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AUSTRALIAN DIARY



ARCHIVES 1997-2007  --- ARCHIVES 2007 +
 
 
SEPTEMBER 2013
 

SYRIA.

Since late August there have been developments.

So what form could evidence take?  Off the cuff, I can think of one method.

I suspect that chemical analysis of the gas used in Syria should be compared with a chemical analysis of gas in Assad's stockpiles.  In any case, analysis of the gas used could probably determine where the ingredients were sourced, and might indicate whether it was from Assad's stockpile or from some other source.

AN OUTLINE OF MIDDLE EAST POLITICS.

There are three original and ancient cultures.  Iran, Egypt and Turkey.  Other powers were Yemen, Ethiopia, Iraq.

Since 1828 the Ottoman empire has been shrinking from Algeria, Greece, and Yemen.  In 1914 they chose the wrong side, and got shrunk back to present day Turkey, which still contains the subjected Kurds.  The Ottoman empire was a caliphate, meaning religious and political primacy resides in the Caliph, who claims to be a descendant of Mahommed.  The Caliphs treated the subject races as "protected" and relocated them at will.

So far as I can determine the current division is based nominally on democracy, but in reality it is a division between those who are attempting to restore the Caliphate and those who prefer a tribal style dictatorship.  Tribal dictators usually rule with the consensus consent of the sub tribal leaders.  A further complication exists in the Caliphate Shia-Sunni divide, which is disagreement as to Mohamed's descendants.  The Shia (Iranians) are in conflict with the Turks on that issue.  Assad (Syria) is a Shia tribal dictator ruling a mostly Sunni state.

Tribal style dictatorships are in power in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the gulf states.  Theocratic democracies exist in Iran and Turkey.  However Turkey is Sunni and Iran is Shia.  Thus we have a triangle of powers between whom exists mutual distrust.

Israel stands outside these groupings.  Nominally, everybody is anti-Israel, but most have treaties or tacit agreements with the state.

The USA has two allegiances.  One is to it's Air Force base Incurlik in Turkey.  The other is to the major oil power, Saudi Arabia.  So the USA supports two opposing parties.  The Turks rely on the USA for support against Kurdish separatism.  The Saudi rely on the USA for military stability in the gulf.  The conflict in Syria is quite likely as a result of Turkish initiatives.  The counter revolution in Egypt appears to be as a result of Saudi initiatives.  The USA is the meat in those sandwiches.


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