Khobragade scandal sheds new light on India’s rotten diplomacy

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Obama has described that the relationship between India and United States would be one of the “defining partnerships” of the 21st century while visiting the country in 2010, praising its tradition of tolerance and its free market economy. The latest diplomatic rift between India and the U.S. shows all its ‘diplomatic triumphs’ turned upside down in a chaotic manner, exposing India’s deliberate failure to adhere to the statutory duties and state responsibilities under international law.

The gruesome experiences of the writer of the last 18 years in dealing with the Ministry of External Affairs have been briefed separately.  They reveal the cruelties of Abu Dhabi authorities and the inaction of the MEA, the Government of India in spite of the order of the Delhi High Court.

Unfortunately, India’s concept of “diplomacy” is often misconstrued and put to maximum abuse by their officials. Some privileged elites in the MEA, New Delhi, irrespective of their caliber, seniority and eligibility, manage to get themselves inducted into diplomatic missions with ulterior motives.  Such people lack the experience of professional diplomacy; bring ill-fame to the nation when they attempt to make undue financial gains through indecent means.

The officials of MEA, Government of India approached over the Devyani Khobragade issue, without properly conceiving the fathoms of International treaty laws, the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR) 1963 and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR) 1961. They lacked deep knowledge of the rules governing the Consular Functions including the various categories of Diplomatic Immunity of the members of a diplomatic mission. [Article 5 & 36 of the VCCR specify consular officials’ duties when citizens of their country face difficulties in a foreign State(3)].

Criminal elements are also flourishing in India under the guise of ‘diplomatic immunities and reciprocal privileges or treatments’. The case of a senior UAE diplomat who smuggled about 37 kg of gold worth at least US$2 million (Rs.11 crore), last year, into New Delhi International Airport is just an example. The Directorate General of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has taken up the matter with the Ministry for action against the diplomat who is still at large. The MEA responded that the UAE diplomat enjoys immunity under international law, from criminal, civil and administrative jurisdictions of the receiving State.

Khobragade’s arrest on December 12, 2013 and subsequent strip-search sparked outrage in India and prompted a range of retaliatory measures in Delhi against U.S. diplomats. The very concept of the solemn document, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 has been misinterpreted in India in this case, as it has been grossly misinterpreted in the case of Italian Ambassador to India in 2013.

The United States anti-trafficking strategy set forth in December 23, 2008; the President Bush signed into law a bill that enhances measures to combat human trafficking. ‘The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008′ was named after English abolitionist William Wilberforce, who led the Parliamentary movement against the British slave trade in the early 19th century.

The U.S. has also agreed to ‘UN Protocol against trafficking in persons’ who provides a working definition of human trafficking and a common basis for criminalizing the trafficking of persons, especially women and children.  Devyani Khobragade, 39, India’s deputy consul general in New York is the third Indian diplomat to be accused of cheating the U.S. authority from trust to trafficking.

On January 08, 2014 Khobragade was granted G1 visa with full diplomatic immunity by the State Department, which then asked India to waive the immunity so that she could face the charges. That request was refused and the State Department then requested her immediate departure. The next day she left New York for India. The same day, Khobragade was indicted by a federal grand jury in Manhattan. The indictment said Khobragade had made multiple false representations to U.S. authorities. The indictment accuses her and others of trying to “silence and intimidate the victim and her family and lie to Indian authorities and courts.”

The description about ‘a series of efforts to intimidate the victim, Sangeeta Richard and her family in India’ reveals the ill-equipped and possibly abusive actions of the Indian authorities over the Khobragade affair. In a letter to the judge, U.S. prosecutors said “we will alert the court promptly if we learn that the defendant returns to the United States in a non-immune capacity, at which time the government will proceed to prosecute this case and prove the charges in the indictment.

We should applaud Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the southern district of New York, for taking a victim-centered approach in this case. The U.S. authority and attorney Dana Sussman of Safe Horizon representing Ms Richard, who has taken every step under law to protect the victim and her family; they were flown to a safety zone, safe in every respect, until completion of the legal proceedings in the case.

There’s a very important message from the great city of United States, New York, that ‘all the progressive and democratic governments must adopt a ‘victim-centered approach’ in their criminal justice process and thereby modernizing and strengthening the Integrity of the Judiciary and people’s confidence in their justice systems’.

The External Affairs Ministry of India has already done great damage to the Nation’s image by its wrong presumptions and hasty actions in dealing with the situation. Sincere efforts are to be made at appropriate levels to regain its glory.

A victim of repeated betrayal and deception by the MEA, New Delhi:
[The case of a “Judgment Creditor”, the writer, who has been kept waiting for the past 18 years for justice]

The writer is a torture survivor of inside the regime’s brutal prison in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and most importantly a THREE times of Judgment Creditor (winner) from the Legal Courts of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Government of India has never risen to the occasion against the brutality and humiliation inflicted upon an Indian citizen in UAE despite multiple judgments from that country in his favour.

A ‘serial entrepreneur’ in Abu Dhabi, UAE, engaged in the business of Trading, General Contracting etc., he had a dispute arose with a local landlord. He instituted a civil suit in Abu Dhabi Court for settling the issue. An interim order was granted by Abu Dhabi Court of Justice in his favour.

The landlord, in collusion with local police, turned against the writer (the petitioner) and took recourse to all illegal means to withdraw the ‘Civil Suit’. On October 26, 1995, the petitioner was brutally tortured and literally dragged out of his office along the street in the presence of known friends and bystanders. He was confined to a detention center where he had to undergo extremes of cruelties and humiliation from Abu Dhabi Police which no human being can withstand. After four months of his illegal detention, a false case was registered against the petitioner, alleging “Using force against Government employee and assault”. It took six months thereafter, for the petitioner to have his first appearance in Court.

The innocence of the petitioner had been ultimately upheld by the Hon’ble Judge of Abu Dhabi Legal Court of First Instance. The Court found that, the Prosecutor was guilty of proceeding against the petitioner. The Court acquitted the petitioner of all the charges leveled against him and directed the authorities to prosecute the policeman involved and also the landlord – for being guilty of deception.

The office of the public prosecutor, Abu Dhabi filed an appeal against the decree of the legal court of the first instance. The case finally came up before the Apex Court, comprising the three-judge panel. The petitioner was granted bail on the filing of the appeal. However, despite the bail and sureties he was not released from the prison. During the hearing, the police officer dropped his claim from his complaint with a declaration attested by the Notary Public. Finally, the landlord and the prosecutor followed suit and told that they have absolutely no case against the accused.

The eminent Jurists Panel of Apex Court found that the accused was innocent; rather ‘a martyr’. The appellate review highlighted the culpability of the policeman and emphasized the notoriety of his actions. “It further   reiterated the condemnation of prosecutor”.  The Court, therefore, ordered restoration of victim’s dignity and respect and to compensate for all his losses while pronouncing a ‘Landmark Judgment’.

In the wake of the concurrent judicial findings of the Court, he should have been restored to his former status and position and adequately compensated for his mental agony and sufferings. Unfortunately, the UAE authority acted in total defiance of the findings and sentiments expressed by the judicial establishments of that country and on September 28, 1996 the petitioner was deported to India as if he was punished for a crime.

After reaching India, the petitioner has made every effort to uphold his dignity and his rights.  In October 1996, a writ petition was filed before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.  The Supreme Court directed Delhi High Court deal with it.  The High Court of Delhi directed the Government to settle the matters within two months.  On January 28, 2004 the High Court of Delhi observed in its order that the Government should inform the Court of the steps taken to protect the rights of the petitioner.

The judgment dated 19-9-2007 of the Delhi High Court had extracted a previous letter of the Government reading: “Shri. Jabir should pursue his legal action already done by him through the UAE Courts. Although under Section 86 cannot be granted for suing the UAE Government, we are taking up the matter with our Embassy in Abu Dhabi once again, requesting them to pursue this case at appropriate level”.

The petitioner’s letter to the MEA on July 04, 2012 enquiring the status of the case under the Right to Information Act was answered by an evasive reply that they do not have any records of the case with them.    The anguish of the citizen can be imagined.

Under international law, the state is responsible for all actions or omissions of its officials and organs. This is the function of the basic rules of international law concerning the responsibility of States for their internationally wrongful acts and the legal consequences which flow therefrom. The ‘successor governments’ also remain bound by the acts incurred by the ‘predecessor governments’.

In January 30, 2013 endeavours were made by the petitioner towards a strategy formulation and implementation of ‘Mutual Human Rights Law and Reparation Mechanisms’ between the Government of India and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, mandating our elected representatives and officials to eliminate discrimination and imbalances of millions of overseas Indians working in different countries. This also involves the recognition and protection of the dignity and respect of individuals.

In response, the MEA, New Delhi, explained that the government of India has established various arrangements for the welfare of Indian community and assistance to the distressed Indians abroad. Later, the same ministry has written that whatever the arrangements it made for the welfare of Indian community and assistance to the distressed Indians abroad are only their ‘VISION’ and nothing else!

The officials of the Ministry of External Affairs should feel themselves guilty of their inaction in protecting the innocent Indians trapped in false cases in the UAE and other Gulf (GCC) countries.

The tragedy of this generation is that the “victims” are always neglected.  Their agonies, losses and sufferings are never resolved.  As long as the tears of the victims are not wiped, all the progressions we have made hitherto are only ‘teasing illusions and promises of unreality’.

[The petitioner’s case had been espoused by a great jurist and Judge of the Supreme Court of India – 'Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer'.   'Senior Advocate K. Sukumaran', a former Judge of the High Courts of Kerala and Bombay appeared in the matter before the Supreme Court and the High Court of Delhi].

[P.K. Jabir can be contacted at: info@legalcell.com]

Legal Instruments & Reference Links:

• 1) Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR) 1963
• 2) Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR) 1961
• 3)The US State Department’s handbook on Diplomatic Immunity
• 4) William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008
• 5) Truth and Justice are being nakedly sacrificed for UAE’s Reputation!
• 6) Indo-Gulf Reparation Mechanisms – Representations to Government of India
• 7) The Sale Prospects of UAE Judgments
• 8) Articles on Diplomatic Protection 2006
• 9) Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer
• 10) Senior Advocate K. Sukumaran

Russia and the United States, in their third day of talks in Switzerland, said Saturday they have reached a groundbreaking deal on a framework to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons.

Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stood side by side in Geneva as they set out a series of steps the Syrian government must follow.

Syria must submit a comprehensive list of its chemical weapons stockpile within one week, Kerry said, and international inspectors must be on the ground no later than November.

President Barack Obama said in a statement that the framework “represents an important concrete step toward the goal of moving Syria’s chemical weapons under international control so that they may ultimately be destroyed.”

Thousands of children dying in Syria He added, “There are consequences should the Assad regime not comply with the framework agreed today. And, if diplomacy fails, the United States remains prepared to act.”

Senior U.S. State Department officials said that according to the timeline, initial inspections of declared chemical weapons sites must be completed by November; all production and mixing and filling equipment must be destroyed by November; and all chemical weapons material must be eliminated by mid-2014.

The best way to ensure international control of Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal will be to remove as much as is feasible and to destroy it outside Syria, if possible, the framework document says.

Read the framework of the agreement

Kerry said the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must allow “immediate and unfettered” access to international inspectors.

He said the inspectors should be able to get to Syria’s chemical weapons sites despite the ongoing civil war, provided the al-Assad regime cooperates, since Syria has moved its chemical weapons into areas where it has tight control.

The United States and Russia reached a shared assessment on the amount and type of chemical weapons possessed by the al-Assad regime, Kerry said.

“Providing this framework is fully implemented, it can end the threat these weapons pose not only to the Syrian people but also their neighbors,” and the wider world, he said.

Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader al-Halqi welcomed the deal, saying his country is bent on implementing the political program as the “sole exit” from the crisis, according to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency.

Enforcement measures

The verification and destruction process will be carried out by personnel from both the United Nations and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the body that implements the international ban on chemical weapons use, according to the framework agreement.

Russia and the United States will now work to get a U.N. Security Council resolution that will keep the process under review and allow the Council to consider the use of force if Syria fails to comply.

Hopes for peace

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the U.S.-Russian agreement “constitutes an important step forward,” a sentiment echoed by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague.

The two plan to meet Kerry on Monday in Paris to discuss the framework and its implementation.

Ban pledged U.N. support for the plan, his spokesman said, and expressed hope that it would both prevent any future use of chemical weapons and pave the way for a political solution in Syria.

Principal Resources:  CNN NEWS

The Secretary-General
In a separate statement released earlier today, the Secretary-General Mr. Ban welcomed the agreement reached by Russian Federation Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and United States Secretary of State John Kerry on a framework for the safeguarding and destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles.

“The Secretary-General expresses his fervent hope that the agreement will, first, prevent any future use of chemical weapons in Syria and, second, help pave the path for a political solution to stop the appalling suffering inflicted on the Syrian people,” says the statement. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Russia and US agree fast-track plan to eliminate stockpiles from war-torn country. Al Jazeera and agencies

Photograph: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, make statements to the media following meetings regarding Syria, at a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Saturday Sept. 14, 2013. AP Photo / Larry Downing

ST. PETERSBURG — The Group of 20, which comprise the largest economies of the world, split down the middle Friday on the question of supporting the United States in punishing Syria’s government for apparently gassing civilians two weeks ago in Damascus. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Obama held a 20-minute meeting on Syria but failed to reach an agreement.

Putin said he and U.S. President Barack Obama stuck to their positions over Syria but listened to each other during a one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Friday, and are looking for ways forward. Putin has been among the loudest critics on the international stage of Obama’s push for a military strike in Syria. He has said in recent interviews that a strike would be illegal if the United Nations does not support it.

Speaking in St. Petersburg, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhu Guangyao said Thursday any military action against Syria would cause a hike in oil prices and have a “negative impact” on the global economy. Russia, Syria’s main supplier of arms, and China have already vetoed three U.N. Security Council resolutions on Syria.

As the G-20  two-day summit ended in St. Petersburg, the White House released a joint statement endorsed by U.S. President Barack Obama and 10 other G-20 nations. It said: The international norm against the use of chemical weapons is longstanding and universal.  The use of chemical weapons anywhere diminishes the security of people everywhere.  Left unchallenged, it increases the risk of further use and proliferation of these weapons.

We condemn in the strongest terms the horrific chemical weapons attack in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21st that claimed the lives of so many men, women, and children.  The evidence clearly points to the Syrian government being responsible for the attack, which is part of a pattern of chemical weapons use by the regime.

We call for a strong international response to this grave violation of the world’s rules and conscience that will send a clear message that this kind of atrocity can never be repeated.

Those who perpetrated these crimes must be held accountable. Signatories have consistently supported a strong UN Security Council Resolution, given the Security Council’s responsibilities to lead the international response, but recognize that the Council remains paralyzed as it has been for two and a half years.  The world cannot wait for endless failed processes that can only lead to increased suffering in Syria and regional instability.  We support efforts undertaken by the United States and other countries to reinforce the prohibition on the use of chemical weapons.

Flag bearers

What, man, defy the devil: Save mankind from dictators!  View Flag bearers

]]> https://www.reparationlaw.com/news/g20-summit-ends-in-russia-without-agreement-on-syria/feed/ 0 https://www.reparationlaw.com/news/house-leaders-express-their-support-for-syria-strike/ https://www.reparationlaw.com/news/house-leaders-express-their-support-for-syria-strike/#comments Tue, 03 Sep 2013 08:58:25 +0000 admin http://www.reparationlaw.com/news/?p=591 Read more »]]> House Leaders Express Their Support for Syria Strike
September 3, 2013

WASHINGTON — President Obama won the support on Tuesday of Republican and Democratic leaders in the House for an attack on Syria, giving him a foundation to win broader approval for military action from a Congress that still harbors deep reservations.

Speaker John A. Boehner, who with other Congressional leaders met Mr. Obama in the Oval Office, said afterward that he would “support the president’s call to action,” an endorsement quickly echoed by the House majority leader, Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia.

On Tuesday evening, Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee agreed on the wording of a resolution that would give Mr. Obama the authority to carry out a strike against Syria, for a period of 60 days, with one 30-day extension. A committee vote on the measure could come as early as Wednesday.

Full text: House Leaders Express Their Support for Syria Strike

Senate Resolution on Syria
Full text of the Senate resolution to authorize the limited and tailored use of the United States Armed Forces against Syria. Senate Resolution on Syria

Principal Resources:
International Human Rights Law & Protection Mechanisms’

Legal Framework of Rome Statute
The legal framework of Rome Statute is based on respect for individual rights and freedoms and included mechanisms to ensure impartial justice. According to the preamble to the Rome Statute, the primary mandate of the ICC is “to put an end” to impunity for the perpetrators of “unimaginable atrocities that deeply shock the conscience of humanity.” Rome Statute

]]> https://www.reparationlaw.com/news/house-leaders-express-their-support-for-syria-strike/feed/ 0 https://www.reparationlaw.com/news/full-text-of-obamas-statement-on-us-intervention-in-syria/ https://www.reparationlaw.com/news/full-text-of-obamas-statement-on-us-intervention-in-syria/#comments Sat, 31 Aug 2013 15:09:49 +0000 admin http://www.reparationlaw.com/news/?p=582 Read more »]]> Full text of Obama’s statement on US intervention in Syria
August 31, 2013 Rose Garden

The full text of US President Obama’s statement, in which he asks “What message will we send if a dictator can gas hundreds of children to death in plain sight and pay no price?  What’s the purpose of the international system that we’ve built if a prohibition on the use of chemical weapons that has been agreed to by the governments of 98 percent of the world’s people and approved overwhelmingly by the Congress of the United States is not enforced”?

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everybody.  Ten days ago, the world watched in horror as men, women and children were massacred in Syria in the worst chemical weapons attack of the 21st century.  Yesterday the United States presented a powerful case that the Syrian government was responsible for this attack on its own people.

Our intelligence shows the Assad regime and its forces preparing to use chemical weapons, launching rockets in the highly populated suburbs of Damascus, and acknowledging that a chemical weapons attack took place.  And all of this corroborates what the world can plainly see — hospitals overflowing with victims; terrible images of the dead.  All told, well over 1,000 people were murdered.  Several hundred of them were children — young girls and boys gassed to death by their own government.

This attack is an assault on human dignity.  It also presents a serious danger to our national security.  It risks making a mockery of the global prohibition on the use of chemical weapons.  It endangers our friends and our partners along Syria’s borders, including Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq.  It could lead to escalating use of chemical weapons, or their proliferation to terrorist groups who would do our people harm.

In a world with many dangers, this menace must be confronted.

Now, after careful deliberation, I have decided that the United States should take military action against Syrian regime targets.  This would not be an open-ended intervention.  We would not put boots on the ground.  Instead, our action would be designed to be limited in duration and scope.  But I’m confident we can hold the Assad regime accountable for their use of chemical weapons, deter this kind of behavior, and degrade their capacity to carry it out.

Our military has positioned assets in the region.  The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs has informed me that we are prepared to strike whenever we choose.  Moreover, the Chairman has indicated to me that our capacity to execute this mission is not time-sensitive; it will be effective tomorrow, or next week, or one month from now.  And I’m prepared to give that order.

But having made my decision as Commander-in-Chief based on what I am convinced is our national security interests, I’m also mindful that I’m the President of the world’s oldest constitutional democracy.  I’ve long believed that our power is rooted not just in our military might, but in our example as a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.  And that’s why I’ve made a second decision:  I will seek authorization for the use of force from the American people’s representatives in Congress.

Over the last several days, we’ve heard from members of Congress who want their voices to be heard.  I absolutely agree. So this morning, I spoke with all four congressional leaders, and they’ve agreed to schedule a debate and then a vote as soon as Congress comes back into session.

In the coming days, my administration stands ready to provide every member with the information they need to understand what happened in Syria and why it has such profound implications for America’s national security.  And all of us should be accountable as we move forward, and that can only be accomplished with a vote.

I’m confident in the case our government has made without waiting for U.N. inspectors.  I’m comfortable going forward without the approval of a United Nations Security Council that, so far, has been completely paralyzed and unwilling to hold Assad accountable.  As a consequence, many people have advised against taking this decision to Congress, and undoubtedly, they were impacted by what we saw happen in the United Kingdom this week when the Parliament of our closest ally failed to pass a resolution with a similar goal, even as the Prime Minister supported taking action.

Yet, while I believe I have the authority to carry out this military action without specific congressional authorization, I know that the country will be stronger if we take this course, and our actions will be even more effective.  We should have this debate, because the issues are too big for business as usual.  And this morning, John Boehner, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell agreed that this is the right thing to do for our democracy.

A country faces few decisions as grave as using military force, even when that force is limited.  I respect the views of those who call for caution, particularly as our country emerges from a time of war that I was elected in part to end.  But if we really do want to turn away from taking appropriate action in the face of such an unspeakable outrage, then we must acknowledge the costs of doing nothing.

Here’s my question for every member of Congress and every member of the global community:  What message will we send if a dictator can gas hundreds of children to death in plain sight and pay no price?  What’s the purpose of the international system that we’ve built if a prohibition on the use of chemical weapons that has been agreed to by the governments of 98 percent of the world’s people and approved overwhelmingly by the Congress of the United States is not enforced?

Make no mistake — this has implications beyond chemical warfare.  If we won’t enforce accountability in the face of this heinous act, what does it say about our resolve to stand up to others who flout fundamental international rules?  To governments who would choose to build nuclear arms?  To terrorist who would spread biological weapons?  To armies who carry out genocide?

We cannot raise our children in a world where we will not follow through on the things we say, the accords we sign, the values that define us.

So just as I will take this case to Congress, I will also deliver this message to the world.  While the U.N. investigation has some time to report on its findings, we will insist that an atrocity committed with chemical weapons is not simply investigated, it must be confronted.

I don’t expect every nation to agree with the decision we have made.  Privately we’ve heard many expressions of support from our friends.  But I will ask those who care about the writ of the international community to stand publicly behind our action.

And finally, let me say this to the American people:  I know well that we are weary of war.  We’ve ended one war in Iraq.  We’re ending another in Afghanistan.  And the American people have the good sense to know we cannot resolve the underlying conflict in Syria with our military.  In that part of the world, there are ancient sectarian differences, and the hopes of the Arab Spring have unleashed forces of change that are going to take many years to resolve.  And that’s why we’re not contemplating putting our troops in the middle of someone else’s war.

Instead, we’ll continue to support the Syrian people through our pressure on the Assad regime, our commitment to the opposition, our care for the displaced, and our pursuit of a political resolution that achieves a government that respects the dignity of its people.

But we are the United States of America, and we cannot and must not turn a blind eye to what happened in Damascus.  Out of the ashes of world war, we built an international order and enforced the rules that gave it meaning.  And we did so because we believe that the rights of individuals to live in peace and dignity depends on the responsibilities of nations.  We aren’t perfect, but this nation more than any other has been willing to meet those responsibilities.

So to all members of Congress of both parties, I ask you to take this vote for our national security.  I am looking forward to the debate.  And in doing so, I ask you, members of Congress, to consider that some things are more important than partisan differences or the politics of the moment.

Ultimately, this is not about who occupies this office at any given time; it’s about who we are as a country.  I believe that the people’s representatives must be invested in what America does abroad, and now is the time to show the world that America keeps our commitments.  We do what we say.  And we lead with the belief that right makes might — not the other way around.

We all know there are no easy options.  But I wasn’t elected to avoid hard decisions.  And neither were the members of the House and the Senate.  I’ve told you what I believe, that our security and our values demand that we cannot turn away from the massacre of countless civilians with chemical weapons.  And our democracy is stronger when the President and the people’s representatives stand together.

I’m ready to act in the face of this outrage.  Today I’m asking Congress to send a message to the world that we are ready to move forward together as one nation.

Thanks very much.

Photograph: President Barack Obama is joined by vice president Joe Biden to deliver a statement on Syria in the Rose Garden of the White House.

Watch Video: Watch the full video of the President’s statement on Syria.

Resources:

Evil prospers when good men do nothing
‘Tolerating evil leads only to more evil. And when good people stand by and do nothing while wickedness reigns, their communities will be consumed’. Evil prospers when good men do nothing

 UAE Human Rights violations
What, man, defy the devil: Save mankind from dictators!

An imminent U.S. strike on Syrian government targets in response to the alleged gassing of civilians last week has the potential to draw the United States into the country’s civil war, former U.S. officials said Tuesday, warning that history doesn’t bode well for such limited retaliatory interventions.

The best historical parallels — the 1998 cruise missile strikes on targets in Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan — are rife with unintended consequences and feature little success.

“The one thing we should learn is you can’t get a little bit pregnant,” said retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, who was at the helm of U.S. Central Command when the Pentagon launched cruise missiles at suspected terrorist sites in Afghanistan and weapons facilities in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. “If you do a one-and-done and say you’re going to repeat it if unacceptable things happen, you might find these people keep doing unacceptable things. It will suck you in.”

Images of the glassy-eyed corpses of civilians, including children, killed in last week’s chemical attack in a Damascus suburb struck a powerful chord in Washington, where until now there has been little appetite for a military intervention. With U.S. Navy destroyers stationed in the eastern Mediterranean, the White House is scrambling to assemble international support for a days-long bombing campaign targeting military sites, which appears to have robust support from Congress.

The United States has at best a mixed record of success with such operations. In late August 1998, the Pentagon fired cruise missiles at suspected terrorist camps in Afghanistan and the pharmaceutical factory in Sudan that was presumed to be producing chemical weapons. The campaign, called Operation Infinite Reach, was in response to the bombings on Aug. 7, 1998, of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which were the first al-Qaeda attacks on U.S. targets.

The strikes in Afghanistan failed to kill al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden or his top lieutenants. The one in Sudan became an embarrassment for the Pentagon because the intelligence that put a pharmaceutical factory on the target list turned out to be faulty.

In December of that year, the Clinton administration lobbed cruise missiles at military targets in Iraq in response to Hussein’s refusal to comply with United Nations resolutions that condemned Iraq’s weapons program.

Former U.S. officials said neither operation dealt much of a strategic setback to the targets. But they enraged many in the Muslim world, prompting angry demonstrations, including an attempted siege of the U.S. Embassy in Damascus by a mob that later ransacked the ambassador’s residence.

“We didn’t really gain anything,” said longtime U.S. diplomat Ryan C. Crocker, who was the ambassador in Damascus at the time. “The behavior of our adversaries did not change. A couple of cruise missiles are not going to change their way of thinking.”

With Congress in recess, the lead-up to a military strike on Syria has unfolded with relatively little substantive debate on Capitol Hill about the risks and merits of a cruise missile strike. Potential pitfalls include strengthening rebel factions aligned with al-Qaeda and triggering even more brutal attacks by the regime.

Full Text: Imminent U.S. strike on Syria could draw nation into civil war

More News:

Syria’s elite join compatriots to flee country fearing western air strike Tuesday 27 August 2013

Well-heeled of Damascus also quit for safety across border in Lebanon as expectation of west’s intervention grows. “We expect it soon. We will be so happy if the US and UK attack Syria. I believe the US and British army will attack all the regime’s defences as well as some positions for the FSA [Free Syrian Army]. I think any attack launched by the US and UK will be for the interest of the Syrian people. Any new regime coming to Syria won’t be worse than what we are going through now. Assad Ali, 24, a computer worker, Damascus. The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/27/syria-elite-flee-country-air-strike

Photograph: Syrian refugee camp 700,000 people have sought refuge in neighbouring countries and over 4 million in Syria urgently need humanitarian assistance.

New York Times, Twitter hacked, Syrian Electronic Army takes credit
28 Aug 2013
The hacking group has been responsible for earlier digital attacks on Britain’s Guardian newspaper, the Associated Press and The Washington Post. It was behind an incident that briefly redirected some readers to the group’s Web site when they were attempting to reach some articles on The Post’s Web site. http://www.reparationlaw.com/news/new-york-times-twitter-hacked-syrian-electronic-army-takes-credit/

]]> https://www.reparationlaw.com/news/imminent-u-s-strike-on-syria-could-draw-nation-into-civil-war/feed/ 0 https://www.reparationlaw.com/news/new-york-times-twitter-hacked-syrian-electronic-army-takes-credit/ https://www.reparationlaw.com/news/new-york-times-twitter-hacked-syrian-electronic-army-takes-credit/#comments Wed, 28 Aug 2013 12:26:20 +0000 admin http://www.reparationlaw.com/news/?p=571 Read more »]]> New York Times, Twitter hacked, Syrian Electronic Army takes credit
28 Aug 2013

The New York Times, Twitter and others media websites became the latest American media organizations to succumb to hacking attacks, in another series of disruptions apparently caused by the shadowy group known as the Syrian Electronic Army.

The SEA, the Syrian Electronic Army, a hacker group that has previously attacked media organizations that it considers hostile to the government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, claimed credit for the Twitter and Huffington Post hacks in a series of Twitter messages late on Tuesday.

Security experts said electronic records showed that NYTimes.com, the only site with an hours-long outage, redirected visitors to a server controlled by the Syrian group before it went dark.

New York Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy tweeted the “issue is most likely the result of a malicious external attack”, based on an initial assessment.

The Huffington Post attack was limited to the blogging platform’s UK web address. Twitter said the hack led to availability issues for an hour and a half but that no user information was compromised.

The attacks came as the Obama administration considers taking action against the Syrian government, which has been locked for more than two years in an increasingly bloody struggle against rebels.

In August, hackers promoting the Syrian Electronic Army simultaneously targeted websites belonging to CNN, Time and the Washington Post by breaching a third party service used by those sites.

The Syrian Electronic Army, or SEA, managed to gain control of the sites by penetrating MelbourneIT, an Australian internet service provider that sells and manages domain names including Twitter.com and NYTimes.com.

Twitter’s inline image service remains out of action hours after the site’s domain name server (DNS) record was hacked, apparently by the hacker group Syrian Electronic Army (SEA), as part of a cyber-attack against the registrar for sites including the New York Times.

Images and some avatars posted to Twitter’s twimg.com domain are not appearing when viewed on the web or in Twitter applications because the domain where the pictures are posted, twimg.com, had its domain name details altered on Tuesday.

The New York Times is also affected by the hack, which was carried out against an Australian registrar, Melbourne IT, which separately confirmed that it had been the cause of the failure.

Sources:
Media companies including the New York Times, Twitter and the Huffington Post lost control of some of their websites after hackers supporting the Syrian government breached the Australian internet company that manages many major site addresses. Al Jazeera

The Washington Post
The hacking group has been responsible for earlier digital attacks on Britain’s Guardian newspaper, the Associated Press and The Washington Post. It was behind an incident that briefly redirected some readers to the group’s Web site when they were attempting to reach some articles on The Post’s Web site. More

Photograph:
The logo for the Syrian Electronic Army, which has been blamed for the hack on Twitter and the NY Times domains. Logo

News updates:

US Vice President Joe Biden

‘There is no doubt that Syria’s government was responsible for a recent chemical attack in Damascus, as Western allies ramped up rhetoric in preparation of possible military strikes against Syria’. Biden’s comments on Tuesday made him the highest-ranking US official to say the Syrian government was behind the alleged chemical weapons attack on August 21, that aid agencies said killed at least 355 people and injured more than 3,000.

Kerry: Syria gas attack a moral obscenity

US Secretary of State John Kerry has signalled his country’s intention to act on Syria, describing the use of chemical weapons as a “moral obscenity” and pinning the blame on the Syrian government. In a strongly worded and emotive statement on Monday, Kerry said that it was “undeniable” that chemical weapons killed hundreds of people last Wednesday near Damascus, adding that the Syrian government must be held accountable.

The statement came hours after a United Nations team visiting Syria was fired upon while they travelled to the attack site to begin investigations.”Let me be clear. The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity. By any standard, it is inexcusable. And despite the excuses and equivocations that some have manufactured, it is undeniable,” Kerry said.
Kerry: Syria gas attack a moral obscenity. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/08/2013826191025273764.html

Fourth vessel ordered to the Mediterranean as pressure rises on White House for action after reported gas attack.   The US navy is expanding its presence in the Mediterranean Sea with a fourth cruise-missile-armed warship, amid indications from Chuck Hagel, the defence secretary, that the US is positioning assets in anticipation of any decision by President Barack Obama to order military action on Syria.

Friday’s decision came after rebels and activists claimed that a chemical-weapons attack on a rebel-held area in the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus killed hundreds of people.

Barack Obama, the US president, has called the incident “a big event of grave concern”. His security advisers are expected to convene at the White House this weekend to discuss US options regarding Syria.

The USS Mahan, a cruise-missile armed warship, had finished its deployment and was due to head back to its home base in Norfolk, Virginia, but the commander of the US Sixth Fleet decided to keep the ship in the region, Reuters news agency and CNN reported.

The USS Ramage arrived to replace the USS Mahan, but the Mahan is going to stay around a bit longer, so temporarily there will be four, CNN said.

An official, who was not authorised to speak publicly, told Reuters that the navy had received no orders to prepare for any military operations regarding Syria.

Options on Syria

In a statement afterwards, Hagel, who was travelling to Malaysia, discussed the decision to keep the Mahan in the Mediterranean.

He said Obama had asked the Defence Department for options on Syria.

“The Defence Department has responsibility to provide the president with options for all contingencies,” he said. “And that requires positioning our forces, positioning our assets, to be able to carry out different options – whatever options the president might choose.”   Asked whether it was fair to report that the US had moved assets, Hagel said: “I don’t think I said that. I said that we are always having to prepare – as we give the president options – prepare our assets and where they are and the capability of those assets to carry out the contingencies we give the president.”

Meanwhile, Obama’s security advisers are planning to convene at the White House this weekend to discuss US options, including possible military action.

Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, an official cautioned against expecting that any final decision might come out of this next round of discussions.

A UN team is in the country to investigate the mutual allegations of the rebels and the Syrian regime on chemical weapons use in Syria.

Footage shot by an independent journalist for Britain’s ITV News appears to show victims of the alleged chemical attack in question.

View more at Al Jazeera Video: http://aje.me/16rqPwx

More Resources:

Syria crisis: US weighs military options 24 August 2013

The US has bolstered its navy presence in the eastern Mediterranean as President Barack Obama weighs up his options over the conflict in Syria. US President Barack Obama is to meet his national security team on Saturday to discuss possible next steps in Syria, the White House has announced. Syria crisis: US weighs military options http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23822440

Horrific images of Syrian ‘gas attack’ are hard to forget
23 Aug 2013 Geraint Vincent: Middle East Correspondent

Yumna is a little girl who lost her parents in what is alleged to have been a chemical weapons attack on a neighbourhood in east Damascus. She regained consciousness in a local medical centre a few hours later. She shouts out – ‘I am alive!’ – almost to convince herself. Then she asks the doctor to help her, and to hold her. She is bewildered, incoherent, terrified. There are more screams. In a city full of horror, she is crying out for humanity. Horrific images of Syrian ‘gas attack’ are hard to forget http://www.itv.com/news/2013-08-23/horrific-images-of-syrian-gas-attack-are-hard-to-forget/

New footage emerges of Syria ‘gas attack’
23 Aug 2013 20:39

Footage shot by an independent journalist for Britain’s ITV News appears to show aftermath of chemical attack in Damascus suburbs. A small crater and exploded metal was only feet away from where dead bodies were lying. An unnamed survivor of the attack, shown in the video, said he had gone to investigate a small explosion that he heard, but smelt a strange odour. “The next morning we discovered all families dead in their homes. [I] just opened the door [to] see the whole family killed in place with foam in their mouths and eyes together with blood in their ears,” he said. New footage emerges of Syria ‘gas attack’ http://www.aljazeera.com/video/2013823181349586368.html

Syria conflict: A fight to the death between its people
22 Aug 2013 John Irvine: International Correspondent

This man, this regime, has killed tens of thousands of children using other catastrophic means – conventional artillery, homemade bombs packed with TNT thrown out of helicopters onto villages and family homes, snipers, machine guns. He has used every other method to kill ordinary civilians, without fear of intimidation. So why wouldn’t he use gas? Regardless of the truth, perception is everything in this war. And this image will only add fuel to the fire. Syria conflict: A fight to the death between its people http://www.itv.com/news/2013-08-22/syria-conflict-a-fight-to-the-death-between-its-people/

Evil prospers when good men do nothing
‘Tolerating evil leads only to more evil. And when good people stand by and do nothing while wickedness reigns, their communities will be consumed’. Evil prospers when good men do nothing http://www.judgmentforsale.com/blog/

]]> https://www.reparationlaw.com/news/us-boosts-naval-presence-amid-syria-tensions/feed/ 0 https://www.reparationlaw.com/news/chemical-attack-by-assad-regime-in-syria-kills-1300-in-massacre-the-opposition-says/ https://www.reparationlaw.com/news/chemical-attack-by-assad-regime-in-syria-kills-1300-in-massacre-the-opposition-says/#comments Wed, 21 Aug 2013 08:07:48 +0000 admin http://www.reparationlaw.com/news/?p=545 Read more »]]> ‘Chemical’ attack by Assad regime in Syria kills 1300 in ‘massacre’, the opposition says

Hundreds of people are believed to have been killed in an apparent gas attack on rebel-held parts of eastern Damascus that is thought to be the most significant use of chemical weapons since thousands of Kurds were gassed by Saddam Hussein in Halabja 25 years ago. Death toll claimed to be as high as 1,400 as Syrian government admits launching major offensive in rebel-held districts in the east of the capital but denies using chemical weapons.

Link to video: Syria’s darkest day: Footage shows horrific aftermath of alleged gas attack. Scenes of men women and children in respiratory distress, breathing problems, limb stiffness and were in comas. [Warning: Contains graphic content]

Rescuers and victims said the shelling of eastern Ghouta started shortly after 2am and targeted three districts, Ein Tarma, Zermalka and Jobar, all rebel strongholds for the past year.   “It was around 2.30am Wednesday when we received calls from Zemalka and Jobar,” said a Free Syria Army (FSA) officer, Captain Alla’a al-Basha, who has documented previous alleged chemical attacks in the area.   “The FSA members were asking for more forces to evacuate the civilians as the shells were coming in at around five per minute. As soon as I and my team arrived at the scene, I saw bodies scattered in the streets. I saw whole houses – none of their residents were alive. When I got there, I could smell what seemed to be burning sulphur and something like cooked eggs. The smoke was not pure white.   “Most of the victims were shivering and they turned yellow. I saw a woman who was tearing at her clothes as she could not breathe. The number of the casualties that we were able to document so far is 1,228 martyrs. The doctors think that more than 20 shells were fired with fatal gases.   “Most of the victims did not appear to be injured but died out of suffocation. I held a young boy whose body was like a piece of wood and his colour was very blue. He did not have any wound.”

Doctors at makeshift clinics said they were working without oxygen and had been overrun by the number of victims, many of whom needed lifesaving treatment that they could not provide.   Treatment of victims appeared rudimentary, with water and vinegar among the means of trying to dilute the effects. “We know when we have an area targeted by fatal gases we would take plastic masks and put wet cloths on our noses and mouths,” said Basha. “But most of the civilians do not know that they have to do that.”

George Sabra, the head of the main Syrian opposition group, laid the blame squarely at the Assad regime, saying the scenes “constitute a turning point in the regime’s operations”. “This time it was for annihilation, rather than terror,” he said. International reaction intensified throughout the day. The UN Security council called an emergency session and the White House formally requested the UN to investigate the attack. William Hague, the foreign secretary, said the UK was “deeply concerned”.   One witness told Reuters: “We would go into a house and everything was in its place, every person was in their place. They were lying where they had been. They looked like they were asleep. But they were dead.”

Ralf Trapp, a consultant on chemical and biological weapons, said getting access to the scenes of the attacks was paramount for inspectors. “The logical thing to do would be to go in and start interviewing doctors and getting blood and urine samples.   “This is the ideal moment to collect samples because it is so shortly after the attack. They may get intact agent – in the first day or so you would still find intact sarin, for example.   “Within a few days, you would find degradation products. If you link those to clinical examinations and testimony, you can build up a very precise picture of what happened.   “They need to try to get to the site where it happened, talk to people who were on the spot when it happened, to victims and observers, to create as complete a picture of the actual attack. They want to discriminate against other types of weapons that might cause similar effects or release something by chance.”

Charles Duelfer, a former US chief weapons inspector, said: “[Video] reports of doctors treating these people, that’s real data.” Duelfer said the scale of the attack could probably be proved by the intelligence community. “It will be pretty clear pretty quickly because various countries’ intelligence apparatus will have noticed something on this scale, whether it’s artillery, rockets, or shells. These are knowable things.”The White House is going to be hard pressed to construct an answer to this one. It was easy to waffle a bit so long as alleged use was minor and didn’t happen again, but this is really putting the administration in a corner.”"

RESOURCES:

Syria conflict: chemical weapons blamed as hundreds reported killed. Death toll claimed to be as high as 1,400 as Syrian government admits launching offensive but denies using chemical weapons … Syria conflict: chemical weapons blamed as hundreds reported killed  

DailyMail:  Pictures of dead children are graphic, disturbing and undoubtedly the worst so far to have emerged from the conflict, MailOnline has made the decision to publish them in order to raise awareness of the plight of innocent people in a war that shows no sign of ending. View Pictures

Syria’s darkest day: Hundreds of children’s bodies piled high after nerve gas attack near Damascus leaves up to 1,300 dead … Syria’s darkest day [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yGzasDawuI]

Syria Threatens Chemical Attack on Foreign Force:
Published on Jul 23, 2012 – The warning appeared intended to ward off an attack by Western nations while also apparently confirming that Syria had chemical weapons. …Over the past four decades, Syria has amassed huge supplies of mustard gas, sarin nerve agent and cyanide, according to unclassified reports by the Central Intelligence Agency. In a report to Congress covering last year, the C.I.A., referring to chemical weapons, said, “Syria has had a C.W. program for many years and has a stockpile of C.W. agents, which can be delivered by aerial bombs, ballistic missiles, and artillery rockets. We assess that Syria remains dependent on foreign sources for key elements of its C.W. program, including precursor chemicals.” In a similar report for 2006, the C.I.A. said Syria’s arsenal included “the nerve agent sarin, which can be delivered by aircraft or ballistic missile.” The report also said that Syria “is developing the more toxic and persistent nerve agent VX.” Syria Threatens Chemical Attack on Foreign Force – The New York Times [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/24/world/middleeast/chemical-weapons-wont-be-used-in-rebellion-syria-says.html?pagewanted=all]

Evil prospers when good men do nothing
‘Tolerating evil leads only to more evil. And when good people stand by and do nothing while wickedness reigns, their communities will be consumed’. Evil prospers when good men do nothing.  Evil prospers when good men do nothing

Promote Democracy in the Middle East, Not the Autocracy