Pozdrav iz Damaska.
Molim vas da sve sto mediji javljaju s Bliskog Istoka jako uzmete s rezervom. Mediji su "psi rata". Sve sto se trenutno dogadja u Sjevernoj Africi, na Arabijskom pluotoku ... opasno je i slozeno. Moja Sirija prozivljava vremena konfuzna i opasna. Narod je preplasen, pomalo se dijeli ... dugogodisnje nepromijenjeno politicko stanje uljuljalo je mase, zabrinulao opoziciju u emigraciji, ljuti nervozne susjede (Izrael zbog Golana, Libanon zbog Hesbollaha ...), a susjedstvo je saroliko i opasno ... Sirija se jako promijenila u zadnjih 5 godina. Na prvi pogled, mnogo se izgradilo, ali ljudi osjecaju da im politicki sustav postaje otrcan, zivi se teze, skuplje. Intelektualci su se pokusali obratiti predsjedniku Basharu, izrazavajuci mu podrsku ali uz uvjet da rastjera oko sebe starce jos iz doba Predsjednika - oca. Nece ici lako ... Tijekom govora u Skupstini krajem marta, djelovao je jako umorno, kao covjek kojem netko drzi pistolj uperen u ledja dok govori. Govor je razaocarao vecinu ljudi. Ocekivali su najavu promjena, a od toga nista ... Sve to u kontekstu opasnosti od ubacenih terorista koji se pojavljuju od Darre (kod granice s Jordanom), preko Dume (predfrdje Damaska na putu za Palmyru), Lathakye (luka) i Banyasa (rafinerija na obali) ... Sve mirise na mat poziciju. Kakva ce biti zavrsnica, sad kada i studenti pocinju na fakultetima ... Kao i kod raspada Jugoslavije ... veliki broj ljudi je za postojece politicko stanje i Bashara, u svim slojevima, navikli su na ovakav zivot i boje se promjena, to je ljudski, mnogim je dobro. S druge strane, posebno bogatiji Sirijici, kod kuce i oni uspjesni poslovni ljudi sirom svijeta, intelektualci ali i opozicijski neprijatelji posebno petkom poslije molitve dizu glavu ... U Damasku je bilo vrlo burno sve do predsjednikova govora. A onda, kao da su svi zanijemili ... istovremeno od prijatelja cujem razne vijesti ... glasovi razni kruze ... A moja se Sirija bas ovih dana, nakon duge i hladne, iznimno kisovite zime, rascvala ... Brdo Kasiun iznad grada , kameno brdo - zeleno je. Behara Syriana... i opet se koze okozile i ovce ojanjile ... uvijek gola brda, od kisa zelenom travom posuta ... Putujem od Palmyra prema kuci u Damask ... sunce polagano pada iza predivnih brda pocesljanih vjetrom ... stada se pentraju po strminama ili pretrcavaju cestu ... Narod izasao u polja, mlada psenica skoro iz kamena vec porasla dobro ... I sad ce netko taj mir rasjeci nekim ostrim nozem povijsti i sudbine ... Da mnoga mati zakuka, da mnoga zena zaplace a djevojka zavapi ... da ne bude mog Shalana, i jabuka i jagoda, da ne bude vesele mladosti Sirije ... Opet ce neka budala sve unistiti ako ne bude mudrosti NARODA pa on ne bude dao! Sirija se mora voljeti. Njezin je utjecaj najveci i najnevidljiviji istovremeno. Zapli li se Syriana ... ode sve ... Pozdrav, mima
Interview Wesley Clarka, bivseg komadanta NATO-a za Europu, i bivseg pretendenta za demokratskog prdsjednickog kandidata SAD-a. Razgovor vodjen 2007. u kojem se govori o napadima SAD-a, izmedju ostalih, i na Siriju
AMY GOODMAN: Do you see a replay in what happened in the lead-up to the war with Iraq—the allegations of the weapons of mass destruction, the media leaping onto the bandwagon?
GEN. WESLEY CLARK: Well, in a way. But, you know, history doesn’t repeat itself exactly twice. What I did warn about when I testified in front of Congress in 2002, I said if you want to worry about a state, it shouldn’t be Iraq, it should be Iran. But this government, our administration, wanted to worry about Iraq, not Iran.
I knew why, because I had been through the Pentagon right after 9/11. About ten days after 9/11, I went through the Pentagon and I saw Secretary Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz. I went downstairs just to say hello to some of the people on the Joint Staff who used to work for me, and one of the generals called me in.
- He said, "Sir, you’ve got to come in and talk to me a second."
- I said, "Well, you’re too busy."
- He said, "No, no."
- He says, "We’ve made the decision we’re going to war with Iraq."
This was on or about the 20th of September. - I said, "We’re going to war with Iraq? Why?"
- He said, "I don’t know."
- He said, "I guess they don’t know what else to do."
- So I said, "Well, did they find some information connecting Saddam to al-Qaeda?" - He said, "No, no."
- He says, "There’s nothing new that way. They just made the decision to go to war with Iraq."
- He said, "I guess it’s like we don’t know what to do about terrorists, but we’ve got a good military and we can take down governments."
- And he said, "I guess if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem has to look like a nail."
So I came back to see him a few weeks later, and by that time we were bombing in Afghanistan.
- I said, "Are we still going to war with Iraq?"
- And he said, "Oh, it’s worse than that."
He reached over on his desk. He pi.c.ked (ovo ba nije sovanje) up a piece of paper.
- And he said, "I just got this down from upstairs" meaning the Secretary of Defense’s office—"today."
- And he said, "This is a memo that describes how we’re going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran."
- I said, "Is it classified?"
- He said, "Yes, sir."
- I said, "Well, don’t show it to me."
- And I saw him a year or so ago,
- and I said, "You remember that?"
- He said, "Sir, I didn’t show you that memo! I didn’t show it to you!"