politics for the 99%

Published on truthout.org, by Gareth Porter, June 10, 2016.

In yet another a dangerous US political-diplomatic move in Syria, the Obama administration is going out of its way to protect the interests of al-Qaeda’s closest and most powerful ally in Syria, Ahrar al-Sham.  

The administration’s decision to shield the Islamist organization from the consequences of collaborating closely with al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch, Nusra Front, in threatening what had been a promising “cessation of hostilities,” goes much further than the US failure to pressure other armed opposition groups to separate themselves from Nusra Front, as US Secretary of State John Kerry had promised
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/35984-obama-broke-pledge-to-demand-syrian-opposition-s-separation-from-nusra-front
in negotiations with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov … //

… Ahrar al-Sham’s military cooperation with Nusra Front has been so complete, in fact, that Nusra has come to regard it as a source of weapons, according to a former Nusra fighter who has left Syria. He was referring to weapons supplied by external parties, especially Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, to Ahrar.

Perhaps the most crucial factor binding Ahrar al-Sham to Nusra Front, however, is that it is afraid to provoke a confrontation with Nusra Front over the latter’s policies. As Aron Lund, a leading specialist on the war in Syria and a nonresident associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has observed, Ahrar “probably feels too weak and internally divided to stand up to its jihadi ally.”Any confrontation with Nusra, therefore, would likely split Ahrar in two and weaken it drastically overnight.

There is virtually no chance that Ahrar would act to block Nusra Front’s path to power. The Obama administration’s coddling of Nusra’s main ally is far more about the politics of its relations with regional allies — and especially with Turkey — than about its professed concern about bringing the Syria conflict to an end.

(full text, related stories, comments).

(Gareth Porter is an independent investigative journalist and historian writing on US national security policy. His latest book, Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare, was published in February of 2014. Follow him on Twitter: @GarethPorter … and find him also on World Pople’s Blog).

Links:

Abby Martin and Paul Jay – What Should Sanders Do Next? 20.06 min, on The Real News, June 10, 2016: as Hillary Clinton becomes the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, Martin and Jay discuss the strategy of voting for the lesser evil and the potential foreign policy of a Trump or Clinton administration; also on YouTube;

Even For A Democrat, Clinton Stands Out As Violent, Aggressive, on Countercurrents.org, by Robert Barsocchini, June 10, 2016: … the Democrats have been a reluctant war party since 1968, by nominating Hillary Clinton, they have once again become an aggressive war party (Robert Parry) …;

France – et le glamour? à la poubelle, dans Courrier International, le 10 juin 2016;

Transports – la France inflige l’une de ses plus cuisantes défaites à Uber, dans Courrier International, le 10 juin 2016;
LOI TRAVAIL FRANCE - page spéciale dans le Courrier International;

French air, rail & waste industry strikes as Euro 2016 kicks off, on RT, June 10, 2016;

France steps up security amid terror fears during Euro 2016, 3.34 min, uploaded by RT, June 10, 2016 … France is on the highest alert as Euro 2016 prepares to kick-off, amid fears of riots and terror attacks;

Transparency International Reports on Massive Corruption in the Pharmaceutical Sector – Media Hardly Notices, on naked capitalism, by Yves Smith, June 9, 2016;

La chronique de Chantal Tauxe: le goût des Suisses pour la realpolitik, dans l’Hebdo.ch, le 9 juin 2016;

C’est bien la question de l’asile qui a dominé les votations du 5 juin, dans Tribune de Genève.ch, par Judith Mayencourt, le 8 juin 2016: sondage: selon l’étude de Tamedia, la révision de la loi a été perçue comme le sujet central des dernières votations. Quant au revenu de base, il a surtout intéressé les jeunes;

Sovereign wealth funds throw funding lifeline to tech ventures – Reuters, dans PE HUB network, June 8, 2016;

Hans-Peter Dürr – Warum die Frauen so wichtig sind, 4.40 min, uploaded by MindfulnessTV, Feb 13, 2016 … “Ein Baum, der fällt, macht mehr Krach als ein Wald, der wächst.” Tibetische Weisheit. Hans-Peter Dürr (1929-2014) war ein deutscher Quantenphysiker, Friedensaktivist, Philosoph und Autor …;

Richard Wolff To Peter Schiff – Your System Deprives Masses Of Decent Living Standard, 7.30 min, uploaded by Peter Schitt, Boom Bust RT – Dec 12, 2014;

How To Kick-off A Revolution? – Chris Hedges, Cornel West, and Richard Wolff, 29.19 min, uploaded by Noam Chomsky Videos, July 5, 2014 … Laura Flanders, Moderator Professors Chris Hedges, Cornel West and Richard Wolff begin a ten part series at the Left Form that will focus on the great modern revolutionary theorists. They begin with perhaps America’s only real revolutionist, Thomas Paine, who in his three great works Common Sense, The Rights of Man and The Age of Reason laid down the foundations by which rebellion is morally and legally permissible. They look at whether the conditions set by Paine have been met with the rise of the corporate state and ask whether Paine’s call for the overthrow of British tyranny should become our own.