Payola Grande, I guess someone must pay the cost of running the blog.

Bronco
You mentioned Stomach,Colon and brain, this make the news very unreliable.
stomach could be ulcer(benign) and tumor,tumor can be adenocarcinoma,or singlet cell or lymphoma,or benign tumor,colon can be sessile polyp which is not cancer but has potential to turn to cancer, or different type of benign adenomatous polyps, and it could be lymphoma,or even carcinoid
You do not do laparoscopy for brain tumor.
The news are still very vague and no conclusion can be made.
wishful thinking on your side is obvious.
even if Erdogan died today Turkish policy will continue the same.

For those criminal minded folks on SC, read and learn from Sharp’s article to understand reality, it summarizes why killing Syrian soldiers is counterproductive and harm the main cause:

“Again, soldiers who are shot at will almost always shoot back. Defecting Syrian soldiers who fire their weapons at the regime’s soldiers therefore are not weakening the regime. Tragically, however unintentionally, they are actually helping the Assad regime to retain the army for repression. The regime’s reliable army could then wipe out the weaker rebel soldiers and the Assad regime would be preserved at least a bit longer.”

“The counsel to Syrians that defecting soldiers should not kill Assad’s troops is not moralistic advice. It is rooted in historical experience.”

“Defecting Syrian soldiers now have a choice. Instead of shooting at the regime’s troops, as some have done, they need to be loyal to the people-power struggle for freedom. They can help the regime’s other soldiers also to defect from the Assad regime.

Thereby, they can take the army of repression away from Assad. Their action can end both the repression and the regime.”

#1 yeah yeah idiot, we heard it all before form the regime loyalists, try something new for a change. Just because {insert previously liked figure} refuses to kiss Bashar’s feet and criticizes his regime by publishing facts they don’t like, they instantly become traitors and paid mercenaries plotting in a conspiracy. Til7aso tezee 3ala hal ghaba2.

Irritated,
Actually, the SNC is in huge trouble today, the few Kurds in it are ‘defecting’ with rumors that the MBs who made this council are fighting with the liberals which will be devastating to the council’s future, I’m sure that Turkey and Qatar will pay off everybody to stay in

From the previous post by Irritated

“the only explanation is that Russia threat”

There are many others that are combined

– the AL accepted some modifications that were requested by Syrian
– the failure of the opposition to unite ‘within days’ under the AL sponsorship
– the international community panicking about a civil war that would spill in neighboring Arab countries and expose Israel to further threats
– The growth of Islamic governments in Arab countries that are more aggressive against Israel than Syria
– Russia insistence on the opposition in a dialog with the Syrian government
– USA calling for a political settlement to the crisis.

نبيل العربي: ندرس الشروط التي وضعتها سوريا مع موافقتها على البروتوكول

أكد الأمين العام لجامعة الدول العربية نبيل العربي أن “العقوبات الاقتصادية التي أقرها الوزراء العرب على النظام السوري أصبحت سارية”.
وشدد العربي في تصريح صحفي على ان الأمانة العامة للجامعة العربية تلقت رسالة من وزير الخارجية السوري وليد المعلم أوضح فيها أن سوريا مستعدة للتوقيع على بروتوكول بعثة مراقبي الجامعة، ولكن وضعت شروطا وطلبات وهذه الشروط والطلبات يتم دراستها حاليا بالتشاور مع وزراء الخارجية العرب.
وأوضح العربي أنه لا توجد مهلات أخرى لسوريا وأن المقاطعة الاقتصادية تقررت بقرار من الوزراء العرب الذي اجتمع يوم 27 تشرين الثاني الماضي وهي سارية ولم تتوقف.
وفي رده على سؤال حول ما إذا كانت الشروط السورية مخالفة لروح الوثيقة الخاصة ببروتوكول بعثة مراقبي الجامعة العربية وتفرغها من مضمونها، أكد العربي “ان الشروط السورية تتضمن أمورا جديدة لم نسمع بها من قبل”.
وأشار إلى أن هناك اتصالات تجريها الجامعة العربية مع وزراء الخارجية العرب وتم إطلاعهم على رسالة المعلم ولم يتقرر شيء حتى الآن بشأنها. ولفت إلى إن زيارته للعراق الخميس المقبل مهمة للغاية باعتبار العراق دولة مؤسسة للجامعة العربية وسيتم خلالها التشاور مع القيادات هناك فيما يتعلق بالترتيبات الخاصة بالقمة العربية المقررة في بغداد في آذار المقبل.

It seems Iran’s support of Hamas is not a matter of principal.  It is a matter of achieving regional power.  Iran is continuing to disappoint those who once viewed it positively.

http://www.yalibnan.com/2011/12/05/iran-warns-hamas-against-leaving-syria/
Iran warns Hamas against leaving Syria
DECEMBER 5, 2011 ⋅ 2:36 PM 

Iran has threatened to cut off funds and arms to Hamas if its officials vacate their Damascus headquarters and leave Syria, Palestinian sources told Haaretz.

Hamas officials involved in raising funds for the organization’s military wing and some members of the political leadership have already left Syria with their families for Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan and Qatar, the sources said.

The sources told Haaretz “second- and third-ranking” Hamas activists are leaving but senior leaders such as Khaled Masha’al will remain in the Syrian capital.

Salah al-Arouri, a senior Hamas official, told the newspaper the organization had yet to make a decision on the matter. He said one or two families may have left but that top officials remained at the headquarters.

“The organization’s top officials are here in Damascus; our relations with the state and Syrian people are excellent … we have no intention of interfering in Syria’s internal affairs,” he told the daily newspaper.

ليس من الحكمة ادخال جواسيس البتاغون بشماغ عربي الى الأراضي السورية !
بدأ سناريو العراق سابقا بادخل عفاريت المنظمات الدولية و تداعى وضعها الى احتلال أمريكي ! الرجال تحارب و تموت واقفة !!!

leaked video of the new “blue painted” Syrian army armor firing on homes in Baba Amro Homs, then a soldier fires and RPG at a mosque. These are Assads dogs killing the Syrian people.

I wonder how would al Jazeera turn if there was a sudden attack of Iran on Israel? After all they made their fame in the Arab world by defending the Palestinian cause, and everybody knows that if not for the help of military training from Iran, Israel would not have been defeated by Hezbollah in Lebanon and by Hamas in Gaza.
It would be quite hard for them to have a coherent position I believe.

جورج صبرة: المسيحيون وقضية الحرية بين الكهنوت والناسوت

http://www.metransparent.com/spip.php?page=article&id_article=17046&lang=ar

Newfolder, is that video a joke?

It’s like saying this video shows real footage of “green painted” Syrian army equipment bombing Hama in 1982.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hu0uZh-RcA&t=125

The biggest thing working for the Syrian leadership is the exceptionally low level of intelligence among its opposition.

“Zuhayr Salim: No, no. To hell with Syrian [identity]! We do not recognize Syria. Who created Syria? Sykes-Picot. Is that true or not?

KurdWatch: Yes, that’s true.

Zuhayr Salim: You and I do not recognize Sykes-Picot. You [Kurds] feel that you have been treated unjustly by Sykes-Picot. We also feel that we have been treated unjustly by Sykes-Picot. Syria is a temporary phenomenon, a state that exists only temporarily. Our goal is the creation of a state for the entire umma. A Kurd will be ruler in this state, for he will be supported by a people that numbers anywhere from thirty-five to forty million.”

They need history classes!! Salah al Din was a Kurd, strange that Zuhayr Salim does not bring this. But to say that Syria did not exist before the 20th c., that, even the hottest Zionist dreams did not figure!!! Syria exists when the Romans occupied the Middle East (Syria Coelo), it existed before for millenium as the southern half of the Hittite empire, which fought Egypt and annexed some of its territories! it existed in the “kingdom cities” and has some of the places of continuous habitation in the world…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Syria
These guys are ridiculous. They should just find a job at Disneyworld and stay there in the realm of cartoons and “good and bad” characters.

Bronco

The photo is a file photo.  Doesn’t that mean an old one?  Yet I must say, he does not look quite normal in this photo.  Anyway, Biden said that Erdogan looked good to him, that his stamina was real, and that whatever Erdogan had, was nipped in the bud.  We will see more of him in Qatar on Dec 10.  

http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haberYazdir&ArticleID=82551&tip=

(AA File Photo)
Turkish PM looks fit after operation: Biden
Erdogan, one of the most popular Muslim leaders among Arabs, is scheduled to visit Qatar on Dec. 10-12.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s health problem appears to have been “nipped in the bud” by a recent operation and he expects to be back at work soon, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Sunday.
Biden, who met the Turkish leader for two hours on Saturday, has seen more of Erdogan than Turks have in public since he underwent keyhole abdominal surgery on Nov. 26.
“He looked to me good, his stamina was real,” Biden told reporters travelling with him aboard Air Force Two from Istanbul to Athens on Sunday .
“I got the distinct impression that this was something they’ve nipped in the bud, they’ve taken care of,” he said. “I saw no flagging…I had a very positive impression.”
Biden did not give any details on what Erodogan may have been suffering from, but added: “He thinks he is going back to work relatively soon.”
Having led Turkey for the past decade, Erdogan, 57, dominates the political landscape, and all key decisions rest with him, making his absence in recent days more keenly felt.
Erdogan will spend a second week recovering at home, an aide told Reuters on Sunday, as the government cancelled a cabinet meeting for a second consecutive week.
The cancellation of Monday’s meeting, reported by state-run TRT television, was decided despite there being four deputy prime ministers.
“The administration in our country is strongly bound around the prime minister’s personality. There is no widespread delegation of authority,” said Ilter Turan, professor of political science at Bilgi University.
The government had kept quiet about Erdogan’s operation, but put out a statement two days after it saying the prime minister was well following a keyhole procedure on his lower intestine.
As Erdogan cancelled his official programme after the operation, Biden visited the prime minister at his home in Istanbul on Saturday to discuss geo-strategic issues in the region — notably Iraq, Iran and Syria.
The meeting was supposed to have lasted no longer than 45 minutes, but Biden said Erdogan had shown no sign of tiredness and kept going despite a doctor sending notes in to the room for him to wind up the meeting.
There was no media coverage, but the prime minister’s office released photographs of a smiling Erdogan, dressed in a dark suit and open neck shirt, sitting with Biden.
Erdogan, one of the most popular Muslim leaders among Arabs, is scheduled to visit Qatar on De
For all the assurances, speculation over the state of his Erdogan’s health could erupt should he stay out of the public eye for too long, though usually sensitive markets showed little reaction last week, being more perturbed by the global economy.
Reuters
 

Qataris badly need lessons in diplomacy

http://rt.com/politics/russia-qatar-diplomacy-downgrade-059/

Is this post Deja Vu? NewZ

I wonder how would al Jazeera turn if there was a sudden attack of Iran [by] Israel? …everybody knows that if not for the help of military training from Iran, Israel would not have been defeated by Hezbollah in Lebanon and by Hamas in Gaza.

Mina,

How could Israel attack Iran if they were “defeated”?

I don’t think either side was “defeated”, I just think each side was “wounded” to some extent. This “defeat” bought, unitl now, about 6 years of peace.

Dubious Dealings: Syria and the Arab League

By: Sharmine Narwani
Published Monday, December 5, 2011
The ongoing diplomatic tug of war between Syria and the Arab League took an unexpected turn Monday with rumors of a potential breakthrough. A positive outcome would signal a major political – not procedural – change of heart at the Arab League, whose earlier dealings with Syria showed little room for compromise.

Last week, the Arab League broke with its own charter for the second time this year, voting to impose far-reaching economic sanctions on member-state Syria, eight months after backing a no-fly zone over member-state Libya.

The charter, which was written in the early post-colonial period, placed great stock in the inviolability of “a state’s independence, sovereignty, or territorial integrity.”

Article V of the League’s charter clearly stipulates: “Any resort to force in order to resolve disputes between two or more member-states of the League is prohibited. If there should arise among them a difference which does not concern a state’s independence, sovereignty, or territorial integrity [my italics], and if the parties to the dispute have recourse to the Council for the settlement of this difference, the decision of the Council shall then be enforceable and obligatory.”

A recently-departed senior Arab League official told me: “We have taken strong measures before only in relation to foreign policy issues or disputes between Arab countries. But on these last two occasions, this is a historic departure in relation to the practice of the Arab League. For the first time measures were taken against an Arab country because of its internal situation – the way a government is treating its own people.”

He continued, “When people are dying I don’t care about reconciling this with the charter – that’s my priority. If there are legal issues that contravene, I’m happy to bend them.”

But what about the tens of thousands of civilians slaughtered in member-state Somalia this year alone, with nary a peep from the Arab League? Or of the League’s non-intervention policy in Yemen and Bahrain, where protests continue to this day?

So why did the League single out Syria for sanctions?

Ostensibly, it is because Damascus refused an Arab League observer mission to Syria, but that is not exactly true. The Syrians counter-proposed a series of amendments to the mission “Protocol” to accommodate their sovereignty concerns. It was the League that rejected these outright on November 27, although they appear to have reopened negotiations quietly in the past few days.

Consider this: The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – now effectively at the helm of Syrian issues in the Arab League – spent seven months negotiating an exit for the despotic Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh.

When asked about double-standards in the treatment of Syria versus other Arab member-states, the recently-departed senior League official admitted, “I think the position taken by the Arab countries in relation with Bahrain is a very sad one – we should have been more firm.”

On Yemen however, his response was curious, “Yemen – it is being handled by the GCC, and doesn’t need the Arab League’s help right now.”

But the same players refused to spend even seven days on Syria. The League dropped the sanctions gauntlet a mere three days after Syria offered its amended proposal, claiming these would “affect the core of the document and would radically change the nature of the mission.”

But is that true? Would Syria’s amendments sink the project as some League members alleged?

Much ado has been made about Syria’s amendments in Arab League statements, but other than a brief reference to a couple of provisions in Al-Hayat newspaper, these have not been made public.

Below is a much more comprehensive outline of Syria’s counter-proposal obtained from a well-connected, non-Syrian source. There is little in the document that could not have been negotiated to accommodate both Syria’s desire to maintain sovereignty in this process and the Arab League’s determination to carry out its mission:

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/dubious-dealings-syria-and-arab-league

“If some of these provisions were problematic, the Syrian authorities seemed willing to find a possible compromise. When Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem contacted Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby a few months back, it was “to try to gain some time to find a way out of this crisis,” according to a Syrian source.

A senior Arab League official who would not speak on the record, claims that the Syria initiative was steered away from its original form by “some of the ministers who didn’t like the direction and started dictating certain ideas that they knew Syria would not accept.”

Qatar, whose Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani chairs the Arab League’s committee on Syria, could have produced a more constructive outcome, if it wished.

Instead, says the official, the “Protocol” to create a League observer delegation was forwarded with an “ultimatum” in a short time, which we have never experienced in the history of diplomacy at the Arab League.

Why not do this right? This is needed not only for Syria – why not a plan for everywhere in the region?”

“The whole process was meant to gain a refusal, to move to the second stage of this game,” warns the official.

What is this next stage? Al-Thani himself may have offered that answer when he hinted that the League could seek international intervention “if the Syrians do not take us seriously.”

Nobody is guiding the Arab League’s actions today more than this one-man Qatari show.

Qatar stands out as the one Arab nation to have formulated a proactive plan to deal with these revolts. It has thrown money, clout and military force behind ensuring desirable outcomes. So far its goal appears to be two-fold: backing Islamists to replace secular regimes, and thwarting the influence of all other competing regional power centers while it goes about its plans.

Unlike Saudi Arabia, its long-term rival in the Persian Gulf, the tiny Emirate kingdom is not trying to thwart change at all. Rather, it is proactively leading a selective strategy to remake the wider Middle East in its own image.

The Arabic-language press was agog with the tongue-lashing Al-Thani delivered his Algerian counterpart at a Syria-related Arab League meeting on November 12:

“Stop defending Syria because when your turn comes you may need us!” he allegedly roared at Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci when the latter registered an objection.

Yet the Qatari PM managed to feign regret in public when he announced last weekend, “Today, we are very sad to hold such a meeting as the Syrian government has not signed the observer mission.”

The League needs to start as it means to continue. Consistent, lawful and devoid of double standards.We are witnessing a dangerous willingness in the global political elite to circumvent rule of law, territorial integrity and sovereignty to jostle for positioning in the new emerging Middle East order.

Tolerating aerial bombardment of civilians by foreign forces and dragging the body of a deposed head of state through the streets are an indication of creeping lawlessness – much of which appears to be tacitly accepted by the “international community.”

This is unquestionably a new era in the Arab League. The organization is being thrust into a regional decision making role – without any history of competence or effectiveness – during a time when the Arab world is experiencing seismic shifts. Is the Arab League capable of rising to this challenge? Or will it remain an institution that rubber-stamps the policies of its most powerful members?

Sharmine Narwani is a commentary writer and political analyst covering the Middle East.”

“Conditionally Accepts Arab League Observers”

Haven’t we heard that before?

“The BBC’s Jim Muir in Beirut says that if the Syrian government were to fully sign up to the peace plan, it would have to withdraw all its military forces from towns and villages around the country, release detainees, and allow observers in to ensure the violence really had ended.

That could mean that large parts of the country which have seen constant disturbances might slide out of government control, so the opposition is bound to be deeply sceptical, our correspondent adds.”

Scary report on syria in the german DER SPIEGEL magazine.

translated:

“Over the weekend the Syrian military forces conducted extensive maneuvers on the ground and in the air. As the state television reported that rockets were tested, among other things.

And the propaganda machine is in full swing. The exercise could have shown that the Syrian armed forces are able to defend the nation and prevent an attack. The rockets have hit its target with precision, it said in the State TV. The Sana news agency quoted Defense Minister Daud Radschha as saying the armed forces were “fully prepared to execute every command we give them.”

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,801860,00.html

Does anyone has heard that before ?

Mina #14

Thank for pointing out to that diplomatic incident that did not make the headlines of western media.

The physical attack on the Russian ambassador is a disgrace for Qatar. Yes, when medias made a big fuss about the eggs and tomatoes thrown at Ford in Damascus, the western media are almost mute about this grave diplomatic incident. Qatar is so pumped up by the US that it is becoming as arrogant. No mention of that incident in Al Jazeera, either. One more proof of its impartiality.

“Ambassador Vladimir Titorenko suffered an assault at Doha Airport on November 29, on his return from a mission to Jordan. While passing through customs control he was attacked by customs security, who made an attempt to confiscate his diplomatic pouch. Titorenko resisted and was beaten, together with two other Russian diplomats who were there to welcome the ambassador”

18. Juergen

It has been reported but lost in one of these article written by Bassam Mroue on AP.

http://news.yahoo.com/syria-says-accepts-arab-league-observer-request-095657792.html

“In an apparent show of force, Syria’s state-run media said Monday that Syrian military war games over the weekend included missile tests and operations by air force and ground troops “similar to a real battle.”

Makdissi, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said “the maneuvers were routine and planned earlier.”

But the combination of missile tests as well as air and ground troops indicate the maneuvers were of a higher-level than the military’s usual annual war games.

State TV said the exercise was meant to test “the capabilities and the readiness of missile systems to respond to any possible aggression.”

The drill showed Syrian missiles and troops were “ready to defend the nation and deter anyone who dares to endanger its security” and that the missiles hit their test targets with precision, state TV said.

In October, Assad warned the Middle East “will burn” if the West intervenes in Syria and threatened to turn the region into “tens of Afghanistans.”

Syria is known to have surface-to-surface missiles such as Scuds, capable of hitting deep inside its archenemy Israel.

Syrian TV showed a missile being fired, as senior officers followed the event using their binoculars, then a missile hitting the ground creating a thick brown cloud.

State media did not say where the maneuvers where conducted. But Israel’s daily Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli army officials as saying the test was conducted Saturday in Syria’s northeast and included the firing of a Scud B missile, with a range of 185 miles (300 kilometers), toward the Iraqi border.

I heard an interessting comment. Syria had 60 ago 50% Christians, now the number is down to 15%. Is that accurate? Can there be such a decline of Christians in Syria?

If Russia had any pride, it should’ve pulled it’s ambassador after he got beaten. If his own government does not care about him, why would the foreign press cares?

I meant 60 years sorry

Increasingly isolated and worried Israel will try very soon to mend its relation with Israel. If this happens, it would be probably be the end of the honeymoon of Turkey with the Arabs.

‘Israel knows what to do,’ Ankara tells Washington

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/israel-knows-what-to-do-ankara-tells-washington.aspx?pageID=449&nID=8425&NewsCatID=409

Tara #22

This is exactly what Russia is doing. Russia appears prouder than the USA who did not withdraw its ambassador after the recurrent tomatoes and eggs attack. It also show how arrogant, primitive and childish the Qatar authorities are to resort to bullying anyone who does not comply with their wishes.

Russia downgrades relations with Qatar over attack on ambassador
http://en.ria.ru/russia/20111205/169361690.html

Russia will downgrade its diplomatic relations with Qatar following an attack on the Russian ambassador by customs officers at Doha airport, the Foreign Ministry said on its website on Monday.

The ministry said Russian Ambassador Vladimir Titorenko will leave Qatar “after he finishes a course of medical treatment as a result of the attack” and Russia’s interests in Qatar will be temporarily represented by a charge d’affaires.

Airport security and customs officials beat up Titorenko and two other Russian diplomats on November 29 in an attempt to seize the diplomatic dispatch the ambassador was carrying on a return trip from Jordan.

The Qatari officials reportedly tried to X-ray the diplomatic mail despite a bilateral agreement allowing diplomats from both countries to carry diplomatic bags through customs without any inspection under the 1961 Vienna Convention.

The Russian Foreign Ministry sent a protest note to Qatari authorities on November 30, demanding “an immediate and full investigation into the incident, the strict punishment of the culprits and the prevention of similar incidents in the future.”

There has been no official response from Qatar so far.

An anonymous diplomatic source earlier told RIA Novosti that the incident had been most likely provoked by Russia’s position on the Syrian crisis, which many Qatari analysts believe advocates the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad.

Qatar has been consistently supporting sanctions against the Syrian regime, while Russia stands against sanctioning Syria on all diplomatic levels, including the UN Security Council.

22. TARA said:

If Russia had any pride, it should’ve pulled it’s ambassador after he got beaten. If his own government does not care about him, why would the foreign press cares?

http://mostakbaliat.blogspot.com/2010/09/2011-2015.html
المركز العربي للدراسات المستقبلية
29 سبتمبر, 2010
رؤية الى العقيدة العسكرية الروسية ( 2011 – 2015 )
قبل التطرق الى تحليل إستراتيجية العقيدة العسكرية الروسية الجديدة 2011 – 2015 م , والتي من المقرر ان تدخل حيز التنفيذ اعتبارا من بداية العام 2010 م , وجدنا من الضرورة التوقف عند بعض المحطات والمراحل التاريخية السابقة ذات السياق نفسه , وذلك بهدف تعميق الفهم حول الرؤية الروسية لتلك الأسباب والدوافع التي طرأت على خارطة التغيرات الجيوسياسية والجيواستراتيجية العالمية الحديثة , ومنها تشكلت تلك التوجهات الروسية السياسية والعسكرية خلال المرحلة السابقة , والتي من خلال أحداثها وتحولاتها وضعت العقيدة العسكرية الروسية الثالثة في القرن الحادي والعشرين 0
وبالعودة الى تلك المراحل والمحطات التاريخية نجد ان روسيا الحديثة ” روسيا بوتين ” بشكل عام قد توقفت عند 3 مراحل جيوسياسية حتى نهاية العام 2009م , وهي :-
* مرحلة الانتشال ” عقيدة استعادة الدولة ” والتي بدأت بالفترة الأولى لحكم الرئيس الروسي فلاديمير بوتين , واستمرت حتى نهاية فترة رئاسته الأولى ( 2000م – 2004 م ) , ويعتبر الكثير من المراقبين والمحللين السياسيين والعسكريين ان تلك الفترة تحديدا كانت اقرب الى استعادة الدولة القومية القوية في مختلف جوانبها السياسية والعسكرية والاقتصادية , حيث ان الروس وفي تلك المرحلة كانوا قد خرجوا من حقبة تاريخية عصيبة جدا , اثر الانهيار الجيوسياسي العالمي بسقوط الاتحاد السوفيتي مع بداية عقد التسعينيات من القرن العشرين , كذلك فقد كان للتفسخ الاجتماعي والانهيار الاقتصادي والتبعية الجيواستراتيجية والفوضى والصراعات الداخلية , الدور الآخر الذي ساهم وساعد في تأخر استعادة الروس لمكانتهم العالمية 0
لذا – وباختصار شديد – فان العقيدة العسكرية الروسية في تلك المرحلة كانت اقرب الى العقيدة الدفاعية منها الى العقيدة الهجومية او تلك التي تسعى للهيمنة وتقاسم رقعة الشطرنج الدولية , فقد كان الخوف من المتربصين بالدولة الناشئة , ومحاولات تشويه صورة روسيا والتدخل في شؤونها الداخلية , الشغل الشاغل للقادة العسكريين والسياسيين الروس , فمن جهة ما ( كان واضحا ان هناك حاجة الى لتعزيز الأمن عل الحدود الجنوبية لروسيا مع أسيا الوسطى والصين , ومن جهة أخرى , كان الجيش الروسي ما يزال يعتبر حلف الناتو تهديدا , ويستلزم بناء على ذلك تقوية القواعد الغربية والاحتفاظ بقدرتها النووية ) 0
وفي هذا السياق يقول ليونيد إيفاشوف – رئيس إدارة العلاقات الدولية في وزارة الدفاع الروسية والذي استضافته قناة الجزيرة القطرية بتاريخ 4 / 4 / 2001 م , ( أولاً: يمثل الناتو حلفاً عسكرياً يملك مقدرة عسكرية هائلة ، حلفاً اغتصب لنفسه حق القيام بالعدوان ضد دولة مستقلة ، وعندما يقولون إن هذه الآلة العسكرية سوف تتحرك في اتجاه روسيا لأنها تحمل إلى روسيا الاستقرار والأمن، فنحن لا نصدق هذه الأقوال، كما لن تصدقها أي دولة أخرى ونحن نرى أن نصل الناتو ممدود في اتجاه الشرق ، في اتجاهنا نحن ، فلذا لا نتقبل انتشار الناتو نحو الشرق ، ونعتبر هذا التوسع باتجاهنا تهديداً لأمننا وهذا مسجل في العقيدة العسكرية الروسية )
* مرحلة بناء الدولة القومية العابرة للقارات ” عقيدة فرض الاحترام ” ( 2005 – 2009 ) , وبالتالي فان العقيدة العسكرية الروسية في هذه المرحلة لابد وان تنبع من هذا التوجه الجيوسياسي العالمي , والذي يقوم على بناء وتأسيس جيش قوي وقدرات عسكرية دفاعية وهجومية إستراتيجية قادرة على مواجهة جل تلك التحديدات والتهديدات الجديدة النابعة من الخارج تحديدا خلال الحقبة الزمنية الجديدة , والتي تدفع بالعالم السياسي نحو تبني عددا من الأفكار والتوجهات الجيوسياسية الاستثنائية , التي تلت مرور العالم بعدد من الحروب والصراعات الدولية 0
وهنا نطرح الأسئلة نفسها التي طرحها الجنرال محمود غارييف رئيس أكاديمية العلوم العسكرية الروسية حول طبيعة العقيدة العسكرية الروسية الثانية , في لقاء معه أجراه المعلق العسكري لوكالة RIA – نوفوستي الروسية فيكتور ليتوفكين في شهر فبراير / 2007م , حول طبيعة التهديدات التي تجثم اليوم على أمن روسيا وما هي المهام الدفاعية التي تنتج عنها؟ ومنها تحديد التنظيم العسكري – العقيدة العسكرية – التي تحتاجها الدولة لتحييد التهديدات الممكنة وصدها عند اللزوم , والوسائل الممكنة للجوء إلى القوات المسلحة والفرق الأخرى ، وكذلك أنماط الحرب والنزاعات المسلحة التي ربما تفرض علينا اليوم وحتى العام 2015م , من هنا تولد توجهات التحضير والتأهيل العسكري , وبالأخص ، علينا – كما يقول غارييف- أن نعرف كيف نحضّر البلاد للدفاع بشكلٍ عام ، وقبل كل شيء على المستويات الاقتصادية والعسكرية الصناعية والسياسية المعنوية 0
فما هي طبيعة التهديدات التي واجهتها روسيا , أو تلك المحتمل مواجهتها خلال المرحلة الثانية ؟ ومنها يمكن تبني الروية الجديدة للعقيدة الروسية العسكرية الثانية ( 2005 – 2009 ) ؟
والحقيقة ان روسيا بوتين خلال الفترة الرئاسية الثانية 2004 – 2007 م , واجهت العديد من التحديدات الجيوسياسية العالمية , كان أخطرها على الإطلاق التهميش المتزايد من قبل الدول الغربية وتحديدا الولايات المتحدة الاميركية للدولة الروسية , وبالطبع فلا يزال مستمرا ذلك التهديد الذي يمثله حلف الناتو على الأطراف الغربية لروسيا , والمحاولات المستمرة لتوسيعه ليشمل بعض دول الاتحاد السوفيتي السابق , كما لا يجب ان ننسى التدخلات المتزايدة في الشأن الروسي الداخلي والسعي لتسليح بعض الدول السوفيتية المتمردة على روسيا كجورجيا على سبيل المثال لا الحصر , والذي أسفر ” نفخها ” عن انفجار الحرب الروسية – الجورجية مع نهاية العام 2008م 0
بدت روسيا خلال تلك الفترة كما تقول الباحثة الروسية ليليا شيفتسوفا – مؤلفة كتاب روسيا بوتين – وكأنها تريد ( ان تثبت افتراقها عن الغرب وبأنها تزداد انزعاجا وخيبة أمل من شركائها الغربيين : من الهيمنة الاميركية وفي نفس الوقت التجاهل الاميركي لروسيا , ومن رغبة الأوربيين في تعليم روسيا الديموقراطية والسلوك الحسن في الشيشان ) , وهو ما دفع الرئيس بوتين ولأول مرة منذ سقوط الاتحاد السوفيتي الى إطلاق تهديده المشهور باستعداد روسيا لمواجهة الولايات المتحدة الاميركية في حال لزم الأمر , وذلك بسبب غطرستها وتجاهلها للدولة الروسية ومصالحها الجيوسياسية والجيواستراتيجية العالمية , وإصرارها على بناء منظومة الدرع الصاروخي الاميركي في شرق أوربا , والذي تنظر إليه روسيا كتهديد مباشر لأمنها القومي , وتوسيع حلف الناتو ليقترب من حدود روسيا وذلك بضم كل من أوكرانيا وجورجيا 0
وفي ذلك الخطاب جدد بوتين رغبته في إعادة أمجاد الروس السابقة على عهد الاتحاد السوفيتي , واستعادة القوة الروسية الاستراتيجية والدول القومية العابرة للقارات 0 حيث حفظ العالم جملة بوتين الشهيرة وهي أن العالم يجب أن يستعد للتعامل مع روسيا قوية , وقال كذلك : إن انهيار الاتحاد السوفيتي قد شكل أكبر كارثة جيوسياسية في القرن العشرين وتذكر بحنين العالم الثنائي القطب القديم , حيث كانت هناك قوتان عظميان تكبح كل منهما طموحات الأخرى , وهو بذلك لا يعني فقط استرجاع جبروت روسيا المفقود , وإنما أيضا جعل بلاده الثقل الموازن الأساسي في مقابل القوة الأميركية , بحسب تعبير سيرغي كاراغانوف مستشار السياسة الخارجية في الكرملين .
لذا فقد تشكلت العقيدة العسكرية الروسية الثانية ( 2005 – 2009 ) بناء على العوامل الجيوسياسية سالفة الذكر , وبالتالي فقد كانت التوجهات الاستراتيجية لتلك العقيدة اقرب ما تكون للاستنفار والمواجهة مع الغرب منها الى الموقف الدفاعي المتفرج , ومن أهم ما يمكن ان يشار إليه في هذا السياق , الإجراءات التالية : تجهيز القوات الروسية بالعتاد الاستراتيجي القادر على مواجهة التهديدات العابرة للقارات وعلى رأسها الأسلحة النووية , والوقوف بحزم وقوة لمختلف محاولات التمرد والعصيان والانتهاك لسيادة الدولة الروسية او تلك الدويلات التي تستظل بجناح روسيا كما حدث مع جورجيا , والوقوف بنفس الجدية والحزم لمحاولات توسع حلف الناتو , بل واستخدام القوة اللازمة لفعل ذلك ان اقتضى الأمر , والسعي لتشكيل تحالفات عسكرية وان كانت فضفاضة مع قوى دولية تتشارك معها مخاوف المساعي الاميريكية للهيمنة على رقعة الشطرنج الدولية والاوراسية تحديدا كما هو الحال مع الصين 0
– وباختصار شديد – يمكننا اعتبار العقيدة العسكرية الروسية الثانية ( 2005 – 2009 ) – أي – عقيدة ” فرض الاحترام ” هي عقيدة مواجهة وهجوم واستفزاز للغرب , وتحديدا الولايات المتحدة الاميركية , وذلك في محاولة من قبل بوتين لإظهار المكانة القوية التي وصلت إليها وتملكها روسيا الجديدة اليوم , وبالتالي التأكيد على رفض أي املاءات او تدخلات خارجية في الشأن الروسي , او حتى التفكير في سلب الروس لحقوقهم التاريخية القديمة , ولمزيد من المعرفة حول تلك التحولات والتغيرات التي تشكلت حولها العقيدة العسكرية الروسية سالفة الذكر , ننصح بالرجوع للمراجع التالية على سبيل المثال لا الحصر – الفصل الثالث من كتابنا المفاجأة الروسية , وكتاب رقعة الشطرنج الكبرى لزبجينيو بريجينيسكي وكتاب روسيا بوتين لليليا شيفتسوفا0
* مرحلة تأكيد المكانة العالمية ” عقيدة التوازن الاستراتيجي ” , وهي العقيدة الثالثة التي تتبناها روسيا في تاريخها الحديث , وسيبدأ تطبيقها عمليا منذ ( 2011 – 2015 ) , وعن هذه العقيدة الجديدة التي أعلن عنها سكرتير مجلس الأمن الروسي نيقولاي باتروشيف يوم الخميس الموافق 19 / 11 / 2009 م , في مدينة سانت بطرسبورغ , والتي ستقدم لرئيس الدولة قبل نهاية العام 2009م , يقول المحلل والسياسي الروسي المعروف ليونيد ألكسندروفتش بان ( العقيدة العسكرية الروسية الجديدة لم تأت من فراغ بل جاءت رد فعل على إستراتيجية الأمن القومي الأميركي المعلن عنها مؤخرا والتي استبعدت روسيا من قائمة حلفاء وأصدقاء أميركا في حربها ضد الإرهاب ، على الرغم من أن روسيا كانت ضمن هذه القائمة في إستراتيجية عام 2002، لقد تعاملت الاستراتيجية الأميركية للأمن القومي مع روسيا بشكل سلبي ووضعتها ضمن الدول التي لا تطبق المعايير الديمقراطية الصحيحة واتهمتها بالتدخل في شؤون جيرانها ودعم أنظمة مارقة ومتطرفة مثل نظام الرئيس هوجو شافيز في فنزويلا ) 0
والحقيقة إننا نستطيع ان نقول بأنه وبالإضافة الى تبني مختلف الأفكار التي كانت حاضرة في الاستراتيجية العسكرية الروسية الثانية ( 2005 – 2009 ) , فان هذه الأخيرة قد تبنت بعض الخيارات الاستراتيجية العسكرية الاستثنائية كخيار إقدام روسيا على توجيه ضربات نووية استباقية , وإمكانية استخدام القوات العسكرية الروسية خارج الدولة , وتوسيع المناطق الحدودية لروسيا من مسافة خمسة كيلومترات إلى خمس عشرة كيلومتر وخاصة في الجهات الغربية لروسيا ، وبهذا تعود المنطقة الحدودية الروسية إلى ما كانت عليه في زمن الاتحاد السوفييتي ، وقد أحدث هذا القرار ردود فعل قوية لدى واشنطن ولدى دول أوروبا الشرقية المجاورة لروسيا , ويدور النقاش أيضا حول البند الذي يجيز استخدام الأسلحة النووية في النزاعات المحلية في حالة وجود تهديد بالغ الخطورة على الأمن القومي الروسي 0
وفي هذا السياق كتب إيليا كرامنيك ، المعلق العسكري لوكالة نوفوستي الروسية للأنباء حول نوعية تلك النزاعات التي تمثل تهديدا بالغ الخطورة للأمن القومي الروسي؟ وعلى أساسها فقد تم تبني العقيدة العسكرية الاستراتيجية الروسية الثالثة التحليل التالي :-
( بإلقاء نظرة إلى جيران روسيا في الساحة السوفيتية سابقا قد نستطيع أن نتخيل نشوب نزاع مع جمهوريات البلطيق السوفيتية سابقا لأنها أصبحت أعضاء في حلف شمال الأطلسي ، غير أن احتمال نشوب مثل هذا النزاع ضئيل جدا , وإذا افترضنا أن يندلع نزاع بين روسيا وهذه الجمهوريات فلن نستطيع أن نتخيل أن تستخدم روسيا السلاح النووي في ضرب هدف ما في أراضي بلدان الجوار القريب , وبالتالي فإن أهداف السلاح النووي الروسي في الحرب الافتراضية ستكون – على الأرجح – خارج منطقة البلطيق , والأغلب ظنا أنه لا يمكن إلا لحرب واسعة النطاق أن تمثل تهديدا حرجا لأمن روسيا يستوجب اللجوء إلى استعمال السلاح النووي دفاعا عن الذات، علما بأنه بعدما شن الناتو عمليته الحربية على يوغوسلافيا استقر رأي روسيا على أنها لن تقدر على صد عدوان محتمل يأتي من الغرب إلا عندما تستخدم السلاح النووي )
و- باختصار – فان العقيدة العسكرية الاستراتيجية الروسية الثالثة ( 2011 – 2015 ) , وبالإضافة الى تبنيها لجل تلك الأفكار والأطروحات العسكرية الدفاعية والهجومية الاستراتيجية منذ العام 2000م , قد تم هذه المرة إضافة معايير استثنائية عليها تراعي في الحسبان تلك التطورات العقائدية العسكرية للدول الأخرى كالولايات المتحدة الاميركية على سبيل المثال , والتي لا تستبعد إمكانية القيام بالسبق في توجيه الضربة النووية الأولى عند الضرورة , وهو ما قصدناه تحديدا بعقيدة ” التوازن الاستراتيجي ” , كذلك ومما يجب التأكيد عليه في هذه العقيدة الجديدة , تجديد القيادة الروسية على تلك الرسائل القوية التي تفيد إعادة التأكيد على مكانة روسيا الجيوسياسية والجيواستراتيجية في العقد القادم من القرن الحادي والعشرين على رقعة الشطرنج الدولية , كذلك ومن ضمن ما يمكن الإشارة إليه في هذا التوجه العسكري الجديد , هو إضافة عامل الترهيب وزرع روح الخوف في نفوس أعداءها التقليديين والمتمردين على نفوذها التاريخي , وهو ما يستدعي التفكير كثيرا قبل التعرض لأمنها القومي ومصالحها الدولية للتهديد والخطر

#21 Juergen

There are many factors explaining the greater emigration of Christians versus Moslems from the Arab world.
Most emigration is linked to insecurity and/or economical difficulties.

Countries that are open to immigrations are all of Christian culture. There is not a single moslem country that accepts emigrants. Therefore christians find it easier to emigrate to a country with similar culture than the Moslems.
The level of education and foreign language proficiency of the christian minorities in the Arab world is relatively higher that the moslem majority’s, therefore the Christians are able to find jobs more easily in foreign countries.

Christian Syrian emigration was mostly due to the economical situation and the lack of job opportunities. This is true also in Lebanon and Egypt.
Insecurity will certainly trigger more Christians to emigrate. Egyptian Copts are already emigrating in masses and any suspicious change of regime in Syria will do the same for the Syrians.

Syria modifications of the protocol and the demends to cancel the penalties against Syrian regime and reversing the freeze on Syria membership in AL,they all will not be accepted by AL.
AL has given Syria very long time and is to be condemned.
It is about time the AL declare it is unable to get Syria to cooperate,

Birds of Feather Flock Together: Dumbo and the Forger

انتهاكات كثيرة بينها حشو صناديق الاقتراع في انتخابات روسيا
2011-12-05

فرز الأصوات في أحد مراكز الاقتراع بموسكو

موسكو- (ا ف ب): اعلن مراقبو منظمة الأمن والتعاون في بيان نشر الاثنين إن الانتخابات التشريعية الروسية التي فاز فيها حزب روسيا الموحدة شهدت “انتهاكات كثيرة” خلال فرز الاصوات، وخصوصا “حشو صناديق الاقتراع”.
وصرح البيان ان “الانتخابات كانت منظمة بشكل جيد الا ان العملية تدهورت بشكل ملحوظ خلال فرز الاصوات الذي شهد انتهاكات كثيرة للعملية خصوصا مع اشارات جدية بحصول حشو لصناديق الاقتراع”.

واضافت المنظمة ان “المنافسة السياسية (كانت) محدودة وغير منصفة” خلال الحملة الانتخابية واشارت إلى “عدم استقلالية” السلطات الانتخابية ووسائل الاعلام.

الا أن المنظمة اشارت إلى انه و”على الرغم” من هذه الجوانب الناقصة، الا ان “الناخبين مارسوا حقهم في التعبير عن رايهم”.

وصرح بتروس افثيميو احد مسؤولي بعثة المراقبة في بيان ان “لا بد من اجراء تغييرات لضمان احترام حرية الشعب”.

واضاف “لاحظت خصوصا تدخلا من جانب الدولة على كل مستويات الحياة السياسية بالاضافة الى غياب الشروط اللازمة لحصول منافسة عادلة وعدم تمتع وسائل الاعلام بالحرية”.

وفاز حزب روسيا الموحدة بزعامة فلاديمير بوتين اثر الانتخابات التشريعية بالغالبية المطلقة في الدوما مع حصوله على 238 مقعدا من اصل 450، وهو يشكل تراجعا ملحوظا عن ادائه في العام 2007.

واحصت وسائل الاعلام المستقلة ومنظمة “غولوس” غير الحكومية الروسية لمراقبة الانتخابات الى عمليات تزوير عدة طيلة يوم الاحد.

ومن جهتها، اشارت اللجنة الانتخابية المركزية الروسية إلى عدم تسجيل أي تزوير ملفت خلال الانتخابات.

from http://alquds.co.uk

Majed

I am not entirely clear to the sequence of events. Did the regime ask for any change to the essence of the protocol such as the identities and the freedom of mobility of the observers or just asked for cancellation of the sanctions if to comply? Also, is the AL expected to give any official announcement in that regard?

I think the show of military force is a desperate attempt that implies Assad’s feeling of utter humiliation and defeat having to comply with little Minnie Qatar orders. I expect more regime humiliation in the near future.

Jeurgen

I think Arab Christians have an easier time obtaining a legal immigration status in western countries compared to Arab Muslims and this is why more Christians immigrate compared to Muslims.

Memo To: BRONCO BILLY COOLING HIS HEELS IN BESHO’S BUNKHOUSE

RE: “…Christian Syrian emigration was mostly due to the economical situation and the lack of job opportunities. This is true also in Lebanon and Egypt…”

You wish, Billy. The real reason they left was because their Moslem “countrymen” turned into assholes…

a leaked video of Assad’s dogs destroying people’s homes and setting them on fire. Tfooh on this disgusting militia they call the army, you’re gonna free the Golan ya klab?

بيان عن قبول السلطة السورية المبدئي التوقيع على البروتوكول مع جامعة الدول العربية

نشر بتاريخ 7 – 12 – 2011

دمشق 5/12/2011

نأمل من جامعة الدول العربية أن تجيب السلطة السورية على استفساراتها الأخيرة كمحاولة لملاقاة خطوة السلطة في اتجاه التوقيع على البروتوكول، وعدم تفويت إمكانية إنجاح مبادرة الجامعة كونها تشكل أساسا جيدا لحل سياسي وسلمي للمأزق السياسي الذي وصلت إليه البلاد.

ونتمنى على الجامعة إجابة السلطة عن استفساراتها إن كانت منطقية، مع تأكيدنا على أن محاولات السلطة في تقويض المبادرة باتت مكشوفة عبر إكثارها من الاستفسارات وإضاعة الوقت الذي يسقط خلاله يوميا عشرات من القتلى السوريين، من مدنيين وعسكريين. فحياتهم أثمن من جميع التفاصيل التي تحاجج بها السلطات السورية الجامعة. فالسلطة تريد دوما كسب المزيد من الوقت للقضاء على جميع معارضيها.

ولا نرى من ناحيتنا ضيرا في إعادة عضوية الدولة السورية في الجامعة وتوقيف العقوبات الاقتصادية وإلغاء توقيف الرحلات الجوية إذا ما وقعت السلطة السورية على البروتوكول وأطلقت المزيد من معتقلي الاحتجاجات.

ونرى من الضرورة أن تعتمد اللجنة الوزارية العربية مشروعا عمليا لحماية المدنيين قابلا للتطبيق وبالتنسيق مع المعارضة السورية (كنا تقدمنا للجامعة بمشروع لحماية المدنيين، وأرفقناه مع هذه الرسالة). وفي هذا الصدد يبدي تيار بناء الدولة السورية استعداده للعمل مع جامعة الدول العربية لتنفيذ هذا المشروع أو تطويره.

إن حقن دماء السوريين لا يمكن أن يأتي إلا بمثل هذه المساعي، وليس بترك السلطة السورية تمارس عنفها الدموي المعهود على معارضيها. خاصة بعد أن أثبتت الأحداث عدم أهليتها لقيادة البلاد وإدارة الأزمة.

ونؤكد من جديد على اقتراحنا بفتح مكتب دائم للمبادرة العربية في دمشق لتتمكن الجامعة من التواصل مع جميع الأطراف المعنية والفاعلة في الحقل السياسي والمجتمعي في البلاد.

—–

برنامج اللجنة الوطنية لحماية المدنيين المقترحة من تيار بناء الدولة السورية متوفر على الرابط:

http://binaa-syria.com/B/ar/content/civilians-protection

jad#16.

It is just a game. It is a cat-and-mouse game for the exhaustion of stupid players.

http://haytham-khoury3.blogspot.com/2011/11/blog-post_11.html

Haytham

I don’t think Ghalioun’s reference to Iran during his interview with the WSJ was helpful. I hope you agree. I don’t care for Iran anymore after it’s participation in killing Syrians but he should not be vocal about it at least for the time being. No?

Haytham, it’s a very bloody and dangerous game played by all sides, nobody is innocent in this massacre happening in Syria, NOBODY.
They all have the Syrian blood on their hands and they continue with the same suicidal mentality, the only way out is a dialogue, you can write and shout against that as long as you want with all the SNC puppets and the opposition figures but that is the only solution, nothing else, reason must prevail.

Homs is in mess today, bodies are thrown in the streets or being burned in buses…that is not a call for freedom anymore, it’s already a civil war regardless of what the freaking west, turks, qataris or the liar Alarabi think.

حمص :5-12-2011 الأخبار حتى الساعة و نسأل الله الرحمة من بحر الدم في حمص

-حمص اليوم الاشتباكات فيها و أصوات الرصاص و الانفجارات و القذائف لم تهدئ منذ البارحة و بشكل غير مسبوق فقد اشتعلت كل أحياء حمص بدون استثناء
-حالة من الفوضى الكاملة في معظم أحياء حمص و تم إطلاق النار عند الساعة القديمة في مركز المدينة و مقتل3 من جراء اطلاق النار على المشفى الوطني و شبه شلل بالحركة في المدينة و خاصة حي الزهراء و دوار المواصلات و شارع اسكندرون بعد اختطاف عدة شباب أحدهم من عائلة الخضر … و نتيجة إطلاق مسلحي جب الجندلي الرصاص على العديد من المدنين في شارع اسكندرون
-مسلحون يقيمون حاجز ويقطعون الطريق ويطلقون النار بشكل عشوائي على المواطنين بشارع وادي السايح مما أسفر عن استشهاد تسعة مواطنين.
– مقتل ثلاثة مسلحين في الخالدية ,بينهم بسام الجرايحي و جرح سبعة أخرين
-32 جثة اليوم في شوارع حمص ومسلحون يقتلون الارهابي زياد عبد اللطيف العكش في تلدو على خلفية نزاع على زعامة العصابات في تلدو
-و تستمر التضحيات فداء لهذا الوطن الغالي و الشهيد الأول في حمص كان من أل فندي في نادي الضباط في حمص و اليوم استشهاد ابو هيثم رامز فندي ووالده
-استشهاد مستخدمة مدرسة من بيت خزنه في وادي السايح ووصلت جثتها الى الأهلي
-حريق كثيف عند دوار فدعوس و دوار الزهراء..واطلاق نار كثيف بالزهراء و العباسية..
-هجوم على حاجزالجيش في حي الزهراء من جهة فدعوس و المقابر.. و الأهالي يدافعون..
اصابة عسكري اصابه بليغة وهو الآن في مشفى الأهلي ومقتل 3 مسلحين عند حاجز باب تدمر
-تواجد علني مسلح في باب الدريب و جب الجندلي..
-تحرير 6 مخطوفين في مناطق متفرقة في مدينة حمص و بانتظار التفاصيل لننشرها
-الجهات المختصة تلقي القبض على 8 مطلوبين

-مقتل 3 إرهابيين أثناء محاولتهم زرع عبوة ناسفة في حمص

قتل ثلاثة إرهابيين بإنفجار عبوة ناسفة حاولوا زرعها على الطريق العام لحمص- السلمية عند مفرق قرية الحمرات لنشر الرعب في المنطقة,تم التعرف عليهم و هم نديم و سفير العلي و مخلص العموري , وقد عثرت الجهات الأمنية المختصة على كميات من الأسلحة الذخائر داخل سيارة الإرهابيين التي تحمل لوحات مرورية مزورة.

-معظم المخطوفين البارحة و الذي تم تحرير 6 منهم اليوم هم من الموظفين الحكوميين كسائق مديرية الاقتصاد و التجارة وسلب سيارته الحكومية و سلب سيارتين من أمام فندق السفير و سيارة في حي الإدخار و سيارة بحي كرم الزيتون…
مسلحون يفجرون عبوة ناسفة على سكة القطار بين محطتي كفرعايا وشنشار في المنطقة الكيلومترية السابعة تحديداً في بساتين منطقة جوبر مما أدى لإعطاب السكة و توقف حركة القطارات …
من المشفى العسكري بالوعر تم تشييع 8 شهداء استشهدوا في حمص و حماه..
القبض على خمسة وعشرون ارهابيا” بين قتيل وجريح بعد عملية مداهمة للقوى الأمنية والعسكرية في منطقة عشيرة….
و شهد أمس حرق منازل من قبل المسلحين بعد اختطافهم للعديد من المدنيين و الموظفين و قاموا بإطلاق الرصاص و قذائف الآر بي جي على حواجز حفظ النظام و على الأحياء المدنية لنشر الرعب في صفوف المدنيين و الأطفال.

شبكة أخبار حمص
http://www.facebook.com/Homs.N.N

شوكوماكو: مصدر ينفي قصف مسجد..الجثث الواصلة للمشفى الوطني لـ53..تحرير مخطوفين وقتل إرهابيين بحمص
===================================
نفى مصدر رسمي ل”شوكوماكو” ما تنتقلته فضائيات الكذب الإعلامي عن قصف لمسجد خالد بن الوليد، كما أكد مراسل شوكوماكو أن الجهات المختصة حررت 17 مخطوفا وقتلت مجموعة من الإرهابيين وألقت القبض على 6 آخرين.
وأكد المراسل أن عدد الجثث الواصلة إلى المشفى الوطني بحمص ارتفع إلى 53 جثة خلال ال 24 الساعة الماضية.
من جانبه أكد المراسل أن إطلاق نار كثيف يسمع في معظم أنحاء المدينة، حيث يتم إطلاق النار بشكل عشوائي، كما أكد أن مسلحين أحرقوا سيارة شاحنة كان بداخلها مجموعة من الجثث التي سبق وأن صفاها هؤلاء في وقت سابق، حيث أحرقوا السيارة في الأراضي الزراعية بين دير بعلبة وزيدل.
وأكد المراسل أن مجموعة مسلحة أقامت عدداً من الحواجز في منطقة وادي السايح بحمص، وتقوم تلك المجموعات بإطلاق النار على المواطنين بشكل عشوائي ما أدى إلى استشهاد 9 مواطنين على الأقل حتى ساعة كتابة الخبر.
وأشار مراسلنا إلى أن خلافات حصلت بين أفراد إحدى العصابات المسلحة، أدت إلى مقتل الإرهابي عبداللطيف العكش في منطقة تلدو.
كما تأكد مقتل 3 إرهابيين من بينهم بسام محمد جرايحي، إضافة إلى جرح سبعة آخرين في حمص.

If I understood it well, Syria is blocking the main road between Haleb and Turkey with sand block??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx97U2OzePg
Do they expect a Turkish invasion?

Iranian citizens stockpile food.
http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4157489,00.html

The region is boiling. Are we on the brink of a regional war?
.

I just hope the Qatari officers beat the living hell out of the Russian pimp and gave him a really good beating.

Their time is coming, I along with ither Arabs and Muslims would stand over Russia with our feet and enslave their pathetic populace.

Tara#36.

In fact, I agree with you. Not everything we think about we can say it. He was talking like an analyst, not as a politician.

We do not care about Iran too much. He can reassure the West about it in private, but he does not have to do so in public.

Tara#36.

In fact, I agree with you. Not everything we think about we can say it. He was talking like an analyst, not as a politician.

We do not care about Iran too much. He can reassure the West about it in private, but he does not have to do so in public

AMIR, I think they are making preparations to stop Turkish imports.

Btw, Amir, as a former IDF soldier, do you think an RPG-7 round fired from a distance of about 100 metres is enough to partially destroy/damage a T-55 or T-62 Tank ? Because the FSA is trying to do just that /

Also is it possible to inflict any damage on BMP-2 or BTR armoured vehicles, using the PKM machine gun ?

In any war where no side is winning, there must be a ceasefire and negotiation. The only entity that could do it it the Arab League.
Unfortunately the Minnie Qatar spoiled kids want it differently. They want to weaken Syria to exhaustion, as they follow the agenda their ally and protector, the USA gave them: “Weaken and humiliate Syria so they bow to our requests of cutting relations with Iran, Hezbollah and Russia and become our new puppet”.
The resilience of the Syrian regime despite the masses of sanctions, and the chaotic opposition is showing that the game is far from over.
Minnie Qatar is becoming hysterical and beats the Russian ambassador who says NO to this plan.
If the AL wants to be taken seriously and act impartially they should tell Minnie Qatar to concentrate on another of its authoritarian GCC country where repression is going on and leave Syria situation to real politicians, not arrogant, spoiled and bellicose kids.

DALE ANDERSEN

“The real reason they left was because their Moslem “countrymen” turned into …..”…

The only AH is you. You obviously know nothing about the subject. Anyway how could an Israeli imagine anything else that his own racism?

Bassam AlKadi- بسام القاضي
يمكننا ان نضحك على انفسنا قدر ما نشاء بالبحث عن “حلول” تحت سيوف الاجرام المشرعة..
لكن هذا لا يغير قدر قطرة دم من حقيقة اننا اليوم نخوض غمار حرب حقيقية ضد الاجرام المسلح الذي بدأ لعاب المرتزقة، خاصة مرتزقة الاجرام الليبي الممول قطريا، يسيل لاجله..
ومثلما فجروا الصومال والعراق وليبيا لاجل حفنة من الدولارات وصك في جنان مجرمي الاديان، هم مستعدون للموت من اجل تفجير سورية! وهم يبرهنون ذلك كل لحظة..
لذلك، لا يفيد ضحكنا على انفسنا سوى قادة هذا الاجرام..
سلاح الاجرام لا يواجه بحوار ولا باحتضان، بل فقط بسحق الاجرام بقوة سلاح الدولة
ومن يريد اليوم تحميل كل المسؤولية للنظام السوري، او انكار ما يفعله المجرمين الخونة من جماعات مجلس غليون وشركاه، او يعتبر اجرام هؤلاء “دفاعا عن المدنيين العزل” هو مجرد متواطئ حقيقي مع هذا الاجرام.. لا ينفعه كل تباكي الدنيا على ماض داسته اقدام القتل المتوحشة.
نحن الان في حالة حرب عصابات طرفها المجرم باسم الحرية المزعومة اشد خطرا وفتكا بسورية الحاضر والمستقبل، مئات المرات اكثر خطر عودة النظام الى ما قبل اذار الماضي. وهذه، على كل حال، عودة مستحيلة يريد قادة ذاك الاجرام تخويفنا بها ليخدموا ويغطوا خيانتهم العلنية بطلب احتلال الناتو وعبيده لسورية..

I’m curious how long those participating on this board think it will take for the regime to fall or if you all believe the Assads will remain in power for many years to come. Of course, we all have our preferences in that some want the Baathist regime to fall sooner than later while some want the Assad family to remain in power for the indefinite future. However, I’m curious what people honestly belive will happen, not wishful thinking.

American Jews are mad that a young Lebanese-American woman has been chosen Miss USA.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/17/94317/new-miss-usa-islamic-fundamentalism.html#storylink=omni_popular

A typical example of racism by the chosen people.

Bronco@42

As a matter of fact, from exploring the Arab public opinion at least around me, it appears 
that Prince Hamad is emerging Not as a goat prince, rather as a prince charming and an Arab hero protecting the Syrian people and transforming the once impotent AL into an effective and proud body.  I have not met a single Arab (except got Lebanese Shiaa and some Lebanese Christian) who does not feel that it is Bashar al Assad who is showing repulsive arrogance..  Bashar has turned the Arab street’s public opinion so drastically against him when the world watched Syrians, children and adults alike  being humiliated, forced to kiss soldiers’ boots, being stepped on, beaten, forced to getting naked, tied to ropes, …yet not a single trial to punish the perpetrators was carried out.  

Qatar is not arrogant.  It is just feeling and reacting to the pain that some have for one reason or the other sheltered themselves from seeing it….
       

I can’t understand the logic of some pro-regimers on this blog. Could you please answer me on this.

First, you say that Assad has 80-99 % support (I personally think 30-40 % sounds more realistic). Secondly, you say that if this regime falls MB and other Islamists will rule (supposedly trough more-or-less free elections as in Egypt and the other countries).

But doesn’t the later mean that you DO recognise islamists have more support than Ba’ath and Assad? IF Assad really has more support why should you fear MB will win?

I understand your fear for the islamist parties (at least the radical ones), I just don’t see how these two statements go together…(?)

46. Ghat Al Bird wrote “A typical example of racism by the chosen people.”

Not really. Those who have a problem with her Miss USA victory are some Jewish fringe kooks. I doubt that the vast majority of American Jews have any problem at all with this beautiful Lebanese woman’s win.

45. Henry,

Sorry, people on this blog seem to believe only what they WANT to believe (whatever fits their opinion). Its the same for them…

Maybe some more “unbiased” (relatively speaking) expert like Joshua could answer what the thinks about this (+ genuine support for the regime vs. opposition vs. islamists vs. etc.)?

It would be interesting.

43. BRONCO said:

“DALE ANDERSEN

“The real reason they left was because their Moslem “countrymen” turned into …..”…

The only AH is you. You obviously know nothing about the subject. Anyway how could an Israeli imagine anything else that his own racism?”

The migration initially started during the Ottomans rule of Syria (Greater Syria in those days) because the Ottomans treated Christians and Alawites like garbage. My Ancestors have passed stories where Turkish soldiers would walk up to a pregnant woman and tear the baby out of her stomach with a knife, Alawites would be placed on a Khazouq.

After WW2, they left purely for economic reasons as the previous generations established a foothold in the west where they can earn a decent living compared to the harsh situation in Syria.

In the 50s and 60s, more and more left as Syria was not stable and many were in Lebanon. During the Lebanese civil war, many Christians migrated to the west and other places instead of returning to Syria. And more people followed in the 80s as those who were left in Syria discovered that those who migrated were making lots of money and going back and marrying the prettiest Syrian girls and going back.

This had nothing to do with the Assads or Baath rule. Our Muslim comrades discovered this trend later on and started their migration.

Henry

Less than 6 months.

Humanist

How will we know until there are free/fair elections? The Assad regime is saying it is willing to hold elections. Most opposition is insisting that Assad step down before they will even talk a transition for agreements on reforms and elections.

“”We’re going to have a new parliament. After that, we’re going to have a new government. We’re going to have a new constitution. That constitution will set the basis of how to elect a president,” he (Assad) said, adding he would step aside if he lost a presidential election.” CNN November 20, 2011 http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/20/world/meast/syria-violence/index.html

Darryl

As our musician in residence and politics aside, what do you think about Enigma’s music. It is a German band. If you never heard it before and interested, you must hear the entire platinum collection (3 CDs) before rendering an opinion. I see a lot of middle eastern influence in it?

Talk about one sided reporting, was not sure whose page I reached, MEMRI, the Weekly Standard or NeoconCentral.com. How about your next blog posting have some sane people talking, rather than a bunch of losers and terrorists backed back really ignoramus con men after trashing another Middle East Country. I guess someone feels “Balanced” is challenging this week.

Majedalkhaldoon #2

“wishful thinking on your side is obvious.
even if Erdogan died today Turkish policy will continue the same.”

I don’t wish anybody to die. Erdogan is still young and he has done a lot of good to his country. I think he is having an awkward policy towards Arab countries and more with Syria. Since his support to Gaza, it is the first time that Turkey got mingled with the Arabs. It thought it was better to do business with the Arab countries than been rebuffed by Europe. Erdogan and Davutoglu did not realize how complex, contradictory and unreliable Arab countries are.
They fell in a nightmarish spider web and any move they make, they get deeper in problems.
I think they wish to get out of it as soon as possible.
I am also thinking that Erdogan’s health problems are related to the stress he is living in now, his mother died, the earthquake of Van was a real disaster, the relation with Syria is another catastrophy, the US is pressing him to sanction Iran, his best commercial ally, and above all he has the PKK on his head, not an easy life…

France’s Total to stop Syria oil production

http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFP6E7N200320111205

jad#37.

I know Homs is bleeding.
What is the solution?

Tara

“Qatar is not arrogant. It is just feeling and reacting to the pain that some have for one reason or the other sheltered themselves from seeing it….”

They “react to the pain” by beating and humiliating the ambassador of a country in front of which these pathetic ‘princes’ should bow.
Very charming indeed.
When the Sheikh Hamad al Thani wears a suit, he looks like a SUMO wrestler wearing a Versace.. a charming vision of class and elegance.

Haytham Khoury

Brace yourself to people here celebrating the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Homsis. Just check what Mr Bassam AlKadi said according to #44

سلاح الاجرام لا يواجه بحوار ولا باحتضان، بل فقط بسحق الاجرام بقوة سلاح الدولة

Tara, have you heard the joke about Charlie the salesman? this was an editorial joke many years ago in one of the professional publications that I read. It applies to many situations including what is happening in Syria. Get a cup of coffee and enjoy.

Charlie the salesman was a “hotshot” traveling salesman who had to hustle and bustle to get a sale at any cost. One day, as he was rushing from one hustle-bustle to another, Charlie was in a car accident and he died on the spot.

He was immediately transferred to the cosmos whereby he was at the gates of hell and heaven next to each other, like the many shop in the souqs of Homs and Damascus. At hell’s gate was the devil himself dressed sharply in a black tuxedo and clean shaven and at heaven’s gate was St Peter with his long simple white rope and white beard to his belly button.

Charlie was asked which gate we he liked to enter by both men, since Charlie was still a salesman a split second earlier, he requested a tour and a demonstration of both facilities. He requested that he start with hell first just in case something went wrong, then he can yell out for St Peter to rescue him. The following scenes may sound familiar to Dr Khaldoun and Khalid even though it is purely co-incidental.

Immediately, Charlie was taken into hell and he was totally shocked as it did not fit what he was taught as a Christian. Hell was full of joy, women, sex, finest drinks, parties, music, smoking, dancing and bustling social life. This was exactly what Charlie loved in life. He informed the devil that he was happy with the tour and if he can go back to see heaven.

Charlie was immediately taken out and was in front of the waiting St Peter at heaven’s gate. St Peter started the tour and Charlie could see people living a quiet life, no luxuries, the odd harp playing here and there and pure tranquility, boring life by charlie’s standard. Charlie thanked St Peter and told hims this does not suit his style.

His decision was final and Charlie was immediately taken to hell and he was placed in chains with hell fire, screams, sight of blood and pain, torture. Charlie started yelling that he wanted to see the devil as he was fooled and sold the wrong product. The devil immediately appeared in front of Charlie and in a calm manner said “Charlie Charlie what is the problem”? Charlie replied that this was not what he was shown hell to be and the demonstration was a fake. The devil stared at Charlie and said “Charlie you were a traveling salesman, of all people you should know about a good sales pitch is like”.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Haytham
I wish I know, but I don’t, we are all hopeless, even showing sympathy nowadays sounds useless because of the amount of blood and killing we are reading about.
I hope that the players stop this bloody game immediately, accept to at least talk about their differences and where they want to take Syria instead of being so shortsighted and rigid in their stands and thinking that they are right and they have the answer, because none of them showed any sign of understanding of how deep the dirty hole they put Syria and Syrians in right now.
Every one of them needs to understand that Syria can’t be lead by one of them and both sides have the moral duty to compromise instead of using the Syrian blood as the only currency for their ugly bloody struggle.

Bronco,Bashar and his gang are not going to leave Syria in a spontaneous and bloodless way nor they are able to make the necessary reforms in order to be in accordance with evolution of history.
Such people can only meet the fate of arrogant ila al abadist dictators such as Ghadafi.

54. TARA said:

I am sorry, Tara I never heard of this band but I will check them out and let you know my opinion. I have finally managed to fix my Buzuq and now starting to learn playing it. It is similar to the Tar and should come naturally.

Bronco,

“I think he is having an awkward policy towards Arab countries and more with Syria. Since his support to Gaza, it is the first time that Turkey got mingled with the Arabs. It thought it was better to do business with the Arab countries than been rebuffed by Europe.”

Bronco, we do not want to become another North Korea for the sake of a dictator.

Bronco, Erdogan was the one who brought Assad out of the cold and onto the International world stage.

He was the first to advice Syria’s dictator to act fast, by implementing true changes.

Erdogan was a true friend of Assad, unlike those who patted his back and said Bashar wa bass.

Bronco it was much easier for Erdogan to turn a blind eye, shun the refugees and find a way out.

A humanitarian, has no choice but to step in. A humanitarian will view Bahrainis and Syrians equally. Gulf dictators and Syria’s dictator and Egypt’s dictators are equally bad. The dictators vary, but they have one thing in common, self serving.

The regime can raise much needed funds by the introduction of this 30% tariff on Turkish goods.

Is Turkey so desperate to export to Syria that it will accept this 30% tariff.

Bronco, Tara

Thank you for answering, all sounds very reasonable. Do you guys think that the number could be true? I would not think of that many.

New investigation of wikileaks: content prooves that highly sophisticated spysoftware was provided for the brutal arab regimes. The leading companies are all of german origin and the number of german companies got state sureties called Hermes to sell their products. Such sureties are common, but show the level of support by the german government to sell such products whose aim is clearly to investigate and spy on their own people and on opposition members particularly. Here is an article which was published in the Washington Post:

Trade in surveillance technology raises worries

By Sari Horwitz, Shyamantha Asokan and Julie Tate, Published: December 1

Northern Virginia technology entrepreneur Jerry Lucas hosted his first trade show for makers of surveillance gear at the McLean Hilton in May 2002. Thirty-five people attended.

Nine years later, Lucas holds five events annually around the world, drawing hundreds of vendors and thousands of potential buyers for an industry that he estimates sells $5 billion of the latest tracking, monitoring and eavesdropping technology each year. Along the way, these events have earned an evocative nickname: the Wiretappers’ Ball.

The products of what Lucas calls the “lawful intercept” industry are developed mainly in Western nations such as the United States but are sold all over the world with few restrictions. This burgeoning trade has alarmed human rights activists and privacy advocates, who call for greater regulation because the technology has ended up in the hands of repressive governments such as those of Syria, Iran and China.

“You need two things for a ­dictatorship to survive: propa­ganda and secret police,” said Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.), who has proposed bills to restrict the sale of surveillance technology overseas. “Both of those are enabled in a huge way by the high-tech companies involved.”

But the overwhelming U.S. government response has been to engage in the event not as a potential regulator but as a customer.

The list of attendees for this year’s local Wiretappers’ Ball, held in October at the North Bethesda Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, included more than 35 federal agencies, Lucas said. The list, he added, included the FBI, the Secret Service and every branch of the military, along with the IRS, the Agriculture Department and the Interior Department’s Fish and Wildlife Service. None would comment on their participation in the event.

Representatives of 43 countries also were there, Lucas said, as were many people from state and local law enforcement agencies. Journalists and members of the public were excluded.

On offer were products that allow users to track hundreds of cellphones at once, read e-mails by the tens of thousands, even get a computer to snap a picture of its owner and send the image to police — or anyone else who buys the software. One product uses phony updates for iTunes and other popular programs to infiltrate personal computers.

Many monitoring systems work by cloning e-mails or making records of Web traffic, allowing police or other users to track the use of key words. Others use stand-alone hardware to eavesdrop on nearby cellphone or WiFi signals.

The Commerce Department regulates exports of surveillance technology, but its ability to restrict the trade is limited. Inter­mediaries sometimes redirect sales to foreign governments, even those that are subject to economic sanctions, once products leave the United States. The State Department, which has spent $70 million in recent years to promote Internet freedom abroad, has expressed rising alarm over such transactions but has no enforcement authority.

U.S. law generally requires law enforcement agencies to obtain court orders when intercepting domestic Internet or phone communications. But such restrictions do not follow products when they are sold overseas.

Industry officials say their products are designed for legitimate purposes, such as tracking terrorists, investigating crimes and allowing employers to block pornographic and other restricted Web sites at their offices.

“This technology is absolutely vital for civilization,” said Lucas, president of TeleStrategies, which hosts the events, officially called Intelligent Support Systems World Conferences. “You can’t have a situation where bad guys can communicate and you bar interception.”

But the surveillance products themselves make no distinction between bad guys and good guys, only users and targets. Several years of industry sales brochures provided to The Washington Post by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, and released publicly Thursday, reveal that many companies are selling sophisticated tools capable of going far beyond conventional investigative techniques.

“People are morally outraged by the traditional arms trade, but they don’t realize that the sale of software and equipment that allows oppressive regimes to monitor the movements, communications and Internet activity of entire populations is just as dangerous,” said Eric King of Privacy International, a London-based group that seeks to limit government surveillance. Sophisticated technology “is facilitating detention, torture and execution,” he said, “and potentially smothering the flames of another Arab Spring.”

Surging demand worldwide

Demand for surveillance tools surged after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as rising security concerns coincided with the spread of cellphones, Skype, social media and other technologies that made it easier for people to communicate — and easier for governments and companies to eavesdrop on a mass scale.

The surveillance industry conferences are in Prague, Dubai, Brasilia, the Washington area and Kuala Lumpur, whose event starts Tuesday. They are invitation-only affairs, and Lucas said he bars Syria, Iran and North Korea, which are under sanctions, from participating.

The most popular conference, with about 1,300 attendees, was in Dubai this year. Middle Eastern governments, for whom the Arab Spring was “a wake-up call,” are the most avid buyers of surveillance software and equipment, Lucas said. Any customers who come to the event are free to buy the products there.

“When you’re selling to a government, you lose control of what the government is going to do with it,” Lucas said. “It’s like selling guns to people. Some are going to defend themselves. Some are going to commit crimes.”

The suppliers are global as well. About 15 of the vendors for the conference in Bethesda were based in the United States, Lucas said. Others were from Germany, Italy, Israel, South Africa and Britain; many of these also have U.S. offices targeting the market for law enforcement agencies and other government buyers.

Of the 51 companies whose sales brochures and other materials were obtained and released by WikiLeaks, 17 have secured U.S. government contracts in the past five years for agencies such as the FBI, the State Department and the National Security Agency, according to a Washington Post analysis of federal procurement documents.

Federal agencies declined to comment on the use of surveillance technology. But Lucas said the Fish and Wildlife Service uses monitoring gear to catch poachers, the Agriculture Department to investigate abuse of grants and the IRS to search for evidence that tax filers have understated their income.

“The IRS loves to find people filing zero income on their tax returns with photos of Ferraris on their Facebook pages,” Lucas said.

An IRS spokesman declined to comment.

Privacy experts say that the legal framework governing the industry has not kept up with its growth and that products sold for legitimate purposes, such as blocking access to certain Web sites or investigating sexual predators, can easily be adapted for broader surveillance.

Far-reaching tools

The brochures collected by WikiLeaks make clear that few forms of electronic communication are beyond the reach of available surveillance tools. Although some simple products cost just a few hundred dollars and can be bought on eBay, the technology sold at the trade shows often costs hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. Customization and on-site training can provide years of revenue for companies.

One German company, DigiTask, offers a suitcase-size device capable of monitoring Web use on public WiFi networks, such as those at cafes, airports and hotels. A lawyer representing the company, Winfried Seibert, declined to elaborate on its products. “They won’t answer questions about what is offered,” he said. “That’s a secret. That’s a secret between the company and the customer.”

Another German firm, Elaman, touts in its government security brochure the capacity to “identify an individual’s location, their associates and members of a group, such as political opponents.”

A British company, Cobham, creates bogus cellphone towers that let users track phones up to three miles away and listen to some calls, according to its brochure. A spokesman confirmed it provides cellular tracking devices for “bona fide law enforcement agencies worldwide.”

The FinFisher program, which creates fake updates for iTunes, Adobe Acrobat and other programs, was produced by a British company, Gamma International. The Wall Street Journal reported on this product, and several other surveillance tools described in sales brochures, in an article last month. Apple said that on Nov. 14 it altered iTunes to block Fin­Fisher intrusions.

A lawyer who represents Gamma, Peter Lloyd, said that Fin­Fisher is a vital investigative tool for law enforcement agencies and that the company complies with British law. “Gamma does not approve or encourage any misuse of its products and is not aware of any such misuse,” he said.

The WikiLeaks documents, which the group also provided to several European news organizations and one in India, do not reveal the names of buyers. But when Arab Spring revolutionaries took control of state security agencies in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, they found that Western surveillance technology had been used to monitor political activists.

“We are seeing a growing number of repressive regimes get hold of the latest, greatest Western technologies and use them to spy on their own citizens for the purpose of quashing peaceful political dissent or even information that would allow citizens to know what is happening in their communities,” Michael Posner, assistant secretary of state for human rights, said in a speech last month in California. “We are monitoring this issue very closely.”

In Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad’s efforts to crush an uprising have left 3,500 people dead, by U.N. calculations, police have reportedly been using surveillance technology to eavesdrop on electronic communications and block access to Web sites.

Syrian activist Rami Nakhle said that after he set up an online newspaper and started blogging about human rights, Syria’s secret police last year began summoning him for regular interrogations that involved threats of torture and a day in solitary confinement. Officers made it clear that they had watched him online despite his efforts to conceal his identity.

Police also hacked into fellow activists’ Facebook accounts, said Nakhle, 29. “Before, they were not very good at this, but now they are getting more advanced,” he said.

Nakhle fled to Lebanon in January and now lives in suburban Washington as a political exile. Many of his friends are still in Syrian prisons. “I am not that idealistic. I know that companies need money, but this is about people’s lives,” he said.

A Syrian Embassy spokesman did not respond to messages seeking comment on the government’s use of surveillance technology.

Getting past sanctions

The Commerce Department is investigating how monitoring devices made by Blue Coat Systems, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., reached Syria despite sanctions, according to several U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. Blue Coat Systems has said it didn’t know its products were being used by Syria and that the devices in question were intended for the Iraqi communications ministry. A distributor, the company said, shipped the products to a reseller in Dubai late last year.

In a statement last month, Blue Coat said it was cooperating with government agencies probing “this unlawful diversion” and conducting its own internal review. A spokesman for the company declined to comment further.

NetApp, also of Sunnyvale, produced hardware and software that the Syrian government was using to build a system to intercept and catalogue vast amounts of e-mail, according to Bloomberg News. Net­App has denied selling equipment to Syria. The project, which was never finished, also included computer equipment from another California company and two European businesses.

The technology’s spread is not limited to the Middle East. A federal lawsuit filed in May accuses Cisco Systems of helping China monitor the Falun Gong group.

The lawsuit, filed by the U.S.-based Human Rights Law Foundation, alleges that Cisco helped design and provide equipment for China’s “Golden Shield,” a firewall that censors the Internet and tracks government opponents. Cisco has acknowledged that it sells routers, which are standard building blocks for any Internet connection, to China. But it denies the allegations in the suit, saying that it has not customized any items for use in censorship.

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy did not respond to messages seeking comment. U.S. companies that want to export devices “primarily useful for the surreptitious interception of wire, oral or electronic communications” must apply to the Commerce Department for a license to sell to overseas buyers under the department’s Export Administration Regulations.

But it can be hard to prove that an export is “primarily useful” for surveillance. Some products need to be used in combination with other equipment in order to eavesdrop. Even standard anti-virus software can be retooled to read e-mails and attachments.

Daniel Minutillo, a Silicon Valley-based lawyer who advises technology companies, said that in most cases his clients can show that their products have multiple uses, making them exempt from export licensing rules.

Human rights groups want this exemption ended. “As long as the market is increasing and there is a lack of regulation, it’s a perfect mix,” said Arvind Ganesan, who studies online surveillance for Human Rights Watch. “The Obama administration has not led in this regard, and there are only a few voices in Congress talking about this. It’s a massive oversight.”

Smith’s bill, which has stalled in committee several times in recent years, would prevent sales to countries, such as China and Syria, that restrict Internet freedom. Yet more aggressive U.S. laws might push the industry overseas if other nations don’t impose similar restrictions. Indian and Chinese vendors have attended Wiretappers’ Balls in recent years.

A State Department official who attended the event in October was pessimistic that government regulation could curb a fast-changing technology sector. “We’ve lost,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “If the technology people are selling at these conferences gets into the hands of bad people, all we can do is raise the costs. We can’t completely protect activists or anyone from this.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trade-in-surveillance-technology-raises-worries/2011/11/22/gIQAFFZOGO_print.html

Bronco
What you find awkward, reasonable and honest people find it the good and reasonable thing to do,the problem is not Erdogan position, the problem is in you.

Haytham
There is no sense for some one to say I do not know the answer, the answer is obvious, Bashar must quit, since he always make mistakes, he used the brutal security solution,that was dumm

When there is any hope to go out of this mess the terrorists do their best, the barbaric terrorist fsa ‘angles’ commited the most horrific crimes today in Homs, 40 Syrians where slaughtered by the so called ‘Alfarouq brigade’ what a wrong name for those terrorist criminals.

مدينة حمص تشهد أكبر “مذبحة طائفية” وأكثرها ترويعا في يوم واحد منذ بداية الأزمة الوطنية

عشرات المسلحين من ” كتيبة الفاروق” نفذوا حكم الإعدام بحوالي أربعين مواطنا بعد إنزالهم من سيارات السيرفيس وصلبهم على الحيطان خلف جامع خالد

حمص ( وسط سوريا) ، الحقيقة ( خاص) : حصلت “الحقيقة” مساء اليوم الاثنين ( 5 /12) على معلومات مؤكدة في معظم تفاصيلها تشير إلى أن مدينة حمص شهدت اليوم أكبر مذبحة على خلفية طائقية تقع في يوم واحد منذ بداية الأزمة السورية قبل حوالي تسعة أشهر. ووصف مصدر ميداني لـ”الحقيقة” ما جرى اليوم بأنه “رهيب ومرعب ولا يصدق عقل أنه حصل فعلا على الأرض وليس في فيلم رعب أميركي” . وفي تفاصيل ما جرى ، قال المصدر إن عشرات المسلحين التابعين لما يسمى “كتيبة الفاروق” ( التابعة لما يسمى “الجيش السوري الحر” الذي تموله وتديره المخابرات التركية والملحقية العسكرية الأميركية في أنقرة) أقدموا اليوم على إنزال عشرات المواطنين من أبناء إحدى الأقليات الطائفية (…) من سيارات “السيرفيس” التي تعمل على خط ” كورنيش شرقي” في مدينة حمص قبل خطفهم واقتيادهم إلى شارع يقع في “حي الخالدية” الكائن خلف جامع خالد بن الوليد، حيث جرى إيقافهم ووجوهم على الجدران قبل إعدامهم بشكل جماعي وسط صيحات هستيرية “الله أكبر”! وأكد المصدر ، وهو فنان تشكيلي من آل السباعي وقيادي محلي في أحد الأحزاب الشيوعية، أن ركاب السيرفيس “جرى تدقيق هوياتهم وفرزهم عن المواطنين الآخرين قبل نفلهم إلى حي الخالدية وإعدامهم ، رجالا ونساء ، بينما كانت وجوههم إلى الحائط”.

ولدى سؤالنا المصدر عن الطريقة التي يتعرف بها المسلحون على الانتماء الطائفي للضحايا ، رغم أن البطاقات الشخصية السورية لا يذكر فيها الانتماء الطائفي ،قال” الأمر سهل جدا. فتدقيق الهويات يجري استنادا إلى أرقام الخانات وسجل النفوس ، قبل أن يحصل فرز ثان تسأل فيه الضحية عن الحي الذي تسكن فيه ، وعن معلومات أخرى بسيطة تكون كافية لتحديد الانتماء الطائفي للضحية. والمسلحون أصبح لديهم خبرة كبيرة في ذلك. هذا فضلا عن أن خطوط السيرفيس تكون تكون قادمة من أحياء معروفة بأن غالبية سكانها من طائفة معينة “.

وقال المصدر إن حوالي أربعين جثة سجيت اليوم في الساحة العامة وسط حي الزاهرة من ضحايا ” مجزرة السيرفيس” قبل أن تضاف إليها حوالي عشرين جثة أخرى لمخطوفين من المنطقة ذاتها جرت تصفيتهم خلال اختطافهم. وكشف المصدر أن ما يسمى بـ”كتيبة الفاروق” أصبحت تلجأ إلى طريقة غير مسبوقة في عملية القتل والتضليل ، حيث تعمد إلى وضع المختطفين لديها في سيارة باص أو “ميكرو باص” أو سيارة شاحنة ثم تقوم بتفجيرها وحرقها قبل أن تصدر بيانا تقول فيه ” إنه جرى تدمير باص من الشبيحة” رغم أن قسما من ركابه يكون من النساء . وهو ما حصل اليوم حين وضعت حوالي عشرين جثة من المخطوفين الذين قتلتهم في شاحنة ثم أقدمت على تفجيرها وحرقها! وقال القيادي الشيوعي ” إن اختطاف أبناء تلك الأقلية وتصفيتهم أصبح الطريقة شبه الوحيدة التي يلجأ إليها مسلحو رياض الأسعد( الذي يدير عملياته من تركيا) للرد على قمع السلطة وجرائم أجهزتها الأمنية . وذلك كنوع من الضغط الابتزازي على السلطة لدفعها إلى إطلاق سراح المعتقلين”. وكان الأسعد تحدث مؤخرا في مقابالة مع قناة “العربية” عن أنه ” أعطى أوامره بمهاجمة مناطق (…) ردا على القمع الذي تمارسه السلطة”!

وبخلاف ما ادعاه اليوم النصّاب الدولي رامي عبد الرحمن ، رئيس ما يسمى ” المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان” ، قال القيادي الشيوعي ” لم يسقط اليوم أي عسكري أو عنصر أمن في حمص، ولم تحصل أية مواجهات مع المسلحين ، ومع ذلك زعم عبد الرحمن أن 34 سقطوا في مواجهات بين الجيش والمنشقين” ، موضحا بالقول” إن عبد الرحمن بات يستخدم حكاية الاشتباك مع المنشقين للتغطية على الجرائم والمذابح الطائفية الانتقامية في حمص وعمليات القتل والاغتيال التي ينفذها مسلحون ضد عناصر الجيش أو مدنيين حتى في أماكن لا يوجد فيها أية مشاكل أو مواجهات أو تظاهرات. وهو ما دفع العديدين اليوم في حي الزهراء ، مثلا ، إلى الصراخ وسط الشارع بعد إحضار الجثث : يا ابن الشر… يا عبد الرحمن .. بدنا … أختك وأختك حقوق الإنسان”، هذا فيما تعهد آخرون من ذوي الضحايا”بشرب دمه” بعد أن “تحول بنظر هؤلاء على الأقل إلى شخصية مقرفة ومثيرة للغثيان جراء التضليل والكذب الرخيص الذي يقوم به ، والذي يعتبر اشتراكا في القتل وتحريضا عليه”!

فرار جماعي لمسيحيي حمص .. واحتلال بيوت

على صعيد متصل ، كشف المصدر أن الأغلبية الساحقة من مواطني حي باب السباع والحميدية ، المنتمين للطائفة المسيحية ، هجروا بيوتهم وتوجهوا إلى ريف المدينة وبعض الأماكن الآمنة الأخرى ، وهو ما يفسر ” العدد المحدود نسبيا” الذي سقط منهم في المذابح الطائفية ، والذي لم يصل إلى 200 ، بينما عدد من سقط من الأقلية الأخرى بلغ حوالي 600 منذ اتخاذ الأحداث في حمص طابعا طائفيا. وقال المصدر ” إن قسما كبيرا ممن هربوا خوفا من الانتقام الطائفي جرى احتلال بيوتهم من قبل مسلحي الجيش الحر، وبعضها جرى حرقه وتحويله إلى رماد”، مقدرا نسبة المسيحيين الذين تركوا المدينة بأكثر من 80 بالمئة. ولاحظ المصدر أن إعلام السلطة يتجنب ذكر أي خبر عن المذابح الطائفية التي تحصل على هذا النحو بدعوى أن تغطيتها إعلاميا ” من شأنه أن يزيد من السعار الطائفي”.

تبقى الإشارة إلى أن هناك حوالي 150 مواطنا من الأقلية نفسها ( شبابا وفتيات) لم يزالوا مخطوفين من قبل مسلحي ما يسمى ” كتيبة الفاروق” ، الذين يرفضون إطلاق سراح الرهائن ، ويهددون بتصفيتهم، إذا لم تقم السلطة بإطلاق سراح أقربائهم المعتقلين! وقد عقد ذووهم يوم أمس اجتماعا وقرروا التوجه إلى دمشف لمقابلة وزير داخلية السلطة جماعيا بهدف بحث ما يمكن فعله بشأن أبنائهم بعدما فشلت الأجهزة المحلية في إطلاق سراحهم . وقال المصدر إن فرقا مدربة من المخابرات الجوية حاولت مرارا اقتحام الحي الذي تحتجز فيه الرهائن ، لكن جميع محاولاتها باءت بالفشل ، إذ ما إن يدخلون الحي الواقع على الجهة الأخرى من ” شارع الحضارة” حتى تنهال عليهم قذائف الـ”آر بي جي” والرشاشات المتوسطة والقناصات، الأمر الذي يدفعهم إلى الانكفاء والتراجع!

(*) ـ شرح الصورة على غلاف الخبر : أحد الضحايا في حمص ـ أرشيف

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(*) ـ لاحظ القراء أننا نعمد منذ فترة إلى تجنب تغطية الأحداث اليومية في المدن السورية ، وبشكل خاص عمليات القتل والقمع وما شابه ذلك ، بالنظر لشبه الاستحالة في توثيق أي حدث والتأكد منه بشكل قطعي . إلا أن ضخامة المجزرة التي حصلت اليوم في حمص ، وتمكننا من الاتصال بإحدى الشخصيات الثقافية والسياسية المحترمة في المدينة ، والتي تتمتع بمصداقية واحترام كبيرين ، شجعنا غلى نشر هذا التقرير و كسر قرارنا غير المعلن بعدم تغطية هذه الجرائم.

http://www.syriatruth.org/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1/%D8%A3%D8%AD%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%80%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%A9/tabid/93/Article/6091/Default.aspx

Bronco

They should bow to the Russian Ambassadors?  I know you enough and I refuse to believe you meant it seriously.  No bowing except to God.  

Men in my eyes are never judged by their personal appearance.  They are judged by their actions.  Yes it is very appealing to look like the French doctor I once mentioned but it is not a requirement.  With or without Versace, Hamad until proven otherwise, is emerging as the one who made the regime humiliated, shocked and awed by a body, once was good for nothing other than making a mockery of itself.  Sanctions only hurt the regime when it came from the AL.  The way Hamad handled the syrian regime by setting a deadline and proceeding with the plan when the deadline was not met is very admirable.  So yes, he is prince charming in my eyes as he could’ve simply turned a blind eye and did nothing, and yes it is a charming vision of class and elegance being able to feel someone’s else pain.
—– 

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-05/arab-league-rebuffs-syria-as-clinton-plans-talks-with-opposition.html

Arab League Rebuffs Syria as Clinton Plans Talks with Opposition
December 05, 2011, 5:37 PM EST

Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) — The Arab League said it won’t lift sanctions imposed on Syria, after President Bashar al-Assad’s government demanded the removal of the league’s punitive measures as a condition for admitting observers.

Separately, the U.S. plans a show of support for Syrians pressing to end Assad’s rule. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to meet today with seven Syrian opposition figures in Geneva, according to a U.S. official who was authorized to speak on condition of anonymity. It will be only the second time that Clinton has held such talks.

Syria is attempting to bargain with the Arab League, which imposed sanctions in response to Assad’s crackdown on opposition. The government would agree to let in Arab League observers provided the bloc restored Syrian membership and ended the sanctions in an agreement signed in Damascus, Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said in a letter to the group, according to the official Syrian Arab News Agency.

That response “will not lead to suspending Arab sanctions on Syria,” Arab League Secretary-General Nabil el-Arabi said, according to Egypt’s state-run Middle East News Agency.

……

65 N.Z

“Bronco, Erdogan was the one who brought Assad out of the cold and onto the International world stage.”

This is exactly what I mean. Erdogan had this vision of huge business opportunities with the Arab world though Syria as a reaction to the EU snubbing Turkey. He was very naive as he and Davutogku underestimated the complexity of the Arab societies and regimes. He pressed Bashar to make reforms without knowing that Syria has never accepted orders from anyone. He went to Tunisia to promote the Turkish model and he was snubbed by the leaders. Same in Egypt. This is what I mean by awkward. Now Turkey is stuck between the USA pressing it for sanctions on Iran and a booming business trading with Iran, between the western countries pressing him to act militarily against Syria and his people who do not want a war with Syria.
Overall his policy of ‘ no problems with neighbors” is total failure. All analysts say so.
Now he is trying to get out of that mess, and just doesn’t know what to do.
I think he is a good man who made a series of mistakes and naive underestimation and he is paying the price now, despite the ‘praising’ from western countries, admiring the economical “miracle”.

welcome killing in the street’s
welcome sending Christians to Beirut
welcome alawia al tabout
welcome democracy, freedom, and democracy
for soon to be new Syria.

A friend of mine met dr khaldoun,I think he is from Daraa and was a surgeon in training in Syria before he left to the US
http://www.alquds.co.uk/index.asp?fname=today%5C05qpt477.htm&arc=data%5C2011%5C12%5C12-05%5C05qpt477.htm

http://www.aawsat.com//details.asp?section=4&article=653001&issueno=12061

Memo To: BRONCO BILLY, BESHO’S BUTT BOY

RE: “…You obviously know nothing about the subject. Anyway how could an Israeli imagine anything else that his own racism…”

I’m not a Jew, you ignorant little Assadist lapdog. My English is much too good for that…

Bronco,
Check this out, the confused turks!

سوريا الغائب الحاضر في المنتدى الإعلامي: ثلاث جمل نافية تعكس الإرباك التركي

شهور معدودة ويسقط النظام السوري. هذه هي «المعلومات» التي يتداولها صحافيون مقرّبون من مراكز القرار في تركيا، نقلوها إلى مشاركين في أعمال منتدى الإعلام التركي ــ العربي الذي عقد أخيراً في إسطنبول، وإن كان نقاش هذه المعلومات لا يقود إلى النتيجة أعلاه

مهى زراقط
«تركيا لن تتدخل عسكرياً في سوريا. لن تكون منفذاً للدخول إلى سوريا. لن تقيم منطقة عازلة مع سوريا». يصل هذا الخبر العاجل، باللغة التركية، في رسالة هاتفية إلى أحد الصحافيين العرب المشاركين في أعمال منتدى الإعلام التركي ــ العربي الذي عقد أعماله في إسطنبول في 30 تشرين الثاني و1 كانون الأول الجاري 2011. مصدر الخبر وكالة أنباء الأناضول، وحمل عنوان: «الموقف التركي اليوم من سوريا صدر عن نائب رئيس الوزراء بولنت أرينج». موقف الأخير كان قد أعلنه من فندق كونراد في إسطنبول في 1 كانون الأول الجاري، حيث تعقد أعمال المنتدى. وهو جاء رداً على سؤال من زميل لبناني: «متى تتوقع تركيا سقوط النظام السوري؟ ووفق أيّ سيناريو؟». لم يجب أرينج مباشرة عن السؤال، بل طلب تكراره ثلاث مرات بحجة وجود مشكلة في الترجمة. يقول الصحافي العربي الذي يتقن التركية، إن أرينج ردّ بحدّة على الزميل اللبناني، وقال له «عيب، نحن لا ننظر إلى الأمور بهذه الطريقة»، قبل أن يجيب معلناً الموقف التركي الذي اختصرته وكالة أنباء الأناضول بالجمل أعلاه، والنافية لأيّ تحرّك تركي ضد سوريا، باستثناء العقوبات التي كانت قد أعلنتها قبل يوم «واستثنينا المياه والكهرباء لأننا لا نريد أن نعاقب الشعب السوري». طبعاً أضاف الصحافيون إلى خبرهم أن «لن» المنطقة العازلة مرفقة بـ«إذا» أو «قد»، بناءً على التنسيق مع الجامعة العربية.
السؤال التالي الذي وجّه إلى أرينج، كان عن ازدواجية المعايير «بعض الدول لا تملك ديموقراطية في بلدانها وتريد تحقيق الديموقراطية للآخرين، لماذا لا يحققون الديموقراطية في الخليج؟». لم يحصل خلل في الترجمة هذه المرة، ذلك أن أرينج وجد أن «السؤال فلسفي» في البداية، لكنه عاد واستطرد ليشير إلى أن تمثال الحرية موجود في أميركا مثلاً، وهي تنسجم مع هذه الأنظمة لأنها تنظر إلى مصالحها، وقدّم ليبيا مثلاً «نحن لا نعتقد أن الموقف منها كان إنسانياً، بل هو البترول»، معترفاً «نحن أيضاً ننظر إلى مصالح بلادنا، لكننا نولي أهمية أيضاً لمصطلح الحق». ولأن السؤال «فلسفي»، طلب أرينج من الإعلاميين المشاركين أن يفكروا فيه أيضاً، وأن يرسلوا الإجابات لاحقاً عبر البريد الإلكتروني.
إجابة أرينج حظيت بتعليقات واسعة من الصحافيين العرب، لكنها لم تكن كلّ الكلام التركي عن سوريا، التي مثلت محور أحاديث الجميع، على الرغم من حضور خجول لممثليها، قارب عدده عدد ممثلي جزر القمر، في ظلّ وجود أكثر من 150 صحافياً من 22 دولة عربية. كانت سوريا الغائب ـــــ الحاضر إذاً: تجدها على طاولة الطعام، في كواليس المنتدى، في الزيارات التعارفية إلى المؤسسات الإعلامية الخاصة، إضافة إلى أنها كانت أيضاً محور الحدث، إذ إن فعاليات المنتدى تزامنت مع إعلان تركيا العقوبات عليها، إقدام المسلّح الليبي على إطلاق النار في باحة قصر الباب العالي التاريخي وإجماع الصحافيين على أن هذا العمل «هدية سورية»، وزيارة نائب وزير الخارجية الأميركي جو بايدن إلى إسطنبول. الكلّ هنا يعوّل على تركيا، وينتظر ما ستفعله. والموجودون في المنتدى ليسوا كلّ الحاضرين. ففي مطار إسطنبول يمكنك أن ترى وجوهاً إعلامية وسياسية لبنانية أخرى. وهنا أيضاً، تدور نقاشات في صالات الانتظار في المطار عن الموقف التركي من سوريا.
لم يتعامل كلّ الصحافيين مع تصريح أرينج بالطريقة التي تعاملت بها وكالة أنباء الأناضول. أي ثلاث جمل نافية، تعكس مدى الارتباك التركي في التعامل مع الملف السوري. كلّ صحافي حلّل الموقف على طريقته، وختم بمعلوماته التي يردّها إلى مصادر مقرّبة من مراكز القرار. الأكثر «تفاؤلاً» أكدوا أن «النظام سينهار نهاية هذا العام»، أو «النظام سينهار قبل نهاية آذار المقبل». أما الأكثر «واقعية» فاقتنعوا بأن «النظام لن يكون موجوداً مع نهاية عام 2012». ويمكن تصديق الصحافيين طالما أن المنتدى، الذي تنظمه المديرية العامة للصحافة والنشر والإعلام في رئاسة الوزرء، حظي برعاية حكومية واسعة، وكان أرينج حريصاً على حضور معظم الندوات التي أقيمت خلاله، كما حضره كبير مستشاري رئيس الوزراء التركي أرشاد هرمزلو.
لم تقتصر معلومات الصحافيين على تأكيد سقوط النظام، بل خرج أحدهم بسيناريو للسقوط يقوم على تأمين حماية للأقليات الطائفية الموجودة في سوريا، من خلال الاتصالات الجارية معها حالياً، بما فيها الأقلية العلوية. وعندما يجري الاتفاق مع هذه الأقليات على التسوية التي ترتضيها، قد يكون الانتقال سلمياً للسلطة، بحيث يتنحى الرئيس السوري بشار الأسد طوعياً، أو تجري انتخابات ويخسر فيها، أو احتمال آخر، غير واضح حالياً. إلا أن الرهان هو على تفكيك الأقليات من حول الأسد.
هذا السيناريو، الذي يسرده أحد الصحافيين العرب المقيمين في تركيا، لا يبدو مقنعاً لآخرين يبدون محتارين فعلاً في تقديم السيناريو البديل. لذلك، تجدهم يناقضون بأنفسهم المعلومات التي يردّونها إلى مراكز القرار التركي، إذ إنهم لا يفهمون كيف يمكن هذه المراكز أن تسرّب معلومات مماثلة، في ظلّ عدم وجود معطيات واقعية تشير إلى إمكان سقوط النظام السوري، قريباً على الأقل. في رأيهم تعيش تركيا إرباكاً نتيجة عدم قدرتها على الذهاب أبعد في مواقفها. ويرى صحافيون عرب مقيمون في تركيا، وصحافي تركي، أن هناك ثلاثة عوامل تؤثر في القرار التركي بشأن سوريا. العامل الأول داخلي، يتعلق بالعرب (العلويين) الموجودين في تركيا، الذين يحبون الرئيس السوري بشار الأسد ويعدّونه قائدهم الحقيقي. العامل الثاني اقتصادي، ويرتبط بالعراق والضغوط التي قد يمارسها عليها إذا اتخذت موقفاً تصعيدياً. العامل الثالث عسكري ويرتبط بإيران وروسيا أيضاً. يضاف إلى كلّ ذلك، نقاش داخلي عن الفائدة التي ستجنيها تركيا من دعمها للتغيير في سوريا، وخصوصاً أن الأخيرة قد لا تبقى على الحياد، فإلى «الهدية» المتمثلة بالمسلح الليبي، التي يمكن أن تتكرّر، (وقرار الأمس بإلغاء اتفاقية التجارة الحرة)، تشير معلومات صحافية إلى وجود نحو 42 ضابطاً تركياً معتقلين في سوريا، ونقلت أوساط الصحافيين أن أرشاد هرمزلو أكد هذه المعلومة خلال المنتدى، مقللاً من أهمية الموضوع، موضحاً أنهم معتقلون بتهمة تهريب!

روسيا تعرض إرسال مراقبيها

أعلن نائب وزير الخارجية الروسي ميخائيل بوغدانوف، أمس، أن بلاده مستعدة لإرسال مراقبين إلى سوريا إذا وجّه إليها مثل هذا الطلب من السلطات السورية أو المعارضة أو الجامعة العربية. ورأى بوغدانوف أن وجود مراقبين من الجامعة العربية في سوريا «قد يزيد فرص التسوية السورية».
(يو بي آي)

«حماس» تنفي مغادرة دمشق

نفى كل من عضو المكتب السياسي لحركة «حماس» عزت الرشق، والناطق باسم الحركة سامي أبو زهري، أمس، الأنباء التي تحدثت عن مغادرة أي من كوادر قيادة الحركة في سوريا أو إغلاق مكاتبها في البلاد على خلفية الأزمة الراهنة. وقال الرشق إن «قيادة الحركة ومكتبها السياسي ورئيس المكتب خالد مشعل موجودون في دمشق، ولم يغادر أحد منهم ولم نتعرض لأيّ ضغوط من الحكومة السورية لأجل مغادرة دمشق». وأشار الى أن «الأنباء تتكرر كل مدة عن مغادرة قيادة الحركة دمشق، مرة الى قطر وأخرى إلى القاهرة، وقد اعتدنا مثل هذه التصريحات التي لا أساس لها من الصحة».
(يو بي آي)

أنقرة ــ دمشق: استمرار تبادل العقوبات

أعلن الاتحاد التركي للناقلين الدوليين، أمس، أن سوريا لم تسمح بمرور الشاحنات التركية منذ 5 أيام على معبر باب الهوى الحدودي بين البلدين، وذلك إثر إعلان دمشق تعليق اتفاقية التجارة الحرة الموقعة مع أنقرة. وأوضح عضو في المجلس التنفيذي للاتحاد حميد سانوردي، أن سوريا بررت إيقاف الشاحنات التركية بحجة أنها تقوم بتحديث أنظمة الكومبيوتر. وفي سياق تبادل العقوبات بين دمشق وأنقرة، كشف الرئيس التنفيذي لشركة تكرير النفط التركية يافوز ايركت أن شركته الحكومية أنهت عقداً لشراء النفط من سوريا «بسبب الاضطرابات هناك».
(يو بي آي، رويترز)

http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/27182

War on Iran in two weeks! Kimlet!

غارات على إيران في غضون أسبوعين!
«ديلي ميرور»: تخريب إلكتروني وخلايا نائمة وقنابل حارقة تستهدف منازل العلماء

أجواء الحرب على إيران باتت تسيطر ليس فقط على التصريحات السياسية، بل امتدت لتطاول وقائع ميدانية لا تزال تشهدها الأراضي الإيرانية من خلال خلايا نائمة ومنشقين استهدفوا منظومة الطرد المركزي وعلماء نوويين. كل ذلك إشارة واضحة إلى أن الحرب القادمة آتية

كشفت صحيفة «ديلي ميرور» أن حرباً سرية ضد المشروع النووي الإيراني، يقودها منشقون درّبهم الموساد، دخلت حيز التنفيذ بعد أشهر من بقائها في الظل، ورجّحت احتمال قيام الولايات المتحدة بشن غارات جوية على عشرات الأهداف الرئيسية في إيران في غضون أسبوعين. وتزامن هذا التقرير مع تصريح مسؤول أميركي رفيع المستوى قال فيه إن الوضع المتعلق ببرنامج إيران النووي أصبح مقلقاً على نحو متزايد ويستلزم حلاً دبلوماسياً عاجلاً.

وقالت «ديلي ميرور» إن خلايا نائمة في طهران تلقت إشارات مشفّرة للتحرك باتجاه أهدافها باستخدام قنابل مصنوعة من المواد المنزلية، ونفّذت عشرات الهجمات بالقنابل الحارقة على منازل ومكاتب أبرز العلماء النوويين الإيرانيين. وأضافت إن الهجمات نفّذها معارضون إيرانيون درّبهم جهاز الاستخبارات الإسرائيلي (الموساد)، وتحمل رسالة واضحة تدعو إيران إلى إيقاف برنامجها للأسلحة النووية، وتبلغها بأن العلماء الذين يعملون على تطوير هذه الأسلحة باتوا معروفين.
وأشارت الصحيفة إلى أن المعارضين الإيرانيين شنوا هجمات بالقنابل في الأيام القليلة الماضية، رداً على التهديدات التي أطلقتها طهران ضد إسرائيل، وقيام متظاهرين إيرانيين باقتحام السفارة البريطانية في طهران. وقالت إن جهاز الأمن الداخلي البريطاني (أم آي 5) اتخذ الاستعدادات المطلوبة للتعامل مع أيّ هجوم يشنه فيلق القدس التابع للحرس الثوري الإيراني، انتقاماً لأي هجوم على إيران بسبب العلاقة الوثيقة التي تقيمها بريطانيا مع الولايات المتحدة، في أعقاب إعلان طهران إسقاط طائرة تجسس أميركية من دون طيار في شرق البلاد أول من أمس، والتي اعترف حلف شمال الأطلسي بإسقاطها من قبل الإيرانيين.
ورجّحت الصحيفة احتمال قيام الولايات المتحدة بشن غارة جوية على عشرات الأهداف الرئيسية في إيران في غضون أسبوعين. ونسبت الصحيفة إلى مصدر استخباري غربي «بارز»، قوله «إن الاستراتيجيين العسكريين الأميركيين يراجعون كل يوم سيناريوهات مختلفة يجري تطويرها لتوجيه ضربة شاملة ضد إيران». وأضاف المصدر «الهجوم يحدث بالفعل ويمكن أن تكون القنابل الحارقة مقدمة لضربة جوية أكثر خطورة، بعدما ثبت أن العد التنازلي لامتلاك إيران أسلحة نووية صار حقيقياً، وبدأ صبر إسرائيل بالنفاد جراء ذلك».
كذلك نقلت عن مصادر دبلوماسية في لندن أن سحب البعثة الدبلوماسية البريطانية وبعثات دبلوماسية غربية أخرى من طهران الأسبوع الماضي «مهّد الطريق أمام مهاجمة إيران». ونقلت «ديلي ميرور» عن مصادر خاصة لم تسمها قولها «إن الهجوم على إيران إذا وقع، فسيكون بقيادة الولايات المتحدة، ومن المرجح أن يحظى بدعم لندن».
وأضافت الصحيفة إن مصدراً في الاستخبارات البريطانية «كشف أن هناك خبراء من المملكة المتحدة منتشرون في المنطقة في أماكن مثل قبرص قد يساعدون على اعتراض الاتصالات الإيرانية، وأن السفن الحربية البريطانية المنتشرة في المحيط الهندي بمهمة مكافحة القرصنة، ستكون قادرة أيضاً على تقديم المساعدة».
وأشارت إلى أن مخططي الحرب الأميركيين يجرون إيجازاً في كل ساعة تقريباً في القيادة المركزية الأميركية في تامبا التابعة لولاية فلوريدا، التي تملك مكتباً في قاعدة العُديد في قطر، يسهم أيضاً في التخطيط للهجوم على إيران.
ورجّحت الصحيفة قيام الجيش الأميركي باستخدام جيل جديد من الصواريخ الفائقة الدقة لتدمير التحصينات تحت الأرض على عمق يصل إلى نحو 60 متراً، ونشر قاذفات الشبح «بي 2» المزودة بصواريخ موجهة بأشعة الليزر يبلغ طول الواحد منها ستة أمتار، ويحمل 2.5 طن من المتفجرات، وسيجري استخدامها لتحطيم المخابئ والأنفاق المفتوحة التي يُشتبه في احتوائها على أسلحة الدمار الشامل في ترسانة إيران. وتعد قاذفة الشبح «بي 2» أغلى قاذفة عرفها العالم، ويبلغ سعرها 700 مليون جنيه استرليني.
وفي السياق نفسه، أوردت صحيفة «لوس أنجليس تايمز»، أن العديد من خبراء الاستخبارات السابقين وخبراء الشأن الإيراني يعتقدون أن الانفجار الذي وقع الشهر الماضي في قاعدة عسكرية بالقرب من طهران كان نتيجة جهود سرية تبذلها الولايات المتحدة واسرائيل ودول أخرى لتعطيل برنامج إيران النووي وصواريخها.
ونقلت الصحيفة عن المسؤول عن المبادرة الأمنية الإيرانية في معهد واشنطن لسياسات الشرق الأدنى، باتريك كلوسون، «يبدو أنها شكل من الحرب يتماشى مع القرن الحادي والعشرين»، مضيفاً «يبدو أن هناك حملة من الاغتيالات والحرب الإلكترونية، إضافة الى حملة تخريب شبه معترف بها». وأضافت الصحيفة إن الولايات المتحدة سعت مع حلفائها طيلة سنوات لتعطيل برنامج التسليح الإيراني من خلال تزويدها سراً بقطع أو برامج إلكترونية غير صالحة.
(أ ف ب، رويترز، يو بي آي)

http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/27155

القاهرة ـ دمشق ـ نيقوسيا ـ وكالات: قال نشاطون في مدينة حمص إن أكثر من 60 جثة نقلت إلى عدة مستشفيات في المدينة الواقعة في وسط سورية امس الاثنين.
ولم تتضح على الفور ملابسات وفاتهم لكن ناشطين ومقيمين في عدة احياء تحدثوا عن سلسلة من عمليات الخطف منذ أمس الاول الاحد وهو أسلوب استخدم في عمليات قتل طائفي في الآونة الأخيرة في المدينة أحد معاقل المعارضة المسلحة للرئيس بشار الأسد.
وقال المرصد السوري لحقوق الانسان ومقره بريطانيا إن ميليشيات موالية للأسد خطفت وقتلت 34 شخصا على الأقل من أحياء مناهضة للأسد امس الاثنين. وقال نشط في المدينة إن مالا يقل عن 32 جثة أخرى نقلت إلى مستشفى بالمدينة في الساعات الأولى من صباح امس من بينها جثث لمؤيدين للأسد ومعارضين له.
وقال المرصد انه ‘علم من ناشط معارض في حي الزهراء الموالي للنظام في مدينة حمص انه شاهد في ساحة الحي مساء الاثنين 34 جثة لمواطنين من احياء ثائرة على النظام اختطفتهم مجموعات الشبيحة الاثنين’.
وتعتبر مدينة حمص اكثر النقاط الساخنة في سورية في اطار المواجهات بين قوات النظام والحركة الاحتجاجية الواسعة المناهضة للرئيس السوري بشار الاسد.
وذكر المرصد ان سبعة مدنيين قتلوا الاثنين في حمص، في حين قتل اربعة عناصر من قوى الامن والشرطة بينهم ضابط في داعل في محافظة درعا.
ودخلت العقوبات الإقتصادية العربية على سورية حيز التنفيذ اعتباراً من امس الإثنين.

Bodies of 34 Syrians abducted by pro-Assad militia found in flashpoint city
From: AFP December 06, 2011 6:29AM

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/bodies-of-34-syrians-abducted-by-pro-assad-militia-found-in-flashpoint-city/story-e6frg6so-1226214682764

THIRTY-four Syrians abducted by pro-regime “shabiha” militiamen were found dead in the flashpoint central city of Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

The Britain-based watchdog said an activist on the ground reported seeing “the bodies of 34 civilians, in a square in the pro-regime neighbourhood of Al-Zahra, who had been abducted by the shabiha on Monday.”

The civilians, it said, had been seized from several “anti-regime neighbourhoods” in Homs, which has been targeted by a brutal crackdown on almost nine months of anti-regime dissent.

The Observatory also reported the so-called “shabiha” abducted on Monday a bus driver and his 13 passengers in Homs province.

Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have laid siege to Homs for the past two months.

Seven people were reported killed in the city and province on Monday by gunfire from the security forces, the Observatory said, after a bloody weekend that saw 63 people dead, at least half of them in Homs.

Elsewhere on Monday, mutinous soldiers killed four members of the security forces, including an officer, at the southern protest hub of Dael in Daraa province, the Observatory said.

A regime truck was also set ablaze during Monday’s attack, the Observatory said, adding hundreds of Syrian forces deployed in Dael, where raids and arrests were underway.

Daraa is the cradle of the protests which erupted in mid-March in Syria, one of the most autocratic Arab nations. UN estimates say more than 4,000 people have been killed across the country in the government crackdown.

The Observatory also accused security forces of arresting 18 students on Monday, eight of them for insulting the president.

The students in Jabla, in western Syria, were “accused of insulting President Assad,” it said, adding the allegations were made by “informants” at the school.

The other 10 were arrested near Damascus for joining an anti-regime protest in the district of Harasta, the Observatory said.

Meanwhile the Syrian Centre for Media and Free Expression said the authorities arrested blogger Razan Ghazzawi at the border with Jordan as she headed to Amman on Sunday to represent them at a workshop on press freedom.

Also on Monday, the Observatory reported that pro-regime students and security forces harassed university students in the coastal city of Latakia.

The watchdog also said 30 students from Daraa studying at Latakia’s Tishrin University were detained, and another 60 were expelled.

It did not say when the arrests occurred but stressed “that these students were threatened by their peers, subjected to pressure, abuse and insults over sectarian loyalties.”

The latest reports of bloodshed and arrests come as the foreign ministry said it has “responded positively” to a request by the Arab League to allow in observers as part of a peace plan to end the unrest.

Post-Assad Syria in the make.  

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-turkey-talk-post-assad-syria.aspx?pageID=238&nID=8509&NewsCatID=338

US, Turkey talk post-Assad Syria

Washington and Ankara discuss the ‘next step’ in post-Assad Syria, says top US official, as Turkish FM says Turkey will not side with oppressors

 
Syrian soldiers are holding a military exercise Dec 3 in this photo taken from Syria’s official SANA news agency.
The United States and Turkey are reviewing how to help Syria if pro-democracy protests drive President Bashar al-Assad from power, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Dec. 4, but the two allies have not discussed concrete “next steps.” 
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said Dec. 4 that Turkey could not be on the side of oppressors, referring to the Syrian regime’s crackdown on civilians. 
“There was a sense in our discussions that it would be able to be handled without any conflagration going beyond Syria and that it could be localized to Syria,” Biden said, referring to his meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Dec. 3. 
Biden said the collapse of the al-Assad regime would not necessarily spark a wider regional sectarian conflict, which some see pitting the Sunni-dominated west of neighboring Iraq against Shi’ites in Syria and Iran. 
Biden said the issue of a buffer zone had not come up in his two hour meeting with Erdoğan. 
“[To] the extent we talked about any ‘what-next’ steps, there were generic discussions about having to go in and provide some help and possibly economic assistance and stability, not militarily, but helping the Syrians,” Biden said. “We’re in this to see al-Assad come down and then determine what would be the most helpful thing for the international community to do to establish stability in that country,” Biden told reporters travelling with him to Athens from Istanbul. 
Washington and Ankara have both called for al-Assad to go, but both worry it could deepen instability in a region already rocked by the Arab Spring and as U.S. troops leave Iraq by the end of the month. 
Turkey has joined the Arab League in slapping tough sanctions on Syria, once a close friend, in response to al-Assad’s bloody crackdown on protests and has talked openly about the need to be ready for any scenario, including setting up a buffer zone to contain any mass influx of refugees. 
Meanwhile, Davutoğlu said Dec. 4 during his visit to Cologne, Germany that Turkey had a policy of zero problems with its neighbors, but the country could not be on the side of oppressors regarding the current situation with Syria. Turkey had earlier extended great support to Syria, he said. 
Davutoğlu later said the Syrian administration started to fight against its people, and Turkish officials held talks with the Syrian administration to tell them that Syria must end bloodshed against its own people. But they did not listen, he said. 
“We asked them not to shoot people with real bullets in the holy month. We called on them not to break down mosques,” he said. “Some say that Turkey supports Sunnis [in Syria]. This is not true. We did this without discriminating [between sects].” 
Meanwhile, Turkish truck drivers who claimed they were not allowed to enter Syria for five days held a protest carrying Turkish and Syrian flags. They said the Syrian administration did not allow them to enter Syria, claiming they were updating computer systems. 
Davutoğlu said he learned Turkish trucks were stopped by the Syrian officials and he was working to solve this problem. “Around 700 trucks are waiting at the Babel Hawa Border Gate. The delays at the border have caused material losses,” said Hamit Sanverdi, a member of the Executive Board of the International Transporters Association. 
Compiled from AA, Reuters and DHA stories by the Daily News staff.

Syria’s sanctions on Turkey
DAMASCUS

* Ending the partnership agreement on establishing a free trade zone between Syria and Turkey including all its provisions, decisions and instructions issued according to that agreement or those which are related to it, Syrian Arab news agency (SANA) reported Dec. 4. 
* Implementing the provisions of foreign trade on Turkish goods and taking customs duties imposed on these goods according to the tariff in force.
* Imposing a tariff estimated at 30 percent of the value of all Turkish goods imported to Syria that would be allocated for supporting the construction of the developing villages.
* Charging 80 Syrian pounds for each liter of fuel from Turkish cars that leave Syria heading for Turkey. The fee represents the difference in the average of fuel price between Syria and Turkey, and this will be done according to the allocated amounts (refrigerated vehicles – 600 liters; trucks – 550 liters; buses – 400 liters; minibuses – 200 liters; cars – 50 liters).
* Implementing a transit fee on loaded or empty Turkish trucks according to the equation: weight of the car (standing or empty) in tons × distance in km × 2 percent, and this will be taken in euros.

Tara,

“Men in my eyes are never judged by their personal appearance.”

I don’t believe you, you have always expressed admiration or reservation for the appearance of some political men independently of their opinions. Who’s that french doctor anyway? if it is Ghalioun, I congratulate you for your taste, but then you admire so much that he turned to a charming prince for you.

I guess you are overcoming your repulsion for the Sumo Qatar prince only because he is crushing and attempting to humiliate someone you hate and “who has blue eyes”, and you hate blue eyes, remember, that’s all.
As I told you before, your judgment is blinded by hatred and it is a normal human reaction, don’t worry.

By the way, Qatar has a sophisticated cultural life as complex as their towers and their shopping malls, they should have nothing to envy to Russia. Everybody crawls in front of the money of the Qatari, not in front of their numerous intellectuals and artists.
Next century, maybe.

#78 Tara

It looks like sanctions are biting the Turks…

وهو فنان تشكيلي من آل السباعي وقيادي

What is tashkili mean, what kind of art in English would that be, anyone?

Bashar al-Assad is mentally unbalanced – Syrian Muslim Brotherhood chief
05/12/2011 By Mohammed Al Shafey
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=27573
..
Asharq Al-Awsat] Who supports the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria?

[Al-Shaqfa] We receive support from God alone, and this is a fact that must be known to all…the Syrian people can only rely on themselves. The al-Assad regime is supported by Ian, Iraq, and Hezbollah. I can also reveal, from within the regime, that Hafez al-Assad sent his son Bashar to London for treatment for mental illness, and following his recovery he began to study medicine…but it seems that he has suffered a relapse. His [Bashar al-Assad’s] actions reveal that he is mentally unbalanced.

Tara #78

It looks like the Turkish sanctions are biting more the Turks than the Syrians, and this until Turkey finds a way to bypass Syria for their trading with the whole Arab world at a much higher cost.

Bronco

His name is Dr Roque.  My taste is rather exquisite but difficult to follow by Tintin crowds.  And just fyi, I either decline to answer or answer with unabashed honesty.

“you have always expressed admiration or reservation for the appearance of some political men independently of their opinions.”.

Prove it or say sorry. 

And yes, judgement is often clouded by extreme hate or ..by submissive worship.

First Al announced that they rejected Damascus letter
second many Syrian officers has been arrested and taken to Saydnaya Mukhabarat prison
v2. العقيد ياسر محمد الزهري اللواء 113
3. المقدم محمد مصطفى عبود من الأكاديمية العسكرية العليا
4. المقدم مروان احمد علي – الفرقة 11
5. الرائد أحمد محمد العبد الله – الفرقة 17
6. الرائد عبد المؤمن محمد حمدو
7. الرائد منصور غازي الجهماني
8. النقيب تامر احمد رحال – من اللواء 80
9. النقيب سليمان خيرو مرعي – 1981 – حمص
10. النقيب عبد الكريم حسين صطوف الفرقة 15
11. النقيب علي مجد أيوب من حلب
12. النقيب عماد صادق حمودي اللواء 110 – بحرية
13. النقيب محمد نور شعب تلاوي – 1978 – حمص
14. النقيب مصطفى محمد البشير – 1979 – إدلب
15. الملازم أول احمد خليل مرعي الفرقة التاسعة
16. الملازم أول احمد عماد الدين الكيروان – الكلية الجوية
17. الملازم أول أسامة محمد حسيبة – من الفوج 101
18. الملازم أول حسام محو العليوي من الفرقة14
19. ملازم أول سيلمان صالح قسوم من اللواء 61
20. الملازم أول علي احمد عيسى
21. الملازم أول عيسى احمد وقا
22. الملازم أول محمد علي عرعور من البحرية
23. الملازم أول محمد فرج عبد المعين الديو
24. الملازم أول هيثم محمود حميدو اللواء 12
الملازم أول محمد هشام عيسى
26. ملازم الأول زهير عبد الرحمن خولي – 1985 – حمص
27. الملازم الأول علاء الدين محمد عبيد العبد الله – 1986 – حمص
28. الملازم الأول محمد أحمد النعيم – 1985
29. الملازم الأول محمد خليف القاعودي – 1982 – درعا
30. الملازم الأول محمد شريف أحمد عبارة – الفرقة 34
31. الملازم الأول محمد مالك يونسو – الفوج 53 – قوات خاصة
32. الملازم الأول مؤيد سخيط العثمان – 1988 – دير الزور
33. الملازم احمد توفيق الكاشف اللواء 84
34. الملازم محمد نور مروان الخالد
35. الملازم باسم يوسف رحمون – 1986 – إدلب
36. الملازم سلطان جبر الحميدي الفرقة 11
37. الملازم سليمان عبد السلام السيد – من الفرقة 14
38. الملازم عبد المعطي بكور من اللواء 59
39. الملازم المجند محمد موسى العليوي – 1982 – إدلب
40. الملازم المجند احمد معروف فلاحة ادلب
41. الملازم المجند باسل عبد القادر
42. الملازم المجند عبدو الخليف الحسين – 1983 – حلب
43. الطالب الضابط عبادة سليمان بربور – الكلية الجوية
44. الطالب الضابط محمد باسم الديك – حمص – الكلية الحربية
45. الرقيب خير محمد عيد عبد الجليل
46. الرقيب عايش أحمد الخلف
47. الرقيب المجند إياد بشير القداد – 1990 – حمص
48. الرقيب المجند هشام عصام رجب – 1985 – إدلب
49. المجند أحمد حاتم الخرفان – 1990 –
50. المجند احمد محمد سعيد الابراهيم
51. المجند أسامة حسين الهلال – 1980 –
52. المجند عبد الكريم عبد القادر بلحوب – 1991 – اللاذقية
53. المجند علي محمد صباغ – 1991 – اللاذقية
54. المجند بشار حسن علي – 1971 – جبلة
55. المجند حسن عبد الله العبد الله الحسكة
56. المجند حسين المهدي خير الله حمص
57. المجند زهير يوسف حبوش – 1991 –
58. المجند عبد اللطيف احمد عثمان ادلب
59. المجند علي محمد رشيد – 1982 –
60. المجند عمر محمد شعبان – 1991 –
61. المجند محمد عبد الكريم صمادي – 1987 –
62. المجند محمد وفيق جعفري
63. المجند محمود عمر وردة – حمص
64. المجند هيثم حمود – 1990 – حماة

UAE’s Syria projects hang in the balance

Ola Salem Dec 6, 2011

ABU DHABI // It is unclear whether UAE-funded projects in Syria will halt if the Emirates goes ahead with Arab League-backed sanctions, the director general of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) has said.

Although Syria said last night that it would accept the Arab League’s request to send observers into the country, it was too early to tell whether that would be enough to prevent sanctions – either from countries in the region, or elsewhere.

Mohamed Al Suwaidi said that the fund would have to abide by any sanctions agreed by the UAE Government, but he was unsure whether its projects would be affected.

“We do have a presence in Syria. I don’t want to say big – we have one good-sized project worth over a billion dirhams,” he said.

“We haven’t decided what to do with these new sanctions because some of the projects we have in Syria have been ongoing for a long time, and it will be a bit hard to stop them, but we will be abiding by our country’s decision on this matter.”

ADFD has run 11 projects in Syria since it was set up in 1971. Two were completed, two cancelled, and seven others are ongoing. Most are in the energy sector.

Halting the projects would put the Syrians working on them out of jobs – which Mr Al Suwaidi stressed would be at odds with the aims of the fund.

“We try to create the highest number of job opportunities,” he said. “We are a non-political entity, so we do not get involved with politics directly. Yes we are affected by it, but we do not create it.”

Irritated@82

“It looks like the Turkish sanctions are biting more the Turks than the Syrians,”

Yes, and 1+1 equals 5.

#83 Tara

Remember your reaction to Bashar Al Jafari at the UN and others too.

I don’t know what that mysterious Dr Roque means to you, but frankly for me he means nothing.

Shitty journalist James Harkin goes to Homs and writes: “Most of the city is under total military lockdown, Mohammed tells me.” But James Harkin can’t tell us that on his own behalf. James takes a taxi into Homs city center, books himself into a random hotel without a prior appointment, eats at one of a variety of restaurant alternatives, and doesn’t report any first-hand sign of a “military lockdown”. Joshua though James was worth linking to. According to my taste, Joshua has got no taste, in general.

According to my taste, SANA is very tasty.

Here’s some tasty nuggets from SANA just from earlier today, 5 dec 2011:

5 dec 2011. The Seventh Annual Tourism Investment Forum was opened in Damascus on Monday and it was well-attended. http://www.sana.sy/eng/21/2011/12/05/386111.htm

5 dec 2011. Jordanian Trade and Industry Minister Sami Qammouh said that 60% of Jordan’s trade exchanges pass through Syria and thus the trade sanctions imposed on Syria by the Arab League will have negative repercussions on Jordan, and thus Jordan does not want traded goods sectors to be part of the Arab League’s sanctions. http://www.sana.sy/eng/22/2011/12/05/386175.htm

5 dec 2011. Russian newspaper “Mir Novosti” editorialized that talking about the peaceful protests in Syria has lost all meaning. http://www.sana.sy/eng/22/2011/12/05/386105.htm

5 dec 2011. Spokesman of the Syrian Foreign and Expatriates Ministry, Dr. Jihad Maqdisi, said that one reason for the complicated situation in Syria is the systematic instigation by foreign mass media and another reason is that some opposition elements reject dialogue in the framework of the legitimate political system. http://www.sana.sy/eng/21/2011/12/05/386142.htm

5 dec 2011. The conspiracy against Syria requires all Syrians to stand together to foil it. Relatives of the martyrs expressed confidence in the Syrian people’s ability to overcome the crisis through adhering to the spirit of national unity. They declared that the blood of their sons shed in defense of the homeland will make Syria more resolute in the face of its challenges, and they pledged readiness to sacrifice their own lives to protect Syria if duty calls. The martyrs’ relatives said that the pressure against Syria strengthens the unity of the Syrian people and bolsters their rallying around their leadership and the leadership’s reform program. They called on the armed groups to stop following those who seek to destroy Syria. They also called for holding traitors and conspirators accountable for their crimes. http://www.sana.sy/eng/337/2011/12/05/386130.htm

Here’s a particularly tasty bit I kept from SANA from 3 dec 2011. The Interior Minister, Lieutenant General Mohammad Al-Shaar, on Saturday said the mission of the Internal Security Forces is no longer limited to law enforcement and crime prevention, but touched upon the social and humanitarian needs of citizens. The Minister ‘s remarks came during a graduation ceremony of a new batch of Police Officers. He called on the graduates to commit to the concept of ‘societal police’ with its various security, social and humanitarian dimensions in practice and manners and to be a model of integrity, honesty and respect of the citizens and preservation of their dignity. He highlighted the importance of adherence to discipline and gaining the citizens’ confidence and ensuring their comfort and security. “There is no place in the Internal Security Forces for the negligent and the abusers,” said Al-Shaar.
http://www.sana.sy/eng/21/2011/12/03/385818.htm

I feel more warmly towards the generality of the Syrians with each passing day because of the way they’re dealing with this year’s ordeal. Same goes for my sentiments towards the senior personnel of the regime. But I am going to be very pissed off if the regime does another so-called “agreement” with the Arab League that does not explicity recognize that the regime is 100% legit and has a duty to enforce security.

Bronco

Your answer isn’t good enough. You either do better or say sorry for false accusation. That is fair. Isn’t it? Additionally, how on earth would Dr. Roque mean a thing to you. It is of course a meaningless name to you. I was simply answering a question about Ghalioun. I am not expecting you to follow.

zoo# 81.

Dear Zoo I already wrote about Bashar mental illness.

Immaturity as an origin of evil: Bashar al-Assad as a case study

http://haytham-khoury2.blogspot.com/2011/10/immaturity-as-origin-of-evil-bashar-al.html

This article was published as a feature editorial at Global Free Press.

#89 Tara

ok, case dismissed.

Bashar Al-Assad on Thursday 1 Dec 2011 had a meeting with a delegation of Muslim Scholars from Lebanon. Here’s few things Bashar said, as reported at http://almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?fromval=1&cid=23&frid=23&eid=36736

Regarding sectarianism, Bashar said: “A sectarian crisis was never present in Syria. The authority has dealt strictly with any movement that tried to stir up such tensions…. Today this [sectarian] atmosphere is present but is restricted to Homs only.”

Regarding Russia’s stance on Syria, Bashar said: “Russia’s stance is a strategic one…. It will not back away from its stance today. It stands with us in our battle.”

Regarding the USA’s stance, Bashar said: “They wanted to create an instable situation in Syria…. They also want to change the regime in Syria, but they will not be able to do so.”

Regarding the Arab League, Bashar said: “Some Arab countries do not have conviction about the stance that the Arab League took against Syria, and we have received various phone calls from Arab states who assured to us that the bilateral relations between their governments and Syria will not change after the Arab League’s sanctions, and that, eventually, the Arab leaders will visit Damascus and apologize over their actions.”

My comment: I generally agree with Bashar, but I don’t think Bashar’s prediction of eventual Arab apologies has got good probability of coming true. Apologies would first require a “revisionist history” to become ascendant over all the shite that’s been in the mass media worldwide, and the shite that was issued by the UN, etc. Experience from a variety of other disputed histories shows it’s very difficult for “revisionist historians” to overthrow a widely disseminated pre-ensconced history, even when the revisionists have got almost all the reliable facts on their side. The mess that the non-Syrian news media are in about Syria is by no means unprecedented in mass media history and unfortunately all the best examples I have in mind of similar messing up on a grand scale are still much disputed and controversial. As you know, Syria is going to maintain foreign policies that are independent of the West; and Syria will keep on having some Syrian regulations and local spirit that are foreign to the West. Hence, on the basis of comparable past behaviour w.r.t. Syria and other countries, I expect many in the West are very likely to continue to disbelieve and besmirch the honour of the Syrian government, and the world will have enough defenders of today’s pre-ensconsed history to keep the revisionists from winning bigly in the argument about what happened this year. A key discouraging thing for me is that the non-Levantine or non-Syrian Arabs this year have not been independently collecting information of their own about Syria, with the notable exception of the scurrilities collected by Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya. I am discouraged by the fact that the governments of Lebanon and Iraq rejected trade sanctions against Syria on the grounds that the sanctions would have an adverse effect on the ordinary people in Syria and Lebanon or Iraq, but not on the grounds that the Syrian government’s security policies have been virtuous: The foreign ministries of Lebanon and Iraq felt they didn’t have enough compelling facts to be able to publicly defend themselves against what the rest of the world was saying about Syria’s security policies. Outside Lebanon and Iraq, the generality of the Arabs, besides lacking quality information of their own about what was actually happening in Syria, appear to have political prejudices against the Assad government. What independent thinking I’ve seen from the Arabs includes the rubbish independent thinking at Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, the Qatar prime minister’s statement that he welcomes the transition of power to Islamists in the Arab World, the Kuwaiti government’s statement that the Syrian situation warrants outside intervention to protect Syrian civilians, the Saudi government’s statement that the Syrian government has lost its reasoning faculties… and the Islamic parties that are coming to in power in Egypt and across North Africa are antagonistic towards the Syrian government’s commitment to banning religious political parties. In summary, I think the generality of the Arabs are unlikely to adopt a revisionist history about this year’s events and that’s because of (a) their poverty of independent knowledge about Syria, (b) their political predispositions and prejudices, and (c) the influence of the West on their thinking. Offsetting that, the regime’s legitimacy and honourableness is affirmed by the bulk of the people of Syria, who know their country and their government much better than the outsiders do. Bashar seems to think that that alone will be enough to eventually change the minds of the outsiders. I’m not optimistic.

Majed,

Are all these militery members Sunni,

Meeting the masters!
اجتماع أمني ـ ساسي بين وزيرة الخارجية الأميركية وقيادة ” المجلس الوطني السوري” في جنيف اليوم”!؟

باريس ، فيينا ـ الحقيقة ( خاص) : علمت “الحقيقة” من مصادر موثوق بها أن وزيرة الخارجية الأميركية هيلاري كلينتون أرسلت في طلب برهان غليون وأعضاء قيادة ” المجلس الوطني السوري” للاجتماع بهم في جنيف اليوم . وبحسب هذه المصادر ، فإن مستشار الأمن القومي الأميركي توم دونيلون و مساعد الوزيرة لشؤون الشرق الأوسط ، جيفري فيلتما، سيحضران الاجتماع. وطبقا لمعلومات لم تتأكد بعد ، فإن أعضاء المجلس الوطني سيصحبون معهم رياض الأسعد قائد ما يسمى ” الجيش السوري الحر” الذي تديره المخابرات التركية والملحقية العسكرية الأميركية في أنقرة. إلا أن الحكومة التركية كانت حتى ساعة متأخرة من مساء أمس مترددة بالسماح له بمغادرة أراضيها والانضمام إلى الوفد.

يشار إلى أن الأسعد و ” المجلس الوطني” أبرما مؤخرا اتفاقا أصبح ” الجيش الحر” بموجبه أشبه بالجناح العسكري للمجلس الوطني السوري. وتضمن الاتفاق نصف المعلن الذي أبرمه غليون مع الأسعد بندا ينص على أن ينسق الأسعد مسبقا مع “المجلس” بشأن جميع العميات العسكرية والتخريبية التي يقوم بها “الجيش السوري الحر” ، بما في ذلك عمليات الاغتيال التي ينفذها ضد مسؤولين عسكريين أو مدنيين أو منشآت حكومية.

وكانت ” كتيبة الفاروق” التابع للأسعد ، والتي تنشط في حمص ومحيطها ، ارتكبت يوم أمس الاثنين أكبر مجزرة طائفية مروعة منذ بداية الأزمة الوطنية السورية راح ضحيتها حوالي 50 مواطنا جرى اختطافهم من سيارات السرفيس خلال ساعات النهار قبل اقتيادهم إلى حي الخالدية وإعدامهم رميا بالرصاص بينما كانت وجوههم إلى الحائط.

آفاق الانتفاضة السورية
موريس عايق
لا يمكن المتمعن في متابعة المناطق المشتعلة في سوريا، إلا أن يلاحظ، من الخلفية الاجتماعية للانتفاضة، بكونها انتفاضة مهمشين ومتضررين من السياسات الاقتصادية التي تسارعت في العقد الأخير. وليس عديم المغزى أن يكون رامي مخلوف هو المستهدف الأول للشعارات التي ارتفعت بداية، باعتباره رمزاً للتحوّلات الاقتصادية، وبزوغ نخبة رجال الأعمال الجدد.
غير أنّ المحتوى الطبقي للانتفاضة لم يترجم إلى شعارات طبقية أو اجتماعية، فاقتصر الحراك على شعارات سياسية استوحتها من الثورة العربية في مصر وتونس، مثل «الشعب يريد إسقاط النظام» أو شعارات خاصة، «سوريا بدها حرية»، لتعبّر عن ضيق ذرع الشارع السوري باحتكار حزب البعث للحياة السياسية، طوال نصف قرن، واختزال الوطنية في الولاء للنظام، المختزل هو نفسه في شخص الرئيس.
لم تر الانتفاضة في نفسها احتجاجاً طبقياً، بل انتفاضة حرية وكرامة. غير أنّ الطابع الاجتماعي وحتى التحرري للانتفاضة يمكن تلمسّه في الخطاب الشعبي لمؤيدي النظام، وما يتداولونه من نظرة طبقية متعالية على المنتفضين، باعتبارهم جهلة وفقراء. حتى إنّ بعض مقاطع الفيديو المسربة لعمليات القمع التي مارستها قوى الأمن السورية، أظهرت جنوداً ينهالون بالضرب على مدنيين وهم يصيحون بهم «بدكم حرية؟». الشبيحة والخطاب الشعبي لمؤيدي النظام يصوران بأفضل ما يمكن الطبيعة الاجتماعية والتحررية للانتفاضة، انتفاضة خبز وحرية.

مأزق الانتفاضة

رغم أنّ الانتفاضة مشروع للتحرر من نظام مستبد وسياسات مجحفة اجتماعياً واقتصادياً، إلا أنّها فشلت حتى الآن في توسيع قاعدتها الاجتماعية لتحقق مشاركة أوسع للطبقات الوسطى المدينية وأبناء الأقليات المذهبية، ما عرقل إمكان تطوّرها إلى انتفاضة شعبية عامة.
بغياب نخبة سياسية مهيمنة في الشارع، بدت الانتفاضة عاجزة عن تحويل السياسات الاقتصادية للنظام إلى نقاط نزاع سياسية معه، يمكنها أن تسهم في إعادة بناء «الهويات السياسية» على قضايا تخص شرائح واسعة من المجتمع السوري، تضررت جراء التطورات الأخيرة التي أصابتها، وتسهم أيضاً في مواجهة عملية «تطييف» الانتفاضة وبلورة «الهويات السياسية» على حدود طائفية كما سعى النظام بنجاح حتى الآن.
فقد غاب عن الانتفاضة أي خطاب اجتماعي يتجه إلى الشباب الذين يدخلون سنوياً بعشرات الآلاف إلى سوق العمل، من دون فرصة لنيل وظيفة، أو إلى العمال والموظفين الذين تتدهور القيمة الحقيقية لأجورهم باستمرار، أو إلى الذين تضرروا جراء تعديل قوانين الإيجار والسكن وغيرها، أو الطبقات الوسطى التي تصاب في مقتل مع تدهور قطاع التعليم العام، وهو القاعدة الحقيقية لإعادة إنتاج هذه الطبقات لنفسها، لمصلحة تعليم خاص لا يقوى عليه إلا أبناء الشرائح العليا منها. بل حتى دعوات الإضراب العام وجهت إلى التجار والمهنيين عموماً، وغاب عنها الآخرون، رغم أنّ من يدفع ضريبة الدم في هذه الانتفاضة هم تحديداً فقراؤها ومهمشوها.
تمثل المأزق الآخر في ابتعاد الأقليات الدينية عن المشاركة والمساهمة في الانتفاضة، في مقابل نجاح النظام في تعبئة قسم كبير منهم، للوقوف إلى جانبه، باعتباره حامياً ونصيراً للأقليات. ويعود ذلك العزوف في جزء منه إلى غياب تصوّر واضح عن ماهية «الوحدة الوطنية» عن خطاب الانتفاضة، رغم ما رفعته من شعارات وطنية عامة، مثل «واحد واحد واحد الشعب السوري واحد» (هناك شعارات طائفية، غير أنّها بقيت هامشية ومحصورة في أماكن تتشابه فيها الحدود الطائفية وحدود السلطة).
الوحدة الوطنية لدى الانتفاضة، استعارت مباشرة خطاب الوحدة الوطنية للنظام، القائم على تعايش الطوائف، لا على وحدة المواطنة، حيث لا تُقدم الهويات المذهبية (أقليات وأكثريات) كهويات سياسية. تغافلت الانتفاضة عن أنّ خطاب الوحدة الوطنية للنظام ليس أكثر من قناع تتستر وراءه سياسات هيمنة، تتوسل الطائفية كأداة سيطرة وتحكم. بناءً على ذلك، فإنّ ترجمة الشعارات ستتم بالإحالة على الخبرة المتحصلة بالتعايش مع خطاب النظام عن الوحدة باعتبارها تعايشاً.
الأثر الفعلي لشعارات من نوع «العلوي أخي» و«أحنا والمسيحيين إخوة»، هو تكريس وتسييس التمايزات المذهبية مع «متخيل طائفي» ينظر إلى الطوائف الأخرى باعتبارها آخر سيئاً، يُقبل منّة وتفضلاً ضمن دائرة الأخوة. خطاب التعايش في سوريا هو مجرد كلام ظاهر للمجال العام، مقابل معنى حقيقي يجهر به في المجال الخاص.
رغم تمايز العجزين (الطبقات الوسطة والأقليات المذهبية)، إلا أنّهما يرجعان إلى جذر واحد هو قصور الانتفاضة عن بلورة هويات سياسية بديلة، أو بتعبير آخر ما فشلت فيه الانتفاضة إلى الآن وهو تقديم خطاب سياسي واجتماعي يمكن القسم الأكبر من السوريين أن ينظروا لأنفسهم من خلاله، وفي الآن ذاته يتحدى علاقات السلطة القائمة حالياً، خطاب عن سوريا الجديدة.

سياسات الانتفاضة

بغياب النخبة السياسية القادرة على بناء استراتيجيات سياسية قادرة على تحقيق تعبئة اجتماعية حولها، يبدو من الأجدى الحديث عن لاسياسات الانتفاضة. حتى التنسيقيات لا يمكن توصيفها باعتبارها هذه النخبة، لتنافرها الهائل في ما يصدر عنها من بيانات متفاوتة ومتنافرة، بحسب كل تنسيقية والهيئة العامة للثورة. بل إنّ الكثير من التنسيقيات لم يتجاوز دورها الجانب الإعلامي.
غير أنّه بعد فشل محاولات عديدة في إنشاء هيئة مرجعية للانتفاضة، ظهر المجلس الوطني السوري الذي يحظى بقبول واسع من طرف المنتفضين. المجلس نشأ على عجل وبغموض لم يتضح الكثير منه حتى الآن، وحظي الإسلاميون بنصيب كبير فيه، ويضاف إليهم مستقلون غير معروفين بغالبيتهم.
بخلاف رئيس المجلس برهان غليون الذي يحظى بقبول واحترام كبيرين، بقي المجلس إشكالياً في شخصياته وآليات عمله والمصالح التي تتقاطع في أروقته. ففيما يشدد غليون على رفضه للتدخل الأجنبي، وتأكيده سلمية الثورة، نجد أنّ «مدير مكتب العلاقات الدولية في المجلس الوطني» رضوان زيادة، يدعو، في مقابلة تلفزيونية على قناة بردى (1)، صراحة، إلى حظر جوي ووضع سوريا تحت الفصل السابع لميثاق الأمم المتحدة. وحين يواجهه المذيع برفض رئيس المجلس برهان غليون للتدخل الأجنبي، يؤكد زيادة أنّ المجلس لا يمثله أحد. فإن لم يكن رئيس المجلس يمثله، فمن يمكن إذاً أن يمثل المجلس؟ وهل يحق لأي كان (وزيادة ليس أياً كان، بل هو بمثابة وزير خارجية) أن يطلب ما يشاء من الدول الأجنبية، وعندها من علينا أن نصدق منهم؟
زيادة نفسه لم يكتف بهذا فقط، بل سبق له أن تحدث في ورشة عمل أقامها مركز الدراسات الدولية المتقدمة في جامعة جون هوبكنز (2)، عن أنّ تغيير النظام سيؤدي إلى إبعاد سوريا عن إيران، وضمان الاستقرار في العراق ولبنان (مستمعوه أميركيون، وهكذا يمكننا أن نفهم معنى الاستقرار المقصود)، حتى إنّه يكمل مؤكداً أنّ النظام فشل في تحقيق السلام مع إسرائيل على مدى أربعين عاماً. كل ما سبق يجعل من سوريا محطاً لاهتمام الولايات المتحدة، المطلوب تدخلها.
هنا يمكن المرء أن يسأل عمّن يمثل المجلس، ومن يتحدث باسمه، وهل يتحدث بالإنكليزية غير ما يقوله بالعربية، وغيرها من الأسئلة. والأسوأ من كل هذا أن ندّعي أنّ زيادة لا يمثل المجلس، أو أنّ رئيسه لا يعلم بمثل هذه التصريحات لمسؤول مكتب العلاقات الدولية.
غياب الشفافية، والغموض والتناقضات التي يحفل بها الكلام السياسي لمن ينضوي تحت مظلة المجلس الوطني تجعل منه في موقع ضعيف لأداء دور النخبة القادرة على كسب أعداد متزايدة من السوريين لصفها، ورسم استراتيجيات وطنية تحظى بقبول وإجماع عليها، بما يمكّن من تحدي النظام وهيمنته.
الجيش السوري الحر، وهو الوجه العسكري المعلن للانتفاضة، يمثّل موضوعاً يستوجب الطرح بعيداً عن تصور أخلاقي تبسيطي ـــــ مع التقدير الكامل لشجاعة منشقيه ومخاطرتهم بحياتهم ـــــ وخاصة أنّه ـــــ كما يبدو ـــــ لا يقتصر على منشقي الجيش حصراً. هوية الجيش السوري الحر تثير كثيراً من التساؤلات؛ فالكتائب التي يشكلها لا تحمل عموماً أسماء شخصيات وطنية سورية، بل تحيل على مرجعية طائفية/مذهبية، فهي كتائب خالد بن الوليد والقعقاع والجراح والفاروق، وهي رموز لا تدخل في إطار الانتماء الإسلامي العام، بل تنتمي إلى تراث التناحر بين المذاهب الإسلامية. فما هي الرسالة التي يفترض أن يوصلها الجيش الحر بتلك المسميات؟ (3).
الدور الأساسي الذي قام به الجيش السوري الحر حتى الآن، هو الدفع باتجاه عسكرة الثورة وعدم الاكتفاء بالشأن الدفاعي، وهو يتحدث في كثير من بياناته عن عمليات هجومية نوعية. إنّ أثر هذه العسكرة المتزايدة للثورة في السياق السوري يتمثل في سيئتين: الأولى تكمن في تعميق جراح الانتفاضة لناحية قدرتها على الامتداد، وكسب فئات اجتماعية أكثر لصفها، وصولاً إلى الإقلال من شأن المدنيين المساهمين الآن في الانتفاضة لمصلحة المقاتلين، وما يتبعها من تعزيز أهمية العصبيات القادرة على شؤون الحماية والتعبئة والقتال، وهي بمجملها عصبيات طائفية ومذهبية. العسكرة ذات أثر معاكس للخطاب الوطني الذي تسعى الانتفاضة إلى تكريسه. السيءة الأخرى تتمثل في غياب الفائدة العملية لعمليات الجيش السوري الحر، ففيما يمارس الجيش الحر عملياته باسم حماية المدنيين من الشبيحة وقوى الأمن السورية، نرى أنّ المناطق التي تمترس فيها عانت من هجوم عسكري شرس أوقع أعداداً متزايدة من القتلى، وانتهى بهزيمة هذا الجيش الحر وخروجه منها، وتمركز قوى الأمن فيها، ما أدى لاحقاً إلى خروجها الفعلي من الانتفاضة (الرستن مثلاً).

الحرب الأهلية، بدايات لبنانية

في بداية الحرب الأهلية، رأى قسم كبير من الحركة الوطنية اللبنانية أنّه يخوض ثورة وطنية، غير أنّ ياسين الحافظ رفض وقتها هذا الوصف، مؤكداً تطور الأحداث باتجاه حرب طائفية. لذلك، إنّ الواجب الأساسي للقوى الوطنية هو إيقافها لا السير فيها. سجل الحافظ موقفاً متمايزاً بتأييده للتدخل السوري، ما أدى إلى انشقاق عموم الفرع اللبناني من حزبه، والتحاقه بالحزب الاشتراكي التقدمي. التاريخ أنصف الحافظ لاحقاً، ليس بمعنى أنّ التاريخ يسير حكماً في مسار محدد مسبقاً، بل بمعنى أنّ هناك خيارات اتُّخذت وقتها، دفعت بهذا الاتجاه الذي حذر منه الحافظ (الحزب الأهم في الحركة الوطنية اللبنانية لم يكن إلا حزباً درزياً اشتراكياً).
اليوم نشهد أمراً مشابهاً في سوريا. انتفاضة شعبية وطنية، ترافقها تعبئة وجرائم على خلفية طائفية (جب عباس/ الحولا) تذكر بأحداث حرب السنتين من الأحداث اللبنانية. لا يكفي نكران هذه الأحداث حتى تزول، أو الاكتفاء بلصقها بالنظام (ولا خلاف على أنّه المسبب الأول للطائفية)، بل يفترض أن تُواجَه بالاعتراف بحدوثها وإدانتها (بيان لجان التنسيق المحلية يمثل خطوة أولى على هذا الطريق) وتكريس خطاب وطني يدينها تحت أي مسمى وبلا لبس، ويدين مرتكبيها.
الثغرة الأساسية في الانتفاضة السورية هي استبطانها لمفردات الثورة الليبية كما يقول هيثم مناع، ما يعني وجود تيارات فيها سلمت بعدم قدرتها على إنجاز تحوّل حقيقي في موازين القوى مع النظام السوري اعتماداً على قدرة الشعب السوري، ومن خلال تعميق مسيرة الانتفاضة. هذه القوى ترى أنّ التغيير ينجز فقط عبر تدخل أجنبي أو على الأقل من خلال دور كبير للخارج، وهذا ما يمكن أن يفسر الدور المتزايد للجيش السوري الحر، على حساب التظاهرات الشعبية، إضافة إلى سلوك عدد كبير من أعضاء المجلس الوطني الذين يسعون إلى الفوز باعتراف دولي على حساب طرح آليات عمل لتطوير الانتفاضة.
هذه المحاكمة الضمنية في صفوف عدد متزايد من القوى المنتفضة، هي استبطان مسبق للهزيمة، وعدم إدراك للفروق بين السياقين الليبي والسوري ـــــ من دون النظر إلى السياق الإقليمي ـــــ ففي الحالة الليبية كان هناك استخدام أكبر للعنف مما يحصل في سوريا، وفي المقابل حقق الثوار الليبيون إنجازات غير متوافرة في السياق السوري. فلا مقابل سورياً للمعارك التي حصلت في بنغازي وأدت إلى سيطرة الثورة على المدينة ودحر كتيبة الفضيل بوعمر. التدخل الدولي أتى تحت تهديد حقيقي بمجزرة سيرتكبها القذافي، وفي ظل وجود قوات ثورية تسيطر على قسم من البلاد في الشرق وحتى في الغرب حيث صمدت مصراتة أشهراً في مواجهة حصار كتائب القذافي.
أفق الانتفاضة السورية ليس شيئاً مقدراً مسبقاً. الانتفاضة نفسها حبلى بشتى الاحتمالات، من الحرب الأهلية والتدخل الأجنبي إلى تأسيس جمهورية وطنية ديموقراطية، على أنقاض نظام وراثي واستبدادي. مسار الانتفاضة وهوية سوريا الجديدة يتعلقان أولاً، قبل أي شيء آخر، بالخيارات السياسية الحالية التي يُقدم عليها الفاعلون في انتفاضة الشعب السوري. أن نرجو الآخرين أن يقوموا بما علينا نحن القيام به بدعوى أنّنا غير قادرين على المواجهة هو خيار (وليس ضرورة) سندفع ثمنه عاجلاً أو آجلاً.

* كاتب عربي
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/27044

Norman
I suspect from their name and from where they came but I am not sure.
Do not worry,none are christians

Arab spring = Arab earthquake
The Arab spring has lead to an identity crisis, looming for a long time with the growth of ethnical and religious nationalism over the Arab nationalism.
The division along ethnical and sectarian lines are becoming more marked. It is an Arab Earthquake not the Arab spring. The fractures so wanted by Israel and its allies are happening. The inhabitant of the Arab land are now identified as Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians, Alawites etc.. Syria nationalism is gone, Arab nationalism is gone.
The whole middle east is been rearranged.
Religious Sunnis governments are emerging lead by the duo Saudi Arabia and Qatar and in the background the shadow of a non arab Sunni country, Turkey. Kurds are looking at Iraq Kurdistan as their reference, Shia at Iran and the other minorities are left in the cold and will become an oppressed second class group.
The wishes of Bush, Cheney and the US neo-cons is becoming a reality: A middle east divided in sectarian and religious lines.

There will not be attack on Iran,contrary to some who suggested that

As for Syria,the regime change may happen in December,if not it will be in february.

Bronco,
The important factor to take into account in order to consider a long term perspective is what last on the ground ,Syria is Syria as nation or people but this regime has no other way than to perish into the dustbin of history and it’s likely that the islamic trend is dominant in today Syria after decades of ila al abadist brutal dictature.
In general ,the muslims are moderate people that share a lot of similiraties with the western culture and they recognize that in many fields ,the western culture is today superrior and can be taken as model.There are more things that unite the averrage mediterranean muslim with Europe than with the theocrats of Iran,Hezbollah or Qaida.
So as long you suffer of islam phobia or paranoia ,you are not going to accept that the islamic civilization is able to evolve towards an advanced level of sophistication.
It has been proved that the radical and extremist trends are not very popular ,even not in Yemen.Many are surprised by the quality of the yemeni civil society in which the women are very active.

Islamist all together has about 20% at best in Syria, the fear is explained next comment.

@Humanist

Assad is personally popular, but his Baathist regime has little of it. The problem is that Islamists have a habit of throat slitting anyone that oppose their agenda and are united by Islam at first. All others in Syria are not necessarily united and that is the weakness and fear. Should a united front against Islamists evolve, it will maintain an overwhelming majority. In Syria, it is very hard to do so. That is the problem. It will end up that Islamists will band together and are financed very well by many countries, while secular have no backers. Even Iran, will most likely finance and back an Islamic front in Syria, rather than a progressive liberal one.

99. SHAMI said:

“So as long you suffer of islam phobia or paranoia ,you are not going to accept that the islamic civilization is able to evolve towards an advanced level of sophistication.”

Dear Shami, can you share your thoughts of how you can evolve Islam to be more sophisticated and tolerant like western civilization when the Saudis and Salafis are total against it?

“It has been proved that the radical and extremist trends are not very popular ,even not in Yemen.Many are surprised by the quality of the yemeni civil society in which the women are very active.”

How would you deal with KSA?

Syrian nationalist ,many non religious syrians recognize their belonging to the islamic culture ,there is a strong arab-islamic common memory …the “sectarian”secular islamophobs ,like the menhebekjiyeh here are a small minority.This is very obvious in Syria.
And Syria in 2011 is not the Syria 1960…it’s true that the islamist electoral base might be arround 20 % but if the islamists show moderation and an openess towards the world such as in Turkey,Tunisia,Morocco …they can hope to get the absolute majority.

Yeh Shami, be my guest if they can bring in to Syria 400 billion in Saudi cash investment like Turkey got, why not. The only way SNP can get this cash from the Bedouins is to invade them and steal it under some Islamic nation scheme, The Muawya plan, give the Rockefeller-Rothschild half to be quite. But MB or Islamist of all shades and colors cannot get an electoral base much beyond 30% that is stretching it. They have no history of moderation at all. Turkish Moslems can hardly be called moderate.

DARRYL,
What makes the islamophob “sectarian” “seculars” crazy here is Turkey and Egypt more than Saudi Arabia ,Saudi Arabia is the false pretext.Because they know that the ties between Turkish,Egyptian and Syria are spontaneous and broad.
Saudi Arabian people will also gain in a renaissance in Egypt,North Africa and Syria,it will be an attractive source of inspiration among Saudi masses because the Saudi society has evolved and is more and more educated and can not be isolated from its neigbors.
The Saudi kingdom will have no other option than to follow the trend ,because modern history hates immutable regimes.

SNP,most of turks who voted for the AKP are not islamists btw.(the islamic electoral base in Turkey is 20% ).
We will see for Syria ,but it’s clear that Aleppo or Damascus are far more conservative than Ankara and Istanbul.

That is what I said it is all about money. Turks voted Islamist party because they were promised Moslem cash. Europeans were not investing in Turkey and the turn to an Islamic (monied countries) oriented policy was logical for Turks. And they brought a lot of cash to Turkey, even from Iran, billions and billions. In Syria, after 50 years of Baathshits abuse to the nation and country, it is pretty much an improved Somalia. In fact Syria ranks pretty close on the bottom of all rankings to Somalia. It is going to need billions to bring it up to modern state comparable to even Lebanon, although that countries itself was robed big time by Hariri and needs few billions in capital inflow as well now. The west is broke, totally broke, the next 2 years there will see massive social upheaval and only those few Islamic countries are loaded. Turks foresaw the benefits of turning east to Moslem nations when their European Union application was denied several times, hence voted Islamist in based on the promises and campaign platform.

You cannot compare Western oriented Turkish Moslems to Syrian Moslem Brotherhoods. Just look what they are doing in Syria now, are these the sophisticated leaders that can lead Syria. Common man, they are worse than Afghani Taliban for heaven sake, they are barbaric with savagery not even reptilian animals capable of, they acts, talks and looks like the incarnated hordes that walked with Mohammad army of genocidal butchers, and just as deceiving and cunning. Their ignorance and brutality is shocking, do you expect them to gain the majority of votes in Syria, even gain votes by non Moslems. Delusional fantasy, that is all.

@ Shami
Great observation in post 105, I wonder how many people that post negative things (most of it warranted) about Saudi have actually been there?

I’ve met a lot of western educated Saudi’s, most are open minded and actually are quite liberal (in Western terms). I’ve also met Saudis that made me feel ashamed that I share not only a religion with them, but a language, for I have no appetite for any religious zealot that decides to play god when it comes to my faith and beliefs.

Saudi is a bizarre country, it has the money, the resources, and the population (they procreate like rabbits) to be a super power. however their inept ability to actually do the work themselves and actually get off their fat lazy asses and not pay some foreigner to do the job, will always be a hindrance for their advancement.

@98 – DR majedkhaldoun

you said “As for Syria,the regime change may happen in December,if not it will be in february.”

Can u explain how u fantasize of regime change occuring? Their hasnt even been a 1% chance of regime change occurring for the past 8months. What will change it now? Are u and ur fanatics still in denial. Explain to me in detail how regime change will come about? After 8 months are u still dreaming of the merchants turning against the government, army revolt , etc etc. Still delusional my friend. The 2 biggest cities are yet to even slightly show support for u fanatics. Every month we hear the same BLABLABLABLA from u terrorist extremists. Explain to me how u think regime change will occur. With Russia, China, ALBA, Iran, Iraq and Lebanon backing the syrian government, can u please explain how regime change will come about. The Syrian army hasnt even began to use its revolutionary gaurds or elite army units, they have purchased the advanced missiles which obviously put fear into the lives of the Turks. All of my relatives are living in Homs, and the only time the extremists dare to step out onto the streets is at night or early morning. The rest of the day life goes on as normal. So please explain DR

Why Syria’s arrested blogger, Razan Ghazzawi, is one of my heroes | Jillian C York

A consummate activist, let’s hope my friend’s belief in the power of people is well placed and helps secure her freedom

Jillian C York · 05/12/2011 · guardian.co.uk

Razan Ghazzawi, a Syrian blogger, has been arrested. Photograph: Jillian C York
I got an urgent instant message from my good friend Razan Ghazzawi last Tuesday night. Having tweeted and blogged against the Syrian regime for the past several months under her real name, from inside Syria, Ghazzawi was concerned that she had become a target.

Always prepared, she sent me her contingency plan: close her online accounts. Syrians who have been arrested and detained over the past nine months have reported having their passwords demanded by authorities. Though closing her accounts wouldn’t help her, it could protect her friends – that’s the kind of person Ghazzawi is.

Those close to her say that she was on her way to a workshop in Jordan organised by her employer, the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression, when she was arrested. Though it’s difficult these days to understand anything the Syrian regime does, her blog may have been the impetus for her arrest, or it may not have, but in either case her outspoken writing could very well make things worse for her.

By birth, Ghazzawi is an American citizen – though she would undoubtedly resent the idea of that being used to free her. In any case, it is unlikely that the US government could have any pull with the Syrian regime at this point.

I met Ghazzawi in 2008 at a conference in Europe. We only connected briefly – she was working on her master’s thesis – but we kept in touch and when I visited Syria the next year, reconnected. She is a consummate activist, never content to let something slide, always thinking, sometimes too much. She is passionate about LGBT and gender rights, Palestine and, of course, her beautiful Syria.

Though Ghazzawi had blogged under her own name for several years, at the start of the Syrian revolution she had a change of heart, changing her name on Twitter and locking down her Facebook account. I never asked, but I assumed she was scared. She left for a while for Lebanon, then Egypt, but ended up back in Syria soon after; I can only assume she felt compelled to return.

Eventually, she decided against anonymity, returning to her former outspoken nature and tweeting, her opposition to the regime coming across loud and clear.

What I appreciate and respect the most about Ghazzawi (and what I suspect is what irks a lot of other people about her), however, is her honesty and humanity. Though a staunch supporter of Palestinian rights, she has denounced the double standards of Palestinian resistance groups that have expressed support of the Syrian regime. She has not been afraid to speak up against those she disagrees with, even her friends. For that, she is among my heroes.

She has also been pragmatic, sceptical even, of the role of social media in Syria and throughout the region, consistently claiming that “online activists are overrated”. Bemused, annoyed even, at all of the invitations she’s received to represent Syrian digital activists at conferences, she has taken a pragmatic approach to the effect of digital tools in Syria, where access to the internet hovers at around 20% and DSL is mostly unavailable outside of Damascus.

Last time I saw her, at the Third Arab Bloggers Meeting in Tunis, she drove the point home: after learning that Palestinians had been denied visas to attend, she slapped a sign on her back that read: “OK, [Palestinians] denied entry. Let’s not just tweet about it!”

It is ironic then, that her own online outspokenness may be the cause of her arrest.

In respect to the Syrian opposition, Ghazzawi has been thoughtful, nuanced, writing about her love of Syria and her desire for a simultaneously free and peaceful Syria. On her blog, she recently wrote:

“Colonisation made us all a bunch of nationalists [fighting] for a label [rather] than for a value. I want to be living hand in hand with all of you, and this cannot be done if we see ourselves as ‘majorities’ and ‘minorities.’ The foundation of this logic lies in nationalism.”
But if there is one thing that represents Ghazzawi more than anything, it is her belief in the power of people – not politicians, not parties, but individuals. “It’s time for people’s self-determination to rule the region, you just wait and watch,” she wrote in October. Let’s hope that her prophecy is correct.

http://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/commentisfree/2011/dec/05/syria-arrested-blogger-razan-ghazzawi?fb_ref=U-yKd1r7i1xz974Pf5IgO8Zi-CFCONX01FRS-33pc2XXX&fb_source=other_multiline&fb_action_types=news.reads&code=AQDWuLoG61DKrz4CSfOlvpsNMeJ5_DSdM8k9etrIFifE8dYCbo78DamjEo_qvID4OSGPfRfoF4L1nAQi7FA_whqnADpRbZuL0FrYpXR_854bPMWkAe6sTAKIGgTLQBqKEVuXtwIph2bVRefreTqyP_vYKX5KNMGG8ptKNwq9L0yNAl4Q4YAwbdm7rVxdlob2c5w#_=_

Sorry link to the posted article works only if you are member of FB.
Here is the link again, open accessable:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/dec/05/syria-arrested-blogger-razan-ghazzawi?INTCMP=SRCH

SNP 80
fannan tashkili \”calligrapher\”

Jad,
I think SNP\’s masters are Qatar, France, and the Lebanese. Plus some US neocons. But maybe not the US administration. At the same time, I feel that we are seeing a pause in the Syrian episode because they want the cameras to turn on Iran.

Today, December 6th, group of the fighting ships of Northern fleet of Russia as a part of a heavy aviabearing cruiser “Admiral Kuznitsov” and the big anti-submarine ship “Admiral Chabanenko” will begin transition from water area of Barents sea to Mediterranean sea.
On a route of transition the ships will take part in the international doctrines, and also will carry out calling in the Russian base of Tartus in Syria.

Onboard “Admiral Kuznetsova” there is an aviagroup including deck fighters Su-33, attack planes of Su-25UTG and anti-submarine helicopters Ka-27.

China too cannot be segments from theater of events in the Mediterranean sea!!!

Russian military perspective on Syria:

‘Blow-fly zone’ takes hold over Syria
By John Helmer

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/ML07Ag01.html

excepts:

Syria isn’t in rigor mortis, but the credibility of the international community of wellwishers is deader than Muammar Gaddafi. The purported no-fly zone which the allies pushed through the United Nations Security Council on March 17 – with help from President Dmitry Medvedev, China, India, Germany and Brazil – was a fake.

United Kingdom submarines were already in position in the southern Mediterranean with secret orders to fire their Tomahawk missiles at Libya’s air defenses and electronic command-and-control systems before the UN resolution was tabled and the votes counted; war had been declared against Libya weeks, if not months earlier.

Regime change of the type the US, UK and French governments have pursued in Iraq, Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya is far from a demonstrable improvement for the Arabs who have survived it, as can be seen from the snapping point right now in Cairo. Announcements from the former imperial overseers of Syrian territory – Turkey, UK and France – that they aim to oust President Bashar al-Assad from office imply force, but for the moment that lacks legitimacy.

Technical warmaking without legality is a war crime; expensive, risky. Even for politicians desperate for cheap, Qatari and Saudi-paid wars to help their re-election chances – eg, US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy – it’s proving much more difficult to mobilize the outrage of down-home voters whose preoccupation now and for the next year is their own economic survival.

Russia’s announcement of major Mediterranean drills, is designed to prevent another attempt at manufacturing cover for an invasion, or lighter warmaking, such as an embargo on arms and ammunition, jamming of military communications, or sabotage. Russian officials say that there is no special plan for the Admiral Kuznetsov to call on the Syrian port of Tartus.

The blow flies this time are being sent in to sniff and snuff out the prospects, before Assad and his men are corpses. The blow-fly zone is a Russian military trip-wire – the first such strategic move outside the borders of the old Soviet Union for more than 20 years.

[…]

Deliveries from Russia include the Bastion coastal missile system equipped with the Yakhont supersonic cruise missile for attacking ships as large as aircraft carriers. The range of the Yakhont is 300 kilometers. On Monday, Interfax quoted an unidentified military source in Moscow as saying 72 had been delivered to Damascus.

According to a presentation a year ago by Igor Korotchenko, editor of National Defense magazine in Moscow, one of the operational purposes of the Bastion system is to protect the Russian squadron at Tartus, the base itself, and the coastline 300 kilometers to north and south – that’s the entire Syrian waterfront. Russia’s naval commander Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky said in said in August of 2010 that by 2012, the Tartus naval base will be able to accommodate cruisers and aircraft carriers for as long as the Kremlin wants to leave them there.

According to Korotchenko, “To speak plainly, modern shipborne air defenses cannot intercept such missiles.” To speak even more plainly, Syria under Assad isn’t Libya under Gaddafi or Yugoslavia under Slobodan Milosevic.

Among the major Russia-Syria arms contracts already delivered are 36 Panzir-1S air defense missile systems and upgrades of the Syrian Army T-72 tanks. Still to come are 24 MiG-29M/M2 fighters and 8 battalions of Buk M2E air defense systems. This makes Syria the front-line for an inventory of Russia-made weapons on which Russia itself depends for defense. A challenge to these arms in Syria would have been an indirect threat to the Russian defense establishment; now with the Tartus deployment, the threat is direct and strategic.

Syria has let yet another Arab League deadline for signing a draft ptotocol to help end violence there, slide by. And the Arab League has still kept its lines of communication open, keeping hope alive that agreement can be reached. This is Syria’s last chance to stem the violence and to open space for the political reform President Bashar al-Assad says he wants. However Syria’s procrastination is entirely understandable.

From the outset, the League’s initiative seemed to be couched as an ultimatum, replete with tight deadlines and the threat of stiff sanctions if Syria did not sign. This confrontational approach by the League, which included demands for League monitors/observers to be able to override Syria’s sovereignty, was bound to make Syria very wary of the League’s intentions. This led many in Syria to believe that the League was not genuine in this initiative, and had concocted the peace plan so that it would fail in order for the League to refer Syria to the UN Security Council – imitating the Libya process. In short, the League doing the bidding of the US, Israel, France, the UK and others, who are demanding regime change in Syria.

It is to Syria’s credit that they have responded helpfully and realistically to the League’s proposal. It is also to the League’s credit that they have kept the lines of communication open. For the League’s proposal to be accepted and for it to work, it is important that the League treats Syria as a partner in the process and not as an ‘enemy’. The protocol for example says that Head of the Mission and the Secretary General would determine the number of monitors to be sent to Syria. Why exclude consultation with the Syrian authorities? No nation would except such an abrogation of its sovereignty. It is a time-honoured tenent of diplomacy that states receiving diplomatic missions are asked to formally approve the size and structure of the missions they host. Similarly the League protocol wanted their mission to employ technical expertise ‘from Arab, Islamic and friendly nations’. Syria did not accept that open-ended clause, wishing to confine participation to Arabs.

While Syria’s responses to the League have been reasonable, it is also clear that Syria has sought to limit the access of monitoring teams. For example Syria asked for a clause to be deleted which gave free access prisons and hospitals, and another which gave access to refugee camps. The Syrians were however prepared to agree to providing ‘full access and secure movement’ to monitors ‘in consultation with Syrian authorities’.

While the League must ensure it has the freedom to carry out its mandate to help stop the violence originating from all sides, and to build confidence with all factions so a peaceful political process might be possible, it must also work with and alongside the Syrian regime if it is to be successful. Trust is vital. This requires concessions to be made to Syria’s sovereignty. Syria’s latest requests to have the protocol signed in Damascus, and to have a pause in the implementation of League sanctions while the mission is being carried out, should be accepted. The League’s mission can always withdraw from Syria and re-deploy sanctions if they are prevented for doing their work.

Behind the scenes I am sure that Russia, with support from its BRICS colleagues Brazil, India, China and South Africa, are pressuring both Syria and the League to come to an accommodation so the the initiative can begin its work. This pressure must continue, and if the mission proceeds, ongoing background technical advice and support should be offered. There must also be a more accurate understanding of what is actually happening on the ground. Homs seems out of control, for example. The immediate withdrawal of government forces from that city may add to the carnage and see that city fall out of government control. The League’s monitors must assess the situation on the ground before big decisions are taken.

Time is running out. The country is sharply divided, and individuals and groups are taking matters into their own hands. Hatreds and violence are increasing. The League’s peaceful monitoring intervention is Syria’s last hope to avoid a long period of destructive violence. The shrill rhetoric of France and Turkey in particular should cease, and their active support of the so-called Free Syrian Army should stop, to leave more space for wiser and more constructive heads to help Syria avoid civil war. One might have thought that France and Turkey, both former colonial powers in Syria and both with shameful colonial records, might have learned from that past.

105. SHAMI said:

Shami, you did not answer my question. How will you evolve Islam as you were postulating in the original post?

Shami #99

This is yet to prove. If you want to use Turkey as a reference of an Islamic Sunni democracy, let me point out that Turkey has excluded the Sharia from its Constitution and therefore it is a secular model that cannot be interpreted or modified even if the government is Islamic.
This is not true with all the emerging sunni “democracies”.
A Constitution that uses Sharia as it main source of laws and is left in the hand of an Islamic government where moderate and extremists coexist is bound to be manipulated.
These Sunni Islamic democracies lead by a majority of Islamists is a new experience for the Arabs and no one know how they will turn out to be.
You can invoke a generalization that the moslems are moderate and cannot abuse of their power. Let me doubt that. A small group of extremists can easily manipulate a majority. There is no guarantee, whatsoever that these democracies will not move towards a Saudi Arabia model. Saudi Arabia is rich and can easily subjugate economically the poorer countries and pollute them as they did with Pakistan and all the countries they touched. It created the monsters that killed thousands in 9/11 and more monsters that are polluting Afghanistan.
The only valid guarantee that it won’t happen in these new democracies is to have a secular Constitution, but this has been rejected by Tunisia and will be Egypt and Libya.
You seem to have a blind confidence, I don’t. For me the danger of a diversion towards an religious authoritarian regime exists and many people in the minorities and the moderate moslems will not take that chance and if they can, they’ll leave.

Nearly 20 of Asad police force ranks defect and join the FSA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-QTqWjFh3k&feature=player_embedded
أوغاريت انشقاق مجموعة من رجال قوى الأمن الداخلي 5 12 2011

Just for those who like Russia soo much, we had a saying in the old german communist regime, learn from Russia means learning to win…

Lets hope the arab spring heatens up the russian winter this year…

Putin’s party gets 93 percent in mental hospital

By Benjamin Bidder in Moscow

In Vladimir Putin’s constituency, the Communists are stronger than his own party, United Russia. Elsewhere, however, achieved the Kremlin-Soviet-style election association successes – such as in mental hospitals and nursing homes.

The election campaign has made the Russian music group Rabfak nationally known. The rappers sing about the deplorable situation in a fictional mental institution. The staff there will not care for the welfare of patients but instead they care more of their own. All is corrupt and sloppy, and patients that dare to ask are getting no answers, but “a shot in the butt.”

It is not difficult to understand the allusions to deficiencies in the land between the lines. More than 700,000 users have already seen the clip of Rabfak on YouTube. “Our madhouse vote for Putin,” says the chorus. “Putin is definitely our candidate.”

The task now is to count the ballots, even for reality. Nationwide has Vladimir Putin’s party in parliamentary elections on Sunday suffered heavy losses. Among the residents of Russian mental hospitals, however, United Russia seems to enjoy much sympathy.

According to the Central Election Commission in any case, the patients of the Moscow Psychiatric Hospital No. 3 in the northeast of the city voted almost unanimously for Putin’s party. 93 percent of Sunday’s polling station No. 3295 cast 379 votes for United Russia accounted for only 26 total on the opposition.

Strong Communists in Putin’s own constituency

After counting all the ballots run a similar messages from around the country. In Kurtamysch on the border with Kazakhstan, voted 82 percent of patients in the local mental hospital for United Russia.

At the national trend, however, this changes nothing. So had to cope with the Putin supporters in Moscow heavy defeats. Only 46.5 percent of voters gave the “party of power” in the capital of their voice. Ironically, in the Moscow constituency of Prime Minister Putin, United Russia was even only on the second place behind the Communists. At the Gagarin district, the party reached only 23.7 percent.

Record breaking up the support for it fell from No. 1 in Moscow boarding school for veterans, a nursing home. More than 96 percent of residents voted for Putin’s party harmony.

Russian media reports, that Russia’s Interior Ministry stationed troops in the Moscow region of the Russian capital. On Monday morning, about 5,000 opposition activists protesting in the city. The crowd was “Down with Putin” and chanted “Down with the police state.” More than 300 people were arrested.

The Kremlin’s opponents also called for a new rally on Tuesday night.

How politics work in the West

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/caught-on-camera-top-lobbyists-boasting-how-they-influence-the-pm-6272760.html

Challenge for political Islam in Syria
# By Sami Moubayed, Special to Gulf News
# Published: 00:00 December 6, 2011
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/challenge-for-political-islam-in-syria-1.944225

Demographics show that parties like the Brotherhood will be unable to rule on their own without coalition partners

Depending on who one talks to in Syria, the Egyptian elections have sparked off either fear, or great inspiration — given that they have played out nicely in favour of the Muslim Brotherhood. The seculars are panicking, to say the least, watching the victory of Islamic parties in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, and the emergence of politically-driven politicians in Libya. Regardless if the regime stays or not, political Islam is on the rise, they claim, and the Islamists will eventually overtake the Syrian parliament in democratic elections. A closer look, however, might prove otherwise.

The Brotherhood has matured over the past 60 years, and so have its splinter groups, for example, like Hamas. They once were focused on an Islamic theocracy and resorted to violence at times, to make that happen, notably Syria in 1979-1982. They rarely accepted others and often said that their way was the only way forward for Arab society. That too has changed, and the Brotherhood-inspired Al Nahda Party for example, cannot rule in the same manner that Zine Al Abidine Bin Ali did in Tunisia, and nor can the Egyptian Brotherhood be another Hosni Mubarak. They are now marketing themselves as moderate Muslims, closer to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan than Osama Bin Laden. People want to believe them, and have given them a chance, simply because they have not yet been tested in government.

Having said that, it is no secret that the Muslim Brotherhood, inactive and mute within Syrian society for over 30 years, has started to re-emerge, rather strongly, in different Syrian cities. In Jebel Al Zaweh in the vicinity of Idlib, for example, they are at their strongest influence in decades. The same cannot be said for the historically conservative city of Hama, where their influence recently has been strongly challenged by secular opposition activists like Fidaa Al Hawrani, the daughter of Syria’s socialist “godfather” Akram Al Hawrani. Fidaa Hawrani, a doctor, is operating around the clock with ordinary Syrians, offering them free-of-charge medical services, thereby outdoing the Brotherhood when it comes to hands-on popularity and community service.

In other cities like Damascus and Aleppo, one cannot really measure how popular the Brotherhood would be, until Syrians go to the polls. What is clear, however, is that in recent years, political Islam, once attractive only to poor people, has now infiltrated high society and is becoming a magnet for the urban rich. In posh neighbourhoods of Damascus, for example, wearing the hijab is astronomically high, so is mosque-going and closed Islamic lessons, given by followers of the prominent Islamic teacher, Munira Al Qubaisi. The Qubaisis, as they are known in society, operate a very powerful network among the wives, daughters, and mothers of affluent businessmen in Damascus. They single-handedly re-invented the Islamic hijab, for example, a hallmark of their society. Previously in the 1950s and 1960s, the Damascus norm was an Audrey Hepburn-like scarf, adorned more for modesty, rather than religiousness. Now, thanks to the Qubaisis, it comes with dark stockings and a long coat in dark blue, navy blue, or black — depending on how senior a woman is in the Qubaisi society. The Qubaisis control schools, mosques, and entire neighbourhoods, where alcohol, for example, is not served at restaurants, and where hijab-wearing young women drive around in brand new BMWs and Audis. They are rich, socially prominent, and influenced by Islam.
Will affiliates of Islamic groups like the Qubaisis vote for an Islamic party in upcoming parliamentary elections, if they were truly transparent and democratic? Chances are that they would, and so would prominent regime-friendly clerics like the ex-dean of the Faculty of Theology, Said Ramadan Al Bouti, a heavyweight in conservative Damascene society, or even the Grand Mufti himself, Ahmad Hassoun, who commands strong popularity in his native Aleppo. All talk about them being “secular clerics” is pure nonsense, marketed by them during the heyday of the secular era, in order to cuddle up to officials. That is only natural, given that although many would think twice before admitting, all Muslim conservatives are inspired by Brotherhood founder Hassan Al Banna’s slogan, “Islam is the solution.” Arab nationalism has been tested, and milked, for nearly 50 years. It failed drastically at answering people’s political, economic, and social worries. So has Baathism, which has already started its long march into history. In fact, it is precisely because Baathism failed that people began searching elsewhere for answers — at mosques, for example, in online Islamic forums, and at the theology lessons of people like Saeed Ramadan Al Bouti and Al Qubaisi. And it is precisely because moderate Islamic parties were denied a platform for decades that Al Qaida-inspired fundamentalists hijacked Islam throughout the Arab World.

That argument is logically being challenged by those who believe that although popular, political Islam will never come to power in Syria, for one main reason: demographics. In Syria, 10 per cent of the population is Christian, and they would never vote for the Brotherhood. Neither would the 15 per cent Alawite and Shiite communities, or the 3 per cent Druze, or 2 per cent “others” (Circassians, Jews, Ismailis). Then come 15 per cent Syrian Kurds and 10 per cent tribes and Bedouins, who although Sunni Muslims, would also never support an Islamic party. That adds up to 55 per cent, topped with no less than 25 per cent of Syria’s 75 per cent Sunni majority, who are seculars or ordinary Syrians simply un-attracted to political Islam. That sums up to a majority of voters in any parliamentary elections, meaning that the Muslim Brotherhood or its sister groups would not take more than 20-25 per cent of any incoming Chamber. Meaning, in true internationally-monitored parliamentary elections, Islamic-driven parties like the Brotherhood would be unable to rule on their own with no coalition parties, as the case with the Al Nahda Party in Tunisia.

In a democracy, it is their constitutional right, regardless of what the seculars think or say about them. When democracy prevails, the ballots decide who rules. If they fail, they will get ejected, perhaps in another Arab Spring, also through the ballot. No quantum physics here, just pure and plain democracy.

Why Homs?
Homs is a living example on how Syria will be if the regime falls.Homs is the city with most mosaic in Syria.All the events which have accumulated had made it very difficult to have clear vision and many of us have become very confused,but let us remember these facts:
-most of the victims in Homs are from minorities.
-most of the criminals in Homs are Sunni
-no one from the opposition have yet condemned
The sectarian killing done by Sunni criminals in Homs.
-The revenge and killing done by sectarian Sunni terrorists in Homs and Edlib will expand all over Syria if the Sunni terrorist movement successeds
-Damascus and Aleppo will keep snoring as they see Homs going into deeper blood pool.
-Terrorist Sunnis in Homs proofed to be
Blood thirsty monsters with no political or ethical ground.
-Every day goes by proofs that it is impossible to live with Sunni terrorists and the option of separation and dividing is much practical one.

–

I wonder in which finjan Moubayed has read that the Beduins wouldn’t vote for the Islamists. Aren’t some of the tribes connected with some of the Sunni Iraqi tribes?

http://blog.lefigaro.fr/malbrunot/2011/12/ce-que-londres-conseille-a-lop.html

Ford is back to Damascus tonight. To host the observers?

The EU is expected to close most of its embassies in Iran next week.

http://www.romandie.com/news/n/_Syrie_l_ambassadeur_americain_de_retour_a_Damas_ce_soir_061220111612.asp

http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2206164&Language=en

Syrio-Nazis
أي دور للقوميين السوريين في الأحداث؟ … زوبعة في سوريّة أم إعصار؟
الثلاثاء, 06 ديسيمبر 2011

ماهر الجنيدي
سوريّة على حافة الاشتعال. ولا يمكن بتاتاً وصف هذه الرحلة بأنها يسيرة. فأنت تبحث في أرض مبهمة محفوفة بالمخاطر، وحوادث غامضة، يتخذ أبطالها على الأغلب هيئة أشباح يتنقلون بين ألغام وأسلاك شائكة. وحين تلتقي مصادرك، يحدثونك بطريقة من عثر وحده على الحقيقة، فيعيدون تفسير الحوادث التي شاهدوها والتجارب التي خاضوها من منظور حقيقتهم.

هل انخرط القوميون السوريون حقاً في اللعبة؟ ولماذا يتردد اسمهم في كثير من المناطق؟ وما هو دورهم في مجريات الأحداث في شوارع سوريّة؟

تجمّعت لديّ خلال أيام معدودة معلومات وافرة استقيتها من أحاديث ودردشات واستطرادات. لكني، ما ان أعلنت لمصادري عن عزمي رسم صورة بانورامية أسجّلها وأوثّقها، حتى اكتشفت أنني اتّبعت تكتيكاً خاطئاً في مقاربتهم.

فاللقاء بات يحتاج إلى ترتيبات. وهم لا يحبّون أن تلتقيهم قصداً في ظل أوضاع يحسّون بوطأتها في كل تفاصيل حياتهم. ومن كنت تلتقيه بمحض المصادفة في زيارة لأصدقاء مشتركين ويتحدث عالياً عن ما يراه ويسمعه ويعايشه، صار اللقاء به يحتاج أولاً إيجاد صلة وصـل معه، ثم تحديد مكان لا يثير الريبة، ثم الحديث بصوت خافت، مع إصرار عجيب على عدم ذكر الاسم، بل وتمويه المناطق الجغرافية لها.

المخرج المنشق

مدينتنا الأولى هادئة. لا أصوات إطلاق نار فيها، ولا تظاهرات صاخبة كما في غيرها من مدن سوريّة المشتعلة. فهنا تقتصر التظاهرات على يوم الجمعة. وغالباً ما يسيطر الشبّيحة على الموقف.

لا يمكنك وصف اللقاء معه بأنه حدث استثنائي أو صعب. تصادفه على فنجان قهوة إذا ذهبت إلى المقهى الذي يجمع المثقّفين والمهتميّن بمجريات الأحداث. ويلفت انتباهك بأدائه المميز إذا حضرت «بروفة» عمل مسرحي. وتلتقيه على كأس إذا دعيت إلى حفل يضمّ الشباب الحالمين بسورية الجديدة من مختلف المشارب والمذاهب. ولن تخطئ التكهّن بذكائه الذي يشع من عينيه. شاب وسيم، بشعر طويل يربطه خلف رأسه، لا تفارق الابتسامة محيّاه.

أما الاستثنائي، فهو ما تسمعه من الممثل الموهوب والمخرج المسرحي (ع.ا) بعد أن يستأنس إليك. وهو يستأنس سريعاً إلى من يلمس وجداناً لديهم حيال القتل والتشبيح الجاري في البلاد، ولمن يلحظ فيهم مشاعر طيّبة تجاه سوريّة، وما أكثرهم. «تركت الحزب القومي السوري منذ اندلاع الثورة». يحزّ الأمر في نفسه إذ يرى حزبه الذي يسعى إلى «نهضة سوريّة وتحريرها» تحوّل إلى جهاز قمعي في سوريّة ذاتها. «تحيا سوريا.. ولكنّ كثيراً من الرفقاء صاروا شبّيحة». وتركُ الحزب والنزول إلى الشارع ليس بالأمر السهل في فصيل يؤمن بالتنظيم الحديدي، ويتّبع قواعد وطقوساً «عجيبة» عند «الانتماء» إليه، ويتخذ إجراءات صارمة تجاه من «يتخاذل ويخون».

[جرى اعتقال (ع.ا) في إحدى التظاهرات الصاخبة. ملابسات اعتقاله وآثار الحديد المحمّى على جلده حكايةٌ أخرى].

الثراء السريع

يشير أحد «ثوّار مدينة إدلب» إلى شعار الحزب القومي السوري، وإلى علامات «الترف والأموال» التي باتت تظهر على بعض شبّيحته: «على سبيل المثال، فإن (م.خ) و (ش.ت) استلما من الأمن العسكري بندقية، فيما يندس الثاني أحياناً بين المتظاهرين» في التظاهرات شبه اليومية التي تشهدها المدينة. يتابع الثائر الشاب المنضوي تحت إحدى التنسيقيّات: «بدأت تظهر عليهم مظاهر الترف والأموال، بل أعرف اثنين آخرين منهم (محمد.س) و(جورج.م) اشتريا سيارتيهما فقط بعد حصول الثورة السورية وامتدادها إلى مدينة إدلب» من دون أن ينسى التنويه إلى أوصاف السيّارات وألوانها، وإلى «شارة الحزب الشبيهة بشارة النازيّة».

الزوبعة الإلكترونية

تنتشر هذه الزوبعة، مع صور الرئيس بشار الأسد، لتغطي صفحات غالبية جمهور الحزب القومي السوري على موقع «فايسبوك» للتواصل الاجتماعي؛ ما يذكّر بأن مبادرة «الجيش السوري الإلكتروني» (يسمّيه المعارضون: جيش التشبيح الإلكتروني) انطلقت مبكّراً على يد صبايا الحزب القومي السوري، منذ أوائل اندلاع «الثورة السورية ضد بشار الأسد»، لتتجسد بعد ذلك تنظيماً إلكترونياً يضم مجموعات «الهكر» والسطو الإلكتروني على مواقع المعارضة المناوئة للنظام وصفحات المعارضين.

يرى أفراد «الجيش الإلكتروني» من أعضاء الحزب السوري القومي الاجتماعي (جناح عصام المحايري)، العضو في الجبهة الوطنية التقدمية، أن «المعركة» الجارية في سوريّة مصيرية، ويستشهدون بقولٍ لزعيمهم التاريخي أنطون سعادة: «المعركة وقعت. والمعركة مستمرة الآن، وستستمر إلى الانتصار الأخير حين تسحق إحدى القوتين المتعاركتين الأخرى سحقاً تاماً لا يعود لها بعده قيام».

خطاب قاس، راح ضحيته العديد من الناشطين والمفكرين والمثقفين المؤيدين للثورة، اخترقت صفحاتهم ومواقعهم، وتلقّوا شتائم وتهديدات شخصية وعائلية بسبب مواقفهم، اضطرتهم وما زالت تضطرهم إلى التواري، بل وأحياناً إلى الفرار من البلاد.

تحيا سورية

تصل الزوبعة إلى مرمريتا وصافيتا، وبعض المدن القابعة في مثلث حماة – طرطوس – حمص، في وادي النصارى بطرقه المتعرّجة الخلابة، وبيوته القديمة المتعانقة، التي ما زالت تعاند في بقائها رغم الطفرة العمرانية للبنايات المشيدة وقرميدها الأحمر.

لكنّ الزوبعة في هذه المناطق أكثر تأصّلاً، وتتجلى آثارها بشكل مختلف، شكل استباقي، يستند إلى الردع والترهيب وكمّ الأفواه حتى قبل أن ينبس المرء بآرائه. معظم العائلات والأسر في هذه المناطق، على اختلاف انتماءاتها الدينية أو المذهبية، منقسمة إلى أربع شرائح:

الشريحة الأولى محايدة، تشعر بأنها غير معنيّة بما يجــــري في البلاد من حولها، أو أنها تقبل بالنظام من منظــــور خــــشيتها من نظام آخر يأتي فيحاسبها على أخطاء النظام الآفل. بالطــــبع لا يمكن مقارنة نسبة هذه الشريحة مع نسبتها في مدن كبيرة أخرى، دمشق وحلب مثلاً، نظراً إلى السويّة العلمية الأرفع عموماً لأبناء الوادي، ولتسييسهم تاريخياً، ولوعيهم الفطري لفسيفساء المنطقة واستيعابهم له.

والشريحة الثانية صامتة، تضمر ما لا تظهر من مشاعر الاستياء من الحكم، ومن أسلوبه من معالجة الوضع، ومن حماقة استجابته لاحتجاجات المتظاهرين.

أما الشريحة الثالثة فقد اتخذت موقفاً مؤيداً لإحداث تغيير ديموقراطي تتفكك بموجبه السلطة الأمنية. تتحدر نواة هذه الشريحة من خلفية سياسية قريبةٍ تاريخياً من حزب الشعب الديمقراطي، أو ما كان يعرف باسم جماعة المكتب السياسي جناح رياض الترك، وصديقةٍ لحزب العمل الشيوعي، الحزب المعارض الذي تلقّى هو أيضاً ضربات موجعة بل وقاصمة في الثمانينات، والذي يتكون في أغلبيته من علويين مثقفين، يحملون درجات علمية عالية.

وتقف الشريحة الرابعة، المؤيدة للنظام، بالمرصاد لأي تحرك قد يخطر في ذهن أي شخص. وإذا كان البعثيون يترددون في ممارسة التشبيح على أبناء بلداتهم، والشيوعيون التقليديون يرعوون بفعل التفكك الفعلي لأحزابهم، فإن لدى القوميين السوريين عقيدة إيمانية تدفعهم إلى ممارسته.

تقول (جانيت.ف)، القومية السوريّة المتشددة: «هؤلاء الزعران يريدون تدمير سوريّة. لا أعرف كيف يوافق أهلهم على الخروج في التظاهرات كي يُقتَلوا». ثم تحاول أن تباغتني بسؤال، مشفوع بنظرة فاحصة، كأنما هو الضربة القاضية: «هل توافق على خروج ابنك أو بنتك إلى مثل هذه التظاهرات؟».

أجبتها: «هذا قراره. ولمَ لا يخرج في تظاهرة سلميّة إذا كان يطالب بالحرية والكرامة؟ ألا يفترض بالحكومة أن تحميه؟». فتصدمها مناظرتي وتقول: «ولكن ماذا يريدون؟ أية حرية وأية كرامة يتحدثون عنها؟ ألا ترى كيف كنّا نعيش بهناء».

يزورها أصدقاؤها مرات عديدة في الأسبوع، وتبادلهم الزيارة في الأيام الأخرى، حيث يتحلقون حول المتّة، يتناقشون ويتسامرون، يختلفون ويتفقون. منهم علويون ومنهم مسيحيون ومنهم سنّة ومنهم اسماعيليون، تنوع طائفي ليس مستغرباً على الإطلاق، ولا ينفرد فيه القوميون السوريون.

تسألني: «ماذا يريد هؤلاء؟ لدينا رئيس شاب رائع، لا نظير له في كل بلاد (الأعراب).. أرني دولة ديموقراطية واحدة من المحيط إلى الخليج… وانظر ما جرى في تونس ومصر، بل انظر إلى السلاح الذي تعرضه كل يوم قناة الدنيا».

– هل أفهم أنك كنت تؤيدين الرئيس مبارك والرئيس زين العابدين؟.

تنفجر في هذه اللحظة صارخة بوجهي: «أنت لا تفهم. الصهيونية أكلت عقولكم». وحين أسألها: «هل الصهيونية هي من أطاح مبارك؟». تنهض وتغادر المجلس.

اللقاء الصعب

تفهم من هنا وهناك أن القوميين السوريين ينظمون مسيرات تأييد للنظام. المنزل الواحد في هذه المناطق منقسم حيال الأزمة، الأخ يختلف مع أخيه، والزوجة مع زوجها، والجار مع جاره. لكن مسيرات التأييد لا تستثني أحداً ينبس ببنت شفة معارضةً.

إشارات على بيوت المعارضين تذكّر بالإشارات التي كان يضعها النازيون على بيوت المعارضين. تظاهرات أمام بيوت المعارضين تطالبهم بالخروج من المنزل والمواجهة. مداهمات للمحلات التجارية لتفقّد صور الرئيس.

في جلسة جمعت الكثيرين، كانت (ع.ط) صامتة. لكنّ ثمة لغة في العيون لم يكن من الصعب أن أفهم منها رغبتها في الحديث على انفراد. لكن كيف؟

صادفت ابنتها في اليوم التالي، فطلبتُ منها إبلاغ والدتها باستعدادي للقاء. أجابتني في اليوم الذي تلاه عن موعد ومكان آمن.

لكن سرعان ما اكتشفنا، رغم الانزواء في أحد المقاهي، أننا لن نستطيع التحدث بأكثر من حديث المجاملات عن أخبار العائلة والأصدقاء، مع تسريب معلومة هامسة هنا، وفكرة مكتومة هناك.

«أنا مع الثورة قلباً وقالباً، ولكن العين بصيرة واليد قصيرة. يؤسفني موقف الكنيسة، فأنا لا أفهمه وهو لا يمثلني. هنا في البلد لا أستطيع أن أتنفس. دمّروا محلات عديدة وأخاف على محلّي، فهو مصدر رزقنا الوحيد. توجد صورة للرئيس لصقها القوميون بالصمغ على واجهة محلّي. لا أستطيع إزالتها. كلما مسحــت الواجهــة حاولت قص ولو مليمترات منها».

ضحكتها كانت خليطاً من النضج والقلق والإيمان بأن لا طريق ثالث أمام السوريين، التخلّص من النظام أو الرضوخ له لعقود طويلة مقبلة: «زوبعتهم في فنجان… الله يخلّصنا». تختتم حديثها بهذا الدعاء، لتشعر بأن ثمة غصّة كبيرة، بل جرحاً ينزف ألماً من أبناء بلدها ورفقائها الذين كانت حتى وقت قريب تجتمع بهم في الحزب القومي السوريّ.

تداهمك غمامة لتلفّحك وأنت تتركها خارج الكافيتيريا، مدركاً أن ثمة الكثير مما يمكن ولا يمكن البوح به. أو ربما لم يحن وقت البوح به. فسوريّة الملبّدة بالغيوم ليست أمام زوبعة، بل ربما أمام إعصار قاس، يمتحن معدن أبنائها وصلابة ما يجمعهم، سواء كان فنجان قهوة صباحياً، أو كوب شاي عصرونياً، أو حلقة متّة مسائية. بيد أنه إعصار يمكنك التكهّن بأنه سينجب سوريّة جديدة، بعيدة كل البعد أن تكون مملكة للصمت.

link to the above article anout Syrio-Nazis

http://www.daralhayat.com/portalarticlendah/336244#.Tt32vJlSaKg

Mr. shami:

Today, you, who is claiming to be compatible with Western ideas and civilization, STILL consider Alawis to be infidels and probably you think the same about Druze, Ismailis, Yazidis…etc

Did you ever answer when you were asked if the Alawis or any of these groups are infidels or not?

Now you want to clown around and tell us that most Muslims are moderates: reality say otherwise because they were never moderate to begin with , and the word “moderate” or “moderation” was never in their dictionary or practice.

Sunnis are becoming more Wahabi Salafi because of the money that is put to promote this line of thinking. This is another fact.

Shia ,on the other hand, suffered a setback into religion with the triumph of the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Both, Sunni and Shia, went back to religion and far away from being moderate. This is a fact. So you can say with scientific certainty that Muslims today are moving away from “moderation,” or being “moderate.”

Al-Nur Salafi party in Egypt is a brand new party and it took almost as much as the Muslim Brotherhood that has a long history and deep organization. The Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt was able to win for now with this small margin because it has money and soon things are going to change especially if you have the money of Qatar and Saudia Arabia in the mix pouring to the Salafi Wahabis.

al-Nur is going to be on top especially if there is the money of Wahabi Qatar and Wahabi Saudia Arabia, Kuwait, Dar al-Turath al-Islami…etc all of those who has the money and spend it to “spread” Islam are no moderate so do not fool yourself and others.

Qatar and Saudia Arabia money are transferring Egypt in front of our eyes now to give al-Nur party (Salafi) %30 of the votes last week…who can argue against that?

Yes, there is a number of liberal Saudis, and people from the Gulf who got educated in the West and have liberal and secular ideas but what is their weight in their own country and do they dare calling for reforms? In your dreams.

I see no future in the area with the spread of Wahabi Salafi ideas, that is the force to reckon not the Muslim Brotherhood that is becoming less of an attraction to an angry religious crowd.

For this occasion I would like to share this article written by Nabil Fayyad:

كتب نبيل فياض تحت عنوان: ” مصر في سنة 2016″

مصر، يناير 2016 – صورة متخيلة!! وقف طارق البشري أمام المذيعة ” أم البنين ” المنقبة، والتي لا يظهر صوتها على طبيعته فالصوت عورة، ليعلن فوز حزب النور الإسلامي بتسعة وثمانين بالمئة من أصوات الناخبين. صاح الشيخ أبو منجل، وهو يشهر سيفه اللامع الجميل: الله أكبر! الله أكبر! لقد انتصرنا على الأخوان المسلمين. كان بضعة أقباط يت…دافعون إلى الحدود السودانية من أجل الحصول على تأشيرات سفر إلى أية دولة في العالم. صاح مينا بأخيه توما: ” لسه بعيدين عن الحدود؟ “. أجاب توما: ” حسب سرعة الحمير!! “. وكان حزب النور قد أصدر قراراً أخيراً بمنع كافة أنواع المركبات التي تعمل على البترول بمشتقاته من السير في شوارع مصر أو في سمائها أو مائها لأنها لم تكن موجودة زمن نبي الرحمة ( ص )! قال مينا: ” لسه في مسيحيين في الكفر؟ ” قال توما: ” إحنا آخر من بقي من المسيحيين في مصر. امبارحة حرق بتوع النور المكان اللي اتخبت فيه الست أم كاترين وبناتها جنب الفيوم “! صاح مينا: ” كيرياليسون !!”. في القاهرة التي صار اسمها الفسطاط، هرولت الداعية شمس البارودي، منقبة بالكامل، إلى بيت الفنانة السابقة، يسرى. كان البيت يحترق، ويسرى بداخله. صاحت الأخت الداعية: ” لماذا أحرقتم البيت وقتلتم صاحبته بعد ما تابت وتنقبت؟ “. رد الجمع الذكوري من حزب النور: ” اسكتي يا ساقطة! ألا تعرفين أن صوتك عورة؟ أنت طالما أغويتي الشباب المسلم المؤمن بافلامك الخليعة، يا صاحبة حمام الملاطيلي ! ” صاح صوت بعيد: ” اقتلوا الفاجرة !! “. من بعيد، أطل حسن يوسف مربكاً بلحيته الطويلة، وصاح بزوجته: ” شمس، اركبي الجواد خلفي قبل أن تطالك أيدي هؤلاء الغجر “! كان رأي الداعية العجوز، حسن يوسف، أن يسرى أخطأت في بقائها في الجمهورية الإسلامية بعد أن أعلن حزب النور الخلافة فيها. كان يجب أن تهاجر كما فعلت ليلى علوي، التي سافرت إلى أهل أمها في أثينا، أو هالة صدقي، التي لحقت بملايين الأقباط المصريين في كندا. مر جواد حسن يوسف من أمام مضارب البدو التي أقيمت لأهل سيناء محل متحف الانتكخانة الوثني الذي أحرقوه وأزالوه بالكامل. كان الوقت يقترب من المساء، والطقس بارد في الفسطاط. قالت شمس: ” ألا تعتقد أننا أخطأنا حين ساهمنا في نشر التطرف في مصر ؟” رد حسن: ” لا تقولي مصر!! ألا تعرفين أن حزب النور أصدر فرماناً بقطع لسان كل من يلفظ الاسم مصر أو يحكي باللغة غير الفصحى ؟”! اقترب الحصان من بيت حسن وزوجته. كانت شمس تبكي وهي تدوّر آلة توليد الكهرباء، فحزب النور ألغى الكهرباء لأنها بدعة! قال حسن: ” انتظري قليلاً. ما زال العسس في الطريق “! قال شمس: ” وماله! ح يقتلوني! خلاص! أنا عايزة أرجع بلدي الأصلي، عايزة أرجع سوريا !” صاح حسن ” تتكلمين بالعامية! حبيبتي! سيقطعون لسانك !” ردت شمس ضاحكة: ” تقول حبيبتي؟ ألا تعرف أن هذه الكلمة تعني 77 جلدة ؟” رد حسن: ” تضحكين؟ ألا تعرفين أن المرأة التي تضحك تعاقب بالكي على شفاهها؟ ” كان الداعية العجوز أحمد عدوية يسير قرب المقرئ الشيخ عمرو دياب! وكان الإثنان يبحثان عن حصان أو عربة سوداء تقلهما إلى شارع الصحابة، الهرم سابقاً. صاح الداعية الأسمر: ” عربة سوداء! عربة سوداء !” ركب الإثنان داخلها، وكان يقودها رجل كهل أشقر جميل المحيا، رغم الذقن الطويلة! صاح المقرئ: ” أنت فاروق الفيشاوي! صح؟ ” رد سائس الجياد بصوت متعب: ” صح! “. اقترب الجمع من الأهرامات التي أزيلت بتفجيرات شبه نووية. قال المقرئ عمرو دياب: ” لا أفهمهم يا أخي! يمنعون الماء والكهرباء والطيران والسيارات وكل ما لم يكن زمن نبي الرحمة، ولا يترددون للحظة عن استخدام الطاقة النووية في تدمير الأهرامات باعتبارها أوثاناً! كان صعيدي يجر جملاً منهكاً من كثرة الجوع، يتمتم: ” ربنا يقطع عيشهم! راحت السياحة والبلد ماتت! طب أعمل إيه!” في ساحة التحرير التي تحمل اليوم اسم طيبة المنورة، تزاحمت الصفوف لرؤية رجلين يرجمان بتهمة اللواط. همس عجوز من بين الجموع لصاحبه: ” وماذا سيفعل الناس؟ النساء صارت بضاعة نادرة، وما من مال أو طريقة لمغادرة البلد. ماذا سيفعل الناس ؟”. كان العسس قد بنوا حائطاً كبيراً للغاية من اللبن في وسط ساحة طيبة المنورة. أنزل الرجلين الملتحين – كان أحدهما أسمراً من الاسكندرية التي حول اسمها إلى العمرية، والثاني أشقر من الفسطاط – من العربة التي ركباها مقيدين، ووضعا بجانب الحائط الذي سيجري هده عليهما، تيمناً بسيدنا أبي بكر الصدّيق وما فعله مع مرتكبي اللواط. كان الرجلان يبكيان. قام العسس بدفعهما إلى جانب الحائط. فجأة، اقترب من الطرف الثاني لحائط اللبن منجنيق ضخم، وأسقط الحائط عليهما. من بعيد، كانت سهير البابلي، الفنانة السابقة الداعية الحالية، يتم ربط ساقيها، كل ساق بجمل، تيمناً بأم قرفة، وسط ساحة طيبة المنورة. قال الشيخ أبو منجل بصوت جهوري: ” أيها الجمع! لم تكتف هذه الفاجرة بما قدمته من أعمال أفسدت فيها شباب المسلمين! ها هي الآن تدعو إلى الله بالطريقة الصوفية! لا حل غير فسخها إلى نصفين !!” فجأة، ودون سابق إنذار، وبعد أن هدم السلفيون السد العالي لأنه أحد منجزات الإشتراكية الكافرة، علا منسوب النيل. هاجت الجماهير المؤمنة. اقترب طفل من قدمي سهير البابلي وفك عنهما الحبلين قبل أن يطلق العنان للجملين. كانت غادة عبد الرازق على قمة جبل المقطم، مع مجموعة من المعجبات والمعجبين، يشهدون القاهرة تغرق. صاحت غادة بفرح: ” آدي ربنا وآدي حكمته! “؛ رد معجب شاب: ” الله جاب الله خد!!”. غرقت مصر! وعادت الجميلة وصحبها يبنون بلاد النيل من البداية. صاحت غادة: ” لسه قدامنا كتير “! قالت جويل، إحدى الأديبات الصاعدات: ” لكن بالعمل ح نبني مصر الجديدة ؟. كان الجميع يغنون: ” ما شافش الأمل ف عيون الولاد وصبايا البلد “!

The American Ambassador , Ford is going back to Syria today.

Clinton to Syria opposition: Assad ouster not enough to ensure Democratic rule

In Geneva meeting, U.S. Secretary of State urges exiled leadership to advocate rule of law in the war-torn country, maintain rights of minority groups.

06.12.2011

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/clinton-to-syria-opposition-assad-ouster-not-enough-to-ensure-democratic-rule-1.399945

Syrians must not only remove President Bashar Assad but also advance towards the rule of law, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday.

“A democratic transition includes more than removing the Assad regime. It means setting Syria on the path of the rule of law and protecting the universal rights of all citizens regardless of sect or ethnicity or gender,” Clinton said as she began a meeting with Syrian opposition members in Geneva.

She said the opposition understood that Syrian minorities needed to be reassured that they would be better off “under a regime of tolerance and freedom.”

Clinton’s comments came after, earlier Tuesday, the official Syrian news agency SANA said Syrian border guards blocked an infiltration attempt from Turkey by about 35 “armed terrorists.”

SANA said some of those who came over the border were wounded and escaped back to Turkey where they received aid from the Turkish army.

The wounded were transported in Turkish military vehicles, SANA said.
Relations between Syria and Turkey have disintegrated since the government of President Bashar Assad began using force to suppress a popular revolt.

Turkey has said a buffer zone may be required on its 900-km border with Syria if the violence causes a mass exodus of Syrians fleeing the cities.

A rebel Free Syrian Army of defectors and Assad opponents is believed to be smuggling fighters and weapons into Syria from Turkey to launch attacks on Assad’s forces.

“The border guards forces suffered no injuries or losses. They warned they would stop anyone who even thinks of touching Syria’s security or its citizens,” SANA said.

Mjabali if your reference is this mediocre hater I think it s useless to debate .
Bronco,qaida and extremist Shias are peripherical forces they make noices and use exaggerated slogans but in the long term they are doomed ,and the future will show you that the Muslim vote will adapt with a decent level of rationality.

Norman, Bronco,
Mahatma Ford is bringing his assistant the french ambassador back too…they missed the Syrian egg salad!

سيعود السفير الفرنسي إريك شوفالييه الى دمشق اليوم بعدما تم استدعائه الى فرنسا للتشاور.

Hypocrisy at its highest, Hague is ‘shocked’ by the sectarian attacks against civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan but support it and fund it in Homs.
I wonder if Clinton comment (linked by Ann) today to the opposition “urges exiled leadership to advocate rule of law in the war-torn country, maintain rights of minority groups” has anything to do to what is happening in Homs.

هيغ: صدمنا من الهجمات الطائفية على المدنيين بالعراق وأفغانستان
أعلن وزير الخارجية البريطاني وليام هيغ أنه “صُدم من الهجمات الطائفية على المدنيين الأبرياء في العراق وأفغانستان”، مضيفا “حضرت مؤتمراً في بون تعهّد فيه المجتمع الدولي بالإلتزام بأفغانستان على المدى الطويل”.
وشدد على أن “هذا الإلتزام لن تقوّضه مثل هذه الأعمال الإرهابية”.

Mjabali,

Can you tell, Mr. Mjabali, what are the contributions/positive change that the Assads, who are SECULAR & ALAWITES, brought to Syria? and to the Alawites?

The support of the Alawites community was less than 30%.

Rather than spewing a few hateful paragraphs, you owe us an explanation, if I remember, you encouraged such kind of dialog. I hope you will not disappear without answering.

What is the use of Ambassador Ford return to Damascus  The opposition is already meeting with his boss, unless he is planning to engage Alawi officers to stage a coup or perhaps to establish a wider contact with the business class.  Both unlikely to happen as I am sure there is Mukhabarat shadowing every Army officer just in case..

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/clinton-meets-with-syrian-opposition-figures-discusses-plans-for-new-democratic-government/2011/12/06/gIQAWM6VZO_story.html

Clinton meets with Syrian opposition figures as US returns ambassador to Damascus

…….
“He will continue the work he was doing previously; namely, delivering the United States’ message to the people of Syria; providing reliable reporting on the situation on the ground; and engaging with the full spectrum of Syrian society on how to end the bloodshed and achieve a peaceful political transition,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.

“We believe his presence in the country is among the most effective ways to send the message that the United States stands with the people of Syria,” he said.

…….
In Geneva, Clinton told a group of seven Syrian pro-reform activists that she wanted to hear their plans to establish a new democratic government if they are successful in prying President Bashar Assad and his regime from power. Her invitation was a step short of endorsement, but a clear sign the US wants to work closely with those who might assume leadership roles.
 
“Obviously, a democratic transition is more than removing the Assad regime. It means setting Syria on the path of the rule of law,” Clinton told the activists who are all exiles in Europe and belong to the Syrian National Council, one of several umbrella groups for Assad foes.

(((…….
In Geneva, Clinton told a group of seven Syrian pro-reform activists that she wanted to hear their plans to establish a new democratic government if they are successful in prying President Bashar Assad and his regime from power. Her invitation was a step short of endorsement, but a clear sign the US wants to work closely with those who might assume leadership roles.

“Obviously, a democratic transition is more than removing the Assad regime. It means setting Syria on the path of the rule of law,” Clinton told the activists who are all exiles in Europe and belong to the Syrian National Council, one of several umbrella groups for Assad foes.))

I think that the US is having second thoughts about the opposition , so the US wants more clarification on where they are going to take Syria before supporting them,

the Syrian government , If it has a brain, will jump now and ask the American Ambassador help to transfer Syria to a system that matches the US ,

Hillary Clinton comments according to Haaretz:

“A democratic transition includes more than removing the Assad regime. It means setting Syria on the path of the rule of law and protecting the universal rights of all citizens regardless of sect or ethnicity or gender,” Clinton said as she began a meeting with Syrian opposition members in Geneva.

She said the opposition understood that Syrian minorities needed to be reassured that they would be better off “under a regime of tolerance and freedom.”

________________________________

Hillary Clinton comments according to the Washington Post:

“Obviously, a democratic transition is more than removing the Assad regime. It means setting Syria on the path of the rule of law,”

_______________________

Omitting most of what secretary of state “Hillary Clinton” said is not a problem for the Washington Post. Propaganda before the truth. Accountability at this publication was never one of their virtues.

It’s interesting that we still haven’t seen any suicide bombers in Syria if, as many of you claim, so many salafists and sunni extremists are involved.

Did Assad send them all to Iraq?

124. Mina,

Most sunnis (both arabs and kurds)in Iraq actually voted for secular parties, unlike the Iraqi Shias and the Arab Sunnis in other countries except Lebanon. Tribe seem to come before religion for them.

Iraqis themselves like to claim, I don’t know how accurate it is, that most of the sunni terrorists and extremists came/come from other countries such as Saudi, Libya and Syria.

The historian and journalist Patrick Seale is held in low esteem by me for his understanding of Syrian society today. He’s now around 80 years old and he’s out of touch with the spirit of the society and the younger adult generations. But some parts of his book published in year 1988 “Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East” are worth reading for history. Chapter 19 titled “The Enemy Within” is about the violent revolt in Syria in the late 1970s and early 1980s and it’s uncanny how those events, in Seale’s 1988 account, have parallels with the year 2011 events. That particular chapter of the book is readable online at http://books.google.com/books?id=Z_rlPwgezoUC&pg=PA316 . Most parts of Seale’s book are about Syria’s foreign policies, which I’m basically not interested in and I didn’t read those parts.

Syrian Christians fear for their lives as situation worsens

December 6, 2011

http://www.examiner.com/evangelical-in-national/syrian-christians-fear-for-their-lives-as-situation-worsens

All one has to do is listen to the evening news to find out that much of the world’s attention is focused on the Egyptian elections, and American troops withdrawing from Iraq. Along with that, the situation inside Syria is getting worse, especially for Christians. Open Doors USA says that an estimated 100 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with millions more facing discrimination and alienation.

The unrest inside Syria is caused by various reasons. Some of those opposing the government want more freedom from a mistrusted and oppressive regime, while some religious opposition groups want freedom to rule and spread their Muslim faith by force and violence.

Syrian Christians are afraid of what might happen to them in the future, and some Christians have already reported violent acts against them as a sign of more threats and violence to come. This violence is expected to worsen if fanatic Muslims take over or obtain more freedom and seek revenge against believers.

128. mjabali,

The “funny” thing is that because of these salafists/wahabbis, muslim brotherhood are nowadays considered “moderate” (!).

However, I think the only way to REAL secularism is not to ban the islamists parties. But instead allow them to be elected and rule, if that is what the majority wants. As people in Egypt (probably) will experience cruel religious oppression, they will slowly realise that mixing religion in politics is not really a great thing.

People in Iran under the Islamic republic are becoming less religious every day, while arabs living in so called “secular” countries like Egypt and Syria have just become more and more religious.

Extremists and fundamentalists are in a way the worst enemies of Islam (and religion in general). And I don’t see that as a bad thing…

Humanist
I was not talking of the Iraqi Sunnis but of the Iraqi Sunni TRIBES (asha’ir).
The suicide bombers are very busy in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Baghdad because it is Ashura season. You think security at the Iraqi border is not tight? Most suicide bombers in Iraq were originating from the Gulf, in the high peak of it, according to a report which is easy to find on Google.

Some picks from the Angry arab
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/12/04/v-print/132112/saudi-dissidents-turn-to-youtube.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-bomb-20111205,0,7550482.story

http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/27044

and this one from Angry Arab Blogspot too:
House of Saud promotes Rif`at Asad (brother-in-law of Saudi King–but who is not brother-in-law of Saudi king in the region?)
Watch this ridiculous interview with Rif`at Al-Asad on the news station of King Fahd’s brother-in-law (Al-Arabiyya). He claims that he committed no crimes in Syria and that he was a mere military lecturer. He was not asked about the PhD title that he used over the years.
http://www.alarabiya.net/programs/2011/12/02/180487.html

greedy
What’s the matter Syrio-Nazis, you only managed 9 dislikes. You are not feeling generous today.

By the way, the author of the article refers to strange rituals of admission into the party. I wonder if these rituals involve dead reptile gods, or are they merely copy-cat from your proclaimed arch-enemy, and ….alter-ego, the Free-Masons?, not that I buy your’s, the baathists, or the conspiracists blather about them.

Memo To: TARA

RE: “…What is the use of Ambassador Ford return to Damascus?…”

First, it would show that the USA is contemptuous of Besho, unafraid of his diminishing power. Secondly, if the Besho Boys killed Ambassador Ford (and they’re just stupid enough to do it), it would show the world that the Assadists are out of control. It’s all about out-insaning the lunatics, Tara…

The return to Damascus of the US Ambassador can only be interpreted as a “win” for the regime and a definite significant ” loss ” to the zionists/neocons and their supporters.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/nearly-60-killed-in-rare-attacks-on-afghan-shiites-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=8550&NewsCatID=353

Nearly 60 killed in rare attacks on Afghan Shiites
KABUL – The Associated Press

Shiites make up about 20 percent of Afghanistan’s 30 million people, most of them ethnic Hazaras.
…..
The Ministry of Interior said 55 were killed, including two women and four children. Sayed Kabir Amiri, who is in charge of Kabul hospitals said more than 160 wounded in the blast. He said casualties were taken to several hospitals and the toll could rise.

Religiously motivated attacks on Shiites are rare in Afghanistan although they are common in neighboring Pakistan. No group claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s blasts, reminiscent of the wave of sectarian attacks that shook Iraq during the height of the war there.
…..

“نصر الله: في هذه الأيام نستذكر مقتل الحسين وأهل بيته ظلما وعدوانا”
صدقت ولكن أين أنت من الشعب السوري الذي يقتله نظامك

As it looks like Putin could face serious problems with his latest election fraud.

“No one will stop us!”

Russian authorities have imposed the first jail sentences against opposition activists who had protested against the election results. In the evening there were still new demos and arrests – including ex-Deputy Prime Minister Nemtsov. He had previously told the ARD (German tv station), the government was afraid.

Stephan Laack, ARD radio studio Moscow

Several thousand people had gone to Moscow on the road. About 300 demonstrators following the demonstration were arrested. They had tried to go as close to the seat of the Central Election Commission.

Today in summary proceedings, the first prison sentences were imposed. Thus, the opposition politician Ilya Yashin was sentenced to 15 days in jail. Many others are still in police custody.

At the Moscow radio station Ekho Moskvy Andrei Isayev from the party United Russia, defended the arrests: Young people were running around on the road, no cars were allowed through – a traffic jam was created. “Some of these people struck it on the car and shouted slogans, which I would not comment,” he continued. “For me those are not approved demonstrations. I think that we see a mass unrest here.”

Special units put in place, government critics arrested

Today, the Interior Ministry special forces moved in strategic locations along the center of Moscow. There are reports of dozens of armored personnel carriers near the parliament building and along the major arterial roads. A spokesman for the readiness troops justified the use of: the population must be protected from acts of provocation.

For new protests against the outcome of the election in the evening more than 100 government critics were arrested, among them the chairman of the party Yabloko, Sergei Mitrokhin, and former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov.

The Russian opposition Boris Nemtsov was arrested in Moscow

Russian opposition Boris Nemtsov was arrested in Moscow shortly before Nemtsov had accused in an interview with ARD, the ruling party United Russia, massive electoral fraud. Million votes had been falsified. “Putin is also scared to death that no one he takes seriously and he does not automatically become the next president ” he said. “That’s why these repressive methods are applied.” This is also the reason why 300 people were arrested yesterday and today, the first sentences were imposed – for example, against Yashin.

“Those in power believe that the people should shut up,” criticized Nemtsov. “But no one can stop us, sooner or later Putin will go -. Russia will be free!

To reinforce the troops of the Interior Ministry, which, at least until the announcement of the official final results of the Duma election, remain in use, said Nemtsov: “They made in their pants and have an incredible fear of us and move in the direction of Lukashenko in Belarus. This repression is applied by them to keep their money and their power. ” But that will not help them.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin speaks to supporters of the Kremlin party United Russia Indirectly, Prime Minister Putin agreed on the protests of the past days. The United Russia party must take seriously the problems of the people and respond to violations of human rights, he said, in the presence of party members. If citizens come to them with their problems, especially everyday, such as housing, pensions or social issues, and the party members would see that the rights of citizens would be violated, “then you have to react quickly and committed.”

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov had seen earlier that the prime minister distanced himself from the ruling party, United Russia. Putin’s popularity can not be equated with those of the party. The Premier was never directly connected with the party. Therefore, he would be perceived as an independent politician.

Although Putin is nonmember of the party, but party leader of United Russia. A role so far he has always committed to play.

translated

http://tagesschau.de/ausland/demonstrationenrussland104.html

League action reflects regional rivalry
Arab Spring has done little to make the political institution assume a leadership role, despite Libya and Syria
By Ramzy Baroud, Special to Gulf NewsPublished: 00:00 December 7, 2011

http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/league-action-reflects-regional-rivalry-1.945123

According to various media commentators, the rapid Arab League mobilisation against Syria is proof of the organisation rising to an urgent collective responsibility against impending dangers. However, such an assumption is either misguided or misconstrued.
The so-called Arab Spring has largely been credited for the League’s actions. While the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen have indeed introduced a new factor — the people — that will affect any future political trends in Arab and Middle Eastern countries, it is misleading to claim that the League has been empowered by such a collective movement.
The ability to champion decipherable foreign policy shifts could only follow fundamental shifts in the political attitudes of such consequential member states as Egypt, which, frankly, are yet to take place.
While the League’s new-found power might not be a reflection of a genuine desire to assume a leadership role, it is at least a fretful response to the court of Arab public opinion. “Gone are the days when Arab leaders could act with total disregard for their people’s opinions,” wrote Robert M. Danin, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “Public opinion throughout the Arab world resoundingly disapproved of Gaddafi’s behaviour, and now of [Bashar] Al Assad’s. This sentiment is motivating Arab leaders to respond to their people’s anger, through the Arab League” 

But why are such enthusiastic actions confined to Libya and Syria, which have been decidedly demonised by western powers? Surely Danin realises that Arab popular opinion is not exclusively focused on these two nations. Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi was hardly on Arab public opinion radar, and few seemed concerned with Al Assad’s domestic policies before his regime’s crackdown on protesters. The latter had, in fact, garnered many fans throughout Arab countries owing to his support of the Hezbollah, which has twice defeated Israeli military designs in south Lebanon. 

Strategy
A quick overview of history may be useful here.
The League, since it was founded in 1945 by merely six Arab countries, shifted its allegiance to any centre of power that happened to dominate the Arab world. When Egyptian president Jamal Abdul Nasser sat on the throne of Arab nationalism, the League seemed anti-colonial to the core, locking horns with the most powerful western countries on behalf of Arab nations seeking independence.
Palestine became the rallying cry of Arabs, as League members didn’t hesitate to use military and economic might to help Palestinians achieve freedom.
When Egypt’s far less popular president Anwar Sadat signed the Camp David agreement with Israel in 1978, the League still possessed a semblance of resolve. League members rejected both Sadat and his undemocratic initiative, which disjointed the ‘Arab front’ and once again shifted the centre of power elsewhere.
In later years, the League became devoid of any real value as a political institution. Its overriding political objectives — of unity and economic integration — faded into oblivion.
The League’s response to Libya and Syria cannot be explained by the Arab Spring, but there are some other signs that point to an explanation. A major clue can be found in the League Summit held in Damascus on March 29, 2008, which reflected the deep chasm dividing the Arabs.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia sent low-level representatives to attend the conference, while others boycotted the summit altogether. Points of contention between competing Arab camps included Syria’s role in Lebanon and Iran’s influence in the region. Al Assad, who saw his country as the engine that would steer the Arab fold back to its days of glory under Nasser, had, more or less, a free podium to present a new vision of the Arab world.
Gaddafi, on the other hand, had one of his freest platforms to express ideas almost never communicated on a stage defined by tedious formalities and little action.
In addition to criticising the Arabs for doing nothing as the US invaded and destroyed Iraq, Gaddafi asked:  “Where is the Arabs’ dignity, their future, their very existence? Everything has disappeared … Our blood and our language may be one, but there is nothing that can unite us … We hate each other, we wish ill of each other and our intelligence services conspire against each other. We are our own enemy” (as reported by Al Jazeera and cited by Bridget Johnson in About.com).
Gaddafi, no saint by any standard, paid heavily for his intransigence — with a Nato war coupled by enthusiastic League approval and participation. No surprises here. Al Assad, whose crackdown on Syrian protesters has been harrowing to say the least, is also facing the wrath of the League.
Interestingly, aside from its response to Syria and Libya, the League still remains as irrelevant as ever. For example, on November 29, the UN-designated International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, the League’s Secretary-General Nabeel Al Arabi said: “Israel’s disregard for international law, public opinion and human rights conventions is far beyond all limits” (Middle East Monitor. December 1). True, but this indignation remains confined to press releases and fiery statements. If ‘Arab public opinion’ was indeed of much concern, the League would have pushed the issue of Palestine with all of its might and resources.
The fact is, the activation of the League will not endure. It is a temporary renewal aimed at realising regional policies, punishing or isolating old foes, and ultimately redrawing the centres of powers in the region. This largely resembles its behaviour following the second Gulf war in 1990-91.
The so-called Arab Spring has really done little to truly revolutionise the political institution, which continues to tread between its members’ own political ambitions and outside influences and pressures.
 
Ramzy Baroud is an internationally-syndicated columnist and the editor of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story.

51. DARRYL said:

” My Ancestors have passed stories where Turkish soldiers would walk up to a pregnant woman and tear the baby out of her stomach with a knife, Alawites would be placed on a Khazouq”

Your ancestors were obviously liars, or perhaps your parenst invented those stories themselves.

Similar to the Christian priest of Damour in Lebanon, at the time of the notorious “Damour Massacre” during the Civil War ( I am sure you have heard about this incident); who claimed that the PLO fighters and other Palestinians were shouting “let us offer a holocaust to Muhammad” and that the Palestinians were castrating Christian men and stuffing their penises in their mouths. Do you believe all this ? If you don’t, then you shouldn’t those incredulous stories as well.
Syrian and Lebanese Christians are experts in making up stories.

video of the 8 members of the Shwierati family massacred by Alawi militia and dumped in Zahra Homs yesterday:

Ghat Al Bird and co.,

Don’t you realise: IF B. Assad really was a threat to Israel, he would have be gone long ago – or rather: he wouldn’t even have become president because his father would have been gone even longer ago…

The “zionists/neocons” won’t attack a country that neither has enough oil or is considered a REAL threat to Israel (=Syria).

Saddam’s Iraq was (probably) attacked for both reasons and
an attack against Iran is also likely for both reasons.

Assad’s Syria, on the other hand, is a poor and weak country in the american and israeli eyes (and surely in the rest of the world too). So no one could really care about the “humanitarian” situation there they talk about so much…

And I don’t see how the return of the american ambassador could be considered a “win” for the Syrian regime against “zionists/neocons”. But then I guess the common definition of victory is radically different from the Assadist one…

NEWFOLDER, lest hope retribution from the Al Farouq Battallion of the FSA is swift and brutal. I hope they burn down Hadara. Nusayris should now REALLY be placed on the Khazouq.

@ Dale Andersen

I don’t think the US administration would be sending their ambassador as bait, probably has more to do with the meeting Hillary had with the SNC today. We have been hearing of a Russian/American plan for the Assad clan to leave, this could be the start of it. AL leagues sudden silence is head scratching as well.

#153 there will be retribution and counter retribution from both sides, Homs is like Beirut in the civil war. Divided and in open sectarian conflict. This situation was brought on by Assad ordering his forces and militia to slaughter innocent protesters, they had no choice but to fight back, and then it escalated into a civil war. Bashar and his regime have the blood of many thousands of Syrians on their hands, and many thousands more until they leave.

http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2011/12/06/us-gangsterism-actually-reinforces-latin-american-unity.html

US Gangsterism Actually Reinforces Latin American Unity
Nil NIKANDROV | 06.12.2011 | 00:00

Judging by the coverage provided by Western media, especially in the US, they were under an impression that the establishment of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) ranked essentially as background news. Reporting from Caracas, where a forum of 33 presidents and premiers of the region’s countries convened on December 2-3, was deliberately minimalistic, with emotions surfacing only in connection with the health problems of Venezuelan leader H. Chavez, who hosted the summit. In fact, he made it clear a number of times that he had coped with them and is ready to take charge for a couple of decades to come, but the Empire, with its permanent reliance on disinformation campaigns, does not seem to hear.

Yet, the summit left no chance to the notorious Monroe doctrine which only recently promised to live on as long as the US stays in place. Back in 2008, Chavez called the US Administration to scrap the Monroe doctrine introduced by US fifth President J. Monroe and implied that the US would not interfere with European colonies but would in return insulate the Western Hemisphere from European colonization attempts. Chavez reiterates in every contact with the US media that Washington should drop the doctrine and cites US third President T. Jefferson’s statement that the US would one by one absorb all the republics south of it as evidence of the US imperial nature.

Tighter Latin American integration willed by the continent’s liberator Simon Bolivar was a recurrent theme during the Caracas forum. Bolivar said in 1828 that, paradoxically, the US was destined to saw poverty across Latin America in the name of freedom. Right, left, and centrist Latin American leaders alike made frequent references to the concept in Caracas. Washington’s aggressive foreign policies evoke explainable concerns in the countries south of Rio Grande. The Empire constantly uses raw power to implement its strategic and geopolitical designs, meddles on fake pretexts in the affairs of sovereign states, and routinely organizes plots with the purpose of killing defiant politicians. Now that the Pentagon got bogged down in Asia and Africa, illusions may rise that the Empire lost interest in Latin America, though actually the US subversive activities against it never came to a halt. Washington’s most serious efforts were focused on identifying strategic targets in Brazil, Venezuela, and Cuba, but the US allies like Columbia, Chile, and Mexico should not feel immune either. Today’s allies may be tomorrow’s foes and are similarly subject to surveillance and oversight.

Raul Castro urged the forum participants to be more muscular in countering external attempts to destabilize the situation in the region. He stressed that Washington would not be allowed to treat Latin America as it used to when it imposed on the continent’s peoples unfair development models and subdued them. Castro spoke of the decades of the ruthless US economic blockade against Cuba, which he described as one of the worst crimes against humanity in history. He said that, similarly, the US campaigns in Libya and other countries were international crimes which, moreover, threatened to become a norm given the shameful UN inaction.

Quite a few watchers interpreted the establishment of CELAC as the Latin American countries’ “historical revenge”. Since 1948, all of them were members of the US-engineered Organization of American States which the Empire routinely employed to reign – by repressions, tortures, and mass killings – in defiant countries like Guatemala, Nicaragua, Grenada, Panama, or Chile. The torture programs put together in the School of Americas are still in use in the countries politically aligned with the US.

It is worth noting that the list of presidents “punished” by Washington includes both left and right politicians. The list of the slain left – Columbia’s J. Gaitan, Chili’s S. Allende, Panama’s O. Torrijos – is almost endless. Panama’s M. Noriega, though, was by all means a rightist and still ended up treated harshly by Washington. He loyally helped the US supply arms to Central American contras, but was put behind bars by Washington over cocaine business once no longer needed. Noriega made it difficult for the US DEA to monopolize cocaine supplies from Columbia via Panama to the US. Former Columbian president A. Uribe is a potential next target. Uribe was instrumental in organizing the paramilitary formations which launched bloody raids against insurgents. Trying to remain useful to his US patrons, afterwards he instigated campaigns against populist regimes, relaying Washington’s invectives against H. Chavez, C. Correa, and E. Morales. As many times before, betting on the US gratitude to “its own son of a bitch” did prove an ill-conceived tactic in Uribe’s case.

Washington fairly often pressed for sanctions against defiant regimes in the Organization of American States. No doubt Chavez has been drawing Washington’s ire more than any other Latin American political figure in the recent past. The Venezuelan leader spearheaded an OPEC reform which set fairer energy prices and therefore could not but anger the US, staunchly advanced Latin American integration, and, with Russia’s and China’s backing, started a rearmament of the Venezuelan military. Chavez slams the Organization of American States – an obsolete, inefficient, and hostile formation, in his words – over its pro-US orientation and de facto support for the blockade imposed on Cuba. Chavez and his Ecuadoran, Bolivian, and Nicaraguan allies call into question the ability of the Organization of American States to sustain a sensible reform and hold that a withdrawal from the malfunctioning alliance might be the optimal solution.

It is clear that regional security will be climbing higher on the CELAC agenda. Privately, Latin American leaders discuss at length the potential impact the socioeconomic instability in the US may have, especially in the wider settings of the current global crisis. As of today, the wars waged by Washington are of an openly gangster type, the undisguised objective being to completely undermine the existing global configuration in the interests of Pax Americana. As a result, the Empire’s strategic priority is to maximally neutralize alternative centers of power. Chavez maintains that absent a permanent state of war the Empire’s chances to stay afloat are slim: the US economy will face an even deeper crisis unless the country’s bloated military-industrial complex perpetually gets a full workload. The recent US attack on the nuclear-armed Pakistan’s checkpoints sent to the world an ominous message as the motives of the Pentagon planners remained obscure. Chavez believes that Washington faces a dilemma of choosing between a nuclear war and a total evaporation of its global might by the middle of the XXI century.

It is impossible at the moment to predict which exactly forms the dismantling of the Empire will take, but its domestic politics already appears to be ready to explode with protests. In particular, the US elites are afraid of the thousands of veterans of the Iraqi and Afghan campaigns. The media abound with veterans’ suicide reports but say nothing about the readiness of many of these people to seek revenge for the lost years of their lives, the deaths of their peers, and the collapse of their ideals. This new type of a terrorist threat is brewing in America’s disadvantaged suburbia, waiting to be unlocked by the crisis. The US elites hope to par the challenge based on the myth of a new external source of peril. The role used to be given to Al Qaeda, while today’s US enemy is Syria where the administration suppresses protests which are actually staged by the agents of the CIA and the Israeli, British, and French intelligence services, plus Iran, the country showered with allegations of building a nuclear arsenal for a snap attack against the West.

Chilean poet and 1945 Nobel Prize winner Gabriela Mistral said that, in addition to their beautiful language, Latin Americans are, more than by anything else, united by the hate for the US. Regardless of how many things have changed since the epoch in which she coined the phrase, the hate is still there and growing stronger, being one of the reasons which make the CELAC rock-solid.

http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2011/12/06/anti-regime-protest-held-in-saudi-arabia.html

Anti-regime protest held in Saudi Arabia
News | 06.12.2011 | 16:56

Saudi Arabian demonstrators have taken to the streets in oil-rich Eastern Province to condemn the killing of five protesters two weeks ago, witnesses say.

Protesters on Monday held placards bearing the pictures of those killed by Saudi forces in the city of Qatif.

Demonstrators also took to the streets in nearby towns and villages including Awamiyah, shouting slogans against the ruling Al Saud family.

Meanwhile, activists said military vehicles have surrounded some villages and parts of Qatif.

Last month, Saudi regime forces opened fire on thousands of anti-regime protesters and killed five people.

Saudi demonstrators criticize “systematic discrimination” in the kingdom, saying they are targeted for demanding more freedom and equality.

Amnesty International accuses Saudi authorities of arresting hundreds of people for demanding political and social reforms, and calling for the release of their relatives who have been detained without being charged or tried.

Saudi authorities banned public gatherings on March 5 after demonstrations were held in Eastern Province.

More than 300 people have been detained for taking part in peaceful demonstrations in the cities of Qatif, Ahsa and Awamiyah in the Eastern Province since March, Amnesty says.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/214095.html
‘US turns CIA into Israel’s servant’
Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah says the Obama administration has turned the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) into a servant of Israel.
Addressing a gathering of his supporters in the southern suburbs of Beirut on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (PBUH) – the third Shia Imam – on Tuesday, the Hezbollah leader said CIA agents have become “spies” in the service of Zionist intelligence agencies.
He cautioned all Muslims and “political forces” across the world to be aware of the US tricks, describing Washington and Tel Aviv as the real threats to the Islamic Ummah.
Nasrallah also held Israel accountable for the pain and suffering of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
He noted that Israel is a tool in the hands of the US administration to steal oil and other resources in the Middle East.
Nasrallah went on to say that his public appearance was a message to those who think they can threaten Hezbollah, adding that those who want to terrorize the Lebanese people should know that Hezbollah members are the “companions of Imam Hussein (PBUH).”
Nasrallah spoke to the crowd of thousands for several minutes before leaving to continue his speech via video link.

كلينتون والمعارضة
من جهتها قالت وزيرة الخارجية الأميركية هيلاري كلينتون اليوم الثلاثاء إن السوريين ينبغي ألا يكتفوا بإبعاد الرئيس بشار الأسد، وإنما عليهم أن يمضوا قدما أيضا في اتجاه حكم القانون.

وأضافت في مستهل اجتماع مع أعضاء بالمعارضة السورية في جنيف “يتضمن الانتقال الديمقراطي أكثر من إزالة نظام الأسد، إنه يعني وضع سوريا على طريق حكم القانون وحماية الحقوق العالمية لكل المواطنين بغض النظر عن الطائفة أو العرق أو النوع”.

كلينتون قالت إن الانتقال للديمقراطية يتضمن أكثر من إزالة الأسد (الفرنسية-أرشيف)

وقالت إن المعارضة تدرك أن الأقليات السورية بحاجة لطمأنتها إلى أنها ستكون أفضل حالا في ظل نظام من التسامح والحرية
Translation: the US is not ready to recognize the SNC yet and wants to see a political program that meets international standards and norms.

The Arab league silence is indeed strange. From one deadline to another within 24 hour then complete silence… Aljazeera is silent too. No attempt to contact Hamad or al Arabi for comments. What are they mulling over? It is simple. They either accept the modifications or decline. If a NFZ is on the near horizon, Ambassador Ford would not have been permitted to return as his safety can not be guaranteed.

Norman

Ford is back?

Strangely when everybody is talking about the dangerous escalation of civil war in Syria, when the US has asked its citizens to urgently leave on the first commercial flight, Heckle is coming back, suddenly not worried about his security. Contrary to the Russian ambassador to Qatar who got beaten by the “charming” Qataris at Doha Airport, Heckle may just receive few more eggs and tomatoes but now he probably wears an anti-eggs vest prepared specially for him by the Pentagon.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/290025.html
05/12/2011
Russian-Chinese draft resolution on Syria ready, open to suggestions – FM
MOSCOW, December 5 (Itar-Tass) —— A Russian-Chinese draft resolution on Syria is ready and Moscow is open to alternative suggestions, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said.
“Discussions on Syria continue in the U.N. Security Council all the time and we keep our draft at hand. We are actualising it constantly,” Bogdanov told Itar-Tass on Monday, December 5.
He noted that Security Council partners “are aware of the draft”.
Russia “is ready to work on its basis and discuss all other alternative suggestions”, he added.
Events in Syria are a matter of concern to Moscow “for good reasons”: “people are dying on all sides. Unfortunately, there is violence on all sides as well. But it’s a fact that people die every day,” the diplomat said.
“Something must be done, and Russia is exerting real efforts in order to solve problems constructively, including in the Security Council,” he said.
The Russian-Chinese draft resolution is ready and if Security Council partners wish to work on it, “we do not object and are ready for such work”, Bogdanov said.
At the same time, Russia hopes that the Syrian problem will be solved within the “Arab family” without turning to the U.N. Security Council.
“If the Syrians themselves as one of the LAS [League of Arab States] founders and their Arab brothers agree on how to tackle [the problem], that would be the best solution,” the diplomat said.

Bronco

What is your reading? Why is Ford back and the AL silent?

Do they use organic eggs in Syria supplemented with DHA?

Also, why do the French and the American Amassadors leave at the same time and return at the same time? Are they friendly?

Syria can keep Imad Mustafa though. We don’t want to have him here.

Tara #160

The Arab league is stuck. Most Arab countries privately oppose the sanctions that would punish them more than they would punish the Syrian government. The AL thought that these sanctions would frighten off Syria. Obviously they don’t know the Syrians, proud, stubborn and inflexible.
Turkey is increasingly worried about the sanctions impact on its economy and the internal opposition to his Syria policy is starting to become vocal. In addition there are signs that Turkey is getting ready for a reconciliation with Israel.
The SNC got another tap on the back from Clinton with a vague appointment to finally see the after-Bashar plan. Ghalioun is busy making academic interview full of faux-pas to boost his ego and he just produces air. The FSA, supposedly allied with the SNC is continuing its attacks on the syrian regular army. They are now qualified as a terrorist organization and no one will blame the Syrian government to treat them as such.
The whole buildup of Turkish sponsored opposition is crumbling and falling apart. The US is now stepping in. They have lost hope in the SNC.
In my view, Ford is back to evaluate if it is worthwhile for the US to boost the local opposition instead of the SNC so it takes a major role in the dialog with the government. This is done in conjunction with the AL who got discouraged by the arrogance of the SNC and its lack of compromises that failed the promised “unity” with the NCC.
More episodes in the saga in the next few weeks..

Ford and Chevalier are Heckle and Jeckle, what do you expect?

Memo To: GHAT Al BIRDINSKY

RE: “…US Ambassador can only be interpreted as a “win” for the regime…”

Dream on, you garlic-eating little dummy. There’s no way in hell Besho would let an unpredictable, loose-cannon like Bob Ford back in the country. The plain fact is, Besho hasn’t the power to keep him out. And Barack Obama knows it.

This is gonna be a fucking hoot! The minute Ford gets back, he’s gonna drive into Homs and light up the town. The town will rock!

Stay tuned…

Report from Homs:

We heard a lot of this priest, today he is saying that Aljazeera and the French media twisted his words to make him sound as a fierce opposition who is calling for violence instead of peace:

التباسات وتوضيحات – االأب باولو دالوليو
السلام لكل محبي سوريا وبعد،

هناك نقاش في البلد حول استخدام وسائل الإعلام بطريقة مؤيدة أو معارضة، مع الادّعاء بالموضوعية المطلقة من كِلي الطرفين.

هذا لا يساعد بلداً يحتاج لخلق ميدان للتفاوض الشفاف الصريح في سبيل وضع أرضية للوفاق الدستوري الضامن الوحدة الوطنية و الذي يشكل الشرط لممارسة الديمقراطية في مجتمع تعددي ومركـّب كالمجتمع السوري.

“حرية الصحافة لها عيوب كثيرة، وعدم حرية الصحافة لها كل العيوب!” أما اليوم وللأسف، لا يوجد في الميدان من يمارس خدمة حرية الصحافة، بل يوجد من يستخدم تكنولوجيا الميديا للإرشادات المذهبية والأكاذيب المصطـَفـّة والتخندُق الإعلامي.

وكما يقال: ” اسأل مجرب ولا تسأل حكيم” .

ألقيت يوم أمس الخميس 1/12/2011 بضع كلمات عبر اتصال هاتفي مع قناة الجزيرة أثناء نشرة أخبار في الساعة 2:00 عصراً بتوقيت سوريا، وانتقدتُ صراحة ً المصارعة الإعلامية التي تخدم هلاك وطننا وتدمير وحدته، وهذا في جملة ما قـُلتـُه للقناة من نداءٍ للمصالحة عبر التفاوض وحرية الصحافة.

في هذا النطاق، نعم، أشرتُ إلى ضرورة حماية المدنيين واستخدمت مصطلح “مناطق آمنة” ـ لا سيما المستشفيات والحرم الجامعي ـ فبنظري لا بدّ من المحافظة على إنسانية كل مواطن، وكرامة الميدان الأكاديمي بإبعاد التصادم العنيف عن قدس أقداس الإنسانية. فهذا لا يحتاج إلى تدخل خارجي ولا يحتاج لحماية من الجوّ ولا يحتاج لمناطق عازلة، بل يكفي أن تطلب سوريا حضور منظمات إنسانية سلمية لا عنفية تاتي لتساهم مع هذا الشعب الكريم،عبر حماية المواطنين على كافة انتماءاتهم، في بناء المجتمع التعددي الديمقراطي الناضج الذي تشتاق إليه ـ حسب ما أرى ـ الأغلبية الساحقة من المواطنين.

وما الذي حصل ؟!

في التقرير الإخباري اللاحق للجزيرة، التـُقطـَت جملةٌ واحدة مما قلت، لكي يُجعل من الأب باولو ـ الراهب المسالم ورسول المصالحة والتفاهم والحوار ـ رجلاً مصطفاً ينادي بدعم الكفاح المسلح في البلد.

فأنا أقول هنا للإعلام المشوِّه من أي جهة وتمويل كان: إن القنوات الخاصة بالأطراف المتنازعة لها حق أن تصطـَف، لكن للمواطن الحق بالحصول على شيء من خدمةٍ إعلاميةٍ منصِفة ونزيهة في سبيل دعم شفافية المجتمع.

كم استغربت أيضًا عندما قرأت الترجمة العربية لما قلته لجريدة كاثوليكية فرنسية اسمها “الصليب | لوكروا “، وهي أهم جريدة مسيحية فرنسية، وشككت حينها بإخلاص المترجم، لأكتشف أنني ظلمتهُ بشكـِّي، فمن شوَّهَ أقوالي، لربما بنية غير سيئة، كان الصحفي الفرنسي.

بالواقع كنت قد ألقيت بعض الجمل بمقابلة مسجلة عبر اتصال هاتفي باللغة الفرنسية، و”الشاب الطيب” قد ترجمها إلى فرنسيته مبسِّطاً الأمور بحسب رغبته بأن يدغدغ مسامع القراء الفرنسيين، وأعارني لغة ً معارضة ً بشراسة، حتى أن النص الفرنسي للمقابلة أصبح متناقضاً جداً بين أقوالي التي تنادي إلى التوافقية وإلى التفاوض وإلى المصالحة وإلى اللاعنف، وبين أقوال ٍ أخرى يبدو انها خرجت من معارض ٍ متشدد.

“الله يسامحك” أيها الصحافي الفرنسي وقد وثـِقتُ بك لاسم جريدتك “الصليب”، و “الله يسامحني أنا” لعدم مراجعتي للمقابلة قبل نشرها.

وفي الختام “لا يحميك من عيوب الصحافة الحرة سوى الصحافة الحرة وتعدديتها”.

فلستُ نادماً على ما حصل، بل أطلب المزيد من الفرص لي ولغيري للنقاش والحوار الهادئ المنفتح المصغي، أرضية ً وأساساً لبناء التفاهم الوطني والإقليمي، لا بل العالمي، والذي يضمن مستقبلنا، مستقبل الشباب الرائع الذي يدفع بحياته مطالباً بالحرية الناضجة مع الحفاظ على الوطن.

إني مستعد لأي مقابلة مع قنوات وطنية وعربية وأجنبية، في سبيل تقدم النقاش البنـَّاء، بَيْدَ أنني حالياً أرغب بتهدئة الجو والانسحاب من الخوض بالتحليل السياسي، لأن لي واجباً غالياً وجوهرياً في هذا الوطن، هو واجبٌ ديني وروحي، يطالبني به الكثيرون، لذلك “أفضل الصمت الملتزم داخل البلد، على الكلام اللامسؤول في المنفى”

والسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

االأب باولو دالوليو

ررئيس دير مار موسى الحبشي في النبك

For the Hamsters that talk to the wall and in love with Nazi:

http://surrenderingislam.com/surrendering-islam/muslim-brotherhood

MEMO TO: BRONCO BILLY, BESHO’S FAVORITE BUTTBOY

RE: “…Heckle is coming back, suddenly not worried about his security…”

Heckle never worried about his safety. That’s why Obama sent him to Syria. Do you think they didn’t know Besho’s thugs would try to make trouble? Obama’s not stupid, Dude.

When you’re dealing with a warm turd like Bashar all-Assad, you send someone who basically doesn’t give a shit. Someone like Heckle. And you tell him to do stuff that will piss off the dictator.

Looks like he pissed you off, too, Bronco Billy. By the way, have you stopped by the local al-Mukhabarat office to get your monthly paycheck? Better hurry. I hear the Syrian currency is losing value fasssssssstttttt…

http://playwrighter.blogspot.com/2011/06/stuck-in-damascus-with-memphis-blues.html

the massacres against civilian Shia in two countries,Iraq and Afghanistan,who were just celebrating Ashoraa is a testament about the nature of Talibani-Takfiri Islam that is invading muslim communities. Who needs enemies with friends like these ?

A BREAKTHROUGH?

Arab League hopeful over Syria road map

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News December/06/2011

A senior Arab League official heralds a coming deal with Syria to end violence, signaling that the accord may keep the al-Assad regime in power
The Arab League is close to signing a road map with Syria that could end the turmoil in the country, an official from the regional bloc has said, adding that the union could also lift sanctions against Damascus if it agrees to the deal.

“Syria is close to signing the agreement soon,” Mohammed Ibrahim al-Tuwaijri, the assistant secretary-general for economic affairs at the Arab League, told the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday on the sidelines of the Turkey Arab Industrial Cooperation Conference in Istanbul.

“There are some positive feelings from Syrian government that they are willing to sign the protocol and put an end to all the unrest in the country,” said Tuwaijri, adding that the league “might consider” dropping sanctions if Damascus signs the protocol.

The league’s deadline for Syria to respond to its demand to admit observers or face additional sanctions expired at midnight on Dec. 6. “We hope that there will be no foreign intervention in Syria” and that it will stabilize, Tuwaijri said.

Damascus is currently negotiating with the Arab League for the suspension of the sanctions against the country in return for allowing international observers into Syria, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported yesterday.

“We have some positive results from the talks between Syrian officials and foreign ministers of Arab states,” said Tuwaijri, adding that stability and security in the country could soon be re-established via the league.

Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad might still remain in power by signing the protocol and implementing reforms, Tuwaijri said. “They would probably implement the reforms within the government.”
High-ranking figures in the league, however, seemed to contradict Tuwaijri’s words. “The response will not lead to suspending Arab sanctions on Syria,” Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi was quoted as saying by Al Arabiya News.

Tuwaijri said talks between the league members’ foreign ministers and Syrian officials were still continuing yesterday afternoon.

Possible common market

Tuwaijri also said Arab states were working on establishing a common market by 2020 that could include Turkey.

The official also said Turkey was playing a key role in the current talks with Syria.

On Dec. 3, the league imposed a raft of sanctions on Syria, including measure to freeze the assets of 19 Syrian officials, ban their travel and reduce flights to Syria if Damascus refuses to admit international monitors, release political prisoners and end its crackdown on protesters.

Ankara has also implemented sanctions against Syria, including measures to freeze state assets, suspend ties with its Central Bank and ban all military sales to the country.

December/06/2011

To Syria Comment moderator:

We have a participant here who with regularity makes sexually insulting comments directed at other participants. It is gross and brings the forum to the gutter level of the participant. See:

170. Dale Andersensaid:

MEMO TO: BRONCO BILLY, BESHO’S FAVORITE BUTTBOY

Is there something moderation can do about this situation?

#170 Dale andersen

“Syrian currency is losing value fasssssssstttttt…”

The sheckel too… , oh sorry the Mossad pays in dollars!

Zoo,
“A BREAKTHROUGH?”
I don’t think so, it’s the same media trick they did last month before the AL rejected the first Syrian offer.
Something suspicious is happening behind doors.

JNA

Send a email to Camille with a copy of the indecent comment. His email is on the top right of the page.
I agree that this commenter probably lives in a sewage.

#175 Jad

This is the first time it is mentioned that Bashar will stay on for the dialog on the reforms. Very surprising.
Maybe you are right, it is just a false and misleading leak.

There will be no “no fly zone” in the near future,and no direct military intervention in Syria. NATO and the Goat gang decided to attack Iran and Syria from the inside and via sanctions.
The mysterious “incidents” in Iran since last year and the assassination of nuclear scientists are part of this war which also includes espionage,like the US drone lost over Iran and the famous computer virus that did a lot of damage last year.
Syria is paying the price for a failed corrupt leadership and a costly alliance with Iran. If fighting factions actually agree to talk and form a national unity government,dictatorship will be gone and relations with Iran will receive a make-over,not a total remake Ghalioun-style.

حوالي أربعين مسلحا حاولوا التسلل لتفخيح ” نفق سكة الحديد في بداما” ، و طابور الشاحنات التركية بلغ طوله اليوم 5 كم في منطقة باب الهوى!؟

استانبول ، الحقيقة ( خاص من : نادرة مطر + مكتب التحرير): اتضح نهار اليوم مزيد من التفاصيل حول الاشتباكات التي دارت بعد منتصف الليلة الماضية بين عشرات المسلحين التابعين لما يسمى “الجيش السوري الحر” وقوات “حرس الحدود السورية” في الوديان الواقعة بين بلدة “بداما” السورية ( التابعة لمنطقة جسر الشغور) و بلدة ” يلداغي” التركية في إقليم هاتاي( لواء اسكندرونة المحتل). وقالت مصادر تركية في “يلداغي” لـ”الحقيقة” إن قرابة الأربعين مسلحا حاولوا التسلل ” بهدف نسف نفق سكة الحديد” الواقع على بعد حوالي 1 كم إلى الجنوب الغربي من بلدة “بداما” السورية ، إلا أنهم فوجئوا بوقعوهم في كمين لقوات “الحرس الحدود” السورية في المنطقة ، الأمر الذي أسفر عن اشتباك دام حوالي نصف ساعة ، وأسفر عن إصابة ستة من المتسللين بجروح مختلفة جرى إسعافهم إلى النقطة الطبية في مخيم ” يلداغي” الذي أقامته السطات التركية للاجئين السوريين. وتبعد ” يلداغي” عن “بداما” أقل من 15 كم كخط نظر .وكشف لاجئون سوريون في المنطقة أن ” سيارات إسعاف عسكرية تركية هي التي تولت نقل المسلحين السوريين الجرحى”! وهذه أولى الإشارات إلى حصول”تورط تركي مباشر وميداني” في الأنشطة العسكرية التي يمارسها المسلحون السوريون المقيمون على الأراضي التركية . وأكد مسؤول محلي تركي في بلدية ” يلداغي” هذه المعلومات ، موضحا بالقول” حتى الآن تقتصر المساعدات العسكرية التركية للمسلحين السوريين على الدعم اللوجستي ، كالخدمات الطبية والاتصالات وربما بعض وسائط القتال الليلي”. وقال المسؤول البلدي ” يبدو من المعلومات المتوفرة أن هدف التسلل كان تفخيخ نفق سكة الحديد ( غربي بداما) الذي تعبره قطارات الشحن والركاب فيما بين مدينتي حلب واللاذقية . وهناك معطيات غير مؤكدة بعد تشير إلى أن الهدف الآخر كان نسف أحد الجسور الكبيرة في المنطقة”. ويوجد هناك عدد من الجسور الشاهقة التي تعبرها سكة الحديد بين مرتفعات جبلية وغابات كثيفة في المنطقة. ومن شأن تفجير أي منها ( الجسور أو الانفاق) قطع المواصلات الحديدية بين الساحل السوري وحلب ، بالنظر لأن أي عمل كامل من هذا النوع يحتاج إلى أشهر طويلة من العمل المتواصل لإصلاحه. وكانت سكة الحديد نفسها تعرضت إلى خمس عمليات تفجيرفي القرى المحيطة ببلدة جسر الشغور خلال الشهرين الماضيين ، أسفر أحدها عن خروج القطار عن سكته وتعرض عدد من مقطوراته إلى أضرار كبيرة.و تحظى سكة الحديد بين حلب واللاذقية بأهمية بالغة ، بالنظر لأنها تحمل غالبية المستوردات عبر ميناء اللاذقية إلى المنطقة الشمالية ، أو من المنطقة الساحلية إلى حلب ، وبالعكس.

على صعيد متصل، بدأت ” العقوبات المضادة” التي أقرتها الحكومة السورية ترخي بظلالها على الجانب التركي، لاسيما في مجال حركة النقل والترانزيت. وبثت اليوم وسائل الإعلام المرئية التركية صورا تظهر طابورا طويلا من الشاحنات التركية على الجانب التركي من معبر “باب الهوى” يقارب طوله حوالي خمسة كيلومترات. وقال سائقون في المنطقة إن ما لا يقل عن ثمانمئة شاحنة أصبحت عالقة في المنطقة. وكان الاتحاد التركي للناقلين أعلن أمس الإثنين أن سوريا “لم تسمح بعبور الشاحنات التركية أراضيها منذ خمسة أيام”. وكانت دمشق علقت العمل باتفاقية التجارة الحرة بين البلدين ردا على العقوبات التركية. وقال حميد سانوردي ، عضو اتحاد النقل التركي، لوكالة أنباء “الأناضول” التركية إن سوريا “لم تسمح بدخول الشاحنات التركية منذ خمسة أيام عبر منفذ باب الهوى المتاخم لإقليم أنطاكيا جنوب البلاد”. وفيما يتعلق بالتبرير الذي قدمته السلطات السورية لتوقف عبور الشاحنات التركية ، وهو تعطل أنظمة الكومبيوتر، قال سانوردي” هذا ليس صحيحا ، فقد بدأوا ( السوريين) العمل على أنظمة الكمبيوتر في الأول من الشهر الجاري”، أي في اليوم نفسه الذي علقت فيه دمشق اتفاقية التجارة الحرة مع أنقرة! وكشف مصدر تركي في منطقة “باب الهوى” أن قائمقام منطقة ” ريهانلي” Reyhanli التركية ومدير الجمارك على الجانب التركي من المعبر زارا مسؤولي المعبر السوريين في محاولة منهما للتوسط للشاحنات التركية وحل الأزمة ، إلا أنهما ” قوبلا بازدراء وقلة احترام (…) حيث استقبلا وقوفا ولم يدعيا حتى للجلوس ، ولم يقبل الجانب السوري حتى مناقشة الأمر معهما، وأوضح لهما أن المشكلة في دمشق وأنقرا ، ونحن ننفذ قرارا وزاريا لا يمكن مناقشته إلا في دمشق”.

وعلى الطرف الجنوبي من الحدود السورية ، لا تزال الشاحنات التركية ” تتراكم” على الجانب الأردني من الحدود. وأفادت آخر الأنباء الواردة من من معبر “نصيب” بأن عدد الشاحنات بلغ اليوم حوالي 700 شاحنة تنتظر تطبيق الرسوم الجمركية الجديدة وفارق سعر المازوت حتى يسمح لها بالعبور إلى سوريا أو من خلالها إلى تركيا.

تحية الى جيشنا السوري الباسل

إن الحق القومي لايكون حقاً في معترك الأمم إلا بمقدار ما يدعمه من قوة الأمة. فالقوة هي القول الفصل في إثبات الحق القومي أو إنكاره.

انطون سعادة

قواتنا الصاروخية تنفذ بنجاح مشروعا بالذخيرة الحية
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgeXAi90mVM

احد تشكيلاتنا المدرعة ينفذ مشروعا تكتيكيا بالذخيرة الحية
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW7Gniy1xWo

الجيش السوري و الصواريخ السورية – سواحلنا آمنة
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBqJ5fwSZDs

صواريخ ياخونت
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0LbZericHc

المبدأ الخامس :

إعداد جيش قوي يكون ذا قيمة فعلية في تقرير مصير الأمة والوطن.

إن تنازع موارد الحياة والتفوق بين الأمم هو عبارة عن عراك وتطاحن بين مصالح القوميات. ومصلحة الحياة لا يحميها في العراك سوى القوة، القوة بمظهرها المادي والنفسي ( العقلي ). والقوة النفسية، مهما بلغت من الكمال، هي أبداً محتاجة إلى القوة المادية، بل إن القوة المادية دليل قوة نفسية راقية. لذلك فإن الجيش وفضائل الجندية هي دعائم أساسية للدولة.

إن الحق القومي لايكون حقاً في معترك الأمم إلا بمقدار ما يدعمه من قوة الأمة. فالقوة هي القول الفصل في إثبات الحق القومي أو إنكاره.

وإن ما نعنيه بالجيش هو جميع أقسامه البرية والبحرية والجوية، فإن الحرب التي ارتقى فنها ارتقاء كبيراُ توجب أن يكون تأهبنا كبيراُ.

الأمة السورية كلها يجب أن تصبح قوية مسلحة.

لقد اضطررنا إلى النظر بحزن إلى أجزاء من وطننا تسلخ عنه وتضم إلى أوطان أمم غريبة لأننا كنا فاقدين نظامنا الحربي، وقوتنا الحربية. إننا نريد أن لا نبقى في هذه الحالة من العجز. إننا نريد أن نحول جزرنا إلى مد نستعيد به كامل أرضنا وموارد حياتنا وقوتنا.

إن اعتمادنا في نيل حقوقنا والدفاع عن مصالحنا على قوتنا. نحن نستعد للثبات في تنازع البقاء والتفوق نصيبنا!

Memo To: JNA

RE: BUTTBOY

Buttboy is not a sexual term, you ninny. A buttboy is someone who picks up cigarette butts that a big shot drops on the ground. Sheesh!

Turkey’s flawed secularism
ELDAR MAMEDOV
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-flawed-secularism-.aspx?pageID=449&nID=8588&NewsCatID=396

When Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged the recently liberated Arab countries to embrace secularism during a speech in Cairo, a case was being launched back home against the Turkish journalist Ömer Baruter. His “crime?” A cartoon in daily Radikal proclaiming that “religion is a lie.”

This case is but one demonstration that Turkey’s own record on secularism is rather dubious.
{…}

Zoo,
I don’t trust either the AL or Turkey, both are SOBs liars!
After reading the news you linked I read another news about the Russians supporting the AL protocol with the Syrian points to be taken and that the deal will be the right solution.
It was interesting that the first reaction from Alarabi was kind of ignoring the Syrian agreements sent by Moualem then suddenly the next day he calls for a major meeting..

الخارجية الروسية: ارسال مراقبي الجامعة العربية لسوريا سيسمح بوقف العنف

اعلنت وزارة الخارجية الروسية في بيان ان ارسال مراقبي جامعة الدول العربية الى سوريا سيسمح بوقف العنف واقامة الحوار الداخلي في البلاد.
ولفتت الوزارة في البيان الى انه “من المقرر ان يجري ذلك بالتماشي مع ما تم التوصل اليه من التفاهم والاتفاقات بين دمشق والجامعة العربية، التي تقضي، بين امور اخرى، بعدم جواز التدخل الخارجي في الشؤون السورية”.
واعربت الخارجية الروسية عن القناعة بان “ارسال بعثة المراقبين الى سوريا من شأنه ان يوفر معلومات موضوعية وشاملة حول الاحداث في البلاد، وان يساهم في استقرار الوضع هناك، وفي نهاية المطاف، ان يساعد على تحقيق الاهداف الرئيسية للمبادرة العربية، ألا وهي وقف العنف مهما كان مصدره واقامة حوار واسع بين السلطات السورية وقوى المعارضة لتسريع تحقيق الاصلاحات الاجتماعية والسياسية التي بدأت في سوريا، بما يخدم مصالح الشعب السوري”.

Bronco

I dubt very much that the US “have lost hope in the SNC”.  I think Hillary prefers to spent her time with Bill than to waste it in Geneva on an entity that the American administration have lost hope in.  

Zoo and Bronco

Agree very much that Syrians are stubborn, inflexible, and proud, therefore I believe no breakthrough guaranteeing Bashar remains in the helm is possible.  The AL can give any and all concessions they may see fit but they have NO control of what is happening on the ground.  The Syrian street has already lost 4,000 dead and 30,000 arrested/disappeared.  They have reached a point of no return.  I think for the Syrians inside Syria, the number of casualties inflicted upon them takes a back seat in front of their determination to achieve their goal.  The faster all the regional and world players understand this mere fact, the more lives get saved.

For the Syrians, it is going to be their will against Assad’s family will.

Watch Aljazeera right now.  They are discussing the impending unity between SNC and the NCV     

Tara

I find the tone of the speech to the SNC very patronizing…

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2011/12/178332.htm
Remarks at Meeting with Syrian National Council

Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Intercontinental Hotel
Geneva, Switzerland
December 6, 2011

Well, first, let me begin by saying that it’s an honor to meet with all of you, the president and senior members of the Syrian National Council. I look forward to our discussion and hearing from each of you. I am particularly interested in the work you are doing about how a democratic transition would proceed. Fred Hof, my special coordinator, has told me that you’ve put a lot of work into that paper, and there are many very constructive ideas in it, because obviously, a democratic transition includes more than removing the Asad regime. It means setting Syria on the path of the rule of law and protecting the universal rights of all citizens regardless of sect or ethnicity or gender.

Second, we will discuss the work that the Council is doing to ensure that their plan is to reach out to all minorities, to counter the regime’s divide-and-conquer approach, which pits ethnic and religious groups against one another. The Syrian opposition, as represented here, recognizes that Syria’s minorities have legitimate questions and concerns about their future, and that they need to be assured that Syria will be better off under a regime of tolerance and freedom that provides opportunity and respect and dignity on the basis of the consent rather than on the whims of a dictator.

And we certainly believe that if Syrians unite, they together can succeed in moving their country to that better future. We are well aware that there is a lot of hard work to be done. There are many Syrians in exile who are committed to helping their country make this transition. And there are many Syrians in their homes and neighborhoods and communities who are struggling against the violence and the repression to realize that better future as well.

I think Syrians both in exile and inside Syria are behaving with great courage and commitment and are inspired and motivated by the aspirations of freedom and democracy that are sweeping the Arab world.

So I look forward to hearing from each of you in our time together this afternoon. Thank you very much.

أحرار كلية الطب البشري – جامعة حلب

لم تعد جامعة …

إذا وجدت نفسك في ساحة يرتمي فيها أحد الأشخاص على الأرض وقد كسرت فخذه نتيجة جري مجموعة من الوحوش خلفه .. ووجدت بقرب هذا المشهد رجلاً يسيل لعابه و تشبه هيئته هيئة القتلة والسفاحين … ووجدت أيضاً شاباً يركض وخلفه العشرات ينهالون عليه بالضرب وتحاول فتاتان التوسل إليهم أن ينقذوه فاعلم أنك ما أخطأت الزمان ولا المكان ..
…
أنت في جامعة حلب في يوم الثلاثاء 6-12-2011 ..

لن نخوض في التفاصيل لأنها أصبحت تتكرر في كل مرة ..

اقتحام لكليات الزراعة والعلوم والاقتصاد والهندسة الكهربائية .. و عصي كهربائية بأيدي مجموعة من السفلة الذين أصبح تطاولهم على طلابنا وعقولنا من بديهيات المشهد .. كر وفر بين من يرفعون شعار ” شبيحة للأبد لأجل عيونك يا أسد ” وبين من يرفعون شعار التكبير والحرية ..

اشتراك للرموز الحزبية والإدارية في الجامعة في هذا المشهد المخزي … كل هذا يحصل في جامعاتنا على مرأى ذلك الطبيب المتنور قائد مسيرة التطوير والتحديث … ذو العقل المنفتح .. والذي يبدو أنه لم يفتح إلا على أساليب القمع والوحشية التي دربه والده عليها قبل أن يترك له هذه الأمانة التي أصبح اسمها ” سوريا الجريحة “…

إننا كطلاب في كلية الطب البشري في جامعة حلب نعلن أن جامعتنا أصبحت جامعة منكوبة .. يهان طلابها .. ويضربون .. ويعاملون بوحشية .. ويعتقلون بحسب انتماءاتهم الإقليمية … ولم تعد هذه الجامعات ذات بيئة مناسبة للعملية التعليمية …

هكذا أصبحت جامعاتنا ولن نتركها فريسة لهؤلاء الذين ما زالت ساعاتهم وتقويمهم ثابتة على العصر الحجري ..
الجامعات للأحرار .. الجامعات لنا وليست لأولئك الجهلة الذين لا يفهمون سوى لغة القوة ..

الجامعات لنا وليست لأولئك الذين يظنون أن الصوت يمكن إسكاته بالعصا حتى ولو كانت كهربائية !

وإن غدا لناظره قريب

No wonder they wanted Ghalyoun to be the top of this opposition of the SNC, otherwise, we will listen to this sample of disgusting animal!
المعارض المجرم الطائفي سقراط البعاج
http://youtu.be/pwDLFOwmAwg

Another remarkable woman.  Mahs Abu Shama.  She does not look Syrian.  My be of a Jordanian origin?  She wants Bashar at the ICC.  Would be a chance to visit the Netherlands when they try Bashar, other wise another boring country that I would have not wanted to visit.    
  
Mathilde Bagneres interviews MAHA ABU SHAMA, Amnesty International campaigner for the Middle East and North Africa programme

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 6, 2011 (IPS) – “The violent crackdown against peaceful protesters and civilians in the Syrian Arab Republic has continued… since March of this year. More than 4,000 people have reportedly been killed. Tens of thousands have been arrested.”

The words of the United Nations (U.N.) High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, in Geneva on Dec. 2 were not new, but they reminded the international community of the dire straits Syrian citizens have been in for months now. 

The deteriorating situation in the Syrian Arab Republic prompted the U.N.’s Human Rights Council to establish an independent international commission of inquiry to investigate alleged violations of human rights in the country since March 2011. 

On Nov. 23, the commission presented a report of its findings. It documented widespread, systematic and gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms by Syrian authorities by acts such as killing of children by beating or shooting during demonstrations, arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment. 

Shortly thereafter, on Nov. 28, human rights organisation Amnesty International organised a briefing at the U.N., setting out its concerns regarding these violations and others. 

Maha Abu Shama, one of the panellists, has been working for Amnesty International for four years and is the campaigner on Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Her work specifically focuses on researching the human rights violations in Syria, as well as devising and leading campaign strategies in this country. 

IPS correspondent Mathilde Bagneres spoke with Abu Shama about the situation in Syria and Amnesty International’s concerns and recommendations. 

Q: Can you tell us more about the human rights situation in Syria? 

A: The human right situation in Syria has worsened since the beginning of March 2011. We have so far documented the names of 3,200 people who have been killed, 190 of them children. 

The majority of the people who were killed were peaceful protesters or bystanders shot by the security forces, for example, during security operations in residential areas. That number includes at least 150 cases of death in custody and in suspicious circumstances. 

We are also very concerned about thousands of people who have been arrested since the beginning of the events until now, many of them are held in detention centres in horrible conditions and with high risk of torture and mistreatment. 

Q: How have the revolution and the so-called Arab Spring affected human rights violations in Syria? 

A: Human right violations by the authorities have increased significantly since the beginning of the revolution in March 2011. However, civilians were living under repression for over 40 years. 

I visited Syria on an official mission in 2010 and I met former political prisoners, families of prisoners of conscience, political prisoners and some human rights activists. They felt like an isolated group of those who tried to voice their opinion and to criticise the government, while Syrian citizens were oblivious to their suffering and causes. 

This has changed after the revolution. Now in many towns and cities, people have tried to step out and walk on the street and call for reforms and democracy and for a change. That’s a very positive step. 

It is true that the repression has increased as well. However, these people are aware of the price they are paying for freedom, and they deserve freedom and the respect of human rights. 

Q: Can you share with us a story that touched you and that illustrates human rights violations in Syria? 

A: There are many stories that really touched me, but one of them is the story of the death in custody of Giath Matar. He was a Syrian activist from Darayya, a village near Damascus, and he was a truly non-violent, peaceful activist. 

He and his friends focused on organising peaceful protests in towns. One of their tactics was to give soldiers who attacked them bottles of water with roses and messages like, “Don’t kill me; I’m like you.” 

It did work a couple of times, but the security forces were worried by Matar and his friends because they seemed to be successful and they seemed to mobilise more and more people, to have an impact. 

So they arrested him, and after four days they delivered his body to his family. His wife was pregnant at the time. He was only in his mid-twenties. His child was born a few days ago. 

That case touched me deeply because he was such an innovative, exceptional person. To be killed like this in cold blood – it is inhuman. 

Q: What is Amnesty International doing for Syria and why does Amnesty International say that the Security Council must act on Syria? 

A: As Amnesty International, our main role is to document human rights violations and to highlight them in the media and with the international community, and also to put pressure on those who are the main decision makers. 

We have to put pressure on the Syrian authorities to stop the violence and also to put pressure on the U.N. Security Council to bring this situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

The Security Council should also impose an arms embargo and freeze the assets of the Syrian president and his senior associates because we believe that there are crimes against humanity committed in Syria. 

The international community has the obligation to protect the Syrian people from these crimes and to stop these crimes. 

Q: Do you think that the report of the independent international commission of inquiry on Syria can lead to an action by the Security Council? 

A: The report is another form of pressure and it’s a positive action by the U.N. However, unfortunately, the report falls short in terms of recommendations at the end, because it doesn’t call for an ICC referral. 

But as it is, the report is excellent. It reaches the same conclusions as we do, which is that there are crimes against humanity committed in Syria. 

I would like to add that I am very impressed by the Syrian people, their determination and their commitment to the human rights. I think they should not pay for wrong decisions taken by other countries in other incidents. 

They should not suffer on their own; they need and they demand the international community’s support and that can only happen by referring the situation to the ICC. 

Jad

The guy is standing against sectarianism and you’re calling him a disgusting animal because of it … interesting.

Both ICC and SNC are political entities,FSA is True opposition party that stand along the Demonstrators.
Diplomacy is stupid,War is smart
Diplomacy does not decisively win in major conflicts,War always decide the outcome.Diplomacy wins only if backed by military power.
For those who say FSA are terrorist, they themselves are crimuinal and terrorists, FSA is a noble army,and FSA will lead us to get rid of this evil criminal dictator and will get rid of those slaves who support this dictator, and yes there will be surprise for you,the regime defenders,
there is more than 1400 officers and low ranking soldiers has been arrested by the regime , some has been killed.

I am sick and tired of the AL. weak and taking forever to reach a conclusion that should have been there a month ago.We should depend on Syrians,on FSA ,on honest syrians who are staying quiet till now,we are against American or Europe intervention, our best hope is the smartness and intelligence of Syrians,they will come out with effective way to liberate Syria from this criminal Assadist gang.

All should be carefull ,the regime supporters, those who declare it openly, and those who say contradictory statements, and those who say they are not defending Assad but clearly they are, we should be carefull they are quoting lies they twist the story, they claim there are crimes committed by FSA the truth is that Shabbiha are doing those henious crime and they blame it on FSA

Jad,is that the guy’s real name:
سقراط البعاج؟
I think he should sue his dad.

NK
Are you kidding me or you deaf!

Watching Aljazeera program in regard to uniting the opposition was a bit depressing.  There is still much work to do.  Hilary met with the SNC today and the NCC was left out.  Both want to topple the regime which is a good start, yet it appears there are lots of differences to overcome.

http://www.rferl.org/content/syrian_resistance_increases_along_with_efforts_to_unite_it/24413686.html

Syrian Resistance Increases Along With Efforts To Unite It
 
By Dorian Jones
December 06, 2011
ISTANBUL — Efforts to unite the Syrian opposition in their struggle against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime are intensifying. But for that to happen a number of political and ideological differences must be overcome.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will get a firsthand view of the status of the Syrian opposition on December 6 in Geneva, where she will meet with a group of seven Syrian exiles to discuss the situation in their homeland.

Among those assembled will be representatives of the Syrian National Council (SNC), an umbrella organization of Syrian opposition groups — most of them based outside Syria — that calls for direct international intervention and the creation of safe havens for the opposition.

Noticeably absent will be representatives of the Damascus-based National Coordinating Committee (NCC), made up of opposition groups inside Syria itself and staunchly opposed to outside intervention or the use of violence against the Assad regime.

Abdul Aziz al-Khair, a spokesman for the National Coordinating Committee, told RFE/RL that the group was approached by a British Foreign Office intermediary and invited to attend the meeting with Clinton, but declined the offer. Khair, who claimed he was “disappointed,” said only a formal invitation from the secretary of state would be acceptable.

A Developing Relationship

The meeting comes a week after the SNC held formal talks in Turkey with the Syrian Free Army, an armed rebel group that is taking on Assad’s forces on Syrian soil.

Both sides have agreed to coordinate their efforts, says SNC spokeswoman Basma Kodmani, adding that the “relationship is developing.”

​​The Syrian Free Army (SFA) is made up of defectors from the Syrian security forces and claims around 20,000 members.

Increasingly better-armed, it has intensified its attacks on the Syrian military, although this approach has not endeared it to some outside observers. Last month’s assault on the headquarters of the Syrian Air Force in Damascus, for example, prompted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to warn that the country was heading toward civil war.

Kodmani defended the Syrian Free Army, however, saying it is ultimately committed to peaceful resistance.

“They [the SFA] have adhered to the political program of the council, which is to protect the peaceful nature of the revolution,” he said. “And those who are defecting [from the Syrian military] are taking up, so far, a role in protecting civilians. In many cities we see it; it is allowing people to continue to demonstrate, whereas without such protection the killings and victims are much higher.”

‘Skype Revolution’

The SNC is developing ties with those carrying out daily protests against the Assad regime in the country. The Internet has been cited as being of crucial importance in maintaining communications, with one SNC member quipping that this is the first “Skype revolution.”

Several prominent activists have also recently left Syria to join the SNC leadership. But Mughbir Al Sharif, who represents a Syrian opposition group based in Istanbul, has noted that the opposition in Syria is made of local coordination committees which still lack cohesion.

“There are different coordinations, in Syria, in every city,” he said. “And everybody has their own opinion and point of view. This is a real problem; they are not getting to the point of having the same opinion.”

One challenge facing the SNC, formed in October in Istanbul, is the perception that it is a Sunni-dominated organization overly influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood has for decades opposed the Assad regime and is accused of wanting to create an Islamic state, a charge it denies.

Convincing The Kurds

Kodmani of the SNC maintains that the group represents all sections of Syrian society.

“We have the liberals, the Islamists, the leftists and nationalists, all these different political groups,” he said. “So it’s a broad coalition and includes many groups and trends including a lot of independent figures.”

But Kodmani accepts they still have more work to do, particularly when it comes to winning over the country’s Kurdish minority, which, she says, still remains divided, not only over supporting the SNC but whether to oppose the Assad regime.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague
​​The SNC is also struggling to persuade the National Coordinating Committee to join its ranks. The two groups have been engaged in talks in Cairo for the last month, but NCC spokesman Khair said recently that, while progress has been made, more work needs to be done.

An upcoming Syrian congress, organized by the Arab League and set to take place later this month, offers an opportunity to bridge differences. But disputes have already arisen over how the groups will be represented.

As British Foreign Secretary William Hague made clear after meeting the leaders of the two groups last month in London, it is imperative that the two camps settle their differences:

“I’ve also emphasized the importance to them of achieving a united platform and a unified body among the opposition,” he said. “At an extreme moment in their nation’s history it is important for opposition groups to be able to put aside their own differences and come to a united view of the way forward.”

I may have to dissent here and admit that Clinton speech is actually better than most of what I heard from western and Arab officials,however,actions speak louder than words.
I also have to agree with shami that moderate Islamists who use non violent methods should have the right to be elected and show us,Syrians,what they can do to improve the life of ordinary Syrians,however,I tend to believe that islamis-leaning candidates will get more than 20% of the votes in fair and free elections.
As for the FSA,I am simply looking at their own statements and the identity of those who are killed by the opposition especially in Homs. Claiming that the FSA and other armed groups are only targeting shabeehas and only acting in self defense is not a true .

هيثم مناع
لندن ـ ‘القدس العربي’: هاجم المحامي هيثم مناع منسق ‘هيئة التنسيق من أجل التغيير الديموقراطي’، ‘المجلس الوطني السوري’ بقيادة برهان غليون، وقال ان المجلس جسم بلا رأس وان ‘هناك مشاكل ذاتيه وتدخل تركي في قرارته’ مما ادى الى عدم الاتفاق على اجتماع لتوحيد صفوف المعارضة.
وقال مناع في اتصال هاتفي مع ‘القدس العربي’ ان ‘مشكلتنا الاساسية بالفعل ان المجلس الوطني جسم بلا رأس، وكل اتجاه داخل هذا المجلس له توجه مختلف عن الاخر، وهناك صقور وحمائم داخل المجلس، لقد اعطينا الاولية لوحدة المعارضة على اساس وطني ديمقراطي، الا ان اعضاء المجلس الوطني انشغلوا مؤخرا بتصريحات ومعارك جانبية، همها الوحيد اعتراف الجامعة العربية والعالم بالمجلس الوطني، او الحديث عن مرحلة ما بعد اسقاط النظام وتحديد العلاقات الخارجية لسورية، (في اشارة الى تصريحات برهان غليون لصحيفة وول ستريت جورنال التي قال فيها ان سورية بعد الانتفاضة الحالية ستعيد النظر بعلاقاتها العسكرية مع ايران وحزب الله وانها ستحتفظ بعلاقات دبلوماسية واقتصادية فقط مع ايران) عوضا عن التركيز على اسقاط النظام بحد ذاته، ونحن في هيئة التنسيق نعتبر انفسنا ثورة مقاومة وليس ممانعة’.
وحول اسباب عدم انعقاد المؤتمر السوري العام حتى الان اضاف مناع ‘هناك مشاكل ذاتيه وتدخل تركي في قرارت المجلس الوطني، ولم يتمكنوا من توحيد الاصوات حول الاساسيات، وللاسف الشعب السوري يدفع الثمن، لقد غابوا عن الاجتماعات منذ 12 يوم، هم غير جديين’.
وقال مناع ‘ اقترحنا ان تكون الهيئة المنظمة للمؤتمر الوطني 4 و4 اضافة الى عناصر من الكتلة الكردية وعناصر وطنية، ثم تقترح 100 الى 150 شخص للمؤتمر السوري العام، وعرض الاخوة في تونس استضافة المؤتمر، ونحن موافقون على تونس ونعتبر عقده في اسطنبول او حتى باريس غير مطروح لدينا لانها اطراف غير محايدة’. وقال أحد المشاركين في اجتماعات القاهرة بين أعضاء من ‘المجلس الوطني’ و’هيئة التنسيق’ إنه لم يتم التقدم خطوة واحدة نحو الاتفاق على لجنة تحضيرية لمؤتمر وطني سوري يوحد المعارضة، وتستند إليه الجامعة العربية في تقرير مراحل العملية الانتقالية.
وقال معارض سوري إن الاتفاق الوحيد الذي أمكن التوصل إليه هو وقف الحملات الإعلامية بين المجلس الوطني وهيئة التنسيق، ومنع رفع اللافتات المعادية لكلا الطرفين في التظاهرات، وتنظيم لقاءات على كل المستويات.
وبحسب معارضين في هيئة التنسيق فإن الهيئة سمّت ست شخصيات لتمثيلها في اللجنة التحضيرية المشتركة لإنشاء المؤتمر السوري. وضمت لائحة هيئة التنسيق هيثم مناع، وعبد العزيز الخير، ورجاء الناصر، وحسين العودات، وصالح مسلم، ومحمود مرعي. ولم يتقدم المجلس الوطني بالأسماء المطلوبة.
ويقول معارض من هيئة التنسيق إن الوقت الذي حددته الجامعة العربية لإنشاء المؤتمر السوري يشارف على الانتهاء في الأسبوع المقبل، وأبدى تشاؤمه من إمكانية التوصل في الأيام المقبلة إلى اتفاق مع المجلس الوطني ‘لأنه غير قادر على اتخاذ قرارات واضحة يفرضها على أجنحته المتعددة’.

Jad

No, unlike you I actually listened to what the guy said, was he sectarian because he was explaining how the regime was trying to incite sectarianism ? dude compare what he said to what you posted last night in comment #69, now which one is more sectarian ?

رشاد ابو شاور
Ghalioun,using American lingo,is not ready for prime time.
http://www.alquds.co.uk/index.asp?fname=today%5C06qpt998.htm&arc=data%5C2011%5C12%5C12-06%5C06qpt998.htm

NK
The usual idiot you are! where in my comment I wrote about your new friend b3aj that you are dying to defend that he is sectarian? I wrote that he is disgusting because he was encouraging the killing, but since you mentioned the sectarian issue, I just noticed that he was actually speaking in a sectarian language when all his interview was about Sunnis and Alawites and calling people according to their sect, so yes, he was disgusting on both topics.

“now which one is more sectarian ?”
Bringing in the sectarian crimes for awareness about the reality in Homs and condemning any side who commit those crimes is different than hiding the sectarian crimes in a tireless effort to give the criminals and terrorists who did it the cover as your ba3aj God and obviously you are doing, that, my silly silly friend, is called ‘Sectarianism’.

Tara

Do you agree now that the neither the US nor anyone are taking the SNC seriously anymore?
Heckle Ford is back in Syria also because it is the only way he can meet the members of the NCC. I think the US is probing the NCC to become the major representant of the opposition, snubbing France that has made its choice on the SNC and its french leaders. The NCC members seem slow but genuine and not polluted like the SNC members.
By the way, I never heard the NCC saying they want to topple Bashar Al Assad as preconditions for the dialog. That was the main difference between the two organization. Did they change their stance?

Jad

I was approaching the issue from your point of view, not mine, I didn’t call you out on what you posted and have been posting for awhile now, did I ?
As for your silly excuse (oh I wasn’t talking about sectarianism) maybe you ought to read the titles you post more often let alone pay attention to their content), where exactly did he call for more killing, or is this another interpretation (beyond = except) kinda thing ?

Ghufran
Do you have a proof that you can show me that prove the FSA are targeting civilian, like a video,I will not accept some silly guy like Bassam Al Kadi I want a video.

ABC to broadcast Walters interview with Assad Wednesday
December 06, 2011 05:28 PM
The Daily Star

BEIRUT: U.S. network ABC will air Wednesday an interview with Syrian President Bashar Assad conducted by veteran news broadcaster Barbara Walters.

ABC said the interview would be the first by an American broadcaster with the Syrian president since the popular uprising began in March. Assad has faced international pressure to step down as leader of the crisis-hit Arab country.

“Walters’ no-holds-barred interview with President Assad in Damascus comes as he is under unprecedented international pressure to step down and stands accused by the Arab League, the United Nations and human rights groups of gross and systematic human rights violations,” ABC said on its website Tuesday.

The American broadcaster said Walters had questioned the controversial Syrian leader about a Nov. 25 report by the United Nations, “which recorded the human rights violations including the detention and torture of children in his country, and recommended for Syria to be referred to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.”

“Walters also pressed President Assad on his government’s violent crackdown on protesters, the impact of economic and travel sanctions against his country, calls for the president to step down, and whether he will allow Arab League monitors and foreign press free and unrestricted access to Syria,” the agency added.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Dec-06/156188-abc-to-broadcast-walters-interview-with-assad-wednesday.ashx#ixzz1foL4vGuj
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

Ghufran
Haytham Manna3 proved to be one of the most honest, respected and ethical opposition so far, this is why he is attacked the most. How pathetic!

Majedkhaldoun

Regime supporters don’t have cell phones and don’t know how to shoot a video.

Bronco

I just heard Abdul Aziz al-Khair ( the spokesperson of the NCC)  debate with Oubida Nahas  (from the SNC) on Aljazeera.  I promise you that al-Khair said that both SNC’s and the NCC’s goal is to topple the regime.  I have read it before and he confirmed on Aljazeera today.  He also said that the AL is discussing with them transition ( as opposed to proceeding with reform).  Al-Khair sounded a bit bitter to me and tried to emphasis that the NCC figures are in the business (of opposition) over the last 40 years as opposed to the SNC.   

I found something for you to look forward to.  For me, since I can’t stand the blue-eyed doctor, I will find something else to watch.  Any recommendation?

http://masress.com/en/youm7en/349738

Syria’s Assad speaks to US TV on crackdown
AFPYoum7 : 06 – 12 – 2011
WASHINGTON – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has given an interview to U.S. television in a rare attempt to defend his regime’s deadly crackdown on protests to a Western audience, ABC News said Tuesday.
The network said veteran television personality Barbara Walters traveled to Damascus to speak to Assad, who gave his first interview to U.S. media since he launched the nine-month-old assault which the UN says has killed 4,000 people.
ABC News said that it would air the interview Wednesday. It said Walters questioned the Syrian leader about a recent UN report that documented the killing and torture of civilians including children.
Walters also pressed Assad on his “violent crackdown on protesters, the impact of economic and travel sanctions against his country, calls for the president to step down and whether he will allow Arab League monitors and foreign press free and unrestricted access to Syria,” the network said.
Syria has come under intense international pressure as Assad tries to crush the worst threat to his family’s four-decade rule over the country.
The Arab League has threatened to impose new sanctions unless Syria lets in monitors. In a letter late Sunday, Assad’s regime said it will allow monitors but only if conditions are met.
Syria accuses “armed terrorist groups” of fueling the unrest, which comes amid a wave of street protests across the Arab world this year that have toppled authoritarian regimes in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia.
Walters, 82, is known for interviews that seek to probe high-profile figures’ personal sides. She is a creator of the popular ABC News morning show “The View,” which features a panel of women hosts. 

المعارض المجرم الطائفي سقراط البعاج

NK, do you read Arabic? If not here is the translation:

The opposer, the criminal, the sectarian Sucrat Al-Baa’j

NK
– the title of the video wasn’t put by me, go complain to YouTub
-of course you will miss the killing part, you don’t listen.

NK
They say things which are not true,they have no proof, they were ordered to say something, they do not make sense,
Look at Muallem, he brought video which is proven to be from lebanon not Syria,this is how they make lies.

Tara
is this interview,recorded by now or will be live tomorrow?

Majed

It sounds like the interview is already done.

N.Z.

LOL have you read what I said in the last couple of comments, I obviously know exactly what it says!

Here is a summary of the Russian fleet according to the Russian site, rusnavy.com. Political leaders in Damascus should not get excited about this new “protection.”

“Lately, the pro-Kremlin mass media has been talking a lot about restoring the Russian Navy to its former prowess. Undoubtedly, the recent march of our combat ships into the Atlantic and the Mediterranean was an important and a necessary endeavor, but it would be good to dot all the “i”s and separate the veneer of bravado of the news broadcasts from the real condition of the Russian Navy.

AMERICANS ARE NO AUTHORITY FOR US
First thing someone more or less familiar with the naval subject matter will immediately notice is the composition of the naval group that took part in the march. Let’s start with the heavy aircraft carrier “Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov” (“Admiral of the Soviet Navy Kuznetsov”). Despite being in-commission for over 15 years, its aircraft group is still not fully equipped with aircraft and, what’s even sadder, not fully staffed with experienced pilots able to take off and land on the deck of the “floating field.” What’s more, all the “Kuznetsov” Su-27Ê (aka Su-33) airplanes were released for the most part during the Soviet times, while the construction of the aircraft carrier itself was in progress, and, partially, during the Yeltsin era. Already in the mid-1990s, a need arose for a thorough modernization of these carrier-based fighters to expand their capabilities for engaging in an airborne missile fight and for hitting the ground and surface targets with guided missile weapons. Nevertheless, for all the years of “restoring the Navy to its former prowess”, the funds (or, more likely, the desire) necessary to carry out work on the 18 winged craft did not turn up.

It’s quite difficult to call the escort of the only Russian aircraft carrier, consisting of just two large anti-submarine ships, anything but scanty. The Americans (who, by the way, have 11 multi-purpose aircraft carriers, 10 of which are nuclear) include, as a rule, 1-2 cruisers and 3-4 fleet destroyers in their aircraft carrier strike group. Each of these ships is armed with cruising missiles “Tomahok” (among other things, used for destruction of large enemy surface ships), and equipped with a powerful anti-aircraft defense system “Idzhis”, which includes modern radar systems, multi-missile launching and control facility, control and information exchange system, as well as 1-2 guided missile frigates. Escort ships protect the aircraft carrier from cruising missile and enemy submarine attacks, deck-based aircraft allows to dominate the airspace and carry out bombing-missile attacks on enemy objects (together with the SLCMs (“Tomahok”), carried on the ships).

But, evidently, in this situation our present-day “partner”, who possesses the greatest experience of aircraft carrier usage in the world, is no authority for us. At any rate, for a long time nothing has been mentioned in the televised coverage of the Northern Fleet combat ships about the heavy nuclear GM cruiser “Pyotr Velikij” (“Peter the Great”), which requires no open sea refueling and is equipped with our Navy’s most powerful anti-ship missile system “Granit” (“Granite”), a multi-missile launching and control facility “Fort” (marine adaptation of the famous C-300 air defense system), and state-of-the-art radar and sonar stations. Same goes for its “blood brother”, similar cruiser “Admiral Nahimov”, even though it’s the two of them, who, together with the heavy aircraft carrier, are supposed to make up the core of the domestic aircraft carrier groups. In this case the silence in the media is easily explained – these ships are listed as part of the effective combat strength of the Navy, but, in spite of their potential power, in reality do not possess it due to being in terrible technical condition as a result of the lack of technical maintenance necessary for such complex fighting units.

But one time a lot was told about a fleet destroyer, “Admiral Ushakov”. In 1996, it escorted “Kuznetsov” on its first Mediterranean march (not counting the carrier’s march from Sevastopol to Severomorsk). This time though, the destroyer did not go with the aircraft carrier, but stayed to protect our northern borders (probably because there are no more combat-capable ships available in the Northern fleet)…..”

Syria’s tariffs on Turkish products will last as long as Bashar’s regime is in power. In the future, liberated Syrians will reward Turkey for its support of their revolution and punish Iran and Hizbollah for siding with the dictator. I just read this post that makes a similar point: http://arabspring2011.wordpress.com/2011/12/03/syria-in-the-post-assad-era-end-hizb-allah-iran-strategic-ties/

#205 Tara

I don’t expect any surprise in this interview. It will create the usual outcries from his opponents, and admiration for his fans. I’ve seen that before.
Concerning the NCC, no wonder they are bitter, the recognition by France and the media focus is on the SNC. I hope this will change thanks to Heckle.
I would like to see a clear statement that the NCC wants Bashar to step down. I don’t know anymore what ‘toppling’ means. Next year after the Constitution is ready and the election are held, the regime will cease to exist as it was. Is this called soft toppling? Transition?

Jad

I’m obviously deaf then, please since your hearing sense is still intact maybe you can mark the exact location where the guy is calling for more killing (there’s a timer at the bottom of the video in case you didn’t know lol)

Majed

The problem is that the regime lied so much that the gullible now believe every little lie even if it doesn’t make any sense!

Just watched an excellent tv interview with Robert Fisk from earlier in the summer. A must watch.

#213 Bill

“Syria’s tariffs on Turkish products will last as long as Bashar’s regime is in power.”

That’s for sure and it could last a long time… Turkish economy will feel the pinch.

As far as I know,the FSA boasts about attacking security and army forces claiming that they do this to protect civilians without giving us the evidence majed requested from doubters like me. As for attacking civilians,the FSA is denying it and I have no proof that the FSA has killed civilians, but other armed groups,claiming to represent or work with the FSA have killed many civilians and assassinated educators and scientists. This blog is full of claims of such attacks,read revlon’s daily death reports for example, all of those victims are called Shabeehas to justify the crimes. The FSA also gave conflicting statements about attacking AFI and Ba’ath party HQ, and just few days ago,6 military pilots were killed by revolutionists,who may or may not be part of the FSA,it is becoming increasingly clear that anybody with a gun who says that he is against the regime is using the FSA badge to glorify his violent actions.
My point is that violence, unless in clear self defense ,is a sure way to push Syria deeper into a dark hole that will kill prospect of a political solution,that solution is obviously not desired by some on this blog and rouge elements of the regime.

#216,
I agree with you that Bashar’s murderous regime could last for a long time because its strategy is “either I rule you, or kill you.” There are 23 mill. people of syria and at least 18 million of them don’t want him. Thus, a lot of killing will take time. OR, which what I support, Turkey and the newly-freed Arabs would form a military coaltion that would first establish “safe havens,” and then (with assistance of the Syrian people) march all the way to free Damascus and send its dictator to hide with his chief apologist, Nasrallah. Freedom can be delayed, but it will not be denied forever. The murders, according to a recent U.N. Human Rights report, of at least 250 children do not deseve to rule Syria.

Haven’t heard from Buthaina Shaaban for a while now.

I think the regime puts out its people in turns and rotates them. It used to be Reem Haddad at first until she went into the background. Then Buthaina Shaaban came out for a while doing her bit facing the media, visiting Russia etc. More recently it’s been Walid Muallem. Obviously the current AL situation required his role.

I predict Buthaina Shaaban will be back again soon. She’s had time to do some prepatory work and will be out there fighting the fight. Giving the impression that the regime is functioning as normal. Eating away at couple more weeks.

President Assad is giving an interview to Barbra Walters,tomorrow .

Sharp Spate of Killings Traumatizes a Syrian City
By ANTHONY SHADID
Published: December 6, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/07/world/middleeast/large-scale-killings-reported-in-restive-syria-city.html

BEIRUT, Lebanon — In one of the worst episodes of sectarian carnage in Syria since the uprising began nine months ago, dozens of corpses were recovered from the streets of Homs this week, some of them dismembered, decapitated and bearing signs of torture, activists and residents said Tuesday.

Most of the bloodshed occurred Monday, as Homs, a central Syrian city, was convulsed by kidnappings, random shootings and tit-for-tat killings, activists said. In the worst episode, 36 bodies were dumped in a square in a neighborhood that sits along a fault line between the city’s Sunni Muslim majority and its Alawite minority, said Mohammed Saleh, a 54-year-old activist there who has tried to stanch the growing sectarian tension.

“What happened yesterday is a massive crime,” he said by phone. “I am in pain, so much pain. I was getting a call every minute telling me that someone new got killed.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group based in London, called it “one of the deadliest days since the start of the Syrian Revolution.”
…
Several residents said the killings grew worse after a report on Monday that Syria had agreed, with conditions, to accept the entry of monitors from the Arab League.
{..}

Bill

“18 million of them don’t want him.”
Really? Where did you get this figure?
A military coalition Turk-Arabs? not in a century or two.

I don’t know where you get your information from, but it’s time you change your sources.

Ghufran
FSA members defected because they did not want to kill civilians, why would you then believe they would kill civilians?

You said 6 pilots were killed by revolutionists, do you have a proof that the revolutionists did it? could they have been killed by Shabbiha?, I heared yesterday that Shabbihah killed 34 civilian and threw them in Zahera street,and claimed the Homsi killed them, do you believe everything, remeber a cat gave birth to elephant,go make big story from it.
As a physician you should verify before you state anything.

Bronco#213

I do agree that it is not crystal clear the NCC’s position and what they really mean by toppling the regime. They might very well mean reforms as they have not clearly stated they would only dialogue an acute transition.

Tara

I think you’ll be interested…It’s a more colourful than the old journalist interviewing the blue-eyed “increasingly isolated” president

http://www.payvand.com/news/11/dec/1062.html

Mr NZ comment number 134

you said:

“Mjabali,

Can you tell, Mr. Mjabali, what are the contributions/positive change that the Assads, who are SECULAR & ALAWITES, brought to Syria? and to the Alawites?”

AS for the Assads they are not Secular in my book. al-Assads tried to be Sunnis in their practice. There were more mosques built during the rule of Hafez al-Assad than the previous rulers combined. The leftist and communist parties (except for a clown model of a communist party) were fought with heavy hand. The communists filled prisons. al-Assads were not progressive and turned a blind eye to the growth of Muslim schools (like al-qubaysiyat for example) and institutions.

The sad thing is that al-Assads did not figure out that the Sunnis of Syria will always consider them infidel Alawis no matter what. In this regard al-Assads have done nothing to the Alawis as a group while depending on that Alawi pool to recruit soldiers to protect them,. al-Assads did not do anything to change the inhumane way Sunnis think of Alawis. They did not encourage any dialogue of any sort. They wanted to merge into the Sunnis, who in reality never ceased to look at them as inferior infidels.

The Syrian constitution did not CHANGE under al-Assads to a secular constitution. The president stayed a “Muslim” under al-Assad.

You said: ” Rather than spewing a few hateful paragraphs, you owe us an explanation, if I remember, you encouraged such kind of dialog. I hope you will not disappear without answering.”

I am here mr. NZ and hope to hear your view about the matter.

Salam

Norman,
I have to confess that I stopped paying attention to Bashar after his disastrous speeches in March and after. I yet have to see any evidence that the regime has learned from its mistakes or is willing to listen to repeated calls from moderate Syrians who are eager to see an end to this crisis. The only line that can earn Bashar any points is announcing the death of article 8,the release of all political prisoners ,allowing free elections and confirming that he will not run again,I am not under any illusions that he will because he is part of the problem not the solution.

“..President Assad is giving an interview to Barbra Walters,tomorrow ….”

Is President Assad going to say in the interview that new Party Law will pass soon, or it is just sweet interview to sugar glaze cover for that Washington Ambassador humiliating return to Damascus. One wonder what kind of sweet cover, sugar coating will Bashar creatively come up with when those Bedouins starts crawling into Damascus one by one, so lowly, so humiliating, having to come under cover to say sorry your highness and make all those bombastic news interview about how great Syrians are. Loooooooooooooooooosers.

Ghufran
What do you expect from a terrorists who claims that ‘War is smart’ or who threats those who doesn’t agree with his terrorists plan or that he doesn’t want the US or Eu to intervene while couple weeks ago he was kissing the ass of NATO to bomb and occupy Syria? Nothing but covering the crimes of his terrorists gods!

You wrote this “unless in clear self defense”, Self defense!? for terrorist like the fsa and their criminal supporters self defense is killing anybody even when there is no threat whatsoever:

محاولة قنص عناصر من الجيش من قبل ارهابيي سوريا
http://youtu.be/W23bunQbWK4

Majed,
I do not know if the FSA killed civilians,please read my post again if you have time.
I respect physicians and I take it as a compliment when I am called a physician,I actually have a PhD in healthcare-related sciences and I am not a fan of doctors becoming politicians ,remember Bashar ? I hope the few docs here stay out of Syrian politics.
We have the right to disagree on the FSA but I respect your opinion.
BTW,a Syrian doctor from Daraa,Khaldoun Alaswad,is representing the opposition in the US (I think he is not affiliated with the SNC),one friend speaks highly of his family but I do not know the guy.

Let’s see how many real Syrians here, what was the name of intelligence minister that supposedly committed suicides back in the 60’. A Clue: He was a homsi and rumor was that Defense Minister Hafez Assad shot him.

Zoo,
Al can’t do but what their masters tell them to do:

مصادر القاهرة للحياة: وزراء الخارجية العرب يرفضون رد المعلم برسالته

كشف مصدر ديبلوماسي عربي في القاهرة في تصريح لصحيفة “الحياة” أن الأمين العام للجامعة العربية نبيل العربي أرسل نص رسالة وزير الخارجية والمغتربين السوري وليد المعلم إلى وزراء الخارجية العرب مع طلب إبداء الرأي، مشيرة إلى أن العربي في المشاورات الهاتفية مع عدد منهم اقترح عقد اجتماع عاجل لمجلس الجامعة على المستوى الوزاري.
وأوضح المصدر أن مجمل الردود كانت مستاءة من الموقف السوري الجديد، واعتبرته محاولة لكسب الوقت، وشدد بعض الوزراء على ضرورة التحرك العربي الفوري لأن صدقية الجامعة باتت على المحك.
وأشار المصدر إلى أن بعض الدول الأعضاء اقترح قيام العربي بصوغ رسالة رداً على رسالة المعلم يبلغه فيها برفض ما جاء فيها وتحذيره من عواقب عدم توقيع بروتوكول بعثة المراقبين في مقر الجامعة ومن دون شروط إذا ارادت سورية الإبقاء على فرص الحل العربي للأزمة.
وأكد المصدر أن الرد جاهز فعلياً، لكن العربي يفضل أن يأتي الرد في اطار قرار اللجنة العربية المعنية بالشأن السوري والمجلس الوزاري العربي

SNP,

You are older than us, LOL,LOL,LOL

Bronco

Interesting colorful pictures indeed. I wonder why coloring the face black and what those black bold boys wearing furry things represent. Would be interesting to watch the mourning life but not alone as the scene appears…intimidating especially the 3 men with very log fuzzy beards…. Their poor wives..Can you imagine being married to one of them?

See I trust your recommendations. You know my taste by now very well.

ألف شاحنة في باب الهوى و600 في نصيب…أزمة الشاحنات التركية إلى حل

بعد أيام أربعة من الانتظار أوجدت الجهات المعنية في سورية حلاً لمشكلة الشاحنات التركية العابرة (ترانزيت) المنتظرة على الحدود السورية عبر السماح لها بالعبور وفق مبدأ المعاملة بالمثل.
وذكرت مصادر مسؤولة على المعابر الحدودية أن الشاحنات التركية لن تمنع من المرور بل يسمح لها وفقاً لما فيه مصلحة الاقتصاد الوطني، من خلال تطبيق الرسوم الجمركية الجديدة على البضائع التركية أو ذات المنشأ التركي بإضافة 30 بالمئة كرسم جمركي فوق رسمها الأصلي، وإضافة مبلغ 80 ليرة سورية على كل ليتر مازوت تستخدمه هذه الشاحنات خلال عبورها الأراضي السورية.
وأوضحت المصادر أن الحل جاء بعد أن أصدر مجلس الوزراء باجتماعه الأخير أمس قراراً بهذا الشأن، مع الأخذ بالحسبان أن سورية لم تطبق ما قامت الحكومة التركية بتطبيقه من تجميد كامل ورفض كامل لكل ما هو سوري.
وفي اتصال هاتفي مع «الوطن» قال مسؤول في الحدود السورية مع الأردن: إن عدد الشاحنات المتوقفة ارتفع من 300 الإثنين إلى نحو 600 شاحنة أمس وهي في أغلبيتها من الشاحنات التركية المتجهة إلى تركيا كبلد مقصد أو إلى إحدى دول أوروبا الشرقية كبلد مقصد، مبيناً أن القرار الصادر عن الحكومة بعد اجتماعها أمس وصل إلى جمارك درعا ومعبر نصيب الحدودي نحو العصر تقريباً، متضمناً الرسوم الجمركية الجديدة وفارق سعر المازوت حتى لا تكون جيوب السوريين تدعم المازوت لأجل تخفيف العبء الاقتصادي على الحكومة التركية.
مسؤول آخر في الحدود الشمالية مع تركيا قال لـ«الوطن» في اتصال هاتفي: ما إن وصل قرار الحكومة إلى معبر باب الهوى حتى باشرت الجهات المعنية بتنفيذه وتمرير الشاحنات التي كان عددها قد وصل إلى ألف شاحنة في معبر باب الهوى وحده، مبيناً أن عدد التي مرت منها وصل إلى نحو 150 شاحنة.

http://alwatan.sy/dindex.php?idn=113342

@NORMAN,

Now you sound like my 32 years young Russian wife. You are older than me!!!. I am 30, well I stopped counting then, so it can’t be more, it will be a mathematical impossibility. You are born in the 70′ Norman, you are a kid, you write comments like a wise and experienced man, someone in their 80’s, but I guess you are young since you express in most of your comments the fear element. Such as what is going to happen tomorrow in Syria, so worried, when SNP told you calm down man, don’t worry.

@Norman
I know you work in the L.A. area but what is your specialty field اختصاص ?

An excellent and important report from Sky News reporting in Homs. It doesn’t really help the regime’s position that sectarian strife has taken over in the city, just reinforces what we all, even the menhebaks, know: that the Syrian army and security forces have been using brutal force to crush the city because its people are inspiring millions of Syrians and are demanding an end to humiliation.

http://youtu.be/Jwcn7qPk_tE

Thank you Halabi,hayallah Ahel Homs ashraf el nass.

Ghufran
Haytham Manna3 latest interview:
مابين بيع الوهم والنضال بالأمل
http://youtu.be/HzdlFOHV23E

Read the horror story at Al Hakika dot info. And here is some bit of news:

CAIRO: The arrival of 7 and half tons of tear gas to Egypt’s Suez port created conflict after the responsible officials at the port refused to sign and accept it for fear it would be used to crackdown on Egyptian protesters.

Local news sites published documents regarding the shipment shows that the cargo that arrived in 479 barrels from the United States was scheduled to be delivered to the ministry of interior.

The reports also mentioned in the documents that a second shipment of 14 tons of tear gas was expected, making the total 21 tons, in one week.

From the EU/CIA/Jew/Salafist/Saudi/al Qaeda/Non-Buttboy Press:

“…Mark Toner, U.S. State Department spokesman, said Ambassador Robert Ford (AKA Heckle) was returning to Syria to continue the work he had been doing previously — namely, delivering the United States’ message to the Syrian people, providing reliable reporting on the situation on the ground, and engaging with the full spectrum of Syrian society. Mr Toner also stated Ambassador Ford had put a notice in Craig’s List regarding a Syrian fellow named Bronco who allegedly stole his wallet at a cocktail party while he was busy signing autographs…”

217. Dear Ghufran,
“This blog is full of claims of such attacks,read revlon’s daily death reports for example, all of those victims are called Shabeehas to justify the crimes”

Sahbbeeha are armed regime paramilitias.
– They are indeed armed terrorists, and not innocent civilians.
– They finance, organise,manage, and carry out the ongoing brutal regime crackdown on demonstrators.

All of the related reports that I have quoted were of FSA attacks on Shabbeeha and security forces.

I never saw a video or posted a report thereof of attacks by anti-regime demonstrators on either civilians or regime forces.

Your choice for your name projects a decent personality.
I is also decent to provide/link a reference when commenting on someone else’s post!

Cheers!

@Revlon
You score 8 out of 10 being possible Homsi, You will get additional score point if you answer comment # 231

For the young Syrians here, I doubt there are more than 5 Syrians here:

معاهدة سيفر هي معاهدة السلام التي تم التوقيع عليها في 10 أغسطس 1920 عقب الحرب العالمية الأولى بين الإمبراطورية العثمانية وقوات الحلفاء ولكن المعاهدة رفضت من قبل الحركة الوطنية التركية بزعامة مصطفى كمال أتاتورك التي شكلت جمهورية تركيا في 29 أكتوبر 1923 على أنقاض الإمبراطورية العثمانية. كان رفض أتاتورك لتطبيق بنود المعاهدة نابعاً من خسارة لحجم هائل من المناطق التي كانت تابعة للعثمانيين في حالة تطبيق المعاهدة
تقسيم الإمبراطورية العثمانية بموجب معاهدة سيفر
كانت المعاهدة تنص على:
• حصول منطقة الحجاز على الاستقلال.
• حصول أرمينيا على الاستقلال.
• حصول كردستان على الاستقلال حسب البندين 62 و 63 و64 من الفقرة الثالثة والسماح لولاية الموصل بالإنضمام إلى كردستان إستنادا إلى البند 62 ونصه “إذا حدث، خلال سنة من تصديق هذه الاتفاقية أن تقدم الكرد القاطنون في المنطقة التي حددتها المادة (62) إلى عصبة الأمم قائلين أن غالبية سكان هذه المنطقة ينشدون الاستقلال عن تركيا، وفي حالة اعتراف عصبة الأمم أن هؤلاء السكان أكفاء للعيش في حياة مستقلة وتوصيتها بمنح هذا الاستقلال، فإن تركيا تتعهد بقبول هذه التوصية وتتخلى عن كل حق في هذه المنطقة. وستكون الإجراءات التفصيلية لتخلي تركيا عن هذه الحقوق موضوعا لإتفاقية منفصلة تعقد بين كبار الحلفاء وبين تركيا”.
نتيجة للرفض التركي لبعض بنود وخاصة فيما يتعلق بالحدود الغربية والجنوبية الغربية (مع اليونان) والجنوبية الشرقية (مع سوريا)، تم تعديل مسار بعض الأجزاء الحدودية في معاهدة تالية عقدت في لوزان السويسرية عام 1923 و عرفت باسم معاهدة لوزان. أعادت المعاهدة الثانية أراض لتركيا في القسم الأوروبي (غرب اسطنبول) من الدولة العثمانية وضمت الأقاليم السورية الشمالية إلى تركيا.
اتفاقية سايكس بيكو سازانوف عام 1916، كانت تفاهمًا سريًا بين فرنسا والمملكة المتحدة بمصادقة من الإمبراطورية الروسية على اقتسام الهلال الخصيب بين فرنسا وبريطانيا لتحديد مناطق النفوذ في غرب آسيا بعد تهاوي الامبراطورية العثمانية، المسيطرة على هذه المنطقة، في الحرب العالمية الأولى.
تم الوصول إلى هذه الاتفاقية بين نوفمبر من عام 1915 ومايو من عام 1916 بمفاوضات سرية بين الدبلوماسي الفرنسي فرانسوا جورج بيكو والبريطاني مارك سايكس، وكانت على صورة تبادل وثائق تفاهم بين وزارات خارجية فرنسا وبريطانيا وروسيا القيصرية آنذاك. تم الكشف عن الاتفاق بوصول الشيوعيين إلى سدة الحكم في روسيا عام 1917، مما أثار الشعوب التي تمسها الاتفاقية وأحرج فرنسا وبريطانيا وكانت ردة الفعل الشعبية-الرسمية العربية المباشرة قد ظهرت في مراسلات حسين مكماهون.
تم تقسيم الهلال الخصيب بموجب الاتفاق، وحصلت فرنسا على الجزء الأكبر من الجناح الغربي من الهلال (سوريا ولبنان) ومنطقة الموصل في العراق. أما بريطانيا فأمتدت مناطق سيطرتها من طرف بلاد الشام الجنوبي متوسعا بالإتجاه شرقا لتضم بغداد والبصرة وجميع المناطق الواقعة بين الخليج العربي والمنطقة الفرنسية في سوريا. كما تقرر أن تقع فلسطين تحت إدارة دولية يتم الاتفاق عليها بالتشاور بين بريطانيا وفرنسا وروسيا. ولكن الاتفاق نص على منح بريطانيا مينائي حيفا وعكا على أن يكون لفرنسا حرية استخدام ميناء حيفا، ومنحت فرنسا لبريطانيا بالمقابل استخدام ميناء الاسكندرونة الذي كان سيقع في حوزتها.
لاحقاً، وتخفيفاً للإحراج الذي أصيب به الفرنسيون والبريطانيون بعد كشف هذه الاتفاقية ووعد بلفور، صدر كتاب تشرشل الأبيض سنة 1922 ليوضح بلهجة مخففة أغراض السيطرة البريطانية على فلسطين. إلا أن محتوى اتفاقية سايكس-بيكو تم التأكيد عليها مجدداً في مؤتمر سان ريمو عام 1920. بعدها، أقر مجلس عصبة الأمم وثائق الانتداب على المناطق المعنية في 24 حزيران 1922. عقدت في فرنسا اتفاقية جديدة عرفت باسم معاهدة سيفر تم بموجبها التنازل عن الأقاليم السورية الشمالية لتركيا الأتاتوركية.
قسمت هذه الاتفاقية وما تبعها سوريا الكبرى أو المشرق العربي إلى دول وكيانات سياسية كرست الحدود المرسومة بموجب هذه الاتفاقية والاتفاقيات الناجمة عنها:
• العراق، استقل عام 1932
• منطقة الانتداب الفرنسي على سوريا:
o سوريا، استقلت فعلياً عام 1946
o لبنان، استقل ككيان مستقل عام 1943.
o الأقاليم السورية الشمالية ضمت لتركيا
• في 29 أيار 1937 أصدرت عصبة الأمم قراراً بفصل اللواء عن سورية وعُين للواء حاكم فرنسي.
• في 15 تموز 1938 دخلت القوات التركية بشكل مفاجئ للرأي العام السوري إلى مدن اللواء واحتلتها، وتراجع الجيش الفرنسي إلى أنطاكية.
• في عام 1939، أشرفت الإدارة الفرنسية على استفتاء حول الإنضمام إلى تركيا فاز فيه الأتراك وشكك العرب بنتائجه، وابتدأت سياسة تتريك اللواء وتهجير السكان العرب إلى بقية الوطن السوري، ثم قامت تركيا بتغيير كافة الأسماء من عربية إلى تركية، وظل هذا الأمر مصدراً للتوتر في العلاقات بين تركيا وسوريا طيلة سبعة عقود. واليوم يشكل العرب الأغلبية في ثلاث محافظات (من أصل اثنتي عشرة) في هاتاي.
كان الإجراء الفرنسي بإعطاء اللواي إلى تركيا مخالفاً لصك الانتداب نفسه، حيث نصت المادة الرابعة من صك الانتداب على إلزام الدولة المنتدبة باحترام وحدة البلاد الموكلة إليها والحفاظ على سلامة أراضيها، وهو ما لم يتقيد به الفرنسيون.
عام 1921 كان الأتراك يشكلون أقل من 20 في المئة من سكان الإقليم، إلا أن السياسة الفرنسية المنحازة للأتراك، والتخطيط القديم لسلخ اللواء لإرضاء أتاتورك، (رغبة في التقليل من الخسائر التركية في معاهدة سيفر) أرسى سياسة تتريك مقنعة خلال فترة الانتداب الفرنسي في العشرينات للإقليم، ومع فصل الإقليم حسب قرار عصبة الأمم كان عدد سكان اللواء 220 ألف نسمة، 105 آلاف منهم من العرب، وتوزع الباقون حينها على العرق التركي (85 ألفاً) والكردي (25 ألفاً) والأرمني (5 آلاف).
يسكن الإقليم حالياً حوالي مليون نسمة، ولا يوجد أي تعداد للنسبة العربية من سكانه بسبب السياسة التركية القمعية للأقليات القومية، ويشكو سكان الإقليم العرب من القمع الثقافي واللغوي والعرقي الذي تمارسه تركيا عليهم والتمييز ضد الأقلية العربية لصالح العرق التركي في كل المجالات وهو متابعة نحو التتريك الكامل للواء. وهناك تواصل مستمر في مناسبات خاصة كالأعياد بين سكان اللواء وبين أقربائهم في الأراضي السورية المجاورة.
ما زالت بعض الخرائط السورية تظهر لواء اسكندرون (هاتاي) على أنه منطقة سورية محتلة عام 1998 وبعد ازمة سورية تركية كادت تتفجر صراعاً عسكرياً، تم التوصل إلى تسوية سياسية في اتفاقية أضنة تخلت على اثرها سوريا عن دعمها لحزب العمال الكردستاني، كما تخلت فيه عن المطالبة بلواء الاسكندرون دون أن تعترف به كأرض تركية، فاوقفت الحملات الاعلامية المطالبة به. المصادر السورية نفت اي تخل عن لواء الاسكندرون، الا انها اعلنت ان المصلحة السورية تقضي بتأجيل القضايا الخلافية والتطلع إلى التعاون الاقتصادي السياسي مع تركيا في المرحلة الراهنة.
بعد أن قامت تركيا بتحريك الجيش عام 1996 نحو الحدود الشمالية لسوريا قام حافظ الأسد بتقديم لواء اسكندرون هدية على أثر اتفاقية مع تركيا سرية و نصت على عدم مطالبة سوريا بلواء اسكندرون ولا بحقوق مدنية للأخوة المواطنين في سوريا ذوي الأصل من لواء اسكندرون و حتى عمدت بعض الدوائر الحكومية إلى نشر خرائط لسوريا تم حذف لواء اسكندرون منها عمدا و لم تتم مراسلة القنوات العربية التي حذفت لواء اسكندرون من خريطة سوريا .. ولا حتى مطالبة تركيا بتصويت او اي شيء …
تشابه هذه الحالة ما يقوم به النظام بالنسبة للجولان حيث يدعي النظام بأنه نظام مناهض لوجود اسرائيل بينما .. لا يطالب باراضيه المسلوبة .. نطالب حكومتنا بإثارة قضية لواء اسكندرون من جديد .. نريد أرضنا أن تعود لنا… لا لمعاهدات الاستسلام

Halabi@sky news
BS report,one sides,mentions nothing about 600 Alawis and 200 Christians killed by the people he is crying for.This kind of reporting will fly for an western empty headed lay person,but even kindergartener in Syria knows that most of the so called revolutionists in Bab Omer are terrorists to the bone.

171. ghufran said:

the massacres against civilian Shia in two countries,Iraq and Afghanistan,who were just celebrating Ashoraa is a testament about the nature of Talibani-Takfiri Islam that is invading muslim communities. Who needs enemies with friends like these ?

talibani / takfiri islam has nothing to do with it

think the west and their surrogates 😉

think divide and conquer

51. DARRYL said:

” My Ancestors have passed stories where Turkish soldiers would walk up to a pregnant woman and tear the baby out of her stomach with a knife, Alawites would be placed on a Khazouq”

Your ancestors were obviously liars, or perhaps your parenst invented those stories themselves.

Similar to the Christian priest of Damour in Lebanon, at the time of the notorious “Damour Massacre” during the Civil War ( I am sure you have heard about this incident); who claimed that the PLO fighters and other Palestinians were shouting “let us offer a holocaust to Muhammad” and that the Palestinians were castrating Christian men and stuffing their penises in their mouths. Do you believe all this ? If you don’t, then you shouldn’t those incredulous stories as well.
Syrian and Lebanese Christians are experts in making up stories.

The Shia re not Muslim, they are a political sect,destroy them by inflicting a thousand cuts.

GHUFRAN, you feel sorry for the Shia of Iraq, tell me WHY did they invite the US to topple the Arab hero Saddam Hussein ?

Do you have an answer Ghufran ?

GHUFRAN, you feel sorry for the Shia of Iraq, tell me WHY did they invite the US to topple the Arab hero Saddam Hussein ?

Do you have an answer Ghufran ??,

Australian sentenced to 500 lashes in Saudi Arabia – 2 hrs 37 mins ago

http://news.yahoo.com/australian-sentenced-500-lashes-saudi-arabia-052845608.html

SYDNEY (AP) — An Australian man has been sentenced to 500 lashes and a year in a Saudi Arabian jail after being convicted of blasphemy, officials said Wednesday.

The 45-year-old man, identified by family members as Mansor Almaribe of southern Victoria state, was detained in the holy city of Medina last month while making the Muslim pilgrimage of hajj. Family members told Australian media that Saudi officials accused him of insulting the companions of the Prophet Muhammad, a violation of Saudi Arabia’s strict blasphemy laws.

#231,

عبد الكريم الجندي

السعيد من اتعظ بغيره والشقى من اتعظ بنفسه

this poem translated by Maysaloon (http://www.maysaloon.org/) took my breath away:

For After Prison, There is Only the Glory of a Rising DawnPosted: 05 Dec 2011 04:13 PM PST

Here is a beautiful poem written in 1922 by Najib al Rayess. I’ve never been able to find a rendition that does it justice, and so I will just put down the poem, and try to translate it in English as best as I can. When I hear that more and more people that I know are getting imprisoned, these are the first words that come to mind:

يا ظلام السجن
كلمات: نجيب الريس (1922)يا ظلامَ السّـجنِ خَيِّمْ إنّنا نَهْـوَى الظـلامَا
ليسَ بعدَ السّـجنِ إلا فجـرُ مجـدٍ يتَسَامى

أيّها الحُرّاسُ رِفـقـاً و اسمَعوا مِنّا الكَلاما
مـتّعُـونا بِـهَـواء منعُـهُ كَـانَ حَرَاما

إيـهِ يا دارَ الفخـارِ يا مـقـرَّ المُخلِصينا
قدْ هبطْـناكِ شَـبَاباً لا يهـابـونَ المنونا

و تَـعَاهدنا جَـميعاً يومَ أقسَـمْنا اليَـمِينا
لنْ نخونَ العهدَ يوماً واتخذنا الصدقَ دِيـنَا

يا رنينَ القـيدِ زدني نغمةً تُشـجي فُؤادي
إنَّ في صَـوتِكَ مَعنى للأسـى والاضطهادِ

لـسـتُ والله نَسـيّاً ما تقاسِـيه بِـلادِي
فاشْـهَدَنْ يا نَجمُ إنّي ذو وفــاءٍ وَ وِدادِ
Oh the darkness of this prison, descend on us for we love the dark;
There is naught after imprisonment but the glory of a rising dawn

Oh guards, be gentle, and listen to our words;
Deny us not this air, for banning it is a sin

Oh land of pride and home of the loyal;
We the youth have arrived, and fear no death

And we had all promised, the day we gave our oaths;
To remain true to our word and took truth for our creed

Oh ringing chains, sing me a song to raise my spirits;
For your voice gives meaning to oppression and hardship

By God I have not forgotten what my country suffers;
So bear witness, oh stars, that I remain faithful and loyal

We know BADR is Syrian, that is a hard one.
اتعظ What this word mean in English?

Uzair8

I just recalled the story of Buthaina Shaaban, as a good friend from Damascus told me. She was not getting into University and she had the guts to confront Assad sen. He was buffled and through him she was able to get to university and he always had an eye on her from that time onwards.

I bet you are right, for the last scene of this aweful play, we will see her again.

how to make’ fire works’ that destroy roads and tanks peacefully ?
the answer is on facebook with the Syrian revolution Homs branch teaching its supporters how to make bombs

ائتلاف شباب الثورة في حمص ضد بشار الأسد

كيفية صناعة ألعاب نارية مخصصة لتدمير الطرق و تحويل الدبابات و الباصات إلى قطع حديد خردة ..

المواد المطلوبة
أولا نترات الامونيوم وهي سماد زراعي متوفر في الاسواق و بكثرة
ثانيا المازوت

نسبة المواد 94% نترات الامونيوم تخلط مع 6% ديزل

طريقة التحضير
ناتي بنترات الامونيوم وتميعها بالتسخين اللطيف ويضاف لها الديزل على دفعات مع التحريك المستمر حتى تختلط المواد بشكل جيد ثم يترك الناتج تحت اشعة الشمس ليجف ويبرد ويفتت بشكل حبيبات ويحتاج لصاعق ليشتعل .. شديد التشظي و الفاعلية و يفتت أعظم الصخور و أكبر دبابة .. توكلوا على الله يا شباب الحرية .
http://www.facebook.com/homsRevolution
‘’22 alawites pigs’’ killed by the peaceful demonstrators in Homs with the help of God !!
ائتلاف شباب الثورة في حمص ضد بشار الأسد
هيئة المقاومة الوطنية : القطاع الأوسط : حمص : كتيبة حمزة سيد الشهداء .
قامت قوات كتيبة حمزة سيد الشهداء بعمليات نوعية الآن , على كلً من دوار الزير و دوار القاهرة و دوار سوق السيارات , و كانت النتائج مقتل أكثر من 21 قتيل من خنازير النصيريين و تدمير عربتي بي ام بي , و ثلاث عربات بي تي ار , و عادت الكتيبة إلى مواقعها سالمة بعون الله و فضله .

http://www.facebook.com/homsRevolution

no comment .

@254

Dear Annie

A very short, but soulful rendition of part of the poem

S0 Bashar Assad is not responsible for the crimes of his army that are committing torture and killing,Why does he not leave then?
He is not owner of Syria,and he is only a president,that is what Gaddafi said he has no position to resign from.
Bashar is delusional,liar,and belittling the inteligence of Syrians and the world,he is the idole of those criminals on SC

Arab League chief due in Baghdad for Syria talks
http://news.yahoo.com/arab-league-chief-due-baghdad-syria-talks-095307812.html

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi is due in Baghdad on Thursday to discuss the regional bloc’s sanctions against Syria, which Iraq refuses to enforce, a foreign ministry official told AFP.

“He will hold talks with (foreign minister) Hoshyar Zebari, particularly on Syria,” the official said.

Zebari said late November that Baghdad expected a visit from Arabi to discuss an Arab League summit to be held in the Iraqi capital in March.

The pan-Arab body approved on November 27 an initial wave of sweeping sanctions against the Syrian government over its deadly crackdown on protest — the first time that the bloc has enforced such punitive measures against a member state.

Those measures included an immediate freeze on transactions with Damascus and its central bank and of Syrian regime assets in Arab countries.

But Iraq’s close trade ties with Syria, from which it imports significant amounts of foodstuffs, pushed the Iraqi government to abstain from the Arab League vote on sanctions.

“Our position is mainly economic. There is a trade exchange between Iraq and Syria, and a joint border,” Iraqi deputy foreign minister Labid Abbawi said, explaining Baghdad’s decision to abstain.

“This decision will affect the people of Syria more than the regime,” Abbawi said, but it “will have consequences for us as well as Syria.”

Trade between Iraq and Syria reached $2 billion last year, and is expected to reach $3 billion in 2011, according to official Iraqi and Syrian figures.

I still bet the US will win the jackpot in Syria, especially after Sarkozy, Cameron, Hague, Erdogan, have given a good show of their deep incompetence, but I hope Ford will have better to do than to spend his days on FB and that the “Virtual US embassy” launched by the US as a web portail and closed shortly after by the Iranians will not be the start of a new psy op.

Tlass, you are so young that you don’t remember that the Kuwaitis were paying the checks for Iraq invasion? The Shiis had by then been betrayed by Bush father twice already and not all welcomed the US invasion. But that’s the way it goes in the Gulf and with the MB, they surf on rumours and lies better than anyone on this planet. I know a guy who was told in Saudi Arabia that the Saud family was actually the one who had fought the Wahhabis!!

Mina #261

“Tlass, you are so young that you don’t remember that the Kuwaitis were paying the checks for Iraq invasion?”

After having paid the checks for Iraq to crush Iran during the 8 years war Iran-Iraq.

It is clear that the veneer of modernity is just that: a veneer.
This President is
1. Delusional
2. Still in a mind set of: ” L’Etat c’est moi”. Barbaric despot in short.
God help Syria with this incredible incompetent delusional barbaric regime and its supporters.

I am actually optimistic that Syria deserves better leadership and in this I take great comfort in noting that neither Joshua nor Alex have posted anything in the last few weeks on this blog. I hope that my reading of their silence is an indication of their embarrassment at supporting this type of regime.

#263 Observer

The word ‘delusional’ has been used ad nausea, please try something else, what about ‘pragmatic’?

Observer,

Indeed, what an acute observer you are. It is probably Alf himself who was posting here these last few weeks.

Before we can all enjoy an other show of Kassab Baschar, here is a report with some of his statements.

DER SPIEGEL

Assad pushes blame for atrocities on opposition

Interview: Assad defends itself against allegations

Thousands of people have died in Syria’s civil war – but President Assad rejects any responsibility. In an interview with U.S. broadcaster ABC, he said, violence is going out from the government opponents. Russia sent an aircraft carrier to Syria, ostensibly for a maneuver.

Hamburg – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has rejected responsibility for the ongoing violence in his country. In an interview with U.S. broadcaster ABC Assad said: “There was no order to kill or brutal act.”

It is the first interview that Assad granted a U.S. television since the beginning of the bloody uprising against his regime.

Assad distanced himself from the use of force by security forces against the opposition. He said he was President, but not the “owner” of the country. He led the violence on “some mistakes by certain managers’ returns. Not his security forces, Assad added.

Most of the dead were supporters of his government and not vice versa, said Assad. The United Nations of 4000 deaths from the conflict – according to the UN mostly opposition supporters and non-Assad.

“I have done my best”

Nevertheless, attested Assad a clear conscience: “I have done my best to protect the people, so I can not feel guilty,” said the ruler. The blame for the violence have armed criminals and gangs.

Assad who have prohibited that international journalists can work from Syria, spoke to the American journalist Barbara Walters. The 82-year-old Walters is known for her dyed personally interviews in which she interviewed celebrities on the private. She also hosted on the ABC morning show “The View”.

Walters spoke to Assad than to the arrest of minors, Assad said: “To be honest, Barbara, I do not believe you.”

Although Assad rejected personal responsibility, the opposition reports always of new attacks by government forces. Most recently in the night of Tuesday a mass execution in the protest stronghold of Homs took place according to human rights activists. The 34 people killed were taken as prisoner beforehand by the militia Schabiha which is under the command of Assad . Also reports of “Amnesty International” suggests serious human rights violations such as torture in Syria.

As for international sanctions to Assad was unconcerned: “We are over 30, under 35 years of sanctions, there is nothing new,” the president said.

Clinton meets Syrian opposition

International pressure on the Assad regime has intensified in recent weeks. The European Union tightened its sanctions, the Arab League at the weekend imposed sanctions, including a travel ban on senior members of government.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met in Geneva on Tuesday representatives of the Syrian opposition – and demanded from them a commitment to freedom and human rights. “A democratic change means more than the overthrow of the Assad regime,” Clinton said before the two-hour meeting with seven representatives of the opposition Syrian National Council, founded in October.

In a Syria after Assad, the rights of minorities and women are protected, added Clinton. The National Council was founded in October and in November presented a program, which provides for the overthrow of Assad’s one-year transition period up to parliamentary elections.

The U.S. ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, is returning to Damascus, after he had been recalled for safety reasons in late October in Washington. The occasion was the time after U.S. data, a number of threats and a smear campaign against the Syrian state media diplomats. “We believe that his presence in the country is one of the most effective means to convey to the Syrian people the message that the U.S. is at his side,” said a spokesman for the U.S. State Department.

Russia sends aircraft carrier

Russia has put its aircraft carrier “Admiral Kuznetsov” and other serious war ships to Syria in the direction of an exercise program. The ships will participate in an international maneuvers in the Mediterranean and arrive in the Russian military base in Tartus in Syria.

Russian media had reported that Moscow wants to build a threat of force against NATO. Among other things, a U-boat destroyer and several support ships left their port, it said. A Navy spokesman said the trip was planned long ago and have no connection to the insurgency in Syria.

Russia had spoken out vehemently in the past, however, to impose sanctions against Syria. The government of President Assad is a major purchaser of Russian weapons.

translated

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,802231,00.html

opositioneers ( forigne contractors ) attack all structures of country and saeing rabish about regime !!!!!

Here i found the first part.

To my knowledge, Walters has been to Syria twice, and hell ya if this President hasnt heard the brave song of Ibrahim, then where is the ipad to show him the song? What a liar he is!

This ABC Interview with Bashar may indicate many things.

I want to suggest one. Assad distancing himself from the brutality and also defending the military institutions while blaming the ‘actions’ on individuals could indicate a realisation that the security solution hasn’t worked. Has Assad made a decision to end the security solution?

He speaks remarkably freely on this issue. Can’t be good for the morale of the individual soldiers seeing the leader looking out for himself and defending the security/military institutions while blaming individuals on the ground.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Muslim-Brotherhood-Claims-Another-Victory-in-Egyptian-Elections-135158278.html
December 07, 2011
Muslim Brotherhood Claims Another Victory in Egyptian Elections
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood says its political party has won almost two-thirds of the parliamentary seats reserved for individual candidates in the opening rounds of the country’s lower house elections.

In a statement Wednesday, the Islamist group’s Freedom and Justice party says it won 36 of the 56 individual seats that were contested in nine provinces, including the two largest cities of Cairo and Alexandria. It says Freedom and Justice candidates won 34 seats in runoff elections on Monday and Tuesday after winning outright victories in two other seats in last week’s first round of voting.

Official results from the runoff elections were expected by Thursday.

Previous wins
The Brotherhood’s party already had won the largest share of seats reserved for parties in last week’s vote, securing 37 percent of ballots in the nine provinces, compared to 24 percent for its nearest rival, the ultra-conservative Salafist Nour party. Egypt’s liberal coalition was a distant third.

If confirmed, the Brotherhood’s individual seat victories put the movement on track to become the leading power in the 498-member assembly.

Egypt’s remaining 18 provinces will join the voting for the lower house of parliament in two stages in the coming weeks. Elections for parliament’s less-powerful upper house will begin in late January and finish in March.

Cabinet announcement
In another development, Egypt’s interim prime minister says he will unveil a Cabinet on Wednesday featuring a new finance minister and about a dozen incumbent ministers who will be tasked with governing the country until the end of the elections.

In a news conference Tuesday, Kamal el-Ganzouri said his new finance minister will be Mumtaz al-Saeed, a ministry veteran who faces the challenge of stabilizing an economy battered by unrest since February’s ouster of autocratic president Hosni Mubarak.

The military-appointed interim prime minister said he would not reveal his choice for the key post of interior minister until Wednesday’s announcement of the full Cabinet line-up. Many opposition youth activists have been calling for the replacement of the incumbent interior minister Mansour al-Eissawy with a civilian who does not share Eissawy’s police background.

Many Egyptians resent the interior ministry for ordering police to violently crack down on opposition protesters who forced Mubarak to step down in February and who demonstrated last month against the military council that replaced him.

Constitutional amendment
Egypt’s military rulers said Tuesday they will amend the constitution to give Ganzouri more power than his predecessor Essam Sharaf, whom they appointed in March. Sharaf quit after 42 people were killed in November’s confrontations between police and protesters.

But, the military council said it will retain its presidential powers over the armed forces and the judiciary.

Speaking Tuesday, Ganzouri said he will not allow security forces to use violence against any citizens, including youth activists who have been protesting his appointment outside the cabinet headquarters in Cairo. The activists oppose Ganzouri because of his ties to the Mubarak government, in which he served as prime minister in the 1990s.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/12/07/61733074.html
Russia starts acting on its plan to counter Euro-ABM
The Chief of the Russian General Staff, Army General Nikolai Makarov has told foreign military attachés in Moscow that Russia is taking military-technological measures which President Dmitry Medvedev described a while ago as Russia’s response to the planned deployment of the US ABM system in Europe.

Nikolai Makarov said that the elements of the US ABM system that are currently being deployed in Europe already pose a threat to the Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces.

Russia does not need an arms race, but is being pushed to joining it, Makarov said. Earlier, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned that Russia would take some tough measures to counter the US ABM plans for Europe, including the building-up of its strategic potential and a likely deployment of up-to-date strike systems.

Bashar Assad as we say in Arabic, is BOOHA
Congratulation to his supporters,having such Booha

http://en.rian.ru/world/20111207/169436072.html
Russian task force goes on mission in Atlantic, Mediterranean
A Russian naval task force from the Northern Fleet has left its base in Severomorsk on a training mission in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, a fleet’s spokesman Capt. 1st Rank Vadim Serga said.
The task force, led by Russia’s only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, also includes Udaloy II class destroyer Admiral Chabanenko, rescue tugboat Nikolai Chiker, and three tankers.
“The goal of the mission is to maintain Russia’s naval presence in vital maritime zones around the world,” Serga told reporters on Tuesday.
The mission is part of the Russian Navy’s annual training plan and will most likely involve a comprehensive program of naval pilot training to further develop the skills acquired by pilots at the Nitka Naval Pilot Training Center in Ukraine.
The task force will be joined in the Atlantic by the Baltic Fleet’s Neustrashimy class frigate Yaroslav Mudry and a tanker for the rest of the mission.
Russia’s Chief of the General Staff, Gen. Nikolai Makarov, said in November that the mission had been scheduled long time ago and is not connected to the current political crisis in Syria.

Like Rifaat like Hafez like Maher Like Bashar !
A bunch of criminal narcissistic hypocrite liars.

“No ones in command. There was no command to kill or to be brutal…”

Its really the biggest b…sh ive heard so far, so Mr Assad who is in command in your beautiful country?

majedkhaldoun

can you please write your BOOHA in arabic? I couldnt figure out what you meant by it.

Louai,the shabiha deserves to be punished whatever they are alawites ,christians or muslims.In Homs most of the shabiha happen to be sectarian alawites that hold the same sectarian hatred that we hear from bashar’s supporters in this forum ,who are armed by bashar against the homsians.

skynews في باباعمرو

Uzair8#268.

Bashar is delusional. He has no empathy, no remorse, no guilt, no no no no no no no no no no.

He is a psychopath.

حمص .. قلب سوريا النازف

http://syria-news.com/readnews.php?sy_seq=141044

About the affect of sanctions.

I don’t think it would be a bad thing if the ‘silent majority’ (incl. wealthy pro-regime or silent) suffered a little from the sanctions. I don’t mean in an extreme way. A few months into the sanctions they will have to give up luxuries to which they are long accustomed. Eventually they may have to stretch their pounds and join pennies. Perhaps that will shake them out of their current state and sober them up.

One can’t have much sympathy for a part of the population that was content with their own selfish interests and indifferent and unconcerned about the plight of another portion of the population who were long oppressed and neglected.

Recently I have seen reports of how some of the previous ‘silent’ people such as traders, merchants, etc who have been affected by the situation blaming the protestors for this. Some of them may and do sympathize with the opposition after the initial blame towards them.

If the so called ‘silent majority’ took an interest in, and helped remove the plight of the poor and oppressed in the past then perhaps we wouldn’t be where we are now with hardships and suffering threatening to affect all parts of Syria. There is a lesson in this. This situation is not unexpected.

The sad part is that the poor and others may be affected severely by the shortages and price rises. My heart goes out to them May Allah SWT sustain them.

pieces from Bashar’s ABC interview
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/newsmakers/abc-exclusive-defiant-assad-denies-ordering-bloody-crackdown-111944523.html
did the interview change anything or helpe Assad’s image?

Juergen
Booha is a weak person with very low intelligence
Umru AlQays told his daughter hind
Dont marry Booha (mean weak and low intelligence),Mirsagha(mean can not see well)Bayna arsaghihi(meanhis feet are tied with ropes can not maneuver) bi hi 3asamon(mean his elbow frozen can not perform anything) yabtaghi arnaba( mean looking for rabbit where rabbits are not there, this is arabic proverb indicating he is stupid)

sorry I can not find way to write Arabic in my computor.

Raised as a son of a dictator, Bashar was probably not given a chance to develop a normal psych. Pleasant and painful life experiences shape us into what we are. He was always surrounded with worshipers of the family. Some were honest worshipers, most were pseudo-worshipes out of fear. He probably never experienced emotional pain. He never experienced true friendship. He never experienced rejection. He probably never experienced a burning desire or even a fulfiling satisfaction as his wishes were probably always met before they even materialized. He probably unable to feel symathy, kindness, or mercy to any dissent as he never had to deal with dissent at a personal level. I pity him. He never felt the ecstasy of pain.

How could he possibly develop a conscious?

What do you all expect the guy to say? “Yeah, I ordered them to shoot everyone who was out demonstrating because that is the only way to protect the integrity of the country, blah, blah, blah”?

what I’m really angry about is the wasted chance: they were allowed full access to him, “no restrictions, no guidelines” yet they send this useless old woman who normally interviews celebrities, and where hardly any hard questions are ever asked and mostly egos are massaged. ABC should have sent Christiane Amanpour instead, she would have really gotten stuck into him and surely as a minimum would have taken an i-pad-full of videos and documents to shove in his face.

Lame, absolutely lame.

Here is the original first snippets of the interview which will be aired in full later on nightline.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/defiant-syrian-president-bashar-al-assad-denies-ordering/story?id=15098612#.Tt-JwrL3FRq

الأخ ماجد خلدون

هذا البرنامج من جوجل يحل مشكلة الكتابة بالعربي فباستخدام لوحة المفاتيح الإنكليزية يمكنك كتابة الكلمات العربية باستعمال الحروف الأبجدية الرومانية حيث البرنامج يحولها تلقائيا إلى حروف عربية

http://www.google.com/ime/transliteration/

Very easy to get the hang of once installed.

For example typing:

Bshar alasad, alshby7 alakbr fy suria

will give you: بشار الأسد: الشبيح الأكبر في سوريا
😉

Regional status quo and growth of the sectarian language

By Scarlett HADDAD | 06/12/2011
Orient-Le Jour ( translated from french)

Each day brings a new development in the situation in Syria. Although it is certain that there is a real problem between the regime and a part of the population, it is equally certain that the development of events in Syria can not be separated from regional and international context.

The Syrian regime has agreed at the last minute to sign the protocol developed by the Arab League to send observers, encouraged by the Russian Council. Contrary to the predictions of some members of March 14, Russian diplomatic sources in Lebanon say also categorically that Russia have no intention to drop the Syrian regime, and this support is a strategic issue for her. The sources said Russia would feel surrounded by the U.S. ballistic missiles placed in Europe and Turkey, and she would want to catch up on what is now recognized as two errors, especially in Libya (where it supported a military action against the Gaddafi regime in the Security Council) and Sudan when it accepted the division of the country. Gradually, Russia has therefore to be excluded from the region, and support for the Syrian regime is thus vital so that it maintains a presence in the Middle East. Faced with Russian support to the Syrian regime, it becomes difficult to bring it down militarily, despite consultations and preparations made for this purpose in Turkey and elsewhere.

On the other hand, pressure on the regime will not be relaxed, especially with the approach of the fateful date of completion of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. According to the same diplomatic sources, the Americans would want to cause trouble to divert public attention from this withdrawal and the atmosphere of defeat that surrounds it. In addition, disturbances in Syria are intended to replace the military attack against Iran that is becoming increasingly difficult in this climate of crisis and with the financial problems which agitate Europe and the United States.

The situation in Syria is expected to remain unstable, even if the regime has finally decided to sign the protocol of the Arab League. The Arab League would no doubt find other angles to keep the pressure on it. However, sources close to the Syrian regime, the sanctions of the Arab League would have strengthened the patriotic sentiment among Syrians, a people with a strong national pride.
Moreover, the Muslim Brotherhood that was virtually eradicated in the country in 80 years, have not had time to acquire a large popular base and they are forced to bear arms to mark their presence.

At the same time, recent statements by the head of the Syrian National Council (CNS) Borhan Ghalioun announcing its intention to cut ties with Iran and Hezbollah when he takes power and suggesting he would be willing to conclude a peace with Israel have not failed to shock most of the population. Rumors about a meeting that would have been held in October in Washington between officials of the U.S. administration, a representative of the CNS and an Israeli official immediately began to circulate. According to these rumors, the representative of the NSC would have requested financial aid, diplomatic recognition from the international community and military intervention against the Syrian regime. Interlocutors are said to have praised his clear agenda, while also noting that current circumstances are not conducive to military intervention while for the diplomatic recognition, the NSC has a long way to go, particularly in terms of all components of the Syrian opposition.

What is in any case certain is that the situation on the ground is not going to change much. Acts of violence follow on another, as well as the demonstrations against and in favor of the regime. But it has been able yesterday to embarrass the Arab League in expressing its readiness to sign the protocol for sending observers in Syria. The process should take a few days or weeks, while the developments throughout the region remain more or less uncontrollable and that the situation remains volatile in Egypt, and Bahrain and Yemen.

Diplomatic sources reveal that the United States would have quietly requested the opening of a dialogue with Iran but the Islamic Republic would have opposed an unqualified refusal to this request. On the other hands, Iran would have asked to open a dialogue with Saudi Arabia, which has also totally rejected the suggestion.
This means that for now, the channels of negotiations are stuck on the both the regional and international levels. This suggests that the situation will continue to steep in the same status quo, as the international community and the Arab League is banking on a major split in the Syrian army and the dropping of Bashar al-Assad by the Sunni bourgeoisie that is still providing a coverage.

In the other camp, supporters of the regime show great confidence in the future, assuring that the Russian support is solid, and considering that the number of deserters in the army remains insignificant. Just as they believe that the Sunni bourgeoisie continues to support the regime for fear of being swept by the Muslim Brotherhood. For the supporters of the regime, the internal situation is solid, while the plan to create a buffer zone on the border with Turkey is in trouble, the area planned for this purpose is populated by Christians and Alawites who show little excitment about the project.

Not to mention the fact that Russia has in turn put pressure on Turkey, which has also a fragile social fabric. Supporters of the Syrian regime estimate that the more the Turkish Prime Minister raises the tone toward Syria and the more he tries to hide his inability to act on the ground.

In conclusion, we can say that we should not expect major developments in the coming weeks, but the sectarian divide is being amplified in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. A rather bad omen for the future …

@174 Haytham Khoury

“Bashar is delusional. He has no empathy, no remorse, no guilt, no no no no no no no no no no.:

A real politician…

ghufran#277.

This is the most damning interview of all Bashar’s interviews.
Barbara Walter is very intelligent. Bashar does not understand how to talk to media.

Monsieur le professeur Ghalioun : cheap shots at Hezbollah over its lack of support to Syria’s opposition.

Ghalioun warns Iran, says Hezbollah let down Syrian opposition
December 07, 2011 11:32 AM

BEIRUT: The leader of the Syrian National Council has warned Iran against protecting President Bashar Assad and accused Lebanon’s Hezbollah of letting down the Syrian opposition.

Iran is “participating in suppressing the Syrian people” by backing Assad, Burhan Ghalioun told CNN in an interview Tuesday.

The Assad family, which has ruled over Syria for four decades, has been a longtime ally of the Islamic Republic.

Ghalioun, who was elected chairman of the SNC in late August, also warned that the crackdown could lead to international military intervention.

“I hope that the Iranians realize the importance of not compromising the Syrian-Iranian relationship by defending a regime whose own people clearly reject it and has become a regime of torture to its own people,” Ghalioun told the U.S. broadcaster.

He said Iran needed to understand “that this is the last chance to avoid an unwanted fate to the Syrian-Iranian relationship.”

Turning to Hezbollah, Iran’s primary ally in Lebanon, Ghalioun said the Syrian opposition had been let down by the resistance group.

“The Syrian people stood completely by Hezbollah once. But today, they are surprised that Hezbollah did not return the favor and support the Syrian people’s struggle for freedom,” he said.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Dec-07/156199-ghalioun-warns-iran-says-hezbollah-let-down-syrian-opposition.ashx#ixzz1fryQ0q4G
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

279. Tara

Are you Bashar al Assad’s shrink?

Harvard Arab Alumni Association & Asma Assad

Have not been on the site in a while. Was wondering if anyone had heard anything about the Harvard Arab Alumni Association (HAAA) wanting to bestow honorary award a few months back on The Rose of The Dessert, Asma Assad?

There is a persistent rumor I am hearing at Columbia U that the reason that the Harvard association decided to give Asma Assad such a distinguished platform to be honored was because it’s members had been aggressively lobbied by agents of the Baathist regime in Damascus. There are even rumors that money may have been exchanged (or promises of lavish privilege to executive members of the association if they were to visit Syria). Is there any truth to this? Does anyone know anything about this that they can share?

There is even discussions that the article that appeared in Harper’s Bazaar Magazine (which has now been mysteriously removed from the magazines online archives) was the result of aggressive lobbying by the regime.

Does anyone know whether the Harvard Arab Alumni Association has formally responded to what happened? Any validity to any of the above? Also does anyone have the names of the individual members of the Association who made the decision to honor Asma Assad with a gala dinner / award. How about just a list of the associations executive membership. Would be interesting to see who this group was an maybe better understand what there intentions in bestowing such an honor on an oppressive regime were.

Thanks in advance for sharing.

Vedat,
Agressive lobbying? After watching them for 9 months I doubt this ever exists with this kind of dinosaurs. Maybe you mean agressive lobbying by some Syrian expats who badly want to have jobs in the US and need to show they are well connected?

As for democracy in Egypt, I guess we’ll have to wait for another 500 years:

Security forces on Monday put an end to the Ashura celebrations of nearly 3000 Shias inside Cairo’s Hussein Mosque.

The event, which marks the death of the Prophet Mohamed’s grandson Imam Hussein, was attended by senior figures from Egypt’s Shia community.

Security authorities shut the mosque’s shrine to Hussein, fearing non-Shia citizens would react angrily to the celebrations. Seven visitors were detained, including Mohamed al-Deriny, a leading Egyptian Shia.

The Endowments Ministry undersecretary, Mohamed Abdel Rahman, said that Shias had not obtained permission to celebrate inside the mosque.

“We were surprised to find them inside, performing barbaric and unreligious rituals. Security forces forced them out,” Abdel Rahman said.

Ashura is the biggest event in the Shia Muslim calendar, and includes chanting and self-flagellation to commemorate Hussein, who died in the battle of Karbala in Iraq in the year 680. The vast majority of Egyptian Muslims follow the Sunni denomination.

Workers at the Hussein Mosque told Al-Masry Al-Youm that they were surprised to find a group of Shias entering the mosque late Monday. They said male visitors did not perform the evening prayer but performed rituals, while women wept and wailed, which rattled other worshippers.

“We asked them to leave, but they declined. So we sought the assistance of police and citizens to drive them out. They protested outside the mosque in objection,” one worker told the newspaper.

Some Shias attacked Al-Masry Al-Youm’s photographer, Mohamed al-Shamy, and forced him to delete what he had filmed of the celebration.

Assistant Endowments Minister, Fouad Abdel Azim, inspected the mosque early Tuesday, instructing workers to keep Shias outside, the workers added.

Shia community leaders complained of persecution and detention under the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak. Taher al-Hashemy, a senior Shia figure, says Shias abstained from performing their rituals to avoid detention by the now dissolved State Security Investigation Services.

Translated from the Arabic Edition
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/537991
(the picture attached to the article shows someone whose face is full of blood, giving an idea that the “dispersion” was quite violent; but the article mentions only a photographer “attacked”, and therefore takes side with the police’s violence. here again I see that you can’t talk about democracy in the middle east without starting by talking about religious freedom, and not only “religious freedom” of the extremists and salafis, who have appropriated the concept to turn it upside down)

BTW’s I checked the Hardvard site and could find no mention of Asma Assad. Seems like it may have been mysteriously removed. I was able to find quotes on google of how excited they were about Asma just a few short months ago. Here is what was written:

A thought-provoking, inspiring and tireless leader and advocate,” they wrote on their website, “the First Lady’s address will certainly be the highlight of our event.”

Pathetic when you consider that her husbands regime has been regularly compared to the despotic families that rule North Korea, Zimbabwe and Lybia.

BTW\’s I checked the Hardvard site and could find no mention of Asma Assad. Seems like it may have been mysteriously removed. I was able to find quotes on google of how excited they were about Asma just a few short months ago. Here is what was written:

A thought-provoking, inspiring and tireless leader and advocate,” they wrote on their website, “the First Lady’s address will certainly be the highlight of our event.”

Pathetic when you consider that her husbands regime has been regularly compared to the despotic families that rule North Korea, Zimbabwe and Lybia.

Mark Toner in response to Besho acknowledging no responsibilities for the killings

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syrias-assad-says-not-responsible-for-deaths-report.aspx?pageID=238&nID=8620&NewsCatID=352

Reacting to the excerpt, State Department spokesman Mark Toner criticized Assad and said he has had multiple opportunities to end the violence.

“I find it ludicrous that he is attempting to hide behind some sort of shell game (and) claim that he doesn’t exercise authority in his own country,” Toner told the briefing.

“There’s just no indication that he’s doing anything other than cracking down in the most brutal fashion on a peaceful opposition movement,” Toner said.

Memo To: KHALID TLASSINSKY

RE: “…tell me WHY did the Iraqi Shia invite the US to topple the Arab hero Saddam Hussein…”

That’s an easy one, Tlassie. Saddam was killing Shi’ites (and Kurds) and there seemed to be no end to it. The Shi’ites had tried to assassinate him, but they fucked up big time (Shi’ites always fuck up – it’s in their DNA) and Saddam’s killing spree was getting worse. So they went to Plan B. Call in the US Marines…

http://playwrighter.blogspot.com/2011/04/arab-news-fox-news-style.html

To the reader, Mr Bashar al Assad:

The army does not belong to the government and (according to the current Syrian constitution, article 103) the president is the commander of the armed forces.

Also, I’d like to ask you, how are the preparations for the first democratic elections, that you promised, and that are scheduled to “February or March”, progressing?
February is 49 days from today.
Thanks.
.

Sorry guys i just dont think that Barbara Walters the dinosaur of american entertainment is the best choice for such an interview. She may be keen to get Ricky Martin confess that he is gay, but how much does it help to send someone who months ago were flattered that she ate lunch with the Assads… it looks like kind of that Baschars office agreed on her to get more of that vogue style entertainment style interview. Questions could have been like that:

Mr president, do you still enjoy fridays off wearing jeans or does the events tie you up in your office?

How do you explain your children what is going on?

Well, i should be careful, the whole interview hasnt been aired yet, may she asks him what kind of songs he has now on his ipod…

Amir

As one said here before, if Assad said there will be fair and democratic elections, then i declare i will fly to Mars in April…

Spies everywhere. Informants in Schools, universities, refugee camps.. How many spies do we have on SC?

YAYLADAG, Turkey: Thousands of Syrian refugees in Turkey live in fear, alleging that President Bashar al-Assad’s regime is using spies and dirty tricks to repatriate critics and army deserters.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Dec-07/156207-refugees-say-syria-using-dirty-tricks-to-repatriate-critics.ashx#axzz1fsLzr59i

Ever since the embattled Assad sent in tanks and troops to frontier Syrian villages six months ago to quash an uprising against his rule, tens of thousands have fled across the border to Turkey and are living rough.

Tensions sparked by the influx have heightened with some refugees alleging that Assad’s informers have tentacles in the Turkish government and the local administration and are using these links to force the return of critics.

Mehmet Neci Yunso is a case in point. The 42-year-old carpenter fled his north-western village and barely missed being extradited about 10 days ago after being accused of smuggling and detained for 10 hours.

“We have no problems with the Turkish government and we have no doubts about them. But we are sure that some people (in the local administration) have contacts with the Syrian state,” he said, speaking in the refugee camp of Yayladag.
…..

“The danger is Assad’s network, its links with mafia groups and its spies. We are scared of being abducted by these people here,” said Hussein Misri, a teacher of Arabic hailing from Jisr al-Shughur in north-western Syria.

There is similar outrage among refugees over the recent deportation of two men, who Turkish authorities allege had entered the country to find work and not because they faced persecution.

The pair were sent to a police post in southern Reyhanli on Saturday to be registered, said Isam Mahmut, a brother to one man and a cousin of the other. On Sunday, news filtered through that they had been sent home.

“They said they had fled Syria for fear of being killed. But in the chargesheet it was written that they came here to seek work. These are lies and whoever is saying that is lying. My brother has been living in the mountains for three months,” Mahmut said.

Hassan Al-Marie, a member of the Supreme Council of the Syrian Revolution — an opposition group — said the the move was serious but stressed that it was not a deliberate act by Turkish authorities but a “problem of individuals.

“One of the two men was in the Syrian army … by sending them back to Syria you are condemning them to torture or even death.”

Juergen,

The one who said he will fly to Mars was me. You’re welcome to join!
.

Dear Mina

I’m sure you’re not an idiot so why are you playing stupid and spreading pure lies ?. The bloody picture depicts how some Shia celebrate Ashura, the photo doesn’t show a victim, this guy did this to himself! they hit themselves with knives, swords, and metal chains to inflict pain and harm upon themselves. That was the “barbaric rituals” they didn’t want the photographer to publish. here’s a sample of their “celebrations”

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

Personally I don’t care how they celebrate, they want to beat themselves to death they can knock themselves out in the privacy of their homes, but I’d rather not have blood stains all over the place in public areas, especially mosques.

Watch Aljazeera. They are discussing the interview.

Only a “crazy” will kill his people, was he referring to his crazy friend Qaddafi?

Tell me who’s your friend and I’ll tell you who you are.

Thanks Tara.

If a fifth grade pupil said that the “army belongs to the government”, I would think that this pupil is an immature idiot.
.

without comment !

The blue-eyed completely isolated dude stated that he never heard of Ibrahim Qahush’s larynx removal or of Ali Ferzat’s hand fracture or of Deraa’s children toture. What does he do all day long then? If true, he should then resign for competency.

He said he does not feel guilty for the killing. He only feels sorry. He is not responsible for the killing. He is only the president.

He is made a mockery out of himself?

long video filmed in Bab Sbaa Homs showing a tank firing at homes and shops, even as Bashar makes an idiot of himself in the ABC interview and denies any orders to open fire:

Vedat The Turk,

Can you explain your obsession with the magazine’s article,”A Rose in the Desert”, and the “Harvard Arab Alumni Association”?

The majority were supporter of this dictator, naively so, I am the first to admit.

What are you trying to accomplish or proof?

This is why Assad agreed to give ABC an interview,he was eager to see a credible media figure like Barbara Walters say that “this man is not like Qadhaffi”,however,he also gave the impression that he is disconnected and out of touch.Many Syrians,me included,did not bother to read or listen to Bashar’s interview at length,we knew what he was going to say but I have to admit that the line about “they did it and not me” was innovative and depressing at the same time.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/bashar-al-assad-interview-defiant-syrian-president-denies/story?id=15098612

Memo To: HAYTHAM KHOURY

RE: “…Barbara Walter is very intelligent…”

Barbara Walters is a fool. In the USA, she’s everyone’s clueless old aunt. Her interviews are painful to watch because she asks the most incredibly stupid questions in the most stupid way possible. One is forced to ask, who did she sleep with to get her job…

Economic Hitmen !!!

Everyone seems to be shocked with the butcher answers, why?
His demeanour is no different today than it was during his first infamous speech, after the protests.

A personal plea to the reader, Mr Adel Safar:

I recommend packing a suitcase and run.

Because, if the army belongs to the government, then you, dear Mr Safer, as the prime of this government, are responsible for all of this. Run.
.

Dear mnhebaks,

Aren’t you embarrassed? Please tell the truth.
.

Irritated, Haytham,
cc. Ghufran,

I didn’t watch the whole interview yet but form the 5min I watched I’ll write my opinion, I may be wrong in my judgement though, will try to watch the whole interview later.

Strange enough, I agree with both of you in #283 and 284:
I agree with Irritated that Bashar was playing the politician character for the first time in this interview, and I think that was the reason why he wasn’t as honest and direct in this one as he did in the previous interview on the Syrian TV.

I also agree with Haytham that it was somehow a damaging interview for the same reason, Bashar wasn’t honest in the way the Syrians used to see him, he was going in circles and defensive about the obvious issues and for some reasons he wasn’t very realistic talking about the dangerous situation Syria is in at the moment, how could he not know Quashoush? come on!
Besides his English knowledge didn’t help him either, so I’m not sure if it’s delusional from his side as Haytham claim or if he knows something we the average Syrians don’t which making him somehow so confident to the point to be sounded separated from the reality news we all read.
He seems like an ok man but that isn’t enough to be a politician, let alone a president, at least not in our region and not to Syria.

I’m not sure if he will be able to get out of this vicious struggle safe with a protected Syria.
I also think that now he is stuck in his position as a president for many reasons all of them are out of his hands, which makes him a prisoner of his own position that he can’t get out of it by his own choice, so until the Russians and the Iranians decided to give him the right solution and find another person that they can trust as much as they trust Bashar’s regime to lead the country, Bashar may stay unless the rebels or a coup get to him before the solution.

One last note, I’m surprised that nobody told him that if you are not a native English speaker DON’T ever give any interview in any other language than Arabic.

N.Z.

You are welcomed.

I wonder how embarrassed Asma feels after listening to the interview.

Amir

LOL when is boarding?

Do i just have the impression or is it awefully quiet here tonight, the master has spoken but the everwilling true believers are quiet… Is the agenda of the day not yet given out ?

Reformatting of the middle east

ميدفيديف روسيا ستبقى إلى جانب سورية وسندعمها بكل الوسائل
http://youtu.be/2c0GovD3WHA

اللقاء الصفحي للناطق باسم الخارجية السورية د.مقدسي
http://youtu.be/fEQH5jqLxNo

313. AMIR IN TEL AVIVSAID:
Dear mnhebaks,
Aren’t you embarrassed? Please tell the truth.

No, we are proud and satisfied that Syrian leader is smart and knows that the world is made of gullible idiotic two legged brainless morons, and in the media and other governments there are workers who has an IQ of less than 5 and can always be bought and sold. Now let’s get a decent Party Law decreed Mr. President, or better yet, just issue a decree permitting SNP to operate in Syria. S***W THE REST.

OOH and by the way, I know of no one around me that watched any second of the interview, not even clicked the link to a clip, we know this is just for idiots only.

حمص عاجل :
اصدرت الجهات الامنية بمحافظة حمص النداء الى المسلحين داخل مدينة حمص وما حولها بتسليم انفسهم مع اسلحتهم بمدة اقصاها 24 ساعة بدأت صباح اليوم ….والا سيكون الرد عليهم قاصي وحاسم لهم…

HNN| شـبكة أخـبار حمص
تم تحريرالشاب حيدر عز الدين بعد دفع فدية للارهابيين و بالنسبة لغدير تم نقله لجورة العرايس ويحاول اهله التفاوض مع المسلحين …

قام وجهاء أحياء الزهراء ودير بعلبة باصدار بيان يدين القتل…وبجهة مقابلة اصدرت
تنسيقيات الارهاب بيانات نشرت بالشوارع تحرض على القتل ….

و اصدرت الجهات الامنية بمحافظة حمص النداء الى المسلحين داخل مدينة حمص وما حولها بتسليم انفسهم مع اسلحتهم بمدة اقصاها 24 ساعة بدأت صباح اليوم ….والا سيكون الرد عليهم قاس وحاسم …

حاجز قوات الأمن في حي عشيرة يشتبك مع المسلحين الذين اعترضو حافلة عسكرية و اطلقو النار عليها و اصيب خلالها ابن عم مراسل اذاعة الشام اف ام
اشتباكات عنيفه مستمره بين حفظ النظام و مسلحين في حي جب الجندلي

الأركان العامة في الجيش السوري تنقل الفرقة السابعة ليلا من جنوب دمشق إلى حدود لواء اسكندرونة المحتل

مصدر عسكري مواكب للفرقة: القوات المنقولة تضم لوائي مدرعات ولواء مشاة ميكانيكية ولواء مدفعية ميدان ، ولديها أوامر واضحة بتدمير أي ” منطقة عازلة” يجري إنشاؤها

دمشق ، الحقيقة ( خاص): علمت “الحقيقة” أن شعبة العمليات في الأركان العامة حركت في ساعة متأخرة من مساء أمس الثلاثاء الفرقة السابعة بكاملها إلى محافظة إدلب. وقال مصدر عسكري خاص لـ”الحقيقة” إن ألوية الفرقة الخمسة بكاملها ( ثلاثة ألوية مدرعات ولواء مشاة ميكانيكية ولواء مدفعية ميدان) ، المتمركزة في محيط منطقة زاكية جنوبي دمشق ، تحركت قبيل منتصف الليل ووصلت فجر اليوم إلى محافظة إدلب وبدأت انتشارها على امتداد الحدود مع لواء اسكندرونة المحتل عند حوالي الخامسة من فجر اليوم. وأشار المصدر إلى أن المهمة التي كلفت بها الفرقة في أمر التحرك التي تلقته من عمليات الأركان العامة هي” منع إقامة منطقة عازلة ” و ” التعامل مع أي محاولة من هذا النوع بأقصى ما يمكن من القوة النارية دون أية اعتبارات أخرى”. وكشف المصدر أن طابور ناقلات وعربات الفرقة ، الذي امتد على مسافة تقارب 15 كم، تعرض مرتين لهجوم مسلح بعد تجاوزه منطقة “خان شيخون” عند حوالي الثانية فجر اليوم بالتوقيت المحلي ، إلا أنه لم تسجل أية خسائر في صفوفه.

وجاءت خطوة تحريك الفرقة السابعة بعد ساعات قليلة على انتهاء الاجتماع الأمني ـ السياسي الذي عقده برهان غليون وأعضاء من “المجلس الوطني” مع وزيرة الخارجية الأميركية في جنيف بحضور ( لم يظهر في الصور التي بثتها الصحافة) مسؤولين من مكتب الأمن القومي الأميركي ووكالة المخابرات المركزية الأميركية واستخبارات الجيش الأميركي . وبحسب مصادر سورية واكبت اجتماع”المجلس” مع كلينتون ، فإن الطرفين “اتفقا من حيث المبدأ على إنشاء المنطقة العازلة بمساعدة تركيا ، على أن تجري متابعة الأمر مع هذه الأخيرة خلال الأيام القليلة القادمة”.

Situation in Syria must be stabilized by Syrians themselves: MEDVEDEV

2011-12-07

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2011-12/07/c_122391551.htm

MOSCOW, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) — The situation in Syria must be stabilized by Syrians themselves without any foreign involvement, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday.

During a meeting with newly appointed ambassadors to Russia, Medvedev said he believes the Syrian people could stabilize the situation, stop the violence and set up an efficient national dialogue by themselves.

The president said that all of the settlements should be carried out “with no outside involvement.”

Medvedev also noted that Moscow and Damascus have enjoyed friendly relations.

Syria’s ambassador was among the foreign diplomats at the meeting.

Syria has been wracked by months of unrest, which its government blames on foreign conspiracy and armed thugs.

Economic sanctions on Syria double-edged sword – 2011-12-07

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/indepth/2011-12/07/c_131291951.htm

DAMASCUS, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) — The economic sanctions imposed by the Arab League (AL) on Syria are viewed by many observers as attempts to step up pressure on the Syrian government, but fears increase that the impacts would harm interests of other countries as much as that would affect Syria.

Some Syrian officials and economists said the sanctions would have minor impact on Syria’s self-sufficient economy, but would provide a chance for the Syrian industrialists’ self-reliance and self-improvement.

Syrian Vice Transport Minister Mahmoud Zanboua told Xinhua that the sanctions on Syria’s import will encourage the local production as local products will enjoy an exclusive market without competition.

Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Kayed said recently that his country would be badly affected by the sanctions against Syria and had asked the AL to exclude the sectors of trade and aviation from the sanctions.

According to Jordanian Minister of Industry and Trade Sami Qammo, Jordan’s trade volume with Syria since 2000 has amounted to about seven billion U.S. dollars, including two billion dollars of exports to Syrian and five billion dollars of imports from Syria.

Turkey, Syria’s northern neighbor and one of the staunchest supporters of sanctions against Syria, would be the only loser after Syria abrogate the free trade zone agreement between the two countries, said Hamdi al-Abdallah, an economic analyst.

The Syrian government announced on Sunday that it had decided to suspend the free trade zone agreement in retaliation for the recent Turkish economic sanctions.

Mohammad Habash, a Syrian parliamentarian and moderate Islamic scholar, told Xinhua that many Syrian industrialists were glad of the decision, saying that the agreement was designed by the former Syrian government “for the bourgeois class that was achieving its goals on the shoulders of the poor and the underclass.”

Syria’s official news agency SANA reported Tuesday that the trade volume between Syria and Turkey leapt from 400 million dollars in 2004 to 2.2 billion dollars in 2010, and Turkey’s share was about 70 percent.

Lebanon and Iraq, another two major trade partners of Syria, have been more vigilant about the affects of the sanctions on their economies. The two countries did not vote in favor of the sanctions during the AL meeting last week.

The trade volume between Syria and Iraq was two billion dollars in 2010 and is expected to reach up to three billion dollars by the end of this year, and about one-third of the Syrian exports went to Iraq, SANA said.

Lebanon said it could not take part in the sanctions against Syria because the latter is its only land passage to the Gulf states.

Syrian Economic Minister Mohammad Nidal al-Shaar said one day after the AL approved the sanctions that the sanctions were a ” dangerous precedent that would eventually have profound impacts on the Syrian citizen.”

However, “We will depend on our economic resources and strengthen them,” he said.

Khaldoun al-Mouaqe, head of the Syrian side of the Syrian- Egyptian Business Council, underscored the necessity of exceptional decisions to facilitate the flow of Syrian goods via all land and maritime border crossings “to comply with the exceptional stage Syria is passing through.”

He also pressed for the need to form an economic crisis team that has full executive prerogatives to handle the current situation and be the real decision maker. He said the team should have the power to implement decisions at the appropriate time and in accordance with urgent and new developments.

I and many people before me stated their opinion on Bashar based on his 11 year history as a President,the way he was appointed president,his personal abilities and how he managed the uprising since March,2011. Unless you have personal reasons to keep things the same in Syria,you have to admit that Syria deserves a better government headed by a better president who is elected and not appointed. People who disagree with the principle of election and consensus in governing are dishonest and myopic (according to my optometrist).I am actually glad Assad gave that interview,I see a benefit of others,not necessarily Syrians,hearing him talk and then building an opinion about the man and the crisis he is managing or mismanaging.

Tara,

She claims that their household was run on “wildly democratic principles”. An audacious remark to say the least, from a dictator’s wife. I truly have no empathy towards her.

Was Abe Lincoln crazy during the American civil war when brothers killed each other , and thousands and thousands died, or we can say that he was a hero who saved the union,and protected the blacks, as American citizens,

That is how I or we see president Assad these days. a hero to keep Syria united and without a civil war.

N.Z.

I hear you. I just can not make sense out of it. How can a once nice women, well raised, from good rooted even pious families on both the father and the mother side, who was raised in a democratic western country with lady Diana as a role model ends like that. Money and power? It is shame.

Norman,

Sorry in advance. Comparing Abe Lincoln with Bashar? You’re an idiot.
.

The Assad by his words

“No government in the world kills it’s people unless it is led by a crazy person”

Amir in Tel Aviv

Desperate times …

Bashar al-Assad by his words

“No government in the world kills it’s people unless it is led by a crazy person”

the horrific videos of 3 kidnapped activists tortured to death by regime militia in Homs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAcOx-JMoao

jad said#314.

“One last note, I’m surprised that nobody told him that if you are not a native English speaker DON’T ever give any interview in any other language than Arabic.\”

I agree fully. This was a failed publicity stunt.

):

Amir,

I must be getting on your nerve to lose your cool, then you do not have class to be cool.

“مصادر صحفيه مطلعه:الدفاعات الجويه السوريه تتلقى الاوامر باسقاط اي طائره حربيه معاديه تخترق الاجواء السوريه مهما كانت جنسيتها”

Tara,

At least Lady Diana rebelled against the reigning family. Diana was after love not money and power.

Diana’s parent were separated, unlike Asma’s, it means nothing to me “good rooted even pious families”, I judge people according to their sensitivity towards the other, I am not sure if you agree with me?

Barbara Walters, Besho, and Me

Was Abe Lincoln crazy during the American civil war when brothers killed each other , and thousands and thousands died, or we can say that he was a hero who saved the union,and protected the blacks, as American citizens,

That is how I or we see president Assad these days. a hero to keep Syria united and without a civil war.

Norman,

I would agree with you if Abraham Lincoln didn’t side with freeing a large part of the population, didn’t face soldiers on the battlefield and instead, started killing unarmed, protesting civilians like the Baathist government of Bashar Assad has.

He spoke in English, yet the media was accused of tampering the butcher’s speech.

Syria refutes US criticism on Assad – 2011-12-07

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2011-12/07/c_122391552.htm

DAMASCUS, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) — Syria’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday “deplored and regretted” the U.S. State Department’s criticism on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saying it misquoted and distorted what al-Assad said during a recent interview with U. S. media.

“I find it ludicrous that he is attempting to hide behind some sort of shell game (and) claim that he doesn’t exercise authority in his own country,” U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner told a news briefing.

Toner’s comments were “absolutely imprecise and unprofessional” as he poked fun at a speech that hasn’t been said, Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdessi told reporters at a press conference.

Makdessi said President Assad was correcting a question when the ABC journalist asked him “did your forces make sever repression” by replying “Those are not my forces. There are forces in Syria whose tasks are to preserve” the country.

Makdessi quoted Assad as saying that “yes there were mistakes but all are under the ceiling of accountability.”

Asked about the Arab League’s response to a new message sent by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem to AL chief Nabil al- Arabi concerning Syria’s approval to allow observers to enter the country to monitor an end of the crackdown, Makdessi said “we didn ‘t receive till now any answer.”

The United States and France on Tuesday sent their ambassadors back to Syria, after the envoys were recalled in November over security concerns.

Makdessi said “we hope the return of the ambassadors would help improve relations and respect the Syrian sovereignty.”

He also voiced keenness about preserving ties with Turkey, saying “we are keen to establish a good neighborhood relations with Turkey and we hope this would be mutual.”

N.Z.

You are absolutely right. A good insight into oneself. I always consciously or unconsciously associate being pious with caring about others. A naive and incorrect association.

Asmaa the desert rose… very well planned orchestrated pr, probably prepared when Assad still cared for international pr. They even flew in Mario Testino, the famous photographer of the rich and fancy, he did of course made some of the best pics ever made of Lady Di….
Robert Fisk suggested that she left Assad with the children to London because she was asking Assad to stop the bloodshed, for my taste thats a bit too much, kind of a royal household journalism. I am sure as mucb as we may or may not believed in the first days of his rule that things would change, I lost my hope after a good friend of mine got imprisoned because she was writing about honor killings in Syria.

Anybody who knows Jihad Maqdisi? He has a difficult job and I wonder how he can perform under the circumstances. Aside from politics,the addition of a FM spoke person who briefs the press regularly is an improvement,a bigger improvement is to have a better FM.
It seems like the regime is expecting further escalation and an attempt to enforce a neutral zone in the north with more flare ups of ambushes inside Syria by the FSA and other groups.

Jailed Friend

JUERGEN @ 340

I have a feeling that Bassam Alkadi was involved in your friend’s imprisonment. Many of my friends who are heavily involved in these issues knew that Alkadi was a “Palace Man” in the sense that he would get the nod to move in one direction and apply pressure when the Palace (read that Betho and rothe of the dethert) needed pressure applied. His always fake indignation. Never trusted him, never will. And now he shows his real self. One thing well known about the man is that he never went to the field to document field cases.

كان عمر يتفقد أبابكر وقت الفجر
وتنبه أن أبابكر يخرج الى أطراف المدينة.
ويدخل بكوخ لساعات.
مرت الايام ومازال الخليفة يزور الكوخ.
قرر عمر دخول الكوخ بعد خروج أبي بكر منه فوجد سيدة عجوزا عمياء لا تقوى على الحراك فسألها: ماذا يفعل هذا الرجل عندكم؟
… فأجابت: لا أعلم فهو يأتى كل صباح
وينظف لي البيت ويكنسه و يعد لى الطعام وينصرف.
جثم عمر على ركبتيه واجهشت عيناه بالدموع وقال عبارته المشهورة
’ لقد أتعبت الخلفاء من بعدك يا أبابكر
اللهم ولي علينا خيارنا يالله
اللهم صلي على سيدنا محمد سيد الخليقه وعلى أل محمدSee More

What a difference between Ibu Bakr and Bashar
·

JUERGEN
While I appreciate if you can correct my misconception, if there are any, I must mention that my sources are beyond reproach, at least in my opinion and those of many free thinking Syrians.

Memo To: SYRIAN NATIONALIST PARTY ANIMAL

RE: “…we are proud and satisfied that Syrian leader is smart and know that the world is made of gullible idiotic two legged brainless morons…”

Dear Party Animal –

You are a walking rectum

China is backing the Russian stand, it will use the Veto again against any international intervention, this is why the puppet AL is saying that they ‘don’t’ want to go to the UN, not out of there ‘care’ of Syria:

سفير الصين بلبنان: سنمنع مستقبلا أي تدخل بالشأن السوري ولو عبر فيتو جديد

أكد سفير الصين بلبنان “وو تسيشيان” أن بلاده ستتخذ فيتو جديد في حال عرض مشروع في مجلس الأمن يستهدف سوريا، كما أكد أن الصبن تجد بالحوار الحل الوحيد للأزمة في سوريا التي يأمل عودة الإستقرار إليها سريعاً.

وقال السفير الصيني غفي حديث مع موقع “المنار” اللبناني: “نأمل أن تهدأ الساحة الدخلية في سوريا، إن السياسة الخارجية للصين تقوم على مبدأ أساسي وهو السعي إلى إرساء السلام في العالم. ولكي نقوم بالحفاظ على هذا المبدأ نسعى لعدم التدخل في الشؤون الداخلية لأي دولة، لأن التدخل يزيد من تعقيد أزمات ومشاكل هذه الدولة. فالطريقة الأنجع لحلّ المشاكل هي عبر الحوار والتفاوض. ونأمل أن تحل الأزمة في سوريا في أسرع وقت ممكن، خصوصاً أن الجامعة العربية أشارت إلى أنها لا تريد أي تدخل خارجي وهذه النقطة مهمة جداً.

وأضاف السفير: “الصين بشكل عام تسعى لعدم التدخل في شؤون أي دولة، لا يتعلق الأمر بسوريا وحدها بل ينطبق على كافة الدول الأخرى. في الآونة الأخيرة أثير سؤال حول سبب استخدام الصين للفيتو عندما اتخذ مجلس الأمن قراراً بشأن سوريا، ولم تستخدمه عندما تم اتخاذ قرار بشأن ليبيا. إن قرار مجلس الأمن لم يفوّض للدول الغربية استخدام كل هذه القوّة العسكرية في ليبيا، لقد اقتصر الأمر على فرض حظر جوي. لقد فاق قصف حلف الأطلسي للمناطق الليبية هذا القرار، لذلك نرفض التدخل الخارجي لأي دولة في الشؤون الداخلية لأي دولة أخرى وسنمنع أي محاولة للتدخل بشؤون سوريا مستقبلا.الصين ترفض مثلاً تدخل الولايات المتحدة في شؤونها وفي شؤون الدول الأخرى. فالولايات المتحدة تتدخل بالشؤون الصينية بما فيها بيع أسلحة إلى تايوان والتدخل في قرارات الصين الداخلية”.

وحول الموضوع الإيراني قال السفير الصيني: “ترفض الصين فرض عقوبات على ايران بشأن استمرار نشاطها النووي. مسألة الملف النووي الإيراني معقدة للغاية، ليس هناك من حلّ إلا عبر حوار ينتج تسوية معينة. بالإضافة إلى الملف النووي الإيراني هناك نقاط صعبة ومتشابكة، لذا فإن الخيار العسكري أو خيار العقوبات ستزيد هذه القضية تعقيداً. الطريق الوحيد هو تعزيز الثقة المتبادلة بيننا عبر الحوار والتوصل إلى توافق ولا من طريق أفضل من ذلك. كما ذكرت قبل قليل بعض الدول استخدمت قوة عسكرية ولم تلقى أي نتيجة ايجابية لذلك”.

شوكوماكو

http://www.shukumaku.com/Content.php?id=37534

Oh Dale.. Oh Dale Anderson, I know your suffering man. Not easy going thru life with that tiny winnie limp.
Stoked. Very happy that the comment made you upset. Try a rope next time you cannot cope with life difficulties, specially other people disagreeing response.

حازم النهار يرد على بشار الاسد : ماذا ينقصك لتكون المالك الحصري للبلد ؟

http://all4syria.info/web/archives/40532

أنا رئيس ولست مالكاً للبلد أنا رئيس الجمهورية منذ 12 سنة ولا يخفى عليكم أنني أخذتها بالوراثة، والأمين العام لحزب البعث القائد للدولة والمجتمع، ورئيس الجبهة الوطنية التقدمية، والقائد العام للجيش والقوات المسلحة، ورئيس مجلس القضاء الأعلى..وبعض أقاربي في المواقع الرئيسية في البلد عسكرياً وأمنياً واقتصادياً وسياسياً، وصوري في كل مدرسة وشارع وبيت ومؤسسة، وووسائل إعلامنا لا تنشر إلا ما نريد، ولم نترك لأي معارض أو مخالف فرصة للوجود إلا في السجن أو التخفي أو المنفى أو القبر، وصنعنا مؤسسات ونقابات ومنظمات شعبية ومجالس محلية ومجالس شعب كاريكاتورية، وجميعهم يسبحون بالولاء لنا، حتى أنه لا يطير طير إلا بعلمنا، ولا يزحف صرصور في البلد إلا بإرادتنا، واستجابة لرغبة الجماهير أصبح اسم البلد “سورية الأسد”، ونزولاً عند إرادتهم رفعنا شعار “إلى الأبد”……مع ذلك أنا رئيس ولست مالكاً للبلد.
السؤال: ما الذي ينقص “السيد الرئيس” ليكون المالك الحصري للبلد وما عليها…. لا أدري حقاً إن توافر لإمبراطور الصين العظيم ما توافر لـ “السيد الرئيس”!!!

Norman

Here’s the work of your “Abe Lincoln”

#299 Mina

“the picture attached to the article shows someone whose face is full of blood, giving an idea that the “dispersion” was quite violent’

I think you are mistaken about the blood on the head of one person in the photo. One of the dramatic Shia ritual related to Ashura involves hitting oneself head with a blade and letting the blood flow. This is commonly followed by Shias in Lebanon, Iraq and Pakistan while it is strictly forbidden in Iran.
In Iran they have ceremonies that are very elaborated artistically and impressive, but no blood.

http://www.payvand.com/news/11/dec/1072.html
http://www.payvand.com/news/09/jan/1084.html
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/dec/1062.html

Tara, I had a bit of listening to that group you. Given this group is composed of Eastern Europeans, their music would have been influenced by Turkish and Arabic music indirectly.

Music of the Levant was documented largely due to the fact one of the Ottoman Sultans loved music, he sent an envoy to the various regions to document all the Maqams used in the Sultanate. That is one reason why some of the maqams used in Arabic music have names of regions or ethnic make up. Like Kurd, Iraq, Hejaz, Ajam etc.

Did you know that in the early part of the past century, Halab (Aleppo) was the center of Music in the middle east, it was not Cairo or Beirut. Syria lost that to other countries and I am not sure what was the reason behind it. When I started to learn playing Qanoon, I took lessons from an Eqyptian Qanoonist who was proud that his grandfather was a Halabi and would say, to be a good Qanoonist you must have Halabi blood as the Qanoon was invented by Al-farabi in Halab. Al-Farabi was apparently such a master he could make people cry, laugh, dance and even sleep by playing his music.

To this day the most renowned Buzq players are Syrians, Muhammad Abdul Karim and Matar Muhammad, I knew Matar Muhammad personally and the Lebanese claim he is from Lebanon. But he is from a gypsy background who was born and raised in Syria and became famous in Lebanon.

I like Indian Sitar and Sarod music, here is a link to a youtube video of Ravi Shankar playing Sitar with his daughter (Nora Jones is his other daughter in case you did not know). Ravi Shankar makes the Sitar “cry” like a human in this particular mode of play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KXk_8_8oLY

BTW, I have a very old tape of SabaH Fakhri where he had a fantastic Qanoonist (he must have been a Halabi) leading the band and playing many solo taqaseems that you do not hear in later works. I converted this tape to multiple CDs so that I can preserve it forever and every time I listen to it I imagine myself at the Sabeel in the middle of Halab. I don’t what happened to Syria that it has lost its cultural heritage.

NK
The situation is bad to many people not only because of the regime but also because of the criminal terrorists and the ‘humane’ sanctions, however, what you linked is obviously staged and badly played, it must be directed toward idiots.
Seriously dude, didn’t you ask yourself how come all of her kids are in the same age before you linked this gem!

SNP
عبد الكريم الجندي من السلميه و ليس من حمص

Branco
Thanks, indeed i thought about this possibility afterwards. Then they should say that the picture is not taken in al Hussein and not yesterday! Journalism needs “democracy” and unbiased reporting…

Darryl ,the famous aleppine qanunist you are speaking about is Shukri al Antakly.I have records of him if hou like,he used to work mostly with Sheikh Bakri al Kurdi(one of the most important figure of the aleppine music of the last century ,originally from jisr al shughur) AbdelKader al Hajar and Mohamad al Nassar some decades ago.
There are several capitals of the arab music ,i would say that Aleppo is a major one and still it’s ,the Aleppine music is mostly based on the ottoman tradition (the aleppine music of muwashahat al andalusiya are ottoman),in the second half of the 19th we had a new form of music which was inspired by Aleppo and Istanbul ,under the patronage of the Khedive Ismail which is Al Dawr ,the important figures are Abdo Al Hamuli,Mohamad Osman,Sheikh al Manyalawi,Salama Higazi and the last important figure was Saleh Abdel Hay who passed away in the 60’s of the last century.
The famous Sayid Darwish came to Aleppo to learn music during his youth.
The other important centers are Mosul and Baghdad in Iraq (which tradition is different than that of Aleppo but it must be noticed that some of the best performers of the Iraqi Mawal were aleppines such as Ahmad al Faqsh and Abo Salmo.
The caviar of the iraqi music is of course the iraqi maqam,it’s influenced by the persian and indian traditions and it uses the santur.
The other capitals are Tunis(Maluf-ottoman style) ,Tlemsen in Algeria and the moroccan cities ,Fes and Tetouan which inherited the Andalusian tradition.

Ehsani,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ-9T56E5Vc
Notice the similarities between bashar and his uncle on their attempt to disculpate themselves from their mass-killings.

Dear #325. Jad,
I have to admit that I was a little surprised by your post. You have been, more often than not, an ardent supporter of the regime.
Please allow me to attempt to answer the questions that are vexing you: Why would he speak in English? Why would he do this interview at all?
I believe that inside his circle, there has been this attempt at confronting and controlling the narrative about the situation in Syria. They are succeeding to a point inside the country, but completely failing outside of it. They decided to pull out the big guns. Since Bashar has been told for years how great he is, he got to the point where he believed it. He decided that he is “the big guns”. No one can do better, speak better or is more intelligent than him, evidenced by how everybody tells him so every day. In fact, he does not realize how limited his English is, because no one dares tell him so. This is the unfortunate situation in dictatorships. You are surrounded by yes men and women and are never capable of knowing the real truth.