Annual Results Press Conference by Sergey Lavrov (VIDEO)

EDITOR'S CHOICE | 26.01.2016 | 21:14

On January 26, 2016 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a Press Conference on results of the Russia’s diplomacy and foreign policy in 2015 mid.ru

"Israel setzt rücksichtslos die weitere Kolonisierung der Westbank fort" Fritz Edlinger

                                                                        

GÖAB-Newsletter Nr. 7/2016

Posted am 25.01.2016

Israel setzt rücksichtslos die weitere Kolonisierung der Westbank fort

Die beiden beiliegenden Meldungen stellen ein weiteres Beispiel der rücksichtslosen und völkerrechtswidrigen Fortsetzung der Kolonisierung der Westbank durch die israelische Regierung dar. Sie ignoriert nicht nur geltendes Völkerrecht und die existenziellen Interessen der lokalen palästinensischen Bevölkerung sondern auch Bedenken und Einwendungen der internationalen Staatengemeinschaft. Erst in den letzten Wochen kam es aufgrund der Beschlüsse der Europäischen Kommission zur Kennzeichnung von Produkten, die in israelischen Siedlungen hergestellt werden, wiederum zu massiven Angriffen Israels auf Europa, worin der EU anti-israelische und teilweise sogar antisemitische Einstellungen vorgeworfen worden sind. Dass die israelische Vertreibung- und Besatzungspolitik seit vielen Jahren Anlass zu Kritik gibt, wird dabei geflissentlich übersehen. Israel hat in den vergangenen 20 Jahren Projekte im Werte von vielen hundert Millionen Euro zerstört, welche von der EU finanziert worden sind. Da Israel die Rechtswidrigkeit seiner Handlungen negiert, wäre vielmehr die Frage zu stellen, warum die Europäische Union schon längst keine Rechtsmittel zur Kompensation dieser willkürlich zerstörten Werte ergriffen hat. 

Bei dieser Gelegenheit möchte ich auch gerne auf eine höchst interessante und aktuelle Publikation über die israelischen Siedlungen in der Westbank hinweisen: Architecture & Design/Cartography/History/Law von Léopold Lambert. Nähere Hinweise finden sich ebenfalls in der Beilage. 

Fritz Edlinger 

Wir würden uns auch über möglichst viele „likes“ freuen!

Wir danken für das große Interesse an unserem Newsletter. Zuletzt haben wir auch in zunehmendem Maße Bestellungen von Personen erhalten, welche bislang nicht im Verteiler der GÖAB gewesen sind. Sollten Sie auch die regelmäßigen postalischen Aussendungen und Veranstaltungseinladungen erhalten wollen, so geben Sie bitte Ihre Postanschrift bekannt.

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Putin sympathisiert mit kommunistischen Ideen: „Der Bibel ähnlich“ (Sputnik)

Putin sympathisiert mit kommunistischen Ideen: „Der Bibel ähnlich“

© Sputnik/ Ramil Sitdikov

PANORAMA

19:54 25.01.2016(aktualisiert 08:03 26.01.2016) Zum Kurzlink

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Russlands Präsident Wladimir Putin hat eingestanden, sein Parteibuch immer noch nicht weggeworfen zu haben. Der Kodex des Erbauers des Kommunismus würde an die Bibel erinnern, obwohl die praktische Umsetzung der Ideen weit von der Theorie entfernt war.

© SPUTNIK/ RAMIL SITDIKOV

Putin: Lenins Umbettung muss sorgfältig besprochen werden

„Wie Millionen sowjetischer Bürger war auch ich ein Mitglied der Kommunistischen Partei der Sowjetunion. Ich war jedoch kein einfaches Mitglied, sondern auch für das Komitee für Staatssicherheit der UdSSR tätig“, sagte Putin beim ersten interregionalen Forum der Gesamtrussischen Nationalen Front.

Der Präsident erinnerte daran, dass, wenn eine Person aus beliebigen Gründen aus den Reihen der Kommunistischen Partei ausgeschlossen wurde, sie sofort aus dem KGB entlassen wurde.

„Ich war kein sozusagen Mitglied aus der Notwendigkeit heraus. Ich kann nicht sagen, dass ich ein wirklich ideeller Kommunist war; ich habe das aber sehr behütet“, so Putin weiter.

„Im Gegensatz zu vielen Funktionären, und ich war kein Funktionär, sondern ein einfaches Mitglied, habe ich mein Parteibuch weder weggeworfen noch verbrannt“, so Putin. (? siehe oben, Widerspruch/Bloggerin)

„Mir gefielen und gefallen kommunistische und sozialistische Ideen noch immer. Wenn wir uns den Kodex des Erbauers des Kommunismus, der in der Sowjetunion  in hoher Auflage erschienen war, genauer anschauen, werden wir sehen, dass er der Bibel sehr ähnelt. Das ist kein Scherz, das ist tatsächlich ein Ausschnitt aus der Bibel“, sagte der Präsident.

Putin zufolge waren in dem Kodex sehr gute Ideen der Gleichberechtigung, der Brüderlichkeit und des Glücks festgelegt.

„Die praktische Umsetzung von diesen wunderbaren Ideen in unserem Land war jedoch weit von dem entfernt, was die Sozialisten-Utopisten vorgebracht hatten. Unser Land glich der Sonnenstadt kaum“, schloss Putin.

Viele werfen Putin zufolge dem Zaren-Regime Repressivmaßnahmen vor, doch genau mit Massenrepressalien fing der Aufbau des sowjetischen Staates an.

Weiterlesen: http://de.sputniknews.com/panorama/20160125/307360889/putin-sympathisiert-mit-kommunistischen-ideen.html#ixzz3yMV5hbUj
19:54 25.01.2016

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Weiterlesen: http://de.sputniknews.com/search/#ixzz3yMUM5acw

Nur Russland hat laut Marcus Papadopoulos eine wirksame Strategie gegen die Terrororganisation Daesh (auch „Islamischer Staat“, IS)

ondern Russland schlägt IS in die Flucht

© Foto: Russlands Verteidigungsministerium

POLITIK

12:38 24.01.2016(aktualisiert 13:36 25.01.2016) Zum Kurzlink

Themen: 

Kampf gegen den IS (366)

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Nur Russland hat laut Marcus Papadopoulos eine wirksame Strategie gegen die Terrororganisation Daesh (auch „Islamischer Staat“, IS) finden können. Den Feldzug Washingtons und seiner Verbündeten bezeichnet der britische Experte als Flop.

© AP PHOTO/ RAAD ADAYLEH

IS-Machtzirkel: Gegen wen Russland in Syrien kämpft

Trotz der Drohungen von US-Präsident Barack Obama, Daesh das Handwerk zu legen, schien die Macht der berüchtigten Terrororganisation lange Zeit unbegrenzt zu sein, sagte Papadopoulos, Chefredakteur der Zeitschrift „Politics First“, zu Sputnik. Das habe sich erst geändert, als Russland und Syrien ihre Anstrengungen gegen die Terroristen vereinigten.

Dass Daesh jetzt in Syrien auf dem Rückzug sei und deren „Terrorherrschaft“ kollabiere, sei einzig und allein dem russischen Luftwaffeneinsatz zu verdanken, so der Experte. Die Stimmen im Westen, laut denen die US-geführte Koalition den IS in die Flucht geschlagen hat, weist der Experte als „reinste Lüge“ und „verdrehte Darstellung“ zurück. Für ihn ist die Operation der USA und ihrer Verbündeten „erbärmlich gescheitert“. 

© SPUTNIK/ VLADISLAV USHAKOV

Satellitenbilder decken Aktivität des US-Militärs in Syrien auf – Stratfor

Die USA verstehen laut Papadopoulos immer noch nicht, dass Daesh und die anderen Terrorgruppen in Syrien nur im Zusammenwirken mit der syrischen Armee bekämpft werden können. Die Regierungstruppen und die Kurden, die Daesh seit Jahren auf dem Boden widerstehen, seien das „Herzstück“ dieses Anti-Terror-Krieges.

In Syrien dauert seit März 2011 ein bewaffneter Konflikt an, der laut Uno-Angaben bereits mehr als 220.000 Todesopfer gefordert hat. Den Regierungstruppen von Präsident Baschar al-Assad stehen islamistische Terrormilizen gegenüber, die verschiedenen bewaffneten Gruppierungen angehören. Die mächtigsten davon sind Daesh und die al-Nusra-Front, die in den vergangenen Jahren weite Teile des Landes unter ihre Kontrolle gebracht hatten. 

© AFP 2016/ USMC

Agentur: US-Armee rettet IS-Spitzen aus Irak

Eine US-geführte Koalition bombardiert seit Auguist 2014 Ziele in Syrien, jedoch ohne Zustimmung der Regierung in Damaskus und entgegen dem Völkerrecht. Nach US-Darstellung richteten sich die Angriffe gegen die Daesh-Gruppe, die jedoch seit Beginn des von den USA geführten Einsatzes sogar expandieren konnte.

Seit Ende September 2015 fliegt auch die russische Luftwaffe auf Bitte von Präsident Baschar al-Assad in Syrien Angriffe gegen Stellungen der Terrorgruppen. Bereits 2014 hatte Russlands Außenminister Sergej Lawrow gewarnt, dass jede Bodenoperation in Syrien als Aggression gelten werde, wenn sie nicht mit dem UN-Sicherheitsrat und mit der syrischen Regierung abgestimmt werde.

53118

Themen:

Kampf gegen den IS (366)

Zum Thema:

Terroristen-Tunnel wird zu Todesfalle: Assads Armee begräbt IS-Kämpfer unter Ruinen

Mit Hilfe der Opposition: Russland zerbombt Treffpunkt von IS-Kommandeuren

Novum bei Anti-IS-Einsatz: Syrische Luftwaffe gibt russischen Kampfjets Deckung

Weiterlesen: http://de.sputniknews.com/politik/20160124/307327116/russland-schlaegt-is-in-die-flucht.html#ixzz3yMTgETMy

Washington and Riyadh Fail to Bridge Syria Gap The attempts to make the representatives of Syria’s government and opposition get together at the round table on January 25 have failed. There was no agreement on the list of opposition invitees. Probably, bridging the gap between opposition groups was the main goal of US State Secretary John Kerry’s unexpected visit to Saudi Arabia...  Nikolai BOBKIN | 26.01.2016 Washington and Riyadh Fail to Bridge Syria Gap Nikolai BOBKIN | 26.01.2016 | 10:00   The attempts to make the representatives of Syria’s government and opposition get together at the round table on January 25 have failed. There was no agreement on the list of opposition invitees. Probably, bridging the gap between opposition groups was the main goal of US State Secretary John Kerry’s unexpected visit to Saudi Arabia.  The Saudi Kingdom wants to take advantage of its relationship with the United States in its stand-off with Iran. Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, deviated from the commonly accepted rules of diplomatic etiquette in his comments on Tehran. At the joint conference with the US State Secretary he said Iran was behind almost all Middle East conflicts. He voiced these accusations against the background of Riyadh being the main supporter of Syria’s armed opposition. Saudi Arabia also leads the military intervention of the Persian Gulf Arab states against Yemen.  On one hand, Saudi Arabia remains to be a US strategic partner. On the other hand, friendship with Riyadh creates problems for United States’ image of a country adamant in its determination to protect democracy in the Middle East. There are other things the United States does not like about the Saudi’s foreign policy. The Kingdom tried to prevent the lifting of sanctions against Iran. It did not work. The White House did not side with Riyadh in this effort. Saudi Arabia kept away from joining the US-led coalition. It continues to be hostile to Iraq – the country under US influence.  Riyadh is doing its best to stymie the inter-Syria dialogue even before it has started. Saudi Arabia wants two Syria’s opposition delegations to take part in the negotiations. One of them has been formed by Riyadh. Washington is not happy about allies standing in its way. The Saudi King and his retinue consider President Obama to be a lame duck. Saudis play for time hoping to get more freedom of action when a new President takes office in the United States.  The parties did not reach any agreements during the Kerry’s visit. No wonder. The US has not fulfilled any of its promises since the May 2015 summit of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. The plans to create regional air defense, new large-scale arms supplies and reaching agreement on the defense of Persian Gulf Arab states – all these issues have been hung in the air.  Many things have happened since the Persian Gulf Arab states summit. The Iran nuclear deal has been reached. Tehran has been invited to become part of the Syrian conflict peace management process. The United States and the European Union have lifted their unilateral sanctions against Iran. Riyadh is hardly happy about these recent developments. It knows well that practically all US presidential race runners believe Obama’s Middle East policy to be erroneous. They promise to get tougher on Iran. Will it mean the end of compromise reached by Washington and Tehran  this year? Will the US serve Saudi’s interests? Hardly so. The US State Secretary has insisted that efforts to bring peace to Syria, at least, would not suffer from the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran. He is quite right meaning the negotiation process should continue under the UN auspices in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution № 2254.  During his stay in Riyadh, Secretary Kerry met with Dr Riad Hijab, the General Coordinator of the High Negotiations Committee, and other HNC delegates representing the Syrian opposition in the upcoming negotiations. According to the US State Department statement, «They discussed the upcoming UN-sponsored negotiations regarding a political transition in Syria and all agreed on the urgent need to end the violence afflicting the Syrian people». Riad Hijab, Syria's former Prime Minister and the head of the Supreme Negotiations Committee and de facto opposition’s chief negotiator for the planned Geneva III negotiation process. His views were made clear during the meeting with the UN Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura on January 6. Back then, he confirmed a delegation for the upcoming negotiations had been assigned; its members were selected on the basis of qualification and eligibility, and in line with professional standards in order to meet the magnitude of the challenges faced by the Syrian people.  He expressed his full readiness to cooperate with the international envoy to take all necessary measures to invigorate the political process and ensure its success. He also pointed out the need to adhere to formal channels to communicate directly with the General Coordinator of the Supreme Commission for Negotiations. A Sunni Muslim, in July, 2012 Riad Hijab, Former governor of Quneitra and Latakia governorates, was appointed Prime Minister by Syrian President Assad. He holds a doctorate (PhD) in agricultural engineering. Western media used to call him a supporter of Bashar Assad and a key figure in the governing party. After his resignation in 2012, Riad Hijab and his family left Syria for Jordan. Today he holds meetings with the US State Secretary and many West European politicians, for instance the Foreign Minister of Germany.  Why is Riyadh not happy with Riad Hijab? The statements made by Hijab during his meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier provide an explanation. The Syrian opposition leader concluded that his visit comes as a part of efforts to persuade the international community and ensure a negotiating atmosphere conducive of genuine peace-building; cessation of combat, formation of an international monitoring and supervisory mechanism to ensure the commitment of various parties, collaboration on the removal of all foreign forces, securing border crossings and supply routes, provision of safe zones, delivery of aid to affected areas, and other measures. If other parties to the Syrian conflict peace management process agree with this point of view, Saudi Arabia will lose its leverage over Syria.  On January 25, Staffan de Mistura played down the expectations for Geneva talks, predicting «a lot of posturing and walkouts». He said on January 25 that he planned to issue invitations on the next day with indirect «proximity» talks between the Syrian sides to begin on 29 January. They are expected to go on for six months. «It will be uphill anyway», he predicted, apparently seeking to lower expectations of progress. Speaking earlier the same day, Secretary of State John Kerry dismissed the delay as «just tensions» and toldreporters traveling with him in Vientiane, Laos, he felt «positive» about the process. «We've all agreed with that, and we're not trying to do anything except start», Kerry said of the ambitious process. «So I just don't buy into this public back-and-forth», Kerry added. «It doesn't serve any purpose». On January 26, Syrian opposition officials are to meet in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, to discuss their final position. Will they manage to resist the mounting pressure from the international community to attend the talks without preconditions? Will Saudi Arabia find ways to further obstruct the negotiation process? Whatever takes place in the coming hours, the world is in for moving along a long and winding road with a lot of snags on the way before it makes progress to end the Syrian crisis.   Tags: Middle East Saudi Arabia Syria US Kerry

US Peace Council Call on forthcoming Syria-Geneva Talks

LET US MAKE OUR COLLECTIVE VOICE OF REASON
BE HEARD

An Urgent Appeal by the U.S. Peace Council To All of Our Friends in the Peace Movement

Dear Friends and Comrades in Peace,
As you are all well aware, after almost half a decade of violent proxy war, terrorism, and bloodshed in Syria, the warring parties have agreed to meet once again, this time in Geneva, Switzerland, to find a political solution to the ongoing war that has cost the lives of tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children, has left millions of Syrians homeless, and has turned millions of others into refugees flooding Syria’s neighboring countries and Europe. Many experts believe that this is the last chance for achieving a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis.
It is also well known that these negotiations are being held under extremely complicated circumstances. This conflict has more than two sides and it is certainly not solely about the government of Syria and its opposition. Here we are also dealing with regional power rivalries, with each country pursuing its own interests, and the drive by the United States and NATO states to redraw the map of the Middle East to achieve their own imperial goals. It is also part and parcel of the global drive to encircle, contain, and subdue Russia and China, as a continuation of the neocons’ global strategy.
At the global level, the United States and NATO consider Syria as a stepping stone toward a regime change in Iran and ultimately in Russia, and are trying to bring Syria under the West and NATO control by any means possible, including financing, organizing, and arming the militant/terrorist groups fighting the Syrian government, either directly or by using their proxy states and regional allies. This has inevitably put the U.S. on a dangerous confrontation course with Russia, which sees the overthrow of the Syrian government and establishment of another pro-NATO state near its borders as a major threat to its national security. Russia considers this an extension of what NATO is doing in Ukraine. The shooting down of a Russian fighter jet by NATO member Turkey was a clear escalation of this dangerous and intentional confrontation.
At the regional level, the conflict cannot be reduced to a war between two opposing camps only. It is not simply the case of Syria, Iran and Russia on the one side, and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, Israel, and others, on the other side. Although all of the countries in the latter group are acting within the overall U.S./NATO plan for regime change in Syria, each of them has its own particular agenda for Syria and the region as well, and is trying to push the events in the direction that serves its own interests.
Both Saudi Arabia (closest U.S. ally after Israel) and Qatar (home of the U.S. Central Command) are dead bent on overthrowing the Assad government by use of force. They have been acting as the main dispensers of money and arms to the militant rebels and foreign terrorists in Syria. Saudi Arabia, particularly, has been considering Iran as its main rival and enemy in the region ever since the 1979 revolution that took Iran out of the US/NATO sphere of influence. For the Saudis, the overthrow of

Assad’s Syria, the only Arab state independent of US manipulation and a long-time ally of Iran in the Middle East, serves to weaken Iran and ultimately pave the way for regime change in that country.
However, despite agreeing on the goal of forced regime change in Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey have different ideas about who should replace the Assad government. For the Saudis, who are intent on spreading their own extremist Wahhabi version of Islam in the region, the favorites are ISIS, Al-Qaeda-related groups like al-Nusra Front, and other extremist Islamic groups like the Islam Army, and the Asala wa Tanmiya Front (Authenticity and Growth Front, also supported by U.S.). On the other hand, Qatar, like Turkey, supports Islamist groups affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, like the Sham Legion and the Turkish-funded Ahrar al-Sham. In many cases, each of these groups is itself a coalition of dozens of Islamist groups fighting in Syria, many of whom are in fact foreign fighters. All in all, according to BBC, “there are believed to be as many as 1,000 armed opposition groups in Syria, commanding an estimated 100,000 fighters,” each, of course, under the control or influence of one or more of anti-Assad governments involved.
Until recently the main focus of these governments and the United States was on an armed overthrow of the Assad government, and the U.S. made the policy of “Assad must go” a pre-condition for any direct negotiations with the government of Syria. However, the entry of Russian military into the scene has made a military victory for the Western powers and their regional allies virtually impossible and, hence, has forced the U.S. to soften its position on the method, but not goal, of removing Assad. As a result, the focus has now shifted to finding a way for removing the Assad government from power through “peaceful” negotiations with the participation of both the Syrian government and the opposition, and allowing for a “transitional period” for regime change. But there are several sticky points that need to be resolved for these negotiations to proceed and bring any results.
The first fundamental issue here is who should be considered as a legitimate opposition and therefore be allowed to participate in the negotiations. As far as Syrian government is concerned, all those who have engaged in violent armed struggle against the legitimate Syrian state, and are responsible for the death and injury of tens of thousands, should be considered terrorists and must be excluded. Both Iran and Russia have announced their support for the Syrian position. According to Russian Foreign Ministry, “We are still convinced that terrorists of all stripes should be excluded from the political process in Syria....” But this is not what the U.S. and its regional allies have in mind. They are insisting on inclusion of what they term “moderate” armed fighters in the negotiations. Iran’s response: “the terrorists will never be allowed to introduce themselves as moderate opposition and decide the future of Syria and the region.” Syrian government, on its part, has announced it is ready to attend peace talks with the opposition in Geneva this month, but it wants to see lists of the opposition groups who were due to attend, and ensure that “terrorist” groups would not be represented.
Aside from the issues of who is a terrorist and who is part of the legitimate opposition, another round of maneuvering is under way as well: Each of these hostile countries is now jockeying for the inclusion of its own favorite fighters and the exclusion of those of others in the upcoming negotiations. Saudi Arabia, for its part, is pushing for inclusion of all armed Islamist fighters, and to achieve this, in December of 2015, it organized a three-day conference in Riyadh consisting of over 100 extremist Islamist rebel groups who are calling for regime change in Syria, including some of those considered to be terrorist by the United States. According to Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, “what is noteworthy is the presence of some terrorist groups linked to ISIL in the Riyadh Conference.”
The objective of this conference, titled “Conference of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces,” was to unite these armed extremist forces around a common platform for the negotiations. On December 10, 2015, the conference issued it “Final Statement,” which not only called for “the establishment of a

state ... with no place for Bashar al-Assad or the symbols and pillars of his regime in it or any coming political arrangements,” but took the matter a step further by “stress[ing] that Bashar al-Assad and his circle leave office at the beginning of the transitional period,” in other words, regime change from the beginning. There is no doubt that such a position is aimed at sabotaging the negotiations even before they start. Although the Saudi position is in conflict with the current U.S. position, nevertheless, Secretary of State John Kerry thanked the Saudis for holding the Riyadh Conference. The Saudis’ motive for sabotaging the negotiations, as well as their recent mass execution of 47 people, including a Shi’ite clergy, stems from their nervousness about closer ties that might develop between Iran and the United States as a result of their nuclear agreement, and potential new agreements during Syrian negotiations. They consider a political settlement of the Syrian conflict without an immediate removal of Assad from power as a step toward ending Iran’s isolation and strengthening its position in the region.
What is more significant about the Riyadh Conference, however, is not who participated, but which groups were not allowed to attend. The Saudis made sure that none of the internal moderate (unarmed and non-violent) opposition forces are invited — forces like the Solidarity Party, National Youth Party, and the National Democratic Action Body, who, as a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace report concedes, “may very well reflect the views of a significant number of Syrians who would like to see reforms, but who, at the end of the day, prefer Assad over the rebels.” Nor were any Kurdish opposition forces invited to the Riyadh Conference. As Iran’s Fars News Agency complained the day after the Riyad Conference, “Saudi Arabia hosted a three-day meeting of terrorist groups in Riyadh on December 8-10. The Syrian Kurds, who control large parts of the Northern Syria, had not been invited, but Al-Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, the al-Nusra Front and Ahrar al-Sham terrorist groups were there....”
The exclusion of Kurds is also an objective of Turkish government. The Kurds have been a major force in fighting ISIS in the northern part of Syria, but they are at the same time being bombed by the Turkish air force in northern Syria. In effect, Turkey is also directly helping ISIS by opening its borders to the armed militant groups and buying stolen Syrian oil from ISIS. Turkish government does not want to see the inclusion of Kurds (who constitute a third of the Syrian population) in fear that such a move will strengthen the hand of Kurdish organizations like the PKK within Turkey. Israel plays a related role by secretly providing medical care to the wounded ISIS fighters through its borders with Syria along the occupied Golan Heights.
It is clear that these attempts to exclude from negotiations all the internal moderate forces in Syria that represent “a significant number of Syrians” and the Kurds, who constitute one-third of the Syrian population, will only stack the cards against the Syrian people in favor of foreign governments and Islamic extremist/terrorist groups in Syria — an outcome which will not only fail to lead to any peace, but is bound to promote conflagration of the conflict in the region and possible war between the US/NATO Alliance and Russia, both major nuclear-weapons powers.
Dear friends and comrades in the peace movement,
Looking at the whole picture, there is no doubt that we are faced with a dangerously explosive situation in Syria and the Middle East. The true voices of the Syrian people have been silenced by foreign- imposed war and terrorism. We in the U.S. peace and anti-war movement cannot passively watch the intrigues, deceptions and manipulations, which are leading to yet another disaster. We should raise our voices of reason in support of the people of Syria loudly and demand that all parties involved in the Syrian negotiations work honestly and sincerely toward a peaceful solution to the conflict.

We appeal to all of you to help organize demonstrations in front of your local Congressional offices and demand that your Congressperson and Senator pressure the Obama Administration to guarantee that Syrian people are allowed to participate in the negotiations freely, and that the Syrian people alone are allowed to decide the future of their country, not foreign powers and their proxy forces.
We call on all activists in the peace movement to flood the emails and phone lines of the White House and the State Department and demand the following:

1. 1)  Stop all foreign efforts to force regime change in Syria:
   
   1. a)  Stop bombing Syrian economic infrastructure in the name of fighting ISIS.
      
   2. b)  Stop injecting foreign fighters into Syria.
      
   3. c)  Stop funding, organizing and arming the combatants in Syria.
      
2. 2)  Let the Syrians themselves decide the future of their country free of all foreign intervention:
   
   1. a)  Allow all truly moderate internal opposition groups and the Kurdish organizations to participate in the negotiations.
      
   2. b)  Exclude no segment of the Syrian population from peace negotiations.
      
   3. c)  Exclude all foreign opposition forces, as well as all terrorist organizations, from the
      negotiations.
      

3. Lift all sanctions on Syria. Provide humanitarian aid to the Syrian people. Help the Syrian refugees settle wherever they want — including back in Syria.
4. End all wars of aggression, all forms of foreign occupation, and all externally-generated regime change policies in the region.
U.S. Peace Council January 23, 2016