Embassy Compounds Under Attack In Damascus

** Update at 12:40 PM **

AP is quoting unnamed U.S. officials who say no one was injured in this morning's attack:

The U.S. said no embassy personnel were hurt in the melee and there was no immediate word on any other casualties.

The mob also attacked the residence [of U.S. Ambassador] Ford shortly after protesters breached a wall and stormed the embassy compound, U.S. officials in Washington said. They said no one was injured on the attack on Ford’s home, which is not part of the embassy compound, but that there was damage to his residence.

Marine guards quickly dispersed the mob, the officials said.

A U.S. official said the Obama administration will formally protest the attack and may seek compensation for the damage. The official said the State Department would summon a senior Syrian diplomat on Monday to condemn the assault and demand that Syria uphold obligations to protect foreign diplomatic missions.

Because the Marine guards reacted quickly, the attackers were not able to break into any buildings on the compound, the official said. But the attackers damaged the chancery building.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said Syrian security forces were slow to respond to the attack.

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ReutersFlash is reporting that mobs have broken into the U.S. and French Embassy compounds in Damascus, Syria, this morning. This is an escalation of the civil disturbances that have been going on at both compounds for the past two days, and which have already resulted in diplomatic protests from both governments.

There is no indication that mobs have broken into embassy buildings, just onto the compounds. Normal procedure would be to have employees shelter inside the buildings until the compounds have been cleared. There have been no reports of any injuries to employees at either embassy.

According to Associated Press, security guards at the French Embassy fired shots in the air to disperse the mob. There have been no similar reports about the U.S. Embassy.

The cause/pretext/justification for the riots was stated by the Syrian Foreign Ministry in a notice posted on its website yesterday:

Syrian Foreign and Expatriates Ministry on Sunday summoned the U.S. and French ambassadors to inform them of its strong protest on their visits to Hama governorate without the ministry permission, which violates Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations stipulating for non-interference in internal affairs of states they are accredited in and reviewing official issues with the Foreign Ministry.

The Ministry said the U.S. and French ambassadors' visit to Hama constitutes a flagrant interference in Syria's internal affairs and this affirms the existence of foreign encouragement and support to any thing that could undermine security and stability in the country at a time when the national dialogue aimed at building a future Syria is launched.

I will not be revealing any Matter Of Official Concern if I remark that the U.S. Embassy in Damascus (photo above) is highly vulnerable to mob attack by virtue of its location on a very small plot of land with hardly any setback distance from the surrounding streets. It is no Fortress Embassy, to say the least. Neither is the Ambassador's residence, which is in the vicinity of the embassy.

Why hasn't that old vulnerable dump of an embassy been replaced with a new forbidding Fortress? Because, according to last year's OIG Report, the Syrians won't cooperate with us on acquiring a site to build on:

The Embassy and the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) have been seeking a plot for a new embassy compound since 2001. The government of Syria’s efforts to develop a diplomatic quarter in the city of Damascus have failed to materialize. The United States is awaiting Syrian approval for a site to resolve overcrowding and other problems at the present chancery and annex.

A serious terrorist attack was launched against the embassy in 2006, but failed.

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Another Day, Another New Consulate

The Associated Press is reporting that U.S. Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey has opened a new U.S. Consulate in Irbil today:

IRBIL, Iraq — The United States has opened a permanent consulate in Iraq’s northern Kurdish region in what officials say will help boost business investment in the nation.

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey opened the consulate on Sunday, a few hours after investors from Marriott International signed agreements to open two hotels in the Kurdish capital of Irbil in three years.

Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region is considered one of the nation’s most stable areas because it largely escaped years of fighting between Sunnis and Shiites.

Since we have long had an existing facility in Irbil, a Provincial Reconstruction Team, this news just means that the PRT is being elevated to consulate status. However, I'm still waiting to see that news from Embassy Baghdad's website, the Department's official spokeswoman, or from any other official source.

Just last week, Ambassador Jeffrey announced that he had opened another new consulate, one in Basrah. The funny thing is I can't find a press release from the Department in Washington announcing that good news, either.

Which makes me wonder how official these new consulate openings are. Are they so-called 'soft openings' in which we begin to use new facilities before we have the really official openings? Maybe.

Be that as it may, all news reports today agree that the Irbil (AKA Erbil) Consulate is promoting U.S. investment in the region. From the Wall Street Journal:

On Sunday at the new U.S. consulate in Erbil in northern Iraq, Marriott International Inc. plans to disclose two of its brands, Marriott Hotels & Resorts and Marriott Executive Apartments, will join a large real estate development project. That follows an announcement in May that Best Western International Inc. plans to open its first hotel in Erbil.

Sounds like business is booming. But, not so fast:

The Marriott hotels will be part of a $1 billion real estate development currently under construction, called Empire Iraq, that will include villas, apartments, an office tower and a motorsports track.

The project includes a 200-room five-star hotel, now partly completed. It will be called Erbil Marriott and will have four restaurants and lounges. The hotel will open in 2014, Peshraw Agha, chairman of the Empire Iraq project said in an interview.

As is standard in the U.S. hotel industry, Marriott has agreed to provide its name and manage the Erbil hotels, but will not be directly investing in the project. Mr. Agha said the Empire Iraq project includes Iraqi and Turkish investors. He said there was room for a number of new Western-branded hotels in the city, given that much of the development occurring there attracts Iraqis, foreign contractors and investors to town.

Still, despite efforts from the Pentagon and U.S. Department of State, few American brands have entered Iraq beyond oil, gas and defense-related companies. That is due primarily to both unrest and to perceptions of corruption in the business community. In Erbil, that corruption problem is a serious hindrance, according to several experts.

"It's a problem because you can do all the encouraging you want but if the environment is not conducive it's not going to happen," said Eric Davis, a professor at Rutgers University who studies Iraq's economy.

Marriott International will lend it's name but not its money to Empire Iraq? That's a big clue to how a major player sees the investment environment in the Kurdish region. U.S. Consulate Irbil has its work cut out for it if it intends to promote U.S. private sector investment there.

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Two Cows Walk Into a Shisha Bar ...

Cows have always been of importance to the Middle East. In fact, there was once a whole cult of cattle worship (see the ancient Egyptian relief above).

Now, Foreign Policy blog has used cows as a metaphor to explain modern Middle Eastern politics.

Somehow I missed this when it came out a month ago, but, better late than never, here's The Cynical Dairy Farmer's Guide To The New Middle East:

Herewith then is a satirical effort to simplify the essence of Middle Eastern governments so that, in the immortal words of George W. Bush, "the boys in Lubbock" can read it. And, rather than symbolizing property, the cows here symbolize people, which -- funny enough -- is how most Middle Eastern regimes have traditionally viewed their populations.

Saudi Arabia

You have two cows with endless reserves of milk. Gorge them with grass, prevent them from interacting with bulls, and import South Asians to milk them.

Iran

You have two cows. You interrogate them until they concede they are Zionist agents. You send their milk to southern Lebanon and Gaza, or render it into highly enriched cream. International sanctions prevent your milk from being bought on the open market.

Syria

You have five cows, one of whom is an Alawite. Feed the Alawite cow well; beat the non-Alawite cows. Use the milk to finance your wife's shopping sprees in London.

Lebanon

You have two cows. Syria claims ownership over them. You take them abroad and start successful cattle farms in Africa, Australia, and Latin America. You send the proceeds back home so your relatives can afford cosmetic surgery and Mercedes-Benzes.

Hezbollah

You have no cows. During breaks from milking on the teat of the Iranian cow you call for Israel's annihilation.

Iraq

You have three cows: one Sunni, one Shiite, and one Kurd. The first is milked by Saudi Arabia, the second by Iran, and the third smuggles its milk abroad. The United States picks up the manure.

Bahrain

You have three cows: two Shiites and one Sunni. Invite Saudi Arabia to come kill a Shiite cow and import another Sunni cow.

Yemen

You have two cows. Feed them khat instead of grass and neglect to milk them. Watch them fight each other.

Hosni Mubarak's Egypt

You have 10 cows. Neglect to tend to them, but prevent them from fighting Israel in order to get milk from America.

Post-Mubarak Egypt

You have 10 cows who think they now own the farm. There's still no milk.

Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali's Tunisia

You have two cows. Beat them regularly and use the milk money for your wife's shopping sprees in Paris. When the cows revolt, retire to Saudi Arabia.

Post-Ben Ali Tunisia

See post-Mubarak Egypt.

Libya

You have two cows. You wish they were camels. Feed them only your words of wisdom and kill them if they dare moo.

Turkey

You have two cows and one sheep. You claim that the sheep is really a "mountain cow."

Qatar

You have one cow that has hundreds of udders. You use the limitless milk money to set up a television channel that broadcasts the other cows in the region being milked (except Saudi Arabia's).

United Arab Emirates

You have two cows. You bring in Filipino nannies, South Asian laborers, and Russian prostitutes to make sure they're well taken care of. Sell the milk to build the world's biggest shopping mall.

Jordan

You have one cow, surrounded by wolves. Pretend that it's a magic cow that has the power to pacify wild animals, and then ask America for milk.

Palestine

You had two cows that were lost decades ago. Lament them.

Israel

You have two bulls. Pretend they are helpless calves.

Nice. And, I might add, it's a relief to see a livestock metaphor about Arabs and the Middle East that does not involve bestiality.

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Supreme Court Denies Stay for Mexican Convict In Texas

The U.S. Supreme Court tonight denied a stay of execution for that Mexican citizen who had been sitting on death row in Texas for 16 years. The court's vote was 5-4 (the usual suspects) and the majority opinion is full of strong statements:

Petitioner Humberto Leal Garcia (Leal) is a Mexican national who has lived in the United States since before the age of two. In 1994, he kidnapped 16-year-old Adria Sauceda, raped her with a large stick, and bludgeoned her to death with a piece of asphalt. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by a Texas court. He now seeks a stay of execution on the ground that his conviction was obtained in violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (Vienna Convention) ... His argument is foreclosed by Medellín v. Texas ... in which we held that neither the Avena decision nor the President’s Memorandum purporting to implement that decision constituted directly enforceable federal law.

-- snip --

The United States [that is, the U.S. Justice Department] does not endorse Leal’s due process claim. Instead, it asks us to stay the execution until January 2012 in support of our “future jurisdiction to review the judgment in a proceeding” under this yet-to-be enacted legislation ... We reject this suggestion. First, we are doubtful that it is ever appropriate to stay a lower court judgment in light of unenacted legislation. Our task is to rule on what the law is, not what it might eventually be.

-- snip --

The United States and JUSTICE BREYER complain of the grave international consequences that will follow from Leal’s execution ... Congress evidently did not find these consequences sufficiently grave to prompt its enactment of implementing legislation, and we will follow the law as written by Congress. We have no authority to stay an execution in light of an “appeal of the President,” ... presenting free-ranging assertions of foreign policy consequences, when those assertions come unaccompanied by a persuasive legal claim.

Finally, we noted in Medellín II that “[t]he beginning premise for any stay . . . must be that petitioner’s confession was obtained unlawfully,” and that “[t]he United States has not wavered in its position that petitioner was not prejudiced by his lack of consular access.” ... Here, the United States studiously refuses to argue that Leal was prejudiced by the Vienna Convention violation, contending instead that the Court should issue a stay simply in light of the possibility that Leal might be able to bring a Vienna Convention claim in federal court, regardless of whether his conviction will be found to be invalid. We decline to follow the United States’ suggestion of granting a stay to allow Leal to bring a claim based on hypothetical legislation when it cannot even bring itself to say that his attempt to overturn his conviction has any prospect of success. We may note that in a portion of its opinion vacated by the Fifth Circuit on procedural grounds, the District Court found that any violation of the Vienna Convention would have been harmless.

All the public pleading for Humberto Leal claimed that he was denied the right to seek Mexican consular assistance, which, if he had obtained it, would have likely resulted in a lesser sentence. That claim is not true. Nothing in the record shows that Leal ever asked for consular access, or even told the police that he was a Mexican citizen (he had lived in the U.S. - illegally - since he was two years old and represented himself as a U.S. citizen). And in any case, he made his incriminating admissions to the police before they arrested him, and therefore before they had any obligation to inform him of his right to consular assistance.

Even if Leal had had the benefit of Mexican consular access before his trial, that would not have changed the fact that he had incriminated himself, nor change any of the other evidence against him. The lack of consular access, then, was not relevant to his conviction and death sentence.

The Obama administration made the ominous suggestion that, if Texas executes Leal, other nations might reciprocate by denying traveling U.S. citizens their right to consular access if arrested abroad. It's preposterous in principle, and trivializes the extremely egregious crime that Leal committed, to compare his situation to that of a typical U.S. tourist arrested while on a foreign vacation (which happens most frequently to Gringos in Mexico, BTW). And if there is a U.S.-citizen rapist/murderer analogous to Leal somewhere abroad, I only hope that the foreign nation involved will execute that miscreant a lot faster than Texas did Leal.

The matter of reciprocity or Mexican retaliation against U.S. citizens is a real concern, but it is much less important than the interest Texas has in carrying out its state laws and punishing murder. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled two years ago that when adherence to a treaty such as the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations is contrary to a state statute, the President cannot override the statute unilaterally, but legislation is required. And as the Supreme Court noted tonight, Congress has not provided that legislation. The Vienna Convention, therefore, has no bearing on the case of Humberto Leal, and Texas was completely free to execute him.

I'm not a big fan of the death penalty - I'm more opposed to abolishing it than in favor of using it - but the murder of 16-year old Adria Sauceda warrants it, and I'm glad the Vienna Convention was not used as an excuse to frustrate justice tonight.

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"Duck and Cover" Old School

H/T to The Snake's Mommy for this cartoon, which takes me back to my childhood.























Ah, so many fond memories of crouching under a desk or in an elementary school corridor with my hands crossed behind my head to shield me from the flash of the bomb.

And it was educational. I first became conscious of foreign affairs during a "duck and cover" drill the week of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when I searched a classroom globe until I found Cuba (or "Cue-burr" as President Kennedy pronounced it) and tried to imagine how many minutes warning we in the New York suburbs might have if missiles were launched.

Best of all, back then we had cartoon characters and catchy jingles. Try humming this tune the next time you do a D&C drill at your U.S. Embassy workplace:

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Are You Grilling Democratic Or Republican?

Everything in Washington is about politics, and your choice of holiday barbecue material is no exception.

H/T to Open Secrets blog for this primer on which party gets the grease from your favorite food producer:

If you're charring a choice of meat today, it’s worth considering that even beef, chicken and hot dogs tend to have a favorite political party.

The meat processing and products industry, typically a major contributor to federal-level politics, has historically favored the Republican Party. Political action committees and individuals associated with big name companies like Tyson Foods and Smithfield Foods -- two political heavyweights in the industry -- contributed overwhelmingly to federal candidates and political parties affiliated with the GOP during the 2010 election cycle.

TSB comment: I will note that Tyson Foods has also favored Democrats, especially when they were married to the Governor of Arkansas and invested in pork futures.

Smaller companies such as Omaha Steaks, Valley Proteins, Sam Kane Beef Processors and Boar's Head Provisions went against the industry norm: Individuals affiliated with those companies gave heavily to Democratic candidates and party committees during the 2010 cycle.

-- snip --

And contributions as whole from the industry have been on the rise, making meat processing companies even bigger political players. During the 2010 election cycle, people and political action committees associated with meat companies in total gave $1.6 million to candidates seeking federal office. A decade ago, they gave less -- about $1.3 million, the Center's research indicates.

To find out more about which meat processing company satisfies your political appetite, check out our industry page, located here.

Full disclosure: I have no (hot)dog in this fight because, politically, I'm a Whig, and we have not solicited or accepted donations since the party went underground in 1856.

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I'm Hiding From The Cops Under Arrest

I like a news story with a happy ending:

William Velasquez Castillo, an illegal immigrant in Lucedale, Miss., was arrested May 19 by U.S. Marshals after a month-long search.

Detectives believe that he fled his residence in Ocean Springs after learning that he was wanted by authorities in connection to a child molestation case.

Castillo, 27, was found at a hotel and taken to Jackson County Adult Center. U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement has a hold placed for Castillo and has their own investigation going, according to a Sheriff's spokesman.

But what makes the whole story is the t-shirt Castillo was wearing when he was arrested: The t-shirt reads, I'm hiding from the cops. But not very well.

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