<div dir="ltr"><div>we'll be there!<br></div>please sign this, which UFPJ just joined<br><a href="http://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=11735">http://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=11735</a><br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Jan 25, 2016 at 9:33 AM, medea benjamin <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:medea.benjamin@gmail.com" target="_blank">medea.benjamin@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div style="word-wrap:break-word">Yes, and I hope you all try to come to the Saudi Summit we are doing in DC on March 5-6. We need to learn, analyze, discuss and come up with campaigns to address this insane US-Saudi relationship. You can sign up here: <a href="http://www.codepink.org/2016SaudiSummit" target="_blank">www.codepink.org/2016SaudiSummit</a><div>Thanks,</div><div>Medea</div><div><br><div><div>On Jan 25, 2016, at 12:37 AM, "Alice Slater" <<a href="mailto:alicejslater@gmail.com" target="_blank">alicejslater@gmail.com</a>> wrote:</div><br><blockquote type="cite"><div link="blue" vlink="purple" style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:-webkit-auto;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px" lang="EN-US"><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)">Let’s not forget the 9/11 coverup of Saudi complicity in the destruction of the towers, and Senator Bob Graham’s futile attempt to get the 28 pages of redacted material of the Senate’s 911 Commission’s report onthe destruction of the World Trade towers released to the public.  <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/world/middleeast/florida-ex-senator-pursues-claims-of-saudi-ties-to-sept-11-attacks.html?_r=0" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/world/middleeast/florida-ex-senator-pursues-claims-of-saudi-ties-to-sept-11-attacks.html?_r=0</a><u></u><u></u></span></div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)"> </span></div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"><a name="-439417172__MailEndCompose"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)"> </span></a></div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"><b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif"><span> </span><a href="mailto:syriadiscussion@googlegroups.com" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">syriadiscussion@googlegroups.com</a><span> </span>[mailto:<a href="mailto:syriadiscussion@" target="_blank">syriadiscussion@</a><a href="http://googlegroups.com" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">googlegroups.com</a>]<span> </span><b>On Behalf Of<span> </span></b>David Swanson<br><b>Sent:</b><span> </span>Sunday, January 24, 2016 9:39 PM<br><b>To:</b><span> </span>Karen Aram<br><b>Cc:</b><span> </span>Robert Naiman; Michael Eisenscher; Peace-discuss List;<span> </span><a href="mailto:peace-discuss@anti-war.net" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">peace-discuss@anti-war.net</a>;<span> </span><a href="mailto:syriadiscussion@googlegroups.com" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">syriadiscussion@googlegroups.com</a>; UFPJ Activist List<br><b>Subject:</b><span> </span>Re: [ufpj-activist] [syriadiscussion:4585] U.S. Relies Heavily on Saudi Money to Support Syrian Rebels<u></u><u></u></span></div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"><u></u> <u></u></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">I thought the key revelation was that Bernie's dream solution of having Saudi pony up the $$ for f--ing up the region further had already come true and we didn't even know it. What's left to solve now?<u></u><u></u></div></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"><u></u> <u></u></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">On Sun, Jan 24, 2016 at 9:36 PM, Karen Aram <<a href="mailto:karenaram@hotmail.com" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">karenaram@hotmail.com</a>> wrote:<u></u><u></u></div><div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">It is good that the NYT's publishes articles by Mark Mazzetti, who has taken on CIA abuses for a while now.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As to why the Saudi's give money to the CIA & what and who the US provides with financial assistance, and sells weapons.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">I suggest reading "Legacy of Ashes, History of the CIA" by Tim Weiner, published in 2007-2008. CIA  requiring money from Saudi as well as other nations which include China, and Taiwan, the Jordanian King on our payroll, this has been going on since the CIA gun running in the 70's. See: pages 158,434,445,462,493-94,533. Some of us with AWARE have discussed this issue at length.<u></u><u></u></span></p><div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;text-align:center;background-color:white;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial" align="center"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><hr align="center" size="3" width="98%"></span></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span> </span>ufpj-activist <ufpj-activist-bounces+karenaram=<a href="mailto:hotmail.com@lists.mayfirst.org" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">hotmail.com@lists.mayfirst.org</a>> on behalf of Robert Naiman <<a href="mailto:naiman@justforeignpolicy.org" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">naiman@justforeignpolicy.org</a>><br><b>Sent:</b><span> </span>Sunday, January 24, 2016 5:26 PM<br><b>To:</b><span> </span>Michael Eisenscher<br><b>Cc:</b><span> </span><a href="mailto:syriadiscussion@googlegroups.com" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">syriadiscussion@googlegroups.com</a>; UFPJ Activist List<br><b>Subject:</b><span> </span>Re: [ufpj-activist] [syriadiscussion:4581] U.S. Relies Heavily on Saudi Money to Support Syrian Rebels</span><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><u></u><u></u></span></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> <u></u><u></u></span></div></div></div><div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This is a fascinating and useful piece. It shows how deep the thing is that we're up against. <u></u><u></u></span></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></div></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">[...]<u></u><u></u></span></div></div><div><div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The roots of the relationship run deep. In the late 1970s, the Saudis organized what was known as the “Safari Club” — a coalition of nations including Morocco, Egypt and France — that ran covert operations around Africa at a time when Congress had clipped the C.I.A.’s wings over years of abuses.<u></u><u></u></span></div></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">[...]<u></u><u></u></span></div></div></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></div></div></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">That was under Carter, Mr. "Human rights will be the soul of our foreign policy."<u></u><u></u></span></div></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></div></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On the plus side: the fact that the NYT is reporting this suggests that this may be moving from "taboo" to "something we can possibly talk about."<u></u><u></u></span></div></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></div></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Let's try to turn this into an action item:<u></u><u></u></span></div></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></div></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">While the Obama administration saw this coalition as a selling point in Congress, some, including Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, raised questions about why the C.I.A. needed Saudi money for the operation, according to one former American official. Mr. Wyden declined to be interviewed, but his office released a statement calling for more transparency. “Senior officials have said publicly that the U.S. is trying to build up the battlefield capabilities of the anti-Assad opposition, but they haven’t provided the public with details about how this is being done, which U.S. agencies are involved, or which foreign partners those agencies are working with,” the statement said.</span><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><u></u><u></u></span></div></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></div></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></div></div></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><br clear="all"><u></u><u></u></span></div><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Robert Naiman<br>Policy Director<br>Just Foreign Policy<br><a href="http://www.justforeignpolicy.org" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">www.justforeignpolicy.org</a><u></u><u></u></span></div><div style="margin-bottom:15pt;display:inline-block;overflow:auto"><table style="width:926px;background-color:white;border-style:dotted none;border-top-color:rgb(200,200,200);border-top-width:1pt;border-bottom-color:rgb(200,200,200);border-bottom-width:1pt;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="90%"><tbody><tr><td style="width:187.5pt;border:none;padding:15pt 15pt 15pt 0.75pt" valign="top" width="313"><div style="margin-top:5pt;margin-bottom:5pt;min-height:250px;display:table"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:15pt 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><a href="http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none"><img src="http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/images/Airbnb%20logo.png" height="250" border="0" width="244"></span></a><u></u><u></u></p></div></td><td style="border:none;padding:0in;display:table-cell" valign="top"><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:15pt 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:'Segoe UI Light',sans-serif;color:rgb(0,120,215)"><a href="http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none">Just Foreign Policy</span></a><u></u><u></u></span></p></div><div style="margin-top:7.5pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:15pt 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;line-height:10.5pt"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:'Segoe U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gency/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More articles about the Central Intelligence Agency." style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(50,104,145)">Central Intelligence Agency</span></a> to begin arming <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/syria/index.html?inline=nyt-geo" title="More news and information about Syria." style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(50,104,145)">Syria</span></a>’s embattled rebels in 2013, the spy agency knew it would have a willing partner to help pay for the covert operation. It was the same partner the <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/c/central_intelligence_agency/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More articles about the Central Intelligence Agency." style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(50,104,145)">C.I.A.</span></a> has relied on for decades for money and discretion in far-off conflicts: the Kingdom of <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/saudiarabia/index.html?inline=nyt-geo" title="More news and information about Saudi Arabia." style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(50,104,145)">Saudi Arabia</span></a>.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Since then, the C.I.A. and its Saudi counterpart have maintained an unusual arrangement for the rebel-training mission, which the Americans have code-named Timber Sycamore. Under the deal, current and former administration officials said, the Saudis contribute both weapons and large sums of money, and the C.I.A takes the lead in training the rebels on AK-47 assault rifles and tank-destroying missiles.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">The support for the Syrian rebels is only the latest chapter in the decadeslong relationship between the spy services of <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/saudiarabia/index.html?inline=nyt-geo" title="More news and information about Saudi Arabia." style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(50,104,145)">Saudi Arabia</span></a> and the United States, an alliance that has endured through the Iran-contra scandal, support for the mujahedeen against the Soviets in Afghanistan and proxy fights in Africa. Sometimes, as in <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/syria/index.html?inline=nyt-geo" title="More news and information about Syria." style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(50,104,145)">Syria</span></a>, the two countries have worked in concert. In others, Saudi Arabia has simply written checks underwriting American covert activities.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">The joint arming and training program, which other Middle East nations contribute money to, continues as America’s relations with Saudi Arabia — and the kingdom’s place in the region — are in flux. The old ties of cheap oil and geopolitics that have long bound the countries together have loosened as America’s dependence on foreign oil declines and the Obama administration tiptoes toward a diplomatic rapprochement with Iran.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">And yet the alliance persists, kept afloat on a sea of Saudi money and a recognition of mutual self-interest. In addition to Saudi Arabia’s vast oil reserves and role as the spiritual anchor of the Sunni Muslim world, the long intelligence relationship helps explain why the United States has been reluctant to openly criticize Saudi Arabia for its human rights abuses, its treatment of women and its support for the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/25/world/middleeast/isis-abu-bakr-baghdadi-caliph-wahhabi.html" title="Times article" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(50,104,145)">extreme strain of Islam, Wahhabism</span></a>, that has inspired many of the very terrorist groups the United States is fighting. The Obama administration did not publicly condemn Saudi Arabia’s<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/03/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-executes-47-sheikh-nimr-shiite-cleric.html?ref=todayspaper" title="Times article, Jan. 3, 2016." style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(50,104,145)"> beheading this month</span></a> of a dissident Shiite cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who had challenged the royal family.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Although the Saudis have been public about their help arming rebel groups in Syria, the extent of their partnership with the C.I.A.’s covert action campaign and their direct financial support had not been disclosed. Details were pieced together in interviews with a half-dozen current and former American officials and sources from several Persian Gulf countries. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the program.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">From the moment the C.I.A. operation was started, Saudi money supported it.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">“They understand that they have to have us, and we understand that we have to have them,” said Mike Rogers, the former Republican congressman from Michigan who was chairman of the <a href="http://intelligence.house.gov/" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(50,104,145)">House Intelligence Committee</span></a> when the C.I.A. operation began. Mr. Rogers declined to discuss details of the classified program.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">American officials have not disclosed the amount of the Saudi contribution, which is by far the largest from another nation to the program to arm the rebels against President Bashar al-Assad’s military. But estimates have put the total cost of the arming and training effort at several billion dollars.<u></u><u></u></span></p><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">Photo<u></u><u></u></div><div style="margin-bottom:5.25pt"><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"><img src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/01/24/world/SAUDIS1/SAUDIS1-articleLarge.jpg" border="0"><u></u><u></u></div></div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">King Salman of Saudi Arabia and President Barack Obama in September at the White House.<span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(153,153,153)">CreditGary Cameron/Reuters</span><u></u><u></u></div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">The White House has embraced the covert financing from Saudi Arabia — and from Qatar, Jordan and Turkey — at a time when Mr. Obama has pushed gulf nations to take a greater security role in the region.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Spokesmen for both the C.I.A. and the Saudi Embassy in Washington declined to comment.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">When Mr. Obama signed off on <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/us/politics/pressure-led-to-obamas-decision-on-syrian-arms.html" title="Times article, June 14, 2013." style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(50,104,145)">arming the rebels</span></a> in the spring of 2013, it was partly to try to gain control of the apparent free-for-all in the region. The Qataris and the Saudis had been funneling weapons into Syria for more than a year. The Qataris had even smuggled in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/world/middleeast/sending-missiles-to-syrian-rebels-qatar-muscles-in.html" title="Times article, June 29, 2013." style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(50,104,145)">shipments of Chinese-made FN-6 shoulder-fired missiles</span></a> over the border from Turkey.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">The Saudi efforts were led by the flamboyant Prince Bandar bin Sultan, at the time the intelligence chief, who directed Saudi spies to buy thousands of AK-47s and millions of rounds of ammunition in Eastern Europe for the Syrian rebels. The C.I.A. helped arrange some of the arms purchases for the Saudis, including a large deal in Croatia in 2012.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">By the summer of 2012, a freewheeling feel had taken hold along Turkey’s border with Syria as the gulf nations funneled cash and weapons to rebel groups — even some that American officials were concerned had ties to radical groups like Al Qaeda.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">The C.I.A. was mostly on the sidelines during this period, authorized by the White House under the Timber Sycamore training program to deliver nonlethal aid to the rebels but not weapons. In late 2012, according to two former senior American officials, David H. Petraeus, then the C.I.A. director, delivered a stern lecture to intelligence officials of several gulf nations at a meeting near the Dead Sea in Jordan. He chastised them for sending arms into Syria without coordinating with one another or with C.I.A. officers in Jordan and Turkey.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Months later, Mr. Obama gave his approval for the C.I.A. to begin directly arming and training the rebels from a base in Jordan, amending the Timber Sycamore program to allow lethal assistance. Under the new arrangement, the C.I.A. took the lead in training, while Saudi Arabia’s intelligence agency, the General Intelligence Directorate, provided money and weapons, including TOW anti-tank missiles.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">The Qataris have also helped finance the training and allowed a Qatari base to be used as an additional training location. But American officials said Saudi Arabia was by far the largest contributor to the operation.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">While the Obama administration saw this coalition as a selling point in Congress, some, including Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, raised questions about why the C.I.A. needed Saudi money for the operation, according to one former American official. Mr. Wyden declined to be interviewed, but his office released a statement calling for more transparency. “Senior officials have said publicly that the U.S. is trying to build up the battlefield capabilities of the anti-Assad opposition, but they haven’t provided the public with details about how this is being done, which U.S. agencies are involved, or which foreign partners those agencies are working with,” the statement said.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">When relations among the countries involved in the training program are strained, it often falls to the United States to broker solutions. As the host, Jordan expects regular payments from the Saudis and the Americans. When the Saudis pay late, according to a former senior intelligence official, the Jordanians complain to C.I.A. officials.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">While the Saudis have financed previous C.I.A. missions with no strings attached, the money for Syria comes with expectations, current and former officials said. “They want a seat at the table, and a say in what the agenda of the table is going to be,” said Bruce Riedel, a former C.I.A. analyst and now a senior fellow at the <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(50,104,145)">Brookings Institution</span></a>.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">The C.I.A. training program is separate from another program to arm Syrian rebels, one the Pentagon ran that has since ended. That program was designed to train rebels to combat Islamic State fighters in Syria, unlike the C.I.A.’s program, which focuses on rebel groups fighting the Syrian military.<u></u><u></u></span></p><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">Photo<u></u><u></u></div><div style="margin-bottom:5.25pt"><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"><img src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/01/24/world/SAUDIS2/SAUDIS2-articleLarge.jpg" border="0"><u></u><u></u></div></div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">Prince Bandar bin Sultan, in a 2007 photo, directed Saudi spies to buy thousands of AK-47 assault rifles for Syrian rebels. <span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(153,153,153)">CreditHassan Ammar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images</span><u></u><u></u></div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">While the intelligence alliance is central to the Syria fight and has been important in the war against Al Qaeda, a constant irritant in American-Saudi relations is just how much Saudi citizens continue to support terrorist groups, analysts said.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">“The more that the argument becomes, ‘We need them as a counterterrorism partner,’ the less persuasive it is,” said William McCants, a former State Department counterterrorism adviser and the author of a<a href="http://us.macmillan.com/theisisapocalypse/williammccants" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(50,104,145)">book on the Islamic State</span></a>. “If this is purely a conversation about counterterrorism cooperation, and if the Saudis are a big part of the problem in creating terrorism in the first place, then how persuasive of an argument is it?”<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">In the near term, the alliance remains solid, strengthened by a bond between spy masters. Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the Saudi interior minister who took over the effort to arm the Syrian rebels from Prince Bandar, has known the C.I.A. director, John O. Brennan, from the time Mr. Brennan was the agency’s Riyadh station chief in the 1990s. Former colleagues say the two men remain close, and Prince Mohammed has won friends in Washington with his aggressive moves to dismantle terrorist groups like Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">The job Mr. Brennan once held in Riyadh is, more than the ambassador’s, the true locus of American power in the kingdom. Former diplomats recall that the most important discussions always flowed through the C.I.A. station chief.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Current and former intelligence officials say there is a benefit to this communication channel: The Saudis are far more responsive to American criticism when it is done in private, and this secret channel has done more to steer Saudi behavior toward America’s interests than any public chastising could have.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">The roots of the relationship run deep. In the late 1970s, the Saudis organized what was known as the “Safari Club” — a coalition of nations including Morocco, Egypt and France — that ran covert operations around Africa at a time when Congress had clipped the C.I.A.’s wings over years of abuses.<u></u><u></u></span></p><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/24/world/middleeast/us-relies-heavily-on-saudi-money-to-support-syrian-rebels.html?emc=edit_th_20160124&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=30295955#story-continues-11" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);text-decoration:none">Continue reading the main story</span></a><u></u><u></u></div><h2 style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:18pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:2.25pt"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">The Big Four in Saudi Arabia’s Government<u></u><u></u></span></h2><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:7.5pt"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(102,102,102)">Brief background information on the most powerful figures in the kingdom, and how they stand in the sometimes complicated order of succession.<u></u><u></u></span></p><div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"><img src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/01/23/world/23SAUDI-LISTY-web1/23SAUDI-LISTY-web1-master495.jpg" border="0"><u></u><u></u></div></div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">“And so the kingdom, with these countries, helped in some way, I believe, to keep the world safe at a time when the United States was not able to do that,” Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former head of Saudi intelligence, recalled in a speech at Georgetown University in 2002.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">In the 1980s, the Saudis helped finance C.I.A. operations in Angola, where the United States backed rebels against the Soviet-allied government. While the Saudis were staunchly anticommunist, Riyadh’s primary incentive seemed to be to solidify its C.I.A. ties. “They were buying good will,” recalled one former senior intelligence officer who was involved in the operation.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">In perhaps the most consequential episode, the Saudis helped arm the mujahedeen rebels to drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan. The United States committed hundreds of millions of dollars each year to the mission, and the Saudis matched it, dollar for dollar.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">The money flowed through a C.I.A.-run Swiss bank account. In the book “<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/25/books/wilson-the-warrior.html" title="Times review, May 25, 2003." style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(50,104,145)">Charlie Wilson’s War</span></a>,” the journalist George Crile III describes how the C.I.A. arranged for the account to earn no interest, in keeping with the Islamic ban on usury.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">In 1984, when the Reagan administration sought help with its secret plan to sell arms to Iran to finance the contra rebels in Nicaragua, Robert C. McFarlane, the national security adviser, met with Prince Bandar, who was the Saudi ambassador to Washington at the time. The White House made it clear that the Saudis would “gain a considerable amount of favor” by cooperating, Mr. McFarlane later recalled.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Prince Bandar pledged $1 million per month to help fund the contras, in recognition of the administration’s past support to the Saudis. The contributions continued after Congress cut off funding to the contras. By the end, the Saudis had contributed $32 million, paid through a Cayman Islands bank account.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">When the Iran-contra scandal broke, and questions arose about the Saudi role, the kingdom kept its secrets. Prince Bandar refused to cooperate with the investigation led by <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/21/us/politics/lawrence-e-walsh-iran-contra-prosecutor-dies-at-102.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C&" title="Times obituary, March 20, 2014." style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(50,104,145)">Lawrence E. Walsh</span></a>, the independent counsel.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;max-width:540px;word-spacing:0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">In a letter, the prince declined to testify, explaining that his country’s “confidences and commitments, like our friendship, are given not just for the moment but the long run.”<u></u><u></u></span></p><div><div style="margin-bottom:12pt;max-width:540px"><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><strong><i><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Correction: January 24, 2016 </span></i></strong><i><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)"><u></u><u></u></span></i></div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt;background-color:white;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><i><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;color:rgb(51,51,51)">An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the beheading of a Shiite cleric was public. While the execution was not kept secret, it was not carried out in open view.<u></u><u></u></span></i></p></div></div><div><div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">C .J. Chivers contributed reporting.<u></u><u></u></span></p></div><div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt"><em><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Follow The New York Times’s politics and Washington coverage on</span></em><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/nytpolitics" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><em><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(50,104,145)"> Facebook</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> and</span></em><a href="http://twitter.com/nytpolitics" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><em><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(50,104,145)"> Twitter</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">, and sign up for the</span></em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/politics/" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><em><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(50,104,145)"> First Draft politics newsletter</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">.</span></em><u></u><u></u></span></p></div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(153,153,153)">A version of this article appears in print on January 24, 2016, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Saudis, the C.I.A. and the Arming of Syrian Rebels.<u></u><u></u></span></p></div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"><span style="color:rgb(136,136,136)"> <u></u><u></u></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(136,136,136)">--<span> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(136,136,136)"><br><span>You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "SyriaDiscussion" group.</span><br><span>To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to<span> </span><a href="mailto:syriadiscussion+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">syriadiscussion+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com</a>.</span><br><span>To post to this group, send email to<span> </span><a href="mailto:syriadiscussion@googlegroups.com" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">syriadiscussion@googlegroups.com</a>.</span><br><span>Visit this group at<span> </span><a href="https://groups.google.com/group/syriadiscussion" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">https://groups.google.com/group/syriadiscussion</a>.</span><br><span>For more options, visit<span> </span><a href="https://groups.google.com/d/optout" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">https://groups.google.com/d/optout</a>.</span></span><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><u></u><u></u></span></div></div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;background-color:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></div></div></div></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 12pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"><br>_______________________________________________<br>ufpj-activist mailing list<br><br>Post:<span> </span><a href="mailto:ufpj-activist@lists.mayfirst.org" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">ufpj-activist@lists.mayfirst.org</a><br>List info:<span> </span><a href="https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/ufpj-activist" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/ufpj-activist</a><br><br>To Unsubscribe<br>        Send email to: <span> </span><a href="mailto:ufpj-activist-unsubscribe@lists.mayfirst.org" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">ufpj-activist-unsubscribe@lists.mayfirst.org</a><br>        Or visit:<span> </span><a href="https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/options/ufpj-activist/davidcnswanson%40gmail.com" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/options/ufpj-activist/davidcnswanson%40gmail.com</a><br><br>You are subscribed as:<span> </span><a href="mailto:davidcnswanson@gmail.com" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">davidcnswanson@gmail.com</a><u></u><u></u></p></div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"><br><br clear="all"><br>--<u></u><u></u></div><div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"><b><i>War Is A Lie: Second Edition<span> </span></i>will be published by Just World Books on April 5, 2016. Please buy it online that day.</b><u></u><u></u></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"><b>David Swanson<span> </span></b>is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is director of<span> </span><a href="http://WorldBeyondWar.org" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">WorldBeyondWar.org</a><span> </span>and campaign coordinator for<span> </span><a href="http://RootsAction.org" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">RootsAction.org</a>. Swanson's books include<span> </span><i><a href="http://warisalie.org/" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">War Is A Lie</a></i>. He blogs at<span> </span><a href="http://davidswanson.org/" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">DavidSwanson.org</a><span> </span>and<span> </span><a href="http://warisacrime.org/" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">WarIsACrime.org</a>. He hosts<span> </span><a href="http://davidswanson.org/taxonomy/term/41" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Talk Nation Radio</a>.<b> </b>He is a<span> </span><a href="http://davidswanson.org/node/4682" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">2015 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee</a>.<u></u><u></u></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">Follow him on Twitter:<span> </span><a href="http://twitter.com/davidcnswanson" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">@davidcnswanson</a><span> </span>and<span> </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Swanson/297768373319" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">FaceBook</a>.<span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><u></u><u></u></font></span></p></div></div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">--<span> </span><br>You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "SyriaDiscussion" group.<br>To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to<span> </span><a href="mailto:syriadiscussion+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">syriadiscussion+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com</a>.<br>To post to this group, send email to<span> </span><a href="mailto:syriadiscussion@googlegroups.com" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">syriadiscussion@googlegroups.com</a>.<br>Visit this group at<span> </span><a href="https://groups.google.com/group/syriadiscussion" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">https://groups.google.com/group/syriadiscussion</a>.<br>For more options, visit<span> </span><a href="https://groups.google.com/d/optout" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">https://groups.google.com/d/optout</a>.<u></u><u></u></div></font></span></div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"><br></div>--<span> </span><br>You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "SyriaDiscussion" group.<br>To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to<span> </span><a href="mailto:syriadiscussion+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">syriadiscussion+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com</a>.<br>To post to this group, send email to<span> </span><a href="mailto:syriadiscussion@googlegroups.com" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">syriadiscussion@googlegroups.com</a>.<br>Visit this group at<span> </span><a href="https://groups.google.com/group/syriadiscussion" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">https://groups.google.com/group/syriadiscussion</a>.<br>For more options, visit<span> </span><a href="https://groups.google.com/d/optout" style="color:purple;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">https://groups.google.com/d/optout</a>.<br></font></span></div></blockquote></div><br></div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr">


<p><b><i>War Is A Lie: Second Edition </i>will be published by Just World Books on April 5, 2016. Please buy it online that day.<br></b></p><p><b>David Swanson </b>is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is director of <a href="http://WorldBeyondWar.org" target="_blank">WorldBeyondWar.org</a> and campaign coordinator for <a href="http://RootsAction.org" target="_blank">RootsAction.org</a>. Swanson's books include <i><a href="http://warisalie.org/" target="_blank">War Is A Lie</a></i>. He blogs at <a href="http://davidswanson.org/" target="_blank">DavidSwanson.org</a> and <a href="http://warisacrime.org/" target="_blank">WarIsACrime.org</a>. He hosts <a href="http://davidswanson.org/taxonomy/term/41" target="_blank">Talk Nation Radio</a>.<b> </b>He is a <a href="http://davidswanson.org/node/4682" target="_blank">2015 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee</a>.<br></p><p>Follow him on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/davidcnswanson" target="_blank">@davidcnswanson</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Swanson/297768373319#" target="_blank">FaceBook</a>. <br></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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