A source on politics, war, the Middle East, Arabic poetry, and art.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Richard Engel has to account for those statements in this propaganda video for the Free Syrian Army
Going back to this propaganda interview that Engel taped for the propaganda media of Free Syrian Army. In it, as you know, he claims that he was rescued by the Bin Ladenite Ahrar Ash-Sham militia (which he refers to as "rebels"). In this video his biases are clear: there are "rebels" (who are all those fighting the Syrian regime) and the "shabbihah and the regime" on the other side. He said that during his captivity he was stunned by the overtly "sectarian and bloody" language of the captors who told them that they are holding them to exchange them with four Iranians and two Lebanese Amal militia members who are held by the "rebels". But there is more to his account: he claims that he has witnessed several killings by the Shabbihah: the first time when they were kidnapped and the second time when they were rescued. He yesterday told the New York Times that he now retracts his earlier statement about seeing bodies, which here he said that he saw. But he also said that he saw killing and an attempt at burning a "rebel" with gasoline but that they ran out of gasoline. He has to explain all that. I also noticed that he said in this detailed account that he knew right away that they were "shabbihah" even before they identified themselves and said that they will "kill your women and children" in order to keep Bashshar in power.
PS It seems (according to what he said here) he also taped an interview with the Bin Ladenite terrorists of Ahrar Ash-Sham.
-Economist has reported on October 30th, 2003 that a Catholic priest "placed a relic of Mother Teresa" on the body of Terri Schiavo who has been in a coma in a Florida hospital.
Comic by Terry Furry, reproduced from "Heard the One About the Funny Leftist?" by Cris Thompson, East Bay Express
As'ad's Bio
As'ad AbuKhalil, born March 16, 1960. From Tyre, Lebanon, grew up in Beirut. Received his BA and MA from American University of Beirut in pol sc. Came to US in 1983 and received his PhD in comparative government from Georgetown University. Taught at Tufts University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Colorado College, and Randolph-Macon Woman's College. Served as a Scholar-in-Residence at Middle East Institute in Washington DC. He served as free-lance Middle East consultant for NBC News and ABC News, an experience that only served to increase his disdain for maintream US media. He is now professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus. His favorite food is fried eggplants.
Email the Angry Arab at: aabukhalil[at]csustan [dot][edu]
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