Comments on Informed Comment: Condaleeza Rice is a Liar Blames Syria, Iran for ...

Professor Cole should not rely on FBIS or BBC Moni...

2006-02-11T11:11:00.000-05:00

Professor Cole should not rely on FBIS or BBC Monitoring since they in fact translate a very small percentage of what the arabic/persian media transmits daily. To do a keyword search of both databases does not support the wider arguement that Iran and Syria were silent on the cartoon controversy.

In fact, as just one example, BBC Monitoring rarely covers any of the Syrian TV stations, much less any of the papers - at best it will translate an excerpt once every other day from Tishreen - neglecting many stories that appeared that day in Tishreen as well as other papers.

Whether or not Professor Cole is correct on his point - which I believe he largely is - we need to be extremely careful of using the UK and US translation systems. In fact, as the FBIS director told me last year, they don't even cover HIzbollah's Al Manar. They are prohibited by law..... so a critical news source is left off of the FBIS plate.

Something to consider when making arguements about what the "local" media is saying, and a key reason why a few of us "local" journalists started www.mideastwire.com last year in Beirut.

I've been reading syrian bloggers on this, they su...

2006-02-10T08:38:00.000-05:00

I've been reading syrian bloggers on this, they suggested the regime's involvement. The idea is that Bashar wanted to show the West that the only alternative to his regime is Islamic one, so better think twice before the country is unstabled even further.
I don't necessarily buy this - the lack of open media creates lots of rumors and conspiracy theories in the Middle East - but this does come from people inside syria. Some of them witnessed the start of the demo.

All of them, btw, were truly shocked by the burning of the embassies and expressed their feeling of shame.

Hi Dr. Cole. I respect your opinions but there mig...

2006-02-09T15:36:00.000-05:00

Hi Dr. Cole. I respect your opinions but there might be a Syrian involvement. I advise you to read this post written by Joshua Landis:

http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/L/Joshua.M.Landis-1/syriablog/2006/02/burning-embassies-eye-witness-account.htm

No detail provided - from the New York TimesAfter ...

2006-02-09T09:59:00.000-05:00

No detail provided - from the New York Times

After that [summit] meeting (Organization of the Islamic Conference], anger at the Danish caricatures, especially at an official government level, became more public. In some countries, like Syria and Iran, that meant heavy press coverage in official news media and virtual government approval of demonstrations that ended with Danish embassies in flames.

Agreed, there's no evidence (that I can find) that...

2006-02-09T08:55:00.000-05:00

Agreed, there's no evidence (that I can find) that Syria did anything to ignite or support the protests. But, to play devil's advocate, is it possible that it may have been in the state's interest. People in a politically frustrating situation need to vent, against the government, offensive cartoons, against something. If there is political dissatisfaction that must manifest itself in some sort of action, wouldn't it be in the Syrian government's interest (for purely secular reasons of political self-preservation) to see that dissatisfaction directed toward Denmark as opposed to local problems?

Fox News was running the clip of Rice accusing Syr...

2006-02-09T05:33:00.000-05:00

Fox News was running the clip of Rice accusing Syria and Iran of backing the 'controversy' over and over again yesterday. The second time I saw it, they then went on to a segment on a 'tunnel' in Iran that 'experts' say 'might' have been created in order to test nuclear weapons. They showed a satellite picture of said 'tunnel' or the area where it supposedly exists or maybe it was a leftover from Colin Powell's presentation to the UN during the let's bomb Iraq foreplay.

Your assumption that the Bush administration is us...

2006-02-09T02:46:00.000-05:00

Your assumption that the Bush administration is using the cartoon affair to put pressure on Iran and Syria may be true. But that doesn't proof that Iran and Syria did not use the affair for their own agenda. I work for a Dutch Newspaper and our correspondent in Iran witnessed clearly that the demontrations in Teheran were orchestrated by the government. The regime used the studentbaseej (I don't know whether this is a right word in English) to organise the protests. They knew precisely how far they could go. Iran simply wants to present itself as the guardian of islam in the Middle East.

As for Syria, maybe Bashar Assad wants to show the islamic countries and extremist groups that he stands his ground on religious issues as well. The regime is under a lot of pressure for the murder of Hariri and the cartoon affair could divert attention from this for a moment.

I'm sure the US government uses the cartoon affair for their own agenda, that's why they condemned the publication of the cartoons, and put pressure on the regimes of Syria and Iran. But that doesn't mean that those regimes carry no blame.

Toon Beemsterboer