Saudis and CIA agree to Arm Syrian "Moderates" with Advanced Weapons

Saudis and CIA agree to Arm Syrian “Moderates” with Advanced Weapons

Posted by Joshua on Saturday, February 15th, 2014

Saudis and CIA agree to Arm Syrian Moderates with Advanced Anti-aircraft and Anti-tank Weapons
by Joshua Landis

The news that the “Saudis Agree to Provide Syrian Rebels With Mobile Antiaircraft Missiles,” as reported by the Wall Street Journal (article copied below), will change the battle field in Syria.

The newly formed “Southern Front” led by Bashar al-Zoubi, will be the main recipient. The WSJ says Zoubi has a direct line to Western and Arab intelligence agencies in a military operations room in Amman. He will be the primary recipient of these new, more lethal weapons. He went to Geneva for the talks with the Assad regime.

Zoubi was included in my “Syria’s Top Five Insurgent Leaders.” He was #5. That ranking will now likely change. Here is what I wrote about him on Oct. 1, 2013:

5: Bashar Al-Zoubi, the Commander of Liwa al-Yarmouk in the south of Syria around Deraa. The Supreme Military Command (the US backed leadership of the Free Syrian Army) has named him the commander of the Southern Front. He is the only member of this top-five who has not expressed a wish to see an Islamist Syria.

Michael Weiss wrote this of Zoubi in Aug. 2013

Zoubi (aka Abu Fadi) is a wealthy businessman who made his fortune in the tourism industry and hails from a clan in Syria that numbers as many as 160,000. (The al-Zoubis are, in fact, transnational, with some residing in Syria and others residing in Jordan, which makes them particularly well-placed as interlocutors between Amman and the opposition in Deraa and Damascus. In a sense, they strongly resemble the Jarba clan, which has retained prominence in both Syria and Saudi Arabia, and whose most recognizable member is the current, Saudi-backed head of the Syrian National Coalition, Ahmad Jarba.)

Abu Fadi told me in a Skype interview that he’s got 4-5,000 men under his direct command in the al-Horan region. In total, 30-40,000 troops subscribe to the SMC, albeit without anything like a top-down command-and-control structure. The SMC is effectively a political and coordination apparatus.

I asked Abu Fadi why the south was relatively free of al-Qaeda in comparison with the north. “The only reason folks starting fighting with Jabhat al-Nusra,” he said, “was the lack of any real support to the FSA, weapons and ammunition being delivered to us.” Mostly, the FSA has been successful from Damascus to Deraa because of its integration with local tribes and communities.

video of Zoubi

Jamal Maarouf and the norther Syria Revolutionaries Front

Jamal Maarouf

Jamaal Maarouf is the other commander that the US and Gulf Arabs seem to be betting on. He is presently the commander of the Syria Revolutionaries’ Front in Norther Syria. This group was made out of remnants of the FSA after Idriss and the Supreme Military Council was expelled from Syria. This is what I wrote about him last Oct.

Jamal Maarouf (Abu Khalid) of Shuhada Souria, Syrian Martyrs’ Brigade, Idlib governate, FSA. Jamal claims to have 18 ,000 fighters between Idlib and Aleppo, but like all troop estimates, this should be taken with a grain of salt. He’s a non-Islamist leader. He is both religious and conservative, but not Ikhwan and not salafi, just not ideological.

Aron Lund wrote this on Dec 13 about Maarouf and his The Syria Revolutionaries’ Front

On December 9, a group of Syrian rebel factions created yet another alliance, called the Syria Revolutionaries’ Front (SRF). According to the SRF’s first statement, it includes fourteen different factions….. Some of these groups are well-known and have a strong presence in their local areas, but most seem to have their glory days behind them.

Jamal Maarouf’s Syria Martyrs’ Brigade was also once a formidable force in the Idlib region and a primary recipient of Saudi support. But Maarouf has been widely accused of diverting resources for his own use rather than deploying them to the front lines. Islamist rivals disparage him as a warlord and “a highway robber.” From early 2013, the Syria Martyrs’ Brigade seems to have lost much of its support, and Maarouf’s influence has dwindled.

Ahrar al-Shamal is another very active group in the Idlib region, while Afif Suleiman’s Military Council has long been a foreign-backed player in arms distribution. He, Maarouf, and the Ahrar al-Zawia Brigades have all been viewed as local rivals of the Idlibi Islamist leader Ahmed Abu Issa, whose Suqour al-Sham Brigades have now joined the Islamic Front.

Even if most of these groups are now second-tier actors and the SRF has a strong Idlibi flavor, real unity between them could create a significant force on the ground, especially if backed by strong foreign funding.

Rania Abouzeid wrote this about Jamal Maarouf last month before he was slated to get U.S. assistance:

Maarouf, the most public face of the SRF, has declared war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a move that has rehabilitated his image in the eyes of those who also describe themselves as FSA. By the end of 2013, he was looking like a spent force. Many of his colleagues had long taken to calling him Jamal Makhlouf, pinning him with the surname of Assad’s cousins who hold business monopolies in the country thanks to nepotistic corruption. Commanders frequently complained that Maarouf was more of a showman and warlord than a fighter, promising to participate in a particular battle, securing the funding for it from sponsors (mainly Saudi Arabia), and then withdrawing soon after the fight began after filming enough footage to upload to YouTube to boast of his group’s participation. It was a common complaint. Now, many of those same men speak with admiration of how Maarouf is personally fighting and how his men are pushing back ISIS with vigour.

Maarouf has always been in Saudi Arabia’s orbit, but to date the Saudis haven’t markedly stepped up their assistance to their people, according to a Syrian weapons distributor responsible for dishing out Saudi state-sponsored guns and money to rebels in the north. The SRF is a natural recipient, as is one of the components of the Islamic Front (IF), the Army of Islam, which is increasingly looked at by other Islamists as a Saudi project to potentially weaken more conservative Islamists.

Maarouf’s second wind, however, hasn’t won him many friends among the more hardcore Islamists, even those who have their quarrels with ISIS, like the IF and Jabhat al-Nusra. “Maarouf won’t live long”, a senior JAN fighter in Turkey said. “Everybody wants his head.”

Hassan Hassan حسن ‏@hhassan140 tweeted this picture. “Ahmed Jarba (bald headed man) tells rebels in Idlib that ‘advanced weapons will now be flowing till we liberate Syria’. Maarouf is the one in military fatigues.”

Yasser Qazoz, head of Liwaa al Jabalen

Jarba traveled to Kansafra, Idlib to visit Maarouf and offer condolences to the family of Yasser Qazoz, the head of Liwaa al Jabalen, a Syria Revolutionaries Front group under Maarouf’s command. Yasser Qazoz was killed by a Jabhat al-Nusra fighter. On January 25th, Yasser explained that he was shot by a neighbor and guest — someone whom he thought was his friend. He died on Febraury 5th.

Hussain Mortada says that the clash between Qazoz and Nusra was provoked by a dispute over divvying up loot plundered from ISIL after kicking it from their area. Ziad Benjamin says that Nusra attacked Qazoz over an insult to God.

Despite the confrontation which might have sparked a broader war between Maarouf and Nusra, their differences were quickly smoothed over. Liwaa al Jabaleen posted a joint statement under the name of both Nusra and the SRF refuting the rumors of a dispute and affirming their brotherhood in God. In the statement they insist that they fight in the same trench and brush aside any differences as a personal dispute that was rapidly resolved the following day.

Jarba’s visit to Idlib and meeting with Jamal Maarouf may have been more than to simply promise him an endless supply of arms. It might have been an attempt to instigate Maarouf against Nusra, the al-Qaida affiliate, which the U.S. and Jarba will eventually demand that he confront.

Will the Islamic Front accuse the new “moderate” groups cooperating with the CIA of being Sahwa?

Western and Arab support for the new groups will not go over well with the Islamic Front, an alliance of conservative, religious rebel factions that recently coalesced as the biggest fighting force in Syria. The Islamic Front is mainly a Qatari-Turkish supported coalition. Saudi Arabia might not be as keen on them as many at first thought. Saudi Arabia does seem to favor Zahran Aloush’s Islam Army, one of the more prominent militias that joined with the Islamic Front in December.

Trying to keep these advanced weapons out of the hands of Islamists will be difficult because everyone works with everyone to some extent – and they need to in order to defeat the Syrian Arab Army.

The new targeted funding will open up bitter feuds among the militias. Those that get Western and Saudi largesse and work closely with Western officials will be accused of becoming Sahwa. It is not known if an Israeli is included in the operations room in Jordan. The WSJ only had this to say:

The operations room hosts officials from the 11 countries that form the Friends of Syria group, including the U.S., Saudi Arabia, France and the U.K. Mr. al-Zoubi was also among a select group of rebel commanders who joined the political opposition in Geneva for the latest round of peace talks.

But even if Israel is not represented directly in the room, its influence will be felt. Ehud Ya’ari writes of the “operations room” in Amman where “Jordanian military and intelligence officers coordinate military assistance to local rebel groups alongside Saudi and Western advisors.” He adds, “the Israeli part of the effort should be viewed as complementing but not necessarily coordinated with the Jordanian endeavor.”

All the same, he writes that Israel has developed “a system of communications and frequent contacts have been established with the local rebel militias that operate near the Golan.”

Jordan and Israel share an interest in keeping the region around their borders with Syria friendly and under local supervision. Both are concerned lest Islamists and particularly Jihadist groups become ensconced along their borders.

-End-

Saudis Agree to Provide Syrian Rebels With Mobile Antiaircraft Missiles
U.S. Also Giving Fighters Millions of Dollars for Salaries
By Maria Abi-Habib and Stacy Meichtry
Feb. 14, 2014

AMMAN, Jordan—Washington’s Arab allies, disappointed with Syria peace talks, have agreed to provide rebels there with more sophisticated weaponry, including shoulder-fired missiles that can take down jets, according to Western and Arab diplomats and opposition figures.

Saudi Arabia has offered to give the opposition for the first time Chinese man-portable air defense systems, or Manpads, and antitank guided missiles from Russia, according to an Arab diplomat and several opposition figures with knowledge of the efforts. Saudi officials couldn’t be reached to comment.

The U.S. has long opposed arming rebels with antiaircraft missiles for fear they could fall into the hands of extremists who might use them against the West or commercial airlines. The Saudis have held off supplying them in the past because of U.S. opposition. A senior Obama administration official said Friday that the U.S. objection remains the same. “There hasn’t been a change internally on our view,” the official said.

The U.S. for its part has stepped up financial support, handing over millions of dollars in new aid to pay fighters’ salaries, said rebel commanders who received some of the money. The U.S. wouldn’t comment on any payments.

The focus of the new rebel military push is to retake the southern suburbs of Damascus in hopes of forcing the regime to accept a political resolution to the war by agreeing to a transitional government without President Bashar al-Assad.

But if the Manpads are supplied in the quantities needed, rebels said it could tip the balance in the stalemated war in favor of the opposition. The antiaircraft and Russian Konkurs antitank weapons would help them chip away at the regime’s two big advantages on the battlefield—air power and heavy armor.

“New stuff is arriving imminently,” said a Western diplomat with knowledge of the weapons deliveries.

Rebel commanders and leaders of the Syrian political opposition said they don’t know yet how many of the Manpads and antiaircraft missiles they will get. But they have been told it is a significant amount. The weapons are already waiting in warehouses in Jordan and Turkey.

Earlier in the conflict, rebels managed to seize a limited number of Manpads from regime forces. But they quickly ran out of the missiles to arm them, the Western diplomat said.

Rebel leaders say they met with U.S. and Saudi intelligence agents, among others, in Jordan on Jan. 30 as the first round of Syrian peace talks in Geneva came to a close. That is when wealthy Gulf States offered the more sophisticated weapons.

At the meeting, U.S. and Gulf officials said they were disappointed with the Syrian government’s refusal to discuss Mr. Assad’s ouster at the talks and suggested a military push was needed to force a political solution to the three-year war.

President Barack Obama this week acknowledged that diplomatic efforts to resolve the Syrian conflict are far from achieving their goals.
“But the situation is fluid and we are continuing to explore every possible avenue,” Mr. Obama said.

The weapons will flow across the border into southern Syria from the warehouses in Jordan and across the northern border from Turkey, the Western diplomat said. Rebel leaders said the shipments to southern Syria are expected to be more substantial because opposition fighters are more unified in that area and there is a lower risk the weapons will fall into the hands of al Qaeda-inspired groups—a big concern for the U.S.

With the rebels still deeply divided and infighting growing, the new aid is aimed squarely at the more moderate and secular rebels of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) that the U.S. has always favored.

The plan coincides with the reorganization of rebel forces in the south, where 10,000 fighters have formed the Southern Front. The new front aims to break the government’s siege of the southern suburbs of Damascus.

Last month, rebels in the north unified into the Syrian Revolutionaries Front, turning their weapons on the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), the most deadly al Qaeda-inspired rebel faction. The SRF, along with other groups, forced ISIS to retreat from key territories across the north. Both the northern and southern forces are technically under the FSA’s umbrella.

Western and Arab support for the new groups won’t go to the Islamic Front, an alliance of conservative, religious rebel factions that is helping the northern front rebels fight the more radical ISIS.

The Southern Front is under the leadership of Bashar al-Zoubi, who has a direct line to Western and Arab intelligence agencies in a military operations room in Amman, rebels say.

The operations room hosts officials from the 11 countries that form the Friends of Syria group, including the U.S., Saudi Arabia, France and the U.K. Mr. al-Zoubi was also among a select group of rebel commanders who joined the political opposition in Geneva for the latest round of peace talks.

The Southern Front has captured a string of government-held areas and military bases since it launched its first offensive in late January.

But any push toward the capital from the south faces formidable challenges. An arc south of the capital is the domain of the army’s Fourth Division, elite troops led by Maher al-Assad, the president’s brother. Closer to the capital, Syrian forces are fortified by elements of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia from Lebanon.

The regime has been ruthless in snuffing out any hint of escalation by rebels in the south.

“The Saudis and Emiratis at the same meeting said that their priority is to lift the siege on the entire southern area of Damascus,” said an aide to a rebel leader who attended the meeting in Amman on Jan 30. Once we reach this stage, it will become political pressure and Assad will have to listen to the international demands,” the aide said.

At the meeting between leaders of the Southern Front and Western and Arab intelligence agencies last month, rebel leaders said they were given salaries for their fighters and equipment such as military rations and tents.

Rebels said the U.S. spent $3 million on salaries of fighters in the Southern Front, delivering the payments in cash over two meetings in Jordan—one on Jan. 30 and the other late last year.

The opposition will also ask Congress next week for weapons to help rebels fight al Qaeda. That mandate would give the opposition a better shot at securing arms than previous requests for support to topple the regime.

Congressional aides confirmed there are scheduled meetings with opposition leaders next week to discuss their request for more advanced weapons. But Congress remains sharply divided about the conflict in Syria. Some lawmakers favor stepped-up support to moderate opposition groups, but others question the wisdom of providing heavy weapons.

“We’re trying to assure the international community that they can support moderates without the threat of arms falling into the hands of al Qaeda,” said Oubai Shahbandar, a senior adviser to the Syrian opposition.

—Sam Dagher and Suha Ma’ayeh contributed to this article.

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Categories: ISIS, Syrian Islamic Front

Comments (207)

norman said:

The people of Amman should find a shelter.

February 15th, 2014, 1:56 pm

mjabali said:

Geneva failed so let us start a new round of violence with a new set of cards.

al-Assad is going to get more weapons and men. This is common sense. He was dropping barrel bombs from choppers, now he would use more advanced planes with heat throwing flares…Or he would use his long distance heavy weapons…

Today and yesterday the destruction of what is left from Old Alleppo is taking place…anyone cares about this? Or does anyone here know of this?

February 15th, 2014, 2:00 pm

norman said:

They do not think that the Syrian spirit is destroyed enough, they want the Syrians humiliated some more,

February 15th, 2014, 2:03 pm

mjabali said:

Good point Norman….

Jordan is playing with fire and just in a matter of time Abdullah of Jordan is going to be a small power in front of the Islamist. What is next after that?

Saudi Arabia has over 10,000 men fighting in Syria. This is according to the Saudis themselves. See the shows of Nadeen al-Budayer or the show of Daoud Sharayan.

Those who are planning for Saudi Arabia are leading the whole area to hell.

I hope al-Assad and Iran start giving weapons to the Saudi Shia. Remember the oil of Saudi Arabia is in the lands of the Shia who had been robbed out of it from day one.

I think the whole area is going to be burning soon.

February 15th, 2014, 2:04 pm

mjabali said:

The 64 dollar question is what is the status of al-Nusra now?

February 15th, 2014, 2:08 pm

ghufran said:

Arming “moderate rebels” was tried before and only led to the acquisition of weapons by people who turned out to be not so moderate. The ignorance of some middle eastern “experts” at the DOS never ceased to amuse me, the whole thing is a game designed to pressure Russia to squeeze more concessions from the regime which should have made peace with the citizens of Syria three years ago before Syria became a playground for terrorists and armed thugs. The West, and probably the GCC, after 3 years of shouting may be ready to ignore the issue of Assad but they want their “men” in the government, the army and security forces. Notice how elections and an inclusive government are not being mentioned today because that was never the goal of Syria’s policy among NATO nations in the first place, this is why Iran, many rebel factions and most independent elements in the political internal opposition were not invited to Geneva. Another PR stunt is the threat of a no fly zone and another attack in southern Syria (watch the news about Daraa and Qneitra). The idea that you have to provide arms to kill more Syrians to achieve peace is insane, that is also true for the other side where some pro regime militants still think they can stop this war by pouring gas on fire instead of taking a back step and admitting that for some Syrians to live they need to allow other Syrians to live too, violence never solved a problem when the subject is an internal conflict.

February 15th, 2014, 2:14 pm

Alan said:

is it game changer?
Must be broke the spinal column of the House of Sauds!
Can play more gambling, but Russia will turn your table and it will knock by the shoe! Dear crows!
Weapons, weapons and then more weapons! Take care !

February 15th, 2014, 4:14 pm

nobodyknows said:

Perfect timing: Video from today of an Iraqi helicopter allegedly being downed by Sunni insurgents. This weapon delivery will have an impact beyond Syria…

February 15th, 2014, 4:58 pm

Alan said:

In the United States, “boorishness” means pushiness, courage and bravery in dealing with any matters, regardless of others’ position. In other words, the word “boorishness” in American English is not a swear word, and the deeds committed by the cads are welcomed. As they say, every nation has its manners and customs. There is a set of typical American politicians’ features. These are pushiness without moral and legal grounds, impudence combined with the lack of shame and of conscience. Moreover, the false smiles of the Americans when meeting other people and foreign leaders cannot hide the true feeling that the Americans really do not care for the interlocutor. Apparently, we should agree with the famous neo-Freudian apologist for immorality and sexual promiscuity, Erich Fromm, who considered that the society, as a whole, might be sick. Only the essence of this disease is not the excessive moral constraint and people’s complexes, as the German psychoanalyst claimed. The disease is expressed by American consumerism and personal disregard of what is happening in American daily life and in the foreign policy of their country. Analysing the current moral decline and lack of even rudiments of morality in the U.S.A., I want to shout: O tempora! O mores! – Oh, the times! Oh, the morals!
Viktor Mikhin

February 15th, 2014, 5:00 pm

Syrialover said:

ALAN, You want me to re-run that piece (from the Russian media) about the shocking decline in Russians’ life expectancy because of desperate problems in their society?

Or the latest reports (sourced from inside Russia) on the big leap in human rights abuses, worsening corruption and economic stagnation under Putin?

Stop posting silly, meaningless anti-American rants.

February 15th, 2014, 5:33 pm

Andrew said:

Syria’s Southern Spring Offensive
Posted by: Aron Lund

http://carnegieendowment.org/syriaincrisis/?fa=54522

February 15th, 2014, 5:37 pm

PenGun said:

LOL. Ummm how to put this, Yasser Qazoz really needs to take some weapon handling instruction. The grip he has is not gonna work well. 😉

This is stupid war.

February 15th, 2014, 5:41 pm

Syrialover said:

JOSHUA, thank you for the post above. It’s a useful roundup.

The vision of a political settlement had its run and is dead. Now it’s been demonstrated once and for all in Geneva that the regime has no capacity or intention to negotiate, what you describe above was inevitable.

Worse, the world saw the insincerity and pointlessness of the regime sending a team to Geneva underlined by its accelerated killing and destruction in Syria while the negotiations took place.

So it’s back to the less desirable option of military resolution.

But everyone finally agrees now that’s the only option that’s left to try to save what remains of Syria.

February 15th, 2014, 6:13 pm

Syrialover said:

GHUFRAN, NORMAN and MJABALI, in my mind anything you say lacks substance or relevance unless it takes into account the factors reported in my closing posts in the last thread (#26 and #27).

February 15th, 2014, 6:27 pm

Syrialover said:

For those who think the foreign jihadists in Syria are a serious factor, please read this.

Article: “In Syria, Western Fundamentalists Are Tweeting From Amongst the Corpses”

http://mag.newsweek.com/2014/02/14/syria-western-fundamentalists-tweeting-amongst-corpses.html

It will give you a more realistic perspective and insight into them.

February 15th, 2014, 6:38 pm

Tara said:

I tried to avoid opening the link all day long. الله يلعن بيت الأسد و كل واقف وراء بيت الأسد
انشاالله بيصير فيهم متل ماساووا بهالعالم. You are animals!!!

https://www.joshualandis.com/blog/inter-rebel-fighting-enters-new-phase-salafists-declare-open-war-isis-daniel-abdallah/#comment-444063

February 15th, 2014, 7:21 pm

Syrialover said:

Join the loud laughter.

The world’s most ridiculous and outrageous liar, his plants blazing on fire:

“Al-Jaafari: we will spare no efforts to make Geneva rounds of talks a success with open-mindedness and a positive spirit”

(Report in Syrian media: http://www.syriaonline.sy/?f=Details&catid=12&pageid=9185)

February 15th, 2014, 7:22 pm

mjabali said:

Syrialover:

I went and read your comments from the previous thread.

I even read what Aboud Dandashi wrote few days ago. I read what he wrote again from your response too. He has his opinion: but do I buy his logic: NO. What he presented is his OWN theories and reading into the Alawite situation. He is a biased writer and that is why I do not take what he says to be correct.

In my opinion everything he wrote is common knowledge. People been saying the same things from day one. You can even see the same positions in anti Assad Alawite writers: like in the magazine Sindyan.

Still: Would I say that his article about the Alawites and Assad has no substance: NO.

Unlike you: I see substance in any position in the Syrian conflict these days. We need to work something. This is what I try to say.

Also: when you say that al-Assad’s delegates to Geneva did not have the power to make deals. First: this is not true because al-Assad is present in Geneva through these people. They are briefing him play by play.

When, you, and others, say that al-Assad delegates did not have the power to make deals: I have to laugh. It is not amateur hour mr. SyriaLover.

On the other hand: The Opposition team did not have anything to offer. Speaking of decisions: Who is going to listen to what these guys are bargaining for in Geneva? No one….

In my opinion Geneva II failed to present solutions because the opposition team has no clout, al-Assad knew this, and acted upon that. His team too did not want to make deals.

The reaction of Saudi Arabia to arm the “moderates” is an indication of what really happened.

February 15th, 2014, 7:27 pm

ghufran said:

I told you Geneva 2 will be a circus, now we learn that most members of the NC negotiating team were placed on a government list that includes terrorists and that gives the regime the right to confiscate their property:
قال معارضون سوريون يوم السبت إن سوريا اضافت اعضاء وفد المعارضة في محادثات السلام في جنيف إلى “قائمة الارهابيين” وصادرت ممتلكاتهم بما في ذلك منزل احدهم.
واضافت المصادر ان وفد المعارضة لم يعلم بالقرار الا عندما تم تسريب نسخة من قرار وزارة العدل الاسبوع الماضي إلى موقع (كلنا شركاء) الالكتروني التابع للمعارضة السورية.
وجاء في المذكرة التي اصدرتها وزارة العدل ان الاصول جمدت بموجب قانون مكافحة الارهاب لعام 2012.
وقال دبلوماسي ان مفاوضي المعارضة اكتشفوا قبل بضعة ايام ان معظمهم مدرج على قائمة الارهابيين التي تضم 1500 من النشطين والمعارضين للرئيس السوري بشار الأسد.
With government forces and hizbullah closing on Yabroud and areas around Homs and with army units continuous bombardment in Aleppo and multiple cease fire agreements (on government’s terms) around Damascus, KSA and NATO feel obligated to make anther attempt to try to stop regime advances by supplying weapons to rebels, but we know from previous experiences that the most likely outcome will be increased blood shed and more refugees.
Now, this:
“GHUFRAN, NORMAN and MJABALI, in my mind anything you say lacks substance or relevance unless it takes into account the factors reported in my closing posts in the last thread (#26 and #27)”
really ? 🙂
Here is Jarba:

February 16th, 2014, 12:24 am

Syrialover said:

MJABALI #18,

Thank you for your response. I read it carefully.

But I feel you are not taking an objective perspective – which I guess is your choice.

Bashar Assad CAN’T negotiate any sort of settlement. He is in no position to. That is what Geneva is proving.

Forget about the Opposition team. They have nothing to do in Geneva, they are facing a brick wall behind which is an empty space.

Assad has taken things too far at home, dragged too many people into a deep, dark ditch with him and committed too much to external allies to be able to change direction now without facing personal risk and backlash

1. The negotiator Brahami has just apologized to the Syrian people that things collapsed. He gave the reason that the regime team abandoned earlier agreements on what would be on the agenda and instead insisted on only discussing “terrorism”. Is he a liar? Not from my reading of pre-meeting statements by the regime (link in #17) and accounts of what then actually happened.

2. You misunderstand when I say the regime team has no real power to negotiate and manoeuvre. They don’t. Bashar Assad stops any real negotiation – as you state, he is close there behind them, exactly as Dandachi says. Hence 1. above.

3. OK MJABALI tell us, what will the people on Bashar’s side who have suffered and sacrificed so much, followed orders to hate, fear and kill their fellow Syrians and destroy their own country feel if Assad suddenly announced that he will now work with those so-called “Takfiris” and foreigners and stop fighting without a “victory”.

How would you react in their shoes?

Dandachi knows Alawites are normal human beings and how they will react, he was experiencing their situation among them in Syria until only a few months ago. I see his writings as sympathetic to them.

2. Tell us what will the Iranians do if they suddenly find they do not have Syria as Bashar promised them, after all they have done for him there? They will smack his head and kick his ass and fight on without him. Bashar prostituted himself and gave Syria away to Iran in return for help to stay in power. Syria has become vital to the Mullahs. How can Assad now decide to break the deal and humiliate them at home and abroad?

3. Your comment about the regime team in Geneva “I have to laugh, it is not amateur hour” is not correct.

Bashar Jaafari behaved astonishingly unprofessionally and undiplomatically at Geneva 2, taking up the agenda with anti-American and sectarian rants and accusing the negotiator of being a wahhabist etc*

Then after this last failed round Jaafari made silly flippant remarks to the media like the whole thing was a joke.

Any amateur could have behaved better than that.

* See http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/29/us-syria-crisis-brahimi-idUSBREA0S21Z20140129 and
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/31/un-s-brahimi-round-one-of-syria-peace-talks-failed.html

Bottom line, now scientifically demonstrated : Nothing can change in Syria while Assad remains.

In fact, it will only get much worse if you can bear to imagine that.

February 16th, 2014, 1:47 am

Syrialover said:

GHUFRAN,

Your turn now.

Please explain to me what the regime team actually had on offer in Geneva. And what they realistically were seeking in return.

You say in #19, “but we know from previous experiences that the most likely outcome [of the Saudis providing defensive weapons] will be increased blood shed and more refugees”

And increased bloodshed and refugees hasn’t been happening by the hour every day for years and even recently increased in momentum? Huh?

So as for what the Saudis are doing, nobody except those under threat will criticize them.

Personally I don’t care if Adolf Hitler was to rise out of the grave and provide weapons to stop a national military force using its full weaponry to bomb its own ordinary citizens, massacring and terrorizing them and destroying their country.

It’s the right thing to do. And well worth a try in the absence of other options.

February 16th, 2014, 2:17 am

Bruno (@GamerOps) said:

Really he isn’t an salafi? thats what they claimed about Bin Laden to that Bin Laden was very moderate.

If you want to see how an post Syria War intervention would look like take a look at the hell hole in Libya there lays your answers.

February 16th, 2014, 3:41 am

Alan said:

Exclusive Interview with Sharmine Narwani. The Levant is all the richer for its diversity

Sharmine Rocks!!
“I don’t think it is right to extrapolate from the actions of a few thousand extremists and plunge straight into a war-of-civilizations discourse. There is a real danger of exacerbating conflict by ‘framing’ the narrative in sectarian terms” says Sharmine Narwani

What is disturbing today is the staggering amount of financial assistance flowing to sectarian groups and individuals, both in and out of the Middle East. Part of this comes from the «politics of polarization» – what you might find in an Iranophobic Saudi Arabia or a Shia-hating Pakistani donor. But the real shocker is how far countries like the United States, Great Britain and France have been willing to go to isolate, marginalize, destabilize and destroy adversaries (Syria, Iran, Hezbollah) – even if it has meant investing heavily in sectarianism to make those gains. These three western powers – so influential in global media – have clung to divisive and sectarian narratives to describe events in the region, even going so far as to downplay violence against Christians to serve broader political agendas.

http://youtu.be/_dykdp7c1N0?t=1s

February 16th, 2014, 5:50 am

Juergen said:

any surprise?

Syria adds opposition peace talks delegates to ‘terrorist list’

“Syria has added opposition delegates at peace talks in Geneva to a “terrorist list” and seized their assets, including the house of one of them, anti-government negotiators and a diplomat said on Saturday.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/15/us-syria-crisis-blacklist-idUSBREA1E0QI20140215

February 16th, 2014, 6:54 am

Observer said:

Mjabali

You revert almost instinctively to a victimhood mentality. Here is what you wrote:

I hope al-Assad and Iran start giving weapons to the Saudi Shia. Remember the oil of Saudi Arabia is in the lands of the Shia who had been robbed out of it from day one.

It is not Shia oil or Sunni oil. It was stolen and used by a clan and a family the Al Saud and with tribal allegiances have remained in power for so long. Sounds familiar to you? It seems the Assad family has used the same method and stolen a country as well. It is dictatorship stupid as they say ( not an insult to you of course ).
It is of course the result of years of oppression and of division and of tormenting Alawis to deflect from oppression that has led us to this counter oppression and division. No doubt about it. The reality is that for more than 400 years all of us were treated as subjects not citizens. Now is the time for citizenship to rise. Not only the fight is for freedom and dignity but for a true citizenship. Today Al Maliki acknowledged the citizenship of the people of Ramadi and is treating them as citizens. Will see if he can deliver long term but he is forced to treat them as citizens and his sectarian policies have failed.

SL; the regime’s response was known from the very beginning: there is absolutely no intention to give up anything. They are drunk with the idea of possessing a whole country and their allies in the security services know very well that they have to go back to being regular citizens like everyone else. Like Mjabali, based on their previous experience of being discriminated against they can not see but a bleak future if they do not win. Now, they and the Iranians and I must say less so for the Russians are happy to have a mini Syria in their hands where an airport can deliver weapons to HA. The problem is that they do not have a leverage of force against Israel any longer if the border on the Golan falls to the rebels. These rebels are not Islamists and are acceptable to Israel and they have a sponsor in KSA and Jordan that is friendly to the Israelis. So in the breakup of the country that we see today, they are carving out a friendly force on the Golan. In the meantime, the HA will remain engaged for the next 10-15 years in a war in Syria that will effectively end its threat to Israel. A threat that for now has left the norther border of Israel quiet since 2006.

Ghufran, the SAA is still battling in Hajera outside of the International Airport for more than a year. Yabroud disappeared from the Alalam and Manar and Sana news today. There are more than 100 000 dead or severely wounded Alawi troops suffered so far. They cannot break the siege of Noubl and Zahra. In Hama, another village was liberated today, and the very fact that the rebels can have inter rebel fighting is an indication of the weakness of the regime. As for the delegation in Geneva, it is of course a side show. Kerry boxed in the Russians and the Syrians and also he boxed in his boss Obama by insisting that the outcome of Geneva would be a regime change.

Norman: you are priceless and so full of it that I am thrilled to have you back. You think that the coward bully iPad retard can bomb Amman? He can bomb and kill and torture and corrupt and steal from harmless people but when it comes to fighting a real war, he needs to hide behind HA and Iran and Russia. He and the entire community of fighters that he has are bullies and cowards and are only good at using heavy weapons. When it comes to fighting man to man they are like his father a mouse in Golan.

Dr. Landis: the families you talk about as being transnational is only due to the fact the area was divided arbitrarily by the White Man to keep it unstable and at war with itself since 1918. OBL was right in sense when pointed out to this aberration as most of our families are part Lebanese or Jordanian or Iraqi or Turkish today because of these divisions. It is not a transnational family it is a divided and separated family.

February 16th, 2014, 7:18 am

Observer said:

Norman while the glorious SAA of the Ummatoun Arabia Wahida That Rissalah Khalida is using crude barrel bombs to destroy the country you should read about this

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.574284

February 16th, 2014, 7:30 am

Observer said:

Here is the left leaning Guardian

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/16/syria-talks-assad-brahimi-un

February 16th, 2014, 7:48 am

norman said:

things like these are going to happen in Syria, Homs, Damascus and many other areas,

http://www.raialyoum.com/?p=53176

Observor, war is war and Syria can be rebuild better .

February 16th, 2014, 7:53 am

norman said:

Observor, is that why your mice are leaving old Homs and Yarmouk, after they were pushed out of Qausair and soon Yabrood, kidnaping Nuns and Bishops is their kind of Jihad, shame on them, they call, themselves Muslims.

February 16th, 2014, 7:58 am

Tara said:

Observer,

I really can’t wait till the news materialize and the rebels use MANPAD against a peasant pilot dropping barrel bomb. We have heard that the US and the Saudis will be giving the rebels quality weapons so many time before and nothing happened. I just do not believe those “leaks” as it seems they were purposefully leaked to distract. Why is it a leak, not in your face news if it is true?

Obama “leaks” and Iran and Russia deliver! Hasn’t this been the case all along?

February 16th, 2014, 8:10 am

Mina said:

Some in Egypt can’t wait until they get these new types of weapons
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-26217380

February 16th, 2014, 8:12 am

Observer said:

Yes of course Norman, with barrel bombs and starvation of whole populations it is really a very brave SAA.

Here for you daily dose of laughter

http://www.almanar.com.lb/adetails.php?eid=749450&cid=21&fromval=1&frid=21&seccatid=23&s1=1

Are you ready to go back to Syria Norman?

I urge you to do so right away and to abandon your safe haven wherever it may be

February 16th, 2014, 9:49 am

Sami said:

215 barrel bombs were dropped ON ONE NEIGHBOURHOOD IN A WEEK in Aleppo, and sectarians want to talk about Jihadists?!!!!!!

I hope every Syrian gets a MANPAD.

February 16th, 2014, 9:50 am

Sami said:

In Christianity you’re supposed to turn the other cheek not turn a blind eye!

February 16th, 2014, 9:54 am

mjabali said:

SyriaLover:

1- Contrary to what you say Bashar al-Assad can still make a deal.

2- The negotiator al-Ibrahimi, tried to broker a deal. His efforts should be noted by those who love peace to come to Syria.

3- The opposition team tried to make their agenda #1 and the Assad’s team tried to push their own agenda. This is common sense: the problem is that the big players did not push for a real deal.

4- As for the Alawites and their support to Bashar al-Assad: if he makes a deal they will follow him. He had established almost full control over them. Their is dissent amongst them. Many of them do not like his policies. Many of them are in his prisons. Some of them fight against him: But to say that he had lost them is incorrect. The opposition, with its reliance on foreign fighters, and what these international head cutters had done, came to the benefit of al-Assad. Today: the Alawites, (My personal opinion) are ready for a deal.

5- You said that Aboud Dandashi “knows that Alawites are normal human beings.” Wasn’t this the same Aboud Dandashi who said that the Alawite women are all prostitute and after the fall of al-Assad he is going to teach them morals. Anything this man says about the Alawites is not important.

6- About the Iranians: Why were they out of Geneva II? is it amateur hour? You need to solve things in Syria you need to have Iran involved. This is obvious. To have Saudi Arabia and not have Iran is a mistake. Either you have the US/Russia/UN and the Syrians, or you could invite Iran, Saudi Arabia, and to your surprise I would invite ISrael and Iraq and Turkey and LEbanon and even Jordan, plus the Snake: Qatar.

7- The deal about Syria should be thought well by the SMART ones.

February 16th, 2014, 10:08 am

mjabali said:

Observacion the psychic

1-The Shia of Eastern Saudi Arabia had been the victims of Sunni aggression and dominance for hundreds of years.

2- Most of the oil of Saudi Arabia is in the areas of the Shia.

3- Shia have gotten ZERO from oil revenues so far.

4- The Shia of Eastern Saudi Arabia have legitimate rights to separate from a country that carries the name of a family: Saudi Arabia.

5- The Revenues of oil were used to spread Sunnism around the world.

6- You seem to deny all of these historical facts and insist on your outdated talk.

8-You also seem to deny the Sunni vs Shia war that is blazing these days. Keep drinking that wine.

9- Syria, Iraq, Hizballah and Iran have legitimate rights to arm the Shia in Saudi Arabia.

10- More hell is coming: So what is your psychoanalyticalisto analysis DR. Observacion?

February 16th, 2014, 10:36 am

Alan said:

(Saudis and CIA agree to Arm Syrian Moderates with Advanced Anti-aircraft and Anti-tank Weapons)- This is the tip of the insanity!

30. MINA – yes i already said that : Will spread thermal missiles, anti-aircraft like mushrooms in the forest after the rain! All the consequences arising from this matter will be the product of American politics!

10. SYRIALOVER- anti-American rants-according to the law of physics is the result of aggressive, criminal U.S. policy in the ME
Or do you think that you are Charitable organization, and we will Spread your way to you with flowers?

February 16th, 2014, 11:02 am

ghufran said:

Zabadani may be joining other towns that may be attempting a cease fire.
شهدت بلدة “الزبداني”، بريف دمشق، السبت 15-2-2014 هدوءًا حذرًا خاليًا من قصف الجيش السوري للمرّة الأولى، منذ أكثر من 18 شهرًا، بعد “الاتفاق” على وقف إطلاق النار، بين الجيش السوري والكتائب المقاتلة في البلدة، حسب مكتب جنوب دمشق الإعلاميّ.
حيث نشر المجلس المحلي لمدينة الزبداني، الجمعة، بيانًا نص على اتفاق لوقف إطلاق النار بين كتائب المعارضة المسلحة والجيش السوري، بدءًا من السبت، كما نصّ “الاتفاق” على إلغاء المظاهر المسلحة في البلدة.
وحسب ناشطين، فإن “الاتفاق” هو عبارة عن تمهيد للهدنة المُزمع عقدُها في مدينة “الزبداني”، خلال الأيام القادمة، التي يتم التشاور في بنودها خلال الفترة الحالية.
Of course the people in coastal areas lost tens of thousands of young men in this dirty war, that by itself, along with terrorist sectarian crimes in a number of areas in Syria, lays to rest the myth that this war is simply about an evil alawi army killing innocent Sunni population, the truth is that most Syrians are victim of this war and the winners are not likely to be the families of those who died and still dying. Even if the regime collapses tomorrow the new chiefs will have to deal with the monumental task of rebuilding destroyed cities and the possible return of 3 million external and 5 million internal refugees, most of whom got their lives chattered by the brutality and irresponsibility of both their government and the rebels (who were supposed to defend them), not to mention the criminal involvement of the GCC Bedouins who financed every civil and regional war in the region (unless Israel was the target) and supported every Islamist terrorist group they could find. The stubborn denial of the facts some of you display here is astonishing.
The sectarian dimension of this war is real but overblown, what needs to happen is a cease fire even if that requires the forceful removal of those who oppose it. Geneva was a failure for reasons well explained on this forum and are not limited to Assad’s predictable unwillingness to leave his chair, millions of Syrians simply do not trust the NC and the Bedouins of the GCC and their backers to give them the key to their cities and towns, Assad is taking advantage of the fact that his opponents provided nothing but a scarier alternative to his scary regime, and he is happy that moderate elements in the opposition are excluded from negotiation, I suspect that he even put few of them in prison for the same purpose, that has been the problem from day one, Assad wants to look as the savior and his adversaries are helping him sell this to Syrians and the world.

February 16th, 2014, 11:07 am

Uzair8 said:

I wonder who Mr Fisk is gonna blame for the failure of Geneva 2?

Can’t wait to find out…

February 16th, 2014, 11:10 am

Alan said:

Convicted Criminals Serve as “Freedom Fighters” in Syria: Saudi, Pakistani and Iraqi Prison Inmates Replenish Al Qaeda Ranks
http://www.globalresearch.ca/convicted-criminals-serve-as-freedom-fighters-in-syria-saudi-pakistani-and-iraqi-prison-inmates-replenish-al-qaeda-ranks/5369055
-/-/-/-
Acknowledged by the NYT, the prison breakouts are part of the recruitment of jihadists to serve in the Syrian insurgency. What is not mentioned, however, is that the recruitment of mercenaries is a covert operation, coordinated by NATO, Turkey and Saudi Arabia with the support of the Obama administration. Moreover, known and documented, most Al Qaeda affiliated forces are covertly supported by Western intelligence including the CIA, Mossad and Britain’s MI6.-/-/-/-/-
that’s so look your true criminal face !

February 16th, 2014, 12:35 pm

Alan said:

This is a very good speech by Father P Kramer on Obama,Syria -drums of war & greater Scope-Path To Peace Conference
http://youtu.be/tw_SUT8uMyo

February 16th, 2014, 1:32 pm

Mina said:

Saudi cult of idols
http://angryarab.net/2014/02/16/from-the-janadiryyah-festival-in-saudi-arabia/

February 16th, 2014, 1:41 pm

Mina said:

UAE… Morocco… waiting for the ballot box…
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/uae-expels-eight-kuwaitis-starting-student-union
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/life-style/entertainment/2014/02/14/Morocco-police-block-launch-of-rapper-s-new-album-.html

February 16th, 2014, 1:58 pm

ghufran said:

Idris is sacked while Abdullah of Jordan goes to California to receive instructions and beg for more money. It is obvious now that there will be another attempt to change the outlook of the military conflict in southern Syria.
أقال المجلس العسكري الأعلى رئيس هيئة الأركان اللواء سليم إدريس من منصبه مساء اليوم.
و قالت مصادر إعلامية، إن هيئة الأركان قامت بتعيين العميد عبد الإله البشير بديلاً عن الإدريس
و عبد الإله البشير النعيمي من أهالي منطقة الرفيد في الجولان، و شغل سابقاً منصب رئيس المجلس العسكري في القنيطرة و الجولان.

February 16th, 2014, 2:03 pm

ghufran said:

Jonathan Steele-The Guardian:

US and Russian pressure will be key. Rather than trying to score propaganda points or blame the other for Geneva’s lack of progress, Washington and Moscow need to build on the common ground between them. Neither wants the total collapse of Syria’s institutions or its secular multicultural tradition. Neither wants the victory of Islamic fundamentalists allied to jihadi extremists. Neither wants a sectarian bloodbath in Damascus on the pattern of Baghdad eight years ago. A Syrian alliance in which the secular opposition activists who started the revolt against Assad in 2011 join forces with the regime against the foreign jihadis needs to be sketched out.
(both sides see independent seculars as a threat, those leaders are disliked by both Assad and the Islamists)

February 16th, 2014, 2:18 pm

Hector said:

Give the moderate opposition the manpads they desperately need. After a few helicopters and fighter jets from Assad’s terrorist regime have been destroyed, announce to the world that all aircraft in Syrian air space will be targeted, especially aircraft from Iran and Russia. The absence of air transport in the country will starve the terrorist regime of weapons and other supplies. The Assad terrorist regime will crumble in six months.

February 16th, 2014, 2:26 pm

Roland said:

The main reason the talks are going badly is that they didn’t arrange a ceasefire before opening the negotiations.

Instead, now some of the parties to the conflict seem to want to return to the escalation game, presumably hoping to improve their negotiating position.

Since none of the participants in the civil war depend on an indigenous supply of weapons, escalation can proceed almost indefinitely. That’s why a general ceasefire and round-table talks should be desirable for almost everyone concerned.

So far, the Russians have not supplied the Syrian government side with state-of-the-art of weapons. Almost all Russian support to date has been confined to the resupply and maintenance of pre-war Syrian weapon systems.

But what happens when the Russians reply to this Saudi initiative with augmented arms deliveries of their own? e.g. modern body armour, drone aircraft, advanced artillery submunitions, etc.

Many recent developments in war technology are more favourable to the regular rather than the guerrilla. An advancement of the overall technical level of combat on the Syrian battlefield might not prove be to the rebels’ advantage.

February 16th, 2014, 4:06 pm

Andrew said:

Joshua Landis: Kerry’s opening speech derailed Geneva II before it even started.

February 16th, 2014, 5:19 pm

norman said:

The only way out is for free elections guaranteed and a political system for Syria so the Syrians can chose and everybody agrees on the results no matter what they are, that is the only way, for the opposition to impose their leaders on the Syrian people is not acceptable and for the government and the regime to say either Assad or nobody is not acceptable too, what we see now is just revenge by both sides, they need to set the system and let the Syrians chose.

February 16th, 2014, 5:38 pm

ghufran said:

JL’s comment on the topic:

Will Saudi/US backing for “moderate” militias in Syria lead to a rebel win? Not necessarily.

I would not be surprised if the US promised the Saudis, following the September flap over chemical weapons and Obama’s turn to diplomacy, that Washington would “go along” with Saudi Arabia’s arming Syrian rebels if Geneva failed. For the US this is a way of staying “in the game” and directing the flow of Saudi arms to US friendly militias. This may simply be an effort by Washington not to lose control over Saudi funding and assistance. The US must fear that if it turns its back on Saudi Arabia completely, the KSA will fund Salafists. This may lead to Jihadism growing in Syria rather than diminishing. In September the KSA threatened to “go it alone” if Washington abandoned the rebel cause and “break” with the US. Clearly, Washington does not want Saudi to break with the US.
If my conjecture is correct, then U.S. participation in this effort doesn’t necessarily mean that the US is committed to supporting the rebels or that we have seen any real change in Obama policy. Rather, it suggests that the US is trying to direct and possible restrain Saudi involvement. If this is true, the outcome may be worse than allowing the Gulf to push for a Salafi win. It will mean more infighting among rebels, more refugee outflow, and more fragmentation of Syria. It will not necessarily mean a rebel win or an outcome that either side wants. My hunch is that the “moderate” rebels will find progress very difficult if the Salafists feel like they are being cut out. Syrian Salafists have wager a lot and spent a lot of blood in this war. They will not easily be muscled aside by forces compliant to a military control room.

(a serious escalation still requires the approval of the USA, however, as long as KSA is not directly affected by the Syrian war it is likely to continue its policy of recruiting jihadists and paid guns to flex its muscles while it works to assure Israel. Until the royal family have a taste of the poison it is injecting into the region I see no real chance of a policy change. Whether KSA will succeed or not is a different matter and that will largely depend on Iran and Russia who until now showed no sign of backing off).

February 16th, 2014, 7:25 pm

ghufran said:

Andrew,
Thanks for the link, the four guests in the piece were for the most part factual and focused unlike much of the garbage we hear on Syria today including some childish comments on this blog by people who are not sure where their head is.

February 16th, 2014, 7:55 pm

Juergen said:

‎ISIS‬ closes the last supply line from ‪Kilis‬ to ‪Aleppo‬. And ‪Assad‬ takes strategically situated industrial area of Aleppo. A coincidence?

February 17th, 2014, 12:48 am

Juergen said:

The destruction of the idols: Syria’s patrimony at risk from extremists

”

Islamic fundamentalists in Syria have started to destroy archaeological treasures such as Byzantine mosaics and Greek and Roman statues because their portrayal of human beings is contrary to their religious beliefs. The systematic destruction of antiquities may be the worst disaster to ancient monuments since the Taliban in Afghanistan dynamited the giant statues of Buddha at Bamiyan in 2001 for similar ideological reasons.

In mid-January the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis), an al-Qa’ida-type movement controlling much of north-east Syria, blew up and destroyed a sixth-century Byzantine mosaic near the city of Raqqa on the Euphrates. The official head of antiquities for Raqqa province, who has fled to Damascus and does not want his name published, told The Independent: “It happened between 12 and 15 days ago. A Turkish businessman had come to Raqqa to try to buy the mosaic. This alerted them [Isis] to its existence and they came and blew it up. It is completely lost.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/news/the-destruction-of-the-idols-syrias-patrimony-at-risk-from-extremists-9122275.html

February 17th, 2014, 1:38 am

Badr said:

MJABALI: “Bashar al-Assad can still make a deal.”

Then in your view, under what conditions would the Assad regime be willing to transfer power?

February 17th, 2014, 2:39 am

Observer said:

Mjabali you either do not read or do not understand what I wrote.

I agree with most of you what you wrote that was my original point. The Shia of Eastern Saudi Arabia were not treated well.

I know that there is Sunni Shia war. The issue is that the regime, the HA and the Iranians pretend otherwise.

Consistency is not your middle name: if Syria Iraq and Iran have a right to arm Shia, Qatar KSA and others have the right to arm Sunnis who for the last 60 years and more so in the last 10 and terribly in the last 3 have been subjected to horrendous discrimination by the Alawis in Syria.

If the HISTORICAL facts you keep alluding to are to be righted then the regime and most of the leaders of the Alawi state of security in Syria should be in jail awaiting a trial for crimes against humanity.

You are and you have every right to be of course a Alawi who thinks and breaths and feels and thinks in Alawi terms. I do understand how you feel; but you are first a Aalwi and second a Syrian from your writings. Your belonging to your sect is superior to your belonging to Syria, just as Maliki declared that he is Shia first, Iraqi second, and Arab third. There is nothing wrong with that but do not tell me that this is not a sect based thinking.

Last but not least your insults are inappropriate and are truly an insult to your Alawi heritage and your Shia faith and your Syrian background. I do not know why you make fun of my pen name.

Simply because we have a different view point on the events today and their impact does not give you the right to belittle the other. But then again, I guess I am responsible and my family and my background make me guilty of what happened to Hussein 1400 years ago and I have to pay for the sins of Yazid and with this mentality we are to live together according to the History Officionado.

February 17th, 2014, 7:00 am

mjabali said:

Badr:

You asked me this question:

“Then in your view, under what conditions would the Assad regime be willing to transfer power”

In my opinion the answer to your question is really hard because you are mixing here between al-Assad, as an individual leader, and the whole system the Assads (father and son) had built (Ministers, parties, officials, army, mukhabarat, education…etc)

-If you are talking about Bashar al-Assad: You have to strike a deal with him brokered by those who had been supporting him: especially Russia and Iran. The US should supervise this deal with the UN.

– If you are talking about how to transfer power from al-Assads’ system to others: this could be done through more talks also brokered by the US and Russia, al-Assad can not prolong this forever. So, if al-Assad’s team said we want to fight terrorism, the opposition should say ok we want to be with you, or see what you guys are doing. Power sharing should happen asap, on any level, and through whatever it takes, so you start changing al-Assad’s regime. This is my personal opinion.

February 17th, 2014, 1:05 pm

Sami said:

The Assad’s did not build any systems except the endemic system of corruption and suppression. By doing so they hollowed out every ministry, military and healthcare system that was established prior to them to be nothing but a mere shell of what they use to be. Instead now we have an “airforce” that barrel bombs its inhabitants, a “security” system that tortures and kills those they are supposedly “securing”, an “education” system built on lies and deception, and “hospitals” that have turned into torture dens.

Assadists don’t fight “terrorism”, they define it!

February 17th, 2014, 1:17 pm

mjabali said:

Observacion:

1- Contrary to your claims: Hizballah claims it is a Shia vs Sunni war. Check out the song they just released for the battle in Yabrud. Hizballah was brought to the Syrian conflict from day one.

2- Contrary to your claims: I have been always consistent regarding the Shia politics. I say the TRUTH without beating around the bushes.

3- If you have not heard: Saudi Arabia had been causing troubles for Iraq for more than a decade. What did the Iraqis do: Did they react in the same way and send suicide bombers into Saudi Arabia? No…they did not…Did Saudi Arabia try to fragment the State of Iraq: YES…did al-Maliki or anyone before him react in the same way: NO. So dude wake up: Go read how many bombs went off in Iraq today.

4- Contrary to your claims Dr. Observacion I am SYRIAN and feel SYRIAN but I like to teach you, and many others, how to speak properly about the Alawites. I teach you, and many others here, who are the Alawites, besides al-Assads. You, and many others, did not see me other than an Alawite no matter how I think, feel and say.

5- Contrary to your claims: making variations of your name if mot insulting you. Besides: If I do this how do I insult my Alawite or Syrian background? Do you insult your “Kurdish” heritage when you use the term “Peasant”?

6- Contrary to your claims: The Alawites do not see themselves as Shia.

7- Contrary to your claims: I go after what you do now and not what your family had done. I just brought that up when you started ordering the Alawites how they should leave “your” city. Just to remind you of the real history that you always try to ignore.

February 17th, 2014, 1:42 pm

mjabali said:

Sami:

Keep screaming and find no solutions.

Yes the Assads’ system is messed up. We both grew up in Syria and know what it is. It is a joke of a system.

But: You need a quick solution to find a way to stop this madness.

Do you have any practical advice?

February 17th, 2014, 1:47 pm

habib said:

Always desperately trying to find new insurgents to back? Just give it up, in a few months these guys will have been replaced as well.

February 17th, 2014, 2:32 pm

Andrew said:

A Coup in the Supreme Military Council?
Posted by: Aron Lund Monday, February 17, 2014

http://carnegieendowment.org/syriaincrisis/?fa=54537

Late last night, the Supreme Military Council (SMC), a command structure for much of the armed Syrian opposition, issued a statement announcing that it had expelled its own chief of staff, Lieutenant General Salim Idris, who is said to be on a work-related visit to Qatar.

February 17th, 2014, 2:41 pm

Mina said:

Aron Lund
http://m.ceip.org/syriaincrisis/index.cfm?fa=54537

February 17th, 2014, 3:49 pm

Juergen said:

Stephen Hawking on Syria:

What’s happening in Syria is an abomination
We must use our human intelligence to end this war. As a father, I watch the suffering of Syria’s children and say: no more
Today in Syria we see modern technology in the form of bombs, chemicals and other weapons being used to further so-called intelligent political ends. But it does not feel intelligent to watch as more than 100,000 people are killed or while children are targeted. It feels downright stupid, and worse, to prevent humanitarian supplies from reaching clinics where, as Save the Children will document in a forthcoming report, children are having limbs amputated for lack of basic facilities, and newborn babies are dying in incubators for lack of power.

“Today in Syria we see modern technology in the form of bombs, chemicals and other weapons being used to further so-called intelligent political ends. But it does not feel intelligent.”

February 17th, 2014, 3:56 pm

habib said:

Here are some relevant and interesting news, instead of Syrcomments endless and futile cheerleading for nobodies:

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/119098-syria-army-rebels-agree-new-damascus-area-truce

February 17th, 2014, 4:51 pm

Observer said:

Mjabali

You do not get it do you. KSA is a family empire that is a mirror image of the Syrian mafia regime. Yes I wrote it is a shia sunni war. Yes the word peasant is for the regime insiders and pretenders at modernity not a whole community.

As for the calling of getting out of hair it is mutual as we do not seem to be able to live together and it is a figure of speech but oh my you are so sensitive you take literally. It means declare the Alawi state and you have my blessing in parts of Syria Lebanon and Turkey.

Break up the place there is no way to live together. Even your insults are not subtle and on numerous occasions you have included all the Sunnis in one bag of oppression of the others whomever they are.

This is a dialogue of the deaf. There is really no solution but a horrendous military solution.

February 17th, 2014, 5:43 pm

Alan said:

http://youtu.be/6k0xMQGW07M?t=1s

February 17th, 2014, 6:10 pm

Alan said:

Jordan’s ascent to the UN Security Council, as a result of Saudi Arabia’s unprecedented rejection of its seat in October, may blind us to such realities. The hard truth is that external support based on the king’s friendly foreign policy has long been central to authoritarian outcomes in the country. Since 2004, the United States has given the country an average of half-a-billion dollars annually in assistance. Abdullah thus far has successfully persuaded many of his citizens to obey the dictates of living for God, king and country. But he and the coterie that surrounds him have little to offer those Jordanians who desire a greater voice in politics and different approaches to governance. To what degree the palace and its allies can continue to rule a fractious citizenry while appeasing external supporters is the crucial question that shapes short-term political dynamics in Jordan. As the Security Council and the world turn their focus toward key negotiations concerning the war in Syria, the Iranian nuclear program and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we would be wise to remember the dilemmas facing its newest member. The persistence or deterioration of Jordanian stability will not only have inescapable repercussions for the country’s citizenry but also for the geopolitics of a region that continues to confound American policy-makers.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/obama-pledges-1b-in-loan-guarantees-to-jordan/article/2544079

February 17th, 2014, 6:35 pm

Observer said:

Here this from RT the Syrian Independence Flag is flying in the capital of Ukraine Kiev
http://arabic.rt.com/news/654323-فيديو_كييف_علم_المعارضة_السورية/

February 17th, 2014, 7:17 pm

norman said:

The Syrian opposition and the Ukraine opposition are supported by the same people, why should we be surprised that the Occupation Syrian flag is in the Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Jordon and Turkey are behind making the war on Syria as a Sunni Shia war, trying to take advantage of numbers thinking that the number advantage that the Sunni advantage in numbers will give them the upper hand, what they missed is that most Syria’s Sunni are awake to this fact and sided with the government .

February 17th, 2014, 9:49 pm

Sami said:

I am not screaming.

Pointing out the fallacy that the Assad’s built anything when in fact they destroyed everything they got their filthy hands on.

Also the most idiotic fallacy is that the Assadists fight terrorism when in fact the most despicable acts of terrorism is perpetrated by them.

The solution is nothing short from dismantling this regime and its agents of insecurity. As long as Assadists have an inch of power the longer the abuse and rape of the country known as Syria will continue.

Dismantle the republican guard, the 4th brigade, the airforce, the various insecurity apparatuses. Empower moderates, reestablish the real Syrian Arab Army with the first and foremost allegiance to PROTECT the country and not destroy it. With that have a transitional government a new constitution, and free elections.

none of this is remotely possible with Assad and his backward and arrogant agents of death having any connection to power in Syria.

February 17th, 2014, 10:39 pm

Sami said:

learn your history Norman. That is the independence flag, the same one that Shukri Quwatli raised over Damascus on Syria’s independence day, the one Khalil Mardam Bey wrote Humat Al-Diyar for.

February 17th, 2014, 10:43 pm

Ghufran said:

Syrians use tricks to pass through check points controlled by rebels or Syrian army, that includes faking a different accent, wearing hijab, taking off hijab, using fake IDs, etc
الوصول إلى المحافظات الشرقية أصبح من حكايات السوريين التي تنتهي نهايات كئيبة في الغالب. تذكر نهاد أنها كانت تعبر الطريق برفقة أطفالها من طرطوس إلى دير الزور، حيث تعمل موظفة في إحدى الدوائر الحكومية. ارتداء الحجاب بقي يقيها من الصدف البغيضة التي قد تودي بها إلى فخ ينصبه المسلحون لخطف موالين للنظام. الحجاب وحده لم يكن كافياً، بل لا بد من التحدث بلهجة أهالي المنطقة الشرقية، وتدريب الأطفال على هذه اللهجة التي كان الأقارب في الساحل يستهجنونها منهم. مغامرات المرأة انتهت مع محاولات الوصول إلى مقر عملها، عند اختطاف زوجها الضابط في الجيش السوري، ما أدى إلى التزامها منزل عائلتها في طرطوس، وترقّب أي خبر عن زوجها، ونسيان أمر الالتحاق بعملها.
تغيير اللهجات لا يقتصر على الموالين عند عبور حواجز المسلحين، بل يحاول المعارضون أيضاً التحدث بلهجة أهل الساحل، بهدف الحصول على تسهيلات على حواجز الجيش السوري. يذكر تمّام، وهو ناشط في مجال الإغاثة، أنه يتقصد التحدث بلهجة قرى الساحل، بهدف استدرار عطف الجنود، وعدم تدقيقهم أثناء التفتيش. هوية الشاب لا توحي بحقيقة طائفته، بسبب ولادته في منطقة ذات تمازج طائفي كبير. ويتابع: «يكفي أن أقدّم إلى الجندي الطيّب سيجارة. وأن أقول له: كيفك يا بلد، مع ضم حرف اللام بحميمية، حتى يبتسم ويقول لي: روح».
سرعة تكيف السوريين مع نكبات بلادهم وأخطارها خفّفت من مظاهر عجزهم، وجعلت منهم باحثين دائمين عن حلول لمشاكل لا تنتهي.

يمكنكم متابعة مرح ماشي عبر تويتر | @marah_mashi

February 17th, 2014, 11:58 pm

Mina said:

“Discrimination against the Sunnis”

Could anyone provide a link to something more concrete on that?
We’ve been hearing about it for three years, and apart from the Kurds, who for most of them are Sunnis and have been widely discriminated (and that’s easy to prove) I cannot see any example of that in the Sunnis I know.

February 18th, 2014, 3:53 am

Alan said:

Are the US going to regime change in KSA?
Should we witness some concrete steps in the near future that would allow the replacement of Bandar, since the changes are really awaited in this excessively conservative kingdom.

a number of electronic outlets revealed the name of Bandars possible successor – a 54 -year-old Prince Muhammad bin Nayef. He was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom back in November of 2012, and prior to it he was serving in the capacity of Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs. In this department he became known for his effective counter-terrorism measures and the fight against “the misguided sect”, that is how “Al- Qaeda” called in KSA. In 2009, Mohammed bin Nayef survived an assassination attempt, he got off with minor injuries and burns. Mohammed bin Nayef is a nephew of the Saudi monarch and the son of the crown prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud who died in June 2012. Crown prince occupied the position of Minister of Interior for decades. So it’s not surprising that Muhammad bin Nayef is viewed by many as the next King of Saudi Arabia.

It may seem that’s it’s still too early for Prince Bandar to step down, since he has been working in the capacity of director general of the Saudi Intelligence Agency for only 18 months, while enjoying King Abdullah’s favor. But on top of the possible health conditions, his resignation can be provoked by a number of factors. Today Bandar is the chief mastermind in Saudi Arabia responsible for the attempts to overthrow the Syrian regime, including those that imply cooperation with terrorists. The same kind of “attention” was applied by Bandar to Iraq, where the Shiite majority led by Al-Maliki Nuri was in power. However, despite his generous financial support, all of Bandar’s attempts failed. Next step is his involvement in the clearly fabricated case of alleged usage of chemical weapons by Syrian authorities, while those “substances” were delivered from Libya for the opposition members and later used by the them. And then Prince Became became careless. Last year Bandar has been to Moscow twice, where he tried to blackmail Russia’s president Vladimir Putin by stating that the controls North Caucasian militants that may attack Sochi-2014 Olympic Games, should Moscow refuse to change its standing on Syria. In this manner Bandar decided to scare Russia off. Also one should not forget that the Prince was suspected of involvement in the tragedy of September 11, 2001, when he was employed as the Saudi ambassador for Washington.

It’s clear that now the rulers of KSA along with the U.S. officials are trying to detach themselves from any connections with the man who did not hesitate to use terrorism as a means of achieving his political goals and thus crossed all the thinkable “red” lines. The fight for Saudi throne is on, and the ruthless Prince Bandar with his rogue trick can easily face any other competitor.

As for Mohammed bin Nayef he fits the role of the future monarch well, being a representative of the younger generation along with having a hard earned reputation of a terrorist fighter.

February 18th, 2014, 5:10 am

Observer said:

Norman it is a Shia Sunni war as Mjabali admitted from day one.

It is also a tribute in Kiev to the desire to be independent of Russia’s stooges.

The eastern part of Ukraine is pro Russia and the western part is not. The problem is that Yanukovich acted in a similar way to Morsi after the elections and Putin came to his rescue. Putin is trying to revive an empire but this time it is a Russian Orthodox empire not a communist one. The problem is that he needs a lot more than the GDP of Italy ( that is the GDP of Russia today ) to achieve it. So he goes about it in a very smart way: nationalism, reviving a foreign invasion idea, creating a fear of encirclement, harping on missile defense system, and patriotic reminders of WWII.

The revolt in Ukraine is fed up with Putin interfering. Others are doing so as well but then again when an oppression is at work it invites a lot of interference.

Go ahead interfere in Belgium or in Switzerland or in Finland or in Norway and find collaborators there if you can. You will not because these are democracies.

Norman does not seem to believe that Syrians are worthy of democracy.

Let there be free and fair elections and parties and free press and independent judiciary. It may very well be that some minority like the Druze in Lebanon will always be king makers but at least there is a change of the guard, there is debate on where to go, there is accountability one way or the other.

Norman you want us to stay in barbarism and please do not give us the holier than thou attitude that the regime is better than ISIS they are the two sides of the same coin: barbaric sectarian hate filled nihilist mafia regimes.

February 18th, 2014, 7:50 am

Alan said:

America’s Five Criminals: In the U.S. the Gestapo Has Replaced the Rule of Law
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts
http://www.globalresearch.ca/americas-five-criminals-in-the-u-s-the-gestapo-has-replaced-the-rule-of-law/5369145

February 18th, 2014, 8:28 am

Alan said:

Israel and Saudi Arabia’s Priorities In Syria
Current developments both inside and outside of Syria have shown that the primary sponsors of the extremist-dominated insurgency – namely, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Israel and Turkey – aren’t quite ready to throw in the towel.
…………

http://www.mintpressnews.com/israel-saudi-arabias-priorities-syria/179844/?desktop-version=on

February 18th, 2014, 8:40 am

Mina said:

CNN near the Turkish border
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/17/world/meast/syria-isis-addana/index.html

February 18th, 2014, 8:45 am

Alan said:

Ms. Hudes’ conclusions:
The US is at a fork in the road: We the People either stand strong with the rule of law, or continue corruption to a false-flag began World War 3.
We the People are winning.
The people on this planet are ending corruption by speaking the truth to expose the lies, crimes, and bribes of the 1% cabal. This future will take back the rule of law, humanity’s wealth, and end the era of humanity being treated like cattle by crooks, liars, and thieves.

Many of us in alternative media document that Ms. Hudes points to objective facts in OBVIOUS crimes in war and money.

We offer public response through lawful demand for arrests of these, again, OBVIOUS criminals.

The facts are simple for anyone with the intellectual integrity and moral courage to look.

What will you do?

How will you make your family, friends, and yourself proud?

http://youtu.be/F-2Rfuq8NBU?t=1s

February 18th, 2014, 10:11 am

mjabali said:

Observacion:

1- With your repeated usage of the word “peasant” you are insulting the hard working honest peasants.

2- It is great that you reached the realization that it is the dialogue of the deaf. The question here is why you always respond to what I write? You seem not able to counter ideas with ideas and always turn it into a personal match, e,g: you repeated obsession with the relationship between Bashar al-Assad and the IPOD. Sometimes you try to analyze my character, others you label me psychologically, the third looking at me through your limited sectarian lens. Observacion: it is not a personal match. Take it easy. Try to counter ideas with ideas, or try to add to the debate not suicide bomb it. What did I do to you to suicide bomb my ideas like you do?

3- Still waiting to this day to see ONE Sunni Sheikh from Syria issuing a fatwa considering the Alawites non Kafirs. Where is this guy hiding?

4- You keep twisting my words and logic. i.e spreading fake ideas about what I call for, or believe in. I find this attitude hostile.

5- I repeat to you that I am a Syrian and think like one, and you keep denying what I say and put me in a sectarian box. What can I write about your Ba’athi behavior here?

6- If you can not see the Syrian conflict these days in a bigger context, what can I say.

7- It is a Sunni/Shia war.

February 18th, 2014, 11:29 am

mjabali said:

Sami:

Ok..let us say your plan is the solution: but: don’t you want to be there on the ground to do this. You need to reach a deal where you start this process. From your words: I can see that you want al-Assad to dismantle, pack and leave, then you come. Things do not work this way. Right now both parties, in my personal opinion, should start making concessions so they can work together

Things now are changing not in the favor of the Syrian people. The partition is becoming a reality more and more, unless a quick solution put Syrians together. It is a very complex situation, and if we think otherwise we are deceiving ourselves.

February 18th, 2014, 11:46 am

Alan said:

US to use Jordan as base for potential military intervention in Syria
this absolutely seems true to US governmental course: the talks were engineered to fail, because the US refused to let go of Al-Assad leaving before a transitional government could be created, and now the US and the UK are using his not stepping down as the “reason” to invade.

The US and the UK have about 90 days to make this happen, because Syrian elections will be held in June of this year, and they cannot possibly have Al-Assad win by a landslide, completely destroying the US’s alleged reasons he needs to stand down for a “transitional government” (read: US-centric) to be installed.
However, such an action could well mean war against Russia!This could go horrendously bad for the US military

http://stratrisks.com/geostrat/18114

February 18th, 2014, 1:01 pm

sami said:

MJabali,

Daesh should not be negotiated with neither Assadists. Both claim to be a dawleh but both are destroyers of countries and not representative of a decent government.

The Alawites of Syria should not have to negotiate with Daesh and the Sunnis should not have to negitiate with Assadists. Both have brought nothing but terror to Syria and neither should be given the slightest chance of “representing” Syria for both represent nothing but terror.

February 18th, 2014, 2:03 pm

Mina said:

“Even wars have rules” said Mrs Amos
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/syrian-wounded-flee-to-hospitals-in-israel-derek-stoffel-1.2541562

February 18th, 2014, 2:16 pm

Mina said:

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/part-vi-former-syrian-prisoners-their-own-voices

February 18th, 2014, 2:37 pm

Alan said:

O B A M A-K E R R Y! Y o u c a n e n t e r i n t o t h e w a l l!
http://youtu.be/zQv3lEYSTwI?t=1s

February 18th, 2014, 4:49 pm

Observer said:

It is Sunni Shia war agreed.

I do think though that the Syrian in us has become tainted with sectarian hues and this is not an accusation of anything bad. It is the fact: the regime has thrived on this sectarian discourse; the regime has labeled the struggle in sectarian terms; and the average person in the face of a collapse of the state reverts to its sectarian and family ties.

As for the writings, it seems to me that at every turn and in every corner and with every event, there is a mind set of the death of Hussein and the eternal injustice he and his family suffered more than 1400 years ago. This is clearly more powerful to me than any feeling of belonging to a Syrian identity.

I once stumbled on a book about protocol and good manners that was used by a prominent political figure when traveling to visit countries in the world. He happened to be a prominent Lebanese politician. It goes over how to present your credentials as Ambassador or whatever. However the Golden Rule of the Protocol is to live in your private life exactly as you live in your public one.

That is the origin of my description of the iPad Retard President for life: he is at heart a brutal unsophisticated stupid and arrogant fool who thinks that driving an Panamera and flouting a wife who lived in England makes him a gentleman or a leader.

So I am sorry, he belongs in a court of law and then in jail.

As for the events we are moving into a long protracted war.

Mjabali and Sami do not waste time debating what we can do now; debate what to pick up in 10 years and after millions more affected.

February 18th, 2014, 5:01 pm

Akbar Palace said:

The bottom line: if Assad brought freedom and prosperity to Syria, everyone would be getting along just fine.

When you start killing unarmed demonstrators and bomb population centers, people understandably revert to their own tribe. Just what Assad had in mind as his last “fall-back” position. The Assads had 40+ years to bring Syria into the modern world, but they never intended to do so.

February 18th, 2014, 6:48 pm

Ghufran said:

Yes, this conflict is getting more sectarian every day but there are still bright spots and there is still hope. For this destructive sectarian trend to ease, it may not end any time soon, the blood shed needs to stop or at least be greatly reduced.
I do not believe that Syrians and Lebanese are happy to see their sons get killed in a senseless war than can only help Israel and other foreign nations that use Syrian blood to advance their own interests and not that of the Syrians.
There is over 1 million refugees, mostly Sunni, in coastal areas but there is virtually no violence against those refugees despite the fact that many of them are the families of men who are attacking and killing other Syrians many of whom are alawites.
Assad’s departure will not solve Syria’s problems but it is a necessary step in the long path towards peace and reconciliation. The calls to partition Syria along sectarian lines as attractive it is for some are both wrong and undoable but a change at the top as hard as it is must be pursued if Syrians and the super powers are serious about ending this war.
A republic should not be ruled by one man and his son for 44 years regardless of how ” gifted” or ” guided” these two men are. Having said that I maintain that attacking the Syrian army and allowing militias to control cities and large swath of territories was not in Syria’s interest or the interest of security, freedom and democracy especially if the outcome is the judge to how good or bad that behavior was.

February 18th, 2014, 8:23 pm

norman said:

Sami,

Look at the dates and the flag and tell if that is the time of the occupation or not ,

https://flagspot.net/flags/sy-his2.html#1932

Now can you have the courage to admit that you are wrong.

February 18th, 2014, 9:58 pm

norman said:

Observer,

How come the opposition you democracy seekers never asked for free elections and when offered to them they declined and asked for the destruction of the Syrian army and the disbandment of the Baath party, they do not want equal chance they want a take over,

February 18th, 2014, 10:04 pm

Sami said:

If I was wrong then I would admit to it, but even your own link states that the flag chosen by the Opposition is the same one hoisted on Syria’s independence day.

The fact that it was the flag chosen by Syrians as a representative of their autonomy from the French does not mean in any sense of the word is is the “occupation flag”. The fact it was the chosen flag well into the fifties and then adopted again in ’63 proves that it is not the “occupation” flag as minhebaks have tried to twist history would have us believe.

The words of Shukri Quwatli on Syria’s Independence day:

Today we see how in the struggle of the people, how human rights are always rightfully returned to those who deserve them. With our own hands we raised the flag the we have so cherished, and saw with our own eyes the defeat of the invaders, that we fought.

Now do you have the courage to admit you are wrong? Or was Shukri Quwatli the first elected President of the Republic wrong?

February 18th, 2014, 10:29 pm

Sami said:

And a reminder to minhebaks and their revisionist history Syrians did not first rise up to change the government and ask for the over throw of the regime:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUsz4f7udv0

Almost three years ago to the day!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chroniclesyrianuprising/7856870760/

First banner of the revolution.

February 18th, 2014, 10:34 pm

ghufran said:

It is not clear whether the Syrian army will try to take Yabroud or not but people in the area reported seeing little pieces of paper asking rebels to give up their weapons:
ألقى الجيش السوري مناشير في سماء مدينة بيرود في القلمون حملت عنوان نداء الفرصة الأخيرة.
وتضمنت دعوة للمسلحين إلى اغتنام الفرصة والعودة الى أهلهم واحبائهم لأن ساعة الحقيقة دقت والجيش العربي السوري قادم الى المدينة، وحثهم المنشور على أن لا يكونوا وقوداً لأحقاد الآخرين.

French press reports that an attack on Damascus is coming through Jordan-Daraa:

Rebels in southern Syria say they are planning a spring offensive against Damascus, which regime and opposition sources say will include fighters trained by Western forces in neighbouring Jordan.
The Syrian army, meanwhile, is redeploying troops in Quneitra province located on the ceasefire line with Israel, and stepping up shelling on rebel positions in Daraa on the Jordan border to stop any advance, opposition fighters say.

February 18th, 2014, 11:30 pm

Akbar Palace said:

I do not believe that Syrians and Lebanese are happy to see their sons get killed in a senseless war than can only help Israel

Ghufran,

Yes, 10 Nakbas worth of dead arabs and refugees is a waste, unless of course, you’re killing joos.

Hopefully, by now, you’ve learned that Israel is the least of your problems.

February 19th, 2014, 12:24 am

Akbar Palace said:

Juergen,

Thanks for the Steven Hawkings article. I wonder if this genius also boycotts Syrian academics?

http://www.theguardian.com/science/occams-corner/2013/may/13/stephen-hawking-israel-boycott

February 19th, 2014, 12:34 am

ghufran said:

Another crack in the house of rebels after idris was sacked by Jarba:

February 19th, 2014, 12:44 am

Observer said:

Here is a nice piece of news for a change

http://www.npr.org/2014/02/19/279405580/malala-fund-tries-to-help-educate-child-refugees-from-syria

February 19th, 2014, 7:39 am

Alan said:

OBAMA – KERRY! You can enter into the wall!
In a leaked report to the Washington Post, Kerry was quoted as saying that Obama’s Syria policy is failing and that it is time to change the strategy.
OBAMA – KERRY! Obama’s global everywhere policy is failing and that it is time to accept the strategy of Ostrich head Hiding !

February 19th, 2014, 9:18 am

Mina said:

http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/18701

was Idris replaced by the man who organize the transfer of the woundeds to Israeli hospitals?

February 19th, 2014, 10:03 am

Syrialover said:

When Putin’s team was vigorously blocking any attempts by the UN to act on Assad, many analysts explained this as being important to Putin because he wanted to be free to apply Syrian regime-type tactics himself.

An important point, forgotten in the recent fake negotiation role on Syria Russia has been playing.

But look! Watch the Assad script now rapidly unfolding in Ukraine, government killing of civilian demonstrators with Russia pulling the strings behind the scenes and making public accusations and blame against the victims.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt: “We must be clear: Ultimate responsibility for deaths and violence is with President Yanukovych. He has blood on his hands.”

Russian Foreign Ministry: “Blood was spilled in Kiev and other Ukrainian cities last night as a result of criminal activity by radical opposition forces.”

February 19th, 2014, 11:41 am

Syrialover said:

SAMI,

There is a disturbing mentality out there. Syrian expats who are living comfortable, secure, free, privileged lives outside Syria but do not feel that Syrians inside Syria deserve the same.

They have an emotional fantasy pull to the world of “Assad regime Syria”. As long as they don’t have to live there themselves and can keep enjoying all the social, economic and political opportunities, dignity, protections and everything else that Syrians outside the privileged elite have been denied for decades.

They also have an antiseptic, self-censored and distorted view of the reality of what has happened inside Syria.

Expatriate Syrians living the good life in free, prosperous democracies and who think like that are also guilty of something else.

Guilty of ignorantly, greedily using, disrespecting, exploiting and insulting the system they are living in. It’s wasted on them.

Shame, shame, shame.

February 19th, 2014, 12:06 pm

Syrialover said:

MJABALI & NORMAN,

I can’t understand what you think Iran is doing in Syria and its motives are for being there.

That you seriously believe that the Mullahs could be capable of participating in negotiations and “transitioning” with any group which would immediately, furiously kick them out of Syria. And ensure they were firmly excluded from any future involvement there.

Why would they participate in something that will automatically bring international and domestic humiliation, fatally wound their regional ambitions, and waste all the pride, blood and treasure they have invested in keeping Assad in power?

How could they? And why would they?

February 19th, 2014, 12:31 pm

sami said:

So what Mina?

Do you think he should’ve left them to die or even worse be tortured in an Assadist hospital?

Maybe you should read the hippocratic oath and learn how medics and doctors should do all they can to save a patient, no matter of race, colour or beliefs.

February 19th, 2014, 1:26 pm

sami said:

Syrialover,

The hypocrisy that minhebaks spew is second to none.

They complain that nuns are kidnapped (except when the regime does so) and excuse the barrel bombing of civilians as war…

February 19th, 2014, 1:29 pm

Badr said:

Will They or Won’t They?

U.S. opposes supply of shoulder-fired missiles to Syria rebels
(Reuters)

The Obama administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “The administration remains opposed to any provision of MANPADS to the Syrian opposition.”

February 19th, 2014, 1:34 pm

ghufran said:

Roger Boyes of the Times of London-UK thinks Syria does not deserve to be kept in one piece:

There is so much hatred inside some national borders that divorce can be the only solution.
Syria is awash with blood. For almost three years the war on Europe’s doorstep has claimed 140,000 lives, brutalised the neighbourhood, displaced millions and exposed the impotence of the United Nations. Can any good come out of this unfolding tragedy?
Perhaps. The dismantling of the country may now produce the best or least bad outcome for its people and the region. Sometimes failing states have to be allowed to fall apart

February 19th, 2014, 2:11 pm

Observer said:

Norman, free elections under the full supervision of the UN and with the aim of a new constitution not under the current leadership. It is not to be trusted with any activity in Syria at all.

Good point on Ukraine.

In the meantime, Cham Press says the economy is great as the prices of second hand clothes is helping

Second hand clothes indeed is what the regime has got us into

http://www.champress.net/index.php?q=ar/Article/view/35693

February 19th, 2014, 2:11 pm

Uzair8 said:

Published on (Youtube) 19 Feb 2014

Sh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi call fighters to release Christians kidnapped in Syria

February 19th, 2014, 3:55 pm

Uzair8 said:

BBC News.

Russian Ekho Moskvy Radio director Fedutinov dismissed

18 February 2014

The head of one of Russia’s few remaining independent broadcasters, Ekho Moskvy, has been dismissed and replaced by an editor from state media.

Yuri Fedutinov has been in charge of the radio station since 1992. The new director, Yekaterina Pavlova, worked most recently at Voice of Russia.

Ekho Moskvy is one of the few independent voices in Russian media.

Its editor said it was an “unjust” and “totally political decision” aimed at changing editorial policy.

In recent weeks, an independent TV channel, Dozhd, has been dropped by satellite and cable operators.

The news story on the Ekho Moskvy (Echo Moscow) website said that the decision to replace Mr Fedutinov had been taken “without explanation” at a meeting of the radio station’s shareholders.

[…]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26239715

February 19th, 2014, 4:07 pm

Alan said:

99. SYRIALOVER
Step A in Kiev has been launched by U.S. and surely will be defeated in Ukraine!
The matter will not be stopped within Ukraine! destabilization will be transferred to the most sensitive countries friendly to the West!
take care!

February 19th, 2014, 5:09 pm

Alan said:

US, Arab allies meet to further back militants in Syria

The United States and its Arab allies in the Middle East are making covert arrangements to bolster militants against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Western and Arab spy chiefs gathered for a meeting in Washington last week to discuss providing more advanced weapons and special training to the militants, The Washington Post reported in an article on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia’s Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef was among the participants, according to the report.

The US national security adviser, Susan Rice, met with Prince Mohammed during the meeting to discuss support strategy for the militants.

The new strategy comes as the militants have been losing ground over the past year.

The gathering was also attended by intelligence chiefs from Turkey, Qatar, Jordan and other regional allies of Washington. Most of the operations agreed in the meeting will be supervised by the Central Intelligence Agency./……………
http://wakeupfromyourslumber.com/news/us-arab-allies-meet-further-back-militants-syria

February 19th, 2014, 5:56 pm

Syrialover said:

ALAN # 109

I suppose all those protesters in Kiev are fakes, puppets and crazy fanatics. Unlike ALAN, they don’t understand that wanting to become part of the EU and the real world is stupid, and evil and – worst of all – disloyal to their real god and saviour Putin.

But I do agree with part of the sentence: “destabilization will be transferred to the most sensitive countries…”

Which of course will turn out to include Russia. It’s only a matter of time.

Syria, and now potentially Ukraine, is a practise run and template for what Putin and his cronies will be one day doing in Russia to stay in power.

February 19th, 2014, 6:27 pm

Syrialover said:

MJABALI #34 wrote:

“Aboud Dandashi who said that the Alawite women are all prostitute and after the fall of al-Assad he is going to teach them morals. Anything this man says about the Alawites is not important.”

Really? Where? I’m fascinated – that’s an extraordinary thing to say. And very hard to believe came from anyone who is educated and thinking enough to write the intelligent observations Dandachi offers.

But please, give us proof. I am willing to be persuaded.

PS For those who aren’t sure about Dandachi, read a few of his columns here http://adandachi.com/istanbul/author/aboud/ and see if you can imagine him making the statement MJABALI claims.

February 19th, 2014, 6:54 pm

Syrialover said:

ALAN is that true what you tell us in #110?

I hope so!!!!

Great news!

And well worth a try to get rid of Assad.

Thanks ALAN.

February 19th, 2014, 6:58 pm

habib said:

Funny how the opposition always blames the west for somehow supporting Assad, but they gush whenever there’s the slightest hint of the West supporting the opposition.

Likewise with al Qaeda. Whenever Islamists deal a blow to the regime, the opposition cheers, but when they give them bad publicity, they disown them and blame the regime.

Pathetic. You can’t have it both ways.

February 19th, 2014, 7:37 pm

Syrialover said:

HABIB – are you talking about me in #114?

Wrong, wrong, wrong – I have NEVER suggested that the west somehow supports Assad.

And I have NEVER cheered anything done by the Islamists. I have strongly criticized them on this forum from day 1.

Go back and check – https://www.joshualandis.com/blog/search-comments/

And if you are talking about The Opposition, why not look at some of the statements made against the Islamic extremists by Moaz Khatib and others.

February 19th, 2014, 7:50 pm

norman said:

I don’t know why some people think that we love Iran or the Islamic system of Iran, the only thing we like about Iran is that Iran was the only country who supported Syria in it’s quest to get the Golan back while Turkey has relation and military association with Israel and the GCC and the Saudi are opening up to Israel and establishing economic cooperation, Iran is supporting Syria, while Syria is just being grateful, about Elections Observer, Syria can not be without a government so there is no way to have an opposition government, they need to be elected before that can decide the future of Syria, what the government and the opposition should to set up the system that is used to have election and a constitution and my choice as I said previously, is the American constitution and the bill of rights, it works for all kind of people in the US including Muslims, Christians and Hindu so can work in Syria, decentralized system and bottom up system after a statewide senses with districts and election for representative from each district, that is the only I see to keep Syria as one otherwise Syria will be divided.

February 19th, 2014, 8:19 pm

Ghufran said:

More details are emerging from the cease fire reached in 3 areas around Damascus ( bait sahem, yalda and bebila):
1. Non Syrian fighters were asked to withdraw, those terrorists withdrew to alhajar alaswad, Alqadam and Daraa.
2. More than 50,000 civilians were found in those areas.
3. Local rebels affiliated with FSA signed on the deal against the will of the NC
4. Food and supplies were abundant among rebels and their families while most others were left hungry and penniless.
5. Locals were not required to give their light weapons
6. A number of bearded men , some thought to be salafis took part in the deal and were pictured in pics with Syrian soldiers.
7. Part of the agreement includes prisoners exchange.
8. Members of security forces were not given entry and the usual mass arrests typically performed by those forces after new areas are ” liberated” did not take place.
9. Militant groups openly threatened people who signed on the deal and called them traitors and Sahwatiyyeh ( after Iraq’s Sahwaats)
( Yarmouk is hopefully next, first stage was finished)

February 19th, 2014, 9:29 pm

Ghufran said:

AB Atwan who was removed from Al-Quds Al-arabi in a white coup by Islamists and Hamas supporters is still writing. This is what he thinks about a planned offensive by GCC rebels in the south :
تسخين الجبهة الجنوبية، واقامة منطقة حظر جوي تعني توسيع دائرة الصراع، بحيث تشمل الاردن وربما العراق، وتشديد الخناق على دمشق لابما يدفع موسكو التي حذرت امريكا بشدة من اغتيال الرئيس الاسد، الى التدخل لحماية حليفها بطريقة او بأخرى، ولو كانت مسألة اقامة حظر جوي فوق درعا مسألة سهلة لاقامتها امريكا فعليا قبل ثلاث سنوات على غرار ما فعلت في العراق قبل غزوه واحتلاله.
الرئيس اوباما يريد ارضاء المملكة العربية السعودية وقيادتها وهو والذي يعتزم زيارتها الشهر المقبل، والحديث عن الحل العسكري مجددا يصب في هذا المضمار، فالرئيس الامريكي يدرك خيبة الامل السعودية المزدوجة والصادمة التي جاءت بفعل اسقاطه الحل العسكري ضد العدوين اللدودين للسعودية وهما ايران وسورية.
تسخين الجبهة الجنوبية خطوة على درجة كبيرة من الخطورة لانها قد تؤدي فعلا الى زعزعة استقرار النظام وعاصمته دمشق، ولكن مقابل ثمن باهظ وخطير وهو اشعال فتيل حرب ساخنة بين واشنطن وموسكو، ولكن هذا التسخين من الصعب ان يؤدي الى تحقيق الهدف المعلن منه اي دفع النظام الى الذهاب الى جنيف مرة اخرى حاملا كفنه بين يديه، ومسلما السلطة الى السيد احمد الجربا، وهذا اذا ظل على رأس الائتلاف حتى ذلك الحين.
Atwan does not rule out another military adventure by jarba and his employer in KSA but he believes that this adventure will be costly and not likely to achieve its objectives.

February 19th, 2014, 9:51 pm

mjabali said:

Syrialover:

Here are points about Iran and its involvement in Syria:

1- Iran (and the Shia in general) has very important religious interests in Syria and they are going to fight for.

2- If you want to make a deal with Iran you have to make sure they Shia have access to their holy sites, something the Sunnis prevented them from doing freely for hundreds of years. Again, the Shia are not going to let you control their sites easily and kick them out, especially Siti Zaynab shrine.

3- Contrary to what you said, the Iranians are open these days for talks with the West. They are making deals to end their bad relations with the West.

4- After seeing what the Arab Sunnis has in store for them, the Iranians are more willing to do whatever it takes to be friends with the West again. Relations are warming up between Iran and the West. Watch how the relations between Iran and Israel is going to be better in the coming days.

5- Iran is a major player in the Syrian conflict and should be present in the talks, especially if you have a country like Saudia Arabia attending.

February 19th, 2014, 10:05 pm

mjabali said:

Syrialover:

Your friend Aboud Dandashi is the same Aboud who used to comment in Syria Comment. He told me that when the Assad is going to be toppled he is going to send the Alawite women to moral schools. I never forgot this.

February 19th, 2014, 10:07 pm

Alan said:

111 Syria Hater
Emphasize once again that the destabilization will be transferred to to you even in your city! It seems that you better understand when others speak the same language with you!
I do not think that you do not distinguish between serious and joking

February 20th, 2014, 2:01 am

Alan said:

The question of the stability of the world’s people have become hostage to the evil American mood!

February 20th, 2014, 4:24 am

ghufran said:

Jarba, Syria’s Hariri wannabe, does not miss any opportunity to express his irrelevance and sheer stupidity, he is now suggesting that jihadists have nothing to do with the terrorist attacks against civilian targets in Lebanon targeting shia areas and Iranian interests, Mr. Jarba’s goat-inspired analysis led him to believe that the Shia, the Syrian government and Iran are bombing themselves and their allies !!

February 20th, 2014, 9:47 am

sami said:

Why is Hariri disliked so much by you Ghufran?

Is it just because he is allied with Saudi? Do you have the same disdain for HA for being so close to Iran? Or is it exclusively GCC?

February 20th, 2014, 10:58 am

ghufran said:

I am glad you asked, Sami
After watching politics and meeting people from all walks of lives
for over 4 decades I realized that Arabs are disliked and disrespected by most nations and that includes Turks and Iranians. One big reason for this negative view of Arabs is the rich dirty Bedouins of the GCC, another reason is militant violent Muslims who mistreat their women (and that is a major issue in my mind) and spread hatred everywhere they can.
I think Hizbullah went too far with its affiliation with Iran and it also made a number of errors, many refer to Hizbullah taking part in the war between the army and the rebels, however, I was not surprised to see that because things were not going well for government troops and the other side led by KSA was determined to eliminate Iran’s presence and influence in the region, unfortunately, rebels were too happy to follow. A strategic decision was made by Iran not to let the Syrian army and the regime lose militarily. Like it or not, a decisive defeat of the Syrian army would have turned Syria into another Libya or worse, not that Syria is in good shape today.
Saado(Hariri)is an ugly reflection of the influence of petro dollar and toxic Saudi influence in the lives of Lebanese (and now Syrians), his thugs were paying up to $ 700 a vote in Tripoli last time they were challenged in parliamentary elections and his sectarian tone and allegiance to the Saudis deserve nothing but condemnation. I am uncomfortable with all religious and sectarian movements but Wahhabi / Alqaida type is the worst of all.

February 20th, 2014, 1:16 pm

SANDRO LOEWE said:

Incredible similarities in the screenplay developed in Ucrania and Syria. Putin is de common element.

February 20th, 2014, 1:24 pm

Juergen said:

Syrian liberation flag on Maidan square in Kiew

Regime cheerleaders, you should start claiming islamists are among the demonstrators. I assume Bin Klitschko is the mastermind.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=440960329369761&set=a.277333292399133.1073741825.100003673939244&type=1&theater

February 20th, 2014, 2:02 pm

Juergen said:

moving video of an norwegian NGO raising money to help Syrian children in refugee camps

February 20th, 2014, 2:03 pm

Juergen said:

No words about the Islamists revolution from our regime apologists? I bet Bin Klitschko is the mastermind…

syrian liberation flag on Maidan sqare

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=440960329369761&set=a.277333292399133.1073741825.100003673939244&type=1&theater

February 20th, 2014, 2:09 pm

Syrialover said:

MJABALI #119

What can I say? I am stunned that you offer such a shallow, simplistic sectarian statement to explain what Iran is doing in Syria. (Let alone the rest of the region!)

I thought this was the 21st century.

But I would like to see the reaction to your statement by normal Iranians. You’d have to wait a long time outside mosques in Iran to meet many of them. Most keep away from that side of things and just wish their theocratic autocratic government would run the country properly so they can earn a living, instead of making pointless enemies and wasting resources on nasty adventures abroad to justify and keep itself in power.

NOTE: The Syrian people never had any say (or even knowledge) about the Assads’ personal decision to tie the country’s fate in with Iran and Hezbollah. Confronted with the options and information today they would have reacted like the Ukranians to their government’s decision to choose Russia over the West.

What I said in #101 still stands. Assad has handed Syria to the Mullahs and bloated their regional ambitions. Do you think they will simply hand it back?

February 20th, 2014, 2:28 pm

Syrialover said:

GHUFRAN wrote in #125:

“I think Hizbullah went too far with its affiliation with Iran”

I think research (or even memory) will show you Hezbollah was created in Lebanon with the full assistance of Iran and has been bankrolled by $billions from Tehran which is now openly showing ownership and control.

So “affiliation” isn’t the word.

What has gone too far is Hezbollah dragging so many ordinary Lebanese Shia into the net and herding them onto a road to nowhere. Into a dark well of danger, terrorism, violence, fear and enmity with those who surround them.

February 20th, 2014, 2:55 pm

mjabali said:

SyriaLover:

I wrote a long reply answering your questions to me, then I erased it.

There is no need to answer you.

Your insults (calling my response to you shallow simplistic sectarian ) are hard to bypass…It really shows your true character.

The tragedy is that you try to ask me more questions and engage me in more debates.

Have a little portion of respect, or courage to confess that you could not understand what I wrote, or it is a little to complicated for you.

Coming with this aggression is not going to prove any of your points.

If you can not get what I write, or understand what I write, do not insult me. This is not kosher mr. lover.

It is obvious you can not see the obvious.

February 20th, 2014, 5:51 pm

Syrialover said:

MJABALI #131,

My “true character” in this forum has been to object when you were being subjected to sectarian comments.

And the same true character is responding to things you have just said.

Let me repeat what you provided as the full justification and rationale for EXTERNAL POWER Iran interfering in Syria’s affairs -materially supporting and internally advising the Assad regime, protecting it from UN sanctions, rescuing it with Hezbollah forces, and facilitating the murder of thousands of Syrians, displacement and impoverishment of millions and destruction of their country.

You told us in #119 this is because:

“1- Iran (and the Shia in general) has very important religious interests in Syria and they are going to fight for.

“2- If you want to make a deal with Iran you have to make sure they Shia have access to their holy sites, something the Sunnis prevented them from doing freely for hundreds of years. Again, the Shia are not going to let you control their sites easily and kick them out, especially Siti Zaynab shrine.”

COMMENT: No I don’t understand such thinking. Calling it shallow, sectarian, and simplistic was being polite.

There are millions of real people (Sunni, Alawi, Christian, everyone) with real lives suffering and their entire country being destroyed.

And this situation should be full strength supported and sustained because of a couple of alleged Shia shrines those people have never seen and probably haven’t even heard of ???? (and which many Iranians would view the same way).

I repeat, this is the 21st century.

February 20th, 2014, 8:05 pm

Observer said:

Syrialover

Well I am Observascion and You are Lover

Whenever an argument is presented or a point is made we are reminded that
1. We do not know any history, only one real and truthful history exists
2. The eternal plight of a political figure using religious arguments 1400 years ago to defend his legitimacy (and legitimate he is don’t take me wrong )and that is of course our eternal responsibility.
3. The ever so thin skinned and sensitive History Officionado claims insults but I say he who has a shard under his skin gets irritated when you touch it.
I confess I used disparaging words to describe the mafia family that is ruling Syria today but of course any mention of the current deity that is the head of the community brings a reaction.
4. So this is a Sufi religion that has Ali as God and Muhammad is his spirt and to gain access Salman is the door to this mystery. The moon is his face incarnate and whoever is the leader of the community is deity representing Ali and he cannot be disobeyed and of course the Sunnis persecuted them relentlessly for their original beliefs. So we have to pay for it now.
5. Now to the facts: Iran has done a wonderful job honoring the memory and shrines of Rouqqaia and of Zeinab and have restored pride and importance to these figures. At the same time their actions and hypocrisy has betrayed the very essence of Ali’s doctrine and teachings. In this they have become full fledged disciples of Yazid. As a matter of fact they have a new song glorifying the battle of the Hizb in Yabroud. This must be music to the ears of Israel and the neocons of the US.
6. So we have to continue to beat ourselves and lament the fate of Hussein and we are to be defined by his martyrdom and his suffering.
7. We are reminded by the HA leader that we are forgetting Palestine and that there is a push to solve the problem to the advantage of Israel as the Arabs are busy with the turmoil. Well it does not matter we have been in much worse situation in the past and we never accepted Israel and we do not need another merchant of Palestine to remind us and as his Boss Zarif said that Iran will recognize Israel if the Palestinians do come to terms with it. So here we go on the lies and obfuscations.

Now let us go back to the greatest nationality on earth the Syrian nationality. We are reminded that it is Syrian Nationality that counts and that it is paramount but it has to be Minority Syrian affiliation first and foremost. We are reminded that the Security has to be in the hands of a religiously based sectarian system and oh my God lest there is a majority of Sunnis asking for a representation of their sect for if they do so they are automatically Takfiris and Irhabis and “we are fighting them there so that they do not come here” a la GWB.

In finale: the Hypocrisy seems almost Genetic but then again there must have been a lot of intermarriages.

Cheers.

February 20th, 2014, 8:27 pm

mjabali said:

Syrialover:

1- I never asked you, or anyone to defend me against the sectarian attacks. I have been attacked non-stop just because I am not a Sunni. Still, I say thank you.

2- Calling someone Shallow, sectarian, simplistic just because you did not agree with them is very hostile. Argue against ideas if you can. Calling these names is not going to help.

3- I have no idea where have you been in the last 20 years: millions of Shia did their religious visits to their “holy sites” in Syria. Shia from all over the world came to fight in Syria. The hard elements in the opposition destroyed many shrines, Shia and non-Shia.

4- If you consider the insults you hurled towards me “polite,” what is next, cursing at my mother, like others on this blog?

5- What I say, to repeat myself again: Because of these Shia Shrines you need to include them in any talks about tranquility.

February 20th, 2014, 9:07 pm

mjabali said:

Observacion:

اللي في شوكة بنتخزو

ماتكتبه ترهات بترهات ياولدي ولو كان كلامك فيه الثمين لناقشتك ولكن كما قال الإمام على: عندما تناقش فكره حمقاء فإنك تعطيها وزن فلهذا فلن أضيع من وقتي الثمين أكثر من هذه الثواني التي صرفتها في كتابة هذا الرد….

كلامك هراء بهراء

February 20th, 2014, 9:12 pm

Ghufran said:

The FSA declares the Muslim brotherhood as a terrorist organization and asks for the boycott and even arrest of its members in Syria. The MB is a major component of the NC, and this move by Idris wing of the FSA is probably in preparation for a deal with Egypt and a green light for FSA chiefs to cut ties with islamists and an attempt to prepare loyalists for future deals with the Syrian government:
أعلنت القيادة المشتركة للجيش السوري الحر و قوى الحراك الثوري، الخميس، عن تصنيف الإخوان المسلمين في سوريا كـ ” جماعة وتنظيم إرهابي “.

وقالت القيادة المشتركة – في بيان صحفي وزعته إدارتها للإعلام و مقرها باريس – إنه تم استنفاذ كافة الوسائل والأساليب والطرق السلمية لردع جماعة الإخوان المسلمين في سوريا عن ممارساتها البعيدة كل البعد عن قيم ومبادئ الدين الإسلامي والعمل الوطني وانسياقهم الكامل خارج الأجندة الوطنية، وبث روح الفتنة والوهن والتخابر مع قوى وأجهزة معادية لسوريا الدولة والشعب، والتآمر على القوى السياسية والثورية بهدف السيطرة على مفاصل المعارضة السياسية والهيمنة على مقدرات وإمكانيات الثورة وسرقة أموال الإغاثة وتحويلها لمال سياسي.

واتهمت القيادة المشتركة للسوري الحر “إخوان” سوريا بـ “تخزين السلاح والذخائر ومنعه عن الجيش السوري الحر للقيام بواجبه في الدفاع عن المدنيين العزل، والإسهام بتأخير انتصار الثورة واستثمار ضعف المعارضة وانقساماتها وممارسة الاستبداد والإقصاء وشراء الذمم والولاءات للهيمنة وللبروز كأقوى تيار معارض ومنظم في سباق محموم وتعطش للوصول للسلطة وبأي ثمن”.

وتابعت “لكل ما ورد نشدد على أن الجماعة لا يمكن اعتبارها وتحت أي ظرف من الظروف واجهة سياسية لأي طيف من مكونات الشعب السوري أو ممثلاً عن المسلمين من السنة وعلى طريق استعادة الثورة السورية المسروقة إلى طريقها الصحيح”.

وأوضحت القيادة المشتركة – في بيانها – أنه وبعد التشاور مع العديد من القوى والشخصيات الوطنية والثورية، فقد قررت القيادة المشتركة للجيش السوري الحر وقوى الحراك الثوري في اجتماعها المنعقد في العاصمة السورية دمشق الليلة الماضية “إعلان جماعة الإخوان المسلمين جماعة إرهابية وتنظيمها تنظيما إرهابيا”، حل جميع الأذرع العسكرية والأمنية التابعة للجماعة على الأراضي السورية، مصادرة جميع مستودعات ومخازن الأسلحة والذخائر التي تمتلكها الجماعة في سوريا، منح الضباط والعسكريين والمدنيين الذين التحقوا بالأذرع العسكرية للجماعة نتيجة ظروفهم الاقتصادية مهلة أسبوع واحد للانشقاق عنها والالتحاق بكتائب الجيش السوري الحر.
وأضافت القيادة المشتركة: أنها قررت أيضا “اعتقال قيادات وأعضاء الجماعة فور دخولهم الأراضي السورية بموجب مذكرات الاعتقال الرسمية الصادرة عن القيادة، وفقا للوائح الاسمية للإرهابيين، إغلاق مكتب جماعة الإخوان المسلمين في مدينة حلب، حل جميع التنظيمات والتنسيقيات والمجالس المحلية والإدارية التابعة لها في سوريا، توقيع العقوبات المقررة قانونًا لجريمة الإرهاب على كل من ينتمي للجماعة وتجريم تأييدها أو تبني فكرها أو منهجها بأي صورة كانت، أو الإفصاح عن التعاطف معها بأي وسيلة كانت، أو تقديم أو تسهيل أي من أشكال الدعم المادي أو المعنوي لها، أو التحريض على شيء من ذلك أو التشجيع عليه أو الترويج له”.

February 20th, 2014, 10:56 pm

Alan said:

brilliant show!

http://youtu.be/_OIYiykBtwE?t=13m50s

February 21st, 2014, 2:44 am

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

the only thing we like about Iran is that Iran was the only country who supported Syria in it’s quest to get the Golan back

Amazing…. there are people who still buy into the mullas-assad-nasrallah smokescreen resistance” myth.

February 21st, 2014, 5:46 am

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Hercules Putin is losing his underwear in Ukraine. His menhabkjis were smoked (even physically) in a day long parliament session. The parliament nullified almost every single decree made by Putin’s lap-dog of a president, and the guy lost nearly half of his parliamentary block when 25% of MPs who belong to his Mafia party defected from the party. The lap-dog president now supports the parliaments decision to go back to the 2004 constitution, which he an Putin tried to play with in 2010.

Things are going into resolution in Ukraine. The broohaha of smashing the “infiltrators” is only heard on RT and echoed by its appendages (including ALAN).

Now, if Alan starts shrieking that it is a US conspiracy, I would then say…. GREAT and long-live the US and its conspiracies against Hercules Putin. I hope these conspiracies end up sending all of these tyrant and/or proto tyrant mafiosos one after another to the trash-bin, where they should be. Batta’s turn is coming, and Norman will not be able to save it.

February 21st, 2014, 8:00 am

ghufran said:

The NC is upset because Israeli press posted pics of BB giving tender Zionist love to wounded holy rebel warriors from Syria at a hospital in the OCCUPIED Golan heights.
For the GCC and many in the opposition the real enemy is not, and was never, Israel but Iran and those evil Shia !!
Enjoy..

February 21st, 2014, 8:49 am

Alan said:

139- SYRIAN HAMSTER
Listen, you’re there at the other end of the world! Take note here that we do not hate Americans and rather strongly criticize the behavior of the U.S. administration of evil! Putin was able to lift Russia from the disaster and gave it back to the ranks of the most powerful countries in the world! It is enough to give a man his right! As for you personally, I advise you to learn more about topics that are discussed

February 21st, 2014, 9:13 am

Observer said:

Spetnatz’s behind was kicked badly in Kiev.

Hockey game lost to the US and worst of the worst to the arch enemy Finland.

Hamster, this must be a conspiracy.

The most powerful country in the world has a GDP equivalent to that of Italy. They do not produce anything worth selling: gas and oil and raw materials and I do not see that their famous weapons are better than barrel bombs using crude gas canisters.

I fear though that losing Ukraine will make the Spetnatz want to hold on to Somaria ever more.

Atwan apparently knows that it is the inner circle that killed Asef Shawkat. I bet we will find that the regime also killed Imad Moughnieh as payment to avoid the Hariri International Tribunal. As a matter of fact the focus shifted to HA as the culprit right after Sheikh or Hajj Imad’s head was blown to bits in Damascus.

How come we have not heard any results of the investigation about this.

I am gazing at the moon in the hope of seeing the face of Ali and then through the door get into the spirit of the God on earth and by drinking the national beverage and smoking the awful cigarettes and most importantly pretending to be modern when I am still in the grips of a 1400 year old mythical tragedy asking that the Syrian Nationality be subservient to my narrow sectarian needs.

Cherif Chehada lives in the UAE these days. Amazing that he chose to go live with the Bedouins of Ghufran and Zoo.

And by the way the protests have spread in Venezuela and paratroopers have been sent to the Colombian border towns to quell it. It is according to Maduro another CIA conspiracy.

February 21st, 2014, 1:01 pm

Alan said:

142. OBSERVER
go to get well! Learn how to practice the art of politics and dialogue and not a culture of death! Kiev will be a lesson in the culture of dialogue for the Bedouins, who are like you

February 21st, 2014, 1:56 pm

Syrialover said:

MJABALI,

I said your statement was simplistic, shallow and sectarian – I did not call you that.

In fact, I was hoping you would amend your endorsement of Iran’s malicious interference in Syria and excuse that “Iran has very important religious interests in Syria and they are going to fight for”

I know those Shia holy sites well, and value and respect them.

But I also know how much of a cover story and tool they have become for the spreading Iranian presence in Syria and interference in Syrian affairs. I’m sure others here like me were alarmed at the colonisation of parts of Damascus which had become no-go areas for Syrians where farsi was the main lingo.

What the Iranian “government” is doing inside Syria to Syrians and their country, their contempt and hostility towards Syrian Sunnis, and the use of those sites as propaganda tools to inflame Shia fighters on Assad’s side is a crime against humanity. Shia around the world should be angry and alarmed that it is being done in their name.

Think about this. The world’s 2.2 billion Christians also have sites in Syria that are extremely important to the history of their religion.

What if outside governments with majority Christian populations (and this includes much of Africa and South America) were playing the same ugly sectarian game in Syria as the “government” of Iran?

Of course they aren’t. This is the 21st century.

February 21st, 2014, 3:17 pm

Syrialover said:

OBSERVER # 133

I think you and I have the problem of knowing too much history.

Not a problem for us, a problem for others.

February 21st, 2014, 3:30 pm

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Alan
Putin is Russia’s disaster. Look at the population growth figures. But don’t worry, Iran is worst, the only country trailing Iran’s rank as the 180th country in GDP growth rate is poor, recently established South Sudan. Even barrel bomb torn , corruption drained, Syria stands at 176, which is 4 rank points higher than “great” Iran, which is one of the few countries in the work that have persistently had a “negative” GDP growth. Russia’s stellar 1.2% is slightly less than US’s 2.1 “slow recovery” growth rate.

But I think Ghufran may get sick if he learns that the Number 1 country last year was non other than Libya followed by Iraq (also going through teerible corruption). Love it… they sold bust and got boom. Unfortunately for Iran, the great diplomat, thinking, mullas can’t even boast better numbers than one of the poorest countries on earth, debilitated with explosive birth rate.. yes, I am talking about Tribal Yemen, which seems to be far better managed than “civilized” Iran.

February 21st, 2014, 3:32 pm

Syrialover said:

Putin dirties his pants and makes an international stinking mess for Russia in countries like Syria and Ukraine.

You’d need the world’s most powerful microscope to detect any benefits for the people of Russia.

What would happen if Russians got full information and freedom to vote on whether to join the EU?

We’ll probably see them getting right onto that when team Putin is gone. They’ll be rallying to rescue their country from economic, social and historical oblivion.

That’s if their declining life expectancy and crashed birth rate has left enough Russians to vote.

The Putin era will be seen as when Russians’ fate became headed towards the hands of current ethnic minorities and economic development lost all its wheels and its engine as well.

February 21st, 2014, 3:56 pm

Syrialover said:

SYRIAN HAMSTER #146

Glad you mentioned Yemen. The life expectancy for Russian men has fallen to rank around that of their counterparts in Yemen.

February 21st, 2014, 4:00 pm

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

SYRIA LOVER and OBSERVER
What do you make of this “assad” friendly news-item

– خاص بانوراما الشرق الاوسط:

مصادر مقربة اكدت لبانوراما الشرق الاوسط عن إختفاء رتل عسكري بالكامل مؤلف من 60 مدرعة كان متجها من الاردن الى درعا جنوب سوريا عبر طريق سري .

وقد اختفى الرتل في الوقت الذي تشوشت فيه الاقمار الاصطناعية وتعطلت الانظمة في سرب الطائرات اف 16 واستنفرت اجهزة الاستخبارات الأمريكية في الاردن وسط تكتم شديد.

الرتل العسكري كان ضمن خطة يرمي إلى الهجوم على مدينة دمشق من ناحية الغوطتين الشرقية والغربية للتخفيف عن جبهة يبرود..
هذه الخطة تديرها امريكا والسعودية والاردن واسرائيل..

لكن اين اختفى الرتل العسكري؟ لا يعرف السر إلا الجيش العربي السوري والمنظومة الروسية والايرانية الذين يسهرون على الجبهة الجنوبية بعين لا تنام.

OBSERVER you may want to add this outfit to your morning propaganda press round, reminds me of Otrakji’s Assad big time popular statistication

February 21st, 2014, 4:17 pm

Ghufran said:

I sure hope that the much talked about attack on Damascus does not materialize, however as long as those car bombs from yabroud keep coming and killing civilians in Lebanon and those barrel bombs keep falling on syrian towns peace will remain elusive.
The picture is not totally dark, we have a government in Lebanon after 11 months of political dance and we may find out that the meeting between Hariri and Aoun was indeed a meeting between a future president and a future PM. Annahar also reported that hizbullah may end its mission in 4-6 weeks (!!).
Forget the thin soup and look for the beef, it is either a long and unnecessary war or a compromise that will not please all but will benefit all.

February 21st, 2014, 4:41 pm

Alan said:

Destabilizing Venezuela Continues

A previous article discussed multiple Obama regime change fronts. His rogue agenda exceeds the worst of his predecessors.

He heads a homeland police state apparatus. He’s waging war on humanity. He’s ravaging one country after another.

He wants independent governments in Syria, Iran, Ukraine and Venezuela toppled. He’s got other targets in mind.

It’s hard keeping track of his lawlessness. He’s got multiple initiatives ongoing at the same time.

Tens of billions of taxpayer dollars fund efforts to destabilize governments en route to toppling them. Vital homeland needs go begging.
http://jhaines6.wordpress.com/2014/02/21/destabilizing-venezuela-continues-by-stephen-lendman/

Obamik!
what part of FFKK are you having a difficult time comprehending?!?

Syria’s agreement to get rid of its chemical weapons “… arguably the worst foreign policy disaster of your administration” demonstrates that you are, arguably, a complete nincompoop.

THAT was a stroke of genius on the part of Vlad Putin, and for the US to have signed off on it was brilliant as well.

But of course, it doesn’t please the war hawks and neocons in this country, who are salivating for war against Syria to make regime change in Tehran…easier, even as the p5+1 are negotiating the fine points of a workable nuclear energy deal.

Syrian elections are supposed to start in early June, and it appears that Al-Assad will be standing as a candidate for re-election.

What the Obama administration doesn’t want to see is Al-Assad winning by a landslide, which would absolutely put the lie to the American government’s assertion that the Syrian people do not want him to stay in power.

So now, you have another push to yet more military intervention in Syria. Mr. Obamik every thinking American does not want this to happen, and it will be a mid-term epic fail for the Democratic party.

February 21st, 2014, 4:52 pm

Observer said:

Here we go again SL and Syrian Hamster. We have supposedly intelligent, modern, sophisticated Syrians that are fighting against the dark forces of backwardness grace us with the following declarations:
http://www.skynewsarabia.com/web/article/570543/دمشق-مسيرات-احتفالية-مؤيدة-للأسد

Demonstrations for the “eternal” President and for the “unity of the Syrian people” and demands for the re election of the worst failure that any country has ever seen on the face of the earth except perhaps North Korea.

These are supposedly modern sophisticated Syrians and we know exactly where they come from. They may have Chanel shoes and Christian Dior skirts but they still smell the eternal backwardness of their origins.

Read these declarations happening while in Kiev the fundamentals of a popular democratic process has taken root and the regime despite its corrupt nature has understood the limits of power and that was precisely because the armed forces as it should be in a modern state outside of politics. Realizing that they cannot bring troops in, the regime has agreed for a solution. While at the same time the adoring fans are talking medieval talks of “eternal” leadership and the country defined by the name of a family.

As for Venezuela the Spetnatz is telling us that my early heart disease propensity is a CIA plot and that the drought that afflicted Syria is also made in the basement of the Pentagon and that the oil wealth that Venezuela has is being squandered by spending on paratroopers to defend agains the US coming invasion.

My wife returned from Cuba recently my dear Syrian Hamster and she clearly saw begging kids, and people accosting her to ask her to buy milk for their children, and structures dilapidated and infrastructure that is rotting.

The same happened to a NYT correspondent that traveled by train from Moscow to Volgograd. He commented that the train was excellent but the villages it went through seem from a different century from poverty and neglect.

Putin is screeching and fuming that the people of Ukraine do not want anything to do with his model of rule. He claims that the objections the West makes are an assault of Russia’s specific values. Well a Pussy Riot op-ed in the NYT gave it to him today.

Here it is

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/opinion/maria-alyokhina-of-pussy-riot-on-the-olympics-deceptive-face.html?ref=opinion&_r=0&gwh=D60EE44CCF04665701688FEBCB145B44&gwt=pay

Now as to the news of 60 tanks that were taken out by Norman’s glorious SAA on its way from Jordan to Damascus, I must remind the Spetnatz that in 1970 the Jordanian army destroyed completely the Syrian forces sent into Jordan so if it is an attack on Jordan you will see that they have what it takes to put the SAA in its place.

As for any sophisticated methods I would say that the use of gas canisters is the maximum that Norman’s glorious SAA can invent.

I have a boom to sell so that I can get the bust.

One last thing, Syrian Hamster it does not count the ranking of Syria or Iran in its GDP what counts is the wealth of the ruling elite, that is all that counts to the “adoring fans of the eternal leadership” of modern Syria: after all he brought us ATM machines 🙂 🙂
Talk about an infinitely complexed dung burning backward Moon adoring, Door seeking, Guilt ridden 1400 year old tragedy.

February 21st, 2014, 6:01 pm

Akbar Palace said:

Ghuf said:

The NC is upset because Israeli press posted pics of BB giving tender Zionist love to wounded holy rebel warriors from Syria…

Ghuf,

Simple quiz question: Who has been worse for Syria BB or Betho?

February 21st, 2014, 6:24 pm

Ghufran said:

SOHR reported new ckashes between the army and Isis. SOHR also reported how some people who facilitated a cease fire in towns around Damascus were assassinated by thugs who do not want this war to end:
محافظة ريف دمشق- المرصد السوري لحقوق الانسان:: تجدد القصف من قبل القوات النظامية على مناطق في مدينتي دوما و يبرود فيما دارت اشتباكات عنيفة بين القوات النظامية مدعمة بقوات الدقاع الوطني ومقاتلي حزب الله اللبناني من جهة ومقاتلي الدولة الاسلامية في العراق والشام وجبهة النصرة وعدة كتائب اسلامية مقاتلة من جهة اخرى في محيط مدينة عدرا وانباء عن خسائر بشرية في صفوف الطرفين كما وردت معلومات عن انفجار سيارة مفخخة بحاجز للقوات النظامية قرب بلدة الدير خبية وانباء عن مقتل 5 عناصر من القوات النظامية بينهم ضابط في حين اغتال مسلحون مجهولون رئيس لجنة المصالحة الوطنية في بلدة معضمية القلمون قرب المقبرة الشرقية للبلدة كما اغتيل مؤذن في المسجد الاموي الكبير في البلدة ذاتها.
For the first time, security forces did not go in and arrest ” wanted” men in areas that reached a cease fire, that helped the process to succeed, over 1500 men agreed to stop the fight and were allowed to keep their personal weapons. Republican guards officers were in charge of the fresh agreement on the regime side, nusra and Isis did not take part.

February 21st, 2014, 6:26 pm

Observer said:

Spetnatz flogging women in Sochi

http://live.wsj.com/video/pussy-riot-flogged-by-cossacks-in-sochi/BC4593EB-0E7C-4297-88FF-14D631B58062.html?mod=WSJ_article_outbrain&obref=obnetwork#!BC4593EB-0E7C-4297-88FF-14D631B58062

February 21st, 2014, 6:32 pm

Aboud Dandachi said:

“Simple quiz question: Who has been worse for Syria BB or Betho?”

Betho.

http://adandachi.com/istanbul/the-syrian-political-opposition-has-to-grow-up/

“The pro-regimists have no moral standing or high ground on this issue whatsoever. Far from condemning Benjamin Netanhayu for visiting wounded Syrians, the Assad supporters’ time would be better spent asking where their beloved leader has been hiding out these past months. It is shameful that Angelina Jolie has made more visits to Syrian camps and refugee hospitals than Assad and Asma have combined.”

February 21st, 2014, 6:39 pm

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Any news lately from the glorious general Aoun?

February 21st, 2014, 6:46 pm

Ghufran said:

Dandashi and some of you got it all wrong on BB’s PR gesture with wounded rebels, two wrongs do not make a right. Nobody is condemning BB for treating wounded rebels or trying to polish his country’s image. I did not expect Israel to do anything to stop this war, indeed, Israel is best served with a long debilitating war inside Syria as long as rebels do not turn against their Jewish ” healers”.
Remember the old myth that rebels are freedom fighters who are patriotic people fighting for justice and protection of all Syrians ? You do not hear this sexy slogan any more because nobody believes it today, instead you only hear about car bombs, random shelling of ” pro regime” areas and head cutting ceremonies. The truth is that many rebels are hired guns who have deep sectarian ideolgy and are in this war to make a buck and kill the “infidels”, BB et al are thus less worthy of the infidel name tag than Shia, Christians and alawites in the eyes of those Holy Thugs.
طز فيكن و بالثوره تبعكن
فكرنا انو النظام هر الجحش الوحيد بالحاره طلعتو اساتذه بالجحشنه

February 21st, 2014, 8:45 pm

Alan said:

Victoria Nuland of the State Department was nice enough to tell us that the American taxpayers have had $5 billion diverted from those who badly need it here, to the overthrow of the Ukrainian government. How about that for some democracy? Big money like that is spread out over several government budgets and a lot of it laundered through the NGOs. I don’t know why anyone would let them in their country as most are Trojan horses.
But like what happened in Syrian, the hovels of North Africa were recruited for their criminal low lifes, and bored teenagers without a job and no marriage prospects. Military attacks on selected prisons provided the experienced fighter leadership needed to flood Syria with teams of cannon fodder killers, the kind where if they got killed, no one cared.
In Ukraine we have learned a different twist was being applied, a European one with a hodgepodge of nationalist groups, skin head and Neo-Nazis, including those just pretending…an old Intel trick. But we have seen the Slavic swastika flags which could be real, or they could be stage props.
I fear that things will get worse before they get better. Hoodlums who have spent $5 billion for something, usually don’t want to walk away the loser. And as we have seen, killing people is not a moral problem for them.

The world needs to find a way to defend itself from these regime change gangsters. They are a threat to all of us. The judicial institutions we have, they have failed us. We are going to have to create something new. So let’s roll up our sleeves and get on with what needs to be done. We need to change THEIR regime.

February 22nd, 2014, 1:35 am

apple_mini said:

It has been confirmed that the suicide bombers in Beirut were Palestine radicals.

Those wretched losers instead of fighting against those Zionists for existential rights, they decided to blow themselves up in pieces to take out some “infidels”.

I bet people in Israel can really have a good laugh.

February 22nd, 2014, 4:50 am

Aboud Dandachi said:

” The truth is that many rebels are hired guns who have deep sectarian ideolgy”

See, thats why the regime has never and will never be able to win the war, you just dont understand the nature and motivation of the people fighting you. I lost three cousins who fought against the shabihas who invaded my home village, and they were not “hired guns”

http://adandachi.com/istanbul/we-cannot-help-but-mourn/

February 22nd, 2014, 5:17 am

apple_mini said:

Aboud Danish, if your cousins shared the same idea about the Alawite women being all prostitute and after the fall of al-Assad you and your cousins were going to teach them morals, what did you and your cousins to expect?

Would Alawite men and women waiting to be “educated” like it has happened in some villages in Lattakia mountains and Hama countryside?

February 22nd, 2014, 6:23 am

Observer said:

Ghuf
Be my guest, roll up your sleeves and start a campaign to rid us of regime changers.

First, we should get rid of those that did regime change by force such as the innumerable coups that the military did in Syria and other states. Second, we should get rid of all those that imposed a fake 98% vote of confidence on a single candidate in a one party system. Third, before you change the regime changers, stop their biggest ally: OPPRESSION. Without oppression and corruption the supposedly $5 billion would not have amounted to anything. Last nut not least, the US got it on the cheap, Russia paid 15 billion and that was the overt aid.

Today RT is saying that there are demonstrations in Kharkov denouncing the “coup” that ousted Yanukovitch. So the Eastern Russian speaking part of Ukraine is being prepared to have a counter revolution. This is great news for if they want their freedom and they feel that the Western part of Ukraine is forcing a political solution and alliances on them then they can actually create a federation or separate from the country.

This way all will be happy, the Eastern Ukraine will be a part of Putin’s sphere of influence and the Western part will go its way towards European integration.

In the meantime, Maduro’s official inflation rate is 56% and how is this the work of the US is beyond me.

Today, RT is saying that he is seeking discussions with the US. About what and for what reason is not clear to me. He wants to talk to the US as he pretends it is trying to oust him. Go figure.

Will see what Putin will do. He can only be a spoiler. He has nothing constructive to say or do. He will rally his nationalists as he will use this as another “Western assault” on Mother Russia but then again, he suffering from a World Wide War on the Resistance axis.

Ghuf where do you live? I hope not in one of those evil Western countries where women can drive and work and express themselves and where a President can be impeached and elections happen and term limits are the norm and the armed forces are obedient to the civilians and there separation of powers and a justice system that brings criminals and corrupt officials to the rule of law.

Why are you upset about Ukraine becoming free? With or without US or EU help. Let them sort it out. The opposition there is divided and they may not be able to form a government and they may not be able to get their act together and what have you.

Let the people decide it will take time but let them decide.

Once again, Putin has boxed himself in a Cold War mentality for pure power play reasons. It turns out that his support for the regime in Syria is nothing more than an ego trip.

So be it.

February 22nd, 2014, 8:50 am

Observer said:

By the way Ghuf Matt Frei from Channel 4 has been twitting pictures of the private residence of Yaku with a private ZOO with peacocks and pigs and Ibex and what have you. You can look at the pictures of the 100 000 square foot residence at the cost of 100 million dollars at the Guardian.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/22/ukraine-crisis-uncertainty-after-yanukovych-signs-deal-live-updates

Go down and click on the Matt Frei twitter

Fool of the same feather flock together

February 22nd, 2014, 8:54 am

Observer said:

Here my dear Ghuf the news from RT

http://rt.com/news/line/2014-02-22/#55687

Maduro wants to talk to Obama. What about I do not know but he is willing to sit and talk to the very person that our Spetnatz in residence is telling us is trying to undermine the popular resistance regime in Venezuela.

By the way, Spetnatz did you hear that a big Cocaine bust from Caracas was conducted at Beirut International Airport?

Drugs, women, and money laundering.

Have you seen the private ZOO of Yanukovich lately?

http://rt.com/news/line/2014-02-22/#55687

February 22nd, 2014, 9:51 am

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

غفران يستحق وبجداره لقب
“ممانع بالطزطزه ”
والان يغني له
طزطزلي وأنا طزطزلك

February 22nd, 2014, 10:18 am

Juergen said:

Bashar better clean up his villas in Latakia,Quardaha, Slunfeh, Damascus…

So now that Yanukovitch is history, rumors are that he is on his way to Saudi Arabia, may be thats just an hoax. After what has happend, he must be happy not to end up in Den Hague.

Here are more pictures (16) of his seized private estate:

http://www.blick.ch/news/schaulustige-besetzen-janukowitschs-residenz-id2696258.html

February 22nd, 2014, 10:19 am

Alan said:

167. JUERGEN
What are you talking about, dude? Any Yanukovych? Here’s Lair of Putin and only!!!
I do not think you like to return to the post-September 2, 1945!!!

February 22nd, 2014, 1:13 pm

Alan said:

بعد الطزطزة
http://larouchepac.com/node/29940
http://larouchepac.com/node/29938?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
http://youtu.be/Q0UMVM9UaLk

February 22nd, 2014, 1:42 pm

Alan said:

The United States will reap defeat and shame of Ukrainian territory!
Obama runs the risk of the United States!
Will be caused to great damage to the United States as a result of gambling enthusiasts obsessed with and fond of playing a thimble! Declared war and had exceeded the boundaries

February 22nd, 2014, 2:14 pm

ghufran said:

Daraya is divided, most people want a truce and an agreement similar to Bebila and other towns but there are thugs in Daraya who are afraid of losing power and money if a cease fire is reached, those thugs are using sectarianism and bribes to stop the inevitable(source SOHR):
أصدر المكتب السياسي للاتحاد الإسلامي لأجناد الشام في محافظة ريف دمشق اليوم بياناً قالوا أنه “بيـــان موقفنا ممن يتخاذل على أرض مدينة داريـــــا”، وأكدوا فيه على عدة نقاط ألا وهي:
– ضرورة وحدة الصف بين الألوية العاملة في داريا وهي (لواء سعد بن أبي وقاص – لواء المقداد بن عمرو – لواء شهداء الإسلام) وذلك لإكمال الطريق في مواجهة هذا النظام المجرم لإسقاطه وإفشال ما يَحيك لنا من مكائد.
– الاتحاد الإسلامي لأجناد الشام بكل فعالياته الثورية العسكرية والمدنية منها في دمشق وغوطتيها الغربية والشرقية نقف صفاً واحداً داعمين لإخوتنا مجاهدي داريا في قراراهم رفض الهدنة مع هذا النظام المجرم
This is what happens when you give high tech weapons to terrorists (a civilian Kuwaiti airplane escaped 2 SAMs over Syria):
أعلن مصدر في الدفاع المدني الكويتي لـصحيفة “الراي” الكويتية أنَّ “طائرة مدنية تابعة لطيران الجزيرة قد تعرضت إلى إطلاق صاروخين عليها وهي فوق أجواء الحدود السورية”.
Terrorists hailed as heroes by many of those who are opposed to the regime in Syria are launching a campaign against the Lebanese army, a suicide bomber from Nusra detonated his car and killed 2 soldiers and one civilian and wounded 17 today:
فجر انتحاري بسيارة مفخخة نفسه على حاجز للجيش اللبناني عند مدخل مدينة الهرمل شمال شرق لبنان، ما أدى إلى لاستشهاد ثلاثة أشخاص بينهم ضابط ومجند في الجيش اللبناني، وإصابة نحو 17 آخرين، واحتراق عدد من السيارات.
It does not matter what slogans Islamist rebels and their supporters use, the truth is that Islamist “resistance” and terrorism are becoming synonymous terms today, for the most part.
Every time people hear rebels shouting Allahu Akbar after they do something that is likely to kill, or has killed, somebody they conclude that those rebels probably did something bad, nobody today believes the myth that Islamist rebels are defending anything except their own marginal relevance. The job assigned to Islamist rebels is killing other Muslims and terrorizing Christians in their own countries but those rebels will NOT attack Israel, we all know why.

February 22nd, 2014, 3:07 pm

Alan said:

A previous article discussed multiple Obama regime change fronts. His rogue agenda exceeds the worst of his predecessors.
He heads a Homeland Police State apparatus. He’s waging war on humanity and ravaging one country after another.
Obama wants the independent governments of Syria, Iran, Ukraine and Venezuela toppled. He’s got other targets in mind.
As for the game plan, it’s hard to keep track of his lawlessness, with the multiple initiatives ongoing at the same time.
The Monetary Cost
Tens of billions of taxpayer dollars fund these efforts to destabilize foreign governments en route to toppling them, while vital American needs go begging.
The Road to Unchallenged Global Dominance
Obama wants the same neoliberal harshness imposed domestically force-fed globally. He wants independent governments replaced with pro-Western puppet regimes. He wants unchallenged global dominance.
Control of Global Resources
Obama wants control over world resources. He wants one nation after another plundered for profit.
Venezuela is a prime target, as it’s oil reserves are the world’s largest. In addition, Bolivarian fairness represents a threat of a good example. Fifteen years of failing to crush it hasn’t deterred Washington’s viciousness. Destabilizing Venezuela is longstanding American policy. Current US-funded/manipulated street violence perhaps reflects upping the stakes.
Pattern Recognition of Violence……..
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2014/02/20/destabilizing-venezuela-continues/

February 22nd, 2014, 4:11 pm

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

Alan
Just cause ya said’s it… aint means noting…

February 22nd, 2014, 4:20 pm

Observer said:

Syrian Hamster I was not aware though the Spetnatz insists otherwise that the US hs any involvement in Ukraine to foment any dissent. it is not a fifties make believe revolution like the one that toppled Moussadeq in Iran but a genuine revolt against corruption.
Jurgen’s posting of the pictures of the residence of Viktor Yanukovych is telling. I hope those in Eastern Ukraine and in Russia see it.

Now here are the news from RT
http://rt.com/news/thousands-gather-eastern-ukraine-252/

The Eastern Part may very well separate. If that were to happen which is fine with me and let the people decide what they want then the Western Ukraine will join NATO and the EU.

That would be great with NATO moving closer to integrating all of Europe economically and militarily.

This is great news indeed. Slowly and surely people are asking for full citizenship and an end to be subjects.

I hope that the Rus Army invades.

Spetnatz to the rescue. The US is about to defeated. Missiles TOPOL are flying to destroy the Eastern Sea Board. The hordes of t 90 Tanks are moving in the thousands across Ukraine.

Interesting that only 17% of Ukrainians are Russian speaking. I hope that for them like the Kurds they get their independence.

As for Somaria it is grinding on day in and day out. The glorious SAA is going to send a battalion to Ukraine to fight the Nationalist Right Wing Terrorists in Maidan Square.

February 22nd, 2014, 4:36 pm

Alan said:

A No-Fly Zone is an Act of War — latest US proposal for Syria would be disaster:
http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2014/february/22/a-no-fly-zone-is-an-act-of-war.aspx

February 22nd, 2014, 4:48 pm

ghufran said:

The original text of the last UNSC resolution on Syria, no mention of sanctions and no exclusion for areas under rebel control from open access:
“1. Strongly condemns the widespread violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by the Syrian authorities, as well as the human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law by armed groups, including all forms of sexual and gender-based violence, as well as all grave violations and abuses committed against children in contravention of applicable international law, such as recruitment and use, killing and maiming, rape, attacks on schools and hospitals as well as arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, ill treatment and use as human shields, as described in the United Nations Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict in Syria (S/2014/31);

“2. Demands that all parties immediately put an end to all forms of violence, irrespective of where it comes from, cease and desist from all violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights, and reaffirm their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and stresses that some of these violations may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity;

“3. Demands that all parties immediately cease all attacks against civilians, as well as the indiscriminate employment of weapons in populated areas, including shelling and aerial bombardment, such as the use of barrel bombs, and methods of warfare which are of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering, and recalls in this regard the obligation to respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law in all circumstances, and further recalls, in particular, the obligation to distinguish between civilian populations and combatants, and the prohibition against indiscriminate attacks, and attacks against civilians and civilian objects as such;

“4. Demands that all parties, in particular the Syrian authorities, fully implement the provisions of the 2 October 2013 statement by the President of the Security Council (S/PRST/2013/15) including through facilitating the expansion of humanitarian relief operations, in accordance with applicable provisions of international humanitarian law and the UN guiding principles of humanitarian emergency assistance;

“5. Calls upon all parties to immediately lift the sieges of populated areas, including in the Old City of Homs (Homs), Nubl and Zahra (Aleppo), Madamiyet Elsham (Rural Damascus), Yarmouk (Damascus), Eastern Ghouta (Rural Damascus), Darayya (Rural Damascus) and other locations, and demands that all parties allow the delivery of humanitarian assistance, including medical assistance, cease depriving civilians of food and medicine indispensable to their survival, and enable the rapid, safe and unhindered evacuation of all civilians who wish to leave, and underscores the need for the parties to agree on humanitarian pauses, days of tranquillity, localised cease-fires and truces to allow humanitarian agencies safe and unhindered access to all affected areas in Syria, recalling that starvation of civilians as a method of combat is prohibited by international humanitarian law;

“6. Demands that all parties, in particular the Syrian authorities, promptly allow rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access for UN humanitarian agencies and their implementing partners, including across conflict lines and across borders, in order to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches people in need through the most direct routes;

“7. Urges all parties, in particular the Syrian authorities, to take all appropriate steps to facilitate the efforts of the United Nations, its specialized agencies, and all humanitarian actors engaged in humanitarian relief activities, to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to the affected people in Syria, including by promptly facilitating safe and unhindered humanitarian access to populations in need of assistance in all areas under their control, and encourages further cooperation between the United Nations, its specialized agencies and all parties concerned, including Syrian civil society organisations, to facilitate access and the delivery of assistance in the entirety of the Syrian territory;

“8. Demands that all parties respect the principle of medical neutrality and facilitate free passage to all areas for medical personnel, equipment, transport and supplies, including surgical items, and recalls that under international humanitarian law, the wounded and sick must receive, to the fullest extent practicable, and with the least possible delay, medical care and attention required by their condition and that medical and humanitarian personnel, facilities and transport must be respected and protected, and expresses grave concern in this regard at the removal of medical supplies from humanitarian shipments;

“9. Also demands that all parties take all appropriate steps to protect civilians, including members of ethnic, religious and confessional communities, and stresses that, in this regard, the primary responsibility to protect its population lies with the Syrian authorities;

“10. Further demands that all parties demilitarize medical facilities, schools and other civilian facilities and avoid establishing military positions in populated areas and desist from attacks directed against civilian objects;

“11. Strongly condemns the arbitrary detention and torture of civilians in Syria, notably in prisons and detention facilities, as well as the kidnappings, abductions and forced disappearances, and demands the immediate end of these practices and the release of all arbitrarily detained persons starting with women and children, as well as sick, wounded and elderly people and including UN personnel and journalists;

“12. Urges all parties to take all appropriate steps to ensure the safety and security of United Nations personnel, those of its specialized agencies, and all other personnel engaged in humanitarian relief activities, without prejudice to their freedom of movement and access, stresses that the primary responsibility in this regard lies with the Syrian authorities and further stresses the need not to impede these efforts;

“13. Stresses the need to end impunity for violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights, and reaffirms that those who have committed or are otherwise responsible for such violations and abuses in Syria must be brought to justice;

“14. Strongly condemns the increased terrorist attacks resulting in numerous casualties and destruction carried out by organisations and individuals associated with Al-Qaida, its affiliates and other terrorist groups, urges the opposition groups to maintain their rejection of these organizations and individuals which are responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law in opposition-held areas, calls upon the Syrian authorities and opposition groups to commit to combating and defeating organizations and individuals associated with Al-Qaida, its affiliates and other terrorist groups, demands that all foreign fighters immediately withdraw from Syria, and reaffirms that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed;

“15. Emphasizes that the humanitarian situation will continue to deteriorate in the absence of a political solution, welcomes in this regard the Geneva Conference on Syria launched in Montreux on 22 January 2014, and demands that all parties work towards the comprehensive implementation of the Geneva Communiqué of 30 June 2012 leading to a genuine political transition that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people and enables them independently and democratically to determine their own future, and further stresses that rapid progress on a political solution should include full participation by all groups and segments of Syrian society, including women, and represents the only sustainable opportunity to resolve the situation in Syria peacefully, and that the implementation of this resolution is key to meeting the humanitarian needs of the Syrian people;

“16. Urges all Member States to contribute or increase their support to the United Nations’ humanitarian appeals to meet the spiralling needs of people affected by the crisis, and to provide this support in coordination with the relevant United Nations agencies, and to ensure that all pledges are honoured in full, and further urges all Member States, based on burden sharing principles, to support the neighbouring host countries to enable them to respond to the growing humanitarian needs, including by providing direct support;

“17. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Council on the implementation of this resolution by all parties in Syria, in particular paragraphs 2 through 12, in 30 days of its adoption and every 30 days thereafter, and upon receipt of the Secretary-General’s report, expresses its intent to take further steps in the case of non-compliance with this resolution;

“18. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.”

February 22nd, 2014, 4:50 pm

Uzair8 said:

An intercepted message meant for Alan:

MEMO #438:

Agent Alan you’re services are urgently* required at the Ukraine desk. Contact team leader Agent Olga without delay.

End of message.

********

* It may already be too late but still…

February 22nd, 2014, 5:14 pm

Syrialover said:

This is great! A guide to dealing with closet shabiha*.

12 of their favourite assertions deftly pricked and deflated in this article.

“The Argument Against U.S. Intervention in Syria… And Why It’s Wrong”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendy-pearlman/us-syria-intervention_b_4823932.html?utm_hp_ref=tw
February 22, 2014Huffpost Politics

*Closet Shabiha: People who nod earnestly with a look of fake concern saying “yes, yes what is happening in Syria is terrible. The regime has made some mistakes.” Then pretend to talk “rationally” about the problem while smearing all those who oppose Assad and explaining why him staying put is the best option.

February 22nd, 2014, 5:16 pm

Syrialover said:

See here images of Putin’s of grand plan and answer for the Ukraine.

It shows what he did in Chechnya, and which became the template for what he’s helped Assad achieve:

https://www.google.com/search?q=pictures+of+destruction+of+Grozny&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=ywkJU_-ZFdbpoASS6YLgAQ&ved=0CCQQsAQ&biw=1680&bih=933

PS ALAN have you got any more on this?

February 22nd, 2014, 5:23 pm

Syrialover said:

These guys always aim for the right target.

Kafranbel on Syria and the Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/omarsyria/status/436855830281867264/photo/1

February 22nd, 2014, 5:30 pm

Syrialover said:

GHUFRAN (#176), for the 224th time:

Please get someone, anyone, to show you how to put in a link to a source instead of dumping unverified floods of text on this forum.

February 22nd, 2014, 5:37 pm

Syrialover said:

PS GHUFRAN anyone who can cut and paste text is capable of cutting and pasting the url or other clear source references. It looks very suspicious when this is left out.

February 22nd, 2014, 5:40 pm

Alan said:

177. UZAIR 8
Dandachi achieved a record in 2011 to wear the dress Magician
You have come today charm is outdated!
Take antipyretic to the bugs! By the way , I think your beard need to shorten

February 22nd, 2014, 5:43 pm

mjabali said:

Joke of the week….

Syria lover said:

“OBSERVER # 133

I think you and I have the problem of knowing too much history.

Not a problem for us, a problem for others.”

February 22nd, 2014, 5:51 pm

Uzair8 said:

Alan

In that case you should be pleased with the return of (permanently beardless) ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko to Kiev.

No?

February 22nd, 2014, 6:04 pm

Uzair8 said:

Robert Fisk: Ukraine’s future is tied up with Syria’s – and Vladimir Putin is crucial to both

Friday 21 February 2014

No one in the Middle East will be studying Ukraine’s violent tragedy with more fascination – and deeper concern – than President Bashar al-Assad of Syria.

[…]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/robert-fisk-ukraines-future-is-tied-up-with-syrias–and-vladimir-putin-is-crucial-to-both-9145523.html

February 22nd, 2014, 6:24 pm

HABIB said:

181. Syrialover

So are there closest Salafists as well, by that logic?

February 23rd, 2014, 1:23 am

Matthew Barber said:

The user who has posted as Zoo / Andrew / Vae / Gurdjieff is banned for posting with multiple identities. Though he or she was happy to frequently email me and complain about other users, s/he suddenly became silent when I emailed him/her to confront him/her about the multiple identities.

This is not the first time this user has gone through a sequence of incarnations, and perhaps s/he will be back, though they are not welcome to return and will be banned again. It’s just sad that instead of having the dignity and courage to show one’s face and stand by one’s opinions as a member of a discussion community, a user would instead hide behind multiple identities simply to push propaganda. It’s embarrassing that instead of refining one’s own argument, a user would childishly create multiple fake “faces” in an attempt to inflate the popularity of their position.

This forum is a space for conversation, which often includes difficult and controversial issues. Varying perspectives are welcomed, but I ask that all posters exhibit respect for the community by posting as a single individual and owning their contributions and input.

———————

Ghufran, please don’t copy full articles or long pieces; just a link plus a short paragraph or two from the original is enough.

February 23rd, 2014, 5:44 am

USA planen Intervention in Syrien - Seite 372 said:

[…] […]

February 23rd, 2014, 6:24 am

Syrialover said:

HABIB #190

No Salafists are loud and proud, they don’t play hypocritical games.

I am not sure you understand what a “closet shabiha” is (#180).

Probably because when they are in the company of true believers they slink out of the closet and become loud and proud praising their poster boy Bashar Assad.

February 23rd, 2014, 6:30 am

Syrialover said:

Poor old Putin. Looks like this Ukrainian thing could mean he’ll be too distracted and anxious back home to keep strutting the world stage playing games about Syria.

An interesting article explaining the domestic complications for Putin.

“Why a new Ukraine is the Kremlin’s worst nightmare”

The domino effect of democracy on Russia’s border threatens the entire system Putin has built since 2000 – and he will not let it go lightly

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/why-a-new-ukraine-is-the-kremlins-worst-nightmare-9146751.html

February 23rd, 2014, 6:41 am

Syrialover said:

MJABALI #187

Yes that was a joke. I am glad you got it.

February 23rd, 2014, 6:43 am

Syrialover said:

MATTHEW (#191)

Are you saying ZOO, who suddenly stopped posting round the clock here late last year, was banned?

Or was that another person also using “Zoo” with extra identities.

If that was the same ZOO that we all knew I am surprised. He was contributing around 30% of the posts here, and I can’t imagine him having time to do anything extra.

Also, I would have expected him to be more sophisticated than posting from the same source under different names. Especially since you have often issued warnings about doing that.

I’m sure I’m not the only one here who would like to know if that’s the explanation for ZOO’s disappearance. Could you please confirm?

Thanks.

February 23rd, 2014, 7:10 am

Alan said:

for all light smart opponents
great interviw with Professor Francis Boyle – University of Illinois
http://www.globalresearch.ca/ukraines-brown-shirt-revolution-part-of-a-us-nato-eu-plan-to-break-up-russia/5370136

February 23rd, 2014, 7:44 am

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

I suspected ZOO of being ANN as well. Zoo’s disappearance coincided with the banning of ANN. I have made a couple of subtle remarks to that. It seems that they were too subtle, or that no one pays any attention to what I write here. Both explanations are OK with me.

However, i don’t mind multiple personalities or identities because that gives more opportunities to highlight the pathetic position of regime defenders. In fact, it is funny to imagine someone’s logic being shredded in its different reincarnations and to imagine the level of frustration the person feels reading multiple anger-causing answers to their propaganda. I am happy to provide them with these responses.

On another note. I think posting the entire text of the UNSC resolution was perhaps the only time Ghufran was justified in cutting and pasting an entire document. It i not usually easy for everyone to find such an important document, and it is justifiably part of the “official” record.

February 23rd, 2014, 8:20 am

Observer said:

Spetnatz at work again. Francis Boyle conspiracy theorist at work today.

I must remind everyone that the greatest ally of any interfering power in any country is OPPRESSION and CORRUPTION. If your system is just and representative and responsive there will be no way for others to intervene.

No one can intervene in Switzerland like the supposed intervention in Ukraine for the Swiss will reject it out of hand: why would they? they have a democracy that works and they have a referendum system that brings people’s wishes to the fore every time. Even if the decision is a tough one for them like the latest immigration bill, it is done properly.

Spetnatz, NATO is going to be on the border of Russia and no one is to blame but bully boy Putin. The Ukrainians do not trust him or Russia to play fair and square and therefore they will want a counterweight to his bullying by joining NATO. His dream of a free trade Zone with Armenia, Ukraine and Kazahkstan is a mirage.

Now, he may very well hang on to Somaria even more, or he may see the light and call it a day and abandon the iPad “peasant” retard modern prethident with a Leboton shoes wife and a democratic household for his son Hafez.

February 23rd, 2014, 8:29 am

Alan said:

Israel, US and KSA manufactured Zionist Islam secretly at the end of the last century and now opening him free rein!
http://www.globalresearch.ca/israel-support-to-al-qaeda-rebels-new-free-syrian-army-fsa-commander-trained-in-israel/5370130

February 23rd, 2014, 9:19 am

Alan said:

158. OBSERVER said:
/Spetnatz flogging women in Sochi/
These women are identical to the activity-sphere of Dandashis business!
here is Ukrainian version of your favorites !
http://www.femen.org/uploads/gallery/thumbs/post/AeFcng7e7x.jpg

February 23rd, 2014, 10:47 am

Juergen said:

Alan

Just remember the agreement Yanukovich signed the day before he was impeached. He Iike Assad thought he could survive all this. Only due to the Olympic game, there was this golden opportunity for the Ukraine to liberate themselves from the biggest robber they had. It’s now left to two dictators in Europe, Putin and Lukaschenko of Belarus. I think the time when the people will see the luxury of Putins dacha will come…

Here is a song to cheer you up, it calls in the Latakian style for more chemical weapons on “terrorists” and the bombardment of many more Syrian towns.

Enjoy!

February 23rd, 2014, 11:28 am

Alan said:

Mixer Jurgen !
I think we will see the collapse of the structure of capitalism rotting in the continent of Christopher Columbus first! You can bet the preparation from the moment!
The Yanukovich, the man was not the subject of our bet! And in all cases, his wife is not an officer in the CIA like his predecessor Yushchenko’s wife – Mrs. Kateryna Yushchenko
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kateryna_Yushchenko

February 23rd, 2014, 11:44 am

Juergen said:

Here you see him leave his palace with app 650 million Dollars in cash

February 23rd, 2014, 12:37 pm

Alan said:

For what purpose the delegation arrived yesterday CIA in Kiev? charitable mission?

Global Research – Blood In The Streets: West Is Repeating Syrian Model In Ukraine

There is a noted similarity in the “protest movements” in Syria and Ukraine. There is evidence of armed gunmen among protesters in Kiev targeting policemen.

1) Ukrainian prime minister: Deadly attacks attempt to seize power

2) U.S. ambassador to Ukraine: Government “responsible for everything that happens in Ukraine”

3) As with Syria, European Union and Russia clash over Ukrainian uprising

4) European Council President Rompuy threatens sanctions against Ukraine

5) European Union deliberates over sanctions against Ukrainian government, officials . .
http://www.globalresearch.ca/author/rick-rozoff

February 23rd, 2014, 1:02 pm

Alan said:

203. JUERGEN
Why Does Ukraine Seem So Much Like Syria?
Daniel McAdams
http://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/why-does-ukraine-seem-so-much-like-syria/

February 23rd, 2014, 2:19 pm

The Syrian War: the Start of a New Phase | Red (Team) Analysis said:

[…] Front: for example Lund, who asks if there is “still a role for the Islamic Front?”and Landis who wonders “Will the Islamic Front accuse the new “moderate” groups cooperating with […]

February 24th, 2014, 7:16 am

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