Too early for true hope!

Ever since ISIS began making its presence felt on the Syrian scene, I predicted that eventually Obama will choose to intervene in Syria, but only to strike against ISIS. I warned that such a course will antagonize many Sunnis around the world, on account of Obama’s refusal to strike against the Assad regime which has committed much worse atrocities against the Syrian people, especially the Sunni majority. By enlisting the participation of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE and even Qatar, Obama seems to think that he can avert giving such an impression. But he is wrong. Participation of the corrupt and authoritarian Sunni governments that have always had strong ties with the U.S. will not alleviate Sunni doubts and anger on the grassroots level, especially among the disaffected, and will probably further fuel it.

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The Lesser Evil

So the group that could pose the greatest danger to America is Khorasan, a terror group whose leader Muhsin Al-Fadhli, used to live in Iran up until 2012, along other members of the Al-Qaeda, before finally relocating to Syria. Intelligence reports say that Al-Fadhli used to raise funds from various GCC donors, especially Kuwaitis, to help support Al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria.

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The Persecuted!

"In Defense of Christians" Summit was a three day event that took place in Washington, D.C. between September 9-11, and included a meeting with President Obama. — “In Defense of Christians” Summit was a three day event that took place in Washington, D.C. between September 9-11, and included a meeting with President Obama.

The author of this op-ed, Mr. Rich Ghazal, an ordained deacon in the Syriac Orthodox Church, makes some excellent points about the plight of the Middle East’s Christian communities, that is, until he gets to those two paragraphs that capture the real message that he and the IDC conference organizers wanted to deliver to President Obama and the American people at large: preserve the Assad regime.

The first paragraph: Continue reading “The Persecuted!” →

Fight extremism, not just ISIS

Spect_Sunni-Vs-Shia_cover — The mayhem in the Middle East is not about sectarianism, but sectarian divides and prejudices do play a major role.

Ready, Aim, Fire. Not Fire, Ready, Aim. – NYTimes.com.

The current drive by the Obama administration to unite Sunni and Shia powers in the region against ISIS, the group that everyone supposedly hate in equal terms, will not succeed, because by ignoring the atrocities that Assad and Hezbollah have been perpetrating in Syria before ISIS showed up on the scene, and because both are pillars of the Shia axis in the region, the administration, with its suborn refusal to act against Assad coupled with its current single-minded focus on ISIS, will be perceived as supporting the Shia Axis. The ongoing negotiations with Iran and the reconciliatory tone that many administration officials have assumed in her regard will strengthen that impression.

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