Stratfor’s president says the red line on Syria was meant to be a grand gesture, but it has backfired and even if the rebels or a third party are behind the use chemical agents against civilians, unless he “can get overwhelming, indisputable proof that al Assad did not — and that isn’t going to happen — Obama will either have to act on the red line principle or be shown to be one who bluffs” …
- Obama’s Bad Syria Bluff (Real Clear World)
… so now despite pleas from the UN, Russia and Syria that the former be allowed to do their job …
- UN Seeks More Time for Syria Chemical Probe Before U.S. Strike (AP / abc News)
- Russia Accuses West of Jumping Gun on Syria (Washington Post)
- Syria: Soldiers Came Under 3 Chemical Attacks (AP / Denver Post)
- Oil Climbs to Highest in More than 2 Years (AP / Atlanta Journal)
… and warnings from various quarters that military intervention, is not only illegal, it hasn’t worked out well in Iraq (and Libya and Afghanistan), and ought to at least wait until we know which side employed the chemical weapons will be an even bigger disaster in Syria …
-  The U.S. Shouldn’t Break the Law by Attacking Syria (Washington Post)
- Security Council’s 5 Permanent Members Don’t Reach Syria Deal; UK Resolution Seems Doomed (AP / Washington Post)
- Fears of Western Strike on Syria Spread in Mideast (AP / abc News)
- Bombs Kill 86 in Baghdad as Sectarian Violence Spreads (Reuters)
- Rand Paul Urges Caution on Syria: ‘We Should Ascertain Who Used the Weapons’ (Washington Post)
…Â the US, seemingly relying on Israeli intelligence and backed British enthusiasm for the West to once again take on the “White Man’s burden,” signals it is ready to plunge into the abyss:
- Steinitz: It Is ‘Crystal Clear’ Assad Used Chemical Weapons on Mass Scale (Jerusalem Post)
- UK’s Hague Says UN Talks on Syria Could Take Days but Action to Stop Bloodshed Needed (AP / Washington Post))
- US Vows Action in Syria Even Without UN Backing (AP / Boston Globe)
“A military court on Wednesday sentenced Major Nidal Hasan to death for the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, giving the army psychiatrist a path to the martyrdom he appeared to crave in the attack on unarmed fellow soldiers”:
“The apparent about-turn adds to speculation that the government is beginning to prepare for a possible political settlement to the crisis”
While Saudi Arabia cleans up its act …
… in Pakistan, “revivalist extremism is a deliberate, modern product of 20th century Islamists. Despite being steeped in the ritualistic mechanics of Islam [the brutal wife-killer]  failed to absorb the foundational beliefs central to Islam …
- Pakistan’s Islam: The Flaying of a Muslim Wife (Huffington Post)
… and despite being steeped in the secularism  of the Enlightenment, French Islamopobes failed to absorb the fundamental ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity:
- French Muslim Girl, 16, Tries to Kill Herself After Two Men Threatened Her with a Box Cutter and Ripped Off Her Veil (Daily Mail)
Following “the announcement the day before that Ansar al-Shariah, the country’s most prominent organization of ultraconservative Muslims known as salafis, was a terrorist organization”, Tunisia “presented evidence, including taped confessions and a document allegedly written by the group’s leader, Seifallah Ben Hassine, pledging allegiance to al-Qaida”:
- Minister: Tunisia Salafis Get Orders From Al-Qaida (AP / abc News)
Can a PR campaign persuade Americans and Europeans that “the slaughter, the ethnic cleansing, the land-grabbing, the cruelty and the blatant disregard for international law and UN resolutions” of Israeli policy are justified by our shared “values with the racist regime in Israel and that its abominable behaviour therefore deserves our support” …
- Brand Israel Self-destructs (redressonline.com)
… like an airlift that brings Ethiopians into a state where they are viewed “‘infiltrators’ rather than refugees or asylum seekers”
“The structure of the madrasa does not give the appearance of a building where any training camp could be run – its classrooms are too cramped”, and the school’s administrator insists, “We never received any foreign funding to run this madrasa. Rather, the funds for the students of the madrasa are generated through a soap factory”:
- Pakistani Madrasa Denies US Terror Label, Shrugs at Sanctions (Chrisian Science Monitor)
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