarian public opinion, adding that what he had seen confirms that the Syrians support their leadership and the reform program.
For his part, Journalist Hristo Petrov said that the Syrian people can solve their problems without foreign interference, stressing that "Syria is a strong country with a strong economy and doesn't need any external help."
He added that there are external sides interfering in Syria's events, criticizing the Arab countries for their stances in this regard.
Member of the National Sports Academy in Sofia Krasimir Petkov said that any independent and sovereign country might be targeted and exposed to foreign interference attempts in its internal affairs, stressing that what he had seen contradicts the reports depicted abroad.
China Calls on International Community to Play Constructive Role in Calming the Situation in Syria
http://www.sana.sy/eng/22/2011/11/21/383091.htm
Nov 21, 2011
BEIJING, (SANA) – The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday reiterated calls for the international community to play a constructive role in creating conditions that calm the situation in Syria and restore stability and order in it through launching a balanced political process.
During a press conference, China's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Weimin said that China considers the situation in Syria a very important issue, and that it calls on all involved parties to cease violence immediately and launch a balanced political process with wide scale participation.
Three Media Delegations from Egypt, Sweden and Spain Inspect Damage Wrought to Governmental Buildings in Hama
http://www.sana.sy/eng/337/2011/11/21/383177.htm
Nov 21, 2011
HAMA, (SANA)_The members of three media delegations from Egypt, Sweden and Spain inspected on Monday the vandalism acts and looting which targeted governmental buildings in Hama at the hands of armed terrorist groups.
The members of the delegation toured the Officers' Club, al-Hader Police Station and the Justice Palace in the city.
The delegations' members met Attorney General of Hama Ismail Sharifa who indicated that Hama is still suffering from security flashpoints, especially in the countryside where the armed terrorist groups are kidnapping civilians for ransom and targeting the law-enforcement members.
Sharifa said the army managed to bring back stability to the city after the armed terrorist groups set ablaze the Officers' Club and the Justice Palace and stole thousands of files and deposits estimated at SYP 1 billion.
For his part, the Attorney General asked the delegation to meet citizens and inquire about the reality of situation on the ground so as to find out the lies broadcast by misleading channels, adding that 2000 detainees who were not involved in killing innocent citizens were released.
Dr. Muhammad Ahmad al-Sayyed, from the Egyptian delegation, said "we sensed the Syrian people's resentment over the AL decisions which let them down,'' adding that Egypt's national security is tied to Syria's. He indicated that Syria will always remain impervious to conspiracies.
The delegation members visited Dr. Anas al-Naem, Governor of Hama, who gave them CDs on the events which took place in the city, as well as illustrative brochures.
صحيفة سعودية: منظمة التعاون الاسلامي تدرس تعليق مشاركة دمشق باجتماعاتها
Saudi newspaper: OIC is considering suspending Damascus post at their meetings
http://www.aksalser.com/index.php?page=view_news&id=c5449508c81635688d9030b6c175cf43&ar=42732113
Monday - November 21 - 2011 - 9:33:37
Saudi newspaper reported on Monday that foreign ministers of Islamic countries will study during the emergency meeting in Jeddah next Saturday, suspend the participation of Syria in the meetings of the organization, like the resolution adopted by the Arab League finally on the suspension of its participation in the meetings.
And newspaper "Okaz" carried the Saudi diplomatic sources, that the unnamed "foreign ministers of Muslim countries will direct an urgent appeal to President Bashar al-Assad to end the military show of arms in the streets and support the decisions of the Arab League."
الملف السوري يتصدر مباحثات ولي العهد السعودي مع وزير الخارجية الفرنسي
Syrian files is addressed in the meeting Saudi Crown Prince wit French Foreign Minister
http://www.aksalser.com/index.php?page=view_news&id=fa2bca25e4df9fe6ba4c4dd6dd82d1e9&ar=164891204
Monday - November 21 - 2011 - 9:24:50
Search Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince of Saudi Interior Minister during his meeting with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe in Riyadh, discussed developments at the regional and international arenas, according to sources with regard to Syria and Yemen issued the bilateral talks.
According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) that it had been during the meeting "to discuss topics of common interest between the two countries, and the latest developments on the regional and international arenas."
For its part, informed sources said Saudi Arabia's visit to Riyadh Juppe comes as part of a regional tour to support the initiative on the Gulf of Yemen and intensify pressure on both Syria and Iran, as well as discuss the latest developments of the Palestinian situation and the peace process.
The French minister had indicated in a press statement to the importance of the situation in Surah for France and Saudi Arabia, saying that the Syrian regime's practice of violence against his people.
The Juppe Paris to support the Arab League initiative, and Dharroh not waste time in the event of Damascus rejected the Arab initiative, through a discussion of the issue in the UN Security Council.
Juppe is scheduled to visit part of his tour in the region from both Kuwait and Qatar before returning to France.
CIA forced to curb spying in Lebanon (Hizballah)
http://www.lebanese-forces.org/local/CIA-forced-to-curb-spying-in-Lebanon1005591.shtml
By Ken Dilanian, Los Angeles Times
Nov 21, 2011 - 6:55:32 AM
The CIA was forced to curtail its spying in Lebanon, where U.S. operatives and their agents collect crucial intelligence on Syria, terrorist groups and other targets, after the arrests of several CIA informants in Beirut this year, according to U.S. officials and other sources.
"Beirut station is out of business," a source said, using the CIA term for its post there. The same source, who declined to be identified while speaking about a classified matter, alleged that up to a dozen CIA informants have been compromised, but U.S. officials disputed that figure.
U.S. officials acknowledged that some CIA operations were suspended in Beirut last summer. It's unclear whether full operations have resumed. Beirut is considered a key watching post for turmoil in the Middle East.
Senior CIA officials have briefed congressional staffers about the breach, and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, visited Beirut recently to interview CIA officers. Committee staff members want to determine whether CIA operatives used sloppy practices that revealed sensitive sources and methods.
Much in the case remains unclear, including the extent of the damage and whether negligence by CIA managers led to the loss of the Lebanese agents.
According to the source, CIA case officers met a series of Lebanese informants at a local Pizza Hut, allowing Hezbollah and Lebanese authorities to identify who was helping the CIA. U.S. officials strongly disputed that agents were compromised at a Pizza Hut.
U.S. officials also denied the source's allegation that the former CIA station chief dismissed an email warning that some of his Lebanese agents could be identified because they used cellphones to call only their CIA handlers and no one else.
Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group that the U.S. considers a terrorist organization, and Lebanon's internal security service have used software to analyze cellphone calling and location records to help them identify a network of alleged Israeli spies since 2007, according to several people familiar with the case. Dozens of people were arrested.
In 2010, U.S. counterintelligence officials determined that the CIA's Lebanese agents could be traced the same way, the source said. But the station chief allegedly ignored the warning. "He said, 'The Lebanese are our friends. They wouldn't do that to us,' " the source said.
The Times is withholding the former station's chief's name because he remains undercover. He now has a supervisory role at CIA headquarters in operations targeting Hezbollah. The CIA declined to make him available for comment.
"Espionage has always been a complex business," said a U.S. official, who declined to be identified in discussing the Lebanon case. "Collecting sensitive information on adversaries - who are aggressively trying to uncover spies in their midst - will always be fraught with risk."
Hezbollah is "an extremely complicated enemy," the official added. "It's a determined terrorist group, a power political player, a mighty military and an accomplished intelligence organization - formidable and ruthless. No one underestimates its capabilities."
In June, Hezbollah's leader, Shaikh Hassan Nasrallah, announced the arrest of three of its members. He said two were "affiliated with the CIA, and one more might be affiliated with either the CIA, European intelligence or Mossad," Israel's foreign intelligence service.
Nasrallah did not disclose their names, explaining that he wanted to protect their families, "whom I know personally." He said that CIA officers, working under diplomatic cover at the U.S. Embassy, had recruited them in early 2011.
The U.S. Embassy dismissed the charge. "These are the same kind of empty allegations that we have heard repeatedly from Hezbollah," it said in a statement.
Lebanon's security service was able to isolate the CIA informants by analyzing cellphone company records that showed the numbers called, duration of each call and location of the phone at the time of the call, the source said.
Using billing and cell tower records for hundreds of thousands of phone numbers, software can isolate cellphones used near an embassy, or used only once, or only on quick calls. The process quickly narrows down a small group of phones that a security service can monitor.
In 2005, an Italian prosecutor used cellphone calling and location records to help identify 26 Americans who he said took part in a 2003 abduction of a Muslim cleric on a street in Milan. A judge later convicted 23 Americans, including the CIA's former Milan base chief, in absentia for their role in the "extraordinary rendition" case.
Washington has given Lebanon's government more than $1 billion in various forms of aid since 2006 and has proposed an additional $236 million in aid this fiscal year.
The Obama administration has struggled with the relationship since 2008, when Hezbollah fighters seized control of parts of Beirut. That resulted in an Arab-brokered peace deal that gave Hezbollah a major role in Lebanon's government.
The group's political arm now has 16 of the 30 seats in the Cabinet of Lebanon's prime minister, Najib Mikati. Hezbollah is also active in Lebanon's security and intelligence services.
(Background information for the past few years)
For Syria's Detractors, the Real Issue is Iran
People attend a rally to show support for Syria's President Bashar al-Assad,in Damascus 20 November 2011.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/1690/
By: Ibrahim al-Amin
Published Sunday, November 20, 2011
It is not the ongoing confrontation between the regime and pro-reform protesters in Syria that preoccupies the Arab states supporting the overthrow of the Syrian regime. Diplomats from these countries make no mention of the internal situation when discussing their calculations. Instead, they speak candidly of the regional scene and the need for sweeping changes to be made in order to create new options.
In the words of one senior Gulf diplomat, an entire decade and billions of dollars have been spent trying to pull President Bashar Assad away from his alliance with Iran. He adds that efforts were also made to persuade Assad to change his country's foreign policy in two key areas – Iraq and Lebanon – while keeping Syria's relations with Iran intact. But to no avail.
Palestine did not figure in these discussions, according to the diplomat. The Arab states felt it was not essential to compel Damascus to toe their line on this issue. They were also wary of forcing Palestinian resistance groups close to Syria to look elsewhere. They were – and still are – hoping the US would agree to an early declaration of a Palestinian state and, eventually, act to help bring one into being. This, to their thinking, would undermine the advocates of armed resistance, and in turn deprive Iran and Syria of a powerful card. If agreement could meanwhile be reached with Assad over Iraq and Lebanon, life would be made harder for Iran and its allies, particularly Hezbollah in Lebanon.
According to the Gulf diplomat, the Syrians did attempt to make some policy changes.
As a result of a series of communications about Iraq – involving Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and other countries – an understanding was reached to support Ayyad Allawi becoming prime minister. Assad initially went along with this, and Syria helped encourage various Iraqi parties to participate in the last general elections. But he then proceeded to renege on the understandings reached with Ankara and the Gulf states and joined Iran in supporting Nouri al-Maliki instead.
This was accompanied by intensive lobbying aimed at bringing all the Iraqi political groups allied to Tehran and Damascus together in a united front. It was clear that the main rationale for forming this coalition was to oppose prolonging the presence of US forces in Iraq, which Allawi had endorsed. To achieve this, the Gulf diplomat said, the Iranians had to work hard to resolve the many disputes preventing Iraqi factions – especially the Sadrist current and the Supreme Islamic Council – from agreeing to join the same government as Maliki.
With regard to Lebanon, the Gulf diplomat said, Turkey and Qatar made a major effort to persuade Saudi Arabia to put on hold the issue of the UN Special Tribunal (STL) dealing with the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri. This entailed a deal under which then-premier Saad Hariri would make concessions over the STL in exchange for remaining in office. The terms were clearly spelled out in the final paper that was agreed upon. But Assad, the Gulf diplomat charged, deferred to Iran and Hezbollah and opted to oust Hariri.
The Qataris and Turks tried to patch things up. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyep Erdogan and the Emir of Qatar Hamad bin Khalifa even paid a surprise visit to Damascus – they were already airborne when Assad learned they were coming. According to the diplomat, the pair departed from the Syrian capital under the impression that Assad would persuade Hezbollah to accept the deal. But their respective foreign ministers, Ahmet Davutoglu and Hamad bin Jasem, were then told to their surprise that Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah had given it the thumbs-down, and that the then-opposition would press ahead with its moves to depose Hariri, who was duly toppled.
The Gulf diplomat had little to say about the nature of contacts with Syria in the immediate aftermath of these events. But he indicated that things took a new turn after protests broke out in towns across Syria and it became clear that the regime was unable to contain the situation. It was decided to devise, and forcefully pursue, a plan aimed at forcing Assad to make concessions on two fronts. First, to share power with an expanded array of political forces – the Turks and Qataris made clear in their correspondence and discussions that this meant the Muslim Brotherhood. Secondly, to put Syria's foreign policy in abeyance, pending its reformulation to reflect the new political order.
Syria's response was to halt all further contacts. Assad saw these stipulations as American dictates. He told a number of Arab and other visitors that these same demands had previously been conveyed to him directly by the US, and also via Europeans.
The senior Gulf diplomat left many questions unanswered. But it is safe to say that the US-European-Gulf axis will continue piling the political, security and economic pressure on the regime in Syria, and that it is likely to go further.
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