Six In The Morning

ROBERT FISK

Saturday 8 December 2012

Syria, Bashar al-Assad, and the truth about chemical weapons and who may or may not have them

Bashar’s father Hafez al-Assad was brutal but never used chemical arms. And do you know which was the first army to use gas in the Middle East?

The bigger the lie the more people will believe it. We all know who said that – but it still works. Bashar al-Assad has chemical weapons. He may use them against his own Syrian people. If he does, the West will respond. We heard all this stuff last year – and Assad’s regime repeatedly said that if – if  – it had chemical weapons, it would never use them against Syrians.

But now Washington is playing the same gas-chanty all over again. Bashar has chemical weapons. He may use them against his own people. And if he does…

Well if he does, Obama and Madame Clinton and Nato will be very, very angry. But over the past week, all the usual pseudo-experts who couldn’t find Syria on a map have been warning us again of the mustard gas, chemical agents, biological agents that Syria might possess – and might use. And the sources? The same fantasy specialists who didn’t warn us about 9/11 but insisted that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction in 2003: “unnamed military intelligence sources”. Henceforth to be acronymed as UMIS.

US military facing fresh questions over targeting of children in Afghanistan

Outrage grows after senior officer claimed troops in Afghanistan were on the lookout for 'children with potential hostile intent'

• Karen McVeigh
Follow @karenmcveigh1
• guardian.co.uk,

The US military is facing fresh questions over its targeting policy inAfghanistan after a senior army officer suggested that troops were on the lookout for "children with potential hostile intent".

In comments which legal experts and campaigners described as "deeply troubling", army Lt Col Marion Carrington told the Marine Corp Times that children, as well as "military-age males", had been identified as a potential threat because some were being used by the Taliban to assist in attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

"It kind of opens our aperture," said Carrington, whose unit, 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, was assisting the Afghan police. "In addition to looking for military-age males, it's looking for children with potential hostile intent."

CLIMATE

The limits of what Doha can reach

Disagreements among negotiators in Doha have made it a struggle to wrap up the UN climate talks on time. And there is little optimism that the delegates will come to substantial agreements.

Christina Figueres, the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, told the delegates in Doha to make history by finishing with the talks on Friday night as scheduled. But that chance has already passed them by.

Once again, observers don't expect the negotiations to end in time as scheduled, and few expect to see results that will make progress on the issues at the heart of the talks: slowing down global warming and dealing with its consequences.

Rwanda accused of aiding Congo rebels

07 DEC 2012 11:45 - DAVID SMITH

Uganda helped the M23 militia with "logistics" as it fought a deadly and successful offensive against the Congolese army.

More than 1 000 Rwandan soldiers crossed into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and are offering "direct support" to the rebels who captured the city of Goma, according to sources quoted in a United Nations inquiry.

Uganda also helped the M23 militia with "logistics" as it fought a deadly and successful offensive against the Congolese army, the UN group of experts said in a letter to the security council.

The allegations deal a fresh blow to Rwanda after months of mounting evidence that, despite Kigali's point-blank denials, prompted Britain to suspend aid worth £21-million last week.

El Salvador gangs accept proposal to create 'peace zones'

One of the aims of these 'peace zones' is to allow gang members to 'reinsert' themselves into society. However, acceptance may come with conditions, like the repeal of a 2009 anti-gang law.

By Elyssa Pachico, InSight Crime / December 7, 2012

The leaders of the Mara Salvatrucha, Barrio 18, and three other street gangs in El Salvador said they accepted a proposal to end all gang activity in designated "zones of peace" in the country.

 

In a statement released to the public, gang leaders said that they'd already handed over a list of 10 possible municipalities where they would agree to cease all criminal activity (read the full text of the statementhere).

The creation of several designated "peace zones" in 10 municipalities was first proposed by Bishop Fabio Colindres and ex-congressman Raul Mijango on Nov. 22. The two men helped negotiate a ceasefire between the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18 earlier this year, which caused the national homicide rate to fall from 14 murders a day to just five. The negotiators intended the creation of these "peace zones" to be the second phase of this gang truce.

8 December 2012 Last updated at 05:23 GMT

Russians' enduring support of Vladimir Putin

Last December, Moscow's streets were filled with thousands of opposition protesters accusing Vladimir Putin of rigging elections. A year on, the BBC's Steve Rosenberg reassesses the public's attitude to Mr Putin, from the capital to the countryside.

In a Russian winter, it is almost as if the elements conspire to keep you off the streets.

In the centre of Moscow, the cold bites to the bone, the icy pavements are an obstacle course, and the snow is like a giant swaddling blanket that makes you want to hibernate till the spring thaw.

It makes what happened one year ago so remarkable.

Last December, thousands, then tens of thousands of Muscovites took to the streets.