Posted on 09/05/2013 7:50:08 AM PDT by maggief
A few days ago, the Wall Street Journal ran a high profile article from one Elizabeth O’Bagy arguing that the majority of the Syrian rebels were actually moderates.
Senator McCain mentioned Elizabeth O’Bagy’s op-ed during the Senate hearings, when he wasn’t playing poker, and tweeted it. That should come as no surprise, considering that O’Bagy is credited with arranging McCain’s infamous photo op with the Syrian rebel leadership.
The Wall Street Journal lists O’Bagy’s role as the Institute for the Study of War. It leaves out the fact that she is the political director for the Syrian Emergency Task Force making her an activist.
O’Bagy doesn’t matter much. She’s a friendly Western face plastered over a foreign organization. Of more interest is Mouaz Moustafa, the smiling man in the Keffiyah on the far right of McCain in this photo.
Mouaz Moustafa is a Palestinian Arab and the Executive Director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force which arranged for McCain’s visit.
(Excerpt) Read more at frontpagemag.com ...
McCain needs to be put in a home.
I’m most concerned with how “O’Bagy” is pronounced.
ping
R 
Ohio Ping > High importance:
O’Bagy doesn’t matter much. She’s a friendly Western face plastered over a foreign organization. Of more interest is Mouaz Moustafa, the smiling man in the Keffiyah on the far right of McCain in this photo.
>snip>
Predating his international period, Mouaz Moustafa did stints as a Field Organizer for the Democratic National Committee and a senate staffer. On Instagram, he calls himself a Freelance Revolutionary.
John McCain armed Kosovo Islamic terrorists
Yeah, a home with bars.
As a charter member of the Keating Five, McCain was for sale his very first days in Washington. Since he was given a pass on that, I can only assume he has been selling his influence ever since. With the higher stakes and fees, there is no doubt in my mind, he is collecting millions to represent the various Islamist extremist groups.
Free Syrian Army FSA “Moderates’ Behead 24 Passengers on Bus, Including a Mother and Her 40-day old Baby
It’s entirely possible.
I wonder if it’s illegal?
Citizen’s United changed the rules drastically.
Disagree with Greenfield on 2 points:
POINT 1: "O’Bagy doesn’t matter much."
O'Bagy matters very much. Even before the WSJ article I had been hearing her name a lot. Her name came up during the Syria hearing at least once (McCain). All of Congress is being pointed to her research as THE authority on the Syria rebels.
Yesterday, Frank Gaffney interviewed Marc Thiessen, of American Enterprise Institute, about Syria. Thiessen said he gets his info on the FSA from O'Bagy and Kimberly Kagen [more on Kagen later] because they are the most knowledgeable experts. Gaffney demurred and said "One question is to what extent might her assessment (on the rebels) be influenced by the favt that she seems to be working with some of these Syrian opposition forces at the moment. I will talk about that on another occasion."
POINT 2:
"A few days ago, the Wall Street Journal ran a high profile article from one Elizabeth O’Bagy arguing that the majority of the Syrian rebels were actually moderates."
That lie has been pushed by McCain and Kerry and others for weeks. That lie influences senators and congressmen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Kerry: Less than a quarter of Syrian rebels are jihadists
House Homeland Security Committee chairman Mike McCaul was "stunned" by Kerry's assertion. The briefings members of Congress had been getting stated that the number was closer to 50% - and that may be lowballing it too.
Reuters calls Mr. Kerry out for his lie:
Secretary of State John Kerry's public assertions that moderate Syrian opposition groups are growing in influence appear to be at odds with estimates by U.S. and European intelligence sources and nongovernmental experts, who say Islamic extremists remain by far the fiercest and best-organized rebel elements.
At congressional hearings this week, while making the case for President Barack Obama's plan for limited military action in Syria, Kerry asserted that the armed opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "has increasingly become more defined by its moderation, more defined by the breadth of its membership, and more defined by its adherence to some, you know, democratic process and to an all-inclusive, minority-protecting constitution.
"And the opposition is getting stronger by the day," Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.
U.S. and allied intelligence sources and private experts on the Syrian conflict suggest that assessment is optimistic.
While the radical Islamists among the rebels may not be numerically superior to more moderate fighters, they say, Islamist groups like the al Qaeda-aligned Nusra Front are better organized, armed and trained.
Kerry's remarks represented a change in tone by the Obama administration, which for more than two years has been wary of sending U.S. arms to the rebels, citing fears they could fall into radical Islamists' hands.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I can't link to the American Thinker article. Has it been pulled?
meant to ping to you this Greenfield article (and post 10)
Looks like it was pulled.
Here is an alternate link.
http://docstalk.blogspot.com/2013/09/really-mr-kerry-who-gave-you-this-data.html
The bombing will show we've joined the eternal tribal feuds of the Middle East... and sold the lives of our men and women in the armed services to the Sheiks of Saudi Arabia...FOR CASH.
Blood money for our elites...
We're no longer a force to be reckoned with because we're total fools.
We gotta get that war vote passed before the truth gets out!!!
SeekandFind posted this:
From HOTAIR.COM
Kerry insists, as does John McCain, that the Free Syrian Army controls the opposition in Syria and that radical Islamist elements comprise only a small percentage of rebel fighting units. However, intelligence from US and European agencies put the radical Islamists near parity in numbers, and far more in control than Kerry and the Obama administration acknowledge:
Secretary of State John Kerry’s public assertions that moderate Syrian opposition groups are growing in influence appear to be at odds with estimates by U.S. and European intelligence sources and nongovernmental experts, who say Islamic extremists remain by far the fiercest and best-organized rebel elements. …
U.S. and allied intelligence sources and private experts on the Syrian conflict suggest that assessment is optimistic.
While the radical Islamists among the rebels may not be numerically superior to more moderate fighters, they say, Islamist groups like the al Qaeda-aligned Nusra Front are better organized, armed and trained.
Kerry insists that FSA’s General Salim Idriss has control, and the opposition is even holding elections for its leaders:
Kerry replied: “I just don’t agree that a majority are al Qaeda and the bad guys. That’s not true. There are about 70,000 to 100,000 oppositionists … Maybe 15 percent to 25 percent might be in one group or another who are what we would deem to be bad guys.
“There is a real moderate opposition that exists. General Idriss is running the military arm of that,” Kerry continued, referring to General Salim Idriss, head of the rebel Free Syrian Army. Increasingly, he said, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states are funneling assistance through Idriss.
According to Foreign Policy, though — hardly a conservative mouthpiece on foreign affairs — Idriss’ grasp on the opposition is crumbling, and may have been ephemeral all along. Instead, his commanders have suddenly developed a taste for working with the elements that Kerry insists are too small to matter:
As the United States moves closer to taking military action against the Syrian government, the leadership of the mainstream armed opposition force has chosen a curious time to appear to be on the verge of unraveling. Known generically as the Free Syrian Army (FSA), this assortment of mostly secular defecting Sunni Arab officers and mostly Islamist volunteers has attempted several reorganizations. The most recent of these is now seriously threatened by a resignation threat from senior commanders. …
On August 22, four of the five front commanders threatened to resign from the SMC, promising to break “red lines” and work “with all forces fighting in Syria,” a clear reference to the war’s growing Salafist-Jihadist contingent. The statement was read by Colonel Fatih Hasun, who is the commander of the SMC’s Homs Front and the deputy chief-of-staff, that is to say, Idriss’s deputy and the most senior officer inside the country. Hasun added that rebels would no longer respect demands by outside powers that they not attempt to take over government-controlled chemical weapons sites. In addition to demanding action in response to the government’s use of chemical weapons in Damascus, Hasun also demanded better weapons and said they were tiring of the “false promises of those who call themselves Friends of Syria.”
While the resignation seemed tentative, Hasun was less equivocal about the other red line — the opposition’s Salafist-Jihadist groups, Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) — both of which the United States has designated as terrorist entities linked to al Qaeda. Directly behind Hasun on the wall was an Islamic flag, with a pre-Assad Syria FSA flag draped to the side, a nod perhaps to the Salafists. Sitting to his right was a bearded cleric in Salafist garb. He directly stated, “we call upon all” FSA units to work with all others fighting the regime. Adding insult to injury, on August 25 Muhammad Tabnaja, field commander in Latakia for the Ahfad al-Faruq Brigade in Latakia, resigned citing the lack of support from the SMC.
If Idriss is in control and opposed to the radical Islamist elements, he would have acted forcefully to put down this rebellion within the rebellion. In the event, though, Idriss apparently couldn’t do anything:
Most telling is what happened when the SMC’s decision removing Akaydi was announced. Akaydi ignored it, then after brigade-level commanders within the AMC rejected the decision, he did an interview in which he mocked the SMC as made up of people “who are into travel and hotels and have no connection to what is happening on the ground.” He did clear Idriss of involvement, however, and Idriss promptly apologized to Akaydi and then traveled to Aleppo to meet with him and praise him. …
Idriss responded to Hasun’s threatened resignation by saying he “rejected” it, as if he had the power to do so.
Is the White House following the intelligence of its own agencies and that of its allies? Is it even following the public events that demonstrate the lack of effectiveness in the FSA and the rise of al-Qaeda-affiliated leadership in the Syrian rebellion? Or are they just so concerned about preventing Barack Obama’s humiliation that they don’t care?
Well, it certainly didn't take Marco long, did it?
Meet the Syrian Islamist Organization Controlling Senator McCain’s Agenda
Posted By Daniel Greenfield On September 4, 2013 @ 4:08 pm In The Point | 18 Comments
A few days ago, the Wall Street Journal ran a high profile article from one Elizabeth O’Bagy arguing that the majority of the Syrian rebels were actually moderates.
Senator McCain mentioned Elizabeth O’Bagy’s op-ed during the Senate hearings, when he wasn’t playing poker, and tweeted it. That should come as no surprise, considering that O’Bagy is credited with arranging McCain’s infamous photo op with the Syrian rebel leadership.
The Wall Street Journal lists O’Bagy’s role as the Institute for the Study of War. It leaves out the fact that she is the political director for the Syrian Emergency Task Force making her an activist.
O’Bagy doesn’t matter much. She’s a friendly Western face plastered over a foreign organization. Of more interest is Mouaz Moustafa, the smiling man in the Keffiyah on the far right of McCain in this photo.
Mouaz Moustafa is a Palestinian Arab and the Executive Director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force which arranged for McCain’s visit.
Senator McCain called Moustafa a “patriot”, but it’s not clear which country he’s a patriot of, since it’s not Mouaz Moustafa’s first time around on the regime change bus tour.
Before the Syrian Emergency Task Force, Moustafa was the Executive Director of the Libyan Council of North America, which like the SETF existed to help push regime change. Before that, he mentions working with “rebels” in Egypt. On his Twitter feed, he denounces the overthrow of Morsi making it rather clear which side he was on.
His Twitter account frequently features anti-Israel material, including calls for a Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem. On his YouTube account, he “liked” a video featuring Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, “crying while praying”.
He also Favorited an anti-Israel video from a channel titled “JewsExposed”
Predating his international period, Mouaz Moustafa did stints as a Field Organizer for the Democratic National Committee and a senate staffer. On Instagram, he calls himself a Freelance Revolutionary.
Mouaz Moustafa, patriot of four countries, none of which is the United States, appears to be holding McCain’s hand on Syria through the Syrian Emergency Task Force. And the Syrian Emergency Task Force appears to be funded by “prominent” Syrians in the United States. It’s not technically a foreign organization. Technically.
One member of the SETF’s Board of Trustees/Board of Directors, Dr. Jihad Qaddour, was also a trustee of the Muslim American Society, which is a front for the Muslim Brotherhood.
Another, Bassam Estwani, appears to have been the Imam of the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, also known as Al-Qaeda leader Anwar Al-Awlaki’s former mosque. The mosque was considered a front for Hamas and other “Islamic extremists” by the Treasury Department.
A third, Zaher Sahloul, appears to be the Chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Chicago, an organization with terrorist links which is involved in organizing a boycott of Israel.
And that’s just from a casual glance at a disturbingly incomplete list of names and functions.
Mouaz Moustafa’s message is that United States must arm the Syrian terrorists without asking questions, and claims that most of the Al-Nusra Front’s members are not really Al Qaeda or enemies of America.
“Let’s look at the Jabhat al-Nusra. Didn’t exist, then existed. Came up to numbers [of] about 5,000 or 6,000. Then we put them on a terrorist list — increase their profile and people stood with them. I think the way they were thinking is, ‘you don’t support us, you don’t give us arms, you don’t give us anything, but then you tell us whose good and whose bad within us?’ So first support, then dictate.”
That’s not just empty talk. Mouaz Moustafa claims to have White House access and control over where the weapons go.
While advocating for greater intervention in Syria, Moustafa says he has gone to Tampa to meet with Central Command, to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress and to the White House “every couple of months” to meet with staff of the National Security Council.
And if you are wondering who is sorting through the Syrian morass to find groups that are suitable for American aid — in other words, not members of al-Qaida — Moustafa says it’s a task his group performs as well.
“What we try to do is make sure is that the aid is going from the State Department is going to the right people,” he said.
And these are the politicians he claims are most helpful to his cause
Among the legislators who have been most helpful to his cause, he said, are McCain, New York Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel, Democratic Sens. Carl Levin of Michigan and Bob Menendez of New Jersey, as well as Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
It’s strange that no one has called attention to the fact that a group headed by people with such extreme ties and beliefs is dominating American foreign policy on Syria and controlling the itinerary of senior senators like McCain.
Free Palestine long live independent #Palestine with #jerusalem as the capitol
— Mouaz Moustafa (@SoccerMouaz) September 23, 2011
Article printed from FrontPage Magazine: http://frontpagemag.com
URL to article: http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/meet-the-syrian-islamist-organization-controlling-senator-mccains-agenda/
Syria is a “very attractive place to go and fight” from the Islamic point of view. “There is a lot of historical and religious importance attached to Syria, and to Damascus especially, the place where, it is said in the Koran, Jesus Christ is going to come back and there will be Armageddon and so on,” Al-Abdeh said. “Many of the jihadists that go to fight in Syria actually believe in these things, and that Syria has special religious significance.”
Every 5 to 10 years there is a “particular location or a battlefield” where radical Muslims could go to war, Al-Abdeh explained. In the 1980s, it was Afghanistan against Soviets; in the 1990s, it was Bosnia against the Serbs and Chechnya against the Russians; today, it is Syria.
(author unknown)
Bookmarking your post good information thanks
<....”Is the White House following the intelligence of its own agencies and that of its allies?”....>
No...it is framing it’s intelligence around it’s agenda. Whatever works to enhance that agenda is the intelligence we are going to hear....the rest will be lost or scrubbed.
<.....” Is it even following the public events that demonstrate the lack of effectiveness in the FSA and the rise of al-Qaeda-affiliated leadership in the Syrian rebellion?”.....>
No, as we have seen from over 100,000 deaths, apart from chemical warfare, the concern is not the people, nor ours for that matter.
They are under the false assumption they can neutralize Alqueda and the Brotherhood, and all other various factions by giving them a voice at the table of the next administration....which the Sauds have already in place..... (Exactly as they assumed in Egypt.)... Any deaths will simply be “collateral damage” for the larger picture of their ultimate agenda.
<....”Are they just so concerned about preventing Barack Obama’s humiliation that they don’t care?”.....>
“We do not have a President who is trustworthy, principled, steady or wise — to the contrary he is seen as weak, vacillating, dithering, and devoid of a clear, compelling and principled policy in the Middle East....
.... He doesn’t inspire confidence, not with our allies, not with Congress, and most importantly, not with the American people. ...It is clear that he drew his “red line” without thinking it through.
... He doesn’t have a plan. He hasn’t built Congressional or international support..... He is winging it.... And that is incredibly dangerous!!!!”
(Exert quote from Joel Rosenberg)
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