Saudi Arabia sends inmates to fight in Syria

[Smartmarzipan]

Report: Saudis sent death-row inmates to fight Syria
Secret memo says more than 1,200 prisoners fought Assad regime to avoid beheading.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/worl ... s/1852629/

Saudi Arabia has sent death-row inmates from several nations to fight against the Syrian government in exchange for commuting their sentences, the Assyrian International News Agency reports.

Citing what it calls a "top secret memo" in April from the Ministry of Interior, AINA says the Saudi offered 1,239 inmates a pardon and a monthly stipend for their families, which were were allowed to stay in the Sunni Arab kingdom. Syrian President Bashar Assad is an Alawite, a minority Shiite sect.

According to an English translation of the memo, besides Saudis, the prisoners included Afghans, Egyptians, Iraqis, Jordanians, Kuwaitis, Pakistanis, Palestinians, Somalis, Sudanese, Syrians and Yemenis. All faced "execution by sword" for murder, rape or drug smuggling.

Russia, which has backed Assad, objected to the bargain and allegedly threatened to bring the issue to the United Nations, said an unidentified former Iraqi member of Parliament who confirmed the memo's authenticity, says AINA, an independent outlet.

The report mentions that most of the 23 Iraqi prisoners returned home, as did an unspecified number of Yemenis. But AINA does not indicate the fates of the remaining inmates or how many may have been killed, wounded or captured.

Here is the memo:
http://www.aina.org/news/20130120160624.htm

[spoil:1fpbc1yj]This is a document issued by

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Ministry of Interior
Follow-up   LOGO    Number: 71466/J/H
Attachments:
Date: 25/5/1433 H. [April /17/2012 AD]

(Top Secret)   

His Excellency General Suood Al-Thnayyan
The Classified [Secret] Office at the Ministry of Interior    May Allah protect him

Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings

In reference to the Royal Court telegram No. 112, dated on 04/19/1433 H [March 3, 2012], referring to those held in the Kingdom jails accused with crimes to which Islamic Sharia law of execution by sword [decapitation] applies, we inform you that we are in dialogue with the accused criminals who have been convicted with smuggling drugs, murder, rape, from the following nationalities: 110 Yemenis, 21 Palestinians, 212 Saudis, 96 Sudanese, 254 Syrians, 82 Jordanians, 68 Somalis, 32 Afghanis, 94 Egyptians, 203 Pakistanis, 23 Iraqis, and 44 Kuwaitis.

We have reached an agreement with them that they will be exempted from the death sentence and given a monthly salary to their families and loved ones, who will be prevented from traveling outside Saudi Arabia in return for rehabilitation of the accused and their training in order to send them to Jihad in Syria.

Please accept my greetings.

[Signed]
Director of follow up in Ministry of Interior
Abdullah bin Ali al-Rmezan

CC:
Authority of enforcement of the common good and prevention of forbidden
Copy for general intelligence[/spoil:1fpbc1yj]

[Smartmarzipan]

Everyone is getting involved and using Syria like a chess piece.

6 Major Players Who Turned the Syrian Crisis Into a Devastating Proxy War Nightmare
What started out as a civil uprising against Bashar al-Assad's regime has turned into a regional proxy war that is engulfing the Middle East.

Outside powers also got involved quickly. So what started out as a civil uprising against years of repression, poverty and government corruption turned into a regional proxy war that is now engulfing the entire Middle East, with the nonviolent section of the opposition withering under the weight of civil war. Refugees have poured into Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Jordan, and Lebanon has itself seen fighting linked to the Syrian crisis.

Now, the United States' threats to rain cruise missiles down on Damascus threatens to ignite more turmoil in the region. Here's a guide to the external players playing a role in and fueling the Syrian crisis, which has claimed the lives of over 100,000 people and displaced a third of the population.

1. United States

The looming military strikes on Syria by the U.S. would be the most forceful intervention yet from the world's superpower. But even without the strikes, the U.S. has long played an outside role during the Syrian civil war.

2. Iran

The Obama administration's pitch to lawmakers to convince them bombing Syria is a good idea centers on the alleged threat from Iran. They have been telling Congress it's important to send a message to Iran about its own nuclear energy program. And hawkish U.S. politicians have long framed the Syrian crisis as an opportunity to strike a blow at Iran.

3. Hezbollah

4. Israel

Israel and Syria have a complicated relationship. Officially, they are enemies. Syria was one of a handful of Arab states that fought Israel in a number of wars, most notably the 1967 war, when Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria and occupied it ever since.

5. Russia

While the U.S. has only tepidly backed the overthrow of Assad, Russia has decisively backed the Assad regime. Russia has vetoed every UN Security Council attempt to take action against the Assad regime. It is also steadfastly opposed to any military action against Assad, and retains close political and intelligence links to the Syrian regime.

6. Saudi Arabia

This theocratic monarchy and close U.S. ally has been a crucial node of opposition to the Arab Spring in many countries. But in Syria, Saudi Arabia would like nothing more than to see the Assad regime fall in order to install a Sunni Arab regime friendly to Saudi interests. And they're forcefully backing the prospect of U.S. military action.

It's going to get messier, I believe.

[The Whit]

If the U.S. strike Syria I think it will be the spark in the powder room.

[Shiranu]

Still a more humane punishment than North Korea's...

[Brian37]

Took a page out of the movie "The Dirty Dozen".

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Geopoliticking aside it's not a bad deal for the inmates. If they survive they don't die..duh..
I'd take them up on it.
The politicking is nothing new. The house of Saud has played this game a long time and uses the oil as the lever. The US knows it, the Russians know it and every politician and diplomat since FDR has known it.
Saudi Arabia has the oil and nobody get in the way of the faucet. That is one of our modern day brutal truths. Like it or not life is cheaper on this planet than ever before.

[Rejak]

Yet another reason the US should not attack / interfere in Syria. Then there is the fact if Assad falls at least some his chemical weapons will probably fall into the hands of al qaeda. What began as a protest to change relatively secular dictatorship has been turned into a religious base civil ware/ jihad.  You can thank our "friends " the saudis for that.
It would d  seem that Obama is continuing with W.Bushes neocon  policy.  Seeing as how they have worked so well in Somalia, Libya ,Irac  ,Afganistan.  :roll:
Embedded in the following link is a short video of an interview with general Westly Clark which may be somewhat illuminating to some of us. //http://www.salon.com/2011/11/26/wes_clark_and_the_neocon_dream/

[josephpalazzo]

Muslims fighting muslims, whowouldhavethought... #-o

[Rejak]

We don't negotiate with terrorists we finance and arm them!
//http://washingtonexaminer.com/obama-waives-ban-on-arming-terrorists-to-allow-aid-to-syrian-opposition/article/2535885?custom_click=rss
gee what could possibly go wrong?

[aitm]

I wonder who would hollar the loudest if the US did something like that.

[Shiranu]

I wonder who would hollar the loudest if the US did something like that.

Depends, is the president Democrat or Republican?