http://www.liveleak.com/browse?q=Sheikh Sat, 18 May 2013 16:04:54 -0400 Liveleak http://edge.liveleak.com/80281E/u/u/ll2/logo.gif http://www.liveleak.com/browse?q=Sheikh Fri, 17 May 2013 10:31:46 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a0c_1368800021 m16carbine How Qatar seized control of the Syrian revolution By Roula Khalaf and Abigail Fielding-Smith As the Arab world's bloodiest conflict grinds on, Qatar has emerged as a driving force: pouring in tens of millions of dollars to arm the rebels. Yet it also stands accused of dividing them - and of positioning itself for even greater influence in the post-Assad era. FT investigation by Roula Khalaf and Abigail Fielding-Smith A short drive from the rising skyscrapers of Doha's West Bay, emblems of the once-sleepy Qatari capital's frenetic growth, the three-starred flag of the Syrian revolution can be seen fluttering over a modern villa guarded by police cars. The villa is the new Syrian Arab Republic embassy in Qatar , representing not the regime of Bashar al-Assad , but opponents fighting for his removal. It is the only such embassy in the world, inaugurated by a Qatari minister two months ago with the usual diplomatic pomp, after hard lobbying by Qatar led the 22-member Arab League to hand over Syria's seat to the opposition. The diplomats working inside have recourse to neither a government nor a bureaucracy to serve Syrians abroad, lacking even the means to renew a passport. "Maybe soon," mutters a hopeful junior diplomat. But Qatar is not a country that allows details to get in the way of ambition. The opening of the embassy was a theatrical expression of this small, massively rich country's single-minded lurch into Syria's crisis . When it comes to backing Syria's rebels, no one can claim more credit than the gas-rich Gulf state. Whether in terms of armaments or financial support for dissidents, diplomatic manoeuvring or lobbying, Qatar has been in the lead, readily disgorging its gas-generated wealth in the pursuit of the downfall of Assad. Yet, as the Arab world's bloodiest uprising grinds on into its third year, Qatar finds itself pulled into a complicated and fractured conflict, the outcome of which has a decreasing ability to influence, while simultaneously becoming a high-profile scapegoat for participants on both sides. Among the Syrian regime's numerous but fragmented opponents the small Gulf state evokes a surprisingly ambivalent - and often overtly hostile - response. In the shell-blasted areas of rebel-held Syria, few appear to be aware of the vast sums that Qatar has contributed - estimated by rebel and diplomatic sources to be about $1bn, but put by people close to the Qatar government at as much as $3bn. However, a perception is taking root among growing numbers of Syrians that Qatar is using its financial muscle to develop networks of loyalty among rebels and set the stage for influence in a post-Assad era. "Qatar has a lot of money and buys everything with money, and it can put its fingerprints on it," says a rebel officer from the northern province of Idlib interviewed by the FT. Khalid al-Attiyah, Qatar's minister of state for foreign affairs, and the point man on Syria, dismisses this criticism as nothing more than noise. "We're a state, we're mature ... If we were concerned about what people say, we wouldn't be here today and Qatar wouldn't be as prosperous." But Qatar's role in Syria seems uncharacteristically prominent for a country that lacks the diplomatic experience and traditional heavyweight status of a more discreet Saudi Arabia. To some extent, the fact that Qatar is so exposed reflects the reluctance of western governments to intervene in Syria. However, for Qatar, Syria is also the culmination of an opportunistic foreign policy which saw Doha become the unlikely backer of other Arab revolts in north Africa - and a friend of those who emerge as winners, in most cases Islamists. Qatar's ruling family, the al-Thanis, have no ideological or religious affinity with the Islamists - they are simply not choosy about the beliefs held by useful friends. Qatar has supported the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Tunisia's Islamist al-Nahda party, which won the first elections after the popular revolts. Some politicians in the region believe the emir is trying to position himself as the "Islamist Abdel Nasser", as one Arab politician put it, referring to the late Egyptian president and the Arab world's only true pan-Arab leader. Most of Doha's neighbours in the Gulf are hostile to the Islamist trend in the region, but this is of little consequence to a state that takes pleasure in being contrarian. Nor are the al-Thanis embarrassed by the contradictions of an autocracy cheerleading for revolution. "The Qataris say if there's a tsunami coming your way you ride it, not let it hit you," says a western diplomat describing Qatar's attitude towards Islamists. It is this kind of dynamism and risk-taking at an executive level that has enabled Doha to act as a regional power only a few years after being a diplomatic nobody. But the military stalemate of the Syrian uprising, in which more than 70,000 people have died, has also revealed the recklessness and political impotence that ultimately undermine Qatar's objectives. "The Qataris are overextended - their system runs on a few people at the top, and there isn't much in terms of a bureaucracy," comments another diplomat. In the case of Syria, those key players have been the emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, his son and crown prince, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, the prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim, plus Attiyah, the minister for foreign affairs. As the Qataris have attempted to unite the political opposition by championing the formation of the Syrian National Coalition (the main front) they have been accused of dividing it - just as their efforts to shape a fragmented rebel army into a more coherent form by helping to unify the brigades under one command have contributed to its incoherence. Not all of the criticism is fair. Partly it is driven by the irritation of many Arabs, at both state and street level, with what they see as an ambitious, nouveau riche state overreaching itself. "You can criticise them for hijacking the opposition but who else is helping?" acknowledges an independent-minded Syrian opposition member who, like many others in the region who were interviewed for this article, requested anonymity. But the disapproval levelled at Qatar is pervasive. A senior rebel commander who has dealt with the Qataris suggests that Doha should look long and hard at why its role has also sparked so much animosity. "After two years it is time for everyone involved in Syria to review their actions and engage in self-correction," he says. . . . For Sheikh Hamad, the 61-year-old emir who has ruled Qatar since 1995 after deposing his father, the road to Damascus has involved a spectacular U-turn. It wasn't long ago that Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma were regular visitors to Doha, as guests of the emir and his second wife, Sheikha Moza. Qatari institutions were big investors in Syria, with a $5bn joint holding company set up in 2008 to develop everything from power stations to hotels. The emir also championed the international rehabilitation of Assad during his gradual ostracisation by the US, Europe and his Arab peers; Sheikh Hamad was instrumental in restoring Syrian relations with France in the years before the uprising, when he counted the former president Nicolas Sarkozy as a friend. Back then Syria was part of an alliance - with Iran and Lebanon's Hizbollah - that seemed on the ascendant, and Qatar, with typical pragmatism and opportunism, saw a chance to ride the wave as well as to moderate Assad's policies. When the Syrian revolt erupted in March 2011, Qatar, like Turkey, reacted cautiously; Al Jazeera, the Qatari-owned television channel, was criticised for downplaying the first protests. Behind the scenes, both the emir and crown prince Sheikh Tamim advised Assad against a military solution. But when prime minister Hamad bin Jassim went to visit Assad a month after the outbreak of protests, it became clear to Qatar that the Syrian hardman wanted "to kill people", as bin Jassim recently recalled at a Brookings Institution meeting. One person who influenced the emir's thinking at the time is Azmi Bishara , a prominent former Arab Israeli MP, exiled in Qatar (like many other Arab dissidents) after the Israeli government accused him of passing information to the Lebanese group Hizbollah during Israel's onslaught on Lebanon in 2006 - a charge Bishara denies. An adviser to the emir and the crown prince, Bishara has become something of a court intellectual in Doha. He is said to have been involved in the formation of the Syrian National Coalition, now the main opposition umbrella group, and to have been used to "test" opposition figures. He, too, had known Bashar al-Assad well, but then became an avid enthusiast of Arab revolts and the people's thirst for democracy. Writing in July 2011, Bishara said that Assad could have stayed in power had he led the reforms that people wanted: "The regime chose not to change, and so the people will change it." (Bishara was not available for comment.) Although the emir did not make his position public until Saudi Arabia broke its silence over Syria in August 2011, the conviction took hold in Qatar throughout that bloody first summer that Syria's was as much a revolution as anywhere else in the region. Following the pattern of the other Arab uprisings, Qatar's instinct was to bet on the opposition. In January 2012, the emir told a US television network that Arab troops should be sent to Syria "to stop the killings". Doha's leaders were particularly emboldened by the revolt in Libya, where Qatar had played the lead Arab role in the Nato-led intervention. Although they knew that Assad's downfall would not be as easy as Muammer Gaddafi's, they expected western partners would eventually step in on the side of the opposition. One senior Qatari official suggested in late 2012 that Syria would go the way of Libya, but over a much longer term. Assad's removal, after all, served the strategic purpose of weakening Iran, his closest regional ally. So far at least, this gamble has proved a miscalculation. "We didn't want to take the lead. We begged a lot of countries to start to take the lead and we'll be in the back seat. But we find ourselves in the front seat," lamented prime minister bin Jassim recently. Even within the Arab world, Qatar found much stronger resistance to action than was the case with Libya. "Before we get disappointed by the west, we should ask ourselves as an Arab nation what we've done - it is an Arab issue in the first place," says Attiyah, the minister for foreign affairs. In the years before the Arab uprisings, Qatar had cultivated its role as a mediator, capable of talking to all sides on the divisions that polarised the Middle East. It hosted the US's biggest military air base in the region, while maintaining cordial relations with Iran; it held contacts with Israel while simultaneously backing the Palestinian group Hamas and Lebanon's Hizbollah. On Syria, Qatar soon emerged as one of the few angry voices at Arab summits, pushing for a tougher line. "In Syria, Qatar became an active protagonist," says a western diplomat. Having worked to become a kind of Norway of the Gulf, he adds, it also wanted to be "the Gulf version of the UK and France, and you can't be both at the same time". . . . Ahfad al-Rasoul is a source of envy among other brigades fighting in Syria. A relatively new player put together from several fighting groups, it is often linked to the gas riches of Qatar. Ahfad al-Rasoul is one of the few fighting coalitions in Syria that can be considered "effective", boasts Khaled, a smartly dressed, laptop-carrying "liaison" officer for the group, interviewed by the FT in southern Turkey, near the Syrian border. Not so, says Abu Samer, a commander from a rival group, who complains about shortages of weapons and ammunition. "If I was getting 15 per cent of what they're getting, I'd do a lot," he grumbles. Though Khaled insists his battalion's good fortunes are thanks to a mix of funding sources, others such as Abu Samer see the hand of Qatar at work. Supporting the armed rebellion was the inevitable next stage of Qatar's deepening involvement in Syria. By early 2012, as peaceful protests gave way to an armed opposition, Qatar was scouring around for light weaponry, buying arms in Libya and in eastern European states, and flying them to Turkey, where intelligence services helped deliver them across the border. At first, say people with direct knowledge of the arms shipments, Qatar worked through Turkish intelligence to identify recipients, and then, as Saudi Arabia joined the covert military effort, through Lebanese mediators. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks arms transfers, says that between April 2012 and March this year, more than 70 military cargo flights from Qatar landed in Turkey. Elizabeth O'Bagy, an analyst at the US Institute for the Study of War, which has published extensive studies of Syria's fragmented rebel movement, says that as the conflict progressed, the Qataris worked through members of the exiled Muslim Brotherhood to identify rebel factions that should be supported. For example, she says, that is how they linked up with the Farouq brigades, one of the largest and more mainstream factions. Meanwhile, opposition sources say the Qataris have also sent their own special forces to find insurgent groups, and people involved in the weapons business say a Qatari general has been the point man on arms deliveries, travelling to the "operations" room that was set up first in Istanbul and then in Ankara. However, it is difficult to point to rebel brigades that are exclusively Qatari-funded or backed. Ahfad al-Rasoul, for example, is also thought to be receiving support from Saudi Arabia. Equally, the erratic and limited nature of weapons shipments means that even recipients of Qatari support are not always aware of Doha's role. Mahmoud Marrouch, a young fighter from Liwaa al-Tawhid, the rural Aleppo group that is believed to have been a major recipient of Qatari arms, says Qatar is like the rest of the world - promising weapons but not delivering. What the fighters have, he says, was seized from regime bases, or purchased on the black market. "The Qataris and the Saudis need a green light from America to help us," he adds. A rebel leader in the northern Aleppo province, who works with Liwaa al-Tawhid, says he has also received a Saudi intermediary who goes around rebel-held areas distributing funds. "Groups get funding from both Qatar and Saudi Arabia and they deceive sponsors sometimes," comments O'Bagy. Indeed, if Qatar is, as its detractors say, seeking to build up a proxy force in Syria to implement its regional agenda, it is doing so in an environment which is not conducive to either loyalty or cohesion. With so many different outside sources of sponsorship and no stable organisational structures, rebel groups lurch from alliance to alliance and continually rebrand themselves in the search for support. Ironically, although the relationship between Riyadh and Doha has long been characterised by mutual suspicion, in many ways they have worked very closely on Syria. However, a crucial division over the Muslim Brotherhood has undoubtedly led to the pursuit of divergent agendas on the Syrian battlefield, with harmful consequences for an opposition in desperate need of unity. For the Saudis, the handful of secular rebel factions, plus the Salafi groups that espouse a stricter Wahabi Islam practised in Saudi Arabia, are vastly preferable to the Brotherhood, a more organised political group and therefore a greater political threat. "The Saudis say 'No to the Brotherhood,'" says Riad al-Shaqfa, the leader of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood. Qataris, on the other hand, are "playing a positive role", though Shaqfa insists that his group's funding is from its own members, not from Doha. Khalid al-Attiyah denies any tensions with Saudi Arabia, saying co-operation is much closer than people assume, with daily consultations. However, rebel sources and analysts say that by September last year, the rivalry had intensified to the point where the Qataris and Saudis were creating separate military alliances and structures. As complaints poured in from opposition leaders and western officials, the two states agreed to bring the structures together under the supreme military command, headed by the western-backed general Selim Idriss . However, commanders who work with Idriss say that neither country is following through with its promise to bolster the supreme military command, instead continuing to work independently. One reason could be that the Gulf states worry that their limited supplies would be distributed too broadly by the supreme command, instead of reaching only the most effective factions. But the behaviour has bred resentment. "Qatar and Saudi Arabia ... are playing out their rivalries here, they are dividing people," says Abdul Jabbar Akaidi, the head of the Aleppo revolutionary military council. Speaking from one of his bases on the Syrian side of the border with Turkey, he adds: "People will remember those who gave without having an agenda. The Syrians are clever, they know when there is an agenda." . . . By late 2012 a new factor was emerging in Syria, one that had the potential to complicate Qatar's relationship with the west. The extremist group Jabhat al-Nusrah was gaining ground, playing a prominent role in dislodging the regime from military facilities in northern Syria. In December, the US felt sufficiently alarmed to add Nusrah to its global terrorist list. Concerned that Qatar's level of tolerance for radical Islamists was higher than theirs, western governments also wanted safeguards in place to ensure that weapons did not end up in the hands of jihadi groups like Nusrah. The problem, says one former senior US official, was that "the Qataris felt it didn't matter who you give to, what's important is to bring down Bashar." According to him, the objective in Washington became "to keep the Qataris from doing whatever they want". So the US instituted a "consultative process". Two "operations" rooms that oversee weapons deliveries were set up, one in Turkey, the other, more recently, in Jordan. They include representatives from nearly a dozen countries. The Qataris, says the former US official, were co-operative. Yet allegations that the Qataris have - directly or indirectly - helped Jabhat al-Nusrah have not gone away. At least one Arab government recently said as much, although experts on jihadi movements say the extremist group's funding comes from al-Qaeda in Iraq and from private donors in the Gulf, not from governments. Yet even with the "consultative process" in place, leakage might be inevitable, whether through the funding of rebels or through the massive charitable contributions from the Gulf that reach Syria. "Because the Free Syrian Army groups work so closely with non-FSA groups these weapons are spreading just because they are fighting side by side - and maybe the groups trade arms with each other as well," says Eliot Higgins, who examines and records weapons used in the Syrian conflict on his well-followed Brown Moses blog. Attiyah says Doha has never backed Nusrah, and blames the international community's inaction on Syria for allowing it to flourish. "Is it the Security Council's delay in taking a firm resolution against Bashar al-Assad and his regime that has made emerge? In my opinion, yes," he says. Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim, the prime minister, is even more dismissive of allegations of Qatari support for extremists, joking in his Brookings presentation that such rumours are spread by jealous neighbours to tease Qatar. Beneath the quips, however, are signs that Qatar's influence over military supplies to the rebellion may be waning, as its role in weapons deliveries takes second place to that of Saudi Arabia. Riyadh has more developed networks to source weapons and it has been working closely with Jordan to bolster rebel groups in southern Syria that are not tied to Nusrah. . . . Many Syrians have probably never heard of Mustafa Sabbagh, though he is considered the most powerful man in the political opposition. The owner of a building material and contracting company, the 48-year-old secretary-general of the National Coalition lived in Saudi Arabia for much of the past decade. He doesn't make many speeches, or issue statements, but he does oversee the coalition's budget, to which the Qataris are the biggest donors, and is responsible, as one western official says, "for writing the cheques". While seen by both friends and detractors as a shrewd man who appealed to Qatar officials' business-minded attitude, Sabbagh has come under criticism for supposedly using his position to control the opposition and further Qatari influence. Tensions between him and some of the secular members of the coalition exploded into the open recently after the controversial election of an interim prime minister, Ghassan Hitto , in March. The row over Hitto's appointment was so bitter it caused tension between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and pushed the Saudis to become more active in opposition politics, which they had largely left to the Qataris. According to pro-Saudi opposition figures, negotiations are now under way to resolve the dispute. Qatar's involvement with Syria's political opposition has generated even more controversy than its support of rebel groups. The dissidents are a fractious assortment of cliques, but they play an important role in shaping international policy. While it was Turkey that helped form the first credible opposition umbrella group, the Syrian National Council , in August 2011, Qatar quickly embraced it and contributed to its funding. The SNC, however, fell victim to infighting, which gave the Muslim Brotherhood, the only organised bloc within it, the greatest influence. As secular voices began dropping out of the SNC, western nations, led by the US, pressured the Qataris to help form a broader opposition based on an initiative proposed by Riad Seif, a well-respected Syrian dissident. The new body, the National Coalition, was announced in Doha in November 2012. It was no secret that Qatari officials were less convinced of the need to improve the SNC. Their view appeared to be that dominance of the Muslim Brotherhood was neither as great as claimed, nor an issue. A former US official who tracked the process of the creation of the coalition said dealing with the Qataris at the time was like a "war of attrition". However, claims of Qatari dominance of the opposition persisted, even after the coalition was created. True, the Muslim Brotherhood was no longer the main component, but a new bloc of more than a dozen members, brought in by Sabbagh as representatives of local communities in Syria, sparked new disagreements. It was seen as another bloc that was loyal to Qatar. Each of these members was supposed to represent a local council in Syria's different provinces, and together the councils received $8m from Qatar soon after the formation of the coalition. Qatar was also the first - and possibly the only - country to provide funding for the coalition budget, to the tune of $20m, and it delivered the first $10m out of a pledged $100m package for the organisation's new humanitarian assistance unit. In an interview with the FT, Sabbagh said that the Qatar label that has stuck to him is inaccurate and unfair. Peppering his words with praise for Saudi Arabia's contribution to the Syrian cause, he says his relationship with Qatar is confined to what he calls "logistics" support for a business forum that he founded after the revolt against Assad broke out. The forum had mobilised funds from merchants inside and outside Syria to support the Free Syrian Army. Sabbagh insists that the representatives of local councils that he invited into the coalition were an attempt, even if imperfect, to raise the representation of people inside the country in the main opposition front. "It's inevitable because there are no elections. It was an experience that needed maturing," he says. Attiyah, meanwhile, says he has no closer relationship with Sabbagh than anyone else in the coalition. He also points out that the coalition with its various components, including the local representatives, was not created by Qatar alone but with the help and blessing of Arab and western officials. . . . In Syria itself, the number of dead continues to rise and Bashar al-Assad is still stubbornly clinging on to power. Whether Qatar's venture into Syrian opposition politics will have any returns will depend on whether Syria survives as a country - something that is by no means assured. Perhaps for the Qatari emir, the demise of Assad will be sufficient satisfaction. In theory, Qatar could also emerge with multiple points of influence through Islamists and loyal brigades. But it has already created many enemies inside Syria, and not just among pro-regime supporters. So torn apart is the fabric of Syria's society, and so radicalised and suspicious its battered population, that the Qataris are more likely to find that they are neither thanked - nor even wanted - there. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a0c_1368800021 m16carbine How Qatar seized control of the Syrian revolution syra, syrian civil war, qatar Fri, 17 May 2013 05:49:23 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=7bd_1368783409 pravdavoin In February 2011 some anti-government demonstrations began. They were met in March with even larger pro-government demonstrations. In early March some teenagers in Daraa were arrested for graffiti that had been copied from North Africa "the people want to overthrow the regime'. It was reported that they were abused by local police. Time magazine reported that President Assad intervened, the local governor was sacked and the teenagers were released. What followed is highly contested. The western media version is that protestors burned and trashed government offices and that "provincial security forces opened fire on marchers, killing several' (Time, 22 March). After that, "protestors' staged demonstrations in front of the al-Omari mosque, but were in turn attacked. The western media exaggerated the demonstrations, claiming crowds of up to 300,000, with 15 anti-government "protesters' killed (AP 23 March). Daraa is a border town with 150,000 inhabitants. The Syrian government, on the other hand, stated that armed attacks had begun on security forces, killing several police, along with the burning of government offices. There was corroboration of this account. While its headline blamed security forces for killing "protesters', the British Daily Mail showed pictures of guns, AK47 rifles and hand grenades that security forces had recovered after storming the al-Omari mosque. The paper noted reports that "an armed gang' had opened fire on an ambulance, killing "a doctor, a paramedic and a policeman'. Israeli and Lebanese media gave versions of the events of 17-18 March closer to that of the Syrian government. An Israel National News report (21 March) said "Seven police officers and at least four demonstrators in Syria have been killed " and the Baath party headquarters and courthouse were torched'. The police had been targeted by rooftop snipers. Al Jazeera (29 April), owned by Qatar's royal family, implied the rooftop snipers in Daraa were government forces. "President Bashar al Assad has sent thousands of Syrian soldiers and their heavy weaponry into Derra for an operation the regime wants nobody in the word to see'. However the Al Jazeera claim that secret police snipers were killing "soldiers and protestors alike' was both illogical and out of sequence. The armed forces came to Daraa precisely because police had been killed by snipers. Once in Daraa they engaged in more gun-fire and stormed the local mosque to seize the guns and grenades storied by "protesters'. Michel Chossudovsky wrote: "The deployment of armed forces including tanks in Daraa directed against an organised armed insurrection, which has been active in the border city since March 17-18.' Saudi Arabia, a key US regional ally, had armed and funded extremist Sunni sects (Salafists and Wahabis) to move against the secular government. From exile in Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Adnan Arour called for a holy war against the liberal Allawi muslims, who dominated the government: "by Allah we shall mince them in meat grinders and feed their flesh to the dogs'. The Salafist aim was a theocratic sate or "caliphate'. Sheikh Muhammed al Zughbey said the Alawites were "more infidel than the Jews and the Christians'. The original North African slogan was rapidly replaced by a Salafist slogan "Christians to Beirut, Alawites to the grave'. They would soon act on these threats. Saudi official Anwar Al-Eshki later confirmed to BBC television that arms had indeed been provided to groups within Syria, and they had stored them in the al-Omari mosque. While the Syrian Baathist system has been authoritarian, is has also been secular and inclusive. The Saudi-Qatari and US-NATO backed armed insurgency aims to derail the reform program led by President Bashar al-Assad. If a more compliant government cannot be formed in Damascus, the big powers will probably settle for a country mired in sectarian chaos. That is, after all, what we see across the border in Iraq. http://www.spyghana.com/how-syrias-violence-all-began/ http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=7bd_1368783409 pravdavoin How Syria's Violence all Began Syria Syrian Protests Killings Armed gangs Terrorism Thu, 16 May 2013 17:09:45 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=28a_1368738408 SunniLebanese Syria crisis threatens Palestinian refugeesPro- and anti-Assad factions seek support of Palestinians in Lebanon's refugee camps as tensions there rise over Syria. Zak Brophy Last Modified: 16 May 2013 10:49 The Palestinian community in Lebanon is socially vulnerable and politically divided Beirut, Lebanon - The Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila is perilously wedged along one of Lebanon's many sectarian fault lines. Black Islamic flags adorn the lampposts when approaching this small slum from Sunni strongholds to the north, while expansive Shia ghettoes border the camp immediately to the south. In recent months, an increasing number of clashes have erupted in and around Shatila, as rival Lebanese factions fight for the loyalty of the socially vulnerable and politically divided Palestinian camps. The Syrian civil war and rising Shia-Sunni discord in Lebanon are exacerbating the pressure. "These are concerted efforts to provoke a response," explained Fathi Abou al-Ardat, secretary for the Fatah movement and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) in Lebanon. On May 12, clashes - described by local residents as the most intense fighting yet - erupted between groups inside Shatila and neighbouring Shia communities. Volleys of gunfire were exchanged for several hours, and the army encircled the camp with armoured personnel carriers. "We know the Palestinians are divided and some groups are exploiting that to stir things up here. We are not taking the bait, but these groups have to know that if they push too hard we will run all over them like we did in 2008," said Abu Ali, a resident of the Rihaab district, a predominantly Shia neighbourhood on the edge of Shatila. Palestinian refugees struggle in Lebanon Although Shatila was founded as a Palestinian refugee camp, many non-Palestinians now live there as well. Ahmad, a 20-year-old Shatila resident with little education and scant work prospects, reasoned: "Us Sunna reacted strongly and started to boil over when we saw the killing in Syria. This caused clashes with Shia because they are helping with the slaughter of our people there." Losing faith Syrian President Bashar al-Assad comes from the Alawite sect - an offshoot of Shia Islam - and the powerful Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah supports Assad. Like many of his peers, Ahmad has lost faith in the traditional Sunni leadership and places his trust instead with more religiously conservative and combative leaders such as Sheikh Ahmad Assir, who have been trying to garner support from predominantly Sunni Palestinians. "There are more and more of us prepared to follow Assir," said Ahmad. "More and more people are becoming increasingly religious. Everyone is preparing himself for what may come." The Palestinian camps in Lebanon consist of basic, overcrowded homes, their people victims of decades of war, neglect and abuse. In Shatila, the buildings are so cramped that sunlight is a rare commodity. The smells of garbage and sewage foul the air and unemployed youth fill the cramped alleys. "We are seeing increased efforts to recruit from our youth. There is desperation and anger here, so whatever they pay they will find people to say 'yes'. They think we are cheap," said Ayman Zaher, a youth worker in Shatila. All of the major Palestinian political parties have adopted, and until now managed to maintain, a policy of neutrality in Lebanon regardless of their stance on the conflict in Syria. However, in Ein el-Helweh, the largest and most populous camp in Lebanon, armed groups such as Jund al-Sham, Jabhat al-Nusra and Asbat al-Ansar have found a safe haven under the protective wing of powerful local families. Their number of followers may not be huge, but their hard-line ideology and links to like-minded movements in Lebanon and Syria make Ein el-Helweh a particularly worrying flashpoint for Palestinians and Lebanese alike. "There is so much pressure on the camps and they are ready to explode, especially Ein el-Helweh, which could go off before there is a wider conflict in Lebanon. There is so much provocation from the Islamist groups there and I'm not sure if the PLO can keep a lid on it," warned Mutuwalli Abu Naser, a Palestinian journalist and playwright from Yarmouk camp in Damascus, who now lives in Lebanon. SpotlightIn-depth coverage of escalating violence across Syria Syrian influence On the other side, Hezbollah and its allies have also been working to secure the allegiance of Palestinians in Lebanon. Until withdrawing its troops from Lebanon in 2005, the Syrian government was influential in many of the camps through various Palestinian allies. Since the Syrian withdrawal, Hezbollah has by-and-large maintained Syria's leverage in the camps, even though the stance of several Palestinian groups has shifted since the start of the Syrian uprising. "Hezbollah works by a very low profile without making noise, because they work with the Palestinians from a security background, not a political one," explained Edward Kattoura, a political analyst at Pursue, a Palestinian think-tank. Many of the Palestinian camps are located in Hezbollah-dominated areas, especially in Beirut, South Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley. Recently, Shaker Berjawi - a Sunni "strongman" in Beirut who earned his battlefield stripes in the Lebanese civil war - decided to move the headquarters of his pro-Syrian Arab Movement Party to the edge of Shatila, indicating the importance of the camp's support. While maintaining a local influence over the years, he has switched political allegiances numerous times, and he is now aligned with the Hezbollah-led camp. "It seems people use us as mercenaries, whether it be for one side or the other. When he opens up his office at the entrance to the camps, he is sending a message that the camps are part of his fight," said Kattoura. 'Sacrificial lamb' But many Palestinians in Lebanon are driven by nationalist rather than sectarian sensibilities, and the camps may be able to stay out of internal Lebanese conflict. "Most of Lebanese have a view of the camps as a source of militia fighters and criminals. There is destitution and desperation, it is true, but in fact they are much less sectarian than most of Lebanese society," said Moe Ali Nayel, a Lebanese writer and activist who regularly works in the camps. "The Palestinians are used like a sacrificial lamb in Lebanon. Lebanese groups like to have Palestinians up front and then the blame can be put on us. " - Marwan Abdulal, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine And the Palestinians' time in Lebanon has cruelly taught them while their loyalty is dear, their blood is cheap, whether it be the massacre at Sabra and Shatila at the hands of Christian militias in 1982, the "War of the Camps" from 1985-87 between the Shia Amal Movement and Palestinian refugees, or the bombardment of Nahr Bared camp by the Lebanese army in 2007. "The Palestinians are used like a sacrificial lamb in Lebanon. Lebanese groups like to have Palestinians up front and then the blame can be put on us," said Marwan Abdulal, member of the political bureau for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The Palestinian camps can hope to stay detached from the conflict in Lebanon as long as the fighting is constrained to the prevailing pattern of intermittent local clashes and firebrand speeches. However, should the situation escalate, residents will be hard pressed not to get dragged into the affray. "It will be very difficult for the camps to stay aside if this descends into a serious fitna ," warned the PLO's Fathi Abou al-Ardat. "The general atmosphere, the speeches, all of it is setting the stage for a fitna . In reality, it is already here." http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/05/20135791049958517.html http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=28a_1368738408 SunniLebanese Syria vis a vis the Palestinians in Lebanon in case you were wondering Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Palestinians, FSA, SAA, Hezbollah Thu, 16 May 2013 13:32:45 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=235_1368721981 omniradar A web of control - with fingers in every pie The influence of Jewish moneylenders has been woven into the history of the West for centuries and runs like a thread throughout all events, hidden in many guises, yet ever present. An insidious, dangerous, secret coterie that works behind the scenes. But, like a jigsaw puzzle, out of the mesh of intrigue the pieces fit together to form a pattern. Thread Number One: England The watershed for Europe was the Reformation. Henry VIII of England was in need of a son and a new wife. Thomas Cromwell was happy to oblige. The split away from the old church, brought the Bible into prominence and thereby increased Jewish influence. After an embargo of almost 400 years, Jews were allowed to return to England in 1656 thanks to a "financial arrangement" between Oliver Cromwell and the Jewish Sanhedrin. As a "National Debt" is an essential first ingredient of financial control, and wars are the prime cause of debt, it took only to 1693 before England found herself unable to meet her commitments, thanks to the continental wars of William of Orange which had been financed by the Jewish moneylenders of Amsterdam. Despite the many dissident voices against the establishment of the Bank of England, (i.e. a method whereby the State finance was taken out of the control of the State and into the hands of bankers) the bill went through the House of Commons and, although the House of Lords asserted it was intended to enrich usurers at the expense of the nobility, the Bank came into being and was founded in 1694. Fueled by the gold and silver bled from South America that poured into Europe to fill the coffers of the bankers, the Industrial Revolution produced a false face of prosperity whilst at the same time destroying cottage industry, producing urban factory squalor and commencing the start of economic control by the moneylenders. This phase continued into the mid-nineteenth century when the first Jewish Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, commented: "...the world is governed by very different personages from what is imagined by those who are not behind the scenes..." The stage was now set for the British Empire and underneath the Pomp and Circumstance came the steady infiltration into the economics of the east - and its riches. Max Weber, a historian, published "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" (By that time usury had achieved respectability under the new title of Capitalism.) In his book he claimed that Protestantism - more specifically, its Calvinist branches - promoted the rise of modern capitalism. In England the need to muzzle the old ruling order was achieved, not by assassination or execution as in France and Russia, but by erosion, i.e. via a Land Tax and then by marriage. Lord Rosebery started the trend by marrying a Rothschild and Arthur Balfour, the signatory of the fallacious "Balfour Declaration", set the stage for the creation of Israel. The trend towards the formation of a new Jewish aristocracy continues with Blair's "title for money" policy, orchestrated by the chief fundraiser for the Labour Party, "Lord" Levy. Queen Victoria may have been the Empress of India but it was Disraeli the agent of the "City" of London who engineered the means whereby the east was conquered using the manpower of the British Isles. Thread Number Two: France In France the monarchy foundered on bankrupcy, stemming from Louis X1V's continental wars. Necker (supposedly Protestant but probably of Jewish origin) lauded as a financial genius, employed the dangerous tactics of using ruinous short-term loans at exorbitant interest to shore up the shaky finances, which spelt ultimate disaster. At the same time the necklace conspiracy engineered through Cagliostro (a Freemason) and the Jewish jewellers, Bassenge and Bohmer, fueled anger against the extravagance of the queen. The dismissal of Necker led to the attack on the Bastille, and the aristocracy - a much more top heavy group than the English variety - were effectively eradicated by the guillotine. France by this time had acquired a National Debt and the Bank of France was created in Paris in 1800. Napoleon wanted the country to break free from the power of the bankers and the debt. According to him: "when the Government is dependent on bankers for money, the bankers, not the leaders of the Government, are in control.... The hand that gives is above the hand that takes. Money has no motherland. Financiers are without patriotism or decency. Their sole object is gain." In 1806, he remarked: "By what miracle did whole provinces of France become heavily mortgaged to the Jews, when there are only sixty thousand of them in this country?" (MSS of Napoleon, 1811.) In 1882 the collapse of the Union Gen http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=235_1368721981 omniradar All Wars Are Bankers' Wars . Not in School History Books Strangely. All Wars &amp; Both Sides &amp; Financed By Zionist Bankers ! Thu, 16 May 2013 05:34:57 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a27_1368696683 omniradar Syria conflict: BBC shown 'signs of chemical attack'The BBC has been shown evidence apparently corroborating reports of a chemical attack in Syria last month. A BBC correspondent who visited the northern town of Saraqeb was told by eyewitnesses that government helicopters had dropped at least two devices containing poisonous gas. The government has vehemently denied claims it has used chemical agents. The US has warned that such a development would be a "red line" for possible intervention. However, President Barack Obama has said the current intelligence on possible chemical weapon usage did not constitute sufficient proof. 'Suffocating smell' In April, Saraqeb, a town south-west of Aleppo, came under artillery bombardment from government positions. Doctors at the local hospital told the BBC's Ian Pannell they had admitted eight people suffering from breathing problems. Some were vomiting and others had constricted pupils, they said. One woman, Maryam Khatib, later died. A number of videos passed to the BBC appear to support these claims, but it is impossible to independently verify them. Mrs Khatib's son Mohammed had rushed to the scene to help his mother and was also injured in the attack.Syria's chemical weapons The CIA believes Syria has had a chemical weapons programme "for years and already has a stockpile of CW agents which can be delivered by aircraft, ballistic missile, and artillery rockets" Syria is believed to possess mustard gas and sarin, a highly toxic nerve agent The CIA also believes that Syria has attempted to develop more toxic and more persistent nerve agents, such as VX gas A report citing Turkish, Arab and Western intelligence agencies put Syria's stockpile at approximately 1,000 tonnes of chemical weapons, stored in 50 towns and cities Syria has not signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) or ratified the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) "It was a horrible, suffocating smell. You couldn't breathe at all. You'd feel like you were dead. You couldn't even see. I couldn't see anything for three or four days," Mr Khatib told the BBC. A doctor who treated Mrs Khatib said her symptoms corresponded to organophosphate poisoning and that samples had been sent for testing. One device was said to have landed on the outskirts of Saraqeb, with eyewitnesses describing a box-like container, with a hollow concrete casing inside. In another video, a rebel fighter holds a canister said to be hidden inside the devices. Witnesses claim there were two in each container. Another video shows parts of a canister on the ground, surrounded by white powder. The BBC has been told that samples from the scene and from the alleged victims have been sent to Britain, France, Turkey and America for testing. Competing claims Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former commanding officer at the UK's Joint Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Regiment, said the testimony and evidence from Saraqeb was "strong, albeit incomplete". Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, chemical weapons expert: "I gauge that they're not making it up." In Saraqeb and in three similar events in Syria in recent weeks, "people have got ill and died and their symptoms are what we would expect to see from a nerve type of agent, be it sarin or be it organophosphate," Mr de Bretton-Gordon said. On the available evidence, recent attacks in Otaybeh to the east of Damascus, in Adra near the town of Douma, and in the Sheikh Maqsoud district of Aleppo appear "virtually identical" to what happened in Saraqeb, according to Mr de Bretton-Gordon. Mr de Bretton-Gordon has not visited the site or tested any of the alleged evidence but was given full access to the material gathered by the BBC. Both the US and UK have spoken of growing evidence that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons. Rebel fighters have also been accused of using them. They also have denied this. In March, Syria's government and opposition called for an inquiry into an alleged chemical weapon attack in Khan al-Assal in the north of Syria which killed at least 27 people, with both sides blaming each other. A 15-strong UN team headed by a Swedish scientist, Ake Sellstrom, has been assembled to investigate the claims. However, the Syrian government has refused the team access. Syrian officials have been quoted as saying they want the team to look into the incident in Khan al-Assal, but the team has requested unconditional access with the right to inquire into all credible allegations. The UN says estimates that the two-year-old conflict has left at least 80,000 people dead. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a27_1368696683 omniradar BBC Propaganda Again ??? Mainstream Propaganda ? Tue, 14 May 2013 00:18:53 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=aad_1368504381 KedarPL By: Yazan al-Saadi Al Akhbar SOURCE: http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/caught-bind-syrians-gulf As Syrians living outside of Syria are desperate to bring their family and friends out of harm's way, one place has firmly and quietly restricted its borders: the Gulf Arab region. Each Syrian in the Gulf has a tale to tell about the trials and tribulations they, or a friend, have faced in trying to bring someone to the safety of nations like Kuwait, Qatar, or Saudi Arabia. When asked to share their stories with Al-Akhbar , many strongly insist on anonymity. They are concerned that their attempts to obtain residency permits for themselves or family members would be affected negatively. O.D. is a young Syrian mother of two currently residing in Kuwait. Speaking to Al-Akhbar over the phone, she explained that her mother and brother were injured in the summer of 2012 when they tried to evacuate al-Hamah. The small village west of Damascus was being shelled by the Syrian military. unilateral policy of exporting funds and arms to certain anti-regime armed groups in an effort to hasten the downfall of the regime. Despite these gung-ho political and military pursuits, it is the humanitarian front where the compassion of Gulf states seems to reach its limit. According to UNHCR statistics, 1.4 million registered Syrians have fled the country and 3 million are registered as internally displaced. By the end of 2013, it's expected that more than half the population of Syria will likely need aid. In January 2013, $1.5 billion was pledged by various countries at a conference in Kuwait to address the growing humanitarian crisis. Out of all the Gulf countries, Kuwait is the only one that has fully honored its pledge, recently giving $300 million to various multilateral aid organizations involved in helping Syrians. The other Gulf states have either provided a small fraction of their initial aid promises or have announced that they will distribute funds directly to "the Syrian people" without much elaboration. But it is the system of restricting visas to Syrians desperately seeking to join their families and spouses living in the Gulf that adds further doubt to the Gulf authorities' proclaimed concern towards the well-being of the Syrian people. Blue and White Collar Refugees In the first few months of the uprising, Gulf countries like Qatar, the UAE, and Kuwait implemented their own versions of security screenings and visa regulations for Syrians. Recently, Saudi Arabia has joined the fold by curtailing the numbers of Syrians seeking refugee. "For the UAE, they've been allowing parents, children, spouses. Brothers and sisters are allowed with some difficulties. Extended family members is simply not easy," said H.R., a Syrian engineer working in Dubai. "The authorities say they will give visas for 'humanitarian situations,' but they tend to look at possible salary rates that Syrians seek in terms of work before letting them in," she further said. H.R. elaborated that Syrians seeking blue-collar jobs in Dubai tend to be denied entry. Even those already in the country might be denied visa extensions or suddenly have their residency revoked for any political activity in support of the Syrian uprising. The UAE, it should be noted, is rumored to have allowed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's sister Bushra and her family, as well as Rami Makhlouf, the notoriously hated billionaire and cousin to the Syrian president, to reside freely in the country. Dysfunctional SNC Doha Office Saudi Arabia, along with Qatar, has been at the forefront of condemning the Assad regime. The Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Saud was one of the first world leaders to publicly condemn Syrian military violence, calling for the end of the "killing machine" in August 2011. Unlike other Gulf countries, Saudi had been initially lenient in allowing Syrians into the country, but all that has changed in the past few months. Presently, Syrians are being religious pilgrimage visas to the Saudia Arabian cities of Mecca and Medina. Al-Akhbar contacted a number of Beirut travel offices that deal with such documents. When asked about the ability for Syrians to receive such a visa, the response was immediate and firm: "Sorry, no visas for Syrians." "Saudi is no better than Kuwait," said O.D. "They are doing the same thing. For the past six months, they have stopped family visas, and at times opening it for certain jobs like medicine and only if the Syrian is going to a certain city like Riyadh." And what of Qatar, the home of the Syrian National Coalition and the first country to hand the group the reigns of the Syrian embassy? "Nothing has changed. There are the same horrible standards," said M.E., a Syrian teacher in Doha. "Any visa has to go through the coalition now, we have no choice about it. Unless you can get a hold of a sheikh or a minister, even if you oppose the regime or not, you have to go through the coalition." " seems disorganized. It doesn't know what to do. The process takes a long time and you tend to need wasta to get anything done...Today, no one can tell you how to do the documents. It seems like everyone is secretive about the process," he said. M.E. has been living in Qatar for about three years. His mother and brother are still living in the Muhajireen district of Damascus. She is physically ill and he has been trying to get her to Doha for half a year now. "The official told me that the refugee status is only for those in tents and I was not in a tent," M.E. said."The law states that parents, single daughters, sons and brothers under the age of 18, and wives are allowed. But when I tried to get the paperwork done for my mother, it's been pending without any explanation," he said. According to him, the coalition office at first took in documents with no conditions. Over time, the office began to implement restrictions like denying unskilled labor. D.S., a Syrian journalist who also coordinates humanitarian work for Syrians based in Doha, affirmed M.E.'s experience. "The office for the coalition is very rudimentary. It hasn't done anything, doesn't present complicated services. It simply takes in documents and checks if this person is linked to the regime in some way," he said. "Specifically for Qatar, visas tend to be easier for women, but it's generally difficult - even if a person is a skilled worker. People are going through the coalition. They have thousands of documents pending and they cannot do anything. It is not in their hands, it is in the hands of the Qatari government," he added. In a last ditch effort to bring his mother to Doha, he went to the UN offices in Doha. They told him to contact the main UNHCR regional office in Riyadh. He did so, asking if he could be considered a "refugee" and therefore be provided protection. "The official told me that the refugee status is only for those in tents and I was not in a tent," M.E. said. Bound Hands of UNHCR "Officially, there are no Syrian refugees in the Gulf, only in neighboring camps," said an anonymous UN official in Kuwait. She explained that the Gulf states are not signatories of international refugee laws and conventions, and therefore aren't obliged to receive refugees or offer resettlement solutions. "What they do instead is offer the UN a little space to do work for people that are here legally and want to be resettled in other countries," she said. "Syrians in general have great restrictions in terms of resettlement, except for those who are directly threatened by persecution." "'Legal' Syrians worried about their families are restricted from bringing them to this region. Stories of babies, sick, elderly being denied entry are true," she said. "UNHCR has tried to open the doors for these cases by linking them to the concerned authorities. We have limited power to convince, and people have come to the UN for help, but hands are simply tied." But why aren't Syrians, particularly the exile political organizations linked with Gulf authorities, complaining and standing up to these policies? "Where are they going to put these people?" D.S. answered, "Look, it is wrong, I'm not going to tell you otherwise. It should be less restricted. But from their point of view, its security. They are worried that the Syrian regime somehow using refugees against them, perhaps by sending infiltrators. They are really defensive and watching out for this." "The may have a point, but ethically it's just wrong," he concluded. Repeated attempts by Al-Akhbar to seek comment from the UNHCR regional office in Riyadh on the cases of Syrians in the Gulf were not answered at the time of this writing. Furthermore, Al-Akhbar attempted to contact the Syrian National Coalition for comment on this issue. They have yet to reply at the time of this writing. Out of the other major Syrian opposition groups contacted to comment on the difficulties faced by Syrians in the Gulf, only the Local Coordinating Committee, which is based within Syria, responded. Below is their reply: "We are surprised that the Gulf States, which claim to support the Syrian Revolution, would restrict Syrians who are fleeing the Assad regime's brutality. We hope to be able to count on our supporters to demonstrate more willingness to support Syrian civilians both in terms of relief and in terms of temporary visas. The vast majority of Syrians who have been forced to flee are eager to come back home and begin rebuilding their country. We are grateful to those states that have hosted our people, and encourage Arab countries to do the same as we move forward during this very difficult period." Numbers of Syrians in the Gulf The exact number of Syrians living abroad has always been difficult to pin down, mainly because the Syrian government itself did not keep adequate records of them. However, a report by the Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration conducted by the European University Institute, conservatively estimates that 415,745 Syrians, or 1.9 percent of the total Syrian population, were living abroad as of 2010. The report notes that 28.9 percent, or around 120,000, of this total emigrant population are living and working in the Gulf, with Saudi Arabia marked as the top destination for Syrians. These Syrian emigrants are almost split evenly in thirds between low (37.6 percent), medium (31.3 percent), and high (31.1 percent) education and thus are involved in a variety of blue and white collar jobs. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=aad_1368504381 KedarPL Caught in a Bind: Syrians in the Gulf syria,refugees,syrians,war,conflict,assad,bashar al assad,gulf,home,return,money,fighting Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:04:44 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=544_1367347190 aja9910 Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham Al-Islamiyya- Aleppo Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham Al-Islamiyya in Aleppo in cooperation with other battalions(Liwa`a Al-Tawhid) repelled regime forces who were trying to infiltrate Sheikh Sa'eed neighbourhood of Aleppo. And by virtue of Allah they were able to defeat regime forces and many of its soldiers killed and their weapons seized in addition to damaging a BMP vehicle. Praise and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. No aggression except on the oppressors! Tuesday 20 Jumadi Al-Akhar 1434 Corresponding 30th April 3013. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=544_1367347190 aja9910 Assadists repelled from <span class="highlight">Sheikh</span> Sa'eed neighbourhood+ Spoils. Aleppo. 4/30 Sheikh Sa'eed neighbourhood aleppo harakat ahrar al-sham al-islamiyya assadists shabbiha killed syria syrian war uprising revolution rebellion conflict fsa mujahideen sunnis saa 'alawis pigs shias scum terrorists scumbags Sun, 21 Apr 2013 16:45:29 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=fa5_1366576979 GLEISE581 GALLOWAY IS A GANGSTER AND A LOT OF MUSLIMS DONT AGREE WITH HIM BUT YOU HAVE TO RESPECT PARDON THE PUN HIS POLICY OF THE MIDDLE EAST I DO AGREE WITH ABOUT 85% OF WHAT HE SAYS BUT GALLOWAY HAS LOST MASSIVE SUPPORT FROM MUSLIMS OVER HIS SUPPORT FOR ASSAD AND HIS IRANIAN MASTERS KILLING MUSLIMS 24 HOURS A DAY WHILE GALLOWAY CHEERS THEM ON. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=fa5_1366576979 GLEISE581 The Fake <span class="highlight">Sheikh</span> aka Mazher Mahmood vs George Galloway george galloway fake sheikh Tue, 07 May 2013 13:26:04 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a4a_1367946389 Al-Awlaki Remember Usamah Bin Laden (RAHIMULLAH),.. We pray Allah (Swt) accept Sheikh Usaamah as Martyr and give him the highest Paradise. Amin. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a4a_1367946389 Al-Awlaki Martyrdom aniversary of <span class="highlight">Sheikh</span> USAMAH Bin Ladin -TRIBUTE Usamah,Jihad,Mujahadeen,Lions Wed, 01 May 2013 07:14:01 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=91b_1367406014 MortenHj An exclusive video given to LBCI shows Assir moving in trenches, spraying a machine-gun from a rooftop. A real seller of a video for propaganda among young men who might go waste their life. From the Lebanese Broadcasting article "In a video made available to LBCI, Sheikh Ahmad Assir appears to be moving between trenches and opening fire in Syria's Qussair region, one day after pictures depicting him sitting on a tank belonging to the Free Syrian Army in Qussair, with his son Abdel Rahman were circulated via social media platforms. Assir had confirmed to LBCI on Tuesday that he made a visit to the area and met with opposition groups, stressing that he will not pull out his forces from Syria unless Hezbollah withdraws its fighters. " The picture in question is this of him and his son on a tank. I love that at 0:19 Assir turns his head, a cut in the video and suddenly the cameraman is in front of him. I guess he felt he needed to get some shots of his face as well. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=91b_1367406014 MortenHj Lebanese <span class="highlight">Sheikh</span> al-Assir filmed fighting in Syria Syria, Lebanon, Assir, Qusayr, terrorism, Sat, 27 Apr 2013 03:14:05 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=fc6_1367046530 Maymoy This is not an action video but it shows how Arabs are stupid, the cleric says: man comes to Sheikh cleric saying my wife is pregnant and she craves for sweets and I don't have money. So the Sheikh shits and asks the man to take it to his wife so poor man does what he is being told as being a good follower and on the way home the shit turns into sweet (miracle) so you all followers must follow what your Sheikh says. BTW Sheikh Refaei cleric from Saudi Arabia gave Fatwa: called (Sex Jihad) it is permissible for women to come to Syria for Jihad and have sex with as many men to release the stress and relax the Mujahedeen. Any Mujahed is welcome to bring is mother, sister, doughter or wife with him. You might think I'm making this up put its true and confirmed. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=fc6_1367046530 Maymoy A Saudi cleric <span class="highlight">Sheikh</span> tells you to eat his shit fsa, syria, wahabi, Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:48:42 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=bc7_1366663171 MortenHj 22.4.2013 Sidon, Lebanon A extremist calling himself Sheikh Assir, who have cause so much trouble in Lebanon, declare Jihad to al-Qusayr in Syria where the fsa are now cornered and surrounded by SAA. Its very blurry but it seems like Assir. EDIT EDIT; 2 confirmations from Lebanese and Syrian tweeters saying this is him. His voice is a bit different, but its they guy. He is saying everyone who can should go do Jihad in Syria... Excluding himself naturally. More Lebanese will pour into Syria now, we will see what Hezbollah will do. If they block them from inside Lebanese borders we will have an internal Lebanese fight; very bad. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=bc7_1366663171 MortenHj <span class="highlight">Sheikh</span> Assir declaring Jihad from Sidon to Syria Syria, Lebanon, Sidon, fsa, SAA, Hezbollah, Qusayr, Homs, extremism