Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony
Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony
Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony
RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony
Waiting for SIPO Anthony Public Inquiry >>
Promoting Human Rights in IrelandHuman Rights in Ireland >>
Dragons? Den Entrepreneur Used Covid Business Loans to Buy ?1.8 Million Mansion ? But Avoids Jail Wed Jul 23, 2025 19:00 | Will Jones A business owner who appeared on BBC?s Dragons? Den illegally pocketed two?COVID-19 business loans?to buy a ?1.8 million mansion ? but has avoided jail despite the ?100,000 fraud.
The post Dragons’ Den Entrepreneur Used Covid Business Loans to Buy ?1.8 Million Mansion ? But Avoids Jail appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Koran-Burner Hamit Coskun?s Appeal to be Decided by Pro-Free Speech Judge Wed Jul 23, 2025 17:25 | Will Jones A judge who has argued in favour of free speech will rule on the appeal of Hamit Coskun, who was convicted of burning the Koran outside the Turkish consulate on February 13th.
The post Koran-Burner Hamit Coskun’s Appeal to be Decided by Pro-Free Speech Judge appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
James O?Brien ?Should Be Taken Off Air? After Antisemitic Comments Claiming British Jews Are Taught ... Wed Jul 23, 2025 15:18 | Will Jones LBC presenter James O'Brien should be "taken off air" after repeating false and antisemitic comments claiming that British Jews are taught "Arabs are cockroaches to be crushed" at "Shabbat school?, critics have urged.
The post James O’Brien “Should Be Taken Off Air” After Antisemitic Comments Claiming British Jews Are Taught “Arabs Are Cockroaches to be Crushed” appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
A Pox on Pronouns Wed Jul 23, 2025 13:19 | James Alexander Leftists love to rail against imperialism. Why then, asks Professor James Alexander, do they think it's acceptable for every disturbed individual to be able to dictate their nutty pronouns to the whole world?
The post A Pox on Pronouns appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Asylum Seeker Hotel Bill Leaves Tory Council in ?17 Million Deficit Wed Jul 23, 2025 11:00 | Will Jones Conservative-led Hillingdon council has been forced into a ?17 million deficit after the Government failed to provide adequate funding for the migrants it houses in hotels there.
The post Asylum Seeker Hotel Bill Leaves Tory Council in ?17 Million Deficit appeared first on The Daily Sceptic. Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en
Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en
The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en Voltaire Network >>
|
Syrian bombing: Netanyahu attempts to provoke new confrontation
international |
anti-war / imperialism |
other press
Thursday May 09, 2013 13:48 by Barry O'Sullivan

What was the the reasoning behind the Israeli attacks on Syria?Was this agreed with Obama or did Netanyahu exceed his remit. Full text at link.
Over the weekend of May 4-5 Israel launched air raids against targets in Syria. Yassamine Mather and Moshé Machover, two members of the Hands Off the People of Iran steering committee, discuss the issues raised by this latest development
YM: The two Israeli air raids into Syrian territory have to be looked at in the context of the current Syrian civil war and realignment of regional powers. However, there is an Iranian dimension to all this. According to some Iranian military strategists, “Syria is the 35th province [of Iran] and a strategic province for us. If the enemy attacks us and wants to appropriate either Syria or Khuzestan [in southern Iran], the priority is that we keep Syria.”1
According to ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s most senior foreign policy adviser, Ali Akbar Velayati, “Syria has a very basic and key role in the region of promoting firm policies of resistance … for this reason an attack on Syria would be considered an attack on Iran and Iran’s allies.”2
Until May 4-5, there could have been no doubt that, in the event of a military attack by US or Israeli forces, Iran’s first line of defence would be a retaliation against Israel using Hezbollah, who in turn would rely on Syrian military support. The Israeli bombings have clearly changed the situation and weakened Iran’s position considerably. What do you think? Am I right or is this a very Iran-centric analysis?
 Moshe Machover MM: You can regard these air raids as a narrow intervention in the Syria civil war, but this is not the way to understand their wider significance. If you look at it only in this way, it appears very paradoxical. If it was aimed at helping the forces opposed to president Bashar al-Assad, there was no logic to it.
First of all, it compromises the Syrian opposition, which is very heterogeneous. Some elements are genuine popular forces, others are supported from the outside by Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and indirectly by the US. Those sponsors don’t mind collaborating with Israel, but the forces on the ground, even the forces supported by Qatar, the Islamists, are not happy being in a common front with Israel. In this respect, it gives Assad a means to denigrate the opposition and he has taken it. So this is not the context in which to understand the logic of these attacks.
I think that context is a wider regional one. Israel is doing everything it possibly can to widen the confrontation and there are several reasons for this. A couple of weeks ago there was a hoo-ha about weapons of mass destruction, specifically poison gas. The Israeli intelligence agency alleged that poison gas had been used, knowing that president Barack Obama had said this was a “red line” for intervention. Clearly the intention was to draw Obama into a more direct intervention in Syria: in other words, to widen the confrontation. ...
|