region:middle east

The U.S. Military and the Unraveling of Africa » Print
http://original.antiwar.com/engelhardt/2013/06/18/the-u-s-military-and-the-unraveling-of-africa/print

#terrorisme en #Afrique engendré et alimenté par #africom et ses subordonnés

En 2000, un rapport préparé sous les auspices du Strategic Studies Institute de l’US Army War College a examiné "l’environnement sécuritaire en Afrique." Bien qu’il a abordé "les mouvements séparatistes ou rebelles internes" dans les « Etats faibles », ainsi que des acteurs non étatiques comme les milices et les "armées de seigneurs de guerre," il n’a fait aucune mention de l’extrémisme islamique ou des menaces terroristes transnationales majeures. En fait, avant 2001, les Etats-Unis ne reconnaissaient aucune organisation terroriste en Afrique sub-saharienne.

Peu après les attentats du 11/9, un haut responsable du Pentagone a affirmé que l’invasion américaine de l’Afghanistan pourrait entraîner des "terroristes" hors de ce pays et dans les pays africains. "Les terroristes liés à al-Qaïda et les groupes terroristes autochtones ont été et continuent d’être une présence dans cette région", a-t-il dit. "Ces terroristes, bien entendu, menaceront le personnel et les installations des Etats-Unis."

Lorsqu’on lui a demandé plus de précisions sur les dangers transnationaux réels, le fonctionnaire a fait référence aux militants somaliens mais a finalement admis que même les islamistes les plus extrêmes sur place, "n’ont pas vraiment participé à des actes de terrorisme en dehors de la Somalie." De même, lorsqu’il a été interrogé sur les connexions entre le noyau Al-Qaïda d’Oussama ben Laden et les extrémistes africains, il n’a évoqué que les liens les plus ténus, comme le "salut" de Ben Laden aux militants somaliens qui ont tué des soldats américains au cours de l’infâme incident "Black Hawk Down" de 1993.

Malgré cela, les États-Unis ont envoyé du personnel en Afrique dans le cadre du Groupe de forces interarmées - Corne de l’Afrique (CJTF-HOA) en 2002. L’année suivante, CJTF-HOA a élu domicile au Camp Lemonnier à Djibouti, où il réside à ce jour sur la seule base américaine officiellement avouée en Afrique.

Alors que le CJTF-HOA démarrait, le département d’Etat a lancé un programme multi-million de dollar de lutte contre le terrorisme , connu comme l’Initiative Pan-Sahel [Pan-Sahel Initiative], pour soutenir les forces armées du Mali, du Niger, du Tchad et de la Mauritanie. En 2004, par exemple, des équipes de formation des forces spéciales ont été envoyées au Mali dans le cadre de l’initiative. En 2005, le programme a été élargi pour inclure le Nigeria, le Sénégal, le Maroc, l’Algérie et la Tunisie et a été rebaptisé Partenariat Antiterroriste Transsaharien [Trans-Saharan Counterterrorism Partnership].

Dans le New York Times Magazine, Nicholas Schmidle a noté que le programme a vu le déploiement sur une année d’un personnel des Forces spéciales "pour former les armées locales à combattre les insurrections et les rébellions et pour empêcher l’expansion de Ben Laden et ses alliés dans la région." Le Partenariat Antiterroriste Transsaharien et son programme compagnon du ministère de la Défense, alors connu sous le nom de Enduring Freedom Operation- Trans-Sahara, ont été, à leur tour, englobés dans l’US Africa Command quand celui-ci a pris la responsabilité militaire du continent en 2008.

Comme Schmidle l’a noté, les résultats des efforts américains dans la région semblaient en contradiction avec les objectifs déclarés de l’AFRICOM [ c’est moi qui met en gras ]. " Al-Qaïda a établi des sanctuaires dans le Sahel, et en 2006, il a acquis une franchise en Afrique du Nord [Al-Qaïda au Maghreb islamique] ", a-t-il écrit. " Les attaques terroristes dans la région ont augmenté en nombre et en létalité ."

En fait, un regard sur la liste officielle des organisations terroristes du Département d’Etat indique une augmentation constante du nombre des groupes radicaux islamiques en Afrique parallèlement à la croissance des efforts de contre-terrorisme américains sur place - avec l’ajout du Groupe islamique combattant libyen en 2004, de l’al-Shabab somalien en 2008 et de l’Ansar al-Dine malien en 2013. En 2012, le général Carter Ham, alors chef de l’AFRICOM, a ajouté les militants islamistes de Boko Haram du Nigeria à sa propre liste des menaces extrémistes.

Le renversement de Kadhafi en Libye par une coalition interventionniste, dont les Etats-Unis, la France, la Grande-Bretagne, a également renforcé une foule de nouveaux groupes islamistes militants comme les Brigades de Omar Abdul Rahman, qui ont depuis effectué plusieurs attaques contre des intérêts occidentaux, et l’organisation proche d’al- Qaeda Ansar al-Sharia, dont les combattants ont agressé des installations américaines à Benghazi, en Libye, le 11 Septembre 2012, tuant l’ambassadeur Christopher Stevens et trois autres Américains. En fait, juste avant cette attaque, selon le New York Times, la CIA suivait "un éventail de groupes militants armés dans et autour" de cette seule ville.

Selon Frederic Wehrey, analyste politique senior à la Carnegie Endowment for International Peace et expert de la Libye, ce pays est maintenant un "terrain fertile" pour les militants en provenance de la péninsule arabique et d’autres endroits du Moyen-Orient comme ailleurs en Afrique pour recruter des combattants, recevoir une formation, et récupérer. "C’est vraiment devenu un nouveau pôle," m’a-t-il dit.

Beyond the veil
Au-delà du voile

Beyond the Veil* examines the lives of young Iranians, with a strong focus on women. The project not only explores the ’veil’ in its literal sense of the word, the Hijab, but also as the curtain that delicately separates public and private lives of Iranians.
With more than seventy-five percent of the population under the age of thirty-five, Iran remains one of the youngest, and most Western-seeking countries in the Middle East, yet women are still forced to wear the hijab in public spaces. As many young Iranians try to gain more freedom in the way they dress or interact with the opposite sex, they can face fines, imprisonment and potential torture.
This project explores the daily lives of those who challenge and take risks to put on a bit more makeup, wear more colorful clothing, reveal bare arms, push their headscarves farther back or do things behind the closed doors that are banned or counter-cultural.
Embodying a personality and determination of this generation, Beyond the Veil captures, in subtle and quiet ways, a window into this disobedience both behind closed doors and on the streets of Tehran.
In times when politicians speak of isolation and aggression, this project offers the Western audience a rare and unique into the lives of ordinary people living in Iran today. (Iran - 2010 to present)

*Beyond the Veil was previously called Your Veil is a Battleground - Phase One. The title change has taken place as of October 2012.

http://www.kianahayeri.com/files/gimgs/14_hayeri009.jpg

http://www.kianahayeri.com/index.php?%2Fprojects%2Fyour-veil-is-a-battleground%2F

#photo #photoreportage #voile #femme #Iran

Global Attitudes toward Homosexuality » Sociological Images
http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2013/06/17/global-attitudes-toward-homosexuality

http://static.thesocietypages.org/socimages/files/2013/06/PG_13.06.04_HomosexualityAccept_620.png

The Pew Research Global Attitudes Project recently released data on attitudes about homosexuality in 39 countries. Generally, those living in the Middle East and Africa were the least accepting, while those in the Americas, Europe, and parts of Asia (the Philippines, Australia, and to a lesser extent Japan) were most accepting:

#homosexualité

Analysis - Saudi role in Syria driven by fear of Shi’ite ’full moon’ | Reuters
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/06/18/uk-syria-crisis-saudi-analysis-idUKBRE95H0WQ20130618

Although the Saudi air force is well equipped, it performed poorly in a brief border war with a Yemeni rebel group in 2010, U.S. embassy cables released by WikiLeaks said at the time. [ les milliards de dollars d’achat d’armes ne servent qu’aux commissions ]

And, while Saudi forces engaged Iraq’s army in the 1991 Gulf War, they fought only on Saudi soil. Striking an Arab, Muslim country is problematic for the birthplace of Islam, which aims to be perceived as neutral custodian of Islam’s holy places [ farce- Ils financent des substituts dans les autres pays arabes ].

With limits on what it can do itself, it needs Washington to help fight its battles.

Exclusive: I Saw Nasrallah in Qusair - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/06/nasrallah-qusair-hezbollah.html

??

I stared at the man sitting beside the driver: The face was familiar, but something was missing. It was clear I was face to face with Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, without a turban, wearing a military uniform. He smiled and nodded to me, and while I was still in shock, the car was out of sight. There was no convoy, only one car, but as I said before, there were security measures taken in the city and around.

It took me some time to confirm that whom I saw was Nasrallah. When I returned to Beirut, I started my investigations to confirm it, and I did.

While investigating, I came across another piece of information: this visit wasn’t the first for Nasrallah to Qusair during this very crisis. “Sayyed Nasrallah went to Qusair a day before the start of the battle: he met the commanders, visited some injured fighters and gave a speech,” a source close to Hezbollah told me, “He spoke for around half an hour with his main commanders exchanging ideas on the battle and the expectations and how many days it’ll take them to finish it.”

As for the latest visit, the one day after the offensive, our source said that Nasrallah visited the city of Qusair and the towns around it in the country side. He added, “Sayyed Nasrallah wanted to thank the fighters personally, he met them, met the injured, and went around the area.”

I asked the source how Nasrallah is able to move from Beirut to Qusair in Syria and sometimes travel to Iran while Israel is saying that he is hiding.

“It’s a hide-and-seek game,” he replied, “Nasrallah’s security apparatus is professional enough to know when to move and how. No one knows what they do and what their measure are, we only know when things are done.”

Nasrallah’s visit to Qusair shows once again that the group’s fight in Syria isn’t a matter of interests, it’s a matter of existence.

Tom Friedman says candidate with AIPAC backing can raise in 3 phone calls what his opponent needs 50,000 calls to raise | Mondoweiss
http://mondoweiss.net/2013/06/friedman-candidate-opponent.html

Friedman:

Then we had the Citizens United Case in the Supreme Court that basically said unlimited campaign donations. Now what that meant is it gave enormous power, I’ve written all this in my column, to the Israel lobby, why— because Mehdi if you and I were running from the same district, and I have AIPAC’s stamp of the approval and you don’t, I will maybe have to make three phone calls and I can raise my whole— I’m exaggerating but I don’t have to make many phone calls to get all the money I need to run against you. You will have to make 50,000 phone calls. So that pulled the whole spectrum to the right...

Weiss :

I have written often that George H.W. Bush was thought to have lost the election in 1992 because he opposed settlements while Clinton didn’t, and raised so much pro-Israel money. Why isn’t this discussed openly, if Tom Friedman also believes it? I don’t think he’s really written about this in his column. That’s why Bush the younger brought in the neocons. That’s why we got the Iraq war. All verboten.

And we have “a huge role in the Israeli cabinet” ? Did you know that? Chris Matthews needs to talk about this.

Why isn’t any of this discussed openly? Why were Walt and Mearsheimer run out of town on a rail for saying some of this? And what is the media’s role in the collapse of the two-state solution? By enforcing these bogus orthodoxies.

Interview de Chomsky à la Une du Akhbar : Noam Chomsky Interview : Sykes-Picot Is Failing
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/noam-chomsky-interview-sykes-picot-failing

MZ: What do you think of the Hezbollah intervention in Syria?

NC: They are in a very difficult position. If the rebels win in Syria, they become very exposed. That may mean their demise. There is reason behind it, I am not sure this is the right one, you could argue about it, but it is understandable.

MZ: Are you going to meet Nasrallah this time?

NC: No, I do not know if it is possible. But it is deeply in mind. It is difficult.

MZ: If you meet him again, what would you tell him?

NC: I would like to meet him, but just to find out more about their thinking and their plans. They are not coming to me for advice. You know.

Why Obama is arming Syria’s rebels: it’s the realism, stupid. | Daniel W. Drezner
http://drezner.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/06/14/why_obama_is_arming_syrias_rebels_its_the_realism_stupid

To your humble blogger, this is simply the next iteration of the unspoken, brutally realpolitik policy towards Syria that’s been going on for the past two years.  To recap, the goal of that policy is to ensnare Iran and Hezbollah into a protracted, resource-draining civil war, with as minimal costs as possible.  This is exactly what the last two years have accomplished.... at an appalling toll in lives lost.   

This policy doesn’t require any course correction... so long as rebels are holding their own or winning. A faltering Assad simply forces Iran et al into doubling down and committing even more resources.  A faltering rebel movement, on the other hand, does require some external support, lest the Iranians actually win the conflict.  In a related matter, arming the rebels also prevents relations with U.S. allies in the region from fraying any further.

So is this the first step towards another U.S.-led war in the region?  No.  Everything in that Times story, and everything this administration has said and done for the past two years, screams deep reluctance over intervention.  Arming the rebels is not the same thing as a no-fly zone or any kind of ground intervention.  This is simply the United States engaging in its own form of asymmetric warfare.  For the low, low price of aiding and arming the rebels, the U.S. preoccupies all of its adversaries in the Middle East.

Le #pinkwashing pour les nuls : Israël est deux fois moins gay friendly que l’Espagne.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4391274,00.html

Survey by American research institute reveals Israel might be gay capital of Middle East, but lags behind western countries when it comes to accepting its gay brethern: only 40% of Israelis think LGBT community should be accepted, versus 88% in Spain.

L’enquête du Pew Research Center :
http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/06/04/the-global-divide-on-homosexuality

Bahrain arrests ’Iran-linked’ cyber group - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/06/201361393933204365.html

Authorities in Bahrain say they have identified and arrested leading members of the Shia opposition February 14 Revolution Youth Coalition, an influential cyber-group accused of working against the government and having links to Iran.

A voir l’annonce faite à la TV nationale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=D_WBKYBXlY0

Syria: Inventing a Religious War by Toby Matthiesen | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2013/jun/12/syria-inventing-religious-war

This is not a fight purely or even primarily about Islam; it is a war about the future of the Middle East. Unfortunately, however, all the talk about sectarian war is fast becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. And by misunderstanding the complicated history of Syria’s alliances with Shia groups, we may contribute to the very sectarian tensions that are tearing the region apart.

#Syrie
#Liban
#irak
#Iran
#chiisme

Qatar
L’Emir de Qatar devrait prochainement confier le pouvoir au quatrième de ses fils, Cheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani.
Liens pour en savoir plus sur cette perspective et sur le Prince héritier :

http://www.diwan.gov.qa/english/heir_apparent/heir_apparent_cv.htm
Site officiel du Prince héritier où l’on trouve sa biographie, ses discours, le programme de ses visites, des photographies, etc.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39411748@N06/galleries/72157626619016831
Photos du Prince héritier

http://m.gulfnews.com/news/gulf/qatar/emir-of-qatar-to-cede-powers-to-33-year-old-son-1.1194986
Annonce que l’Emir est prêt à céder le pouvoir à Cheikh Tamim et que celui-ci est un proche des Frères musulmans.

►http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/qatar/10108717/Qatar-preparing-for-leadership-transition.html
Information identique à celle de Gulf News. Y ajoute que le cousin de l’Emir actuel (Hamad Bin Jassim, « propriétaire des magasins Harrods » de Londres) abandonnera ses responsabilités de premier ministre

http://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/05DOHA953_a.html
Télégramme de l’administration américaine du 26 mai 2005 (publié par Wikileaks) où il est dit que le Prince héritier est de plus en plus impliqué dans la supervision de la sécurité intérieure du pays.

http://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/06DOHA868_a.html
Télégramme de l’administration américaine du 6 juin 2006 (Wikileaks) dans lequel il est indiqué que le Prince héritier est en charge des questions de défense et de renseignement. Cheikh Tamim estime que les sanctions économiques et militaires sur l’Iran sont de peu d’effet et qu’il serait sage de ne pas conduire une politique qui fasse de l’Iran un « perdant ». Il plaide pour que la communauté internationale donne sa « chance » au Hamas.

http://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09DOHA291_a.html
Télégramme de l’administration américaine du 30 avril 2009 (Wikileaks). Porte sur la médiation qatarie sur le Soudan. Cheikh Tamim rappelle que le maintien de l’unité dans le pays et la cessation des combats sont essentiels.

http://www.bfmtv.com/sport/qatargate-mensonges-platini-envisage-poursuites-435676.html
Article de BFMTV sur le Qatargate ou les arrangements supposés entre Paris et Doha pour l’attribution du Mondial de football au Qatar pour 2020. Démenti de Michel Platini, Président de l’UEFA.

http://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/08DOHA658_a.html
Télégramme de l’administration américaine 14 septembre 2008 (Wikileaks) qui rapporte que Cheikh Tamim dit avoir noté une évolution dans la pensée d’Assad. Ce dernier considèrerait désormais que son principal ennemi est al-Qaïda et non plus Israël

http://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/07DOHA982_a.html
Télégramme de l’administration américaine 10 octobre 2007 (Wikileaks). Cheikh Tamim indique que tous les Etats arabes devront négocier avec Israël « qu’ils soient d’accord ou pas avec Israël ».

http://www.jeuneafrique.com/Article/JA2706p056-057.xml0 (29 Nov. 2012.) Vante le charisme et la francophilie de Cheikh Tamim.

Disons que c’est presqu’autant que pour le poete qatarien qui avait écopé de 15 ans le 23 fevrier dernier.

Kuwait to jail woman for tweets against emir - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/06/201361014168716717.html

A Kuwaiti court has sentenced a woman to 11 years in jail for posting remarks on Twitter deemed insulting to the emir and calling for the overthrow of the regime, the verdict said.

Huda al-Ajmi, a 37-year-old teacher, on Monday received the longest known sentence for online dissent in the Gulf state.

She was convicted of insulting Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, calling for the overthrow of the regime and misusing her mobile phone, according to a copy of the lower court ruling obtained by the AFP news agency.

Russia Enlists Syrian Kurds For Geneva II - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/06/syrian-kurds-participate-geneva-ii-conference.html

Syrian Kurdish parties went to Moscow in order to secure participation of the Kurds in the international peace conference Geneva II. They did not participate in an earlier conference of the Western-backed Syrian opposition in Istanbul at the end of May, despite efforts of European countries to convince the Syrian Kurds to join the Western-backed coalition.

According to the website of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), "the meeting marked the first official invitation from Russia and aimed at establishing diplomatic relations between the two parties. Among the topics discussed were SKC’s position on the Syrian regime and the role of the YPG [People’s Defence Units, a militia of the PYD].”

Qatar preparing for leadership transition - Telegraph
►http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/qatar/10108717/Qatar-preparing-for-leadership-transition.html

Qatar is preparing to launch a leadership transition this summer that will see the emir relinquish power to his son, and his cousin, the owner of Harrods, step down as prime minister.

Israël soutient Assaf [candidat venant de Gaza] dans [l’émission] Arab Idol pour ennuyer le Hamas.
إسرائيل تدعم عساف في « أراب إيدول » نكاية بحماس
http://www.elaph.com/Web/Entertainment/2013/6/817433.html?entry=editors_choice

إسرائيل تدعم عساف في «أراب إيدول» نكاية بحماس

C’est apparemment une déclaration du porte-parole de l’armée ! La musique adoucirait-elle les moeurs des militaires israéliens ? Pas vraiment en fait, il s’agit d’instrumentaliser la pop culture à des fins politiques pour « faire la nique » aux barbus de Gaza.

Is the Middle East heading for a full-blown religious war? | World news | The Observer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/08/middle-east-full-blown-religious-war

It has become a cliche in recent months to talk of an inevitable and intractable sectarian divide between Sunni and Shia, over a schism in Islam that occurred 1,400 years ago. The reality is that the present rising tensions in the Middle East are far more complex than simple religious hatred. Rather, they reflect a growing friction rooted in more recent competitions over power, rights and identity which have been exacerbated both by the war in Iraq and by the reconfigurations of the Arab spring.

At the very heart of the debate is how much sectarian tensions themselves are driving the new conflicts or whether Sunni-Shia tensions have been co-opted into local and regional competitions whose nature is as much about power, politics and the distribution of resources as it is religious.

The split in the two branches of Islam is almost as old as Islam itself, resulting from a political struggle for leadership between followers of the Prophet Muhammad after his death. What emerged were sometimes subtly different – and sometimes quite radically different – interpretations of Muhammad’s teachings. Despite that, there has been no equivalent in Islamic history of the Thirty Years’ War that pitted Protestant against Catholic in Europe, while for long periods and in many places – not least Iraq despite its recent problems – Shia and Sunni have not only coexisted but widely intermarried.

Widespread Middle East Fears that Syrian Violence Will Spread | Pew Global Attitudes Project
http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/05/01/widespread-middle-east-fears-that-syrian-violence-will-spread

Populations in five of the six countries in the region that were surveyed oppose Americans or Europeans supplying the Syrian rebels with weapons. This opposition is particularly strong in Lebanon where 80% of the total public and 98% of Shia Lebanese do not want the West to get involved.

Saudi prince launches libel action against Forbes magazine over Rich List | Media | guardian.co.uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/jun/06/saudi-prince-libel-action-forbes-rich-list

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who owns London’s Savoy hotel, claims US publication undervalued his wealth by $9.6bn

#maturité toujours.

Syria and chemical weapons: can we really get fooled again after the Iraq WMD fiasco?
http://stopwar.org.uk/index.php/syria/2525-syria-and-chemical-weapons-can-we-really-get-fooled-again-after-the

The certainty with which the French and British governments have announced proof of the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict presages an escalation of western intervention there.
The samples tested at Porton Down (yes, Britain’s own chemical warfare research unit) have proved positive although even the government’s certainty cannot be assured beyond doubt.
As a ‘senior British official’ told the Guardian ‘Are we confident in our means of collection, and are we confident that it points to the regime’s use of sarin? Yes. Can we prove it with 100% certainty? Probably not.’

Al Qaida leader Zawahri urges Syrians: Unite against Assad and bring down Israel-backing U.S. - Middle East - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/al-qaida-leader-zawahri-urges-syrians-unite-against-assad-and-bring-down-is

Al Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri urged Syrians to unite to bring down President Bashar Assad and thwart what he said were U.S. plans to set up a client state in Syria to safeguard Israel’s security.

In a 22-minute recording, posted on Islamist websites on Thursday to mark 65 years since Israel’s founding, Zawahri also said the only way to solve the Palestinian problem was through Jihad, an Islamic holy war.

“Lions of the Levant, unite around this honorable goal and rise above sectarian affiliations,” Zawahri said.

“America, its agents and allies want you to shed your blood and the blood of your children and women to bring down the criminal Baathist regime, and then set up a government loyal to them and to safeguard Israel’s security,” he added.

The recording came one day after Syrian government forces, backed by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, captured the border town of Qusair from rebels. It appeared on the Mujahideen al-Ansar website, which carries statements from al Qaida leaders.

It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the recording, which made no reference to Qusair, suggesting it was recorded before the campaign to retake the town began more than two weeks ago.

Zawahri, an Egyptian-born preacher who became al Qaida’s chief after Osama bin Laden was killed in a U.S. operation in 2011, also criticized Iran for supporting Assad, saying the conflict in Syria had “revealed the ugly face of Iran.”

The Iranian-backed group Hezbollah fought with Assad’s forces which seized the strategically important border town of Qusair from rebels on Wednesday.

Influential Sunni Muslim cleric Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi last week called for Jihad against Assad after Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged his forces had joined the fighting in Qusair.

Zawahri warned Syrians not to play into the hands of the United States which, he said, wanted to turn their Jihad into a “Western tool against Iran.”

He said that fighters seeking to topple Assad in Syria had rekindled hope that one day that might happen.

“There is no solution for Palestine except Jihad,” Zawahri said.

“Every free Muslim in Palestine should unite with his Muslim brothers to implement Sharia (Islamic law) and rule by it, and make it a reference above all references, and to liberate Palestine in order to set up an Islamic state, even if the West hates that and calls it terrorism and extremism,” he added.

Zawahri’s last audio message dates to April, when he also urged Muslims to unite and support Jihad to create a state governed by Islamic law.

Qatar has 143 millionaires for every 1,000 households: Study

http://gitm.kcorp.net/index.php?id=651565&news_type=Economy&lang=en

The Peninsula - 05 June, 2013

Wealthy individuals in the Middle East and Africa saw the value of their assets rise by 9.1 percent to $ 4.8 trillion in 2012, a study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) showed, as strong economies and rising equity markets fuelled regional growth.

High net worth individuals in the Gulf Arab region continue to allocate heavily on cash and prefer regional stock markets when they invest in risky instruments, the report said.

The Gulf Arab region ranked highly among countries with the highest percentage of millionaire households with Qatar leading the global list with 143 millionaires out of every 1,000 households, the study showed.

If current trends continue, wealth in the region could rise to $ 6.5 trillion by 2017, said the survey, published yesterday.

Global wealth managers have flocked to the region in recent years, lured by its rich energy and commodity reserves, relatively higher economic growth and rising population.

At the same time, Middle Eastern investors are becoming more comfortable investing domestically even though the percentage of assets held off-shore is relatively high, said Markus Massi, partner and managing director at BCG.

Wealth held in equities grew by 18.3 percent in 2012 in the region, the survey showed. “You see less money getting invested in outside jurisdictions but this can change pretty quickly if political conditions worsen,” Massi said.

Private banks like Julius Baer and Sarasin Alpen, now compete with Credit Suisse, J P Morgan Chase and UBS in the region.

Royal Bank of Canada expects to double the number of wealth management employees in its Dubai office in the near future, and is open to opportunities for acquisitions, a senior executive said last year. But only those offering unique investment products and catering to specific asset classes are gaining traction among Middle Eastern investors, said Massi.

Resistance Seen in EU to Blacklisting Hezbollah
http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-245700

All 27 EU member states must agree for Hezbollah to be added to the list. U.K. officials have said they hope for a final EU decision in June.

“My guess is it’s going to take some time” to reach a decision, said one EU diplomat briefed on the discussions. “There is no unanimity yet” on blacklisting Hezbollah, the person added, citing “big doubts” among a handful of member states.

Two other diplomats said about six countries appeared reluctant, including Finland, Austria and Ireland, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union. Sweden has also traditionally been cautious.

[…]

One of the main concerns is the clarity of evidence linking Hezbollah to the Burgas attacks, which even some officials from member states in favor of blacklisting say appears circumstantial. The new Bulgarian government’s caution about whether to include Hezbollah on the terror list has also weighed on discussions, several diplomats said.

Who Gains From Syrian Bloodbath ?
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/06/03/who-gains-from-syrian-bloodbath

There may be a more sinister reason why the US has started setting the bar so high for talks. Washington’s involvement is greater than appears because so much of it goes through Qatar, with the CIA determining who gets arms and money sent via Turkey. This would also explain why Britain and France are so keen to send the rebels weapons.

The explanation for the actions of the Western states may be that they do not want the war to end except as a victory for their allies. This certainly is the view of many in the Middle East, such as Mowaffak al-Rubaie, the former Iraqi National Security Adviser, who told me the civil war “is the best option for the West and Israel because it knocks out Syria as an opponent of their policies and keeps Iran busy. Hezbollah is preoccupied by Syria and not with Israel. Turkey’s idea of a new Ottoman empire is gone with the wind.”

Kerry to U.S. Jews: Next few days will determine Middle East fate for decades
By Barak Ravid, Chemi Shalev

Haaretz
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/kerry-to-u-s-jews-next-few-days-will-determine-middle-east-fate-for-decades

The coming days will be crucial for both Israelis and Palestinians, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday, warning against the dire implications of failing to reach a two-state solution.

In a speech to the American Jewish Committee, Kerry stressed to a strongly pro-Israel crowd the need for urgent progress on a peace deal ending more than six decades of conflict, providing Israel with regional security and the Palestinians with their long-sought independent state.

“If we do not succeed now, we may not get another chance,” Kerry said about the peace process, describing it as “hardly a process at all” right now. “I have heard all of the arguments for why it is too difficult to end this conflict,” he added. “Cynicism has never solved anything. It has never given birth to a state, and it won’t.”