Headlines October 3, 2015

 Headlines

• Obama: Russia Heading for Quagmire in Syria

• Benjamin Netanyahu Raises Spectre of War After Iran Nuclear Deal

• Pakistan TV Channels Indirectly Blaming Saudi Government for Mina Tragedy

• Hindu Mob Kills Muslim Man Over Beef Claim

Details:

Obama: Russia Heading for Quagmire in Syria

President Barack Obama said Friday that he was willing to work with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on moving Syria away from civil war, but only if that plan includes removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power. In the absence of that, he warned that Russia's air campaign against Syria would only lead to further bloodshed for the war-torn country and bog down Moscow. Russia, he predicted during a White House press conference, would get stuck in a "quagmire," adding, "It just won't work, and they're going to stay there for a while." Saying Syria's civil war doesn't directly involve the United States -- but instead pits Assad's forces against rebel groups -- Obama admitted elements of his strategy had failed. A plan to train and equip opposition forces, which resulted in only a handful of trainees, "did not work the way it was supposed to," Obama said. But asked whether he now backs no-fly zones in Syria -- which his former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, recommended this week during her presidential campaign -- he warned against "easy, low-cost answers" to ending the war. Asked to respond directly to her suggestion, he said that one's perspective changes when president. "I think Hillary Clinton would be the first to say that when you're sitting in the seat that I'm sitting in in the situation room, things look a little bit different. Because she's been right there next to me," he said. He also said, "I also think there's a difference between running for president and being president." Instead, Obama insisted that the only solution was diplomatic, raising the possibility of a brokered deal to remove Assad from power. Obama's comments come after a scramble by his administration to respond to Russia's strikes, which began two days after the President met Putin at the United Nations. Obama said Friday he didn't think anyone was "fooled" by Putin's strategy in Syria, which he said amounted to supporting Russia's sole "client state in the Middle East." He said that during his meeting with Putin, he underscored the importance of transitioning Assad from power. In a joint statement Friday, the governments of nations fighting ISIS -- including the United States, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia -- said Russia's military strikes "constitute a further escalation and will only fuel more extremism and radicalization." The joint statement, using another acronym for ISIS, called on Russia to "to immediately cease its attacks on the Syrian opposition and civilians and to focus its efforts on fighting ISIL." But Putin has showed little sign he's ready to end his military campaign in Syria. Russia is one of Assad's last remaining global backers, and the White House says Putin is looking to prop up Assad's regime as it appears to falter. [Source: CNN]

One thing for sure, Putin has certainly made Obama look incompetent over the Syrian issue. It appears, whilst there is general agreement about what should be done in Syria, each player is jostling for a greater stake in the political settlement.

Benjamin Netanyahu Raises Spectre of War After Iran Nuclear Deal

Jewish prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday delivered a blistering attack on the nuclear deal signed with Tehran in July, saying that it would make war with Iran more likely. High quality global journalism requires investment. Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly, Mr Netanyahu said that Iran was continuing to arm and support terrorist groups across the Middle East, was trying to destabilise governments that did not support it and continued to threaten to destroy [Israel]. "Just imagine what Iran will do after the sanctions are lifted," he said, referring to the funds that Iran will receive in the coming months once the nuclear deal is implemented. Mr Netanyahu was speaking following a bruising political battle in the US over the nuclear deal, which often split the American Jewish community and at times appeared to place [Israel] on the side of the Republican party against the White House. Although the [Israeli] leader said that arguments with Barack Obama's administration about the Iran deal had been "disagreements within the family", some observers had expected him to take a less strident tone in his criticisms of the administration's nuclear diplomacy. Mr Netanyahu called on other world leaders to take practical steps to restrain Iranian influence, including rigorous inspections of the Iran deal and the reimposition of sanctions if Iran, which he referred to as a "rapacious tiger", was found to be cheating.

Speaking in New York on Wednesday, Yair Lapid, former [Israeli] finance minister in Mr Netanyahu's government and now a senior figure in the opposition, said that Israel needed to begin a "process of healing and repairing" its relationship with the US. Mr Netanyahu is due to return to the US in November to meet Mr Obama. [Source: Financial Times]

Undeterred by the nuclear deal between the world powers and Iran, the Jewish Prime Minister continues his threats of war mongering against Iran. Could this be just a ploy to extract more concessions from America ahead of his meeting with Obama? Only time will tells.

Pakistan TV Channels Indirectly Blaming Saudi Government for Mina Tragedy

The Pakistan Electronic Authority (Pemra) has taken notice of some TV channels which are indirectly blaming Saudi Arabia government for Mina tragedy. In its notice served to some private TV channels, the Pemra said that irresponsible coverage by some TV channels is damaging our country's relations with the brotherly country which is a violation of Article 19 of the Pemra Act. The Pemra warned TV channels that strict action would be taken against such channels since the irresponsible coverage is worsening our relationship with Saudi Arabia. It is pertinent to mention here that some private TV channels blamed the Saudi regime for Mina tragedy in their programmes. [Source: Daily Pakistan]

With hundreds of Pakistanis still unaccounted for and several eye-witness reports blaming the Saudi authorities for the Hajj deaths, the Pakistan government has stepped in to muzzle the growing criticism. Instead, the government should be fiercely accounting Saudi Arabia for its disastrous Hajj management policies. But like with everything else, Nawaz Sharif's government has no interest in safeguarding the lives of Pakistanis only protecting the interest of fellow incompetent rulers of the Muslim world.

Hindu Mob Kills Muslim Man Over Beef Claim

At least 30 Hindu men have been involved in an attack which led to the death of a Muslim man in India who was accused of killing and secretly eating a cow. Blacksmith Mohammad Akhlaq died on Monday night after being kicked and beaten with stones by the mob in the town of Dadri, 30 miles from the capital, New Delhi. The men attacked after an earlier - larger - group had gathered outside the home, accusing the family of secretly eating beef. While many Indian Hindus do not eat beef because they consider cows to be holy creatures - others, particularly people in the south or members of lower castes - as well as Christians and Muslims - do.

Mr Akhlaq's daughter told how she watched helplessly and tried to save her father: "I screamed and shouted to tell the mob that we did not eat beef, and they should stop beating my father and my brother, but they pushed me away. One policeman blamed extremist Hindu politicians' calls for a toughening up on the laws of cow protection for the attacks. "The incident is shocking," he said. "The Hindu mob felt they had a licence to kill." India is the world's largest exporter of beef and its fifth biggest consumer with that meat trade run mostly by Muslims. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pro-Hindu government wants a nationwide ban on cow slaughter and the beef trade and has clamped down on the illegal trade of cattle with mostly Muslim Bangladesh. While the slaughter of cows is banned in the populous northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where Dadri is, the eating of beef is not. Mr Akhlaq's daughter said there was no justification for murder, even if the family had been eating beef. "I saw my father being killed and no one came to save him," said Sajida Saifi.

"How can eating meat or beef become such a big crime?" [Source: Sky News]

India prides itself on claiming the title of the world's largest democracy but in real-terms it is a nation of bigots, where Hindu zealots are given free rein to persecute Muslims at will. The destruction of the Babri Masjid, Gujrat riots and the now killing of Muslims over the eating of beef is fast becoming the hall mark of Indian democracy.