Middle East landscape rapidly changing

Started by give her dixie, January 25, 2011, 02:05:36 PM

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give her dixie

With the recent overthrow of the western backed dictator in Tunisia, and mass protests breaking out in Jordan, Yemen, Egypt and Algeria, against the dictators imposed upon them by the west, so too are things changing in Lebannon with a new Hezbollah led Government about to be installed.

Today, mass protests are been staged all across Egypt, with Cairo been brought to a standstill. Mubarak's days are numbered, and it wont be long before he is seeking refuge in Saudi (who also gave refuge to Idi Amen) along with his fellow Tunisian dictator,

Coupled with the leak of over 1,600 documents by Al Jazeera and the continued leaks by Wikileaks on the facts around Israel/US refusing a peace settlement with the Palestinians, we are seeing a massive change in the middle east.

With the US led illegal invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq now proven to be a disaster, with over 1 million people dead, and millions more displaced, what does the future hold for the middle east now? If free and democratic elections are held throughout the middle east, how will it shape foriegn policy of western countries?

We are truely living in interesting times........
next stop, September 10, for number 4......

give her dixie

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/24/hezbollah-backed-candidate-lebanon-pm

The prospect of a Hezbollah-led government in Lebanon now appears certain after a Syrian-backed businessman emerged from a crucial political summit with the numbers needed to lead the turbulent state.

A narrow majority of 65 of the Lebanese parliament's 128 members indicated their support for telecommunications tycoon Najib Miqati, which means that the ousting of Saad Hariri as prime minister of the US-allied government will soon be formalised.

The high-stakes talks were convened after the Hezbollah-led opposition walked out of a tenuous coalition government two weeks ago, forcing a political crisis with the potential to rupture already brittle sectarian fault-lines.

The support for Miqati means Hariri cannot secure the majority needed to hang on to the narrow mandate he won 18 months ago.

Today Hariri said he and his bloc would not take part in a Hezbollah-led government. Hariri was appointed caretaker prime minister just under two weeks ago, shortly after 11 Hezbollah-aligned ministers abandoned his government, causing it to fall.

Street demonstrations are tonightnight being staged in Sunni areas of Beirut, as well as Tripoli in north Lebanon and Sidon in the south. Tyres were burnt and roads and highways blocked in scenes that have stirred the ghosts of numerous past conflicts and spark fears of a return to sectarian chaos. Protests spread quickly after nightfall, but there were no reports of deaths, or injuries. Security forces seemed reluctant to intervene.

A member of parliament from Hariri's bloc, Khaled Dahar said: "We announce our rejection of the candidate backed by the 'party of arms' [referring to Hezbollah]. What was plotted was a coup by a group that didn't respect the voters' freedom by relying on its weapons to threaten all Lebanese.

"We call on those who reject the Persian scheme in this defiant Arab country to stage a sit-in tomorrow ... in Tripoli," Dahar said, according to the Naharnet website.

Violence had been widely predicted in Lebanon for the past five months as criminal indictments were prepared for delivery to an international tribunal investigating the assassination of former prime minister, Rafiq Hariri.

The indictments are widely tipped to implicate members of Hezbollah, which has vowed to discredit them. If asked to form a government by Lebanon's president, Michel Suleiman, Miqati will come under intense pressure to carry out Hezbollah's demands that Lebanon withdraw all co-operation with the Hague-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

Miqati last week travelled to Damascus to meet Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, who has been widely consulted by Lebanese MPs on events in their homeland. Druze leader Walid Jumblatt is another to have sought a hearing with the Syrian president. Six members of Jumblatt's 11-seat bloc on the Lebanese parliament confirmed today that they would align with Miqati.

The ousting of Hariri is a sharp blow to US interests in the Middle East. His government was toppled at the same time as he met Barack Obama in the White House, prompting the US to threaten to withdraw aid money from Lebanon.

Diplomats from Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia last week embarked on intense, but apparently unsuccessful rounds of shuttle diplomacy, trying to find a way out of an ever-escalating crisis that could sharply destabilise an already fragile region.

Israel has reacted with alarm at the latest developments, claiming a Hezbollah takeover will consolidate Iranian influence on its northern border.
next stop, September 10, for number 4......

give her dixie

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/201112511362207742.html

Hundreds of protesters have begun to take to the streets in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, chanting slogans against the police, the interior minister and the government, in scenes that the capital has not seen since the 1970s, Al Jazeera's correspondent reported.

Downtown Cairo has come to a standstill, and protesters are now marching towards the headquarters of the ruling National Democracy Party.

"It is unprecedented for security forces to let people march like this without trying to stop them," Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh reported from the site of the protest.

The Egyptian government had earlier warned activists hoping to emulate Tunisian pro-democracy protesters that they face arrest if they go ahead with Tuesday's mass demonstrations, which some have labelled as the "Day of wrath".

The protesters are gathering outside Cairo's largest courthouse, and are marching across downtown Cairo.

The rallies have been promoted online by groups saying they speak for young Egyptians frustrated by the kind of poverty and oppression which triggered the overthrow of Tunisia's president.

Black-clad riot police, backed by armoured vehicles and fire engines, have been deployed in a massive security operation in Cairo, with the biggest concentrations at likely flashpoints, including: the Cairo University campus, the central Tahrir Square and the courthouse where protesters are said to be gathering.

Coinciding with a national holiday in honour of the police, a key force in keeping president Hosni Mubarak in power for 30 years, the outcome in Egypt on Tuesday is seen as a test of whether vibrant Web activism can translate into street action.

Organisers have called for a "day of revolution against torture, poverty, corruption and unemployment".

"Activists said they wanted to use this particular day to highlight the irony of celebrating Egypt's police at a time when police brutality is making headlines," reported Rawya Rageh, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Cairo.

"In fact, the call originated from a Facebook page initially set up to honour a 28-year-old man from Alexandria who activists say was tortured to death by police.

"Witnesses are telling us that there are hundreds on the streets. This is an indication that the protests seem so far to be larger than the usual protests that have taken place here in Egypt over the past few years."

Banned demonstrations

"The security apparatus will deal firmly and decisively with any attempt to break the law," the government's director for security in the capital Cairo said in a statement released ahead of the protests.

Since Egypt bans demonstrations without prior permission, and as opposition groups say they have been denied such permits, any protesters may be detained.

Habib el-Adli, the interior minister, has issued orders to "arrest any persons expressing their views illegally".

"I tell the public that this Facebook call comes from the youth," Adli said in an interview published by the state-owned newspaper al Ahram.

"Youth street action has no impact and security is capable of deterring any acts outside the law," he said, adding that he welcomed "stationary protests held for limited periods of time" and that police would protect the protesters.

"Beginning of the end"

"Our protest on the 25th is the beginning of the end," wrote organisers of a Facebook group with 87,000 followers.

"It is the end of silence, acquiescence and submission to what is happening in our country. It will be the start of a new page in Egypt's history, one of activism and demanding our rights."

Rights watchdog Amnesty International has urged Egypt's authorities "to allow peaceful protests".

Protests in Egypt, the biggest Arab state and a keystone Western ally in the Middle East, tend to be poorly attended and are often quashed swiftly by the police, who prevent marching.

The banned Muslim Brotherhood, seen as having Egypt's biggest grassroots opposition network, has not called on members to take part but said some would join in a personal capacity.

Organisers have called for protesters to not display political or religious affiliations at demonstrations. The Facebook page says: "Today is for all Egyptians."

Commenting on the wave of public unrest in Tunisia, Adli, the interior minister, said talk that the "Tunisian model" could work in other Arab countries was "propaganda" and had been dismissed by politicians as "intellectual immaturity".

"Young people are very excited, and this time there will be much more than any other time," Ahmed Maher, one of the founders of the opposition youth movement said.

"This is going to be a real test of whether online activism in Egypt can translate into real action," Al Jazeera's Rageh reported.

"Anger has been on the rise in Egypt for the past couple of years, but we have seen similar calls fizzle out. The main difference now is that these calls are coming after what happened in Tunisia, which seems to have not only inspired activists, but actually ordinary Egyptians, a dozen of whom we have seen set themselves on fire in copycat self-immolations similar to the one that had sparked the uprising in Tunisia."

Sympathisers across the world have said they plan to protest in solidarity. In Kuwait, security forces detained three Egyptians on Monday for distributing flyers for the protests, while large demonstrations have also been planned outside the Egyptian embassies in Washington, DC, and London.
next stop, September 10, for number 4......

Banana Man

i see in the paper that the Israeli backed inquiry into the massacare on the boat, led by David Trimble (the enquiry that is) have cleared Israel of any wrong doing - there's a shock  ::)

stew

Be careful what you wish for dixie, in the middle east you have some of the most ruthless fcukers that ever lived in places of power, you are very naive in your thinking, get the yanks out and all will be well, these fcukers, when they have no enemy outside of the region tend to fight internally, they murder their own innocents without pause for thought and dont get me started on women and what happens them when the yanks pull out.

I agree the Israelis are a disgrace in the way they have dealt with the palestinians and yes the yanks back them and hopefully both come to their senses and get something done soon.

You area a hater of the US with absolutely no balance whatsoever and that weakens your argument, there is plenty to despise and to loathe on the other side of the fence as well, you dont tend to see that. Shame.






Quote from: give her dixie on January 25, 2011, 02:05:36 PM
With the recent overthrow of the western backed dictator in Tunisia, and mass protests breaking out in Jordan, Yemen, Egypt and Algeria, against the dictators imposed upon them by the west, so too are things changing in Lebannon with a new Hezbollah led Government about to be installed.

Today, mass protests are been staged all across Egypt, with Cairo been brought to a standstill. Mubarak's days are numbered, and it wont be long before he is seeking refuge in Saudi (who also gave refuge to Idi Amen) along with his fellow Tunisian dictator,

Coupled with the leak of over 1,600 documents by Al Jazeera and the continued leaks by Wikileaks on the facts around Israel/US refusing a peace settlement with the Palestinians, we are seeing a massive change in the middle east.

With the US led illegal invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq now proven to be a disaster, with over 1 million people dead, and millions more displaced, what does the future hold for the middle east now? If free and democratic elections are held throughout the middle east, how will it shape foriegn policy of western countries?

We are truely living in interesting times........
Armagh, the one true love of a mans life.

stew

Quote from: Banana Man on January 25, 2011, 02:22:13 PM
i see in the paper that the Israeli backed inquiry into the massacare on the boat, led by David Trimble (the enquiry that is) have cleared Israel of any wrong doing - there's a shock  ::)
[/quote

A predictable disgrace, no way he had the stones nor the moral fibre to call a spade a spade. Collusion in politics, who'd have thought. ???
]

Armagh, the one true love of a mans life.

give her dixie

Quote from: stew on January 25, 2011, 02:23:32 PM
Be careful what you wish for dixie, in the middle east you have some of the most ruthless fcukers that ever lived in places of power, you are very naive in your thinking, get the yanks out and all will be well, these fcukers, when they have no enemy outside of the region tend to fight internally, they murder their own innocents without pause for thought and dont get me started on women and what happens them when the yanks pull out.

I totally agree with you Stew that "in the middle east you have some of the most ruthless fcukers that ever lived in places of power". However, these very people, like Mubarak, Karzi, Bouteflika, Abbas, Netanyahu, etc, etc, are fully backed, financed, and supported by the US and it's allies in the west.

Coupled with the fact that over 1 million people have died in the past 10 years due to the illegal invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq, i'm sure that the new democratically elected leaders in the middle east wont be as bad.


I agree the Israelis are a disgrace in the way they have dealt with the palestinians and yes the yanks back them and hopefully both come to their senses and get something done soon.

You area a hater of the US with absolutely no balance whatsoever and that weakens your argument, there is plenty to despise and to loathe on the other side of the fence as well, you dont tend to see that. Shame.






Quote from: give her dixie on January 25, 2011, 02:05:36 PM
With the recent overthrow of the western backed dictator in Tunisia, and mass protests breaking out in Jordan, Yemen, Egypt and Algeria, against the dictators imposed upon them by the west, so too are things changing in Lebannon with a new Hezbollah led Government about to be installed.

Today, mass protests are been staged all across Egypt, with Cairo been brought to a standstill. Mubarak's days are numbered, and it wont be long before he is seeking refuge in Saudi (who also gave refuge to Idi Amen) along with his fellow Tunisian dictator,

Coupled with the leak of over 1,600 documents by Al Jazeera and the continued leaks by Wikileaks on the facts around Israel/US refusing a peace settlement with the Palestinians, we are seeing a massive change in the middle east.

With the US led illegal invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq now proven to be a disaster, with over 1 million people dead, and millions more displaced, what does the future hold for the middle east now? If free and democratic elections are held throughout the middle east, how will it shape foriegn policy of western countries?

We are truely living in interesting times........
next stop, September 10, for number 4......

theskull1

Quote from: stew on January 25, 2011, 02:23:32 PM
I agree the Israelis are a disgrace in the way they have dealt with the palestinians and yes the yanks back them and hopefully both come to their senses and get something done soon.

You area a hater of the US with absolutely no balance whatsoever and that weakens your argument, there is plenty to despise and to loathe on the other side of the fence as well, you dont tend to see that. Shame.

Surely you mean "the muslims"?  ::)
It's a lot easier to sing karaoke than to sing opera

seafoid

"the landscape" is not changing other than for housing development
"f**k it, just score"- Donaghy   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbxG2WwVRjU

seafoid

Quote from: stew on January 25, 2011, 02:23:32 PM
Be careful what you wish for dixie, in the middle east you have some of the most ruthless fcukers that ever lived in places of power, you are very naive in your thinking, get the yanks out and all will be well, these fcukers, when they have no enemy outside of the region tend to fight internally, they murder their own innocents without pause for thought and dont get me started on women and what happens them when the yanks pull out.

I agree the Israelis are a disgrace in the way they have dealt with the palestinians and yes the yanks back them and hopefully both come to their senses and get something done soon.

You area a hater of the US with absolutely no balance whatsoever and that weakens your argument, there is plenty to despise and to loathe on the other side of the fence as well, you dont tend to see that. Shame.






Quote from: give her dixie on January 25, 2011, 02:05:36 PM

They said the same about the Irish people in the 1800s, Stew. Israel and the US have been a disaster. 10 wars,
millions of refugees, no stability. Let the people of the region decide their own future for a change. 
"f**k it, just score"- Donaghy   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbxG2WwVRjU

stew

Quote from: theskull1 on January 25, 2011, 02:53:17 PM
Quote from: stew on January 25, 2011, 02:23:32 PM
I agree the Israelis are a disgrace in the way they have dealt with the palestinians and yes the yanks back them and hopefully both come to their senses and get something done soon.

You area a hater of the US with absolutely no balance whatsoever and that weakens your argument, there is plenty to despise and to loathe on the other side of the fence as well, you dont tend to see that. Shame.

Surely you mean "the muslims"?  ::)

I mean the Palestinians, yes they are Muslims, what the feck has that got to do with anything?????
Armagh, the one true love of a mans life.

johnneycool

Quote from: give her dixie on January 25, 2011, 02:05:36 PM
With the recent overthrow of the western backed dictator in Tunisia, and mass protests breaking out in Jordan, Yemen, Egypt and Algeria, against the dictators imposed upon them by the west, so too are things changing in Lebannon with a new Hezbollah led Government about to be installed.

Today, mass protests are been staged all across Egypt, with Cairo been brought to a standstill. Mubarak's days are numbered, and it wont be long before he is seeking refuge in Saudi (who also gave refuge to Idi Amen) along with his fellow Tunisian dictator,

Coupled with the leak of over 1,600 documents by Al Jazeera and the continued leaks by Wikileaks on the facts around Israel/US refusing a peace settlement with the Palestinians, we are seeing a massive change in the middle east.

With the US led illegal invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq now proven to be a disaster, with over 1 million people dead, and millions more displaced, what does the future hold for the middle east now? If free and democratic elections are held throughout the middle east, how will it shape foriegn policy of western countries?

We are truely living in interesting times........

How long do you think it'll take the Yanks to turn the heads of the latest incumbents to power?

A few US dollars will go a long way to buy 'friends' in the Middle East.

give her dixie

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/4816.aspx

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets today to take part in nationwide protests.

Since early this morning, Central Security Forces vehicles, prisoner trucks, riot police and police dogs have been trying to control protestors hoping to congregate in four pre-arranged locations in Cairo's Shubra neighborhood, Mataria district, and in front of Cairo University and in the Gamat El Dowal Street in Mohandeseen. Additional protests are scheduled in nine other governorates.

At 10:00 am, the streets of Cairo were hauntingly quiet. But slowly reports of protests began to spread. Just before noon, a number of protestors were heard chanting "Bread and Freedom," at the district of Dar El Salam, according to Gamal Eid, head of the Arabic Network for Human Rights. Security forces managed to disperse the protesters less than one hour later.

At the same time, it was reported that 300 protestors were demonstrating in Rafah, in the Sinai.

Back in Cairo, in the suburbs of Dar Al-Salam and Maadi, youth marched around, chanting "Our blood, Our souls. We'll sacrifice for you, our country."

Meanwhile, there were reports of protests taking off in Moharram Bek in Alexandria, but were denied by an Ahram Online reporter. A couple of hours later a demonstration broke out in the city's Asafra district. An Ahram Online reporter said that the demonstrators were carrying Egyptian flags and chanting against the emergency law.

While no protests were reported in downtown Cairo early in the morning, at around noon 100 protesters began a demonstration in front of the lawyers syndicate in Ramses Street, where they chanted against the interior minister. Then, more than a thousand protesters reached Abdel Moneim Riyadh Square in downtown Cairo. The police shut down Ramses Street and banned entry to Lazoughli square, next to the interior ministry.

An Ahram Online reporter witnessed a march of at least 2000 protesters heading towards Tahrir square in downtown Cairo.

More than a thousand protested in front of the Mustafa Mahmoud Mosque in Mohandseen, while several marched in Masr El Qadeema. In Shubra, 500 protestors congregated and marched around the suburb, while hundreds more demonstrated against the National Democratic Party headquarters on the Nile Corniche. Marchers also reached the Foreign Ministry on the Nile Corniche.

In the northern Egypt, former MP Hamdeen Sabahi led another protest in the Port Said Square in Balteem, Kafr El Sheikh.

According to the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, 25 were arrested in Assiut and Tanta. There have been a few clashes between protestors and riot police.

In Alexandria, thousands protest in Sidi Beshr area.

Sporadic riots have also broken out in Mahallah, Aswan, Suez, Baltim, and in Mansoura.

Back in downtown Cairo thousands of protesters have taken over to Tahrir square.

next stop, September 10, for number 4......

theskull1

#13
Quote from: theskull1 on January 25, 2011, 02:53:17 PM
Quote from: stew on January 25, 2011, 02:23:32 PM
Surely you mean "the muslims"?  ::)

I mean the Palestinians, yes they are Muslims, what the feck has that got to do with anything?????
Nothing really but you're happy enough to use that sweeping categorization in the Moscow bomb thread.
It's a lot easier to sing karaoke than to sing opera

give her dixie

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/20111251711053608.html

The United States believes "the Egyptian government is stable," despite stunning protests calling for the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday.

Clinton's comments on Tuesday came after thousands of Egyptians, inspired by Tunisian demonstrators, gathered in Cairo and towns across the country calling for reforms and demanding an end to Mubarak's presidency, which has now lasted for nearly three decades.

Thousands of demonstrators attended the anti-government protests. Some in downtown Cairo hurled rocks and climbed atop an armoured police truck.

In a statement issued Tuesday night, the Egyptian interior ministry blamed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's technically banned but largest opposition group, for fomenting the protests.

Police responded to the demonstraters blasts from a water cannon, and set upon crowds with batons and acrid clouds of tear gas to clear them crying out "Down with Mubarak'' and demanding an end to the country's grinding poverty.

Police have also used rubber bullets against protesters, with some injuries, reported Rawya Rageh, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Cairo.

Clinton urged all sides in Egypt to exercise restraint following the street protests, saying she believed the government was looking for ways to respond to its populations concerns.

But at least 30 people are already reported to have been arrested in Cairo, official sources said.

More protests

Protests also broke out in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, the Nile Delta cities of Mansura and Tanta and in the southern cities of Aswan and Assiut, witnesses reported.

The rallies had been promoted online by groups saying they speak for young Egyptians frustrated by the kind of poverty and oppression which triggered the overthrow of Tunisia's president.

Egyptian blogger Hossam El Hamalawy said technology was important in facilitating "the domino effect" needed for demonstrations like this one to progress.

Mamdouh Khayrat, 23, travelled from the governorate of Qalubiya to attend protests in Cairo. He spoke to Al Jazeera's Adam Makary. "We want a functioning government, we want Mubarak to step down, we don't want emergency law, we don't want to live under this kind of oppression anymore," he said.

"Enough is enough, things have to change and if Tunisia can do it, why can't we?" Khayrat added.

El Hamalawy told Al Jazeera the protests were necessary "to send a message to the Egyptian regime that Mubarak is no different than Ben Ali and we want him to leave too".

On Tuesday downtown Cairo came to a standstill with protesters chanting slogans and marching towards what Al Jazeera's Rageh called the "symbols of their complaints and their agony," the headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Party, the foreign ministry and the state television.

Scenes such as these have not been seen in the capital since the 1970s.

A day of revolution

Black-clad riot police, backed by armoured vehicles and fire engines, have been deployed in a massive security operation in Cairo, with the biggest concentrations and likely flashpoints, including: the Cairo University campus, the central Tahrir Square and the courthouse where protesters are said to be gathering.

Coinciding with a national holiday in honour of the police, a key force in keeping president Mubarak in power for 30 years, the outcome in Egypt on Tuesday is seen as a test on whether vibrant Web activism can translate into street action.

Organisers have called for a "day of revolution against torture, poverty, corruption and unemployment".

"Activists said they wanted to use this particular day to highlight the irony of celebrating Egypt's police at a time when police brutality is making headlines," Al Jazeera's Rageh reported.

Banned demonstrations

The Egyptian government had earlier warned protesters.

"The security apparatus will deal firmly and decisively with any attempt to break the law," the government's director for security in the capital Cairo said in a statement released ahead of the protests.

Since Egypt bans demonstrations without prior permission, opposition groups say they have been denied such permits, any protesters may be detained.

Habib el-Adli, the interior minister, had earlier issued orders to "arrest any persons expressing their views illegally".

"Beginning of the end"

Activists have been relying heavily on social networks to organise the protests.

"Our protest on the 25th is the beginning of the end," wrote organisers of a Facebook group with 87,000 followers.

"People are fed up of Mubarak and of his dictatorship and of his torture chambers and of his failed economic policies. If Mubarak is not overthrown tomorrow then it will be the day after. If its not the day after its going to be next week," El Hamalawy told Al Jazeera.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International has urged Egypt's authorities "to allow peaceful protests".

Protests in Egypt, the biggest Arab state and a keystone Western ally in the Middle East, tend to be poorly attended and are often quashed swiftly by the police, who prevent marching.
next stop, September 10, for number 4......