organization:army

Torture and impunity continue in Egypt

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/72066.aspx

SCAF and Morsi took no steps to eradicate torture, according to a report by Amnesty International

Très important : A Coup by Tabbaneh Field Commanders : “We Have the Final Say”
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/coup-tabbaneh-field-commanders-we-have-final-say

The field commanders of Bab al-Tabbaneh’s gunmen have carried out a ‘coup’ against political leaders in the northern city of Tripoli, particularly MP Mohammed Kabbara. For all intents and purposes, the gunmen, who were being exploited politically and even financially, are now the ones controlling the streets.

Political leaders in Tripoli have long taken advantage of the internecine street conflicts in the city, using the violence and political allegiances of the militants to advance their standings, both locally and regionally. So the field commander rebellion against politicians comes as a striking development in this latest spate of violence.

The ‘coup’ against MP Kabbara and his political camp began on the night of Wednesday, May 22. As clashes spread, there was a lack of political stances to set the tone for the violence.

Le député Kabbara est membre du Futur (Saad Hariri), et Amid Amid Hammoud est le chef de la « branche armée » du Futur.

At this point, Hammoud sensed that the insinuation was aimed at him and responded, “I have distributed the arms, but I cannot cover all of Tabbaneh’s weapon needs.”

Évidemment, tu n’entendras pas plus parler de cette « révolte » des gangs armés sunnites contre leurs patrons du Courant du Futur (et donc le rôle direct du Futur dans la violence à Tripoli) que tu n’as entendu parler du précédent billet signalant le début de cette révole (il y a deux mois) :
►http://seenthis.net/messages/121196

Je parie que plus c’est important, et moins tu auras de chance d’en entendre parler…

Israel Kidnaps 12 Children of the Orphanage School In Occupied Jerusalem
http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2013/05/22/israel-kidnaps-12-children-of-the-orphanage-school-in-o

Wednesday, May 22 2013, The Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) has reported that Israeli soldiers kidnapped twelve children, students of the Orphanage School in occupied East Jerusalem.

Admire le gloubi-boulga confessionaliste de France 24-avec-Reuters :
http://www.france24.com/en/20130522-syria%E2%80%99-national-coalition-calls-rebels-defend-qusair-0

Assad’s forces are intent on seizing Qusair in order to cement their hold on a belt of territory that connects the capital Damascus to Assad’s stronghold on the Mediterranean coast, home to his minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam that has largely supported him.

Seizing Qusair would also allow Assad to sever links between rebel-held areas in the north and south of Syria.

With Shi’ite Hezbollah leading the fight in Qusair, its involvement could drag Syria’s civil war - which already pits mainly Sunni Muslim rebels, including radical Islamists and foreign fighters, against an Alawite-led army - into a more regional sectarian conflict.

Rebel leaders have warned of sectarian revenge attacks against Shi’ites and Alawites on either side of the Syrian-Lebanese border if rebels lose Qusair. Fighters speak of a tacit agreement among their units to launch village by village attacks should they be defeated in the town of 30,000.

Sabra warned that Hezbollah forces in Qusair could regionalise Sunni-Shi’ite tensions across the Middle East.

C’est donc la faute au Hezbollah si les chefs rebelles menacent de représailles sectaires… La beauté de cette compilation d’arguments confessionnels ineptes, c’est qu’il n’est fait nulle part mention des chrétiens de Qusayr. Est-ce parce qu’ils ont disparu, chassés l’année dernière par les rebelles (ceux qui ne seraient pas confessionnels si ce n’était l’intervention du Hezbollah) : Christians Flee from Radical Rebels in Syria
►http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/christians-flee-from-radical-rebels-in-syria-a-846180.html

“There were always Christians in Qusayr — there were around 10,000 before the war,” says Leila, the matriarch of the Khouri clan. Currently, 11 members of the clan are sharing two rooms. They include the grandmother, grandfather, three daughters, one husband and five children. “Despite the fact that many of our husbands had jobs in the civil service, we still got along well with the rebels during the first months of the insurgency.” The rebels left the Christians alone. The Christians, meanwhile, were keen to preserve their neutrality in the escalating power struggle. But the situation began deteriorating last summer, Leila says, murmuring a bit more before going silent.

“We’re too frightened to talk,” her daughter Rim explained, before mustering the courage to continue. “Last summer Salafists came to Qusayr, foreigners. They stirred the local rebels against us,” she says. Soon, an outright campaign against the Christians in Qusayr took shape. “They sermonized on Fridays in the mosques that it was a sacred duty to drive us away,” she says. “We were constantly accused of working for the regime. And Christians had to pay bribes to the jihadists repeatedly in order to avoid getting killed.”

Ou ce rapport du Vatican qui accusait les rebelles d’avoir chassé les chrétiens de Qusair : Syria opposition denies Vatican report of Christians ordered out
►http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/06/syria-opposition-denies-vatican-report-of-christians-ordered-o

Opponents of the Syrian government disputed a Vatican report that Christians had fled the town of Qusair after an “ultimatum” from the rebel leader, denouncing it as government propaganda.

News of alleged Christian persecution in the town close to the Lebanese border had been reported Saturday by the official Vatican news agency, adding to ongoing worries that the uprising against President Bashar Assad could devolve into sectarian strife between Islamists and religious minorities.

The Vatican agency said it wasn’t clear why Christians had been ordered out of the town. “According to some, it serves to avoid more suffering to the faithful; other sources reveal ’a continuity focused on discrimination and repression.’ Still others argue that Christians have openly expressed their loyalty to the state and for this reason the opposition army drives them away,” the news agency reported.

Syrie. Le point sur la bataille de Qoussaïr (21 mai 2013)

Où est Qoussaïr ? Ville située près de Homs, à quelques kilomètres de la frontière avec le Liban. Elle occupe une position stratégique. Elle permet aisément de rentrer et sortir du Liban.

Début des combats ? L’assaut de l’armée syrienne contre la rébellion installée à Qoussaïr a débuté le dimanche 19 mai. Il n’est pas terminé (1). L’armée régulière avait pris position dans les alentours depuis plusieurs semaines. Elle contrôlait depuis une dizaine de jours la zone d’al-Tal, qui domine Qoussaïr.

Qui combat ? D’un côté, des groupes de la rébellion qui contrôlaient la ville depuis une année (notamment la Brigade Farouk relevant de l’Armée Libre Syrienne) ; En face, l’armée syrienne assistée de combattants se revendiquant du Hezbollah et les Forces de la Défense Nationale (milice paramilitaire créée par le régime). L’aviation est intervenue. Il y aurait une centaine de morts des deux côtés.

Issue ? Tout le monde s’accorde à dire que le régime va reprendre le contrôle de la ville dans les heures ou jours à venir.

Réactions arabes ? La Ligue arabe a convoqué une réunion pour jeudi 23 mai pour évoquer la conférence internationale dans le contexte de la situation sur le terrain, notamment à Qoussaïr.

Contexte politique et diplomatique ? L’assaut de Qoussaïr est intervenu au lendemain du jour où Assad a déclaré qu’il ne quitterait pas le pouvoir (2). Personne ne croit que la conférence internationale, destinée à mettre fin au conflit par un accord entre le régime et la rébellion, puisse réellement se tenir début juin. Le fossé se creuse entre chiites et alaouites, combattant pour le régime, et sunnites qui forment le gros de la rébellion. Le Président Assad a récemment fait valoir que son gouvernement n’utilisait les services « d’aucun combattant extérieur à la Syrie, ni d’autres nationalités, et n’avait besoin d’aucun autre Etat arabe ou étranger » (2) (3) La participation du Hezbollah aux combats rend caduc la politique de non-intervention du Liban. Pire, le Front al-Nousra avait menacé, il y a plusieurs semaines, de prendre Beyrouth pour cible si le Hezbollah ne cessait pas ses opérations en Syrie.

Conséquences ? La chute de Qoussaïr permettra à Damas de reprendre le contrôle de la zone frontalière du Liban. Elle affaiblira la rébellion à Homs et ailleurs en Syrie. Elle offrira au régime la possibilité de choisir ses prochaines cibles. Elle modifiera la lecture des événements en replaçant les loyalistes au centre du jeu. Elle est susceptible de provoquer en Syrie des représailles à l’encontre des alaouites et des chiites (4) et de réalimenter les troubles à Tripoli entre alaouites et sunnites
1. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/05/2013519124646578835.html
2. http://www.clarin.com/zona/Renunciar-pueblo-decide-quedo-EEUU_0_922107887.html
3. http://www.syriaonline.sy/?f=Details&catid=12&pageid=5835
4. http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/syria-conflict-lebanese-border-qusayr.html

Natan Blanc is currently serving his tenth term in an Israeli military prison for refusing to be drafted into the Israeli Army, for reasons of conscience.

Amnesty International, War Resisters International, Yesh Gvul, New Profile, Gush Shalom, and Connection e.V. have initiated a petition calling for his release. Presently the petition is in English and German. Please sign and circulate

English version:
http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/immediately-and-unconditionally-release-conscientious-objector-natan-blanc-f

German version:
http://www.change.org/de/Petitionen/kriegsdienstverweigerer-natan-blanc-muss-unverz%C3%BCglich-und-bedingungslos


If you are sending this to other people, here are some more details:

Background:

Natan Blanc, a 20-year old from Haifa, is currently serving his tenth term in an Israeli military prison for refusing to be drafted into the Israeli Army, for reasons of conscience. He was due to be inducted into the army on November 19, 2012, and was sentenced to 10 days in prison. Each time he was released from prison, he reported back to the induction center, and was sent back to prison. This has happened ten times, for a total of 178 days in prison. His current term, of 28 days, began on May 12, 2013.

You can read more about it in the Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/13/israel-jail-conscientious-objector-natan-blanc

or on the website: http://freenatanblanc.wordpress.com

Natan explained that he is refusing to serve because he feels that the current situation, in which millions of Palestinians under occupation are denied elementary democratic rights over many years, is immoral. He believes that the Israel Defence Forces play a major role in preserving this situation, and says that his conscience does not allow him to be part of it.

As far as we know, Natan is the first conscientious objector in the history of Israel who has been sentenced to ten consecutive terms in prison for the same offence.

Burma’s Thein Sein says military ‘will always have a special place’ in government - The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/burmas-thein-sein-says-military-will-always-have-a-special-place-in-government/2013/05/19/253c300e-c0d4-11e2-8bd8-2788030e6b44_print.html

Thein Sein dismissed as “pure fabrication” the allegation from human rights monitors that the Burmese army condones or even participates in ethnic pogroms against the nation’s Muslim minority. The army “is more disciplined than normal citizens, because they have to abide by military rules,” he said through an interpreter.

...

Hundreds of political prisoners have been released, but hundreds remain, and the feeble judicial system that allowed so many to be locked away is largely unchanged. The military, including many of the same generals who were responsible for systemic abuses, remains a shadowy and unpredictable influence.

The Obama administration has lifted most commercial sanctions on Burma, in part because of lobbying from U.S. businesses that were put at a disadvantage when the European Union did away with all restrictions on Burma except an arms embargo.

Syrie. (3 Articles et 1 communiqué du Ministère des Affaires étrangères français)

L’armée syrienne aurait repris pied dans la ville de Qoussaïr, ville proche de Homs où des combattants du Hezbollah se battent aux côtés du régime. Le contrôle de Qoussaïr est essentiel pour entrer au Liban ou en sortir. Si cette nouvelle était confirmée, ce serait un coup dur pour les opposants à Assad qui ont déjà perdu des positions le long de la frontière jordanienne et autour de Damas. La perte serait d’autant plus sévère que se profile la conférence internationale visant à mettre fin à la guerre. Les délégués d’Assad s’y présenteraient dans un rapport de forces plus équilibré en leur faveur (19 mai 2013). Le président se dit confiant dans le résultat des élections de 2014.

Article 1
Syrian army captures town of Qusair
Damascus: Syria | May 19, 2013
By arkar / Allvoices
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/14640053-syrian-army-captures-town-of-qusair

According to the latest reports, the Syrian army has taken control of the rebel held town of Qusair, a stronghold for the Syrian opposition located in the north of the country.

The storming of the city is said to have taken place earlier today according to Syrian state media, with the Syrian army apparently attacking the town from all sides, eventually capturing it, with many of the town’s main buildings such as the town hall in possession of the army. Qusair itself possess strategic importance as it means that whoever occupies it has access to the coast as well as to neighbouring Lebanon. (…) Syrian state media added that government troops were presently routing rebel soldiers and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview today that the “fight against terrorism” would continue and that in light of the recent announcement by Russia and the US to organize an international peace conference, that the international community should direct their attentions towards cutting the supply of money and weapons to the “terrorists” and that he himself would not step down as a captain does not abandon his ship (…)

Article 2
Syrian army storms rebel town of Qusair
BBC News Middle East
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22586378

Heavy fighting is reported in the besieged Syrian town of Qusair after state forces launched a major offensive to re-capture the rebel stronghold. State TV says troops have captured key buildings in the town centre, a claim strongly denied by activists. Rebels say 50 people have been killed while state media says 70 “terrorists” are dead. Lebanese militants are said to be involved - Hezbollah siding with the government, Sunni gunmen with rebels. The town - close to the border with Lebanon - has great strategic value. Its control would give the government access from the capital to the coast.

Article 3
Syria army ’storms’ rebel town Qusair
Syrian government forces have surrounded the rebel stronghold of Qusair and are storming it from several directions, says Syrian state TV.
19 May 2013 Pazar - 13:34
TIMETURK / News Center
http://www.timeturk.com/en/2013/05/19/syria-army-storms-rebel-town-qusair.html

(…) News of the assault on Qusair came as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad vowed to continue the “fight against terrorism”. In his first interview since the US and Russia announced plans for a peace conference, Mr Assad told an Argentine newspaper that the meeting should focus on stopping the flow of money and weapons to “terrorists”. He rejected suggestions he might stand down, saying a captain did not abandon his ship and presidential elections next year would determine his future (…)

Article 4
Syrie - Assaut contre la ville de Qoussaïr (19 mai 2013)
Déclaration du Ministère des Affaires étrangères (France)

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/dossiers-pays/syrie/la-france-et-la-syrie/evenements-4439/article/syrie-assaut-contre-la-ville-de

« La France est extrêmement préoccupée par la situation à Qoussaïr et s’inquiète des conséquences d’une action militaire massive du régime de Damas et de ses alliés. Elle appelle tous les acteurs en mesure d’éviter un nouveau massacre de la population civile syrienne à se mobiliser dans les meilleurs délais. Toute nouvelle violence entrave sérieusement l’espoir d’aboutir à une solution politique.

This is what winning look like, reportage de Ben Anderson.

part 1
http://www.vice.com/video#ooid=k0YjNsYjqByYfHA79NhX1OBTJ4NLKVAJ
part 2
http://www.vice.com/vice-news/this-is-what-winning-looks-like-part-2
part 3
http://www.vice.com/vice-news/this-is-what-winning-looks-like-part-3

Anderson’s conclusion is grim: “All it is now is about getting out and saving face. We’re not leaving because we achieved our goals. We’re leaving because we’ve given up on achieving those goals,” he says. “All the fighting has been to introduce a hated and feared government, who in some areas make the Taliban look like the good guys.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/13/this-is-what-winning-looks-like_n_3268079.html
#afghanistan #usa #armées #héroïne

The most dangerous myths about women and war

http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/columns/article/the-most-dangerous-myths-about-women-and-war_14956

Here are some of the most dangerous myths about women’s roles in conflict, and how to apply the lessons of international violence to local contexts in the Middle East.

Sécurité, Palestine, terrorisme : un leader bédouin s’exprime

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/71311/Egypt/Politics-/Bedouins-might-form-army-to-secure-Sinai-Tribal-le.aspx

In tones of despondency, head of the Sinai Tribes Union Sheikh Ibrahim El-Manei gave Ahram Online his own account of the Bedouins’ struggle at his estate in the Mahdiya region, near Egypt’s eastern border.

#bédouins #Egypte

IDF to stop using shells with white phosphorus in populated areas, state tells High Court
By Gili Cohen
Haaretz Daily Newspaper
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-to-stop-using-shells-with-white-phosphorus-in-populated-areas-state-tel

The Israel Defense Forces is to stop using artillery shells containing white phosphorus in built-up areas, the state told the High Court of Justice on Monday. The court is hearing a petition by cultural figures and human rights organizations against the army’s use of the munitions.

The IDF has decided “to avoid the use in built-up areas of artillery shells containing white phosphorus, with two narrow exceptions,” the state said in an announcement to the court.

The Enemy Within - NationalJournal.com
http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/the-military-s-rape-problem-20120913

http://cdn-media.nationaljournal.com/?controllerName=image&action=get&id=22046&width=314

Nearly 20,000 service members are raped or sexually assaulted each year by predators who often evade punishment....

Les victimes (d’hommes toujours) ne sont pas seulement les femmes,

Although uniformed women are sexually assaulted at a higher rate than men, the total number of male victims is actually higher because there are so many more men in uniform; of the 19,000 estimated assaults each year, more than 11,000 target men

Et ne pas accepter son sort témoigne d’un « trouble de la personnalité, »

When Norris had to renew her Air Force security clearance, she admitted on the paperwork that she had received mental-health counseling for PTSD. She refused to release her medical records to a clearance investigator, essentially ending her career. She was separated from the Air Force after 15 years in the service, five years before she could collect full retirement benefits. “Basically, I was fired for being raped,” Norris says, “while three of the four people who assaulted me retired with full military benefits.”

She was just the tip of the iceberg. Petty Officer 3rd Class Jenny McClendon’s ordeal began during an overnight shift on a Navy ship at sea, when a petty officer 2nd class began forcefully groping her. She asked not to serve night watches with him, but the request was denied. Eventually, she says, he raped her. McClendon reported the attack directly up her chain of command, but her senior chief accepted the man’s denials and refused to take the word of a lower-ranking woman. When the assaults continued, McClendon went all the way up to the ship’s captain, who ordered a criminal investigation. Nevertheless, the case lacked evidence because the ship carried no rape kits (despite a mixed-gender crew). The perpetrator finally admitted to “consensual sex” and got knocked down one rank.

McClendon says she was assaulted again by an investigator while based in Norfolk, Va. This time, when she reported the attack, her lieutenant called her a “whore” and sent her to a Navy therapist, who suggested that she was a bad fit for the Navy. “Essentially, I was diagnosed with a personality disorder for failing to adjust adequately to being raped,” McClendon says, even though “borderline psychotics ... could never make it through boot camp.”

Syria : Secularism Takes a Backseat in Latakia
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/syria-secularism-takes-backseat-latakia

But perhaps the most disturbing upshot of the “existential war” between the regime and its opponents in Latakia is the retreat toward religion. In a city that has long been known for the secular-leaning and open-minded attitudes of its residents, many have now sought refuge in their sectarian identities.

Clerics have staged a comeback, having had suffered a great decline in recent years. Of particular note is the clerical gathering known as the Islamic Alawi Council of Syria and Overseas. Though founded in 2007, most Syrians have never heard of this council.

[…]

However, this prompted some Alawi Syrians to wonder whether the council, too, represented anyone else but themselves. Such quarrels are now endemic to the Alawis, a community without a central religious leadership or hierarchy.

Erekat: PLO not notified of settlement freeze | Maan News Agency
►http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593212

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israel has not notified the PLO of any changes to its settlement activity, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Tuesday, as Israeli media reported a new moratorium on settler homes in the West Bank.

“We have not been notified of any changes to Israel’s colonial plans, including ongoing construction in dozens of Israeli settlements in the Occupied State of Palestine, including in and around our occupied capital East Jerusalem,” Erekat said in a statement.

Israel’s army radio reported Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered a freeze on publishing tenders for new West Bank settler homes to avoid hampering US efforts to renew peace talks.

“What we need are actions and not words," Erekat said in response to the report. “We monitor Israeli activities on the ground on a daily basis.”

Neither Netanyahu’s office nor the housing ministry would comment on the army radio report, which said the premier had gone back on a pre-election pledge to push ahead with thousands of new settler homes if re-elected.

The radio said the tenders were related to construction in the major settlement blocs which are home to most of the 360,000 Israelis living in the West Bank.

Netanyahu’s decision to freeze the tenders was linked to efforts led by US Secretary of State John Kerry to relaunch peace talks with the Palestinians, according to the report.

Hagit Ofran of the Israeli group Peace Now, which opposes settlements, confirmed that the watchdog had seen no evidence of any new tenders published since the start of 2013.

“There have been no new tenders published for settlement construction in the West Bank since the start of the year, and tenders are normally issued every three months,” she told AFP.

“This is not a settlement freeze because construction in the settlements is continuing, but you could say it is a show of restraint by Benjamin Netanyahu who does not want to be accused by the Americans of being responsible for the failure of their efforts to restart negotiations with the Palestinians.”

Errant Syrian mortar shells land in southern Golan Heights - Haaretz Daily Newspaper

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/errant-syrian-mortar-shells-land-in-southern-golan-heights-1.506738

At least three shells found in an open area just west of the Syria-Israel border; no damage or casualties reported; IDF files complaint with UN observer force on border over incident.

Three mortar shells fired from over the Syrian border landed in the southern Golan Heights Saturday afternoon, landing in an uninhabited area near Moshav Ramat Magshimim and causing no injuries or damage. On Friday, meanwhile, according to Syrian opposition figures, a 2,000-year-old synagogue was destroyed by shelling from forces loyal to President Bashar Assad.

The Israel Defense Forces has filed a complaint with the United Nations oberver force on the border. Sources within the IDF believe that the event is another incident of hostilities between the army of Syrian President Bashar Assad and rebels spilling over the border.

#syrie #israël #golan

« An Obstacle of Democratic Change. »
http://www.correspondents.org/node/2488

Professor Abul-Magd, how do you view the status of the military under the Second Republic?

To begin with, there is no second republic. We still live under the same authoritarian regime, supported by Mubarak, which is based on a one-party monopoly of power, a neo-liberal economy, repressive practices carried out by the police against opponents, and restrictions imposed on the media and civil society organizations.

Mubarak regime’s main loyalists still exist and operate along the same policy. Therefore, we cannot claim that there is a Second Republic, but we may say the Muslim Brotherhood has inherited Mubarak’s authoritarian regime.

The Second Republic will be born when the elements and mechanisms needed to change Egyptian society’s economic, political and social structure are made available. So, I can say the military enjoys the same position and plays the same roles it used to play under Mubarak, and has even grown more powerful and become a formidable obstacle of democratic change.

La haute cour propose une solution alternative à la construction de la barrière de sécurité pour protéger les paysages millénaires de #Battir au sud de Jérusalem.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/images/stories/news/2013/April_2013/Battir_farming.jpeg
Decision postponed for Separation Wall in Battir
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/features/up-close/6385-decision-postponed-for-separation-wall-in-battir.html
#frontière #Palestine #paysage, #patrimoine #Israël

Army says no to more tanks, but Congress insists - Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/army-says-no-more-tanks-congress-insists-115422396.html

WASHINGTON (AP) — Built to dominate the enemy in combat, the Army’s hulking Abrams tank is proving equally hard to beat in a budget battle.

Lawmakers from both parties have devoted nearly half a billion dollars in taxpayer money over the past two years to build improved versions of the 70-ton Abrams.

But senior Army officials have said repeatedly, “No thanks.”
It’s the inverse of the federal budget world these days, in which automatic spending cuts are leaving sought-after pet programs struggling or unpaid altogether. Republicans and Democrats for years have fought so bitterly that lawmaking in Washington ground to a near-halt.

Yet in the case of the Abrams tank, there’s a bipartisan push to spend an extra $436 million on a weapon the experts explicitly say is not needed.

“If we had our choice, we would use that money in a different way,” Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army’s chief of staff, told The Associated Press this past week.

#lobbying #corruption_légale

Long mais intéressant reportage en anglais de Fisk auprès de soldats de l’armée syrienne :
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/they-may-be-fighting-for-syria-not-assad-they-may-also-be-winning-rob

Muslim Arab Bedouins serve as Jewish state’s gatekeepers

“This is our country” (...)
“The state of Bedouin in Israel is better, as far as the respect we get, our progress, education,” (....)

Cooperation between the Jewish people and Bedouin tribes began before Israel became a state in 1948, when the northern tribes sided with the Jews, whom they believed would win the war against the Arabs.

In the south, some Bedouin took part in the fighting against the Jews in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war while others fought with them. Still others fled the Negev to the Hebron hills in the southern West Bank.

Israel kept the Negev Bedouin under military rule until 1966, with the Bedouin leader there accepting Israeli sovereignty in the mid-1950s and agreeing to enlist in its military.

Today, the army says the number of Bedouin in active service is 1,655 — a tiny fraction of the 176,500 troops who make up the entire corpus of the active military, according to Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies.

(...)

“Hezbollah are Arabs, we are Arabs,” he says. “An Arab understands an Arab’s thinking better than a Jew can. We can think like them, we have the same style, more or less.”

Although Mazarib is following in the footsteps of his father, his uncle and his brother who also served as military trackers, he doesn’t see the same future for his eldest son, who is currently in school. Mazarib envisions that his son - the only Bedouin in his class - will serve in one of the army’s top elite units before taking up a senior role in Israeli society.

To him, the Bedouin integration in Israel’s army and society could be evidence of the possibility of Jewish-Muslim coexistence, which “could serve as an example of how to solve the entire Jewish-Arab conflict,” he says.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/profiles/2013/04/24/Bedouin-army-trackers-scale-Israel-social-ladder-.html

Plusieurs articles suggèrent que la situation militaire en Syrie tourne en faveur du régime depuis une dizaine de jours. Ça ne veut pas dire que c’est vrai, mais c’est une information qui circule, et qui influe sur beaucoup de choses :
– les participations étrangères (Qatar, États-Unis, Europe…) sont certainement influencées par ces considérations (articles concernant la dernière réunion de la Ligue arabe et les critiques fuitées à l’encontre du Qatar ; soudain attentisme des Français ; récente campagne médiatique étatsunienne contre les rebelles « extrémistes »…) ;
– au Liban, la situation politique fluctue certainement en fonction de ce que chaque parti pense savoir du terrain syrien (après la démission de Mikati, le 14 pensait avoir la haute main ; désormais des articles suggèrent que Joumblatt est moins « radical » que prévu, et que le Hezbollah se sent plus en situation de force),
– possibles tensions au Liban, le recul sur le terrain ramenant potentiellement des combattants vers la frontière, et risque de provoquer encore plus l’exaspération et la radicalisation (actuellement, bombardements revendiqués de villages libanais par les rebelles, ce qui est nouveau),
– si l’armée libanaise accentue son contrôle autour d’Ersal, elle risque d’être encore plus la cible d’attaques et de manœuvres de délégitimation par les partis soutenant les rebelles syriens.

Exemple aujourd’hui dans le Akhbar : Assad says Qusayr main battleground : Lebanese official
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/assad-says-quseir-main-battleground-lebanese-official

Syria’s “main battle” at present is raging in the Qusayr area, touching Lebanon’s northeastern border, President Bashar al-Assad reportedly told Lebanese politicians this weekend.

Speaking to a delegation of Lebanese backers of his government, Assad said the army was determined to succeed in the area “at any cost,” according to Abdel Rahim Mrad, former Lebanese defense minister who spoke to AFP after the meeting in Damascus.

“The main battle is taking place in Qusayr,” he quoted Assad as saying.

“We want to finish it at any cost and we want to do the same in Idlib,” a province on the Turkish border in the northwest which is a major rebel stronghold.

Ainsi qu’un second article : Syrian Army Surrounds Strategic Town of Qusayr
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/syrian-army-surrounds-strategic-town-qusayr

In the course of two days, the Syrian army took over most of the territory surrounding the strategic town of Qusayr, cutting off the opposition’s supply lines from nearby Lebanon.

The Syrian army continued to make advances against opposition forces, this time in the strategic area of Rif Qusayr along both banks of the Assi River near the border with Lebanon.

Qusayr has played a key role in the conflict due to its proximity to the Lebanese border, where weapons, supplies, and fighters are smuggled through the rugged hills near the Lebanese town of Ersal.

Don’t serve in Israel’s military, refusenik urges compatriots | The Electronic Intifada
http://electronicintifada.net/content/dont-serve-israels-military-refusenik-urges-compatriots/12384

In total, Blanc has been summoned to a recruitment committee eight times. On each occasion, he has been sent to jail. He is scheduled for release in three weeks’ time.

Recently released for two days for good behavior, Blanc spoke to The Electronic Intifada contributor Sawsan Khalife’.

Ahmad Assir et la justice…

La semaine dernière : Les partisans d’Assir annoncent l’arrestation d’un proche du cheikh salafiste
http://www.lorientlejour.com/article/809361/les-partisans-dassir-annoncent-larrestation-dun-proche-du-cheikh-sala

« Cheikh Hani Honeiné, l’un des principaux cheikh au sein de la mosquée Bilal ben Rabah à Saïda, a été arrêté par des membres des services de renseignement de l’armée, qui ont perquisitionné son bureau sans aucun mandat judiciaire », affirment les partisans d’el-Assir sur leur page Facebook.
 
« L’arrestation était musclée, non justifiée et humiliante », poursuivent-ils, tout en précisant que cheikh Honeiné est le fils de Loubnane el-Izza, le garde de corps d’el-Assir qui avait été tué en novembre dernier lors d’un clash armé avec des partisans du Hezbollah dans le quartier al-Taamir (bastion du parti chiite), à Aïn el-Héloué, à proximité du camp de réfugiés palestiniens.

Hier : Rival demos in Sidon banned as Assir arouses judicial ire
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2013/Apr-18/214160-rival-demos-in-sidon-banned-as-assir-arouses-judicial-ire.ashx

In other developments, the general prosecutor of south Lebanon, Judge Samih Hajj, asked the police to provide him with a tape of Assir’s speech on April 12, in order to determine which legal measures to take against him, the National News Agency reported.

The judiciary has the authority to take legal measures against anyone who insults the Lebanese Army, the judiciary and the president, a judicial source told The Daily Star.

Dans la faille « Escroc salafiste », je voudrais le fils (il y a deux semaines) : Appeals court revokes move to drop case of Assir’s son
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2013/Apr-06/212769-appeals-court-revokes-move-to-drop-case-of-assirs-son.ashx

The Court of Appeals revoked Wednesday a decision by Military Investigative Judge Nabil Wehbe to drop the case against Salafist Sheikh Ahmad Assir’s teenage son Omar.

The court also supported the decision of Military Prosecutor Saqr Saqr to refer the case to the military investigative judge to decide which party would be tasked with prosecuting him.

Egypte : le président Morsi promeut des généraux, malgré des tensions avec l’armée et les dernières révélations du Guardian

http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2013/04/12/egypte-morsi-promeut-des-generaux-malgre-des-tensions-avec-l-armee_3158619_3

Morsi-SCAF meeting eases tensions between Egypt presidency, military

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/69065.aspx

#SCAF