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Is Syria the next mess for the United States and the free world, including Israel? Syria, part of the ancient world, that figures prominently in Jewish history, came under the sway of the Muslim Ottoman Empire based in Turkey. The Ottoman Empire ruled the land from 1516 to the end of World War I, 1918. Syria was Muslim long before Sultan Selim I defeated the Mamluks in the battle of Marj Dabiq. As recently as 1831, Syria was invaded by the Egyptians. French forces prevailed in World War I and the Occupied Enemy Territory Administration was set up during World War I. A number of short-lived Syrian states came into being during and after World War I. The Syrian republic gained its independence in April of 1946. Immediately thereafter, Syria, along with the other Arab nations, engaged in an attempted war of extermination against Israel and the Jewish people. The recently deposed leader of Syria, Bashar al-Assad is an Alawite, a minority Islamic sect. He and his family have ruled over the Syrians for several generations now, over 50 years. The Assads established a political dynasty that ruled Syria from 1971 until the ouster of Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8, 2024. All of the nations in Arab Middle East are essentially colonialist creations dreamed up by the victors of World War I. The Saudi family was put in charge of Saudi Arabia. The Hashemites in Jordan, and the Assad family in Syria. The only democracy that has ever existed in the Middle East is, of course, Israel. Who are the new rulers of Syria and what does it mean for the United States and Israel? It is too early to predict just who will wind up governing Syria, but the new leadership appears to be an outgrowth of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda. The current conglomeration of leaders in Syria are not nice people, none of them. They are all folks who have terrorist roots, one way or another. Whether the leadership of Syria will somehow morph into a Western-style democracy is a bet not worth making. The job for the West is to make sure Syria does not become another cancer, aligned with those who seek to destroy the West and Israel. That will not be an easy task. The nature of the Middle East is that various Arab tribes and competing sects of Islam seek to impose their views and values on everyone else. The West, with its tolerance of other people, rights for women, Black people and Jews, is considered to be sinful. Sinful, not in a social way, but with absolute religious rigor. The current and new leaders of Syria should hate Iran and Russia. Both nations propped up Assad and helped him to kill almost 600,000 of his own people displacing 13 million during the civil war. Many of those victims are related to the people who now have power in Syria. However, the fact that the new regime in Syria was persecuted by the Assad faction, with the help of Russia and Iran, does not necessarily mean that the new boys in town will be any good for those of us who adhere to Western values. It does not work that way in the Middle East. For Israel, there is not much more that can be done, other than watchful waiting and destruction of Syria’s advanced weaponry. The new leadership in Syria is thankful to Israel for fighting Hezbollah and weakening that terrorist group which essentially occupies and controls Lebanon and has a major presence in Syria as well. The old adage that the enemy of my enemy is my friend does not work in the Middle East. In fact, it is more typical that the enemy of my enemy is my enemy. The United States, Europe and Israel should consider, as conditions may warrant, being supportive of the new order in Damascus, if it proves itself to be peaceful and tolerant. However, the Western coalition must act promptly to insure that Iran is contained, that Turkey, also a major troublemaker, minds its own business, and that Western interests are treated with respect. While the United States and Western policy to Syria should not be “hands off,” it should not take a deep dive into the pool just yet. Rather, watchful waiting and sending the correct signal is going to be important to the leadership of Syria. The current rebels who have gained control of the country, are not necessarily going to be those who emerge as the kingpins. No doubt there will be an internal power struggle and who will emerge as the top dog in Syria is anyone’s guess. The United States and the West must marginalize and sanction Iran, make it clear to the NATO member Turkey, that it cannot be the new troublemaker in town, and assure that terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah cannot continue to exist. This means, among other things, cutting off the money supply to terrorist groups from our “friends” in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich Arab oil titans. While terrorist operatives in the Middle East are a danger, both to Saudi Arabia and Jordan, neither of those countries is wholly independent of pressure from terrorist-aligned entities. The Middle East is a complex place and United States policy must be straightforward and consistent. No money, financial or political support for the bad guys, and reasonable incentives for the good ones. Perhaps the most important component of U.S. strategy in the Middle East is that it cannot afford to walk away from the region and to risk Syria or any other nation in the Middle East falling into the hands of those who are sworn to the destruction of our Western way of life. Cliff Rieders is a board-certified trial advocate in Williamsport, is past president of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association and a past member of the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority. None of the opinions expressed necessarily represent the views of these organizations.Indiana tries to snap 3-game losing skid to Nebraska
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DALLAS (AP) — Juan Soto gets free use of a luxury suite and up to four premium tickets behind home plate for regular-season and postseason New York Mets home games as part of his record $765 million, 15-year contract that was finalized Wednesday. The Mets also agreed to provide personal team security for the All-Star outfielder and his family at the team’s expense for all spring training and regular-season home and road games, according to details of the agreement obtained by The Associated Press. Major League Baseball teams usually provide security for player families in seating areas at ballparks. New York also agreed to assist Soto’s family for in-season travel arrangements, guaranteed Soto will have uniform No. 22 and included eight types of award bonuses. Soto wore No. 22 with all his previous major league teams: the Nationals, Padres and Yankees. Young third baseman Brett Baty wore No. 22 with the Mets the past three seasons. The Mets will formally introduce Soto in a news conference Thursday afternoon at Citi Field. “This is a seminal moment in franchise history,” owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a statement. “Juan Soto is a generational talent. He is not only bringing staggering historical statistics with him but also a championship pedigree.” RELATED COVERAGE Pitchers dominate Rule 5 draft, comprising 11 of 15 unprotected players picked in big league phase Shane Bieber says bonds led to re-signing with Guardians after he missed ’24 following elbow surgery All-Star left-hander Garrett Crochet acquired by Red Sox from White Sox for prospects Soto’s suite will be valued at the Mets’ prevailing prices, presumably for tax purposes, and after 2025 he can by each Jan. 15 modify or give up his suite selection for the upcoming season. He can request the premium tickets, to be used by family members, no later than 72 hours before the scheduled game time. The Yankees had refused to offer Soto a free suite. “Some high-end players that make a lot of money for us, if they want suites they buy them ... whether it’s CC (Sabathia), whether it’s (Aaron) Judge, whether it’s (Gerrit) Cole, whether it’s any of these guys,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “We’ve gone through a process on previous negotiations where asks might have happened and this is what we did and we’re going to honor those, so no regrets there.” Cashman said the Yankees have a shared suite for player families and a family room with babysitting. Soto gets a $75 million signing bonus, payable within 60 days of the agreement’s approval by the commissioner’s office. The deal for the 26-year-old slugger, which tops Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers, was reached Sunday pending a physical that took place Tuesday. Soto receives salaries of $46,875,000 each in 2025 and 2026, $42.5 million in 2027, $46,875,000 apiece in 2028 and 2029 and $46 million in each of the final 10 seasons. Soto has a contingent right to opt out of the agreement after the 2029 World Series to become a free agent again. But the Mets have an option to negate that opt-out provision by increasing the yearly salaries for 2030-39 by $4 million annually to $50 million and raising the total value to $805 million. If the club does not exercise its option to negate the opt-out provision by the third day after the World Series, Soto can make his opt-out decision by the fifth day after the Series. He has a full no-trade provision and gets a hotel suite on road trips. “Today’s signing further solidifies our organizational commitment to consistent championship competitiveness,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “Not only does Juan provide historic levels of on field production, but his joy, intensity, and passion for the game mirror our budding culture. We are thrilled to add him to our team and look forward to watching his excellence for years to come.” Soto would receive a $500,000 bonus for winning his first Most Valuable Player award and $1 million for each MVP award. He would get $350,000 for finishing second in the voting and $150,000 for finishing third through fifth. Soto was third in AL voting this year. He would earn $100,000 for each All-Star selection and Gold Glove, $350,000 for World Series MVP and $150,000 for League Championship Series MVP. Soto would get $100,000 for selection to the All-MLB first or second team, $150,000 for a Silver Slugger award and $100,000 for the Hank Aaron Award. Award bonuses are to be paid by the Jan. 31 after the season in which the bonus is earned. ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlbMOSAIC ANNOUNCES OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER 2024 REVENUES AND SALES VOLUMES
Toronto Blue Jays-Yimi Garcia Agree To 2-Year ContractDefense Secretary Nominee Pete Hegseth said in an interview Monday that President-elect Donald Trump’s top priority for the Pentagon is to return the military to warfighters. Asked on Fox News’s Hannity what his vision for the Pentagon is, Hegseth said: There’s a lot to be done. First of all, you salute the commander in chief, who got those 76 million votes, and she’s going to chart the way, and I’ll give him advice and counsel along the way. I’ll just say what he told me: ‘Return the Pentagon to the war fighters. Pete, get in there and clean up all the social justice, politically correct garbage on top, and get back to lethality, war, fighting, accountability, meritocracy and readiness.’ And guess what? Ninety-five percent of the people in that building the Pentagon and that wear the uniform — that’s all they want to do anyway. He said focusing on war fighting would change the culture of the Pentagon and address the recruiting and retention crisis. Already, he said, countless families have reached out to tell him that their son or daughter was not going to join, but now they are due to Trump’s election and Hegseth being chosen to lead the Pentagon. “I’m not going to get ahead of the President on policy or or what our posture will be, but we will be strong, and we will have peace through strength, as Donald Trump has said, and we will put America first. That’s what he’s asked me to do at the Pentagon, and that’s my promise to the American people and our war fighters led by President Donald Trump,” he concluded. Follow Breitbart News’s Kristina Wong on ”X” , Truth Social , or on Facebook .