until the oil runs out, the common folks of the middle east are going to keep getting screwed by the US, Europe, China, whoever. After the oil runs out we're all going to be screwed.

By: Bahu Virupaksha Posted: 2/27/2005 8:37:02 AM In a recent article in the Washinton Post, BushJr was given an appropriate title: President of Fabricated Crises. Whenever the USA wants to flex its muscles in any part of the world a crisis is generated and acting on exaggerated inputs from field operatives a full fledged war is launched. We have seen the is Afghanistan, Iraq and now the President and his Secretary of State Rice are making familiar noises against Syria, Iran and North Korea. The recent assasination of Rafik Hariri has come in handy to browbeat Syria. The fact is that ASyria is hardly likely to carry out a brazen act of assaination when the eyes of thye whole world are trained on Damascus. A cynic is likely to ask:Whose interest does the killing serve.The answer is obvious. If Syria is forced to withdraw from Lebonon then we have Israel moving in and Aron Sharon is afterall the hero of Shattila Refugee Camp. In Iraq itself the Bush Administration has brought the country dangerously close to civil war. The Sunnis have completely rejected the elections ans a deadly struggle for supremacy will begin. The best part of the whole Bush plan is that the ensuing instability will not subserve US interests in the region. Therefore carrying on with a policy of fabricated crisis is against US national interests. WithIbrahim Jaffari emerging as the front runner Iran will have a great influence over Iraqi policy. Instead of containing Iran, Bush has presented a vastly enhanced stage for Shiaa influence.

You know *before you start letting pooh pour out of you mouth you should do a little reading.

Syria blamed for bombing By Corinne Heller in Jerusalem February 28, 2005 From: ISRAEL has blamed Syria for a Palestinian suicide bombing that killed four Israelis and frozen plans to hand over security responsibility for West Bank cities in a further blow to a shattered truce. Syria denied any link to Saturday's bombing at a Tel Aviv nightclub. The attack dimmed peace hopes that had brightened since Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon agreed to a ceasefire at a February 8 summit. Raising the spectre of retaliation against longtime foe Syria, Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said it shared the blame for the bombing, which was claimed by Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian terrorist group with ties to Damascus. "Syria continues to give amnesty to terror groups and encourages them to carry out attacks, which endangers the (peace) process with the Palestinians and the stability in the region," a Defence Ministry spokesman quoted General Mofaz as saying. But Deputy Defence Minister Zeev Boim warned that Israel has attacked Syrian targets in the past and would do so again if it felt that would stop Damascus-based groups from attacking Israeli targets. He said an Israeli attack will "send a message to (Syrian President Bashar) Assad" that he must clamp down on militant groups based in Damascus. Syria is already under international pressure over the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri. Washington has backed UN calls for Syria to withdraw troops from Lebanon. General Mofaz also told a meeting of security chiefs that Israel was suspending plans for a pullback from West Bank cities and towns until Palestinian security forces rein in terrorist groups. Scrambling to salvage fragile peace efforts, Palestinian officials arrested three West Bank suspects in the bombing as Mr Abbas vowed to bring the culprits to justice. Israeli officials said orders for the bombing were issued from Damascus, a base for some of the key leaders of Jihad, a group sworn to Israel's destruction. Israel and the US said the bombing showed Mr Abbas had to act more forcefully to salvage peace efforts. A senior Palestinian security official said inquiries indicated the hand of the Lebanese terrorist group Hizbollah, which denied any role and called the accusations a "provocation" by Israel. Meanwhile, a videotape showing a man purporting to be a member of Islamic Jihad appeared on Arab TV station al-Jazeera admitting responsibility for the Tel Aviv nightclub bombing. Qatar-based al-Jazeera said the tape was attributed to the Al-Quds Brigades, the military arm of Islamic Jihad, and identified the attacker as Abdullah Saeed Badran from the West Bank town of Tulkarem.

Or this

Egypt, Syria to hold talks on Lebanon issue www.chinaview.cn 2005-02-27 19:06:23 CAIRO, Feb. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- Syrian Foreign Minister Faruk al-Shareh arrived here Sunday morning for talks with Egyptian officials on the Lebanon issue, including an expected meeting with President Hosni Mubarak. Damascus is under intense international pressure to withdraw itsforces from Lebanon in line with UN Resolution 1559 after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, who was opposed to Syria's interference in Lebanon's internal affairs. The Lebanese opposition blamed Syrian and Lebanese authorities for the death of Hariri and urged Syrian forces to pull out before Lebanon's parliamentary elections in May. Egypt has sought to defuse regional tensions arising after the killing of Hariri. President Mubarak on Wednesday sent his entrusted intellegence chief Omar Suleiman to Damascus as part of efforts to find a solution to the problem. Enditem

Or this

Arabiya TV Says Threatened Over Syria Broadcast Sun Feb 27, 2005 11:46 AM ET Printer Friendly | Email Article | Reprints | RSS Top News Saddam's Half-Brother Captured in Iraq Iran, Russia Sign Nuclear Fuel Deal Opposed by U.S. Pope Appears at Window; Aide Says Blessing for Him MORE DUBAI (Reuters) - Syrian intelligence sent death threats to Al Arabiya television after it aired an interview with U.N. chief Kofi Annan in which he urged Syria to withdraw from Lebanon by April, a source at the station said Sunday. "There were death threats against Arabiya's staff in Beirut by the Syrians," the source told Reuters, referring to Syrian intelligence. Syrian officials were not immediately available to comment. The Dubai-based Arabic station said the threats accompanied criticism of the channel in the Syrian state-run daily Tishreen, which it described as lies aimed at smearing its image. "Al Arabiya expresses its extreme concern over Tishreen newspaper's method in accusing the television of treachery," the station said in a statement. Al Arabiya said it had aired the interview with Annan in full and without interpretation or exaggeration. In it, U.N. Secretary-General Annan urged Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon by April, when he is due to present a report on the situation to the Security Council. In a front-page article Saturday, Tishreen accused Al Arabiya of ignoring later remarks by a U.N. spokesman who stressed Annan had not been setting a deadline. "This incident along with many other incidents raise dozens of questions about the mission of this station and the bodies that run and finance it," Tishreen said about the majority Saudi-owned station, which is seen by Arab radicals as pro-Western. Syria said last week it would pull back more troops to eastern Lebanon in line with a 16-year-old agreement and that it was ready to work with the United Nations to implement a resolution calling for the removal of Syrian troops. International pressure for Syria to quit Lebanon has grown since a massive bomb killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri last week. Many Lebanese hold Syria responsible for his death.

There are *a lot* more, but I figured I'd cut you a break.

One might not know from your article that Syria is now and has been for some time occupying Lebanon with a military force, an occupation that is unpopular with the people of Lebanon. Is that the fault of the US or Israel? The number one voice speaking out against this occupation is silenced by a massive car bomb. Is that the fault of the US and Israel? There are 14,000 Syrian troops in Lebanon. Rafik Hariri, who was murdered, had resigned as Prime Minister in October, because Syria refused to withdraw them.

You imply that Syria, the country behind this military occupation and the country that stands most to benefit from this "brazen act of assaination" as you call it, couldn't have been responsible for it because "the eyes of thye whole world are trained on Damascus." Perhaps Syria anticipated that it would have defenders such as yourself? The theory is called "hide in plain sight."

Myrrander offers the explanation that when the US (and the UN as well on this one) asks a dictatorship to withdraw its troops from a neighboring country where the people want them to leave, the issue is "not really" about foreign troops, or dictatorship, but is really about oil. Funny, the thousands of Lebanese who took to the streets in protest, think its really about foreign occupation. See http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,148225,00.html which begins "BEIRUT, Lebanon — Tens of thousands marched Monday in the biggest anti-Syrian protest in Lebanese history..." Myrrander needs to explain the oil thing to them.

Let me offer an alternative explanation. When Syria acts like a terrorist and supports terrorists, it is really because.......(dramatic pause)....they are terrorists. A simple theory, though not as exciting a conspiracy theories or oil.

Ahhh, drmiler, we must have posted at the same time! Your post was more comprehensive. Kudos to you.

Confuse them with facts, thats my motto.

Oh, man - you stepped into it one day too soon.

Events in Lebanon today & Egypt over the past two days suggest the left's greatest fear (success!) may be realized. And Syria have turned over Saddam's half brother & a bunch of his cronies, whom I'm sure they just quickly rounded up from their known locations (they "found" them! - what a effin coincidence!), in a very transparent, but useful (to us), attempt at making some sort of amends for the assassination of the former Lebanese premier.

I feel sorry for Bahu & those of like mind, who so underestimate the ordinary citizens of the Middle East. I sense that they have caught the scent of a real opportunity for freedom and are finally thinking it possible. What a wonderful thing.

The chances of the answer to your rhetorical question being, "Yes!" are getting better each day, despite the horrible suicide bombing in Iraq today.

Cheers,
Daiwa

"Blah blah blah, Blame America First, and ignore everything else, Blah, blah (YAWN), blah!"

Colonists: We better not fight against King George, that would lead to deaths and civil war!

The Union: We better not fight against Succession and slavery, that might lead to deaths and civil war!

... and they were right, both led to deaths, civil war... and freedom.

I guess we know which side you would have been on, had those "fabricated crises" happened today.

Ooh. Insightful to Ted. Bravo. To the left, all such crises are "fabricated" - unless they happen to be in power at the time, of course.

Cheers,
Daiwa

The Middle East is boiling over. The situation in Saudi Arabia is rip0e for a Revolt, and if Syria withdrawd from Lebonon then a civil war between the Druzes, the Chgristians and thye Muslims will become a distinct possibility. Price of oil will sky rocket and a world wide recession is hardly in US interest especially with the talk of Sociasl Security Reform.

Ooh. Insightful to Ted. Bravo.

Thanks Daiwa!!

The Middle East is boiling over.

Let's see, many moons ago there were these two brothers (Ishmael & Juda). They didn't get along...

Please tell me, since the days of this little sibling rivalry, when wasn't the Middle East "boiling over"??? When is a convenient time to infuse the hope of freedom and the voice of the people?

Let's see, many moons ago there were these two brothers (Ishmael & Juda). They didn't get along...

1/2 brothers with juda the youngest and most beloved from his wife, while ishmeal was from a slave woman and pretty much cast out after the birth of juda,,,, hence the war that has no end.

Bahu, Why dont you write about the scourge of Islamic extremism? This is the greatest threat to humanity since Hitler. Why dont you write about the murder of Van Gough in Holland? Why dont you write about death threats to Ayaan Hirsi Ali for speaking out against Islam treatment of woman? Why dont you for once set asideyour hatred for the United States and Pres Bush and speak out against the true problems facing almost every nation on earth. That will show that you are a intellectual and not some rabid Bush hater.