|
“[The ]Iraqi civil society has been in motion in extraordinary, impressive ways. Yes it’s been non-violent, but that’s not the only thing , it has also been broad-based … challenging the existence of a sectarian government system that was put in place by the United States at the very beginning of its occupation.”
– Phyllis Bennis, director at the Institute for Policy Studies
Syrian War.
Radical Islamist rebels will gain sway over the many disparate factions opposing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad unless they are checked, and the country’s civil war could last years, a top Pentagon intelligence official said on Saturday.
David Shedd, the deputy director of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, did not advocate any form of intervention by the United States or its allies, saying that was up to policymakers.
But his bleak assessment of the dangers posed by the Islamist al-Nusra Front and al Qaeda’s Iraq-based wing, as well as the prospects for a prolonged conflict, could bolster advocates of greater involvement by the United States and its allies.
Addressing the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, Shedd said he counted at least 1,200 groups in the opposition. He said many of the groups were preoccupied with strictly local grievances, like a lack of potable water in their villages.
“Left unchecked, I’m very concerned that the most radical elements will take over larger segments” of the opposition groups, Shedd said, strongly hinting at the need for some kind of outside intervention.
He said the conflict could drag on anywhere “from many, many months to multiple years,” and that a prolonged stalemate could leave open parts of Syria to potential control by radical fighters.
“They will not go home when it’s over,” Shedd said, envisioning one scenario where Assad retreats to an enclave and other parts of the country are up for grabs. “They will fight for that space, and they’re there for the long haul.”
Shedd added he and the DIA never thought Assad’s regime would fall quickly – comments that appeared to stand in contrast to predictions by U.S. officials a year ago that Assad’s days were numbered.
“DIA’s position was that (Assad’s fall) was no earlier than the start of this year. And it’s obviously not happened,” he said.
ARMING THE REBELS
U.S. plans to ship weapons to some rebels have been caught in a Washington impasse, after some members of Congress feared they would end up in the hands of Islamist militants.
Asked whether he thought more secular opposition fighters should be strengthened, or whether more radical rebel groups need somehow to be confronted, Shedd said: “I think it’s too simple to say it’s one or the other.”
“Because it’s the reality that left unchecked they will become bigger,” he said, cautioning that the al-Nusra Front was gaining in strength and was “a case of serious concern.”
Rivalries have been growing between the Free Syrian Army(FSA) and Islamists, whose smaller but more effective forces control most of the rebel-held parts of northern Syria more than two years after pro-democracy protests became an uprising. The conflict has killed more than 100,000 people.
The two sides previously fought together from time to time, but the Western and Arab-backed FSA, desperate for greater firepower, has tried to distance itself from the Islamists to allay U.S. fears any arms it might supply could reach al Qaeda.
Shedd’s comments came as FSA rebels vent frustration at what they see as the slow pace of Western support. Britain, for example, has abandoned plans to arm rebels.
Shedd acknowledged identifying “good” versus “bad” rebels was very difficult.
“But I think (it is) a challenge that is well worth pursuing,” he said.
Asked how the United States could avoid getting sucked into the conflict, Shedd said: “I believe relying on allies in the region is our best solution.”
“We know that a number of the Gulf states have great concerns with the Bashar al-Assad regime. And I think that there are a number, and a sizeable number, of allies that would be prepared to work even more closely with us,” he said.
European riots
Demonstrators take to streets in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Germany as anger against continent-wide cutbacks grows.
|
|
Demonstrators across Europe have embarked on protests against government austerity measures.
Protesters took to the streets in Spain, Portugal and Greece on Saturday to direct their anger against the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) while in Germany, demonstrators rallied for the second day in succession.
Protesters say they are demonstrating against the institutions’ role in pushing for austerity cutbacks as a way to fight the continent’s debt crisis.
On Friday, members of the Blockupy alliance linked arms for several hours in the streets of Germany’s financial capital, Frankfurt, blocking routes leading up to the ECB.
A spokesman for the ECB said the bank remained in operation, without providing details about where its employees were working.
Along with the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund, the ECB is part of the so-called troika that monitors compliance with the conditions of bailout loans negotiated by the governments of Greece, Portugal and Ireland.
‘A success’
Those conditions include spending cuts and tax increases aimed at reducing debt. The measures, however, have also worsened recessions and unemployment.
|
We wanted to blockade the ECB and we did that with more than 3,000 people.
Spokesman Roland Suess
|
After the ECB demonstration, several hundred protesters moved to Deutsche Bank’s nearby headquarters.
Their spokesman Roland Suess said the demonstration was a success: “We wanted to blockade the ECB and we did that with more than 3,000 people.”
The Blockupy movement includes people who participated in the Occupy movement which protested against the role of global capitalism by camping out in cities in a number of countries, as well as critics of globalisation and embers of left-wing organisations.
The unemployment rate across the 17 European countries that use the euro hit a record 12.2 percent in April, and the number of unemployed is on track to reach 20 million by year’s end.
The worsening jobs crisis points to the recession that has gripped the euro alliance.
Many countries are struggling to stimulate growth while grappling with a debt crisis that’s led governments to slash spending and raise taxes.
|
American protests
Crowds across the U.S. gathered Thursday to protest the federal government’s surveillance of the American public – recently highlighted by leaker Edward Snowden – as part of pro-Forth Amendment rallies, chanting “NSA go away!”
More than 400 people gathered in New York and Washington D.C., while around 300 people were estimated to be in San Francisco.
Protests were also scheduled in 100 other cities, according to the organizers, “Restore the Fourth,” who describe themselves as a grassroots, non-partisan movement. The organization estimated that national turnout would be around 10,000 people, Reuters reports.
“Our demands are very simple: We think these programs which violate the constitutional rights of Americans need to end,” Ben Doernberg, an organizer of the New York City protest, told Fox News.
The Fourth Amendment protects Americans from unlawful search and seizure.
The online community also rallied around the protests Thursday, as websites like Boing Boing! Posted messages about the National Security Agency.
“Happy 4th of July! Immediately stop your unconstitutional spying on the world’s internet users — The People,” a statement on the website said, according to Reuters.
The NSA said on its own website that it does “not object to any lawful, peaceful protest.”
“NSA and its employees work diligently and lawfully every day, around the clock, to protect the nation and its people,” the website said.
The reasons behind the instability in each region varies but it is a trend that the world has become rather shaky as of late, with the Arab Spring, Europe debt crisis and various movements in the United States. In the West, China’s power transitions as well as contest over islands. Governments will have to be more careful in their handling of sensitive issues regionally and globally.
|
GP - Current Affairs, Critical Thinking, and I 