US: Obama Officially Recognizes Syrian Rebels, They’re ‘Reflective And Representative Enough Of The Syrian Population’

If the UN can reward Islamic terrorism by making the Palestinians an observer state, then why can’t Obama? The West once again willingly lies in bed with Islamic fundamentalism, and once again Obama has done nothing but embolden, encourage and empower one of the greatest destroyers of peace that the world has ever known. If he was perfectly satisfied with the “destroy-Western-civilization-from-within” Muslim Brotherhood takeover of Egypt, then why not also be perfectly satisfied with anti-American jihadists in Syria who would love nothing more than to see the complete downfall of freedom as we know it? This American President is either a devastatingly sad example of naivete in the world today, or one of the greatest political deceptions of our modern era …

By DEVIN DWYER ABC News – “In a diplomatic shift, President Obama said today his administration now formally recognizes the newly-formed, leading coalition of Syrian rebels who are fighting to topple Syria’s embattled President Bashar Assad.

‘We’ve made a decision that the Syrian Opposition Coalition is now inclusive enough, is reflective and representative enough of the Syrian population that we consider them the legitimate representative of the Syrian people in opposition to the Assad regime,’ Obama said.

The announcement, made during an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Barbara Walters, grants new legitimacy to the rebel group and marks a new phase in U.S. efforts to isolate the Assad regime.

‘It’s a big step,’ Obama said of the decision. The United States follows Britain and the European Union, both of which last month recognized the Syrian opposition group.

The diplomatic designation will allow the United States to more closely support rebel efforts, including the organization of a future post-Assad government, administration officials said.

‘Obviously, with that recognition comes responsibilities,’ Obama said of the young coalition. ‘To make sure that they organize themselves effectively, that they are representative of all the parties, [and] that they commit themselves to a political transition that respects women’s rights and minority rights.'” Read more.

Flashback: Syria: Islamist Rebel Commander Injects Syringe Filled With Diesel Fuel Into Christian, ‘Die Slowly, Christian Dog’ – “Who are these snipers? Are they locals? This question seems crucial. Everyone in the region is either for or against Bashir al-Assad’s regime, it’s a bipolar world: Christians and Shia mostly for, Sunnis mostly against… ‘This is what they are like. One of the killers, the commander of the ‘Bara’ brigade, was found with a syringe full of diesel. He injected it into a man, a Christian, saying, ‘Die slowly, you Christian dog’.’” Read more.

Flashback: Syrian Rebels: After Assad ‘We Have A Big Fight Against The Jews Ahead Of Us’ – “The results of Saudi Arabia’s tireless efforts were on display in Al-Midan, a suburb in southern Damascus where I recently interviewed rebel fighters. Mateen, a fighter who claimed to have traveled from Afghanistan, shared his ideas for Syria’s future after ridding it of the Assad dynasty. ‘We have to build a society of respect and brotherhood in accordance with the Prophet’s commandments … we have a big fight against the Jews ahead of us. We will take that up, God willing.’” Read more.

Flashback: Syrian Islamist Rebels To Christians: Prepare To Die If You Refuse To Convert To Islam Or Pay The ‘Jizyah’ – “This led to a question about the future of Syria’s minorities such as the Christians. Ahmed, Basah, and Hamid Hassan all agreed – Christians could only live there if they either converted, or paid the ‘Jizyah’ – a special tax levied on non-Muslims in previous centuries in the Middle East. If not said Bahar, they could be killed. When asked why, the answer was, to them, quite simple – because the Prophet Mohammed said so.” Read more.

Germany: Police Arrest Muslim Man Who Left Suspected Bomb At Bonn Train Station

The Local – “German security officials on Tuesday said one man had been arrested amid a police investigation into a Salafist terrorist connection to a suspected explosive device found at the Bonn train station.

Bild newspaper reported that it had inside information that school children had identified two Salafists known as terror suspects as those who had left the blue sports bag at platform one of the station on Monday.

And Focus magazine’s website said on Tuesday afternoon that one man had been arrested while making his way to his lawyer in Bonn. Security sources told the DPA newswire they expected the federal prosecutor and the federal criminal police to take over the case.

The police have not commented on either report, saying only that they were keeping a completely open mind as to who might have been responsible.

Bonn’s main train station was closed for much of Monday in the bomb scare, which saw explosives experts use a water cannon to smash it to bits.

Examination of the pieces showed the bag contained metal holders filled with powder which could have been explosive, although no detonator was found.

On Tuesday the police said they were conducting a state-wide search across North Rhine-Westphalia, but offered no details of who their targets might be. ‘We are completely open in our investigation,’ a spokesman said.” Read more.

Flashback: Downfall Part 2: German Politicians Welcome Introduction Of Sharia Law In Germany, ‘Good For Integration’ – “Most politicians in Germany have gotten the message: The quickest way to spark a career-damaging controversy is to make a facile comment about Nazis or the Holocaust. Media critics and political opponents are quick to pounce. But that isn’t the only way to attract unwanted attention, as Jochen Hartloff, the interior minister of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, found out this week. In an interview with the Berlin tabloid BZ, Hartloff said that Sharia law, in a ‘modern form,’ would be acceptable in Germany.” Read more.

Flashback: Germany: Hundreds Of Radical Islamists Riot In Bonn, 29 Police Officers Injured, 2 Stabbed – “Clashes erupted in Germany when police tried to separate competing rallies by an ultraconservative Muslim group and a small far-right march, injuring 29 officers, authorities said Sunday. More than 100 Salafist protesters were briefly arrested. The trouble in the western city of Bonn started late Saturday when hundreds of Muslims protested against the rally of about 30 supporters of the local far-right party Pro NRW, which has angered Muslims by showing unfavorable cartoons depicting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Strict Muslims oppose any depiction of their prophet. About 110 Salafist protesters were arrested after they started attacking security forces with stones and bottles, police said. Two of the injured police officers were hospitalized with serious wounds after being stabbed.” Read more.

Egypt: At Least 9 Anti-Morsi Protesters Shot In Tahrir Square While Obama Preps New F-16 Fighter Jets For Muslim Brotherhood

In the past, arming those who openly called for or even threatened to destroy Israel had been largely confined to rogue states and state sponsors of terror. But today it now looks like we can add Barack Obama to that list …

UPI – “The U.S. Embassy in Cairo said Tuesday that nine people were shot in Tahrir Square during protests against the Muslim Brotherhood.

A draft constitution has sparked outrage in post-revolution Egypt. A decision by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to extend his power during constitutional debate brought concerns about the growing influence of the Muslim Brotherhood, the movement from which he hails.

The U.S. Embassy in Cairo advised U.S. citizens in the country to avoid downtown Cairo amid heightened tensions.

‘At around 1:30 this morning, armed individuals fired into the area of the square where anti-MB protestors are staging a sit-in,’ a Tuesday statement from the embassy read. ‘Nine people were reportedly shot.’

U.N. rights officials have said some provisions in the draft constitution were cause for concern.

Human Rights Watch said it was frustrated by Morsi’s decision to give the military the power to arrest civilians.” Read more.

Obama To Start Sending US F-16 Fighter Jets To Egypt – On Israel’s Election-Day – ” The Obama administration took a careful look at the political calendar before announcing that the first four F-16 fighter planes – of the 20 approved in a $1 billion US foreign aid package to Egypt – would be delivered Jan. 22. The announcement came Tuesday, Dec. 11, as Cairo and other Egyptian towns were set for massive rival demonstrations for and against President Mohamed Morsi’s decision to hold a referendum on a pro-Islamist constitution Saturday. It therefore came in for rising criticism in Washington of the wisdom of sending the jets to an unstable Egypt in the grip of a strong political confrontation.” Read more.

Flashback: ‘Egypt Will Never Be the Friend, Partner or Ally of the Zionist Entity, The First Enemy of Egypt’ – “It’s amazing what ‘freedom’ has brought to Egypt. Rejecting $1 billion in US aid would almost be laughable, if the possible implications were not so serious. Last month the Muslim Brotherhood had apparently come to the conclusion that it was Halal to extort the United States by threatening, for all intents and purposes, to wage war against Israel if America cut off aid to Egypt. Now they’re threatening to reject it all together, and all this while making it loud and clear that Egypt will ‘never be the friend, partner or ally of the Zionist entity’ …” Read more.

Giant 3-Mile-Wide Asteroid To Buzz Planet Earth Tonight

By Mike Wall, Space.com – “A giant asteroid will make a flyby of Earth over the next few days, and armchair astronomers can watch the action live on their computers.

The near-Earth asteroid 4179 Toutatis, which is about 3 miles wide, will zoom within 4.3 million miles of Earth during its closest approach early Wednesday morning, Dec. 12. That’s too far away to pose any impact threat on this pass, but close enough to put on a pretty good show through top-notch telescopes, researchers say.

And some of those scopes will be tracking Toutatis’ movements for the benefit of skywatchers around the world. The online Slooh Space Camera and Virtual Telescope Project, for example, will both stream live, free footage of the asteroid from professional-quality observatories.

Slooh will webcast Toutatis views from a scope in the Canary Islands off the west coast of Africa beginning at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT) Dec. 11. Another show will follow at 10 p.m. EST tonight (0300 GMT Wednesday), with footage from an instrument in Arizona. You can watch them at Slooh’s website: http://www.slooh.com.

Both shows will feature commentary from Slooh president Patrick Paolucci and Astronomy Magazine columnist Bob Berman. [Photos: Asteroids in Deep Space]

‘Slooh technical staff will let the public follow this fast-moving asteroid in two different ways. In one view, the background stars will be tracked at their own rate and the asteroid will appear as an obvious streak or a moving time-lapse dot across the starry field,’ Berman said in a statement.

‘In a second view, Toutatis itself will be tracked and held steady as a tiny pointlike object, while Earth’s spin makes the background stars whiz by as streaks,’ Berman added. ‘Both methods will make the asteroid’s speedy orbital motion obvious as it passes us in space.’

Meanwhile, the Virtual Telescope Project — which is run by Gianluca Masi of Bellatrix Astronomical Observatory in Italy — will offer its own free webcast Thursday at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT), complete with commentary from astrophysicists.” Read more.