Syria’s New Image; From State Sponsor of Terrorism to Victim of it
In a new article titled “Syrian stare terror in the face” published by the online Asia Times newspaper by the respected Syrian historian and government propagandist Sami Moubayed, the Syrian regime falls victim to global Islamic terrorism that has been the plague of the earth since 9/11.
Reading Mr. Moubayed’s article, an uninformed reader would think that the Syrian regime is hardly immune from this murderous phenomenon sweeping the Middle-East region and the globe.
Commenting on the latest confessions broadcasted by the official Syrian Satellite television station of the alleged perpetrators of the attack in Damascus last September that left 14 people dead and scores of injured, Mr. Moubayed portrays the Damascus regime in the most favorable terms neglecting the authoritarian nature and makeup of its family mafia-style members and their cronies.
What is particularly disturbing is the view Mr. Moubayed tries to impress on the reader that the official Syrian television is simply the product of a free and objective media that brought the naked facts of the attack to the Syrian people in a shocking fashion that many of them were simply horrified of these revelations; here is a perfect example of his style, “It was too abstract for Syrians to believe that their countrymen could plot such a bloody crime against innocent fellow Syrians. The Thursday broadcast proved them wrong.”
But the propagandist machinery does not stop there; Mr. Moubayed goes on to falsify well known facts in order to achieve the desired effects from his article, specifically in retelling the history and movements of Shaker al-Absi the leader of Fatah al-Islam, the group allegedly responsible for the bombing.
Absi along with Abu Muss’ab Al-Zarkawi are believed to be responsible for the assassination of the U.S diplomat and USAID officer Laurence Foley in Oct. 2002 in Amman, Jordan. Both were convicted in the plot and sentenced to death in absentia in 2004.
Mr. Moubayed not only bungles the dates in his article by mentioning the year 2004 as the Laurence Foley murder year, but also injects deliberate deception by alleging that the Syrian government “grew suspicious of his activities” and threw him in jail.
In fact according to the Lebanese prosecutor- general Judge S’aid Mirza report published in Feb. 2008 which was the result of a two year investigation on the attack at ‘Ain ‘Alaq, the Christian town in northern Lebanon, Absi was arrested by the Syrian regime in early 2003 and was sentenced to three years in prison for plotting to commit terrorist activities in the Golan. He was released in a Presidential pardon in 2005.
What is most interesting about Mr. Moubayed’s article is that he never mentions the dates of Absi’s arrest, detention, and release from Syrian prison: and goes on to portray the Syrian regime as much a victim of Absi’s terrorism as their next door neighbor Jordan, here is how he puts it:
“Abbsi moved to Syria to work against Arafat and rebrand himself. Contrary to what anti-Syrian media outlets are saying in Beirut, the Syrians did not tolerate him. On the contrary, they grew suspicious of his activities and placed him behind bars for three years. On his release, he became close to Abu Musaab al-Zarkawi, the terrorist leader of Iraq, who at the time was based in his native Jordan. Together they planned the assassination of Laurence Foley, a US diplomat based in Jordan, in 2004. Both were sentenced to death in absentia by Jordanian courts in July of that year. Abbsi then went to Lebanon, fleeing an arrest warrant in both Syria and Jordan .”
Mr. Moubayed neglects to mention that Jordan, knowing Absi was in Syrian custody wanted to extradite him after the murder of Foley for questioning and trial, Syria refused. I wonder why!
In addition to the multitudes of factual errors, intended or not, it seems scholarly due diligence was not an issue factored in our esteemed political analyst work. As the intended effects from the article was to build on the broadcasted confessions by the alleged members of Fatah al-Islam and steer the audience into a frenzy of anti-Lebanese sentiments and conspiratorial mindset against Syria.
The pundits of the Syrian regime are busy turning the Syrian government well known and proven track record in “supporting terrorism” to the newly furbished and polished image of “victim of terrorism”.
To many this will not pass. Syria might have fallen victim to fundamentalism and extremism but they are all the product and the making of this regime. What is most disturbing about this campaign is the fact that is being led by a Syrian considered to be among the elites of Damascus, the likes of Mr. Moubayed. What a shame.
Reading Mr. Moubayed’s article, an uninformed reader would think that the Syrian regime is hardly immune from this murderous phenomenon sweeping the Middle-East region and the globe.
Commenting on the latest confessions broadcasted by the official Syrian Satellite television station of the alleged perpetrators of the attack in Damascus last September that left 14 people dead and scores of injured, Mr. Moubayed portrays the Damascus regime in the most favorable terms neglecting the authoritarian nature and makeup of its family mafia-style members and their cronies.
What is particularly disturbing is the view Mr. Moubayed tries to impress on the reader that the official Syrian television is simply the product of a free and objective media that brought the naked facts of the attack to the Syrian people in a shocking fashion that many of them were simply horrified of these revelations; here is a perfect example of his style, “It was too abstract for Syrians to believe that their countrymen could plot such a bloody crime against innocent fellow Syrians. The Thursday broadcast proved them wrong.”
But the propagandist machinery does not stop there; Mr. Moubayed goes on to falsify well known facts in order to achieve the desired effects from his article, specifically in retelling the history and movements of Shaker al-Absi the leader of Fatah al-Islam, the group allegedly responsible for the bombing.
Absi along with Abu Muss’ab Al-Zarkawi are believed to be responsible for the assassination of the U.S diplomat and USAID officer Laurence Foley in Oct. 2002 in Amman, Jordan. Both were convicted in the plot and sentenced to death in absentia in 2004.
Mr. Moubayed not only bungles the dates in his article by mentioning the year 2004 as the Laurence Foley murder year, but also injects deliberate deception by alleging that the Syrian government “grew suspicious of his activities” and threw him in jail.
In fact according to the Lebanese prosecutor- general Judge S’aid Mirza report published in Feb. 2008 which was the result of a two year investigation on the attack at ‘Ain ‘Alaq, the Christian town in northern Lebanon, Absi was arrested by the Syrian regime in early 2003 and was sentenced to three years in prison for plotting to commit terrorist activities in the Golan. He was released in a Presidential pardon in 2005.
What is most interesting about Mr. Moubayed’s article is that he never mentions the dates of Absi’s arrest, detention, and release from Syrian prison: and goes on to portray the Syrian regime as much a victim of Absi’s terrorism as their next door neighbor Jordan, here is how he puts it:
“Abbsi moved to Syria to work against Arafat and rebrand himself. Contrary to what anti-Syrian media outlets are saying in Beirut, the Syrians did not tolerate him. On the contrary, they grew suspicious of his activities and placed him behind bars for three years. On his release, he became close to Abu Musaab al-Zarkawi, the terrorist leader of Iraq, who at the time was based in his native Jordan. Together they planned the assassination of Laurence Foley, a US diplomat based in Jordan, in 2004. Both were sentenced to death in absentia by Jordanian courts in July of that year. Abbsi then went to Lebanon, fleeing an arrest warrant in both Syria and Jordan .”
Mr. Moubayed neglects to mention that Jordan, knowing Absi was in Syrian custody wanted to extradite him after the murder of Foley for questioning and trial, Syria refused. I wonder why!
In addition to the multitudes of factual errors, intended or not, it seems scholarly due diligence was not an issue factored in our esteemed political analyst work. As the intended effects from the article was to build on the broadcasted confessions by the alleged members of Fatah al-Islam and steer the audience into a frenzy of anti-Lebanese sentiments and conspiratorial mindset against Syria.
The pundits of the Syrian regime are busy turning the Syrian government well known and proven track record in “supporting terrorism” to the newly furbished and polished image of “victim of terrorism”.
To many this will not pass. Syria might have fallen victim to fundamentalism and extremism but they are all the product and the making of this regime. What is most disturbing about this campaign is the fact that is being led by a Syrian considered to be among the elites of Damascus, the likes of Mr. Moubayed. What a shame.
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