Syrian Arab News Agency
Posted: 03:45:37 Thursday, 25 January, 2018
Page 1 of 1
Re: Syrian Arab News Agency
Posted: 05:05:47 Thursday, 25 January, 2018
Supplementary Edition for January 1971
JORDAN: With an eleventh hour deal -boycotted by Syria, Iraq, Algeria, and Morocco- now in arrangement due to Arab League intervention, and in the wake of the death of the much-admired President of Egypt, Gamal Abdul Nasser, a fragile peace has settled over the lands between Umm Qais and Aqaba, despite weeks of violence and the years of tension leading up to such. In the aftermath of this 'Black September' and the losses inflicted on them, the Palestine Liberation Organization has acknowledged Jordanian authority within the country and been forced to make several concessions, although morale and commitment to the cause of the fedayeeen remains strong. Conversely, the Jordanian government, perhaps the primary host of Palestinian refugees, has consented (with varying degrees of willingness between its leadership) to a peace with the Palestine Liberation Organization and its recognition as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, thus nominally rejoining the resistance to Zionism and the entity occupying Palestine.
The news comes amid an upsurge of activity within the Mashriq region of the Arab world, including cavalier threats of American and Israeli intervention, but is considered a concern among the Syrian people not just for their well-defined stance against the oppression of their fellow Arabs, but for the unproven allegations that Palestine Liberation Army forces were somehow bolstered by the Syrian Arab Army under the un-democratic Jadid government. Widely denounced within the nation as a Zionist slur, President al-Assad did not address the accusation, instead electing only to say: "The time has come for all Syrians to follow the lead of the Ba'ath Party and the noble fighters of the Syrian Arab Army in declaring the irrelevance of national lines. The only border that shall remain is one that runs from the river to the sea, and all shout in rage against those who would plunder their land 'Dammi Falastini' - my blood is Palestinian."
Nonetheless, the situation remains volatile. Fatah has been criticized by some factions of the PLO, including the General Command of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, communists within the Palestinian movement, and as-Sa'iqa, but remains vocally and militantly committed to the cause of the Palestinian Arabs. Elements within the Jordanian government, meanwhile, particularly Prime Minister Wasfi al-Tal, have been criticized at home and abroad, with an unnamed mullah only reciting hadith, saying: "Anas ibn Malik reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, 'Support your brother whether he is an oppressor or is being oppressed.'It was said, 'O Messenger of Allah, we help the one being oppressed but how do we help an oppressor?' The Prophet said, 'By seizing his hand.'
When asked whether this was an endorsement of the government's support of the Palestinian fedayeen against Jordan or simply against the occupation of Palestine itself, the mullah remained silent. But within the government, Abdul Halim Khaddam, considered a potential candidate for the position of Vice-President under the new government, was much more obvious in his words. "Paradise will sing the names of the martyrs of Irbid, as surely as all fedayeen of the free Arab people will be remembered. Long live the men of Palestine, who fight like lions for their homes," the foreign minister lauded in a statement to SANA. "Long live the women fighters of the Palestinian Liberation Army, who relive the experience of Zainah at Karbala with every step taken against the Zionist entity! It is they whom Syrians stand for, not the dogs that would abandon their brothers and sisters."
Inside: Syrians mourn Nasser's passing; Damascus professor expounds upon government's 'Corrective Revolution', economic benefits...
FEDAYEEN HOLD FAST, ASSAD: 'MY BLOOD IS PALESTINIAN'
Fatah militants defiantly on parade in Jordan
Fatah militants defiantly on parade in Jordan
JORDAN: With an eleventh hour deal -boycotted by Syria, Iraq, Algeria, and Morocco- now in arrangement due to Arab League intervention, and in the wake of the death of the much-admired President of Egypt, Gamal Abdul Nasser, a fragile peace has settled over the lands between Umm Qais and Aqaba, despite weeks of violence and the years of tension leading up to such. In the aftermath of this 'Black September' and the losses inflicted on them, the Palestine Liberation Organization has acknowledged Jordanian authority within the country and been forced to make several concessions, although morale and commitment to the cause of the fedayeeen remains strong. Conversely, the Jordanian government, perhaps the primary host of Palestinian refugees, has consented (with varying degrees of willingness between its leadership) to a peace with the Palestine Liberation Organization and its recognition as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, thus nominally rejoining the resistance to Zionism and the entity occupying Palestine.
The news comes amid an upsurge of activity within the Mashriq region of the Arab world, including cavalier threats of American and Israeli intervention, but is considered a concern among the Syrian people not just for their well-defined stance against the oppression of their fellow Arabs, but for the unproven allegations that Palestine Liberation Army forces were somehow bolstered by the Syrian Arab Army under the un-democratic Jadid government. Widely denounced within the nation as a Zionist slur, President al-Assad did not address the accusation, instead electing only to say: "The time has come for all Syrians to follow the lead of the Ba'ath Party and the noble fighters of the Syrian Arab Army in declaring the irrelevance of national lines. The only border that shall remain is one that runs from the river to the sea, and all shout in rage against those who would plunder their land 'Dammi Falastini' - my blood is Palestinian."
Nonetheless, the situation remains volatile. Fatah has been criticized by some factions of the PLO, including the General Command of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, communists within the Palestinian movement, and as-Sa'iqa, but remains vocally and militantly committed to the cause of the Palestinian Arabs. Elements within the Jordanian government, meanwhile, particularly Prime Minister Wasfi al-Tal, have been criticized at home and abroad, with an unnamed mullah only reciting hadith, saying: "Anas ibn Malik reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, 'Support your brother whether he is an oppressor or is being oppressed.'It was said, 'O Messenger of Allah, we help the one being oppressed but how do we help an oppressor?' The Prophet said, 'By seizing his hand.'
When asked whether this was an endorsement of the government's support of the Palestinian fedayeen against Jordan or simply against the occupation of Palestine itself, the mullah remained silent. But within the government, Abdul Halim Khaddam, considered a potential candidate for the position of Vice-President under the new government, was much more obvious in his words. "Paradise will sing the names of the martyrs of Irbid, as surely as all fedayeen of the free Arab people will be remembered. Long live the men of Palestine, who fight like lions for their homes," the foreign minister lauded in a statement to SANA. "Long live the women fighters of the Palestinian Liberation Army, who relive the experience of Zainah at Karbala with every step taken against the Zionist entity! It is they whom Syrians stand for, not the dogs that would abandon their brothers and sisters."
Inside: Syrians mourn Nasser's passing; Damascus professor expounds upon government's 'Corrective Revolution', economic benefits...
Re: Syrian Arab News Agency
Posted: 08:31:09 Saturday, 03 February, 2018
Supplementary Edition for July 1971
GRAND MUFTI APPLAUDS GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE
A refugee camp outside Damascus, founded after the Jordanian agreement earlier this year
DAMASCUS: In a move expected by most political analysts, Ahmed Kuftaro has applauded the Syrian government for its support of refugees from Palestine and the illegally-occupied territories of the Jawlān, particularly the recent efforts to welcome in further Palestinians after the Jordanian government reneged on several earlier promises, in a public speech honoring the accomplishments of Ibn Arabi on the 28th of Rabī’ al-Thānī. The Grand Mufti of Syria since the Revolution of 1964 and head of the Naqshbandi Sufi tariqa, Mr. Kuftaro has been a proponent of the government since its inception, but has focused nearly entirely on the maintenance of Sunni institutions within the nation alongside organizing relief efforts for refugees since the Corrective Revolution ousted the corrupt Jadid government, and was uncharacteristically vocal in his support in his speech.
“When we speak of jihad, there are three definitions that most adopt out of convenience, without considering the moral implications thereof,” Kuftaro said in his speech, given after leading attendees in salat al-jum'ah. “We all know of the jihad of the pen and the sword, and most of the faithful need only instruction in attending to inner jihad. But I propose that there is, indeed, a third type of jihad -a secular one, nonetheless ordained by fiqh, in which Muslims might honor their spiritual obligations alongside the disbelievers, for there are moral obligations handed down to Muslims that apply to kafir as well, as God judges those on both merit and faith.”
“And if there is to be no compulsion in Islam,” he continued, in a manner that implied support for rumored government acknowledgment of minority faiths within the nation, “and we must reject those who would insist there was, we must therefore admit that even disbelievers are capable of righteousness. For would God not prevent their freedom if it was not capable of good? There are Arab Christians, followers of the Druze, and even Arab Jews. Surely, then, they must be capable of striving against evil, which is the definition of jihad.”
The Grand Mufti went on for several minutes after this before addressing the Palestinian refugee crisis directly, stating that the true definition of jihad and Islam as a whole is to build a better, rejuvenated society, such as existed under the Caliphate. He congratulated the government on its welcoming of refugees, stating that “above all, a people should not be separated” and that “prohibitions on compulsion also prevent collaboration with the Zionist state”, which “perverts the agreed-upon tenets of the People of the Book”. He was exceptionally critical of the Israeli settlement policy, claiming that no true believer in any but Shaitan would evict the common Arab from their land, as has been the case with nearly every Jewish settlement in Palestine since the inception of the British Mandate.
In the end, the speech -which was attended by thousands, including Prime Minister Abdul Rahman Khleifawi- concluded on a more militant note, the cleric exhorting the crowd, “Ultimately, the only true way to end the plight of refugees is to prevent the cause. And we will see, as the Zionists have proven time and again, that the cause is the displacement of millions with no reason but a perversion of the Jewish faith. If peace will not come naturally, it must come forcefully – and so it should! The ridiculous assertions of the regime in Tel Aviv will twist our words for their accusations of discrimination, but it is not Arabs who have stolen the land of a native people. It is not we who distort the beliefs of a peaceful nation, the greater Arab world, and if the international community will not act to prevent the displacement of these people, we must. Remember the massacres of 1948, and the Satanic occupation of Jawlān, which harms not just Muslims, but the Christians and peaceful Druze who call it home! And resist, my brothers. Resist as we remember that the only peace is one brought by a unified people, not the invaders who would plunder our homes. Let every Zionist who would plant a field on our land be buried on it, and let the only home the settlers know be the air raid shelters!”
No government officials, even those in attendance, were available for comment, although off-the-record remarks included several who insisted on the secular nature of Ba'ath ideology, and one who commented only, “Palestine is Arab! If God is great, Palestine is Arab! Al-Quds is Arab!”
A refugee camp outside Damascus, founded after the Jordanian agreement earlier this year
DAMASCUS: In a move expected by most political analysts, Ahmed Kuftaro has applauded the Syrian government for its support of refugees from Palestine and the illegally-occupied territories of the Jawlān, particularly the recent efforts to welcome in further Palestinians after the Jordanian government reneged on several earlier promises, in a public speech honoring the accomplishments of Ibn Arabi on the 28th of Rabī’ al-Thānī. The Grand Mufti of Syria since the Revolution of 1964 and head of the Naqshbandi Sufi tariqa, Mr. Kuftaro has been a proponent of the government since its inception, but has focused nearly entirely on the maintenance of Sunni institutions within the nation alongside organizing relief efforts for refugees since the Corrective Revolution ousted the corrupt Jadid government, and was uncharacteristically vocal in his support in his speech.
“When we speak of jihad, there are three definitions that most adopt out of convenience, without considering the moral implications thereof,” Kuftaro said in his speech, given after leading attendees in salat al-jum'ah. “We all know of the jihad of the pen and the sword, and most of the faithful need only instruction in attending to inner jihad. But I propose that there is, indeed, a third type of jihad -a secular one, nonetheless ordained by fiqh, in which Muslims might honor their spiritual obligations alongside the disbelievers, for there are moral obligations handed down to Muslims that apply to kafir as well, as God judges those on both merit and faith.”
“And if there is to be no compulsion in Islam,” he continued, in a manner that implied support for rumored government acknowledgment of minority faiths within the nation, “and we must reject those who would insist there was, we must therefore admit that even disbelievers are capable of righteousness. For would God not prevent their freedom if it was not capable of good? There are Arab Christians, followers of the Druze, and even Arab Jews. Surely, then, they must be capable of striving against evil, which is the definition of jihad.”
The Grand Mufti went on for several minutes after this before addressing the Palestinian refugee crisis directly, stating that the true definition of jihad and Islam as a whole is to build a better, rejuvenated society, such as existed under the Caliphate. He congratulated the government on its welcoming of refugees, stating that “above all, a people should not be separated” and that “prohibitions on compulsion also prevent collaboration with the Zionist state”, which “perverts the agreed-upon tenets of the People of the Book”. He was exceptionally critical of the Israeli settlement policy, claiming that no true believer in any but Shaitan would evict the common Arab from their land, as has been the case with nearly every Jewish settlement in Palestine since the inception of the British Mandate.
In the end, the speech -which was attended by thousands, including Prime Minister Abdul Rahman Khleifawi- concluded on a more militant note, the cleric exhorting the crowd, “Ultimately, the only true way to end the plight of refugees is to prevent the cause. And we will see, as the Zionists have proven time and again, that the cause is the displacement of millions with no reason but a perversion of the Jewish faith. If peace will not come naturally, it must come forcefully – and so it should! The ridiculous assertions of the regime in Tel Aviv will twist our words for their accusations of discrimination, but it is not Arabs who have stolen the land of a native people. It is not we who distort the beliefs of a peaceful nation, the greater Arab world, and if the international community will not act to prevent the displacement of these people, we must. Remember the massacres of 1948, and the Satanic occupation of Jawlān, which harms not just Muslims, but the Christians and peaceful Druze who call it home! And resist, my brothers. Resist as we remember that the only peace is one brought by a unified people, not the invaders who would plunder our homes. Let every Zionist who would plant a field on our land be buried on it, and let the only home the settlers know be the air raid shelters!”
No government officials, even those in attendance, were available for comment, although off-the-record remarks included several who insisted on the secular nature of Ba'ath ideology, and one who commented only, “Palestine is Arab! If God is great, Palestine is Arab! Al-Quds is Arab!”
EAST PAKISTAN CRISIS: GOVERNMENT CONDEMNS AND UPHOLDS PAKISTAN AT ONCE
DHAKA: As the United Nations debates the international community's response to the horrors inflicted on the people of East Pakistan, the Syrian government has been in a frenzy to respond to the crisis, claiming solidarity with the Pakistani government and people whilst condemning their brutal response to the crisis in what is now the self-proclaimed state of Bangladesh. The most predominant of these efforts have been the motion by the Assad cabinet to start immediate negotiations on the matter, alongside the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and an unconfirmed Iranian presence, but the legislature has also voted to issue a formal statement calling for an end to hostilities against the East Pakistani people despite the unwillingness of the Indian government to accept anything less than a total Pakistani withdrawal from 'Bangladesh'.
The government, which maintains that it supports the territorial integrity of Pakistan, continues to seek for diplomatic solutions to the crisis. While some analysts condemn this move as ultimately cynical, many others point to the assistance the Pakistani government has rendered the Palestinian cause as reason enough to give the Khan regime a degree of slack, believing that they will eventually see reason and return to the status quo. President Assad himself has announced his intention to visit Pakistan in the near future, presumably accompanying the delegation of military and scientific leadership who will seek education in the nation in the near future, as well as provide friendly support to a nation who has “long supported the Palestinian cause”. While the President was unavailable for comment, a source close to him did mention his irritation at the seeming unwillingness of India to negotiate except under the most stringent condition, as well as the apparently “transparent” attempts of India to justify what might very well amount to a military intervention, in which case, the source alleged, Syria would support attempts in the United Nations to curtail the effectiveness of an invasion or “if need be, sway” the General Assembly and Security Council to support efforts for a peaceful self-determination process in East Pakistan, as opposed to aggression.
Inside: “Militarize the people, popularize the military!” Reforms continue apace, representation promised for religious minorities in the name of “spiritual secularism”; Iraq: Friend or foe? SANA investigates promised Baghdad meeting amid fears of Iraqi treachery; Saudi treaties negotiated, future of pan-Arab movement taking new shape
DHAKA: As the United Nations debates the international community's response to the horrors inflicted on the people of East Pakistan, the Syrian government has been in a frenzy to respond to the crisis, claiming solidarity with the Pakistani government and people whilst condemning their brutal response to the crisis in what is now the self-proclaimed state of Bangladesh. The most predominant of these efforts have been the motion by the Assad cabinet to start immediate negotiations on the matter, alongside the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and an unconfirmed Iranian presence, but the legislature has also voted to issue a formal statement calling for an end to hostilities against the East Pakistani people despite the unwillingness of the Indian government to accept anything less than a total Pakistani withdrawal from 'Bangladesh'.
The government, which maintains that it supports the territorial integrity of Pakistan, continues to seek for diplomatic solutions to the crisis. While some analysts condemn this move as ultimately cynical, many others point to the assistance the Pakistani government has rendered the Palestinian cause as reason enough to give the Khan regime a degree of slack, believing that they will eventually see reason and return to the status quo. President Assad himself has announced his intention to visit Pakistan in the near future, presumably accompanying the delegation of military and scientific leadership who will seek education in the nation in the near future, as well as provide friendly support to a nation who has “long supported the Palestinian cause”. While the President was unavailable for comment, a source close to him did mention his irritation at the seeming unwillingness of India to negotiate except under the most stringent condition, as well as the apparently “transparent” attempts of India to justify what might very well amount to a military intervention, in which case, the source alleged, Syria would support attempts in the United Nations to curtail the effectiveness of an invasion or “if need be, sway” the General Assembly and Security Council to support efforts for a peaceful self-determination process in East Pakistan, as opposed to aggression.
Inside: “Militarize the people, popularize the military!” Reforms continue apace, representation promised for religious minorities in the name of “spiritual secularism”; Iraq: Friend or foe? SANA investigates promised Baghdad meeting amid fears of Iraqi treachery; Saudi treaties negotiated, future of pan-Arab movement taking new shape
Re: Syrian Arab News Agency
Posted: 22:21:15 Saturday, 10 February, 2018
THE LION ROARS: “NEVER AGAIN!”
The leadership of the new Arab Commonwealth meeting with Idi Amin, the new leader of Uganda
The leadership of the new Arab Commonwealth meeting with Idi Amin, the new leader of Uganda
DAMASCUS: Crowds broke into cheers across the capital of Syria, as well as states around the Arab world, as President Hafez al-Assad announced to the international community the formation of the Arab Commonwealth (Ummat al-Arabiya). The Commonwealth, whose charter was officially proposed by Syrian representatives -including the new Defense Minister, war hero Mustafa Tlass- was quickly supported and submitted for a referendum by officials of the Libyan Arab Republic and Egypt, and welcomed by most officials within Syria as a move both towards pan-Arabism and a much-needed revision of the mistakes made by the late President Nasser, Father of All Arabs, promising an association of equals rather than dominance from Cairo.
President al-Assad, for his part, was well-received after the departure of Commonwealth delegates, particularly for his unusually passionate speech, in which he called upon the greater Arab world to remember the example of not just the Prophet Muhammad, but the founders of Judaism and Christianity, and turning the battle cry of the Zionists against them, promising that the division of Arabs by imperialism will happen “Never again!” Accordingly, it is expected that he will send delegates to Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and several other Arab states, both as an assurance of the Commonwealth's support of the Arab League and to bolster trade ties.
The latter decision has come under fire, however, with several hardliners -predominantly Jadidist sympathizers and suspected supporters of the Society of Muslim Brothers- condemning rapprochement with the Saudi monarchists and Iraqi putschists, respectively. One analyst within the Information Department explained the actions as “entirely in line with the ideology of the Arab Ba'ath”, explaining further that “Secretary-General Aflaq”, a term unused within the Syrian Regional Command since 1966, “labeled the ills plaguing Arab society as 'feudalism, sectarianism, regionalism, intellectual reactionism', and that regardless of state ties, the cause of Arab unity must be put first, to develop the liberty and socialism associated within our Renaissance.”
“Critics, therefore,” the analyst went on, “must first look at the influence of their own ideas. The sectarianism of the Arab world is a decadence imposed on us by the West, and the regionalism of the Jadid faction is a tool of ideological dogmatism more suited to the atheistic Marxism of the Eastern bloc. We must approach diplomacy with our brothers as one would their immediate family, for the spiritual-cultural ideology of the Arabs transcends the labels of power politics.”
President al-Assad was again unavailable for further comment, with insider sources claiming he was preparing for his hajj and an eventual statement on the Franco-Zionist coup attempt heroically beaten back by Colonel Gaddafi and the loyal Arabs of Libya. Defense Minister Tlass, characteristically, was much more candid, undoubtedly influenced by the assumption that Syria would be called upon for the first nomination of the Commonwealth's military commission. “Meir, you daughter of every Babylonian whore, we are coming! Your missiles are as gentle rain to the storm of Arab vengeance!” When faced with a raised eyebrow by SANA reporters, he added only, “Al-Quds, we are coming!”
EDITORIAL: THE ARAB PEOPLE'S WAR IS A POLITICAL WAR
By Mustafa Tlass, Syrian Minister of Defense
By Mustafa Tlass, Syrian Minister of Defense
Brothers and sisters, in the treacherous corridors of government and the halls of the international community, you hear the wretched whispers of anti-Arab sentiment and divisiveness. There are ignorant critics of the Corrective Revolutions within Egypt and Syria that suggest a “betrayal” of the Arab world's friendship with the Soviet Union, when the truth is indeed the opposite. The Arabs, who have never been beholden to the Soviet Union -or indeed, any state, for such an idea is fundamentally colonialist and defeatist in attitude- retain their friendship with all state who oppose imperialism, from Africa to Moscow and Beijing. The ideological position of the Ba'ath is one of constant revolution against decadence and foreign attitudes; the split between China and Russia means as little to the Arab people as relations between the imperialist United States and their fallen lackeys in Westminster!
Therefore, when examining the recent arrival of Brother Lin Biao in Damascus, we must speak only of the relations of the greater Arab nation within itself. And here lies the truth of the supposed, and undoubtedly Israeli-sponsored, rumors of a Syrian and Arab “shift” to align itself with Beijing: our only ideology is that of the Ba'ath and Arab liberation, and while we may claim influence from the policies of Chairman Mao, we also claim influence from Marx, Western nationalists, and the Arab-Islamic prophets! But from whence does it come?
It is the genius of Chairman Mao that his praxis lies as much as in the unity of all free peoples and the strength of a revolutionary movement as it does the Marxist dogmatism that we have, openly and comradely, criticized. One does not need a background in the ideologies of the Communists to understand what he is saying here: that there is no difference between the political confrontation of two parties (in his understanding, a “contradiction”, i.e. between two classes in the Marxist sense, but applied in our context, that of the Arabs and foreign aggressors) and open warfare between him. There is struggle always, in a dynamic sense. Vigilance, Chairman Mao says, is the byword of revolutionaries, for this unending conflict can and will often end in bloodshed.“When politics develops to a certain stage beyond which it cannot proceed by the usual means, war breaks out to sweep the obstacles from the way.... When the obstacle is removed and our political aim attained the war will stop. Nevertheless, if the obstacle is not completely swept away, the war will have to continue until the aim is fully accomplished.... It can therefore be said that politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed.” -Mao Zedong, "On Protracted War" (May 1938)
And this, friends, is the ends to which Brother Lin, a hero of the People's Liberation Army, provides the means. The Chinese military, much like our friends in Cuba and the policies of Brother al-Assad, is one in which the people move tirelessly toward a goal, not a separate force dedicated solely to the defense of a state. The “mass line”, also described by Mao but fundamentally a Ba'athist belief, is a perfect example of what must be done within the military forces of Arab states to remain viable. Let the Zionists and Westerners develop their high-tech weapons, and let us follow suit, but do not let us forget that the unity of the people, from all ideologically-pure classes, the Party, and the military apparatus, is the only approach worth applying in the context of the Ba'ath: it is the support of the people which makes the struggle against reaction viable, and it is the militant and revolutionary forces of the Arab world that make it practical!“We should go to the masses and learn from them, synthesize their experience into better, articulated principles and methods, then do propaganda among the masses, and call upon them to put these principles and methods into practice so as to solve their problems and help them achieve liberation and happiness.” -Mao Zedong, “Get Organized!” (November 1943)
So we reach the third, and most predominant, theory on which the supposed Chinese influence in Syria stems from: that of the people's war. While Mao spoke on the conditions within China fundamentally -that of a largely-rural uprising- it is the principle of the Chinese Revolution itself that we must adopt. If we accept the resolution of conflicts by the adoption of a pan-Arab, pan-class line against imperialism, our tactics become obvious. The population of the Arab nation, who already screams with every other breath for their leadership to join the Palestinians in striking the final blow against Tel Aviv, must avoid the decisive battles in which our enemies have become so fond of. As Che Guevara, that vaunted martyr of global liberation said, we must in essence create many Vietnams, until every strike -provided it is in sync with the masses and the revolutionary nature of the Arab people- against imperialism bolsters the resolve of our front and weakens the ability of the American-backed occupational force under the bloodthirsty Meir and their allies in Europe.
Our base areas, in conclusion, must therefore be the entire Arab world, who calls out according to the very nature of their blessed spirit against the dominance of our world by international power blocs. Only with this Arab mass line may we begin the political work, exemplified by the new Commonwealth, that will bolster our popular struggle and the thousand blows that will bring down Zionism, reaction, and the decadence that has long plagued our peoples.
Long live the Arab Renaissance! Long live Chairman Mao, Brother Brezhnev, and any friend of the Arab struggle! Long live Hafez al-Assad and the people of Syria!
Inside: Presidential tour of Africa in the making; condemnation of France reaches fever pitch; Iraqi tensions and the fate of the Ba'ath...