- Iran pledges undying support for Syria's al-Assad regime
- Ankara strongly condemns Iran's threats against Turkey
- Greece and Israel form a 'strategic' relationship
- Plans for military action in Mali reflect change in Tuareg alliances
Iran pledges undying support for Syria's al-Assad regime
Saeed Jalili (PressTv)
Describing the Syria conflict as "a conflict between the axis of
resistance on one hand, and the regional and global enemies of this
axis on the other," Saeed Jalili, a senior aide to Iran's supreme
leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on
Tuesday and pledged to continue Iran's support for the al-Assad
regime, and warned that its enemies would be the next to shed blood.
By the "axis of resistance," Jalili meant Syria, Hizbollah, Iraq and
Iran. By the "regional and global enemies," Jalili meant the U.S.,
Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Things have been going badly lately,
for both al-Assad and for Iran. The al-Assad regime is being plagued
by repeated defections by Sunni officials, leaving only al-Assad's
small Alawite minority in control. And Iran is trying to deal with
the kidnapping of 48 Iranian tourists over the weekend by Syrian
rebels who claim that they're not tourists at all, but members of
Iran's Revolutionary Guards. So Iran's pledge can be viewed as either
a sign of desperation, or a pledge to do better. Al-Jazeera
Ankara strongly condemns Iran's threats against Turkey
Turkey's Foreign Ministry issued a strongly worded rebuke
to Iran's threat of violence against Turkey:
"We strongly condemn statements full of groundless
accusations and exceptionally inappropriate threats against our
country by some Iranian officials. It is unacceptable and
irresponsible that Iranian officials in various posts continue to
target our country through their statements, although Turkey's
principled foreign policy is known to everyone."
The Syrian conflict has been the worst nightmare for Turkey and its
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. When Erdogan took office several
years ago, he promised a policy of "zero problems" with his neighbors.
The Gaza flotilla incident, in which nine Turkish citizens were killed
in a confrontation with Israeli forces, caused a rift between Turkey
and Israel, who weren't really very close to start with. (From June,
2010: "1-Jun-10 News -- Wide condemnation of Israel over Gaza flotilla") But al-Assad and
Erdogan WERE very close at one time, and friendship has now turned to
enmity. Erdogan had hoped to have a strong trading relationship with
Iran. That relationship was never really close because the two
countries were competing for influence over the Arabian peninsula.
But now that relationship has turned to enmity as well. Zaman (Ankara) and Ynet
Greece and Israel form a 'strategic' relationship
The Speaker of Greece's Parliament referred to the deepening ties
between Greece and Israel as a "strategic choice":
"The cooperation between our two countries is not a
product of circumstances; it is a strategic choice for peace in
the region, for the use of the natural wealth they have and for
cooperation in energy, tourism and culture."
In the USA, a Congressman has formed the Congressional
Hellenic-Israeli Alliance, a new caucus to focus on the relationship
between the United States, Greece, Israel and Cyprus. Kathimerini
Long-time readers of Generational Dynamics are aware that for the last
six or seven years, I've been talking about the prediction, derived
from generational theory, that in the coming Clash of Civilizations
world war, China, Pakistan and the Sunni Muslim countries would be on
one side, with the West, India, Russia, Iran and Israel as the
"allies" on the other side. The last three stories all demonstrate a
trend that supports this prediction.
Plans for military action in Mali reflect change in Tuareg alliances
Officials from the African Union, European Union and United Nations
are meeting in Bamako, the capital of Mali, to make final plans to
deploy a military force to Mali, where al-Qaeda linked Islamists have
taken full control of the north, about two-thirds of the country. The
current situation in Mali has been a major unintended consequence of
last year's intervention in Libya. The military intervention against
Muammar Gaddafi transformed Libya into the world's largest source of
illicit weaponry, following Gaddafi's collapse. Battle-hardened
ethnic Tuaregs, who had fought in support of Gaddafi, took possession
of these weapons and came back to Mali after the war and took control
of the north, calling it the independent state of Azawad. But the
Tuaregs were overpowered by the Islamist terror group Ansar Dine
(Defenders of Faith), linked to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
(AQIM), who are now extremely well armed, thanks to Libya.
Furthermore, Ansar Dine has betrayed moderate Muslims by destroying
historic shrines in Timbuktu and other big cities. The Tuaregs have
now recanted their claims for an independent state of Azawad, and are
agreeing to ally with the regular Mali army and the incoming military
force. Morocco and France are leading the fight to get agreement on a
military intervention, as they believe they're the most likely targets
of terrorist attacks by Ansar Dine and AQIM. VOA and Foreign Policy in Focus and The Africa Report
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