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If Assad Falls, Who Wins in Syria?
Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad took to the airwaves on Wednesday and addressed the Syrian people from the parliament. He told them that Israel and Western powers including the United States are fomenting unrest in his country and trying to topple his regime. According to Assad, “Plots are being hatched against our country … Saboteurs are trying to undermine and divide Syria, and to push an Israeli agenda.”
Assad has done everything in his power to contain dissent and squelch criticism of him and his government by intimidating reporters and throwing some of them out of the country. Even so, to date more than 200 protesters in Syria have been wounded and more than 100 of them have been killed. The protesters aren’t giving up, and Assad knows it. In Deraa last Friday, Syrian security forces fired tear gas into a crowd of more than a thousand people attending the funeral of two fellow countrymen who were killed in anti-government protests.
This is not the first time a Syrian dictator has attempted to crush a domestic disturbance that threatened to topple his regime. Bashar al-Assad’s father, former Syrian dictator Hafez al-Assad, is best known for the Hama Massacre, a 1982 uprising among Syrian Sunni Muslims during which the elder Assad ordered his army to destroy the town of Hama. Between 10,000 and 80,000 townspeople were killed, mostly civilians, and about 1,000 Syrian soldiers died. Robin Wright, author of Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East, called the Hama Massacre “the single deadliest act by any Arab government against its own people in the modern Middle East.” (pp. 243-244) No one knows for sure how many innocent civilians lost their lives in the Hama Massacre, but we do know this. Since that time, Syrian dissidents, including the menacing Muslim Brotherhood, have remained ominously silent.
Assad has been playing with fire since 2000 when he assumed his father’s mantle by hosting a vast array of elite terrorist organizations including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Hezb’allah and other radical Islamist splinter groups bent on destroying Israel and terrorizing Israeli citizens. Each of these belligerent factions has set up field offices in Damascus where they plan their operations under the protection of Assad’s Baathist regime. They are independent, but they are loosely connected via faith in Islam. Beneath that thin veneer, though, they are bitter enemies vying for control in the Arab world. They stand to gain if Assad’s brutal dictatorship falls, because they are poised and ready to step in and fill the vacuum.
Assad’s nefarious strategy is fraught with risk. He has tried to play all ends against the middle, not getting too close to any Islamist organization except Hezbollah, but staying close enough to all of them to influence decisions on an as needed basis. On the international front, he has played Western powers against Iran, with Iran emerging recently as the easy winner in the ongoing diplomat struggle.
Iran presents an interesting dilemma for Assad since Syria and Lebanon are the only two Arab nations so far to openly embrace Shia Persian overtures. The Syria-Iran connection has raised eyebrows and stoked fear in other Arab Muslim countries, particularly in Saudi Arabia, because they view Iran as vying for supremacy in the entire Middle East and especially for control of the oil flowing out of the Middle East. Assad’s recent decision to allow Iran to build a naval facility in the Mediterranean Sea at Latakia, Syria’s leading port, created quite a stir. Moderate Arab leaders’ worst fears were realized within days of the announcement when a freighter sailing out of Latakia bound for Egypt carrying a cargo of Iranian weapons destined for Gaza was intercepted by the Israeli navy.
If Assad and his Baathist brethren fall, Iran is in a position to intervene directly in the struggle for dominance in Syria or to determine which group or groups are allowed to take control. In any event, other Arab nations stand to lose, and they know it. Iran’s presence in their midst is a horrifying reminder of days gone by when Persians ruled their ancestors. That’s something they don’t want to see happen again, particularly now since Iran is predominantly Shia Muslim and they are mostly Sunni Muslim. When Persians last ruled the Middle East, there was no Islam.
Assad’s fall would raise some interesting questions about Iran’s influence in Lebanon, particularly with Hezb’allah. Iran already has strong ties with Hezb’allah. If Assad loses control, Iran stands to gain greater access to and power in Lebanon, and any moderating effect of Syria’s involvement with hard-line Hezb’allah chief Hassan Nasrallah would be eliminated.
None of this bodes well for Israel, the United States, or Europe, so blaming Israel and the West for the unrest in Syria makes absolutely no sense. That doesn’t mean the message doesn’t resonate with radical Islamist groups who blame Israel, in particular, for everything under the sun including shark attacks on swimmers in the Red Sea near Sharm el-Sheikh on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula.
Bashar al-Assad is embroiled in a diplomatic game of chess that he doesn’t completely comprehend, and his shenanigans are catching up with him. The oppressed and brutalized people of Syria are fed up with his tyrannical ways. That’s Assad’s real problem, and if he hopes to save his skin, he’ll own up to it and change his ways.
Note: I wrote this article almost 2 years ago and published it in American Thinker. It remains as relevant today as it was then.
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Christian Israeli-Arab wants to build Rio-style Jesus statue near Nazareth
Khamenei: “Zionist Officials Cannot Be Called Humans”
US issues belated condemnation of Khamenei after Israeli protest
Uncertainty in Geneva on Iran leads to tough talk in Washington
Ya’alon: A stronger Iran means a stronger Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad
Netanyahu ‘promises’ Iran will not get nuclear weapons
Israel hails US alliance as Iran, world powers weigh prospective nuke deal
Netanyahu, Putin and their so-called ‘chemistry’
Dutch Catholic TV airs, then pulls, Jews-killed-Jesus video
Sisi hints at presidential run, return of military establishment rule in Egypt
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Iranian Denies Plotting Attack on Israelis
Iran: No Progress in Geneva Talks So Far
Iran Infographic: Good Deal vs Bad Deal
EU: Iran Talks ‘Substantial and Detailed’
Palestinian Authority Builds Illegally in E1
NY Jewish Leader: Working to Stop “Knockout Game”
Hamas: Our Rockets Will Reach North of Tel Aviv
Hamas Threatens Israel with Genocide
21 Arrested for Rock, Firebomb Attacks
PA Crime Ring Nabbed over Failed Carjacking
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Has the time come to accept Messianic Jews?
Israel ‘unpleasantly surprised’ by mild US reaction to Khamenei’s vicious speech
For the pope and his rabbi, a duty to reach outside the community
White House: Israeli demands on Iran nuke program will lead to war
US envoy to UN condemns Khamenei tongue lashing
Poll shows ebbing Israeli support for Iran strike
Georgetown rescinds invitation to Egyptian Nazi
Germany releases more pictures from trove of Nazi-looted art
Israeli agritech IPO could be first of a controversial wave
When liberals demand censorship
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Democrats drop the ‘nuclear’ bomb, so what happens next?
Senior U.S. Official Refuses to Condemn Ayatollah Khamenei’s ‘Rabid Dog’ Comments
Iran flexes muscles as Geneva talks renew
Iran Says Enrichment “Not Negotiable” as Geneva Nuclear Talks Begin
Obama to Apologize to Afghans in Exchange for Security Deal
Muslim children taught how to stab Infidels to death at Tanzania mosque
Poll: Few Americans Think Easing Sanctions Would Halt Iran’s Nuclear Drive
Netanyahu to Putin: We want a genuine solution to Iran problem
US May Have Let ‘Dozens’ of Terrorists Into Country As Refugees [Another convenient “accident” or another example of making America over in Obama’s image?]
FBI Video Shows Al Qaeda in Kentucky Handling Heavy Weapons
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Washington Post Editorial Board: After filibuster vote, both parties will face nasty ‘nuclear’ fallout—THE REWRITING of filibuster rules by Senate Democrats on Thursday changed the legislative body in fundamental ways, and for the worse. Republicans whose unjustified recalcitrance provoked the change should be ashamed. Democrats who are celebrating will soon enough regret their decision. The radical action, a product of poisonous partisanship, will also be an accelerant of poisonous partisanship. Fed up with Republicans repeatedly blocking President Obama’s judicial nominees to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Democrats triggered the so-called “nuclear option.” In violation of long-standing precedent, they voted by a bare majority to alter the rules of the Senate, giving the minority no voice in the procedural change. The new rule bans filibusters of presidential nominations except those for the Supreme Court.
Lori Lowenthal Marcus: Israel Warns US: Iran Building ICBMs for YOU, Not for Us— Israel is openly opposed to the nuclear weapons deal the United States seems dead set on consummating with Iran. The goal of that deal is the easing of international sanctions on Iran in exchange for Iran taking limited steps suggesting a possible shift away from its goal of acquiring nuclear weapons. The disagreement between the U.S. and Israel about the wisdom of this deal has become what many are calling a significant strain between the two allies. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned against the deal last week, calling it “a bad deal, a very, very bad deal,” and Israel remains steadfastly opposed. In turn, Secretary of State Kerry was quoted by senators as having told them to “ignore” what the Israelis were telling members of congress about the potential consequences of the deal.
Khaled Abu Toameh: Palestinians: Abbas Cracks Down on Media, World Looks Other Way— The Palestinian Authority has resumed its security crackdown on Palestinian journalists and bloggers in the West Bank. But the crackdown has thus far sparked protests only from Palestinian journalists. Western governments that fund the Palestinian Authority continue to turn a blind eye to the breach of freedom of expression in the West Bank. International human rights groups and organizations purporting to defend freedom of the media also continue to ignore the violations against freedom of expression under the Palestinian Authority. These groups only see what the Israeli authorities do. On the side of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, or Hamas in the Gaza Strip, they “see no evil.” They know about the assaults on Palestinian journalists by Palestinian security forces. But they choose to bury their heads in the sand. It is more convenient and safer to criticize Israel than the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.
DEBKAfile: Nuclear deal may sink in Geneva between hardline pressures in Tehran and tough Franco-Israel demands— Our Iranian sources have obtained exclusive access to the decision reached early Monday, Nov. 18, at an all-night conference in the bureau of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This meeting delineated Iran’s ultimate line in Geneva as being consent to idle for six months the few thousand new extra-fast IR2 centrifuges enriching uranium up to 20 percent, after which work would resume in full. Tehran draws the line completely at halting construction of the heavy water plant in Arak.
Huff Watcher: Huffington Post Serves as a Mouthpiece for Hamas— On Monday, November 11, the Huffington Post featured a front-page story, sourced from the Associated Press, about Hamas hiring its first female “spokesperson,” Isra Almodallal, replete with a staged picture of her looking like a teenage U.S. blogger. In the article, Almodallal voices her support for standard-issue genocidal Hamas threats (that all of Israel should be wiped out, as it sits on Palestinian land), and her belief that Hamas has a bad reputation not because of its terrorism, genocidal threats, or suicide bombings, but because of “unfair Israeli media.” Her new job, she says, is to make the Palestinian issues “more human” to the outside world.
Jay Ambrose: Single-payer health insurance a singularly bad idea—The progressives’ single-payer solution to Obamacare won’t work any better than the president’s delay of policy cancelations, but there are some ideas that should be pursued. As Americans left and right were losing insurance policies because of the Affordable Care Act, some progressives reiterated a plan that would make things worse. In imitation of a slew of European and other countries, they want the United States to adopt a so-called single-payer system in which insurance companies go hang and the government funds all of health care. It’s not that they dislike all of the Obama health law or even that they are entirely wrong about some of the problems we’ve had in health care delivery. They are right that our health costs are too high and that we’ve long needed to insure people struggling without success to get insurance for both bodily and financial self-protection. It’s still gibberish that micromanaging, all-controlling, hubristic Obamacare or single-payer models in Europe and elsewhere are the solution.
Algemeiner Staff: Ronald Lauder Says ‘Only France Stands Between Us and a Nuclear Iran,’ Mocks Wendy Sherman—One of the world’s most renowned Jewish leaders, Ronald S. Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), said that the only thing preventing Iran from going nuclear is France. His remarks were made at a gala dinner in New York Tuesday night. “Tomorrow the meetings with Iran resume in Geneva and frankly only France stands between us and a nuclear Iran,” said Lauder, referring to the talks between Iran and world powers over the country’s nuclear program. “But the rest of the world is silent,” he added. Lauder also mocked the U.S. point person in the negotiations, Wendy Sherman.
Justin Lee: When Christians Are Christianity’s Worst Enemy— “Sundays are the worst,” one of the servers explained to me. “That’s when the church crowd goes out to eat.” “What’s wrong with the church crowd?” I asked. “Oh, honey,” she said. “They’re usually the most demanding, and they’re always the worst tippers. I guarantee you, if you see your table praying before the meal, you can mentally subtract a third from your tip.” Standing nearby, the manager cracked a smile. “They already gave at church,” he said. “They don’t have any money left.”
Richard Winchester: America after Obama— What will the United States of America be like after Barack Obama leaves the presidency on January 20, 2017 (assuming he does leave)? Five days before the 2008 election, Obama declared he would “fundamentally transform” America. Obama has done much to fulfill that promise since January 20, 2009. If he completes his agenda, the U.S. will be very much like a European-style welfare state.
Andrew C. McCarthy: Obama’s Massive Fraud— “If you like your health-care plan, you will be able to keep your health-care plan. Period.” How serious was this lie, repeated by Barack Obama with such beguiling regularity? Well, how would the Justice Department be dealing with it if it had been uttered by, say, the president of an insurance company rather than the president of the United States? Fraud is a serious federal felony, usually punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment — with every repetition of a fraudulent communication chargeable as a separate crime. In computing sentences, federal sentencing guidelines factor in such considerations as the dollar value of the fraud, the number of victims, and the degree to which the offender’s treachery breaches any special fiduciary duties he owes. Cases of multi-million-dollar corporate frauds — to say nothing of multi-billion-dollar, Bernie Madoff–level scams that nevertheless pale beside Obamacare’s dimensions — often result in terms amounting to decades in the slammer.
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Jerusalem in 1913
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The scripture below is from the New American Standard Bible, and the hyperlinks associated with each word are from Strong’s Concordance for the New American Standard Bible.
Jonah 4: 5-8
Then Jonah went out from the city and sat east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade until he could see what would happen in the city. So Yahweh God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant. But God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered. When the sun came up God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint and begged with [all] his soul to die, saying, “Death is better to me than life.”
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His Name is Yahweh explains why the Name of God, Yahweh, is so important. It’s available in eBook format and in paperback. It’s also available for free in PDF format.
- God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This [Yahweh] is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.” (Exodus 3: 15)
- “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—this time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My name is Yahweh.” (Jeremiah 16: 21)
- “Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘Yahweh our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23: 5-6)
- Yeshua said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8: 58)
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Blessings in the Book of Revelation is a book that you need to read, especially now. There are blessings throughout the Scriptures but Revelation is the only book in the Bible actually containing a specific blessing for reading it. It’s repeated twice, once at the beginning and again at the end. This is the reason that I believe Revelation should be the first step toward studying biblical prophecy. Though not easy to do, Revelation can be broken down and understood by anyone, not just the academic elite. So, Revelation’s blessings are for everyone. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
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Other Books by Neil Snyder
- Stand! is a suspense novel that exposes the lies, corruption, and greed underlying the theory that man-made CO2 emissions are responsible for global warming. Professor Wes Carlyle and Karen Sterling, his research collaborator, carefully scan the audience for their would-be attacker—a member of the enviro-gestapo who has been following them for days. Wes spots his man in the back of the room leaning against the wall. Suddenly, another man in the audience steps forward and moves toward Karen at a menacing pace. With a vicious stroke, he swings a billy club at her head. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life? deals with a question that every Christian has to consider: what should I do with my life? Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- Falsely Accused is a true story about a young woman who was accused of committing a double homicide. It’s about a travesty of justice, and it reveals Yahweh intervening in the life of a believer to rescue her from danger in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Everyone will enjoy the book, but young people in particular need to read it because the mistakes made that led to the problem could have been avoided. They were the kinds of mistakes that young people are prone to make. As they say, forewarned is forearmed. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
