I am doing some work in London today as editor of the Journal of American Studies.
Updates in Live Coverage will be limited this morning, but James Miller will be here this afternoon to guide you through the latest news. We also have new features on Syria and Iran for you to consider, and we look forward to readers bringing in reports and ideas through our Comments sections.
Regime soldiers held by insurgents in Deir Ez Zor Province
Armed opposition groups have subjected detainees to ill-treatment and torture and committed extrajudicial or summary executions in Aleppo, Latakia, and Idlib, Human Rights Watch said today following a visit to Aleppo governorate. Torture and extrajudicial or summary executions of detainees in the context of an armed conflict are war crimes, and may constitute crimes against humanity if they are widespread and systematic.
Opposition leaders told Human Rights Watch that they will respect human rights and that they have taken measures to curb the abuses, but Human Rights Watch expressed serious concern about statements by some opposition leaders indicating that they tolerate, or even condone, extrajudicial and summary executions. When confronted with evidence of extrajudicial executions, three opposition leaders told Human Rights Watch that those who killed deserved to be killed, and that only the worst criminals were being executed.
General Jafari & President AhmadinejadRevolutionary Guards Commander Jafari's message on Sunday, backed by this chiding of Ankara, appears to be, "We are in Syria. Deal with it." Perhaps someone in Tehran planned it as part of a carrot-and-stick strategy, with the commander offering the tough posture while the President was saying, "Look, you really want us in talks."
More likely, however, is that there is no strategist --- not Jafari, not Ahmadinejad, not the Foreign Ministry, not the Supreme Leader --- thinking through the statements and Iran's actions. And that failure is likely to set Iran back in its effort to retain some influence in the Syrian situation.
President Obama pays tribute to US Ambassador Chris Stevens
Ambassador Stevens knew Libya, and he believed that it could become one of the first full success stories of the Arab Spring — that Islamic radicalism there could be nipped in the bud if Western governments acted decisively to put the country on a path to stability and social progress.
Now, his death may derail the very processes he championed.
The gravest mistake would be for the United States to write off Libya as an irredeemable terrorist haven, or for politicians in Washington to regret having intervened in support of Libya’s rebels. Libya is still far better off today than it was under Qaddafi.
See also Iran Interview: Middle Class Suffers, But Regime Will Take "Fair Package Deal" on Nuclear Program --- Iranian Analyst
The Latest from Iran (15 September): The Failure of the Regime's Anti-US Diversion?
1725 GMT: Currency Watch. Revolutionary Guards Commander Mohammad Ali Jafari, in addition to his pointed comments on Libya, Syria, and the US/Israel, intervened in domestic affairs in his news conference: he announced that the Guards will confront "troublemakers" in the currency market at the request of President Ahmadinejad.
The currency website Mesghal is posting a near-unchanged Rial on the open market at 24420:1 vs. the US dollar, but the opposition site Peyke Iran claims the rate is 24700:1 with old gold coin soaring to 955,000 Tomans (about $780 at official rate; $390 at open-market rate).
Sunday, September 16, 2012 at 10:38 | Scott Lucas in EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran See also Libya Opinion: The Lesson of Ambassador Stevens' Last Act --- "The Gravest Mistake Would Be to Write Off The Country"
Yemen Feature: The Story Behind the Attack on the US Embassy
Syria Snapshot: The Insurgents Kill a "Jihadist" Leader
MENA Opinion: Time for Muslims to Manage Their Anger
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Will the Clashes Around the US Embassies Continue Today?
1705 GMT: Syria. The Local Coordination Committees report that 113 people have been killed by security forces today, including 47 in Aleppo Province and 31 in Damascus and its suburbs.
Despite the clashes in much of the country, including reported shelling today of southern suburbs of Damascus, the Government has restarted the school year.
State news agency SANA said more than 5 million students would return to 22,000 schools, with only those damaged by war or housing refugees not resuming classes, quoting the Minister of Education:
The Ministry accomplished all procedures in cooperation with the parties concerned for launching the educational process at schools for the 2012-2013 study season and is working to complete preparations in the areas where armed terrorist groups prevent students from going to school.
The moment that a crowd attacked the US Embassy in Sana'a on Friday
Ostensibly, what sparked the siege on the US Embassy were statements by a number of religious leaders—amplified by social media and word of mouth—who condemned the film and called for protests. But while many in politically contentious Sanaa seemed eager to tie the protests to a prominent figure or faction, the truth was far less simple. Most of those taking part in the demonstrations lacked any obvious signs of religiosity: rather than bearded men or tribesmen in traditional garb, the bulk of those at the embassy were young men in western clothes, united, if anything, by their rage.
The demise of Abu Muhammad offers a window into the local dynamics of Syria’s bloody conflict and the tensions between the different groups of fighters. Although they often work together, competition for money, weapons and influence has been growing, and religious faultlines are deepening.
The middle class feels it more than other sectors. The poor remain poor, and as always, rich people are less affected. It is the middle class --- the sector which protested the most for change in Iran following the 2009 elections, and the people who have the potential to change --- who have been hit the hardest, because they are becoming poor, and their influence diminishes. It follows that the sanctions decrease the likelihood of political change in Iran. People are increasingly dependent on the government, and the likelihood of an uprising while risking their source of income, will be lower.
Saturday, September 15, 2012 at 12:57 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 
Peaceful protest in Istanbul over the US film "The Innocence of Muslims"
Opinion leaders throughout the Muslim world need to establish principles as to how to counter the insulting of Islam in civilized ways. They can, for example, focus on the Quranic verse that says that when they face people who mock Islam, Muslims should only “not sit with them”....In light of that verse, modern-day Muslims can counter Islamophobia not by violence or censorship, but with arguments and boycotts.
After all, no matter what we do, we Muslims cannot control what other people will say about Islam. We can only control the way we react to them.
