Michael Weiss savages both the International Crisis Group and Joshua Landis for fomenting myths about alleged sectarianism against Assad:
No footage has been offered by either ICG or its “independent” sources substantiating allegations of anti-Alawite incitement. And as against one lone video of posthumous indecency in Hama, the Syrian opposition has uploaded thousands of mobile phone records documenting everything from snipers firing at civilians from rooftops, screaming mothers cradling the corpses of their slain children, self-confessed mercenaries admitting that Hezbollah paid and bused them into Syria to enforce military discipline, mukhabarat thugs kicking old men in the head, and a mentally disabled man displaying his bruises and reprehending Assad personally. In other words, the weight of all available evidence overwhelmingly confirms the opposition’s narrative and discredits the regime’s. And yet, an organization dedicated to “preventing conflict” had instead become tribune for the sowers of one.
Amen. Carlos Strenger is equally harsh on Netanyahu and Lieberman's attempt to see the Arab Spring as an uprising of Iran-supporting fanatics:
In periods of change and uncertainty, the most important thing is to keep an open mind and to question old certainties and paradigms. Sure enough, Israel’s current political leadership has done nothing of the sort. Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, and our Foreign Minister, Mr. Avigdor Lieberman “know” that the Arab Spring will turn sour, that it will turn into an Iranian Winter, and will be bad for Israel.
Both Netanyahu and Lieberman made up their minds about the Arab world long ago, and no facts will confuse them. Netanyahu’s views were shaped his father’s theory that Arabs are slightly subhuman and can only be kept at bay by force, if necessary by inflicting hunger an illness upon them (he thinks Operation Cast Lead was just a first step, and not enough). Bibi knows that he can neither say nor write this without making himself into a pariah internationally, so he just writes in his book “A Durable Peace” that Palestinians should get four disconnected cantons instead of a state – leaving open, of course, how he thinks Palestinians can be beaten into accepting these Bantustans.
The Dish 