Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Top Military Commander Defects?

President Assad and Manaf Tlass in the 1990s (see 0515 GMT)

See also Kuwait Feature: The Politics of a "Sinking Ship"

Thursday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Fighting on the Turkish Border

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1909 GMT: Syria. A significant development in the battle north of Aleppo. Many activists, including some of our more trusted sources, report that the Free Syrian Army has successfully ambushed a military convoy on the highway between Turkey and Aleppo city. What's even more significant is that the FSA appears to have captured some of the vehicles and weapons, as well as what appears to be an oil tanker, after the ambush.

To recap: this Assad army convoy you saw earlier being ambushed by FSA youtube.com/watch?v=pjLt1m… Was then seized by FSA! youtube.com/watch?v=YjK78f…

— Nuff Silence (@NuffSilence) July 6, 2012

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Worst 4th of July Ever Feature: The 15-Second Fireworks Display (McAllister)

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Americans love their fireworks on Independence Day, but it is possible to have too much of a good thing. That's what spectators got on July 4 in San Diego, California, when an errant computer triggered every rocket in the city's annual display to launch at once.

The pyrotechnics were meant to last 18 minutes. Instead, the whole show was over in roughly 15 seconds, after a deafening display that saw all five launch sites blast their missiles into the air simultaneously.

"We apologize for the brevity of the show," the Port of San Diego said in a statement.

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Kuwait Feature: The Politics of a "Sinking Ship" (Al-Sumait)

Emir of KuwaitFor now, it is clear that the current political system is neither monarchial nor democratic enough to exploit the benefits of either. The lesson appears to be that a country cannot balance power effectively between anappointed cabinet and an elected parliament. In an absolute monarchy, the king calls the shots and appoints who he wants to help him govern. By contrast, in a fully democratic system, competing ideologies vie for political dominance through various electoral systems, and the government branches function as a system of checks and balances. But in Kuwait, where the systems are mixed, the executive and legislative branches are inherently locked in a power struggle.

This almost guarantees perpetual confrontation rather than some degree of symbiosis. The hybrid approach does not appear to be a formula for effective governance, but may instead be a structural defect that will continue to foster the kind of political chaos for which Kuwait is increasingly known. It could be argued that the real question going forward is not how Kuwait will navigate through the current storm, but rather when (or if) it will be able to effectively repair its sinking ship.

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Honduras Feature: Is the US Backing the Military's Repression? (Frank)

US and Honduran soldiers at closing ceremonies for joint exercise, 26 June 2012

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In some ways, it was just one more bloody episode in a blood-soaked country. In the early hours of the morning on May 11, a group of indigenous people traveling by canoe on a river in the northeast Mosquitia region of Honduras came under helicopter fire. When the shooting was over, at least four persons lay dead, including, by some accounts, two pregnant women. In Honduras, such grisly violence is no longer out of the ordinary. But what this incident threw into stark relief was the powerful role the United States is playing in a Honduran war.

US officials maintain that the Drug Enforcement Administration commandos on board the helicopters did not fire their weapons that morning; Honduran policemen pulled the triggers. But no one disputes that US forces were heavily involved in the raid, and that the helicopters were owned by the US State Department.

The United States has, in fact, been quietly escalating its military presence in Honduras, pouring police and military funding into the regime of President Porfirio Lobo in the name of fighting drugs. The DEA is using counterinsurgency methods developed in Iraq against drug traffickers in Honduras, deploying squads of commandos with US military Special Forces backgrounds to work closely with the Honduran police and military. The US ambassador to Honduras, Lisa Kubiske, recently said, “We have an opportunity now, because the military is no longer at war in Iraq. Using the military funding that won’t be spent, we should be able to have resources to be able to work here.”

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Iran Feature: Insight Into Tehran's Position in the Nuclear Talks (Slavin)

Iranian officials [have] put forward a detailed explanation of their point of view including a proposal for high-level negotiations every three months.

A 10-page document given Tuesday (July 3) to Iran experts by Iran’s mission to the United Nations also calls for lifting all sanctions against Iran and a framework for “comprehensive and targeted dialogue for long term cooperation” that goes beyond the nuclear issue. It includes elements of a bigger bargain normalizing Iran’s status in the international community.

Among four “objectives” for the proposed dialogue, sanctions relief is listed first. The goal, the paper says, is “to normalize Iran’s nuclear file in the UN Security Council and in the [International Atomic Energy Agency] Board of Governors by total termination of the UNSC, unilateral and multilateral sanctions against Iran.”...

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EA on the Road: Talking American Studies in Nottingham

I will be in Nottingham today for work on the Journal of American Studies. 

Live Coverage of Iran and of Syria and Beyond will be limited until the afternoon, but we will then be back to full speed. In the meantime, have  a look at today's opening news and our features on Egypt, Mali, and "Explaining Independence Day to the Brits".

The Latest from Iran (5 July): Chest-Thumping

Tough talk from Tehran University's Seyed Mohammad Marandi on Press TV: "The United States knows that its ships in the Persian Gulf are sitting ducks when it comes to Iranian missiles"

See also The Latest from Iran (4 July): "Neither Side Understands the Other" in Nuclear Talks

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1950 GMT: The Battle Within. Back from a break to find an excellent summary in Payvand of the latest contest between President Ahmadinejad and clerics within the establishment....

Ahmadinejad started the fight by removing Mohammad-Hossein Mousavipour, the Governor of the religious centre of Qom, with Karam-Reza Piryiyaei.

Mousavipour was appointed in October 2009 as Qom's first-ever cleric Governor, in an attempt by the Government to repair relations after the disputed Presidential election of June. He is close to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani and his deputy Mohammad Reza Bahonar.

Piryiyaei has been Governor of Hamedan Province, but his notable qualification in this case is that he supported Ahmadinejad during the President's controversial 11-day boycott of his duties in spring 2011, prompted by a dispute with the Supreme Leader over control of the Ministry of Intelligece.

Protests against the change of governor have come from the Qom Friday Prayer leader, other senior clerics, Qom MP Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani, and students affiliated to the Basij.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Fighting on the Turkish Border

1906 GMT: Syria. There are a series of reports that suggest that Manaf Tlass, a high-ranking general in the Syrian Republican Guard, and a member of Assad's inner circle. Tlass is a trusted member of the regime, and a long-time friend of Assad's, but he is also a member of an extremely powerful Sunni family, and rumors have been spreading that he and his brother were increasingly frustrated at the actions of the regime. The Guardian reports:

Tlass's defection was reported by Syriasteps, a news website linked to the country's security apparatus. It said that "a highly placed source in intelligence has confirmed that General Manaf Mustafa Tlass has fled to Turkey", and quoted a security official as saying: "His escape does not mean anything."

While The Guardian offers an excellent overview of the importance of Tlass, and Reuters offers some additional context, we'd caution that this news is still unconfirmed. For hours we've been hearing these rumors, but have put off publishing them for want of a better source. By now, however, many major news agencies are reporting the story.

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Egypt Feature: Does the Solution Lie in the Economy? (Bohn/Lister)

"No to Poverty, No to Unemployment, No to Torture"In 18 months of upheaval, all Egypt's economic indicators have headed south.

Growth is a projected 1.5% this fiscal year, far too feeble to provide a young and rapidly growing population with jobs (80% of Egypt's population is under age 30). Unemployment, one of the engines of the revolution, is estimated to be as high as 25% among the young. Tourism revenues have fallen sharply, and foreign reserves have dwindled to $15 billion. According to the United Nations, some 40% of Egyptians live below the poverty line; 14 million people subsist on less than $1 a day. Institutions are chronically weak and corruption is endemic.

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Mali Video Feature: Explaining the Danger in the Country and the Region (Al Jazeera English)

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This spring has brought escalating tension in the African state of Mali, with a coup on 21 March, the declaration of independence in the north by the Tuareg National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, the seizure of some of that territory by Ansar Dine, said to be linked to Al Qa'eda, and this week's destruction of historic mausoleums in Timbuktu by that group.

Al Jazeera English's Inside Story explains and evaluates the situation with a former Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs, a former Algerian ambassador, and a London-based analyst.