Wednesday, August 27, 2014


News Clips For The Day
Mindfulness training helps Alzheimer's patients and caregivers
By AGATA BLASZCZAK-BOXE CBS NEWS August 27, 2014, 5:40 AM

Alzheimer's disease takes a psychological and physical toll not only on the affected patients, but also on their caregivers. Now, a new study has shown that training in mindfulness -- learning how to focus on the present moment -- may help improve the emotional well-being of people with early-stage dementia due to Alzheimer's and their caregivers.

Both patients and their caregivers in the study who had attended an eight-week mindfulness training program showed improvement in depression scores and sleep quality, as well as their overall quality of life.

Previous research has shown that people who look after family members suffering from neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's may be particularly vulnerable to anxiety, depression, immune dysfunction and other health concerns.

"We saw lower depression scores and improved ratings on sleep quality and quality of life for both groups," study author Ken Paller, professor of psychology at Northwestern University and fellow of the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a statement. "After eight sessions of this training we observed a positive difference in their lives."

"Mindfulness involves attentive awareness with acceptance for events in the present moment," Paller said. "You don't have to be drawn into wishing things were different. Mindfulness training in this way takes advantage of people's abilities rather than focusing on their difficulties."

In the study, researchers examined 37 people, including 29 people who were involved in a patient-caregiver relationship. Most of the patients in the study had been diagnosed with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, or memory loss due to multiple strokes. The caregivers in the study included patients' spouses, adult children and other relatives.

Despite the patients' mild-to-severe memory loss, they were able to participate in the mindfulness training and experience emotion and positive feelings, according to the study co-author Sandra Weintraub, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern and a neuropsychologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

One of the benefits of mindfulness training is that it helps both the patient and the caregiver accept new ways of communicating, the researchers said.

"One of the major difficulties that individuals with dementia and their family members encounter is that there is a need for new ways of communicating due to the memory loss and other changes in thinking and abilities," Weintraub said in a statement. "The practice of mindfulness places both participants in the present and focuses on positive features of the interaction, allowing for a type of connection that may substitute for the more complex ways of communicating in the past."

"It is a good way to address stress," she added.

The new study was published August 25 in the American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias.




“Both patients and their caregivers in the study who had attended an eight-week mindfulness training program showed improvement in depression scores and sleep quality, as well as their overall quality of life.... study author Ken Paller, professor of psychology at Northwestern University and fellow of the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a statement. 'After eight sessions of this training we observed a positive difference in their lives.'.... One of the benefits of mindfulness training is that it helps both the patient and the caregiver accept new ways of communicating, the researchers said. 'One of the major difficulties that individuals with dementia and their family members encounter is that there is a need for new ways of communicating due to the memory loss and other changes in thinking and abilities,' Weintraub said in a statement. 'The practice of mindfulness places both participants in the present and focuses on positive features of the interaction, allowing for a type of connection that may substitute for the more complex ways of communicating in the past.'"

“Attentive awareness with acceptance” is a short cut description of a mental stance that worriers are absolutely not practicing, hence they have stomach ulcers, headaches, anxiety attacks, depression and other unpleasant things. I learned to do it through my favorite 12th Step group, by which I was introduced to Sidha Yoga, which involves sitting crosslegged on the floor in a darkened room letting my mind wander without “trying to think” of any particular subject. In other words, it's not a guided meditation like a religious reading for the day. The result is potentially visions and miscellaneous spontaneous insights, plus a profound sense of relaxation. I payed $100.00 in 1980 or so for a three day training program. It is one of the best things I have ever learned, and more help than a long and tedious “self-help book.” I also invested in a couple of audio tapes , which I used to plug into the tape deck on my car for drives out to see my mother at her nursing home. She had had a heart attack and suffered from moderate, but increasing, dementia.

I am glad to see that dementia patients can do this kind of thinking, as it will undoubtedly give them relief from what must be a very depressing outlook when they look into the future. After about two yeasr my mother thought I was her sister, whom I resembled somewhat, as her mind had retreated into her young adulthood. Some people are grief-stricken when a parent retreats from reality like that, but I did understand it. She still could converse and often laughed, and told old stories I had never heard before from the 1920's and before. It didn't matter if she thought I was someone else, because she was always glad to have company and we could interact happily together. I wasn't there when she died, but my sisters both were, and she died slowly and peacefully. The nursing home called us to come and see her one last time when they thought she probably would die soon, and we got to say “goodbye,” though she had no idea it would be forever. Our relationship had been a flawed one, but I still had love for her, and was glad for the chance to see her before she slipped into a coma.








http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/rotherham-child-abuse-inquiry-over-1400-children-raped-trafficked-by-men-pakistani-heritage-1462666
International Business Times

Rotherham Child Abuse Inquiry: Over 1,400 Children Raped and Trafficked by Men of 'Pakistani-Heritage'
By Lydia Smith
August 26, 2014

More than 1,400 children were sexually exploited in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, over a period of 16 years, a report has concluded.

An independent investigation has found evidence of "appalling" exploitation between 1997 and 2013, involving children as young as 11.

The victims identified in the report include both girls and a small number of boys, and almost all the perpetrators were of Pakistani heritage.

While some of the cases were historic, it was highlighted that the abuse "continues to this day".

The inquiry, carried out by Professor Alexis Jay, examined how Rotherham Council's children's services department dealt with cases involving child exploitation.

She stated there was a "collective failure" by both the police and the local council to stop the abuse. In the summary of her findings, she said the state had failed to protect "some of the most vulnerable children in the borough".

The report found councillors and council officials were told about the abuse in 2004 and 2005 "in the most explicit terms", but it highlighted evidence of a "macho, sexist and bullying culture" within the council, which stopped it providing an effective response.

Jay said there was evidence that senior people in the council and police wanted to "play down" the "ethnic dimensions" of the sexual exploitation, for fear of being labeled as racist.

"It is hard to describe the appalling nature of the abuse that the victims suffered," she said.

"They were raped by multiple perpetrators, trafficked to other towns and cities in the north of England, abducted, beaten and intimidated.

"There were examples of children who had been doused in petrol and threatened with being set alight, threatened with guns, made witness to brutally violent rapes and threatened they would be next if they told anyone.

"Girls as young as 11 were raped by large numbers of male perpetrators."

Jay added that the people of Rotherham "would be appalled" at the findings. Rotherham has an estimated population of around 258,000 and is approximately six miles from Sheffield city centre.

In the 2011 Census, the ethnic minority population of Rotherham was around 8%, the largest of which was the Pakistani and Kashmiri community.

In just over a third of cases, victims were previously known to services in the town because of child protection and neglect.

The report, commissioned by Rotherham Council in 2013, followed the jailing of five men from Rotherham for sexual offences against girls in 2010.

Umar Razaq, 24, Razwan Razaq, 30, Zafran Ramzan, 21, Adil Hussain, 20, and Mohsin Khan, 21, were found guilty of a string of sexually related offences against the girls, one aged 12, two aged 13 and one aged 16.

(Clockwise from top left) Mohsin Khan, 21, Razwan Razaq, 30, Adil Hussain, 20, Zafran Ramzan, 21, and Umar Razaq, 24, from Rotherham were jailed for sexual offences against girls in 2010



Rochdale Police and Council ‘Missed Opportunities’ to Stop Child Exploitation Ring
By Ewan Palmer
September 27, 2012

Social workers, police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) "missed opportunities" to stop the sexual abuse of young girls over several years by a ring of men in Rochdale, according to a new report.

The review was ordered after a group of nine Asian men were jailed in May for running a child exploitation ring in the Greater Manchester town, involving girls as young as 10. One of the men was found guilty of 30 separate child rape charges.

During their trial, Liverpool Crown Court heard how the men plied at least five victims with drink and drugs and "passed them around for sex". One victim gave evidence of being raped by two men while being "so drunk she was vomiting over the side of the bed".

The report into the ring's activities, compiled by the Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Children Board (RBSCB) said there were “clear deficiencies” in the way child social workers responded to the needs of the victims.

Its findings, based on detailed analysis of the authorities' actions between 2007 and 2012, also revealed that some of the girls who were sexually abused did not have their cases fully examined as those in authority believed the girls were "making their own choices".

One particular victim, Suzie, first complained to the CPS in 2008, but no one was charged because she was deemed an "unreliable witness".

The authors concluded that "while some organisations were consistently supportive in their response, overall child welfare organisations missed opportunities to provide a comprehensive, co-ordinated and timely response and, in addition, the criminal justice system missed opportunities to bring the perpetrators to justice."

They also noted that "activity to disrupt alleged offenders was developing on the ground, but this was not always followed through at a more senior level. The early investigations of crimes and the prosecution of alleged offenders were flawed.

"Although, between 2009 and February 2012, some improvements had been consolidated, the review acknowledges there were missed opportunities, over the last five years, to safeguard children and young people who have been affected by sexual exploitation."

'Culture of blaming the victims'

Labour MP for Rochdale Simon Danczuk said of the report: "It doesn't explain why the social workers, why social services had a culture of blaming the victims for the abuse that they received at the hands of these perpetrators."

Lynne Jones, chair of the Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Children Board, said the council had "responded" to the review and "improvements" have already been put in place.

Jones added: "I believe organizations are working better together, sharing information to ensure children are protected and that perpetrators of these crimes are prosecuted."

The Report into the Rochdale ring comes just days after The Times published a report which alleges that agencies in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, were aware of extensive abuse of white girls by some Asian men in the area for which no-one has been prosecuted.




More than 1,400 children were sexually exploited in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, over a period of 16 years, a report has concluded.... The victims identified in the report include both girls and a small number of boys, and almost all the perpetrators were of Pakistani heritage. While some of the cases were historic, it was highlighted that the abuse 'continues to this day'. The inquiry, carried out by Professor Alexis Jay, examined how Rotherham Council's children's services department dealt with cases involving child exploitation. She stated there was a 'collective failure' by both the police and the local council to stop the abuse. In the summary of her findings, she said the state had failed to protect 'some of the most vulnerable children in the borough'. … it highlighted evidence of a "macho, sexist and bullying culture" within the council, which stopped it providing an effective response.... Jay said there was evidence that senior people in the council and police wanted to "play down" the "ethnic dimensions" of the sexual exploitation, for fear of being labeled as racist.

Charges of authorities blaming the victims, saying some of the girls “made their own choices,” and failed to bring the perpetrators to justice, even though explicit descriptions of what was going on had been pointed out to them for years – going back to 2005. It almost looks as though perhaps the Pakistanis were wealthy enough to pay the authorities off to avoid prosecution. The other more horrible thing that came to my mind was that police officers or others in high positions had shared in the sexual exploitation. The description of the council as having a “macho, sexist and bullying culture” is given as a potential cause of the failure to prosecute the criminals.

In many places in the US, especially the South, government offices and especially police forces could be described in these terms, with very few if any women on the staff, and to this day I sometimes hear a description of a 12 year old as “mature for her years,” when she is the victim of sexual exploitation or even rape. It makes me wonder how many men have engaged in twisted, violent sex in their lives, and are actually in sympathy with a rapist.

It is also true in general that sexual crimes are simply not punished as severely as they should be, and courts give just a few years in prison as their sentence. Sexual predators do not “reform” in prison. As soon as they are released they will be offending again in almost all cases. To many men, sex crimes are not considered a really “evil” crime, but a personal excess of the moment – understandable, in other words. The number of men who are deeply immersed in pornographic sites on the Internet is shockingly high, and when the police do a sting operation they often have people of high responsibility in the community showing up to have sex with a teenage girl. They are surprised to find themselves under arrest immediately. There used to be a television show that filmed the encounters. The men seemed chagrined, but not really afraid or repentant.




Are Americans Like Douglas McAuthur McCain a Threat to America? – NBC
BY M. ALEX JOHNSON
August 27th 2014

The startling news that an American, Douglas McAuthur McCain, died fighting with extremist Islamist rebels in Syria again raises concerns that the Obama administration has sounded for months — that Americans could come back home hardened by conflict in Iraq and Syria and trained to launch terrorist attacks on their own homeland.

U.S. officials said in response to NBC News' exclusive report about McCain that "dozens" of Americans could be fighting at any one time with various extremist groups in the region — including the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS. With fear growing over the turmoil in the Middle East, U.S. intelligence and foreign policy agencies are racing to understand these radicalized Westerners and the potential threats they may pose abroad and at home.

Who's Joining the Fighters?

More than 10,000 foreign fighters are believed to be fighting with ISIS alone — nearly doubling the strength of the group, which is believed to have only 8,000 to 10,000 native fighters of its own, said James Gelvin, a professor of Middle East history at the University of California-Los Angeles and author of "The Arab Uprisings: What Everyone Needs to Know."

Opinions vary widely, but the broad consensus is that about 3,000 of those foreigners are from the West — most from Europe, particularly Britain, but also some from the U.S., Obama administration officials told NBC News. By and large, they're "people who are converts to Islam who have no prior experience to the religion [or] the culture, just like any other American," said NBC News terrorism analyst Evan Kohlmann of Flashpoint Global Partners, which tracks terrorist groups around the world.

The first wave of foreign fighters was attracted specifically to the battle to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad, Raffaello Pantucci, a senior research fellow for the London-based Royal United Services Institute, told NBC News. But at some point, that changed, and "the narrative right now is, 'I'm going to help build this Islamic State,'" Pantucci said last week.

They're people like Donald Ray Morgan, 44, of North Carolina,whom the FBI arrested on firearms charges this month. In June, he posted a photo to Twitter of him swearing an oath to the head of ISIS: "Mujahid pledging allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Islamic State commanding good and forbidding evil."

And they're people like Shannon Maureen Conley, a 19-year-old Muslim convert from Arvada, Colorado, who pleaded guilty to providing assistance to a foreign terrorist organization. According to documents in U.S. District Court in Denver (PDF), Conley told an "active member" of ISIS that she was committed to "violent jihad against non-believers" and planned to travel to Syria to get special training to help ISIS.

Why Are They Going?

Because ISIS is "the biggest game in town," a senior U.S. intelligence official told NBC News.

"They've been successful," mainly because the group hasn't faced major opposition, Gelvin said Tuesday. "They have been able to take territory. ... These people are on the ground, and they're winning."

ISIS is known to have been specifically targeting Americans and other Westerners as far back as June, when it published a propaganda video featuring recruiters speaking fluent English.

"These are very young men, and it seems pretty cool when you see your buddies standing on tanks with Kalashnikovs. You want to be part of that," said Shiraz Maher, a senior research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization at Kings College London.

What Do They Hope to Achieve?

"They want to expand the caliphate," Gelvin said Tuesday, although he doesn't believe that's really an achievable goal.

ISIS is led by a particularly hard-line group of believers called Takfiri, many of whom "consider it their right to decide who is a real Muslim," Gelvin said. That mindset is behind policies like medieval-tinged punishments for dissenters and the forced veiling of women that have made ISIS "extremely unpopular as they try to spread their own particular brand of Islam" in Syria, he said.

"The last caliphate lasted for 700 years," he said "This caliphate is not going to last all that long."

Are They a Threat in America?

The U.S. government and some Middle East experts certainly think so. As long ago as January, the FBI was devoting significant resources to the threat that Americans could go to Iraq or Syria, learn the latest terrorist techniques and return home to the U.S.,Director James Comey said at the time.

"It's easy to get in and get out," Comey told reporters. "It's a challenge to identify people with bad intent and keep track of them, but we're spending an enormous amount of time on it."

"ISIS is a direct threat to the United States of America," Rep. Peter King, R-New York, said this month on NBC's "Meet the Press." "ISIS has hundreds of foreign fighters with them available to come to the United States to attack us. That's the reality."

On the same broadcast, NBC News counterterrorism analyst Michael Leiter, former director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center in the administrations of both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama, agreed that it was reasonable to be concerned that "an American who goes to either Syria and Iraq, trains, gets experiences on weapons and comes back to the United States" could set off an improvised explosive device in a major U.S. City.

"That is a real and concrete threat," he said.

But while Gelvin, the Middle East expert at UCLA, said the threat of terrorist-trained Americans' returning home is a serious concern — "of course it is," he said — it's more likely that any Americans who survive their battles in Iraq and Syria will return home discouraged and disillusioned, not dangerous.

Speaking of ISIS leaders, he said: "Once you get to know them, you get to hate them. ... The idea of setting up sleeper cells in the United States that are going to be of any real significance is a fantasy."




“Who's Joining the Fighters? More than 10,000 foreign fighters are believed to be fighting with ISIS alone — nearly doubling the strength of the group, which is believed to have only 8,000 to 10,000 native fighters of its own.... By and large, they're "people who are converts to Islam who have no prior experience to the religion [or] the culture... Why are they going? Because ISIS is 'the biggest game in town' a senior U.S. intelligence official told NBC News.... 'These are very young men, and it seems pretty cool when you see your buddies standing on tanks with Kalashnikovs. You want to be part of that,' said Shiraz Maher....”

There are two things going on, it seems, the search for excitement and the supportive feeling of joining a close-knit if repressive religious cult. This has been going on since the '70's – a period when a similar type of young person wanted to have a “revolution” in the US and formed organizations like the Weather Underground. It feels warm and cozy like you have friends, and a path to higher things, as it is in its way, very idealistic. When real crimes are committed in the name of a great cause, the converts are sometimes disillusioned, and other times they become hardened. Many young people simply outgrew their participation in “the revolution” and even became some form of much more conservative individual– “finding God” or getting a job and dropping “the movement.”

In this case, before they outgrow ISIS, they can do a great deal of damage. If they try to withdraw from the group they may be killed. Gelvin, the Middle Eastern expert, said, speaking of ISIS leaders, “'Once you get to know them, you get to hate them. ... The idea of setting up sleeper cells in the United States that are going to be of any real significance is a fantasy.'” He, at least, thinks there's no reason to worry overmuch about attacks from ISIS here in the US. Personally, I don't feel so sure. The number of American youths who have converted to Islam before they became radicalized surprises me. It would hold no appeal for me. Buddhism, yes, for the meditation and the philosophy, but not a whole new set of ancient stories and an alien sounding God called Allah. If you can't believe in your own religion, why swallow another whole set of equally unlikely sounding beliefs from another culture?







US Coast Guard Fires at Iranian Boat in Gulf
By Adam Schreck AP
August 27, 2014

A U.S. Coast Guard vessel fired in self-defense on an Iranian boat in the Persian Gulf, the Navy said Wednesday, an encounter that could exacerbate tensions between the two countries as they work to hammer out a lasting deal over Iran's nuclear program.

Cmdr. Kevin Stephens, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said personnel on a small boat dispatched from the U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat Monomoy fired a single shot when it saw crew on a nearby Iranian dhow training one of its two .50-caliber machine guns on them and preparing to fire.

"This action by the dhow's crew demonstrated hostile intent which resulted in the defensive fire by the Coast Guardsmen," he said.

Dhows are traditional wooden boats common to the region that are typically used for trade.

No Americans were wounded in the encounter, which happened in international waters around 11:30 a.m. local time Tuesday, Stephens said.

The Monomoy was operating on "a routine maritime security operation" when it contacted the dhow's bridge. After initial contact, the Iranian vessel stopped communicating and the Coast Guard ship deployed small boat to investigate, Stephens said.

It was not clear if the shot hit the Iranian vessel or if anyone onboard was injured. Iranian officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

American, Iranian and other countries' military vessels routinely patrol the Gulf, a key route for international oil shipments, usually without incident.

Speed boats from Iran's Revolutionary Guard, however, have passed close to U.S. ships in incidents that have raised alarm in Washington.

In early 2008, then-President George W. Bush accused Iran of a "provocative act" after five small Iranian craft buzzed around the destroyer USS Hopper.

Tuesday's encounter happened as the U.S. and other world powers negotiate with Iran over its controversial nuclear program, and just days after Iran claimed it shot down a purported Israeli drone shot down near a nuclear facility. Israeli officials have not commented on the incident.

The West and Israel believe the program is aimed at building a nuclear weapon. Iran denies the charge, saying its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes only, such as power generation and medical research.




This incident was pretty harmless, but it is a little scary. Iranian boats have been aggressive toward US ships before, however, and we still aren't at war with each other. I would be happier if we simply accepted Iran's claim that they aren't trying to build a nuclear bomb, and form a relationship based in mutually respect as we do with other countries. Iran is at least a stable government, unlike Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and could be a reasonable ally in the Middle East. They are interested in fighting ISIS, which makes them something like a friend to us, and since President Rouhani has come to power, he seems like an intelligent and more reasonable man than any of the others in recent years. Of course, Israel doesn't trust Iran and we are closely linked with Israel. I do hope this incident at sea is not a sign of worse relations to come. Hopefully it will be soon forgotten.





Border Patrol Revamps Practices to Settle Lawsuit – ABC
By Julie Watson AP
August 27, 2014

U.S. immigration authorities must revamp their practices to ensure Mexicans accused of living in the country illegally are properly informed of their right to a hearing before an immigration judge, according to a lawsuit settlement made public Wednesday.

The federal lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Los Angeles on behalf of nine Mexican nationals and three organizations in June 2013. It alleges U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Southern California routinely have told Mexican immigrants they could face months in jail while their cases are decided and falsely informed them that they can easily arrange legal status once they're back in Mexico.

Immigrations authorities would instead offer voluntary departures, which prohibit immigrants from re-entering the U.S. for up to 10 years. The voluntary departures can be offered to immigrants without criminal records, sparing them the possibility of stiffer penalties under formal deportation orders.

ICE and CBP said in a statement that officials use voluntary departures as an option for those who asked to be returned home in lieu of formal removal proceedings, "but in no case is coercion or deception tolerated."

The agencies said they have agreed to supplement their existing procedures to ensure foreign nationals fully understand the potential consequences of returning voluntarily to Mexico.

The ACLU said Wednesday that all the plaintiffs in the case would have been able to present viable cases before the court to remain in the United States had they been properly informed of their right to a hearing.

"If the agencies implement the agreement fully, never again should families be driven apart based on immigration enforcement practices that rely upon misinformation, deception, and coercion," said Sean Riordan, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties.

The settlement also includes class provisions — pending court approval — that would allow Mexicans who were steered toward signing their own expulsion orders and not properly told of their right to an immigration hearing during the last several years to seek to be reunited with their families in the United States.

The settlement will require immigration agencies to give detailed written and oral information about their rights and to establish an information hotline about the options. It would prohibit officials from "pre-checking" the box selecting voluntary departure on forms given to immigrants and would require agencies to allow people to use a phone, provide them with a list of legal service provides and allow them two hours to reach someone before making a decision.




“U.S. immigration authorities must revamp their practices to ensure Mexicans accused of living in the country illegally are properly informed of their right to a hearing before an immigration judge, according to a lawsuit settlement made public Wednesday.... routinely have told Mexican immigrants they could face months in jail while their cases are decided and falsely informed them that they can easily arrange legal status once they're back in Mexico.... The agencies said they have agreed to supplement their existing procedures to ensure foreign nationals fully understand the potential consequences of returning voluntarily to Mexico.... The settlement will require immigration agencies to give detailed written and oral information about their rights and to establish an information hotline about the options. It would prohibit officials from "pre-checking" the box selecting voluntary departure on forms given to immigrants and would require agencies to allow people to use a phone, provide them with a list of legal service provides and allow them two hours to reach someone before making a decision.”

Pre-checking a form before giving it to the would be immigrant is playing very dirty. Not telling them their rights is, too. Of course, ideally they should all go through channels and get permission ahead of coming here at all, with a work permit and a visa, and then make a formal application for citizenship. The whole situation of people just showing up on the border is a real problem. They will probably be deported, but at least now they will be told what few rights they do have rather than being forced into an uniformed waiver of their desire to join their families here.





Syrian Rebels Seize Border Crossing With Israel – ABC
By Ryan Lucas AP
August 27, 2014

Syrian rebels, including fighters from an al-Qaida-linked group, seized control of a frontier crossing with Israel in the Golan Heights on Wednesday after heavy clashes with President Bashar Assad's forces, activists and rebels said.

The capture of the post along Syria's de facto border in the Golan held more symbolic value than strategic, but rebels said it would provide relief to nearby villages that were under siege by government troops.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an array of rebel fighters, including from the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and the Western-backed Free Syrian Army, took the crossing after heavy fighting that left at least 20 Syrian soldiers and an unknown number of rebels dead.

It said clashes also raged in the towns of Jaba, Tal Kroum and Rawadi in Quneitra province.

Gen. Ibrahim Jbawi, the spokesman for the Free Syrian Army's southern front, confirmed the rebel gains, as did the Local Coordination Committees activist group.

Jbawi said Syrian forces still control another crossing nearby, typically used to search products entering from the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights into Syria — usually, crates of apples.

Kenan Mohammed, a spokesman for the Western-backed Syrian opposition, said rebels aimed to push Assad's troops from all of Quneitra. He also said opposition forces posed no threat to Israel.

"Our aim isn't Israel right now, and we in the FSA haven't targeted Israeli lands," he said, adding that the rebels' focus is on Assad and the extremist Islamic State group. "The matter of Israel — it's not for now, and it's more political."

He denied there had been any collusion with Israel about seizing the border crossing.
The fighting on the Syrian side of the Golan frontier spilled over into Israel, with errant fire wounding an army officer, Israel's military said. It did not immediately comment on the crossing takeover.

From the Israeli side of the de facto border, large clouds of smoke could be seen, as gunfire and explosions sounded in the distance. Israeli soldiers observed the fighting.

Israel has avoided taking sides in the war, but has responded when the violence has spilled across the border. In its response, the military said it targeted two Syrian army positions and "hits were confirmed." It gave no further details.

Israel says it holds the Syrian government responsible for any violence that emanates from its territory.

Israel captured the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau overlooking northern Israel, from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel's annexation of the area has never been recognized internationally.

Associated Press writer Diaa Hadid in Beirut contributed to this report.



"Syrian rebels seized control of a frontier crossing with Israel in the Golan Heights.... The capture of the post along Syria's de facto border in the Golan held more symbolic value than strategic, but rebels said it would provide relief to nearby villages that were under siege by government troops.... Kenan Mohammed, a spokesman for the Western-backed Syrian opposition, said rebels aimed to push Assad's troops from all of Quneitra. He also said opposition forces posed no threat to Israel."

This is an illustration of how complicated the Middle East relationships are, and how fighting surrounds Israel on all sides. In this case, Israel and Syria are not trying to fight each other, but according to the article Israel fired back against two Syrian army positions, saying that it considers Syria to be responsible whenever the fighting spills over onto the Golan Heights in this manner. For the most part Israel is simply watching the fighting as it occurs. Syria, meanwhile, said that its' differences with Israel are mainly "political" rather than warlike and “not for now.” So, no problem, apparently!