Syria 1st-Hand: The Insurgent Sniper in Aleppo (Abouzeid)

Insurgents in AleppoHe may look calm, but he’s deeply troubled. After some nine months of fighting with several Free Syrian Army units, first on the outskirts of Aleppo and then in the city itself after the rebel push into it in late July, he has grown disillusioned with the fight and angry with its conduct. “I did this when it was clean,” he says. “Now it’s dirty. Many aren’t fighting just to get rid of Bashar, they’re fighting to gain a reputation, to build up their name. I want it to go back to the way it was, when we were fighting for God and the people, not for some commander’s reputation.”

He refused an order in November to fight a proregime, ethnic Kurdish militia in a Kurdish neighborhood of Aleppo that the rebels had entered. “Why should I fight the Kurds?” he says. “It’s a distraction. This isn’t our fight.”

Click to read more ...

Iran Audio Feature: Downing a US Drone? --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24

I spoke with Monocle 24's The Briefing on Tuesday afternoon about Iran's claimed downing of a US ScanEagle drone. We talked about the recent history of US surveillance operations over Iran and discussed the latest incident, assessing the story and the political and military implications.

The discussion begins at the 6:56 mark.

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: While US Warns About Chemical Weapons, 239 Die

As a motorcade apparently carrying Egyptian President Morsi exits the Presidential Palace, protesters chant "Leave!"

See also Monday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Death Toll Rises Again

---

2142 GMT: Kuwait. More protests, sparked by the Emir's changes to the electoral laws last month, and encounters with security forces tonight:

Happening now - Clashes in Sabah al-Nasser area #Kuwait twitter.com/Q8Ping/status/… v @assafsalem

— Hamad Al-Sabah (@hmalsabah) December 4, 2012

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (4 December): Regime Concern over Political Prisoners?

State outlet Press TV on Revolutionary Guards' capture of a US dronem, announced today

See also Iran Analysis: A Debate Over Ahmadinejad's Political Future
Monday's The Latest from Iran (3 December): Medicine and Sanctions

---

2100 GMT: Book Corner. More than 100 Iranian writers, poets, and translators have called for an end to book censorship in an open letter.

The literary figures want the abolition of the requirement that writers obtain authorisation from the Culture Ministry before publishing:

Iran is one of the rare countries in the beginning of the 21st century where authors have to ask for a license from the state in order to publish their books, even though the requirement is not stated in the constitution....

In reality, this method amounts to hostage taking of freedom of expression, creativity, and the livelihood of writers by the government in order to impose its ideas on the authors.

Click to read more ...

US Politics Audio: "Clinton for President in 2016" --- Scott Lucas with the BBC

With Hillary Clinton visiting Belfast in Northern Ireland on Friday, BBC Radio Ulster asked me this morning, "Is this the start of her campaign for President in 2016?"

Yes.

With that established, we spoke about Clinton's prospects, the assistance of husband Bill, and why the Ireland-US link is so important for the Clintons in the race for the White House.

The discussion starts at the 57:51 mark.

Iran Analysis: A Debate Over Ahmadinejad's Political Future

2. Ahmadinejad’s reshuffling of the deck of close allies and his open contempt for all the other State institutions is not in itself a signal of his regaining strength. He has been consistently assertive and cocky all the way through the power struggle simply because he has no other choice. Any sign of meekness and his supporters would abandon him.

I think that even inside the system, among the mid-ranking officials and security men, nobody is really sure what is the balance of power and who is calling the shots. So they all want to play safe. I wouldn’t cross Ahmadinejad out just yet, but I wouldn’t see a sudden reversal of fortunes either.

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (3 December): Medicine and Sanctions

See also The Latest from Iran (2 December): Ahmadinejad Puts His Right-Hand Man in a New Post

---

2055 GMT: Foreign Affairs (Egyptian Front). After a period of uncertainty over how to play its relationship with Egypt --- given President Morsi's slapdown of Iran over Syria this summer, his key role in ending the Gaza War, and then his sudden grab of powers --- it looks like Tehran is back to the promotion of an Iran-Egypt alliance to reshape the Middle East.

Kazem Jalali, a leading MP with role at the Parliamentary Research Center and the National Security Committee, puts out the line, “Egypt and Iran can play an important and effective role in the Middle East region for promoting peace and security, and providing proper grounds for unity of the Muslim world."

Jalali hailed Egypt’s 2011 revolution as a “great achievement for the regional nations,” adding, “Every revolution is usually followed by a transition period which has to be passed and the Egyptian revolution is no exception to this rule. We hope to see stability and calm in this country very soon.”

Click to read more ...

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Death Toll Rises Again

2136 GMT: Syria. The situation in Aleppo may feel like a stalemate to the residents of the city, but there is plenty of efforts being made by both sides to lift that stalemate. For the last week or so the FSA has been sieging the Air Force Intelligence building in Aleppo. Snipers have pinned down the building periodically, and the FSA has hit it with all sorts of RPGs, small arms fire, and recoilless rifles. Videos have even showed the FSA conducting improvised rocket attacks against the building.

But this video is interesting. It shows insurgents using some sort of small field artillery piece to target the building. An activist translates the talking, and suggests that the insurgents are using a radio to make sure that the shell hits the target, and also to make sure that they are not being targeted by snipers:

2120 GMT: Syria. The FSA is sacking bases around Aleppo, and has the city nearly completely cut off from the outside world. However, while the FSA is advancing in the east, sieging the last vestiges of the Assad regime in Idlib province, making inroads in Daraa, and turning up the heat on Damascus, Aleppo is in much the same position it was a month ago, and the conflict has seen little change in even longer than that. With some of the regime's strongest units still operating in Aleppo, it's clear that while the co0nflict is dynamic, and the the momentum clearly on the insurgents' side outside Aleppo, city itself could remain in this state for some time.

Click to read more ...

Syria 1st-Hand: The Story of The Beloved of Allah Brigade (Hubbard)

Photo: Khalil Hamra/APOn Nov. 17, the brigade called "The Beloved of Allah" braced for its biggest challenge yet, making it clear how far its members had come and how far the war had brought them from their former lives.

Men who once sold real estate, laid bricks, wore suits and treated sick farm animals armed themselves with vests laden with ammunition, hand grenades and pocket-sized copies of the Quran. After a two-month siege, they planned to storm a major military base in one of the larger coordinated attacks of the uprising.

Click to read more ...

Israel-Palestine Opinion: Taking Apart Netanyahu's Threats After the UN Vote

So is Netanyahu looking to uproot the political and economic institutions set up since 1993 amid Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and dispute?

No. This "warning" is rhetoric, seeking to hold the line while the Prime Minister pursues his first priority: winning another term in office in the January elections.

Click to read more ...