And last, but not least, Egypt plays opposition softball-First up Pepe from RT Read in full at linkExcerpts-
In the summertime, people flock to Montreux, Switzerland, to follow the jazz festival. This week, though, the ‘performance’ is by a positively un-swinging lot, part of the (in theory) very serious Geneva 2 conference on Syria.What is Geneva 2 for? It has nothing to do with ‘peace’. It won’t yield an international deal to end the Syrian tragedy. The horrible war facts on the ground will remain facts, and horrible; many perpetrators won’t be gathering in Montreux. Syrian civil society has not even been invited.And then the whole charade degenerated into pitiful parody even before it started. This past Sunday, it seemed that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had decided to spring out of his trademark vegetable slumber, inviting Iran to Geneva 2. The invitation lasted less than 24 hours; after the requisite ‘pressure’ by Washington – instigated by those sterling democrats of the House of Saud – it was duly rescinded.Thus we had Ban Ki-moon parroting the US State Department....
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon (C) opens the so-called Geneva II peace talks next to UN-Arab League envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi Iran out and Ban Ki invites Alf and Mork from Ork. Well not really, but, he may as well have.
Ban Ki-moon also invited the Holy See, as well as Australia, Luxembourg, Mexico and the Republic of Korea, among others, to Montreux; as if these actors had any clue about what’s going on in Syria.
Yup, Luxembourg, Mexico and Korea.
But the apex of the farce is that Iran cannot go, while Saudi Arabia and Qatar – who continue to weaponize every Syrian ‘rebel’ in sight, from young adrenaline seekers to Western-supported Takfiris and beheaders – can. And will.
Meet ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Al-Qaeda - A theme regular readers here are totally aware is complete and utter rubbish. There are no good or bad hired killers. There are just hired killers.FSA brand hired killer
Time to break it down. Washington ruled that Iran cannot be in Montreux because it supports Assad. It’s as simple as that.
Washington dictating to the UN is the norm. Washington dictating to the Syrian exiled ‘opposition’ is also the norm. Everyone is a puppet in this lethal comedy.
As for Western spin doctors, they are dizzier than flies over corpses. As part of the new Western myth that the Saudi Arabia-sponsored Islamic Front – formed last September against the US-backed Supreme Military Council – are nothing but ‘good Al-Qaeda’, now we have top ‘rebels’ routinely acknowledging to Western corporate media they are, well, Al-Qaeda.
Ah yes, the Islamic Front.. Recall I mentioned them in this post, complete with a whose who chart? The US extends a diplomatic hand to Islamists in Syria. But, not the bad ones.That's right, not the 'bad' ones.
Tens of thousands of foreign jihadis using Al-Qaeda’s network of safe houses in Turkey – well, that’s not such a big deal. As the narrative goes, ‘our new friends’ in the Islamic Front are just ‘conservative Salafi Muslims’. What if they are fond of the odd torture binge and will think nothing of slaying the odd Shiite or Christian? Not such a big deal.
As for the ‘bad' Al-Qaeda gang – from Al-Nusra Front and Ahrar al-Sham to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) – they are on a roll. After all, they are the ones with fighting experience/leverage on the ground. And when push comes to shove, they just run yet another ring around clueless Western necks.( I disagree with "clueless")
Take Ahrar al-Sham. They now lead the Islamic Front – and talk to the Americans. (Please refresh your memory at the relinked post. ) And guess what; they’re going to Montreux! The icing on this Takfiri cake is that, ultimately, their “interests” are being defended by no less than US Secretary of State John Kerry. Washington promoting al-Qaeda? Well, we’ve seen that movie before.
Why yes, we have!Maalula- NATO's mercs targeted christians here where they speak Aramaic Second in line- Play the girl power card and score political points- Meaningless, empty but sadly too many of my cohort eat that up- My cohort being women.CFR Mouthpiece - Mouthpiece from the CFR basically tells us nothing will come from Geneva II, which is correct, because bottom line that is the desired outcome. For the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey etc. The war mongers. This can go on and on and on.... because, really it is just ordinary Syrians that are being harmed. Patrick from the CFR is so unconcerned with ordinary Syrians he doesn't even mention them. The only hope is a decisive victory on the battlefield on one side. Here is hoping it is not NATO.
“In sum, the most likely diplomatic outcomes of this long awaited “peace conference” are likely to be pretty thin gruel. Even with the Iranian spoilers relegated to the sidelines, “Geneva II” is unlikely to see any major breakthroughs. At best, the summit will mark another phase in a protracted negotiating process that may continue for years, unless circumstances on the battlefield result in a clear victory for one side”
Battlefield victory aside talking head suggests that Kerry play the woman in power card, for maximum PR effect.
“The United States can make a meaningful difference in negotiations between the two sides. This would be to insist on the inclusion of significant numbers of women in both sides’ delegations”
Because " peace is too precious to leave to the men with guns"
Yup, girl powerAbsurd. This 'girl power' is as meaningful as Lady Gaga’s bullying campaign. It sounds nice. It gives some people the warm and fuzzies. But what real difference does it make? None. It’s PR. It’s empty. But, it is a dam perfect button to push. Women vs Men. Women as peacemakers. And last, but certainly not least, Egypt steps up to plate. Continuing it’s western lackey role by inviting the NATO approved opposition to talks in Cairo. Not that this is anything new for Egypt. Mr Morsi played the same game. He hosted the NATO opposition in Cairo, also. Aaah.........The more things ‘change’ the more they are exactly the same
Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy has invited Syrian opposition groups to Cairo for talks on unifying their disparate positions.
The Syrian opposition should unite their views to create "real policies" that pave the way for a "civil state for all Syrians," Fahmy said.
Egypt- Still doing NATO’s bidding.