If you haven't been paying close attention to what is happening in Syria, yesterday's announcement that the United States is closing its embassy in Damascus might have caught your attention. This extraordinary diplomatic move is a stark demonstration of the growing danger the unfolding situation posed to American diplomats, as well as a harsh condemnation of the Syrian regime's brutality against its own people.
For those who have been paying attention to the unfolding crisis in Syria there is all too much evidence of the barbarity of the Assad regime. Social media sites are replete with shocking (and often stomach turning) footage that exposes the horror of what is currently happening on the streets of this eastern Mediterranean country. Images and reporting from Dera'a, Homs, Aleppo, Hama and increasingly, Damascus, offer disturbing accounts of what is happening on the ground. If any doubt remains, it shouldn't. It is clear that Bashar is his father's son.
While what we see is the behavior of the Syrian Government, there are other important and influential forces involved. What we often miss is the story taking place beyond the grainy and gruesome videos posted on the web. An important and underreported aspect of this intense violence is the role being played by the Iranian regime. For months, those watching the region have indicated that Tehran is offering material support to the Assad regime's brutality, and more recent reports have placed Iran at the center of the violence.
Haaretz reported recently that Qassem Suleimani, the head of Iran's Quds Force, has been offering military direction to Bashar Assad and Syrian forces in their efforts to suppress growing unrest. Al-Arabiya has reported that the Free Syrian Army, the principal irregular force fighting the Syrian military, detained seven Iranians, five of them members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, while fighting in Homs.
There are few governments as practiced in brutality as the one in Iran, and they seem eager to share their know-how. For Assad, it's little wonder that assistance in suppressing a peaceful domestic uprising has become Iran's most valuable export. Lest we forget, the "Arab Spring" largely took its inspiration from Iran's "Green Movement." We all remember how in 2009, in the wake of tainted elections when thousands of young Iranians took to the streets, their efforts at peaceful protest were brutally suppressed by pro-regime thugs. Hundreds, if not thousands, of student activists were arrested, and when in prison they were subjected to unspeakable acts of torture.
Likewise, it should be little surprise that Iran would involve itself in Syria. Syria and Iran have been in an awkward embrace for decades, and Tehran is in a unique position to provide guidance to a regime struggling to crush a budding democratic movement. We are reminded of the Iranian regime's proficiency in this regard nearly every day. Over the past month alone, at least ten journalists, bloggers, and other independent commentators have found themselves behind bars on various trumped up charges. And over the last several days, Tehran has taken to targeting the families of BBC journalists.
Sadly, the Iranian regime has treated its own people with extreme brutality for the past thirty years, and it has often proved its willingness to suppress domestic dissent. It is a system dedicated to the suppression of dissent by women, ethnic and religious minorities, independent media, labor activists and anyone bold enough to stand up to the theocratic order. Sadly, the brutality of the regime is a byproduct of an ideology, and a system, that demands deference to a select cadre. It is important not to forget that this is a revolution and a system of government that Iran's leaders have promised to export throughout the Middle East.
There are few places that the Iranian regime has succeeded in the export of its influence more successfully than Syria. And because of that, we shouldn't be surprised that a hallmark of Iran's post revolutionary order, violence targeting civilians, is now on prominent display in Syria's towns and villages. At a moment like this, it is important to remember that Iran's most important export isn't petroleum, carpets, or pistachios; it is violence.
Follow Chris DeVito on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@iran180
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The above sentence portrays and defines the American political and governing systems to a perfect T. Now, what's new under the sun?
Well, if a Dubai TV network own by a Saudi royal says it is so, it must be - NOT!
The true story of the abducted Iranian engineers is here:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/223444.html
Well, these days, when the 'dominoe theory' is in the middle east rather than the far east, the US/NATO bugaboo is Iran/Islamists rather than Russia/Communists, but the pattern is the same. Instead of any Russian kidnapped/killed being a member of the Red Army, any Iranian kidnapped/killed is a member of the Republican Guard, even when they were working building a generating station (oh, up here in Canada, we exempted some companies from the sanctions against Syria because they were building or maintaining generating stations, which, if we were the bugaboo instead would mean they would instantly become members of the Royal Canadian military)
I am against any violence, by anyone, but doesn't Israel export more violence than Iran?
"The Israeli-occupied territories are the territories which have been designated as occupied territory by the United Nations and other international organizations, governments and others to refer to the territory seized by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967 from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. They consist of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip until 2005 and much of the Golan Heights and, until 1982, the Sinai Peninsula. The West Bank and Gaza Strip are also referred to as the Palestinian territories or Occupied Palestinian Territory. The Palestinian Authority, the EU,[1] and the UN Security Council[2] consider East Jerusalem to be part of the West Bank, a position disputed by Israel. Israel has unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem by the Jerusalem Law.
Israel prefers the term "disputed territories" in the case of the West Bank.[3][4] The UNSC regards Israel as the "Occupying Power."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli-occupied_territories
The Iranian flavoured one, which has included such notably extreme terrorist groups as the ANC, well that's the baaad kind.
And this has what to do with the article, or the violence in Syria? So you claim Israel is violent, and some how that makes what Iran does ok. That doesn't make sense?
Some people, no matter what, can't seem to focus on anything but Israel.
"refer to the territory seized by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967 from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. They consist of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip until 2005 and much of the Golan Heights and, until 1982, the Sinai Peninsula."
Maybe those countries should think twice before at.tacking Israel next time.
Israel gave back the Sinai to Egypt, and Gaza to the Palestinians who turned it into a staging ground for at.tacks on Israel.
Jordan doesn't want the West bank back, so why do the Palestinians have a claim to it? It was part of Jordan, and never belonged to the Pales unless you are saying they are Jordanians. How can the Pales claim the WB, which was Jordans, as their capital? Jordan was set aside for the Arabs, and Israel for the Jews. Why is it that the Pales claim the entire area?
The Golan Heights was not given back because a state of war still exists between Syrian and Israel. So why should Israel give it back?