Assad may have helped French spies ambush Gadaffi

According to an article in a British newspaper the Syrian government offered French spies operating in Sirte, Gadaffi's satellite telephone number. This aided them in trapping Gadaffi by alerting Libyan militia as to where they could ambush his convoy.

Rami El Obeidi, a former senior intelligence officer in Tripoli, said:

"In exchange for this information, Assad had obtained a promise of a grace period from the French and less political pressure on the regime – which is what happened,"

International attention was shifting from the situation in Libya to that in Syria and Assad hoped that by helping the French, pressure would be removed from his regime. Assad should have known better. It worked for a short while only. For years Assad had acted as a destination for terror suspects who were rendered to notorious Syrian prisons for interrogation and torture. He always obediently provided guarantees that the suspects would not be tortured so U.S. authorities would not be complicit in sending anyone to be tortured. He was not rewarded for that either. In time the French along with the rest of western countries would turn against Assad as he crushed dissent within Syria. Now Islamic terrorists are allied with the west in attempting to overthrow Assad. If Assad is eventually overthrown do not expect gratitude from the jihadists.

Nicolas Sarkozy the former president of France was one of the first and most avid supporters of western intervention in Libya. France also played a leading role in the UN-approved NATO mission to bomb Libya, supposedly to protect civilians.

Mahmoud Jibril, who was prime minister under the Libyan transitional government, confirmed that a foreign "agent" was involved in the operation that ultimately killed Gadaffi. However, Jibril did not identify the nationality of the agent. An Italian newspaper quoted western diplomats in Tripoli who claimed that if a foreign agent were involved it was almost certainly a French agent.

This revelation could be embarrassing for NATO. NATO has always claimed that it did not target individuals. However on several occasions NATO bombed sites where Gadaffi might have been staying.

The official story of Gadaffi's death is that an RAF surveillance plane spotted a large convoy of vehicles leaving Sirte on October 20th last year. NATO warplanes bombed the convoy supposedly unaware that Gadaffi was traveling in it. Militia members found Gadaffi in a drainpipe and he was killed by one of his captors. As is often the case the official story is not likely true. The French spy had told the militia where Gadaffi's convoy could be ambushed. According to Mr El Obeidi:

"French intelligence played a direct tole in the death of Gaddafi, including his killing.They gave directions that he was to be apprehended, but they didn't care if he was bloodied or beaten up as long as he was delivered alive."

Of course it turns out he was not delivered alive.

French intelligence officers were able to pinpoint Gadaffi's location when he made a call to a loyalist and a Palestinian militant leader in Syria. Obeidi said although both Turkish and British intelligence officers were informed of the ambush it was an exclusively French operation.

Gadaffi was double-crossed by the French as well. He had been on good terms with Sarkozy even donating considerable amounts to Sarkozy's election campaign. He had threatened to reveal details of these donations when Sarkozy no longer supported him. Western diplomats said according to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera

:“Sarkozy had every reason to want to get rid of the colonel as quickly as possible."

That mission has been long accomplished. What remains is for France to negotiate new and better contracts for Libyan oil.

Bahrain court upholds conviction of nine medics

Nine medics who were arrested last year during pro-democracy protests have lost their final appeal and now face time in jail. The nine are part of a group of 20 convicted by a military court in 2011, a conviction upheld by a civilian tribunal in June.

Dr. Ali al-Ekry, formerly the senior doctor at Sallmaniya Medical Complex in Bahrain, was given the longest sentence. five years. He was convicted of "possession and concealment" of weapons and also "illegal assembly".

In speaking to Al Jazeera about the decision al-Ekry noted that it is still unclear if the doctors will be sent to prison immediately. The medics' trial has been roundly criticized internationally and the government may be reluctant to implement the verdict. Dr. al-Ekry had formerly been regarded as a hero in Bahrain for his volunteer work helping those in Gaza during the Israeli incursion into the strip. However, helping injured protesters in Bahrain and supporting the protests, made him a criminal.

The Bahrain government set up a commission into the protests against the regime. The report released this spring of the Independent Commission of Inquiry contained more than two dozen recommendations for the government and was sharply critical of the government. Although the government claims it has implemented 90% of the recommendations, critics claim that the true figure is around 10%.

Eight other doctors were also sentenced along with al-Ekry.. Terms ranged from one month to three years. Though the nine medics were free on bail for a year, they faced a travel ban.

Last June nine doctors and nurses had their original verdicts overturned by an appeals court. Those medics included Rula al-Saffar who is the head of the Bahrain nursing society. Originally, she was sentenced to 15 years! That court also dismissed charges that the doctors "occupied" the hospital and had weapons. However, a government spokesperson claimed that medics "took over" the ground floor of the hospital a claim supported by the Independent Commission.

While the government claims that the medics did not provide enough medical attention to patients, and denied some expatriates health care, the commission's report was not nearly as critical. The report noted that they found only one example of a patient who alleged not receiving medical care and found that the situation was chaotic so that access to the facility was often difficult.

The government did not mention that the medics were also tortured in custody according to the Independent Commission. Rights groups have argued that all of the convictions should be overturned. Some of the evidence provided to the commission seems to have been manufactured.

A Pakistani witness said he heard two doctors discussing a plan to hold Asian workers as hostages in the hospital. When asked how he could understand the conversation, the Pakistani said that the doctors were speaking Urdu. Neither doctor speaks or understands Urdu.

As the appended video shows there still is the need for improvement in the human rights situation in Bahrain. In spite of this the U.S. has resumed arms shipments to Bahrain. Bahrain is headquarters for the U.S. fifth fleet. Although King Khalifa has introduced some democratic reforms the country is still run by the royal family for the most part.

The government blames the protests on Iran, since Iran supports the demands for reform made by the Shia majority in Bahrain. The ruling family and the government are composed primarily of minority Sunnis. Saudi Arabia sent troops into Bahrain to help put down the protests and maintain security.