Smoky Mountains Sunrise
Showing posts with label Syria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Syria. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Pat Buchanan: Trolling for War with Russia



By Patrick J. Buchanan

Some 50 State Department officials have signed a memo calling on President Obama to launch air and missile strikes on the Damascus regime of Bashar Assad.

A “judicious use of stand-off and air weapons,” they claim, “would undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed U.S.-led diplomatic process.”

In brief, to strengthen the hand of our diplomats and show we mean business, we should start bombing and killing Syrian soldiers.

Yet Syria has not attacked us. And Congress has not declared war on Syria, or authorized an attack. Where do these State hawks think President Obama gets the authority to launch a war on Syria?

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Hilary Benn, Britain's Shadow Foreign Secretary, Stuns House with Powerful Speech in Support of Syrian Airstrikes

Hilary Benn has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds Central since a 1999 by-election, and has served as Shadow Foreign Secretary since May 2015.  Tonight he gave a powerful speech, in the House of Commons in which he defied his own party's leader, urging the British Parliament to support airstrikes in Syria.  Described by his opposite number as "one of the truly great speeches in the house of Commons", Benn's speech, which follows below, drew prolonged cheers and applause from all sides.

The House of Commons voted by 397 to 223, including 66 Labor Members, in favor of extending RAF action across the border from Iraq.



Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Pat Buchanan: Are Trump and Putin Right?

By Patrick J. Buchanan

Monday, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” hosted a spirited discussion with Donald Trump on whether he was right in asserting that Muslims in New Jersey celebrated as the towers came down on 9/11.

About Muslim celebrations in Berlin, however, there appears to be no doubt. In my chapter “Eurabia,” in “State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America,” [2006] is this quote from The New York Times Magazine, exactly 10 years ago.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Pat Buchanan: Is Putin Our Ally in Syria?


By Patrick J. Buchanan

Among the presidential candidates of the Republican Party and their foreign policy leaders on Capitol Hill the cry is almost universal:

Barack Obama has no strategy for winning the war on ISIS.

This criticism, however, sounds strange coming from a party that controls Congress but has yet to devise its own strategy, or even to authorize the use of U.S. military force in Syria.

Congress has punted. And compared to the cacophony from Republican ranks, Barack Obama sounds like Prince Bismarck.

Friday, September 18, 2015

Pat Buchanan - Putin: Friend or Foe in Syria?


By Patrick J. Buchanan

What Vladimir Putin is up to in Syria makes far more sense than what Barack Obama and John Kerry appear to be up to in Syria.

The Russians are flying transports bringing tanks and troops to an air base near the coastal city of Latakia to create a supply chain to provide a steady flow of weapons and munitions to the Syrian army.

Syrian President Bashar Assad, an ally of Russia, has lost half his country to ISIS and the Nusra Front, a branch of al-Qaida.

Putin fears that if Assad falls, Russia’s toehold in Syria and the Mediterranean will be lost, ISIS and al-Qaida will be in Damascus, and Islamic terrorism will have achieved its greatest victory.

Is he wrong?

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Tell the Imperial President: No More Wars!



By Patrick J. Buchanan

Barack Obama has asked Congress for $500 million to train and arm rebels of the Free Syrian Army who seek to overthrow the government.

Before Congress takes up his proposal, both houses should demand that Obama explain exactly where he gets the constitutional authority to plunge us into what the president himself calls “somebody else’s civil war.”

Syria has not attacked us. Syria does not threaten us.

Why are we joining a jihad to overthrow the Syrian government?

Monday, December 30, 2013

Bashar al-Assad Sends Private Message to Pope Francis

Syrian president told pontiff countries supporting rebels groups would have to stop before peace can be agreed, reports say
 
Pope Francis during the traditional sunday Angelus prayer
Pope Francis delivers his weekly Sunday Angelus prayer to the gathered faithful below his apartment on St Peter's Square Photograph: Fabio Frustaci/EPA

The Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, has sent a private message to Pope Francis as a delegation from Damascus visiting the Vatican met on Saturday with the pontiff's two most senior diplomatic representatives.

The contents of the message were not disclosed by the Vatican, which said in a statement simply that Joseph Sweid, a Syrian government minister, had met both Francis's secretary of state, Archbishop Pietro Parolin, and foreign secretary, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti.

"The delegation brought a message from President Assad for the Holy Father and outlined the position of the Syrian government," it added.

But, according to Sana, Syria's state-run news agency, the message set out the Assad regime's position ahead of next month's peace conference in Geneva, saying it was willing to take part in the talks but that countries supporting rebel groups would have to stop.

Read more at The Guardian >>


Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Lindsey’s Plan for War on Iran


By Patrick J. Buchanan

This summer produced a triumph of American patriotism.

A grassroots coalition arose to demand Congress veto any war on Syria. Congress got the message and was ready to vote no to war, when President Obama seized upon Vladimir Putin’s offer to work together to disarm Syria of chemical weapons.

The war America did not want — did not come.

Lindsey Graham is determined that this does not happen again.

The next war he and his collaborators are planning, the big one, the war on Iran, will not be blocked the same way.

How does Graham propose to do this?

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Pat Buchanan: Putin 'Made a Better Case' Than Obama on Syria


Conservative pundit Patrick Buchanan says Vladimir Putin's op-ed in the New York Times is an "outstanding piece" that "made a better case against U.S. strikes in Syria" than President Obama has done in arguing for U.S. strikes.

"I read the whole thing, and I read it twice," Buchanan told Fox News's Greta Van Susteren Wednesday night. "And candidly, it was an outstanding piece, and I think Vladimir Putin made a better case against U.S. strikes in Syria than the president of the United States did last night, Greta.

"And I think he (Putin) laid out one of the real dangers here, which is that jihadists and terrorists, as well the al Qaeda folks inside Syria and others -- they're pouring in from the West and Russia. And if the Assad regime falls, in whose hands do these chemical weapons go?

Read more at CNSNews.com >>


A Plea for Caution From Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin has addressed the American people on the situation in Syria.  His appeal, which follows, was published by the New York Times yesterday.


MOSCOW — RECENT events surrounding Syria have prompted me to speak directly to the American people and their political leaders. It is important to do so at a time of insufficient communication between our societies. 

Relations between us have passed through different stages. We stood against each other during the cold war. But we were also allies once, and defeated the Nazis together. The universal international organization — the United Nations — was then established to prevent such devastation from ever happening again. 

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

America Says ‘No!’ to a Beltway War


 
By Patrick J. Buchanan

L
ast week, hell came to the tiny Christian village of Maaloula where they still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus.

“Rebels of the Free Syrian Army launched an assault aided by a suicide bomber from Jabhat al-Nusra,” the al-Qaida-linked Islamic terrorist group, writes the Washington Post.

The AP picked up the story:

One resident said bearded rebels shouting “God is great!” attacked Christian homes and churches. “They shot and killed people. … I saw three bodies lying in the middle of a street.”

Maaloula is now a “ghost town.” Christians left behind were told, “Either you convert to Islam or you will be beheaded.”

“Where is President Obama?” wailed a refugee. And, indeed, where is Obama?

He is out lobbying Congress for authority to attack the Syrian army that defended Maaloula as John McCain beats the drums for a Senate resolution to have the U.S. military “change the momentum” of the war to the rebels who terrorized the convent nuns of Maaloula. 
 

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Pope Appeals to President Putin and G20 Leaders to Eschew Military Solution in Syria

How sad it is that Christians around the world and particularly those who are being persecuted by radical Islam now look with hope to the President of Russia for their defense, rather than to the United States.  

Pope Francis has sent the following letter to President Putin in his capacity as President of the Russian Federation and as the presiding host and President of the G20 summit now underway.  Let us pray that President Putin can restrain America's drone-happy President from any further murder of women and children and his threatened intervention in a civil war in which there is no right side and which does not concern the security interests of the United States.

To His Excellency
Mr Vladimir Putin
President of the Russian Federation
In the course of this year, you have the honour and the responsibility of presiding over the Group of the twenty largest economies in the world.  I am aware that the Russian Federation has participated in this group from the moment of its inception and has always had a positive role to play in the promotion of good governance of the world’s finances, which have been deeply affected by the crisis of 2008.
In today’s highly interdependent context, a global financial framework with its own just and clear rules is required in order to achieve a more equitable and fraternal world, in which it is possible to overcome hunger, ensure decent employment and housing for all, as well as essential healthcare.  Your presidency of the G20 this year has committed itself to consolidating the reform of the international financial organizations and to achieving a consensus on financial standards suited to today’s circumstances.  However, the world economy will only develop if it allows a dignified way of life for all human beings, from the eldest to the unborn child, not just for citizens of the G20 member states but for every inhabitant of the earth, even those in extreme social situations or in the remotest places.
From this standpoint, it is clear that, for the world’s peoples, armed conflicts are always a deliberate negation of international harmony, and create profound divisions and deep wounds which require many years to heal.  Wars are a concrete refusal to pursue the great economic and social goals that the international community has set itself, as seen, for example, in the Millennium Development Goals.  Unfortunately, the many armed conflicts which continue to afflict the world today present us daily with dramatic images of misery, hunger, illness and death.  Without peace, there can be no form of economic development.  Violence never begets peace, the necessary condition for development.
The meeting of the Heads of State and Government of the twenty most powerful economies, with two-thirds of the world’s population and ninety per cent of global GDP, does not have international security as its principal purpose.  Nevertheless, the meeting will surely not forget the situation in the Middle East and particularly in Syria.  It is regrettable that, from the very beginning of the conflict in Syria, one-sided interests have prevailed and in fact hindered the search for a solution that would have avoided the senseless massacre now unfolding.  The leaders of the G20 cannot remain indifferent to the dramatic situation of the beloved Syrian people which has lasted far too long, and even risks bringing greater suffering to a region bitterly tested by strife and needful of peace.  To the leaders present, to each and every one, I make a heartfelt appeal for them to help find ways to overcome the conflicting positions and to lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution.  Rather, let there be a renewed commitment to seek, with courage and determination, a peaceful solution through dialogue and negotiation of the parties, unanimously supported by the international community.  Moreover, all governments have the moral duty to do everything possible to ensure humanitarian assistance to those suffering because of the conflict, both within and beyond the country’s borders.
Mr President, in the hope that these thoughts may be a valid spiritual contribution to your meeting, I pray for the successful outcome of the G20’s work on this occasion.  I invoke an abundance of blessings upon the Summit in Saint Petersburg, upon the participants and the citizens of the member states, and upon the work and efforts of the 2013 Russian Presidency of the G20.
While requesting your prayers, I take this opportunity to assure you, Mr President, of my highest consideration.
From the Vatican, 4 September 2013

FRANCIS


Tuesday, September 3, 2013

A Letter from Trappist Nuns in Syria: “Blood Fills Our Streets, Our Eyes, Our Hearts”


In March 2005 a small group of nuns from the Cistercian Monastery of Valserena in Tuscany moved to Aleppo, Syria, to found a new monastic community there. The nuns were inspired to take up the legacy of seven monks who were martyred in 1997 in Tibhirine, Algeria. The sisters wanted to follow the example set by these men, who had totally dedicated their lives to God and to their beloved Algerian neighbors, both Christian and Muslim.

The sisters’ guiding Scripture is John 10:16: “There are other sheep I have that are not of this fold, and I must led these too. They too will listen to my voice.”

Once they had settled in Aleppo, with the blessing of both the Latin Apostolic Vicar and the Maronite bishop of Tartous, the sisters gained a new awareness of the importance of helping Christian Arabs remain in the Middle East, as well as a respect for the diversity of their traditions. Their project was, and continues to be, establishing a permanent monastery on the land they bought near the Syrian border with Lebanon, in a Maronite village named Azeir, atop a hill, far from the big cities. The monastery is at the service of isolated Christian communities, in a land which is predominantly Muslim but which is home to the most ancient of Christian traditions.

To the sisters, Syria represents the meeting place of East and West, the place where Christianity began and then spread to Asia Minor, Greece, Rome, and then Armenia and India—all the way to China, with saints such as such as Afraate, Ephraim, Cyrus, Simeon Protostilite, Maron, Isaac of Niniveh, and others who followed in their footsteps, such as John Chrysostom and John Damascene.

It is this tradition the sisters wish to honor and perpetuate, persevering in their mission despite the fear and the hardship: to keep the monastery going and provide those who desire it with a chance to spend a few days there, with a church to go to.

These nuns have been providing a much-needed independent perspective on the tumultuous events going on inside Syria, in eye-witness reports published on their website and in the Italian bishops’ newspaper, Avvenire.

Here is a translation of a letter written on the 29th of August, in which the sisters seem to be holding their breath as President Obama deliberated about what, if any, action would be taken in Syria by the United States. 
 
Read more at Catholic World Report >> 
 
 

Monday, September 2, 2013

Glenn Beck: This Is Who We Are Helping in Syria




WARNING - This video contains DISTURBING images. The Obama administration, along with PROGRESSIVE Republicans AND Democrats are OK providing assistance to the Syrian 'rebels'...the same 'rebels' who have pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda and who cut the heart and liver out of their enemies and eat it.  WE MUST NOT GET INVOLVED IN THIS WAR!



Friday, August 30, 2013

Will Boehner Stop Our Rogue President?


By Patrick J. Buchanan

The next 72 hours will be decisive in the career of the speaker of the House. The alternatives he faces are these:

John Boehner can, after “consultation,” give his blessing to Barack Obama’s decision to launch a war on Syria, a nation that has neither attacked nor threatened us.

Or Boehner can instruct Obama that, under our Constitution, in the absence of an attack on the United States, Congress alone has the authority to decide whether the United States goes to war.

As speaker, he can call the House back on Monday to debate, and decide, whether to authorize the war Obama is about to start. In the absence of a Congressional vote for war, Boehner should remind the president that U.S. cruise missile strikes on Syria, killing soldiers and civilians alike, would be the unconstitutional and impeachable acts of a rogue president.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Who Are the War Criminals in Syria?

By Patrick J. Buchanan

Last week, several polls came out assessing U.S. public opinion on intervention in Syria.

According to the Huffington Post poll, Americans oppose U.S. air strikes on Syria by 3-to-1. They oppose sending arms to the rebels by 4-to-1. They oppose putting U.S. ground troops into Syria by 14-to-1. Democrats, Republicans and independents are all against getting involved in that civil war that has produced 1.2 million refugees and 70,000 dead.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

British MP: Thousands of Christians May Be Killed If Assad Regime Falls

From the Catholic Herald (UK)

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)

A Catholic MP has said that if the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s regime falls then thousands of Christians in the country may be killed.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Pope Benedict Appeals for Peace in Syria and Libya



Castel Gandolfo (Agenzia Fides) - "I am following with great concern the dramatic and growing violence in Syria, which have caused numerous deaths and severe suffering" - said the Holy Father Benedict XVI, yesterday, August 7, immediately after the prayer of the 'Angelus, from the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo. "I invite the Catholic faithful to pray that the efforts for reconciliation prevail on division and resentment. In addition, I renew to the Authority and the Syrian population an urgent appeal, so that peaceful coexistence can be restored as soon as possible and to respond adequately to the legitimate aspirations of the citizens, respecting their dignity and for the benefit of regional stability".

"My thoughts also go to Libya continued-Benedict XVI, where the force of weapons has not resolved the situation. I urge international organizations and those who have political and military responsibilities to relaunch with conviction and determination the search for a peace plan for the Country, through negotiation and constructive dialogue ". (Agenzia Fides 08/08/2011)