Syria's crisis: more curious bedfellows

An interesting sidelight: James Jatras, former US diplomat, was on Al Jazeera (19/9, 00:10).  Given his stridently pro-Assad views, I was curious enough to do a search on the Web. It's not surprising that he has also appeared on PressTV - Hawkish elements in US seek failure of Geneva ...  But I wonder if the Iranian state-controlled broadcaster would be quite as comfortable with the views he expresses elsewhere: "Muslims in the Balkans staged false flag attacks..." ( James Jatras on Canadian TV, Sept. 4, 2013, "Before It's News", 6 Sep 2013).  Or this, delving back a bit further, from Daniel Pipes ("How Dare You Defame Islam", November 1999):

James Jatras, a Senate aide, published in his private capacity a stinging critique of Islam ("a self-evident outgrowth not of the Old and New Covenants but of the darkness of heathen Araby").

See also his previous appearance on Al Jazeera - Making heads or tails of Bashar al-Assad.

---

14/9 Playing the Al Qaeda card on Syria (continued)  Some great points here:

Robert Fisk: If Barack Obama decides to attack the Syrian regime, he has ensured – for the very first time in history – that the United States will be on the same side as al-Qa’ida.

Not quite the first time, at least not in the fantasy world of the conspiracy theorists and truthers: a few years ago they were saying the US backed Osama Bin Laden in the fight against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980's.

But away from this counter-reality, Channel 4 News had a report on the massacre at Al-Bayda on 2 May.

15/9 Syria hails weapons deal 'victory'  -- Syrian opposition elects new provisional PM

James Rubin: narrow view, chemical weapons; it was mind-boggling, the decision to go for a vote in Congress (C4News)

Obama: Syria lesson for Iran -- Helping hands Footage claims to show Iranians in Syria.

17/9 UN powers discuss Syria resolution --
19/9  Putin 'confident' on Syria plan  -- 'No sectarianism'