News for today's 2018

Rick Barry on Stephen Curry: 'He shot the hell out of the ball'

8:35 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="articleByline" id="articleByline" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="author vcard" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="fn" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="bylinejb" style="padding: 0px;">By Marcus Thompson II</div><div class="bylineaffiliation" style="padding: 0px;"><a href="mailto:mthomps2@bayareanewsgroup.com" style="color: #003399; text-decoration: none;">mthomps2@bayareanewsgroup.com</a><span class="source-org vcard" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></div></span></span></div><div class="articleDate" id="articleDate" style="background-color: white; color: #848080; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Posted:   02/28/2013 02:24:48 PM PST</div><div class="articleSecondaryDate" id="articleDate" style="background-color: white; color: #000088; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Updated:   02/28/2013 03:32:07 PM PST</div><div class="articleSecondaryDate" id="articleDate" style="background-color: white; color: #000088; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="articleByline" id="articleByline" style="color: #555555; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="author vcard" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="fn" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="bylinejb" style="padding: 0px;"></div><div class="bodytext" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;">NEW YORK -- Warriors legend Rick Barry didn't watch Stephen Curry go for 54 points at Madison Square Garden. But the highlights were enough to earn a tip of the cap from one of the 50 greatest players of all time.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;">"Any time you can score 54 points, it's pretty impressive," Barry said in a phone interview. "He did it a lot of different ways -- going to the basket, floaters, 3s, creating his own shot, coming down in transition and pulling up. He shot the hell out of the ball."</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;">Curry snatched the attention of the basketball world, even though the Warriors lost 109-105 to the host Knicks on Tuesday. Curry was 18 of 28 shooting and only missed two of his 13 attempts from 3-point range. <span style="font-size: 10px;">Barry, who scored 58</span></div><div class="articlePosition2" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin: 10px 10px 10px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 300px;"><div class="articleImageBox" style="border-style: none; color: #888888; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 300px;"><span class="articleImage" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=4974057" style="color: rgb(92, 92, 92) !important;" target="_new"><img alt="" border="0" height="223" src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site568/2013/0228/20130228_042742_stephencurry_300.JPG" title="" width="300" /></a></span><div class="articleImageCaption" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 300px;">Stephen Curry #30 of the Warriors is greeted by Draymond Green #23 after breaking the 50 point mark en route to a total of 54 in the game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on February 27, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)</div></div></div><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">at the Garden on Dec. 14, 1965, said he liked how Curry mixed it up. But he also liked how he set up his teammates when the defense called for it.</span><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;"></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;">The Hall of Famer said he knew Curry had that kind of game. He said he hopes the performance reveals to Curry the kind of player he can be when he is aggressive.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;">"That's the way he needs to play all the time," Barry said. "You've got to play with that aggressive mentality. As unselfish as he is, and with the vision he has, it opens up so much more when he plays that way. The entire team benefits when he plays that aggressively. I don't know how Mark (Jackson) feels, but I'd be mad if he doesn't take 20 shots per game."</div><div><br /></div></span></span></div></div></div>

Stephen Curry Rick Barry on Stephen Curry: 'He shot the hell out of the ball'

By Marcus Thompson II mthomps2@bayareanewsgroup.com Posted: 02/28/2013 02:24:48 PM PST Updated: 02/28/2013 03:32:07 PM PST NEW YORK -- W...

KOSOVO: NATURAL RESOURCES JACKPOT?

1:27 PM Tukiyooo 0

<br /> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrt6he-wOSiqT5S-tT7Wdn1zxmMDt7MuOWLSHj0QGlYmc5AuycWy25Ean2iDV_6vyxmE1iddLdpaIqg9xma_lRc9Ym7LWdtvAQ5aInWn8rTBJ5T1ltjzP3MQKBXilVAV5PR-iNzatRLmza/s1600/rs-ks@al.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrt6he-wOSiqT5S-tT7Wdn1zxmMDt7MuOWLSHj0QGlYmc5AuycWy25Ean2iDV_6vyxmE1iddLdpaIqg9xma_lRc9Ym7LWdtvAQ5aInWn8rTBJ5T1ltjzP3MQKBXilVAV5PR-iNzatRLmza/s320/rs-ks@al.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">FIRE SALE: “PRIVATIZING” KOSOVO, THE MADELEINE ALBRIGHT WAY</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Source: GSI</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The Balkan states of ALBANIA and KOSOVO are, without doubt, the most pro-AMERICAN Muslim-majority countries in the world.</span> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">According to a new census including religious affiliation – the first since 1930 – ALBANIA now counts 57% of its total population of 2.8 million as Muslim, down from 70% eighty-two years ago. Its Catholic population has remained stable at 10%, and ALBANIAN citizens identifying themselves as Orthodox Christians have fallen from 20% in 1930 to about 7%.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Although KOSOVO does not tally figures for religious communities, the Muslim share of the population is thought to be larger, at around 80%. Both republics are secular.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKISH PRESSURE ON ALBANIA TO VOTE “YES” FOR PALESTINIAN OBSERVER SEAT IN THE UNITED NATIONS</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">AMERICANS are beloved in ALBANIA thanks to a significant history of ALBANIAN immigration and success in AMERICA, and early contributions by ALBANIANS in the U.S. to the national movement for freedom from the OTTOMAN EMPIRE. At the end of November, the ALBANIAN government of Prime Minister Sali Berisha was prepared to vote with the U.S. against a Palestinian observer seat in the United Nations, and, following unsuccessful pressure to vote “yes,” from the TURKISH Islamist prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ALBANIA became the sole Muslim-majority UN member to abstain on the Palestinian issue.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">KOSOVO does not belong to the UN, although if it did, it might likely have followed the AMERICAN lead and voted against the Palestinian bid, which was supported, among the ex-YUGOSLAV successor states, only by SERBIA. The ALBANIANS of KOSOVO have expressed undiluted appreciation for the actions of the Clinton administration, represented by then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and former General Wesley Clark as Supreme Allied Commander for Europe at NATO, in the 1998-99 military intervention that rescued the KOSOVAR ALBANIANS from SERBIAN repression.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Its pro-AMERICAN stance has caused the KOSOVO Republic to be denied diplomatic recognition by most of the Arab states. The late LIBYAN dictator Mu’ammar Al-Qadhdhafi dismissed the KOSOVARS contemptuously as “AMERICAN lapdogs.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ENERGY QUEST: KOSOVO</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Recently, however, Albright and others have commenced new efforts at involvement in KOSOVO that left local people concerned about the intentions of their benefactors of more than a decade past. In <i>The New York Times</i> on December 12, Matthew Brunwasser wrote under a page-one headline, “That Crush at KOSOVO’S Business Door? The Return of U.S. Heroes.” The <i>Times</i> account described Albright and James W. Pardew, a special envoy sent to the Balkans by President Bill Clinton, offering competing bids for privatization of the KOSOVO state postal and telecommunications agency, known as PTK (from its ALBANIAN and SERBIAN initials).</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">KOSOVO COAL MINES: POTENTIAL FOR SYNTHETIC FUEL PRODUCTION</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCT8QSUslH33rD9UP2lUPJtE3tYdN6HdT8tyqx1hPWCvHWBfe6BVJnEdE7dZteymv7v99kqOBBrswedpdt3bKDbSWjwZDvVCPy4gLiboAtn2tSg9QA72GmQMRNWJDF_PZJ3AohOCxVd3UO/s1600/Outcrop_Showing_Layering_of_Lignite_and_Consolidated_Calcareous_Mud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCT8QSUslH33rD9UP2lUPJtE3tYdN6HdT8tyqx1hPWCvHWBfe6BVJnEdE7dZteymv7v99kqOBBrswedpdt3bKDbSWjwZDvVCPy4gLiboAtn2tSg9QA72GmQMRNWJDF_PZJ3AohOCxVd3UO/s1600/Outcrop_Showing_Layering_of_Lignite_and_Consolidated_Calcareous_Mud.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coal mining in Kosovo</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">General Wesley Clark, chairman of Envidity, a CANADIAN firm interested in KOSOVO’S coal mines and potential for synthetic fuel production, has also gone to KOSOVO in search of financial advantage. </span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">But Albright’s involvement has given her the highest profile in the discussion of KOSOVO’S economic future. According to the <i>Times</i>, “Albright Capital Management, founded by Ms. Albright, has been shortlisted in the bidding for a 75 % share in PTK.” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The<i>Times</i> estimates the probable payout to KOSOVO political leaders for PTK, if a deal is consummated, at “between $400 million and $800 million.” Officials of another Albright entity, Albright Stonebridge Group, have a minor share in PTK’s only competitor, the private company IPKO, based in SLOVENIA. <i>Times</i> correspondent Brunwasser wrote that the situation could “threaten… market competition if Ms. Albright’s consortium wins the bid” for PTK.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Privatization in post-Communist economies often presents multiple problems: State enterprises may be handed over to individuals or groups favored by the prior dictatorial authorities, as has allegedly occurred in SLOVAKIA, previously a part of CZECHOSLOVAKIA. Government-owned companies may also be privatized, turned profitable, and then re-nationalized by authoritarian rulers. In RUSSIA, the Yukos oil company was branded an example of “oligarchic privatization” and taken over by the government of Vladimir Putin, only to be bankrupted between 2003-2007.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“VOUCHER” PRIVATIZATION</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The abolition of statist “command” economics has most often been considered a positive outcome in any context. Some observers have advocated “voucher” privatization, through which shares in government-controlled companies are distributed to all the citizens of a country, either free or at a low cost. “Voucher” privatization succeeded most notably in the CZECH Republic.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">KOSOVO is among the poorest countries in EUROPE, with the growth of its economy hampered by the failure of the “supervising” international authorities, with titles like the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in KOSOVO (UNMIK) and the EUROPEAN Union Rule of Law Mission in KOSOVO (EULEX). </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">They have imposed all of KOSOVO’S most important political decisions, but these have left the country in a calculated stasis since the end of the 1998-99 war. They have interfered with media, elections, and border relations with SERBIA, but have neglected to reform KOSOVO’S financial regulations or even to settle who owns various industries, such as the large-scale Trepca mining complex in northern KOSOVO. Trepca, which produced lead, zinc, gold, silver, and rare minerals, is the object of opposing claims of proprietorship by SERBIA and KOSOVO; it also owes about 40 million Euros to FRENCH, GREEK, and BULGARIAN companies. Similar state assets are KEK, the KOSOVO Energy Corporation, and its subsidiary KEDS, or KOSOVO Electricity Distribution.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKISH STRONGHOLD IN KOSOVO</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In June 2012, KEDS was sold by the KOSOVO government to a TURKISH consortium, Limak Yatirim Enerji and Calik Enerji Sanayi. <b>Limak owns KOSOVO’S only international airport. Limak also purchased KEDS for 26 million Euros</b>, although its capitalization totaled 180 million Euros. Economic analysts criticized a lack of transparency in the transfer to TURKISH control. KOSOVO still suffers frequent electrical power outages.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Unemployment in KOSOVO is estimated officially at around 50%, although local reporting suggests it is closer to 60%.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">When Albright and other humanitarian liberators appear in KOSOVO as “privatizers,” questions are bound to be asked. Although “entrepreneurship” usually means investment and expansion of commerce, in the absence of a secure domestic financial system and other guarantees for legitimate and desirable foreign ventures, KOSOVO’S economy continues to shrink. As a prominent Democrat and Clinton administration figure, Albright is associated with that party’s strident rhetoric against the free market in the 2012 AMERICAN presidential election, including allegations of Republican corporate looting and similar “heartless” practices.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNmdeO5X-Gpz_AsjaUeSsiMLtNTCv7OhPqWx-j6dS18UhMUErll7qzC1hp6YUXh0K54x4dYnnNS_gYzXo2NQQbrZSBe8BZC8cwUOGg456sKJo97tQ1Uk4oUl_VgnoI5ZzDlLfBAtpqaaeh/s1600/kos_UNMIKmine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNmdeO5X-Gpz_AsjaUeSsiMLtNTCv7OhPqWx-j6dS18UhMUErll7qzC1hp6YUXh0K54x4dYnnNS_gYzXo2NQQbrZSBe8BZC8cwUOGg456sKJo97tQ1Uk4oUl_VgnoI5ZzDlLfBAtpqaaeh/s640/kos_UNMIKmine.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">It is difficult for some KOSOVAR political leaders to imagine that Albright’s leap into their economy would create jobs, greater efficiency, and modernization of infrastructure. The KOSOVO “Self-Determination” movement, which is represented in the republic’s parliamentary opposition and which stands for a maximum standard of independence for the country, issued an open letter to the KOSOVAR public. It appealed for e-mails to be sent to prospective bidders for privatization of PTK, criticizing the project for the sell-off of the post and telecoms agency. “Self-Determination” warned that properties were being offered for sale as if they were the private holdings of politicians, rather than resources of all KOSOVO residents.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The “Self-Determination” representatives argued that Kosovo’s leaders aim to drive down the value of the state assets, so that they may be expropriated and sold. “Privatization is a name behind which these officials hide,” the opposition advocates declared. The call by leaders of “Self-Determination” for protests against privatization behind the backs of the populace led to accusations that “Self-Determination” is a violent, anti-American movement.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Albin Kurti, a young philosopher and the articulate founder of “Self-Determination,” refuted in late December charges by U.S. ambassador Tracey-Anne Jacobson that he and his colleagues threatened Madeleine Albright. The leaders of “Self-Determination” pointed out that after they published their letter in September against a distorted privatization, they met with Albright in Kosovo in November. “Self-Determination” did not oppose her visit, or threaten her as Ambassador Jacobson alleged. Kurti has insisted that he and his colleagues respect American principles of freedom, independence, and public responsibility.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The friendship of Kosovo, as a Muslim-majority state, is a major benefit for American foreign policy. The Balkan republic has resisted Islamist radicalization, excluded religion from public education, and acted to protect women’s rights.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Background Information</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">: See <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/04/kosovo.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/04/kosovo.html</a></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Comment by <span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: red;"><b>GEOPOLITICAL ANALYSIS AND MONITORING</b></span>:</span>  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">PART OF THE KOSOVO PROBLEM HAS ALWAYS BEEN NATURAL RESOURCES</span></b></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Though not admitted officially……….</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">The vast amounts of Mineral deposits in KOSOVO have and still are part of the problems the small country faces, asides of ethnic and religious differences. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">KOSOVO POSSESSES THE WORLD'S FIFTH-LARGEST PROVEN RESERVES OF LIGNITE;</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="color: blue;">KOSOVO also has substantial amounts of other natural resources such as </span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">lead, zinc, gold, silver, rare minerals and allegedly uranium. See Mineral Deposits <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Kosovo">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Kosovo</a>. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">It is alleged that the USA built Balkans largest army base, <b>Camp Bondsteel</b> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Bondsteel">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Bondsteel</a>deliberately on top of a large uranium ore basin in KOSOVO.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">In view of these facts it becomes obvious that the northern SERBIAN enclaves of KOSOVO, Mitrovica <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosovska_Mitrovica">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosovska_Mitrovica</a>etc. where the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Trepca mining complex is located insist on “reuniting” with SERBIA and that certain USA entities once again want to make sure to keep a foothold in the region in case, rare minerals, lignite and uranium indeed are available in quantities worthwhile to extract, pending increased market demands for afore mentioned minerals. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><b>CONTROVERSIAL OPPOSITION FIGURE: ALBIN KURTI </b></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Albin Kurti</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albin_Kurti">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albin_Kurti</a>, has been and still is a controversial figure in KOSOVO. According to known sources Kurti allegedly fosters ties to certain radical UCK </span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosovo_Liberation_Army">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosovo_Liberation_Army</a></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">entities that still are active today and who envision a GREATER ALBANIA  <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Albania">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Albania</a>as well as having alleged ties to organized crime groups that terrorize communities, and ties to radical Islamic factions in KOSOVO as well as the notorious </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">SANDŽAK</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"> region in MONTENEGRO. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9kCUFbJzWriy9RE62mRi4zscjevuECi1hk1LzL1GnmHMPpMkTuf2rqGuoDw94Yqxcv6BhE2cm5zLmQj_V_cgcm2f1pmajf2LzEPu5Z7KO9tYqNszU8idNOj3HER1r1Q1EQZkYW0DlwB6e/s1600/Ethnic_albania.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9kCUFbJzWriy9RE62mRi4zscjevuECi1hk1LzL1GnmHMPpMkTuf2rqGuoDw94Yqxcv6BhE2cm5zLmQj_V_cgcm2f1pmajf2LzEPu5Z7KO9tYqNszU8idNOj3HER1r1Q1EQZkYW0DlwB6e/s400/Ethnic_albania.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Vision of <span style="font-size: x-small;">"</span>Greater Albania"</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">See </span><cite><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.bmlv.gv.at/pdf_pool/publikationen/crime_omero.pdf"><span style="font-style: normal;">www.bmlv.gv.at/pdf_pool/publikationen/</span><b><span style="font-style: normal;">crime</span></b><span style="font-style: normal;">_omero.pdf</span></a>and </span></cite><cite><b><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: 115%;">S</span></b></cite><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">andžak region, not only the gateway for Balkans organized crime syndicates, but also for spreading Wahhbism to Europe?</span></b><cite><span style="line-height: 115%;"> <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/08/wahhabism-in-bosnia-herzegovina-part-4.html"><span style="font-style: normal;">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/08/wahhabism-in-bosnia-herzegovina-part-4.html</span></a></span></cite></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">SANDŽAK IS AN IMPOVERISHED REGION IN SOUTHERN SERBIA</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8aHFZ2Tz_ExFQSQx53XsHveJLknmlV-V7M8YkWwF8-_129x6M4YzAkZTEBrcNvgGk9UfOnAi9o6IERhWnwceJDV5FiqAGUrjiuRe5b2MlFcn7FNEk8feMKNr-1FMmi3L_spsDAKMajeZ4/s1600/sandzakregion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8aHFZ2Tz_ExFQSQx53XsHveJLknmlV-V7M8YkWwF8-_129x6M4YzAkZTEBrcNvgGk9UfOnAi9o6IERhWnwceJDV5FiqAGUrjiuRe5b2MlFcn7FNEk8feMKNr-1FMmi3L_spsDAKMajeZ4/s400/sandzakregion.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"></span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">that is predominantly occupied with ethnic Bosniaks, (Bosnian Muslims)with the region technically extending into the northeastern part of MONTENEGRO as well. SANDŽAK is also populated with ALBANIANS within the Preševo Valley region. The citizens of SANDŽAK are fairly content with remaining a part of SERBIA, but have highlighted the dearth of economic activity, lack of political representation, and social woes (<b>mainly organized crime and drug use amongst the youth</b>) as primary obstacles for their communities. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">SLOW GROWING WAHHABI MOVEMENT </span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">These two factors are also targeted as being a reason that various frustrated youth been drawn by the small Wahhabi movement that’s steadily growing in the region. SANDŽAK was treated as a special interest region during the BOSNIAN war, where (SERBIAN military) General Mladić was strictly forbidden from killing Muslims on SERBIAN territory. The bulk of the terror reigned on SANDŽAK’S citizens included harassment and humiliation techniques. But this didn’t stop many SANDŽAK locals from being forcibly bussed across the BOSNIAN border to be killed. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">The pre-war census in 1991 stated that approximately 224,000 BOSNIAKS were living in SANDŽAK, with between 60-80,000 SANDŽAK refugees leaving the region in 1992 to WESTERN EUROPEAN countries, according to UN sources. It is a tell-tale sign of the devastation that the region experienced less than 20 years ago. The region has experienced significant trauma, and growing poverty and perceived discrimination have aggravated existing inter-ethnic tensions in the country. These tensions are simmering, and while they are not an imminent threat to SERBIA and the regions’ stability, the region’s BOSNIAKS must have their overall standard of living improved to enhance other integration mechanisms.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

KOSOVO: NATURAL RESOURCES JACKPOT?

FIRE SALE: “PRIVATIZING” KOSOVO, THE MADELEINE ALBRIGHT WAY Source: GSI The Balkan states of ALBANIA and KOSOVO are, without doubt, the mos...

SYRIAN MEDIA BLITZKRIEG

7:04 AM Tukiyooo 0

<br /> <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8NqByj5o7kJgpeBA08yEKbKibGYEMzfItRTfLiHGbA2Ybax_yvbR9C5Ldj9rWoBbvtJZum2p0cCySg1IU0vTlwIYNO0oxOmMmMfDcgAHibD50ff-Fqi8TIAdI2q94PibXkia6smFT5QDQ/s1600/ilv4V6ZmBeEI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8NqByj5o7kJgpeBA08yEKbKibGYEMzfItRTfLiHGbA2Ybax_yvbR9C5Ldj9rWoBbvtJZum2p0cCySg1IU0vTlwIYNO0oxOmMmMfDcgAHibD50ff-Fqi8TIAdI2q94PibXkia6smFT5QDQ/s320/ilv4V6ZmBeEI.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">UN Chemical Weapons Inspection Team in Damascus</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b></div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 653px;"> <tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">  <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 489.5pt;" width="653"><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">  </span></b><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: x-large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">WHO REALLY USED CHEMICAL WEAPONS, THAT IS THE QUESTION </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SYRIAN   opposition figures based in Istanbul, TURKEY, have claimed that up to 1,400   people have been killed in chemical weapons attacks</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #cc0000;">!!!</span></span></span><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Could it be that the BRITISH and FRENCH stance and eagerness of military action in SYRIA  is because </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">that the two are former  imperialist, colonialist powers in that region, thus resurrecting colonial ambitions and   distant memories of the</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"> SYKES–PICOT AGREEMENT?</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><br /><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">(See: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sykes%E2%80%93Picot_Agreement">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sykes%E2%80%93Picot_Agreement</a>)</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="watch-title  yt-uix-expander-head" dir="ltr" id="eow-title" title="Chemical Weapons False Flag Against Syria Update">Chemical Weapons False Flag Against Syria?</span></span></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DbMdll58lis?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">This video clip was posted on YouTube April 2012</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></div></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">  </span><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />  The coincidence couldn't be more telling. No sooner than the UNITED NATIONS chemical   weapons inspectors arrived in Damascus - within 72 hours, in fact - the SYRIAN   opposition figures based in Istanbul, TURKEY, have claimed that up to 1,400   people have been killed in chemical weapons attacks by the government forces   on the outskirts of the SYRIAN capital. <br />  <br />  The media blitzkrieg has been equally stunning - press conferences, video   presentations by opposition activists, "expert opinion" from   Western capitals and instantaneous reactions by western politicians. <br />  <br />  The UNITED STATES, BRITAIN, FRANCE, GERMANY, the EUROPEAN UNION and the ARAB   LEAGUE are among those who have demanded for urgent action. <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />  <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />  </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The UN Security Council promptly held a closed-door   meeting to consider the allegation against the SYRIAN government.   Unsurprisingly, the SYRIAN government itself has strongly refuted the   allegation calling it a "dirty" media war, which reflected the   "hysteria, disorder and breakdown" of the rebels who have suffered   a string of devastating military defeats in the recent days and weeks. <br />  <br />  <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SWEDISH</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WEAPON INSPECTOR SELLSTROM:</b> <b>IRAQ DÉJÀ VU? </b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />  What is the game plan? One vital clue lies in the appointment of the SWEDISH   expert Ake Sellstrom as the head of the UN team that landed in Damascus three   days ago. Sellstrom served in the select band of UN weapon inspectors in IRAQ. <br />  Reuters quoted Sellstrom backing the demand that the alleged attacks in   Damascus suburbs should be investigated and he even mooted a plan of action.   Sellstrom suggested, </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It [SYRIAN opposition claim]   sounds like something that should be looked into. It will depend on whether   any UN member state goes to the secretary general and says we should look at   this event. We are in place.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1PiW4lZnbmBkmiv_Dz7D0L5t9AeFN_QE2B-EUKoIAqWdDqQHOAbwrsUsAmb1nj76ywxQXvN7BZVkO43ibmxfMgWD0a8QwzZREfJmIZZjRm8LBI2IOJn1WvP6uS2JDnCmZ6YQKcU-Vg7Og/s1600/iraq_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1PiW4lZnbmBkmiv_Dz7D0L5t9AeFN_QE2B-EUKoIAqWdDqQHOAbwrsUsAmb1nj76ywxQXvN7BZVkO43ibmxfMgWD0a8QwzZREfJmIZZjRm8LBI2IOJn1WvP6uS2JDnCmZ6YQKcU-Vg7Og/s320/iraq_b.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">BRITISH Foreign Secretary William   Hague picked up Sellstrom's excellent idea and said, I call on the SYRIAN   government to allow immediate access to the area for the UN team currently   investigating previous allegations of chemical weapons use ... The UK will be   raising this incident at the UN Security Council. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">France concurred within no time.   President Francois Hollande too felt that the allegations "require   verification and confirmation" and Paris would ask the UN to go to the   site "to shed full light" on the allegations. GERMANY nodded in   agreement. <br />  <br />  The TURKISH foreign ministry had a full-fledged statement ready, which said   Ankara is "deeply concerned" and the team of UN inspectors already   in SYRIA "must investigate the allegations in question and present its   findings" to the security council. </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KKrkokQIx9g?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Interestingly, the much-awaited statement by the White House in Washington   turned out to be an endorsement of the EUROPEAN-TURKISH demand - stopping   short of confirming the incident but adding it was working to gather   additional information, while demanding, </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is today, as we speak, on   the ground in SYRIA, a UNITED NATIONS team with a specialty in investigating   the use of chemical weapons. So, let's give this team the opportunity to   investigate what exactly occurred and get to the bottom of this so that we   can hold accountable those who were responsible. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Indeed, an emergency meeting of   the UN Security Council has taken place in New York. The council did not   explicitly demand a UN investigation but agreed that "clarity" was   needed and welcomed UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon's calls for a prompt   investigation by Sellstrom's team. <br />  <br />  In the words of Ambassador Cristina Perceval of ARGENTINA, currently   president of the Security Council, there is "strong concern among the   Council members" about the allegations, and "a general sense that   there must be clarity on what happened" and that the situation has to be   followed carefully''. <br />  <br />  Meanwhile, Ban's spokesman told journalists in New York that Sellstrom is   already "in discussions with the SYRIAN Government on all issues   pertaining to the alleged use of chemical weapons, including this most recent   reported incident''. <br />  <br />  <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>CAMEL IN BASHAR'S TENT</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />  In sum, the UN inspection team which is mandated to be in SYRIA up to 14 days   - as agreed between the SYRIAN government and the UN - "with a possible   extension" to probe the use of alleged use of chemical weapons at Khan   al-Assal and two other undisclosed cites may just be getting an enhanced   mandate. <br />  <br />  If so, it becomes a diplomatic coup of sorts for the Western powers and their   MIDDLE EASTERN allies who have been persistently seeking some form of UN   intervention in SYRIA. <br />  <br />  In essence, Sellstrom may well be on an open-ended mission now since the SYRIAN   opposition will endeavor to make fresh allegations in other places in SYRIA   as well. Most important, Sellstrom may tiptoe at some stage toward the   chemical weapon stockpiles of the Bashar Al-Assad regime. <br />  <br />  Clearly, the camel has entered Bashar's tent. Sellstrom will now begin filing   reports to Ban, which the latter will be obliged to bring to the notice of   the Security Council and that, in turn, could mean the opening of a SYRIAN   file in New York, which the West all along wanted. <br />  <br />  What does it all add up to? Three things emerge. One, the momentum of   stunning successes by the SYRIAN military over the rebels is almost certainly   going to be punctuated. The SYRIAN regime will need to turn attention to the   diplomatic battle that lies ahead. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">TURKEY   HAS NOW REALIZED ITS STRATEGIC MISTAKE AND LEFT THE FRONT</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />  <br />  The government forces have won successes in key battlefields such as in the   central and coastal regions of Homs and Latakia and the suburbs of Damascus.   General Yahya Rahim Safavi, the influential military aide to IRAN'S Supreme   Leader Ali Khamenei, claimed in Tehran that the "[SYRIAN] terrorists   have been almost defeated from the military perspective." Savafi added, </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What   is left is the Geneva 2 conference. On one side there will be the US, ISRAEL,   FRANCE, ENGLAND, TURKEY and some ARAB states, which supported the opposition.   As a result of its domestic issues, TURKEY has now realized its strategic   mistake and left the front. SAUDI ARABIA is dealing with its EGYPT project.   The rest of the front is present but defeated. <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />  <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />  </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">RUSSIA’S   REACTION?</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />  But on the other side of this front, there reside RUSSIA, CHINA and IRAN,   which aided SYRIA. Of course, IRAN and the LEBANESE Hezbollah aided SYRIA politically   and internationally as they support restoration of peace, stability and   tranquility to SYRIA.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Did Safavi speak one day too soon?   Is Iran fully in the loop? Is its triumphalism warranted? The answers will unfold   soon. <br />  <br />  Meanwhile, Moscow is maintaining deafening silence over the latest   allegations on chemical weapons, presumably taken aback by the lightning   speed with which the Western powers and their regional allies got the SYRIAN   file into the agenda of the Security Council. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #cc0000;">TECTONIC   PLATES IN THE GEOPOLITICS OF THE MIDDLE EAST SHOW SOME MOVEMENT</span><br />  </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />  RUSSIAN Foreign Minister Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov had a telephone   conversation with the SAUDI spy chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan al-Saud to   "discuss the situation in EGYPT and SYRIA ... [and] the relations   between the two countries''. Bandar is a delightful bag of tricks, and at any   rate, by Wednesday evening, Riyadh sang a different tune, with Foreign   Minister Saud al-Faisal saying, </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The UN Security Council should   work out a clear resolution to put an end to the tragedy. We are shocked by   the massacre in SYRIAN cities with the use of chemical weapons, which are   prohibited under international law.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is the second thing. The   tectonic plates in the geopolitics of the MIDDLE EAST were beginning to show   some movement in recent weeks over developments in EGYPT. The disharmony   amongst the erstwhile allies who were until recently collaborating over the SYRIA   project was becoming too obvious to be papered over. <br />  <br />  <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">TURKEY began openly criticizing the EGYPTIAN   junta and its GULF Cooperation Council (GCC) supporters and taunting the WEST   over its much-vaunted democracy project in the new MIDDLE EAST. QATAR   vanished from the SYRIAN frontline. Washington still wouldn't call the EGYPTIAN   coup by its real name, while the EUROPEAN UNION is dithering on imposing any   embargo on EGYPT, with SAUDI ARABIA threatening to make up for any Western   embargo on EGYPT. </b><br />  <br />  <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>STALLING A RESET </b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />  <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">But the most sensational part of the   realignment is the nascent proximity between RUSSIA on the one hand and SAUDI   ARABIA and its GCC allies (especially the UNITED ARAB EMIRATES) on the other   hand in their shared antipathy toward Muslim Brotherhood. <br />  </b><br />  At the very least, the SYRIAN chemical weapon controversy puts a sudden break   on the incipient moves of a "reset" in the political alignments in   the MIDDLE EAST. The Western powers have circled the wagons and their restive   ARAB allies - SAUDI ARABIA, in particular - are being told to stay put, with   the signal that the SYRIAN project is work in progress. <br />  <br />  <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">THE HEART OF THE MATTER IS THAT THE   WEST SIMPLY CANNOT AFFORD A REGIONAL ASCENDANCE BY RUSSIA, CHINA AND IRAN</b>.   </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nor is the West comfortable with   the increasingly maverick ways in which its regional allies are behaving. <br />  <br />  Paradoxically, the chemical weapons controversy provides a vital lifeline for   TURKEY'S beleaguered Recep Erdogan to break out of acute isolation over EGYPT.   Erdogan is at his wit's end in coping with the KURDISH problem, which has   been surging lately as the leitmotif of the SYRIAN conflict. </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HUgF79x9IK2GSysqWuZVW4d-qePrGbyz8H-M7tRIPluRofLNZwkVvRU0WUfppBV0eepV1-oRAxZqYFPeQcebkGYxduFEswc5a_8GaIRDGTzE4VOLYK43YRIMdMsQaikZXErSRnIYEvL0/s1600/734px-Kurdish-inhabited_area_by_CIA_%25281992%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HUgF79x9IK2GSysqWuZVW4d-qePrGbyz8H-M7tRIPluRofLNZwkVvRU0WUfppBV0eepV1-oRAxZqYFPeQcebkGYxduFEswc5a_8GaIRDGTzE4VOLYK43YRIMdMsQaikZXErSRnIYEvL0/s1600/734px-Kurdish-inhabited_area_by_CIA_%25281992%2529.jpg" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: blue;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Background Information</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">:   </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">KURDISH EQUATION AND TURKEY</span> </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/10/libya-syria.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/10/libya-syria.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">THE   KURDISH INDEPENDENCE GAMBLE WITH TURKEY </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/08/double-dealing-in-iraq-and-syria.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/08/double-dealing-in-iraq-and-syria.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">TURKEY'S   GAMBLE ON KURDISTAN OIL</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/08/turkeys-erratic-foreign-policies-all.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/08/turkeys-erratic-foreign-policies-all.html</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">KURDISH   MARCH TOWARD AUTONOMY GAINS MOMENTUM</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/08/turkeys-syrian-policies.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/08/turkeys-syrian-policies.html</a></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The SYRIAN KURDS have frontally   challenged Ankara's covert nexus with the al-Qaeda affiliates operating in   northeastern SYRIA bordering TURKEY, which puts Erdogan in a tight spot. <br />  <br />  A tantalizing question, however, arises. The EUROPEAN powers - BRITAIN and FRANCE   in particular - and TURKEY are evidently spearheading the latest controversy   over chemical weapons. But how far and how real is the Obama administration's   involvement in it? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: blue;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Comment by Geopolitical   Analysis and Monitoring:</span></i></b></span><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkUAgEj1qR7eRFvmz9yN5p28Q0-Zyb-MXgPrnpLl6hlSh3Mhhp05tCH1PPtdl9_BZ1X1fbcYB_j6-XA82mSXmalmpYj4p65i4Znn_8aOFz9b7A2rAQuNGFxEXKrizWwXckBXRXjIsvshVE/s1600/MPK1-426_Sykes_Picot_Agreement_Map_signed_8_May_1916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkUAgEj1qR7eRFvmz9yN5p28Q0-Zyb-MXgPrnpLl6hlSh3Mhhp05tCH1PPtdl9_BZ1X1fbcYB_j6-XA82mSXmalmpYj4p65i4Znn_8aOFz9b7A2rAQuNGFxEXKrizWwXckBXRXjIsvshVE/s200/MPK1-426_Sykes_Picot_Agreement_Map_signed_8_May_1916.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">SYKES–PICOT AGREEMENT</span></b></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: blue;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Could it be that the   BRITISH and FRENCH stance on SYRIA and use of Chemical Weapons is all about   the resurrection of colonial ambitions and distant memories of the </span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">SYKES–PICOT AGREEMENT? (See:</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sykes%E2%80%93Picot_Agreement">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sykes%E2%80%93Picot_Agreement</a>)</span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />  <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of   Staff, General Martin Dempsey, went on record that the Obama administration   is opposed to even limited military intervention in SYRIA because it believes   that the rebels fighting the Assad regime wouldn't support AMERICAN interests   if they were to seize power right now. <br />  </b><br />  He wrote with brutal frankness in a formal letter addressed to US Congressman   Eliot Engel (Democrat - New York), </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SYRIA today is not about choosing   between two sides but rather about choosing one among many sides. It is my   belief that the side we choose must be ready to promote their interests and   ours when the balance shifts in their favor. Today, they are not. <br />  <br />  It is a deeply rooted, long-term conflict among multiple factions, and   violent struggles for power will continue after Assad's rule ends. We should   evaluate the effectiveness of limited military options in this context. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Comment by Geopolitical Analysis and Monitoring</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">:</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Worthwhile to mention is that the SYRIAN conflict will most   probably continue for some time, similar to the civil war in LEBANON, which   lasted 15 years.</span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />  <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The use of US military force can   change the military balance. But it cannot resolve the underlying and   historic ethnic, religious and tribal issues that are fueling this conflict. </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dempsey concluded that the Obama   administration is on course with its current policy of focusing on   humanitarian assistance and bolstering the moderate opposition in SYRIA,   since such an approach "represents the best framework for an effective   US strategy toward SYRIA''. <br />  <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br />  <span style="color: #cc0000;">SYRIAN CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONTROVERSY OPENS AN EXIT DOOR OF SORTS FOR THE   WESTERN POWERS (AND TURKEY) IN SYRIA</span><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />  <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />  </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All in all, therefore, the   chemical weapons controversy opens an exit door of sorts for the western   powers (and TURKEY) in SYRIA. The western powers have been dodging the issue   of arming the SYRIAN rebels after making verbal pledges while Assad's forces   have been gradually gaining the upper hand militarily. <br />  <br />  The SYRIAN opposition is in a mess and EGYPT'S strongman General Abdel Fatteh   el-Sisi told its leaders who were based in Cairo to get lost. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">On the other hand, the Brotherhood, which   dominated the SYRIAN opposition, is under heavy SAUDI artillery fire all   across the region</b>. <br />  <br />  In sum, the compass of the "regime change" project in SYRIA has   shifted in favor of the Salafists. Besides, these are still early days in   Egypt and what happens on the Nile banks would ultimately rewrite Middle   eastern politics. In the present situation, Assad will negotiate from a   position of unassailable strength at the "Geneva 2" negotiating   table, which is untenable. <br />  <br />  This is where the chemical weapons controversy and the opening of a SYRIAN   file at the UN Security Council offers a breather to break the momentum of   Assad's army and the swagger of the Hezbollah and IRAN and end the look of   smug satisfaction on the RUSSIAN face. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SELLSTROM   DOES NOT EVEN HAVE A MANDATE TO NAME THE PARTY RESPONSIBLE</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #cc0000;">.</span><br />  <br />  Is this a prelude to an IRAQ-like scenario? The chancelleries in Moscow,   Tehran and Beijing will be assessing. No doubt, Sellstrom is tiptoeing   dangerously close toward Bashar's WMD stockpiles, something, which the US   (and ISRAEL) always wanted to fasten. <br />  <br />  The only task assigned to weapon inspector Sellstrom when he landed in   Damascus three days ago with his team was to inspect three specific sites to   determine whether chemical weapons were used in SYRIA. He didn't have a   mandate even to name the party responsible. <br />  <br />  Now, all that is history. The plain truth is that Sellstrom's footfalls are   beginning to echo in the memory. One could visualize Sellstrom going down the   passage towards the door "we never opened into the rose-garden''. <br />  <br />  Maybe, as T. S. Eliot wrote, </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"But to what purpose<br />  Disturbing the dust on a bowl of rose-leaves<br />  I do not know."</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But we know that what was an   abstraction until the dawn broke on Wednesday is becoming a perpetual   possibility in today's world of speculation. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By M K Bhadrakumar </span></div></td> </tr></tbody></table>

SYRIAN MEDIA BLITZKRIEG

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