Syria’s Top Five Insurgent Leaders
Tuesday, October 1st, 2013
Who are Syria’s BIG FIVE Insurgent leaders?
by Joshua Landis (with help from the SC experts)
October 1, 2013
If we confine our choices to leaders with broad appeal in the Arab and Islamist mainstream — excluding both al-Qaida and Kurdish leaders — we get the following five, listed in order.
1. Hassan Abboud, the general head of the Islamic movement of Ahrar Al-Sham, spearheaded the joint position of what some are calling the Islamic Alliance, but which is looser than an alliance of mainly northern-based militias. They have rejected the SNC and US backed exile groups. Al-Nusra was one of the groups that signed the alliance, along with #3 and #4 below.
2. Zahran Alloush, the general Commander of Jaysh al-Islam or Islam Army, a group of more than 50 brigades. He is the son of a Saudi-based religious scholar named sheikh Abdullah Mohammed Alloush. Syrian authorities released him from prison in mid-2011. He was incarcerated for his Salafist opposition activities in Sidnaya prison along with #1 and #3. He states that the external opposition does not represent him or his group and that there is no chance at negotiations with the regime. His Islam Army flies the black flag and not the Syrian flag.
3. Ahmad `Aisa al-Shaykh, or Abu Aissa, commander of Suqour al-Sham Brigade, Falcons of Syria Brigade, based in Idlib.
4. Abdul Qader Al-Salih, the high Commander of Liwa al-Tawhid, Unity Brigade, in Aleppo. (the formal top leader is Abdelaziz Salame)
Taken together, these leaders represent not even half of the insurgency. The top five are not enough to run the rebellion, but they are either major actors in their core areas or very big nationally, or both. A small group on the national level can be a superpower in its own hometown. There are many more powerful leaders in Syria. We look forward to adding and correcting.
These are people who have significant influence over the insurgency. They are swing voters.
Over the last several months, the insurgency has undergone a “Darwinian” shakedown. Powerful leaders are emerging and smaller militias are lining up with the larger sharks. All the same, we are only at the beginning of this process. The opposition remains extremely fragmented and volatile.
Any discussion of Geneva II talks to end the Syrian conflict will be sterile without these commanders at the table. The top four say they are unwilling to sit at the negotiation table with the regime. In fact, their main issue with the National Coalition is that the NC is considering negotiating with the regime.
It is hard to imagine any of them backtracking on this position in the near future.
Other Powerful Commanders
If one is considering military might alone, one must add the head of ISIS – Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In military terms, he is stronger than Bashar al-Zoubi, our #5. But he doesn’t have appeal outside the Islamist hardline segment. So here we go:
- Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) – al-Qaida.
- Abu Mohammad al-Golani of al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra – al-Qaida
-
Salih Muslim Muhammad/Sipan Hemo, Hemo is commander of the Kurdish Peoples Defence Units (YPG) in Syria – See an interview with Hemo. The YPG is the military arm of the PYD (Partiya Yekîtiya Demokrat) the leader of which is Salih Muslim Muhammad. This is the Syrian branch of the PKK, which is kept under civilian control so Salih Muslim PYD and not Hemo is perhaps the correct listing. It has been battling Nusra and ISIS over the last several months for control of the North-east.
- Abu Sayeh Juneidi of Farouq Brigades, one of the largest and well-known units of the FSA (Homs). It placed itself under Suquor al-Sham commander Ahmed Abu Issa in Sept 2012. (Farouq seems weakened of late).
-
Jamal Maarouf (Abu Khalid) of Shuhada Souria, Syrian Martyrs’ Brigade, Idlib governate, FSA. Jamal claims to have 18 ,000 fighters between Idlib and Aleppo, but like all troop estimates, this should be taken with a grain of salt. He’s a non-Islamist leader. He is both religious and conservative, but not Ikhwan and not salafi, just not ideological.
- Mohammed al-Khatib of Furqan Brigades, active west of Damascus down toward the Golan. also not irrelevant.
- Ziad Haj Obaid commands Ahfad Rasoul with two others. The name meaning Grandsons of the Prophet. He is on the Arms Committee for the Supreme Military Command. Much of Ahfad’s funding came from Qatar, which may explain its recent weakness.
- There are more who we lack info on.
Further Notes on Commanders:
Addendum (Oct 2, 2013): Hassan Hassan published an important article “The Army of Islam Is Winning in Syria” arguing that the Islamic Army led by Zahran Alloush is probably now stronger than Hassan Abboud’s Ahrar al-Sham. This is hard to tell, but it is worth quoting him at length.
But today, Salafi-leaning insurgents are the single most dominant force in liberated areas. Liwa al-Islam, which is the central player in the Army of Islam, now dwarfs both the FSA and radical militias such as Ahrar al-Sham and Jabhat al-Nusra, which long played a prominent role in the region. These groups had coordinated with each other through a Damascus military council, but Ahrar al-Sham pulled out of the council shortly after the merger, issuing an angry statement that criticized “the hegemony of certain factions and the exclusion of [other] effective ones.”…
Saudi Arabia appears to be central to the merger of rebel groups around Damascus. Liwa al-Islam chief Zahran Alloush is backed by Riyadh, while both Ahrar al-Sham, which is supported by Qatar, and Jabhat al-Nusra have been excluded from the new grouping. Although Liwa al-Islam had been part of the Saudi-backed FSA, the spokesman of the new grouping told an Arabic television channel that the Army of Islam is not part of the FSA. This is likely because the FSA has lost the trust of many rebel groups, and adopting a religious language will be more effective in countering the appeal of radical groups — which is what happened after the announcement of the merger, as various Islamists and moderate groups welcomed the move.
Zahran Alloush, Liwa al-Islam, who founded the Islam Army a week ago. He peaks of the resurrection of the Omayyad Empire and cleansing of the Majous or crypto-Iranians: Rafida (Shiites) and Nusayri (Alawites) from Damascus (minute 5). He does not have much faith in democracy, claiming that a committee of Islamic scholars will decide on the form of government and the role that minorities will play in a future state. He calls for Muslims from the world over to come do their duty in Syria and fight Jihad. He claims that every insurgent commander is an Islamist and argues that the reason the Assad regime surrounded Damascus and suppressed its people is because the people’s natural inclination is to build an Islamic state following the spirit of the Ommayad state. For this reason, the Majousi regime was frightened of the people. In his interview with Aljazeera, he is asked about his relationship with Idriss, Commander in Chief of the FSA and SMC member; Alloush said
Idriss should be more serious and active in helping the mujahidiin and not listen to orders he gets from here and there to favor certain groups with aid in order to advance foreign agendas that are being promoted for our umma
Abdul Qader Saleh is powerful as things stand today, but should Aleppo fall entirely into rebel hands and should Liwa al-Tawhid remain dominant there, Abdul Qader will become powerful indeed. Aleppo is the capital of the North and it and its suburbs include about half the population under rebel control.
Bashar Zoubi, Liwa Yarmouk: This militia is not huge, Zoubi says around 5,000, but if you want a southern faction, it’s probably the biggest. He seems much less Islamist & more SMC/Western linked than the brigades that have linked up with Zahran Alloush’s Islam Army around Damascus. The Deraa front in general seems less Islamist, with weapons coming in from Jordan and Saudi. The US, Jordan and Saudi are working together to avoid building up Islamists. Although a Daraa source suggests that many of the Daraa militias are placing themselves under Zahran Alloush since his dramatic announcement of the formation of the Army of Islam, Liwa Yarmouk and several other power hitters around Deraa have not. See this list for those that have joined Islam Army http://justpaste.it/d81t – I think a few more have joined since.
Hassan Abboud of ???? ????? ????? ????????? ? Ahr?r ash-Sh?m, meaning “Islamic Movement of the Freemen of Syria.” It is the principal organization operating under the umbrella of the Syrian Islamic Front.[1] or SIF. On Sept. 24, 2013, Aboud spearheaded the formation of what was called the Islamic Alliance. Liwa al-Tawhid, Liwa al-Islam and Suqour al-Sham were included in this loose “alliance,” as well as Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qaida linked group.
Here is the video of the formation of the Islam Army. Alloush was not at the conference. His deputy took the pledges of allegiance of the 49 other commanders on his behalf. He was not in the group photo. No point in having your top commander killed or captured.
Comments (1,843)
William Scott Scherk said:
A pessimistic analysis of the present chances for any Geneva II process to be born.
Why Syria Peace Talks Can’t Even Start For The Foreseeable Future
I must thank Joshua for this article capturing a moment in an ongoing Darwinian ‘consolidation’ of rebel forces, for making clear just how far Syria is from any ceasefire or compromise. These paragraphs strike home:
October 1st, 2013, 4:13 pm
#Syria’s Top Five Insurgent Leaders | YALLA SOURIYA said:
[…] Source: https://joshualandis.com/blog/biggest-powerful-militia-leaders-syria/ […]
October 1st, 2013, 4:15 pm
Syrialover said:
This list of “top 5 insurgent leaders” will be as stale and useless as yesterday’s bread in no time.
Why is SyriaComment giving the star-struck celebrity treatment to these self-appointed “leaders” of Islamist extremist groups?
They are just fresh transient hell for Syrians, but your coverage here appears like a push to normalize them and inflate their significance to the world.
Message from a poster held by civilians in a rebel-held area demonstrating against the Islamist extremists:
“You don’t belong to us and we don’t belong to you”
October 1st, 2013, 4:57 pm
Uzair8 said:
An AJE opinion piece.
Everytime I try opening the link (from AJE) my window closes. I instead read sections of the piece on my Xbox 360.
Perhaps others won’t have the same problem. Here is the piece:
Q and A: Behind the accusations of rebel chemical weapons use in Syria
Mark Levine
October 1st, 2013, 5:18 pm
Syrialover said:
Meanwhile, lets give some praise and attention to this effort:
“Opposition prints 3 million copy of new school curriculum without Assad’s ideology”
EXCERPTS:
The revised books will be distributed to displaced Syrian students in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Qatar as well as students in liberated areas in Syria.
[It is the work of the] Syrian Commission for Education, an independent civil organization [which] does not have any religious or political orientations. It is interested in re-reforming the educational process. It was established about 8 months ago by businessmen and experts in psychology, sociology, teachers and academics, aims at compensate for the shortage in education after the Syrian Revolution.
“We revised the curriculum already taught in schools of the Ministry of Education in Syria, and we read and searched it word by word to omit all ideas related to the Syrian
the Syrian regime ideology which shifts students from the basic curriculum” [said Na’eem al-Mofti Secretary General of the group]
“A committee composed of 30 specialists in educational mission revised the curricula to clean it from all thought degrading the humanity and glorifying the “person” (ie the Assads) in the same time they kept the basic educational material.”
– See the full story for more details of how the curriculum content has been de-Assadised, who has contributed to funding the project and how and where the textbooks are being distributed.
http://zamanalwsl.net/en/readNews.php?id=1791
(translated from the Arabic)
October 1st, 2013, 5:20 pm
zoo said:
Looking at the faces of these ‘leaders’, none seems to be a ‘moderate’.
I just can’t see them around a table negotiating peace.
p.s Thanks for the 4 immediate thumbs down, Mr Headsup.
October 1st, 2013, 5:35 pm
zoo said:
ISIS feel “victimized” by the Western media propaganda and the FSA declarations. Their need to defend and justify themselves is suprising as it may indicate that they are increasingly at odds with the Syrians in the areas they occupy.
ISIS fights back against claims on many fronts
October 02, 2013 12:40 AM
By Marlin Dick
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Oct-02/233268-isis-fights-back-against-claims-on-many-fronts.ashx#ixzz2gVjmkMQg
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
October 1st, 2013, 6:15 pm
zoo said:
I strongly encourage the pro-rebels to spend some vacations in ‘liberated’ Raqqa. They could have a taste of the “post-Assad Syria” they long for
In Raqqa, the only regional capital to fall under full rebel control, ISIS has set up bases in government buildings, publicly executed members of Mr. Assad’s Alawite minority and detained activists who have protested against it.
“They control through fear, by holding public executions, walking around in masks, showing their weapons, and killing and kidnapping anyone who stands against them or their acts,” said an activist in Raqqa who declined to give his name for fear that extremists would hunt him down.
Although they sometimes cooperate in battle, ISIS is separate from the first Qaeda group to emerge in Syria, the Nusra Front, whose leader rejected a proposed merger earlier this year.
Since then, foreign fighters have flocked to ISIS, while the Nusra Front has been more clearly accepted by mainline rebels for keeping its focus on the fight against Mr. Assad.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/world/in-pushing-its-own-agenda-for-syria-a-qaeda-franchise-turns-rebels-into-enemies-705704/#ixzz2gVlUeMUn
October 1st, 2013, 6:20 pm
mjabali said:
Thanks Syria Comment for this important article.
October 1st, 2013, 7:01 pm
Ken Barnett said:
Why do people vote thumbs down on post about deleting Assad regime propaganda from Syrian schoolbooks?
October 1st, 2013, 7:38 pm
zoo said:
For the Kafranbel fans: A prehistorical reconstitution of the Syrian ‘revolution’
Kafranbel: the Syrian revolution in 3 minutes
October 1st, 2013, 8:02 pm
Observer said:
The regime insider quotes
“They control through fear, by holding public executions, walking around in masks, showing their weapons, and killing and kidnapping anyone who stands against them or their acts,” said an activist in Raqqa who declined to give his name for fear that extremists would hunt him down.
I wonder on which planed these people live. This has been the daily life of 99% of Syrians and Libyans and Egyptians and Iraqis and others in the ME for eons.
The security house of cards is crumbling by the day.
HA is withdrawing its troops and not sure if it was because of losses and loss of security back home with a backlash or because Tehran wants to go to Geneva 2.
There is less and less talk of Geneva 2. Russia was aiming to capitalize on the CW agreement and the UNSC resolution but it seems that the burning tire of Syria is being tied to the neck of Putin nicely.
Now there is a certain Mahjoub that says that Syria needs a Marshal plan and that Qatar and KSA and Turkey should be made to pay.
Ha hahahahahahahahahahahaha
I love it. Marshal plan for the iPad Freddo Corleone
Now we need some consistency please
The US is irrelevant in the ME on the one hand and the US talking to Iran is very important. The US is the evil behind the rebellion and the US is the enemy of GCC for talking to Iran. The US is evil for threatening a strike and the US is a great democracy for listening to its people. The US left Iraq and the US is still responsible for Iraq’s mess.
Now the good news the pound is now at 170 to the dollar and the Bourse of Damascus is making money again ( oops only 23 million pounds were made that day )
The rebels are so hard pressed by the glorious SAA that they have time and energy to fight each other. The FSA is going to join the SAA. The pro regime troll here is celebrating the “revolt” of the people in Raqqa and at the same time celebrating their brutal repression in Athad controlled Thouria.
A mortar round fell on the Chinese embassy; that is 300 yards south of the offices of “you know who”.
Haytham Manaa is being pushed by Russia. Giving RT interviews indeed. Nice.
Marshall Plan should be a new post: let us see how much destruction the retard did.
HRW has a report of mass graves that the regime is digging around Damascus so that when the time comes to release prisoners he will have none left whitewashing himself
October 1st, 2013, 8:04 pm
Syrian said:
A taste of living in the pro Assad areas
https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=510441282379413&id=372776349479241&set=a.372805592809650.84959.372776349479241&source=46&__user=100003131418721
October 1st, 2013, 8:11 pm
zoo said:
Foreign extremists dominate Syria fight
By Liz Sly, Tuesday, October 1, 8:38 PM E-mail the writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/foreign-extremists-dominate-syria-fight/2013/10/01/5871685e-2ae7-11e3-b141-298f46539716_story.html
BEIRUT — Foreign fighters from across the Arab world and beyond are playing an increasingly dominant role in the battle for control of Syria, which has emerged as an even more powerful magnet for jihadi volunteers than Iraq and Afghanistan were in the last decade.
The number of Syrians battling to overthrow the regime led by President Bashar al-Assad outstrips by a large margin the thousands of Arabs and other non-Syrian Muslims who have streamed into Syria over the past two years to join in the fight.
…
But the flow of jihadi volunteers has accelerated, and non-Syrians have begun taking the lead in a variety of roles as the al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) attempts to assert control over large areas of the rebel-held north.
October 1st, 2013, 8:53 pm
ziad said:
?
????? ?????? ???? ???????
??? ???? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ????????? ?? ???
????? ??? ??? ???????
?? ????? ??? ?????? ???????? ??? ?????? ? ??? – ???? ??????
October 1st, 2013, 8:57 pm
Akbar Palace said:
Why is SyriaComment giving the star-struck celebrity treatment to these self-appointed “leaders” of Islamist extremist groups?
Beats me.
October 1st, 2013, 9:00 pm
omen said:
here is the map of the mass graves observer mentioned.
chilling satellite view depiction.
source says USG.
remember when skeptics were running around last spring, fanning worries US might turn newly defected makdissi’s cw secrets as a “pretext” for a US invasion? turns out obama sat on intel of regime deploying chemical weapons for the last year. yet did nothing about it. after other countries noted the regime’s usage, obama was then pressured to publicly object to the regime moving chems around.
what else does the US know about the regime it’s not telling us?
October 1st, 2013, 11:06 pm
Matthew Barber said:
To those asking that Majedkhaldoun return, I talked to him about it and gave him the option, but he never emailed me back.
And Omen, please don’t call for people to attempt to defy bans; they need to go through me.
October 2nd, 2013, 1:10 am
Uzair8 said:
A couple of consecutive updates on AJE blog:
Posted 11:42 PM yesterday:
Syria’s foreign reserves crashed by more than a third in the year to the end of 2011, figures published by the central bank showed, giving a rare glimpse into the war-stricken country’s finances.
An undated report on Syria’s central bank website showed foreign reserves fell to about 158 billion Syrian pounds at the end of 2011 from around 242 billion a year earlier – the most up-to-date figures published since the crisis started.
The figures were converted to pounds at an old official rate the report listed as 11.2 pounds to the dollar, vastly different from the current unofficial rate of around 167 to the dollar.
While the numbers are too old to indicate Syria’s current reserve levels, they suggest reserves were dropping at a rapid pace even during the conflict’s early days when fighting was relatively limited.
[…]
**************
Posted 11:39 PM yesterday:
Traders said the pound, which traded at 47 to the dollar before protests against President Bashar al-Assad erupted in March 2011, was trading at 167 to the dollar on Tuesday, its strongest level since June – partly due to the return of some refugees with dollars to change.
That has helped make the pound worth nearly twice as much as in July when it briefly hit record lows of around 300 per dollar.
“There is less psychological pressure because the scare about a strike has gone,” said a Damascus based banker, adding that the central bank’s readiness to inject more dollars was also supporting the pound.
[…]
October 2nd, 2013, 6:32 am
apple_mini said:
Today Johnathan Steele from Guardian reported in Lattakia about the massacre in Alawite villages by the rebels on August 4th.
For graphic details, you can go to:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/02/syria-massacre-reports-alawites-assad
“They include 62 people listed as killed, 60 kidnapped and 139 people who are missing. The dead range in age from a toddler of two to a man of 90. The vast majority are women, children and the elderly”
One more case: a women at a hospital in Lattakia was from one of the villages. The rebels took out her unborn child!
The opposition mouthpieces always use the so-called “massacre” in Al Baida to fend off any expose of the atrocities committed by the death squads. They did not want to admit that elements of the death squad were hiding in Baida even after their attack and killing of SAA soldiers who were manning check points. What happened at Baida was an open conflict between those rebel fighters and SAA plus pro-regime militias. Civilians got caught in the conflict because some of them provided shelter and base for the rebels.
The massacre purely targeted against defenseless civilians in Alawite villages is a true crime against humanity.
I thank Mr. Steele for the very first western reporter who did an honest reporting on a major western media on the massacre which he accurately identified.
October 2nd, 2013, 8:15 am
zoo said:
@187 Matthew
If Majedalkhaldoon who has recurrently expressed threats of death to other commenters and has shown regularly his total hatred toward Shias and Christians is allowed back, you should allow REVENIRE back.
MajedalKhaldoon is clearly a dark Salafist sympathizer.
REVENIRE is fun..
October 2nd, 2013, 9:06 am
zoo said:
The resolution calls for a political agreement
UN Security Council resolution 2118, 27 September 2013 –
See more at: http://www.al-bab.com/arab/docs/syria
…..
11. Rapid steps to come to a credible political agreement. It is for the people of the Syrian Arab Republic to come to a political agreement, but time is running out. It is clear that:
(a) The sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic must be respected;
(b) The conflict must be resolved through peaceful dialogue and negotiation alone. Conditions conducive to a political settlement must now be put in place;
(c) There must be an end to the bloodshed. All parties must recommit themselves credibly to the six-point plan. This must include a cessation of armed violence in all its forms and immediate, credible and visible actions to implement points 2 to 6 of the six-point plan;
(d) All parties must now engage genuinely with the Joint Special Envoy. The parties must be prepared to put forward effective interlocutors to work expeditiously towards a Syrian-led settlement that meets the legitimate aspirations of the people. The process must be fully inclusive in order to ensure that the views of all segments of Syrian society are heard in shaping the political settlement for the transition;
(e) The organized international community, including the members of the Action Group, stands ready to offer significant support for the implementation of an agreement reached by the parties. This may include an international assistance presence under a United Nations mandate if requested. Significant funds will be available to support reconstruction and rehabilitation
– See more at: http://www.al-bab.com/arab/docs/syria/syria_security_council_resolution_2118.htm#sthash.JLQuUQcR.dpuf
October 2nd, 2013, 9:19 am
Syria: The Executive Summary, 10.02 | Syria News said:
[…] Syria Comment/Joshua Landis: Syria’s Top 5 Insurgent Leaders […]
October 2nd, 2013, 10:50 am
Uzair8 said:
Posted on Yalla Souriya about 5 hours ago:
hhassan140
Few thoughts in next tweets about my article here that I think need further discussion & hard to explain these days http://goo.gl/F7zBw0
1. As one wise man said, post-9/11 most people in the West & here see Salafism as purely ultra extremist ideology. They don’t see gradations
2. Extremely hard to explain to outsiders, most Syria Salafi insurgents are Syrian in the sense they historically existed & been key players
3. These groups aligned to business community & led Syrian society thru its darkest time from Ottoman time to French to post-independence.
4. Syria has so-called Al Islam Al Shami but also the Syrian Salafism which is nothing like Wahhabi Islam. It recognises Syria’s diversity.
5. Tho they played a big role in post independence, Syria was shaped by religious minorities. Father of JaI leader comes from that tradition
I should that these groups will be the most effective as a counterweight to extremism. And indeed they’re already tensions between the two. No one inside Syria want rebel infighting whether or not they agree with them. A chapter to be written later. If we want it now, misguided.
October 2nd, 2013, 10:56 am
Uzair8 said:
Posted on Yalla Souriya about 5 hours ago:
More foreign shia fighters in #Syria than sunnis ?
The practice of jihadists from the Sunni wing of Islam taking up arms in foreign conflicts is well known. But more unusual is the development in Syria, where Shia fighters from foreign lands are flooding in to join the civil war. Phillip Smyth, a researcher with the University of Maryland and an expert on militias in Lebanon and Syria, discusses this development with Jess Hill.
—> [Embedded Audio] <—
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/religionandethicsreport/foreign-shia-jihadis-in-syria/4994194
October 2nd, 2013, 10:59 am
William Scott Scherk said:
Your choices being death by torture and privation. Regime justice.
Mass graves of Syrian detainees.
October 2nd, 2013, 1:23 pm
zoo said:
ISIS soon in Hatay?
Al Qaeda-linked group advances on Syrian rebels near Turkey
…
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/al-qaeda-linked-group-advances-syrian-rebels-near-155417248.html#OIA1wIx
The al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took control of the northern border town of Azaz last month, kicking out rival rebels and prompting Turkey to shut the crossing about 5 km (3 miles) away.
ISIL, which wants to merge Syria into a larger state ruled by Islamic law, has maintained control of the town since then and clashes have periodically erupted between it and fighters of the Northern Storm brigade that they had expelled to its outskirts.
Activists said the latest fighting broke out on Tuesday night after a deadline ISIL had set for Northern Storm fighters to surrender their weapons came to an end.
“There are very fierce clashes on the outskirts of Azaz. ISIL cut all roads leading to Turkey and the situation is very tense,” said one rebel source, speaking from Turkey.
Another activist from Azaz said ISIL had seized two checkpoints and a base from Northern Storm and had advanced toward the border. He said some ISIL fighters had been killed, but he did not know how many.
October 2nd, 2013, 1:45 pm
Observer said:
So one of the regime trolls discovers ” massacres” and this is coming from “hardly a massacre” commentator.
Well well, it is most unfortunate that the so called mosaic of peaceful and loving people together, we now have massacres and counter massacres and we are talking about the sanctity of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic.
Sorry, it is a hereditary mafia regime, the word REPUBLIC is not worthy of the barbarism of this regime.
But the dollar is in retreat and the pound is ascendant. Great may be the “hardly a massacre” can go shopping with the shoppers in town.
October 2nd, 2013, 1:47 pm
zoo said:
Syria: 12 killed in clashes between Army, al-Qaeda fighters at Damascus
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-/1177426/
…
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday that the 12 died the day before in the city’s Barzeh district.
Clashes in Barzeh flared up on Monday when the army launched a push to dislodge the rebels, including al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra fighters, from the district.
October 2nd, 2013, 1:48 pm
ALAN said:
Madd Cold – Long Live Syria
http://youtu.be/ajMyFlpJmuI?t=16s
October 2nd, 2013, 1:50 pm
zoo said:
Despite Selim Idriss and others repeating that the Al Qaeda fighters represent a negligible portion of the nationalist freedom fighters, the press increasingly refers to the ‘rebels’ as Al Qaeda fighters.
When will the “good” rebels finally reintegrate the SAA to fight against the cancer of Al Qaeeda?
October 2nd, 2013, 1:54 pm
ALAN said:
30. ZOO
???? !
about the situation in Syria
http://youtu.be/LhMDqmDrKaQ
October 2nd, 2013, 2:00 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
The most atonishing here is stating how Assad Dictatorship´s supporters criticize the different islamic and non-islamic opposition fronts´ state of chaos IGNORING that all what Syria suffers and lacks today is ASSAD main achievement in 13 years in power or let´s say in charge (because Assad is many things – chaos, repression, crime, contradiction, mafia- but not power properly speaking).
US-Russian hopes of Assad crushing the rebels and making them disappear under earth while creating a refugees problem of 3.000.000 people living in permanent camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq, that covers Israel and Palestine problem in comparative terms is a very grey strategy with Little possibilities of success.
Long Live Syria ! Death to Assads !
October 2nd, 2013, 2:25 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Since US is not going to use missiles against Assad Garbage Gang, Obama will give Stockpiles of Tomahawks to Assad to convince him to stop using Chemical Weapons.
Long Live Syria ! Death to Assads !
October 2nd, 2013, 2:28 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
After REVENIRE has been abducted and killed by Al Qaeda this Syria Comment Fórum has become a better place to live. Very charming and peacefull.
October 2nd, 2013, 2:31 pm
ALAN said:
Syria chemical weapons: used by terrorists, smuggled to Iraq – Russian FM
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_10_02/Syria-chemical-weapons-used-by-terrorists-smuggled-to-Iraq-Russian-FM-1522/
Russia has evidence that chemical weapons components are used by terrorists in Syria and smuggled into Iraq for possible provocations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday, reports VoR’s Polina Chernitsa.
October 2nd, 2013, 2:47 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
The BBC features intrepid regimist frontman Agnes-Miriam and her conjectures regarding August 21 nerve gas attack footage.
Mother Agnes: Syria’s detective nun who denies gas attack
October 2nd, 2013, 3:01 pm
Akbar Palace said:
The text of Nut & Yahoos speech.
I don’t have a problem with it. Do you?
http://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-netanyahus-2013-speech-to-the-un-general-assembly/
October 2nd, 2013, 3:03 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
Lengthy investigative piece that examines the MintPress “rebels-did-it” confection, with the first quotes yet from Yahya (Yan) Barakat Ababneh. A must-read for those who have followed this story closely (See also Brian Whitaker’s latest, “Ababneh trail leads to Iran: New twist in Syria ‘rebel chemicals’ story“).
The Inside Story Of One Website’s Defense Of Assad
#34 comment regarding REVENIRE is disgusting.
October 2nd, 2013, 3:08 pm
ALAN said:
When monkeys rushed up the tree they were driven by stupidity, some became stupider!
October 2nd, 2013, 3:28 pm
ALAN said:
The Saudi entity, like the caduceus staff of Hermes, has, from its very inception in the mid-18th century (1744), consisted of two serpents: the House of Saud and the House of the Shaykh (aal as-Saud & aal ash-Shaykh). The former belongs to its eponymous founder, Mohammad ebn as-Saud, and the latter to the founder of the Wahhabi cult, Mohammad enb Abdol-Wahhab. The former was a military leader who rose to power in the Ottoman backwater of Najd by killing his fellow Moslems, and the latter provided the “religious” justification for such killing in exchange for protection and for a share of the loot to spread the new (cultic) faith. This nasty combination was fostered if not engendered by the British, as a way to get at Ottoman Turkey through its soft under-belly.
The Wahhabi cultists have been blackmailing the political serpent’s head ever since for more and more petro-dollars, with the understanding that they would export their filth (to places like the madrases in Pakistan, all over the African continent, and in American and European mosques), and will use terror any aother means they deem fit, but that they would leave the Kingdom to the House of Saud, for them to drink and gamble and sodomize little boys and rape little girls to their heart’s content. A particularly puritanical strain of the aal-ash-Shaykh House who was not content with the modus vivendi took over the sacred mosque for a few days in 1979, only to be electrocuted out when the French special forces flooded the place and set high-voltage wires to the accumulated body of water.
The only thing that has changed, it seems, is that the debauched philanderers now realize that they can unleash their cultist vermin on the rest of the Realm of Islam with impunity, having been given this green light by Uncle Weasel.
October 2nd, 2013, 3:47 pm
ghufran said:
Just yesterday, rebel media sources were talking about significant progress around Khanaser, now this:
????? ??? ????? : ???? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ???? ???????
also, rebel media reported that the regime is on the retreat around Damascus but if you read Douma facebook page you will see that more than 400 rebels (with names) were killed in Reef Dimashq in September alone.
Look at those who want this war to continue and refuse to entertain a political solution, these are the people and the countries that are the enemies of Syria.
October 2nd, 2013, 3:57 pm
ALAN said:
Even from Chile!
http://youtu.be/rq0VQR_0vZE?t=32s
October 2nd, 2013, 4:07 pm
Syrialover said:
MATTHEW #18
Thank you for your update on MAJEDKHALDOUN about your gesture of reconciliation after dumping him from the forum. I appreciate it, and am disappointed he hasn’t responded.
He must feel hurt and alienated after years as an authentic and serious contributor to this forum to be swept out in the same dump truck as nasty recent cyber inventions who had arrived to disrupt it.
In a too-late effort to rescue this forum by suddenly pulling out choking weeds such as cyber provocateur REVENIRE who had taken over 30% of it (amounting to 84% with his fellow Team Assad players) you also uprooted and threw out a natural botanical specimen.
From my 7 years of following SC, I was highly surprised that site founder and owner Joshua Landis would have endorsed the excision of a long term contributor like MAJEDKHALDOUN. Surely Dr Josh must be concerned at the disastrous attrition rate of solid long-established contributors here.
I am hoping M. will reappear in the comments forum on one of the sites some other former SC contributors have fled to. For example, Off the Walls at http://7ee6an.wordpress.com/.
October 2nd, 2013, 4:13 pm
ALAN said:
Obama and the Syrian Mystery Bouffe
http://journal-neo.org/2013/10/01/rus-b-obama-i-sirijskaya-misteriya-buff/
In its struggle against “Syria’s chemical weapons”, the White House, with its false rhetoric about “guaranteeing security and human rights in Syria,” is actively trying to disguise its direct involvement in the bloodshed that the country has been experiencing for more than a year, and how it incited and sponsored fighters, many of whom have close ties to terrorist groups. According to experts from Jane’s, a leading British publisher, the so-called Syrian opposition currently has almost 100,000 members united in 1,000 groups. A significant number of these “opposition fighters”, who receive weapons from Washington and money from the Wahhabi monarchies of the Persian Gulf, are jihadists and mercenaries from abroad and active in terrorist organizations, including Al-Qaeda, Jabhat Nusra, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
These fighters are already well known for their devastating acts of terror, regular kidnappings, committing public outrages against civilians, and decapitating citizens that are loyal to Damascus. It is impossible to forget the terrifyingly cynical act of the “commander” of the Syrian rebels, the cannibal Abu Sakkar, who in May of this year in front of BBC correspondents Paul Wood and Fred Scott defiantly cut the heart out of a government army soldier and defiantly ate it.
The serious violations of human rights by the armed opposition have been stated repeatedly by various politicians, journalists, and even Human Rights Watch in an open letter from March 2012. But perhaps all of this remains unknown to representatives of the U.S. Republican Party, who stubbornly continue through Obama to sponsor the Syrian rebels, and to send CIA instructors to train them to commit new crimes in Syria../../..
October 2nd, 2013, 4:38 pm
Syrialover said:
ZOO #21
We know you are howling at the moon at the loss of REVENIRE and a couple of other nasty Team Assad cyber hoaxers who were churning out junk to choke up over 80% of this forum.
You are grasping at the small consolation of MAJEDKHALDOUN’s departure, as it means one less person to weigh the scales against the over-the-top Team Assad campaign here.
REVENIRE was not “fun”, he was vile. You miss the heavy lifting he was doing here to disrupt this forum. The loss of a dirty wild cyber guerrilla campaign that boosted your side.
October 2nd, 2013, 4:44 pm
Syrialover said:
ALAN,
Monkeys? Uncle Weasel?
What ARE you talking about?
Bring back the mouses and cheese please.
October 2nd, 2013, 4:53 pm
zoo said:
Jihadists alter the Syrian equation
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/jihadists-alter-the-syrian-equation.aspx?pageID=238&nid=55566&NewsCatID=416
Let’s face it, the war in Syria is no longer about fighting against a brutal dictator for the sake of democracy. It hasn’t been for some time. The war is now over whether Syria will be run according to the Sunni Shariah or remain a secular country even if it not a democratic one.
Some even argue that it is the existence of the jihadist groups in Syria that provided one of the incentives for Washington and Tehran to start searching for common ground. True or not, it is clear is that Iran is just as concerned about al-Qaida-affiliated groups in Syria as the United States is. In other words, Washington and Tehran have a common enemy in Syria that they would not want to see gaining ground, and whether the do so jointly or separately, they are obviously working to ensure this does not happen.
In many ways, President Bashar al-Assad has already won his war by managing to stay in power against serious odds. He has also managed to utilize the use of chemical weapons – most likely by forces attached to him even if he himself did not order this – to his advantage. It was after these weapons were used in Ghouta near Damascus that the strike by a U.S.-led coalition against his forces, which appeared imminent, was averted and replaced by the Russian-inspired diplomatic effort we see today.
….
Put another way, we are at the point where jihadists are proving to be a serious handicap for Islamists. How this effects policy has yet to be seen. What is certain, however, is that Ankara never expected things to come to this point in Syria.
October/03/2013
October 2nd, 2013, 5:07 pm
ALAN said:
War Criminal John McCain Tells Syrian Christian Woman Al Nusra must kill More Chrstians
October 2nd, 2013, 5:12 pm
zoo said:
You deserve more than disgust.. Matthew Barber should read that.
35. SANDRO LOEWE said:
After REVENIRE has been abducted and killed by Al Qaeda this Syria Comment Fórum has become a better place to live. Very charming and peacefull.
October 2nd, 2013, 5:15 pm
ALAN said:
48. ZOO said:
/The war is now over whether Syria will be run according to the Sunni Shariah or remain a secular country even if it not a democratic one./
For any Sharia you are talking? Did you know more barbaric than those eaters hearts and heads cutters
The barbaric practices can not be attributed to any to religious or moral reference!
October 2nd, 2013, 5:28 pm
Syrialover said:
KEN BARNETT #10
Here’s the answer to your good question.
The thumbs up/thumbs down voting system here has been spammed and corrupted and now means nothing.
A couple of individuals have found ways to place instant mass votes. A lot of others no longer bother to vote because of this.
October 2nd, 2013, 5:29 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Our well informed patrons once again reviewed the material presented in this latest post of falsifications and fabrications, an ongoing process on this site fueled by the site’s owner and associates. Our benefactors once again came to the same unavoidable conclusion as they did when reviewing the previous six posts. As a result of their assessments, they decided to keep the site on the blacklist. And they would strongly urge readers to exercise extreme caution, sound judgement and critical analysis when reading anything written by the owner or associates of the this clearly suspicious and much-below standards site.
October 2nd, 2013, 5:35 pm
Uzair8 said:
‘Syria’s detective nun…’
LoLoLoLoLoLoLoLol…ROFL!!!!
October 2nd, 2013, 5:38 pm
ALAN said:
Where the FSB? 😉
The Wahhabis are in Moscow – the call for jihad against Russia!
http://youtu.be/TKf5N9UAcoI?t=1s
October 2nd, 2013, 5:45 pm
Syrialover said:
AKBAR PALACE #38
I have a lot of problems with Netanyahu – but this isn’t the forum for that.
But I admit I certainly have no problem with his realistic warning on Iran’s Rouhani when he says:
“Ahmadinejad was a wolf in wolf’s clothing. Rouhani is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a wolf who thinks he can pull the wool over the eyes of the international community.”
EXCERPTS:
“President Rouhani, like the presidents who came before him, is a loyal servant of the regime. He was one of only six candidates the regime permitted to run for office [while] nearly 700 other candidates were rejected.
“So what made him acceptable? Well, Rouhani headed Iran’s Supreme National Security Council from 1989 through 2003. During that time Iran’s henchmen gunned down opposition leaders in a Berlin restaurant. They murdered 85 people at the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. They killed 19 American soldiers by blowing up the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia.
“Rouhani was also Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator between 2003 and 2005. He masterminded the — the strategy which enabled Iran to advance its nuclear weapons program behind a smoke screen of diplomatic engagement and very soothing rhetoric.”
—
“Rouhani spoke of, quote, “the human tragedy in Syria.” Yet, Iran directly participates in Assad’s murder and massacre of tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children in Syria. And that regime is propping up a Syrian regime that just used chemical weapons against its own people.
“Rouhani condemned the, quote, “violent scourge of terrorism.” Yet, in the last three years alone, Iran has ordered, planned or perpetrated terrorist attacks in 25 cities in five continents.
“Rouhani denounces, quote, “attempts to change the regional balance through proxies.” Yet, Iran is actively destabilizing Lebanon, Yemen, Bahrain and many other Middle Eastern countries.
“Rouhani promises, quote, “constructive engagement with other countries.” Yet, two years ago, Iranian agents tried to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Washington, D.C. And just three weeks ago, an Iranian agent was arrested trying to collect information for possible attacks against the American embassy in Tel Aviv. Some constructive engagement.”
(From speech to the UN General Assembly October 1 2013 – http://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-netanyahus-2013-speech-to-the-un-general-assembly/)
Lazy, ignorant and amnesia sufferers in the media writing lightweight mush about Rouhani please note.
October 2nd, 2013, 5:46 pm
ALAN said:
China and Russia eyes on the events
Twenty-three ships from six nations are taking part in the exercise as well as over 5,000 military and naval personnel from 14 Allied nations. The exercise, which started on 25 September, runs until 6 October.
Senior NATO officials, commanders observe major naval exercise off Italian coast
Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Alexander Vershbow together with ambassadors, commanders and other representatives from the North Atlantic Council and NATO’s Military Committee observed Allied naval forces in action in the Mediterranean Sea on Monday (30 September 2013). A large fleet of warships from NATO’s Response Force (NRF) are currently conducting manoeuvres as part of the ”Brilliant Mariner” exercise off Italy’s Sicilian and Sardinian coasts. ”This exercise tests, and sharpens, the ability of units from different NATO countries to work together seamlessly,”the Deputy Secretary General said.
http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-2A368841-46665279/natolive/news_103434.htm
October 2nd, 2013, 6:02 pm
Syrialover said:
The Iranians are clearly staging a diplomatic charade in desperation to get relief from the sanctions and provide further smokescreens to get themselves to the finishing line with nuclear weapons.
(Good analysis: http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-09-26/opinions/42427277_1_hassan-rouhani-uranium-enrichment-iran-s)
Though Iran’s game may not score any goals because the west’s sanctions against it would prove very difficult to unwind, and certainly nothing can happen quickly.
(http://www.platts.com/latest-news/oil/washington/analysis-unwinding-of-iran-sanctions-would-prove-21607400)
Meanwhile the Mullahs are committed to spending at least $700 million a month in military support to Assad, plus its normal $700 million a year to Hezbollah and who knows how much keeping Iraq in turmoil.
(http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/26/us-syria-hezbollah-special-report-idUSBRE98P0AI20130926)
October 2nd, 2013, 6:19 pm
ALAN said:
ISIS, Jabhet al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham agreed to have Abu Omar al-Shishani the military commander to the PKK fronts
http://youtu.be/AkSlUeA5tnI?t=1s
October 2nd, 2013, 6:20 pm
Syrialover said:
#55 ALAN,
Those Islamists in Moscow are quite mild-looking mice.
Definitely not likely to be behind the monkey tricks of the Moscow bombings the Russian regime has blamed them for in the past after staging the bombings itself.
Russians can unfortunately expect more regime-organized bombings in places like apartment blocks and the underground in Moscow when Putin needs it domestically.
(See ALAN, I am referring to mouses and monkeys in the right way, aren’t I?)
October 2nd, 2013, 6:30 pm
Akbar Palace said:
I have a lot of problems with Netanyahu – but this isn’t the forum for that.But I admit I certainly have no problem with his realistic warning on Iran’s Rouhani when he says…
SL,
If you say you have problems with BB, I believe you. You wouldn’t be the first to admit it. I try my best to keep Israel out of the discussion, but it seems to sneak in either by me or by others who suffer from Israelophobia. At least I try to tie it to the crisis in Syria.
As you know, I think this crisis could help to mend relations between Israel and the Arab world as we both suffer from the same set of thugs and religious fanatics. I don’t think we are where we need to be. You want Israel’s gas finds to be shared wi th the arab people, and I say fine! But don’t you have to talk to do business?
I thought BB’s address wss spot on and we agree that Iran is NOT to be trusted
Regards,
AP
October 2nd, 2013, 8:58 pm
Observer said:
No one should be banned and Rev of all people included. He did spam a lot but he and ALI and Syrian Commando and some others gave us a nice glimpse of the mentality of the regime.
On the other hand I find that Putin is now concerned that he may be left owning the mess in Thouria and there is some distancing going on.
I also find it natural that the US will eventually distance itself from both KSA and Israel although more difficult for the later to do. Both can be regarded as taking extremist positions and have actually bogged down the US in the ME with the former championing an extremist ideology and the later pushing the US to pursue wars that are not in its strategic interest and with significant consequences.
As for a thaw with Iran, it will not happen fully but that country is far more solid than the clowns in the ME especially when the Iranian people move away from the revolutionary rhetoric and into a more pragmatic outlook.
While KSA is trying to leap frog and fund the Science University with a lot of money and grants and outside help, the very backward dictatorial regime that stifles man will forever remain a hindrance just as Stalinism did the same on the long run.
As for the situation in Syria there are no news from Alam or Manar or Mayadden or Cham Press of any significant military advances.
The end is near repent. There is one element that all the pundits have forgotten in this equation: the end of fear, the beginning of a total refusal of the people to return to the status ante and the ongoing dismantling of the regime brick by brick.
No one counted on the resilience, persistence, and sacrifice of the people of Syria to rise in the first place against one the most brutal and oppressive and police states on the face of the earth.
Bring back ALI please
October 2nd, 2013, 10:29 pm
Ghufran said:
Israel and KSA do not want Rouhani to succeed. KSA is afraid of what comes next if Iran is not bombed and USA ends its 34 year old policy of sanction and hostility against Iran.
Israel is running forward from its obligations and is unable to solve the inevitable question about its settlement activities and occupation of Palestinian land ( and the Golan),0.
The so called Arab spring gave Israel a breathing space and delayed the upcoming pressure on the Jewish state to end its occupation and oppression of Palestinians.
What BB and his likes want is peace on Israel’s terms, such a peace is only possible if Israel ends up surrounded with weak states that can not say no. KSA royal family and the Wahhabi establishment is obsessed with the ” Shia threat” and the potential loss of its influence in the Arab and Islamic world, this is why KSA supported the coup in Egypt but refuses to give Shia citizens in KSA and Bahrain their basic political rights.
KSA ruling elite (and their wahhabi pimps) and militant Zionism ,not Iran, are the real axis of evil today, both use religion and exclusionary ideology to justify theft and oppression and both are ready to ally with forces of darkness to stay alive.
A potential deal between Iran and the USA is good for Syria and the region, mistrust is natural between foes and resistance to such a deal exists in iran and the usa but that is why we need an agreement in the first place, the alternative is another decade of war and blood shed.
October 2nd, 2013, 10:59 pm
Syrialover said:
GHUFRAN #63
Thanks for being upfront with your glowing endorsement of Iran and all it’s doing in Syria.
You couldn’t have made yourself clearer.
Anyone wondering what reality Ghufran is trying to distract us from, look at #56 and #58.
October 2nd, 2013, 11:52 pm
Syrialover said:
OBSERVER #62 I suggest you go back in the files and actually make yourself digest several days of cyber entity REVENIRE, which from your comments I suspect you have only skimmed. You’ll see the sinister systematic disruption and degradation of this forum – and it was escalating in frequency and ferocity.
I suspect there were a couple of ALIs. There was the earlier authentic-sounding and sincere younger ALI, then the later thug ALI which got itself banned.
REVENIRE and the second ALI told us nothing of interest about the mentality of the Assad regime, just what crude and lowgrade tactics they resort to online.
SYRIAN COMMANDO is different. He comes across out there as quite a few notches above R. and A. in genuine involvement and mental horsepower. Much more interesting.
However, I agree with you about not banning legitimate contributors, but this didn’t apply with nasty cyber hoax REVENIRE.
October 3rd, 2013, 12:38 am
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Our patrons have pondered deeply about the problem of the Serpent-Head (Ass-Had) and its proxies particularly the mullah snakes to the east of Syria. The Serpent-Head is a sworn enemy of humankind since time immemorial. It will continue to scheme, deceive and commit murders against mankind. There is no cure whasoever for this plague except through the complete destruction of the head of the serpent. Half solutions and measures will not suffice. And that is the reason why the great people of Syria have revolted.
Our highly esteemed and very respected brothers in the Guided Kingdom of Saudi Arabia understand better than anyone how to deal with the Serpent. The Kingdom is the home of the Guided who can never be deceived by the Serpent and the mullah snakes who control mostly low life terrorists. No one on this earth came to the help of the Syrian people in their great Revolution except those of the Guided Kingdom. The Syrian people admire very deeply their Guided Saudi brothers and are grateful and thankful to the Royal Highnesses of the Guided Kingdom.
The Great Syrian Revolution will ensure with the valuable help from the Guided Kingdom that Syria will free itself from the Serpent and become truly Guided in the exact same Guidance as the Guided Kingdom.
October 3rd, 2013, 12:48 am
Thursday links: Shutdown (again), Syria's rebel leaders, instability in the Maldives and more said:
[…] Still on Syria, Joshua Landis profiles some of the key rebel leaders. […]
October 3rd, 2013, 1:03 am
ALAN said:
http://youtu.be/H-Jmi_eiKTM?t=8m45s
October 3rd, 2013, 2:54 am
Badr said:
CIA ramping up covert training program for moderate Syrian rebels
By Greg Miller
The Washington Post
“The CIA’s mission, officials said, has been defined by the White House’s desire to seek a political settlement, a scenario that relies on an eventual stalemate among the warring factions rather than a clear victor. As a result, officials said, limits on the agency’s authorities enable it to provide enough support to help ensure that politically moderate, U.S.-supported militias don’t lose but not enough for them to win.”
October 3rd, 2013, 4:29 am
Uzair8 said:
A couple of consecutive updates on Yalla Souriya.
It’s the new slogan (see second update below) I’m interested in bringing to everyones attention. The rest is context.
Posted about 15 minutes ago:
#Syria,
EagleSyrian1
03 October 2013 12:00pm
The terrorist chemical thug Bashar al Assad’s logic is simple and clear as hell: If they did not die by Sarin they will die of starvation.
Syrian Regime Chokes Off Food to Town That Was Gassed
[…]
http://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/27593017
***************
Posted about 15 minutes ago:
#Syria,
EagleSyrian1
03 October 2013 11:00am
The UN’s security council unanimously agreed a new statement calling for unfettered humanitarian access to Syria.
News coming out from Damascus tells of Assad thugs are now displaying new sign on the walls:
“You starve or you kneel to Assad”.
[…]
October 3rd, 2013, 7:42 am
zoo said:
#66 Headsup
The best ‘guided’ joke of the week…
“The Syrian people admire very deeply their Guided Saudi brothers and are grateful and thankful to the Royal Highnesses of the Guided Kingdom”.
October 3rd, 2013, 7:52 am
zoo said:
@63 Ghufran
I fully agree with you. Without any valid military power and totally dependent on the USA for its protection, KSA is terrified by Iran’s growing power.
Just the idea that the ‘heretics’ Shias are gaining a power that could threaten them is giving them the creep.
They know that Moslems are now watching two growing powers that may replace KSA as leaders of Islam in the region: Sunni moderates represented by Turkey and Shia represented by Iran.
By kicking out Morsi and the MB, supported by Turkey, from Egypt and now from Tunisia, they have weakened tremendously Turkey’s influence in the Arab world. Turkey is neutralized for a long time.
Taming the Shias is a huge and much tougher task. They have to deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Maliki in Iraq and the Shia protests in Bahrain, in addition to their own Shia minorities.
Spread in several countries, it is much more difficult to trap them.
Like the West, KSA was hoping for the fall of Syria as this would have weakened Iran and the Hezbollah. It failed.
They have tried to weaken Hezbollah in Lebanon by launching sectarian provocations. It failed.
In Iraq they don’t have much political manoeuvers except encouraging terrorists acts so as to provoke a sectarian war.
That’s what we see in Iraq lately.
KSA is without any doubt part of the new axis of evil. While Israel is known to be working against the Arabs to establish itself securely in the region, KSA is hypocritically claiming it is working for the Arabs. It is only working on its survival. Yet it is a matter of time until the mask falls and their ugly face appears.
October 3rd, 2013, 8:14 am
zoo said:
Observer
In your last post, I think you are coming back to your senses.
Of course Syria has changed. People express more openly their feelings. That’s healthy. That could lead to a much better society if the threats of islamism and extremism are neutralized.
That’s what the SAA and the Syrian governement are attempting to do.
Iran has proven to be a stable and reliable partner. Contrary to KSA that is paralyzed by its obsolete governance, Iran offer a much more progressive path to democracy. A secular Syria can only benefit of that alliance.
October 3rd, 2013, 8:22 am
zoo said:
@51 Alan
That’s what the article says.
In my understanding, the Shia sect allows interpretation and adaptation of the Sharia. The Shia clergy is structured and organized around elected spiritual leaders who have the last word on such interpretations. That’s why in Iran, while the country is ‘ruled’ by the Sharia as part of the Constitution, many Sharia ‘rules, such as cutting hands, chopping heads are have been gradually eliminated.
Sharia divorce rules have also been modified as it they allow women to ask for divorces etc…
In the contrary, the Sunni sect forbids any interpretation and they are no organized and structured clergy. There are no elected spiritual leaders. Therefore in countries where the Sharia is strictly applied, it carries what we consider as “barbarian” punishments and women are deprived of many rights..
That’s the main problem Egypt is facing recently, as the Salafists want the Sharia “rules” to apply to the justice system , while the moderates Sunnis insist on referring to the Sharia ‘principles’.
In Turkey the Sharia is only applied in family issues, not in the justice system. In Saudi Arabia the Sharia IS the justice system.
That’s why this is a big debate new Arab ‘democracies’ are facing when dealing with the role of Islam in their society.
October 3rd, 2013, 8:43 am
zoo said:
ISIS on a cultural rampage
http://www.timesofoman.com/News/Article-23567.aspx
Cultural destruction
Activists accused the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) of tearing down a statue of Haroon Al Rashid in Raqa city.
Rashid was an Abbasid ruler who lived in the eighth century, and whose era was marked by cultural progress.
ISIL fighters in Raqqa, Syria’s only rebel-held provincial capital, had recently set fire to statues and crosses inside churches.
Islamists had previously torn down a statue of a well-known Arabic poet, Abu al-Alaa al-Maari.
October 3rd, 2013, 8:53 am
zoo said:
Saudi Arabia is hiding under the “GCC States” denomination to plot with its circumstancial “ally” Israel against Iran. Who are they fooling?
Israel, Gulf states said discussing new alliance to stop Iran
Israeli TV: Intensive talks with leading figures taking place over recent weeks, amid concern that Tehran will dupe Washington
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-gulf-states-said-discussing-new-alliance-to-stop-iran/
Israel has held a series of meetings with prominent figures from a number of Gulf and other Arab states in recent weeks in an attempt to muster a new alliance capable of blocking Iran’s drive toward nuclear weapons, Israel’s Channel 2 reported Wednesday.
According to the report, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been supervising a series of “intensive meetings” with representatives of these other countries. One “high ranking official” even came on a secret visit to Israel, the report said.
October 3rd, 2013, 9:05 am
zoo said:
Syria army retakes northern town of Khanasser that was lost the rebels in August.
(AFP) / 3 October 2013
Syria’s army took back control of a strategic town in the northern province of Aleppo on Thursday after a weeks-long battle pitting troops against rebels, a monitoring group said.
…
Opposition factions had cut off the army’s supply route to Aleppo in August, when they had seized Khanasser and some nearby villages.
The Observatory said dozens of fighters on both sides were killed in the battle for Khanasser, a town located on a key supply route linking central Syria to second city Aleppo.
October 3rd, 2013, 9:22 am
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Our knowledgeable patrons pondered deeply over the events of the last 2 to 3 years that took place in the Arab World in order to determine who was the most active and influential in those events.
The Guided Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of their Royal Highnesses headed by the most beloved King, His Royal Highness, Abdullah Ibn Abdu-AlAzeez Al-Saud, may he be protected and given long life, have rid the neighboring Kingdom of Bahrain of low life Shia terrorists DESPITE American objections and the wailings, howling and barking of the terrorist mullocrats who stood by helpless and powerless in front of the Might of the Guided Kingdom for all the world to see.
Likewise, the Guided Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has recently rid Egypt DESPITE American objections and Iranian mullocrat impotence of the scourge which was threatening to turn it into another terrorist mullocracy in the image of the hated Iranian one. As a result low life terrorists of the mullocracy of Iran now have no hope of entering Egypt after the new government banned their entry once and for all riding the Egyptians of their evil.
Likewise, the Guided Kingdom will help Syria to rid itself of the worst kind of evil terrorism headed by the Evil Serpent-Head (Ass-Had) and its surrogates of Hezboola and the most backward mullocracy in history currently headed by snake head mullocrats and multi-face, powerless and toothless Rouhani ostensibly elected by the people, but in reality appointed by the stooges of terrorism, the so-called revolutionary guard and the serpent-head Khamenei.
Syrians are looking forward to emulate the Guided Kingdom and create a Serpent-free Syria in the exact image of the Guided Kingdom of KSA.
October 3rd, 2013, 10:51 am
Hopeful said:
Zoo
You have always maintained that the Syrian army is strong and unified behind the government defending Syria against the terrorists.
But, at the same time, you always say that if Assad leaves, the Army will disintegrate.
Help me understand… Why exactly would the army disintegrate if Assad, say, hands over his powers to someone like Farouk Sharaa?
October 3rd, 2013, 11:48 am
Observer said:
ZOO you are delusional again if you think that there is any room whatsoever for the current regime henchmen to be part of any solution because they are like you the problem. They and you the regime insider are mirror images of exclusionist thinkers be they ISIS or regime members.
The regime is being dimantled daily in the meantime the so called efforts at reconciliation are nothing but stalling tactics on the part of a regime that is dying by the day.
I challenge Dr. Landis to post this WSJ article on his next blog as it depicts the sectarian based starving of Modamyieh
Unfortunately it is available on line but I read it today in the print version.
ZOO read it carefully word for word till the end for I do not post partially with biased interpretration
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303492504579111662761701676.html?mod=WSJWorld__RIGHTTopStories
October 3rd, 2013, 12:58 pm
Uzair8 said:
Thought I’d pop into Iran Defence Forum after some days.
Then I thought I’d visit Iran Military Forum (.net) which is the more hardline (ultra-biased) of the two. Probably the one Command used to hang out in. As it happens it’s been hacked into with a front page message from the hacker:
SuikastZ?
I Will be Your Curse on Cyber World
Brutal Esad ! No matter what the reason is one day your cooperation with ones drawing blood of Muslims and the seeds of discord you sowed will be certainly the end of you.
COLLABORAT?VE ?RAN!
AKINCILAR WAS HERE !
Cyber-Warrior TIM
October 3rd, 2013, 1:12 pm
zoo said:
Saudi Arabia and Qatar continue their Sunni dirty war on Shias in Iraq
Alewi: Qatar, Saudi Arabia set big project to topple Iraqi political process
Read more: http://www.iraqinews.com/baghdad-politics/alewi-qatar-ksa-set-big-project-to-topple-political-process/#ixzz2ggDcp7se
Follow us: @IraqiNews_com on Twitter | IraqNews on Facebook
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) MP, Karim Alewi, of the Iraqi national Alliance stated that there is a big project by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Qatar to undermine the political process in Iraq.
Speaking to Iraqi News (IraqiNews.com), he called “The government to protect the Shiite areas that are being continuously targeted due to being close to the Sunni areas where the protection can be either by forming security forces from these areas or by the security ministries to avoid the sectarian sedition.”
“Al Qaeda wants to involve Iraq in the sectarian war by being in touch with KSA and Qatar,” he added.
“There is a big project by the KSA and Qatar to topple the political process in Iraq where the political blocs have to accept the initiative to save the citizens,” he concluded.
October 3rd, 2013, 1:14 pm
zoo said:
@79 Observer
By refusing to participate to the Geneva conference more than year ago, the opposition has rejected the peace path and has declared war to the Syria Government.
Therefore they bear all the responsibilities of the death, destruction, killing, sieges etc,, that are the consequences of that decision.
There is nothing called a clean war and civilians used as human shields always end up by paying the heaviest price.
The rebels have sold their soul to Al Qaeda, there is no redemption possible.
October 3rd, 2013, 1:23 pm
zoo said:
@78 Hopeful
If Obama resign as a chief commander of the Army, will Nancy Pelosi be accepted by the Army as the new chief?
October 3rd, 2013, 1:26 pm
zoo said:
#77 Headsup
An “encore” for the ‘guided’ silliest joke of the week
“Syrians are looking forward to emulate the Guided Kingdom and create a Serpent-free Syria in the exact image of the Guided Kingdom of KSA.”
October 3rd, 2013, 1:28 pm
zoo said:
To all anti-Bashar afficionados
I really appreciate your lack of comments to the pompous and demented declaration of Headsup speaking in the name of “All Syrians”
I guess it is a sign of tacit approval.
Congrats to you you, now get ready to bow before you new master, the ‘God guided’ King of Saudi Arabia
October 3rd, 2013, 1:42 pm
zoo said:
Training Al-Qaeda To Be More Efficient Killers Is Now An Essential Function Of The US Government
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-03/training-al-qaeda-be-more-efficient-killers-now-essential-function-us-government
…
Don’t worry though: the US is not providing Al-Qaeda with high-powered weapons such as rockets and anti-tank munitions. They have Qatar for that:
Officials said the main CIA training effort does not involve instruction on using high-powered weapons such as rockets and antitank munitions, which are being supplied by countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, although the agency is involved in tracking those arms flows and vetting recipients.
October 3rd, 2013, 1:44 pm
Sami said:
“If Obama resign as a chief commander of the Army, will Nancy Pelosi be accepted by the Army as the new chief?”
No, that job would go to Biden as the Vice President… You see unlike in Syria the Vice President in the US has actual power!
Btw Boehner is the correct name you are looking for, Pelosi lost that title in 2011.
“I guess it is a sign of tacit approval.”
Grasping at straws in a sad attempt of takhween, Observer is correct in calling you delusional.
October 3rd, 2013, 1:53 pm
Hopeful said:
#83 Zoo
My question was a genuine one. I am really interested in why you believe the Syrian army is so dependent on Assad, because I do not believe it is.
As for your question, I believe yes, if BOTH Obama and Biden quit, Boehner will be the new chief, and yes the US army will not be affected a bit.
October 3rd, 2013, 2:06 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Our knowledgeable patrons studied the behaviour of few regular visitors to this site in order to determine the effects of their pronouncements in the comment section on the status of the site in general. This study is meant to be used in the regular assessments that our patrons conduct in order to determine the proper listing where the site belongs.
Our benefactors came to the conclusion that a sudden increase in the number of comments made by certain contributors signifies lack of coherence, delusion and alarming deficiency in reasoning and clear thinking. This is particularly the case when the said comments are posted sequentially, are of very short length and address other contributors who for the most part deliberately ignore the pathetic commenter in question.
There is no doubt whatsoever that such behaviour implies a sense of haphazardness in grasping reality, lack of concentration and a sense of loss of mental capabilities. In general, such commenters are contributing very strongly towards the low quality characteristic of this site and to its very sub-standard status.
October 3rd, 2013, 2:22 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
SAMI
The concept of elected officials and clear delineation of responsibility, chain of command, and peaceful and democratic succession will naturally and always escape tyranny propagandists.
October 3rd, 2013, 2:51 pm
ALAN said:
73 – ZOO
My understanding: freemasons exploits Islam Sunni and Shia in igniting wars to kill each others. After that they will move them in the European continent for the wars with Christianity to reach only 2 billion people on the planet! Muslims are the best tool for the present war on the ground as you see!
I do not see pearl luster as a result of the division of Muslims into Sunni or Shi’a when they use in systematic Wars!
http://youtu.be/rRqx1YgIBMw?t=1s
Ten Top Aims:
1. A One World Government-New World Order with a unified church and monetary system under their direction. Not many people are aware that the One World Government began setting up its “church” in the 1920’s/ 1930’s, for they realized the need for a religious belief inherent in mankind to have an outlet and, therefore, set up a “church” body to channel that belief in the direction they desired.
2. The utter destruction of all national identity and national pride.
3. The destruction of religion and more especially the Christian religion, with the one exception, their own creation mentioned above.
4. Control of each and every person through means of mind control and what Brzezinski call “technotronics” which would create human-like robots and a system of terror beside which Felix Dzerzinski’s Red Terror will look like children at play.
…/../..
– See more at: http://henrymakow.com/committee_of_300.html#sthash.lLZfP1Vr.dpuf
October 3rd, 2013, 3:05 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
To other, real-world information out of Syria, more on the state Torture Regime. This is the backdrop against which we should measure all regime claims of ‘stability’ and ‘security’ and ‘fighting terror’ … this is the bedrock of repression. It seems to me that the multiplying evils in Syria are all born of the state’s systemic brutality.
I might guess that if all regime-supporters fail to react to this information, they all agree with it. All well and good.
Syria: Political Detainees Tortured, Killed
Military and Counter-Terrorism Courts Used to Punish Peaceful Dissent
October 3rd, 2013, 3:29 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
Here’s the Arabic story from All4Syria that details the third “Terrorism” charge against long-time dissident Michel Kilo. One other name that stands out is Muhammad Habash …
Consider: these relatively benign opposition figures have been sorted into the enemy of the state category. If anyone has any hope left that the regime might accept any but stooges as Geneva interlocutors, I think they should explain. Who is left from the ‘opposition’ for the regime to talk to?
????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ???? ????? ???????
Of fellow commentators who have no reaction to HEADSUP, “I guess it is a sign of tacit approval.”
Guess wrong. I think HEADSUP comments can safely be skipped, as they have devolved to boilerplate Saudi gloria or denunciations of Matthew and Joshua — long on insinuation, short on information. Not much more to react to besides repetitive sectarian nonsense.
That said, what good is done if we sort people into strict categories of allegiance? To conclude that a quiet majority approves is unsound. As is the conclusion that a single named commentator must somehow be responsible for gaming up/down ‘votes.’ There is zero evidence for that.
October 3rd, 2013, 3:38 pm
ALAN said:
/Human G.Soros blind Watch/
http://dissidentvoice.org/2013/05/torture-and-human-rights-violations-in-palestine-occupied-and-historical/
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/downloads/cat_legal_memo%5B1%5D.pdf
http://youtu.be/V_moE8BMFR0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGIe9goPf9w
October 3rd, 2013, 4:23 pm
ALAN said:
../…/… It is very disappointing to see that the well-known organization Human Rights Watch has started to partake in activities so unlike itself. As an investigation, their report, overall, simply repeats the information that was presented within the UN inspector’s chemical weapons report. Any further information is either questionable or very incomplete.
http://journal-neo.org/2013/10/04/a-dubious-report-by-the-human-rights-watch/
October 3rd, 2013, 4:36 pm
ALAN said:
Zoo
http://journal-neo.org/2013/10/03/rus-informatsionny-e-vojny-i-ugrozy-bezopasnosti/
..
the use of information technologies as consciental weapon against those countries whose population is to be brought under the external forces interested in the capture of their geopolitical resources. The purpose of using this kind of weapon is to destroy the traditional structures of a person’s consciousness by changing the functioning of these structures in the following aspects:
– reducing the overall intellectual level of the population by influencing the people’s health through the deterioration of the environment and the quality of food products;
– destroying the mechanisms of traditional self-identification of the population and replacing them with new identity surrogates by involving the people in various “groups of participation” in social networks and the Internet;
– introducing into the public consciousness a new, specially designed matrix of values and norms of social and personal behaviour as the only possible patterns of behaviour. This leads to the destruction of the tribal, cultural and historical memory of the people, as well as to the psychotisation and neurotisation of society, which turns into a crowd highly susceptible to external control on the part of political technologists of the “controllable chaos” and “coloured revolutions”;
– destroying the people’s ability to understand the place and role of their country and its national strategy in order to gradually develop total indifference to the fate of their country and people, the withdrawal to the consumerist lifestyle and hedonism;
– squeezing out of the information environment space, in which a person’s consciousness exists, the issues that require a long and proper contemplating of events in order to form sustainable personal knowledge. Thanks to the application of the advanced destructive information technologies, today a person is gradually losing the ability of problematisation and personal sense of purpose. This is explained by the “information overheating” of a person’s consciousness, against the backdrop of which there appears a need for rapid obtaining of information on issues of interest, and that is provided by a demonstration of superficial demo-versions of events.
..
The ultimate goal of the use of the information weapon is the exclusion of the people from their traditional confessional and cultural commonality and their transformation into isolated atomic social individuals alienated from their ethnicity, religion and culture to which they belonged by right of birth!
October 3rd, 2013, 4:42 pm
zoo said:
Headsup
You say”:
“In general, such commenters are contributing very strongly towards the low quality characteristic of this site and to its very sub-standard status.”
As your ‘benefactors’ have blacklisted this site, you should thank me for contributing to making it ‘low quality’.
Your Thumbs hacking are having a great effect:
It appears that hundreds of people are reading this ‘blacklisted’ website.
October 3rd, 2013, 5:08 pm
zoo said:
Hopeful
You have already your answer. Stick to it. Why should I bother explaining something else to you? I took my lesson,
October 3rd, 2013, 5:16 pm
ALAN said:
US Capitol shooting: Dozen gunshots trigger lockdown in heart of Washington DC
http://rt.com/usa/us-capitol-shooting-lockdown-703/
October 3rd, 2013, 5:27 pm
ALAN said:
http://youtu.be/Mb1GOowBLSw?t=9m38s
October 3rd, 2013, 5:38 pm
zoo said:
More on the horrors of the Latakia massacres perpetrated by the rebels on Alawites civilians.
Syrian rebels accused of village massacre
04 Oct 2013 00:00 Jonathan Steele
http://mg.co.za/article/2013-10-04-00-syrian-rebels-accused-of-village-massacre
Syrian soldiers say gruesome footage of Alawite victims is too distressing to air.
….
Shadi, a 32-year-old officer in a local defence unit that is separate from the Syrian army, was lightly wounded during the government’s counter-attack. “When we got into the village of Balouta, I saw a baby’s head hanging from a tree. There was a woman’s body that had been sliced in half from head to toe and each half was hanging from separate apple trees.”
Ali, a member of the army, said he also saw the baby’s head. “We found two mass graves with 140 bodies. They were not shot. They had their throats slit. About 105 people of different ages were kidnapped,” he said.
The officers’ accounts cannot be independently verified, but the Guardian has obtained lists, compiled by local activists, with the names of victims from Hambushiya, Balouta, and five other villages. They include 62 people listed as killed, 60 kidnapped and 139 who are missing. The dead range in age from a toddler of two to a man of 90. The vast majority are women, children and the elderly, as most men in the villages were away on duty as part of volunteer defence forces elsewhere. They did not expect their own villages to come under attack.
October 3rd, 2013, 6:35 pm
Observer said:
This is not a war; this is pure repression and oppression and brutality.
Peaceful demonstrations met by bullets; local organizers that could build a civil society are tortured to death; and areas that escaped control are gassed and starved.
I challenge Dr. Landis to post the WSJ article.
Russia evacuated its embassy in Libya today.
Now to other serious matters: I watched how the pro Iran regime outlets spin the news about the US running towards Iran. It appears that the US asked for a meeting and Rouhani refused then asked that a call be made and that is what happened.
Here is one report worth watching fully
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X8wZFYeEZk&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLBNjQP2o5guiaQ1Dasg0mus5m5dqq1eHQ
and this one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKEicTOEqCM&list=PLBNjQP2o5guiaQ1Dasg0mus5m5dqq1eHQ
GCC will find it liberating that the US is having overtures with Iran. This will mean that they can act without a “permission” to do so from the US.
GCC will ally themselves with whomever to stay in power and they have many allies and many willing allies and they have the money to do it.
The facts are not going to be changed: the so called infighting is because the regime is totally absent in the north. The rebels have enough time and manpower and weapons to settle scores because the regime has been ousted.
Deraa is in bad shape for the regime; it is in reactive mode and has no strategy except to bomb back. It has one area of concern and that is Damascus and to keep it attached to the rump state along the coast.
The regime has mobilized the maximum that it can at this time. There are no more men and no more units and no more aircraft and no more tanks coming its way. It relies entirely on being propped up by Iran and HA. Iran tried to have the Syria card and it was no go. They would like to go to Geneva 2 but they were told not while you have troops and weapons coming in. The Russians are no longer talking about Syria. They made their point of blocking the UNSC. OK now what. Are they going to rebuild Syria if the regime “wins”? Of course not. Are they going to send troops? Of course not. Are they going to be hostage to the whims of the criminals running the the regime? of course not. They have actually distanced themselves.
Now one more piece of news: the US this year is the number one energy producer in the world. The combined output of gas and oil is bigger than that of the Russian Federation.
This was from the WSJ today. It is earth shaking news. This means that geopolitical consideration that were in operation before are going to shift.
The US will make sure that the production and flow of oil is free and under no one else’s control. It has every incentive to make sure that China continues to have access to oil and energy. As I expect the nuclear talks to bear fruit, Iran will resume producing an additional 1 million barrels a day and this will bring the price of crude below 100. This spells doom for Nigeria as it needs a 110 price to operate in the black and doom to Venezuela that needs it at also around 110.
It also means now that Russia which has slowed down to 2009 economic forecast that its revenues from oil and gas will diminish. Commodities are 50% of its sources of revenue.
Not only the production has surpassed Russia but is bound to increase dramatically as well over the decade.
In the meantime, Iraq is a mess and will remain weak as Iran will never allow an Arab country to be strong on its borders. Syria will become its Vietnam if it continues to side with the regime at all costs. If it reaches an accommodation with the West, it will then abide by whatever the Palestinians decide with the Israelis. It will for all practical purposes abandon its revolutionary mission in favor of a civil society modern Iran.
The mullahs will have to have another “resistance” story to use to keep the people subjugated.
Just remember that Tehran lies on a major tectonic fault line and it is estimated that if a 7.5 magnitude quake were to hit more than a million will die because building codes are obsolete.
Now this is not man made but if God forbid it were to hit, the regime will have an additional major challenge as well.
Now go have a cookie.
October 3rd, 2013, 7:46 pm
Ghufran said:
This may be a test balloon but I do not think the USA and Russia are stuck on june 2014 as the date when Syria has a new president :
???? ????? ????? ?? ?????????? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ???????.
????? ??????? “????? ?????????? ???????” ???????? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ?? ????? ??????.
???? ??????????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ?????????? ???????? ?? “?????? ?? ?? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????????? ???????? ???? ?????? ???????? ????????? ????????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ????? ??????? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ?? ?????”.
????? ??????? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? 87 ?? ??????? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ????????? “????????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ????????”.
It may take years before clean and credible elections can be held in Syria, however, this announcement, not official yet, will certainly create a lot of noise.
October 3rd, 2013, 9:04 pm
Syrialover said:
OBSERVER #102
You are so right about Russia, and its economic stagnation is linked to why Putin’s team has been bluffing, posturing and making out Russia is running the world through the Syrian issue.
The article linked below reports that the World Bank in Russia is alarmed by the slowdown in the Russian economy.
“With Europe finding new sources of natural gas, and Asian economies looking at Canadian markets, the Russian economy is starting to retreat behind the former Iron Curtain….”The recent economic tendencies in Russia are quite alarming,” Mikhail Rutkovsky, head of the World Bank in Russia, said.”
(from “Is Russia’s economy running out of gas?” – http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy-Voices/2013/0926/Is-Russia-s-economy-running-out-of-gas)
COMMENT: Putin needs things to boast of back home to distract from the fact Russia’s economy along with its external relevance and status is shrinking daily. His regime has nothing real to offer the people of Russia in the way or economic, social or political development.
You can tell how desperate his regime is if you look at the bizarre almost hysterical overdrive the Russian media went into about Russia’s huge global triumph on the Syrian issue.
Meanwhile the primitive totalitarian nature of the Putin regime is being exposed externally with the move to put Greenpeace protestors in prison for 15 years for piracy.
As one said in shock,”we can’t believe this is happening in a modern, democratic nation”.
Sorry guys, that’s the opposite of Russia.
And watch for the next domestic “terrorist attack” by the Russian secret services to shore up Putin’s “strong man” image back home.
October 3rd, 2013, 9:12 pm
Syrialover said:
Bravo!
Here’s a calm, well-informed and clearer perspective on the Islamic nature of Syrian opposition forces.
It pours cold water on the sensationalism, better explains what is happening on the ground and puts it in a Syrian context.
Worth reading.
Article: “The Army of Islam Is Winning in Syria – And that’s not necessarily a bad thing”
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/10/01/the_army_of_islam_is_winning_in_syria#.UkuKMJaqcYQ.twitter
Also, some follow-up discussion from the author:
http://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2013/10/02/hhassan140-few-thoughts-in-next-tweets-about-my/
(PS With deference to UZAIR8 in #24 who for some reason featured the postscript but not the main article)
October 3rd, 2013, 9:35 pm
Ghufran said:
Idris may get sacked soon:
???? ????? ??????? ?????? ?? ???????? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ???? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? ???? ?????? ???? ????.
? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ???????? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ???????? ??? ????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ” ??? ?? ?? “.
October 3rd, 2013, 9:38 pm
Syrialover said:
HOPEFUL stated a tough home truth a few days ago, which is worth repeating:
“[Outsiders have done many wrong things] But it was Syrians who abused Syrians for 50 years under a rotten corrupt brutal regime. It was Syrians who started shooting at and torturing Syrians who marched on the streets demanding freedom. It was Syrians who decided to carry arms and fight back. It was Syrians who invited foreign fighters to come in and fight in Syria. It was Syrians who destroyed the towns and cities of other Syrians and killed civilians. It was Syrians who invaded villages and committed massacres. It was Syrians who exploded car bombs and fired shells. It was Syrians who used chemical weapons on fellow Syrians. On and on and on.”
“Do not get me wrong. To me, the blame falls first and foremost on the regime and the man on the top. But as I said there is plenty of blame to go around, and most of the blame goes to the Syrians themselves.” (Hopeful, September 29 thread, #265).
CONMENT: No Syrian can afford the luxury of denying this.
And we have to internally process that along with another tough reality: authoritarianism is a deep and crippling disorder that takes a lot of time and hard work to get rid of and recover from.
To quote political scientist Sheri Berman:
“The fundamental mistake most commentators on the Arab Spring make is underestimating the scale, scope, and perniciousness of authoritarianism. Tyranny is more than a type of political order; it is an economic and social system as well, one that permeates most aspects of a country’s life and has deep roots in a vast array of formal and informal institutions.
“Achieving liberal democracy is thus not simply a matter of changing some lines on a political wiring diagram but, rather, of eliminating authoritarian legacies in the society, economy, and culture as well. This is almost always an incredibly difficult, exhausting, and protracted process.
“It didn’t happen in many parts of Western Europe until the second half of the twentieth century, in fact, which is why so many earlier democratic experiments there were flawed or outright failures. And it still hasn’t happened in all of Eastern Europe and Russia.
“…But it does mean that the problems of the Middle East today are more the norm than the exception, and that they have less to do with case-specific factors such as ethnicity, religion, or ideology than they do with the inherent difficulty and complexity of building truly liberal democratic regimes. Getting rid of authoritarianism is a long and nasty process; in the Middle East, at least that process has finally begun.”
From “The continuing promise of the Arab Spring” – http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139586/sheri-berman/the-continuing-promise-of-the-arab-spring?cid=soc-twitter-in-snapshots-the_continuing_promise_of_the_arab_spring-092113
(With thanks to a commentator on http://7ee6an.wordpress.com/ for highlighting Berman’s remarks)
October 3rd, 2013, 11:28 pm
Hopeful said:
#98 Zoo
Hopeful
“Why should I bother explaining something else to you?”
Here you are on the one hand constantly calling for the opposition to come to “talk” in Geneva II, and on the other hand refusing to explain/support a statement you make.
Like the regime you support, your idea of a “talk” is a one way stream where you “lecture” and the rest of us listen politely and applaud. Not only can we not criticize the content, but also we should not dare to ask difficult questions.
Welcome to Assad’s style of dialogue.
October 4th, 2013, 1:19 am
Hopeful said:
#197 SL
The truth is, for the first time in my life, I feel awkward telling people I am from Syria when they ask me where I was from. The reaction I get is a mix of pity, confusion, and blame.
They pity Syrians for what has happened to them.
They are confused as to what exactly is happening.
They blame Syrians for their inability to stop the bleeding
And they are right!
October 4th, 2013, 1:51 am
Hopeful said:
A Visual story of the Syrian revolution
http://vimeo.com/user20028909/httpvimeocomcreativesyrianrevolution
October 4th, 2013, 2:42 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Syrialover,
Thanks, interesting articles.
October 4th, 2013, 3:01 am
ALAN said:
McCain: Hello. Hello. General?
McCain: I’m calling just to tell you that I approve of your plan to attack Al-Qusayr from
Lebanon again. It sounds like a real winner,
idris: But, we need more weapons and money…..especially money, (Tee hee hee)
McCain: Well, I will never be called yellow when it comes to helping democracy-loving
freedom fighters, I’ll send you my personal check for $50.00 tomorrow. Keep up the
good work.
Idris: Could you put a few zeros after the $50, Senator? The freedom fighters and
democracy-loving activists would really appreciate it more.
McCain: Well, I dunno. I can’t be seen financing your revolution, it would be very
burdensome for me and my wife. How about that stocky guy in Arabia ?
idris: Oh, his son is not interested any more. We need to buy more weapons for the
attack on Al-Qusayr so we can bring freedom and justice once again to Syria. (Tee hee
hee)
McCain: Got it. Gee. I’ve got to figure something out for you. Let me think about this
for a while, in the meantime, who do I make the check out to?
idris: S-A-L-E-E-M I-D-R-E-E-S. That’ll work just fine, Senator.
McCain: I don’t think it’s a good idea to attack those Al-Qaeda folks, you know, it’s so
confusing. I just heard they chopped off some of your people’s heads. Got to talk to
them. You know.
Idris: Yes. it appears you have excellent relations with Al-Qaeda, Senator. Why don’t
you call them and tell them what you think?
McCain: Yes. Yes. Geeze. I’ll call Dr. Zawaheri and set it straight. You want some
more chemical weapons?
Idris: Sure. Why not. We’ll fire them at the U.N. inspectors. Then you can blame
Assad.
McCain: Boy. That sounds like a winner too. Let’s do it. I’ll call Bandar to coordinate it.
Okay?
And here’s another phone transcript of a conversation between some American “supporter” (since no Arabs would talk English in-between themselves) and the rebel Abou Abdo also known as “Haj”.
There are three mortal shells that are being requested from you.
The /82/ mortars are being requested.
Original?
Yes original Russian in their boxes.
Is there a price?
The price is 310 USD? Meaning 10 for me and they cost 300.
Ok, original Russian?
Original in their boxes.
How many units?
Now there are 30 units.
Are they guaranteed? A while ago the men proposed some shells
containing gas.
The same but containing gas?
Yes.
By God I don’t know.
There 40 that had proposed to us and they are gone.
I do not know if these ones contain gas? But I know they are Russian
made.
The gas in those is “well according to your likings” you know what I mean.
Yes I know, Abou Jassem took 10 from those ones.
Are these the same or without gas?
They are the same, but I do not know if they contain gas or not. I’ll ask to
see if they have gas or not.
No, they do not contain gas. They had been proposed to us in Arsal and
they are gone. The “Shias” bought them “from up there”.
I will check now because those ones are also “from up there”.
Go ahead, rely on God. Now these are 310 per price?
Yes. May God protect you. Do not forget the matter for me
http://journal-neo.org/2013/10/04/rus-kak-organizovy-vat-v-sirii-provokatsii-s-zarinom/
October 4th, 2013, 3:47 am
ALAN said:
‘No sarin detected in West Ghouta environment, only in human samples’ – UN’s Angela Kane
http://youtu.be/CcfIj6WLqRk?t=6m28s
??? ???? ???????? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ???????? 1 ????? ?????/?????? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ???????? ?? ??????? ??????? ????????? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ????/???? ?? ????? ??????.
???? ??????: “??? ????? ?? ?? ?????? ?? 21 ??/????? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ???? ???? ????????? ???”? ?????: “????? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ?? 21 ??/????? ????? ?????? ?????? ????????? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ????????? ????????? ?? 19 ????/???? ???? ?????? ????”.
??? ?????? ???? ???????? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? “????? -2” ???? ????? ???????? ???? ????? ???? ?? ???? ???????? ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ????????? ????? ????? ????? ????? “??? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ?????????”.
http://arabic.ruvr.ru/2013_10_01/122219812/
October 4th, 2013, 4:29 am
ALAN said:
US, Israel underestimated Syria power
http://youtu.be/MUy0u5t8Hw4?t=13s
October 4th, 2013, 6:50 am
Uzair8 said:
105. Syrialover
Yes. I actually didn’t visit the link in the Yalla Souriya update. Just shared the update itself. Don’t always have the time and also my comp is slow and some sites take forever to open (or defreeze) so I don’t bother unless necessary.
Anyway thanks for bringing the article to our attention. I’ll check it out later.
October 4th, 2013, 7:06 am
Ghat Al Bird said:
113 @ ALAN.
Now it seems its Israel and the democratic state of Saudi Arabia testing Syria.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/511160/20131003/israel-saudi-arabia-gulf-alliance-iran-nuclear.htm#.Uk2bFguvMXE.blogger
October 4th, 2013, 7:49 am
zoo said:
Assad says Turkey will pay for backing Syrian rebels
Source: Reuters – Fri, 4 Oct 2013 12:26 PM
http://www.trust.org/item/20131004121658-oy9gl/?source=search
* Assad warns Turkey “terrorists” will turn against it
* Growing al Qaeda influence near Turkish border a concern
* Assad says too early to say if he will run again
* Sees Geneva process about cutting support for “terrorists” (Adds Erdogan comment, Assad on elections, quotes)
By Ece Toksabay
ISTANBUL, Oct 4 (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has told Turkey it will pay a heavy price for backing rebels fighting to oust him, accusing it of harbouring “terrorists” along its border who would soon turn against their hosts.
In an interview with Turkey’s Halk TV due to be broadcast later on Friday, Assad called Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan “bigoted” and said Ankara was allowing terrorists to cross into Syria to attack the army and Syrian civilians.
“It is not possible to put terrorism in your pocket and use it as a card because it is like a scorpion which won’t hesitate to sting you at the first opportunity,” Assad said, according to a transcript from Halk TV, which is close to Turkey’s opposition.
“In the near future, these terrorists will have an impact on Turkey and Turkey will pay a heavy price for it.”
Turkey, which shares a 900-km (560-mile) border with Syria and has NATO’s second largest deployable armed forces, is one of Assad’s fiercest critics and a staunch supporter of the opposition, although it denies arming the rebels.
It shelters about a quarter of the 2 million people who have fled Syria and has often seen the conflict spill across its frontier, responding in kind when mortars and shells fired from Syria have hit its soil.
It has also allowed rebel fighters to cross in and out of Syria but has grown alarmed, along with Western allies opposed to Assad, by divisions among their ranks and the deepening influence of radical Islamists in Syria.
Last month, the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant seized Azaz, about 5 km (3 miles) from the border with Turkey, and has repeatedly clashed with the local Northern Storm brigade since then.
“Right now, Syria is headed for a sectarian war,” Erdogan said in an interview on Turkish television late on Thursday.
“This is the danger we are facing.”
Turkey has bolstered its defences and sent additional troops to the border with Syria in recent weeks and its parliament voted on Thursday to extend by a year a mandate authorising a military deployment to Syria if needed.
UNDECIDED ON ELECTIONS
Assad accused Erdogan, whose AK Party has its roots in conservative Islamist politics, of a sectarian agenda.
“Before the crisis, Erdogan had never mentioned reforms or democracy, he was never interested in these issues… Erdogan only wanted the Muslim Brotherhood to return to Syria, that was his main and core aim,” he said.
Erdogan’s government strongly denies any such agenda.
His aides point to his cultivation of good relations with Assad for years before the conflict and say Turkey does not see Syria’s Sunni Muslims and its Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi’ism to which Assad belongs, as fixed blocs.
Assad said he had not yet decided whether to run in presidential elections next year because the situation on the ground was changing rapidly, adding that he would only put himself forward if Syrians wanted him to. The picture will become clearer in the next 4-5 months, Assad said.
The United Nations estimates that more than 100,000 people have died since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011 and has been notified of at least 14 chemical attacks.
The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution last week that demands the eradication of Syria’s chemical weapons and endorses a plan for a political transition in Syria agreed on at an international conference in Geneva last year.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said after the vote that major powers hoped to hold a second peace conference on Syria in mid-November in Geneva.
In his interview, Assad again denied his forces had used chemical weapons and blamed such attacks on the rebels. Asked whether he expected the Geneva process to accelerate if Syria handed over its chemical weapons, Assad said he saw no link.
“Practically these issues are not related. Geneva II is about Syria’s own domestic political process and cutting neighbouring countries’ weapons and financial support to terrorists,” he said. (Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Orhan Coskun in Ankara; Writing by Nick Tattersall, Editing by Gareth Jones)
October 4th, 2013, 8:44 am
zoo said:
Hopeful
As you keep asking silly questions whose answer you know, it seems that is your concept of a dialog.
October 4th, 2013, 8:49 am
zoo said:
106. Ghufran said:
“Idris may get sacked soon:”
It was predictable. Another clown joining the others…
Is Tohmeh working on a ‘transition’ government or desperately trying to create a ‘unified’ delegation for Geneva, as requested by Ban Ki Moon.
The SNC is pathetic.
October 4th, 2013, 8:55 am
zoo said:
Will ISIS withdraw? What would they get in exchange?
Syria: FSA demand ISIS withdrawal from Azaz and Homs
ISIS, North Storm Brigade to take quarrel over Azaz to Islamic court
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/10/article55318285
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Several Free Syrian Army (FSA) battalions demanded that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) withdraw from the streets of the strategic town of Azaz along the Turkish borders following fierce clashes between the group and the North Storm Brigade in the city, Asharq Al-Awsat has learned.
October 4th, 2013, 8:59 am
zoo said:
Syrian Pound Soars, Iran’s Single Digit Inflation…
By Steve H. Hanke
http://www.cato.org/blog/syrian-pound-soars-irans-single-digit-inflation-other-troubled-currencies-project-updates
….
Syria’s President, Bashar al-Assad, has stated that his government will abide by last week’s U.N. resolution calling for the country’s chemical weapons to be destroyed.
It appears as though this news was well received by the people of Syria. Indeed, the black-market exchange rate for the Syrian pound (SYP) has dropped from 206 SYP/USD on September 25th to 168 on September 30th. That’s a whopping 22.6% appreciation in the pound against the greenback. Currently, the implied annual inflation rate in Syria sits at 133 percent, down from a rate of 185 percent on September 25th.
Iran: Since President Rouhani took office, Iranian expectations about the economy have turned positive. Over the past month we have seen a significant decrease in the volatility of the Iranian rial (IRR) on the black market.
This trend of increased exchange rate stability has continued into this week, as President Rouhani’s trip to the UN has raised hopes of constructive cooperation between the West and Iran. In consequence, the Iranian rial (IRR) has remained virtually unchanged on the black market, moving from 30,500 IRR/USD on September 25th to 30,200 on September 30th. The implied inflation rate in Iran as of September 30th stands at 8% down from a rate of 23% on September 25th.
October 4th, 2013, 9:05 am
SimoHurtta said:
Now one more piece of news: the US this year is the number one energy producer in the world. The combined output of gas and oil is bigger than that of the Russian Federation.
This was from the WSJ today. It is earth shaking news. This means that geopolitical consideration that were in operation before are going to shift.
Well, well here we go again.
Figures from Wikipedia and mbbl = million barrels daily
Oil Production USA 8.5 mil bbl Russia 10.9 mbbl
Oil Export USA 2 mbbl Russia 5 mbbl
Oil Import USA 10.2 mbbl Russia 0.05 mbbl
Import need if there is no export USA 8-9 mbbl Russia 0 mbbl
Oil consumption USA 19.1 mbbl Russia 2.2 mbbl
USA needs to import the amount Russia (or Saudi Arabia) are producing daily. The figures in the table are from different years from 2009 – 2013, but “dreaming” that USA suddenly could increase its oil production with millions of barrels daily is pure speculation and propaganda. Even if the story appears in WSJ.
The world gas markets are still mostly aerial. For exporting larger amounts still pipelines are needed. Importing gas in LNG form existing regasification terminals are needed. Only Japan has plenty of them, relative few are ready in Europe. Besides these regasification terminals also existing liquefaction terminals and rather expensive LNG carriers are needed. USA has one existing LNG liquefaction terminal, one in Alaska. So the trip to a significant gas exporter is rather long, for Israel and for USA.
The chances, that USA could compete with Russia and Arab countries as a gas exporter to Europe or China is very, very far away. Surely LNG has a bright future as a clean fuel, but believing it would replace liquid fuels in relative short time frame is politely said “amateurish”. It will take decades before the majority of cars and other oil driven “motors” will using electricity or gas.
Have you “boys” any idea how long and how much it costs to create a new oil or gas producing field? It is not done in weeks or months. It takes many years often a decade and costs many billions. So the notion, that USA could “fart from nowhere” in next months a new oil production capacity equal to the whole production of Russia or Saudi Arabia, which would be demanded USA to become even self sufficient and a real net exporter is simply hilarious and certainly not based on any facts and real knowledge. The geopolitical reality is and will be for many years to come, that USA needs imported oil and a plenty of that, if the US economy will be functioning on present level.
Already since the cold war we have frequently been “served” with news in western media how Soviet, now Russian, economies will collapse because their oil and gas production shrinks. That has been a news in the same series of predictions as the Israeli “Iran will have a nuclear bomb next year”. Already for 20 years we have read those “next year ready bomb” stories. These Soviet/Russian oil ends stories are even older, than the Iranian next year bomb stories.
Surely the oil and gas production is important for Russian economy and state, but believing that there is “nothing else” is absurd. Russia is a huge country with astonishing amounts of natural resources. Companies from all over the world invest in Russia. Surely Russia has problems in corruption and legislation, but portraying Russia as a Stalinist dictatorship is a bit far fetched propaganda.
The US will make sure that the production and flow of oil is free and under no one else’s control. It has every incentive to make sure that China continues to have access to oil and energy. As I expect the nuclear talks to bear fruit, Iran will resume producing an additional 1 million barrels a day and this will bring the price of crude below 100. This spells doom for Nigeria as it needs a 110 price to operate in the black and doom to Venezuela that needs it at also around 110.
USA makes sure, that production and flow is free???? Come-on only (some) Americans believe in that propaganda, we Europeans and surely the Chinese or Japanese not. For example when the Baltic gas line Nord Stream from Russia to Germany was planed USA worked very actively and aggressively in pressuring the countries like Finland, Sweden, Estonia etc, which had a say in the permit allowing process, not to allow the building. Well in that contest Germany had biggest muscles (it needed the Russian gas and got it). Now they (Russia and Germany) are planing to double the undersea lines’ capacity by building lines 3 and 4. 🙂
Some facts to study before cookies
Map of Russian oil and gas lines (European side)
Map of Russian Asian side
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Russia
Now go have a cookie.
Well to many eaten cookies have obviously caused a bad sugar high for our American Russia “expert” in his predictions. Again.
October 4th, 2013, 9:05 am
zoo said:
The FSA is a “fiction”, Al Qaeda is the reality
Assad now has the enemy he wants
A new Islamist alliance among Syria’s rebels leaves the West’s friends in the country weaker than ever
Paul Wood 5 October 2013
http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/9041901/assad-now-has-the-enemy-he-wants/
….
Most importantly, Communiqué No. 1 says the rebels are fighting not for democracy, but for Sharia, ‘the sole source of legislation’. It was signed by what is probably the FSA’s biggest brigade, with thousands of men, Tawheed, or ‘one God’.
…
The FSA that London and Washington speak to has been revealed as a reassuring fiction, irrelevant to the real alliances on the ground, where most fighters believe they are waging a religious war.
…..
Everyone in rebel-held areas will tell you that the Islamists, of whichever stripe, are making gains because of the ‘secular’ FSA’s corruption and opportunism. That and the fact that most of the money and guns are going to the Islamists, sent by Qatar and Saudi Arabia. ‘Ali’ had been a flight attendant with Emirates before the war, living in Dubai and going to bars to pick up girls. Now he was in a Nusra Front brigade, he told me, but only because he thought they were really taking the battle to the regime. The emir of his group had banned smoking in line with Islamist doctrine. Ali would sneak outside for a crafty cigarette. He wasn’t an Islamist, he said, he just wanted Assad gone.
October 4th, 2013, 9:13 am
zoo said:
Saudi Arabia mouthpiece: “The opposition is removed from the political reality”
Unrealistic demands of Syrian opposition
The list of demands by Syrian opposition leaders for their participation in the second Geneva conference gives one a sense of how removed they really are from the difficult political reality, noted the columnist Abdel Rahman Al Rashed in the London-based daily Asharq Al Awsat.
The list presented to the organisers of the conference included compelling the Assad regime to confess to its crimes and mistakes and a pledge by the international community to hold the regime accountable.
“If the regime agreed to confess and the world wanted to fight him, there wouldn’t be a need for a conference in the first place,” the writer observed.
“Geneva II is a meeting of international and regional powers along with the Syrian regime and representatives from the opposition to look into a formula to end the war and not to surrender and transfer power.”
It is too early for the opposition to make such demands, especially when no significant gains have been made on the battlefield.
Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/egyptians-must-not-let-instability-fear-affect-their-choices-during-elections#ixzz2gl81Thwr
Follow us: @TheNationalUAE on Twitter | thenational.ae on Facebook
October 4th, 2013, 9:22 am
zoo said:
The UN and Western countries working to secure the November Geneva conference.
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/10/article55318108
….
This comes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov welcomed the participation of moderate Syrian opposition rebels in the conference during a press conference on Tuesday.
“I do not rule out that the armed opposition, if it does not stand for extremism or terrorism views, could very well be represented,” Lavrov told reporters, adding, “By the way, this is something that President Assad has said as well.”
…
Western sources had earlier informed Asharq Al-Awsat that Tehran may participate in the peace conference on the Syrian civil war after Iran had “returned to the international political arena” thanks to new president Hassan Rouhani’s moderate discourse.
For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Tehran should be invited to the Geneva II conference on Syria, and is “prepared to participate” in the conference, but only if asked.
“We are not begging to be invited,” he told Al-Monitor earlier this week, adding, “If they ask us to go, we will go, without any conditions, and we do not accept any conditions.”
As for the Arab states participating, Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi had earlier confirmed that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby, will be invited. In an interview with Al-Arabiya TV, Brahimi added that other Arab states will also be invited, and that it would be beneficial if Tehran also attend.
However he added that with all the uncertainty regarding who should attend, the conference target date of mid-November was “not 100 percent”, particularly citing disunity among the Syrian rebel forces.
October 4th, 2013, 9:31 am
zoo said:
Freedom of speech in Turkey?
Writer to be tried on charges of insulting Turkish prime minister
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/writer-to-be-tried-on-charges-of-insulting-turkish-prime-minister.aspx?pageID=238&nID=55690&NewsCatID=339
Emrah Serbes had made a pun in a TV show by changing the prime minister’s middle name “Tayyip” to “Tazyik”, a word meaning pressurized water in reference to the police’s excessive use of water cannons and tear gas on the most recent May Day against peaceful protesters.
An Istanbul prosecutor has demanded the imprisonment of writer Emrah Serbes for from 10 months to 12 years, on accusations of insulting Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, Istanbul Governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu and Interior Minister Muammer Güler, daily Milliyet has reported.
October 4th, 2013, 9:56 am
Hopeful said:
#117 Zoo
I am not sure why you consider the question silly. Let me repeat it again in clearer terms in case I was misunderstood:
One hypothesis that Assad, his regime, and supporters keep repeating (including you Zoo) is that the Syrian army is still strong and unified because it strongly believes that it is defending Syria against a global conspiracy. It is a theory that is worth considering and exploring by the opposition.
However, Zoo, you seem convinced that if Assad leaves tomorrow, the Syrian army will disintegrate. Why would the Syrian army disintegrate, Zoo, if it has the belief that it is defending the country, not a single individual?
October 4th, 2013, 9:58 am
zoo said:
Hopeful
I am giving you the obvious answer that you seem blind to.
Bashar al Assad is the glue of the Army and the Syrian institutions. Despite the enormous external pressure, he has proven beyond any doubt that he was able to keep the army and the institutions united and cohesive. He has become indispensable to maintain this cohesion. He is perceived as a powerful and coherent leader not only internally but externally too.
If he leaves abruptly the whole system will collapse, and that’s what the opposition was aiming at. They know that his presence in power is essential to the cohesion of the country institutions that they want to destroy.
Bashar al Assad will not leave voluntarily unless he is convinced that someone strong, charismatic and trustworthy will take over.
That’s why he has left his candidacy in 2014 still open.
That’s the end of this subject.
October 4th, 2013, 10:14 am
Hopeful said:
“It is not possible to put terrorism in your pocket and use it as a card because it is like a scorpion which won’t hesitate to sting you at the first opportunity,” Assad said, according to a transcript from Halk TV, which is close to Turkey’s opposition.
He knows that all too well after a decade of experience using terrorism as a card in Iraq and Lebanon. Now it is stinging him, and all the Syrians with him – loyalists and opposition.
October 4th, 2013, 10:15 am
omen said:
when assad’s severed head is on a pike and the rest of the inner circle are excised and uprooted like the cancer that they are.
October 4th, 2013, 10:23 am
Hopeful said:
#127 Zoo
I disagree on both fronts.
I now believe that the Syrian army (whatever is left of it) and the Syrian institutions remained unified DESPITE of Assad not because of him. The reason is because many among their leadership do believe they are fighting for Syria, not for Assad. This will prove to be good news for Syria in the months ahead, and the opposition should take advantage of that.
The opposition never wanted the “whole system” to collapse. They just wanted those on top who are (ab)using it to their advantage and privilege to go. Today, the Egyptian army is stronger and better than it was under Mubarak, precisely because the political elite that was controlling it for decades to their advantage was gone.
Once Assad is gone, and his security apparatus is dismantled, the Syrian army and institutions will emerge stronger.
October 4th, 2013, 10:26 am
Uzair8 said:
Traditionally horses were used in the production of glue. Perhaps in some cases donkeys/Asses.
I guess the ASSad family has successfully knitted itself (or spread the glue) into every nook and cranny of the Syrian state to the point they are indispensable.
I suspect if he was to be.. lets say assassinated you’d probably, dictated by expediency, change your tune and insist the state/regime/military set-up is strong and cohesive under the new leader (eg Maher Assad or whoever).
This comment should be saved and presented as a reminder if ever such a time arrived.
October 4th, 2013, 10:35 am
Hopeful said:
“Assad said he had not yet decided whether to run in presidential elections next year because the situation on the ground was changing rapidly, adding that he would only put himself forward if Syrians wanted him to. The picture will become clearer in the next 4-5 months, Assad said.”
This is the clearest indication yet that a deal is in the making. This is the only card left for Assad to use to negotiate his safe exit from Syria and immunity from persecution.
Saying that he completed his term and that he “decided” not to run again gives him a face saving exit, and gives his supporters a reason to say that they did not lose. Having a true free elections in 2014 gives the opposition a reason to say that they won.
This would not have been a bad outcome, if not for the 100+ thousands of families who have lost loved ones and are yearning for justice and revenge, and for the millions who have lost their homes and their futures. Who would compensate them?
October 4th, 2013, 10:38 am
zoo said:
Dawn of a new reality for Syria
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/dawn-of-a-new-reality-for-syria-1.1239211
Post-settlement regime loyalists and the mainstream opposition may need to form a common front to confront those who want to destroy the nation
…
If the Syrian government looks bad after the latest diplomatic twist, the same can be said about the opposition. Divided and lacking credibility at the best of times, it pinned its hopes on an American military strike, hoping it would inflict a fatal blow on the regime. When no such attack materialised, it was left humiliated: For being “betrayed” by an ally who again promised, but did not deliver; and for being seen in the Arab street as inviting a western imperial armed assault on its own country. The episode revealed again Syria’s official opposition’s lack of a coherent strategy.
….
Even so, many pitfalls could eventually bring this process grinding to a halt, not least the growing strength of Al Qaida and its acolytes, particularly in northern Syria. These forces have no interest in a stable and democratic country. Indeed, part of Geneva II’s agenda must be establishing a plan of action to deal with the threat of an Islamic emirate spreading its roots throughout the country. Post-settlement regime loyalists and the mainstream forces of the opposition could find themselves needing to form a common front — despite their current enmity — to confront those who want to destroy whatever remains of Syria’s rich diversity and tolerance.
This remains an unlikely scenario, but the more the jihadists — especially the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria — provoke outrage with acts of barbarism — such as the recent sacking of Christian churches in Al Raqqa — the more Syrians of all shades of opinion will realise the mortal danger they face and resolve to end the suicidal internecine conflict they are currently locked in.
The real battle for Syria’s soul lies in wait. The earlier Geneva II can deliver a settlement, the better prepared Syrians will be to wage that battle.
Instead of showing leadership and rallying the Syrian people — of all sects and ethnic backgrounds, behind a programme of democratic transformation — it allowed itself to be led by Islamist hardliners into a narrowly-defined agenda that alienated many secular-minded Syrians. Too late it sees its Islamism usurped by the rising tide of Al Qaida jihadism, which it naively believed could be easily drafted into an alliance against the common enemy. Now that the ally is showing as much ferocity in striking at the “moderates” of the Free Syrian Army as against the regime.
October 4th, 2013, 12:54 pm
zoo said:
Industry Minister Kamal Eddin Touma said large parts of the country’s industrial sector were wiped out because of the conflict. He put the overall value of the losses at more than $726 million for the industrial sector and $1.6 billion in the private sector, SANA reports.
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2013/10/04/Syria-assesses-economic-pain-of-civil-war/UPI-15921380903270/#ixzz2glztefM3
October 4th, 2013, 12:56 pm
zoo said:
@127 hopeful
Again, as usual, you had the answer to your question. Stick to it. It is beyond a fairy tale.
After all I am the silly one.
October 4th, 2013, 12:59 pm
Sami said:
What a load of crap to call Assad the “glue holding the country together”.
The most powerful person on earth is up for election every 4 years and has a maximum of two terms to serve yet their country does not fall apart when they are replaced.
If Assad is truly the “glue” then he has failed Syria since no leader is immortal no matter how loud his supporters scream otherwise.
It is high time Syria gets out of the shadows of the Assads and be allowed to grow free of that shadow that has eclipsed our great country from the freedoms and dignity it deserves!
October 4th, 2013, 2:14 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
dog-poop glued to to the country. This is what athad is.
October 4th, 2013, 2:24 pm
omen said:
1. William Scott Scherk said:
bill, did you see this?
US currently refuses to recognize NC as legal representative of syria.
even if by some miracle, geneva sets up a new transition government, will the US recognize the new entity?
we could end up with a new geneva led government AND assad winning* relection at the same time.
my hunch is obama will continue to defer to assad!
October 4th, 2013, 2:33 pm
omen said:
only for nazis is this accepted as the norm.
photo
(you know who you are)
October 4th, 2013, 3:11 pm
ALAN said:
Former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney: The Syrian crisis was created in 2001 9/11!
http://youtu.be/dImwOXJu6EM?t=1s
October 4th, 2013, 3:55 pm
Akbar Palace said:
Alan,
Thanks for reminding the audience that Cynthia is a nut job. FYI, I already knew that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_McKinney
October 4th, 2013, 4:06 pm
ALAN said:
DEBATE SHOW
http://youtu.be/VsvZ1oeprE4
October 4th, 2013, 4:25 pm
Syrialover said:
HOPEFUL you hit home when you described people’s reactions when they hear you are Syrian as “a mix of pity, confusion, and blame”. You explain:
“They pity Syrians for what has happened to them.
They are confused as to what exactly is happening.
They blame Syrians for their inability to stop the bleeding” (#109)
That’s exactly what outsiders think. Even people who have spent time in Syria are dazed about what’s happening and why.
We’ve all probably developed various elevator pitches trying to explain it to them.
I’d be interested to know if you’ve found any points that are good for helping cut through the confusion. I’ll think about mine and maybe share them here.
(Elevator pitch for those wondering is a business jargon for explaining something to an audience in the space of time it takes to ride an elevator – from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. The idea is that you only have a brief time to hold people’s attention, so you have to make sure what you say really works.)
October 4th, 2013, 4:47 pm
Uzair8 said:
Posted on Yalla Souriya about 10 minutes ago:
#Syria #Aleppo –
?@markito0171
Rebels killed #Assad-forces & destroyed vehicles in mountains near #Khanaser http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZXjGoDXHgg … http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=35.781196&lon=37.498569&z=13&m=b …
[The regime was reported as having retaken Khanasser yesterday, and there have been reports of regime attempts to push northwards towards Safira and Aleppo having been repulsed today]
18+
[Video]
************
PS: Another related (Khanasser) update from about 2 hrs ago. Includes 2 videos. One showing rebel tank firing on presumably regime target. Another of presumably regime men running.
http://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2013/10/04/syria-aleppo-markito0171-rebels-attack-assad-forces-convoy/
October 4th, 2013, 4:54 pm
ALAN said:
At Jordanian Border: freaks commerce
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e87_1380681756&fb_source=message#1tYEkJ13oUttlJqu.99
October 4th, 2013, 5:01 pm
Uzair8 said:
Al Arabiya English.
The second picture from the left (top) of the tyrants wife looks very odd. Are they using a mannequin now?
Anyway:
After Instagram smiles, Asma al-Assad becomes ‘lady in black’
Wednesday, 2 October 2013
After flashing her pearly whites for Facebook, and posting images to reveal her fashionista tendencies on Instagram, Syria’s First Lady Asma al-Assad is now looking much more solemn.
[…]
“Look at the devil in disguise” wrote an anti-Assad user on Twitter. Another tweeted saying “nothing Bashar or Asma can do will wash the bloods covering their hands”
[…]
October 4th, 2013, 5:10 pm
Uzair8 said:
Iran must be desperate for Geneva 2.
I mean they can’t continue to fund Asma’s splurges forever. It could become cause for their own uprising…
October 4th, 2013, 5:13 pm
ALAN said:
James Corbett
http://youtu.be/U0ix4ESJRP4?t=1m16s
October 4th, 2013, 5:14 pm
zoo said:
Saudi Arabia is arming Al Nusra
Special arms for Syria rebels fall into Nusra hands
October 04, 2013 12:09 AM
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Oct-04/233502-special-arms-for-syria-rebels-fall-into-nusra-hands.ashx#ixzz2gn6KMOVX
BEIRUT: Some Saudi Arabian-supplied anti-tank missiles intended for mainstream Syrian rebels have inadvertently landed in the hands of the Al-Qaeda linked Nusra Front, throwing plans to arm moderates via neighbor Jordan into question.
The failure of the pilot plan has forced Western and Arab opposition backers to reconfigure efforts to arm and vet moderate opposition types, and shift these efforts to the northern, Turkish border, The Daily Star has learned.
Senior Free Syrian Army and Jordanian sources, along with video evidence, have confirmed that European-made anti-tank missiles were obtained, and in some cases sold, to the hard-line Nusra Front after being supplied to vetted Free Syrian Army battalions across the Jordanian border.
The debacle prompted Jordan to back away from arrangements to arm moderate rebels, and close its borders in May.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Oct-04/233502-special-arms-for-syria-rebels-fall-into-nusra-hands.ashx#ixzz2gn5yhSgp
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
October 4th, 2013, 5:28 pm
zoo said:
An example of the Sharia law in Saudi Arabia. Soon to be applied in Al Raqqah
10 years’ jail, 2000 lashes for dancing part-naked on jeep
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/10-years-jail-2000-lashes-for-dancing-part-naked-on-jeep-521704.html#.Uk80XFN5K9Y
Four young men in Saudi Arabia have been sentenced to jail and up to 2000 lashes each for dancing partially naked on top of a car, local media have reported.
Under the most serious sentence, the offender will spend 10 years in prison and receive 2000 lashes as well as pay SR50,000 ($13,300) fine, Arabic daily Okaz reported.
Another man was sentenced to seven years’ jail and 1200 lashes, while the other two will spend three years behind bars and receive 500 lashes each.
The group were charged with performing an indecent act by dancing with their shirts off on top of a jeep during a weekend youth camp last winter.
October 4th, 2013, 5:37 pm
ALAN said:
A Chechan is now leading three rebel groups (two of them foreign-dominated) to fight Syria’s Kurds.
October 4th, 2013, 5:53 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Today, the discerning Michael Weiss eloquently dissects the Obama fallacy reigning over the US turning it into the deluded impotent power of this planet and the joke of the year, leaving the door wide open for serpent and snake heads to wreck havoc in the world, and licensing proven killers to go on rampages killing innocents, particularly Syrians, with impunity. The US has never descended to such low level as it has during the Obama fallacy. Not even during the Carter years, when US diplomats in Tehran were paraded blindfolded in front of the whole world to see did the US descend so low in the eyes of the world. The US pants are down and its behind is fully exposed to be probed by snake-heads and their proxies as Michael Weiss clearly describes.
When the so-called Obama red line was crossed, the Israelis predicted the end of the American empire. The prediction may come sooner than even the Israelis may have expected. After Carter there was a Reagan who resolutely restored the US honor. It is doubtful that a ‘Reagan’ will emerge considering the amount of damage brought by the incompetence of Obama. Was Obama really fit to rule the US?
When Obama says bye bye to the White House, and retires as the first ever black US President, the world would have said bye bye US long long before that. Your sun has set and welcome to the long US night.
”
The Real Deal, Part I
By Michael Weiss
It took one Scotsman, in defense of the promiscuous virtues of another, to remark of his countrymen that there was “no spectacle so ridiculous as the British public in one of its periodical fits of morality.” American morality has taken a rather harsh beating of late, but there’s still nothing so ridiculous as watching an entire media class in one of its periodical fits of blind optimism. No matter that mass murder continues unabated in the Middle East at the behest or prompting of dictatorial regimes whose histories for stalling, deceiving, and otherwise embarrassing the West are notorious. The new narrative this autumn is that America’s old enemies are just new friends waiting to be made.
President Obama’s brief phone call with Iran’s clerical president and his inking of a disarmament deal with Vladimir Putin, both of which happened at the margins of the UN General Assembly meeting last week, elicited hearty self-congratulations for unprecedented “diplomatic breakthroughs.” Yet unnoticed by those now competing to decide when exactly the gates of Imam Khomeini International Airport will open to American tourists is the unmistakable fact if any meaningful behind-the-scenes deal-making is currently underway, then it is between and among Moscow, Tehran, and Damascus. All three have only exploited the August 21 sarin attack on Ghouta by solidifying their pre-existing alliances with one another and coordinating a clever new propaganda campaign aimed directly at an antiwar American electorate, the importance of which they only accidentally discovered after the White House insisted on asking Congress to authorize airstrikes on Syria.
This strategic realignment, borne of a mass atrocity either carried out or excused by these same state actors, would be bad enough to witness if the Obama administration hadn’t mistaken it as a genuine opportunity for good-faith engagement and in the process alienated two of its most important allies, France and Saudi Arabia.
So let’s evaluate what’s actually happened in that timeframe apart from the warm smiles, bilateral Twitter flirtations, and cable news charm offensives by tyrants by which pundits seem more fascinated.
Assad’s banker
On September 2, Reuters reported that the number of Russian ships traveling to Syria from a Ukrainian port used by Rosoboronexport, Moscow’s state arms dealer, had “increased sharply since April.” Fourteen vessels in total journeyed from Oktyabrsk to Syria’s Tartous in the past year and a half, a time period which has also seen an uptick in Bashar al-Assad’s willingness to pay off his defense debts to Russia, including for S-300 anti-aircraft batteries, which so exercise the Israelis, and 36 Yak-130 trainer fighter jets, which so exercise Syrian civilians who’ll be bombed by them. Reuters further helpfully determined that major state-owned Russian banks – principally VTB, VEB, and Gazprombank – have been taking the regime’s deposits, while Assad’s uncle Mohammed Makhlouf, who lives in a Soviet-era hotel in Moscow, personally oversees the family’s finances in Russia. One Russian arms industry source said to the news agency: “About a year ago they put [some small arms deliveries] on hold. But after Putin got angry in the lead up to talks about Geneva II, the green light was given for limited small arms deliveries.”
High off their diplomatic “victory” in averting US war and yet still leery of long-term American designs, Moscow will proceed apace with this arming even if all the sarin and VX warheads in Syria are banjaxed – itself a far from certain prospect. But what is the likelihood that Assad’s non-compliance with the chemical disarmament agreement (about which more later) will ever even include international sanctions so long as Putin is acting as his personal banker and weapons vendor and has veto power at the Security Council? I think I know the answer.
9/11 as bully pulpit
September 11 was a day once known for commemorating an unprecedented terrorist attack on American soil. Now it’s seen as a fit occasion for our KGB partners in peace to humiliate the United States and not-so-obliquely threaten it with further terrorist attacks. First Putin published his notorious New York Times op-ed, in which, sniffing the isolationist sentiment on the shores, he reminded Americans of their recent messy entanglements in Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and closed by asking if they had the right to really feel all that “exceptional.” The same day, Alexei Pushkov, the head of the Duma’s foreign affairs committee, told his rubber-stamp parliament that if the US attacked the Assad regime, then Russia would not only increase arms sales to Iran but rethink its cooperation with the Pentagon’s grinding war effort in Afghanistan. To show that Pushkov meant business, Russia also leaked the news – again on September 11 – that its once high-profile plan to sell Iran S-300 missile batteries was back on. Originally brokered in 2007, then scuppered in 2010 in deference to strenuous US objections and the now obituarized “reset,” the cancelled deal caused the mullahs to file a $4 billion lawsuit against Russia for breach of contract. Well, apparently that’s all been settled out of court now to both parties’ mutual satisfaction and then some. Moscow will also help Iran construct another “civilian” nuclear reactor for an estimated $800 million.
So Putin’s way of remembering the 12th anniversary of al-Qaeda’s terrorist atrocity is to offer to sell more weapons to one of the world’s leading state sponsors of global terrorism and to suggest that he might further destabilize a country once overrun by Bin Ladenists and which he believes to be already unstable enough. Truly has he earned his Nobel Peace Prize.
On September 14, it was Hassan Rouhani’s turn to perform his role as public spokesman to America, this time in the pages of the Washington Post. For a “reformist” who denies the Holocaust so charmingly it’s missed by CNN’s Farsi translators, the goal was to reaffirm of one of the cornerstones of Barack Obama’s progressivism, that international politics had become “a multi-dimensional arena where cooperation and competition often occur simultaneously.” Improving slightly on Putin’s intervention in the Times, Rouhani did not assign blame for the Syrian chemical attack, “which we strongly condemn,” but he nonetheless reprehended the “zero-sum, Cold War mentality” which he implied motivates US internationalism. This is the mentality, it need hardly be said, that the Kremlin loves to trot out whenever it wants to pretend that it’s the victim of American bullying rather than the party that has just pulled America’s pants down on the playground. For Rouhani, common problems now bind all nations and they’re exactly the ones that Putin and his United Russia proxies always emphasize: “terrorism, extremism, foreign military interference, drug trafficking, cybercrime, and cultural encroachment.”
One would never know, according to this impressive litany, that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is today constructing and training sectarian militias to fight for Assad or running weapons and elite military personnel into Syria. Or that it was responsible for murdering US soldiers in Iraq, about which IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Suleimani allegedly boasted to the US military in Baghdad. Or that it has planned and carried out terrorist attacks in Thailand, India, and Kenya, and plotted to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington. Or that, as the ink was barely dry on Rouhani’s editorial, its agents were busy hacking into US naval computers (so much for cybercrime cooperation, then). Hezbollah, a wholly owned and operated subsidiary of Tehran, is also thus rendered a child daycare franchise in Lebanon.
Some might find it galling or abasing to have even a cuddly and soft-spoken functionary of a regime guilty of killing Americans condescend to Americans in a major American newspaper. But not the commander-in-chief of the United States who, in what can only have been intended as a direct response to Rouhani’s accusation, used the platform of his United Nations General Assembly address to reassure the mullahs and the world that America’s interests in Syria, a country which Iran considers its “35th province,” do not amount to “a zero-sum endeavor. We are no longer in a Cold War. There’s no Great Game to be won.”
Why is Barack Obama the only head of state who continues to persist in this illusion when even America’s socialist allies do not?”
October 4th, 2013, 6:40 pm
Ghufran said:
When the media whore house alarabiya publishes this you know that it is being talked about even if an agreement is not reached. As long as there is no cease fire there will be no elections in Syria whether one likes Assad or not:
????? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ?????????? ???????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ?????? – ????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? 2014? ??? ?? ???????.
???? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ????????? ?????? ??????? ??? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ?????????? ???????? ??????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ????? ???? ??? ?? ???????? ??? ???? ????????? ????????.
????? ????????? ?? ??????? ?????? – ???????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ??????????? ??????? ??? ???????? ??????? ????????.
??? ??????? ???? ?????? ????? ????????? ???? ???????? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ???????? ????????? ????????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ?????.
??? ????? ????? ???? ????? ?????????? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????????? ?? ?????? ????? ????????? ???????? ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ?????? 87 ?? ??????? ??????.
???? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? 16 ????? 2014? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ???????? ???????. ??? ???? ??? ??????? ???????? ??? ???????? ???? ???? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ????? ??????? ????????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ???? ???? ????? ????? ?? ???.
???? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ?? ?? ??? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? .
Assad may stay at the helm beyond 2014 because his external enemies are more worried about jihadists and chemical weapons than who is president in Syria.
October 4th, 2013, 8:04 pm
Observer said:
The prime incubator of any fanatic is the torture chamber, the state of emergency, the dungeons of rape, the graft and corruption, the repression and oppression.
GWB understood this very clearly in his state of the union address despite his many faults and his criminal behavior.
The longer he stays the more fanatics are going to be spawned.
In the meantime, there will be the revolution of the people that is ongoing
October 4th, 2013, 10:31 pm
zoo said:
A wishy-washy facade of unity.
The SNC has not yet accepted Geneva and the FSA is still against it. They have resolved nothing
Syria: SNC, FSA resolve disagreement over Geneva II
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/10/article55318351
In exclusive comments to Asharq Al-Awsat, SNC spokesman Luay Al-Safi denied any disagreement with the FSA over the issue of participation in Geneva II, adding this was a “misunderstanding” on the part of the armed rebels.
Safi said that the FSA had “no intention to withdraw recognition from the SNC as the representative of the Syrian opposition forces.”
He also said there is a prevailing sense of “despair” among the rebels on the ground due to “a lack of sophisticated military equipment,” adding that the FSA members who met with Jarba “called on him to raise the level of coordination,” between the two sides.
Safi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the objective of the meeting was “to listen to field commanders and clarify the stance of the SNC towards the Syrian revolution, particularly the issue of participation in Geneva II.”
The meeting came following the FSA’s rejection negotiating with the Assad regime at the Geneva talks.
When asked whether the SNC had decided on the issue of participation, Safi said: “No final decision has yet been made, and the issue will be put to the vote in the General Council of the SNC.”
“The SNC welcomes a political solution that leads to a transfer of power and forms a transitional government with full military and security powers, precluding Bashar Al-Assad and his security and political team,” Safi added.
October 4th, 2013, 11:14 pm
zoo said:
Headsup
“The discerning Michael Weiss eloquently…”
Thanks for this new joke.
October 4th, 2013, 11:17 pm
zoo said:
Even Syrian refugees hate France where they are treated like ‘animals’
….
But the protesting refugees, most of whom arrived a month ago in Calais, have voiced disappointment at the way they were treated in France.
“We thought that France was the country where human rights are respected,” said Tarik, 19, who is from the southern city of Deraa.
“But we live outside like dogs, hunted down by the police. We see we are not welcome – how can we seek asylum here?”
The former engineering student said he was convinced he would find “more humanity” in Britain.
Ali, 38, said although the French president, Francois Hollande, had taken a strong stand against the regime of Bashar Al Assad for using chemical weapons, the French were not welcoming at all.
“Why does the president say one thing and the police another?” Ali said, adding that he had spent €9,500 (Dh47,400) to come to a country where the “president said: ‘we must help Syrians’”.
“Here even animals are better treated than us.”
Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/world/france/rejected-by-uk-desperate-syrian-refugees-stranded-in-france#ixzz2goZ1vZme
Follow us: @TheNationalUAE on Twitter | thenational.ae on Facebook
October 4th, 2013, 11:28 pm
ziad said:
Charity millions ‘going to Syrian terror groups’
People giving money to help millions of refugees from the civil war in Syria are inadvertently supporting terrorism, the charity watchdog has warned.
Some of their cash was “undoubtedly” going to extremist groups, said William Shawcross, the chairman of the Charity Commission.
Conditions on the ground in the midst of conflict made it difficult or impossible for charities to know where aid ended up, he said.
The Disasters Emergency Committee, which represents 14 of Britain’s biggest charities, has raised £20?million since the launch of its Syria Crisis Appeal in March. Its members include the British Red Cross, Oxfam and Save the Children.
But it said it was unable to guarantee that no cash was falling into the hands of terrorists.
The Charity Commission is so concerned that it has issued guidance to fund-raising bodies.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10357537/Charity-millions-going-to-Syrian-terror-groups.html
October 4th, 2013, 11:35 pm
Hopeful said:
#144 SL
I never tried to do an elevator pitch for the situation in Syria! and I suspect it is extremely hard, but I do tell people a quick “story”:
It all started when young people in Syria – those who were born after 1982 and therefore too young to understand how brutal the regime can be – started demonstrating demanding a change to the corrupt and totalitarian regime ruling their everyday lives.
The regime struck back with extreme brutality and utter disregard to human lives and dignity, killing, arresting and torturing anyone holding a sign, a camera, or a pen.
The demonstrations became more dense, frequent and persistent, and the regime became more brutal, wicked, and callous. The outside world watched, and condemned.
After six months, it flipped. People started carrying arms to defend themselves and attack regime forces and interests. The regime responded violently, calling the army and sending in tanks and jets. Neighboring countries got involved. Chaos started to become the norm.
Now, two years later, the Syrian revolution has morphed into 6 wars, fought concurrently on Syrian soil:
A freedom war, where freedom fighters are fighting a fascist regime
A religious war, where Islamists are fighting to establish an Islamic emirate
A sectarian war, where Syria’s various sects are killing each other
A class war, where the poor and hopeless are fighting the rich and the elite
A regional war, where Iran and Hizbullah are fighting GCC countries supported by Turkey
A global war, where the West and Russia are fighting for dominance in the region
I say sadly, the slogan of “Assad or we burn the country” has now become “Assad AND we burn the country”
October 5th, 2013, 1:01 am
Juergen said:
So Tzar Putin is on the list for Nobel Peace price nominees. Finally he has made it to this illustrious list. He is among Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin.
October 5th, 2013, 1:13 am
Ghufran said:
Ksa is waiting for a us- Iran agreement before they join the party, fow now we will hear conilliatory statements like this one:
??? ???? ???????? ??????? ???? ??????? ??? ???? ?????????? «??????????» ?????? ??? ??? ??????.
???? ??? ??????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ???? 80 ????? ??? ????? ???????? ???????? – ?????????.
????? ????? «??????» ???????? ?? ???? ???????? ???? «??? ????? ?????? ????????? ??????? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ???????? ????????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ?????? ???????? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ???????? ???? ?????? ?? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???? ??????. ???? ???? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ????? ??????».
?????? ?????? ?? «????? ????? ????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ??????????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ???? ??? ?????????? ???????? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???? ???? ????? ???? ?????».
????? ?? «??????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????. ?? ???? ???? ?? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ???????? ????? ??? ?????????».
(?? «??????» ????????)
Hopeful,
It is too late to try to analyse how Syria got into this dark hole, but it is clear that taking up arms was a strategic mistake, many of us knew from day one that doing that will help the regime and open the doors to hell. 30 months later we still have the regime but with a destroyed country and a strong alqa’eda presence and 6 million refugees, the regime is morally and legally bankrupt but rebels and their supporters have a lot of explaining to do, they will be remembered as partners, not necessarily equal or willing, in this evil war.
October 5th, 2013, 1:15 am
Ghufran said:
#161 Ghufran
I do not disagree with you. However, I have come to realize that one cannot stop the tide of history. I wished that the Syrians have waited till Libya was resolved before they started their revolt – the world was too busy. I wished that they did not take up arms and continued their brave and admirable peaceful challenge to guns and tanks. I wished they did not tolerate the Islamists. I wished they did not get dragged into secretariat conflict….
But this was all wishful thinking, what happened in Syria was a natural reaction to totalitarianism, fed by the norms and values of the Syrian society. These norms and values in 2011 were remarkably different from the norms and values of the 1950’s and 1960’s. Our parents paint a very different picture of what Syria was when they grew up, than the Syria we know.
Bottom line is that the revolution was inevitable, and the reaction to the brutality of the regime was inevitable. Had the regime acted differently on day one, I believe many of the horrors we saw in the past 2.5 years would have been avoided. On the other hand, I do not believe that if anyone, or any group, within the opposition had acted differently, it would have made a difference. The only thing that would have made a difference was the way the regime handled the crisis, both inside and outside Syria.
October 5th, 2013, 2:21 am
Hopeful said:
Ghufran
I do not disagree with you. However, I have come to realize that one cannot stop the tide of history. I wished that the Syrians have waited till Libya was resolved before they started their revolt – the world was too busy. I wished that they did not take up arms and continued their brave and admirable peaceful challenge to guns and tanks. I wished they did not tolerate the Islamists. I wished they did not get dragged into secretariat conflict….
But this was all wishful thinking, what happened in Syria was a natural reaction to totalitarianism, fed by the norms and values of the Syrian society. These norms and values in 2011 were remarkably different from the norms and values of the 1950?s and 1960?s. Our parents paint a very different picture of what Syria was when they grew up, than the Syria we know.
Bottom line is that the revolution was inevitable, and the reaction to the brutality of the regime was inevitable. Had the regime acted differently on day one, I believe many of the horrors we saw in the past 2.5 years would have been avoided. On the other hand, I do not believe that if anyone, or any group, within the opposition had acted differently, it would have made a difference. The only thing that would have made a difference was the way the regime handled the crisis, both inside and outside Syria.
October 5th, 2013, 2:23 am
Juergen said:
The hakawati keeps on telling lies. I think its time to call the doctors for him.
Journalist: Mr. President, what is the number of detainees in Syrian prisons, including parliamentarians, academics, politicians, students and journalists ? How many death sentences have you signed? Are you a dictator?
Assad: Because you live in Turkey, I can not let you compare me with Erdogan. Turkey is the largest prison in the world for journalists. In Syria this is not the case, neither before. No journalist was murdered. No man was arrested because of his political opinion. In Syria there are only prisoners who have violated the law. Each Syrians must express his political opinion, without being arrested for it.
October 5th, 2013, 3:07 am
omen said:
how should i blame syrians, hopeful?
this probably an unorthodox view but to me assad invalidated his citizenship when he accepted weapons from russia (such as multi-story tall scuds & attack helicopter gunships) and iranian militias & iranian consultation to reduce syria to rubble. that demoted assad from syrian citizen to foreign agent. what true syrian would agree to destroy his own country for his own selfish aims??
assad revoked any claim to hide behind the protection of sovereignty when regime mowed down little kids in darraa. (not my argument but one that expats make that i endorse.)
when anybody says “syrian,” to me that means 22 million citizens. not assad nor the regime. as hamster had to repeatedly remind people last year, assad is NOT syria.
some corrections:
i find it curious, hopeful, that you seek to dilute blame that should land concentrated solely on assad’s head like a ton of bricks.
you can’t blame the syrian people for the actions of one man and his filthy family. your “plenty of blame to go around” dismissal is an exercise in victim blaming. an attempt to mitigate & soften regime responsibility. assad raped syria. don’t blame syria because she fell victim. makes no damn sense. opposition did what they had to do as a reaction to regime onslaught. don’t confuse reaction with an offensive move.
if you go to punch me in the face, do you blame me if i knock your hand away to deflect it?
people being assaulted have a right to pick up arms in self defense. more than a 100,000 dead already. how many more people have to be slain before they have your permission to fight back? 500,000? a million? are they supposed allow themselves to be slaughtered graciously en masse without uttering a squeak of protest?
they’ve been hit with everything else. they don’t need to your denunciation and to be saddled with your application of collective guilt when it is assad who is solely responsible!
October 5th, 2013, 4:21 am
Hopeful said:
#164 Owen
I am not diluting blame against Assad and his regime. I will, however, admit the charge that I am diluting the blame against the French, the Americans, the Russians, the Qataris, etc. etc.
The points I made above were in response to you and others blaming non-Syrians for Syrians-inflicted problems.
Assad does not drive tanks, carry rifles, and pilot fighter jets. Syrians who support him do. Out of the 22M Syrians you refer to, there are more than a few who support him and ready to fight for him. They come from villages such as this one, and they celebrate their fallen sons as martyrs:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/??????-??????-????-???????/204487116389025
You can take the view that their citizenships must be invalidated if you want. I do not have a problem with that.
October 5th, 2013, 5:16 am
omen said:
bashar must take a medicine cabinet full of pills every night. he can’t sleep because he hears this pounding in his head. the marching footsteps of fate coming closer every night. death is calling, bashar. every day, justice marches forward. he can’t stop it.
they’re coming to get you, assad. they’re coming to get you.
October 5th, 2013, 5:26 am
Uzair8 said:
Where is Annie?
I hope she’s well and resumes her activity very soon.
October 5th, 2013, 5:56 am
omen said:
i meant to applaud your brave admission. only a still healthy psyche could acknowledge as much. maybe you’re not quite the egoist i first took you to be.
is zoo willing to admit the same?
October 5th, 2013, 6:50 am
omen said:
are you sure about that?
so sad to read. soldiers not in jail but still just as trapped.
do potus defenders need any more proof than this? that contrary to the rhetoric, obama does not support the opposition. if he did, he would offer these regime men support & sanctuary in turkey. it would be so easy for him to do so. but he refuses to lift a finger. what more proof do you want that exposes reality that obama prefers assad remain?
zoo earlier asked when will rebels unite with saa to fight alqaeda?:
October 5th, 2013, 7:23 am
omen said:
would there even be an army left if obama had sponsored everybody in the regime army who wanted to leave?
he had two years to do this but refused.
the war would have ended by now if he had.
how many lives would have been saved if he had done so? how many babies would have been spared?
how can any syrian keep making excuses for this spineless irresponsible coward? syrians should be more enraged than i over this betrayal. there is no excuse good enough to justify obama’s stubborn refusal to ACT.
October 5th, 2013, 7:49 am
Observer said:
I still maintain the article by the WSJ that the combined out put of gas and oil in the states has surpassed that of Russia. It was on the front page on Thursday.
http://www.ibtimes.com/us-surpasses-russia-become-largest-oil-natural-gas-producer-energy-dependent-countries-india-are
Now we are moving into a grinding slow motion conflict.
HA is withdrawing its fighters, Khamenei is scolding Rouhani. The hard liners are still in charge there.
No news really these days.
October 5th, 2013, 10:27 am
zoo said:
Omen
The FSA is heavily polluted by Al Qaeda. Everybody knows that. Only a tiny portion of them will fight against the terrorists.
The collapse of the SAA will offer Syria to Al Qaeda on a golden plate. That’s why the West is not calling for Assad to go anymore. They took some time but finally understood that he is the only warrant of a secular army and a secular Syria.
Egypt and Tunisia had to pass through an Islamist rule to discover how authoritarian and incompetent they are. In Syria everybody is aware that the SNC and the Islamists are exactly that. They have no chance to take power. They are and will stay a minority.
The only power that can destroy Al Qaeda is Bashar al Assad and his cohesive government as well as the loyal and heroic secular Syrian Army.
All the rest is fairy tale.
October 5th, 2013, 10:29 am
Hopeful said:
#170 OMEN
I do understand your frustration, but you have to remember that Obama is the president of a democracy, which means he does not have the power to act independently without the public and congress support. At the time when the US is under $17 trillion national debt, and close to 9% unemployment, no one is in the mood to commit the US’s resources to any new venture, especially in the Middle East.
If the rebels were counting on the US’s financial or human support to win their battle, then they grossly miscalculated and their timing was just terrible. They also did nothing to help their cause when they first said they did not need US’s help, and then rebuffed the US for adding Al-nusrah to the terrorist list. They lost a lot of the US’s public support with these moves.
Obama is still under fire today for getting involved in Libya and losing his ambassador there. His government just shut down because they could not agree on a new budget. How can he advocate “supporting” defected Syrian soldiers under these circumstances?
October 5th, 2013, 10:53 am
Akbar Palace said:
Still the Same Blame Game NewZ
there is no excuse good enough to justify obama’s stubborn refusal to ACT.
Omen,
Again, I think the US should do more to help the opposition WIN this fight. EVEN with the sunni jihadis potentially ready to take over. Because I think that’s Step 2: working against militant Islam.
But in terms of the “Blame Game”, why is it the “usual suspect” is always the first to get implicated?
There are 20-some arab nations. Most with heavily armed militaries and well-staffed. Where is your blame in relation to your arab brethren? Where is arab pressure with respect to Russia and China? In ’73, OPEC pressured countries that were backing Israel with an oil embargo. Why doesn’t the arab world do the same against Russia and China, which were the only 2 permanent members of the UNSC to veto sanctions against Syria???
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_oil_crisis
October 5th, 2013, 1:04 pm
ALAN said:
152. ALAN
Thumb down 24
must have someone, a high temperature alarm!
Oksana in Chemistry of war!
http://rt.com/shows/worlds-apart-oksana-boyko/syria-chemical-weapons-disarmament-667/
October 5th, 2013, 1:16 pm
ALAN said:
War Self-Delusion
The shock of the October War left deep scars on the national psyche that affect Israelis even today. Foremost among them, according to the Jaffee Center, is a gnawing anxiety that the national leadership is so locked into a “conceptzia” — a shared strategic concept that determines the leaders’ worldview — that they may be misreading reality and ignoring opportunities for peace.
http://www.intifada-palestine.com/2013/10/war-self-delusion/
October 5th, 2013, 1:19 pm
ghufran said:
the FSA continues to lose support among rebels, the latest, and probably most dangerous, development is an agreement between rebels and Isis/Nusra in Rastan and northern Homs Reef which effectively means ending the FSA role in that area if the agreement stands. At this rate, rebels will be seen by all as a group of islamist gangs associated with Nusra and Isis, both seen as terrorist groups by the West.
October 5th, 2013, 1:45 pm
zoo said:
Abuses of workers in Qatar in the spotlight. It’s no surprise coming from this rich and hypocritical country
Will Qatar’s World Cup be built on a graveyard?
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/05/fifa-qatar-migrants-world-cup
Unless Qatar allows foreign workers to form unions, Sepp Blatter must prevent it from hosting the World Cup
…
But in Qatar 2022, the connection between oppression and sport will be glaring. The world’s finest footballers will be running over the bones of the faceless men who died that they might play. Their fans will travel on trains and stay in luxury hotels built by migrant workers who, in their desperation to escape poverty, trapped themselves in a racist serf system, which left them defenceless before avaricious employers.
Since I wrote about the rising piles of corpses in Qatar two weeks ago, Robert Booth of the Guardian published a fine investigation, which claimed that the World Cup could cost 4,000 lives if nothing is done. David Cameron, not noted as a champion of workers’ rights, was so moved he said Qatar must do better and, as if in response, last Friday Fifa’s president, Sepp Blatter, who looks more like a well-fed toad with each passing year, promised that he would try harder.
He would visit the Emir and tell him he wanted Qatar to change. The ruling al-Thani clan had already told him that it was ready to meet his requests.
Fifa and Qatar have much in common. They are both unaccountable. They both cut deals in secret and know the value of PR. The Qatari royal family controls al-Jazeera, the world’s most subtle and effective propaganda channel. It appears like a home for respectable journalists, while never challenging its masters’ interests. Fifa also understands how many people you can fool in the modern world if you look concerned and mouth compassionate platitudes.
October 5th, 2013, 2:14 pm
zoo said:
@177 Gufran
“rebels ARE ALREADY seen by all as a group of islamist gangs associated with Nusra and Isis, both seen as terrorist groups by the West.”
Just in time for the SNC to announce that the FSA still ( when did they ever?) recognize the SNC as the sole representative of the Syrian people. Who are they fooling?
October 5th, 2013, 2:20 pm
mjabali said:
Zoo;
Qatar is not a country. Qatar is an event, it is like a party. When the gas will be over this party gathering will go away each one to the country they came from. Look at the athletes who represent Qatar and see an example, or the police, or…etc
Qatar was an event planned by Britain..
October 5th, 2013, 2:22 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Today, the discerning Michael Weiss, in his part II of The Real Deal, eloquently dissects the Obama fallacy reigning over the US turning it into the deluded impotent power of this planet and the joke of the year, leaving the door wide open for serpent and snake heads to wreck havoc in the world, and licensing proven killers to go on rampages killing innocents, particularly Syrians, with impunity. The US has never descended to such low level as it has during the Obama fallacy. Not even during the Carter years, when US diplomats in Tehran were paraded blindfolded in front of the whole world to see did the US descend so low in the eyes of the world. The US pants are down and its behind is fully exposed to be probed by snake-heads and their proxies as Michael Weiss clearly describes.
When the so-called Obama red line was crossed, the Israelis predicted the end of the American empire. The prediction may come sooner than even the Israelis may have expected. After Carter there was a Reagan who resolutely restored the US honor. It is doubtful that a ‘Reagan’ will emerge considering the amount of damage brought by the incompetence of Obama. Was Obama really fit to rule the US?
Obama succeded in less than a month in wiping out the US Empire.
”
The Real Deal, Part II
By Michael Weiss
This is the second of a two-part series. Read Part I above @152.
Angering the French
When Gerard Araud, the French ambassador to the UN, met with a Russian diplomat last spring to discuss France’s imminent disclosure of intelligence suggesting that the Assad regime had used chemical weapons, “[t]he Russian diplomat laughed, according to a source familiar with the meeting,” Reuters reported on September 17. “‘Gerard,’ [the Russian] told his counterpart, ‘don’t embarrass the Americans.’”
A charitable reading of this anecdote is that Russia knew all too well that Obama was reluctant to acknowledge that his own “red line” had been crossed long before the Ghouta massacre and was purposefully covering up evidence of chemical weapons use in Syria to avoid dealing with the consequences – this when WMDs are all the president seems fetishistically concerned with in the Middle East. A less charitable reading would be that the Russians knew that Obama was so wedded to avoiding direct military confrontation with Assad that he’d gladly act as the Kremlin’s helpmeet in seeing that commitment through, zero-sum, Cold War mentality notwithstanding. This is how the chemical bargain, shamelessly spun by the Oval Office as the whoopsy-daisy yield of a John Kerry “gaffe,” actually came to be introduced – by Russia, reading America’s clear signals.
The French government has for years been equally courted and subverted by the Kremlin and it took no small amount of geopolitical risk in advocating a principled posture against the Assad regime and expecting the US to follow suit. Eric Chevalier, the former French ambassador to Syria, was the first Western envoy to meet with Gen. Salim Idris, the now nearly-irrelevant head of the Supreme Military Command of the Free Syrian Army. The French also pushed for greater military support for the rebels in the summer and early fall of 2012, when Obama was still pushing for a “political solution.”
Not seeing eye-to-eye with an ally is different from sticking your finger in that ally’s eye. But Obama has form here, too. On May 27, Kerry and Lavrov were readying to meet in Paris to talk about their latest brainchild in Syria diplomacy, the Geneva II conference. It didn’t matter, however, that this event was taking place in France’s capital city; “the French were not initially invited to the talks, diplomatic sources said.” One such source, a European diplomat, said that America’s oldest ally had been treated like a “useful idiot” by Washington. It’s not hard to see why.
According to a report last Sunday in Le Nouvel Observateur, on August 31, Francois Hollande was forced to cancel an airstrike he’d been told was imminent and for which French warplanes were ready on the tarmac after receiving an 11th-hour phone call from Obama saying the strikes were off, at least for now, because Congress had to be consulted first. The French President was “shocked”; his cabinet had already prepared a press release announcing the strike at Kerry’s earlier instruction to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. “Everything led us to believe that the big day had arrived.” If only Russia, Iran, and Syria were this ad hoc and cavalier in coordinating their collective strategy, Washington’s blunders might not matter.
Yet even in diplomatic anticlimax, the US still managed to alienate and anger the French. When Kerry and Lavrov met in Geneva on September 10 to hammer out the nitty-gritty of their chemical deal, the French, who again had not been invited to an important conference, decided to ensure their skepticism was registered by advancing a draft UN resolution that authorized the use of force in the likely event of Syrian noncompliance. This infuriated US officials, while their French counterparts worried that Washington was so desperate for a resolution, any resolution, with the Security Council’s imprimatur that it would forfeit real enforcement mechanisms to hold Assad to account. The French were right.
The UN deal
It should have augured ill that it was Putin’s portrait which overhung the negotiating table at the UN where the resolution was ultimately finalized. As Foreign Policy’s Colum Lynch deftly observed, the yield of the first resolution the Security Council has passed in almost three years of Syrian bloodshed represents a triumph of cynical bureaucratic expertise over international justice. The expertise belongs to Lavrov and Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, who used to be an employee there. Collectively, their talent has been to mire the United States in the pettifoggery of UN “procedure,” as one UN specialist at New York University told Lynch.
The resolution is a monument to procedure. Not only does it not guarantee penalties in the face of Syrian funny business, but even the definition of non-compliance is open to broad interpretation. Russia insists that violations be “indisputable and proved” and also of sufficient “gravity” to warrant another resolution that would impose penalties on the regime. Given that Russia has not backed down from blaming the August 21 sarin attack on rebels – a claim for which it has relied on an Iranian- and Russian-linked “news” outlet in Minnesota, a pro-Milosevic and 9/11 denial website in Canada, and the testimony of a pro-Assad Carmelite nun who was not present in Ghouta when the attacks took place – why should any thinking person expect the Kremlin to accede to any amount of “proven and indisputable” Western evidence proving “grave” regime shenanigans? Moreover, Washington caved to demanding in the text of the resolution that the International Criminal Court investigate the poison gas use in Damascus and prosecute the perpetrators – in effect, granting Assad legal immunity for gassing 1,400 people whether or not he now makes good on the international legitimacy the Security Council has just conferred on him by making him a guarantor of the disarmament protocol. As Lynch notes, Assad can theoretically wage another chemical attack in Syria and still not be legally held to account under the terms of this resolution and, as I argued above, even the threat of sanctions are unlikely to materialize with a veto-wielding Russia.
Alienating the Saudis
It’s no secret that Israel and Saudi Arabia are both exasperated by Obama’s revivified engagement strategy with Iran because neither wants the mullahs to build a nuclear bomb and both are now looking right through Bashar al-Assad and seeing only the IRGC and Hezbollah as the advance guard of Iranian hegemony in the Levant. While Israel’s realization of the wobbliness of its superpower patron to enforce limits on tolerate behavior may yet manifest in bomber planes flying over Qom and Netanz, the Saudi pivot away from the US has been more immediately discernible.
On September 29, the Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal told the Friends of Syria coalition in New York, on the margins of the General Assembly, that Riyadh wants “intensification of political, economic, and military support to the Syrian opposition… to change the balance of powers on the ground.” According to one Saudi security analyst, Mustafa Alani, the goal now was to ignore the United States completely on Syria: “They are going to be upset – we can live with that. We are learning from our enemies now how to treat the United States.” The front-page of Asharq Al-Awsat, a leading Saudi-owned daily, greeted news of Obama and Rouhani’s phone call with a cartoon showing the latter bent double in laughter.
Riyadh registered a symbolic protest at Obama’s climb-down on attacking the regime by refusing to address the United Nations, but it’s also taken substantive measures to circumvent Washington altogether on Syria by activating a cadre of new clients in the form of hardline Salafist rebels who are now united the umbrella of Jaysh al-Islam (“the Army of Islam”), a Damascus-based military organization. Unamused by transformation of Aleppo and Raqqa into Kandahar, or the anti-Assad rebellion’s hijacking by transnational jihadists who want to export their ideology beyond Syria, and impatient with Obama’s diplomacy, the Saudis have lately enlisted “50 brigades” and some thousands of fighters under a new structure headed by Zahran Alloush, the head of Liwa al-Islam, the new group’s most powerful salafist brigade. Not only is Alloush’s father a cleric based in Saudi Arabia, but Zahran also studied Islamic theology there. In a video statement announcing the new Army, Alloush took a soft but dismissive attitude toward the Supreme Military Command, America’s only client on the ground, by saying that it had to be “serious and active” in aiding fighters in the field rather than relying on Western promises and heeding Western caveats for support. Saudi tribal figures, no doubt those who have long financed Islamist rebel groups in Syria, were seconded by Prince Bandar’s intelligence directorate to help isolate the extremists in the form of the Islamic State of Syria and al-Sham (ISIS), the hardline Zarqawist branch of al-Qaeda in Syria. “Their strategy is to offer financial backing in return for loyalty and staying away from al-Qaeda,” the commander of one such group told Reuters.
Saudi Arabia is trying to do two things at once. The first is to salvage what remains of the Syrian opposition, which, through the now Saudi-dominated National Council, has lost all credibility inside the country among the rebels fighting the regime for its perceived failure to sufficiently turn Western governments (read: the United States) against Assad. In reality, the Council is still hostage to the Geneva II track forced on it by Washington, which means further parlays with Damascus, Moscow, and possibly now Tehran. Not only has this been cited as a pretext for humiliating rebel defections, such as last week’s announced “Islamic Alliance” among a dozen rebel groups including Jabhat al-Nusra, the lesser al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, but it’s a pill that neither the Saudi hirelings nor the Qatari-backed Muslim Brothers on the National Council wish to swallow. The Saudi government’s insurance policy, then, is to effectively buy control of disaffected rebel groups before it loses total control of them, focusing on the most sensitive areas of Syria: the capital region and the less jihadist-riddled south.
The second Saudi objective is to foment sahwa, or a Sunni Awakening using salafists against al-Qaeda. As Hassan Hassan has argued, this may be the second-best alternative to absence of substantive US support for the Free Syrian Army, which has now been almost completely marginalized and will only be further marginalized in weeks and months to come.
Well-connected sources inform me that the State Department has plainly told the Supreme Military Command that it can expect no forthcoming alteration in the aid its been receiving thus far and that the US will make no further moves on Syria unless something “dramatic” happens. (What that means, post-Ghouta, is anyone’s guess.) Syrian rebels are now viewed by the White House as unattractive replicas of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, a rather stark reassessment from John Kerry’s more sanguine portrayal of them before Congress only three weeks ago.
American “breakthroughs”
The difficulty in judging foreign policy blunders is that, unlike a wrangle over the national budget which can result in an automatic government shutdown, the deleterious effects of those blunders can take months or years to be felt. Assad has been given a year to demonstrate a willingness to part with a weapon he never had to depend on for defeating the opposition to his grim rule, and even then, there is no guarantee anything bad will happen to him if he doesn’t accommodate. Iran is now being cultivated at the expense of those who think the US has been turned into a mug or mark overnight. And a country whose leader who openly regrets the collapse of the Soviet Union, murders, jails, and tortures dissidents he doesn’t like, and otherwise lives to make things unpleasant for the United States in Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia is now reinvented as a great-power statesman capable of beating back an arrogant empire in decline.
This is an impressive array of accomplishments for the United States to have earned in a little over a month. “
October 5th, 2013, 2:22 pm
zoo said:
Bashar al Assad ready to address the future of ethnic Kurds in Syria and the ideas of federations after the elimination of the terrorists
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/05/assad-says-he-may-seek-re-election/
Mr. Assad also addressed the future status of ethnic Kurds in Syria, who took up arms against Free Syrian Army fighters in areas close to the Turkish border. The Kurds have refrained from joining the Syrian National Council, an umbrella organization for the Syrian opposition that is made up of diverse ethnic and religious groups in Syria, and demanding that first their independent status in a future structure be recognized.
The Kurds’ loyalty, Mr. Assad said, would not be forgotten once the crisis was over and time came for the people of Syria to determine the future of the country. “No matter which administration would be in place in future, everyone will remember this period,” he said.
Mr. Assad also said, “Things said about federation or confederation, presidency system, parliamentary system or whichever other regime should comply with the constitution voted by the people.” But first the insurgent groups should be eliminated, he said. “If we cannot win over terrorists, these promises would have no value,” Mr. Assad said.
“I believe that once Syria overcomes this crisis, the national unity would be even stronger than in the past.”
October 5th, 2013, 2:29 pm
mjabali said:
Observer:
What is going on in Syria is going to drag for a while, all indications said so. So, do not be surprised. These days are no different. al-Nusra, al-Assad, FSA, Da’sh, Difa’ Watani, PYG, Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia………etc are all engaged in a long bloody fight with no clear winner. There is a clear loser: Syria and the Syrians.
October 5th, 2013, 2:29 pm
zoo said:
Headsup
Another extremely long and boring zionist Michael Weiss ‘dissection of Obama’?
Highly skippable unless you have an insomnia
zzzz zzzz zzzz..
October 5th, 2013, 2:32 pm
ALAN said:
182- Congratulations
You won the longest comment 196 lines written!
I wish that the Barber should honor you a suitable prize !
October 5th, 2013, 2:34 pm
ALAN said:
Given the choice, few people would leave their families and friends and migrate from their homeland. The tens of thousands that pay unscrupulous “agents” and criminal gangs to transport them hundreds or thousands of miles are compelled to do so to find work and to earn money to support themselves and their loved ones at home.
The Middle East and North African (MENA) countries are some of the destinations of choice for men and women seeking work. Women look for domestic and child-care work, while employment in the construction industry is the goal of the tens thousands of men from Southeast Asia living in stifling poverty.
Migrant workers have become the majority workforce in many Arab Gulf states – wealthy countries with weak or non-existent domestic-worker rights, destructive gender attitudes that suppress and control women, and endemic racism. This poisonous cocktail, rooted in prejudice and ignorance, fuels and justifies exploitation, including forced labour, physical and sexual abuse, and extreme mistreatment by employers.
It is the migrant workers who are building the shining, modernist cities across the region, and the 2022 World Cup stadiums in Qatar. And it is they who are the main providers of domestic care for middle and upper class households in the region………././…
http://www.redressonline.com/2013/10/the-migrant-slave-workers-of-the-arab-world/
http://youtu.be/jpe83c2en2A?t=2s
October 5th, 2013, 2:58 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Chechens fighting in Syria were brought through a Russian cov-up operation to destroy the Syrian Revolution from inside and associating it to Al Qaeda creating inside fights beetwen rebels. This is a real false flag operation.
It is working very well for Assad and Russia. Assad is the King of chaos as was shown in Lebanon, always with russian cowards behind him hiding their hands.
October 5th, 2013, 3:43 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Can anyone in this SC inform if ALLAOU is a sunni or alawi name?
October 5th, 2013, 3:44 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Pro Assad criminal regime supoorters are losing ground in this SC forum. Finally it is clear to all that US-Israel, Russia and Assad are the same shixxxt so nobody remains happy. Massive thumbs down against pro-regime mafia supporters.
October 5th, 2013, 3:48 pm
zoo said:
Yet another ‘decision’ to call for ‘unity’ that won’t have any effect. Another rejection of the Geneva conference.
Mismanaged and corrupted the house of cards of the opposition is collapsing, nothing and nobody can save it
Syria rebels call for unity after rejection of Coalition
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/83285/World/Region/Syria-rebels-call-for-unity-after-rejection-of-Coa.aspx
Free Syrian Army called for unity after several prominent rebel brigades rejected the oppositional National Coalition umbrella group
AFP , Saturday 5 Oct 2013
The command council of the rebel Free Syrian Army called for unity on Saturday after several prominent rebel brigades rejected the opposition National Coalition umbrella group.
The Supreme Military Council said it had decided to “issue a call for closing ranks, renouncing division, and… rejecting all kinds of dissension caused by trying to separate the political wing from the military one.”
The statement came after 13 rebel brigades, including prominent groups that work with the Military Council, rejected the authority of the National Coalition — the opposition’s most prominent political institution.
Powerful brigades including Liwa al-Tawhid, Ahrar al-Sham and Liwa al-Islam joined the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra front in rejecting the Coalition, saying it “does not represent us, nor do we recognise it.”
…
The international community has pushed for a peace conference in Geneva, but the opposition has said it will not negotiate unless President Bashar al-Assad leaves office.
The Military Council said it continued to reject “dialogue with the terrorist regime in Syria.”
It said the “minimum acceptable” would be negotiations with Arab and Muslim states that adhered to Coalition conditions: “The need for Assad to step down, a transfer of power, and bringing to justice those who have committed war crimes against the Syrian people.”
October 5th, 2013, 4:44 pm
Juergen said:
FSA entered Hassouns apartment. Looks like the sheikh is a humble fella, got his own monkey face printed on souvenir plates. What a hero. Soon we will see Asmas shoe collection.
BTW the Assad show continues, Assad gave an interview to DER SPIEGEL, in which he for the first time leaves it open that he will run again for “presidency” in the upcoming “elections” in 2014. Once its published, I will translate the interview and post it here.
October 5th, 2013, 4:46 pm
zoo said:
No more shelling in the Sunni village of Al Mitras, the fighters agree to leave the village they were supposedly ‘protecting’
Surrender ends shelling of Sunni village in Syria
http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/surrender-ends-shelling-of-sunni-village-in-syria-609208.html
Syrian government forces have reached an agreement with local officials of a vulnerable Sunni village in a region dominated by President Bashar Assad’s Alawite sect to end hours of deadly shelling in exchange for the surrender of dozens of opposition fighters, an activist group said today.
The shelling of al-Mitras began at dawn, killing eight civilians while fierce fighting between rebels and government forces on the outskirts of the village left 20 soldiers dead or wounded, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The violence ended when local officials and dignitaries from the village persuaded dozens of defectors and rebels to surrender to authorities with the promise that they would be freed after repenting.
Such deals have been used in the past to end bouts of heavy fighting as the two sides find themselves stalemated. One ended days of heavy fighting in the central town of Talkalakh, near the border with Lebanon earlier this year.
October 5th, 2013, 4:50 pm
zoo said:
In Tunisia, a “smooth” end for the Islamist-MB government
Tunisian rivals agree to form govt of independents
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/83278/World/Region/Tunisian-rivals-agree-to-form-govt-of-independents.aspx
Islamist Ennahda party and opposition groups agree on a road-map to form a government of independents within three weeks
…
By signing the roadmap, the Ennahda-led coalition, which has been rocked by the murder of two political opponents, economic woes and prolonged political disputes, has agreed to step down two years after winning a general election.
October 5th, 2013, 4:55 pm
Juergen said:
So much has been published yet:
Question: Does Germany play a special role for you?
Assad : ” When I look at Europe, I wonder: Who is based on the reality of what is happening in our region ? And many European countries are far from that . Germany and Austria still have the most objective view , seem most likely to capture what is reality. Germany comes closest to that . ”
Question: ” Could Germany play a mediating role?
Assad : “I would be delighted if envoys came from Germany to Damascus to talk to us about the true state of affairs . When they talk to us , that does not mean that they support our government . But can they convince people here then . However, if you think you would have to isolate us , then I say, That you isolated yourself – and from reality. It is also about your interests : What do you gain if Al Qaida is assembling in your backyard , if you support here the instability ? After two and a half years you should rethink your policy. “
October 5th, 2013, 4:58 pm
zoo said:
President Assad says he will not negotiate rebels unless they lay down their arms
http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/1005/478600-assad-rebels/
Updated: 21:01, Saturday, 05 October 2013
Syrian President Assad said: “In my view, a political opposition does not carry weapons”
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has told a German magazine that he would not negotiate with rebels until they laid down their arms.
He said that he was still considering whether to run for office again next year.
In an extensive interview with Der Spiegel, Mr Assad said he did not believe it was possible to solve the conflict in Syria through negotiations with the rebels.
His comments may dampen hopes among Western powers for a political solution.
Mr Assad said: “In my view, a political opposition does not carry weapons.”
He said: “If someone drops his weapons and wants to return to daily life,then we can discuss it.”
….
Mr Assad said he was not worried about his own fate, which was why he and his family had stayed in Damascus through two and a half years of conflict.
He said he felt the Syrian people were rallying behind him as they saw the devastation wrought by the rebels.
Mr Assad said Syria would hold presidential elections two months before his current term ends next August and he could not yet say whether he would run.
“If I do not have the will of the people behind me anymore, I will not run,” he added.
President Assad said his government may have made errors in the severity of its initial crackdown, but he still stood by its decision to “fight terrorism, to defend our country”.
“Each of us makes personal errors. We all make errors.
A president, too, makes errors,” he said. “But even if there were errors in the implementation, our fundamental decision was right.”
Mr Assad said the Syrian crisis had been prompted by forces outside the country, in particular al-Qaeda fighters.
Financial aid from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as logistical aid from Turkey, was sustaining the conflict, he said.
“We have here al-Qaeda with fighters from 80 countries,” he said. “There are tens of thousands of fighters that we are dealing with.”
October 5th, 2013, 5:02 pm
zoo said:
Turkey has made the mistake of supporting Al Nusra and has shown its complicity in allowing Islamist terrorists and criminals enter Syria from Turkish territory.
Now that it is openly opposing Al Qaeda and its affiliates, Turkey is becoming exposed to terrorist retaliations. It is now the enemy of Al Qaeda and it may pay a heavy price for its mistakes
Turkish government distances itself from radical groups in Syria
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-328105-turkish-government-distances-itself-from-radical-groups-in-syria.html
…
He added that Turkey’s Syrian policy, which saw nearly all the rebel groups in Syria as legitimate opposition forces, caused this misperception.
“Before, Turkey was saying that it doesn’t cooperate with any terrorist organizations, but it was calling a substantial number of these organizations ‘opposition structures.’ Now, Turkey has been making distinctions among the opposition, [between] the ones who resort to terrorism and legitimate opposition organizations. This is a line that Turkey drew between itself and radical organizations,” he said.
Regarding allegations that Turkey has engaged with terrorist groups in Syria, Erol said: “It doesn’t matter how often Turkey says, ‘I don’t support radical groups.’ These groups are settled along Turkish borders and use Turkey for logistic support without the consent of the government. And these groups’ carrying out their actions from Turkish territory greatly strengthened a negative perception of Turkey.
The criticisms against Turkey and the pressure on it, the US and Russia’s choosing a political solution to quell unrest in Syria and these groups starting to pose a threat to Turkey’s interests, existence and policies prompted Turkey to take a firm stance and policy against these groups.”
October 5th, 2013, 5:18 pm
Uzair8 said:
Iran-Great Satan relationship
Talks with the Great Satan sounds like a terrifying prospect and probably not a good idea (very scary and dangerous). Iranians must be very nervous if not petrified. The Supreme Leader may be struggling to select officials to send to these talks. You can imagine officials saying ‘Im not going’, ‘I’m not going either’. Others silently praying not to be asked or selected, ‘Please don’t be me, please don’t be me, please, please please..’. The Supreme leader will reassure the lucky officials and write out a special amulet to wear on their person for protection against satanic influence.
Anyway. Given the rapproachment between Tehran and the Great Satan what now for the resistance? How will it be affected? Perhaps warmer relations may see the Great Satan join the resistance camp?
Btw will Tehran agree to stop the chants of death against the Great Satan?
October 5th, 2013, 5:28 pm
Mjabali said:
Uzair:
Why don’t you tell us what is wrong with your country Pakistan instead of pontificating about Syria 24/7. Last thing I heard is that they stoned a woman to death because she had a cell phone. Care to share some of your thoughts about your country Pakistan instead of bombing this site day and night with your “input” about Syria?
October 5th, 2013, 5:34 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Many politicians from the happy days of Assad Regime (1996-2005) are still leaving Syria desperately, some of them without even a Passport, losing all their properties in Syria which are expropiated as a punishment by the regime.
October 5th, 2013, 5:42 pm
Uzair8 said:
In fact the Assad regime may be very uncomfortable at the prospect of 2 degrees of seperation vis a vis the Great Satan…
October 5th, 2013, 5:51 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Only people who know Syria, who has been living there for a whole life or for many years can imagine how cruel is the regime acting these days.
All the rest, absolutely all, have not any idea, about what is going on inside Syria. And it is of course 100 times worse that US, Russia and German propaganda agences are spreading.
Death to Assads ! Long life to Syria !
There is a nice song sounding in the streets of Aleppo these days:
¨Ilkhas tisi ya kalb ya assad ya wahash al saahili al himaaaaaaar al abadi.¨
October 5th, 2013, 5:58 pm
ghufran said:
Jarba and Idris met with FSA figureheads and published a statement effectively saying that they will not negotiate.
Here is the response from a reader on an opposition site-aksalser:
???? ??? ???? ????? ? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ???????? !!!
??? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ??????? ?? ?? ?????? ????????
?????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??? ??????? ???????? ? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ??????? ???? !!!!
(( ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ???????? ???? ???? ??? ???????? ??????? ??????? ))
????? ???????
??? ??? ????? ???? ??? !!!!
?????? ??? ????
?? ?????? ??? ????
????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ? ????? ????? !!!!
???? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ? ???? ??? ???? ????? ??????? !!!
October 5th, 2013, 6:43 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
From the Wall Street Journal article noted earlier upthread:
Syrian Regime Chokes Off Food to Town That Was Gassed
October 5th, 2013, 7:16 pm
Ghufran said:
“The Christian community in Syria is stuck between two fires,” said Nadim Nassar, a Syrian from Latakia who is director of the Awareness Foundation, an interfaith charity based in Britain. “One fire is a corrupt regime, and everybody agrees there needs to be a change. And on the other hand, there’s a fragmented and diverse opposition on the ground who can’t control jihadist forces coming from outside the country.”
( in few months the so called ” Arab spring” will enter its third year, but we yet have to see a single successful government that came out of that spring, instead what people experienced is chaos, bloodshed and division )
Read the full article about Christians in Syria on the Washington post site.
October 5th, 2013, 7:48 pm
omen said:
cnn just announced we have two major military actions going in africa. something about targeting an al shabaab leader and an al qaeda operative suspected of being responsible for US embassy bombings.
american special forces are on the ground.
bam. just like that.
no two years of pretending to play hamlet. no two years of faux anguish of not knowing what to do. no two years of pretending to be too traumatized to send boots on the ground. no two years of measuring unintended consequences.
obama snapped his fingers and the mission was authorized.
authorized even when the government is allegedly shut down.
whatever al shabaab & the al qaeda operative did – i know their combines crimes did not produce more than 100,000 dead, 7 million displaced and reduce half a country to rubble.
missions approved for africa but not syria.
are you angry now?
October 5th, 2013, 9:33 pm
Akbar Palace said:
Omen,
Were you planning to respond to my post or is blaming Obama easier for you?
October 5th, 2013, 10:08 pm
omen said:
yes, akbar, i need to find a couple of articles first i want to cite for support.
i should quote finkelstein again to see if you put me be back on ignore. /g
October 5th, 2013, 10:20 pm
Akbar Palace said:
Omen,
Ok, don’t forget. It’s a fairly simple question.:-)
October 5th, 2013, 11:00 pm
Hopeful said:
#205 Omen
The war on Al-Qaeda has the full support of the US public and congress since 2001. The war on the Syrian regime has less than 20% support among the public and no congressional support.
I am not saying this is right. I am saying that the Syrian opposition needs to work on changing that dynamics if it hopes for financial or military involvement.
It took the Iraqis 13 years to get the US to move in on Saddam. 9/11 did help, but they also had their people and voices everywhere within the government, congress and US media. They learned good lessons from the Israelis. Had they not done that, Iraq today would have been still ruled by Saddam or one of his crazy sons.
October 6th, 2013, 12:09 am
Ghufran said:
So ,hopeful,
Do you think Iraq under Maliki, a Shia , is better off than Iraq under Saddam, a Sunni?
Not a single attempt for regime change by force has worked in the middle east.
I never liked Saddam and I certainly do not like Assad- Makhlouf ruling family but I say that finding a better alternative to bad regimes has been an experiment that has failed in every case so far, Tunisians are now trying but it is too early to say if they succeeded or not, hope in Tunisia is now revived after Islamists agreed to negotiate, if that works we may say that there is a precedent, but regime change in Tunisia was bloodless for the most part.
October 6th, 2013, 12:34 am
Hopeful said:
#210 Ghufran
I do not care if Maliki is a Shia, a Sunni, a Christian, a Jew or whatever…. Despite his shortcomings, he is a light year better than Saddam.
Iraq under Saddam was hopeless, as was Libya under Qaddafi and as is a Syria under the Assads. Yes the way dictators are toppled will affect the way their countries will progress, some better than others. But countries under dictators do NOT progress.
Transitions take a long time, but one mile journeys start with a single step. The first step is removing the dictator, otherwise the journey will never happen.
October 6th, 2013, 12:45 am
Juergen said:
Bravo Assadis, the Syrian Passport is among the worst passports to have. 39 countries allow visa free travel for Syrians, the worst passport to have is from Afphanistan, 28 countries will allow visa free travel. Given the amounts one has to pay to get a passports theses days, its quite an useless piece of paper.
http://aleqtsad.net/readNews.php?id=5364#.UlD9O1MrfUC
english translation:
http://translate.google.de/translate?hl=de&sl=ar&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Faleqtsad.net%2FreadNews.php%3Fid%3D5364
October 6th, 2013, 2:05 am
Juergen said:
Haaretz article on Sister Mariam de la Croix- visit to Israel, I choose to post it all, since you have to register to read the article. I wonder seriously how can she return to Syria without any conditions, if a normal citizen and not an outspoken cheerleader of this regime would travel to Israel, he would win himself a free long vacation to Palmyra or Seydnaya prison.
The slinging nun || On visit to Israel, Syrian-based nun backs beleaguered President Assad
Why a Carmelite nun believes the chemical attack in Damascus was faked.
ister Agnes-Mariam de la Croix feared that the United States would attack Syria on Saturday night. She expected the attack to be massive and would bring disaster to Syria and the entire region. According to Sister Agnes-Mariam, there are today 150,000 well-trained jihadist fighters from 80 countries in Syria, with arms they have received from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, and even from the United States. She says some of them are in a drugged state, induced by Captagon pills.
Tzipi Livni or Waze Founders? Who will be Haaretz Person of the Year?
The nun lives in Syria and is the abbess, or mother superior, of the Monastery of St. James the Mutilated. She argues that these jihadi fighters control 60 percent of the populated areas of Syria. She claims that Islamic-Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra, which the United States has designated a terrorist group, is responsible for the acts of mass murder, rape and looting that have been committed in Syria. She also claims the Chechen fighters are exceptionally cruel and that, among the foreign fighters, there are a fairly large number of released prisoners and citizens of western countries. In her opinion, most of Syria’s citizens support the regime of President Bashar Assad because they fear a takeover of the country by Islamic extremists.
She calls on the world not to attack Syria, and to stop the flow of foreign fighters into its territory and the supply of arms they are receiving. When she journeys through Syria today, she feels as if she is in Afghanistan or Somalia. An American attack on Syria will hurt its army and open the door to a complete seizure of the country by the global jihad movement, she firmly believes. “If this regime is toppled,” she says, “it will be worse than Iraq. It will have consequences for Lebanon, Israel and Jordan, and it’s not a situation that will promote security.”
She also believes the pictures of the victims of last month’s alleged chemical attack in east Damascus are fabrications.
I met Sister Agnes-Mariam this week in a convent in Jerusalem’s hills, not far from Abu Ghosh. She is visiting Israel for a few days and next week will return to Syria, where she has been living for the past 19 years. Her life story is as surprising as her statements about the situation there.
She was born Fadia al-Laham, 61 years ago in Jounieh, Lebanon (her parents had fled Nazareth in 1948). When she was 15 her father died, and, as she herself admits, over the next few years she became a hippy and flower child who used drugs and drifted between Nepal and India. On her palm, concealed by her nun’s habit, she still has a few tattoos from India – a memento of that time in her life. She says she loves to listen to The Doors, The Rolling Stones and Santana. Her Indian experiences led her to embrace a cloistered life and, for 22 years, she lived in utter solitude in a Carmelite monastery in Lebanon’s highland region.
Sister Agnes-Mariam moved to Syria 19 years ago and, together with two other nuns, rebuilt the ruins of a monastery on the main road between Damascus and Homs, not far from the village of Qara. She became mother superior of the Monastery of St. James the Mutilated. In addition to the nuns of the convent, there are 20 Sunni refuges who have sought asylum from the horrors of the war.
She was forced to leave the monastery in June 2012, after the threats on her life increased because she was suspected of being an agent of the Assad regime. Her monastery is situated between the area controlled by the Free Syrian Army and the area controlled by the “foreign legions.”
Currently she lives in Damascus and is an international peace activist trying to warn the world of the dangers of a jihadist takeover of her adopted country. She is fighting what she considers a pack of lies, trying to counter the propaganda and disinformation in the Arab and international media, and documenting the atrocities of the war for the organization she has established. She arrived this week to visit relatives in Nazareth and to participate in an interfaith conference in Israel.
Lover of Israel
I first met her at an international peace conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where she delivered a stunning speech and presented shocking video clips on what, in her view, is being committed by the jihadists. When I was introduced to her, she told me she loved Israel and that the Jews should serve as a light unto the nations. I was surprised to learn that she had come to Israel for a brief visit.
As a Lebanese, she argues, she cannot be suspected of being an agent of the Assad regime because Lebanon is, as she sees it, actually under Syrian occupation. She presents these arguments to deny the allegations that have been made against her, including the accusation that she is personally responsible – in January 2012 – for the death of French journalist Gilles Jacquier, 43, a TV reporter who was on assignment for the French channel France 2. She completely denies any responsibility for his death, arguing that she only helped him enter Syria.
She believes the Assad regime is the only thing that can save Syria from a takeover by Al-Qaida, and that most Syrians support the present regime. This, she explains, is why Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was toppled so quickly and why Assad is still holding his own.
In late 2011, she says, she began to understand two things: First, that there was no truth in the reports about a Syrian opposition that was committed to democratic principles; and, second, that the rebellion was being launched primarily by foreigners. At first, she recalls, they were referred to as unidentified forces; however, she points out, their real identity emerged a few months later.
When the Qatar-based Al Jazeera television channel reported in the early stages of the fighting that a massacre had taken place in one of Damascus’ neighborhoods encircled by the Syrian army, she set out to see for herself what had happened, and was amazed to discover that the report was completely false. According to Sister Agnes-Mariam, when she expressed her condolences to the local priest of the neighborhood, he could not understand what she was talking about.
In December 2011 she traveled to Qusayr, after it was reported that civilians there had been massacred by the Syrian army. In the local hospital she was shown 100 bodies of civilians who had been murdered the night before; however, according to the testimony she gathered, she claims, the massacre was really carried out by gangs of foreigners.
Sister Agnes-Mariam believes the casualties are primarily caused by the fighting between the rebel forces themselves. And, in some cases, the Syrian army collaborates with the Free Syrian Army against the foreigners. In her opinion, the foreigners want the Islamic Sharia law to apply to all spheres of life in Syria, are establishing popular courts, and are executing people. For instance, she claims, the judge who was appointed in the northern town of Saraqib is actually someone who repairs tires.
In the past few months she has visited Homs, Aleppo, Qusayr, and other places where fighting has taken place. In addition, she has visited hospitals and private homes in her efforts to collect evidence for the Mussalaha (Reconciliation) in Syria organization; she is the founder of the organization’s international branch.
During the alleged chemical attack on August 21, she was in Damascus. The week before the attack, she relates, a shocking massacre was carried out in Latakia, where at least 500 civilians were killed by organizations belonging to Al-Qaida, yet the world media barely reported this event.
As she sees it, Syria has returned to the most barbaric era in its history, and the media is staying silent. She believes Jabhat al-Nusra is committing massacres of both military personnel and civilians and is a threat to the entire civilized world, especially Lebanon and Israel – if Assad’s regime is toppled, a jihadist dictatorship will emerge in Syria. Thus, she claims, the United States is actually helping to strengthen Al-Qaida.
Sister Agnes-Mariam believes the pictures of last month’s alleged chemical attack were fabricated. Most of the civilians in that area had already fled, she claims, so how could there suddenly be dozens of children there? This part of Damascus now has 20,000 fighters from Jordan, she argues. If chemical weapons were used, she wonders, why do the photos show physicians and dozens of people standing in the immediate vicinity of the scene of the attack without gas masks or any other form of protection? After all, she says, the chemical weapons would be dangerous for them as well.
In the first alleged chemical attack, in Aleppo – where chemical weapons brought in from Turkey were employed – the physicians did not even dare to get close to the bodies of the victims. In the video clips that have been disseminated around the world and which allegedly document the most recent chemical attack, one can see dozens of people standing around the bodies. She points out that she was in Damascus that night, and that 50 bodies of soldiers who had suffocated, having been killed by gas in the army’s tunnels, were evacuated to a hospital. She claims an Islamic battalion was responsible for that attack, and that this was the only chemical attack to have taken place so far in the Syrian civil war.
The only thing that can stop the jihadists, she argues, is the Syrian army. In her opinion, if the present regime falls the situation in Syria will be worse than what it is today in Iraq. She implores U.S. President Barack Obama not to participate in what she sees as another war crime, as another atrocity committed against the civilian population. She cannot understand why the world is determined to go to war now because, she believes, the result will be that Syria will be controlled by chaotic, extremist groups.
The United States is not concerned with what is best for the Syrian people, she argues, but is operating in accordance with its own interests. Furthermore, she cannot understand why America wants to ignite yet another regional war, which will only lead to the emergence of one more cruel Islamic regime. “Why do you [the West] fuel a regional war to support radical Islam?” she asks. “Why?
“The United States says it has proof, but that’s not enough. They are a part of the conflict, so they can’t be a judge. It’s very dangerous when one nation tries to be the judge and the police of the world. This is not the first time they made a mistake.” She adds, “We don’t need another false war.”
“What can the West do?” she was asked. She replied that it should stop fueling the rebels with arms. “It’s a scandal what the West is doing.”
October 6th, 2013, 2:20 am
omen said:
18. Matthew Barber said: To those asking that Majedkhaldoun return, I talked to him about it and gave him the option, but he never emailed me back. And Omen, please don’t call for people to attempt to defy bans
oops.
majedkhaldoun, please come back. mjabali misses you.
October 6th, 2013, 3:42 am
omen said:
167. Uzair8 said: Where is Annie?
I hope she’s well and resumes her activity very soon.
which one do you mean? annie as in bandannie.com?
or ann the spammer ppl suspect to be don?
i didn’t mind ann/don so much. she would occasionally bring a non wacko esoteric piece i would have never stumbled upon.
though she was a blatant islamophobe. that can wear thin after a while. and an antisemite too, come to think of it. she had fair warning to knock it off.
do you really miss her, uzair? or is this your way of celebrating her departure?
October 6th, 2013, 3:54 am
omen said:
thank you for posting the piece. it raises some questions.
why did the nun go to israel in the first place? why go there? she could have escaped to lebanon.
expats raise allegations she is actually working for regime intelligence. any evidence to that besides circumstantial? did she go to israel to convey messages from the regime?
why does the vatican allow her to spew what they must know to be slander?
why does israel accept her with open arms and afford her red carpet treatment? is it customary for israel to embrace and give sanctuary to members of genocidal regimes?
October 6th, 2013, 4:24 am
omen said:
are there not alqaeda affiliated groups operating in syria? this is what zoo keeps telling everyone.
syria is unique in that obama & the establishment class cite alqaeda to fearmonger against western involvement while it’s used to justify intervention elsewhere.
western excuses lack logic and don’t hold up upon closer inspection.
October 6th, 2013, 5:33 am
Uzair8 said:
Omen
No. Annie from Bandannie.com.
October 6th, 2013, 6:07 am
Uzair8 said:
Btw how does the Party of God view the developments regarding the rapproachment with the Great Satan? Do they approve? Could they join the process at a later stage?
That’ll have to be seen to be believed. Not to be missed. If that happens we can say we’ve seen it all.
The Party of God and Shaytân-e Bozorg* rapproachment?
Did I read that right? I must rub my eyes.
* Persian epithet meaning ‘The Great Satan’.
October 6th, 2013, 6:41 am
Hopeful said:
#217 Omen
“are there not alqaeda affiliated groups operating in syria? this is what zoo keeps telling everyone”
Believe it or not Omen, Obama will find it easier domestically to hit the rebels affiliated with Alqaeda in Syria than to hit the regime.
I feel that you are in a state of “attacking the messenger”. Western excuses do defy “logic” sometimes because they are a reflection of Western public opinion.
October 6th, 2013, 7:03 am
Observer said:
It is essential to read ” Why Nations Fail”. This book has demonstrated that extractive oppressive regimes despite their ability to rule for a very long time end up destroying the nation.
As for violent removal of these regimes one has to remember that many a revolution needed violence when confronted with the brutality of dictators and that goes for the French revolution, for the English Great Revolution, for the German riots that brought the rule of law in 1888; for the Algerian revolution that liberated the country from France; for the Vietnamese liberation from France and the US and then the revolution in Korea that deposed the dictatorship there as well. This is just a very short list of the dictatorships bringing their own end. Just this week Putin celebrated the revolution that prevented the communist party from staying in power and this was possible because the armed forces refused to keep the dictators in place.
No news from Syria on RT or ALAM or MANAR or SANA this morning. This is because the news are not rosy these days.
The US just surpassed Russia as the largest producer of energy.
October 6th, 2013, 8:10 am
Ghat Al Bird said:
Its now official according to an Asian website that Syria along with Iran have become the target of a coalition between Saudi Arabia, the Gulf countries and
Israel .
The inference is also that this grouping is not pro US policies in Syria and Iran.
Should not such re-aligments prompt all Syrians to talk peace?
October 6th, 2013, 9:06 am
zoo said:
Saudis fear tide of Syria war turning against their interests
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e4cc1f30-2b4e-11e3-a1b7-00144feab7de.html#ixzz2gwpHm4tp
”For us in Saudi Arabia, the worst scenario is to let Bashar [al-Assad] survive this: he has to go,’’ said Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi analyst close to decision-making circles. “The world can ignore what is happening in Syria but this is at our doorstep and it is on fire with sectarian flames that will reach all neighbouring countries.’’
Saudi Arabia, along with Qatar, has been the chief supporter of the Syrian rebels since the armed rebellion began, giving them weapons, training, finance and diplomatic support.
….
October 6th, 2013, 9:25 am
Tara said:
The Saudi-Israeli alliance against Iran is now due. The sworn enemy of the Arab is now Iran, not Israel! Iran is actively trying to be the neo-imperial force in the ME and is developing a nuclear capability to that effect. Israel occupied Palestine and I doubt it wants to occupy the ME. Arabs should unite with whoever against the Iranian hegemony as Iran had proven beyond reasonable doubt it’s intention towards the Arab ME.
The great Satan in my opinion is Iran. The Saudis should struck any possible alliance to defeat them.
And please do not bother with ridiculous takhween comments.
October 6th, 2013, 9:33 am
Observer said:
I think our greatest enemy is oppression dictatorship repression corruption graft and arbitrary rule from Islamabad to Morocco.
85% of phosphage in the world is produced in Morocco for example and all of it belongs to the king. This in a country where he kept the population fully illitetrate. Likewise, the mafia family that has made the country into its little farm and now its garbage dump.
As for Rafsanjani, he is now a billionaire from the graft that he instituted when he was in power. As for for the IRGC they have now many businesses that they use to have monopolies on sectors of the economy.
The GCC are no better and today in Kuwait the ruling family controls the country with its control of the money spigot. As a matter of fact they do not want to educate their people or have them have jobs they would rather import workers without rights to do the work while the Kuwaitis sit in offices, spend money on cars, and go frolicking in Thailand and Dubai.
It it tyranny. It is tyranny. It is tyranny.
” Defeat is victory and security is stability and acquiesence is freedom and oppression is resistance and corruption is reform”. This is the essence of the discourse of all these regimes and they are exemplified by the regime insider on this blog, the sectarian one mind track, and the constant apologist.
For God’s sake where is ALI?
October 6th, 2013, 10:10 am
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Heads up reviewed the rumors about a Saudi-Israeli alliance and would like to confirm that this is nothing but rumour as of this writing.
Heads up believes that such an alliance make a lot of sense. However, unless the Israelis show real commitment towards conducting lethal and sustained strikes against the mullocracy and its tails in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, such alliance will not see the day of light. It is possible that the Israelis are no different than the Americans. In other words they could just be full of talk and very short on action.
On the other hand, the Saudis must also show real commitment to be full participants in any action against the mullocracy and its tails in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, as Iraq is no different under Maliki than Saddam ( in fact Saddam was better than Iranian stooge Maliki). The Saudis cannot be just the well wishers in such an alliance. They have to provide fly overs, refueling and rearming stops of Israeli bombers and fighter jets. Royal Saudi air force must also fly side by side with the Israeli jets and conduct field missions against the mullocracy. The Israelis must also grant Sauidi air force fly overs and refueling stops on missions to bomb Serpent head facilities.
Short of the above, we maintain that talk is just talk and there is no actual alliance as of this moment. However, we urge their Royal Highnesses to explore the seriousness of the Israelis for real action and not just empty talk when it comes to taking firm action. There can be no hesitation or indecisivenes as is the case with the Obamofallacy.
October 6th, 2013, 10:25 am
SimoHurtta said:
171. OBSERVER said:
I still maintain the article by the WSJ that the combined out put of gas and oil in the states has surpassed that of Russia. It was on the front page on Thursday.
Well first rule of “understanding” is that everything printed in WSJ or other media is not the absolute truth or even near it. An article is always the writers view of “the state of affairs” and the sources he/she uses can be deliberately misleading and have their own agenda. And the writes of the media are paid workers and their employers have their own agendas.
Surely USA can pass Russia with the combined oil + gas production, but so what. It hardly changes the geopolitical equation. USA still needs to import millions of barrels of oil daily. USA stays as the biggest oil importer. USA gas markets are still purely domestic markets. USA has still for years no significant export capacity for its present gas overproduction. Now the only way is to burn away that overproduction of shale gas. As explained before the US import need for oil is so vast, that USA to becoming net exporter of oil is pure daydreaming. Well it could happen if USA economical activity collapses totally, but if economic long wished recovery happens the need of oil import only raises. The reality is that Russia has significant overcapacity in its oil and gas production compared to the domestic need and plenty of customers on its borders. USA has no energy hungry neighbours.
Wiki article about liquefied natural gas would be worth reading.
The article of David Kashi linked in comment 171 is very blurry about timetable. No wonder.
USA exporting gas to India???? When in 2015, 2020 or 2025?
As said before in exporting gases in liquid form infrastructure is needed both in USA and India. USA has one liquefaction terminal. And India doesn’t have yet many regasification terminals. From where come the tens of large LNG-carriers (one costs over 200 million dollars) needed in that long range export to the other side of the world? In any case it takes years before some significant LNG export from USA to India is possible. As the article says USA has in permit applying stage 22 liquefaction (export) terminals. From there is a “giant step” to build the obligatory infra for the LNG export. It will take many years and cost billions.
I suppose this export to India part of the article is linked to the Iranian Indian plans to build a gas line. And USA being fiercely against it. The problem for Iran and India is, that the pipe line would go through Pakistan. And India’s industry doesn’t want to be blackmailed and their energy supply to be cut by Pakistan every time there are tensions between India and Pakistan. Also transit countries have had a tendency of trying to squeeze high compensations and use the power which comes with the pipeline on their soil. That is the reason why Russia and others “like” to build now pipelines in the sea.
As told before USA has a aggressive attitude when other build “energy connections”. USA warns Sweden against Nord Stream project. Germany was very angry and “punished” USA. USA also made some blurry promises to help with energy needs. It was clear to Europe, that USA it self had no means to help in those needs with US oil and gas. Promising other countries oil and gas is easy.
The problem for USA is, that USA has no real means to help India in its acute energy needs. Of course the Indian diplomats speak “positively” and smile politely, when US regime promises them (India) LNG in (distant undefined) future. Both sides know it is a promise with little or no means to be filled. The export route from US east coast to India on the other side of globe is long and so very expensive. Much more expensive than exporting that needed LNG from the Gulf region, which is in the neighbourhood. It is difficult to understand how the production costs of LNG in USA could be so much lower than for example in the Gulf region, that it would compensate the high cost of the transport.
David Kashi has written other interesting articles like
Turkey Wants Israel’s Natural Gas And Is Offering To Construct An Undersea Pipeline To Get It
Hmmmm…
October 6th, 2013, 10:38 am
zoo said:
Headsup
It sounds you don’t trust the intelligence of the “Guided” king.
No wonder, with the weakest army in the Middle East, despite its billions dollars of US military equipment rusting in warehouses, Saudi Arabia has no choice than to obey to what their protectors tell them to do.
For now they are telling them to become friends with Israel.
The alliance KSA-Israel is excellent for both. Israel badly needs a strategic Sunni Moslem ally against Iran after having lost Turkey and KSA needs a regional protector againt Shia “imperialism.”
I wish KSA and Isreal lots of happiness in this mariage
October 6th, 2013, 10:56 am
zoo said:
Syria envoy calls for late-Nov talks
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/syria-envoy-calls-nov-talks-134028112.html#g6Cywaa
….
The opposition has said it will not negotiate unless President Bashar al-Assad leaves office, but Brahimi said the condition would have to be set aside.
“We are going to Geneva without preconditions. Mr. Bashar al-Assad cannot say that he does not want to negotiate with ‘X’ or ‘Y’ and it’s the same thing for the opposition,” Brahimi said.
The proposed peace conference — dubbed Geneva 2 — would be to decide how to implement a declaration agreed by the major powers in the Swiss city in June 2012 that there has to be a transitional government in Syria.
At least all five permanent members of the UN Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — are expected to be involved in the talks and Brahimi said other key countries could take part.
“Iran and Saudi Arabia should be present at Geneva 2,” Brahimi said.
He said he had discussed the issue with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and that while Tehran wanted to be at the talks it was “not the end of the world” if Iran did not attend.
October 6th, 2013, 11:03 am
Sami said:
“Surely USA can pass Russia with the combined oil + gas production, but so what. It hardly changes the geopolitical equation. USA still needs to import millions of barrels of oil daily.”
The fact the US can become the largest energy producer while still importing a vast number of energy is very telling at how large the US economy is and its strategic need for energy.
Other nations such as India and China are striving to emulate that, how many expanding economies are emulating Russia I wonder…
Oh yeah refuting a well researched article published by one of the most read newspapers in the world by quoting Wiki is rather telling of the authors own blinding bias.
October 6th, 2013, 11:19 am
ziad said:
29 dead, incl 12 children in string of suicide bombings in Iraq
Two Suicide bombers detonated explosives-rigged vehicles at an elementary school and a police station in northern Iraq, killing at least 15 people, 12 of whom were children. 14 more were killed in a suicide attack on Shi’ite pilgrims in Baghdad.
Tal Afar mayor Abdel-Aal al-Obeidi says the twin blasts hit the nearby Shi’ite village of Qabak on Sunday morning, the start of the local work week. Tal Afar is 420 kilometers northwest of Baghdad, not far from the Syrian border.
A suicide bomber drove a truck packed with explosives into the playground of the elementary school, blowing himself up. Just minutes earlier, a separate suicide bomber targeted a police station.
http://rt.com/news/iraq-suicide-bombers-children-802/
October 6th, 2013, 11:23 am
omen said:
just as i’m catching up on the news of netanyahu considering meeting with rouhani, i run across this interesting book.
the secret dealings of israel, iran, and the united states
available for download.
October 6th, 2013, 11:35 am
ziad said:
Israel can claim the title of the most racist state in the developed world
Sami Michael, who also heads the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, speaks at Haifa University.
Israeli culture is no less toxic than fanatic Islam, and the country’s discriminatory attitude toward Mizrahi Jews and Arabs qualifies it for the title of “most racist state,” prominent Israeli author Sami Michael said on Monday.
“Israel can claim the title of most racist state in the developed world,” Michael, who heads the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, said at the opening of an international conference of the Association for Israel Studies at Haifa University.
“More than 60 years after the establishment of the Israeli state, the rift between European and Mizrahi Jewry has not mended. It is reflected in racism and social gaps,” the author said.
“To this day people from Arab states are underrepresented in the state’s central institutions, especially academic and cultural ones,” he said.
The racism is encouraged by cabinet members and MKs, and fueled by increasing religious extremism in the country, he said.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/author-israel-can-claim-the-title-of-the-most-racist-state-in-the-developed-world.premium-1.443908?localLinksEnabled=false
October 6th, 2013, 11:41 am
Tara said:
I have no doubt that Iran would ally itself with Israel and the US if it is to be given a cart blanch to dominate the Arab world. The Arabs need to be alerted to the visceral hatred the mullahs harbor towards them and position themselves based on that. There appears to be a visceral hatred from 1400 years ago as the Persians can’t get over the fact that they were conquered by the Arabs.
October 6th, 2013, 11:52 am
Uzair8 said:
Pardon me as a non-syrian saying what I’m about to say. It matters little what I think or say however I believe it’s important.
Any alliance with Isreal is a no-goer. Not realistic. Millions of Syrians if not all will reject it and want nothing of it. Most if not all Syrian scholars will reject any such move. Millions of supporters of the uprising across the muslim world will have nothing to do with it and will be forced to distance themselves. Detractors of the uprising in the muslim world will have a field day and leaving us supporters unable to defend or justify maintaining our position. I don’t believe anyone associated with the revolution would be able to digest the thought of such an alliance. It isn’t even necessary anyhow. What a life saving gift that would be for Iran, Hezbo, Mufti Hassoun etc.
We can just about justify an alliance with the US given the context (geopolitical, vis a vis Russia, end time prophecy) but Isreal is a no no.
If there’s one sign that we are in the wrong then an alliance with Isreal would be that sign.
If Isreal did something on it’s own then that has nothing to do with the revolution. In fact the revolution will probably even reject and oppose any such move. If Saudi wishes to form an alliance with Isreal then that is their business and nothing to do with the revolution and the revolution should have nothing of it.
That’s my view.
October 6th, 2013, 11:57 am
ghufran said:
Random shelling of residential areas is terrorism regardless of who does it, this is one reason why rebels lost support in much of Damascus and beyond. The latest “achievement” of rebel heroes is shelling a known Christian area in Damascus, Qassaa’, killing 7 people and damaging a church:
?????? 7 ?????? ????? 30 ????? ??? ??????? ??????? “????? ????” ???? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ????.
???? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ?? ?????????.
??? ??? ????? ????? “????? ???????” ??????? ???????? “????? ????” ?????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ????? ??????? ????????? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ????? ??????
it looks like the so called “Damascene Sword” can only hit Christians !!
hopeful:
I have to disagree with you not because Qaddafi and Saddam were good leaders but because what came next was not a solution, it was a new form of trouble, Libya is far worse today than when Qaddafi was in charge, and Iraq today is a violent place with a divided population and corrupt and dysfunctional government. I mentioned Maliki’s shia identity because that was used to put him as a PM (since shia in Iraq are the majority, look at hat he did.
Syria will be like Iraq if Syrians accept a deal similar to what the US gave to Iraq, I would rather see Syria gets partitioned than accepting a “solution: where your sect and ethnic origin determines your political chances.
if you ask me why Libya and Iraq got into this mess, I would have to say:
1. foreign interference
2. lack of democratic traditions (you can not expect people who rarely voted freely to suddenly act like western democrats)
3. negative effect of religion, namely Islam (both sunni and shia)where exclusion is justified in the name of right and wrong: we are right, they are kuffar.
we have a long way to go, my friends, this is why I always had lower expectations from this spring from day one.
October 6th, 2013, 11:57 am
zoo said:
Syrians should thank the Sunni opposition and their supporters, Qatar and Turkey for having brought Al Qaeda in Syria to bring them ‘freedom and dignity”
Syria: Al-Qaeda wants to control Iraq and Turkey border zones
05 Oct 2013 08:33 Serene Assir
http://mg.co.za/article/2013-10-05-syria-al-qaeda-wants-to-control-iraq-and-turkey-border-zones
Al-Qaeda is fighting to drive rivals out of areas bordering Turkey and Iraq in a bid to control territory stretching from Iraq into northern Syria.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has set up checkpoints on roads to border crossings, and opened fronts to crush other rebel groups fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad. (AFP)
Across the north and east, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has set up checkpoints on roads to border crossings, and opened fronts to crush other rebel groups fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad.
Residents have told AFP of a strategy that involves ISIL taking over resources and routes using brutal methods aimed at forcing the population into submission.
Analysts and activists on the ground have also noted the tactic.
“ISIL has been acting in such a way as to aggressively assert itself within the complex multi-dimensional insurgent theatres in northern and eastern Syria,” said Charles Lister of IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Centre.
Jihadists have even sought to justify the strategy on Internet forums by accusing Western-backed groups, including Ahfad al-Rasul and the Northern Storm brigade, of acting like the US-funded “Sahwa” who fought Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
‘Easy access to new recruits’
But Lister said ISIL had adopted a “perceivable strategy of acquiring and consolidating control of areas on Syria’s borders with both Iraq and Turkey”, ever since it came on the scene in the late spring.
“This allows the group easy access to new recruits, sources of funding and supplies,” he told AFP.
“It’s by no means impossible that it intends to put a stranglehold on the ability of moderates (rebels) to secure sustainable levels of supplies from across the borders,” Lister added.
Havidar, a Kurdish-Syrian activist and citizen journalist who has covered fighting between ISIL and Kurds, said ISIL’s endgame was to establish an Islamic state.
“ISIL doesn’t have an ideological problem with the Kurds or with anyone else. It just wants no other group to have any arms or self-sufficiency, to create a state that extends from northern Syria into Iraq,” he told AFP.
Another activist in Raqa, near the Turkish border, said it was now virtually impossible to leave Syria without crossing through one of their checkpoints.
Antagonism
ISIL has a grip on Raqa, the only provincial capital in Syria that is completely out of Assad’s control.
….
October 6th, 2013, 12:02 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Only foolish followers of the pathetic Serpent-head may doubt the power and might of the Guided Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the benevolent rule of the Guided Royal Highnesses headed by His Most Royal Highness, The Universal Prince of the Faithful on this earth, King Abdullah Ibn Abdu-Al-Azeez Al-Saud, may he be protected and given very long life.
The Guided Kingdom single handedly saved the neighboring Kingdom of Bahrain from the pathetic low life of Shia terrorism not long ago, while the pathetic mullahs stood by impotently wailing, howling and barking. Thanks to the efforts of the Guided Saudis the Bahrainis can now live in peace free of low life Shia terrorism. The world watched with admiration and awe as the Guided Army of the Kingdom destroyed the scourge of Shia terrorism in the beloved Kingdom of Bahrain. Neither the US nor the pathetic mullocrats were of any use in the great achievement of the KSA.
The Guided Kingdom also single handedly saved Egypt from falling into becoming a replica of the pathetic mullocracy not long ago while the US, Europe and the mullocracts stood by impotently watching with shock and awe the masterfulness of the Guided Kingdom at work.
Next on the agenda is Syria where the Serpent-head will meet its fate of destruction at the hands of the Guided Kingdom and its Universal Prince of the Faithful. Syria will be save from the pathetic Serpent, arch-enemy of mankind, and become an exact replica of the Guidance of the KSA.
Fools may doubt the might and power of the Guided Kingdom at the expense of their own peril.
October 6th, 2013, 12:07 pm
zoo said:
According to the Tunisian governement officials, Tunisian women practising sex-jihad is very low, yet it exists, it is not a hoax
Few Tunisian women waging Syria ‘sex jihad’: Official
At most about 15 Tunisian women went to Syria, mostly to care for fighters or to do social work, according to Tunisian official
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/83350/World/Region/Few-Tunisian-women-waging-Syria-sex-jihad-Official.aspx
The number of Tunisian women travelling to Syria to wage “sex jihad” by comforting Islamists fighting the regime is very low, a senior interior ministry official told AFP on Sunday.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, seemed to play down previous government statements that suggested “sex jihad” was more widespread.
“At most about 15 Tunisian women went to Syria, most to care for fighters or to do social work,” the official said.
But some of them were forced to have sexual relations with Islamist fighters once they were in the country, the official said.
“Four of them came back from Syria, and one is pregnant,” he added.
“The pregnant woman said that she was caring for fighters and had to have sexual relations with them.”
The official said, however, that women from Chechnya, Egypt, Iraq, France and Germany had travelled to Syria for “sex jihad”.
“They were targeted for indoctrination over the internet and by foreign sheikhs,” he added, referring to information obtained from Tunisian women returning from Syria.
Interior Minister Lotfi ben Jeddou told the National Constituent Assembly in September that Tunisian women had gone to Syria where “they have sexual relations with 20, 30, 100” militants.
“After the sexual liaisons they have there in the name of ‘jihad al-nikah’ — (sexual holy war, in Arabic) — they come home pregnant,” Ben Jeddou said at the time.
Ben Jeddou did not elaborate on how many Tunisian women had returned to the country pregnant with the children of jihadist fighters.
Jihad al-nikah, permitting extramarital sexual relations with multiple partners, is considered by some hardline Sunni Muslim Salafists as a legitimate form of holy war.
Meanwhile the head of the relief association for Tunisians abroad, Badis Koubakji, said “dozens of Tunisian women have come back” from Syria after carrying out the jihad al-nikah there and that “hundreds” were still there.
Koubakji said there was a camp for the women in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib.
“It’s a complete network and the interior ministry is not being transparent on this issue,” he said on Sunday.
He said that these young women aged between 17 and 30 would not talk about their experiences because their families wanted to “preserve their honour”.
NGOs in Tunisia have urged the government to do more to tackle networks recruiting young girls to travel to Syria.
The interior ministry said earlier this year that it had beefed up checks at airports to stop young Tunisians trying to reach Syria.
Ben Jeddou had said that since he assumed office in March “six thousand of our young people have been prevented from going there” to Syria.
Local media outlets in Tunisia have published several anonymous witness accounts from young women saying they had come back from Syria, but AFP has been unable to verify them.
Media reports say thousands of Tunisians have, over the past 15 years, joined jihadists across the world in Afghanistan Iraq and Syria, mainly travelling via Turkey or Libya.
October 6th, 2013, 12:12 pm
Tara said:
Uzair,
I agree. The Saudi should forge the alliance for the sole purpose of defeating the neo – imperialism of Iran and the Syrian revolution should stay as is: the Syrian revolution. There are no permanent enemies or permanent friends. There are permanent interests. Alliance between Saudis and Israelis should not mean selling out the Palestinians. Files should remain separates.
It is time for the Arabs to become pragmatic. Being emotional does not cut it for them any more. Nor did it cut it for them in the past. Define your enemy of the day and forge your alliance based on that. The enemy is now Iran. We need to liberate our mind from the decades of brainwashing where any mention of Israel or the Jews is inherently linked to “Takhween”. We should redefine Takhween as the revolution defines it: killing your own people. We should not define Takhween as we were brainwashed to believe. This was the tyrannies tool to keep us oppressed.
October 6th, 2013, 12:14 pm
ALAN said:
There is no money or time to waste anymore on the Syrian altercations!
Syrian affairs became a fully under Russian-care!
United States preoccupied with the subject of Asia!
US-Japan Talks Escalate War Preparations against China
The American deployments announced in the joint statement are all directed at strengthening US-Japanese military against China.
October 6th, 2013, 12:22 pm
ALAN said:
Question of the Syrian Chemical Weapons Heralds a New Era in Diplomacy
http://indian.ruvr.ru/2013_10_05/Syria-Weapons-New-Era-Diplomacy/
../../..
Of course, the issue is not yet settled, negotiations continue, the balance in the Middle East is always very difficult. But most importantly, it was possible to avoid war. And Moscow’s contribution in this was really great, says Fyodor Lukyanov, chief editor of the magazine “Russia in Global Affairs”:
“In my opinion, this is not just a success. This is the harbinger of a new chapter in the history of diplomacy in the big world politics. It is no coincidence that Russian diplomacy has been reiterating since the early days that the problem of configuration and arrangement of the world system for resolution of local conflicts is being solved in Syria. What is happening in Syria will continue in future.”
../../..
October 6th, 2013, 12:54 pm
Uzair8 said:
Reminds me of Yvonne Ridley’s words. She is a well known supporter of the Palestinian cause and opponent of Isreal. She also supports the Syrian struggle. She’s from George Galloways gang. Difference is previously (Iraq War) we were all on the same page and opposed it. This time around George’s gang is getting smaller and smaller. Many of his friends and associates, by his own admission, differ with him on Syria. These include Yvonne Ridley, Anas Tikriti (Muslim Association of Britain – played an important role in the anti-war marches), Azzam Tamimi and more.
She said Isreal needs to keep well out of this.
http://yvonneridley.org/analysis-and-opinion/forget-the-red-lines-and-political-egos-focus-on-saving-lives
October 6th, 2013, 1:09 pm
Mjabali said:
Uzair:
hahhhaaaaaaaa…your comment is a gem
The “scholars” would reject this or that…what “scholars?” reading your comment about what the Syrians want or feel is nothing but a laughing matter to me….keep on the good work …..
Still waiting for your take on why they stoned that woman in Pakistan for owning the cellphone?
Is that true that in Pakistan they use stonning as a method to control women?
October 6th, 2013, 1:10 pm
mjabali said:
Tara:
Israel will never trust the snake that is called Saudi Arabia. Iran and Israel are going to be friends again in the next few years. The Iranians are working hard on this after what they saw from the “Arabs.” Israel understand that the minorities of the Middle East are its best allies, look: Druz, Lebanese Christians, Kurds, and who knows the Alawis may be next. Do not be surprised if the Alawis start bridging their relations with the Israelis. The Palestinians, as usual, calculated things wrongly, and most likely would end up losing again.
AS for the biggest danger in the area: I would consider Saudi Arabia, Qatar the most dangerous because their danger is not limited to the Middle East but to the world as a whole. The type of Militant Islam that came into being because of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the rest of the ptro kooks, is a danger to world stability.
October 6th, 2013, 1:18 pm
Observer said:
The projected output of oil and gas by the US in 2030 will make it a larger exporter of energy than KSA.
At present the US is the largest exporter of “refined” petroleum products in the world.
The US has just inaugurated the largest solar installation in the world in the Mohave desert.
The US has mandated a 35 mpg on the new cars beginning in 2016.
There is a lot of waste and a lot of bickering and a lot of garbage in the political system and the economic and education system as well but it is self correcting in the US.
Now there is some more interesting news and reading that need to be done especially on the apologist’s side
The first is by Amaryta Sen titled
La democratie des autres: Pourquoi la liberté n’est pas une invention de l’Occident.
The book argues that saying that a people have no democratic tradition is not only historically false but morally reprehensible and racist.
After all I invite the regime apologist to read the acceptance speech of Abu Bakr as he was “elected” to the Khilafa to show that traditions of freedom are as old as man.
The other book is by Frank Dikotter The Tragedy of Liberation of which I just finished reading a synopsis about the incredible brutality of the Communist Regime in China between 1949 and 1957. I quote from the book: ” The PLA’s siege of Changchun in Manchuria in 1948. Turn Changchun into a city of death, the communist commander Lin Biao ordered and 160 000 civilians perished. A PLA lieutenant reflected later that 160 000 is Hiroshima in 9 seconds and Changchun in 5 months”.
The third installment of the trilogy will be coming soon regarding the horrors of the “cultural revolution”. In these books, the rosy picture of the communist dictatorship is laid bare. It again speaks volumes about any time and any era and any leader left without a system of checks and balances and without popular oversight and absence of the rule of law. After all, the US got with many illegal acts simply because it had no one to stop it and in this I think Israel is the champion on the world arena.
It is tyranny stupid.
October 6th, 2013, 1:23 pm
Uzair8 said:
Dear Mjabali
Let me tell you, when Isreal bombed the building in Damascus (research centre?) Shaykh Yaqoubi condemned it and if I remember correct also commented on the servicemen who may have been caught up in the attack.
[This may upset some people but it’s the reality (I mean many people express such a belief)]
Even an Isreali-Saudi alliance would only reinforce in peoples mind their view of Saudis as pretenders and of the prophecy about certain people from the Ummah being on the side of the antichrist in the end times.
Any such alliance, whether endorsed by the revolution or not, would probably fatally damage the uprising. It’ll pull the rug from under us and it will probably be game over. I cannot envisage Shaykh Yaqoubi, Shaykh Kharsa and the countless other Syrian scholars accepting such a situation. Isreal is a red line.
Those (autorites) who embark on such an alliance will be responsible for letting down the truthful and just struggle, letting down the Syrian people and letting down those who made enormous sacrifices.
It would really unnecessarily complicate matters and as you can see I’ve had to express my concerns (very reluctantly). I really don’t wish to be appearing to disagree with revolutionaries on here. Perhaps my views will encourage people to consider the negatives of such a move.
***********
I shouldn’t respond to off-topic comments on Pakistan.
I’m not aware of the story you claim. I don’t follow the news from there much.
About the ‘stunning’ claims, did you get that from the same source as the sex jihad claims?
Stay on topic Mr Mjabali.
October 6th, 2013, 1:34 pm
mjabali said:
Uzair:
Your response is entertaining for sure…..
Staying on topic: The Scholars you brought are nobodies and when they are elected to a public place I would listen to what they say, from now till then all they say is nothing but a sideshow to me. Sideshow Uzair: when you use the words “Anti christ” and “Ummah” I know that you and I have real differences. What are you talking about? What year do you live in? Where do you live? Wazeeristan? Where is this Ummah you are talking about? Should we convene the UN and change the borders so you could have your Ummah? We have a problem here Uzair: You can not think like this outside reality. You live in an imaginary place called Ummah, we live in a real place, with real borders and id cards. When you speak in the name of the Syrians and what they want there is a problem.
This is the course mr Uzair: When you speak about the “Revolution” what would “fatally damage the uprising.” Let me tell you about what is the fatal mistake: is letting the foreigners into the Syrian mess. Syrians are able to solve their problem the foreigners did nothing but adding gas to the fire. From Russia To Saudia Arabia, from Sunnis to Shia all added up to the fight. Foreigners are the conspirators they speak about. So when a foreigner speaks in the name of the Syrians we have a problem.
As for not hearing about the stoning of the woman in Pakistan for owning a cell phone you should have googled it so far, care to let us know what is your thoughts about that, also if you did not hear about that did you hear about the Church that was bombed in Pakistan last week? Your country of origin needs your “knowledge” so why not follow up closely what goes on there? There are enough of us Syrians able to think of what is best for our country Syria.
October 6th, 2013, 2:02 pm
ALAN said:
../../..
My, my…what a difference one phone call can make. Obviously no one was expecting it in Israel where the Likuds have been scrambling around in a panic since Friday night. They had deployed all of their Intelligence assets to convert the loss of US intervention against Syria into putting wind back into the sails of the Iran nuclear program bogeyman. AIPAC crashed and burned again.
Netanyahu made a fool of himself in front of the UN once again, something we all know does not embarrass him at all, and neither the Israelis it seems. Bibi was on a sinking ship with his Iran threat gamble because a growing list of Western countries had been very publicly announcing, one by one, that they were open to better relations with Iran.
There were two key events that helped clear the pathway for the phone call breakthrough. The EU threw their prestige in with the individual country list for improving relations with Iran. Next was the side meeting at the UN with the P5+1 group that generated very hopeful press comments regarding “resolving all outstanding issues” at their next meeting in October.
../../..
http://journal-neo.org/2013/10/06/likud-zionists-facing-total-defeat/
October 6th, 2013, 2:22 pm
omen said:
speaking of scholars, mjabali, i dont know if this has been gone over already (forgive me if this is redundant) but i need to lay this down as groundwork:
shia clerics abroad have voiced objection.
what about syrian clerics? how many alawite clerics or scholars have stood up to denounce assad’s grotesque & horrific crimes as running counter to alawite religious values?
of course it would be difficult to defy assad while inside of syria. how about alawite clerics abroad?
October 6th, 2013, 2:32 pm
Ziad said:
???????? ???? ???? ?? ????? “????? ??????”: ???? ???? ??????? ?13 ?????
??? ????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ???? “????? ??????” ?? ??? ???? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ????? ???????.
???? ????? ????? ?? ???????? ???? ????????? ?????? ?????? ???: ??? ?? ?????? ??? 2000 ????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ???????.
????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ??? ??? ???????? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ???? “?????? ?? ????” ??????? ?? “????? ??????” ???? ??? ????? ?? ????? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ????..??? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ???????.
???? ????? ?????.. ?????? ??? ???????? ????? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ???? ????? ???? “???? ???” ?????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ???? ???????? ?? ??????? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ????? ??? ???????? ?????????? ??? ????? ????? ?? ??????.
????? ????? ?????.. ??? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? ???? ??????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ??? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ??? ??? ???? ???? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ????? ???? ???????.
???? ????? ?????: ??? ???? ????????? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ????????? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ????????? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ???? ???? ???????? ???????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?????????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ???? ?????.
????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ??? ??? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ??? ???? ????? ????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ??? ????? ????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ????? ??? ?? ??? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ???.
????? ????? ?????.. ??? ???? ?? ??? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ???????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???????? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ????????.
????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ???????? ????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ??? ?????.
???? ????? ?????: ????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ??? ???? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ???????? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ?????.
http://www.aljaml.com/node/100793
October 6th, 2013, 2:38 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
Qadri Jamil has been busy colouring inside the lines established by the dictatorship.
Here he takes off his deputy PM hat, and puts on his ‘inside opposition hat,’ speaking at the conference of the Popular Front for Change and Liberation. From All4Syria:
October 6th, 2013, 2:38 pm
ALAN said:
????? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ?????????? ???????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ?????? – ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? 2014.
??? ??????? ???? ?????? ????? ????????? ???? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ???????? ????????? ????????? ??????? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ???????.
/////././..
http://alkhabarpress.com/
October 6th, 2013, 2:41 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
President Assad takes time to celebrate the Glorious Victory of the October War, in a long interview with Tishreen (another arm of the state media, one which does not feature the stilted gibberish of SANA and derivatives).
October 6th, 2013, 2:48 pm
ghufran said:
Rebels at work, they hide in residential areas and fire mortars at random, they get bombed, civilians get killed and then they scream “massacre” !!
October 6th, 2013, 3:27 pm
Hopeful said:
#236 Ghufran
You are spot on with the reasons why Iraq and Libya are a mess today, but you forgot one other reason: interference from regional powers who are worried about the potential success of democratic experiments next door.
But I will have to strongly disagree that Iraq and Libya were better under Saddam and Qaddafi. These two thugs have destroyed the wealth of their nations, the dignity of their countrymen, and left them with no souls and no hope. You must have very short memory to forget what these guys have done to their countries over the past decades.
October 6th, 2013, 4:23 pm
Hopeful said:
#255 Ghufran
Exactly as Hamas and Hizbullah did vis-a-vis Israel?
One thing for sure, it looks like these guys ain’t getting any good weapons from nobody!
October 6th, 2013, 4:30 pm
ghufran said:
The alliance and cozy relations between the GCC and Israel is not new but today it is not a public taboo any more, read what a Bahraini official wrote on twitter:
????? ????? ?????? ?? “???????” ???? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?? ?? ????????? ??????? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? ??????? ? “???????”.
???? ???? ????? ???????? ?????? ????????? ????? ??????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ????????? “?????”? ??? ???? “????? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ???????? ????????? ???? ??? ??? ???? ????? ????????? ?? ???? ????”? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ??”?????” ?????? “????????” ???? ?????? ????? ??? ????????? ???????? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ???????? ??? ????? ???????? ?????? ????????
For those of you who want to sell the Palestinians and buy a new friend, Israel in this case, I say : enjoy !!
October 6th, 2013, 5:00 pm
Tara said:
Jaboul@245
” Iran and Israel are going to be friends again in the next few years. ….Israel understand that the minorities of the Middle East are its best allies, look: Druz, Lebanese Christians, Kurds, and who knows the Alawis may be next. Do not be surprised if the Alawis start bridging their relations”.
Nonsense!
The Islamic Republic of Iran can not in my opinion ally itself with Israel in its current mullacracy shape. The concept of the US being the great Satan, of Israel should be wiped from the face of geography, and the supremacy of Shiism is the glue that makes the mullacracy united and its people oppressed. Iran can only ally itself with Israel if it gets rid of its mullahs and one hopes that a democratic Iran would not be at liberty in getting itself transformed into neo-imperial.
Minorities allying themselves with Israel ain’t getting them or Israel a better status than what both already have: for minorities: dictatorial regimes that maintain the minorities’ privileges at the expense of killing and brutalizing their fellow citizens, and for Israel: dictatorial regimes that are out of touch with their people and therefore can never forge a real peace. Please explain what benefits minorities or Israel get from such alliance?
I hope you do not mind calling you Jaboul.
October 6th, 2013, 5:20 pm
ALAN said:
Uzair! Have you the smell of barbecue?
British extremists use Syria as training ground before returning home – UK Home Secretary
http://rt.com/news/syria-british-extremists-terrorism-814/
October 6th, 2013, 5:26 pm
ALAN said:
????? ??????……
They left the faith!Caught up by petrodollars! the great Palestinian child will spit them !
October 6th, 2013, 5:33 pm
ALAN said:
China! go ahead!
China Pledges 200 Million Yuan in Grant to South Sudan
China ExIm-Bank will give Sudan $700m to build a new airport in Khartoum- including a 300 room hotel. Built by China Harbour Engineering.
No time to waste in the Syrian altercations.
http://youtu.be/-Tm2cnAi218?t=1s
October 6th, 2013, 5:51 pm
omen said:
crickets
not even ONE alawite cleric can be found to have denounced assad?
not even one can be found in the whole wide world??
what does this about alawism if this is the case?
sectarian alawites on the board go on and on excoriating radical wahhabism as medieval and violent yet are unable to offer one alawite cleric brave enough to have denounced assad’s carnage.
is there something in the religion that tolerates savagery?
October 6th, 2013, 6:20 pm
ALAN said:
http://youtu.be/HNGpPczkKIk?t=1s
This video shows how Turkish students confronted the lies perpetrated by the Syrian National Council (SNC) ex-presidents Abdul Basit Sieda and George Sabra in a forum that supposedly discusses Syria through the eyes of the opposition.
The protesting students denounced the SNC narrative as nothing but lies and highlighted some of the crimes that the armed wing of the SNC, namely the “Free Syrian Army” (FSA), has committed in Syria from massacres and ethnic cleansing.
October 6th, 2013, 6:32 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
zeezee must have missed this Tomorrow on Syrian TV, the Most dangerous of confessions
October 6th, 2013, 7:31 pm
mjabali said:
Omen:
They should ban you from this blog for your repeated insults to me. Do you want me to answer in the same manner? Speaking of manners, why don’t you know first what I am talking about, and what is the context and of course, most important of all: what is the topic. Uzair said that the “Scholars” would reject any deal with Israel. Your attack at my response shows clearly you have no clue what the topic of the conversation is.
If you are trying to pick on my texts repeatedly at least Sage Omen come up with something with value and not this cry baby conspiracy calls for violence imbalanced texts.
For example: you are barking at the Alawite sheikhs: can you name one without searching google? I doubt it.
You are talking about things you have no knowledge about Sage Omen…
October 6th, 2013, 8:08 pm
mjabali said:
Tara:
my name is mjabali and jaboul is not my name. If you want to call me that name I won’t answer next time because that is a different person.
As for what Israel and the minorities get from working together:
let me tell you for now just three simple points that would make this alliance between all the minorities of the Middle East very rational:
1- They all have a mutual enemy.
2- They all want to survive.
3- If they work together they are a force to reckon with.
What do you think about this simple answer without ?? ????
October 6th, 2013, 8:15 pm
Akbar Palace said:
A few observations:
Omen,
Still no answer why you blame Obama for doing nothing to help Syria but no blame for the many arab states.
Tara’s last post was SPOT ON. I also agree with her response to Mjabali about Iran and Israel: they will not be friends while Iran is a Islamic theocracy led by a “Supreme Leader” who hand-picks 8 presidential candidates from a list of more than 600. It is more a statement on the style of the Iranian government: religious, intolerant, violent, non-democratic, and not free.
Takhween means “evil” or “taboo”?
October 6th, 2013, 8:21 pm
mjabali said:
Omen:
Your insistence on insulting the Alawite religion over and over should be checked by the moderator. al-Assads do not represent the Alawites and has no Alawite agenda. Their army includes members from other sects other than the Alawites. Your insistence on insulting the Alawite religion is not acceptable.
What Omen says about the Alawite religion over and over is nothing but bigotry. Simple bigotry….
Sage Omen you should be banned.
October 6th, 2013, 8:29 pm
mjabali said:
Akbar Palace:
I am really glad that you do not agree with me, or agree more with those who argue against me.
I do not think that you speak for the Israeli government or analysts. You may be surprised if warmer relations starts showing up between Israel and Iran. Iran is changing and many are noticing this.
Iran is an old civilization and learns from its mistakes. In my estimate, Iran would have normal relations with Israel in ten years, or even earlier. This mullah system is going to go away because the Iranians are watching how this had estranged them from many in this world. The Iranians are seeing what the Sunni Arabs are doing to them and therefore they may change their whole outlook and stop this anti Israel agenda that started in 1979.
October 6th, 2013, 8:40 pm
zoo said:
Who believes the USA weathercok’s promises and denials anymore?
US denies agreement to extend Assad’s term
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/10/article55318522
Leaks say US and Russia considering allow Assad to remain president until 2016
Hopes within the Syrian opposition that Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad will transfer executive powers to an interim government as part of a diplomatic solution to the Syrian civil war are fading.
The removal of Assad from power is one of the key conditions for the Syrian opposition’s participation in the Geneva II peace talks, set to begin in mid-November.
The frustration and disappointment of the Syrian opposition have been further exacerbated by recent remarks made by Assad to the media on his determination to run for a new term, “based on the desire of the Syrian people.”
These fears have been exacerbated by accounts of leaks from diplomatic sources that there is a US-Russian proposal to extend Assad’s presidency until 2016.
According to the leaks, the proposal includes the postponement of presidential elections in Syria, scheduled for mid-2014.
Article 87, paragraph 2 of the Syrian Constitution, altered last year, stipulates: “If the term of the President of the Republic is complete but a new president is not yet elected, the existing President of the Republic continues to assume his duties until the new president is elected.”
International news outlets have reported that a British diplomatic source has made unverified claims that “Moscow and Washington have privately agreed to postpone Syrian presidential elections.” The source added that there might be “international political cover” that will allow the extension of Al-Assad’s mandate, in accordance with the revised Syrian constitution.
The US State Department has denied the claims, and stated that Al-Assad “should not even consider” staying in power.
October 6th, 2013, 8:55 pm
Akbar Palace said:
Mjabali,
I HOPE you’re right. Not just for Israel, but also for the rest of the violence-ridden neighborhood.
I jut don’t see a powerful theocracy like the one in Iran going away or even changing it’s philosophy w/o a fight. And I don’t speak for anyone except for myself.
October 6th, 2013, 9:07 pm
Ghufran said:
A good article in the telegraph on Yabroud:
Inside Syria’s model town: Peace, until al-Qaeda arrived
The residents of Yabroud have established an independent government that manages everything from schools, the court and emergency services to humanitarian aid and defence. It is remarkably efficient – as long as they can keep al-Qaeda out.
(Yabroud is not the only town where Islamists spoiled and even killed the hope of a regime change, as soon as the army leaves the Islamist rebels come in trying to control people’s lives)
If thawrajiyyeh can talk about the Islamists they would say:
???? ?????? ??????? ??? ?? ????? ?????
Iran, my friends, is changing, a war with Iran is unlikely and unproductive. Syrians today emerge , as other Arabs, as the biggest losers since 2001, I and others have talked about this from 2011. Israel is a winner for the short term, but without a fair deal for the Palestinians Israel’s problems will come back. Within less than 50 years, Jews will be a minority and it is best if Israel takes a peaceful path now.
October 6th, 2013, 9:08 pm
zoo said:
Mjabali
I agree with you.
I would not be suprised as a first step that Syria under Bashar Al Assad engages in a peace deal with Israel. That would cut short any attempts by Saudi Arabia to seduce the Israelis with their money.
Israeli are no fools, they know that the Saudis are rich but weak and corrupted. They will use them but will never respect them.
By the way, who does?
October 6th, 2013, 9:20 pm
Tara said:
Mjabali
I say as long as minorities in the ME think they should forge alliances to keep the majority brutalized and oppressed so they maintain their privileges, the ME will remain the hellish and the backward place we have all lived.
When the minorities realize that the only alliance needs to be formed is an alliance with their fellow citizens against all sort of extremism, then that would be the only hope for a meaningful survival
Same applicable to Israel. Having read and discussed with some of our previous and current Israelis-in- residence, I think Israelis understand that lasting peace is going to be forged with the people of the ME not their dictators and not their minorities.
I find “Jaboul” a nice name but yes I will only call you MJabali.
October 6th, 2013, 9:28 pm
Tara said:
Akbar,
Takhween means to treat someone as a traitor.
In the ME, uttering 2 forbidden things makes one automatically subject to Takhween: criticizing dear leader and criticizing the so called resistance.
Obviously Takhween can lead to capital punishment.
October 6th, 2013, 9:37 pm
Akbar Palace said:
criticizing dear leader and criticizing the so called resistance.Obviously Takhween can lead to capital punishment.
Thanks Tara.
Obviously, living in society where criticizing a leader can cost you your life is foreign to me. What a way to live 🙁
Free speech is actually a measure of how strong a government is.
October 6th, 2013, 9:50 pm
Ghufran said:
??? ????? ? ???? ?????
????? ???? ?????
????? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ??????
????? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ???
????? ????? ??????? ???? ????????? ????????
????? ??? ???????? ?? ??????? ????? ??? ???? ?? ??????? ?? 2006
????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ????? ??????
????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ??????
????? ???? ??????? ???? ?????
????? ????? ????? ??????? ???? ???????? ? ???? ????? ????? ??????????
????? ??? ???? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ? ?????? ???????
????? ???? ????? ???????? ?? ????? ? ???? ????? ??????? ?? ??????
????? ???? ???? ??? ???????? ?? ?????? ? ??????? ? ?? ??? ???????? ???? ???????
????? ???? ?????? ???????? ? ?????????? ?? ?????? ???????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ??? 1973
?? ????? ? ???? ????
?? ??? ???? ?? ????? ?????
October 6th, 2013, 10:18 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
Omen writes:
what about syrian clerics? how many alawite clerics or scholars have stood up to denounce assad’s grotesque & horrific crimes as running counter to alawite religious values?
of course it would be difficult to defy assad while inside of syria. how about alawite clerics abroad?
Syria Comment has from time to time had some very good in-depth articles on the Alawite communities and their modern history. One author in particular that you may wish to read is SC contributor Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi.
As I understand from background provided by Joshua and others (Tamimi and Khudr primarily), since the ascendancy of the Assad family, the Alawite faith has been systematically repressed as an independent sect separate from The Family. Remember that Alawi doctrine and scripture are somewhat like the Druze in being cryptic, reserved for adults, esoteric, closed.
Indeed, your question above contains its own answer; I think you know just how difficult life can be for an Alawi who speaks out against the dictatorship. We should hear almost zero dissidence from Alawi elders/sheikhs, as even community leaders abroad feel the same fear of home consequences (in other words, retaliation against family).
It seems that since the state of emergency all internal/Alawi dissent was systematically strangled in its cradle or imprisoned. Several of the civil society Anti-Assad Alawite activists have stressed that punishment is more severe for dissidents from within the community and that Syrian dungeons have their share of non-Assadist Alawites.
I think it is fair to state that Mjabali is not here to educate any of us on Alawites, on the existential threat they may feel, or to be held accountable in his person for acts committed by others, nor to produce an anti-Assad cleric.
Here is a small portion of a remarkable article by Tamimi, first published in the Levantine Review. I have removed the footnotes for easier reading:
As Joshua and other Syrian experts here have told us many times, the Assad dynasty long pursued a strategy to fuse the Alawi identity to the State, and did its best to close any open doors to intercommunal discussion of ‘sect’; a distinct Alawi religious practice is the unseen and unheard taboo in official Baathist Syria organs. Today still, in the official media, scant reference is made to Alawites or distinct Alawi religious traditions or personalities. The absence is remarkable. The Druze have their own distinctive nomenclature in the SANA press, but no religious figure from the Alawite community is ever so named.
The first victims of the dictatorship were the Alawites, I believe — to so thoroughly deculture a people, to align them so closely with a totalitarian cult of personality, this was the ultimate bad deal imposed upon them.
In the same way Ghufran blames ‘rebels’ for attracting the hellfire of the regime upon their territory, blame could be assigned to Alawites for attracting the hellfire of anti-assad militias, for acquiescing to Assad/Alawi dictature.
I think both blame versions are hideously wrong, for blaming others than the regime for its crimes against humanity.
October 6th, 2013, 10:26 pm
zoo said:
A turning point ?
Syrian Officials Sound a Conciliatory Note Toward the Opposition
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/07/world/middleeast/syrian-officials-sound-a-conciliatory-note-toward-the-opposition.html?_r=0
DAMASCUS, Syria — Coming from a Syrian deputy prime minister, it was an unusual statement. The country’s crisis, he said, began in part with a “popular movement” of peaceful protesters angry over economic disparities, and descended into war in part because officials were slow to make changes and failed to realize that the “repression of the popular movement” would lead to disaster.
….
Now, days after the official, Qadri Jamil, spoke in an interview, President Bashar al-Assad himself has declared that he and his government have made mistakes and that they share some blame for the crisis with rebels. Mr. Assad told the German magazine Der Spiegel, in an interview to be published on Monday, that he could not claim that the insurgents “did everything and we did nothing.” Reality, he said, has “shades of gray.”
After years of describing the country’s civil war in black and white, as an international terrorist conspiracy, Syrian officials in recent days appear to be trying to sound more conciliatory, as global powers try to arrange peace talks in Geneva to end the bloody stalemate, and as international weapons inspectors began on Sunday to destroy Syria’s chemical arsenal.
Mr. Assad did not specify his mistakes, at least not in early excerpts released by the magazine, and he toughened his position in some ways, appearing to rule out negotiations with the armed opposition. But Mr. Jamil, one of two ministers from officially tolerated opposition parties appointed during the crisis, spent much of a 90-minute interview last week offering a detailed critique of the government, including the security forces.
“The Syrian regime is the hero of lost opportunities,” he said.
Mr. Jamil spoke in his office, beneath a portrait of Mr. Assad. Yet he said he spoke not for the government but as a member of Syria’s nonviolent opposition, which he said aimed, in the next elections, to “make the current majority into a minority.”
…
Mr. Jamil described an internal power struggle between “clean forces” pushing for substantive changes and “forces of corruption,” which he said included security hard-liners opposed to a political solution, as well as people on both sides benefiting financially from the chaos.
“There are certain segments inside the regime, similar to other segments inside the opposition, who don’t want to have this political solution,” he said. “This is either because of narrow-minded mentalities or because they have turned into merchants of the crisis.”
He added that “extremists on both sides” would “fight each other by day and sit to divide the spoils at night.”
Though he did not name Mr. Assad as one of the reformers, one of his advisers did, and Mr. Jamil’s comments resonated with a view popular among the president’s supporters that he has always aimed for reform but has been stymied by hard-liners.
He insisted that he faced no risks in making the comments. “The West has to get used to the new Syria,” he said.
October 6th, 2013, 11:46 pm
Juergen said:
Agnes Mariam de la Croix, our true expert on islamism, chemical warfare and the love towards the Al Wahash clan has been pardoned for her unlawful visit by Al Wahash himself. What a surprise…
http://www.all4syria.info/Archive/102526
October 7th, 2013, 1:26 am
Hopeful said:
Finally, someone from within the Syrian government (Kadri Jamil) is telling the truth. This is a good sign. The coming days will tell – will this set a trend or is he going to end up in jail?
“He said the government tried to put down the movement by force, mistakenly relying on its experience repressing a violent Muslim Brotherhood uprising in the 1980s — a time, he said, when fewer Syrians were politically aware.
“Had the Syrian secret services read history, they would have understood the fact that such a popular movement shouldn’t be treated with repression.”
Zoo, maybe it is time for you to start telling the truth as well.
October 7th, 2013, 4:51 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
US is falling very low and deep in the Middle East. Morally, strategically and politically reaching its lowest levels of success and legitimacy.
After 20 years everybody will talk about syrian holocaust, occidental and russian hipocrisy but now the whole world is accepting the syrian massacre while Vip UN inspectors play with CW.
I just need to know if the detonator used for destroying 1000 tons of CW in one week is an Acme one.
Never Al Qaeda fiction script was so helpfull to maintain the status quo.
October 7th, 2013, 4:59 am
mjabali said:
W S Scherk:
If you, or the Sage, want to know about Alawites against al-Assad: search online: key word: Alawites in the Syrian Revolution. Lazy people throw insults before doing a simple homework.
As for Alawites and religion: the current generation, and the one before it has no connection to religion whatsoever. They lived outside the influence of clergy and any type or religious teachings. Alawism for them is an identity more than a religion. Most of them had forgot about it and want to forget about it, but events made them more aware of it.
October 7th, 2013, 7:03 am
AKbar Palace said:
Falling Very Low & Deep NewZ
Sandro Loewe,
Do you find fault with any of the arab governments or, like Omen, are you just committed to criticizing the usual suspect: the US?
I’m willing to go out on a limb and bet you criticized the US for conducting regime change in Iraq, where MORE Iraqis were killed by the other Baathist dictator, Saddam Hussein.
October 7th, 2013, 7:09 am
Hopeful said:
#286 Akbar
If all the negative energy that is spent over the years by Arabs criticizing the US government, is instead spent on lobbying the US government and influencing US public opinion, the Arabs would have been far better off by now.
All my life I hear friends and family members say: “you know, Americans are wonderful people, but the American government does bad things which the American people do not approve of”. This cannot be further from the truth. They need to understand that the only way to get the American government to change actions/policies is by influencing public opinion and lobbying the “broad” government – not just the “president”. But I do not blame them – they all lived under dictatorships where the “government” represented by the “dictator” is the sole decision maker, with no concern for its own public opinion.
You are absolutely correct with your question Akbar. Within my own family, the same people criticizing the US for its “inaction” in Syria today, were extremely critical of its “action” in Iraq in 2003, as well as of the Iraqi opposition “traitors” who invited the US to topple Saddam then. It is amazing to me that they see no problem with their argument and logic. Bush was wrong then for acting, and Obama is wrong today for inaction. Period.
Actually one does not even have to look at the “public”. In Iraq today, the same people in power who lobbied the US government for ten years to invade Iraq and topple Saddam, are now condemning the Syrian rebels/opposition for calling on the US to strike Assad in Syria. Go figure!
October 7th, 2013, 7:40 am
Akbar Palace said:
If all the negative energy that is spent over the years by Arabs criticizing the US government, is instead spent on lobbying the US government and influencing US public opinion, the Arabs would have been far better off by now.
Hopeful,
Of course. There has been so much hostility over the years, mainly due to the arab-Israeli conflict. Now, after decades of all this hostility, arabs are waking up to the possibility that Israel isn’t quite the biggest problem they are facing.
Now what do we do?? Yes, let’s repair the relationship. As an American-Jew, I would like to see better relations with the arab world. Ignoring the arabs is BAD idea, unless of course, they still see “resistance” as the over-riding national interest.
Thank you for your words and acknowledging that I might be right. And, BTW, tell your friends and family that arabs, Jews and Americans CAN be friends and CAN work together. Why not?
October 7th, 2013, 8:07 am
Uzair8 said:
The first 10 days of the blessed month of Hajj have begun. Some of the, if not the, holiest days in the Islamic Calendar.
Mubarak to all (to whom it may concern). An opportunity to make the most of the immense blessings on offer and to also keep Syria and each other in our prayers.
October 7th, 2013, 8:26 am
zoo said:
Activist: Jesuit priest Paolo Dall’oglio ‘alive and well’ in hands of Al-Qaeda-linked captors
http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/Aki/English/Religion/Syria-Jesuit-priest-alive-and-well-in-hands-of-Al-Qaeda-linked-captors_32699914875.html
Beirut, 7 Oct. (AKI) – An Italian Jesuit priest who vanished in northern Syria last month is alive and is being well treated by the Al-Qaeda linked jihadist group holding him prisoner, an opposition activist told Adnkronos International (AKI).
“Paolo Dall’Oglio was seen on Saturday in an area of northern Syria where the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) is active, Khalaf Ali Khalaf told AKI.
He declined to name the sources of his information to protect them from reprisals.
Khalaf was referring to a jihadist group led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, head of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), which continues to be active in Iraq as well as in Syria.
Conflicting reports have emerged on Dall’Oglio fate since he vanished in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa on 28 July.
The Vatican and the Italian government said in August they could not confirm a report by a pro-Syrian-government website that the priest had been executed by his captors.
Syrian authorities deported the priest last year after he helped victims of authoritarian president Bashar al-Assad’s military crackdown from a monastery in mountains north of Damascus.
October 7th, 2013, 10:38 am
zoo said:
‘Youngest’ Saudi Militant Enters War in Syria
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13920715001316
According to Arabic-language Asia News, citing sources within Syria opposition groups, a 16-year old Saudi boy, named Abdullah al-Shimri, entered Syria a few days ago and picked a nickname for himself as “Abu al-Motaz al-Jezeri”.
The sources said he was the youngest Saudi entering the war in Syria.
October 7th, 2013, 10:42 am
Uzair8 said:
Is Assad winning?
October 7, 2013
Bashar al-Assad and his proponents make their defeats look like victories.
[…]
Perhaps it is time for Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah to rethink his Syria plan. It has been four months since the joint Assad-Hezbollah force conquered Qusayr. But for all the talk about a reversal in fortunes, Assad and Hezbollah have yet to show other significant gains.
[…]
For its part, Iran wants something different than Geneva. In return for abandoning uranium enrichment up to 20 percent, Tehran wants a free hand in Syria, meaning sponsors cut off the anti-Assad opposition, and Assad or Hezbollah be given a freehand to win the civil war. While Washington might stomach such a deal, it is unlikely that Assad can stay if the US and Iran become buddies. Syria will be ceded to Iran, but Assad will have to be disposed of. Washington and Tehran can always find another Maliki for Syria.
For Assad, the days of balancing Russia against America and Arab countries against Iran are long gone. Bruised and unable to get himself out of trouble, Assad will have to settle for whatever others decide for him. His fate is not in his hands anymore, which means he can’t be winning.
October 7th, 2013, 10:45 am
zoo said:
If Turkey’s Constitution is not changed to make it a ‘presidential’ republic, will Erdogan find himself out of politics and owner of a network of Ayran and Hejab factories in 2015?
“Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for a decade, cannot run again as prime minister in 2015 according to AKP rules, and had been long expected to stand for a newly-created executive presidency, although his plans to establish such an enhanced role have stalled.”
Latest scenario: One more term with President Gül
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/Default.aspx?pageID=238&nID=55785&NewsCatID=342&op=sent
…
The likeliness of the scenario of “one more term with Gül” rises when taking into consideration probabilities such as: Erdo?an, as such a dominant character, may not like to be at Çankaya with the current presidential authorities, especially when taking probable conflicts with Gül into account.
Or if there is a decrease in the ruling party’s votes in the local elections, he may prefer to offer an opportunity to Gül for a second term at Çankaya while taking the chances of not being able to get elected as president into account.
October 7th, 2013, 11:00 am
zoo said:
Another thanks to the opposition who brought this extremist Sunni scourge to Syria
Leaving home: Christians who remain in Syria face a grim future
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/leaving.home.christians.who.remain.in.syria.face.a.grim.future/34283.htm
…
A couple of days after she fled Syria for Turkey, a colleague sent me a message.
“Dear Nuri, this is a court that the extremists established in my city, Lattakia, in the [Syrian] village of Kansabba. This Islamic court issues the law according to the extremists’ religion. It started today. They are forcing everyone to adopt their fundamentalist Islamic laws.”
Now she is waiting for smugglers to take her to Sweden.
..
She says that in places where the fundamentalists have established Islamic courts, there is no future for Christians – or any others who don’t want to live their lives according to Sharia law. She says I will even find Swedish jihadists on YouTube, preaching Sharia in Syria, in Swedish even. It took me only two minutes to find several.
With the help of a Palestinian living in Sweden, whose asylum case I followed 10 years ago, I get in touch with one of the Swedish jihadists.
“Everybody who wants to live in Syria, and who obeys to live according to the Sharia laws and the holy Koran, are welcome to stay in the country,” he tells me. “All the others have to go to sinful places. It’s our duty to preach the word of the prophet Muhammad. If we don’t do that and don’t force people to follow his words, we will be punished ourselves.”
I ask the jihadist if he can give me his name. “I cannot,” he says. He doesn’t want to hurt his family in Sweden by revealing his identity.
Next day, scrolling through Facebook, I spot that my Syrian journalist friend also is online. I send her a message about the interview I made with the Jihadist.
“I met hundreds of bearded young men like him, from all over the world, on the streets of my native city,” she writes back. “That’s why I left.”
October 7th, 2013, 11:06 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Hopeful and Akbar
All of this will be useless unless it reflects genuine conviction of friendship. There is a limit to the power of lobby, and that limit can only be extended if the voters believe that their elected representative is dealing with true friends.
October 7th, 2013, 12:30 pm
Sami said:
These children are “terrorists” that need “rehabilitation” in Assad’s dungeons…
Children in Military Intelligence Branches
The Testimony of the Child Mo’az AbdulRahman on the Intelligence and Military Police Jails
Introduction:
The Syrian regime and its various security bodies have not lingered in arresting children and put them in jails and expose them to all sorts of harsh ill-treatments.
VDC has documented 997 cases of boys arrest and 38 others of girls. Cases of children’s executions and torture to death inside the regime’s jails and detentions have also been documented (73 boys and two girls).
Some cases are: the boy martyrs Hamza Ali Alkhateeb and Thamer M.Shar’ee, the girl martyr Afaf Mahmoud Saraqbi
Here we present an interview with one of the children whom, despite his little age and innocence, had been brutally tortured, abused and stood before the Terrorist Court, which had been established on 26/7/2012 in accordance with decree no.22.
http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/reports/1381096592#.UlLlehb5jrF
October 7th, 2013, 12:54 pm
Uzair8 said:
Iran and Hezbo have their very own Vietnam on their hands.
Observer has mentioned it previously.
Russia Today (RT):
‘Hezbo has reportedly been withdrawing it’s fighters from the Syrian conflict…’
That’s the only mention of withdrawal (unless I wasn’t paying attention). At the beginning.
October 7th, 2013, 1:39 pm
Uzair8 said:
Assad’s just bought himself loads of time with the chemical deal. Now he can continue, as I’m reading on AJE updates, to shell civilian areas in Damascus.
Of course the US/West are over the moon about the chemical concessions. Kerry even praising Assad to high Heaven today I understand.
October 7th, 2013, 1:57 pm
Sami said:
Another deadly weapon used by Assad to punish Syrians is the bombing of hospitals and the targeting of Doctors helping Syrians in most need.
In Syria, Doctors Beware
LONDON — There is something deeply unpalatable about doctors being attacked, detained or killed for doing their job. Yet, as an open letter published in The Lancet by 55 prominent international doctors highlights, the “deliberate and systematic” targeting of medical personnel and hospitals is a fact of life in Syria today.
Dr. Rola Hallam and I have returned from northern Syria after working with the charity Hand in Hand for Syria in one of the most challenging medical environments we have ever seen.
More than half of Syria’s hospitals have been destroyed or badly damaged in the conflict. According to the Violations Documentation Center, 469 health workers are imprisoned, and the Council on Foreign Relations estimates that 15,000 doctors have been forced to flee abroad. Of the 5,000 physicians in Aleppo Province before the conflict started, only 36 remain.
Doctors have been targeted without respect for their professional neutrality. Dr. Omar Arnous, 33, was arrested in Damascus on Oct. 6 last year with his wife and two-year-old son after he ignored warnings from government forces to stop treating the war-wounded. His family was released after 11 days, but he is still in detention. His exact whereabouts are unknown.
Taiba camp, with 1,000 tents, has no formal medical facility. A lone nurse is trying to provide some semblance of health care. She was desperate to show us examples of confirmed cases of typhoid and brucellosis, a highly contagious disease caught from consuming unsterilized milk or meat.
The nearest antibiotics were an hour away. Medicines are in pitifully short supply throughout the country since several of Syria’s pharmaceutical manufacturing plants were hit by shells.
Resupply and support from international nongovernmental organizataions is difficult. Aid cannot be delivered in the simplest way — over the border. All pledged aid has to go through Damascus and be distributed from there by the Syrian government.
A repeated tactic, breathtaking in its cruelty, is the targeting of health care workers as they enter an area after an airstrike. A number of health workers have been killed or wounded in this way.
Removing chemical weapons from Syria is now central to international policy debate, but thoughts must turn to other types of lethal weapons used by the Syrian regime in civilian urban areas. This month, Dr. Hallam and I found ourselves in a school that had been hit by a napalm-like bomb. Thirty students were severely burned and three of them died later from their wounds.
Dr. Hallam, who is British of Syrian descent, said: “The whole world has failed our nation, and it is innocent civilians who are paying the price.”
Medical workers are stretched to the limit. Four staff members collapsed and needed attention themselves. Overworked, exhausted and with little outside support, how much longer can they continue? Health care workers and the wounded are protected under international humanitarian law, but in Syria they are deemed high-value targets. Hospital locations have to remain secret and field hospitals move from place to place to avoid being compromised.
The danger is so well understood that a family living next door to a hospital, to which I had transferred a gunshot patient, could be seen digging a shelter. Last month the hospital was hit by an airstrike, killing six people, one of them a doctor. I do not know if the family completed their shelter in time.
A U.N. team of investigators, led by Paulo Pinheiro, a Brazilian legal expert, describes intentional attacks against hospitals as a war crime. At the moment, that makes little difference to those who are in the direct line of fire.
The international community must condemn attacks against hospitals and health workers in the strongest terms. Beyond that, it must immediately offer support and protection to those providing health care to innocent civilians.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/04/opinion/in-syria-doctors-beware.html?_r=1&
October 7th, 2013, 2:09 pm
ALAN said:
Mr. Putin!
Why are you waiting for?
Are you waiting to flood Syria one million foreign fighters?
I have already mentioned that the time goes contrary to your wishes!
The time comes to help in the war on dirty international terrorism, funded by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and supported by the West!
Enough stand like wooden !
If these practice work, they will use it against your country!
Is it a puzzle?
regards!
http://www.activistpost.com/2013/10/will-russia-take-blame-for-new-influx.html
Will Russia Take the Blame for New Influx of US-NATO Mercenaries in Syria?
The wind will carry the smell of barbecue to the borders of Russia!
October 7th, 2013, 3:19 pm
ALAN said:
CIA Activities in Syria: US Never Stops to Step on Same Rake
http://www.globalresearch.ca/cia-activities-in-syria-us-never-stops-to-step-on-same-rake/5353324?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cia-activities-in-syria-us-never-stops-to-step-on-same-rake
../../..
The US-led Western myope policy in Syria has resulted in radical Islam gaining the upper hand inside the Syria opposition to endanger Europe and the entire Mideast. A new safe haven for al-Qaeda-linked jihadists and local radicals is being established in the north and east of Syria threatening neighboring Iraq. The goal is a Sunni emirate on the Mediterranean shore and Turkish border. The seasoned fighters will one day go or return to the countries of Western Europe or former Soviet space. Within Iraq, they are trying to revive the Sunni-Shiite civil war with a wave of suicide bombs, something that has become a routine daily news on TV. They are also stirring up tensions inside neighboring countries, including Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey. This is a universal problem, a threat posed for the USA, NATO, the EU, Russia and a lot of other states. And this is the time the CIA is involved in activities aimed at making Syria an al-Qaeda safe haven and base camp. Like it or not, but there is a reality – the government of President Assad now is the only force capable of standing up to the radicals offensive in Syria. Russia and the US will discuss the issue at the level of foreign chiefs on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit next week in Bali.
../../..
October 7th, 2013, 3:35 pm
ALAN said:
The use of the terms “humanitarian intervention” is like a cosmetic which numbs the consciences of the thinking-challenged who cannot fathom the real reasons why the US and NATO have gone into various countries to overthrow their governments; it is to prevent countries from moving away from the US dollar standard, and simultaneously enriching the coffers of the private central banks, which loan money at interest, to all countries involved in the fight, and will take decades to pay back.
October 7th, 2013, 3:39 pm
ALAN said:
Obama Admin disarms his own people, while Arming Mexican Cartels & Al Qaeda Terrorists.
* * *
../../..
Saudi Arabia and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf as well as Turkey, which support the Syrian opposition and supply them with weapons, are also required to comply with resolution 2118. And so it turns out we have a game with only one set of goal posts. And if these countries continue to foment war in Syria, interfering with the disposal of chemical weapons, they should be held accountable for this, according to the text of the UN document. And the United States is also required to use its influence on its allies in the anti-Syrian coalition. But the problem is that many of these groups are simply out of the control of their external sponsors. As the influence of the ideas of radical jihad has increased dramatically in the north of Syria, Western countries’ influence is falling. Moreover, from the western Iraqi province of Al-Anbar, inhabited by Sunni, have poured into the east and north of Syria hundreds of Al-Qaeda fighters and regular bandits that have fought against U.S. troops, and then the army of Shiite Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. It is obvious that they consider the United States no less an enemy than Assad. And then last week, 11 armed opposition groups formed a new coalition, which allegedly ended their pro-Western orientation and proclaimed that their main cause was the establishment of a Syrian state based on the norms of Sharia.
../../..
http://journal-neo.org/2013/10/07/rus-kto-meshaet-rabote-inspektorov-ozho-v-sirii/
http://journal-neo.org/2013/10/07/rus-narastanie-raskola-v-sirijskoj-vooruzhennoj-oppozitsii/
October 7th, 2013, 3:59 pm
ALAN said:
Al- Qaeda , the defeated in Syria, trying to take revenge in Iraq.
The troops of the international terrorist network al-Qaeda , which aims to create a jihadist state in the Middle East, are increasingly active in Iraq.
Defeated the Syrian army , they fall back into Iraq .
The newspaper The Guardian, in the towns and villages of Iraq near the Syrian border mercenary jihadists “quite successfully increase their influence. Cruelty and violence have become a reality in this part of the country. Almost every day from this region there are reports of new attacks . ”
One of the residents of the Iraqi province of Al Anbar , which in 2007 was a member of the local movement against the militants , ” Al- Qaeda “, said British reporters that “they want everyone to adhere to the harsh Islamic law , and Syria – it’s just a phase distribution of jihad around the world . They must be stopped. ”
In recent weeks, Iraq has a new wave of violence , whose victims in August were about 800 people. In September at the hands of al-Qaeda terrorists who continue to receive arms from the secret services of NATO, the country killed 400 people. Since the beginning of the year in armed conflicts and in terrorist attacks , according to the UN , killing five thousand Iraqi civilians .
October 7th, 2013, 4:07 pm
annie said:
I have missed the overdue banning of REVENIRE. Means I can come back. Not that you will have missed my pasting of good pieces but not having access at al jazeera, I am hungry for some Syrian news. What was the problem with Majel ?
October 7th, 2013, 4:11 pm
ALAN said:
Russia and China can together solve complex issues, including Syrian crisis- Putin
http://indian.ruvr.ru/news/2013_10_07/Russia-and-China-can-together-solve-complex-issues-including-Syrian-crisis-Putin-5739/
/can together solve complex issues, including Syrian crisis?/ Mr. Putin! Mr Xi Jinping! Where is the solution for the Syrian and the region security?
October 7th, 2013, 4:20 pm
Juergen said:
Interview with Assad by DER SPIEGEL
Interview with Bashar Assad: ‘In the End, a Lie Is a Lie’
SPIEGEL: Was the massacre at Houla only the result of the failure of individuals?
Assad: It was the gangs and militants who attacked the village residents, never the government or its supporters. That’s exactly what happened. And if you talk about proof, no one has proof against this. Actually, what happened was that our supporters are the ones who were killed, and we can give you the names of the victims’ families because they supported our course against terror.
SPIEGEL: We have plenty of evidence. Our reporters were in Houla, where they conducted in-depth research and spoke to survivors and relatives of the victims. UN experts have also come to the conclusion that the 108 village residents who were killed, including 49 children and 34 women, were the victims of your regime. So how can you deny any responsibility and blame the so-called terrorists?
Assad: With all due respect to your reports, we are the Syrians. We live here and we know the reality better than your reporters. We know what is true and we can document it.
SPIEGEL: The perpetrators are part of Shabiha, a militia that is close to your regime.
Assad: Let me be frank with you. Your question is full of misstatements. However you put it, in the end a lie is a lie. So, what you say is not correct.
SPIEGEL: So you deny that the Shabiha militia was involved?
Assad: What do you mean by “Shabiha?”
SPIEGEL: This militia, the “ghosts,” who are close to your regime.
Assad: This is a Turkish name. There is nothing called “Shabiha” in Syria. In many remote areas where there is no possibility for the army and police to go and rescue the people and defend them, people have bought arms and set up their own small forces to defend themselves against attacks by militants. Some of them have fought with the army, that’s true. But they are not militias that have been created to support the president. At issue is their country, which they want to defend from al-Qaida.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/spiegel-interview-with-syrian-president-bashar-assad-a-926456.html
October 7th, 2013, 4:21 pm
annie said:
Tant de mauvaise foi, Juergen, c’est pas possible.
In the French they say “to lie like a tooth puller”
October 7th, 2013, 4:27 pm
SimoHurtta said:
230. Sami said:
“Surely USA can pass Russia with the combined oil + gas production, but so what. It hardly changes the geopolitical equation. USA still needs to import millions of barrels of oil daily.”
The fact the US can become the largest energy producer while still importing a vast number of energy is very telling at how large the US economy is and its strategic need for energy.
Other nations such as India and China are striving to emulate that, how many expanding economies are emulating Russia I wonder…
Oh yeah refuting a well researched article published by one of the most read newspapers in the world by quoting Wiki is rather telling of the authors own blinding bias.
Well Sami the figures of Wiki in oil production, import, export and domestic need come in many cases from CIA World Factbook, International Energy Agency (IEA), EIA etc “official” sources. From where do think WSJ gets its numbers in that article? Anyway the WSJ article can be read. They use exactly same sources like IEA and EIA. But they tell the story from their own angle.
WSJ’s article tells for example:
U.S. imports of natural gas and crude oil have fallen 32% and 15%, respectively, in the past five years, narrowing the U.S. trade deficit.
Sami, what happened 5 years ago? WSJ “analysis” doesn’t tell it. The present economical difficulties in USA and Europe begun in 2008. And USA’s economical activity fell then. Import fell because of domestic demand fell, mainly. With gas because of increased domestic production.
The core point which WSJ avoids in its article is, that Russia has a massive overproduction of both oil and gas and customers connected with pipe lines and who are willing buy that. USA has to import still massive amounts of oil and has limited means to import its gas overproduction. The low present gas price in USA is explained by overproduction and present very limited means of exporting that.
Comparing US and Russian oil and gas production levels would be less “interesting” if WSJ would tell the truth. US production increase of oil is only reducing a bit of the need of the wast oil import need and with gas the production increase now warms mainly the air where birds fly. USA has now not to much export of gas in LNG form.
WSJ article says:
The shift has raised concerns in Moscow that U.S. crude supplies will crowd out Russia’s oil exports.
That far-fetched conclusion has no explanations. Even in order to become a net oil exporter USA would have to double its oil production. Is that possible? To crowd out Russian oil export USA would have at least triple its present oil production. Well, well …
US Energy Information Administration: U.S. Natural Gas Imports & Exports 2012 Even Sami notices the situation in 2012. In mathematical form = Import > Export.
US Energy Information Administration: U.S. Crude Oil Supply & Disposition 2012 Import > Production in 2012. 🙂
It would be interesting to know how much USA now exports LNG. Maybe you Sami believe in this following source and their study.Congressional Research Service
That is the reality Sami. From there is a long, long way to export massive amount of LNG to India or even to Europe. But the does the WSJ article tell that? No, it creates the illusion (= propagandist illusion), that USA is competing with Russia as an exporter and will “crowd out” Russian oil export. Naturally you Sami can ask yourself why WSJ writes such overoptimistic “journalism” like this article. Well it is owned by Rupert Murdoch and he …
October 7th, 2013, 4:33 pm
Juergen said:
Annie
The more I hear his lies, the more I think he will surely end like Ceaucescu, but without the trial…
October 7th, 2013, 4:51 pm
ALAN said:
Syrian Crisis Exposes Israeli Lobby (AIPAC); Israel Allied with Al Qaeda in Syria
http://www.asheepnomore.net/2013/10/syrian-crisis-exposes-israeli-lobby.html
October 7th, 2013, 4:52 pm
Uzair8 said:
Annie
Welcome back. We were only talking about your good self just yesterday. Perhaps a premonition of sorts. Anyway hope your well.
Juergen
Talking about premonitions, it was a certain Syrian scholar who gave the glad tidings* of Assad and his aides awaiting horrible deaths, in weeks not months. It’s been many months now however the time aspect may have been a personal estimate.
So the Ceaucescu thing may well be relevant.
* Based on inspiration (dream). Mention of intervention by planes of friendly power.
October 7th, 2013, 5:22 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
And Russia remains largely an extractive economy…extracting wealth to feed the wealth making machines of of others.
in the US, on the other hand, a dollar saved is always a dollar earned. Meaning that the US by not importing becomes an exporter. I am really surprised that huge anti-imperialists haven’t figured that simple rule of American imperialism. LOL
October 7th, 2013, 5:33 pm
Uzair8 said:
Alan
Talking about absentees, whatever happened to your compatriot Citizen? Was he sacked for failing to influence the blog?
I remember his love of all thing Soviet weaponry*. He couldn’t big them up enough.
If he was still here I’d encourage him to take the advice of his fellow compatriot Alexander Gradsky. Here with John Denver:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCR0sHBrNKs
* Bearing in mind the message of the song I’m sure Denver/Gradsky will agree the necessity of weaponry should be a rare exception (ie people forced to defend against tyranny).
October 7th, 2013, 5:38 pm
ALAN said:
314. UZAIR8 enjoy!
http://youtu.be/X2GFoPdKlhY?t=14s
October 7th, 2013, 6:01 pm
Sami said:
Syrian Hamster,
“in the US, on the other hand, a dollar saved is always a dollar earned. Meaning that the US by not importing becomes an exporter.”
Well said. However this concept is beyond the comprehension of those that willingly choose to use emoticons after they graduated from junior high…
October 7th, 2013, 6:05 pm
ALAN said:
It’s ridiculous when some people talk about cloning the facts: once from Yugoslavia and once again Ceausescu, and a third of Iraq and a fourth from Libya! Do you have lost the ability to invent something new? Three years of ridicule!There is no ability to provide anything new!Failure par excellence!Nonsense!The words useless and without value!a dictation for page thread!!
October 7th, 2013, 6:18 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Der Speigel is a very interesting media house. Does an interview with wet-pants athad, gets hims upset and frothing telling the journalist “a lie is a lie” and then catches wet-pants
chemicalathad and documents it wet-pants down in “‘Sex Jihad’ and Other Lies: Assad’s Elaborate Disinformation Campaign”. good article and timely. So much for the PR outfit advising wet-pants to do an interview of the Der Speigel and making the connection. zoozoo and zeezee must be on the staff.October 7th, 2013, 6:34 pm
Uzair8 said:
That’s a hell of a song by John Denver. I remember sharing it on Shiachat a few weeks ago and a female Christian user saying it brought a tear to her eye.
Powerful lyrics.
If I can borrow from Mr Denver:
There are four generations of blood in this top soil,
Four generations of love on this farm,
And the fliggin’ Shabeeha think they can come and burn it all,
Before I give up I’d gladly give up my right arm,
Viva revolution! Onwards to victory!
*********
Alan
I almost forgot it’s getting late. Time for sleep. Thanks for the reminder (and the introduction to Brahms who I’m not too familiar with).
October 7th, 2013, 6:36 pm
Tara said:
I said it before. Sex jihad is an invention of the regime to win the media war. And it sells very well. It sold well in the Arab media to the masses with suppressed sexual fantasies and to the western media as an exotic topic and a guilt-free exit of why we should not intervene.
Al-Qaeda may be a sexy topic, but sex jihad is even more so.
Sex, media, and jihad
With news reports about sex jihad, truth is secondary
https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/sex-media-and-jihad
It’s always exciting to talk about sex. Combined with Islamism, sex could become the most discussed and read about topic in the media. That’s why Jihad Al Nikah (sex jihad) has become the obsession of everyone writing or working on Syria. It is an exotic topic for Western media outlets and audiences alike. Meanwhile, Arab media uses it to indulge the viewers in suppressed fantasies.
….
But the Syrian regime knows how to play this game quite well, much better than the opposition at least. From extremism to minorities, Assad knows how to play his cards. He has presented his regime to the international community as the sole protector of the Christians in Syria, highlighting al-Qaeda burning churches and its attacks on Christian villages. Of course, ISIS’s sectarian rhetoric makes Assad’s task an easy one, but that does not mean that the rebels seek to eliminate the Christian presence in Syria.
….
It seems everybody is in denial. Many say that the Syrian revolution is ugly, so we shouldn’t get involved. Many also say that the Syrian rebels are all extremists and barbarians, and that’s why Assad is a better option. They even say that the Syrian opposition is all Sunni, which is why the regime is more secular. And, in the midst of all this misleading information come reports about sex jihad, which gives everyone an excuse to accept Assad’s story. Not because of information and proof, but because it is an easier and guilt-free process.
Of course, the Syrian rebellion is not ideal, and there is an ugly layer to it, but that does not mean that the Syrian regime is more secular or preferable than the rebels. Raping women in prison and torturing children is not more civilized than the heart-eating man. Forcing a girl to go on TV and say that she has practiced sex jihad is not more humane than beheading opponents on the battlefield. And, brutally killing children in Sunni villages and towns does not make Assad less sectarian than his opponents. Indeed, sectarianism was created by the regime’s favoritism from the very beginning: esteeming Alawites and Christians over Sunnis, and more recently massacring Sunnis while protecting Christians and other minority groups.
Assad is clearly neither secular nor civilized, nor is he the protector of minorities. And sex jihad is just another game he uses to feed into the stereotypes of the West and the stigma that summarized the revolution as a ragtag group of extremists.
Read more.
October 7th, 2013, 6:55 pm
Tara said:
Lies exposed at Dar Spiegel. Thank you Hamster.
No other leader in the region — not Saddam Hussein in Iraq, nor Moammar Gadhafi in Libya — has relied as heavily on propaganda as Assad. His PR teams and state media are churning out a steady stream of partially or completely fabricated new stories about acts of terror against Christians, al-Qaeda’s rise to power and the imminent destabilization of the entire region. These stories are circulated by Russian and Iranian broadcasters, as well as Christian networks, and are eventually picked up by Western media.
One prime example is the legend of orgies with terrorists: The 16-year-old presented on state TV comes from a prominent oppositional family in Daraa. When the regime failed to capture her father, she was abducted by security forces on her way home from school in November 2012. During the same TV program, a second woman confessed that she had submitted to group sex with the fanatical Al-Nusra Front. According to her family, though, she was arrested at the University of Damascus while protesting against Assad. Both young women are still missing. Their families say that they were forced to make the televised statements — and that the allegation of sex jihad is a lie.
An alleged Tunisian sex jihadist also dismissed the stories when she was contacted by Arab media: “All lies!”, she said. She admitted that she had been to Syria, but as a nurse. She says she is married and has since fled to Jordan.
Two human rights organizations have been trying to substantiate the sex jihad stories, but have so far come up empty-handed. It appears that the Tunisian interior minister had other motives for jumping on this rumor: Hundreds of Islamists have left his country and traveled to Syria, and he is apparently trying to stem the tide by discrediting these fighters. Furthermore, Sheikh Mohammad al-Arifi, the man who is allegedly behind the sex jihad fatwa, denies everything. “No person in their right mind would approve of such a thing,” he says.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/assad-regime-wages-pr-campaign-to-discredit-rebels-a-926479.html
October 7th, 2013, 7:14 pm
Tara said:
Please read. The best part is the last paragraph in regard to Buti. My God!! A factory of lies and propaganda. The filth is all exposed.
From Dar Spiegel article:
It is difficult — and, at times, even impossible — to verify all the horror stories emerging from the civil war in Syria. This holds especially true when they are disseminated in a roundabout way, as is the case with most of the reports of persecuted Christians.
For example, on Sept. 26, the German Catholic news agency KNA issued a report — citing the Vatican news agency Fides — stating that Muslim legal scholars in the opposition stronghold Douma, near Damascus, had called for “the property of non-Muslims to be confiscated.” Fides said that it had a copy of a document that was signed by 36 Muslim religious figures. Yet although this appeared to be a serious story, it turned out to be based on a forgery: a fictitious text with real signatures. It actually came from a 2011 statement calling for civilians to be spared during the fighting. On a number of occasions, Fides has accepted as true propaganda fabrications released by regime-affiliated portals, such as Syria Truth.
This also includes the myth of the beheading of a bishop — a story also spread by Assad in an interview with SPIEGEL. The fact of the matter is that a jihadist from Dagestan killed three men in this way, but they weren’t Christians. After getting the stamp of approval from the official news agency of the Vatican, such rumors generated by Assad’s propaganda machine are circulated around the world as bona-fide new stories.
The facts were twisted in a similar manner when an image of a woman tied to a pillar in Aleppo appeared on the LiveLeak video portal in mid-September. The website claimed that the woman was a Christian from Aleppo who had been abducted by al-Qaida rebels. In reality, although the photo was taken in Aleppo, it dates back to a period when Assad’s troops still controlled the entire city. A video of the scene, posted on YouTube on June 12, 2012, shows regime-loyal militias berating the woman.
The regime also concocted the legend of the destruction of the Christian village of Maaloula. In early September, rebels belonging to three groups, including al-Nusra, attacked two military posts on the outskirts of town held by members of the local Assad-loyal Shabiha militias. Then the rebels withdrew. But the regime’s version, which even managed to become an Associated Press story, was as follows: Foreign terrorists looted and burned down churches — and even threatened to behead Christians who refused to convert to Islam.
This didn’t match with reports from the nuns of the Thekla convent in Maaloula and the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Antioch. They said that nothing had been damaged and no one had been threatened on account of their beliefs. A reporter from the satellite news network Russia Today unwittingly cleared up the confusion. While accompanying the Syrian army, he filmed the tank attack on Maaloula — in which the local monastery was shelled.
This ongoing reinterpretation of events reflects a conscious policy — and bending the truth is much easier now that Syria has become such a confusing and chaotic theater of war. Most news publications shy away from the risks and efforts of verifying stories on the ground. Actual events, such as when jihadists burned down a church in the northern Syrian town of Rakka, are mixed together with trumped-up atrocities staged to sway global opinion.
Even blatant inconsistencies are often accepted without question. After all, tangible evidence to the contrary rarely exists. When state-run media reported that the prominent imam Mohammed al-Buti, a supporter of Assad, was killed by a suicide bomber at his mosque in the heart of Damascus on March 21, all rebel groups denied having anything to do with the attack. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean much. But even an untrained eye would have to notice that the photos showed no signs of an explosion: Chandeliers, fans and carpets were all intact. Instead, there were bullet holes clear across a marble wall, and pools of blood apparently showed where the bodies had lain. Many of the victims were wearing shoes, which is highly unusual for Muslims in a mosque. There were also no witnesses. All of this feeds the suspicion that the victims were forced into the building and murdered — as a backdrop for an attack that never occurred.
October 7th, 2013, 7:26 pm
Tara said:
ISIS leadership is a regime tool. It is made by the regime to make it easy to sell the regime propaganda and lies and to taint the revolution.
Has anyone wondered why the regime never shelled or bombarded ISIS? Their locations, buildings and headquarter are all known places in Raqqa. Why hasn’t the regime fighter jets threw a sinle bomb against them?!
October 7th, 2013, 7:48 pm
Tara said:
Mint press, the lies, and Iran.
After the poison gas attack in August, though, the propaganda cover-up failed. Inundated by a global wave of indignation, the regime floundered in its attempts to explain the situation. First, Assad said that nothing had happened. Then state television showed images of an alleged rebel hideout containing a barrel with the blatantly obvious label: “Made in Saudia.” The TV report maintained that this was sarin gas from Saudi Arabia for “terrorists” who had inadvertently gassed themselves to death.
The source of the story was a little known news website called Mint Press, based in the northern US state of Minnesota. One of the authors later denied having anything to do with the research. The other, a young Jordanian who writes under a number of pseudonyms, merely responded to queries by saying that he was currently studying in Iran. In an online comment on an article in Britain’s Daily Mail, though, he gave the following detail that was missing on Mint Press: “Some old men arrived in Damascus from Russia and one of them became friends with me. He told me that they have evidence that it was the rebels who used the (chemical) weapons.” A few days later, the Russian foreign minister quoted the report from Mint Press as proof of Assad’s innocence.
An entirely different explanation for the alleged gas attack by the rebels was presented to British broadcaster Sky News by Assad’s top media adviser, Buthaina Shaaban: She said that terrorists had abducted 300 Alawite children from Latakia, taken them to Damascus and murdered them so they could be presented to the world as victims.
And now comes a new line of defense that neither relies on chemicals nor argues that the rebels killed themselves: In a SPIEGEL interview, Assad states that sarin is a “kitchen gas” because “it can be made anywhere.” But this flies in the face of a United Nations report, which states that rockets carrying sarin gas could only have come from a military base run by government forces.
Although Assad likes to cover up his crimes with a crisis-driven media blitz, he actually prefers to meet with the press and directly tell his side of the story. This includes presenting his regime as a final bulwark against global terror, even though he has his agents carry out the very kinds of attacks he is warning the world about and attributing to his rivals. For example, police in Turkey and Lebanon have charged the Syrian intelligence agency with responsibility for the most devastating attacks in years. After two bombs in Tripoli killed 47 people on Aug. 23, a Lebanese court issued an arrest warrant against two Syrians — for planning acts of terrorism.
October 7th, 2013, 8:27 pm
Ghufran said:
It took the USA 2.5 years to discover that Syria needs a strong army , NATO and the GCC tried the FSA and ended up with Nusra and ISIS:
????? ?????? ????????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????? ???? ??? ??? ??????? ????????? ??? ????? ?????????? ?? ” ?????????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ???????? ??????? ???????? ????? ????? ??????? ???????? ?? ??? ???????? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ???????? ???????? ????? ??? ?????? «???????» ????????? ?????????? ??? ????? «????? ????» ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? «?????? ????????? ?? ?????? ??????» (????) ?«???? ??????».
It is sad that uncle Sam is going back to the argument many people made in 2011.
Jarba wants guarantees from the GCC and Turkey ignoring the fact that those puppets need s green light from Washington to scratch their butt !!
October 7th, 2013, 8:41 pm
omen said:
hi, mjabali ?
October 7th, 2013, 9:16 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
The three-part Spiegel interview with President Assad is a must-read. This interviewer was unafraid to challenge feeble and dissembling responses.
One set of questions was not asked: the President’s siege strategy, which in suburban Damascus has led to the edge of starvation for thousands.
From Time:
Forget Chemical Weapons. Assad Regime Uses Starvation as Tactic Against Rebels
October 7th, 2013, 9:38 pm
Ghufran said:
Sadeq jalal alazem:
????? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ????????? ?????? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ???????. ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???. ?? ??? ????? ????? ?? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ???????? ???????. ??????????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? “???? 2” ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?????. ?? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ????????? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???. ???? ???? “???? 2” ????? ?? ?? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ??? ???? ????? ???????.
Read the full interview at aksalser.com
Sadeq did not say whether Taef saved Lebanon or not, one might argue that Taef stopped the civil war in Lebanon but that idea is up for discussion, another issue is the lack of jihadists at the time of Taef and the fact that Syria and KSA backed by foreign powers supported Taef, we yet have to see a similar consensus in Syria.
The interview is worth reading despite the holes in sadeq’s arguments.
October 7th, 2013, 11:13 pm
ghufran said:
Kerry flirting with Assad:
“The process has begun in record time and we are appreciative for the Russian co-operation and obviously for the Syrian compliance,” Mr Kerry said after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit in Bali, Indonesia.
“I think it’s extremely significant that yesterday, Sunday, within a week of the (UN) resolution being passed, some chemical weapons were being destroyed.
“I think it’s a credit to the Assad regime, frankly. It’s a good beginning and we welcome a good beginning
October 7th, 2013, 11:56 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
This tims Sadeq points to the moon, and ghufran stares at Sadeq’s finger.
First of all, Alazm did not single out Taef as the only example of a political accord that ended the supremacy of a “political sect”. But Taef is what Ghufran chose to focus on Taef.
Second, what holes? , where?
No one was able to explain the world’s apathy towards the Syrian tragedy as well as alazm in this interview. Blunt, free thinking, and above all, brave thinker, who dared to defy the “accepted” pro-resistance thinking cliches.
Finally, why read the interview from a suspect site, who most likely had no permission to reproduce it and not from the original source, Doesn’t that encourage piracy?
October 8th, 2013, 3:04 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
In addition, and from many lengthy facebook discussions of Alazm interview, it became clear to me that in most times those who automatically accepted the phrase “??????? ????????” without question, were the same ones who fiercely attacked, and with the same automatic response, the Taef accord, because as “Seculars” they found it to cement sectarianism. The second part is of course correct, but it was used in their argument as a mere cliche. The automatic acceptance of the first part, on the other hand, exposed the “Secular” for who they are. I believe that Alazm has inadvertently set a fantastic logical trap.
October 8th, 2013, 3:22 am
omen said:
mic check
October 8th, 2013, 3:23 am
omen said:
why is it such a fight to post a response?
site refuses to post then tells me:
You are posting comments too quickly. Slow down.
none of the earlier attempts registered!
October 8th, 2013, 3:35 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Somehow I have a feeling that Joshua Landis and his sidekicks will jump at the “??????? ????????” phrase. While fully ignoring the following analysis of the reason for western apathy:
October 8th, 2013, 3:43 am
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Heads up has determined that Syrians talk a lot and do very little. You want the world to help you, help yourself by doing more fighting and less talking. You need to fight the Serpent and not talk and ask the world to fight on your behalf.
Over the last 50 years of Serpent rule, Syrians have become mere fighters by slogans and less fighters for issues that matter most: dignity, honor and protection of loved ones.
The world cannot and will not do this fight on your behalf.
Go and fight and talk less.
October 8th, 2013, 8:27 am
ALAN said:
Where is the Middle East heading?
http://journal-neo.org/2013/10/08/rus-kuda-idet-blizhnij-vostok/
../../..
It is clear that the Saudi leaders may for some time ignore these powerful signals of their close ally, but they cannot be unaware that in the United States there is a deep rethinking of its own experience in the Middle East in the past 20 years. And its results are unconsoling. In Washington, there is clearly no desire to go down the same path for a third time with the same results. There is a desire to find a political solution to Middle East problems including Iran, and the need for this has been repeated over the years by diplomacy of Russia, China and other BRICS countries. This does not yet mean that there has been a review of U.S. policy objectives, but there is clearly a re-evaluation of the tools that can be used. And it calls for less Tomahawks, more talks.
../../..
../../.. /Balkanization!/
in Washington, as well as among advocates of an Islamic Sunni caliphate, there is support for the rejection of borders drawn after WWI on the basis of the Sykes-Picot Agreement, and also belief that the deep ethnic and religious contradictions in the predominantly Sunni Arab area will lead to its Balkanization. That is, the Gulf states’ policies (including in Syria and Iraq), aimed at supporting the Sunnis and their shock troops in the form of the Wahhabis, as well as overthrowing Bashar al-Assad and R. Al-Maliki, could achieve a completely different result. Namely, the collapse of these states, and after that, not the creation of a single caliphate, but their own collapse. And the responsibility for all this will be borne by the oil monarchies. So Washington’s advice is clear: if you do not want such a result – change your general line.
October 8th, 2013, 9:14 am
zoo said:
Among the 110,7372 there are 45,000 government forces who were killed
Syria’s Martyrs’ Wall reveals ‘unknown truth’ of bloody civil war
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/08/syria-martyrs-wall-unknown-truth-civil-war
Hundreds of pro-Assad fighters’ faces adorn a wall in Tartous that shows just how many pro-government fighters are dying
It recently reported that between the start of the crisis in March 2011 and 31 August this year 110,371 people had died. Around 40,146 civilians were killed, including nearly 4,000 women and more than 5,800 children. The toll of government forces totals more than 45,000, made up of 27,654 army soldiers, 17,824 pro-regime militia and 171 members of the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah, which has sent fighters into battle alongside Syrian forces. The observatory counted a further 2,726 unidentified people killed in the conflict. It says the rebels have lost less than half the government toll, a total of 21,850 fighters.
The high government death toll may come as a surprise since the Syrian army makes few infantry attacks on rebel positions, preferring to concentrate on artillery strikes and bombing. But the government troops man hundreds of isolated checkpoints. They are a relatively easy target for night-time ambushes, as in the recent battle which prompted a major clash in the largely Christian village of Maaloula. Others die on their way to work.
October 8th, 2013, 9:55 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Hey little dudes, American US nationals hear this:
You think your nation is the best and you are the best people in the world. Well I think it is totally on the contrary. You are useless in the international scene and your government has been a total disaster for the last 50 years. Your discontrol of the world is based on oil-dollar-weapons mafia.
I write from Europe, you colonized Europe just and only when Russians had done the dirty job of ending Hitler criminal forces. You are cowards and do not dare to fight not Russia nor a dirty thug like Assad in Syria today.
French and British did it 100 times better than United States when dealing with Middle East countries.
US had to créate Pearl Harbour and 11-S to keep momentum but now with sad Obama all is going to flush to the toilette.
October 8th, 2013, 9:56 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
SANDRO
Fine, if it makes you happy.
October 8th, 2013, 11:25 am
omen said:
hezbollah death squads.
brutal. graphic.
https://twitter.com/rlamsfuss/status/387604089715974145
October 8th, 2013, 11:56 am
omen said:
337. you get no argument from me, sandro. i wish france would intervene.
damn sarkozy. if he hadn’t been smeared with false charges that cost him reelection, he might have done it.
speaking of eu was listening to a discussion when a pundit referenced europe during the 50s as the economic golden years. this after the continent was ravaged by war in the late 40s. see, things can turn around. gave me hope for syria.
October 8th, 2013, 12:22 pm
zoo said:
Noam Chomsky on Syria
Noam Chomsky | On Shutdown, Waning US Influence, Syrian Showdown
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/19287-in-conversation-with-noam-chomsky-on-us-politics-global-affairs-and-capitalist-reform
….
HS: Turning now to foreign policy, it seems as though news about Syria has effectively vanished from the mainstream media since the agreement was reached to confiscate Assad’s chemical weapons arsenal. Can you comment on this silence? Does it reflect Western apathy vis-à-vis foreign conflicts, which are mostly viewed through sanitized television news programs?
NC: …..
Syria is bad enough, it’s a pretty terrible atrocity. But there are much worse ones in the world. So for example, the worst atrocities in the past decade have been in the Congo, the Eastern Congo, where maybe 5 million people have been killed. Horrible atrocities, and we’re [the United States] involved, not directly but indirectly. The main mineral in your cellphone, coltan [a black metallic ore], comes from the Eastern Congo. Multinational corporations are there exploiting the very rich mineral resources of the region. A lot of them are backing militias which are fighting one other to gain control of the resources or a piece of the resources. The government of Rwanda, which is a US client, is intervening massively, and Uganda to an extent. It’s almost an international war in Africa. Well, how many people know about this? It is the worst atrocity underway. But it’s barely in the media, and people just don’t know about it. And that’s quite generally true.
What happened in Syria was, President Obama had made a statement announcing what he called his “red line”: You can’t use chemical weapons, you can do anything else but [use] chemical weapons. Credible reports came through that Syria had used chemical weapons. Whether it’s true actually is still open to question, but it’s very probably true. At that point, what was at stake was what is called credibility. So if you read the political actors, political leadership, foreign policy commentary, they constantly point out accurately that US credibility was at stake, and we have to maintain US credibility. So therefore something had to be done to show you can’t violate our orders. So a bombing was planned, which would probably make the situation worse, but would at least establish US credibility.
And so what is “credibility”? It’s a very familiar notion. It’s basically the notion that is central to the Mafia. So suppose say the Godfather produces some kind of edict and says you’re going to have to pay protection money. Well, he has to back up that statement. It doesn’t matter whether he needs the money or not. If some small storekeeper somewhere decides he’s not going to pay the money, the Godfather doesn’t let him get away with it. The money doesn’t mean anything to him, but he sends in his goons to beat him to a pulp. You have to establish credibility, otherwise conformity to your orders will tend to erode. International affairs runs in much the same way. The United States is the Godfather when it establishes edicts. Others had better live up to them, or else. We have to demonstrate that. So that’s what the bombing of Syria was to have demonstrated.
Obama was reaching a point where he might not have been able to carry it off. There was very little international support, even England wouldn’t support it, which is amazing. He was losing support internally, and was compelled to send the vote to Congress, and it looked as if he was going to be defeated, which would have been a very serious blow to his presidency, to his authority. Luckily for Obama, the Russians came along and rescued him with this proposal [to confiscate Assad’s chemical weapons] which he quickly accepted – it was a way out of the embarrassment of facing likely defeat. They still have the option of bombing if they want to. And incidentally, to add one comment about this, you’ll notice that this would be a very good moment to institute a call for imposing the Chemical Weapons Convention on the Middle East. The actual Chemical Weapons Convention. Not the version that Obama presented in his address to the nation and that media commentators repeat. What he said is that the convention bars the use of chemical weapons. He knows better. And so do the commentators. The Chemical Weapons Convention calls for banning the production, storage and use of chemical weapons, not just the use. So why omit production and storage? Reason: Israel produces and stores chemical weapons. So therefore the US will prevent the Chemical Weapons Convention from being imposed on the Middle East. But it’s necessary to evade this by misrepresenting the convention, and I think maybe 100 percent of the media, or close to it, go along. But that’s a critical issue. Actually, Syria’s chemical weapons were developed largely as a deterrent to Israeli nuclear weapons. Also, not mentioned.
October 8th, 2013, 1:09 pm
Hamoudeh al-Halabi said:
Remember the “WMD Lies” of Iraq?
http://freehalab.wordpress.com/2013/10/08/remember-the-wmd-lies-of-iraq/
October 8th, 2013, 1:15 pm
zoo said:
Radicalisation of Syrian rebels a threat
The rise of hardline jihadists in Syria has made the situation much worse for the opposition groups, much worse for the West and much better for the Al Assad regime
By James Traub
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/radicalisation-of-syrian-rebels-a-threat-1.1240845
….
President Al Assad has received two enormous gifts in recent months. The first is the Russian-brokered deal to remove Syria’s chemical weapons, which distracted attention from his relentless campaign to kill and terrorise his enemies and compelled western governments to work with him as the country’s legitimate ruler. The second is ISIS, which has also deflected attention away from the war between the regime and the rebels and has vindicated as nothing else could Al Assad’s persistent claim that he is confronting, not political opponents, but “terrorists,” as his Foreign Minister, Walid Al Mua’alem, recently claimed at the United Nations.
For this reason, it has become a fixed conviction in Antakya that ISIS functions as a secret arm of the regime. This sounds like an all-too-understandable conspiracy theory, yet even western diplomats I have spoken to consider it plausible, if scarcely proved. In the summer of 2012, Al Assad released from prison a number of jihadists who had fought with Al Qaida in Iraq and who are thought to have helped form ISIS. Reporters, activists and fighters also note that while regime artillery has flattened the FSA’s headquarters in Aleppo, the ISIS camp next door was left untouched until the jihadist group left. The same is true in the fiercely contested eastern city of Raqqa. ISIS, for its part, has done very little to liberate regime-held areas, but has seized control of both Raqqa and the border town of Azaz from FSA forces.
Maybe it is just a conspiracy theory. Aaron Zelin, a Syria analyst who closely follows the dynamic among rebel groups, dismisses the idea as “partly wish-fulfilment and partly delusion”.
October 8th, 2013, 1:15 pm
omen said:
341. zoo said: Noam Chomsky on Syria
the regime gasses babies (something zoo doesn’t have a problem with) but it’s the world that lacks credibility.
thank you mr. chomsky. you just gave the regime a permission slip to ratchet up the killing. and it’s free to do so because the world suffers from the sin of not being perfect.
do these people listen to themselves? the world’s gone insane.
October 8th, 2013, 1:51 pm
omen said:
i put up an argument about obama being culpable, you responded, i countered. this is how this works. i wasn’t hostile to you in those exchanges. so i don’t see why you think i’m “attacking the messenger.”
perhaps you feel defensive because i faulted you in #164 on the question of regime blame. i concede i may of been unduly irritated. had i read your earlier note at #162 which i had regrettably initially overlooked, my tone would have been less accusatory.
nicely stated.
October 8th, 2013, 1:57 pm
CITIZEN said:
314. UZAIR8
Just from Putin for U ! enjoy it !
http://youtu.be/T8jFh8dvrh8
http://www.globalresearch.ca/russian-advanced-weapons-for-syria-unrevealed-secrets-of-vladimir-putins-recent-visit-to-london/5339559
Russia: “Syria Will Be Armed With Weapons That Have Never Been Seen Before In the Middle East”
http://www.infowars.com/russiasyria-will-be-armed-with-weapons-that-have-never-been-seen-before-in-the-middle-east/
October 8th, 2013, 2:15 pm
Hopeful said:
#345 Omen
You misunderstood me. The messenger in this case is Obama, delivering a message to Syrians that the US public does not want the administration to intervene in Syria.
Americans are tired of wars, tired of being hated everywhere, tired of being blamed for everything, tired of sending their kids to die in foreign lands, and tired of having their tax dollars wasted. Obama was elected to deliver this message to the world.
American foreign policy is actually much more predictable than you think. You want to know why all US presidents support Israel? No, it is not the almighty Jewish lobby influencing US policy. It is this: http://www.gallup.com/poll/126155/support-israel-near-record-high.aspx. US policy follows public opinion. The people swaying public opinion hold all the cards.
October 8th, 2013, 2:20 pm
omen said:
you are simply wrong here. the president is much more empowered than you give him credit for.
ivo daalder, former ambassador to nato and early obama advisor on foreign policy, admitted earlier on npr it is within obama’s discretion to unilaterally intervene in syria, absent congressional approval, even absent unsc resolution. it would be legal to do so.
this is just not so. US policy acts outside of public sanction all the time. while polls have shifted towards acceptance, use of drones initially did not have support. public does not support cia kidnapping suspects off the street, shipping them off to foreign shores to be tortured. the public does not support covert support for dictators and death squads. the public doesn’t support unrestricted nsa spying. yet despite lack of public support, the US engages in all sorts of illicit & illegal activities.
you’ve romanticized the mythology of america as a democracy, i fear. we live in a system where billionaire campaign dollars buys policy. where corporate interests own government. senator durbin candidly admitted about congress “banks own the place.” they own the white house too. the non wealthy majority simply don’t matter. the public are continually short-changed.
October 8th, 2013, 2:35 pm
ALAN said:
347
../../..
The International Peace Research Institute (IPRI) in Oslo, Norway, compiled a dataset for assessing armed conflict in the world between 1946 and 2001. For this time period, IPRI’s research identified 225 conflicts, 163 of which were internal conflicts, though with “external participants” in 32 of those internal conflicts. The number of conflicts in the world rose through the Cold War, and accelerated afterward.[21] The majority of conflicts have been fought in three expansive regions: from Central America and the Caribbean into South America, from East Central Europe through the Balkans, Middle East and India to Indonesia, and the entire continent of Africa.[22]
Another data set was published in 2009 that revealed much larger numbers accounting for “military interventions.” During the Cold War era of 1946 to 1989 – a period of 44 years – there were a recorded 690 interventions, while the 16-year period from 1990 and 2005 had recorded 425 military interventions. Intervention rates thus “increased in the post-Cold War era.” As the researchers noted, roughly 16 foreign military interventions took place every year during the Cold War, compared to an average of 26 military interventions per year in the post-Cold War period.[23]
Interventions by “major powers” (the US, UK, France, Soviet Union/Russia, and China) increased from an average of 4.3 per year during the Cold War to 5.6 per year in the post-Cold War period. Most of these interventions were accounted for by the United States and France, with France’s numbers coming almost exclusively from its interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. During the Cold War period, the five major powers accounted for almost 28% of all military interventions, with the United States in the lead at 74, followed by the U.K. with 38, France with 35, the Soviet Union with 25, and China with 21.[24]
In the post-Cold War period (1990-2005), the major powers accounted for 21.2% of total military interventions, with the United States in the lead at 35, followed by France with 31, the U.K. with 13, Russia with 10, and China with 1. Interventions by Western European states increased markedly in the post-Cold War period, “as former colonial powers increased their involvement in Sub-Saharan Africa,” not only by France, but also Belgium and Britain.[25]
Meanwhile, America’s actual share of global wealth has been in almost continuous decline since the end of World War II. By 2012, the United States controlled roughly 25% of the world’s wealth, compared with roughly 50% in 1948.[26] The rich countries of the world – largely represented by the G7 nations of the U.S., Japan, Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Canada – had for roughly 200 years controlled the majority of the world’s wealth.[27] In 2013, the 34 “advanced economies” of the world (including the G7, the euro area nations, and Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea) were surpassed for the first time by the other 150 nations of the world referred to as “emerging” or “developing” economies.[28]
Thus, while the American-Western Empire may be more globally expansive – or technologically advanced – than ever before, the world has itself become much more complicated to rule, with the ‘rise’ of the East (namely, China and India), and increased unrest across the globe. As Zbigniew Brzezinski noted in 2009, the world’s most powerful states “face a novel reality: while the lethality of their military might is greater than ever, their capacity to impose control over the politically awakened masses of the world is at a historic low. To put it bluntly: in earlier times, it was easier to control one million people than to physically kill one million people; today, it is infinitely easier to kill one million people than to control one million people.”[29]
Empire Under Obama, Part 1: Political Language and the “Mafia Principles” of International Relations
http://rinf.com/alt-news/breaking-news/empire-under-obama-part-1-political-language-and-the-mafia-principles-of-international-relations/77076/
October 8th, 2013, 2:37 pm
ALAN said:
syria is egypt 2.0, with a more zio-western algorithm….
The Muslim Brotherhood – like the Syrian “rebels” still wreaking havoc upon that nation – are quite the opposite of the “democracy-loving peaceful protesters” the Western corporate media is portraying them to be. The Muslim Brotherhood, also active in Syria alongside other horrific death squads, has been caught in clear video evidence of violence in the form of shooting at security forces, coordinated attacks on Christian churches, and throwing political opponents off of rooftops.
The violent Muslim Brotherhood attempt to overthrow the military government of Egypt and replace it with an Islamist Muslim Brotherhood creation is, in reality, nothing more than an attempt by the West to destabilize Egypt as a result of the new government’s nationalistic tendencies.
Thus, it appears that a refusal to join in a war with Syria and Ethiopia, impose austerity, and capitulate to the IMF has caused the Egyptian government and military to create for itself some very powerful enemies. Only time will tell if the Egyptian military will be able to outlast the Islamist element supported by the West as well as Assad has been able to do in Syria. One can only hope that it can.
October 8th, 2013, 2:42 pm
Hopeful said:
#348 Omen
“you are simply wrong here. the president is much more empowered than you give him credit for.”
Yes of course he is, I am not saying he is not legally empowered. I am saying that, unlike the Arab dictators, US presidents find it very difficult to act against the public will, especially when it comes to wars. Even Bush had to campaign for months to sway public opinion before going into Iraq, even though he had congressional support to do so.
We will have to agree to disagree on how we view American democracy. Having lived in the US for over 20 years, I believe the public has significantly more power than people give them credit for.
October 8th, 2013, 2:53 pm
ALAN said:
Russia, Syria and the Decline of American Hegemony
ISRAEL SHAMIR
…./../….
The US is built on the theology of exceptionalism, of being Chosen. It is the country of Old Testament. This is the deeper reason for the US and Israel’s special relationship. Europe is going through a stage of apostasy and rejection of Christ, while Russia remains deeply Christian. Its churches are full, they bless one other with Christmas and Easter blessings, instead of neutral “seasons”. Russia is a New Testament country. And rejection of exceptionalism, of chosenness is the underlying tenet of Christianity.
For this reason, while organised US Jewry supported the war, condemned Assad and called for US intervention, the Jewish community of Russia, quite numerous, wealthy and influential one, did not support the Syrian rebels but rather stood by Putin’s effort to preserve peace in Syria. Ditto Iran, where the wealthy Jewish community supported the legitimate government in Syria. It appears that countries guided by a strong established church are immune from disruptive influence of lobbies; while countries without such a church – the US and/or France – give in to such influences and adopt illegal interventionism as a norm.
As US hegemony declines, we look to an uncertain future. The behemoth might of the US military can still wreck havoc; a wounded beast is the most dangerous one. Americans may listen to Senator Ron Paul who called to give up overseas bases and cut military expenditure. Norms of international law and sovereignty of all states should be observed. People of the world will like America again when it will cease snooping and bullying. It isn’t easy, but we’ve already negotiated the Cape and gained Good Hope.
Counter Punch
October 8th, 2013, 3:02 pm
zoo said:
324. Ghufran said:
“It took the USA 2.5 years to discover that Syria needs a strong” …leadership.
The opposition puppets showed to the USA what they are.. just straw beggars with no hope of competing with Bashar al Assad for the leadership of the Syrians.
After 100,000 death in Syria, the murder of the Libyan leader, the destitution of their allye Mobarak, a coup to destitute their second choice, Morsi, the collapse of the “promising’ political Islam and the resilience of Bashar al Assad’s secular army and government, the USA is finally starting to grasp a bit of the forces in presence and the real aspirations of the Arabs.
October 8th, 2013, 3:19 pm
ALAN said:
Joe Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock (MADE IN JAPAN) for 6 a.m. While his coffeepot (MADE IN CHINA) was perking, he shaved with his electric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG). He put on a dress shirt (MADE IN SRI LANKA), designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE) and tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA).
After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet (MADE IN INDIA) he sat down with his calculator (MADE IN MEXICO) to see how much he could spend today. After setting his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN) to the radio (MADE IN INDIA) he got in his car (MADE IN GERMANY) and continued his search for a good paying AMERICAN JOB.
At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day, Joe decided to relax for a while. He put on his sandals (MADE IN BRAZIL) poured himself a glass of wine (MADE IN FRANCE) and turned on his TV (MADE IN INDONESIA), and then wondered why he can’t find a good paying job in…..AMERICA….. 🙂
October 8th, 2013, 3:22 pm
ALAN said:
‘Syria trending toward radical jihadists, not moderate rebels’ – Lavrov (EXCLUSIVE)
http://youtu.be/dKKk4pMmTUw?t=4s
October 8th, 2013, 3:45 pm
zoo said:
Losing one’s career to say the truth: “Saudi intelligence was behind the attacks and unfortunately nobody will dare say that.”
The Ghouta Chemical Attacks: US-Backed False Flag? Killing Syrian Children to Justify a “Humanitarian” Military Intervention
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-ghouta-chemical-attacks-us-backed-false-flag-killing-children-to-justify-a-humanitarian-military-intervention/5351363#sthash.xFym0kV7.dpuf
….
The MintPress article, published on 29th August, through interviews with rebels, family members, and villagers in Eastern Ghouta, alleges that elements within the opposition were responsible for the alleged chemical weapons attack on 21st August, and that those chemical munitions had been supplied through Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan…
Dale is under mounting pressure for writing this article by third parties. She notified MintPress editors and myself on August 30th and 31st via email and phone call, that third parties were placing immense amounts of pressure on her over the article and were threatening to end her career over it. She went on to tell us that she believes this third party was under pressure from the head of the Saudi Intelligence Prince Bandar himself, who is alleged in the article of supplying the rebels with chemical weapons.
On August 30th, Dale asked MintPress to remove her name completely from the byline because she stated that her career and reputation was at risk. She continued to say that these third parties were demanding her to disassociate herself from the article or these parties would end her career. On August 31st, I notified Dale through email that I would add a clarification that she was the writer and researcher for the article and that Yahya [Ababneh] was the reporter on the ground, but did let Gavlak know that we would not remove her name as this would violate the ethics of journalism. (Phil Greaves, Syria: Controversy surrounding MintPress Chemical Weapons Ghouta Report)
The information according to which Saudi intelligence was allegedly implicated in the Ghouta chemical attacks was mentioned by a UN official who wished to remain anonymous:
A senior United Nations official who deals directly with Syrian affairs has told Al-Akhbar that the Syrian government had no involvement in the alleged Ghouta chemical weapons attack: “Of course not, he (President Bashar al-Assad) would be committing suicide.”
When asked who he believed was responsible for the use of chemical munitions in Ghouta, the UN official, who would not permit disclosure of his identity, said:“Saudi intelligence was behind the attacks and unfortunately nobody will dare say that.” The official claims that this information was provided by rebels in Ghouta…
October 8th, 2013, 4:18 pm
ALAN said:
. The most dangerous …
… are the ignorant, selfish cowards for hell&death …
… those that try to believe themselves to be good
… while just being supporters? of war and deception
October 8th, 2013, 4:56 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
This is how nus-lira sectarian murderers treat those who opened their homes to them during their cowardly adventure in 2006. The men are wounded. What can one expect from those who idolize a man who smashed the head of a child.
October 8th, 2013, 4:59 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
ALAN,
I am waiting for the day when you will swallow your words, too many words. Criminals use to get the reward sooner or later.
October 8th, 2013, 5:56 pm
zoo said:
After turning against Syria to join the MB mafia and its collapse in all Arab Spring countries, is Hamas’s presence in Qatar hampering GCC-Israel rapprochement. Syria said they would host Hamas again but not Meshaal
Turkish PM Erdo?an meets Hamas leader Mashaal in Ankara
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-pm-erdogan-meets-hamas-leader-mashaal-in-ankara.aspx?pageID=238&nID=55930&NewsCatID=338
It came at a time when rumors suggest that Mashaal, currently in exile in Qatar, is searching for another place to live.
October 8th, 2013, 7:11 pm
zoo said:
Egypt Revokes Permit for Brotherhood’s NGO
By Associated Press Oct. 08, 2013Add a Comment
(CAIRO) — Egypt’s interim government has revoked the permit for a non-governmental organization set up by the Muslim Brotherhood.
Tuesday’s move by the Cabinet is the latest in its push to dismantle the Brotherhood, from which ousted President Mohammed Morsi hails.
It follows a Sept. 23 court ruling that banned the Brotherhood and its affiliates, and ordered its assets confiscated.
The Brotherhood’s NGO was registered in March, while Morsi was still in power. It was set up as one of the two main legal faces of the Islamist group, which was outlawed for most of its 85-year existence.
Read more: http://world.time.com/2013/10/08/egypt-revokes-permit-for-brotherhoods-ngo/#ixzz2hAvbS6k8
October 8th, 2013, 7:16 pm
zoo said:
Thanks again to the opposition who brought that Sunni scourge to Syria .
U.S. fears radical Islamists could take root in Syria
Officials say Syria is now the global focal point for militants who want to wage holy war, eclipsing Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.
WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence officials are increasingly concerned that Al Qaeda and other radical Islamist groups could carve out a haven in Syria that will offer the kind of sanctuary they once enjoyed in northwestern Pakistan, current and former U.S. officials say.
Officials say a clandestine CIA program that provides rudimentary training and weapons to U.S.-backed politically moderate insurgents is unlikely to curb the growing strength of extremists among the opposition militias seeking to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Though the fighting remains limited to Syria, U.S. intelligence officials already are looking at worst-case scenarios if the country breaks into distinct government- and rebel-controlled enclaves. The alarm grew recently when militants from Al Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda affiliate considered the most capable and best-armed rebel force, and its allies seized a border crossing between Syria and Jordan near the Syrian city of Dara.
“I think Syria is heading toward becoming the next FATA,” said a U.S. official regularly briefed on intelligence, referring to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, where Al Qaeda and its allies plotted attacks against the West until U.S. drone strikes and other counter-terrorism efforts decimated their forces.
October 8th, 2013, 7:18 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Heads-up has determined that every Syrian must eliminate a low life Hezboola terrorist, or a low life mullocrat terrorist or a low life serpent-head (Ass-Had) supporter in order for the Syrians to become once again defenders of freedom, dignity, honor and those they love.
The alternative is for the Syrians to become pathetic fighters by slogans, or be killed by the terrorist supporters of Assad.
October 8th, 2013, 7:36 pm
zoo said:
After the humiliation inflicted on him by USA who refused to attack Syria, despite the well planned chemical attack scenario, furious Bandar ben Sultan is preparing to kill more, by replacing the ailing FSA with new well paid blood
“For us in Saudi Arabia, the worst scenario is to let Bashar survive this: he has to go,”
Saudis bankroll new rebel force to fight own war on Assad
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2013/10/08/Saudis-fund-new-rebel-force-to-fight-own-war-on-Assad/UPI-14171381256329/
Saudi Arabia is forging a new alliance of Islamist rebels in Syria under a pro-Saudi warlord to supersede the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army. UPI/Ahmad Deeb
Published: Oct. 8, 2013 at 2:18 PM
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Oct. 8 (UPI) — Saudi Arabia, exasperated with U.S. vacillation related to Syria’s chemical arsenal and now its effort to reconcile with Iran, Riyadh’s foremost adversary, is forging a new alliance of Islamist rebels in Syria under a pro-Saudi warlord to supersede the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army.
Riyadh also wants to foment an Iraq-style “Sunni Awakening” to unite Syria’s majority sect to topple the minority Damascus regime of President Bashar Assad.
Middle East analyst Michael Weiss, writing in the Beirut Web portal Now Lebanon, observed Riyadh has “taken substantive measures to circumvent Washington altogether on Syria by activating a cadre of new clients in the form of a hard-line Salafist rebels who are now united under the umbrella of the army of Islam. …
“The Saudis have enlisted ’50 brigades’ and some thousands of fighters under a new structure headed by Zahren Alloush, head of Liwa al-Islam, the new group’s most powerful Salafist brigade.”
Alloush studied Islamic theology in Saudi Arabia where his father Abdallah is a Salafist cleric.
The Saudi move is also a response to last week’s formation of a hard-line Islamist alliance of 13 groups, including the powerful Jabhat al-Nusra, allied with al-Qaida, and to isolate the jihadists who’re proving to be the most effective anti-regime force in Syria.
The plan seems to be to buy control of disaffected rebel bands, many of them without strong leadership, and to forge them into a well-armed force capable of battering Assad’s regime.
“For us in Saudi Arabia, the worst scenario is to let Bashar survive this: he has to go,” said Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi analyst close to Riyadh’s power elite.
“The world can ignore what’s happening in Syria, but this is on our doorstep and it’s on fire with sectarian flames that will reach all neighboring countries.”
The Saudi strategy has been engineered in large part by Prince Bandar bin Sultan, head of the General Intelligence Directorate, and his brother Prince Salman, named deputy defense minister by Abdullah in August.
Bandar, Abdullah’s nephew, was ambassador to the United States for 22 years (1983-2005).
He’s a master of Middle Eastern intrigue and played a key role in several covert operations with the Americans, including arming Islamist mujahedin against the invading Soviets in Afghanistan throughout the 1980s.
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2013/10/08/Saudis-bankroll-new-rebel-force-to-fight-own-war-on-Assad/UPI-14171381256329/#ixzz2hB6LkpLD
October 8th, 2013, 8:03 pm
Ghufran said:
The uncompromising tone from Assad regarding Geneva 2 is due to putin’s success in avoiding a strike on Syria ( some never believed the strike will come and they were right) and to the continuous losses of rebels on the battle field. The picture as of now does not look promising at all for the rebels, at least in the short term, and without a quick reversal of the army’s gains in central Syria, Ghoutah and southern Aleppo province rebels will have a much harder task to take especially when Isis and Nusra seem determined to defeat whatever is left of other rebel groups. Taking up arms and allowing Islamists in will be remembered as huge strategic mistakes which ,combined with the regime’s determination not to try to contain the uprising peacefully , will make it very hard to achieve the goal of establishing a decent government that rules all over Syria, instead we are left with a destroyed and fractured country that may be unfixable before a decade or two assuming that the war will actually stop today. Watch qalamon and southern Aleppo in the next few weeks.
October 8th, 2013, 8:16 pm
Tara said:
Sound very familiar. Doesn’t it?
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??? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ??? “?????”.. ????? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ???????: ????????, ?????????, ????????.
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???? ?????? ?????? ??????.. ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ???????? ??????.. ??? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ?????? ???????? ????? ?????.. ???? ????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ??? ?? ??? ??? ??????? ??????? ???.. ???? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ?? ???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?? ????.
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???? ???? ????? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ??????? ???? “???? ????”.. ??? ???? ?? ???????.. ???? ????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ????????? ?????.. ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ??? ??? ????? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ??????: ?????? ???? ??? ???? ??????.
???? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ????????.. ???? ??????? ????? ???? ???? ??? ???.. ?? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ???????? ???.
???? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??? ??????? “???? ?? ????”.. ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ??????? ?????.. ???? ?????? ????? ??? ????????.. ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ??? ???????? ???? “????”? ?? ??? ????? ???????? ?? “?? ????” ?? ??? ??? ?????.. ?? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ?? “??? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ?????”.
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?? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????????.. ???? ??? ?????? ???? ????, ???? ???? ??????? ?????????.. ??? ??????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ??? ?? ????.. ????? ????? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ????? ?? ?????.
???? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ???.. ?????? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ????????? ?? ???????? “?????? ??? ??????”. ??? ????? ???? ????? ?????????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ????? ???????. ??? ?? ?????? ???? “??? ?? ??? ??? ?? ????” ??? ????? ??????.
???? ???? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??????? “????? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ???????? ????? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ???? ????? ??????: ?????? ????.. ?????? ????? ????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ????????? ????? ???????? ????? ????? ????? ???????? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ????”.
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October 8th, 2013, 8:37 pm
Tara said:
Let us all remember:
“Assad is clearly neither secular nor civilized, nor is he the protector of minorities. Indeed, sectarianism was created by the regime’s favoritism from the very beginning: esteeming Alawites and Christians over Sunnis, and more recently massacring Sunnis while protecting Christians and other minority groups.
The Syrian rebellion is not ideal, but that does not mean that the Syrian regime is more secular or preferable than the rebels. Raping women in prison and torturing children is not more civilized than the heart-eating man. Forcing a girl to go on TV and say that she has practiced sex jihad is not more humane than beheading opponents on the battlefield. And, brutally killing children in Sunni villages and towns does not make Assad less sectarian than his opponents. ”
….
“The Syrian regime knows how to play this game quite well, much better than the opposition at least. From extremism to minorities, Assad knows how to play his cards…. This includes presenting his regime as a final bulwark against global terror, even though he has his agents carry out the very kinds of attacks he is warning the world about and attributing to his rivals”
….
October 8th, 2013, 9:10 pm
ghufran said:
UK to resume its diplomatic relations with Iran:
???? ???? ???????? ?????????? ????? ???? ??? ????????? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ???????? ??????????? ?? ????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ???????? ????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ??? ?????
October 8th, 2013, 10:21 pm
Sami said:
There are those that claim the revolution was never peaceful, or those that keep pointing at the “Sunni Scrooge” while cheering the slaughter of those Syrians that in spite of the heinous brutality they are faced with they continue to strive to build a ???? ?????.
??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????
??? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ???????? ?????????? ???? ???????? ??? ??? ???????? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ??????.
?????? ??? ??????? ????? ??? ???????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????.
????? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ???????? ????????? ??????? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ???????.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByiEQlM67EVEcG90Q3l1XzZlakE/edit?usp=sharing&pli=1
October 8th, 2013, 11:59 pm
Hopeful said:
#353 Zoo
“..,,the USA is finally starting to grasp a bit of the forces in presence and the real aspirations of the Arabs.”
Whatever happened to the theory that the US was behind all of this?
October 9th, 2013, 12:17 am
hopeful said:
“Libya’s top political authority, the General National Congress, has demanded that the United States hand back the alleged al-Qaeda operative its forces seized from the capital, Tripoli, in a weekend raid.”
You support them against their dictator, you help them militarily and politically, you rally the world to help them…. they kill your ambassador, they host the terrorist who blew up American Embassies and killed Americans, and they get mad at you if you capture him….
This is what the American public thinks.. This is why they are in no mood to support rebels in any Arab country.
October 9th, 2013, 1:20 am
ALAN said:
360. SANDRO LOEWE
stop the attack! I did not blame you in your opinion!
October 9th, 2013, 1:59 am
omen said:
October 9th, 2013, 2:29 am
omen said:
what the public thinks is immaterial. US foreign policy isn’t tied down to public sentiment.
i’ll give you another example. a few months back, washington post published a poll indicating while americans opposed boots on the ground in syria, they liked the idea of following the libya model of intervention. a majority supported the idea of putting up no-fly zones. up in the 60% range, if i recall correctly.
were nfz put up as a result because it held majority support? no.
October 9th, 2013, 2:48 am
omen said:
as yabroud demonstrates (and it being but one example out of many,) syrians are capable of self organizing. syrians can collectively lead themselves. they don’t need some strongarm degenerate dictator telling them what to do. the era of cult of personality is over.
by the way, what does alawism (or shia) have to say when a mere mortal presents himself as being as divine as god?
zoo, when are you going to get over this love you have for hitler? if assad were sunni, would you still be this loyal?
October 9th, 2013, 3:39 am
Hopeful said:
#373 Omen
I remember a movie that came out in the 80’s called “Not without my daughter” which depicted the story of a mother whose daughter was taken by her Iranian father back to Iran. The woman traveled to Iran and smuggled her daughter back out of Iran and back to “safety” in the US.
Every American I asked at the time had the same reaction/conclusion: “Beware of Iranian men – they are bad!”. In the same movie, there was this Iranian man who risked his life to help the mother find and smuggle her daughter.
So here you have an Iranian man, endangering his own life to help a complete stranger in need of help, but not a single audience paid attention to him. They all focused on the “bad kidnapping father”, and generalized based on him.
I do not think Americans are better or worst than other people. It is human nature to “register” the “bad” much strongly than the “good”. The media exasperates this phenomenon by sensationalizing the bad news.
The point I am making is that if one is to hope to affect policy in the United States, one has to pay attention to public opinion, and learn how to sway it. Assad is waging a very focused and fairly successful campaign to cast ALL the rebels in Syria as al-qaeda terrorists, and it is working! I have not seen/heard anything from the opposition side that is even remotely on par with this campaign. I think ignoring the US’s public opinion either because we believe they are “dumb” or because we believe that they do not matter is a HUGE mistake.
October 9th, 2013, 6:42 am
Akbar Palace said:
The point I am making is that if one is to hope to affect policy in the United States, one has to pay attention to public opinion, and learn how to sway it.
Hopeful,
Enjoying your discussion with Omen. What Omen and others have to understand is that for the past generation, the arab and muslim strategy for affecting policy in the United States has been FEAR (aka terrorism).
It is a cheap and long-term, ineffective policy. You do get elements in Western societies who will buy into this fear, but most will not. It will prevent arab and muslim nations from joining organizations like NATO and prevent the West from helping (like Syria). Public opinion will continue to be negative as long as terrorism and despotism is still the main fare in the Middle East. I think most anti-Zionism comes from the fear generated with some concluding (mistakenly) that if Israel wasn’t around, there would be peace. This has always been a small minority POV. And Assad has given added credence to this myth.
October 9th, 2013, 7:52 am
Ghat Al Bird said:
The destruction of Syria has been Nethanyahu’s plan since the 1990’s.
The reason to invade Iraq was part of a report of a Study Group on a New Israeli Strategy Toward 2000, for Bibi Nethanyahu. Former United States Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Perle was the “Study Group Leader”, but the final report included ideas from James Colbert, Charles Fairbanks, Jr., Robert Loewenberg, Douglas Feith, David Wurmser, and Meyrav Wurmser.
The plan proposed new policies:
Rather than pursuing a “comprehensive peace” with the entire Arab world, Israel should work to “contain, destabilize, and roll-back” those entities that are threats.
“SYRIA challenges Israel on Lebanese soil. An effective approach, and one with which American can sympathize, would be if Israel seized the strategic initiative along its northern borders by engaging Hizballah, Syria, and Iran, as the principal agents of aggression in Lebanon,
That Given the nature of the regime in Damascus, it is both natural and moral that Israel abandon the slogan comprehensive peace and move to contain Syria, drawing attention to its weapons of mass destruction programs, and rejecting land for peace deals on the Golan Heights.
That Israel can shape its strategic environment, by focusing on removing Saddam Hussein from power in IRAQ.— an important Israeli strategic objective in its own right — as a means of foiling Syria’s regional ambitions.
So far the goal of the plan has now been taken over directly jointly by Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The Clean Break Plan in its entirety can be read on Wikipedia.
October 9th, 2013, 8:52 am
zoo said:
Hopeful
Yabroud? One third of the population is Christians and they have never allowed any Jihadist in. That’s why they are safe to develop themselves, unless Al Nusra gets there. Being at 1,500 m elevation, the chance the Islamists get there is low. It also benefit economically from the proximity of Lebanon. Their revolution has been pacific as it should have been all over Syria. A small town independence is not an “alternative to a central government” , it is just has a decentralized authority.
What about Al Raqqa? any comment on how they are developing and their “alternative governement”?
” This moderate Sunni and Christian town, with its neat rows of houses and tidy tree-lined streets, has remained exemplary of the ideals of the peace activists who began the civil uprising against a dictatorship in 2011. It is a place where civilians, not armed fighters, have taken control of the town’s future, and brought a working alternative to Assad’s government. Yabroud is the model town of what the Syrian revolution could be.
The town had even escaped the attentions of the Assad regime, most likely because one third of its population are Christian – one of the minorities in Syria, which the government says it wants to defend. ”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10358200/Inside-Syrias-model-town-Peace-until-al-Qaeda-arrived.html
October 9th, 2013, 8:54 am
omen said:
you are right. PR is very important. saudis were able to shield themselves from being held accountable for 9/11 because they paid big bucks to PR shops.
true, opposition has failed to dismantle assad propaganda and replace it with convincing counter narrative for a free syria. but PR doesn’t come cheap.
activism and lobbying government – also very important. but we also have to understand, for every public interest lobbyist assigned to a congressperson, there are a gazillion corporate lobbyist stealing his/her attention.
chalabi did not win support for US invasion because he was charming nor particularly persuasive.
we invaded iraq because it benefited corporate interests.
assad is waging a campaign against rebels, slandering them all as terrorists. but US officials, such as hillary clinton, early on insinuated rebels were alqaeda. this was two years ago when fsa was barely formed and there were zero foreign fighters on the scene.
corporate media from the start jihadist mongered.
so we have assad, obama administration and corporate media all on the same page regarding the opposition. interesting convergence.
corporate media would not reinforce assad’s narrative like this if it didn’t suit corporate agenda. you look at who sits in the board of directors for major media orgs – they’re all corporate execs!
i predicted two years ago that obama would throw syrians under the bus in order to achieve rapprochement with iran. not only for egotistical reason to cap his legacy with the achievement but also to bring iran in from the cold and return her back again into the western sphere.
with saudi reserves in decline, europe & china are going to need iranian fuel. since american corporate interests are now tied to chinese prosperity, chinese interests are also US interests.
the best PR campaign in the world isn’t to waylay what global ruling elites have already deemed necessary.
October 9th, 2013, 9:21 am
Akbar Palace said:
You Couldn’t “Plan” it any Better
The destruction of Syria has been Nethanyahu’s plan since the 1990?s.
Ghat Al Bird,
It looks to me Bashar Assad has taken BB’s “plan” and executed it to a tee. How can I contact him?
If Assad can safely get out of Syria and appear in the Knesset, Assad would get more awards and medals than Ariel Sharon.
October 9th, 2013, 9:29 am
zoo said:
Hopeful
More than one group or countries with different, sometimes complementary sometimes opposing agendas are behind the uprising in Syria. The USA is one of them. After Iraq, it did not want to intervene. It just relied on its proxies, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey to destroy the arrogant and anti-Israel government in Syria and after these clowns made it a mess and Russia intervened directly, Obama had no choice that to openly entered in the game.
The USA has learn some from the disastrous and bellicose interference of Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia that has only lead zto have the country partly controlled by Al Qaeda.
The USA now fully support a political deal with the Syrian government and is looking for a way to stop Al Qaeda settling in Syria. They have not yet found out how, as they prefer not to intervene directly like they did in Afghanistan for 10 years with no result.
They can only count on the ‘good rebels’, the Hezbollah and the Syrian army to do the job.
Which one do you think they will need to reinforce so they get results?
October 9th, 2013, 9:38 am
omen said:
i too earlier once suggested if arabs gave a damn, they’d threaten an oil embargo.
as for your “why blame obama” question:
i don’t know what the big mystery is. you should know this answer yourself. multiple msm reports have repeatedly confirmed that US is pressuring arab countries against intervening.
contrary to the punditry (and zoo) braying how weak obama is, this is a testament to the kind of power US wields when collective arab countries, as well as turkey, have complied.
this earlier report from last year by tony badran gives us a glimpse into obama’s “nyet” campaign:
October 9th, 2013, 10:24 am
Akbar Palace said:
Omen,
Thanks for the reply.
i don’t know what the big mystery is. you should know this answer yourself. multiple msm reports have repeatedly confirmed that US is pressuring arab countries against intervening
Omen,
Oooooh! Since when did the arabs care about american “pressure”? Especially “Obama pressure”? Assad isn’t afraid. Iran isn’t afraid. So, this is a sorry excuse for arabs not taking the initiative to save the lives of their own people.
Israel has been flying around the world bombing targets that threaten them as well as saving fellow jews from critical situations (Entebbe, Ethiopians, etc).
Why not send in an elite force to do what Obama should have done and wipe out or disrupt the Syrian government. I’m thinking specifically of the KSA, who were involved (marginally) against Saddam or the Egyptians who are now trying to regain control of the Sinai. What a boost this would be to arab morale, to take matters in their own hand! At this point, the arabs seem like little babies that need mommy’s permission!
October 9th, 2013, 10:39 am
zoo said:
It’s not about Islam it’s about you pay the most
Institute for the Study of War Analyst Says Syria’s Rebels Are Following the Money
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131009005888/en/Institute-Study-War-Analyst-Syrias-Rebels-Money
WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The resources and effectiveness on the battlefield of radical Islamic groups in Syria are drawing more moderate rebels into their camp – at least for now, according to Valerie Szybala, a Syria analyst at the Institute for the Study of War.
According to Szybala, private donors in the Gulf (notably Saudi Arabia and Qatar) are driving the ascendance of rebel brigades in Syria that espouse religious identities. These fighting groups are generally better armed and equipped as well as more organized and disciplined than groups that do not have access to this backing. At the same time, a lack of Western support to the FSA has meant that rebel groups cannot rely on it, and many have lost trust. Many of the rebels who join groups that espouse an Islamic ideology do so simply because they are much more effective on the battlefield. And as the Syrian conflict grinds on well into its third year, the appeal of winning battles against increasingly brutal regime forces cannot be underestimated.
This means that the presence of “radical” groups in Syria is not actually a good indicator that the opposition is being “radicalized.” Instead we should be looking at how effective these incentives (massive influxes of money and supplies from radical clerics in the Gulf) have been at influencing the rhetoric of the armed opposition, particularly in recent months. This fact suggests that ideological lines have not been hardened and that anyone willing to commit resources can make themselves heard on the ground.
October 9th, 2013, 10:48 am
omen said:
oh, i don’t know…since shock & awe? since abu ghraib? since cia renditions? since nsa spying on everyone. since drones killing anybody they please?
what? you thought this kind of mistreatment reserved only for poor people?
assad is protected because obama has been appeasing iran.
October 9th, 2013, 10:58 am
zoo said:
Despite the huge propaganda to shield the real culprit of the chemical attack only a minority of people worldwide believe in the Western scenario that Bashar al Assad was responsible
Poll finds Westerners opposed to mpoplilitary intervention in Syria
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/sns-rt-us-syria-crisis-poll-20131009,0,2867617.story
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Over half of the people surveyed in an international Reuters/Ipsos poll are opposed to foreign military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and more are against their own countries intervening in the conflict.
The poll, conducted in 15, mostly European countries, also found that only about a third of respondents held Syria’s government accountable for using chemical weapons despite Western efforts to blame Assad for an August 21 sarin gas attack.
October 9th, 2013, 11:06 am
zoo said:
Turkey: more lies to hide its worries about Al Qaeda possible incursion from Syria
Turkey denies building wall on Syrian border despite locals’ claim
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-328568-turkey-denies-building-wall-on-syrian-border-despite-locals-claim.html
Deputy Prime Minister Be?ir Atalay has denied that Turkey is building a wall at its border with Syria, even though the mayor of a border town and witnesses on the ground say digging has started for the construction of one.
Atalay, speaking on Tuesday in a meeting on Syrian refugees in Ankara, briefly said that the reports of the wall being built did not reflect reality, but he added that measures are being taken to enhance border security.
October 9th, 2013, 11:10 am
Hopeful said:
Reading through the past few posts, clearly Obama (and the US in general) is stuck between a “Zoo” and a “Omen” – a rock and a had place.
October 9th, 2013, 11:10 am
zoo said:
The repeated empty calls of the discredited Arab league
Al-Arabi urges int”l moves to stop infighting in Syria
09/10/2013 | 05:42 PM | Arab News
CAIRO, Oct 9 (KUNA) — Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil Al-Arabi said here on Wednesday it is necessary for the international community to take swift moves to stop infighting and bloodshed in Syria.
Addressing a session of the Arab League at the level of delegates, held upon request from Palestine, Al-Arabi called on the UN Security Council to live up to responsibility to put an end to the Syrian crisis.
He unveiled that the league was coordinating with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in order to issue a joint call for warring parties in Syria to stop infighting during Eid al-Adha in order to allow for humanitarian aid to reach millions of Syrians who have been suffering from humanitarian problems for a couple of years.
He elaborated on Arab diplomatic moves in New York to resolve the current worsening situation in Syria, including a call on the UN Security Council to move to put an end to bloodshed in Syria.
October 9th, 2013, 11:13 am
omen said:
US isn’t israel. oligarchs who run the US don’t really care what happens to americans.
khobar towers, marine base bombing in beirut, US soldiers killed in iraq — all killed by iranian lead shia militias or assad.
yet the US refuses to hold iran accountable for this – because of conflict of interest. securing energy future is the higher priority. no name, non rich americans are expendable.
October 9th, 2013, 11:13 am
omen said:
i still have hopes rebels will kill assad – despite obama.
October 9th, 2013, 11:17 am
Akbar Palace said:
Phone Calls your Mother would like to see NewZ
Reading through the past few posts, clearly Obama (and the US in general) is stuck between a “Zoo” and a “Omen” – a rock and a had place.
Hopeful,
cc: Omen
And the arabs are stuck between “shock and awe”!
Omen,
Have the Egyptian, Syrian and Turkish military chiefs contact the GOI and we’ll all put an end to Assad in a New York minute.
Obama can watch on TV.
October 9th, 2013, 11:20 am
omen said:
re-edit that, akbar, because that doesnt make sense.
October 9th, 2013, 11:22 am
omen said:
you have to ask the gcc states and turkey why. all i know is that they’ve complied. proof is in the pudding. saudis haven’t sent their fighter jets to bomb assad & turkey hasn’t put up a nfz.
October 9th, 2013, 11:28 am
omen said:
Have the Egyptian, Syrian and Turkish military chiefs contact the GOI and we’ll all put an end to Assad in a New York minute.
are you drunk? i dont drink this early in the day.
October 9th, 2013, 11:36 am
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Heads up found that it is extremely important for Syrians to re-read the following heads up:
Heads up has determined that Syrians talk a lot and do very little. You want the world to help you? Then, help yourself by doing more fighting of Assad (pronounced Asshead) and less talking. Syrians need to fight the Serpent and crush its poisonous head and not talk and ask the world to fight on their behalf.
Over the last 50 years of Serpent rule, Syrians have become fighters by slogans and less fighters for issues that matter most: dignity, honor and protection of loved ones.
The world cannot and will not do this fight on your behalf.
Go and fight and talk less.
October 9th, 2013, 11:40 am
omen said:
problem with this argument is that saddam was a check on iran.
US removing saddam benefited assad & iran because it put into power a shia regime.
AIPAC lobbied to remove saddam. why did israel act to benefit iran?
October 9th, 2013, 11:47 am
zoo said:
Headsup
“The world cannot and will not do this fight on your behalf.”
You seem to realize that your “guided” protector’s money is having a negative effect on the fighters. They fight for money and not anymore for revolutionary ideals.
It’s a Syrian crisis and only the Syrians can solve it through renouncing to war.
October 9th, 2013, 12:33 pm
Uzair8 said:
Press Tv
Islamic Awakening continues: Leader
Wed Oct 9, 2013
Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the West should not think the Islamic Awakening in the region has come to an end.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/10/09/328473/islamic-awakening-continues-leader/
Dear Zoo et al, is that good news..or bad news..from your perspective? I don’t know whether to congratulate you or commiserate…
October 9th, 2013, 1:19 pm
Akbar Palace said:
AIPAC lobbied to remove saddam. why did israel act to benefit iran?
Omen,
Iran, Iraq, Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas; what do they all have in common?
As you recall, Saddam originally invaded Kuwait in 1990. So the US had to save another arab state: Kuwait. This has nothing to do with Israel, and it brought to the attention of the US that Saddam was a wild ass thug and not to be trusted.
Then 10 years went by where Saddam became the arab world’s leading muqawamista. He violated the terms of his cease fire, and he started sending checks to the families of (suicide) Palestinian bombers. Like Iran, Saddam refused to comply with several UNSC resolutions.
“The international community, especially the U.S., continued to view Saddam as a bellicose tyrant who was a threat to the stability of the region.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddam_Hussein
Israel understands that all these nations are enemies and pose a threat, and the threats change monthly and yearly. Saddam’s threat was realized in Scuds that fell throughout Israel AND Saudi Arabia. Israel, if you recall in the first Gulf War, wanted to invade Iraq to destroy Scud launchers. The US lobbied Israel from doing that.
History repeats itself.
October 9th, 2013, 1:34 pm
Hamoudeh al-Halabi said:
Bosnia and Syria: Genocide, Extremism and Intervention
http://freehalab.wordpress.com/2013/10/09/bosnia-and-syria-genocide-extremism-and-intervention/
October 9th, 2013, 1:35 pm
zoo said:
MI5 Chief: Syrian Jihadist Groups Aspire to Attack the West
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/360781/mi5-chief-syrian-jihadist-groups-aspire-attack-west-patrick-brennan
The head of the United Kingdom’s Security Service, colloquially known as MI5 and essentially the British equivalent of the CIA, gave one of his occasional public speeches yesterday and laid out the terrorist threats Britain faces. He noted that Islamic terrorism remains a consistent threat around the world, but issued a surprisingly direct warning about the risk from jihadist groups fighting Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria right now, some of which are linked to al-Qaeda. They don’t match the theat of core al-Qaeda yet, he said, but it’s a growing problem:
Al Qaida and its affiliates in South Asia and the Arabian Peninsula present the most direct and immediate threats to the UK. For the future, there is good reason to be concerned about Syria. A growing proportion of our casework now has some link to Syria, mostly concerning individuals from the UK who have travelled to fight there or who aspire to do so. Al Nusrah and other extremist Sunni groups there aligned with Al Qaida aspire to attack Western countries.
October 9th, 2013, 1:53 pm
zoo said:
Rejected by most Arab countries, Hamas is looking for a less coward host than Qatar
Will Hamas Relocate to Turkey?
Michael Rubin
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2013/10/09/will-hamas-relocate-to-turkey/
Hamas is a terrorist group in search of a home. Uprooted by the Syrian civil war, and shaken by the Egyptian coup, the Hamas leadership has taken temporary shelter in Qatar, but that tiny emirate is showing every sign that they want the Islamist radicals to move on. So where would a radical Islamist terrorist group dedicated to the eradication of the State of Israel and whose charter endorses the crudest anti-Semitism turn? Perhaps to Turkey, America’s NATO ally and a country whose leader President Obama identified as one of his top personal foreign friends
October 9th, 2013, 2:06 pm
Tara said:
“Ayatollah Khamenei said these important incidents are the results of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution which from the very beginning came with the promise of the emergence of a lasting, national and developing power.
“After more than three decades, Western and American nightmares have become a reality and a major national and regional power has emerged which has not been brought to its knees despite various political, economic, security and propaganda pressures,” the Leader said.
Ayatollah Khamenei also said that this major power has influenced regional nations.”
—
Isn’t that an explicit admittance that political Islam in its current shape is owed to the Islamic revolution and that the Islamic Republic of Iran aspires to become a national and regional power?
And the gullible Obama believes that Iran will let off its dream? Iran represents the neo-imperialism in the ME and is the major threat to the world peace. It is evolving around the concept of shiaa supremacy and using deceit to get to its goal. Iran should never be allowed to develop nuclear weapon.
October 9th, 2013, 2:20 pm
omen said:
401. Akbar Palace:
Like Iran, Saddam refused to comply with several UNSC resolutions.
guess who else refuses to comply to UN resolutions? first letter starts with an I.
re kuwait: didn’t ambassador april glaspie give saddam a green light?
re israel: what’s a couple of scuds from iraq when iran is brewing nukes?
saddam was a bulwark against iran.
October 9th, 2013, 2:30 pm
omen said:
this demonstrates the ridiculous extent to which obama is appeasing iran.
100k dead, syria laying in ruins but we refuse to call assad a terrorist!
October 9th, 2013, 2:41 pm
Tara said:
Iran in its current shape is an evil country. It revolves around a religious ideology. One can not dialogue or negotiate with religious ideology. It is stiff, illogic and is not amenable to negotiation. Those ayatollahs perceive themselves as God representative and his word. Is God amenable to dialogue and negotiation They also uses deception and pretense. Hasn’t the west learned any lesson?
The only way to stop Iran from possessing a chemical weapon is to neutralize it by force. Its nuclear facility should be droned. Any attempt of negotiation is self-deception. Few more years and the whole world will become under the mercy of a bearded mulla with black towel on his head and resolution to bend the world to the will of his perceived “God”.
October 9th, 2013, 2:49 pm
Akbar Palace said:
guess who else refuses to comply to UN resolutions? first letter starts with an I.
Omen,
UNGA and UNSC resolutions carry much different weight. UNGA resolutions are meaningless. Even UNSC resolutions are non-binding unless special wording is used or Chapter 7 cited.
re kuwait: didn’t ambassador april glaspie give saddam a green light?
Maybe. It is debatable. But remember, it took several weeks to ramp up forces and material do knock Saddam out of Kuwait. Saddam could have seen the writing on the wall and retreat back to Iraq. He chose to stay in Kuwait.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Glaspie
what’s a couple of scuds from iraq when iran is brewing nukes?
Omen,
Where do you live? If someone were to launch 39 scuds in your direction, what would you want your government to do? Don’t play down Scud missile attacks. The Iraqi scud that that fell in Saudi Arabia killed 27 Americans.
http://articles.latimes.com/1991-02-26/news/mn-1889_1_scud-attack
Scuds are highly powerful and lethal. Depending on the Scud, they can be accurate or not so accurate.
So as I said before, every year the GOI has challenges to her security whether it is Scuds, nuclear reactors, nuclear missiles, CW, GRAD missiles or a terrorist with a knife.
saddam was a bulwark against iran.
Saddam was murderer, thug and muqawamista. The Iranian government is no different. The Syrian “government” is no different. The Hamas and Hezbos are no different.
Different flavors of the same thing.
Omen,
My humble suggestion is to wash your hands from these “freedom fighters” and seek out leaders who respect basic human rights. If you want a government that goes to war with the Zionist Entity, or Kuwait, or Iran or Iraq or the Syrian people then vote for one and keep your fingers crossed.
October 9th, 2013, 3:18 pm
Hopeful said:
#392 Omen
I have hopes that Assad and his gangsters will be overthrown, and Syria will recover and move along the path of democracy.
But I do not wish to see any more deaths, not even Assad’s and his murderous thugs. Enough of deaths. Revenge is not the answer.
October 9th, 2013, 3:58 pm
omen said:
akbar, iraqi scuds didn’t kill israelis.
iran has killed more americans than anybody. iran proxy has killed over 100k syrians. but instead of dishing out to the mullahs the saddam treatment, iran is being prepped by the west to be soon handed a “get out of jail free” card.
He chose to stay in Kuwait.
the infamous highway of death? coalition forces attacked an iraqi army who were retreating.
wash your hands from these “freedom fighters”
in other words, ignore the 21st century’s new holocaust.
“never again,” eh, akbar? or does that term only apply in protecting your own sect? you should be ashamed of yourself.
people used to wonder how the world could have allowed the genocide of jews during ww2. now we have american israelis, such as alan grayson, lobbying against holding assad accountable by arguing “it’s none of our business.” what a betrayal. people who know better than anyone the ramifications of what it means to have been abandoned by the world – now lobby to abandon syrians.
this after assad gassed babies. imagine arguing we should wash our hands of the matter whilst hiter gassed the jews. never again, akbar.
October 9th, 2013, 4:23 pm
ALAN said:
Every time when writes here about Iran should write about Saudi Arabia!And your understanding is enough!
Saudis bankroll new rebel force to fight own war on Assad
http://stratrisks.com/geostrat/15835
Saudi Arabia, exasperated with U.S. vacillation related to Syria’s chemical arsenal and now its effort to reconcile with Iran, Riyadh’s foremost adversary, is forging a new alliance of Islamist rebels in Syria under a pro-Saudi warlord to supersede the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army.
Riyadh also wants to foment an Iraq-style “Sunni Awakening” to unite Syria’s majority sect to topple the minority Damascus regime of President Bashar Assad……
This introduction of hired mercs to replace the SFA simply means more misery and suffering for the Syrian people, and Saudi Arabia has absolutely no guarantee that this tactic is going to be successful in the ouster of Al-Assad.
This approach hasn’t worked for over the last two years, so why the Saudi leadership believes it will work now?
October 9th, 2013, 4:41 pm
zoo said:
Poor Jarba, he is totally detached from reality. His conference in Istanbul on the 7th Oct was so pathetic that media hardly reported it even in the Turkish press.
#Syria – SyrCoalition – NC – press conference
http://news.yahoo.com/photos/syrias-opposition-chief-ahmad-jarba-speaks-during-press-photo-205254959.html
Jarba: There will be no dialogue with the Assad regime, a national dialogue takes place btwn nationalists who want the best for the country.
Jarba:Our goal is to prepare conditions for a conducive transfer of power and bringing to justice those who committed crimes against Syrians
Jarba: We have requested that prior to any negotiation process there must be guarantees from Islamic and Arab states.
Jarba: In particular KSA, Qatar, UAE, Turkey, and Jordan, and all that must be under the supervision of the Arab League.
Jarba: We have rejected the participation of Iran as a broker in any negotiation process.
Jarba: Iran is occupying Syrian land and it has mercenaries that are killing the Syrian people including Hezbollah’s militias.
Jarba: If Iran is to take part of any negotiation process it should be standing with the regime but not as a mediator.
Jarba: If Iran wants to broker, it should withdraw its Rev. Guards Corps and mercenaries, who have come from Lebanon and Iraq, from Syria.
Jarba: We have reiterated to everyone we have met the importance of those parameters in any feasible negotiation process.
Jarba: If the int’l community must agree to discuss with the Supreme Military Council and revolutionary forces.
Jarba: it will then be brought before the General Assembly of the Syrian Coalition for a vote.
https://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2013/10/08/syria-syrcoalition-nc-press-conference-jarba-there-will/
October 9th, 2013, 4:54 pm
Tara said:
Alan,
KSA doesn’t own nuclear capability, Iran does. KSA does not evolve around a religious ideology, Iran does. KSA has no dream of becoming a neo-imperialist, Iran does.
October 9th, 2013, 4:59 pm
zoo said:
Iran refuses to accept predefined Western goals as conditions to attend the Geneva conference.
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/16ca4ef6-dea2-45fb-8cde-14d8b2455027.aspx
The US State Department said on Monday Washington would be more open to Iran taking part in a “Geneva 2” conference seeking an end to the war if Iran publicly supported a 2012 statement calling for a transitional authority to rule Syria.
But Iran rejected any conditions being placed on it to participate in diplomatic efforts on Syria, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said on Tuesday evening.
“If our participation is in the interest of achieving a solution, it will be unacceptable to set conditions for inviting the Islamic Republic of Iran, and we accept no conditions,” Afkham said, according to the state-run Press TV.
A June 2012 “Geneva Communique” sought to chart a path to a diplomatic resolution of the conflict, and was agreed to by major powers such as the United States and Russia, Gulf states, and Syria’s neighbours Iraq and Turkey — but not Iran, which was not invited to those talks.
The agreement called for a transitional governing authority but left open the question of whether Assad must leave power.
October 9th, 2013, 5:06 pm
omen said:
did you know this? interview with an energy reporter discussing the benefits of lifting sanctions:
October 9th, 2013, 5:16 pm
omen said:
this is the kind of lobbying obama pays attention to.
corporations cant wait to cash in.
dont forget, obama is not to blame for refusing to intervene!
October 9th, 2013, 5:23 pm
ALAN said:
memo to AP debate!
Elie Wiesel’s statements about Israel’s 2008-09 attack on Gaza don’t add up.
On September 29, Wiesel appeared alongside Sheldon Adelson, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Shmuley Boteach to talk genocide and about how the “strong” can protect the “weak” in the context of the chemical weapons attack in Syria in August. “Israel is part of our lives. It is truly part of mine,” Wiesel said on stage.
At the conclusion of the bizarre event, Max Blumenthal and I asked the world’s most famous Holocaust survivor an obvious, though unasked, question: who would protect the people of Gaza from Israel?
His first answer (minute 6:20 in the video above) was that “all human beings should be protected everywhere.” When I pressed him about the 300 children killed in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead and whether he supported the assault, his response was: “I don’t know anything about it.” Blumenthal and I each tried one more time, and Wiesel again said he didn’t know anything about Cast Lead.
But Wiesel knows about Israel’s 2008-09 attack on Gaza. In September 2009, Wiesel, Alan Dershowitz, Elliott Abrams and others signed an NGO Monitor letter that criticized Human Rights Watch’s reporting on the “recent Gaza conflict.” In February 2010, Wiesel told Haaretz that the Goldstone report, which documented human rights violations committed by the Israeli army during its assault on Gaza, was “a crime against the Jewish people.”
Richard Goldstone and his team personally confirmed the deaths of 47 children in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead.
But Wiesel says he doesn’t know anything about the killing of children in Gaza. How seriously can we take his pronouncements on Israeli policy or international affairs if he’s not aware of these basic facts?
http://youtu.be/o-SAgejsFrA?t=49s
October 9th, 2013, 5:27 pm
ALAN said:
Syrian Sufis Divided
As Salafist Influence Grows
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/10/syria-sufi-salafi-war-islam.html
October 9th, 2013, 5:46 pm
ALAN said:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/08/1245335/-Rep-Michele-Bachmann-declares-that-we-are-in-the-End-Times-His-day-is-at-hand?detail=email#
New conspiracy theory from the far-right proclaims that Obama is secretly arming al-Qaeda-linked terrorists in Syria.
October 9th, 2013, 5:52 pm
ghufran said:
Some remarkable developments on the battle field in Damascus, southern Aleppo, Yarmouk refugee camps plus the intensifying fight between islamists and Kurds. None of that is good for rebels, this means that you will hear new calls for a cease fire, which I support. Let Syrians figure this out and choose their government and their leaders, if Assad allowed that we may not have to fight Islamists and Jihadists in the first place:
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more:
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this is the rebels response: bombing a refinery in Homs:
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????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? “????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ??????? ??????? ??????? ????????? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ?????”.
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October 9th, 2013, 5:56 pm
omen said:
zoo, your evil rebels gave warning to workers before shelling (arabic)
imagine saa being so courteous.
remember, regime siege of old homs is starving 10,000 people. hopefully, this will impact that and allow food aid to get thru.
another calamity akbar wants us to ignore.
October 9th, 2013, 6:19 pm
Sami said:
Picture of Damascus from Jobar at night.
https://twitter.com/MajdArar/status/388014267762352128/photo/1
Can’t wait on how the “rebels” are to blame for cutting the electricity off on themselves and their families and other idiotic blame the victims garbage…
October 9th, 2013, 9:26 pm
Tara said:
????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ?? ??????
????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????? ????????? ??? ???? ??????? ????? ?????? ???????? ??? ??? ???????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ????. ?? ??? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? 63 ???? ????? ????? ?? ?????.
???? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ???? -???? ??? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ??? ??????? ????- ?? ?????? ????? ??? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ????? “? ? ?”? ????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ??????.
???? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ????? ??????.
???? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ???????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ???????? ???? ????? ?????.
Congrats to the FSA and inshallah the day when Damascus is free comes soon.
October 9th, 2013, 10:13 pm
Hopeful said:
Omen
Take a look at this chart:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/165317/republican-party-favorability-sinks-record-low.aspx?
Notice how support for republicans has dropped ten points since the beginning of the government shutdown.
Now notice how the republicans in the next few days will back down on their effort to defund Obamacare, and make a deal with the White House.
This is how the US work. Anyone who says the US is a sham democracy is just repeating talks of intellectual conspiracy theories and elitists who like to think the public is too dumb to understand what is going on.
October 10th, 2013, 1:00 am
Badr said:
I’m not willing to bet the farm on the following scenario eventually happening!
Syria, realigning the war
By Paul Rogers
openDemocracy
October 10th, 2013, 4:26 am
omen said:
hopeful, i started following politics more closely after gore was robbed. i watched one corporate giveaway after another fly thru congress with ease. even ones with harmful ramifications for the public health. it did not matter if it was dem or gop held.
i used to do activism to counter policies. didn’t matter how big the grassroots opposition was, sickening legislation would get passed anyways. once in a blue moon, there is a rare victory. keystone pipeline halted, for example, but that really is a can kicked down road. obama will still probably pass it in the end. hard to change anything when living in a corrupt system where money buys votes. where corporate lobbyists are even allowed to write legislation. obamacare was drafted by an insurance executive.
Notice how support for republicans has dropped ten points since the beginning of the government shutdown.
these fools wont lose their jobs because of it. because of gerrymandering of districts, most gop seats are assured. the only threat they face is being primaried by lunatic teabaggers. most races have already been calculated. they already know who will win.
unless you’re caught in bed with a dead girl or live boy, incumbents have a ridiculous 90-98% chance of being reelected. takes money to win elections and incumbents have the advantage of having already banked a war chest.
October 10th, 2013, 5:50 am
Akbar Palace said:
Hopeful, deal with Omen for me Please NewZ
akbar, iraqi scuds didn’t kill israelis.
Omen,
What are you trying to say? That Israel should have absorbed 39 Scud missile firings without responding or defending herself? BTW – Israel was lucky. A few were killed and may were seriously wounded. The thousands of missiles coming in from Gaza and Lebanon are no different. NO NATION can live with random missiles flying into population centers.
Now, tell us, what would the US do if ONE scud were to fall within the United States?
http://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/26/world/war-in-the-gulf-scud-attack-scud-missile-hits-a-us-barracks-killing-27.html
iran has killed more americans than anybody. iran proxy has killed over 100k syrians. but instead of dishing out to the mullahs the saddam treatment, iran is being prepped by the west to be soon handed a “get out of jail free” card.
I agree with you. I think most people realize Iran is the terrorist “power broker”. Rouhani has always been close to the important players within the theocracy.
the infamous highway of death? coalition forces attacked an iraqi army who were retreating.
What is your point? That Saddam Hussein army should not have been attacked? Give us a short summary of what the Iraqi army did in Kuwait. I mean, tell us the WHOLE story instead of bits and pieces.
in other words, ignore the 21st century’s new holocaust.
Omen,
Let me tell you a little secret: people are getting slaughtered all over the world. From a few hundred here and there to several thousand. Saddam Hussein was responsible more deaths, believe it or not, than Assad. I, for one, am not sorry the US conducted “regime change” in Iraq, and I think the US should conduct “regime change” in Syria. But look how the US was soooo aggressively criticized in the arab world for our operation in Iraq.
And as far a holocausts are concerned, we’ve learned that you can not trust ANYONE except your own. On this point you’ve only offered the excuse of “US pressure”. To prevent a holocaust you have to trust your own family to save you. Are the arabs going to watch as their own brethren are killed in Syria or are they going to do what Obama wants them to do?
The Egyptian military doesn’t care about Obama:
http://news.yahoo.com/special-report-real-force-behind-egypts-revolution-state-090940526.html
Why don’t they crush the Assad family?
“never again,” eh, akbar? or does that term only apply in protecting your own sect? you should be ashamed of yourself.
Why the sarcastic tone Omen? Jews have learned that when push comes to shove, you can only rely on yourself. I think most people understand this.
people used to wonder how the world could have allowed the genocide of jews during ww2. now we have american israelis, such as alan grayson, lobbying against holding assad accountable by arguing “it’s none of our business.” what a betrayal. people who know better than anyone the ramifications of what it means to have been abandoned by the world – now lobby to abandon syrians.
Omen,
People and nations will not change. Not for jews or anyone else. Anyone who puts their trust in another nation for their self defense and safety are fools. Jews learned it the hard way. Now we have our own nation to protect ourselves. What is YOUR excuse for arabs in Syria?? Why are you blaming non-arabs, when arabs have several militaries armed to the teeth?
this after assad gassed babies. imagine arguing we should wash our hands of the matter whilst hiter gassed the jews. never again, akbar.
And your point? That genocides post-WW2 were supposed to be a thing of thee past? I guess not. And what are you suggesting? That Israel and jews are supposed to save Syrians that 3 years ago were chanting “Death to the Jews!”? Get real Omen.
October 10th, 2013, 7:19 am
Akbar Palace said:
Obama’s approval rating hits a low of 37%
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=230635128
PS – Government shutdown is great. Our government has needed to contract for a long time now and has grown way too large. This is one fast way to cut it. Kudos Republicans!
Enjoy the “free” healthcare!
October 10th, 2013, 7:24 am
ALAN said:
again and again Saudi Arabia!
Unholy Israel – Saudi Arabia Alliance
Israel and Saudi Arabia are rogue states writ large. They’re two of the world’s worst. They deplore democratic values. They spurn rule of law principles. They commit horrendous human and civil rights abuses. They’re responsible for daily crimes against humanity.
http://www.veteransnewsnow.com/2013/10/10/228490-unholy-israel-saudi-arabia-alliance/
October 10th, 2013, 7:35 am
omen said:
October 10th, 2013, 7:39 am
omen said:
October 10th, 2013, 7:41 am
zoo said:
Syria’s largest city comes back online
Aleppo is back on the Internet through a connection to Turkey, according to Renesys
By Jeremy Kirk
IDG News Service – Internet service has been restored to Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, with a renewed connection to Turkey’s largest telecommunications provider, according to Internet monitoring company Renesys.
Aleppo’s connectivity wobbled in August as users reported outages amid Syria’s continuing 30-month-old civil war. Renesys, which monitors global connections between ISPs, noticed disruptions between Turk Telecom and the Syrian Telecommunications Establishment (STE), which primarily affected Aleppo.
It hasn’t been clear if the outages in Aleppo were the result of government action through STE, or as one press report indicated, caused by the rebels.
But on Tuesday, there were signs that STE was cooperating with the Syrian Computer Society (SCS) to allow that organization to connect to Turk Telecom, which provided the majority of connectivity to Aleppo. SCS has run networks in Syria in the past.
October 10th, 2013, 8:34 am
zoo said:
“Discreet” Turkish Hakan Fidan and “flamboyant” Saudi Bandar Ben Sultan are the chief spymasters plotting for the destruction of Syria
“There is no doubt in Turkey where the spymaster stands. Mr. Fidan is “the No. 2 man in Turkey,” says Emre Uslu, a Turkish intelligence analyst who writes for a conservative daily. “He’s much more powerful than any minister and much more powerful than President Abdullah Gul.”
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/turkeys-spymaster-plots-own-course-024800553.html
On a rainy May day, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan led two of his closest advisers into the Oval Office for what both sides knew would be a difficult meeting.
It was the first face-to-face between Mr. Erdogan and President Barack Obama in almost a year. Mr. Obama delivered what U.S. officials describe as an unusually blunt message: The U.S. believed Turkey was letting arms and fighters flow into Syria indiscriminately and sometimes to the wrong rebels, including anti-Western jihadists.
Seated at Mr. Erdogan’s side was the man at the center of what caused the U.S.’s unease, Hakan Fidan, Turkey’s powerful spymaster and a driving force behind its efforts to supply the rebels and topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
In the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings, Mr. Fidan, little known outside of the Middle East, has emerged as a key architect of a Turkish regional-security strategy that has tilted the interests of the longtime U.S. ally in ways sometimes counter to those of the U.S.
“Hakan Fidan is the face of the new Middle East,” says James Jeffrey, who recently served as U.S. ambassador in Turkey and Iraq. “We need to work with him because he can get the job done,” he says. “But we shouldn’t assume he is a knee-jerk friend of the United States, because he is not.”
Mr. Fidan is one of three spy chiefs jostling to help their countries fill a leadership vacuum created by the upheaval and by America’s tentative approach to much of the region.
One of his counterparts is Prince Bandar bin Sultan al-Saud, Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief, who has joined forces with the Central Intelligence Agency in Syria but who has complicated U.S. policy in Egypt by supporting a military takeover there. The other is Iran’s Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, commander-in-chief of the Quds Forces, the branch of the elite Revolutionary Guard Corps that operates outside of Iran and whose direct military support for Mr. Assad has helped keep him in power.
….
October 10th, 2013, 8:41 am
ALAN said:
http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20131009/184019920/Russia-Sends-Azov-Warship-Back-to-Mediterranean.html
October 10th, 2013, 8:47 am
zoo said:
Best option for Syria: stalemate
While Assad’s compatriots cut each other’s throats, we can enjoy relative peace
http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/10/10/inenglish/1381408539_502447.html
…
Of all the articles I have read on this matter recently, the nearest to the mark of the raw reality is, I think, that of Edward N. Luttwak, which appeared in The New York Times and then in Le Monde. With a cold pragmatism that disregards humanitarian and legal considerations, he sets forth in clear terms what his country’s interests are, after the sour experiences of Afghanistan and Iraq. A victory for Assad, he says, would strengthen the Shiite axis of Hezbollah and Iran: a serious setback for Washington and her ally Israel. A victory for the extremist rebels would spread jihadism throughout the Middle East and the Arabian peninsula. Thus, only one solution can do the United States any good: a prolonged stalemate. To this end, he says, “we have to arm the rebels when the forces of Al-Assad seem likely to prevail, and suspend these supplies when the rebels seem to be gaining the advantage.”
In short: let them go on fighting until they wear each other out, though it may take years. While they cut each other’s throats, we can enjoy relative peace. Machiavelli could not have put it better, without a glimmer of concern for the fate of millions of victims, in a land in ruins. But as the old maxim says, abusus non tollit usum.
October 10th, 2013, 8:54 am
Islamism As Internationalism? | Democratic Revolution in Syria said:
[…] of tensions and internal contradictions within Syria’s traditionally conservative society and the increasingly religious, Islamist rebellion to the surface. When Assad’s security services detained and […]
October 10th, 2013, 10:37 am
zoo said:
The SNC is recruiting islamist fighters in Lebanon. Is it also behind the bombs and assassinations attempts?
Lebanon charges 12 over bomb, assassination plots
http://gulfnews.com/news/region/lebanon/lebanon-charges-12-over-bomb-assassination-plots-1.1241771
A colonel who defected from the Syrian army has been arrested for recruiting Lebanese to fight
…..
“Meanwhile, a judicial source said police had arrested former Syrian army colonel Ahmed Amer in Tripoli as he sought to recruit potential rebels.
He was seized at an unspecified date “when he arrived from Istanbul, where he had met leaders of the Syrian opposition”, the source said.
“A CD and a USB memory stick in his possession… contained maps of military installations” in Syria, the source added.”
October 10th, 2013, 11:08 am
zoo said:
Very promising.Will Hamas move away from Iran toward Saudi Arabia ?
Hamas-Salafist Rapprochement in the Gaza Strip
8-point plan could end deadly conflict raging between Hamas and Salafist factions
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/10/article55318870
…
Sources informed Asharq Al-Awsat that clerics from Kuwait and Qatar visited the Gaza Strip last May, accompanied by well-known Egyptian cleric Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, chairman of International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS). The Gulf clerics have been involved in seeking an amicable end to the ongoing disputes between Hamas and the Salafists.
Qaradawi and the other clerics met with both sides in lengthy talks to resolve the escalating conflict which has led to a number of Salafists being arrested and killed in the Gaza Strip by the ruling Hamas movement.
Maqdisi said: “All parties initially agreed to show good faith until the signing of the final agreement, and this has now taken place.”
October 10th, 2013, 11:24 am
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
As a Syrian, I don’t care how America operates. Neither should any Syrian care whether Obama and his Democrats win or the Republicans for that matter. This is all a side show when it comes to the pressing Syrian issue of fighting the Serpent-head (Ass-head supreme). America is totally irrelevant, and if you listen to it you will suffer more setbacks and end up with fake and empty promises. This is how America has been since it was created. It always lies to the world.
For that reason Syrians must learn how to become better fighters than empty talkers. And the Guided Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is already guiding the Syrians out of the 50 years of Serpent rule in which they were trained as sloganeering puppets of treacherous serpents and their stooges of hated Hezboola terrorists and their mullocrat low lives.
It is incumbent upon all Syrians to follow the Guidance of the Guided Kingdom in order to achieve success in the fight against the rattle snakes and the reptilian terrorists. After the Syrians succeed in this fight, they will then move to the next stage of building a successful Syria in the image of the respected and successful Guided Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
So again, go and fight and do less talking. Consult with the Guided KSA representatives on how to accomplish your objectives. Otherwise, meet your fate as a pathetic sloganeer.
October 10th, 2013, 11:27 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
AP, you said
Criticism is useless blabber, especially when it comes from the two groups trying to drag the region into the fringes on the left or the right.
However, active terrorism against both Iraqi civilians and our forces in Iraq had two sources, with whom our successive administrations have miserably failed to deal with with are the dirty alliance between Iran mullas regime and Syria’s dog-poop regime, and the lunatic rich merchants in KSA and Kuwait who dream of ruling the world through Alqaida useless dark ages states.
The New Yorker has a great article on the biggest
fishskunk in the world of terrorism today and the man who has been moving and leading much of the terrorist organizations in the region and is now leading dog-poop campaign of murder, terror, and destruction of Syria. Of course, he is Iranian and very close to the evil man in Qum. Here is a quote from the articleAn Arabic version of the article is being published in a sequence and made available so that Syrians can know their real enemies and about the Iranians who must be arrested and sent to the Hague along with dog-poop.
Shouldn’t we deal these skunks a body blow now! As for the skunks who support their terrorism, they will fade away into oblivion once the smelly parasites like dog-poop athad and this Qasim Suleimani are dealt with.
October 10th, 2013, 11:38 am
zoo said:
Headsup
You sound increasingly desperate. You are repeating the same message over and over.
Is it because your “guided benefactors’ are loosing steam as Iran is getting the upper hand and the fear of a Arab Shia power terrifies you more everyday?
October 10th, 2013, 11:52 am
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Heads up has determined that this site attracts few psychopaths that are best dealt with by ignoring them. Heads up advises non-psychopath visitors to do the same.
October 10th, 2013, 12:20 pm
Akbar Palace said:
Syrian Hamster said:
Shouldn’t we deal these skunks a body blow now! As for the skunks who support their terrorism, they will fade away into oblivion once the smelly parasites like dog-poop athad and this Qasim Suleimani are dealt with.
No one is more for dealing “body blows” to terrorists than me.
However, I am at a loss as to why it is not getting done. I think Obama and the US are war weary. We’ve been in and out of the ME too many times and we have little to show except for thousands of dead soldiers. So this goes back to my question as to why the arab states don’t do something to repair their own neighborhood. I guess if I have to answer this question myself, it would be giving a fox the keys to the hen house.
So basically, we have all the actors pointing fingers instead of fixing problems. Sounds like the US Congress.
October 10th, 2013, 12:25 pm
Uzair8 said:
Posted on Yalla Souriya about an hour ago:
‘Christians are active participants in the Syrian revolution’ – Ayman Abdulnour
October 10, 2013
With his staunch refusal to play the political game, Ayman Abdulnour is one of the more credible voices in the Syrian opposition.
A close university friend of Bashar al-Assad, Ayman Abdulnour served as an adviser to al-Assad during the years he was being groomed for the Syrian presidency following the unexpected death of his brother in 1994. Al-Assad “really wanted to make reforms. We believed in that,” Abdulnour told Al Monitor last year.
[…]
Today, Abdulnour promotes his vision of a non-sectarian, democratic Syria from exile. Last year, Abdulnour founded Syrian Christians for Peace, a pro-opposition humanitarian organization that distributes aid inside Syria. The group’s work also counters the regime-led narrative that Christians support the regime. He denounces the regime’s manipulation of Syrian Christians’ fears of strict Muslim rule in Syria, and in this interview, candidly answers Abdulrahman al-Masri’s questions about whether Syrian Christians really support the regime and why the growing presence of extremist Islamist groups is pushing them to leave Syria for good.
[Q & A]
[…]
October 10th, 2013, 1:08 pm
Uzair8 said:
Posted on Yalla Souriya about an hour ago:
‘Christians are active participants in the Syrian revolution’ – Ayman Abdulnour
October 10, 2013
With his staunch refusal to play the political game, Ayman Abdulnour is one of the more credible voices in the Syrian opposition.
A close university friend of Bashar al-Assad, Ayman Abdulnour served as an adviser to al-Assad during the years he was being groomed for the Syrian presidency following the unexpected death of his brother in 1994. Al-Assad “really wanted to make reforms. We believed in that,” Abdulnour told Al Monitor last year.
[…]
Today, Abdulnour promotes his vision of a non-sectarian, democratic Syria from exile. Last year, Abdulnour founded Syrian Christians for Peace, a pro-opposition humanitarian organization that distributes aid inside Syria. The group’s work also counters the regime-led narrative that Christians support the regime. He denounces the regime’s manipulation of Syrian Christians’ fears of strict Muslim rule in Syria, and in this interview, candidly answers Abdulrahman al-Masri’s questions about whether Syrian Christians really support the regime and why the growing presence of extremist Islamist groups is pushing them to leave Syria for good.
[Q & A]
[…]
October 10th, 2013, 1:11 pm
zoo said:
More thanks to the opposition that brought this Sunni Islamic scourge in Syria
“Some of the leaflets that ISIS circulates include: “The Prohibition of Democracy,” “The Virtue of Jihad Over Remaining Silent,” and “Excommunicating the Alawites”
Al Qaeda’s Syrian Strategy
Can Islamic jihadists win hearts and minds in the war against Assad?b
BY BARAK BARFI, AARON Y. ZELIN | OCTOBER 10, 2013
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/10/10/al_qaeda_s_syrian_strategy
Al Qaeda is storming across northern Syria. Last month, the al Qaeda affiliate the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) captured the city of al-Bab in the northern province of Aleppo from a rival rebel militia. The capture of the city, one of the largest in the region, gives ISIS control over a key transit point linking Aleppo to its strongholds to the east. And that’s just the latest in a long string of ISIS’s military successes: After brief clashes with outgunned rebel opponents, ISIS took the towns of Azaz and Jarablus, which straddle Syria’s border with Turkey.
To commemorate its victories, the first thing ISIS did in these places was hang its black flag from the top of the highest building. After that, it began to gradually impose its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
ISIS has embarked on al Qaeda’s most comprehensive campaign yet to win Arab hearts and minds by providing social services to a war-ravaged society. But though the organization’s star is ascendant, its abuses, coupled with an international strategy to limit its influence, could still torpedo its plan to transform northern Syria into an Islamic emirate under its command.
ISIS is thought to count 5,000 to 6,000 fighters within its ranks. That means it’s a lot smaller than other rebel groups, such as the hard-line Salafi Syrian Islamic Front, which boasts 15,000 to 20,000 fighters. But ISIS has one important advantage: Many of its members have previously fought in other jihads, including in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Libya.
Nowhere is ISIS stronger than in the northern province of Raqqa. It controls the governorate’s capital, Raqqa city, whose prewar population of approximately 277,300 residents has mushroomed due to an influx of displaced persons from other regions. Meanwhile, the brigades affiliated with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) are focused on squabbling among themselves. As a result, no FSA unit is strong enough to challenge the group in Raqqa, making it the largest city al Qaeda has ever controlled in the Islamic world.
ISIS has exploited its grip on the region to supply the provincial capital with the commodities essential to function. It provides most of the wheat for the city’s bread factories, trucking the grain in from its silos in the northern parts of the province on the border with Turkey. It also delivers the majority of the city’s oil needs, drawing on rebel-controlled wells in eastern Syria.
ISIS is doing far more than keeping the lights on. It runs a court with a mix of judges and religious scholars that draws on a strict interpretation of Islamic law. It adjudicates cases ranging from theft to financial malfeasance. According to Raqqan politicians and residents, in one ruling this summer the court ordered that a house confiscated by a rebel brigade be returned to its owner. It also provides abandoned houses to those whose living quarters were destroyed by regime bombings.
ISIS’s Raqqa Outreach Bureau, meanwhile, is trying to educate residents in what it considers the proper teachings of Islam. Raqqan politicians and residents say that the organization distributes pocket Qurans and flash drives with jihadi chants and videos showing the group’s military operations. Some of the leaflets that ISIS circulates include: “The Prohibition of Democracy,” “The Virtue of Jihad Over Remaining Silent,” and “Excommunicating the Alawites”
…..
October 10th, 2013, 1:20 pm
Uzair8 said:
It’s the Q&A I want people to have a look at. Please do check it out.
“The regime played the sectarian card from the first day [of the revolution]. Even before there were Islamic movements or Islamic slogans, Bashar al-Assad and Buthaina Shabaan toyed with Syrians’ emotions on Syrian television. That succeeded in scaring Christians inside and outside Syria through their relatives.”
[…]
“There are a lot of Christians living outside Syria without any relationship to political or economic issues inside. They just come to Syria for 15 days in the summer to visit their relatives and introduce their kids to their hometown.
They do not want problems, the issue means nothing to them. Truthfully, we are trying to communicate to make them understand that this is not correct.”
[…]
“We have a problem, I recognize, that a number of priests are connected and have interests with the regime. We are asking the Christian community still in Syria to withstand this,..”
October 10th, 2013, 1:24 pm
ALAN said:
Syria’s Chemical Weapons: Western Military Alliance and Israel continue to Support Al Qaeda Affiliated Rebels
http://www.globalresearch.ca/syrias-chemical-weapons-western-military-alliance-and-israel-continue-to-support-al-qaeda-affiliated-rebels/5353816?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=syrias-chemical-weapons-western-military-alliance-and-israel-continue-to-support-al-qaeda-affiliated-rebels
Amply documented the Al Nusrah rebels are in possession of chemical weapons.
In an unusual twist, An August 9, 2013 UPI report intimates that the Al Qaeda affiliated Al Nusrah rebels rather than the Syrian government constitute a threat to the security of Israel, an absurd proposition. And that Israel, so to speak, fears that chemical weapons might “fall in the wrong hands”.
Troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad have broken through rebel forces encircling the northern city of Aleppo to secure a major chemical weapons base that, if they can hold it, will be a big help to U.N. experts sent in to destroy Assad’s chemical arsenal.
The sprawling facility at al-Safira is one of the most important chemical warfare centers in Syria, and has been one of the most threatened by the rebels, including hard-line jihadist groups like the al-Nusra Front.
The nightmare scenario for Israeli and Western leaders is that the jihadists get their hands on Assad’s vast armory of chemical weapons and deadly nerve agents like sarin and VX. (UPI, August 9, 2013)
Confirmed by CNN, the rebels were trained in the use of chemical weapons by Western special forces. Moreover, Israel has been supporting Al Nusrah out of the Golan heights, so how on earth could the Al Nusrah rebels constitute a threat to the security of the State of Israel.
The report points to the fact that UN inspectors on the ground have acknowledged that the threat comes from the Al Nusrah rebels:
“The capture of al-Safira [by the government from the rebels], which includes a heavily guarded facility where nerve agents are produced and weaponized, could allow the U.N. specialists to eliminate a significant portion of Assad’s weapons of mass destruction.”
Assad’s forces, supported by mobile artillery and airstrikes, Monday broke through rebel lines to secure the chemical weapons facility at al-Safira, where important defense plants are located, outside the strategic city of Aleppo.
…On Oct. 3, the regime retook the key town of Khanasser near Aleppo which controls the main highway to al-Safira, allowing Assad’s forces to break through to Al-Safira four days later.
“This development will be welcomed even by the United States,whose opposition to the Assad regime is currently outweighed by its concerns for securing the chemical weapons in Syria,” the U.S. intelligence consulting firm Stratfor said. Read complete UPI report……………
October 10th, 2013, 2:21 pm
Hamoudeh al-Halabi said:
Assad’s Neo-Nazi Supporters http://freehalab.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/assads-neo-nazi-supporters/
October 10th, 2013, 2:22 pm
ALAN said:
Oksana Boyko
Crossing Syria (ft. International Committee of the Red Cross President Peter Maurer)
http://youtu.be/RecTylzXnF0?t=21s
October 10th, 2013, 2:25 pm
zoo said:
Iran and US to reconcile their differences so Bashar al Assad looses his “luck” and become “dispensable”? In a decade… maybe
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b0f60e86-2ff5-11e3-80a4-00144feab7de.html#ixzz2hLRbxu59
President Assad has always been lucky.
Securing regional standing and a compromise on nuclear rights might be prize enough for Iran also to consider the Assads dispensable.
October 10th, 2013, 2:28 pm
zoo said:
The opposition accused of premeditated sectarian massacres
“These abuses were not the actions of rogue fighters,” said Joe Stork, acting Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “This operation was a coordinated, planned attack on the civilian population in these Alawite villages.”
Syrian opposition extremists involved in systematic slaughter, says rights group
Thursday 10 October 2013
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syrian-opposition-extremists-involved-in-systematic-slaughter-says-rights-group-8872406.html
Extremist groups within the Syrian opposition are responsible for the mass killing of civilians, executions and hostage-taking in the countryside of north-western Syria, Human Rights Watch claims in a report released on Friday.
The rights group says an investigation into a military offensive by the rebels found strong evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
During the offensive, which began in rural Latakia on 4 August and lasted for two weeks, at least 190 civilians were killed and over 200 hostages taken, according to HRW. The rights group said at least 67 of the victims were executed or unlawfully killed in the attack on pro-government villages.
“These abuses were not the actions of rogue fighters,” said Joe Stork, acting Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “This operation was a coordinated, planned attack on the civilian population in these Alawite villages.”
October 10th, 2013, 2:37 pm
omen said:
not a new argument but i liked how this was phrased.
this is why akbar gets soo irate when i blame obama. he knows when i criticize US foreign policy, is tantamount to criticizing israeli policy.
October 10th, 2013, 2:45 pm
zoo said:
Shias fighters from Iraq and Lebanon defend holy Shia sites in Syria from Sunnis rebels
“The two towns are located near the Shiite pilgrimage site of Sayyida Zeinab in the southern outkirts of Damascus.”
Syria: Scores Killed as Army Attacks Rebels South of Damascus
Scores of Syrian rebels and army forces were killed in fierce fighting south of Damascus.
By Elad Benari
First Publish: 10/10/2013, 4:12 AM
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/172689#.Ulb5NDca5j0
Scores of Syrian rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad were killed in fierce fighting south of Damascus on Wednesday, as the army pressed a major offensive, an NGO told AFP.
The fighting, between rebel brigades and regular troops, supported by militia and elements of Hezbollah, took place in the areas of Husseiniyah, Al-Thiyabiyeh and Bouaydah as government warplanes pounded the area, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
“At least 22 people, the majority of them rebels, including a commander,” were killed, the Britain-based group said, without elaborating.
At the same time, the group said “dozens” of regime forces were killed.
Earlier, the Observatory had said regular troops had reinforced their control of two villages separating Thiyabiyeh and Bouaydah.
For its part, the Local Coordination Committees, a group of militants on the ground, said the Abu Fadel Abbas Brigade composed mostly of Iraqi Shiites, along with Hezbollah fighters and elite troops were carrying out a major offensive.
State news agency SANA said government forces had “tightened their control over the town of Husseiniyah and the outskirts of Al-Thiyabiyeh.”
The two towns are located near the Shiite pilgrimage site of Sayyida Zeinab in the southern outkirts of Damascus.
October 10th, 2013, 3:05 pm
zoo said:
The call from the powerless and manipulated OIC and Arab League will be ignored as were all their previous calls
AL, OIC call for Eid ceasefire in Syria
Reuters, Cairo
The Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) yesterday urged Syrian government forces and fighters battling President Bashar al-Assad to stage a ceasefire during the Islamic Eid al-Adha holiday, which falls next week.
October 10th, 2013, 3:07 pm
zoo said:
While Erdogan accuses Bashar al Assad of being a ‘terrorist’ no one in the whole world buys Davutoglu’s lies that Turkey did not help the Al Qaeda terrorists to slip into Syria
The new threat to Turkey’s security
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/the-new-threat-to-turkeys-security.aspx?pageID=449&nID=55983&NewsCatID=416
….
Meanwhile Davuto?lu, who has lost much of his luster in the eyes of the world, is trying to convince everyone that Turkey did not support al-Qaeda affiliated groups in Syria.
Few in the diplomatic community in Ankara, however, believe that Ankara did not help groups like al-Nusra in the hope that they would be instrumental in toppling the al-Assad regime. Even President Abdullah Gül warned last month that the possibility of members of groups like al-Nusra slipping into Turkey was a threat to the country.
The problem is that these groups have not been slipping into Turkey, but have been slipping into Syria from Turkey without any intervention by the Turkish security forces. They have also been using Turkish hospitals and other facilities without any problems.
Given the point we have arrived at, few can look back and argue objectively that the government’s foreign policy has served Turkey’s interests well, whatever it may have done for the interests of quarters that have nothing to do with Turkey. What is worrying, however, is that the government appears to still be reluctant to face up to the gravity of the situation.
This reluctance, however, cannot shroud the fact that the AKP’s misguided policies have landed Turkey in a situation that could drag Turkish security forces, which are now mandated to cross into Syria if necessary, into Afghanistan like quagmires.
October 10th, 2013, 3:23 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
All the vague and foggy conspiracy tales blaming Rebels/Bandar/Joos/UFOs for the August 21 Sarin attacks rest on one simple ‘let’s suppose.’ The supposition is that manufacture of Sarin is a tottle, a breeze, a walk in the park. As the President of Syria suggested in at least two occasions in recent interviews, making the nerve agent is almost as easy as rolling out pita:
The same ridiculous assertion with Fox News:
So, the President is apparently convinced that making hummous/Sarin in a kitchen is something ‘anyone can do.’
Here’s an article published today by Dan Kaszeta at Bloomberg:
No, You Can’t Make Sarin in Your Kitchen
Nobody calls Sarin ‘kitchen gas’ except Assad, Lavrov and a flutter of nutters. If the central supposition of the fallacy-bloated conspiracies is found to be wrong, how do the conspiracists adjust their cover story?
They don’t. They just repeat it. For a full dip into the pool of nutterzone chemical weapon tales, do read the article that Zoo posted earlier in the thread, from the jolly folks at Global Research … in which all the disparate parts are thrown into the mix and churned.
How the Syrian Chemical Weapons Videos Were Staged by James Corbett, Mother Agnes Mariam, and Prof Michel Chossudovsky.
I close with a succinct allusion to Ockham’s Razor, by Brown Moses, who was trying to explain to a “Let’s suppose” reader just what a convincing ‘RebelsDidIt’ tale must account for:
Where did the rebels acquire the Sarin and how did they deploy it? At this point, not only does a competing theory have to clearly indict the rebels, it also has to explain away existing evidence pointing the finger at the regime. Until a case can be made that does both, there really isn’t much to talk about.
In simple terms, the Rebels Did It tales do not match — neither between them (Joos/Saudi/Hoax/False Flag) — nor more importantly, with what is already known.
I hope that the UN teams publishes details (or photographs) of the types of delivery systems in place to deliver chemical agents. I think even the most implacable regimist would be unsettled if such photos show the exact same weapons IDed at chemical attack sites.
If the UMLACAs (unidentified munitions linked to alleged chemical attacks) are discovered in situ under regime command and control, how will the regime explain it away — or would it even try? They would have to prove that the UMLACAs had been looted, and establish an evidentiary chain. Considering the Kitchen Gas claims put forward by Assad had zero basis in reality, we should expect another round of far-fetched nonsense …
October 10th, 2013, 3:35 pm
omen said:
451. zoo said: The opposition accused of premeditated sectarian massacres
who has been a bigger sectarian murderer than bashar asshat?
why no photos released? because the dead are obvious shabiha killed in the ordinary course of battle.
October 10th, 2013, 3:36 pm
omen said:
304. annie said: I have missed the overdue banning of REVENIRE. Means I can come back. Not that you will have missed my pasting of good pieces but not having access at al jazeera, I am hungry for some Syrian news. What was the problem with Majel ?
welcome back, annie, of course you’ve been missed. did you hear addounia tv got hacked? remember you called for that last summer? what took the opposition so long?
re al jazeera, supposedly, i’m told tunnel bear can help get around geographic restrictions.
by the way, who is majel?
October 10th, 2013, 3:50 pm
ALAN said:
………………
All through the two years of the Syrian conflict the number of Syrians fighting to topple Assad have considerably surpassed the number of Arabs and other non-Syrian Muslims, which were sponsored by Saudi Arabia and Qatar. But this summer the flow of mercenaries in Syria has doubled, therefore the “newborn freedom fighters” started to gain influence in Syria through the branches of “Al-Qaeda” like Jabhat al-Nusra or ISIS. They used that influence to get a hold over the northern regions of the country.
The Islamist field commanders have tested themselves in the new capacity of the mayors and governors of the northern cities and regions which gave them a tremendous amount of influence over the locally deployed rebels. Their ranks are composed of the former Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, Kuwait, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates citizens along with the former militants from Chechnya, Daghestan and the Pakistani Taliban. For instance the Syrian regular forces have recently discovered that one of the militants neutralized by them was a renowned Moroccain field commander that had done time in Guantanamo prison. ………
http://journal-neo.org/2013/10/09/rus-inostranny-e-e-kstremisty-dominiruyut-sredi-myatezhnikov-v-sirii/
October 10th, 2013, 4:16 pm
Akbar Palace said:
Still Not Getting Thru to Omen NewZ
this is why akbar gets soo irate when i blame obama. he knows when i criticize US foreign policy, is tantamount to criticizing israeli policy.
Omen,
You can blame Obama all you want and he deserves it. Just remember, there are another 300+ million Americans here and they all want me to explain why the US should go into Syria.
What do I tell them?
I’m certainly not stupid enough to tell them, “Yeah we should send troops into Syria to help protect Israel.”. Pul-leeeeze!
Blame Obama all you want because the 20+ Arab countries are busy doing what? Oh that’s right, they too busy being “pressured” by our all-powerful liberal nutcase president (LOL).
We certainly can’t criticize the arabs…
(apologies for generalizing, but this is how I feel…they aren’t DOING anything to help their own)
October 10th, 2013, 4:24 pm
ALAN said:
Al Qaeda islamists shoot down dumbo
http://youtu.be/3DEgP2x_tw8?t=1s
October 10th, 2013, 4:27 pm
omen said:
this also explains blinkered assadism:
October 10th, 2013, 5:04 pm
Tara said:
The last straw in HA coffin. It is a party of religious filth. A party that smashes the skull of toddlers and kills the wounded in cold blood.
????? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ???
???? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ??? ???? ????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ????????? ??? ????????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ???????.
??? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ???????? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ???????? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ???????? ????? ???????.
????? ?? ?????? ???????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ????? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ????. ?? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ???????? ????. ????? ???????? ?? ???????? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????????? ???????.
????? ????? ??????? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ??????? ????? ??? ???????? ????? ??????? “????? ????? ??? ???? ???????? ??? ????? ???????”? ????? ??????? “?? ???? ????? ?? ???? ????”.
???? ????? “??????” ??????? “?????” ?????????? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ??????. ??? ??? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?????? “??? ??????? ???????? ?????? ????????? ???????? ???????? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????”.
?????? ???????
???? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ???????? ??? ????? ??? ???????? ?? ???? ??????? ????????? ?? ??? ???? ???????? “?????????” ?? ?????.
?? ??? ????? “?????? ?? ????.. ??? ???? ????? (???? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????) ????? ????? ?????”. ???? ?????? ?? ??????? “?? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ??????”? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ????? ???? ????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ??????.
???? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ?? ?????? “???? ????? ?????????”.
??????? ??????? ???????? ??? ????? ??????? ?????? ?? “??? ???? ????????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ??????? ????. ??? ?????? ??????? ???????”.
???? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????? ???????? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ????? ????? ????? “????? ??? ?????? ????????”? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??? “?? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ???????? ?? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ???????”.
??????:????????
October 10th, 2013, 6:39 pm
Tara said:
?????? ???? ????
??? ???? ????? ???? ???????? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ????? ??????.
???? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ??????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ???????? ???????? ?? ??????/????? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????????.
????? ????? ??????? ????????? ?? ?????????? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ????????? ??????? ?? ???????? ??????? ?????? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ???????? ???? ???????? ?????? ?? ??????? ??????? ????????.
Thank you the guided king of KSA….
October 10th, 2013, 6:55 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
AKBAR
I think our problem is that we are acting as if we are proxy. Proxy wars are to be fought by proxies. If we want to get it done, once and for all, we should do it our selves, we should go after Iranian interests, or at least the interests that feed drug money and launders billions to the nus-lira thugs and we should do it aggressively. These are not heads of state and they could and should be snuffed out.
Likewise, we know the money schemes that have been allowing the mullas to bypass much of the sanctions as we know those that do the same of dog-poop athad in London, Paris, Odessa, Moscow, Bucharest, and elsewhere. The Iran financial fronts are heavily vested in the bunch of “stan” countries ruled by dictator thugs left over from the soviet era. These fronts should also be snuffed out with their Basij Business-men and agents.
October 10th, 2013, 7:32 pm
zoo said:
Ban Ki Moon:
“Military victory is an illusion; the only answer is a negotiated transition to the new Syria that the country’s people need and deserve. We are determined to bring the parties to the table in mid-November.”
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=46243&Cr=general+assembly&Cr1=#.UldYEzca5j0
October 10th, 2013, 9:47 pm
zoo said:
NATO chief: ‘No military solution’ to Syria conflict
Agence France-Presse
Posted at 10/11/2013 9:13 AM
ATHENS – NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Thursday that he does not anticipate “any further role” for the military alliance in Syria.
“There is no military solution to the conflict in Syria,” Rasmussen told a press conference in Athens with Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos, emphasising that a political solution is required to end the Syrian conflict, now well into its third year.
The NATO chief voiced support for a long-mooted international conference hosted by the United States and Russia that would seek to negotiate a deal between the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad and opposition groups.
“I urge the government and opposition in Syria to participate in this conference that hopefully will pave the way for a sustainable solution,” he said.
The proposed peace conference — dubbed Geneva 2 — would decide how to implement a declaration agreed by the major powers in the Swiss city in June 2012 for a transitional government in Syria.
UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi last week urged Syria’s warring parties to hold talks “without preconditions” and said he hoped negotiations could take place in late Novemb
October 10th, 2013, 9:53 pm
zoo said:
The ironical fate of the first religious Sunni elected president in an Arab country
Mohammad Mursi murder trial on November 4
http://gulfnews.com/news/region/egypt/mohammad-mursi-murder-trial-on-november-4-1.1241202
He will stand trial with 14 other defendants over killings of protesters outside his presidential palace in December 2012
October 10th, 2013, 9:57 pm
zoo said:
The Al Qaeda priority targets are the USA, Israel, and their regional allies
Al-Qaeda’s New Orders: Avoid Killing Christians and Shia
By: Radwan Mortada
Published Thursday, October 10, 2013
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/al-qaedas-new-orders-avoid-killing-christians-and-shia
Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri released a new statement, considered to be orders for the coming phase. The emir of the international organization changed his old tone, and called to avoid killing Shia, Christians, Hindus, and Sufis in the context of “warding off sin,” in order to “focus on striking the American spearhead.”
Emirs are usually accorded with allegiance and obedience, however, the jihadi emirs in Syria are different. ISIS did not like the mediation by al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri to solve the dispute with al-Nusra Front, preferring to “keep things as they were.” Emir of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, abandoned his own emir, insisting that “the State [ISIS] will remain.”
…
Military action is “aimed primarily against the spearhead of international infidels, the US, and its ally, Israel. Second, it is against their local allies who rule our countries,” the statement said.
“Targeting the US is meant to wear it down and deplete its resources, so it will end up like the Soviet Union and retreat back to its base, due to military, human, and economic losses. This will weaken its grip on our countries and its allies will fall one by one,” he announced.
October 10th, 2013, 10:02 pm
Tara said:
Omen@462
Thanks very much for the link. Brilliant! Showing them more evidence makes them more committed to their misconceptions. It is a futile. Evidence does not matter. It is the beliefs that win.
October 10th, 2013, 10:17 pm
zoo said:
“Washington must find a Syrian military leader known for his pan-Arab bona fides to take charge of the FSA and mold it into a cohesive fighting force with a strong chain of command. ”
The Narrative Plot Against Syria
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/the-right-way-to-pressure-the-assad-regime-by-barak-barfi
….
The onset of civil war in 2011 opened a new chapter in the struggle. Syria’s neighbors are again pouring money and weapons into the country to topple the regime, enabling Assad to invoke the foreign genie plotting to destroy the last revolutionary Arab regime. As Assad’s narrative gains traction, fence-sitters will gradually embrace it, thus strengthening his societal support. For this reason, Western military intervention would not precipitate Assad’s immediate downfall.
Turning the Syrian population away from the regime will require much more than destroying the country’s chemical weapons and dangling the threat of a Western bombing campaign. Washington must find a Syrian military leader known for his pan-Arab bona fides to take charge of the FSA and mold it into a cohesive fighting force with a strong chain of command. Without a homegrown George Washington, the government will continue to depict its opponents as conspiring against Syria for its devotion to the Arab cause. No amount of threats will change that.
Read more at http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/the-right-way-to-pressure-the-assad-regime-by-barak-barfi#udBKvFFXBLOHOBHL.99
October 10th, 2013, 10:39 pm
Juergen said:
sometimes good preparation is essential
October 11th, 2013, 1:25 am
ghufran said:
The widely used HRW published a report on rebels crimes against humanity in Latakia, see the report at hrw.org, here is a summary:
(New York) – Armed opposition groups in Syria killed at least 190 civilians and seized over 200 as hostages during a military offensive that began in rural Latakia governorate on August 4, 2013, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. At least 67 of the victims were executed or unlawfully killed in the operation around pro-government Alawite villages.
The 105-page report, “‘You Can Still See Their Blood’: Executions, Indiscriminate Shootings, and Hostage Taking by Opposition Forces in Latakia Countryside,” presents evidence that the civilians were killed on August 4, the first day of the operation. Two opposition groups that took part in the offensive, the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham and Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, are still holding the hostages, the vast majority women and children. The findings strongly suggest that the killings, hostage taking, and other abuses rise to the level of war crimes and crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said.
“These abuses were not the actions of rogue fighters,” said Joe Stork, acting Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “This operation was a coordinated, planned attack on the civilian population in these Alawite villages.”
October 11th, 2013, 1:34 am
omen said:
470. Tara, while it’s nice to have verification, i’m sure you are not surprised, having seen loyalists deny reality over and over again, impervious to reason and immune to appeals to conscience or morality.
thank you for pointing to the drones. provides support for my counter to akbar.
October 11th, 2013, 4:34 am
omen said:
just how many deaths can loyalists stomache? just how far does their commitment to assad carry them? is even a million deaths not a bridge too far?
mjab is right, we all need therapy. some more than others.
October 11th, 2013, 4:47 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
The revolution is over. The mafia system that rules Syria has agreed with US and Russia to destroy the syrian people to the roots. Congratulations to Assad dirty criminals.
Syria will become in some years a chiite country with some minorites protected as christians and sunnis. Iran, Irak, Lebanon and Syria under chiism. This may be the dream of Russia, US and Israel to keep arabs divided and in a permanent state of war.
But history will finally show the way. Persia will never rule in the Mediterranean shores. By nuclear nukes, by economic laws or by popular will the New Persian Empire will colapse from one day to another. And with them will collapse all the dirty mafia criminals like Nasrallah, Assad and Maliki.
October 11th, 2013, 6:06 am
Uzair8 said:
Is SC fast becoming another conspiratorial site (put to one side the spamming). Just another Info Wars.
(?)
Lol..
October 11th, 2013, 7:43 am
annie said:
http://pulsemedia.org/2013/10/11/a-slaughter-of-alawi-innocents/
A Slaughter of Alawi Innocents
October 11, 2013 § Leave a Comment
For the first time there is proof of a large-scale massacre of Alawis – the heterodox Shia offshoot sect to which Bashaar al-Assad belongs – by Islamist extremists among Syrian opposition forces. In its context, this disaster is hardly surprising. It follows a string of sectarian massacres of Sunni civilians (in Houla, Tremseh, Bayda and Banyas, and elsewhere), the sectarian ethnic cleansing of Sunnis from areas of Homs province, and an assault on Sunni sacred sites such as the Khaled ibn al-Waleed mosque in Homs, the Umawi mosque in Aleppo, and the Omari mosque in Dera’a. It follows two and a half years of rape, torture and murder carried out on an enormous scale by a ‘Syrian’ army commanded by Alawi officers and backed by sectarian Shia militias from Iraq, Iran and Lebanon, and by Alawi irregular militias. Assad and his backers have deliberately instrumentalised sectarian hatred more effectively than the Americans did in Iraq, and they must bear the lion’s share of responsibility for the dissolution of Syria’s social mosaic. Next, the counter-revolutionary forces in the West (chief among them the United States) must be blamed for obstructing the flow of arms to the Free Syrian Army, a policy which has inevitably strengthened the most extreme and sectarian jihadist groups (some of whom, such as the foreign-commanded Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, are actively fighting the Free Army). Human Rights Watch’s important report on the massacre of Alawi villagers is summed up in the video below. Sadly, HRW fails to adequately distinguish between Syrian and foreign, and moderate and extremist anti-Assad militias. The excellent EAWorldview critiques the report here. Its conclusion:
The HRW report illustrates the dangers of conflating the various factions of the insurgency under the heading “armed opposition groups”.
Coincidentally, that conflation is a tactic of the regime who seeks to portray the insurgency as extremist-led, largely foreign fighters rather than an extension of the indigenous protest movement that took up arms after Assad’s forces used violence to quash it from March 2011.
By this conflation, HRW (a fine organisation which has done great work in uncovering the truth of the Syrian conflict) veers dangerously close to the orientalist/racist stereotyping of the Syrian people’s struggle now dominant in both the rightist and liberal/leftist Western media.
It goes without saying that the crimes committed against Alawi civilians in northern Lattakia province are grotesque and idiotic, and constitute another strategic blow against the revolution and the survival of the Syrian state.
October 11th, 2013, 7:52 am
zoo said:
If the opposition continues to refuse negotiations, they will be left with nothing to negotiate about
Syrian army retakes two Damascus suburbs from rebels, say activists
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syrian-army-retakes-two-damascus-suburbs-from-rebels-say-activists.aspx?pageID=238&nid=56099&NewsCatID=352
Syrian army troops and Shi’ite militia fighters loyal to President Bashar al-Assad captured two southern suburbs of Damascus on Friday, killing at least 70 people, opposition activists said.
The fighters, including some from the Lebanese Shi’ite movement Hezbollah and Iraqi Shi’ites backed by Syrian army tanks, searched al-Thiabiya and Husseiniya, a Palestinian refugee camp, for pockets of resistance after overrunning them, the sources said.
The capture of the two districts, located between the two main highways leading to Jordan, strengthens Assad’s hold on major supply lines and puts pressure on rebel brigades under siege for months in areas adjacent to the centre of Damascus.
October 11th, 2013, 8:14 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
The revolution is over. The mafia system that rules Syria has agreed with US and Russia to destroy the syrian people to the roots. Congratulations to Assad dirty criminals.
Syria will become in some years a chiite country with some minorites protected as christians and sunnis. Iran, Irak, Lebanon and Syria under chiism. This may be the dream of Russia, US and Israel to keep arabs divided and in a permanent state of war.
But history will finally show the way. Persia will never rule in the Mediterranean shores. By nuclear nukes, by economic laws or by popular will the New Persian Empire will colapse from one day to another. And with them will collapse all the dirty mafia criminals like Nasrallah, Assad and Maliki.
October 11th, 2013, 8:30 am
zoo said:
New report says Syrian rebels committed war crimes
By The Associated Press
BEIRUT (AP) — Jihadi-led rebel fighters in Syria killed at least 190 civilians and abducted more than 200 during an offensive against pro-regime villages, committing a war crime, an international human rights group said Friday.
The Aug. 4 attacks on unarmed civilians in more than a dozen villages in the coastal province of Latakia were systematic and could even amount to a crime against humanity, Human Rights Watch said in a 105-page report based on a visit to the area a month later.
…
Lama Fakih of Human Rights Watch said the rebel abuses in Latakia “certainly amount to war crimes,” and may even rise to the level of crimes against humanity.
The group said more than 20 rebel groups participated in the Latakia offensive.
Five groups, including two linked to al-Qaida and others with jihadi leanings, led the campaign, which appeared to have been funded in part by private donations raised in the Persian Gulf, the report said.
Human Rights Watch appealed to the Gulf states to crack down on such money transfers. It also urged Turkey, a rear base for many rebel groups, to prosecute those linked to war crimes and restrict the flow of weapons and fighters. The Western-backed Syrian opposition must cut ties with the groups that led the Latakia offensive, the report said.
Most of the alleged attacks on civilians occurred on Aug. 4, said the group. The campaign began with rebel fighters seizing three regime posts and then the villages. After the regime positions fell, no pro-government troops were left in the Alawite villages. It took government forces two weeks to recapture all the villages.
Human Rights Watch said at least 67 of the 190 civilians slain by the rebels were killed at close range or while trying to flee. There are signs that most of the others were also killed intentionally or indiscriminately, but more investigation is needed, the group said.
The rebels seized more than 200 civilians from the Alawite villages, most of them women and children, and demanded to trade the hostages for prisoners held by the regime.
The HRW report said the rebel groups that led the offensive included Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, both linked to al-Qaida; Ahrar al-Sham; Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar; and Suqqor al-Izz.
October 11th, 2013, 9:01 am
zoo said:
Annie
“the crimes committed against Alawi civilians in northern Lattakia province are grotesque and idiotic”
There is is nothing ‘grotesque or idiotic’ about the massacres perpetrated by the opposition rebels. It is the opposition sitting in Turkey that have invited Sunni Islamist terrorists to kill innocents and destroy the country. Not only that but they still refuse to negotiate.
This is not “idiotic”, it is criminal and pure evil.
October 11th, 2013, 9:10 am
zoo said:
France must be delighted: At least one french terrorist won’t come back to France
French citizen in suicide attack on Syrian troops
Reuters/Khaled al-Hariri
By RFI
A French Muslim has carried out a suicide attack on a Syrian army position near Aleppo, according to an opposition monitoring group. The man killed 10 soldiers in a bombing that was part of an attack by Al-Qaeda-linked groups.
The attack took place in the village of Al-Hamam, according to Rami Abdel Rahman, who runs the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, and ws carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the Al-Nusra Front.
It was not clear whether the bomber, who was in his 20s and nicknamed “Abu al-Qaaqaa” after one of the Prophet Mohammed’s companions, was a French convert to Islam or from a Muslim family.
October 11th, 2013, 9:15 am
Sami said:
Yeah so now that the rebels are accused of a massacre HRW is believable. Every other report they came out with was just Zionist/Bandarist false flag propaganda operation against the
heroismcowardice of theSAAAssadists Militia.Your hypocrisy is what I would consider “Idiotic and grotesque”, for it is idiotic to believe your outrage of this massacre while you have denied so many in the past, and it is grotesque that the wholesale slaughter of a certain sect of people constitute as “cleanup and disinfection” while other sects is a massacre in your book.
October 11th, 2013, 9:27 am
Tara said:
Zoo,
You are quick to report Alawi massacre and to express opinion while you never ever ever reported or acknowledged a single Sunni massacre despite heavy documentations by the same MSM.
Don’t you think there is something terribly wrong with this pattern?
October 11th, 2013, 9:29 am
Uzair8 said:
A few Yalla Souriya updates. Latest ones first:
zaidbenjamin 2:07 pm
#BREAKING: Those brigades in the HRW report are out of our control – The Syrian National Coalition Spokseman Louai Safi #Syria #Assad
zaidbenjamin 2:06 pm
#BREAKING: We condemn any human rights transegion – The Syrian National Coalition Spokseman on HRW Report #Syria #Damascus #Assad
zaidbenjamin 2:05 pm
#BREAKING: The numbers in the HRW on Lattakia are exagerated – Sham Spoke
October 11th, 2013, 10:19 am
zoo said:
Some idealists were proud that the Syrian revolution was a ‘leaderless’, “programless” revolution. Naively, the only leader was supposed to be the ‘people’ and the only program was to topple Bashar al Assad as if by miracle all Syria problems will be solved.
There has never been any successful revolution without a leader and a program. Improvised leaderless revolutions always lead to disasters.
After 3 years, the opposition and the West are still looking for a viable opposition leader. None has emerged. They seem to be all quickly polluted by money and greed for power.
In the meantime dozens of unwanted rebel self-appointed leaders have destroyed the country and created rifts among communities who lived in peace for centuries.
This revolution is no more about ‘revolutionary’ deals, it is about egos, revenge, Sunni extremism and greed.
October 11th, 2013, 10:35 am
Massenmord: “Islamisten” massakrieren in Syrien 190 Zivilisten | kopten ohne grenzen said:
[…] Der amerikanische Syrien-Experte Joshua Landis veröffentlichte jüngst eine “Top Fünf”-Liste der Rebellenchefs in Syrien. Auffällig dabei: Drei der Top Fünf waren ehemalige Insassen von […]
October 11th, 2013, 10:41 am
omen said:
wsj & ft had a couple of pieces voicing saudi dissatisfaction with US handling of syria. looks like turkey too has been bridling under the constraint:
October 11th, 2013, 12:28 pm
zoo said:
It is high time that Turkey be accused of complicity in war crimes in Syria. Erdogan has a lot to respond to, as it turns out that he has been helping terrorists kill civilians while claiming that Bashar al Assad and Syria legitimate army are the terrorists. Repeated denials are no more believable. With his hands full of blood, Erdogan can never be elected president.
Turkey lashes out at HRW claims of support for Syrian terrorist
11 October 2013 /TODAY’S ZAMAN, ANKARA
The Foreign Ministry responded on Friday to claims from Human Rights Watch (HRW) that Turkey is supporting terrorist opposition groups in war-torn Syria, describing the claims as “unacceptable.”
According to the HRW report published on Friday, radical groups enter Syria from Turkey with weapons and other supplies and then return to Turkey for medical treatment. “We totally deny the claims that those groups enter Syria from Turkey and that Turkey provides them with weapons. It is wholly unacceptable to paint Turkey with such accusations. Turkey is doing its utmost to maintain security along the border and is carrying out operations to prevent smuggling,” a senior Turkish diplomat from the Foreign Ministry told Today’s Zaman on the condition of anonymity.
October 11th, 2013, 12:31 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well-informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Heads up determined that if it is true that so-called Alawites were killed in the Latakia area, then they must have been killed in a battle with the heroic fighters of the Syrian revolution who are defending Syria against Alawite terrorism and tashbeeh. There is no such thing as Alawite civilians after Asshead created the so-called popular committees. All so-called popular committees members can now be targets due to Asshead’s stupidity and the silence and in most cases cheering of Asshead by the Alawites at large. The Alawites at large are responsible for any killing due to their silence about and, as Heads up determined, approval of the creation of these terrorist committees of tashbeeh, theft, vandalism and other criminal activities.
Heads up urges everyone to treat the killing of these so-called Alawite members of these committees with the same level of callousness as they treated the killing of other Syrians who deserve more support than these terrorist Alawite/Shiite committees.
We urge the heroic fighters of the revolution to continue to target these criminal popular committees made up largely of Alawite and Shia terrorists.
October 11th, 2013, 12:38 pm
omen said:
quick summary tracking turkey, ksa & iran’s spy chiefs’ activities.
chart
via
October 11th, 2013, 12:40 pm
omen said:
assad awarded the nobel, rebels accused of massacre & turkey getting attention.
while iran’s bloody legacy continues to fly under the radar.
October 11th, 2013, 12:52 pm
Ghufran said:
Jimblat reflecting on the Syrian war and trying to reinvent himself:
??? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ??? 3 ????? ?? ????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ???????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ??????.
????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? «???? ????? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ??????»? ??? ??? ?? ???? ???????? ?? ???? «???? 2» ???? ???? ????? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ?????? ??? ?? ???? «???? 3» ?«???? 4» ????? ????.
If I was a rebel or an expat politician I would be very upset at the GCC and Turkey for using Syrian blood to achieve evil goals then running away when things got tough, freedom and democracy can not be found in dictionary of ??? ?????
October 11th, 2013, 1:24 pm
Sami said:
Walid Jumblat is the definition of a political prostitute. Depending on whom he is lying with his tune changes.
Anything that comes out of his mouth is an indication of how much he has been paid in order to safeguard his position as “leader” of the Druze when in reality he is nothing but another thug holding his community hostage.
October 11th, 2013, 1:39 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well-informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events
Heads up determined that the only way for the Syrian people to succeed is to crush the head of the Serpent head (Assad) and emulate the successful model of the Guided Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and hopefully become a junior member of the GCC. Of course, Syria cannot be a senior member of the GCC because of the size and wealth of the Guided Kingdom. But, even a junior member in the GCC is way way better than being a province in the failed and hated mullocracy of terrorists.
In addition, Syrians have been misguided by the empty and false notions of Arabism for the last 50 years while the true, honorable and respected Arabs are those of the GCC. Syrians would be lucky to join such a successful GCC, if the GCC would actually allow it.
Remember to always consult with the Guided and very resoected KSA in order to achieve success in life, revolution and while fighting Shiite terrorists. The Bahrain example is an excellent guide on how to defeat shiite terrorism.
October 11th, 2013, 1:45 pm
ALAN said:
Syrian rebels trained to use chemical weapons in Afghanistan – Lavrov
http://youtu.be/CTcnzWSqTC0?t=1s
Syria Rebels Parade Child Hostages On YouTube
http://news.sky.com/story/1153141/syria-rebels-parade-child-hostages-on-youtube
October 11th, 2013, 2:03 pm
zoo said:
Ghufran
Jumblatt is preparing his U-Turn about Syria.
It seems that he is aware that the Saudis are loosing the battle against Bashar al Assad and will soon sing another song.
He is usually an indication of the direction of where the wind is turning.
October 11th, 2013, 2:21 pm
ALAN said:
worthy to watch
Russia in 2013. The struggle for Syria
http://youtu.be/DRTaAQ_yLrs?t=49s
October 11th, 2013, 2:25 pm
zoo said:
Poor Headsup
You are becoming more emphatic and pathetic about the “guided benefactors” of the Disneyland Kingdom. Sign of growing despair?
Ask any Syrian women or anyone if the would like to live in your “Paradise” under the rule of senile leaders of a weak and corrupted family that relies on the West for their protection and don’t even have a decent army.
October 11th, 2013, 2:27 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Heads up would like to remind the general readership, the non-psychopathic one, that we determined that this site attracts few psychopaths that are best dealt with by ignoring them. Heads up advises non-psychopath visitors to do the same.
October 11th, 2013, 2:33 pm
zoo said:
Syrian rebels receive chemical weapons training in Afghanistan: Lavrov
Fri Oct 11, 8:41 pm
http://www.khaama.com/syrian-rebels-receive-chemical-weapons-training-in-afghanistan-lavrov2451
Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov on Friday claimed that militants are being trained in Afghanistan to participate in Syrian war against president Bashar Al Assad.
Sergei Lavrov said the training of the militants to be deployed to Syria has recently started in areas of Afghanistan which are not under the control of the Afghan government.
Mr. Lavrov further added that the militants are also trained on how to carry out chemical attacks. “Based on our information, the Al-Nusra front is looking to illegally transport chemical and poisonous materials to Iraq,” Lavrov told reporters.
October 11th, 2013, 2:34 pm
zoo said:
HRW indirectly implicates Idriss and Turkey in the Latakia massacre. Hasn’t Idriss gloriously gone there to congratulate the fighters after the massacre? No comments from Idriss
http://www.adn.com/2013/10/10/3119109/us-backed-syria-rebels-urged-to.html
…
Human Rights Watch didn’t directly implicate the U.S.-backed Supreme Military Command or its Free Syrian Army in the atrocities. But it noted that defected Syrian army Gen. Salim Idriss, who heads the Supreme Military Command, had issued statements that indicated his fighters were taking part in the offensive. The group said those statements should be examined to determine what role his fighters might have played in the killings and kidnappings of civilians.
Human Rights Watch also called on Idriss and the Syrian Opposition Coalition, a U.S.-backed civilian anti-Assad umbrella group, to “cease cooperation and coordination with and support to armed groups credibly found to perpetrate systematic abuses against the civilian population; and in particular Ahrar al Sham, the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham, Jabhat al Nusra, Jaish al Muhajireen wal-Ansar and Suquor al Izz.”
Those five groups were “the key fundraisers, organizers, planners and executors” of the Latakia campaign, the report says. The Islamic State, Nusra and Jaish are al Qaida affiliates; Ahrar al Sham and Suquor al Izz are conservative Islamist groups.
The report also singles out Turkey, calling on it to do more to stop foreign Islamist fighters from crossing into Syria.
“Given that most foreign fighters in these groups reportedly gain access to Syria via Turkey,” it says, “Turkey should increase border patrols (and) restrict entry of fighters and arm flows to groups credibly found to be implicated in systematic human rights violations.”
It says Turkey should “investigate and prosecute those in Turkey suspected of committing, being complicit in or having command responsibility for international crimes” and that the United Nations Security Council should take steps to make sure that Turkey does.
There was no immediate comment from Idriss or the Syrian Opposition Coalition. The Turkish Embassy in Washington didn’t respond to emailed questions.
Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/10/10/3119109/us-backed-syria-rebels-urged-to.html#storylink=cpy
October 11th, 2013, 2:40 pm
ALAN said:
prosperity of the Syrian Russian friendship! long live to the Syrian and Russian cooperation !!!
October 11th, 2013, 2:43 pm
zoo said:
@500 Headsup
Thanks for the humor. We need a comic relief on this site!
October 11th, 2013, 2:45 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Heads-up usually avoids making comments where they may be positioned at the 50th or zero position after every hundred. Therefore, as courtesy to the readers we reproduce this very very important comment which happened at position 500.
Heads up would like to remind the general readership, the non-psychopathic one, that we determined that this site attracts few psychopaths that are best dealt with by ignoring them. Heads up advises non-psychopath visitors to do the same.
October 11th, 2013, 2:51 pm
zoo said:
Video Report Bolsters Claims of Summary Executions of Civilians by Syrian Rebels
By ROBERT MACKEY
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/11/video-report-bolsters-claims-of-summary-executions-of-civilians-by-syrian-rebels/?_r=0
Lama Fakih, the rights group’s deputy director in Beirut, visited the area last month after it was recaptured by government forces to gather evidence and speak with survivors. A video report, which combines footage recorded during Ms. Fakih’s visit with images of the raid and its distressing aftermath posted online by the rebels and the government, makes a compelling case that the rebels executed civilians, including women and the disabled.
October 11th, 2013, 2:52 pm
zoo said:
@505 Headup
A parrot repeats less than you. No one is reading your gibberish. Don’t waste your time here, give the example, go and fight!.
October 11th, 2013, 2:55 pm
zoo said:
An example of a proud Saudi Army army sergeant behavior when he leaves the “Guided Kingdom” : Booze and pedophilia
Openings set in Vegas trial of Saudi air force sergeant accused of New Year’s Eve child rape
KEN RITTER , Associated Press
Updated: October 11, 2013 – 12:55 PM
http://www.startribune.com/nation/227409571.html
LAS VEGAS — Trial is set to begin in Nevada for a Saudi Arabian air force sergeant accused of raping a 13-year-old boy last New Year’s Eve at a Las Vegas Strip hotel.
…
Chairez says the 24-year-old Alotaibi was too drunk after a night drinking cognac at a strip club to understand what was happening, and should’ve been given a lawyer before police questioning.
October 11th, 2013, 3:02 pm
ALAN said:
506. ZOO
what is this impostor?
October 11th, 2013, 3:06 pm
zoo said:
@509 Alan
I have no idea
October 11th, 2013, 3:09 pm
omen said:
what is this?? can someone explain? from june 2013.
October 11th, 2013, 3:12 pm
zoo said:
@511 Omen
That’s an excellent and predictable piece of information. It’s no surprise to me. The West has repeatedly said that want to fight Al Qaeda in Syria. Who is the most reliable, secular and united than the SAA?
October 11th, 2013, 3:16 pm
ALAN said:
Qatar, Saudia and the US: A Coalition or Collision?
http://journal-neo.org/2013/10/11/qatar-saudia-and-the-us-a-coalition-or-collision/
October 11th, 2013, 3:34 pm
ALAN said:
Military Industrial Complex + fictional budget for the wars + military bases around the world + massive consumption and non-guided energy + aggression on sovereign states + excessive financial assistance to a large number of puppet-states = symptoms of chronic economic destructive!
* * *
The U.S. government is preparing to withdraw some of the employees of its diplomatic missions around the world
According to the newspaper “Kommersant “, if the budget crisis in the United States continue , the State Department will be forced to leave the service of only the key personnel of embassies and consular department , funded by the visa fees .
The U.S. State Department is currently the only institution of the country , whose members were not sent on unpaid indefinite leave . Budget allocations department for two years , in contrast to other state institutions , so its funding is not stopped after the suspension of the government.
The newspaper said the austerity measures already touched on the U.S. embassy in Moscow. The staff of the diplomatic mission work in accordance with the “Guidelines for the absence of budget financing ,” which provides guidance for the period until the money is still there , and at the time when the funding will stop completely .
A source in the State Department reported that “the money will only last for a couple of weeks ,” so most of the embassy staff are prohibited from working overtime to buy new equipment and pay for services that are not related to the protection of life or property.
Recall that in Washington for more than a week can not agree on a budget and paying the bills . On October 1, the U.S. federal agencies had to partially stop working because of a missed solutions for their financing. Country faces a default, which could happen on October 17 , if Congress does not increase the potential level of national debt .
* * *
US media analysts in Syria debate tied to defense contractors
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/10/11/328832/us-syria-analysts-tied-to-defense-firms/
……….
Hadley earns an annual salary of $128,500 from Raytheon and owns 11,477 shares of the company’s stock. His holdings were worth $891,189 as of August 23.
The report found that, out of 37 appearances these pro-war commentators made on CNN, the network disclosed their defense industry ties only seven times. NBC and its umbrella networks disclosed the pundits’ connections five times in 16 appearances. In 23 appearances on Fox News there was not a single attempt to disclose industry ties.
October 11th, 2013, 4:06 pm
Tara said:
Syrian women would definitely choose to live in KSA than in current Syria under the sectarian rule of the monsterous dictator and his company. Yes, I am willing to give up driving and cover my hair but not watch a human being being degraded like animal, a practice well known of this hyena regime and supporters. And of course, if I to choose between any current Arab country and the US, it is the US I ‘ll choose.
Please if you are not a Syrian woman, do not speak for us.
October 11th, 2013, 4:32 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Heads up determined that Lama Fakih is a Shiite, and therefore a terrorist, supporter of Hezboola from south Lebanon. The video she showed is made of clips of videos made by the heroic fighters of the Syrian revolution who succeeded in vanquishing and eliminating the shabbiha members of the terrorist so-called popular committess. The video clearly identifies the bodies of those killed as shabiha desrving the punishment that was brought upon them. All th Syrian people are indebted to these heroic fighters and thankful for riding Syria of the filth that would have otherwise been perpetrated by these Shabiha criminals. The terrost fakih simply put her fabricated words on top of tye recorded clips in order to give false and fabricated impression, which are characteristics of all Shiite terrorists. Never believe what a Shiite terrorist says.
The Syrian people hail thse heroic fighters who fought evil in the heartland of its bunker hole, and are looking forward for additional victories against evil throughout Syria.
October 11th, 2013, 4:58 pm
zoo said:
@Headsup
You said:
“Heads up determined that Lama Fakih is a Shiite, and therefore a terrorist, supporter of Hezboola from south Lebanon. ”
I hope MATTHEW BARBER reads what you wrote.
You can’t hide yourself anymore under pompous phrases. You are probably VISITOR, you were banned. You are a racist, a sectarian and a dangerous sunni salafist.
You are polluting this Blog as you have been for months.
October 11th, 2013, 5:55 pm
ALAN said:
517-
http://rinf.com/alt-news/breaking-news/big-media-mum-on-experts-pushing-strikes-on-syria-ties-to-defense-industry-2/78240/
October 11th, 2013, 5:58 pm
ALAN said:
Security Council approves joint OPCW-UN mission to oversee destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=46250&Cr=syria&Cr1=#.Ulh1pNLIZxV
October 11th, 2013, 6:03 pm
jo6pac said:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/former-prisoners-fight-in-syrian-insurgency-a-927158.html
Good to see some names from the past still allowed to post.
October 11th, 2013, 6:14 pm
zoo said:
@520 Jo6pac
A special thanks to the Syrian opposition for that gift to all Syrians
“From Jail to Jihad: Former Prisoners Fight in Syrian Insurgency”
October 11th, 2013, 6:22 pm
zoo said:
It’s too little, too late
Syrian opposition coalition distances itself from armed militias
12/10/2013
ISTANBUL, Oct 11 (KUNA) — Syria’s National Coalition for Revolutionary and Opposition Forces announced on Friday disowning of acts of some armed militias fighting in Syria such as the Islamic State of Iraq, the Mujahideen Army, and Ansar Al-Sharia.
These militias were accused by Human Rights Watch of committing war crimes in Alawite villages at the outskirts of Latakia, west of Syria, the coalition said.
The incident occurred at the outskirts of Latakia is a shameful attack that was carried out by some fundamentalist militias, the coalition commented in a message it sent to Human Rights Watch, affirming at the same time its full commitment to the international law of human rights and disownment of perpetrators of the Latakia crime.
October 11th, 2013, 6:24 pm
zoo said:
Idriss is finished. He will resign soon. They need a scapegoat. On a video, he glorified his troops that lead the attack on the Alawites village in Latakia
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/world/syrian-civilians-bore-brunt-of-rebels-fury-report-says-707213/
“We have up to now not documented anything approaching this scale of abuse” by opposition fighters, Ms. Fakih said, adding that the number and methodical nature of the killings constituted a “crime against humanity.”
….
And in a video filmed nearby during the operation, Gen. Salim Idris, who leads the military council, is seen insisting that his forces played a leading role, in statements responding to criticism from Islamist groups that his fighters were hanging back. The report said it was unclear whether forces linked to General Idris took part in the initial Aug. 4 attack, when forensic evidence suggests most of the civilians were killed. But it also said that anyone continuing to coordinate with such groups could be complicit in war crimes.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/world/syrian-civilians-bore-brunt-of-rebels-fury-report-says-707213/#ixzz2hSH3rTgb
October 11th, 2013, 6:31 pm
omen said:
this sounds like not an uncommon occurrence. has HRW noted the phenomenon of alawite civilians turned into volunteer lynch mob? or is this part of the sect’s esotericism outsiders can’t possibly understand? besides the run-of-the-mill accepted butchery, starving babies must also be divinely sanctioned.
October 11th, 2013, 6:54 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Heads-up has determined the reason why this site attracts few psychopaths. We have found that the psychopaths are engaged in a concerted campaign of spreading falsifications, fabrications and propaganda on behalf of Ass-head (Assad). Heads-up also determined that Ass-Had could only find psychopaths to do its bidding on these pages and similar other pages. Normal sane people would refuse such tasks under any circumstances. Like birds always flock together.
Heads up would like to emphasize once again to general readership, the non-psychopathic ones, the importance of what Heads up found with regards to the best way to deal with these irritants. We found that the best way is to ignore them and also to never believe a word they say. We urge the readers to do the same.
October 11th, 2013, 7:11 pm
mjabali said:
The attack on the Alawite villages on August 4th was planned. Many culprits, some were not mentioned in the HRW report, bragged about it. Many brigades, that participated also were not mentioned in the report, are not listed.
The kidnapped women and children, around 200, are still missing, what happened to them?
October 11th, 2013, 7:26 pm
mjabali said:
Sage Omen:
Just read your comment insulting the Alawite creed again.
You should be banned from this blog for sure.
It is obvious from your obsession with Alawiism and Shiism that you are most likely a paid blogger by some anti Assad/anti Shia/ anti Alawite group…( A very high possibility) ….Now I can smell it …like I smelled the cheap wine the other day between your words….
I hope they pay you more…or let them pay more and get someone with real knowledge to come into this battle….low wages get low educated elements….tsk tsk tsk……..
PS: thank you thumbs up king…my dog says hello to you
October 11th, 2013, 7:42 pm
Tara said:
Omen is highly educated, well read, smart, sensitive, knowledgeable, humane, and very polite.
This is my honest opinion and has nothing to do with him being against the dictators.
Mjabali, when the vast majority of Alawis support Batta in his unspeakable atrocities, it becomes very very difficult not to generalize.
October 11th, 2013, 7:52 pm
Observer said:
It is terrible news indeed. Nearly a hundred were killed in cold blood. Some were kidnapped. Children disappeared. What a tragedy indeed.
Each should carry a mirror for after looking into the tragedies, it is time to turn the mirror and look in it only to find the other looking at you.
It is truly tragic that innocents are dying. But it is most likely that in such brutal conflicts more harshness is usually the norm.
The Phalanges entered the psychiatric ward one day during the civil war and executed all the muslim mad patients in it. Only to have the other side then bomb the hospital in retaliation killing the remaining patients.
I am afraid as time goes by we are going to see more of the same. With time, it will be next to impossible for the besieged to hold on forever. Therefore they will be massacred. A siege here and a siege there.
In the meantime the stock exchange in Damascus had a value of 35 million pounds in exchanges today: that is what 180 000 dollars in total. This is less than a millisecond on the NY stock exchange.
But of course we are going to prevail.
One last thing: some that quote HRW know only the word Watch for Human and Right is not in their basic understandings.
As for Watch as in watching security services; they know all about it the regime insider indeed.
He he he he he he
October 11th, 2013, 8:08 pm
mjabali said:
Tara:
al-Assad is responsible for his actions. Many Alawites are against him. Also, many Alawites are in the middle. One of them told me the other day that “most of us are in the middle.”
The problem that the Alawites do not see anyone from the other side the understands this and knows how to bridge the gap in a realistic manner. The Sunnis distanced themselves from all types of Alawites (Pro and against) from the start.
The Alawaites are for Syria to this day, most of them are. They want to live with others, but for sure they do not want to live with those who do see them as fit for nothing but getting killed if you are a man, and become a loot if you are a woman or a child.
October 11th, 2013, 8:46 pm
zoo said:
More Syria rebel groups leave U.S.-backed command amid worry ‘moderates’ will be shut out
McClatchy Washington Bureau
BEIRUT — The moderate rebel command at the center of U.S. policy in Syria is becoming increasingly marginalized as dozens of militias peel away to form rival, Islamist alliances in a move that could leave the Obama administration with no battlefield partner in the fight to topple President Bashar Assad.
….
Aymenn al Tamimi, a fellow with the Middle East Forum, a conservative research center in Philadelphia, and a monitor of jihadist activity in Syria and Iraq, said that Idriss and his command were good at making pledges but couldn’t back up their words because of a lack of resources.
“I think Idriss had some sway over certain rebel groups in the Damascus area and points south, but a lot of his gestures of being in touch with forces on the ground were only superficially impressive,” Tamimi said.
For example, Tamimi said, Idriss paid a visit to the coastal area of Latakia in a time of fighting, prompting some rebels to rejoice in what they perceived as the Free Syrian Army’s advance.
“On the contrary, as my own research on both sides shows, the Latakia offensive was primarily led by battalions of foreign fighters, and the sole purpose of it was to score a symbolic victory through ethnic cleansing of Alawites,” Tamimi said.
Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/10/11/205172/more-syria-rebel-groups-leave.html#storylink=cpy
October 11th, 2013, 8:50 pm
mjabali said:
Omen calls for the usage of violence in my country and I do no like this. Violence is not going to solve this problem in Syria. Violence also threatens my family while this person who is calling for it is living in California.
October 11th, 2013, 8:52 pm
Observer said:
Those who are for Syria cannot be for the regime in my humble opinion. Syria is bigger than the regime. The idea and ideal of Syria is above family and clan and sect. All families and all clans and all sects. Otherwise there is no such thing as Syria when the particular groups take precedence over their allegiance to the nation.
As for the excuse of being on the fence, it is a cop out. Commit to Syria by fighting the regime. It has no legitimacy, it has no basis, it has no future, it has no redemption, it has no forgiveness.
That is what happened to the Maronites. They thought that they can fight their way to eternal supremacy and they ended up exactly where they fit: in proportion to their size. As for their monopoly on education it is of course being eroded. Today the hospital in the Dahyie is the one that performs heart transplants not the AUB or the Universite St Joseph.
I also stand corrected: the 35 million pounds of stock market exchange in Damascus happened not over one day but over one WEEK.
Good news indeed on the great economic leap forward that the regime is having at this time.
One more thing: I still maintain that the losers on the long run from the Arab spring are Israel and Iran. Iran if it is to survive will have to give up its revolutionary outlook and Israel is going to have to give in to the Palestinian demands.
No one is going to come to the rescue of Israel in its ongoing occupation. The US and the EU are finished defending the indefensible.
Syria may split, a Shia Sunni war may happen, in the long run, the Israelis are going to have to face the music of a ME filled to the brim with young people that can be easily radicalized and that for whom death is no deterrent.
Last but not least, Russia has shot its one bullet at playing a superpower and came way short. It cannot stop the tide of depopulation, reduced economic prospects, corruption, dictatorship, and the rise of the Islamic populations to its south.
The days of killing entire populations with impunity are over.
So, please no crocodile tears. All of us suffered from this regime from imprisonment to exile to killing to torture to detention to confiscation and for those that live in California or EU or Ukraine or Timbuktu they do so because the regime exiled the population generation after generation.
No redemption, no forgiveness, no reconciliation, no accommodation. It is again precisely because of a second 8 years of misguided and stupid policy of the administration here that the region is going bonkers.
October 12th, 2013, 12:51 am
ALAN said:
512. ZOO
impostor everytime changing its face?
October 12th, 2013, 7:22 am
Uzair8 said:
Dear Sandrow Lowe
There is always hope. We don’t do despair. The revolution was built on hope and driven by hope.
We don’t do Sylvia Plath:
Assad has to answer for the children. What did they ever do to the wretch? Heaven will take him to account even if the world won’t.
If we allowed such treatment of the children in silence we would be no less wretched.
October 12th, 2013, 8:11 am
Uzair8 said:
The attack on Latakia.
There needs to be an investigation if possible. The fact that HRW is making those claims is a sign to take them (claims) seriously. We need to know who the victims were (civilians or NDF), who the attackers were, are they connected to the regime in any way.
I need to know so I can take a firm stand against the perpetrators. Enough would be enough. We can’t tolerate the slaughter of innocents.
October 12th, 2013, 8:19 am
zoo said:
The SNC “PM” Tohmeh anounces that the new ‘interim’ government to be announced after Eid Al Adha will be based in Turkey and not in Syria ( Azaz is now in the hands of ISIS. It needs money to win back the fighters and it presses the West to find a ‘political’ solution.
Syria: Interim PM Tomeh “disappointed” with international community
The Syrian interim government will need USD 300 million per month in aid, Tomah told Asharq Al-Awsat.
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/10/article55319063
Istanbul, Asharq Al-Awsat—In an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, the newly elected Prime Minister of the opposition-backed Syrian interim government Ahmad Tomeh criticized the international community, saying that the Syrian opposition is frustrated with the world’s inability to take steps to end the bloodshed in Syria.
He said, “The international community has disappointed us,” adding, “Any delay in finding a political solution will open the door to major problems in the future, including extremism and radicalism.”
..
He also revealed that he is putting the finishing touches to his interim government, saying that the members of the cabinet will be announced following the Eid Al-Adha celebrations, scheduled to take place sometime later this week.
Tomeh added the names of the members of the government will be submitted to the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) for a vote of confidence during its meeting on October 25.
Tomeh also discussed receiving certain promises of support from Arab and international countries for his government which, he says, will need at least USD 300 million per month in aid to operate effectively.
Responding to a question about where this government will operate out of, Tomeh told Asharq Al-Awsat that the new interim government will be based in Turkey close to the Syrian borders but refused to give any other information, citing security concerns
October 12th, 2013, 8:21 am
zoo said:
Another innocent child killed by ‘freedom fighters’ in central Damascus.
Shells hit Damascus near hotel housing chemical inspectors
Published Saturday, October 12, 2013
http://www.emirates247.com/news/shells-hit-damascus-near-hotel-housing-chemical-inspectors-2013-10-12-1.524308
Two mortar shells hit Syria’s capital Saturday near a hotel where international chemical inspectors and United Nations staff are staying, state media and a hotel guest said.
An 8-year-old was killed and 11 people were hurt in the blasts in the upscale Abu Roumaneh area of Damascus, the SANA news agency said. One shell fell near a school and the other on a roof, damaging several shops and cars.
The blasts struck some 300 meters (1,000 feet) away from the Four Seasons Hotel where the chemical inspectors and U.N. staff are staying.
October 12th, 2013, 8:31 am
zoo said:
Observer
You don’t call for Syria to be split anymore? A sudden burst of nationalism?
The losers are without any doubt the USA, KSA and Qatar as well as Turkey. They are hated and despised by both sides. One side because they helped destroying the country, the other side because they did not help enough to topple Bashar Al Assad.
The winner is first Russia because it prevented a disastrous military attack and remove the WMD. Also because it called for a political solution from day one.
The second winner is Iran because it constantly called for a diplomatic solution and helped to fight the hated al Qaeda terrorists infiltrated from Turkey into Syria. It is also winning on longer term because the USA, suddenly aware of its growing power and its political stability compared to the instability of the countries in the region, is keener than ever to solve the issue of the Nuclear as well as Palestine
So your “observations” show a total lack of understanding of the forces in power and the way the Syrians think.
October 12th, 2013, 8:45 am
Ghat Al Bird said:
Lest you all forget as anonymous once said…..
Quote by Alon Pinkas, Israel’s former general consul in New York, giving Israel’s view of the Syrian bloodletting: “Let them both bleed, hemorrhage to death. That’s the strategic thinking here.”
According to two polls reported this weekend by the Jerusalem Post, Israelis by 7-1 do not want Israel to go to war with Syria. But two-thirds of Israelis favor the United States going to war with Syria.
October 12th, 2013, 8:59 am
Observer said:
My post zoozoo was a precise response to Mjabali. But then again, delusion has been your prerogative from day one.
October 12th, 2013, 9:06 am
ALAN said:
543. GHAT AL BIRD said:
/Israelis by 7-1 do not want Israel to go to war with Syria. But two-thirds of Israelis favor the United States going to war with Syria/.
Dear Americans!Just go and fight everywhere to satisfy the Israelis! dying for Israel! This is, of course, a pathetic!
October 12th, 2013, 10:15 am
ALAN said:
Liwa al-Tawhid puts on Internet picture of Russian citizen’s passport
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/910393.html
——
Russian citizen missing in Syria may be captured by militants – security service
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/910348.html
——
Syria unconditionally approved the sending of Russian peacekeepers in the Golan: The head of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
——
Russia, Syria, and the decline of U.S. dominance
…../../….
With the reduction of the hegemony of the United States, we are facing an uncertain future. The monstrous power of the U.S. military can still make mischief, a wounded animal is the most dangerous. Americans would be worth listening to Senator Ron Paul, calls for the reduction of foreign military bases and cut costs. The rules of international law and the sovereignty of all states must be respected. People the world over love America, when she no longer engaged in surveillance and intimidation. It’s not easy, but we have already agreed on a course at the Cape of Good Hope and achieved.
http://topwar.ru/34485-rossiya-siriya-i-spad-amerikanskogo-gospodstva.html
October 12th, 2013, 10:28 am
ghufran said:
The black comedy and mud throwing among rebels and their spoke persons continue, my favorite part is the section about accusing Idris of being groomed by regional intelligence agencies (this usually means Jordan and ksa),this piece should be added to SNL:
??? ??????? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ??????? ??????? ????? ?????? ???? ????
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????? ?????? ???? ???? ?? “RT ARBIC” ???? ?????? : “??? ????? ??? ??? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ?? ??? ??????? ???????? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ?? ??????? ??????? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ??????.. ???? ????? ???????? ?????? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ??????? ???????”.
????: “??? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ??????? ?? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ??????”.
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???? ??? ?? “????? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ???????? ???????? ??????????? ??? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ??????????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????
notice how many opposition leaders, and some posters here, first praised the “battle of the liberation of latakia” then started to modify their language only to end up accusing “others” of doing the dirty work after HRW came up with its report about crimes against humanity committed by rebels in Latakia.
This guy on aksalser speaks for most Syrians:
???? ???????? ???? ???????? ?????? ??? ??????
?? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????
?????
??? ?????? ?????? ?????????
??????
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I, and others, have reported the crimes committed in Latakia 2 months ago and posted a video of the hostages, some of you waited for a foreign agency to say the same before they accept the fact that many of their heroes are a bunch of terrorists who use Islam as a cover !!
October 12th, 2013, 10:47 am
Sami said:
The Story of Aleppo University:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7udtKHPOWg#t=110
Funny how the supposed “secular” army is treating those that peacefully defied Assad in the manner which they did in this video.
October 12th, 2013, 12:11 pm
zoo said:
Syria maintains spending in 2014 budget despite war losses
BEIRUT | Sat Oct 12, 2013 11:37am EDT
Oct 12 (Reuters) – Syria’s government has agreed a 2014 budget of 1.39 trillion pounds ($8.18 billion), state news agency SANA said on Saturday, a marginal increase on this year’s spending despite the economic devastation wrought by more than two years of civil war.
The agency gave no breakdown of spending, which it said was 7 billion pounds higher than the 2013 budget, but it quoted Prime Minister Wael al-Halki as saying it would focus spending on education, health and agriculture sectors.
October 12th, 2013, 12:59 pm
zoo said:
UNICEF: Syrian Child Refugees Face Exploitation
http://www.voanews.com/content/unicef-says-syrian-child-refugees-face-exploitation-early-marriage-domestic-violence/1767267.html
….
Some 200,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan are school-age, but only 80,000 are enrolled in education, often in classrooms with double shifts. Adolescents aged 14 to 17, many of whom had dropped out of school, were especially at risk, he said.
…
An estimated 30,000 Syrian child refugees are working in Jordan, Servadei said. A UNICEF assessment in the Jordan Valley in April identified 3,500 child laborers, mainly seasonal.
“They were working mainly on the farms, in many cases also hard labor, let’s say 10 hours a day using pesticides,” he said. Other children work in family bakeries or as mechanics.
UNICEF is providing cash assistance — 30 Jordanian dinars or about $45 per month — for families to remove a Syrian child from work and return him to school, according to Servadei.
October 12th, 2013, 1:04 pm
zoo said:
The SNC, the opposition and the rebels supporters continue what they are best at: Whining and blaming the West
Peace prize an Assad ‘victory’
October 13, 2013
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/peace-prize-an-assad-victory-20131012-2vf2c.html#ixzz2hWplbk2X
…
Supporters of the Syrian rebel cause believe the honour represents tacit support for the deal under which OPCW was allowed into Syria. That was negotiated by Russia as a way of warding off American intervention, and the Syrian opposition said it allowed Mr Assad to consolidate his grip on power.
Advertisement
”Giving the award to OPCW means that a third goes to it, a third to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and a third to Bashar,” said Dr Qasem al-Zain, who became one of the best-known faces of the uprising, treating injured rebels and civilians in the siege of Qusayr this year.
”I think it’s part of the international game being played against Syria, to turn attention away from what the regime is doing.”
Louay al-Mokdad, a spokesman of the Free Syrian Army, said: ”They forgot about our blood. Our problem is not just chemical weapons.”
October 12th, 2013, 1:09 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
Brian Whitaker writes of the chemical weapons process of destruction, and notes that the Syrian government may draw a veil of secrecy over the actual armaments in their stocks. The UMLACAs, if declared, will be rendered useless by the UN/OPCW teams — but we may never know if the rockets found in E Ghouta (which tested positive for Sarin/byproducts) are actually part of the delivery system.
From Al-Bab: Syria and its chemical weapons: What we are not being told
October 12th, 2013, 2:22 pm
annie said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U10D0-wiJ8A
Syria: Executions, Hostage Taking by Rebels
OK, but which rebels? Never has been the policy of the FSA
October 12th, 2013, 2:35 pm
Ziad said:
HRW report on Latakia reflects Washington’s shifting policy
…
The report goes into graphic detail of how rebels attacked the town in large numbers, quickly overpowering local government troops. Witnesses described “frantically attempting to flee as opposition fighters stormed the area, opening fire apparently indiscriminately, and in some cases deliberately shooting at them while they tried to flee. Many of those who were unable to flee were killed or taken hostage.” Whole families were massacred in their homes. In many cases, male civilians were summarily executed whilst women and children were either killed attempting to flee or taken hostage. Furthermore, the report makes clear that the attack on Latakia was not the work of a “rogue group” and was clearly premeditated and organised in advance. Decapitation, slit-throats, multiple point-blank gunshot wounds, multiple stab wounds, and “complete charring” among the victims. The ruthless barbarity inflicted upon civilians is reminiscent of previous unsolved massacres that received widespread attention earlier on in the conflict.
Although much attention should rightly be focused on the barbaric nature of the attack and identifying its perpetrators, it is also important to consider the timing of the HRW report. The attacks on Latakia were over two months ago; long before the chemical weapons attack on August 21st in Ghouta, which HRW covered extensively – with far less source material at their disposal – only two weeks after the event. Once the Syrian Army (SAA) and National Defense Forces (NDF) had driven out the insurgents and regained control of the villages in Latakia; local Syrian media reported on the mass-graves that were found, and indeed, the many missing people. Moreover, the aforementioned video of captives with the Libyan militant Abu Suhaib also received widespread attention in local and alternative media. Conversely, these events went largely ignored in western media; the focus of western coverage on Syria was immediately flooded by the furore surrounding the attacks in Ghouta on August the 21st, again, in stark contrast to any coverage of the assault on Latakia. It should also be noted that the Syrian government itself had (unsuccessfully) tried to suppress reports of the attack on Latakia in order to preserve morale within its core support-base and avert the possibility of exacerbating sectarian divisions rapidly spreading throughout the country. The rebels had no such intention; the region of Latakia was intentionally targeted for the specific reason that the majority of its civilian inhabitants are Alawite and supporters of the Syrian government.
The question then remains, why have HRW chosen to publish this report now? The fact that the report is being released over two months after the event suggests its release has been suppressed. Working from the “theory” that HRW is in no way “independent” and in reality acts as a propaganda arm to forward the objectives of the United States Government, the answer for the apparent delay may lie in Washington’s shifting policy on Syria. Last week John Kerry was berated by hawks in Congress for coming close to praising the Assad government for its efforts with the OPCW, in their attempts to destroy Syria’s chemical stockpile; a man three weeks earlier Kerry had equated to Hitler. Another indicator lies in the report itself, in which much attention is paid to third parties responsible for funding and providing logistics for the attack. In short, the report points to three principal parties as guilty in this respect: the Turkish government, Gulf states, and private Gulf donors.
http://notthemsmdotcom.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/syria-hrw-report-on-latakia-reflects-washingtons-shifting-policy/
October 12th, 2013, 3:59 pm
louai said:
today more than 4 missile attacks were lunched from rebels controlled neighbourhoods in Homes against Al Adawyya neighbourhood
indiscriminate attack on Civilians cause the death of one woman and her young doughterand more than 6 injured
name of the mother is Sabah Al Eyssa
her doughtier is Kinana Hazeem
photos attached of the building and of Kenana Hazeem the dead young girl
photos source is
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=450697508372297&id=323399337768782
October 12th, 2013, 4:27 pm
Syrian said:
Yesterday in one town alone tens of civilians died after Assad militia targeted people while leaving the Friday prayers video included
#Syria #Saqba #Martyr
#???? #???? 11-10-2013
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————————
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———————–
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——————-
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====================
October 12th, 2013, 4:46 pm
Ziad said:
Since 1967 Israel has razed over 800,000 Palestinian olive trees, the equivalent to destroying Central Park 33 times over
This week marked the start of the annual Palestinian olive harvest, an ancient tradition on which 80,000 families still rely for their livelihoods. Yet these families face growing economic hardship due to Israeli land confiscations, access restrictions, settler attacks, and not least the widespread uprooting, destruction and theft of the trees themselves.
The infographic ‘Uprooted’ focuses on the staggering fact that Israeli authorities have uprooted over 800,000 Palestinian olive trees since 1967, the equivalent to razing all of the 24,000 trees in New York’s central park 33 times.
This graphic is being released as part of Visualizing Palestine’s 2013 crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. We would love if you could share the campaign URL with the graphic and through social media.
http://linkis.com/mondoweiss.net/2013/VbNi
October 12th, 2013, 4:49 pm
zoo said:
(The Syrian Arab Crescent and a Syrian government ministry) evacuates 2,000 women, children trapped in Muadamiyet Al-Cham
http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2338815&Language=en
DAMASCUS, Oct 12 (KUNA) — Syria Saturday transferred 2,000 women and children from area Muadamiyet Al-Cham after being trapped for one month because of daily clashes between rebels and Syrian regime forces.
Syrian news agency (SANA) said that amid efforts to protect citizens from armed groups, the “Syrian Social Affairs Ministry, Damascus Countryside Governorate and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) transported 2,000 women and children from Muadamiyet Al-Cham area who had been held hostage by terrorist groups to temporary housing centers.
“The women and children were transported to housing centers via buses, while sick and elderly people were transported using ambulances provided by the SARC,” the ministry said.
Social Affairs Minister Kinda Al-Shammat said that this step was taken after terrorists began preventing supplies and relief from reaching the area where these people were located.
The minister affirmed on the government commitment to providing good living conditions to evacuated people
October 12th, 2013, 4:50 pm
zoo said:
A glimpse of hopes as some FSA rebels may be flipping to join the SAA against Al Qaeda
Syria, the Next Phase
http://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Middle-East/Syria-the-Next-Phase.html
Bottom Line: Watch now as the original Syrian rebels float back to Assad, who becomes the “savior” of Syria and the only force capable of dealing with the radical, al-Qaeda-linked elements.
Analysis: The Free Syrian Army (FSA) is disintegrating quickly, with its original, legitimate rebel members dealing with the Assad regime and making a clean break with the radical “rebel” forces connected with al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra. Key FSA rebels from Aleppo are said to be meeting with a representative of the Assad regime in Damascus to talk peace. The deal in the works would see the reopening of public institutions in Aleppo (like schools) in areas controlled by rebel forces and possibly in parts of Homs province. The al-Nusra forces have recently launched some high-profile, very bloody attacks on Christian churches and villages, and its growing desperation in the wake of a US decision to back down from strikes on Syria is likely to lead to more such incidents. These incidents do not sit well with the moderate members of the FSA—the original Syrian rebels fighting Assad.
Recommendation: What is happening, essentially, is that growing numbers of rebels—disillusioned by the inaction by the West—are joining the ranks of the radical al-Nusra, and this is turn is causing the original, moderate rebels to become fearful of the implications and choose Assad as the lesser evil. What is also happening is that Russia, the US and Iran are
October 12th, 2013, 4:56 pm
zoo said:
If “good” rebel leaders of the FSA increasingly defect the FSA and join the Syria Army, they are the ones who will be represented in Geneva, not the SNC clowns who have zero credibility on the ground and continue their obsolete song of requesting Bashar Al Assad to resign. That’s why the SNC is rushing to announce a ‘governement’: They worry the leaders of the ‘good’ FSA will take over the leadership of the opposition in Geneva.
The clock is ticking toward November planned Geneva II
October 12th, 2013, 5:04 pm
Hopeful said:
#551 Ziad
“The question then remains, why have HRW chosen to publish this report now? The fact that the report is being released over two months after the event suggests its release has been suppressed. ”
Conspiracy theorists have answers for any question. If HRW did not publish a report on rebels violations, it is because it is a us government puppet. If it did, it is because the us government is shifting its policy and wants to signal the change. If the report is “late”, it is because it must have been suppressed.
How about a more obvious answer: they were busy gathering facts and checking them for accuracy so they can bring to the world a credible report? Why do we have to be so cynical about everything? Can we have some appreciation for the hard and dangerous work that these groups are performing to bring us facts about what is really happening in Syria?
October 12th, 2013, 5:11 pm
Ziad said:
46 Scenes From The Islamic State In Syria
The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham has been setting up proto-governance in a number of places in northern and eastern Syria.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/aaronyzelin/46-scenes-from-the-islamic-state-in-syria-dski
October 12th, 2013, 5:22 pm
Ziad said:
HRW brags that it never before documented war crimes by Syrian armed groups
“This is the first time that we have documented opposition forces actually systematically targeting civilians,” said Lama Fakih, the group’s deputy director in Beirut, Lebanon.” I know it is the first time because you never bothered before.
From Angry Arab
October 12th, 2013, 5:24 pm
Hopeful said:
In a democracy with free media and an abundance of watch groups, everything becomes visible and transparent, sooner of later:
http://public-accountability.org/2013/10/conflicts-of-interest-in-the-syria-debate/
Do we know anything about the income of the Syrian regime supporters “experts” who are constantly paraded on Syrian TV every day?
October 12th, 2013, 5:44 pm
Ziad said:
ISIL Terrorists Hold Head of Syrian Soldier & Threaten to Slaughter
October 12th, 2013, 5:52 pm
Observer said:
No one can pick and choose HRW reports and the majority have clearly shown the regime to be responsible for the most atrocities in the country.
The very fact that it has started to use violence against any dissent beginning more than 40 years ago with arbitration arrests, a state of emergency, rule by decree, and the list goes on and on is now culminating in full destruction of the country.
As for the budget of the government. Of course it is on paper. By the time it translates into anything it will be in the deep pockets of the mafia.
Pleassssssssssssse spare us the adoration garbage.
October 12th, 2013, 6:29 pm
omen said:
i do.
as, i’m sure, others.
October 12th, 2013, 7:37 pm
omen said:
chances are regime apologists know this to be the case. they just refuse to acknowledge it.
October 12th, 2013, 7:52 pm
mjabali said:
Observer:
The atrocities that took place on August 4th are well known. The question here is not to lament those who died: but how to bring those abducted? Women and children are still in captivity with a group that is applying on them Fatwas done for this sole reason.
The Assads has been brutal to the Syrians: it is a fact that the Sunnis took most of it, but, this does not mean we do not see the deliberate attack on these villages on August 4th and see the danger of it. Remember, many on this board were happy with this attack on the Alawite civilians. They want revenge to the Sunnis getting killed by al-Assad. This revenge mentality is not going to solve anything.
This stubbornness is what I spoke about. No party in Syria is willing to give anything to achieve any sort of tranquility and peace. So far, both parties insisted on solving things with violence. It is not working for neither party and look at what we have now: a wild bunch: dropping bombs, blowing themselves up, blowing others up, destroying history….etc
The only way to solve matters, if you want to, is through some concessions from all parties.
October 12th, 2013, 8:09 pm
zoo said:
Syria: 50 Killed as Rebels Fight Each Other
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/172763#.UlntYjca5j0
…
Almost 50 rebel fighters have been killed in three days of skirmishes between jihadists and mainstream rebels in the Syrian city of Aleppo, reports Al Arabiya.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday that the violence began on Thursday between members of the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and a battalion linked to the Arab and Western-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA), both of which are fighting to overthrow Syria’s embattled President Bashar Al-Assad.
“At least 30 fighters from the Ababil Brigade and 14 from ISIL have been killed in combat, and that toll could rise further,” the Observatory’s Rami Abdel Rahman said, according to AFP.
Rahman said that fighting broke out in several district of the city, with ISIL making gains in several areas.
Since July last year, Aleppo’s east district has been held by the rebels, and the west has been held by forces loyal to Assad.
The 13-member Islamic Front for the Liberation of Syria, which split off from the Syrian National Council opposition force, declared the northern commercial hub city of Aleppo to be an independent Islamist state months ago.
Since that time, a second civil war has begun in war-ravaged Syria, between the more moderate rebel groups and the Islamist extremist groups.
Members of Al-Nusra and other Syrian rebels groups have committed atrocities during the Syrian civil war, including publicly beheading a Catholic priest who was accused of collaborating with Bashar Al-Assad’s regime.
Some of the Islamist groups have attempted to soften their image in an attempt to win hearts and minds – holding stand up comedy shows and handing out toys to local children.
October 12th, 2013, 8:52 pm
zoo said:
Syrian army advances as rebels rain down Damascus
Oct 13,2013
DAMASCUS, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) — The Syrian army on Saturday advanced against the rebels in the countryside of the capital Damascus and pushed its way to the northern city of Aleppo, as the rebels rained down Damascus with mortar shells, local media reported.
In a bid to secure the heart of al-Ghouta, the eastern countryside of Damascus, the Syrian army started an operation in the al-Baharieh town to close in on the rebels and push its way to the town of Nashabieh. Both towns are part of Ghouta, which is overwhelmed by several rebel factions.
The notable progress in Aleppo came after the Syria troops secured an international road that connects the central province of Hama with Aleppo, thus allowing the country’s trade to be revived between northern Syria and the southern part.
Around the highway, the Syrian army also dislodged the rebels from 40 villages, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the army regained the town of Abu Jurain in the countryside of Aleppo on Saturday and besieged the town of Sufaira, a key strategic rebel stronghold. Reports said stripping the rebels of Sufaira would deal a strong blow to the armed opposition, whose several Islamic factions have been entrenched in Aleppo for over a year.
During the recent actions near Aleppo, the Syrian army had dismantled more than 600 anti-tanks mines and 1500 explosive devices, according to the state media.
Reports said the Syrian troops’ push toward Aleppo came apparently as part of a tactic to take advantage of the infighting that has flared between radical Islamist groups affiliated with al- Qaida and the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA).
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 50 rebels had been killed over the past three days amid infighting between the two rebel factions.
Meanwhile, the rebels in the hotspots surrounding Damascus fired multiple mortar shells against several districts, killing at least five people, including an eight-year-old girl.
The first three mortars landed respectively at the Shalaan district, Najmeh Square and Abu-Rummaneh areas in the heart of Damascus. Another two shells struck a residential area in the Damascus’ suburb of Jaramana, killing at least four people and injuring many others.
The mortar attacks were part of the endless wave of attacks the rebels have been resorting to in a bid to wobble the government’s grip on the heavily-fortified capital.
The escalating conflicts between the rebels and government troops continue amid international efforts to hold a conference addressing the Syria crisis in Geneva by mid-November.
Clashes and violence continue as international chemical experts conduct their mission in Syria to oversee the destruction of the country’s chemical arsenal.
October 12th, 2013, 8:52 pm
zoo said:
Joshua must be happy. In view of the numbers of thumbs, SC is getting a much larger active readers than it ever had.
Unless the thumbs up are hacked by frustated commenters as they see that the post of their allies are getting too many thumbs down.
We have seen amazing reversal of fortune for some commenters who were getting scarce one or two thumbs up and who are now reaching peaks.
Curiously the largest number of negative thumbs go for the anti-rebels commenters, while the highest goes to the pro-rebels.
Very interesting.. Coincidence?
October 12th, 2013, 9:00 pm
zoo said:
ISIS is forever thankful to the opposition who invited them and welcomed them in Syria
“THE civil war in Syria, a nightmare for most Syrians, is a dream come true for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)”
Syria’s civil war
Will the jihadists overreach?
http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21587845-extremist-group-ruffling-feathers-including-those-its-islamist
THE civil war in Syria, a nightmare for most Syrians, is a dream come true for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), the latter name being variously translated as “Greater Syria” or “the Levant”. The extremist group, formed in Iraq in 2006 as a broad jihadist front that includes al-Qaeda in Iraq, has had its best year to date for expansion. In Syria it runs a clutch of towns, taking it a step closer to its goal of creating a limitless Islamic caliphate. In Iraq its campaign of bombing against Shia Muslims, whom it considers heretics, and of assassinations of its opponents, has reached a new pitch of fury.
Syria’s power vacuum has given it an ideal base. Since expanding into the country in April, ISIS has spread across the northern and eastern provinces abutting Iraq and Turkey to include thousands of fighters on both sides of the border. Its foreign leadership is experienced, its footmen, foreign and Syrian, well-trained and disciplined. Its control of Syria’s oilfields has added wealth to the funds it gets from donors in the Gulf. It has sought to increase its popularity by providing services, such as supplying bread, and activities including Koranic classes for children.
October 12th, 2013, 9:14 pm
omen said:
i hate to upset you again but this is not true.
who was happy? nobody celebrates the innocent being killed.
October 12th, 2013, 9:17 pm
Observer said:
Agreed Mjabali
What concessions do you propose?
I would propose two sets: one prospective and one retrospective.
Prospective concessions: Dissolution of the security house of cards in an orderly manner. One external security service and one internal counter intelligence service. One local police force and one federal police force.
Dissolution of the Republican guard with integration into the armed forces of its elements.
Complete separation of the Judiciary from the other branches of government.
Abolition of the ministries of information and of religious affairs. The ministry of the interior is separated from the police and security forces. These will be local and subject to the ministry of Justice. The Justice ministry in contrast to all others is appointed by the Supreme Court and answers to the executive thereafter.
All rebels are to join the local and federal forces for I do think that a federation is what will emerge.
Those that refuse will be fought. Departure of all foreign fighters and advisors and that includes Russians and Iranians and HA.
Truth and Reconciliation commission with the help of South Africa. This will be the retrospective one to start with. A commission to look into the thefts of all parties.
All foreign interfering powers to cease doing so including Russia and the US and others. Norwegians, Swedes, Japanese, Nepalese, Indians, can start helping with reconstruction and policing.
I just fired off very quick and poorly thought out ideas just to bring the conversation to some fruition. It is like brainstorming.
The more that participate the merrier.
October 12th, 2013, 9:20 pm
omen said:
why do you lie like this? the opposition did not invite them in. assad released alqaeda members from prison.
the economist fails to mention the regime facilitated coordinating both sunni and shia militants in iraq to kill americans.
October 12th, 2013, 9:40 pm
omen said:
why not? the dead deserve to be lamented.
zaid benjamin had some word on the hostages:
October 12th, 2013, 9:53 pm
Ghufran said:
Yaseen Alhajj Saleh:
????? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ??????? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ?? ???? ???
??? ?????? ???? ??? ?????. ???? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ?? ????.
???? ?? ????? ???? ?? ??? ???? ???? ?????. ?? ?????? ??? ??????. ??? ????? ?? ?????. ???? ????.
?? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ?? “??????”. ????? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ??????. ???? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ?????. ????? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ????? ???????? ??????? ???????? ???? ??????.
?? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????? ????????. ??? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ????? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???? ??? ?? ??? ????? ??????
October 12th, 2013, 10:33 pm
Ghufran said:
Some much needed relief to civilians in M’addamiyeh:
????? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?? ??? 2000 ??? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ???????? ???? ????? ???????? ??? ????? ???? ???? ????? “????” ??????? ??????? ???? “????? ??????? ??? ??????? ???????”? ??? ????? ????? ?? ??? ??? ???????? ???? ??????.
????? ????? ??????? ???? ???????? ??? ????? ??????? ?????????? ?? “?????? ???????? ???? ?? 1200 ??? ?900 ????? ?????? ?? ???????? ????? ?????? ????? ?????”? ?????? ?? “??????? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? ???????? ??? ??????? ??? ????”.
????? ??????? ??? ?? “??? 6 ???? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ???????? ?? ?? ???? ??????? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???????? ???????”.
October 13th, 2013, 12:30 am
omen said:
October 13th, 2013, 6:46 am
Uzair8 said:
563. Omen
Yes you’re right and I was aware, but still. ‘We’ in small case. My passion and desire to lift morale got the better of me. In essence I meant we don’t do despair.
October 13th, 2013, 8:41 am
omen said:
October 13th, 2013, 8:44 am
zoo said:
Who wants killings to continue?
Key Syria opposition group rejects peace talks
This means that we will not stay in the Coalition if it goes, Sabra says
AFP
Published: 16:15 October 13, 2013
Gulf News
Beirut: A key group within the Syrian opposition National Coalition said on Sunday it would not attend proposed peace talks in Geneva and would quit the Coalition if it participated.
“The Syrian National Council, which is the biggest bloc in the Coalition, has taken the firm decision… not to go to Geneva, under the present circumstances [on the ground],” Council president George Sabra told AFP.
“This means that we will not stay in the Coalition if it goes” to the peace talks in Geneva, he added.
He invoked the ongoing suffering of Syrians on the ground and said his group would not negotiate before the fall of the regime.
October 13th, 2013, 9:10 am
zoo said:
Omen
” assad released alqaeda members from prison.”
Tchechen, french , british, Pakistanis, Afghans, Tunisians were jailed in Syria? 20,000 of them? Are you joking?
Of course you need to find a good explanation to that major mistake that is costing the irreversible collapse of the armed opposition.
The truth is that the FSA welcomed them and fought with them and claimed victories thanks to them. They said that they welcomed them because the West was not attacking the SAA.
Now they are having second thoughts and deny their affiliation.
Sorry, it’s too late, they are finished.
October 13th, 2013, 9:17 am
ghufran said:
The NC decided not to participate in Geneva:
???? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ????? ??????? ???? ???????? ?? “????? ???? 2” ?????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ???????.
???? ?????? ????????? ?? ???????? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ????????? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????? “????? ???”.
???? ???? ???? “?? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ???????? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ???? ??? ???? ?? ?? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?? ?????.”
????? “??? ???? ??? (??????) ?? ???? ?? ???????? ??? ??? ?? ???? ??? ????”.
October 13th, 2013, 9:23 am
zoo said:
Who can save Aleppo from the advances of Jihadists?
Jihadists make gains in inter-rebel clashes
Aleppo battles have killed nearly 50 people in three day
http://gulfnews.com/in-focus/syria/jihadists-make-gains-in-inter-rebel-clashes-1.1242750
…
The report of battles between groups that share the aim of ousting Al Assad came as mortar fire in Damascus claimed the lives of four civilians.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group that relies on a network of activists across the war-torn country, said the inter-rebel fighting in Aleppo erupted on Thursday.
It pitted militants of the Al Qaida-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) against a battalion linked to the Arab- and Western-backed Free Syrian Army.
“At least 30 fighters from the [FSA’s] Ababil Brigade and 14 from Isil have been killed in combat, and that toll could rise further,” the Observatory’s Rami Abdul Rahman said.
He said the clashes rocked several districts of Syria’s former commercial hub, and that Isil, which expounds an extreme form of Islam, made gains in three sectors.
The Isil militants have now consolidated their presence in Aleppo, which has been more or less split into a rebel-held east and pro-regime west since July last year.
Although both claim the ouster of Assad as a common aim, jihadists and the mainstream rebels have come to blows many times in recent months.
Across northern and eastern Syria, Isil has set up checkpoints on roads to border crossings and opened new fronts to try to crush other groups fighting to oust the embattled president.
The Syrian civil war has drawn in fighters from across the Arab world and beyond since it flared in response to a bloody government crackdown on democracy protests in March 2011.
October 13th, 2013, 9:27 am
Tara said:
Omen,
From Joshua’s main post above, I quote word for word:
“2. Zahran Alloush, the general Commander of Jaysh al-Islam or Islam Army, a group of more than 50 brigades. He is the son of a Saudi-based religious scholar named sheikh Abdullah Mohammed Alloush. Syrian authorities released him from prison in mid-2011. He was incarcerated for his Salafist opposition activities in Sidnaya prison along with #1 and #3. ”
Syrian revolution started March, 2011. Why did the regime release ISIS head along with #1 and #3 from prison few months later while continued to imprison women and children? Why is the Western media so stupid not to link ISIS with the regime?
While The rank and file of ISIS might be foreign jihadists who have no clues otherwise, its leadership is regime tool, performing atrocities and issuing outrageous decelerations at the very instruction of the regime to help Bashar sway the global opinion.
October 13th, 2013, 9:27 am
Observer said:
The needed relief is for the regime to go. There is daily proof that the regime does not care and does not take any responsibility for the citizens. If it did, how come no one resigned over the lack of protecting civilians from a CW attack as the pretense of the regime has been?
Laughvrov says that Syrians have traveled all the way to Afghanistan to get training on CW. Who does he think he can fool? Stalin did not have such propaganda garbage.
The war has not reached its full horror yet. There is going to be significantly more violence. The only difference is that the regime cannot use CW any longer. It can use the conventional weapons. It does not have any troops left to conduct offensive operations any longer. It has to rely on foreign fighters.
In response, there will be many more foreign fighter flooding in.
What about the concessions that Mjabali mentioned. At least we can have a real conversation. I am thinking about a proper set of concessions as my first attempt was just a quick brain storming.
October 13th, 2013, 9:34 am
ghufran said:
Akram Raslan of Hama, an editorial political cartoonist, was tortured to death by security forces-mukhabarat, according to opposition sources:
??? ?????? ??????? ?? ?????? ? ???? ??????????? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ????????? ?? ???? ?????????.
? ??? ????? ??????? ????? ????? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??? ?? ??? ???? ???? ??????? ?????? ?????? “????? ?? ???? ?????” ???? ??? ???????? ??? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??? ???????.
????? ????? ??? “??? ???” ????? ????? ?? ?????? “?????” ?? ?? ????? “??????” ??????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ????.
????? ?????? ???? ????? “?????” ????? ????? ? ???? ????? ??? ????? “????? ?? ???? ?????” ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ?????? ? ?? ????? ?????.
???? ?? “?????” ?? ?????? ??? 1974 ?? ????? ????? ?????? ? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ??????- ??? ??????- ?? ????? ???? ?? ??? 1996? ??? ?? ??? ??? ????? ? ?????.
Raslan was arrested 5 months before human rights organizations made his case public in February, 2013:
Syrian cartoonist Akram Raslan passed away under torture in Bashar al-Assad security chambers, Cartoonists Rights Network International said.
Dr. Robert Russell, Executive Director of Cartoonists Rights Network International said in a statement, Raslan ” is reported to be in a mass grave somewhere near Damascus.” Adding, ”Our reliable but for obvious reasons anonymous sources further allege that the murder of Akram and other condemned prisoners was carried out by Mohammad Nassif Kheir Bek, currently the Deputy Vice President for Security Affairs in Syria.”
About nine months ago young Akram Raslan was abducted from the offices of his newspaper and “disappeared” into the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s prisons for the next six months.
October 13th, 2013, 10:02 am
annie said:
http://alisariram.wordpress.com/ a site to visit and its latest article
http://alisariram.wordpress.com/2013/10/13/farewell-to-syria-for-a-while-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B9-%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%A4%D9%82%D8%AA%D8%A7/
also reblogged on Walls : http://7ee6an.wordpress.com/2013/10/13/farewell-to-syria-for-a-while-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B9-%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%A4%D9%82%D8%AA%D8%A7/
October 13th, 2013, 10:13 am
zoo said:
Observer
The Syrian Government will not have to make any concessions that it does not want. It is having the upper hand again both militarily and politically as the polluted FSA is finally crumbling and the SNC manipulated by Saudi Arabia’s obsession with Bashar Al Assad is still refusing to negotiate to reach peace. They appear weaker than ever.
The Jihadists are gradually taking over by force all the areas held by the FSA to create their ‘dream’ Islamic caliphate.
The ‘good’ FSA will have no choice that to join the SAA and fight against these terrorists. The Kurds are also incline to rally to the SAA for the same reason.
Without the ‘support’ of the Syrians on the ground, the SNC may have a tiny place in the negotiations if they finally decide to participate . The SNC is mostly made of expats and GCC employees and have shown incompetence and disregard for humans lives by calling the West to bomb Syria. They have near to zero credibility in Syria.
I doubt violence will increase significantly, quite the contrary. There are safe areas in Syria where Alawites and Sunnis cohabit without friction. Once reassured, many refugees will move to these areas. The areas occupied by the rebels aka Al Qaeda will remain for a while as bastions of radical Islamists and the target of regular military attacks, encouraged by the West.
This is a new phase with different dynamics. Maybe you need to make better ‘observations’ instead of singing the same old song.
October 13th, 2013, 10:21 am
zoo said:
Barzani says Iraqi Kurds could strike militants in Syria
13 October 2013 /TODAY’S ZAMAN, ?STANBUL
Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said on Sunday that his government could strike militants everywhere, including in Syria, to protect Kurds, although he cautioned against being drawn into the civil war the neighboring country.
“We will not hesitate in directing strikes (against) the terrorist criminals in any place,” Barzani said in an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP), when asked about the possibility of Kurdish action against militants in Iraq or Syria. “Our duty is to protect the Kurds if we are able,” he said.
Barzani did not name any group but his remarks appeared to be aimed at radical Islamist groups fighting along with the Syrian opposition to topple the Syrian regime.
October 13th, 2013, 10:28 am
zoo said:
Libyan militiamen shoot at Syrian refugees trying to travel from Libya to Malta by boat.
Malta shipwreck survivors say ‘militiamen’ fired at boat
Sapa-AFP | 13 October, 2013 15:58
http://www.timeslive.co.za/world/2013/10/13/malta-shipwreck-survivors-say-militiamen-fired-at-boat
Syrian refugees who survived after their boat capsized off Malta in the latest disaster in the Mediterranean say they were fired on by warring trafficking gangs as they set out on their perilous journey from Libya.
Thirty-three people perished after the boat sank on Friday, a week after another shipwreck off Italy left at least 359 dead, prompting Malta to warn that the Mediterranean was becoming “a cemetery”.
The boat, carrying up to 400 migrants, mostly Syrians, left the Libyan port of Zwara on Thursday, just 60 kilometres (37 miles) from the Tunisian border.
Survivors said Libyan militiamen shot wildly at their boat, leaving several people dead and causing the vessel to take on water and sink.
….
October 13th, 2013, 10:33 am
zoo said:
“Many believe that it will be easy to purge such groups from the region once the Assad regime is toppled.”
“Radicalizing a group of people is much easier than making them more democratic or literate.”
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/gokhan-bacik-328917-the-sociology-of-radicalism-turkey-and-its-new-neighbors.html
….
To begin with, there is a false sociological reading of radicalism in Turkey. Many believe that it will be easy to purge such groups from the region once the Assad regime is toppled. Those pundits even argue that radical groups do not have a sociological basis, thus they have no chance of survival in the long term. All such arguments are false. They miss how sociology interacts with radicalism on the ground. Radicalizing a group of people is much easier than making them more democratic or literate. Radicalism operates and evolves through the shortcuts of sociological networks. It can, therefore, quickly become a sociological phenomenon in any location, including those of the most advanced societies, even of Northern Europe. Comparatively short periods, like three to five years, are enough for a well-organized radical group to sow and harvest its sociological connections.
War has long been held, in conventional thinking of international relations, to be the most terrible of events. It is still considered a very bad thing. However, the more devastating event now is the collapse of the state. It is no longer traditional wars that determine the balances of global politics; state collapses do that now. In fact, in the Middle East, we are living in the age of state collapses. Critical states like Iraq and Syria have collapsed. Many other states face serious statehood crises. Just like wars, state collapses destroy everything we have of value in social and civil life
October 13th, 2013, 10:37 am
ghufran said:
Erdogang exposed (NY Times):
Erdogan’s tactic of antagonizing secularists and Alevis is designed to rally the A.K.P. faithful. So far, this has proved effective; since the protests broke out, the party has risen in the polls. But in the long run, it is a risky strategy. Stoking sectarian tensions is dangerous at a time when Turkey is exposed to backlash against its involvement in Syria. Turkish support for Syria’s Sunni rebels, including jihadis, has made it a target of Shiite retaliation. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, recently warned that Turkey may risk a fate similar to that of Pakistan, a country long plagued by sectarian violence.
Erdogan does not seem concerned about threats to the country’s social cohesion; instead, he is focused on threats to his own rule.
The prime minister has gone so far as to draw comparisons between the latest spate of protests and the conditions that preceded the Turkish republic’s first military coup, on May 27, 1960. At the time, worsening economic conditions triggered protests by university students and the police violently suppressed the demonstrations. In a recent speech, Erdogan declared: “Just as a hand is now trying to incite the youth to take to the streets, to cause unrest in the universities, the same things happened in the process that led up to May 27.”
By conjuring the ghost of the May 27 coup, a putsch that overthrew Erdogan’s hero, the conservative leader Adnan Menderes, the prime minister was effectively branding today’s protesters — Alevis and urban secularists — enemies of democracy. Also in Erdogan’s cross hairs is Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (C.H.P.), which he has accused of instigating the recent protests. It so happens that Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the C.H.P., is an Alevi.
Despite his conspiratorial tone, Erdogan’s 1960 analogy is actually quite accurate — just not in the way he intends.
Indeed, much like his hero Menderes did in the late 1950s, Erdogan is dividing the country into hostile camps. Before the 1960 coup, Menderes rallied his conservative base, jailed droves of journalists and tried to quash the opposition. Erdogan has shown no inclination to change the “antiterror” laws currently used to justify the imprisonment of journalists, has permitted the use of excessive force against peaceful demonstrators, and is exacerbating sectarian tensions at a time when Turkey can ill afford it.
Erdogan has enjoyed three consecutive electoral victories and no longer fears the military; he has installed an obedient army chief. Menderes had also won three elections and his chief of staff was loyal. But the 1960 coup came as a surprise precisely because it was not carried out by the generals whom the government controlled, but by lower-ranking officers. At the time, the only thing that frightened Menderes was the possible loss of American support.
During its 10 years in power, international support has helped the A.K.P defeat the military’s old guard by marginalizing generals hostile to the government. But Erdogan’s destructive policies could jeopardize that support.
The conditions for Turkey’s military coups were created by confrontational governments that responded to social discontent with oppression and violence. Erdogan has revived this authoritarian style of leadership. Unless he learns the right lessons from his country’s history, Erdogan’s conjuring of the 1960 coup could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Halil M. Karaveli is a senior fellow at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and the Silk Road Studies Program.
October 13th, 2013, 10:41 am
zoo said:
False news? But it could be possible as Qatar has been beaten in Egypt and Tunisia and may want to have a future role in Syria’s reconstruction business
Emir of Qatar reaches out to President al-Assad
Palestinian sources have revealed that at a meeting between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Abbas Saki from the Palestinian Fatah, a letter destined to the Syrian President was handed from the Emir of Qatar.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani is said to have expressed a keen desire to mend bridges with Syria. The Emir wants to smooth things over with Syria.
Sources further added that rather than discuss the Palestinian issue, Saki had been sent on October 7th by the Emir of Qatar to discuss reconciliation with President Bashar al-Assad instead.
The Emir of Qatar already approached Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas to see how all three nations could work together for the benefit of the region and each other.
Abu Mazen aka Mahmood Abbas was actually invited to Doha this August to discuss that very matter.
October 13th, 2013, 10:43 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Looks like the site is finally learning to call the duck a duck. I wrote assad instead of dog-poop athad, and my comment went into moderation. Finally SC recognizes the word “Assad” as a filthy word.
October 13th, 2013, 11:34 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
reading zouzou one would think that it is running for the chairmanship of SNC. Its concern of the welfare of the SNC is touching, almost as touching as Ghufran’s crocodile tears.
October 13th, 2013, 11:36 am
zoo said:
Hammy
Glad you are touched, I thought you were heartless.
October 13th, 2013, 11:46 am
ALAN said:
the International Committee of the Red Cross says seven of its workers have been kidnapped in northern Syria.
Spokesman Saleh Dabbakeh said gunmen abducted the team near the town of Saraqeb in Idlib province on Sunday morning.
He said six of the people are ICRC workers and one is a volunteer from the Syrian Red Crescent.
October 13th, 2013, 12:43 pm
ALAN said:
The dark alliance
Saudi officials have “taken substantive measures to circumvent Washington altogether on Syria by activating a cadre of new clients in the form of hard-line Salafist rebels who are now united under the umbrella of the army of Islam.”
They “enlisted ’50 brigades’ and some thousands of fighters under a new structure (led) by Zahran Alloush.” He “heads Liwa al-Islam, the new group’s most powerful Salafist brigade.”
UPI quoted pro-regime Saudi analyst Jamal Khashoggi saying:
“For us in Saudi Arabia, the worst scenario is to let (Assad) survive. He has to go.”
Prince Bandar heads Riyadh’s General Intelligence Directorate. Earlier he was Saudi’s US ambassador. He served for 22 years. He’s a master of regional intrigue.
In July, he tried bribing Vladimir Putin. In return for billions of dollars in Russian arms purchases and other economic incentives, he wanted him to stop supporting Assad.
He chose the wrong leader. Putin isn’t for sale. He won’t abandon Syria for blood money. He diplomatically told Bandar no deal.
Apparently what he’s selling Israel is buying. Together with America they comprise an alliance from hell. Other Gulf states and Jordan are believed to be involved.
Israel and Saudi Arabia are strange bedfellows. Israel is a predominantly secular Jewish state. The House of Saud is an fundamentalist Sunni Islam Wahhabi one. Fanaticism defines it.
It’s extremely hostile to Shia Islam and secular Arab states. Assad’s Alawite rule makes him especially unacceptable. Wahhabis want him toppled.
They want their version of Islam replacing Iran’s predominantly Shia government. Israel wants regional rivals removed.
Rogue states operate that way. They employ extreme measures to achieve goals. War is common strategy to do so.
Israel and Saudi Arabia both oppose responsible governance. They deplore treating everyone equitably and fairly. They want Arab spring eruptions contained. They want them kept from blooming.
They fear them spreading and affecting their rule. They backed Egypt’s military coup against Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi.
They want Sunni/Shia divisions exploited advantageously. They believe confrontations and instability work best. They think conflict resolutions, peace, and stability defeat them strategically.
They perhaps believe allying creates greater mutually beneficial opportunities……
http://www.dailycensored.com/unholy-alliance/
October 13th, 2013, 1:22 pm
ALAN said:
@FrankfurtFinanz
Hollande -now a petrodollar bitch-purchased w/ Saudi/Qatar money to join the wahhabist-likud axis.
pic.twitter.com/bFAiKxrHHu
October 13th, 2013, 1:26 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
It is heartening to see regimists denouncing the atrocity committed by ISIS and allies in Lattakia. This horrified reaction suggests that casualties are not just some ‘collateral’ to a messy war. The present outrage suggests that they can actually feel for the ‘disappeared’ — even if the outrage is selective and tends to absolve the Assad regime from responsibility for war crimes.
Here is a wrenching post from Racan Alhoch, posted May 15 of this year: 10 THINGS WORSE THAN EATING A DEAD MAN’S HEART
October 13th, 2013, 1:59 pm
ALAN said:
?? ??
In January, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that because his country’s talks to join the European Union had stalled, he might seek instead to join China and Russia in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Few took the threat seriously; Turkey has been a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization since the 1950s. Yet the government’s decision late last month to award a $3 billion air and missile defense system contract to a state-run company from China suggests that Erdogan is turning east to look for new security partners.
The China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corp., or CPMIEC, won the contract to co-produce its HQ-9 surface-to-air missile system in Turkey over bids from the makers of U.S. Patriot missiles, Russian S-300s and a French-Italian equivalent. CPMIEC offered to produce the Turkish defense system, T-Loramids, for about $1 billion less than its competitors, and with more flexibility for transferring the technology involved to Turkey. The Chinese also offered to invest in building a technology park on the outskirts of Istanbul.
So there were good, practical reasons to want the Chinese deal, yet from a wider standpoint, the decision suggests Erdogan’s government wants to demonstrate to the West that it can have its defense needs met elsewhere. Erdogan’s disillusionment with the U.S. and the EU has deepened since his statement in January, due to their condemnation of the harsh way in which he dealt with the so-called Gezi Park protests, which he characterized as a foreign plot conducted by terrorists. He has been upset, too, by the failure of the U.S. to intervene militarily in Syria.
Incompatible Systems
Chinese-built missiles, as U.S. officials said in expressing concerns about the deal after it was announced, would not be interoperable with NATO systems, as are the Patriot missiles that Germany installed along Turkey’s border with Syria last year. In putting a Chinese system in place, analysts say, Turkey would forfeit an important NATO radar capability, including for a planned missile defense system that will have its forward radar in southeastern Turkey. This involves top-secret technology that cannot be transferred to non-NATO members, yet Chinese designers would need access to that information if they were to make their system interoperable……
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-07/turkey-s-unwise-pivot-to-the-east.html
October 13th, 2013, 2:38 pm
ALAN said:
Interview with Yehuda Sharon
http://youtu.be/r87iFz4Ga7Q?t=39s
October 13th, 2013, 2:44 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
ZIAD,
You are giving false information. You are spreading toxic misinformation to justify the defense of a criminal regime formed by corrupt criminals.
October 13th, 2013, 2:55 pm
Observer said:
Zoozoo please skip my posts they are meant for decent intelligent thoughtful people like Mjabali or Syrian Hamster or Tara or WSS.
October 13th, 2013, 3:23 pm
annie said:
http://www.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/visuel/2013/06/04/sur-le-front-de-damas_3423103_3218.html
plenty of evidence about chemical Bashar
October 13th, 2013, 3:53 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
War crimes, crimes against humanity — this is the language used by the HRW report on summary executions by the ISIS jihadis. This language is adopted by regimists on SC, and serves (rightly) to condemn unacceptable behaviour by warring parties.
But — can the regime side acknowledge the atrocious behaviour of the Assad-allied militias? Or will the bloc of Assad-lovers skim past and disregard evidence of war crimes committed by their favoured armed formations?
Here’s a CNN story that analyses a recent atrocity committed by the side of The House of Assad. The casual brutality may no longer be shocking in the general scheme of war in Syria. Still, watch the regimists slide right by evidence that crimes are being committed by their ‘side.’ These are the forces glamorized by the regime side, its agents and salesmen.
Syrian war’s brutality isn’t going away
Here’s the calculus we will see demonstrated by ZIAD, ZOO and ALAN/Citizen:
Summary execution of civilians by ISIS maniacs; the worst outrage imaginable …
The same type of executions of non-regime civilians by the SAA and allies; oh well, hum har hum, Zzzzzzzz, ho hum, this is war …
October 13th, 2013, 3:59 pm
ghufran said:
al-furqan,the media arm for ISIS terrorist group, posted a video of tribal leaders in Syria who pledged “allegiance” to ISIS, then the video takes us to a “Gazwah” near Iraq’s borders where ISIS thugs attack an unidentified convoy killing scores of men.
Slowly but steadily, ISIS and Nusra will focus on the eastern side of Syria and try to connect with their terrorist brothers in Iraq leaving rebels in other parts of Syria to fight alone or lay down their weapons. There is a definite military benefit to keeping terrorists in a particular area instead of allowing their filth to contaminate the whole country, furthermore, the presence of ISIS and Nusra in that area will make it hard for other nations to stay “neutral” when their own territories become a playground for alqaeda fighters.
October 13th, 2013, 4:39 pm
ghufran said:
Two explosions were heard in Al-Umawiyeen Square near government TV, it is not clear whether that was due to car bombs or mortar.
Here is a video documenting the attack:
October 13th, 2013, 5:52 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Time for concessions
Assad family can stay in Syria. They can even keep official jobs and pay as cleaners of the latrines in temporary housing camps that will be erected inside Syria until reconstruction of areas their chief buffoon destroyed. Their family name will then have to change to reflect their new, and far more appropriate status.
There is nothing wrong in a hard honest day job, something these parasites never did in their filthy misery causing lives.
October 13th, 2013, 5:53 pm
zoo said:
Northern Syria under rebels control is increasingly the domain of lawless criminals and kidnappers.
Syria: Seven Red Cross workers abducted, aid group says
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/la-fg-wn-red-cross-kidnapped-syria-20131013,0,627747.story
BEIRUT — Gunmen waylaid a humanitarian convoy in northern Syria on Sunday and abducted seven people working with the International Committee of the Red Cross, the aid group said.
It was the latest in a series of kidnappings of both foreign nationals and Syrians along roads in largely lawless stretches of northern Syria, much of which is under control of anti-government insurgents. Some armed groups are reportedly using ransoms from kidnappings to help finance their activities.
Sunday’s attack underscored the dangers to aid workers and others inside Syria, now in the third year of a bloody civil war.
Among those kidnapped in northern Syria in recent months have been a number of foreign journalists and two Christian bishops: Greek Orthodox Bishop Boulos Yazigi and Syriac Orthodox Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim. The fate of the two bishops, who were seized near Aleppo in April, remains publicly unknown.
The seven aid workers abducted Sunday included six staffers of the International Committee of the Red Cross and a volunteer from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. The nationalities of the six ICRC personnel were not made public.
October 13th, 2013, 6:45 pm
zoo said:
#603 Observer
I will happily skip your posts, thanks for the advice. I am sure you have a sufficient audience who wants more of your brilliant analysis and observations.
I also encourage you to skip mine.
October 13th, 2013, 6:50 pm
Ghufran said:
More civilians are getting evacuated from M’addamiyyeh:
?????? ??? ????- ?????? ?????? ????? ???????::??? ??? ???? ???? ????????? ???????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ??????? ?????? ???????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????????? ?? ???????
Labwani shows his true color:
??? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ???????? ?????? ???? ?????? ????????? ???????? ???? ????????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ????????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ??????.
???? ???????? ???? ???? ?? ????” CNN ????????” ?? ???? ???? ??????? ????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ???????? ???? ???: “??? ??? ????? ?????” ?????? ???? ?????? ?????.
Labwani added that he supports the formation of an Islamic leadership council that includes Nusra !!
October 13th, 2013, 6:52 pm
zoo said:
#600 Alan
Erdogan wants to punish the USA for having let him down in Syria by allowing Bashar Al Assad off the hook, for having heavily criticized the Gezi Park repression and for having let down Morsi his dear ally and other petty humiliations.
By turning East, Erdogan thinks he is an emperor and Turkey is one of the most powerful country in the world. His apparent economical success went up to his head. Like many countries in the region who were long term allies to the USA, he now thinks that he can very well do without this alliance that he finds increasingly intrusive, humiliating and racist.
After turning its back on Israel, Turkey is now turning its back on the USA.
Is it a blackmail? or a sign of Erdogan’ megalomania?
Is Erdogan playing with fire? I doubt the USA will remain impassible to that move away from it. I expect a strong anti-Turkey campaign to start in the USA very soon.
October 13th, 2013, 7:05 pm
mjabali said:
Mr. Observer:
To your surprise, I probably agree with most of your points. I would add few other things that need to happen in my opinion. But, the most important thing is for all parties to sit down and talk and agree that they all had made mistakes.
October 13th, 2013, 7:18 pm
Tara said:
Heroism is on display:
“??? ??????” ? ??? ??? ??? ?? ????? !!! ???? typical
?
?????? ????????? ?????? 13-10?
????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ????????? ??????
http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=ZhmT5b0I1kw&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DZhmT5b0I1kw%26feature%3Dyoutu.be
October 13th, 2013, 7:21 pm
zoo said:
Divided they fall
October 14, 2013 12:15 AM
The Daily Star
….
The National Coalition eclipsed Sabra and his National Council because they were unable to offer a viable political alternative to the regime in Damascus.
Now, with Geneva waiting in the wings, the same lack of leadership is evident. Sabra and his colleagues are within their rights to dismiss Geneva, but they should be working as hard as possible to offer something to the Syrian people that will work.
As for Tohme, his upbeat tone about conducting consultations with leading elements of the Syrian opposition inside the country would be praiseworthy, if it were the summer or fall of 2011, and not a few months shy of 2014.
…
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Editorial/2013/Oct-14/234590-divided-they-fall.ashx#ixzz2heMes05n
October 13th, 2013, 8:05 pm
zoo said:
As the clock is ticking and the opposition is ripping itself off by internal divisions, more acts of blind killings of civilians and suicide bombings are what is left of the fight for ‘freedom and dignity”
Suicide bombing targets Syria’s state-TV
http://www.china.org.cn/world/2013-10/14/content_30281801.htm
Two suicide car bombers detonated booby-trapped cars near the Syria’s state-TV headquarters on Sunday evening in Damascus, causing property damage and interrupting the broadcast of a channel, the Syrian State News Agency reported.
The cars were detonated 20 meters away from a traffic light adjacent to the left fence of the headquarters, Syrian State Television said, adding that some passersby were wounded. A dead body, which officials believe belong to one of the two bombers, was found at the blast spot.
Syrian State Television also ran brief video footage of the blast’s aftermath, showing the damage that occurred in Umayyad Square, the heart of Damascus and the Syrian military’s headquarters.
A newscaster for the state-TV said in an off-camera commentary that the losses were all material, adding that al-Ekhbaria TV, which was interrupted, continued to broadcast on a back-up frequency.
October 13th, 2013, 8:11 pm
Tara said:
They are coming for you Bashar. Damascus is their next target.
???? ???? ?????? ????? ???????? ???????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ???????? ??????? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ??? ??????? ???? ????????. ??? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ????????? ????? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ???????.
???? ????????? ?????? ?? “?????????” ???? ????????? ??? ???? ???? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? ?????????? ????? ???????. ????? ?? 100 ??? ?? ????????? ??????? ?? ??????, ??? ?? ???? ??? ?????.
???? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ???????, ?????? ????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ??? ???? ????????. ??????? ?? ???? ????????? ??????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ??? ???? ??????????.
???? ?????? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ????????? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ????? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ??????, ????? ????? ???? ??? ????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????????.
????? ????????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ????????? ????????? ???? ???????.
??? ????
???? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ????? ???? ????????, ???? ????? ????? ????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ????? ????? ??? ??????? ????????? ???????? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ???????.
???? ???? ???? ??????? ???????? ??? ????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ???????.
….
October 13th, 2013, 8:45 pm
Ziad said:
?????? ???? ??????:
?? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ?????
???? ??????? ????? ??????? ?? ???????? ?? ?? ?????? ??? ???? (????? ?? ?????? ?? ??????)? ???? ????? ?? ???? ?????????? ?????? ??? ?????? “??????” ?”?????? ?????” ?”????? ??????”..
????????? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ????????
???? ????? ???? ?? ?????????
?????? ???????? ?????
????? ??? ?????????? ?????? ?? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ??? “??????” ???? ???? ????? ??????? ???.
????? ?????.
???? ??????
October 13th, 2013, 10:45 pm
zoo said:
US allies let funds flow to al Qaeda in Syria ( from GCC)
By Guy Taylor
The Washington Times
Sunday, October 13, 2013
The United States has had limited success cutting off funding to the al Qaeda-linked fighters and foreign jihadists flowing into Syria — in part because of a lack of cooperation on the part of Middle Eastern allies, Intelligence and national security community sources say.
Officials say they are tracking the movements of funds from various wealthy individuals in the Persian Gulf, but the governments of key Gulf countries are reluctant to crack down.
…
“Kuwait in particular has done little to stop it because it lacks an effective terror financing law and because it cannot afford politically to infuriate its already angry Salafi members of parliament,” wrote Mr. McCants. “Qatar and Saudi Arabia have tried to crack down on fundraising for the Salafi militias but their citizens just send their money to Kuwait.”
Political storm in Turkey
The rise of extremists among Syria’s rebels, meanwhile, has set off a political storm in Turkey, where the leadership of the nation’s main opposition party is accusing the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of supporting al Qaeda-linked groups in the nearby war zone.
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/13/us-allies-let-funds-flow-to-al-qaeda-in-syria/?page=2#ixzz2hf9Lm8OF
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
October 13th, 2013, 11:15 pm
zoo said:
Congrats to the opposition for helping their allies to set up this excellent program of “freedom and dignity” for the Syrians
“Multiple independent studies as well as Western and Middle Eastern intelligence officials show the hard-line Islamists surging ahead by almost every measure, undermining Western efforts to find a democratic alternative to Syrian President Bashar Assad.”
Al-Qaida-linked groups take root in Syria
http://www.twincities.com/national/ci_24303238/al-qaida-linked-groups-take-root-syria
GAZIANTEP, Turkey — Shortly before its operatives killed 14 Iraqi Shiite children in a school bombing this month, the group once known as al-Qaida in Iraq sent guerrillas into northern Syrian villages with orders to reopen local Sunni classrooms. In a series of early fall visits, the militants handed out religious textbooks along with backpacks bearing the group’s new name: the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
A four-hour drive to the east, a rival al-Qaida faction called Jabhat al-Nusra was busy setting up a jobs program in Ash-Shaddadi, a desert town it has held since February. The Islamists restarted production in an oil field that had been idled by fighting and fired up the town’s natural gas plant, now a source of income for the town and its new rulers.
The two rebel groups, with their distinct lineages to the terrorist network founded by Osama bin Laden, have concentrated Western fears of rising jihadist influences within Syria’s rebel movement. Two and a half years after the start of the country’s uprising, Islamists are carving out fiefdoms and showing signs of digging in.
“We all have the same aqidah (Islamic creed) as al-Nusra or the Islamic State,” said a 23-year-old Jordanian Palestinian who gave the name Abu Abdallah in an interview in Jordan and who fights for a rebel brigade allied with the Islamists. “The aim is to free the Muslim lands and have the Islamic flag there.”
The prominence of the two groups — as fighters, as recruiters and, more recently, as local administrators — appears to have accelerated even as the Obama administration seeks to bolster moderate and secularist rebels with new weapons and training. Multiple independent studies as well as Western and Middle Eastern intelligence officials show the hard-line Islamists surging ahead by almost every measure, undermining Western efforts to find a democratic alternative to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
October 13th, 2013, 11:29 pm
Ghufran said:
Rebels are copying the regime and often making regime security forces and shabeehas look good in comparison, from random mortar shelling to kidnapping priests and red cross staff to looting and desecrating religious places, and the list goes on and on.
If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and flies like a duck,then it is a duck.
The much celebrated moderate rebels are now a dying breed,most of what is left is a bunch of terrorists. We said from day one that saying the regime is bad is old news, we expected thawrajiyyehs to come up with something better and keep their promises, instead they lied and they let thugs with guns rule the streets of ” liberated’ areas and bomb the areas they failed to occupy.
?? ???? ? ???? ????
????? ???? ????? ?? ??????
October 13th, 2013, 11:40 pm
Juergen said:
Ghufran,
The kullu bi khair mood seems to be gone… This poor guy says after the first attack we will fight, after the second blast he looks like he wants to hide.
October 14th, 2013, 12:31 am
ALAN said:
New Turkish Law Allows Police to Arrest “Possible Protesters”- Hurriyet News
A new law will allow Turkish police to detain people without due process simply because they may be at “risk of conducting a protest”.
According to Hurriyet News, organizations which “tend to hold protests” will be monitored and their members could be detained by police if intelligence reports suggest they are planning to conduct a demonstration or action.
Criticizing the moves, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputy leader Semih Yalç?n said the laws were “signs of police state.”
“These attempts might drag the country into chaos. The governments who attempt to do that will end in vain,” Yalç?n told daily Hürriyet Oct. 6.
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Ali Serinda? said the regulation did not comply with the rule of law. “Giving the security forces such an authority without the permission of a prosecutor does not comply with rule of law. … Besides, the police must be well-trained in intervening against demonstrations,” he added.
Another CHP deputy, ?lhan Cihaner, described the regulation as a step behind “the inquisition” and “beyond fascism.
October 14th, 2013, 2:19 am
Juergen said:
a reminder of the days in the past
I always liked the unique Omayad adhan- performed in a choir.
October 14th, 2013, 2:57 am
zoo said:
Al Qaeda getting closer to Turkey in “rebel controlled” areas
Car bomb kills 20 in northwest Syria’s Idlib: NGO
Oct 14, 2013 |
http://www.asianage.com/international/car-bomb-kills-20-northwest-syria-s-idlib-ngo-793
At least 20 people were killed on Monday when a car bomb exploded in the Syrian town of Darkush in northwestern Idlib province, near the Turkish border, an NGO said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the toll was expected to rise due to the large number of people who suffered serious injuries, and that at least one child was among the dead.
Activists from the Syrian Revolution General Commission network said the blast took place in the market area of the Darkush, which is under rebel control.
A video posted by activists online showed the aftermath of the blast, with at least one car ablaze and the ground around it covering in smoking embers.
A second video showed residents carrying bodies on makeshift stretchers and extensive damage to buildings around the blast site.
Darkush, which lies on the Orontes river, is just a few kilometres from the border with Turkey.
October 14th, 2013, 7:14 am
zoo said:
Does Kerry seriously believe that the conference can take place without the opposition and without Bashar al Assad?
The opposition said it won’t participate and the Syrian government repeatedly said it won’t participate without Bashar al Assad in power.
Kerry says Syria peace conference should be held soon
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/sns-rt-us-syria-peace-kerry-20131014,0,5970785.story
6:50 a.m. EDT, October 14, 2013
LONDON (Reuters) – Secretary of State John Kerry called on Monday for a peace conference on Syria “very soon” but said peace would not be possible without a transition government to replace President Bashar al-Assad.
“We believe it is urgent to set a day, to convene the conference and work toward a new Syria,” Kerry told reporters after meeting United Nations special envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi in London.
“We believe that President Assad has lost the legitimacy necessary to be a cohesive force that could bring people together,” he said, adding: “there has to be a transition government in Syria to permit the possibility of peace”.
October 14th, 2013, 7:23 am
ALAN said:
Sergei Lavrov : Close the Syrian opposition from Geneva -2 confirms the unwillingness of the West to negotiate
“If the peace process in Syria does not materialize , then the consequences will be felt far beyond the region ,” – said the Russian minister. In the Syrian conflict , Lavrov said , hiding “deep processes” for the region.
“The main obstacle in the way now is the inability of our partners still make the Syrian opposition , which they watch over , to go to Geneva to negotiate with the government , on the basis of general agreement to identify ways out of the crisis” , – said Sergey Lavrov .
October 14th, 2013, 7:41 am
zoo said:
As the USA has little credibility within the Syrian opposition will the USA pressure Saudi Arabia to force the opposition to Geneva?
Will the USA use Qatar’s rumored openness to Bashar Al Assad to increase pressure on Saudi Arabia? Are we seeing a shift in regional alliances?
Will Turkey, worried about Al Qaeda sneaking in Turkey, puts more pressure on the opposition to budge?
Russia calls on US to bring Syria opposition to peace talks
AFP , Monday 14 Oct 2013
Russian on Monday urged the United States to do everything in its power to bring the Syrian opposition to peace talks after a key opposition group said it would not attend a proposed conference in Geneva.
“We very much expect our American partners and other countries, which not only have influence on various opposition groups but also … encourage these opposition groups … to realise their responsibility for creating conditions for performing their share of the work for convening Geneva 2,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
October 14th, 2013, 7:42 am
zoo said:
Thanks to the opposition again
Islamist militants destroy Sufi shrine in eastern Syria: Activists
Sufi Sheikh Eissa Abdelqader al-Rifaiy’s shrine destroyed from blast in rebel-held town of Busaira; Al-Qaeda-linked fighters expected to be behind attack
Reuters , Sunday 13 Oct 2013
October 14th, 2013, 7:50 am
Tara said:
Darkush is under the rebels control. The suicide bombing in Darkush is regime crime, the regime Eid gift to the heroic Idleb. The regime committed this crime to kill Syrians and to intimidate Turkey.
Congrats to the regime for committing another crime against Syrians.
October 14th, 2013, 8:28 am
omen said:
527. mjabali said: …like I smelled the cheap wine the other day between your words….
while i’m flattered, you have to stop wooing me like this. it’s embarrassing.
October 14th, 2013, 8:33 am
zoo said:
Sabra and Kilo from Turkey refuses to go to Geneva as they know it will write the “final chapter of the defeat of the opposition”, what has Jarba, the president of the ‘coalition’ has to say from Saudi Arabia?
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/10/article55319193
The head of the Istanbul-based Syrian National Council George Sabra threatened on Sunday to pull his group out of the Syrian opposition’s main umbrella opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, if it participates in the peace talks on Syria expected to begin mid-November in Geneva, Asharq Al-Awsat has learned.
….
Kilo said that the today the “opposition is almost unable to understand the policy of the Western countries, particularly the US lax attitude towards the Syrians…despite the amount of violence and killing since the early weeks [of the Syrian uprising.]”
Kerry’s recent praise of Assad’s quick response to dismantling his chemical arsenal “left a terrible psychological impact on the components of the opposition and the entire Syrian people,” he said.
According to Kilo, dismantling the Syrian chemical arsenal “only serves Israel,” and this is what the “US and Russia wanted.”
“Who cares about more than a thousand Syrians killed in the chemical attack in Ghouta [district]? Who cares about the deaths of 23 children who died out of hunger in one week in Muadamiyat Al-Sham [district]?” Kilo said.
“The Council and the Syrian opposition in general feel they have been abandoned to be mercilessly killed in full view of the world,” he said, justifying the Council’s step which he said is meant to show the world that oppression, anger and pain Syrians feel.
Reiterating Sabra’s remarks, Kilo slammed Geneva II for lacking a clear agenda, “They want us to go in a joint delegation to Geneva with the absence of any mechanism or vision for the negations.”
“Refusing to take part in Geneva is not confined to the Council, as there is an almost absolute conviction among the components of the Coalition that going to Geneva will write the final chapter of the defeat of the Syrian people in a sense that any loophole the regime [can find] in Geneva will be an absolute defeat for the Syrian revolution,” Kilo added.
Asked whether the Council’s decision will affect its membership in the Coalition, Kilo answered that the Council’s stance “strengthens rather than weakens the Coalition because none want to take part in Geneva,” adding that the “Council is a main component in the Coalition which will not compromise its unity.”
October 14th, 2013, 9:03 am
omen said:
dear, majedkhaldoun. you have to forgive, barber. he didn’t know your brother was killed by assad forces. otherwise, he would have given more allowance for your understandable upset.
please contact the professor to regain posting privileges.
Email: [email protected]
that’s what i had to resort to when i wanted to return after being awol.
majed, please come back.
October 14th, 2013, 9:07 am
zoo said:
Opinion: Prospects for Syria are Growing Bleaker
By Michel Kilo
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/10/article55319142
….
These developments threaten to split Syria into two areas that, although one is ultra-nationalist and the other religious, are different in appearance yet similar in essence given the tyranny they are subjected to. They also threaten to fragment and tear apart the FSA and the entire civil and democratic uprising, minimizing their role in the revolution, especially if my fears of the receding influence of the FSA prove to be accurate.
Moreover, there are two worrisome phenomena in Syria: First, the media campaign targeting the Syrian National Coalition, damaging its reputation and accusing it of being a sell-out regarding its attitude towards Geneva II. Secondly, the creation of a military alliance under the name of the “Islamist Army,” with which Islamist organizations intend to replace the “National Army” or render it superfluous. In fact, Islamists consider the National Army as taking on a character contradictory to their own, believing that its existence will inevitably lead to an armed conflict between themselves and other revolutionaries. This sentiment has been echoed by the some members of the SNC, when I proposed that the legal committee prepare a decree forming the National Army.
Are we heading towards a situation where there are three anti-FSA—or anti-National Army—forces active in Syria? These forces are the regime, foreign jihadists, and the proposed Islamist Army.
Since the announcement of its inception, the Islamist army gave the impression that it aimed at blocking the formation of the National Army.
…
With these developments, the Syria political arena enters a new stage where neither the people who ignited the revolution nor those who have sacrificed their lives—whether from the civil and democratic forces or the FSA—in defense of Syrians and their values will have any role. Instead, there will be jihadist organizations that, together with their supporters, will be necessary for the survival of Bashar Al-Assad regime.
October 14th, 2013, 9:11 am
Tara said:
I agree with The SNC decision not to go to Geneva II as it would be the formal writing off the Syrian people by the US to appease Iran.
October 14th, 2013, 9:19 am
omen said:
October 14th, 2013, 10:30 am
omen said:
@arabzy pointed to this:
October 14th, 2013, 10:53 am
zoo said:
Armed conflict inside Deraa Palestinian refugees camps
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=46261&Cr=Palestine&Cr1=#.UlwMQzca5j0
14 October 2013 – The United Nations agency tasked with assisting Palestinian refugees today called on all parties in Syria to stop the violence in refugee camps and other civilian areas, following violence near the Dera’a camp which killed seven Palestinians. “Reports from Dera’a of the further loss of Palestinian lives are deeply distressing,” said Michael Kingsley-Nyinah, the Director of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Syria.
“UNRWA repeats its calls on all parties to desist from conducting armed conflict in Palestine refugee camps and other civilian areas and to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law.”
Initial reports indicate that on Saturday, the Dera’a Palestine refugee camp was directly affected by intensive armed conflict, killing seven refugees and injuring 15 others. As a result of the fighting, UNRWA’s Primary Health Care Centre and Women’s Programme Centre sustained heavy damage.
…
The agency appealed to all sides and to the international community “to urgently resolve the Syria conflict through a peaceful process of mediation and dialogue,” adding that the conflict is aggravating the already severe human suffering endured by Syrians and Palestinians alike.
Despite extreme challenges, UNRWA continues to support some 420,000 Palestine refugees in Syria with health care, primary education, cash transfers, food assistance, psycho-social support access to micro-finance and other humanitarian services.
October 14th, 2013, 11:21 am
Uzair8 said:
One I seemed to have missed.
Assad’s brother is vital to survival of regime
By Associated Press | Mon, Sep 16, 2013
[…]
“From the beginning, Maher was convinced that the uprising must be put down before any talks take place,” said Fawaz A. Gerges, director of the Middle East Center at the London School of Economics. “The life of the regime depends on Maher’s ability to prevent the rebels from infiltrating Damascus and toppling his brother’s government. … If Damascus falls, the regime goes.”
Following the Aug. 21 alleged chemical attack near Damascus that killed hundreds, opposition activists charged that the rockets carrying the chemical agents were fired by the 4th Division’s 155th Brigade, which commands large missile sites on the mountains overlooking the capital. However, the opposition could not produce proof.
[…]
October 14th, 2013, 12:51 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Breaking:
Assad says Nobel Prize should be for him !!!
Keep on joking dirty bastard. The syrian people will laugh last when you and your maniac brother are gone.
October 14th, 2013, 1:08 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Amad Aamer a syrian colonel of the Assad Forces who left the army detained at the Beirut Airport when he was leaving the country.
Security forces will leave it to Hezb Zballah Party and it will send him for death penalty to Damascus.
After the coup d´etat in 2008 and the killing of security forces chef of Lebanon this country is now one of the dirtiest regimes in the world and with less legitimacy.
http://www.youkal.net/2012-12-02-14-05-23/24-26/30301-??????-????-????-????-??-????-?????
October 14th, 2013, 1:40 pm
Uzair8 said:
Overthrowing a cult* was never going to be easy. There’s thousands of deeply indoctrinated footsoldiers (diehards) and sufficiently indoctrinated members of the public. Just like the popular perception of cults the followers are lied to and are trapped in the closed world of lies unable to escape. This cult continues to lie, decieve and prevaricate (to in addition to the world at large) and has done so throughout the course of the last 2-3 years.
Given the nature of this cults grip on the nation it is remarkable what the Syrian people have achieved during their uprising and ensuing struggle.
* Cult of Assadism.
October 14th, 2013, 3:06 pm
ALAN said:
Pakistani cult! Happy(3id) here again.
October 14th, 2013, 3:55 pm
Uzair8 said:
No surprise Moscow feels at home with and most comfortable with such cult-regimes. Central Asian states seem to have such tendencies.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/dispatches/features/2011/kazakhstan_rising/the_cult_of_nazarbayev.html
Alan
I’ll be frank, I’m a little uncomfortable, I’ve never met a 33rd degree member of the Cult of Putin before. You don’t seem too bad but is that just a false sense of sec..
October 14th, 2013, 4:12 pm
ALAN said:
Syrian opposition totally dependent on foreign sponsors – senior Russian MP
http://rt.com/politics/syriaopposition-dependent-foreign-162/
October 14th, 2013, 4:23 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Russian politicians totally dependant on weapons, gas and drug mafia brokers.
http://rt.com/politics/russianpoliticians-dependent-mafiabrokers-112/
October 14th, 2013, 4:54 pm
ALAN said:
647. UZAIR8
It seems that you may wear glasses upside down! Are complied including advised by the ophthalmologist?
If you still be frank,what color is your Bracelet? Violet?
I wrote “Happy Eid” But what you wrote? Positive?
Putin was put safety nail to regional explosion.
He is a figure of the age! The world knows what Putin did, and we don’t need somebody to tell us who really accomplished peace, not just in Syria but the wider region.
October 14th, 2013, 4:59 pm
ALAN said:
Russia Keeps Investment Trust in US Treasuries
The Russian government will not revise its policy of investing almost half of the country’s foreign exchange reserves in US Treasury securities despite growing fears of a looming US debt default, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said.
“I don’t see the need for changing our reserve investment strategy at present,” Siluanov told reporters Friday after a meeting of the G20 finance ministers and Central Bank chiefs in Washington.
Putin knows that every time the US gets into a financial mess, they use a War to get out of it.
http://en.ria.ru/russia/20131012/184082234/Russia-Keeps-Investment-Trust-in-US-Treasuries.html
October 14th, 2013, 5:28 pm
Observer said:
First, zoozoo does not post. It is a regurgitation of regime insider propaganda machine. Regurgitation is an effortless vomiting of contents that has minimal persitalsis on the part of the stomach. Therefore the postings are mere examples of undigested food particles.
Second, Mjabali I am not surprised one bit that you think likewise about the concessions that I quickly posted. The devil is in the details.
I would argue that a return to a constitution that truly represents a separation of powers and a bill of rights is the first step. Some advocated returning to the 1950’s constitution as a transitional constitution instead of the stupid retarded one we have now that guarantees the regime staying intact.
The security forces have to be dismantled and the people in them reorganized. Likewise for the army. Abolition of the ministries of religious affairs and information is a must.
I would argue that a referendum be called to see if the country wants to stay intact, to see if they want to be part of the Arab world, to see if they want to be part of the Muslim world, to see if they want to leave religion out, to see if they want democratic principls to supersede religious and ethnic and sectarisns considerations.
What is there to discuss in Geneva or anywhere else? while the killing is on going and the militias are rampaging. If the opposition has its divisions the regime does too with some elements within the regime totally out of control. What about the hatred and revenge that has taken root and will be there for generations to come. What will happen if wholesale massacres happen on both sides. Although I do think that the regime is well on its way of committing wholesale massacres day in and day out.
What about the truth and reconciliation commission?
Syria as we know has been IRREVOCABLY destroyed. The reconstrution is going to be impossible as there will be no massive infusion of money. There is no one that is going to come rushing to pay. The EU does not have any, Russia is not capable, IRan is barely able to feed its people, the GCC will not pitch in, Turkey has other worries and the list goes on. China has no intreres and the BRIC group is in retreat economically.
So it will have to be from the people by the people and for the people.
I am very pessimistic about this.
October 14th, 2013, 5:29 pm
SimoHurtta said:
644. Uzair8 said:
No surprise Moscow feels at home with and most comfortable with such cult-regimes. Central Asian states seem to have such tendencies.
Are you sure Uzair?
Kazakhstan has excellent relations with Israel. For example …
Seems that Obama and Bush Jr. have been more successful with these “cults” than Putin. Well USA has had the most training with cults of different dictators. Let’s remember Papa Doc and Baby Doc Duvalier, Fulgencio Batista, Augusto Pinochet, Leopoldo Galtieri, Manuel Noriega, Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, Alfredo Stroessner, Tšiang Kai-šek, Ferdinand Marcos, Haji Muhammed Suharto, Hosni Mubarak, Georgios Papadopoulos etc.
October 14th, 2013, 5:43 pm
omen said:
they deny the “killing of civilians except for those that carried weapons & fought alongside regime forces.”
October 14th, 2013, 6:02 pm
Tara said:
The opposition needs to be careful and take everything this administration is saying with a grain of salt. I think Kerry’s comment that Assad lost legitimacy is a hollow attempt of trying to “deceive” the opposition into coming to Geneva II. I hope the opposition does not fall for this. They have been lied to too many times and enough is enough. Trust no one!
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and the U.N-Arab League envoy for Syria said Monday that an international conference to set up a Syrian transitional government must be organized urgently and held as soon as possible.
“There has to be a transition government, there has to be a new governing entity in Syria in order to permit the possibility of peace,” Kerry said. He said it was imperative to get the so-called “Geneva II” conference organized by a mid-November target the United Nations has set.
Kerry and envoy Lakhdar Brahimi spoke to reporters after meeting at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador to Britain.
“There can be, there will be, a political solution if everyone gets together and works for it,” Brahimi said. “Very soon we have to set a precise date.”
…
“We believe it is urgent to set a date, convene the conference and work towards a new Syria,” Kerry said.
He said that Syrian President Bashar Assad “has lost the legitimacy to be able to be a cohesive force that could bring people together.”
….
October 14th, 2013, 6:16 pm
ALAN said:
Syriens zersplitterte Rebellen: Keiner will nach Genf
Die Opposition, als Gesamtheit betrachtet, ist in einem erbärmlichen Zustand
Die USA und Russland haben einen politischen Minimalkonsens zu Syrien geschlossen, auf dessen Basis nun die syrischen Chemiewaffen abgerüstet werden können. Aber Washington und Moskau geben sich nun auch davon überzeugt, dass ein Durchbruch bevorsteht, was die Verhandlungen zwischen Regime- und Rebellenvertretern anbelangt: Genf II soll im November stattfinden……
http://derstandard.at/1381368439110/Syriens-zersplitterte-Rebellen-Keiner-will-nach-Genf
October 14th, 2013, 6:32 pm
omen said:
652. Tara,
kerry alone asserting this doesn’t mean much but there is a russian stooge saying same thing!
https://twitter.com/Brian_Whit/status/383901319171293184
don’t want to get hopes up but US and russia being on the same page is pretty remarkable and hard to dismiss as merely coincidental. have to wait & see.
October 14th, 2013, 6:34 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
the buffoon jokes about deserving Nobel prize. I have no doubt that this derange excrement really thinks that it deserves the Nobel prize for peace. I am also sure that some intellectual bovines believe the same.
Of the two, I am also sure that the gentle and smart one is to your right
October 14th, 2013, 6:41 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
OBSERVER and MJABALI
I have been following your posts as two people I do have serious respect for. While i do agree with much of what you both agree on, I think that the we should expect a very slow process and much of what you are describing is for the long-tern future including a couple of the referendum Observer talked about. Neither side can say or do anything with any assad remaining within a light year proximity to power, as they are simply a poison pill to any real chance for political progress. It is for this reason that Iran should never be invited to, or consulted in the process. Regimes like Iran’s have only one way to deal with, which is the isolate them like the plague they are and let their leadership suffocate in their own mischief.
An outcome of any process should also include the declaration of Hizbulla, along with ISIL and Nusra (and a couple other groups now operating in Syria) as terrorist organizations and a cart-blanch to hunt the leaders of and senior thugs of these dark-age left-over. As for regime security thugs and quite many assads, they should face up to their crimes in the Hague.
October 14th, 2013, 7:38 pm
omen said:
October 14th, 2013, 7:53 pm
Tara said:
Omen @657
Finally at last. Someone is paying attention to ISIS connection to the regime and/or Iran. I have been trying to say this all along.
The regime has burned all of the rebels-controlled areas but kept Raqa safe. Why? Why did the regime not bombard the publicly known headquarter of ISIS in Raqa? Why did ISIS kidnapped father Paolo, an ardent revolution supporter, and a figure that is extremely hated by the regime supporters? why is ISIS kidnapping and killing FSA leadership? Why did ISIS declare its “independence” from al Qaeda if it believes in the same ideology. Many many questions that point to one link…. ISIS leadership is a tool used by Iran and the regime to sway the global public opinion against the revolution in support of Bashar narrative.
October 14th, 2013, 8:11 pm
omen said:
where do you get 20,000 from? sister agnes?
from your own article you earlier posted:
6k ? 20k!
October 14th, 2013, 8:22 pm
zoo said:
Russia says West fails to draw Syrian hardliners to Geneva-II
Oct 15,2013
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=173351
MOSCOW, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) — Western countries have failed to convince the hardline Syrian opposition to participate in the Geneva-II peace conference, the top Russian diplomat said on Monday.
“Our partners, first of all from the United States, have vowed to gather everyone under the umbrella of ‘national coalition’ to take part in the conference,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters.
However, recent statements of the leader of the Syrian National Council (SNC) have shown that they failed to do so, Lavrov said.
October 14th, 2013, 8:23 pm
zoo said:
Tunisian governement is backtracking on its announcement that it would step down. It is asking for four conditions to be met first. More opposition demonstrations are planned to force it out
Tunisia: Laarayedh says reform needed before transition
Laarayedh warns of political vacuum if transition is rushed.
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/10/article55319211
Tunis, Asharq Al-Awsat—Tunisian prime minister Ali Laarayedh demanded four conditions be met before stepping down in favor of a transitional government on Sunday, in the latest round of a long-running dispute with his government’s political opponents.
Laarayedh and his party, the Islamist Ennahda Movement, previously agreed to resign from government in favor of an independent caretaker cabinet prior to new elections, as part of an agreement with a coalition of opposition parties following months of political unrest.
In a televised interview broadcast on Tunisian Channel 1, Laarayedh called for the ratification of Tunisia’s new constitution, the reform of the authorities responsible for overseeing the elections, the publication of new election procedures, and the setting of a clear date for the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, before the dissolution of the current government.
October 14th, 2013, 8:37 pm
zoo said:
#559 Omen
…And Al Nusra and the 1,000+ islamists militias?
October 14th, 2013, 8:40 pm
zoo said:
Sadr : “Iraq needs a “father-like ruler,”
Sadr: Terrorism rules Iraq
The head of the Sadr Movement Moqtada Al-Sadr accuses Nouri Al-Maliki of “failure” and scheming to remain in power.
Najaf, Asharq Al-Awsat—In an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat the head of Shi’ite Sadr Movement Moqtada Al-Sadr said that Iraq is ruled by terrorism, and predicted that the situation will worsen in the near future.
“Iraq today is at the height of danger and has become a prisoner of terrorism, extremism and violence,” Sadr told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“Iraq is under the rule of terrorism, bombing cars, murder and bloodshed,” he said, adding, “This is how Iraq is and this is the situation it is in.”
The Shi’ite leader accused the country’s prime minister, Nouri Al-Maliki, of being a failure, claiming that Iraq needs a “father-like ruler,” instead of Maliki whom he expected would attempt to remain in power for a “third or perhaps fourth term… or even forever.”
…
The controversial Shi’ite figure said from the onset he did not support Maliki’s nomination to the premiership, and that he pushed hard for the nomination of the head of the Iraqi List Iyad Allawi or the former Vice-President Adil Abdul-Mahdi.
Sadr said that he finally gave in to Maliki taking office due to the pressure he was placed under.
He also praised relations with Saudi Arabia, revealing to Asharq Al-Awsat his intention to visit Bahrain in a bid to establish a middle ground and “banish the specter of sedition.”
Responding to accusations that Iran was interfering in Iraq’s domestic affairs, Sadr agreed, saying: “Iran admits and does not conceal this issue;
October 14th, 2013, 8:44 pm
Tara said:
Muqtada al Sadr does not strike me as stupid sectarian mullahs. Not that I follow his speeches but the few times I heard him, I liked what he said.
I wish he loses some weight. He is now too fat. He would be much more presentable and more influential. More people would listen.
October 14th, 2013, 8:58 pm
zoo said:
To everybody’s surprise, Syria with the help of Russia and Iran has outsmarted the USA, France, the UK, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the Arab League. 2.5 years after their call for Bashar’s resignation, and their forecasts of the imminent collpase of the army and the governement, the Syrian governement is strong and united while the opposition is divided and weaker than ever.
Already France, the UK, Turkey and Qatar have lost their influence on the course of the events, after having made many promises they never fulfilled. They are now out of the equation.
The countries with the strongest influence are now Saudi Arabia and the USA.
Despite the massive military funds KSA is putting in getting rid of their Nemesis, I don’t see why the Syrian governement would not succeed in outsmarting them too.
October 14th, 2013, 9:09 pm
zoo said:
Lavrov reacts to Kerry’s “Bahar has lost his legitimacy”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/14/john-kerry-now-says-situation-urgent-bashar-assad-/
Russia and China say Syria should be allowed to decide its own leadership. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who characterized Mr. Kerry’s statements as “strictly political agenda,” said he found the statements curious, given the United States’ past remarks on the situation in Syria.
“Our partners are currently fixated on the ideological task to have the regime replaced because a couple of years ago they made a statement that President Bashar Assad had no future whatsoever except to quit and leave,” Mr. Lavrov said in an interview with a Russian television station. “I am sure that the nations of the West did so in order to prove that the Middle East will ‘dance to their tune.’”
October 14th, 2013, 10:14 pm
zoo said:
While the Syrian governemnt has fully cooperated with the inspectors, the rebels may not be as cooperative. They may target the inspectors to disrupt the operation as they have no incentive to show any cooperation, having been constantly humiliated by the West
Syrian combatants urged to let inspectors visit chemical sites
New York Times
October 14, 2013 – 7:09 PM
http://www.startribune.com/world/227746471.html
Inspection team faces “access problems” and other challenges while war wages.
LONDON – Pressure mounted on Syrian rebels Monday to permit access to chemical weapon sites in areas under their control, as the head of the international watchdog on such toxic munitions said the rapidly shifting lines in the civil war made it difficult for inspectors to reach some locations.
Ahmet Uzumcu, director general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which won the Nobel Peace Prize last Friday, told the BBC that the government of President Bashar Assad had been cooperating with inspectors who had reached five out of 20 chemical weapons production sites.
But some other sites had “access problems,” he said, reflecting perils and complexities facing inspectors who are trying to dismantle chemical weapon facilities as the war rages around them.
October 14th, 2013, 10:29 pm
Juergen said:
Tara
you should see this documentary:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x85uj0_documentary-transsexuals-in-iran-pa_gaylesbian
October 15th, 2013, 2:42 am
elian said:
it is the third year of war in Syria and no winner the alwaite are being weakened, many of them has been more than criminal and should have been weakened and put aside of the power decades ago.
Many of the Sunni are becoming more radicals, not that the country ever lacked radicals but it is heading more into the stone age theology.
the west is very pleased that many of the radical terrorists are moving into syria for a holy war to continue for years to come.
Russia is pleased that it has not lost syria yet and probably won’t.
neither Russia or USA is willing to put boots on the ground to stop the blood shed which should be a multinational force includes these two countries soldiers is the best solution.
All these radicals above mentioned in this article should be eliminated.
KSA and gulf countries should have their turn into the Arab so called spring by now and let them fight each others.
October 15th, 2013, 3:58 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
JUERGEN
Look this video. As you may already know by now this is the kind of detention and torture that happens every day thousand times in Syria and Iran for the last 30 to 40 years. This is the democracy we are facing in the new Chiite World (from Tehran to Beirut):
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xnmt8s_imprisoned-in-iran-part-1_webcam?from_related=related.page.int.meta2-only.2ab3a66b5d302c431d08b3089b9a7e55138183703
October 15th, 2013, 7:42 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
ZOO
Control yourself. Leave place for others. You are doing almost half of the posts. Leave space for different views. Do not accumulate too many mails in a row.
October 15th, 2013, 7:46 am
zoo said:
#671 SD
I post what I want, when I want and how much I want.
You don’t like it, complain to the SC admin.
October 15th, 2013, 7:57 am
Tara said:
Happy Eid to everyone..
October 15th, 2013, 8:33 am
zoo said:
In this occasion of Eid Al Adha, words of wisdom from the Iranian PM… in english.
Eid Mobarak to all
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/15/20972971-failure-is-not-an-option-nuclear-talks-with-iran-begin
Zarif: The right way is to understand that in today’s international environment, there can’t be no winners and losers. We either lose together or win together. That’s the nature of global political environment. You cannot have security while others are insecure. You cannot have prosperity while others live in poverty. Probably, if anything, 9/11 should have proved that to all of us. That an island of security in an unsecure world is impossible. Security is indivisible. So we should not shoot for concessions. Either getting concessions or giving concessions. We should aim for finding solutions – that is what in my view is needed to move forward tomorrow and that is what I will be trying to, I mean, that is the logic that I’ll be trying to use.
October 15th, 2013, 8:45 am
omen said:
662. zoo said: #559 Omen… And Al Nusra and the 1,000+ islamists militias?
the bulk of followers are transient. rebels go to brigade to brigade attracted by better funding/better weapons. you’ve remarked upon this yourself. not everyone in isis/nursa are hardcore converts.
it’s the leadership who are determinative and call the tune. assad jailed leading figures but then released them early upon the beginning of the uprising. this suggests a deal was struck.
this is so remedial. everyone on this board knows this material. you know this better than i do. why do you pretend not to know?
October 15th, 2013, 8:59 am
Ziad said:
Sergey Lavrov: an essential new voice has emerged in world affairs
Sergey Lavrov has emerged as the probably the most formidable foreign minister in the world. A product of the old Soviet system, he has clarity of mind, and an understanding of the great currents of world affairs.
Neither William Hague nor John Kerry could have dealt with a press conference with the candour, gravity and thoughtfulness that Mr Lavrov did in Bali on Monday. He provided a kaleidoscopic survey of global problems.
His observations on the importance of observing international law, the danger of another war in Afghanistan, and the framework for negotiations with Iran, are extraordinary.
Most interesting of all is his strong hint of an emerging alliance between the United States, the Assad regime and elements of the Free Syrian army against the (Saudi backed) Army of Islam jihadists.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peteroborne/100241007/sergey-lavrov-an-essential-new-voice-has-emerged-in-world-affairs/
October 15th, 2013, 10:38 am
Ziad said:
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«?????? ??????? ?????????» ?? ???? ????? ????????. ???? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ??????. ??? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????????? ???????? ?????????? ???????? ????????? ?????????? ????? ???? «?????????» ????????? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ????????? ????.
_ 2_
????? ?? ?????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ??????. ??? ??????? ????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ??????????? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ?? ????? ?????.
?????? ??? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ?????… ????? ????!
?????! ?????! (????????) ?????! ????? ??????? ??????? ???? ?? ????????? ??? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ????????. ????? ????????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?? ??????? ????????? ??? ?? ????? _ ??? ???? ?????? _ «?????? ???????».
????? ?? ?????? ???????? ????????? ???????????? ?? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ?? ???? ???????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ???????. ??? ????? ?????: «??? ????? ???? ??????? ????????. ??? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ???????».
?? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ????? ??????. ???? ????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ??«???????? ??????? ????? ??????» ?? ???? ?????? ????? ???????????. ??? ????? ????????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???????. ???? ??????: «????? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ??????? ??? ??????? ?????? ???????????»? ?????? ?? ??? ???????? ??????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ????????? ??????? ???????? ?? ?????? ????? ?????????? ???????? ????????? ??????????? ??? ???????? ??????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ?? ?????? ???????? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ??????? ??????.
_ 3_
?????? ????? ????? ?????? ??????. ??? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ??? ??????? ???? ??????? ??? ???? ??????? ?????? ??? ????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ???????? «????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ??????»? ?«???? ?????». ??? ??????? ?? ??????? ????? ???? ??????? ??????? ?????????? ??? ??????. ?? ????? ??????? ???? ????? ????????? ?? ??????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ??? ???????? ??????? ??????? ??? ??? ????????.
_ 4_
«???? 2»? «??? ???????» ???? ??????? ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ?????? _ ??????? ????? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ?????: ?? ???? «????????» ??????? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ????????? ????? ??? ???????? ??????? ???? ?????? «???????» ?????????.
«????? ????»? ?????. «???? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ????? ????? ??? ???????? ?????????».
??? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? _ ?? ????? ????????? ???????? _ ?? ???? ???????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ???? ?? ???????? ??????. ??????? ??????? ?????? ????????? ?? ??? ???????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?????????? ??? ?? ???????? ?? ???????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ???????? ??? ????? ?????????? ?????????.
_ 5_
?????? ????? ???? ??????????? ?? ??????? ??????? ?????????? ??? ??? ????? _ ????? ????? ??? ???? ??? ??????? _. ???? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ???????? ????????? ?????????? ????????????? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ??????
??? ????? ?????? ??????: «?? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ???????????».
???? ?????? ????: «??? ??????? ?????». ????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ?? ???? ????????? ??? ?????? ???????? ???? ??????? ???????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ????????????? ???? ????? ????.
«???? ????? ???? ??????? ?????». ???? ?????? ?????? ????? (1) ????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? (2) ??????? ?? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?????? «??? ????? ?? ???? ??? ???? ????? ???????»? (3) ??????? ??? ??????????? ?????????? ??????? ??? ???? ???????? ???????? ????????. ????? ??? ?? ????? ????? ????????? _ ????????? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ???????? ???????: ??????? ????????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????.
_ 6_
???? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????????? _ ?????????? ?????? ???????? ????? ?? ??????? ?? ?????? ???. ?? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ???? ????? ????????? ???? ????? ??????????? ??????????. ????? ??? ????? ???? ???? ????? ?????????? ????? ???????? ??????? ????????? ??? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ??????? ?????????? ?????? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ???????.
_ 7_
?? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ?????????? ?? ???????? ???? ??????? ?????? ???? ??????? ????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?? ????????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ??? ???? ???????.
??????? ???? ????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ??????? ?????? ????? ?? ???????????? ?????????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ????? ?? ?????? ?????????? _ ?????????? ???????? ???? ??? ???????? ?????? ?????? ????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??????? (3) ????? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? _ ??????? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ?????????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ????????? _ ????? ????????? ?? ???? ??????? _ ????? ?? ????? ????????? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ???????? ??????? ????? ??????? ??????????.
_ 8_
???? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ????????? (?????? ??????? ????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ???????? ??????) ???? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ??????? ????????.
_ 9_
??? ???? ??????? ??????? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ??????? _ ???? ???? ????????? ???????? ????????? ????????? ????? _ ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????????? ?? ???? ?????? ???????? ?????? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ????????? ?????????? ???????? ?????????? ???????? ????????? ?????????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ??????? ??????.
???? ????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ????????? ???????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? «????? ?????? ???? ??????? ?? ???????? ?? ?????? ?????????».
_ 10_
??????? ?? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????.
https://www.facebook.com/DNNAR/posts/580651725334697
October 15th, 2013, 10:46 am
ALAN said:
676. TARA said:
Happy Eid to every one.
very positive! Thank you! happy Eid!
October 15th, 2013, 10:48 am
zoo said:
#675 Omen
Al Qaeda leaders without troops are nothing. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait private ‘charities’ are funding the troops generously under the complacent eyes of the opposition. There are more and more ‘moderates’ been brainwashed and lured with money to join the “Islamic army”. There are already 1,750 Islamit militias fighting in Syria.
Lavrov hinted that the USA, the Syrian Army and the ‘moderates’ FSA are on the way to join forces against the Islamists.
I had predicted that months ago.
Only the SAA with the USA support can get rid of the “Islamic Army’. As the SAA is under the leadership of Bashar Al Assad, you can draw your own conclusions.
October 15th, 2013, 11:08 am
zoo said:
@676 Ziad
Lavrow should have got the Nobel Peace prize.
October 15th, 2013, 11:11 am
Syrian said:
Happy Eid to you too Tara.
October 15th, 2013, 11:29 am
zoo said:
The Arab Sunset
The Coming Collapse of the Gulf Monarchies
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/140096/christopher-davidson/the-arab-sunset
October 15th, 2013, 11:38 am
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Heads up would like to wish Happy Eid to all the Sunnis. Our patrons found that a wish of happy Eid to non-Sunnis is NOT appropriate.
So, All Sunnis throughout the World: Happy Eid to you from the Universal Commander of the Faithful, His Most Royal Highness, the Guided King of the Guided Kingdom.
October 15th, 2013, 11:51 am
Tara said:
Alan,
Thank you. You too!
October 15th, 2013, 11:52 am
Tara said:
Syrian,
???? ????? ???????? ?????? ???? ?????? ????????
We missed your contributions!!
October 15th, 2013, 11:53 am
zoo said:
The “revolution” brought “Freedom and dignity” to Syrians?”
Clerics rule besieged Damascus residents may eat dogs
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24532793
October 15th, 2013, 11:59 am
zoo said:
#683 Headsup
Have your ‘guided protectors’ send a few dogs for the Sunni Syrians to celebrate now that the Sunni clerics have allowed it officially.
October 15th, 2013, 12:07 pm
omen said:
in a new column, fred hof offers tara’s argument:
October 15th, 2013, 12:14 pm
omen said:
have you ever gone hungry, zoo?
October 15th, 2013, 12:17 pm
Ziad said:
ZOO #680
The Nobel peace prize is slowly becoming a badge of shame, and the committee that awards it is an international embarrassment. Those are some of the laureates that contributed more to human suffering and war that to peace:
Henry Kissinger, Andrei Sakharov, Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin, Elie Wiesel, Frederik de Klerk, Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin, United Nations, IAEA, Barak Obama.
October 15th, 2013, 12:27 pm
Ghat Al Bird said:
This represents the “new” alliance of SA and Israel as reported by russia times…
Ready to detonate: Saudi-backed rebels strap bombs to Geneva-2 talks
October 15th, 2013, 12:34 pm
Tara said:
Juergen@ 668
Interesting! Iran is the leading place of transsexual operations in the whole world?! I wonder why.
Did you see the link by Syrian few wks ago in regard to a top Shias cleric explaining how Satan places his finger in a male baby rectum and by doing so makes him gay?
See it and judge for yourself. It is creepy the indoctrination some Shias are exposed to by their everyday cleric
October 15th, 2013, 1:23 pm
Uzair8 said:
Eid Mubarak.
Eid is on Wednesday for me (it’s past sunset Tuesday so technically Eid has begun).
Alan
Khair Mubarak.
Eid Mubarak to you too if you’re observing the occasion. If not then thanks for the greeting and the friendly intention and effort.
October 15th, 2013, 2:26 pm
Nima said:
@670 SANDRO LOEWE
So, torture is an “invention” of Shia Islam, according to you?
So, Saddam or Gaddafi or the Taliban or Suharto…either did never torture or THEY WERE SHIITES, what?
Not to mention cutting out dead people´s hearts, decapitating captured soldiers and civilians. These are all totally strange and unknown to Sunni muslims…
October 15th, 2013, 3:48 pm
Nima said:
@658 Tara
-> ” ISIS leadership is a tool used by Iran and the regime to sway the global public opinion against the revolution in support of Bashar narrative.”
This is a) nonsense and b) far too convenient as a method to explain and excuse any crime perpetrated by RADICAL Sunnis as a “conspiracy” by Iran.
According to this flawed “logic”, Sunnis are always victims. When they are killed by Shias the matter is already clear, and when THEY kill Shias (among them unarmed pilgrims, mosque attendants, bypassers, school children, market place visitors etc.) it is not the Sunnis, NO, it´s the Shias disguising as Sunnis!
Shias or their agents are killing their own “brothers and sisters” in Pakistan and Iraq, at times a 1000 every month, only to “defame” the Sunnis.
Wow, this is so convincing.
Back to the syrian “revolution”:
It´s neither Bashar nor Iran who is making the oh so “moderate”, “secular” rebels mass emigrate to the al-Nusras and other salafi minded Jihadists.
Had it not been for the bias of western press, the “revolution” had long been exposed as a predominantly and increasingly sectarian armed insurgency.
Are the Nusra, the Tawheed or the Ahrar al Sham that much different from ISIS?
Did they not mass execute unarmed captives (including Sunni clan members)? Did they not behead prisoners?
Or am I to believe ALL of the “revolutionaries” are Bashars or Irans agents???
Sorry, not all of course. Prof. Dr. Engineer General Salim Idriss and his glorious FSA are the sole “honourable” exception.
October 15th, 2013, 4:00 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Love letters exchanged between the US and Iran openly. The meeting was all dreamy and teary eyes. OMG, dog-poop athad is so screwed.
October 15th, 2013, 5:02 pm
Ziad said:
??? ???????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? 14/10/2013
October 15th, 2013, 5:57 pm
zoo said:
#688 Omen
The opposition ask for a high price: they want to reach the million of dead before accepting that they lost their creepy “revolution” that brought only disaster on Syrians and om Syria.
October 15th, 2013, 6:56 pm
zoo said:
HBJ wants to replace Ban Ki Moon at the UN!.
Saturday 14 September 2013 12:21
Hamad bin Jassim eyes up UN Secretary General position?
Islam Times – Sources close to the former Emir of Qatar, Emir Sheikh Hamad Khalifa al-Thani have revealed that the royal is looking into politically compensating his former Prime Minister – Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani – following his dismissal from power earlier this year.
Hamad bin Jassim eyes up UN Secretary General position?
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani left his post as Prime Minister at the same time the Emir abandon his throne in favor of his son, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim had also to give up his position at the Qatar Investment Authority, the economic and financial heart of Qatar. Qatar Investment Authority manages incredible wealth, an estimated 300 to 400 billion dollars.
The former Emir would be now looking to maneuver Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani for the positon of UN Secretary General as Ban Ki moon mandate will end in only a few years, 2016.
Sources have alleged that the former Emir of Qatar wants to help promote Qatar’s international diplomatic pull through a prominent position at the UN – the Secretariat General – which would propel the island-kingdom into the diplomatic stratospheres.
October 15th, 2013, 7:06 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
Here is another grim forecast for Syria, from the National.
State fragmentation is almost inevitable in war-torn Syria
October 15th, 2013, 7:07 pm
Tara said:
The world will be a better place if HBJ becomes the UN secretary general.
October 15th, 2013, 7:15 pm
zoo said:
@698 WSS
There is an interesting point that you conveniently skipped about the effect of the fragmentation on the Sunnis. Also the idea of ‘two-front’ campaign is ridiculous. The FSA is being crushed fighting just one front. Their only savior from Al Qaeda is the Syrian Army.
If the country is divided, the losers will be the moderate Sunnis as they will have the choice either to live under the Alawites or the Kurds or under the control of Sunnis extremists. In all cases they will be a powerless minority. My guess is that they would prefer the Alawites with which they have lived harmoniously for centuries
“This is disastrous because while the Alawites, Kurds and Druze all have the potential to create safe havens in discrete areas, the Sunni majority and many Christians – and numerous smaller minorities – could end up living under the control of extremist groups, at least for a brief time. Even a short period of fanatical domination is calamitous, as the beleaguered people of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor are currently discovering.
Non-extremist rebels have no choice but to confront Al Qaeda and similar extremists in a two-front campaign that also challenges the regime. And the outside world has no choice but to help them do so by all possible means. If Syria is to fragment, parts of it must not fall into the hands of Al Qaeda or be ruled by Salafists imposing their own narrow, literalist version of Sharia on what is still, and must remain, a cosmopolitan, diverse and heterogeneous society.
Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/state-fragmentation-is-almost-inevitable-in-war-torn-syria#full#ixzz2hpqDhClB
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October 15th, 2013, 7:18 pm
Ziad said:
Jihadists see Syria insurgency as just the beginning of a Middle East revolution
Al-Qa’ida groups aim for a revolution right across the Middle East
Shortly before its operatives killed 14 Iraqi Shia children in a school bombing this month, the group once known as al-Qa’ida in Iraq sent guerrillas into northern Syrian villages with orders to reopen local Sunni classrooms. In a series of early-autumn visits, the militants handed out religious textbooks and backpacks bearing the group’s new name: the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
A four-hour drive to the east, a rival al-Qa’ida faction, Jabhat al-Nusra, was busy setting up a jobs programme in Ash-Shaddadi, a desert town it has held since February. The Islamists restarted production in an oilfield that had been closed by the fighting, and fired up the town’s gas plant, now a source of income for the town.
The two rebel groups, with their distinct lineages to the terrorist network founded by Osama bin Laden, have concentrated Western fears of rising jihadist influences within Syria’s rebel movement. Two-and-a-half years after the start of the country’s uprising, Islamists are carving out fiefdoms and showing signs of digging in.
“We all have the same aqidah [Islamic creed] as al-Nusra or the Islamic State,” said a 23-year-old Jordanian Palestinian who gave the name Abu Abdallah in an interview in Jordan and who fights for a rebel brigade allied with the Islamists. “The aim is to free the Muslim lands and have the Islamic flag there.”
The prominence of the two groups — as fighters, as recruiters and, more recently, as local administrators — appears to have accelerated even as the Obama administration seeks to bolster moderate and secularist rebels with new weapons and training. Multiple independent studies, as well as Western and Middle Eastern intelligence officials, show the hard-line Islamists surging ahead by almost every measure, undermining Western efforts to find a democratic alternative to President Assad.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/jihadists-see-syria-insurgency-as-just-the-beginning-of-a-middle-east-revolution-8879944.html
October 15th, 2013, 7:29 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
General Idris speaks at length in an Asharq al-Awsat interview. His views on the ‘Alawite government’ are not unlike Ibish’s above, but they sound starkly sectarian.
He does point out some home truths about the Geneva process as presently peddled.
Free Syrian Army chief on ISIS, Geneva and Syria’s civil war
October 15th, 2013, 7:31 pm
Ziad said:
Syria’s No-Solution Solution
…
Aside from the human suffering caused by Syria’s ongoing war, we should be aware of the potentially dire regional consequences. Some people now warn of a “Lebanonization” of Syria – partition of the country into rival fiefdoms and quasi-independent regions. But Syria’s fragmentation is not the only plausible scenario.
CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphIndeed, the Lebanon metaphor is too benign. Unlike Lebanon during its 15-year civil war, no regional power today would be able to contain Syria’s war within its borders. As a result, it is much more likely that Syria’s disintegration would call the entire post-World War I (or post-Ottoman) Middle Eastern state system – also called the “Sykes-Picot” system – into question.
CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphSuch region-wide instability is not just a theoretical scenario; it follows from developments on the ground. Lebanon’s established political contours already are beginning to blur under the relentless pressure of the Syrian conflict. A zone of de facto control by Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Syrian regime forces has emerged between Baalbek and Homs, straddling the Lebanese-Syrian border.
CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphLikewise, the fighting has created highly fluid conditions in the Kurdish-majority areas of Iraq and Syria. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq has effectively established de facto autonomy vis-à-vis the central government in Baghdad. Regional and domestic developments could push the Kurdish authorities in Erbil, their capital, toward declaring formal independence.
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/on-how-to-get-syria-s-warring-parties-to-negotiate-by-volker-perthes#UccCzpZtMlh4JHPX.01
October 15th, 2013, 7:34 pm
zoo said:
Asma al Assad gives a good lesson of courage and loyalty to expats who claim that they are passing their “love for Syria” to their children while comfortably and safely sitting in a foreign country watching foreign language programs
Asma Al Assad pledges to stand by husband and stay in Syria with their children
October 15, 2013
DAMASCUS // Syria’s first lady Asma Al Assad laughed off claims she has fled the war-hit country, saying she was standing by her embattled husband President Bashar Al Assad.
…
“I am here, my husband and my children are here in Syria. It’s obvious that I’d be here with them,” she told reporters, when asked of claims that she had left the country.
“How can I teach my children to love Syria if they don’t live here?” she added with a smile.
“I was here yesterday, I’m here today and I will be here tomorrow.”
There was no indication of when the footage was recorded or where.
Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/world/middle-east/asma-al-assad-pledges-to-stand-by-husband-and-stay-in-syria-with-their-children#ixzz2hpxOlPyV
Follow us: @TheNationalUAE on Twitter | thenational.ae on Facebook
October 15th, 2013, 7:42 pm
zoo said:
@702 WSS
Sorry, the guy turned out to be a whining, brainswashed, obsessively sectarian and pathetic cartoon character.
With a leader like that no wonder the FSA is a mess.
October 15th, 2013, 7:47 pm
Ziad said:
Al-Qaeda’s Latest Target: Syria’s Civilian Activists
Hazim al-Azizi, a photographer at the media center in Azaz, was the latest Syrian activist to be killed by al-Qaeda. An ISIS sniper shot him on Sept. 18, when the town of Azaz, 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the border with Turkey, became the scene of two days of heavy fighting between the ISIS and FSA. On the same day, ISIS gunmen kidnapped Mohammed Nur Amuri, director of the Azaz media center, along with nine other activists in his office. One man, Abu Mohammad, managed to save himself.
Abu Mohammad was supposed to go to Azaz to install an aerial for a free radio network, Radio Nevroz, which was to begin broadcasting in Kurdish and Arabic to the opposition-controlled areas of northern Syria. When he heard that the ISIS was involved in fighting there, he canceled everything. In his opinion, the presence of al-Qaeda in Syria poses a serious threat to the entire civilian activist movement.
In an interview in Kilis, a Turkish town on the border with Syria, Abu Mohammad told Al-Monitor, “For us, it is extremely dangerous even just to move around. We are civilians, without any military escort when we travel. The areas in the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib have become a no-man’s-land, and the slightest suspicion is enough to get you killed by the men of ISIS.”
According to Wassim, however, the real problem is not al-Qaeda, but the ever-widening rift with the FSA. An activist living in Aleppo, Wassim explained, “When the revolution started, we used to sing ‘One, one, one. The Syrian people are one.’ Nowadays, the most popular song goes like this: ‘Alawites wait for us! We are coming to slaughter you! We will cut your throats.’ The activists abroad will tell you that it is not true, that we are a moderate people and sectarianism will not prevail. But this is true only of us civilians, not for those who fight.
“Well half of the fighters in the FSA believe they are fighting a war against the Alawites, and more generally against the Shiites, as a result of Bashar’s alliances with Iran and Hezbollah. They are simple young men, from the poorer classes. They have no education, and the weapons have gone to their heads. They have become cruel. Killing has become ordinary. They only want their enemy’s blood. We took to the streets for freedom and dignity, not to substitute the regime with another regime just as bloodthirsty.”
As Wassim spoke, Shiro and Bushkin nodded their heads. All three of them belong to the Kurdish Coordination Center for Brotherhood (Tansiqiyyah al-Ta’akhi al-Kurdi), a group of young Arab, Kurdish, Muslim and Christian middle-class university students. Their office is located in an apartment on the second floor of a shabby building that has been hit twice by government bombs.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/09/aleppo-azaz-al-qaeda-isis-syria-fsa-activist.html
October 15th, 2013, 7:51 pm
Ziad said:
???? ???? ?? ????? ………………… ?????? ??? ????
…
????? ???? ???? ????? ??? ?????? – ???? ??????? – ???? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ???????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ????????? ??????? ????? ?? ??????? ???????? ???? ???? ?????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ?????? ???????? ???? – ???? ??????? – ??????? ????? ????? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ??????? ?????? – ????? – ???? ??? ????? ???????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ???????? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ????? : ” ??????? ????? ???? ????? ??? ???????? “.
?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ???????? ?????? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ???? – ???? ?????? – ??????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ???????? ????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ???? ???????? ?? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ?????????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?? ?? ????? ????? ?? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? -??? ?????- ??????? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ????(?) ???? ?????.
????? ???? ???? ??????? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ????? ???????? ????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ???????? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ????? ??????? ???? ??????? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ???????? ?? ??? ??? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ??? ????? ????? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? ???????? ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ??? ???? ??????? ??????? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ???????.
??? ???? ??? ?? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?? ????? ???? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ??? ??? ??? ???? ???? ????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ???? ?? ?? ????? ?? ????? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ?? ??? ??????? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ?? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ??????? ???? ????????? ???????? ??????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????? ??????? ??? ???? ??????? ?????? ????? “?????? ?? ????” ?????? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ???????.
http://www.elwatandz.com/politique/10513.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
October 15th, 2013, 7:57 pm
Tara said:
#704
While ordering western food in huge amount so their “royal” taste palate does not get used to Syrian food only, in the interim zoo makes fun of Syrian Sunnis children starvation inviting the king of KSA to send them more dogs to eat in celebration of Eid.
Your posts speaks for themselves… I therefore will offer no editorialization.
Eating dogs and cats while being besieged by filthy animals in fight for freedom and dignity is much more dignified than kissing someone as* or even toe to satisfy visceral hatred.
October 15th, 2013, 7:59 pm
zoo said:
“Heads up would like to wish Happy Eid to all the Sunnis. Our patrons found that a wish of happy Eid to non-Sunnis is NOT appropriate.
So, All Sunnis throughout the World: Happy Eid to you from the Universal Commander of the Faithful, His Most Royal Highness, the Guided King of the Guided Kingdom”
A real message of hope to the children used as human shields by the terrorists.
October 15th, 2013, 8:14 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
The Red Cross acknowledges that the Syrian government facilitated passage of injured and suffering from Mouadamiya, and then pleads for the government to allow humanitarian access and medical assistance to besieged towns. The brutal conditions in Damascus countryside could be relieved if only the government acted within international humanitarian law.
Google translate version, from the French:
October 15th, 2013, 8:55 pm
omen said:
October 16th, 2013, 1:23 am
ALAN said:
696. UZAIR8
Barakat Allah Fik!
October 16th, 2013, 1:47 am
Juergen said:
Tara
The story goes back to Khomeni himself. I must say that sexual issues are dealt by the shia in a pragmatic way, if you consider the marriage on time ect. Poor thing is I doubt that Iran has more transsexuals than other countries, I think many gays and lesbians can only survive if they do this operation.
Have you seen Asma on Eid? The syrian Tv has made an special on her:
October 16th, 2013, 2:14 am
ELIAN said:
WHY MY COMMENT WAS DELETED Moderator!
October 16th, 2013, 4:50 am
Uzair8 said:
I enjoyed the piece from Salim Idriss. It struck a nerve. I sensed truth. I’m glad he’s saying it like it is and not bending under any pressure.
They want us to abandon the reality and truth and pretend to see things their way. The uncomfortable reality they cannot face upto or admit to.
I had to say this out loud as I believe others will have sensed the same and will also register their feelings.
October 16th, 2013, 7:52 am
zoo said:
Bitter Eid for the “Coalition” and the “FOS”.
It is finally the overdue end of this fabricated, illegitimate and unrepresentative group that lead Syria to a disaster.
Syria rebels reject National Coalition
2013-10-16 13:38
http://www.news24.com/World/News/Syria-rebels-reject-National-Coalition-20131016
Beirut – Rebels fighting President Bashar Assad’s government in southern Syria said on Wednesday the main opposition National Coalition had “failed” and announced they no longer recognise the Western-backed group.
The video statement signed by nearly 70 groups comes after a group of key rebel groups in the north of the country announced their rejection of the National Coalition in late September.
“Having seen the failure of the political groups that claim to represent the opposition and the revolutionary groups, we leaders of the military and revolutionary groups in the southern provinces withdraw our recognition from any political group that claims to represent us,” a rebel spokesperson said in the video.
The spokesperson referred specifically to “the Coalition and its leadership”.
Nearly 70 rebel groups signed on to the statement, which comes after fighters in northern Syria said last month they also rejected the Coalition.
October 16th, 2013, 7:57 am
zoo said:
The opposition lost its political arms, and it is in the process of losing the military arm to the benefit of Al Qaeda.
Like the chaos within the armed rebels, the collapse of the NC will be imputated to Bashar Al Assad for all sorts of fantasy reasons.
In fact, for 2.5 years, the opposition have been blindly listening to their ‘benefactors’ and the gang of the FOS instead of listening to the Syrians. Now they are getting the fruit of their mistakes. For the grassroot Syrians they are illegitimate. After Qatar, Saudi Arabia got a huge political blow.
The irony is that the next day after Kerry declares Bashar al Assad as illegitimate, the Syrians declare the NC as illegitimate.
Who will then go to Geneva?
It seems that the West has no other choice than to lure the ‘good’ FSA to join the Syrian army and fight al Qaeda in exchange they will represent the opposition in the negotiations in Geneva.
There will be arms twisting between the USA and KSA to accept that Bashar al Assad is here to stay at least until the end of the eventual negotiations.
October 16th, 2013, 8:16 am
zoo said:
Omen
You are naive. The Mukhabarat have nothing to envy the CIA and the MI5 that do that all the time.. That’s how national spy agencies work, didn’t you know?
“He said that the mukhabarat has thoroughly infiltrated jihadist and non-jihadist rebel groups in Syria “
October 16th, 2013, 8:23 am
zoo said:
Desperate terrorist rebels continue to target civilians
Syria blast kills 21; US urges opposition to join peace dialogues
October 16, 2013 8:02 pm
http://manilatimes.net/syria-blast-kills-21-us-urges-opposition-to-join-peace-dialogues/45282/
DAMASCUS: A blast ripped through a pickup truck on Wednesday killing 21 people in the latest attack on civilians in Syria’s raging civil war, adding urgency to international efforts to convene peace talks.
The truck was passing through an area of Daraa province in southern Syria where troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad are stationed when it was struck by the blast, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
“Twenty-one people were killed in the Nawa area [of Daraa], among them four children and six women, in a blast that detonated as their vehicle went past Tal al-Jumua,” the Britain-based Observatory said.
October 16th, 2013, 8:31 am
zoo said:
Clashes between Syrian Kurds-Islamic Jihadists leaves 41 killed
http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2013/10/syriakurd918.htm
October 16, 2013
HASAKA, Syrian Kurdistan,— At least 41 fighters have been killed in violent clashes pitting Kurds against jihadists and Islamist rebels in Western Kurdistan (northeastern Syria), a monitoring group said on Wednesday, and reported by AFP.
Kurdish fighters from several villages in oil-rich Hasake province in Western Kurdistan are engaged in combat against Al-Qaeda affiliated groups the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) and Al-Nusra Front, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“At least 41 fighters were killed, including 29 ISIL, Al-Nusra Front and Islamist fighters,” said the Observatory, adding that one of the dead was a local Al-Nusra leader of Egyptian origin.
Also killed were “12 fighters from the Committees for the Protection of the Kurdish People” (YPG), said the Britain-based group.
Clashes have raged in majority Kurdish areas for months, as the jihadist ISIS has sought to expel the YPG from areas under its control.
The latest round of fighting in Hasake broke out Tuesday morning, and resulted in the capture by YPG fighters of an ISIL checkpoint.
Analysts say ISIS aims to crush competition from other armed groups active in areas out of the control of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime,www.ekurd.net and that its war with the Kurds is part of its strategy for control of territory and resources.
Kurds are fighting both the regime of Bashar al-Assad and the “jihadists” (supported by the brigades of the FSA and foreign countries, including Turkey). Several Turkish associations, close to the AKP government,www.ekurd.net openly support the jihadists and organize their trips to Syria. Many documents seized by Kurdish fighters show their journeys from Egypt, Tunisia and even the United States to Syria, observers said.
October 16th, 2013, 8:34 am
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Heads up would like to remind everyone that there is one and one destiny for foreign Shiite terrorists trying to invade Syria. This was made evident one more time today when Syrian heroes of the revolution ambushed and eliminated 50 such alien terrorists of Hezboola in Southern Damascus. On this second day of Eid we extend our congrats to the heroic fighters who were blessed by such accomplishment.
On the other hand, in his Eid speech to the Faithful, the Guided King of the Guided Kingdom emphasized the importance of following the Guidance for the Umma to become successful. His Royal Highness also made it clear that those despot dictators, who usually are agents of the despicably failed mullocracy, have no room within the ranks of the faithful. They are rejected and dejected by the truly Guided.
We, at Heads-up, extend our thanks to His Royal Highness, the Guided King, for taking issue with the important subject which has plagued Syria for over 50 years of serpent rule, and look forward for the day when the Guidance emanating from the Guided Kingdom will defeat the Serpent and bring Syria into Guidance and membership in the GCC.
October 16th, 2013, 9:02 am
annie said:
Razan Zeitoune
September 16, 2013
Escaping hell: Lt. Col. Abu al-Mawt’s detention center
Out of all the stories and horrors documented within the course of my legal work, “Escape from hell” – with its five heroes and the monster figure of Lt. Col. Abu al-Mawt (literally, the father of death), who supervised the torture and execution of fellow detainees – is one I replay every day.
https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/cheating-death
October 16th, 2013, 9:17 am
zoo said:
The “Guided” Saudi Arabia growing panic over Iran-USA rapprochement
Saudis fret about US-Iran ‘thaw’
http://www.theguardian.com/world/on-the-middle-east/2013/oct/16/iran-saudi-nuclear-egypt
Ian Black: Riyadh’s anger over Obama policy reflects wider discomfort over Syria and changes of Arab spring
…
“Whenever American-Iranian political reconciliation looms on the horizon we panic,” noted Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent columnist – recommending “psychotherapy sessions and courses in real political science so we can recover our self-confidence and see that we are stronger than we think.”
Yet alarm is palpable elsewhere in the Gulf. “GCC leaders must wake up to the looming danger,” warned the influential Emirati businessman Khalaf al-Habtoor. “The countdown has started; the US/Iranian plan is about to be implemented. A serious plan of action is urgently required. GCC states are strong enough to stand alone both economically and militarily and should not permit foreign powers to make decisions for them.”
….
Nevertheless, a dramatic rupture still seems unlikely, if only because, despite recent overtures to China on defence sales, the Saudis have no substitute for their strategic relationship with the US.
The biggest differences between Washington and its Gulf allies, argues the Carnegie Endowment’s Frederic Wehrey, are not over regional issues but domestic repression – the conservative monarchies’ answer to the expectations for reform that have grown with the Arab spring.
October 16th, 2013, 9:23 am
zoo said:
It is obvious that besieged terrorists rebels have no interest in letting their ‘human shields’ go
Abrupt shelling hinders evacuation of afflicted people from hotspot near Damascus
Oct 16,2013
DAMASCUS, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) — An attempt by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) to evacuate afflicted people from a conflict zone west of the capital Damascus was rendered flat on Wednesday by abrupt shelling.
…
SARC has made previous attempts to evacuate restive people from the Muadamieh suburb over the past couple of weeks, during which the non-governmental organization succeeded to secure between 1, 500 and 2,000 people, who were caught in the middle of furious fighting between the rebels and government troops.
“An attempt to evacuate more civilians from Muadamieh failed today due to shelling near crossing point… Our team has pulled back,” SARC commented briefly on the incident.
While the organization blamed no parties for the shelling, both the pro-government media and activists web pages traded accusations over the unfortunate incident that could have helped tens of people to find sanctuaries in safe havens inside Damascus.
October 16th, 2013, 10:49 am
zoo said:
More fragmentation and deligitimization of the opposition: The end of the FSA and Selim Idriss is getting closer
http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/Aki/English/Security/Syria-Fifty-armed-rebel-groups-form-new-military-council_32740969407.html
Damascus, 16 Oct. (AKI) – Fifty armed rebel groups in southern Syria on Wednesday said they had created a new military command, citing the “failure” of the country’s opposition forces.
The ‘Revolutionary command council for the southern Syria district’ refused to recognise the Syrian National Coalition bloc as the main representative of the political opposition.
In a statement reported by Al-Jazeera satellite TV, the rebel groups said they had formed the new council owing to “the failure of the political forces who claim to represent the forces of the revolution.
They invited “the brigades of the [rebel] Free Syrian Army, all free men and revolutionaries” to join the new command council.
The rebel groups said they remained committed to the same objective: the overthrow of authoritarian president Bashar al-Assad and his “criminal regime”.
Syrian National Coalition bloc, formed in November, 2012, has been recognised by over 100 countries as the legitimate representative of the country’s opposition.
October 16th, 2013, 10:54 am
zoo said:
Erdogan’s irresponsible policy on Syria is backlashing
Jihadists flooding into northern Syria put Turkey on edge
By Benjamin Weinthal
Published October 15, 2013
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/10/15/jihadists-flooding-into-northern-syria-put-turkey-on-edge/?intcmp=latestnews
The brutal, Al Qaeda-linked group rebels invited into Syria to help topple President Bashir Assad has virtually taken over northern Syria, raising fears that its brand of indiscriminate terror could spill into neighboring Turkey, where some 300 U.S. soldiers are based to protect Turkish airspace from Syrian missile attacks.
ISIS — whose name has been translated as “Greater Syria” — joined the Free Syria Army’s bid to oust Assad, but now seeks to turn the embattled nation into a building block in a radical Sunni Islamic empire, or caliphate, across the Middle East. The group has captured towns and swaths of territory along the border with Turkey.
According to a recent analysis from Stratfor, a Texas-based global intelligence organization, ISIS “has dispatched hundreds of fighters north toward Turkey in response to closure of certain border crossings.” Turkey has a powerful military, but even so, can’t welcome an enclave of radical jihadists on its border, say experts.
“Turkey could be a target for them [ISIS ]… Not in the immediate future, but maybe in the far future,” said Yossi Melman, a top Israeli security expert and co-author of “Spies Againstt Armageddon: Inside Israel’s Secret Wars.”
Melman said Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is not a “real Muslim” in the eyes of ISIS because he is a relatively moderate Islamic leader.
The ISIS has “gained a lot of knowledge and experience about Turkey,” cultivated ties and could form sleeper cells, added Melman. “If I were a Turkish official, I would say, there is room for concern,” he said.
October 16th, 2013, 11:03 am
zoo said:
Pale eyed portraits of Kurdistan: Haunting photographs offer insight into the lives of refugees forced from their homes by the conflict in Syria
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2462971/Haunting-portraits-Kurdish-refugees-offer-striking-insight-lives-refugees-forced-Syrian-homes-civil-war.html#ixzz2htpbBxu4
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
October 16th, 2013, 11:33 am
omen said:
658. Tara said: @657 Finally at last. Someone is paying attention to ISIS connection to the regime and/or Iran. I have been trying to say this all along.
yes, i remember your questioning why raqqa was so quickly liberated & wondering if a prearrangement was made between regime & isis. that peaked my curiosity as well. (i’m going to float this question around to see what kind of answer i get.)
some consider iran colluding with alqaeda implausible – but when you consider assad coordinated with both sunni & shia militants in iraq – it’s not unreasonable to consider the regime could, and probably did, share intelligence gathered with iran. turkey used to trade intelligence with iran as well.
what is alqaeda but mercs-paid-for-hire? why wouldn’t iran hire them? ruthless regime desperate to hang on to power would grasp at any advantage.
October 16th, 2013, 12:59 pm
omen said:
718. zoo said: “He said that the mukhabarat has thoroughly infiltrated jihadist and non-jihadist rebel groups in Syria“ Omen You are naive. The Mukhabarat have nothing to envy the CIA and the MI5 that do that all the time.. That’s how national spy agencies work, didn’t you know?
ignorant westerners can’t hold a candle to ME players with home field advantage. while the west can only be so lucky enough to infiltrate such groups, it’s more probably that the regime has not only infiltrated but is calling the shots.
the conspicuously unusual material advantage ISIS enjoys has been noted by many.
as this writer notes:
October 16th, 2013, 1:52 pm
zoo said:
#729 Omen
Oh yes, the CIA and the Mossad and the MI5 have a strict moral code: They infiltrate but they do nothing and never call the shots.
Come on.. I still want to hope that you are joking.
October 16th, 2013, 2:41 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
Syria has presidential elections slated for 2014, according to the present constitution. There are a couple of constraints on the ‘pool’ of possible candidates.
The most important phrase in the above is “Enjoy civil and political rights.” The criminal code of Syria strips civil and political rights from those who have sojourned in its jails. Thus, anyone who was imprisoned for signing the Damascus Declaration is debarred from seeking the presidency. Anyone includes such names as Kilo on down. That is a lot of names already.
The important clause is 3, where a presidential candidate must be nominated by: “at least 35 members of the People’s Assembly; and no member of the assembly might support more than one candidate”
What kinds of candidates will the 99% Baath front put on the ballot paper? What choices will the regime allow on the ballot?
October 16th, 2013, 2:48 pm
omen said:
October 16th, 2013, 3:35 pm
zoo said:
#732 Omen
It was inevitable. Erdogan played with fire.
October 16th, 2013, 3:44 pm
zoo said:
The Madness Of The Syria Proxy War In One Chart
http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/525ebf74ecad04022dec763f-1200-1100/%20syriagraphic02.jpg
October 16th, 2013, 3:49 pm
zoo said:
Are the Turks looking for a pretext to attack and invade Azaz?
October 16th, 2013, 4:21 pm
Tara said:
Bone voyage to Hell.
???? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ??? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ???????? ?? ??? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ????? ???? ?? ?? ????? ????? ??? ??? ?? ?????.
????? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ????????.
?? ????? ???? ???? ??? ?? ????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ???? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ??? ??????.
Has anyone seen the Mahdi. I am looking for him..
October 16th, 2013, 4:23 pm
SimoHurtta said:
Omen have you the faintest idea who is that Micheal Weiss, who wrote that piece in your recent legendary series ”proofs that Assad is the real leader of Al Qaida”.
Why on earth would a Jewish man and well known pro-Israeli activist like Michael Weiss, write the plan Transitional Period Policy Research: Safe Area for Syria An Assessment of Legality, Logistics and Hazards for the Syrian resistance (Syrian National Council). Don’t the Syrian rebels have the brains and educated men to produce such “plans” themselves instead of that they have to “hire” (= pay with US money) a know Zionist and neocon to do the “work” for them.
Weiss himself bragged:
Weiss by the way has no military background nor he is a lawyer.
In the “study” Weiss writes
A well informed US ambassador. Or a pure simple propagandist?
Of course Omen the international SUNNI Jihadists in Syria are causing severe PR problems for the western “powers” and their vassals in Turkey and Arab states. All the time we hear mostly anonymous claims, that Iran and Assad are in reality behind these Sunni extremists. During Iraq war we were bombarded by very blurry US propaganda, that Saddam was behind Al Qaida. When Saddam was gone the Al Qaida “headquarters” moved obviously to Iran and to Syria (in the imagination of US propaganda makers). With Saddam the Al Qaida link would have been even imaginable (but not likely) because Saddam was in the end a Sunni. But with Assad and Iran, that simply doesn’t make any sense especially when the different Sunni “Al Qaida” troops is actively fighting (relative successfully) against the Syrian more to Shia leaning troops. What would Assad or Iran win in a such impossible difficult to implement relationship? When the enemy and part of them make very cruel and stupid moves, does that automatically mean, that the other side is behind them?
Some new “truths” for you Omen to digest between manufacturing your massive twitter feed
* The guards of Abu Grahib who did build naked Muslim pyramids were undercover Iranians using American identities
* Likud party and Netanyahu lead in reality Hizbollah
* Saudi King will be on the next Green Peace ship protesting against oil drilling in Louisiana
* US Senate is controlled by Israel (ups wrong tip, it is)
* US budget has a healthy surplus
* Syrian opposition is united and unanimous on all issues and is ready to negotiate
October 16th, 2013, 4:41 pm
Ziad said:
????? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?? ????????
October 16th, 2013, 5:19 pm
Tara said:
Juergen
Yes, this is the only explanation for Iran being the highest country in the number of sex change operations.. A gay or a lesbian either change their sex or face stoning. I wonder what the rate of suicides among transgenders in Iran? One could almost be sure of a higher suicidal rate among them compared to other countries as they are being forced to change.
In any case, this is very difficult subject to tackle in the ME not only Iran. Their best option is to immigrate to the West.
—
Yes, I saw Asma’s link.. Her comment was utterly stupid stating if you do not live in Syria, you can’t be taught to love Syria when she herself was born and raised outside Syria. Was that an admittance that she doesn’t love Syria or a mere display of a mediocre mental power opening her mouth not realizing the implication of what she says.
October 16th, 2013, 6:04 pm
omen said:
732. William Scott Scherk
bill, maybe you know. for two years now 2014 has been held out as significant date. i do not believe this is tied to a charade of an “election” alone.
does this have something to do with it?
do you know what is meant?
October 16th, 2013, 7:10 pm
Ziad said:
???????? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ? ??????? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ???????
??? ??? ????? ?? ???????? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ????????? ?? ?????? ? ?????? ? ????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ? ???? ???????.
? ???? ????? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ” ??? ” ???? ??? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ” 2 ???? ??? “? ? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ?? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ? ?? ???? ?????????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ????.
? ????? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ????????? ??? ??????? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ???????? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???????.
? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ????? ????? “?????? ????????? ?? ?????? ??????” ??? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ????????.
? ???? ???????? ?? ???????? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ???? ???????? ????? ??? ???????? ??? ??? ????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?????.
http://www.aksalser.com/?page=view_articles&id=97b8a8661cfe3e3992e2f27b8eeccb3b&ar=74905472
October 16th, 2013, 8:04 pm
Ziad said:
Is Turkey Digging a Hole With Its Syria policy?
Turkey’s Syria policy has been a mistake, and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government continues to deny this reality — especially when he comes under criticism for turning a blind eye to radical jihadist groups entering Syria through Turkey. People are likely to pay a dear price for this.
As the international media probe deeper into the workings of Turkey’s border with Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has been on the defensive. As the architect of the country’s new foreign policy, Davutoglu flatly denies any suggestion that Turkey has any relation to these extremist groups. “Groundless reports that have been published in international media concerning our Syria policy have no credence,” he wrote in August in a brief answer to the question of Hasip Kaplan, a pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputy.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/10/erdogan-enemy-salafists.html#ixzz2hvE7uHHC
October 16th, 2013, 8:10 pm
Ghufran said:
There is no doubt about who is behind Isis and Nusra today, the question is when Syrians will realize that their state will cease to exist if Islamists are not confronted now.
Turkey for the first time attacked Isis rebels at the borders because they are a threat to Turkey now, however the pseudo secular politician Labwani is declaring that rebels would rather become part of Isis instead of laying down their arms while Louai Safi declares that the NC is willing to negotiate with certain political figures in the regime.
Isis spoke person wants 3 million in Damascus to go the desert or raqqa to make it easier for terrorists to attack Damascus :
???? “??????? ???? ????” ??????? ???? ?????? ????????? ?? ?????? ? ????? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ???????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ????????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ?????????? ???? ????? 3.6 ????? ???? ??? ???????? ????? 2011.
? ???? ?? ???? ?? ???? “????? ????” ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ???????? ?????? “?????? ???????” ???????.
? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?? ????????? ? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ? ????????? ????? ?????? ? “?????” ? ???? ??? ??? ????????? ??? ?? ????.
? ??? ?? ???????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ???????? ? ??? ?? ????? ????? ???? ? ????? ??? ??????? ?????.
? ??? ?? ???????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ????????? ???? ?? ?? ???????? ? ????????? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ???????.
? ??? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ??????? ????????? ????? “?????” ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? ????????? ?? “??????” ?? ??? ??? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ???????.
Keeping this war raging without an agreement with rebels outside the Nusra- Isis circle is a big mistake, there is a need for a coalition of some type that isolate the Islamist terrorists, that requires forcing Assad to step aside, his presence is helping make a cease fire much harder to achieve, people on both sides who still dream of a decisive long term victory are just dreaming.
October 16th, 2013, 8:22 pm
Sami said:
“There is no doubt about who is behind Isis and Nusra today”
No doubt whatsoever. How else can you explain Nusra/Daesh ability to drive cars wired with bombs into the heart of Damascus through hundreds of checkpoints to detonate them without a single bullet being shot to stop them?
Either Daesh/Nusra have infiltrated the moukhabarat or the moukhabart directs them of where to hit next.
Another point to make while the many figures that lead the Islamists brigades were released by the Assadi regime from their dungeons, folks like the Darayya Boys (Sharbaji Brothers) have been tortured in prison since the capture and subsequent murder of their fellow revolutionary Gayath Mattar over two and half years ago.
October 16th, 2013, 11:16 pm
Ziad said:
?????? ????? ?? ????.. ??????? ?? ???? ?????!
?? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ????? ??? ?? ??? ???????? ???? ?????? ??? ???.. ??? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ?????.. ??? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ???????? ??? ????.. ??? ???? ?????????.. ????? ?? ???? ??? ????.. ?? ????? ??????? ??.. ????? ??? ??? ?? ????? ???????? ?? ??????? ?? ???????? ???????.. ????????? ???? ??????.. ??? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ???????.. ?????? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ??????? ???????? ??? ???????.. ???? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ???????? ??? ?? ??? ??????? ???? ?????????..
????????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ???????? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ???.. ???????? ????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ???????.. ?? ??? ???? ???????? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ????.. ????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ????????.. ?????? ?????? ?? ????.. ??????? ???? ?????..
???????? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ??? ????? ???.. ???? ???? ?? ???? ???????? ???? ????? ???????? ????????? ??????? ????????? ?????????.. ???? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ??????? ???????? ??? ????? ????? ????? ??????!!.
http://www.jpnews-sy.com/ar/news.php?id=64169#.Ul5I_Vb4CTE.facebook
October 17th, 2013, 12:08 am
omen said:
how adorable is this? in a book about syria uprising, there is a chapter on homs:
one of our commenters is famous. anybody know who is being cited?
October 17th, 2013, 12:13 am
zoo said:
After a failed ceasefile on 4 Oct , ISIS has pushed Liwa Asifat al-Shamal out of Azaz and Bab al Salama border. The ‘good’ rebels seems overwhelmed despite Turkish’s military intervention. Al Qaeda is getting closer to Turkey. Will Erdogan’s army invade Azaz and confront ISIS?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-17/turkish-army-fires-on-islamists-as-syrian-troops-flee.html
Some 85 members of Syria’s North Storm Brigade turned themselves in with their weapons to Turkish forces at Demirisik on the same day, the army said, without saying whether the Islamists were firing at the men.
October 17th, 2013, 6:18 am
zoo said:
‘Asked to confirm the dates, he told Reuters: “Yes, this is what UN secretary general] Ban Ki-moon is saying, not me.”‘
http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/syrian-official-says-geneva-peace-talks-planned-for-nov-1.1500655
MOSCOW – Syria’s deputy prime minister says an international conference to discuss a political solution to his country’s conflict is planned for Nov. 23-24.
Qadri Jamil made the announcement during a visit to Moscow on Thursday, according to Russian media outlets.
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/syrian-official-says-geneva-peace-talks-planned-for-nov-1.1500655#ixzz2hyRfJTC1
October 17th, 2013, 6:30 am
zoo said:
Russia, protector of the Christians of Syria?
http://02varvara.wordpress.com/2013/10/16/statue-of-christ-erected-in-syria-syrian-christians-ask-for-russian-passports-syrian-rebels-destroy-muslim-historical-sites/
An MP delegation from Russia and the Ukraine erected a monumental statue of Christ on top of the mountain near the Monastery of the Cherubim in the Syrian city of Saidnaya. The statue symbolises hope and peace.
Today, the Moscow Theological Academy, which initiated the project, noted that this monument could become a symbol of the hope of all Christians that there’d be a quick termination of the bloodshed in Syria. One of the group said, “The figure of Christ giving a blessing is on the path of the historical pilgrimage route from Constantinople to Jerusalem, at a height of 2,100 metres. One can see the sculpture from Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, and Israel“.
The installation coincided with the Orthodox feastday of the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God and the Muslim feast of Kurban Bayram. One of the Russian delegation said, “During the three days when the work was under way, the warring parties suspended military operations in the area and watched the installation of the sculpture, which is called ‘I Came to Save the World’”.
The placing of the monument was under the auspices of the Spiritual Heritage of St Paul the Apostle Foundation, known for its charitable projects in the Middle East.
******
In a statement posted on its website on Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MID) said that some 50,000 Syrian Christians plan to apply for Russian citizenship, as they fear that Western-backed terrorists seek to eliminate the ancient Christian presence in Syria. A group of Christians from the Kalamoun area near Damascus wrote in a letter to the MID, “As Syrian law allows dual citizenship, we’d like to apply for Russian citizenship, if it’s possible. This would be an honour to every Syrian Christian seeking to obtain it. Of the 50,000 people… doctors, engineers, lawyers, and businessmen… ready to put their signature to this appeal, not a one wants to flee their home. We have everything that we need, we aren’t begging for money”.
******
October 17th, 2013, 6:45 am
zoo said:
Promising “freedom and dignity” this mismanaged ‘revolution’ only brought destruction and irreversible divisions among the Syrians. It has destroyed Syria’s cohesion and unity.
Syrian civil war driving apart Arabs and Kurds
October 17, 2013
Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/syrian-civil-war-driving-apart-arabs-and-kurds#ixzz2hyXj6TXf
Follow us: @TheNationalUAE on Twitter | thenational.ae on Facebook
October 17th, 2013, 6:58 am
Uzair8 said:
#746 Omen
Khalid Tlass?
Joking aside I thought it may have been Aboud (Amjad of Arabia). Actually it refers to this main post posted by Camille Otrakji:
https://joshualandis.com/blog/homs-the-capital-of-syrian-uprising/
October 17th, 2013, 7:50 am
ALAN said:
So schmeckt die Welt Syrien
Das ist Syrien wo viele verschiedene völker und religionen auf einen kleinen fleck erde leben und seit tausende von jahren friedlich mit einander ausgekommen sind.
http://youtu.be/Tb92xcqbY0M?t=12m5s
October 17th, 2013, 7:52 am
zoo said:
The SNC is facing a choice they have avoided for 2 year: Either they accept to negotiate with Bashar al Assad and loose face or loose all what is left of their almost unexistant legitimacy, both for Syrians and for the West.
While Sabra ( supported by Turkey and possibly Qatar) showed openly his opposition, Jarba ( supported by Saudi Arabia) has remain silent.
Outlook for Syria peace talks dims
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/terrorism-security/2013/1017/Outlook-for-Syria-peace-talks-dims
The Syrian opposition has so far vowed to boycott November peace talks, bringing advantage to Bashar al-Assad, and undermining the position of a US-backed rebel group.
…
Russia’s RIA Novosti reports that a United Nations diplomat told the news organization that the UN was working to convince the Syrian National Council – the “core” of the opposition’s main political body, the Syrian National Coalition – to attend the talks.
But even if the Syrian National Council attends, it is a much weaker group. The council is losing the support of anti-Assad parties, with jihadi groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra rejecting the idea that they are represented by the umbrella organization. Even the less-religiously motivated Free Syrian Army has distanced itself from the SNC.
Michael Young, opinion editor at Lebanon’s Daily Star, writes in The National, that the opposition’s rejection of the Geneva talks – although they have little chance of success – “will only help Assad.”
The Syrian National Coalition is aware that it risks further undermining its legitimacy and relevance – already weak and growing weaker because of the increasingly powerful jihadist groups on the ground – if it appears to accept Assad’s continued rule of Syria by negotiating with his representatives. While those concerns have real grounding, refusal is risky, Mr. Young writes. It would allow Assad to “reaffirm that the opposition has no desire for peace” at a time when Washington and Moscow are eager for an agreement.
October 17th, 2013, 9:24 am
zoo said:
If KSA’s King Abdulah indicating a positive shift toward Shias?
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/saudi-king-abdullah-s-warning-on-interference-1.1244164
“We want to tell the world that we are extending our hand in respect of all divine religions and in an initiative that shuns hatred and violence and indicates that Islam is a religion of purity and moderation. If this be our case with non-Muslims, then our duty towards Muslims is to reject differences and rivalries between them,” he said.
Dialogue between Islamic sects is the proper way to understand one another.
“We praise God for everything that we agree upon, but our disagreements should not be used as a way to destroy the unity of the Islamic nation.”
King Abdullah said that the Islamic nation never compromised on its religion, morals or values.
October 17th, 2013, 9:53 am
zoo said:
It seems that Arabs still prefer a military man as their president.
Egyptians try to draft Gen. Sissi for president
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/egyptians-try-to-draft-gen-sissi-for-president/2013/10/15/118f52d0-34f0-11e3-be86-6aeaa439845b_story.html
…
For many Egyptians, the rise of a new military man is a comforting idea after nearly three years of political turmoil since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak.
A Sissi victory in the presidential vote expected by next spring would mean that Egypt will have come full circle from the ouster of one military leader to the official embrace of a new one.
October 17th, 2013, 10:00 am
zoo said:
The West lack of ‘generosity’ toward Syrian refugees just show their double standard and their hypocrisy.
As Neighbors Strain, Other States Grant Syria’s Refugees Cold Reception
By Hayes Brown on October 17, 2013 at 10:41 am
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2013/10/17/2795411/syria-refugees-sadness/
In response, the U.N. has requested that other countries take in at least 10,000 refugees by the end of 2013. The response has been mostly tepid.
France on Wednesday agreed to accept 500 refugees, despite a growing wave of anti-immigrant feelings and popularity towards far-right parties.
Scandinavia has been more welcoming towards the refugee population: Norway has agreed to take in 1,000, while Sweden has offered asylum to all Syrians currently within the country.
The United States, on the other hand, has not been nearly as embracing of Syrian refugees. Despite being the top humanitarian aid donor, the U.S. is currently sitting on the applications of 6,000 Syrians trying to reunite with American family members. In August, the Obama administration did agree to begin the process to allow in another 2,000 Syrian refugees.
At the time, however, since the crisis first began the U.S. had only taken in a grand total of 90 Syrians.
October 17th, 2013, 11:10 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Jamaa Jamaa has got killed in Deir Az Zor. He was a high Rank during Lebanon occupation and one of the suspects of Harriri assassination.
Well this is not a bad new but not too good. Because there are still hundreds of dogs in regime apparatus to be finished.
October 17th, 2013, 12:22 pm
omen said:
thank you so much for the detective work. kind of you to pull it up. i’m disappointed it wasn’t somebody i know or is currently blogging. (wonder how amjad is doing?)
some passages from the blog. while it seems obvious now, (isn’t it a rule of thumb most revolts are related to inequity?) i hadn’t tied the hamah uprising to economic conditions before. other material i’ve read on the matter failed to make that connection. made me realize this is often the case. media focuses on the symptoms (favored themes: jihadists, car bombings, sectarian divides) but goes out of its way to avoid diagnosing the disease: corrupt kleptocratic economic policies.
October 17th, 2013, 12:40 pm
zoo said:
The “reduced” Coalition will probably get an ultimatum in London: “You attend Geneva without making any fuss or you loose the only support you still have with the West”
Opposition to attend Friends of Syria meet on Oct. 22
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/opposition-attend-friends-syria-meet-oct-22-152715315.html#R6mJL6z
Syria’s opposition National Coalition said Thursday it will attend a “Friends of Syria” meeting in London on October 22 that is expected to focus on proposed peace talks.
The key opposition grouping said it would also hold internal discussions in Istanbul next week, culminating with a vote on whether to attend the proposed November peace meeting in Geneva.
“We have received an official invitation… to participate in the meeting of the Friends of Syria on October 22,” Coalition member Monzer Aqbiq told AFP by phone.
He said the meeting in London would “focus on these countries’ understandings about Geneva 2 and what it should result in.”
He expected the Friends of Syria — grouping nations which support the opposition — to agree on outlines described by US Secretary of State John Kerry earlier this week.
The top US envoy said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had lost legitimacy and that the country needed a “transition government … a new government entity.”
Kerry on Thursday also announced he would take part in the London talks.
October 17th, 2013, 12:54 pm
zoo said:
With its bad human rights records, Saudi Arabia is cautiously welcomed in the UNSC
Saudi Arabia wins UN Security Council seat for first time
17 Oct 2013
http://www.afp.com/en/news/topstories/saudi-arabia-wins-un-security-council-seat-first-time
Saudi Arabia on Thursday won a UN Security Council seat for the first time in a new show of determination to make its voice heard, joining Chad, Chile, Lithuania and Nigeria in taking places on the key body.
All five countries stood unopposed in an election by the 193 member UN General Assembly. They will replace Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo on the 15-nation council on January 1.
Saudi Arabia, despite its oil power and standing in the Muslim world, has never competed for a place on the United Nations’ most powerful body which has a key role pronouncing on conflicts such as that in Syria.
The conservative kingdom has several times expressed alarm at what it considers international inaction over Syria. It has been a major backer of the rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad. The Saudi government also remains a fierce critic of Israel.
Saudi Arabia is seeking a more active role in key international bodies even though its own record on women’s rights and human rights has been criticized, according to diplomats and observers.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal refused to speak or even hand out a copy of his speech at the UN General Assembly in September out of anger over Security Council deadlock on Syria and Palestine.
“It was a sign of the frustration felt,” said Nawaf Obaid, a visiting fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center and an advisor to Saudi officials.
“There is a conscious decision to be more aggressive and vocal on the international stage,” he added.
…
But Security Council powers have cautiously welcomed having a major Middle East voice on the body.
“Having them on the Security Council allows you to debate those issues in a way which you can’t if they are not on the council,” said one UN diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.
October 17th, 2013, 1:00 pm
Uzair8 said:
From the Guardian.
Converting to Islam: British women on prayer, peace and prejudice
Around 5,000 British people convert to Islam every year – and most of them are women. Six of them talk about prejudice, peace and praying in car parks
Friday 11 October 2013
Ioni Sullivan, local authority worker, 37, East Sussex
[…]
I was born and raised in a middle-class, left-leaning, atheist family; my father was a professor, my mother a teacher. When I finished my MPhil at Cambridge in 2000, I worked in Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Israel. Back then, I had a fairly stereotypical view of Islam, but became impressed with the strength the people derived from their faith. Their lives sucked, yet nearly everyone I met seemed to approach their existence with a tranquillity and stability that stood in contrast to the world I’d left behind.
In 2001, I fell in love with and married a Jordanian from a fairly non-practising background. At first we lived a very western lifestyle, going out to bars and clubs, but around this time I started an Arabic course and picked up an English copy of the Qur’an.
[…]
Dr Annie (Amina) Coxon, consultant physician and neurologist, 72, London
[…]
I converted 21 years ago. […] The conversion process was gradual and ultimately guided by the example of the mother of the current Sultan of Oman – one of my patients – and by a series of dreams.
My family were initially surprised, but accepted my conversion. After 9/11, however, my relationship with my sister-in-law changed and I am no longer welcome in their home.
[…]
October 17th, 2013, 1:23 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
On this third day of Eid, Syrian heroes of the revolution eliminated one of the serpent head terrorists, the so-called Jamie Jamie, in a blessed operation in Deir Ezzor. We extend our congrats to the heroic fighters who were blessed by such accomplishment.
On the other hand, Heads up would like to correct some of the misinformation that is being falsely spread by the agents of the mullocrats and the serpent head, working like bees on this site rendering it a propaganda tool for the snake heads and other terrorists, about the Eid speech of the Guided King of the Guided Kingdom which His Royal Highness made to the truly Guided of the Umma. The Guided King emphasized the importance of following the Guidance for the Umma to become successful. His Royal Highness also made it clear that those despot dictators, who usually are agents of the despicably failed mullocracy, have no room within the ranks of the faithful. They are rejected and dejected by the truly Guided.
We, at Heads-up, extend our thanks to His Royal Highness, the Guided King, for taking issue with the important subject which has plagued Syria for over 50 years of serpent rule, and look forward for the day when the Guidance emanating from the Guided Kingdom will defeat the Serpent and bring Syria into Guidance and membership in the GCC.
October 17th, 2013, 1:39 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
Further to my post on soviet-style elections, to the ongoing divorces from the Syrian Coalition, and in response to those who see some Geneva rainbow on the horizon, let’s remember who is speaking to whom, who has already picked out both benches of Geneva interlocutors.
The Syrian Arab Republic has already refused the SC, ‘terrorists’ — and everyone else both peaceable or militant (pace Kilo, other Damascus Declaration opposition, Mannah, etc – and all those internal opposition detainees in the dungeons right now or due to be tried in the special Terrorist Court).
Who is left to talk to on the ‘opposition’ bench as drawn by Assad? Anyone?
Syria’s heavy-weight foreign minister Mouallem stressed the rejection of the Syrian Coalition in remarks to Awsat last month. On top of that, he made it clear that only certain aspects of the ‘internal’ opposition should expect be be seated.
He said: “The Syrian opposition must be represented by licensed Syrian opposition parties.” (I have earlier noted that the Syrian criminal code strips civil and political rights from political detainess. This means in practical terms that no post-2001 dissident may form or lead a political party. This even applies to folks such as Mannah and Louay Hussein — neither has been able to form a party, fund it or publicize it; both their political formations are ‘movements’ or ‘tendencies’ that are not parties under Syrian law. Both men noted are forbidden from running for President and for legislative seats, of course, as per the constitutional catch-22s.)
So, that’s the problem with the Assadist dreams of a successful Geneva II process.
More sobering than that mirage are the actual procedures invoked by the Geneva declaration. Can anyone here imagine the SAA moving to a ceasefire, let alone following in good faith the numerous entailments of Geneva?
Here’s a brief example from the plan agreed by USA/Russia.
In case anyone has forgotten what comprises the six point plan, here are the points signed off on by the government in Damascus**:
Daily the regime bombs the hell out of towns that have ‘human shields’ within, communities besieged and at the edge of starvation. Only in the most deluded Assadist confection is this government going to Geneva to negotiate anything, least of all its war policies. It cannot be trusted to follow the most elementary humanitarian norms. It designates itself the sole supreme authority over anything that moves in Syria. It seems obvious that there is no hope for a diplomatic solution now or in the foreseeable future. This pitiless war grinds on.
_______________
** On March 27, the envoy’s office said that the Syrian government had accepted the peace proposal, and would be working to implement it.
October 17th, 2013, 2:01 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
The Guided Kingdom has now become a UNSC member for two years. The world is no doubt in urgent need for the Guidance provided by His Royal Highness, the Guided King of the Guided Kingdom. By occupying this position, the Guided Kingdom will provide the world with much needed Guidance particularly when it comes to dealing with Serpent heads and their terrorist proxies.
October 17th, 2013, 2:13 pm
Uzair8 said:
The current main SC post has been up for a while now. I know some questioned the choice of subject but to be fair SC may have been working on this ‘Top 5 list’ for a while with the help of the ‘experts’.
Anyway who needs a fresh update when we have WSS around tirelessly digging up and analysing latest developments. I’m sure SC users appreciate the effort and at being kept informed. Let’s not forget a few others who do similar work.
Keep up the good work.
October 17th, 2013, 2:35 pm
SimoHurtta said:
744. Sami said:
“There is no doubt about who is behind Isis and Nusra today”
No doubt whatsoever. How else can you explain Nusra/Daesh ability to drive cars wired with bombs into the heart of Damascus through hundreds of checkpoints to detonate them without a single bullet being shot to stop them?
Either Daesh/Nusra have infiltrated the moukhabarat or the moukhabart directs them of where to hit next.
In Iraq and Afghanistan different terrorist organization managed to drive cars wired with bombs in to the hearth of Baghdad and Kabul to UN installations, US bases, Green Zone etc through hundreds of checkpoints guarded by Americans and coalition troops without a single bullet shot at them. Do “we” really blame Americans and CIA being behind all those attacks. Seriously?
One must be really naive in believing, that soldiers in Syrian, US or any other army are complete idiots. Let’s assume, that the own secret service would arrange those different car bombs and lead the groups behind those actions. To get a car bomb trough checkpoints unchecked would demand excellent papers and/or direct orders given through phones/radios. Surely even a low ranking soldier can calculate one plus one, if a car he was ordered to allow to pass through his check point and then explodes a couple of hundred meters away in front of the military headquarters killing and wounding his comrades or in front of school killing his relatives children. There is no way to keep such long term inbred conspiracy, which hurts mostly own army members and army’s moral, secret.
Also the number and frequency these car bombs occur frighten badly the army and civil population and make them increasingly unsecure, so undermining the central governments authority and its image in its ability of keeping the population safe. Believing that Syrian government arranges these car bombs simply to get a propaganda weapon to be used against the rebels and those arming them is as “clever” as believing, that Talebans’ attacks are in reality arranged and coordinated by CIA or US military. Even more absurd would be believing that US forces are badly infiltrated by “Talebans” in order to direct the bombings in Afghanistan.
October 17th, 2013, 4:34 pm
ALAN said:
The Syrian government has turned over to the United Nations a Canadian staffer who went missing eight months ago. The Canadian lawyer Carl Campeau went missing in February in the Damascus area of Khan al-Shih on February 17, 2013. Campeau was able to escape after his room was left unlocked. Terrorists of non-Syrian Arab and Chechen nationalities kidnapped him. He specifically mentioned Saudis, Iraqis, Jordanians, and Chechens as the abductees’ nationalities. He also stated that these terrorists view both the Syrian government and the Syrian people as their enemies.
http://youtu.be/UvSF4WnKO1Y?t=1s
October 17th, 2013, 4:50 pm
ALAN said:
Useful article
Reflections on the fate of the Middle East
http://journal-neo.org/2013/10/15/rus-razmy-shleniya-o-sud-be-blizhnego-vostoka-chast-1/
October 17th, 2013, 4:59 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
As I summarized above regarding the Syrian government’s exclusion of nearly everyone but Qadri Jamil and Ali Haidar as Geneva ‘opposition’ interlocutors, I cannot explain this misapprehension:
The SNC is facing a choice they have avoided for 2 year: Either they accept to negotiate with Bashar al Assad and lose face or lose all that is left of their almost nonexistent legitimacy, both for Syrians and for the West.[redacted]
It is clear that Syria will not accept the SNC or the larger Coalition to negotiate with — this is the clear public stance of the dictator himself — so any prospect of negotiations appears a mirage at this point. As for Jamil, he seems to be neither a reliable reporter of government intent nor a credible harbinger of things to come (see my earlier note above about Jamil colouring outside the SANA lines).
All well and good as SANA-style theatrics, and of PR use if the excluded-already-by-regime coalitions are seen as not ready for peace … but the claim of a Geneva meeting date has been shot down by both special envoy Brahimi and the USA/Russian signatories:
And, from the Monitor, a useful media-massage suggestion from a longtime Syria commentator:
Muallem once more: “The Syrian opposition must be represented by licensed Syrian opposition parties.”
If anyone is wondering just what comprises this cohort of worthies, Wikipedia lists the ‘opposition’ roster in all its glory: “Political parties in Syria”
Here’s another supporting analysis with input from another notable Syria watcher, Assad Nixes Talks With “Pretty Much Everyone” Opposed to the Regime
October 17th, 2013, 5:53 pm
mjabali said:
Hey …John Denver:
You are now a Syria “expert,” so why don’t you start the trend and open your own blog maybe people could catch up with the latest news about Syria.
If you do not like Syria Comment: leave it, I for one won’t miss your “contributions.”
October 17th, 2013, 7:02 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Syrians in general are made of a different material. Last month in a meeting with a syrian colleague he told me:
¨We the syrians are bertrayers¨ and other nice words as ¨A syrian mind is full of garbage – well, he said shxxxt -)¨
Well this is not the exact idea I have about syrians but let´s agree that something could be truth in these words that allowed a criminal wild and retarded animals family rule a country and a revolution become a civil war full of betrayals.
October 17th, 2013, 7:25 pm
Syrian said:
Uzair8,I for one value your contributions and read them all the time,especially your update from mr Yaqubi.keep up the great work.
Most of the mafia regime supporters on this site are not Syrians, I don’t know why Mjabali have problems with you and not the others,
Eid Mubarak to you and your family.
October 17th, 2013, 8:03 pm
Ghufran said:
Sami,
Islamist terrorists are hired guns, they were used by many governments and intelligence services, they now receive funds from GCC countries in the form of hawalas and get smuggled guns,etc. I do not think GCC security thugs and top sheikhs are stupid enough to put their names on those hawalas, they use middle men who have nothing to lose, notice how GCC countries especially Kuwait have refused to join the effort led by the USA to monitor those hawalas.
I will not be surprised if there are Syrian officers who received bribes to allow terrorists or guns to move through the borders, it is common knowledge that some prisoners with terrorist credentials were mysteriously released , for few thousand dollars, while peaceful political prisoners were kept in jail because they lack monetary support. Sadly enough there are Syrians in western countries who willingly or unwillingly sent and continue to send money to people and groups linked to nusra and other terrorist groups in the name of humanitarian work, the middle men are in countries that border Syria and in the GCC.
While this happens, good Syrians abroad are having a hard time sending money to their families in Syria because of sanctions, go figure !!
October 17th, 2013, 8:38 pm
habib said:
617. Tara said:
“They are coming for you Bashar. Damascus is their next target.”
Lol, even Hafez jr. will be dead of old age once that happens.
October 17th, 2013, 8:46 pm
zoo said:
Fractured Opposition Could Derail Syria Talks
http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/10/fractured-opposition-could-derail-syria-talks/
But, according to a new report released Thursday by the International Crisis Group (ICG), the most credible political opposition that could take part in the talks, the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, lacks sufficient influence inside Syria to truly represent the various rebel factions, including even those who are not tied to Al-Qaeda.
Described by the ICG as a “hodgepodge of exiles, intellectuals and secular dissidents bereft of a genuine political constituency, as well as Muslim Brothers geographically detached from their natural base,” the Coalition, like its regional backers, had relied heavily on Western military intervention similar to that which eventually overthrew the regime of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi.
But “(f)or the Obama administration, such direct military intervention never appears truly to have been in the cards,” according to the report. “Instead it saw the priority as getting the opposition to unite and present a more broadly appealing vision of the post-Assad future.”
“In contrast, the opposition saw value in those tasks … only insofar as they were accompanied by substantially more Western support. Washington waited for the opposition to improve itself; the opposition waited for Washington to empower it. Both shared the goal of a Syria without Assad, but neither developed a strategy to achieve the goal that took account of the other’s constraints, triggering a cycle of frustration and mistrust that discredited the political opposition and Western governments alike in the eyes of the uprising’s rank and file.”
Even more damaging, according to the report, has been the lack of coordination among its regional supporters which in turn helped spur the rise of extremist groups – most of them financed by private funding from the Gulf states — within the rebel ranks. The Supreme Military Council (SMC), which is represented in the Coalition and has become the recipient of most humanitarian and military aid and training provided by Western countries, including the U.S., “enjoys scant leverage on the ground,” according to the report.
Instead of creating a new group, however, the Coalition’s foreign backers should urgently improve their coordination, especially on the military front; press Gulf states and Turkey to curb private support for radical groups; and urge the Coalition to focus more on providing basic services and strengthening activist networks in rebel-held areas — in part to better challenge and confront jihadi groups – and on “reaching internal consensus on workable negotiation parameters” for the Geneva track which “remains the best hope for ending the war.”
“I assume Assad will send someone to Geneva, and the Coalition will, too, because no one wants America to blame them for boycotting,” Landis said. “But it will all be a fig leaf for what is becoming the de facto partition of Syria, because that’s what’s happening on the ground.”
October 17th, 2013, 11:23 pm
zoo said:
Still lots of unrealistic advices to the failing opposition and the same wishful thinking that have been repeated for 3 years.
Anything But Politics: The State of Syria’s Political Opposition
http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/middle-east-north-africa/egypt-syria-lebanon/syria/146-anything-but-politics-the-state-of-syria-s-political-opposition.aspx
What can be done?
…
– the opposition’s foreign state backers ought to drastically improve their coor-dination, especially on the military front;
– this should be accompanied by efforts to limit alternative channels of material and logistical support; notably, Gulf states need to rein in private funding, and Turkey needs to do more to disrupt the influx of foreign fighters and fundraisers across its southern border;
– to enhance its presence on the ground, the Coalition should seek a direct role in providing basic services in rebel-controlled areas, including food, schooling and law enforcement. This requires cooperation of mainstream rebel groups that the opposition’s main foreign backers should work to secure;
– the Coalition and its backers need to develop an effective strategy to deal with the urgent threat posed by jihadi groups. Besides progress in the above three realms, this necessitates enhancing civil society initiatives and activist networks; and
– its qualms regarding the Geneva II process notwithstanding, the Coalition ought to come up with a realistic strategy toward what remains the best hope for ending the war. This should entail, for example, reaching internal consensus on workable negotiation parameters.
October 17th, 2013, 11:29 pm
zoo said:
WSS
You keep repeating the same message over and over.
I think the Coalition or what is left of it will accept to go to Geneva because otherwise they won’t survive. Bashar al Assad could rightly claim that there is no one to negotiate with. Therefore he may regain his legitimacy as the sole leader of the Syrians while the Coalition will loose its international legitimacy.
The opposition will then be torn further as the SNC refused to participate and the FSA rejects the Coalition. With such a weak opposition in the negotiation, the upper hand will certainly go to Bashar Al Assad. The West will have to swallow that for the sake of keeping the ‘institutions’ intact for fear of Al Qaeda.
The Coalition is really making life easy for Bashar al Assad. He couldn’t hope for better enemies.
October 17th, 2013, 11:45 pm
apple_mini said:
We knew long time ago Turkish government actively supporting and facilitating fighters and weapons arranged, grouped, shipped and crossed in Turkey to Syria.
But after reading this new article on Al Monitor :
What is going on around the border offers us a different view. A reliable source who works on humanitarian relief at the border told me: “Some time ago, 160 fighters were brought to Mersin port in a ship from Yemen. They were transported by buses to the Oncupinar border crossing. From there, a call was made to the commander of the Free Syrian Army [FSA]. When he came, there was bargaining and the middleman asked for $2 million for recruiting and transporting these fighters. Phone calls were placed to Saudi Arabia and the requested amount was transferred to a bank. Then the fighters crossed the border at Oncupinar to Syria’s Selame.”
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/10/jihadist-syria-border-turkey-radical-groups.html#ixzz2i3s2VRP8
You still get chill on your spine. This is exactly a human traffic is in action. Instead of transporting young girls as sex slaves, here we see the “”commodities” as foreign Islamic fighters.
October 18th, 2013, 5:02 am
Badr said:
“Zoo”: “such a weak opposition in the negotiation”
Peter Harling: “Any viable resolution of the war requires a representative opposition. But to endlessly search for a more credible and coherent political opposition is to mistake cause and consequence: only a political process viewed as credible and coherent by the opposition’s base will produce viable representatives – not the other way around.”
October 18th, 2013, 7:13 am
Uzair8 said:
770
John Denver not your cup of tea? Perhaps you’d prefer Elvis Costello? Though I don’t wish to play resident DJ I can oblige.
With all due respect please re-read the opening (title) of the main post:
Who are Syria’s BIG FIVE Insurgent leaders?
by Joshua Landis (with help from the SC experts)
October 1, 2013
******
So I wasn’t referring to myself as an expert. Prof. Landis is likely referring to contributers such as Ayman, Aron Lund et al.
And where did I say I didn’t like Syria Comment? In fact my previous comment could have been interpreted to mean I like it so much it can get frustrating and boring if there isn’t a regular news update. In fact my comment was actually in defence of the current main post and subject matter.
October 18th, 2013, 8:12 am
Uzair8 said:
Dear Syrian
Thanks. Khair Mubarak!
Eid Mubarak to yourself and your family too.
October 18th, 2013, 8:14 am
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
No other country on this planet would refuse a UNSC seat except the Guided Kingdom which it did today.
The Guided Kingdom made it clear it will not be part of a dysfunctional organization which allows such rogue states like the mullocracy to continue in the charrade of pursuing WMD’s under the nose of the dysfucntional organization. It further emphasized that it cannot stand as a false witness while the Serpent regime in Syria continues to commit crimes against humanity. There is no doubt that the Blessed Guided Kingdom under its Blessed and Guided King has stood for Guidance against the falsehood of the UNSC.
Syrians thank His Royal Highness for this noble act and look forward to the day when Syria will be allowed to become a junior member in the GCC which is guided by the Guided Kingdom.
October 18th, 2013, 8:52 am
zoo said:
By refusing to be in the UNSC, Saudi Arabia shows that it is too weak and coward to have its human rights flaws exposed and used against it.
The “Guided” kingdom much prefer to plot in the background. Pathetic…
Saudi Arabia boycotts UN Security Council
by Angus McDowall, October 18 2013, 14:35
http://www.bdlive.co.za/world/mideast/2013/10/18/saudi-arabia-boycotts-un-security-council
RIYADH — Saudi Arabia, in an unprecedented show of anger over the failure of the international community to end the war in Syria and act on other issues in the Middle East, said on Friday it would not take up its seat on the United Nations Security Council.
The kingdom condemned what it called international double standards on the Middle East and demanded reforms in the Security Council.
Riyadh’s frustration is mostly directed at Washington, its oldest international ally, which has pursued policies since the Arab Spring that Saudi rulers have bitterly opposed and which have severely damaged relations with the US, Saudi analysts have said.
Saudi Arabia has also been angered by a rapprochement between Iran, its old regional foe, and the US, which has taken root since President Barack Obama spoke by telephone last month to the new Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, in the highest-level contact between the two countries in more than three decades.
Citing the Security Council’s failure to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, take steps to end Syria’s civil war and stop nuclear proliferation in the region, Riyadh said it had instead perpetuated conflicts and grievances.
“Saudi Arabia … is refraining from taking membership of the UN Security Council until it has reformed so it can effectively and practically perform its duties and discharge its responsibilities in maintaining international security and peace,” the foreign ministry said via state media.
October 18th, 2013, 9:04 am
zoo said:
@779 Badr
The opposition missed the opportunity given to them more than 2 years ago. Instead of announcing endlessly ‘interim governments’ and “President”, they should have announced a political party. They could have rallied much more of the Syrians who refuse a violent change of regime.
They listened to the stupid advices of bigot Erdogan, dumb Hollande and arrogant Qatar who encouraged them to call for chaos, totally oblivion to the consequences in such a sensitive region.
They created a bloody mess and they are in a me1ss.
October 18th, 2013, 9:12 am
Akbar Palace said:
The big news today is KSA’s refusal to take their seat on the UNSC:
Saudi Arabia is also frustrated that the U.S. backed away from launching punitive strikes against Assad’s forces after Damascus agreed to allow inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations to destroy its chemical weapons arsenal.
Which begs the question, doesn’t the KSA have a military?? They sure spend enough money on it.
I suggest the KSA give their UNSC seat to the GOI with the promise that the GOI reduces Assad’s real estate holdings to ruble.
Just a suggestion.
October 18th, 2013, 9:23 am
Sami said:
Ghufran,
“it is common knowledge that some prisoners with terrorist credentials were mysteriously released , for few thousand dollars, while peaceful political prisoners were kept in jail because they lack monetary support.”
Omar Aziz did not die in jail because of lack of monetary funds to release him. His friends and family were willing to pay whatever price to get him released. People that have a direct access to Bashar and Maher’s ears asked for his release.
Fundamentalists and Islamists are being released because they help the regimes rhetoric while activists that can help create a viable alternative to both the regime and the fundamentalists are being killed in jails.
October 18th, 2013, 9:32 am
Sami said:
“In Iraq and Afghanistan different terrorist organization managed to drive cars wired with bombs in to the hearth of Baghdad and Kabul to UN installations, US bases, Green Zone etc through hundreds of checkpoints guarded by Americans and coalition troops without a single bullet shot at them.”
Actually in many of those instances where fortified targets were hit by suicide bombers the bombers had insider help. Not from the American or coalition forces mind you but from locals deemed trustworthy by the American and coalition forces. These locals helped scout the areas that are the softest to hit or even helped the bombers pass through several checkpoints or they themselves were the actual bombers.
“One must be really naive in believing, that soldiers in Syrian, US or any other army are complete idiots”
First of all the complete idiot is the person equating American government and Army with that of Syria. Second of all you have to be an absolute imbecile to think that the Assadi militia works with common sense in mind, for there is absolutely no sense in gassing your own people, shooting SCUDs at Universities, massacring innocent civilians, dropping barrel bombs on bread lines and the countless other subhuman actions the Assadi militia is guilty of.
October 18th, 2013, 9:48 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Rebels gaining positions in Palmyra
Rebels gaining positions in Deir ez Zor
Saudi Arabia puts pressure on the International Community by refusing its seat at the UN Security Council as it serves wars and unstability.
Saudi Arabia to present a declaration denouncing Hezb Zballah presence in Syria.
October 18th, 2013, 10:35 am
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
The position taken by the Guided Kingdom regarding UNSC is received with wide spread acceptance and support from the world community, particularly from the countries which the Guided Kingdom helped to save recently from falling into becoming a replica of the failed, rejected and dejected mullocracy.
Egypt, which was recently saved from such fate by the Guidance of the Guided Kingdom, expressed strong support and approval of the noble act of the Guided Kingdom. In particular, Egypt approved the Guided Kingdom’s declaration with regards to the snake-like behaviour of the mullocracy which it denounced as a shameful entity on this planet which would have to be eradicated due to such shameful snake-like behaviour.
The Kingdom of Bahrain was also single-handedly saved by the Guided Kingdom from the scourge of Shiite terrorism not long ago.
October 18th, 2013, 11:14 am
Uzair8 said:
A BBC report I came across on Yalla Souriya. Select either guide to armed rebels or guide to political opposition:
Syria crisis: Guide to armed and political opposition
17 October 2013
There are believed to be as many as 1,000 armed opposition groups in Syria, commanding an estimated 100,000 fighters.
Many of the groups are small and operate on a local level, but a number have emerged as powerful forces with affiliates across the country or formed alliances with other groups that share a similar agenda. The BBC News website looks at the most prominent.
[…]
October 18th, 2013, 11:22 am
Uzair8 said:
Syria’s Top Five Regime-Camp Figures
October 18, 2013
1 – Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov
Syria’s foreign affairs are said to have been handed over to Russia to look after. The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, is on top of things. Some even saying Lavrov has come into his element on the Syrian issue in recent months.
2 – Qasem Soleimani
Iran is said to be responsible for Syrian military/security matters. The Iranian Qods Force Commander (a division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps) is said to be running the show.
According to wiki he’s “not particularly” religious but motivated by nationalism, “and the love of the fight.”
3 – Hassan Nasrallah
The Hezbo leader has thrown his support behind the Syrian regime and his organisation along with other commited mercenaries (and IRGC) from regional countries are, no doubt under Suleimani’s supervision, playing an important role in the battle.
4 – Bashar Assad
Said to be only a figurehead at this point having handed over sovereign duties to allies Russia and Iran. Described by some as the glue keeping what remains of the regime together.
The Presidents brother Maher is said to be responsible for the defence of Damascus.
5 – Jamil Hassan
Head of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence. Also a member of the inner circle. Robert Fisk many months ago wrote how it was said Jamil Hassan was behind much of the (regime) killing.
*************
Other important and rising figures in the regime camp:
Ali Kayali
October 18th, 2013, 11:58 am
omen said:
go over once again that telegraph column you’re referencing. it was all insinuation that failed to produce any evidence. an obvious reading is that it was a vindictive piece meant to dry up funding going to charities.
doesn’t make sense for you to, on one hand, lend credence to baseless allegations that damage efforts to fund refugees – and then, on the other, bemoan the fact syrians are being denied support!
column cites mp concern, hinting legislation might be put forward making it harder to donate. this while iran & russia are free to dump weekly, if not daily, supplies to the regime unimpeded. (has ghufran ever denounced russia sending child killing munitions?)
once again, western elites/governments (with undisclosed conflict of interest) throw up distractions meant to on cripple the syrian struggle for independence instead of focusing on holding the genocidal regime accountable.
October 18th, 2013, 12:01 pm
mjabali said:
John Denver Aka DJ Doom
See: this is a blog to discuss Syrian issues and when you quote John Denver or Elvis Costello, and speak about contributions: don’t you see there is a problem here.
When you complain about the main post of this current issue of the blog because it did not fit your agenda there is a problem.
When you say that there are other blogs trying to discredit this blog because it did not suite your agenda there is a problem.
October 18th, 2013, 12:23 pm
omen said:
not sure how to dissect this. not familiar with author:
October 18th, 2013, 12:26 pm
omen said:
792. Uzair8
very funny. had me going for a minute.
is this what the english call being droll?
October 18th, 2013, 12:42 pm
Ziad said:
???? ????? ????? ???????? .
???? ?????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ??????. ???? ????????? ?????? ??? ????? ???? 2. ????? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ?? ???? . ?? ??? ????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ??? ????? . ???? ???? ???????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????
???????.?
?? ????????? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??????. ???? ????? ???? ?? ??? ?? ???? ?????? . ??? ?????? ????????? ??????? ?????? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ” ?? ???? ??? ??? ??? ????? ????? ” ?? ??????? ???????. ???? ?? ?????? ???????? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ? ????? ?? ???????? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ????.
?? ????????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ??????. ??? ?
??? ??? ????? ???? 2? ????? ???????? ????????? ???????? ????????. ?????? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ?? ???????. ???? ??????? ???????? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ??????? ??????? ?????????? ???? ?????? ? ???????? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ?? ???????? ????????? ???????? ??????? ???????? .
?? ???? ???????? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ?????? ???? ????????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ????? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ??. ??????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? .
??? ?? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ?????? ????????? ??? ??????? ?? ??????? ??? ??????? ????????.
?? ????????? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ???? 2. ??? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ???????? : ” ??? ????? ???????? ??? ?????? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ???? ?? 100 ???? ? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ?? ????????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ”
???? ??????? ???? ??????? ???? ???????? ??? ???? ???? 2? ?????? ?????????? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ????? ????? ???? ? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ???????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??? ?? ????? ??? ???? 2? ???????? ??? ??? ??????? ?????? .
???? ???????? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ???????? ????? ??????? ?????? ???? ????????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?? ???? 2 ?? ????????. ????? ??????? ????????? ??????? ?? ???? ???????? ??????? ” ???? ??????? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ” . ???????? ???? ???? .
?? ????????? ????? ? ?? ?? ??? ????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ?? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ???????? ? ?? ???? . ???? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ???????? ????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ????. ???? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ????????? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ??? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????.
??? ??? ???????? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ????????? ??? ???????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ? ??? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ???? ??? ?? ???????? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ??????? ???????? ??? ?? ???????? ???? ?????? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ???????? ?? ??? ?????? .
??? ??????? ??? ???????? ???? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ?????? ?? ???? ???????? ??????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ?????. ??? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ????? .
???? ?? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ?? ??????? ????????? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ?? ?????. ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ???? ????? ??? ???? ??? ?????????? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ??????? . ??? ?????? ???? ???????? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?? ??????? ??????? .
?? ???? ???????? ??????? ?? ????? ?
?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ??????? ?????? ????? ??????? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ????? . ??? ??? ??? ? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ???????? ????????.
??? ?? ?? ??????? ???? ???????? ???? ? ?? ??? ?? ???? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ??? ??????? ??????.
???? ????? ????? ????????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ???? : ” ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ??? ????????? ?????? ????? ” .
?? ??? ???????? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ? ?? ?? ???? ??????? ?????? ?? ???????? ?? ??? ?? ??????? ????????? ??? ?? ???? ” ?????? ” ???? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ???????? ????????? ???????? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ?????? .
Al Mayadeen Tv
October 18th, 2013, 1:00 pm
Ghufran said:
It is premature to conclude that general Jameh was assassinated by the rebels.
October 18th, 2013, 1:09 pm
Uzair8 said:
793. Mjabali
I think you’re misreading what I wrote.
I’m not complaining about the subject matter of the current main post. I know a few other users had misgivings about the subject and timing but even at the time I suspected the post was probably in the pipeline for some time.
In other words I was saying ‘to be fair the top 5 list was probably in the works for a while and any percieved ill-timing or inappropriateness was probably just coincidental’. So I was defending SC’s decision.
All I said was that the post has been up for a while now (nearly 3 weeks) and being hungry for fresh news and updates was hoping for a new post soon. By now every man and his dog will know there is a top 5 list of rebels if not their names and backgrounds. Anyway what I think is neither here nor there. We have capable users (research/analyst types) on here keeping us informed anyhow.
Also I don’t recall mentioning other blogs vis-vis SC.
October 18th, 2013, 1:29 pm
Uzair8 said:
795 Omen
I don’t know what that word means but I’ll look it up later.
On the piece itself I believe the reality (list sequence) might not be too far off and is based on stuff I’ve read lately and previously.
I did put my name to the piece but later removed it. Surprised it had you fooled. Lol.
October 18th, 2013, 1:34 pm
omen said:
according to this beirut based reporter:
tick tock, bashar, tick tock.
October 18th, 2013, 1:37 pm
Uzair8 said:
A short time ago I was informed out of the blue that Shaykh Yaqoubi is speaking in a couple of hours. I didn’t even know the Shaykh was in the UK.
Can’t wait to see the Shaykh and be in his blessed company. Last time I saw the Shaykh in person was some years ago.
I’m sure he’ll talk about Syria in the last few minutes.
October 18th, 2013, 1:43 pm
ghufran said:
ISIS claims that Liwaa Asifat Ashimal is wiped out of Reef Halab:
????? “?????? ????????? ?? ?????? ?????? – ????” ?????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ????? ?? “???????? ?? ???? ????? ??????” ?????? ??”????? ?????? ????” ?? ???? ???.
????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ??? ??? “?? ?????? ????? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ?? ????????? ???????? ???? ????????? ??????? ????? ???? ??????? ?????? ???????? ???????? ?? ???«??. ??.??» (??? ?????? ??????????) ????? ???? ?????”.
At this rate, the FSA will be gone and western and regional countries have to choose between Islamist militias or regime forces, you all know what that means.
October 18th, 2013, 2:07 pm
zoo said:
The FOS will be ‘forcing’ the NC to go to Geneva, despite the SNC refusal to participate. The condition that Bashar al Assad must go first is now obsolete. The NC either loose its face for its supporters if it accepts or loose its legitimacy for the West if it refuses.
It will be an interesting meeting…
Friends of Syria meet in London Oct 22 to prepare for Geneva II
18/10/2013
http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2339436&Language=en
LONDON, Oct 18 (KUNA) — Britain said Friday the “London 11” foreign ministerial meeting over Syria would be held on October 22 to discuss the Syrian conflict and prepare for the Geneva II conference.
Britain will host the a meeting of foreign ministers for the London 11, the Core Group of the Friends of Syria, Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement.
He said the meeting was in compliance with UN Security Council resolution 2118 which called for an international conference on Syria to implement the Geneva Communique, adopted in the Swiss city in June of last year.
The Communique, added Hague, called for the establishment of a transitional governing body in Syria exercising full executive powers, including members of the present government and the opposition and other groups, formed on the basis of mutual consent.
“To that end, the UK will host a meeting of the London 11 Foreign Ministers on Tuesday next week, to discuss preparations for the Geneva Conference, support for the Syrian National Coalition, and our efforts to achieve a political settlement to this tragic conflict,” he said.
The London 11 consists of Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Britain and the US. Representatives of the leadership of the National Coalition will also attend the meeting.
Hague’s announcement followed US secretary of state John Kerry’s asserting of good preparations for Geneva II meeting in order to establish a transitional government capable of running the country.
Achieving peace and security in Syria can be achieved but through the formation of a transitional government, said Kerry following his meeting with UN-Arab League special representative to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi, in London last Monday.
Brahimi said he was getting ready for a new round of negotiations in the Middle East to prepare for the Geneva II.
October 18th, 2013, 2:34 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
The genius stroke of the Guided Kingdom regarding the UNSC continues to receive acclamation and support from around the world. Both France and Turkey expressed their strong support for the master move made by the Guided Kingdom.
It should be noted that the Guided Kingdom received 176 votes for its candidacy for the UNSC seat, indicating massive worldwide approval of the wisdom of the Guidance provided by the Guided Kingdom. The world has shown that it is in dire need for such Guidance that it is not receiving from the current dysfunctional UNSC.
Only after ensuring the worldwide support for the Guided Kingdom candidacy for the seat did the Guided Kingdom make its refusal to occupy the seat public, thus projecting an image of strength combined with high calibre wisdom not witnessed by humankind for many many years.
Syria would be fortunate if it were to be offered junior membership in the GCC under the Guidance of the Guided Kingdom.
October 18th, 2013, 2:37 pm
zoo said:
Ghufran
The FSA we knew is finished.
The fighters will either reverse their defection and join the Syrian Army, desert the FSA or will join ISIS or Al Qaeda.
The FOS are preparing Geneva II without any representative of the FSA. The West support for the FSA is over. KSA and Qatar will be soon obliged to stop the funding of weapons and salaries.
It seems that the time is now for a political settlement.
The opposiion thought they’ll be stronger with the support of KSA, Qatar and Turkey. Now not only they are weaker and more impotent than ever but they have lost a large part of their legitimacy.
They now know that Qatar and KSA maybe be rich but they are just powerless political or military puppets.
The latest proof of cowardice, weakness and incompetence is Saudi Arabia refusal to join the UNSC.
October 18th, 2013, 2:52 pm
zoo said:
SD
Hahaha!
“Saudi Arabia puts pressure on the International Community by refusing its seat at the UN Security Council as it serves wars and unstability.”
October 18th, 2013, 2:58 pm
zoo said:
Selim Idriss is organizing a welcome committee…
Whole families from Kazakhstan travelling to Syria for jihad
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Whole-families-from-Kazakhstan-travelling-to-Syria-for-jihad-29315.html
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is organising family trips to Syria for Muslims from Central Asia. In some cases, as many as 150 people, including women and children, have travelled in the past few months. In one video, a young Kazakh says he came to Syria with his parents to become a martyr for Islam.
Astana (AsiaNews) – A new trend is emerging in Syria’s civil war. As hundreds of thousands of Syrians flee the war in their country, outsiders are doing the opposite, coming to the war-torn country on a ‘family jihad’ with women and children.
In recent months, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has run virtual “travel agencies” online, offering those who want to go to Syria the opportunity of staying with affiliated groups.
On Monday, the ISIL uploaded a propaganda video titled ‘Letters from epic battlefields, the hospitality of a jihadist family’ that has gone viral among jihadist social networks.
October 18th, 2013, 3:03 pm
omen said:
ksa took to heart zoo & ghufran’s concern.
October 18th, 2013, 3:14 pm
zoo said:
Saudi’s theatrical rejection of the UNSC seat just after having expressed pride of being chosen is not a sign or power but a sign of impotence and frustration.
It is a sulky reaction to the Iran-US rapprochement and to the looming Geneva II conference where Saudi’s Syrians allies will have to renounce to their preconditions and attend it with a weak representation.
Bashar al Assad and Iran, their hated foes, seem to have the upper hand now and there is nothing KSA can do except sulk.
October 18th, 2013, 3:18 pm
omen said:
droll – meaning humour said in a dry manner that it not immediately apparent material is satirical. brits are famous for it.
October 18th, 2013, 3:20 pm
zoo said:
“Saudi Arabia waited 68 years to be elected at the UNSC ”
Saudis reject Security Council seat: what led to the shocking snub
Saudi Arabia was elected to a coveted seat on the Security Council, but the Saudis, dismayed by UN and US positions on Syria and Iran, turned it down. Some experts question the wisdom of the snub.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/2013/1018/Saudis-reject-Security-Council-seat-what-led-to-the-shocking-snub
Saudi Arabia’s rejection of a United Nations Security Council seat it was just elected to Thursday with great fanfare – even from some of its own officials – suggests the depths of the Saudi government’s displeasure with the world body’s actions in the Middle East, from Syria to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But it also underscores Saudi alarm at the direction of US Middle East policy under President Obama.
The Saudis were dismayed when Mr. Obama pulled back from punitive military strikes in Syria over the use of chemical weapons – an intervention they had been led to believe was virtually certain.
Dr. Luck, who served as a special adviser to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, says he finds it “strange” that a founding member of the UN would “wait 68 years for this opportunity, run to get elected – and then turn it down.”
…Saudi Arabia is not alone in its frustration over the Security Council’s inability to act on the Syrian conflict – the US has expressed similar concerns, at time vehemently. But some experts find the Saudis’ timing “odd,” as Luck says, since the council freeze on Syria appears to be over.
“As we move towards an endgame on Syria, the council is going to be more important than ever,” Luck says. “This would have been an opportunity for [the Saudis] to make a difference on Syria.”
October 18th, 2013, 3:38 pm
zoo said:
The next battle: Qalamoun
Weapons, fighters flow to Syria’s next battlefront as offensive looms
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/2013/1018/Weapons-fighters-flow-to-Syria-s-next-battlefront-as-offensive-looms
The Assad regime appears poised to attack the strategic rebel-held Qalamoun region, which separates regime strongholds of Damascus and Syria’s coast. Rebel forces have swelled in preparation.
Opposing sides in Syria’s grueling civil war are girding for the opening of a key battlefront in the coming weeks, with expectations that the fighting will spill over into Lebanon.
The Syrian Army, backed by militants from Lebanon’s Hezbollah, is poised to launch an offensive to dislodge rebel groups from the Qalamoun region, a strategic area of arid mountains lying between Damascus and Homs, adjacent to Lebanon’s eastern border. The rebels are aware and are preparing to defend their ground, which has been an essential staging ground for attacks.
“We are getting ready to be attacked in Qalamoun. All the factions have set aside their differences and are prepared for the attack. We know it’s coming soon,” says Khaled, a stocky Lebanese Sunni from Lebanon’s northern Bekaa Valley who has fought with Syrian rebel groups since the early stages of the uprising against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Khaled and other Syrian and Lebanese fighters interviewed say they believe the attack will begin before the onset of the winter rains, which suggests within the next month. Sources close to Hezbollah, which is expected to play a major role in an attack on Qalamoun, say it will begin soon after the three-day Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday, which ended Thursday.
Both the Assad regime and rebel forces have a vested interest in controlling the Qalamoun area. For the regime, it represents a vital lifeline connecting Damascus to Homs and to the Mediterranean port of Tartous, the gateway to the coastal mountains running north to Latakia. That is the heartland of Syria’s Alawite community, a Shiite splinter sect to which the Assad family belongs. Regime dominance of Qalamoun would also effectively seal off the eastern border with Lebanon, severing rebel forces in Syria from Arsal, a Lebanese Sunni-populated border town that is a bedrock of support for the Syrian opposition.
October 18th, 2013, 3:49 pm
ghufran said:
Try to make sense of this:
Three of the most influential rebel leaders in Syria were released by Assad in 2011:
“????” ????? ???? ?? ???????? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ????????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ???????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ? ????? ?? ????? ????? ??? 2011 ??????? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????
I support the departure of all foreign fighters from Syria, including those from Hizbullah and Shia militias, but to compare the small presence of pro regime foreign militias to the monster of sunni jihadist groups is a form of dishonesty or ignorant denial at least.
October 18th, 2013, 5:26 pm
Uzair8 said:
#801 Uzair8
Correction:
I attended the gathering and Sh. Yaqoubi were not present. I was misinformed by a family member. It was in fact a gathering in the rememberence of Sh Yaqoubi’s late father, the great spiritual guide Shaykh Ibrahim al-Yaqoubi (ra). No doubt both personalities were present in spirit.
I may have caused confusion. Imagine if Sh. Yaqoubi or his students were reading this blog, which is possible. My comment regarding an imminent appearance and speech somewhere in the UK will have been news to them.
I apologise for the confusion. It was a misunderstanding by the person who informed me.
It was a great experience nevertheless. Very beneficial. Heard about the life and miracles of a great Syrian Gnostic. One of the 40 Abdaals of Syria. Only reinforced in my mind to trust Sh. Yaqoubi on the Syrian issue. It is no accident the Shaykh is fulfilling a prominent role in the revolution. Cometh the hour…
May Allah preserve the Shaykh.
October 18th, 2013, 6:02 pm
zoo said:
“the Syrian regime said President al-Assad’s removal from office will not be on the table at any talks.”
Turkey tries to salvage what is left of the legitimacy of its artificial creation, the SNC
Turkish FM set to launch tour over Syria
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-fm-set-to-launch-tour-over-syria.aspx?pageID=238&nID=56456&NewsCatID=338
ANKARA
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu prepares to hold a series of talks with ministers of 10 other Western and Arab countries on the developments concerning the Syrian civil war. London, Oman and Kuwait are among the foreign minister’s stops
The meeting in London has a particular importance as the core group countries will find a chance to broadly evaluate the efforts to end the bloodshed in Syria and to lead a political transition. The meeting will also give an opportunity for the core group to come together with the Syrian opposition on the eve of the upcoming Geneva II meeting, which will probably take place in late November.
Opposition divided
While the Syrian opposition is divided on attending the upcoming Geneva conference, the National Coalition, umbrella group of the opposition, said it would hold internal discussions next week, culminating a vote on whether or not to attend the gathering.
The Syrian opposition, earlier, said it will only negotiate if it is agreed from the start that Bashar al-Assad will be removed from power at the end of a transition period. However, the Syrian regime said President al-Assad’s removal from office will not be on the table at any talks.
Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil said a proposed peace conference in Geneva could take place on Nov. 23-24. Jamil noted there was “no alternative” to the peace conference and the absence of parts of the Syrian opposition would not affect the timing or format.
“Today no aspect of the Syrian crisis can be solved without it,” he said in remarks translated from Arabic into Russian, adding the talks had to put an end to “foreign interference” in the conflict.
“This will lead to the launch of a political process and cessation of violence,” he added.
October 18th, 2013, 6:07 pm
zoo said:
The opposition is cornered…
Syrian opposition undecided on attending talks – group’s U.S. representative
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/syrian-opposition-undecided-attending-talks-groups-u-representative-202210319.html#cRaeUqQ
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Syrian opposition coalition has not yet decided whether to attend a long-delayed international conference on ending Syria’s civil war, the coalition’s U.S. representative said on Friday.
Najib Ghadbian acknowledged that an important component of the coalition had decided against taking part, but said other members of the umbrella organisation could still decide to go, assuming that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is not there.
“We have not made a decision in the coalition about whether to go or not, but we agreed on certain determinants of what’s acceptable for us to go to Geneva, including our understanding that Assad is not part of that process,” Ghadbian said during an appearance at John Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in Washington.
October 18th, 2013, 6:09 pm
zoo said:
The recent kidnapping of the Turkish pilots in retaliation for the kidnapping of the Lebanese Shias in May 2012 was an excellent initiative.
It bore immediate results: All are free now
Lebanese pilgrims abducted in Syria sent to Turkey, Turkish pilots to be freed
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/lebanese-pilgrims-abducted-in-syria-sent-to-turkey-turkish-pilots-to-be-freed.aspx?pageID=238&nID=56461&NewsCatID=338
October 18th, 2013, 6:16 pm
omen said:
syrians expressing suspicion regime media organ announced death so quickly. could this explain reason?
October 18th, 2013, 6:24 pm
omen said:
that’s one reading. another is that ksa didn’t want to be encumbered from acting unilaterally by joining the UNSC.
they can still go rogue if they decided to.
/s
October 18th, 2013, 6:41 pm
omen said:
well, well, well, talk about going rogue:
October 18th, 2013, 7:18 pm
Uzair8 said:
Tomorrows The Times front page. I’m sure the paper is subscription based however you can see an image of the front page on Yalla Souriya.
Assad’s snipers target unborn babies in wombs
Gun men aim at women’s stomachs in shooting game for cigarrettes
http://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2013/10/18/syria-times-assads-snipers-target-unborn-babies/
October 18th, 2013, 7:19 pm
zoo said:
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/331552/news/world/jets-bomb-syrian-city-after-intelligence-general-killed
General Jama’a Jama’a was shot dead on Thursday by snipers in the midst of a battle with rebels including forces linked to al Qaeda, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
His death, celebrated by rebels and opposition activists, marked a significant setback for Assad’s bid to retain a hold over the city, capital of the eastern oil-producing province.
A death notice published on Facebook said Jama’a’s body was being flown back for burial on Friday in his home village of Zama in the mountains overlooking the Mediterranean – the heartland of Assad’s Alawite sect.
October 18th, 2013, 7:28 pm
zoo said:
Saudi Arabia has yet to officially reject the UNSC position it won. It now thinks it can play on this theatrical gesture to pass a resolution against Iran, Syria and Hezbollah.
The Russian won’t stay idle and a counteraction is inevitable.
These UN assembly resolutions are purely symbolical. Qatar did that several times and it lead to no results
Saudi U.N. draft condemns Syrian regime, Hezbollah
October 19, 2013 12:36 AM
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Oct-19/235092-saudi-un-draft-condemns-syrian-regime-hezbollah.ashx#ixzz2i7U7KBUe
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon told reporters that it would be for U.N. member states to decide how to replace Saudi Arabia, but added: “I would like to caution you that I have received no official notification” from the Saudi government.
Saudi Arabia was one of five nations elected by the Assembly Thursday to start a two-year term on the Security Council. No country has ever won a seat and then refused to take it up.
Entitled “Situation of Human Rights in the Syrian Republic,” the Saudi-sponsored draft resolution has gained the support of Qatar, Turkey, the UAE, Jordan, Britain, France and the U.S., according to unconfirmed reports.
The draft resolution is still under discussion and is scheduled for a vote next month.
October 18th, 2013, 7:39 pm
zoo said:
Omen
KSA did not want to have its human rights faults exposed at the UN.
They usually prefer to work in the background but this time they are furious at their protector the USA and they just don’t know what to do to respond to the humiliation so they kick at Syria and Hezbollah.
These are just spoiled sulky ‘senile’ reactions.
October 18th, 2013, 7:45 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
The Guided Kingdom achieved many objectives in one single genius and master stroke by rejecting a seat at the dysfunctional UNSC. It first served notice to Russia that its behaviour will not be tolerated by the most powerful Muslim power on this planet, ruled by the worldwide Commander of the Faithful, His Royal Highness, the Guided King of the Guided Kingdom. The move reveals the need for new world order in which the Guided Kingdom will act as the corner stone of the order. Russia will disintegrate in this new order right after the Serpent head collapses in Syria and the Kingdom knows that very very well. The Faithful subjects currently ruled by the hated Russians will rise and overcome their current rulers. They will revert to their allegiance to the Head of the Muslim Umma, His Royal Highness,, the Guided King, Commander of the Faithful.
The move by the Guided Kingdom is the most profound move that took place on this planet since the turn of the last century. It will have far reaching effects that will re-order the world as we know it. Syria will emerge more powerful as a result of the new order and will become serpent free and under the guidance of the Guided Kingdom. There will be no mullocracy in the new order and Shiite terrorism will be vanquished forever. There will be no Shiite terrorism in the new order.
October 18th, 2013, 7:58 pm
Ziad said:
Assad Is a Hero For Turkey’s Neo-Nationalists
Turkey experienced an amazing episode last week when Yilmaz Ozdil, the favorite writer of Turkey’s neo-nationalists who support the military against the ruling AKP, reacted to an interview of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad aired by a pro-main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) TV channel, and was instantly branded a “traitor” by the neo-nationalists who adored him.
…
“This is a proof of what the AKP has inflicted onto this society. The fact that a leader of another country is seen as a ‘hope’ and people count on help from abroad is a vision not only the government, but the opposition parties which the people have given up on, must listen to carefully.”
The reality is that today in Turkey for at least 20% of the people, the only hope of toppling Erdogan is Bashar al-Assad.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/10/turkey-neo-nationalists-worship-assad.html
October 18th, 2013, 10:18 pm
Ghufran said:
Tamim of Qatar invited Rouhani to visit Doha and the region is likely to undergo dramatic political changes at the expense of Arabs, as usual.
Syrians in particular will realize that they destroyed their country and got nothing, the poor will become poorer and the rich will stay rich. It will take hundred of billions of dollars to rehabilitate Syria, this money is not available, do not look for donors, there will only be conditional and expensive loans.
For now , supporters of nusra can celebrate little wins here and there while regime media continue its assurances that terrorists are getting killed every day, the end result is the slow death of the country that was Syria.
?? ??? ???? ?? ????? ?????
October 18th, 2013, 11:03 pm
apple_mini said:
Here a bunch of international “bloggers” and posters like Omen and Uzair8 never quit badgering Syrian commentators. Just the way those foreign Jihadi roaming on Syrian land.
The difference is that they are irrelevant for any meaningful discussion, except those opposition associates will keep them around for boot-licking service.
Let’s do hope SAA and HB fighters can cut the snake heads in the upcoming battle in Qalamoun. So there will be a little peace in the west of Syria and Lebanon.
October 19th, 2013, 1:11 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
ZIAD
¨The reality is that today in Turkey for at least 20% of the people, the only hope of toppling Erdogan is Bashar al-Assad.¨
I think this idea is totaly paranoic. I do not think the only hope for anyone is a criminal president that will get killed in the coming months or years.
Even if it was true, there is an 80 % of the population for whom Bashar Al Assad is less that an excremen, if we have to take extreme positions, as you did.
October 19th, 2013, 4:22 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Rebels gaining positions in Hama province.
Rebels gaining positions in Homs province.
Rebels gaining positions in Daraa province.
Rebels take control of Tamico check point in Mleiha-Kafr Batna.
Car bomb in Jaramana against main check point of Eastern Ghouta.
October 19th, 2013, 4:26 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
If war lasts for a long time the southern suburbs of Beirut and the South of Lebanon will suffer a dramatic change. Probaly widows of thousands of HA mercenaries and other criminals killed in Syria will marry chiites from Bagdad or Tehran. A new element will be included in the lebanese mosaic. New potiential martyrs for new potential unstability.
October 19th, 2013, 4:37 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
There are more pro-Assadists syrians in Dubai than in Damascus, since all the rich and corrupt are so ¨brave¨ that prefer watching the contest from a safety place near to their current accounts in safe Banks abroad.
October 19th, 2013, 5:04 am
SimoHurtta said:
830. SANDRO LOEWE said:
….
Car bomb in Jaramana against main check point of Eastern Ghouta
Have “you” decided who is behind this car bomb? When it suits these al-Nusra car bombs are bragged as one in the series of military victories for the rebels. The next rebel supporter begins to explain with a more or less straight face, that al-Nursa and other Sunni extremists with their car bombs are in reality lead from the Syrian president palace and from Iran. Along to Sami’s recent “theories” this car bomb was send by Assad and was ordered to pass previous check points.
Well now I understand the reasoning behind this rather ambiguous “explanations” by those SC’s Syrian and international (=Omen) rebel “experts”. When a al-Nusra car bomb kills (mostly) soldiers it is a heroic epic victory for the rebels. When a al-Nusra car bomb kills mainly civilians it is ordered by the bad D-P Assad. Al-Nusra must have really complex chain of command to make that possible.
831. SANDRO LOEWE said:
If war lasts for a long time the southern suburbs of Beirut and the South of Lebanon will suffer a dramatic change. Probaly widows of thousands of HA mercenaries and other criminals killed in Syria will marry chiites from Bagdad or Tehran. A new element will be included in the lebanese mosaic. New potiential martyrs for new potential unstability.
Sandro L. who will marry the widows of those thousands international Sunni “paid apostles” killed in Syria? Even here in Finland some Sunni women are waiting restlessly for a new bearded man with pockets full of Saudi and Gulf money to replace their in Syria deceased husband. A new element will be included in the European mosaic? Should we allow polygamy for Sunnis in Europe to ease the pressure of “importing” more bearded men (= potential unstability)?
October 19th, 2013, 6:41 am
zoo said:
Will the world beg Saudi Arabia to change its mind after its surprising refusal of the UNSC seat?
http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/state-department-not-aware-of-a-heads-up-from-saudis-before
“It’s really rather remarkable to see a country doing this that is not known for diplomatic dynamism,” said Carne Ross, a former high-ranking British diplomat at the U.N. who now runs diplomatic advisory firm Independent Diplomat.
But “a protest of this kind doesn’t really have substance until they leave an empty chair at the Security Council,” Ross said.
“Waiting for the US or some other country to come back and beg them to take the seat is silly,” said Jonathan Schanzer, vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “Even if it happens, it will not strengthen their hand.”
Dan Layman, a spokesperson for the Syrian Support Group, a Syrian opposition group, reacted more favorably to the news, saying that the Saudi’s decision was “everything to do with Syria.”
…
“The Saudis are very unamused at how neutered the West has been by the Russians’ blockade of favorable Syria policy, and by the subsequent Russian/Iranian proxy war that’s being waged in their back yard,” Layman said. “It would make no sense for them to join the UNSC and be subjected to those same restrictions when they’re already free to determine their own Syria policy independently.”
“The Saudi mission to the U.N. had not shown prior signs of preparing to boycott the UNSC, even sending diplomats to a special program at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs to prepare them for the Security Council. Saudi journalist Ahmed al-Omran reported that the decision to turn down the council seat was a surprise even to the mission itself and came directly from Riyadh.
October 19th, 2013, 7:06 am
zoo said:
ISIS may be brutal and extremist but they offer better care for its soldiers than the ‘moderate’ FSA.
Well-funded extremists bleed Syria’s moderate rebel groups of fighters
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/19/world/well-funded-extremists-bleed-syrias-moderate-rebel-groups-of-fighters/#.
…
Struggling for funding, rebel leaders complain they are unable to stem a constant bleed of fighters to hard-line Islamist groups that enjoy free-flowing streams of money from donors in oil-rich Persian Gulf states.
Some factions have grown so frustrated by the lack of meaningful support from the United States and its Western allies that they have changed their rhetoric and shifted their alliances with the hope of winning paychecks from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
….
“I was surprised and disappointed,” said Mohammed’s 24-year-old brother, Hadhoud Hadhoud. “Nobody from Ahfad al-Rasoul has come to see us. I will leave for another battalion which takes care of their soldiers. I won’t leave the revolution, but I will tell my friends and family that they need to think about the future.”
Asked where he plans to go, Hadhoud was quick to reply: “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.” He later added that he plans to research the group first. An al-Qaida affiliate, it is known for its brutal methods and the promulgation of a strict interpretation of Islam.
“I don’t agree with them completely, but they offer good care and I have no problem in joining,” he said.
….
Lt. Col. Mohammad al-Abboud, a top Free Syrian Army commander for the war’s eastern front, estimated that as many as 70 percent of the fighters in his region with the radical factions Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Jabhat al-Nusra used to be with the FSA but “moved to the other side in search of material support and salaries.”
As the bleed bolsters groups such as ISIS, it is creating more pressure on the moderates, who are fighting the extremist group in cities such as Azaz and Aleppo.
It is a phenomenon that FSA commanders say they have been warning about for over a year.
October 19th, 2013, 8:21 am
Uzair8 said:
Posted on Yalla Souriya about half-an-hour ago:
#Syria #Assad –
@Maysaloon
The more we see the Assad regime in terms of organized crime and less as a government, the more its behaviour makes sense
it’s like a protection racket. You pay your protection money and nothing will happen
October 19th, 2013, 8:50 am
Juergen said:
??????? ???? ??????
?????? ??? ???? ??????? ?? ??? ???????? ???????? ??????? ?? ?????? ????????? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ???????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????. ????? ??? ????????: ?? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ????????? ???? ??: ??? ????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ????? ????: ????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ??: ???? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ????: ???? ???? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ???????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ???: ????? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ?? ?? ???? ???????? (??????? ????????)? ???? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ?????? ?????????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ?????????. ??? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?? ????? ????? “???????? ???????” ??? ???? “????? ?????? ??????”? ???? ??????
???????? ??? ??? ????? ???? ?????? “????????” ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ?? ????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ??? ???. ??? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ???????? ????? ?????? ????? ???????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????.????????
Dr. Faisal al -Qassem : I recently met young Syrians in a shopping center. Some of them are against Assad and a few are with him. I asked one of Assad’s supporters :
me: you’re really with Assad ?
he : sure
I : Why are you here ?
He : When I would be in Syria , my family would starve
I : So you fleed out of poverty?
he : yes
I : Why did the assad regime failed to ensure that you find a job there , so that you and your family will be well taken care of ?
he : ” no response ”
I then asked another Assad’s suppporter :
I : Why are you running away ?
He : I have not fled . I just did not serve in the army.
I : Is that a new kind of patriotism ? You are with the Assad regime and at the same time you do not want to serve in his army ? You should be in the assad army to fight the “terrorists ”
he : ” no response ”
So think most of Assad’s supporters. They are opportunists. If the assad regime would be strong, it would take those first and foremost accountable for their positions.
October 19th, 2013, 9:31 am
Observer said:
No Ghufran the people will find freedom at the end of the road. Algerians payed the price of a million dead and the Vietnamese paid the price of more than 2 million dead and the list goes on.
The regime destroyed Syria for it had the heavy weapons and the means to do it.
Neither posters nor stones or for that matter the light weapons could have brought down 60% of the buildings in the country.
The death of Jamea in Deir Ezzor is a good example of an entrenched heavy weapons compounds bombing civilians.
Equating the rebels with the regime is an insult to intelligence and to decency and to courage and to honesty.
Please spare us your superiority complex and pretensions of a moral high ground.
Last but not least the destruction of Syria and its society and its institutions started way before the revolution when the dictatorship was established in this God forsaken country more than 40 years ago and when a constitution was put in place that is truly if you want to laugh the most laughable document ( were not so tragic ) on the face of the earth. Go read Hafez Corleone’s constitution first and then come and tell us that this revolution is a subject of laughter.
Sick indeed.
October 19th, 2013, 9:38 am
Uzair8 said:
Image of the funeral of General Jamea Jamea. Saw it on Iran Military Forum.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/1383400_566846243371296_1112532023_n.jpg
October 19th, 2013, 10:14 am
Ghufran said:
I realize that the stress Syrians endured for the last three years and the anger that comes with it have clouded the judgement of good people here but you have to be a total mess to compare the civil war in Syria where Syrians are killing each other to Algerian or Vietnamese war of liberation, another crack in this view is denying the fact that the fight on the rebels side is now dominated by Islamist groups and terrorists, you see this denial on this site and a number of pro opposition news sites like aksalser, the reason is simple:
A rebellion dominated by nusra and Isis will be seen as a terrorist movement, and that will help the regime and hurt the opposition. Claiming that rebels are less destructive because they are somehow less evil or more caring is laughable, the lack of access to heavy weapons and jets is the reason why rebels could not destroy as many buildings as regime forces did, notice how rebels dentonated car bombs in civilian areas and how they shell Damascus almost daily with mortars, to me the intent is clear and the behavior is similar or worse than the regime, for that reason it is clear that this is a war now not a revolution, the cure will only start when there is a cease fire, then Syrians can talk about politics.
October 19th, 2013, 11:55 am
omen said:
thank you, ive been wanting to see an israeli poll on this issue.
the way to survive in an unfriendly region is to curry favor. one day, israel will look up and see america unwilling to back them while their policies have left them dangerously isolated, having reduced them to a global pariah.
israelis will regret then having failed help unseat assad. doing so would have shocked the arab world and rendered a reassessment. instead, israel short sightedly was quite satisfied to see muslims killed en masse.
never again.
October 19th, 2013, 12:58 pm
ghufran said:
This is a sample of what I was referring to: rebels shelled Bab Touma in Damascus and other targets with mortars killing 3 civilians:
?????? ????? ??????? ????? ????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ??? ????? ????????? ?? ?? ??? ???? ?????.
???? ???? ?? ????? ???? ???? ?? (????????) ?????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ???? ?? ???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ??? ??????? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ???????? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ????? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ?? ???????? ???????? ???????? ?? ??????.
??? ?????? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ??? ????? ????? ????? ???????.
???? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????.
????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ???????.
Keep denying the obvious, rebels are now dominated by terrorists, the decent patriotic rebel type only exists on facebook. Attacking rebels, verbally, may be seen as support for the regime but the truth is that the FSA made a number of promises when it was established and some people were willing to give rebels a chance, they blew that chance then they gave their flag to terrorists !!
October 19th, 2013, 1:10 pm
Ghat Al Bird said:
OMEN @ 841.
A detailed plan/objective of Israel and abetted by SA to break-up all the countries not only Syria into small pieces.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/greater-israel-the-zionist-plan-for-the-middle-east/5324815
October 19th, 2013, 1:43 pm
omen said:
omg!
October 19th, 2013, 1:58 pm
Observer said:
This is a war of liberation from corruption and graft and torture and emergency laws and security services and terrorism courts and military detention and wholesale bombardment with cluster munitions and chemical weapons and phosphorus bombs and concussion bombs and 152 mm cannon and T 72 tanks and 240 mm Mortar and 122 mm MRL. It is a war of liberation against a corrupt justice system, a useless education, absence of opportunity, inexistent rule of law, bankrupt economic system, and a deliberate policy to humiliate, corrupt, degrade, torture, kill, imprison, and exile the majority of the people.
Comparing the deeds however violent to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the country is an insult to intelligence, a stain on honesty, a shame on integrity, a betrayal of humanity.
But like Nazis that denied the other his/her humanity as the first step to its slaughter; these people were brought to the concentration camps to be shown their horror and confront their victims before being carted away to Nuremberg. Some will have to be taken to the destroyed parts of Homs and made to paint it daily for the next year as a minimal effort at mea culpa.
October 19th, 2013, 3:10 pm
Observer said:
This is from a pro regime RT so go and tell me how is this regime has any legitimacy?
http://arabic.rt.com/news/630999-????_????_???_???_?????_?????_??????_???_??????_??????_????????_??_??????_?????/
This is the Syrian regime starving their own people after subjecting them to a CW attack
October 19th, 2013, 3:19 pm
Observer said:
How about this report that some would choose to ignore about regime snipers deliberately targeting pregnant women? And this according to a British surgeon.
Let us hear that it is fabricated but also can we hear if it can be investigated? Let me read of who would not want this report to be investigated?
http://www.lorientlejour.com/article/838271/en-syrie-des-snipers-visent-deliberement-des-femmes-enceintes-selon-un-chirurgien-anglais.html
October 19th, 2013, 3:35 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
One of our tireless content-providing commentators suggests that the “Coalition or what is left of it will accept to go to Geneva because otherwise they won’t survive.”
I have made it clear, using official sources, that nobody on the Syrian side will negotiate with ‘the Coalition.’ That door has been closed — by the authorities.
It bears repeating: the Syrian government refuses to ‘negotiate’ with anyone but established Syrian parties. This is the line stated by Assad and by Mouallem. While we can keep a candle lit and hope that a Geneva II process can somehow get off the ground, hard facts suggest otherwise.
At least one outlet considers that the repeated touting (by the Russians) of Geneva process is simply a distraction. I tend to agree. Read the CS Monitor article “Geneva Hopes Dim” article already cited, and also note this:
— I personally share ZOO’s hopes for a Geneva process launch and success, but I do not see any signs that the belligerents are anywhere near the start of it.
Assad’s side will not sit with the SC, the SNC, or any representatives not already acceptable within Syria’s constricted political landscape. And those named will not sit with the ‘head of the snake.’ It’s too bad, but that’s the way it is. The reality is war, continued war, total war by any means — until all rebels are annihilated.
As for the notion that “They [opposition] should have announced a political party [that] could have rallied much more of the Syrians,” this also does not comport with reality. If persons such as Michel Kilo, Haytham Mannah (and others on down the list) are prevented by the the bogus ‘parties law’ from forming, leading, promoting a political party — prevented from publishing — the notion makes no sense at all. To reiterate: It is not possible for the opposition to form ‘legal’ parties under the law …
Why is this reality so difficult to understand? The dictatorship has crushed any attempts at formalizing opposition parties, thus reducing its pool of acceptable interlocutors to those groups viewed as its ‘stooges.’
I wish things were different, that ZOO’s hopes and mine for a politico-diplomatic summit might bear fruit. But reality shows us this is not in the cards.
A mess? Yes indeed.
An analysis of the Russian promotion of Geneva talks comes from EA Worldview:
Here’s an even more depressing analysis of prospects for peace in Syria, from “Political Violence at a Glance” (hat tip to Joshua himself, via Twitter)
The Four Things We Know About How Civil Wars End (and What This Tells Us About Syria)
October 19th, 2013, 5:41 pm
zoo said:
The Arabs minus Syria are begging Saudi Arabia to reconsider their “strange” decision only reported by the media. Saudi Arabia has not yet notified officially the UN of their refusal of the UNSC seat.
If they reconsider they will look totally ridiculous.
Arab states urge Saudi to keep U.N. Security Council seat
Louis Charbonneau Reuters
October 19, 2013
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The Arab Group at the United Nations urged Saudi Arabia on Saturday to reconsider its decision to renounce a rotating seat on the Security Council to protest the 15-nation body’s failure to end the war in Syria and act on other Middle East issues.
“We hope that they (Saudi Arabia), which are amongst the blessed who represent the Arab and Islamic world at this important and historical stage, specifically for the Middle East region … maintain their membership in the Security Council,” the Arab Group’s statement said.
The group appealed to the kingdom to “continue their brave role in defending our issues specifically at the rostrum of the Security Council.”
The Arab Group includes Arab U.N. member states with the exception of Syria, whose membership was suspended when it was frozen out of the Arab League.
Diplomats said Washington would like the Saudis to keep the council seat.
October 19th, 2013, 5:41 pm
zoo said:
WSS
The NC should have presented itself as several political opposition parties and not as de facto replacement to the Syrian Government. They had the chance when Bashar Al Assad announced the multi parties system in early 2012 in the new constitution
We have seen what happen to hastily swapping the ‘demonizised’ government with the ‘angels’ of the opposition in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia outside an established legal frame. It just doesn’t work.
The solution is a gradual change of Syria’s government to a multi-party system under the present leadership as it still has the army, all the institutions and a large amount of supporters, probably the majority on its side.
If the opposition is pushed by their ‘advisors’ to make the step of becoming agreed parties with a grassroot support through a message other that toppling Bashar al Assad, they could get Russia and Iran on their side to oblige Assad to accept them in negotiations.
As long as they stick that that ridiculous notion of being an ‘interim’ government and want to kick out the present government that is still solid and united, to replace it with a powerless government, they are doomed. They only have a dwindling legitimacy and no armed forces. They can just be opposition political parties, that’s all.
They turned their back to Russia who could have helped them in setting up ‘agreed’ parties. Instead they listened to war mongers such as Qatar, KSA and Turkey that are blinded by their ego and their hatred of Bashar al Assad the resilient and arrogant “Alawite”.
The trouble is they also have a large ego, are badly advised and are not very smart. Syrians are paying the price with their blood.
October 19th, 2013, 6:03 pm
zoo said:
Israeli and Saudi leaders could lose out if Iran deprives the US of its enemy
Opinion: Previous offer from Tehran was dismissed by Bush’s neocons
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/israeli-and-saudi-leaders-could-lose-out-if-iran-deprives-the-us-of-its-enemy-1.1565821
‘The Saudis’ worst nightmare would be the administration striking a grand bargain with Iran. ” Robert Gordon, US ambassador to Riyadh in 2001-2003, so highlights the potential significance of this week’s constructive talks in Geneva between Iran and six world powers, chaired by the European Union.
They are to reconvene in three weeks, encouraging speculation that a larger geopolitical shift might be possible if agreement is reached on Iran’s nuclear programme and economic sanctions are lifted. Relations between the US and Iran, frozen since the 1979 revolution, could be transformed – putting in question fundamental US policies and alignments in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia and Israel would be the main losers in any such realignment, or rather their existing leaderships would be.
Since they take US hostility to Iran so much for granted, it is not surprising that they and their allies in the US Congress are so hostile. These, up to now, highly influential actors have run into a qualitatively new element at play – the strong force of public opinion in Iran and the US in favour of diplomatic rather than military solutions to the conflict.
The Geneva talks recall Iran’s previous offer of just such a grand bargain made to the Bush administration in 2003-2004. They dismissed it in the euphoria of the Iraq invasion and neoconservative enthusiasm for regime change in the “axis of evil” including Iran.
October 19th, 2013, 7:12 pm
Tara said:
Congratulation to the “heroic” Alawite, christian and shiaa Syrians for their heritage . The Alawis and Shias for committing the crimes and the Christians for cheering on.
http://ts3.mm.bing.net/th?id=HA.211041661526&pid=15.1
How do I know it was done by or shiaa? A crime like this couldn’t be possible without visceral hatred. The mask has come off and we are seeing the real face and it is ugly.
Pregnant women targeted by snipers in Syrian war zone competitions
Sickening game sees snipers awarded with cigarettes if they hit ‘targets’
British surgeon witnessed foetuses shot dead in their mothers’ wombs
As women and children cross through the unnamed city where he was stationed, they would be shot by snipers – and their wounds followed disturbing patterns,
‘From the first patients that came in in the morning, you could almost tell what you would see for the rest of the day. It was a game,’ he told The Times.
War surgeon: Dr David Nott, pictured in 2008, treated civilian victims in Syria
‘One day it would be shots to the groin. The next, it would only be the left chest. The day after, we would see no chest wounds; they were all neck [wounds].’
Dr Nott told the newspaper that in his 20 years volunteering in war zones, this is the first time he had witnessed pregnant women being targeted.
He described the day two consecutive patients arrived at his clinic, heavily pregnant with their babies shot to death in their stomachs.
‘The women were all shot through the uterus, so that must have been where they were aiming for. I can’t even begin to tell you how awful it was.
‘Usually, civilians are caught in the crossfire. This is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this. This was deliberate. It was hell beyond hell.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2466574/War-Syria-Snipers-target-unborn-children-chilling-competition-win-cigarettes.html#ixzz2iDAynkDQ
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
October 19th, 2013, 7:13 pm
zoo said:
Libya: Another Western executed “regime change” turning into a disaster
Assassination pushes Libya towards civil war two years after Gaddafi death
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/19/assassination-libya-civil-war-gaddafi-benghazi
Fighting rages in Benghazi as Tripoli braces for fallout from the kidnapping of prime minister Ali Zaidan
…
Libya’s militias are in the spotlight as never before, in a country racked by violence and economic stagnation. Zaidan has blamed the Revolutionaries Control Room, headquarters for the biggest militia – Libya Shield – for his kidnapping 10 days ago, promising harsh measures once the Eid religious holiday week ends.
Shield forces deployed in the capital denied staging the abduction, but their units were this weekend fortifying their positions in fear of attack.
The trigger for this spiralling violence was the arrest two weeks ago by Delta Force commandos of al-Qaida suspect, Anas al Liby, from his Tripoli home. That arrest has polarised opinion between supporters and opponents of Zeidan, and Nato, which bombed the rebels to victory in the 2011 Arab spring, has found itself in the hot seat over plans to train a new government army. Britain is to join the US and Italy in training Libyan army cadres at a base in Cambridgeshire.
October 19th, 2013, 7:22 pm
zoo said:
A rather comical article by the mouth piece of Saudi Arabia.
The truth is that Saudi Arabia is terrified by Iran and to be dumped by the USA. All its policy toward Syria is dictated by that fear.
Opinion: Rejection is better than capitulation
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/10/article55319780
It was natural that the Saudis would celebrate their country being elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations (UN) Security Council for the first time in history, describe this event as being both important and exceptional in Riyadh’s remarkable history of diplomacy.
However, Riyadh subsequently came out to reject joining the Security Council in light of the international body’s mismanagement of political issues, as well as its double standards in addressing the world’s major crises.
Saudi Arabia made the Syrian revolution one of the pillars of its foreign policy, and it has now come out to complain about the Security Council’s tacit support of the systematic violence and murder taking place there
….
“The Saudi Foreign Ministry showed its teeth when deciding to take major steps to support the decision of the Egyptian street and public in their second revolution, supporting it by all possible means including political, diplomatic, and economic.
Riyadh has now done the same regarding the Syrian revolution, taking a forceful position that cannot be overlooked.”
October 19th, 2013, 7:32 pm
zoo said:
The loyalists hate the USA and the Gulf because they financed and encouraged the country’s destruction and the rebels hate the USA and the Gulf because they did not helped them enough to topple the Syrian government militarily. At least they have that in common
‘Liars, all of them’: Syrian rebels slam US, Gulf states following intl peace efforts
Published time: October 19, 2013 16:32
http://rt.com/news/syria-rebels-us-gulf-430/
The Free Syrian Army soldiers admit they won’t be able to claim capital Damascus without foreign support, but their aren’t counting on it anymore as the US and the Gulf states are “liars,” RT’s Maria Finoshina reports from rebel-held area in Syria.
The Russia-US deal has led to cancellation of US airstrikes against the targets of Syrian government and the Arab states holding back on their aid to the opposition forces.
But not everybody in the country wants a peaceful solution to the 2.5-year-long civil war as the rebels have accused their foreign backers of not keeping their promises.
“The security belt that the regime created around Damascus is huge and to target it we need many fighters and advanced weapons, and to be honest we don’t have such kind of weapons,” Oraba Idriss, who defected the government forces to become the 1st Maghaweer brigade commander for the Free Syrian Army, told RT. “But what we can do – is launch operations here and there to release the pressure of the regime.”
October 19th, 2013, 7:40 pm
zoo said:
Saudi Arabia’s “political dementia”?
Why Did Riyadh Turn Down UN Seat?
Published Saturday, October 19, 2013
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/why-did-riyadh-turn-down-un-seat
On Friday, October 18, Saudi Arabia refused a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, citing political reasons. This, mind you, is the same kingdom that spared no effort 15 years ago to obtain the seat. There were even rumors four years ago that Saudi sought to “purchase” Lebanon’s Security Council seat at the time.
….
Riyadh’s policies have become so erratic that Western officials, including Jeffrey Feltman, have been slamming what they call the “demented” kingdom.
…
Oil: The Good Old Days Are Gone
Saudi Arabia is facing its gravest crisis, even graver than the aftermath of September 11, when Washington saw Saudi Arabia as the world’s number one source of terrorism. Today, the US is much less dependent on Middle East oil than 40 years ago, when Saudi Arabia threatened to use its oil as a political weapon.
Thanks to the shale oil and gas revolution, the US is turning from a net importer to a net exporter of hydrocarbons. There is no longer a need to fight for oil, while the focal point of US interests is pivoting to the Pacific. Meanwhile, everyone wants to sell their oil.
Faisal must have felt that the US-Saudi alliance was in danger, realizing that the master does not usually consult with its proxy about its fate at the end of the journey. True, Israeli papers spoke about important meetings held by Gulf powers in New York, but neither Israel nor Saudi could conceivably succeed where the US had failed.
Political Dementia
There are now efforts underway at the UN to find a replacement for Saudi at the Security Council. Some said that the United Arab Emirates would be the closest to Saudi in alphabetical order among the Arab countries in Asia. After a country is selected, there will have to be another voting session.
In the meantime, almost everyone was shocked by the Saudi move, which seems to have exposed the kingdom’s “political dementia,” annoying its friends before its foes.
October 19th, 2013, 7:48 pm
Tara said:
I think the Saudi move was brilliant. It is a statement that is well made. KSA lost nothing by declining the seat but set a precedent that might lead to restructuring of the UN the way we know it. More and more countries in the future will make a similar political statement in regard to the impotent body called the UN.
KSA by declining the seat exerts its independence in regard to managing the crisis in Syria the way it sees fit. It basically “gave the finger” to the US and to Russia.
It is not political dementia as the regime mouth piece is claiming. To the contrary, it is political shrewdness, a well know fact of the Saudis.
October 19th, 2013, 7:58 pm
Tara said:
Let’s face the truth. It is not that Sunni civilians are caught in crossfire. It is direct fire that is inflicted on Sunni civilians by the animals.
Dr David Nott said snipers were shooting women and children deliberately.
“It’s more horrific than any other war zone I’ve worked in. Most civilians are caught in crossfire, they are never really caught in direct fire. It is direct fire this time” he told BBC News.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24593886
October 19th, 2013, 8:05 pm
Ghufran said:
??? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ???????? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ??????.
???? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????.
Arab ambassadors urge KSA to accept a seat at the unsc.
The truth is that nobody cares.
October 19th, 2013, 8:31 pm
zoo said:
Again Saudi Arabia’s hatred of Iran prevent peaceful settlement in Bahrain
Bahrain Settlement Scuttled by Saudi Arabia
Published Friday, October 11, 2013
The good news is that a political settlement of the Bahraini crisis – sponsored by the United States and acceptable to Iran – is beginning to take shape. The problem is that Saudi Arabia is not yet ready to play along.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/bahrain-settlement-scuttled-saudi-arabia
October 19th, 2013, 8:34 pm
zoo said:
Ghufran
I agree, no ones care about the theatrical aging prima donna’s snub of Saudi Arabia.
They look increasingly overwhelmed by the political changes in the region going over their head. No wonder they sulk. They have been pampered by the USA for decades and now they are afraid that their only left nanny is greedy Hollande
October 19th, 2013, 8:39 pm
zoo said:
Saudi Arabia did well to refuse the seat at the UNSC. They may have avoided the risk of being exposed as an “international pariah” for their ‘legalized barbarity’ toward women
Report: Saudi government continues to legitimize beating women, child marriage
October 19, 2013
http://www.examiner.com/article/report-saudi-government-continues-to-legitimize-beating-women-child-marriage
“A young Saudi woman was recently sentenced to 200 lashes and a six-month prison sentence for being raped…”
The Assyrian International News Agency is picking up on a report published by The Modern Tokyo Times on Oct. 19, 2013, that is calling for the United Nations to treat the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as an “international pariah” due to the Saudi government legally sanctioning a number of basic human rights abuses.
One of the leading recipients of American foreign aid, Saudi Arabia was cited violating even the most basic of United Nation’s calls for civil treatment of all, MTT maintained that the ruling House of Saud’s Sharia Law governed nation routinely sanctions and/or finances the following:
Child marriage for girls as young as 8-years-old.
Religious persecution of all non-Muslims.
Denial of even the most basic of rights for women.
International Terrorism.
Specifically, the MTT noted the punishment for any woman found in public not wearing the full body burkha:
Women face being whipped if they dress liberal in public.
Long Litany Of Legalized Barbarity…
October 19th, 2013, 8:48 pm
omen said:
there is something about about this pundit. he disagreed with me months ago when i argued the west was appeasing iran (by refusing to intervene in syria) in order to bring iran to the table. and then he told an iranian dissident i follow he was a “crazy person” for suggesting obama & iran were buddies.
not so crazy now, is it? with rapprochement around the corner.
i suspect zelin dislikes any idea not his own that he can’t take credit for.
amazing how people allow ego affect their objectivity.
October 19th, 2013, 8:55 pm
zoo said:
Hamas’s move against Bashar al Assad’s government after having benefited of its protection for more than a decade, is now backfiring.
Its ‘replacement’ allies are disappearing one after the other.
The Egypt’s Moslem Brotherhood is on the run, Turkey is in a internal crisis, Qatar is about to make a U-turn. Saudi Arabia hates Hamas. Iran has cut down its financial support because of the Syrian crisis.
Hamas asks Fatah to form unity govt
http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/middle-east/257646-hamas-asks-fatah-to-form-unity-govt.html…
GAZA: Hamas, its Gaza Strip stronghold cut off by the new military-backed government in Egypt, called upon rival Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday to end their six-year schism and form a unity government.
…
The overture was received coolly by Fatah, whose leader, Abbas, is engaged in a new round of US-sponsored peace talks with Israel. Hamas refuses coexistence with the Jewish state.
Ahmed Assaf, a Fatah spokesman, said Haniyah’s speech “included nothing new, neither a clear plan nor a certain timetable”.
Pressured by the deterioration of ties with former regional backers Syria, Hezbollah, Iran, as well as by Mursi’s fall and the ensuing Egyptian crackdown on Palestinian tunnels used to smuggle arms and commercial goods into Gaza, Hamas is in steep financial decline.
Haniyah sought to soften tensions with Cairo, denying Egyptian accusations the group had intervened in the internal unrest on behalf of Mursi’s Islamist supporters.
October 19th, 2013, 9:00 pm
Tara said:
Please spare us the hypocrisy. It is sickening.
http://iran-e-azad.org/stoning/women.html
The stoning of women is one of the more savage, and revealing aspects of the mullahs’ rule in Iran. This vicious punishment of women is without precedent in Iran’s recent history. Since the inception of the mullahs’ rule, hundreds of women of various ages have been and continue to be stoned to death throughout Iran.
What makes this hideous crime even more abhorrent is that it is carried out under the name of Islam. The Quran and the Prophet of Islam despised such behavior. On the contrary, in the Quran and the Prophet’s traditions, such barbarism is denounced. The Prophet did his utmost to eradicate backward traditions, including stoning, which victimized women.
http://ts2.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4984937786641201&pid=15.1
October 19th, 2013, 9:05 pm
Tara said:
12 children and 6 women are killed in Syria everyday.
?? ??????? ???? ?????? ??????? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ??? 267 ????? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ????? 67 ????? ?? ???.
?????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ????? 41 ????? ?23 ?????? ????? ??? 92 ?? ????? ????? ???? ?175 ??????.
?????? ??? ?? ?? ????? 12 ???? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? 16%? ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? %9
October 19th, 2013, 9:49 pm
Tara said:
Congrats to the FSA:
???? ?????? ???????? ??????? ??? ???? ??????? ??????? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ???????? ??? ??? ????? ???? ???? ???? ?? 260 ???? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ???????? ??? ??????.
???? ????? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ???????? ????? ??? ???? ?????? -??? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ??????- ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ????? 16 ?? ????? ?????? ?15 ?? ?????? ????????? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ???????.
…
????? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ????? ?????? ???????? ??? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ???? “??? ???????” ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ??????? ??????? ????.
???? ??????? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ???????.
October 19th, 2013, 9:53 pm
omen said:
you know rebels are gaining ground when anti-oppositionists get cranky & lash out.
October 19th, 2013, 10:06 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Heads up reviewed the attempt of Arab League members at the UN to sway the Guided Kingdom from the genius move it recently took in rejecting a seat at the dysfunctional UNSC. Heads up finds such an attempt misguided and stupid. The right move for the Arab League would be to encourage and support the Guided move of the Guided Kingdom and not the other way around. The Arab League must ask itself the question of what good was the UNSC for any cause which the Arab League sought to achieve?
It is obvious that the Arab League is in need of much Guidance which it can only obtain by putting itself under the guidance of the Guided Kingdom.
October 19th, 2013, 10:34 pm
omen said:
zoo, if you would be so kind, can you pass along this request to his holiness? (pbuh)
October 19th, 2013, 10:48 pm
ghufran said:
read and learn:
weapons should only be in the hands of a national army
Libya after the “revolution” sponsored by NATO is worse than Libya under Qadhafi, those who deny that are the same ones who pretend that a bunch of thugs with arms can form a government or allow one to function.
“Libya marks the second anniversary of the death of Muammar Gaddafi with the country on the brink of a new civil war and fighting raging in the eastern city of Benghazi, birthplace of its Arab spring revolution”
a big well-deserved toz to the thawrajiyyeh in Libya
October 19th, 2013, 11:44 pm
ghufran said:
AB Atwan:
Why did KSA accept the UNSC impotence against Israel and only woke up after the strike on Syria was postponed and the US and Iran took steps to mend relations?
???? ?? ???? ???????? ???????? ??? ??? ????? ???? ????? ????????? ????????? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ??? ?? ????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ?? ??????? ???????? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ???????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ???????? ??? ?? ??????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ???????? ???????? ????????? ??????.
??? ?????? ??????? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ????????? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ???????? ???????? ?????? ???? ??????? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ??????? ??????? ??????????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??????? ???????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ?? ???? ??? ??????.
?????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ???????? ?????? ??????? “????????” ??? ?? ????? ????????? ??? ????? ????????? ?????? ????????? ?????????? ????? ??? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ???????? ??? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ???? ???????? ?????? ??????? ?? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???????
October 20th, 2013, 1:21 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Rebels gaining positions in Quneitra.
Rebels gaining positions into Great Damascus.
FSA and Da´hsh in negotiations for union.
Saudi Arabia increases efforts to destroy Assad and save Syria.
Iran´s hipocrisy near to unveil.
October 20th, 2013, 3:57 am
zoo said:
Syria peace conference scheduled despite non-stop violence
Conference aimed at ending Syria’s civil war will be held in Geneva on Nov. 23 and 24
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/syria-peace-conference-scheduled-despite-non-stop-violence-1.2127248?cmp=rss
Posted: Oct 20,
A key international conference aimed at ending Syria’s civil war will be held in Geneva on Nov. 23 and 24, according to an announcement by the Arab League chief on Sunday.
But the country’s warring factions are keeping up attacks, with a suicide truck bomb attack on a government checkpoint on the edge of the central city of Hama killing 30 people, according to both activists and the state media.
League chief Nabil el-Araby made the announcement at a news conference at the pan-Arab organization’s headquarters in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, after talks with the Arab League-UN envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi.
‘This is a conspiracy against the Syrian people.’- Bassam al-Dada, Free Syrian Army
The proposed conference will attempt to get Syria’s rival sides to agree on a transitional government in that country based on a plan adopted in Geneva in June 2012.
October 20th, 2013, 9:52 am
zoo said:
Desperate opposition rebels continue to send suicide bombers to kill more civilians
Suicide bomber kills 31 in Syria’s Hama – state media
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/suicide-bomb-kills-30-wounds-dozens-syrias-hama-114133779.html#7oZTm2H
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A suicide bomber driving a truck packed with 1.5 tonnes of explosives killed at least 31 people and wounded dozens in the Syrian city of Hama on Sunday, state media and a monitoring group reported.
The man blew himself up inside the vehicle on a busy road on the outskirts of the city in central Syria, the SANA news agency said. It blamed “terrorists”, the term it uses to describe rebel forces trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad.
The pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack targeted an army checkpoint but most of the dead were civilians
October 20th, 2013, 9:55 am
zoo said:
It was time someone forces the opposition to go to the Geneva conference while Bashar al Assad is still in power. Will Sabra and Idriss resign?
Report: Kerry forced Syrian opposition to take part in Geneva talks
Published: 10.20.13, 15:44 / Israel News
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4443093,00.html
Arab diplomats in London told Saudi newspaper Al-Watan that US Secretary of State John Kerry forced the Syrian National Coalition, an umbrella organization of opposition forces, to take part in the Geneva summit next month.
According to the paper, Kerry demanded a list of officials who would take part in the summit and refused to compromise on the issue. (Roi Kais)
October 20th, 2013, 10:01 am
zoo said:
The humiliated and demented “guided” kingdom uses the USA to train terrorists and suicide bombers
Training of Syrian insurgents steps up in Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Najib, Ramallah – IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly
17 October 2013
http://www.janes.com/article/28498/training-of-syrian-insurgents-steps-up-in-saudi-arabia
Free Syrian Army (FSA) units are receiving intensive training from US Marine Corps personnel in Saudi Arabia, a senior FSA source has told IHS Jane’s .
The source said the United States and Saudi Arabia have agreed to train around 1,500 insurgents. The programme began a few months ago and most of the personnel will be trained by the end of 2013.
The courses last for 100 days and include fighting in built up areas (FIBUA). The most recent intake that arrived from Jordan on 13 October consists of around 40% from insurgent groups operating inside Syria, with the rest recruited from refugees in neighbouring countries.
October 20th, 2013, 10:07 am
Mina said:
Did Jürgen miss this one?
By Syrian writer and dissident Yassin Al Haj Saleh, who after two years in hiding in Damascus fled to his hometown of Raqqa only to find it under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham group. He has now left the country.
” In Raqqa, I spent two months and a half in hiding without succeeding in getting one piece of information about my brother Firas. Nothing could be worse than this. Therefore, instead of celebrating my arrival at Raqqa, I had to keep in hiding in my own liberated city, watching strangers oppress it and rule the fates of its people, confiscating public property, destroying a statue of Haroun Al-Rasheed or desecrating a church; taking people into custody where they disappeared in their prisons. All the prisoners were rebel political activists while none of them was chosen from the regime’s previous loyalists or shabiha. With the exception of this flagrant oppression of the people, their property and symbols, the new rulers have shown no sign of the spirit of public responsibility which is supposed to be the duty of those who are in power.”
http://alisariram.wordpress.com/2013/10/13/farewell-to-syria-for-a-while-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B9-%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%A4%D9%82%D8%AA%D8%A7/
October 20th, 2013, 10:29 am
ghufran said:
This terrorist,abu hafs al-shami, gives western intelligence services an opportunity to examine the mind set of Islamists some of whom may be practicing Taqiyyah and hide their real intentions about the West until they are in charge. Arab and Muslim nations will never rise up until they put religion where it belongs and stop using violence to express their opinion, there is NOT a single example of a successful Islamist regime in the world today, Islamic countries that managed to get out of the dark tunnel of poverty and oppression are the ones that put religion in the back seat and focused on education, trade and political freedom, the tragedy in most Muslim countries is that people are stuck between two failed models: corrupt non religious regimes and brutal and backward islamist groups.
??? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ????? ? ?????? ?? ?????? ????????? ?? ??? ??? ??? ??????? ?????????? ????? ???? ???? ???? ??? ????.
????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ?? ?????: ?? ?? ?? ??? ?? ??????? ????????? ?? ???? ???? ??? ???? ??? ??? ???? ???? ???? ????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ????????? ??? ???? ?? 40 ?????.
??????? «??????» ??? ????? «???? ?????» ????? ?????? ??????? ????????? ?? ??? ???? ?? 11 ?????? 2012? ????: «????? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ????????? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ????????».
????? «??????? ?????????» ?????? ??????? ?????? ???? ??? ???????? ?? ?????? ?????? ????????? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ??????? ??????: «?? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ???????».
(Syrian terrorist leader calls for bombing of US and Western embassies)
October 20th, 2013, 11:58 am
Observer said:
On a different note some good welcome news about the success of Syrian youth all over the world
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/opinion/sunday/dina-katabi.html?_r=0
Spread the word.
October 20th, 2013, 12:05 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
The brilliance and mastery of the Guided Kingdom as exemplified in its latest move of rejecting a seat on the dysfunctional UNSC continues to receive statements of admiration and support from leaders around the world.
The Qataris publicly praised His Royal Highness, the Guided Prince Al-Faysal for his masterful performance both with regars to the UNSC seat as well as for snubbing the UN altogether by refusing to deliver a sceduled speech, reflecting a uniform Guided Foreign policy of the Guided Kingdom regarding the UN which has been made plainlyputlic by the Guided King on more than one occasion.
The United Arab Emirates similarly had many words of praise, admiration and support fot the Guided Kingdom with regard to the UNSC seat.
The Head of the Arab League expressed his admiration and support for the Guided move made by the Guided Kingdom.
Syrians continue to express warm words of love and admiration for His Royal Highness, the Guided King, and ask that He be protected and given long long life in order to save Syria from the hated Serpent head and Shiite terrorism.
October 20th, 2013, 12:18 pm
omen said:
872. ghufran said: read and learn: weapons should only be in the hands of a national army Libya after the “revolution” sponsored by NATO is worse than Libya under Qadhafi,
who are you quoting? ask libyans if they want qadhafi back.
jibril warned against this. from last year:
those who deny that are the same ones who pretend that a bunch of thugs with arms can form a government or allow one to function.
don’t conflate issues, syria is not libya. ISIS extremists aside (whom the FSA greatly outnumbers,) rebels have supported elections that empowered local representation, helping to order communities.
a big well-deserved toz to the thawrajiyyeh in Libya
ghufran used to lecture i shouldn’t be allowed to discuss syria if i weren’t syrian. guess he doesn’t hold himself to his own standards.
October 20th, 2013, 12:27 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Ghufran said:
¨Syrian terrorist leader calls for bombing of US and Western embassies¨
Did Assad really say that ?
October 20th, 2013, 1:35 pm
Tara said:
I agree. The UN stunt was a master stroke by the Saudis!
October 20th, 2013, 3:36 pm
Tara said:
Assad regime hired mercenaries from China and Azerbaijan to sniper civilians, said the British doctor who exposed how the snipers targeted pregnant women in order to win packets of cigarettes for hitting the right target, in this case the pregnant lower portion of the uterine to the unborn babies head.
‘Hell beyond hell’ Syria snipers use unborn babies as target practice
He added: “Usually, civilians are caught in the crossfire. This is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this.
“This was deliberate. It was hell beyond hell.”
Mr Nott revealed he’d heard how snipers were “winning packets of cigarettes for hitting the correct number of targets”.
He described how locals believe the gunmen are mercenaries from China and Azerbaijan, working for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/437833/Hell-beyond-hell-Syria-snipers-use-unborn-babies-as-target-practice
October 20th, 2013, 5:13 pm
Uzair8 said:
Prof Landis was on Al Jazeera via Skype at 7:08pm UK time (it’s 10:23pm right now). It was about the Geneva thing. Just before the interview the presenter told the viewers about some sections of the political opposition threatening to leave the SNC if they agreed to attend Geneva. There was a short clip of George Sabra speaking followed by a clip of Farah al-Atassi. I’m not familiar with her. She looked very much like Suhair al-Atassi so I was wondering whether she had changed her name. Maybe AJE got her name wrong?
Anyway they may put up the interview on AJE’s Syria blog.
October 20th, 2013, 5:34 pm
Tara said:
From the BBC
If they want to attack us with chemical weapons – then just do it! But can they make them with the smell of bread so we can die happy?”
Boy in Yarmouk
—-
Perhaps gloating, making fun of this child misery, praising the lord ( Assad) and his heroic army, and invitation to the KSA to send this boy cats and dogs to celebrate The next holiday is now warranted.
October 20th, 2013, 5:52 pm
Uzair8 said:
I’m sure users are aware of Asma Assad coming out a few days ago and denying she had fled the country.
Is the First Lady having a sly dig at the mother-in-law and sister-in-law?
Is all not well in the Assad household?
Dare I say is she secretly with the revolution? After the regime falls she (and others) may point to such cryptic quotes to support such a conclusion.
[LOL]
October 20th, 2013, 6:03 pm
Tara said:
I miss reading Majed Khaldoun’s opinion in regard to the daily occurrence. It is a real loss not having him commenting. JL should attempt to contact him again and should ask him to reconsider.
Accusing MK of sectarianism is ridiculous. One is sectarian when one discriminates against people based on their religious belief. One is not sectarian when he/she calls criminal a criminal. Calling a massacre denier a criminal is not sectarian but rather moral! Denying holocaust is criminal and prosecutable in Europe, and rightly so. The sectarian card has been used in SC inappropriately. MK did not ask for punishing Mjabali for instance because he is Alawi. He asked for future prosecution of one specific commenter because he/she denied a documented massacre. In the new liberated Syria, will lobby to make this a law. Any one who denied the massacre committed by the Assad regime should be prosecuted by law and imprisoned or made to pay a fine and we will lobby to make it a huge fine.
October 20th, 2013, 6:11 pm
mjabali said:
Tara:
Please Dr. Tara do not lie.
I do not speak like Majedkhaldoun, never did and never will. I say the truth and always with the truth. Criminals should be exposed and punished.
The way Majedkhaldoun speaks about the Shia and the Alawi is not common to me. The way I say things about the Sunnis will never come close to what Majedkhaldoun said about the Alawis and the Shia. You speak like him. Both of you came from the same set of beliefs.
YOU, for example: made a very racist and bigoted remark regarding Iranians and towels.
See: a mafia boss can not lecture people about the importance of the rule of law.
October 20th, 2013, 6:30 pm
Tara said:
Mjabali,
I knew as I was writing the post that I am risking you misunderstand it.
The post has nothing to do with you. I just used your name as an example. MK banning has nothing to do with you. He was banned because of a post addressed to hardly a massacre. I was just trying to make a point about sectarianism and mentioned your name because you are about the only person among the commenters who acknowledge being Alawi.
—
To jump to another subject, I do appreciate people who do come forward with their identity. People should not hide their ethnic, religious, or cultural belonging. To the contrary, they should be forthcoming. It should not be a taboo. It should be a matter of fact. It promotes understanding and acceptance. It also promotes acknowledgement of the others’ grief. I can always refer to you in my subconscious as an example of Alawi who does not submit to the cult personality and who are independent enough to coexist in peace with non-alawis. I do not know personally of any life example.
—-
Jumping to my own sectarianism, yes the Mullahas are towel- head and I happen not to like towel- head. I think it looks scary…and so do the Sunnis sheiks and the christian pope and other figures who wear towels. And yes I do not like Iran any more. Not that they are shiaa but because of what they have done to Syria. And yes, I yet to see a cute Iranian..sorry
October 20th, 2013, 6:49 pm
ALAN said:
…..According to sources close to the leadership of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood’s military wing Liwa al-Tawhid, Russian citizen Konstantin Zhuravlev has been executed by the insurgents of this radical Islamic group. Representatives from a number of media agencies have contacted the armed groups’ Salafi Sheikh Moaz Al-Saffu to determine the credibility of this information. He stated that he currently does not have any accurate information while at the same time, however, he did not rule out this possibility. The extremists’ spiritual mentor also stated that such an outcome would be favourable to him, as Sharia Law clearly states that an “enemy spy should be executed”….
http://journal-neo.org/2013/10/21/rus-zatyazhnaya-vojna-v-sirii-prodolzhaetsya/
——
???????? ???? ?????
https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/international/russia-slams-saudi-for-rejecting-security-council-seat
October 20th, 2013, 6:59 pm
omen said:
this pundit doesn’t take into out account plans for syria as a transit route bringing down oil from iraq & iran.
if demand from eu & china begings to outstrip supply, syria will need to be settled.
with iran embargo in place, supply already tight. i doubt we have enough surplus in hand for the west to accommodate allowing a civil war wage for a decade.
October 20th, 2013, 7:26 pm
Tara said:
Russia slams Saudi for rejecting
Security Council seat
Russia on Friday sharply criticized Saudi Arabia for rejecting membership of the UN Security Council, slamming the kingdom’s “strange” argument that the body had failed over the Syrian conflict.
Moscow’s traditionally testy relationship with Riyadh has become even more strained in recent years, with the two countries at loggerheads over Saudi support for the rebels battling the pro-Kremlin regime in Syria.
“We are surprised by Saudi Arabia’s unprecedented decision” to reject the seat, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
“In this way, Saudi Arabia has excluded itself from collective work within the Security Council to support international peace and security.”
It added: “The kingdom’s arguments arouse bewilderment and the criticism of the UN Security Council in the context of the Syrian conflict is particularly strange.”
Saudi Arabia earlier Friday rejected temporary membership of the Security Council — where Russia holds a permanent, veto-wielding seat — and accused the body of “double-standards” in resolving conflicts like Syria.
October 20th, 2013, 7:28 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
The genius move by the Guided Kingdom in rejecting a seat at the dysfunctional UNSC continues to receive support and admiration from around the world.
Bahrain, which owes it to the Guided Kingdom for being save from Shiite terrorism not long ago, expressed clear support and admiration to the Guided Kingdom’s master move.
Jordan likewise expressed its jealous admiration for a move that can only be undertaken by a country with clout of the Guided Kingdom.
On the other hand, Russia seems to be scrambeling for cover while counting down the days it will wield veto power at the UNSC rendering it dysfunctional thanks only to the Guided Kingdom and its Guided Royal Highnesses.
October 20th, 2013, 7:34 pm
Tara said:
Thank you Alan for posting the link above in regard to Russia outrage in regard to the Saudis snubbing the UNSC. The Russian’s tears are just delicious.
I expect more and more countries following suit in the future until the UNSC gets restructured. I truly believe it was a master stroke.
October 20th, 2013, 7:35 pm
Ghufran said:
Fsa leadership council is reportedly asking for the arrest of Salim Idris:
????? ??????? ???????? ???????? “????? ????”? ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???????? “???? ????” ?? ?? ???? “????? ????? ??????” }?? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ??? ????????{ ????? ???? ???????? .
????? ?? ???? ????: “?? ???? ??????? ??? “???? ??? ????? ???? ?? ??? ??????”? ????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ????? ????? ?? ????????? ????????? ??? ?? ??? ?? ” ?? ?????? ??????” ????? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ????? “????? ????? ??????” .
????? ??? ???? ??????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ??? ??? ?????? ???????? ??? ???????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ????? ??? ???? ????????
October 20th, 2013, 8:33 pm
ghufran said:
According to sky news and local sources, the Syrian army is trying to take over M’addamiyyeh now.
October 21st, 2013, 12:00 am
Strategic Intelligence Assessment for Syria (4) – State of Play Part III | Red (team) Analysis said:
[…] beginning of this process. The opposition remains extremely fragmented and volatile. ” (Landis, Syria’s Top Five Insurgent Leaders, 1 October 2013, Syria […]
October 21st, 2013, 6:49 am
ALAN said:
Media: Islamists from Germany formed the “German camp” in Syria
Spiegel magazine reported the appearance in Syria, “the German camp,” Islamic militants. The German intelligence agency concerned at the growing number of German citizens in the Syrian rebels.
Islamists came from Germany were united in “German camp” in northern Syria. This was reported in the Sunday, October 20, Spiegel Online citing a classified report of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The publication notes that the camp is military training militants speaking in German.
The report also said that the leader of the German federal states by number of extremists who had gone to Syria is in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is followed by Hesse, Berlin, Bavaria and Hamburg. In general, according to the agency, to participate in the Syrian conflict sailed about 200 radicals from Germany . Moreover, more than half of them have German citizenship.
With the increasing arrived in Syria German Islamist head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Hans-Georg Masen (Hans-Georg Maaßen) declared a “special threat”, the agency dpa. According Masena involved in the Syrian war, people in Germany presumably go back and “likely to have combat experience.” The head of security services also stressed that in Syria they can get a job on the preparation and conduct of terrorist acts.
DW.de
October 21st, 2013, 7:44 am
zoo said:
Al Qaeda-linked rebels cause new refugee crisis for Syrians
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/21/al-qaeda-linked-rebels-cause-new-refugee-crisis-sy/
… She said she fled to Turkey more from fear of the ISIS, which came to her home village, than of Mr. Assad. “I’m afraid of the ISIS. They prevented the teaching of girls in schools, imposed lengthening beards, banned smoking, playing music, loud laughter and asked the women to cover their faces.”
…
And the influx of fighters tied to al Qaeda and hoping to use the instability in Syria to instill a radical Islamist-based rule is only growing worse, Jane’s Defense Weekly reported. ISIS and similar groups have “expanded their influence significantly in 2013,” Jane’s said. The ensuing fallout has led hundreds to flee the country and join refugee camps on the Turkey border — especially women afraid of losing their freedoms and young men, concerned they’ll be killed if they don’t cave to the hard-line rule, NBC reported.
“The ISIS imposes duties on us all,” said one 22-year-old man, known only as Mustafa in the NBC report. “Where are our rights? … We are all against them. There is no difference between them and Bashar Assad.”
October 21st, 2013, 8:56 am
zoo said:
Signs of further disunity in the “coalition’ before the FOS meeting while Syria accepts to meet with Brahimi if he stops being partial with the rebels
Syria opposition under pressure to join peace talks
http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/19484812/syria-opposition-under-pressure-to-join-peace-talks/
…
Al-Watan said Damascus, which has accused Brahimi of tilting towards the rebels, was ready to welcome him as long as “he works as a mediator, not as a party in the international conflict over Syria”.
….
The National Coalition umbrella opposition group, which includes the SNC, on Monday said it had postponed internal meetings to early November, as it weighs whether to attend the Geneva talks.
Originally set for this week, the group had aimed to discuss and reach a common position on the issue, but Tuesday’s conference in London of the Friends of Syria countries that support the rebellion prompted the postponement.
October 21st, 2013, 9:13 am
zoo said:
#897 Ghufran
Any member of the opposition who openly opposed the Geneva meeting and repeatedly criticized the West for inaction will be obliged to resign: Idriss and Sabra are the first ones.
Jarba has been careful enough to remain silent.
October 21st, 2013, 9:20 am
zoo said:
Top Syrian rebel commander killed in clashes – insurgents
AMMAN (Reuters) – One of the most senior commanders of the rebel Free Syrian Army was killed on Monday during clashes with government troops near the southern city of Deraa on the border with Jordan, insurgents and state media said.
Yasser al-Aboud, a former Syrian army officer who defected in the early days of the revolt, was leading an assault on army checkpoints in the town of Tafas, northwest of Deraa, they added.
October 21st, 2013, 9:21 am
zoo said:
Norvegian girls (of Somali origin) want to help the rebels “anyway they can”
Norway seeks Interpol help to stop teen sisters bound for Syria war
By Associated Press, Updated: Monday, October 21, 8:48 AM
STAVANGER, Norway — Norwegian police have issued international alerts for two teen sisters believed to have traveled to Syria to join the civil war.
Police in suburban Oslo on Monday said the sisters, aged 16 and 19, are Norwegian citizens of Somali origin and were last spotted on the Turkish-Syrian border.
Police spokeswoman Nina Karstensen Bjoerlo said a wanted notice was issued through Interpol for the older sister and a missing notice for the younger teen because she’s a minor.
Norwegian newspaper VG said the sisters sent an email to their family Thursday saying they were traveling to Syria to help Muslims “in any way we can.”
October 21st, 2013, 9:28 am
Afram said:
Nasty Stuff.
Syria’s clerics last week gave the starving people of Damascus the OK to eat dog…praise allah,and the bad news has not ended there.
The World Health Organization now suspects polio has returned to the country.
And it’s just one on a list of what the Telegraph calls health”flare-ups”:measles, typhoid, hepatitis, and tens of thousands of cases of the flesh-eating parasite leishmaniasis have also surfaced.
As for the potential polio cases,the WHO is still waiting for a lab to confirm the results,but 22 people in the northeastern province of Deir ELzzor have symptoms of what is “very likely” polio. The WHO places much of the blame on the breakdown of the country’s immunization program;worse still,Syria’s porous borders could endanger other countries.
cases of both leishmaniasis and measles have been recorded among refugees in Lebanon.
October 21st, 2013, 9:43 am
Ziad said:
The Military-Industrial Pundits: Conflicts of Interest Exposed for TV Guests Who Urged Syrian War
New research shows many so-called experts who appeared on television making the case for U.S. strikes on Syria had undisclosed ties to military contractors. A new report by the Public Accountability Initiative identifies 22 commentators with industry ties. While they appeared on television or were quoted as experts 111 times, their links to military firms were disclosed only 13 of those times. The report focuses largely on Stephen Hadley, who served as national security adviser to President George W. Bush. During the debate on Syria, he appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and Bloomberg TV. None of these stations informed viewers that Hadley currently serves as a director of the weapons manufacturer Raytheon that makes Tomahawk cruise missiles widely touted as the weapon of choice for bombing Syria. He also owns over 11,000 shares of Raytheon stock, which traded at all-time highs during the Syria debate. We speak to Kevin Connor of the Public Accountability Initiative, a co-author of the report.
http://www.democracynow.org/2013/10/18/the_military_industrial_pundits_conflicts_of
October 21st, 2013, 10:11 am
Ziad said:
Africa Beware – These Troops Don’t Come To Help
This New York Times piece on the U.S. army attempts to justify its existence by preparing for wars in Africa reads like an official army press release: U.S. Army Hones Antiterror Strategy for Africa, in Kansas
The plan behind this is certainly not honest. If one wants to seriously train foreign troops or help the population one must send specialists who also understand the culture of their guest countries. But here the army plans to send troops that are trained to fight in main battle tanks and who get only 6(!) days of minimalistic cultural training by graduate students of African heritage without any additional language capacities.
What good can such troops do in those 50 African countries which are about all internally diverse and sociological complicate? What but trouble could they create?
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2013/10/africa-beware-these-troops-dont-come-to-help.html
October 21st, 2013, 10:29 am
Ziad said:
Mother Agnes finalizes chronology of Damascus chemical attack
A new version of a study produced by Mother Agnes, a catholic nun, pointing to a number of fabricated videos used as evidence of complicity by the Assad government in a recent chemical attack is in the works, she told RT.
The report by the Christian nun, Mother Agnes Mariam el-Salib, mother superior of St. James Monastery in Qara, Syria, has alleged that many videos featuring supposed victims of the chemical weapons attack in the Syrian village of Guta in August were in fact staged and scripted.
The question for the nun now revolves around the “humanitarian” question of what happened to the children featured in the video. “Those children are the children of whom? From where did you get them? Why are you using them and manipulating them?”
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic was created in August 2011 by the Human Rights Council to investigate alleged violations of human rights.
http://rt.com/op-edge/chemical-weapons-videos-staged-354/
October 21st, 2013, 10:40 am
Tara said:
The investigator nun Agnes keeps embarrassing herself and the church. Another example of towel head.
I can see Bashar and Asma mocking her along with the in-laws. What an embarrassment.
—
It is my opinion that towel – head people across all spectrum of religions when they have a political opinion should remove their towels and wear a bikini. It fits them more.
October 21st, 2013, 11:07 am
zoo said:
Ziad
Be sure that the “Guided and Demented” Kingdom will deploy a lot of money and resources to counter Sister Agnes’s assertions as it may get them in big trouble on the international scene if the involvement of Saudi agents in that tragic affair is demonstrated.
I worry for Sister Agnes’s life.
October 21st, 2013, 11:10 am
zoo said:
The SNC: “Napalm” ,”white phosphorous and “chemical weapons” used in Mouadamiya
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-329402-top-opposition-commander-killed-as-battle-for-deraa-rages.html
”For nearly one year, the city of has been under siege with no access to food, electricity, medicine, communications, and fuel,” said the letter, distributed by the opposition Syrian National Council on Monday.
”We have been hit by rockets, artillery shells, napalm, white phosphorous, and chemical weapons,” it said.
The writers, who did not give their names, said they had managed to find enough power to run a computer and connect to the internet to send the letter.
…
The SNC said nearly 12,000 people face starvation and death in Mouadamiya. About 90 percent of Mouadamiya has been destroyed, few doctors remained, and residents were eating “leaves of trees.”
Reuters cannot confirm reports from the besieged town due to government restrictions. The government says the residents of Mouadamiya are being “held hostage” by terrorists, the term it uses for armed opposition groups. It denies using chemical weapons.
October 21st, 2013, 11:15 am
zoo said:
Will the “Guided and Demented” Kingdom change its mind under USA’s pressure?
U.S. tries to calm Saudi anger over Syria, Iran
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/21/us-saudi-un-gulf-idUSBRE99K0BT20131021?rpc=401
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Kerry would not try to persuade the Saudis to reverse their rejection of a seat on the Security Council but would cite the advantages of being on the 15-member body, which can authorize military action, impose sanctions and set up peacekeeping operations.
“It does give you a voice even when you have frustrations,” the U.S. official said. “It’s their decision to make.”
October 21st, 2013, 11:21 am
Mina said:
With the Saudis claiming Assad used CW, while they may end up being among the people who fund the “rebels” who used them, it would have been too risky for them to assume a seat at the UNSC.
October 21st, 2013, 11:23 am
zoo said:
More signs of confusion: Brahimi put in doubts Arab League chief’s announced date for the Geneva conference. Which one is right? They are obviously under intense pressure from the impatient West and Russia to force the reluctant opposition or loose their face
The head of the Arab League has confirmed international talks on Syria’s civil war are scheduled for November 23 in Geneva. Nabil Elaraby spoke at a news conference Sunday.
Nabil Elaraby: “I discussed the Syria file with Lakhdar Brahimi, and it was decided that the Geneva meeting would take place on November 23, and arrangements are being made to prepare for this conference. There are many arrangements to be made, and many difficulties must be overcome to make this conference possible.”
U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi fueled confusion about the talks by denying during the same news conference that the date had been finalized. The talks came as a car bombing on the outskirts of Hama killed at least 37 people, most of them civilians.
October 21st, 2013, 11:29 am
Ziad said:
“The United States has been torturing Iran, without a stop, since 1953. Overthrew the parliamentary government, installed the tyrant Shah Reza Pahlavi, and backed him through horrible torture and everything else. The minute the Shah was overthrown, the United States moved at once to try and overthrow the new regime. The United States turned for support to Saddam Hussein and his attack against Iran, in which hundreds of thousands of people were slaughtered with chemical weapons and so on. The United States continued to support Saddam.”
Noam Chomsky
October 21st, 2013, 11:33 am
zoo said:
#913 Mina
You’re right, I haven’t thought of that. After years of waiting to get the seat, they may have suddenly realized that a visible international position may expose them to a scrutinity they prefer to avoid.
Contrary to once flamboyant Qatar, they always preferred to remain in the shadow.
October 21st, 2013, 11:34 am
omen said:
nevermind western betrayal to support secular opposition in the first place. and whatever you do, never ever ever suggest conflict of interest west may harbor in siding with the regime. instead, let’s conflate free syrians with alqaeda and vote for hitler.
what does it feel like kick more than 200,000 dead in the teeth? what does it feel like to write off 250,000 political prisoners headed for mass graves? i was so wrong. every time we see an image like lil baby rana, we should have been cheering instead. how many kids starved to death is good for america?
October 21st, 2013, 11:38 am
zoo said:
“Encouraging” + “Inviting” = Arm twisting or blackmailing?
EU invites Syrian opposition to attend Geneva talks
(AGI) – Luxembourg, Oct 21 – The National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary Forces and Oppositions (SOC) has been “encouraged” by the European Union to actively participate in the Geneva 2 conference on Syria, which will hopefully take place before the end of November, and also to play a “leading role in negotiations.” A statement issued following a summit of EU Foreign Minister on Monday in Luxembourg, also says that the “European Union is ready to continue with its commitment and support the Coalition.” .
October 21st, 2013, 11:38 am
zoo said:
Machiavelli in the House of Saud
by PEPE ESCOBAR
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/10/21/machiavelli-in-the-house-of-saud/
Life is good if you’re a member of the Gulf Counter-revolution Club, officially known as Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). You can crush the Arab Spring at will. You can hire goons all across dar-al-Islam to advance a sectarian Sunni-Shi’ite divide. You can be deeply implicated in the destruction of Syria. You can treat a significant part of your own population as third-class citizens.
..
So get ready to watch an angry, fearful, medievalist oil kingdom notorious for its spectacular record on human rights and women’s rights, and so fond of lashings and beheadings, pontificating on the global stage about…human rights.
…
Not only you get away with it; you get rewarded with expensive toys. And in one particular case – Saudi Arabia – even with a two-year seat at the UN Security Council.
Not to mention that the House of Saud expertly gets away with manipulating Islam as the pillar of its “legitimacy”. The House of Saud controls the Hajj – which took place this week; an enormous logistical operation that “legitimizes” its role as leader of Sunni Islam, and automatically, the whole Islamic world. Well-informed Muslims though are very much aware of the fallacy – as much as they’re aware of how the House of Saud is fast transforming Mecca into a Vegas-style pay-per-prayer luxury resort. Who’s profiting? Certainly not the pilgrims.
October 21st, 2013, 11:54 am
zoo said:
Syrian peace talks will fail for as long as the rebels are not represented
The rebels are fighting amongst themselves, hopelessly split
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/syrian-peace-talks-will-fail-for-as-long-as-the-rebels-are-not-represented-8894701.html
….
It is entirely possible of course that the coalition will come to some sort of agreement and its members will swap their hotels in Istanbul for hotels in Geneva, but it is almost entirely irrelevant if they do.
That is because the SNC no longer represents the majority of rebels fighting on the ground in Syria. The group’s influence with the multitude of fighting groups has waned significantly over the past year, and in the last few weeks it has all but disintegrated.
.
“Having seen the failure of the political groups that claim to represent the opposition and the revolutionary groups… we leaders of the military and revolutionary groups in the southern provinces withdraw our recognition from any political group that claims to represent us,” a rebel spokesman said.
…
So even if the SNC attends the talks in Geneva, the Syrian government will not be negotiating with the rebels. They could make any deal they like but it would not be honoured by those who matter.
….
Everyone agrees that negotiations between the Syrian government and the rebels it is fighting is the only way to end this war. For that to happen, both sides need to first realise that they cannot crush the other. Sadly, we are not quite there yet.
The SNC and its affiliated fighters were the only ones likely to attend talks in Geneva, but with their influence both on and off the battlefield at an all-time low, it really doesn’t matter if they do.
October 21st, 2013, 12:01 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Assad to run for presidential elections. I hope he can get the confidence of the people. During last two and half years he has shown he is a democratic man who respect the will of the people and loves to negotiate even with sionists. Frankly speaking I do not like the other aspirant, Maher Al Assad. One thing is sure, whoever gets the election, Assad is forever….until Syria breaks into pieces definetely.
October 21st, 2013, 12:07 pm
Tara said:
I like it how the regime stooges uttered no word in regard to Agnes visiting Israel while they keep attacking Israel in their pseudo resistance pretense. What a pathetic group of creatures! A coward bunch that do not dare a different opinion.
Please spare us the resistance slogans. It deserves nothing but contempt and disgust.
October 21st, 2013, 12:08 pm
zoo said:
A great thanks to the Syrian armed rebels for their warm welcome
Foreign jihadists surpass Afghan-Soviet war, storm Syria in record numbers
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/20/foreign-jihadists-surpass-afghan-soviet-war-storm-/
Foreigners fueled by Islamic fury are rushing to Syria to fight President Bashar Assad at a faster rate than the flow of rebels into Afghanistan in the war against a Soviet-backed regime in the 1980s, analysts say.
An estimated 5,000 to 10,000 foreign fighters have come to Syria since the outbreak of the uprising in March 2011.
“This is probably one of the biggest foreign-fighter mobilizations since it became a phenomenon in the 1980s with the Afghan jihad against the Soviets,” said Aaron Y. Zelin, a Washington Institute researcher who studies al Qaeda and Syria.
…
The foreign fighters — called jihadists, or holy warriors — come from at least 60 nations. Most are Arabs from Saudi Arabia, Libya and Tunisia, but a few dozen are from Western Europe, particularly Britain, Belgium, France and the Netherlands, Mr. Zelin said. Ten to 20 fighters have come from the United States, he said.
Analysts say fighters join the rebellion out of a sense of religious duty to help fellow Sunni Muslims, but they become radicalized because the most powerful rebel groups are affiliated with al Qaeda.
More and more opposition groups are peeling away from the Western-backed moderate Syrian National Coalition and its Free Syrian Army military umbrella, and joining with al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and Jabhat al-Nusra, which are better funded, equipped and organized.
Foreigners make up about 80 percent of Jabhat al-Nusra’s leadership, and as much as 20 percent of its 6,000 to 7,000 fighters are from other nations.
About 40 percent of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s 4,000 to 5,000 fighters are foreigners, and its leadership is about 80 percent foreign, according to the Syrian Support Group, which distributes U.S. supplies to opposition rebels.
Several dozen Syrian rebel groups split from the Syrian National Coalition earlier this month, and about a dozen rebel groups formed an Islamist bloc with Jabhat al-Nusra late last month.
..
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/20/foreign-jihadists-surpass-afghan-soviet-war-storm-/#ixzz2iNDBO2NQ
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
October 21st, 2013, 12:12 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
923. zoo
This is nice, isn´t it? To see how the whole islamic world unites in arms against the corrupt assassins of Damascus. This is history guy, you are lucky to be alive, history is being written right now. As Russian Vodka post-Stalin detritus derailed in Afganistan so will the russian sectarian milicias of Assad and Iran crush into the syrian nightmare.
Al Qaeda was created for fighting Russia in Afganistan and will probably realize into a real popular and more realistic movement in Syria after God offers them the victory.
Idolatry of God Assad will fail under the barbars of One God.
October 21st, 2013, 12:50 pm
zoo said:
Syria: Interview with Richard Gowan
http://worldpress.org/Mideast/3985.cfm
Worldpress.org Senior Editor Joshua Pringle spoke to Richard Gowan, research director at the Center on International Cooperation, about the complexity of addressing the crisis. .
…. JP: Initial peace talks have included the proposal of a transitional government in Syria. So if in mid-November a conference takes place and moderate factions of the opposition are there, and all these other international actors are there, all with varying interests, and everyone agrees on something like a transitional government, what then?
Al Qaeda and its ideological allies make up roughly 35 percent of the rebel forces. If they’re not on board, then what happens?
..
RG: You may end up with an agreement on a piece of paper that has no bearing on military events on the ground. There are many previous civil wars, such as those in the former Yugoslavia, where everyone was happy to agree to a peace deal and then break it immediately. There is a risk that there will be apparent diplomatic progress in Geneva at some point in the future, but the parties negotiating there won’t be representative of the main rebel factions. This is a tragedy because if there had been more international pressure for negotiations between the government and rebels 18 months ago or even a year ago, it would have been easier to get really serious players around the table. But as you say, a very significant faction of rebels has become radicalized.
Probably the only way to bring those radical elements under control is through putting pressure on some of their patrons in the Middle East, including the Saudis. It isn’t clear at the moment whether the Saudis would support or disrupt a peace process, because they are very keen to see this war continue and do damage to Assad and his backers in Iran.
JP: How would one pressure the Saudis or other backers?
RG: Well, it’s not easy, given Saudi Arabia’s wealth, and given the fact that the Saudis and other Gulf Arabs are deeply unhappy with the recent U.S. opening towards Iran. So it is not clear whether Washington or any of its allies have the leverage to make the Saudis and other Gulf Arabs sincerely support a peace process in Syria.
…
Even if you were to have a peace agreement tomorrow, there’s a high probability that very large numbers of Syrians would remain outside Syria. Many would be concerned about returning to their towns and villages in cases where there’d been ethnic cleansing, for example. Experience shows that refugee communities can become almost completely permanent, and I think we are seeing worrying signs of that, such as in the case of Jordan, where one camp seems to be morphing, slowly but surely, into a near-permanent city. I think that the refugee crisis will be a lasting scar, whatever the outcome of the war.
October 21st, 2013, 12:54 pm
Tara said:
Sandro,
Jihadist rule in Syria is preferable to Assad and Iran rule. At least they do not shoot fetuses or burry people alive. I am ok wearing a burqa. I am not ok watching a sniper shooting a fetus in his mother womb for a pack of cigarette.
Burqa it is. So what?
October 21st, 2013, 12:56 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
zouzou is worried about sister Agnes’s life. It should, just heard that that the city sprayed pesticide near her hornet hive.
October 21st, 2013, 1:55 pm
Tara said:
One day there will be a terror movie produced in regard to the life and death of this satanic nun. She is very creepy.
October 21st, 2013, 2:06 pm
zoo said:
Syria: Has al-Qaeda taken over the revolution?
http://descrier.co.uk/world/2013/10/syria-al-qaeda-taken-revolution/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=syria-al-qaeda-taken-revolution
….
In the absence of that kind of regional effort to hold things together, the current dynamics within the armed opposition favor the jihadis. If the present state of chaos and ad hoc alliance building and breaking continues, I don’t think we’ll see a force that’s really capable of standing in ISIS’s way in the near future.
October 21st, 2013, 2:09 pm
zoo said:
Incapable of controlling its borders, Turkey imitates Israel: It build walls.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/police-resort-to-tear-gas-as-kurds-protest-on-both-sides-of-the-turkish-syrian-border.aspx?pageID=238&nID=56544&NewsCatID=341
Police resort to tear gas as Kurds protest on both sides of the Turkish-Syrian border
October 21st, 2013, 2:13 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Tara
Yes, although I am a Christian, I sadly must recognize that anything, ANYTHING, is better that the crazyness of Assad perverted corrupted decaying sectarian Assad Iranian Russian chaos system.
Bush missed the shot. He should have invaded Lebanon. Then created regime change by Hariri and Hafez allies against Bashar monkeys in Syria, and syrians would have fought Iran and Russia in Irak. Even in the worst scenario Eufrat and Tigris river would have remained the border between wilderness and civilization.
October 21st, 2013, 2:13 pm
zoo said:
The “Halal” craze in Turkey
Turkey’s first ‘halal’ online sex shop opens
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-first-halal-online-sex-shop-opens.aspx?PageID=238&NID=56503&NewsCatID=341
An online sex shop has been launched to sell “halal” products to Muslims in Turkey, becoming the first of its kind in the country.
The website describes its products as completely safe and halal according to Islamic rules.
When Internet users enter the online shopping site, there are two different links for men and women that lead visitors to separate sections for male and female products.
There are also other sections on the website that discuss sexual intercourse in terms of Islam.
http://www.helalsexshop.com/
October 21st, 2013, 2:16 pm
Akbar Palace said:
New Meaning for “Chutzpa” NewZ
Syria’s president, after ruining his country, is now ready to run in a free election.
I would vote for his election to the gallows.
http://news.yahoo.com/syrias-assad-says-no-obstacle-running-2014-election-174042418.html
October 21st, 2013, 2:27 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Assad should run for General Secretary of the United Nations and the Organization Against Proliferation of Chemical Arms. Pope of Rome should canonize him too, but after his death only please. Saint Assad the Martyr of Syria, patron of butchers.
I used to be against death penalty but in the case of Assad The Buthcer I believe Impalment should be reintaured ad hoc for Assad brothers execution.
October 21st, 2013, 2:35 pm
zoo said:
While Sabra (SNC) and Idriss (FSA) have put the resignation of Bashar al Assad as a prerequisite to their participation to Geneva 1, Jarba (NC) seems prepare to participate without that prerequisite
Syria opposition meets backers in London ahead of summit
Conference with foreign ministers is tentative step towards seeking a settlement
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syria-opposition-meets-backers-in-london-ahead-of-summit-8895162.html
Wasil al-Shamali, of the Syrian National Council, was adamant: “We will not go to Geneva. Sitting with the regime will topple the firm principles of this revolution. The most important one of these is not sitting with this murderous regime which has killed our children, violated our honour and destroyed our cities.”
Major General Salim Idris, the head of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), which claims to represent the rebel fighters, has not yet publicly stated whether or not he would attend Geneva. But his own position is tenuous, with the FSA side-lined inside Syria and 13 khatibas (battalions) declaring that they do not recognise his authority or that of the opposition Coalition.
However, Ahmad al-Jabra, the Coalition president, is prepared to participate in the talks, albeit with the caveat that there must be a “clear timetable” and it does not turn into “an open-ended dialogue with the regime.”
October 21st, 2013, 2:43 pm
Tara said:
Sandro,
Honestly, I am too for capital punishment and torture of Assad and his inner circle. An eye for an eye….
—-
I am not worried about Jabra, the guided kingdom will tell him what to do. They will not allow The Persians to keep on torturing the Syrian people. I trust their shrewdness.
October 21st, 2013, 3:03 pm
ALAN said:
Syrian Ambassador to Jordan Bahjat Suleiman has called Saudi Prince “the real gang leader of terrorists fighting in Syria”.
Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan is the head of al-Qaeda terrorist group and the founder of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant in Syria, Suleiman said, according to an article in Arabic language Ray al-Youm website.
Suleiman said, Osama Bin Laden was the founder of al-Qaeda, Aymen Zahiri is their apparent leader, and Bandar bin Sultan is the real leader of al-Qaeda.
He added that the Saudi Prince dwells in a residence near a militant-held area on Syria-Jordan border and leads the terrorists fighting in Syria from there.
The Syrian ambassador also noted that the Syria-Jordan borders have been kept under the control of the so-called Free Syrian Army that enjoys Saudi Arabia’s support.
Pointing out the Saudi regime’s crack-down on its own citizens Suleiman added, “Saudi Arabia is not in a stance to give lessons of democracy and freedom to the Syrian nation.”
Saudi officials have denied being directly involved in the crisis in Syria, but there are many reports on Saudi regime’s huge financial supports to the Syria militants.
The conflict in Syria started in March 2011, when pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following the intervention of Western and regional states.
The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history.
October 21st, 2013, 5:43 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
937. ALAN
Please look at your own Assads before talking about gangsters and terrorists.
October 21st, 2013, 6:22 pm
Tara said:
The world is coming to recognize the mastery of the Saudis politics. It does deserve admiration!
Saudi Arabia rejected a coveted two-year term on the council on Friday in a rare display of anger over what it called “double standards” at the United Nations.
Its stance won praise from its Gulf Arab allies and Egypt.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal hosted a lunch for Kerry at his private residence in Paris on Monday. U.S. officials said Washington and Riyadh shared the goals of a nuclear-free Iran, an end to Syria’s civil war and a stable Egypt.
A senior State Department official told reporters after the lunch that Kerry cited the advantages of being on the 15-member body, which can authorise military action, impose sanctions and set up peacekeeping operations.
…
No country has previously been elected to the council and then walked away. As an incoming member, Saudi Arabia would have taken up its seat on January 1 for a two-year term. Riyadh demanded unspecified reforms in the world’s top security institution.
…
Saudi anger boiled over after the United States dropped the threat of military strikes in response to a poison gas attack in Damascus in August by agreeing to give up his chemical arsenal.
Saudi Arabia was also concerned about signs of a tentative reconciliation between Washington and Tehran, something Riyadh fears may lead to a “grand bargain” on the Iranian nuclear programme that leaves it at a disadvantage.
Expressions of support for Saudi Arabia from its Gulf allies contained no overt criticism of U.S. policy, but echoed the kingdom’s complaints about the Security Council’s failure to end the war in Syria and resolve the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.
Kuwait shares Riyadh’s pain, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Khaled al-Jarallah said, citing the “bloody massacres” in Syria and the “suffering of the Palestinian people”. He said the Saudi rejection of a council seat had sent a message to the world.
Plaudits also came from Cairo, which was promised billions of dollars in aid from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in July after the army ousted President Mohamed Mursi. Most Gulf states view his Muslim Brotherhood with suspicion.
By contrast, Washington has cut aid to Egypt’s military.
“This brave Saudi position is favoured with all of Egypt’s respect and appreciation,” Egypt’s Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy said in a statement.
The Egyptian head of the Cairo-based Arab League, Nabil Elaraby, also said Riyadh had every right to protest against the management of the Security Council, which he said should rethink the veto-wielding powers of its five permanent members.
The Saudi decision has handed the U.N. secretary-general and the permanent council members “historic responsibility to review the role of the United Nations, its powers and its charter,” UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan said.
Bahrain praised Riyadh’s “clear and courageous stand”, while Qatar suggested it could shake the world out of complacency.
Addressing his Saudi counterpart, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah wrote on Twitter: “When you are angry, you send the world into disarray, so thank you.”
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/10/21/uk-saudi-un-gulf-idUKBRE99K0U420131021
October 21st, 2013, 6:43 pm
zoo said:
Bashar al Assad expressed aloud what the whole world think in silence: Without a representative opposition, Geneva 2 is pointless.
Syria’s Assad says Geneva II conference has no success factors
Oct 22,2013
DAMASCUS, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said there is not an official date or any success factors for the Geneva II conference on Syria, according to a recent interview broadcast by Lebanese al-Mayadeen TV on Monday.
“Officially, there is no date up till this moment,” Assad said, adding “there are no factors that could help making it (conference) a success so far.”
The Syrian leader, speaking with a confident tone, cast doubt over who the opposition parties would represent at the conference, given their real weight and credibility on ground.
“Who are the groups that will partake? What is their relation with the Syrian people? Do they represent the Syrian people or the countries that created them?” Assad questioned at a time when the exiled opposition coalition was in disunity and unclear on their participation in the conference.
He said Syria has no problem in taking part in the conference, which is designed to bring together the opposition and the government to reach a political solution.
“If the financial and arms support for the rebels stopped, there would be no problem in solving the crisis,” Assad said.
He noted that the crisis in his country has passed through several stages, adding that his administration is now in the stage of fighting al-Qaida and its affiliates.
Meanwhile, he said weapons have been smuggled illegally into Syria since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, accusing regional and Arab countries of supporting the current rebels that are fighting his rule.
Qatar was the first country to support the armed men in Syria with money, Assad charged, adding that Turkey provided the rebels with logistical support and Saudi Arabia followed their lead.
He said Jordan was not involved in supporting the rebels during the early days of the crisis, but started to do so less than a year ago.
Slamming Saudi Arabia, Assad said the country “has faithfully implemented U.S. policies,” namely “Saudi is publicly supporting the armed groups in Syria with money and weapons as well through political and media means.”
Taking a swipe at the Muslim Brotherhood, Assad said the group has become more “terrorist” than before.
Damascus has been accusing the Gulf states of being behind the rebellion since its start more than two and a half years ago, and Assad had no qualms naming them in the interview.
Yet, the president admitted internal problems have opened the gate for regional and international powers to intervene in the Syrian crisis.
October 21st, 2013, 7:08 pm
zoo said:
U.S. sees Syria’s Assad strengthened by rise of Islamist groups
By Arshad Mohammed
http://in.news.yahoo.com/u-sees-syrias-assad-strengthened-rise-islamist-groups-210047086.html
PARIS (Reuters) – The rise of Islamist groups fighting Syria’s Western-backed rebels has emboldened the Syrian government and will make it harder to extract concessions from Damascus at any peace talks, a U.S. official said on Monday.
The United States hopes to bring moderate elements of the Syrian opposition together with the government at a peace conference tentatively expected next month in Geneva to try to end a two-and-a-half year civil war in which more than 100,000 people have died.
The talks face great obstacles, including divisions within the opposition, fighting between rival rebel groups and President Bashar al-Assad’s reluctance to give up power.
…
October 21st, 2013, 7:12 pm
ALAN said:
Syria has been living the past three years completely engulfed in rampant terror and threats to the population, which are actively being used to demoralise the administration and force it to leave the political arena. The fact that the military campaigns have a localized nature does not lessen the severity of their consequences within the current dire situation. The overall feelings of confusion disorganise society, while the uncertainty about the present and a fear for the future create psychological pressure that robs people of their trust, leading to the creation of even more barriers between them.
The overall disorder only worsens the deterioration of the economy and is accompanied by as immense amount of negative consequences. Threats are coming in from practically all sides, yet the persistent domestic difficulties caused by a lack of water or energy are not the most overwhelming. The greatest threat is the uncertain future of the younger generation, which is what families are increasingly worried about. This is better understood especially if one is to remember that almost half of the population in the country is under the age of fifteen.
Alexander Filonik, the Russian Academy of Sciences
October 21st, 2013, 7:13 pm
Tara said:
It is admirable that 2 women from Norway wanting to help the Syrian people.
Later that evening the family received a text message from the daughters saying they should check an email account. The message said they had decided to help Syria’s Muslim population “the only way we really can, by being with them in their sufferings and joys”. They added: “It is no longer enough to sit at home and send money. With this in mind we have decided to travel to Syria and help any way we can.”
….
October 21st, 2013, 7:17 pm
Tara said:
The proud Saudi snub the UNSC seat and the humiliated Assad have 14 chemical sites getting dismantled by foreigners.
October 21st, 2013, 7:22 pm
zoo said:
While the USA desperately wants peace talks in Geneva, poor Kerry seems unable to get the opposition to unite or even to accept negotiations with Bahar Al Al Assad who not only will no resign but has high chances to be re-elected in 2014
Assad re-election would extend Syria war: Kerry
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/assad-re-election-would-extend-syria-war-kerry.aspx?pageID=238&nID=56612&NewsCatID=358
“We are focused on assisting the moderate opposition,” he said. “We will continue… because we believe you need to get to negotiations.” Western and Arab powers are pushing the opposition to take part in peace talks planned for Geneva next month, though several rebel groups on the ground have rejected negotiations.
October 21st, 2013, 7:38 pm
Tara said:
Batta has a million percent chance in wining the “election” in 2014. Dictatorship are never short on elections. That is exactly why negotiation while he remains in power is betraying the Syrian people.
October 21st, 2013, 7:42 pm
zoo said:
Why would anyone in the opposition believe in the USA’s promises and guarantees when Clinton, Kerry and Obama made so many they never kept?
The opposition knows that accepting Geneva 2 is a suicide.
Why Syria peace conference is a tough sell for Kerry: Assad wants to come
Secretary Kerry is traveling to London to boost support for a Syria peace conference. Rebels view Assad’s intentions with suspicion, but the US hopes to find support among the many opposition groups.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/2013/1021/Why-Syria-peace-conference-is-a-tough-sell-for-Kerry-Assad-wants-to-come
…..
The key for Kerry and other opposition supporters may be in convincing enough of what the State Department acknowledges are “thousands of different groups” in the opposition that their interests will be protected by the United States and other pro-opposition powers.
Working against Kerry, some opposition supporters say, will be two overriding doubts among opposition forces: one concerning US support, the other concerning President Assad’s intentions in attending a conference.
“The Syrian opposition representatives I talk to are very skeptical about real US support at a conference, because they have seen too many promises when nothing else happened, such as the promises of significant arms shipments,” says Farid Ghadry, founder of the US-based Reform Party of Syria and a longtime advocate of a more muscular US policy toward the Assad regime.
Also stopping many in the opposition from accepting the conference invitation is the fact that Assad now seems eager for the conference to take place.
“If Assad is ready to sit down with those he previously called terrorists, it’s not because he is ready to step aside or give up anything to them,” Mr. Ghadry says. “That’s why the opposition smells a rat in this conference.”
Speaking in Paris Monday, Kerry repeated the long-held US position that any political solution must include Assad’s departure from power. Responding to reports that Assad intends to run for reelection when his term ends next year, Kerry said, “If [Assad] thinks he’s going to solve problems by running for reelection, I can say to him, I think with certainty, this war will not end as long as … he is there” in the presidency.
Confusion has reigned for weeks over whether or not a conference is likely to take place.
October 21st, 2013, 8:05 pm
Ghufran said:
Those who say that a jihadists rule in Syria is preferable to the Assad regime are free to express their opinion, however we all know that rich and well to do Syrians in the west are not likely to send their women to support jihadists in Syria . We want a country free from both the Assad ruling mafia and the criminal jihadists but most Syrians will reluctantly prefer the monster they know than the new monster introduced to them, for Syria to rise up a third option has to emerge, until this happens Syria will continue to lose lives and resources.
October 21st, 2013, 9:52 pm
Observer said:
Just finished watching the France 24 debate for one hour on the future of Iraq.
Several points came out of the debate:
One: the country was held together artificial as it is by dictatorship. It actually had a strong emphasis on Arab nationalism that left the Kurds at odds with it. It even fought an eight year war with Iran using Shia and Sunni troops equally.
Two: Sectarianism erupted further after the 1991 war when the Shia south rebelled and was crushed.
Three: the state had all but collapsed when the invasion occurred in 03.
Four: the regime that the Iraqis agreed to have and enshrined in the new constitution meant de facto a weak central government; a semi independent Kurdistan, a southern Iranian protectorate, and a Sunni area that with the help of the US managed to fight off the Al Qaeda presence with the awakening groups. These same groups have turned against the Maliki regime as it stopped supporting them and reverted to its sectarianism and fight against Sunnis.
Five: the country is subjecting the minority Sunnis to a majority Shia regime that is non participatory and even hostile. In so doing, it sent them directly into the arms of the Sunni insurgency and the fundamentalist ideology pervading the Sunni world today.
Sixth: the conflict in Iraq is now an extension of the one in Syria and is moving the region into a major Shia Sunni conflict. In this the Alawi regime cannot hope to keep the population of Syria under its control and the Sunnis in Syria can take major areas but cannot hope to take all of Syria. One exception to this would be a genocide of the Alawis which is not impossible ( not my words but the debater’s ).
Seventh: the continuation of the civil war is now a major regional conflict. There is every indication that the continued presence of the regime is fueling the conflict. There is no way to create an awakening counsels in Syria as the US did in Iraq without massive infusion of money and training and weapons. Therefore the only elements that will form will be the fundamentalists. These are being funded daily and if the aid and ammunition is being delivered at various paces, it is to position the players into a better place on the table of negotiations.
Eighth: the regime as the one in Iraq is now in the hands of other players. Iran cannot hope to continue to bleed in both places. It is running out of money.
My view is that the US has the dumb Athad where it wants him. He needs the US and the US does not need him. He needs Iran and Iran does not need him. He needs Russia and Putin is using him. The regime and the insiders on this blog are in delusion thinking that the clock can be turned back. That they can gain back lost ground, that they can go shopping and visit capitals and what have you.
Once again the fragmentation of the resistance is playing fully into the hands of the organized groups with fundamentalist agenda and thinking. The aim is not to topple the regime but the aim is to bring a full blown regional sectarian war gain ares where they can recruit and spread ideas and rise again and again from the ashes. The fragmentation is also helpful for the US that can always drag its feet into doing anything, bleeding Iran further, bleeding Russia and now putting Putin in a position where he has something to lose besides the miserable little port in Tartous. Putin’s fury at KSA is because the refusal to sit on the UNSC is slap to the veto of Russia and to the fact that the UNSC does not carry the weight it used to have. In essence it is recognizing that new poles of power are coming on board and that is at the expense of the older now weaker countries such as France and Russia.
It is a good thing that the Kurds are free, and hopefully the Alawites are free from Sunni fear and the Sunnis are free from Shia hatred and that Christians are free and can become Russian citizens.
In the long run, Sykes Picot is coming to an end and this is a good thing.
October 21st, 2013, 9:56 pm
zoo said:
More reasons why the “Guided and Demented” Kingdom better stay away from the UNSC.
Amnesty says Saudi rights record getting worse
October 22, 2013
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/international/22-Oct-2013/amnesty-says-saudi-rights-record-getting-worse
DUBAI – Amnesty International on Monday said Saudi Arabia had failure to act on UN recommendations and “ratcheted up the repression” since 2009, with the arbitrary detention and torture of activists.
The London-based watchdog’s statement was released ahead of a UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva on Monday to discuss the oil-rich kingdom’s record, and comes after Riyadh rejected a seat on the UN Security Council, citing the international body’s “double standards” and inability to resolve regional conflicts.
“Saudi Arabia’s previous promises to the UN have been proven to be nothing but hot air,” said Amnesty’s MENA director Philip Luther, accusing the kingdom of relying “on its political and economic clout to deter the international community from criticising its dire human rights record.”
In its report titled “Saudi Arabia: Unfulfilled Promises,” Amnesty criticised “an ongoing crackdown including arbitrary arrests and detention, unfair trials, torture and other ill-treatment over the past four years” in the kingdom.
“Not only have the authorities failed to act, but they have ratcheted up the repression” since 2009, said Luther.
“For all the peaceful activists that have been arbitrary detained, tortured or imprisoned in Saudi Arabia since, the international community has a duty to hold the authorities to account,” he said.
Amnesty renewed calls for Saudi authorities to release two prominent rights activists handed heavy jailed terms in March.
Mohammed al-Gahtani and Abdullah al-Hamed were sentenced to 11 and 10 years imprisonment respectively for violating a law on cybercrime by using Twitter to denounce various aspects of political and social life in the ultra-conservative kingdom.
They are co-founders of the independent Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA). “These men are prisoners of conscience who should be released immediately and unconditionally,” said Luther. “Their peaceful activism against human rights violations deserves praise not punishment. The only guilty party here is the government,” he added.
Amnesty documented other rights violations it said are committed by Saudi authorities such as “systemic discrimination of women in both law and practise” and “abuse of migrant workers.” Women in the kingdom are not allowed to drive and need permission from their male guardians to travel. It also accused the Sunni-ruled kingdom of “discrimination against minority groups,” including Shiites concentrated in the Eastern Province who occasionally protest to demand more rights.
Amnesty also faulted the kingdom for “executions based on summary trials and ‘confessions’ extracted under torture.”
The kingdom has executed 69 people so far this year, according to an AFP count.
Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under the Gulf state’s strict version of sharia, or Islamic law.
October 21st, 2013, 10:52 pm
ghufran said:
After Maloula, islamist terrorists attack Sadad in Homs, a historical Christian town:
?????? “???? ??????” ? “????? ????” ???? ????? ???? ??? “????????” ?? ??? ????? ??? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??? ?????? ??????? ?????? ? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ????? ????? ??????? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ??????
????? ????? ????????? ????? ???? ???? ?? “???? ??????” ?”????” ? “????? ???????” ???? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ???????? ?????????? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ?????????
October 22nd, 2013, 12:15 am
ALAN said:
Xinjiang Muslim terrorists finding training, support in Syria, Turkey
http://themuslimissue.wordpress.com/2013/10/22/xinjiang-muslim-terrorists-finding-training-support-in-syria-turkey/
October 22nd, 2013, 2:26 am
ALAN said:
953. ZOO
The US Department of Defense is nearing the finalization of a $10 billion arms deal with Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, The New York Times reported Thursday.
This demonstrates yet again that human rights are only supported by the US government when it is convenient to do so, and when it doesn’t get in the way of “doing business as usual.”
Apparently, one of the singular requirements of holding any office in any branch of the US government these days is the surgical removal of one’s conscience.
Amnesty International warns that Saudi Arabia has ‘ratcheted up the repression’ and that human rights are getting worse
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/10/21/amnesty-international-warns-that-saudi-arabia-has-ratcheted-up-the-repression-and-that-human-rights-are-getting-worse/
October 22nd, 2013, 4:01 am
Mina said:
Ghufran,
The only thing they can get some unity on is “punishing the infidels”, see the recent attacks in Bab Tuma, Jaramana, and in Egypt.
October 22nd, 2013, 5:01 am
apple_mini said:
Ghufran, those Syrian expats who “freely” express their admiration and preference for Jihadi and Islamic radicals are exactly those who have been calling sectarian violence in Syria. The consistency is just a reaffirmation of our understanding of their true color which really exhibits their comment being contrived and ridiculous.
The inconsistent nature between those Islamic fighters and those Jihadi Expats is that those Jihadi Expats choose to hide themselves, not even dare to openly talk about stuff like those comments they make here in their adopted country. Some foreign rebel fighters gave up modern convenience for their ideologies and belief. But don’t expect this from those cheap and hypocritical Syrian Expats.
October 22nd, 2013, 5:39 am
sami said:
“those Syrian expats who “freely” express their admiration and preference for Jihadi and Islamic radicals”
First of all that is a pathetic attempt at twisting words, Tara expressed her opinion that Jihadists are of a lesser evil than the abomination you stand for.
Secondly, the abomination that you stand behind of is guilty of the worst crimes of this century, from gassing their own people to sniping pregnant woman in their stomachs for a mere pack of cigarettes.
Bashar has turned Osama Bin Laden into a boy scout! This is a reality minhibaks and their filth can’t come to realize.
And is there a reason that you always write in the plural?
October 22nd, 2013, 7:40 am
Sami said:
“The only thing they can get some unity on is “punishing the infidels”, see the recent attacks in Bab Tuma, Jaramana, and in Egypt.”
So only when a minority is persecuted it is a crime in your books, the wholesale slaughter of a majority is ok with you as long as they excuse it by calling the innocent civilians that are being starved, sniped, gassed, tortured to death as “Djihadists”…
October 22nd, 2013, 7:44 am
zoo said:
The ‘Guided and Demented’ kingdom’s puppetmaster is fuming in its impotence
This Lack Of Syrian Aggression Will Not Stand, Man: Saudi’s Bandar Bin Sultan Furious At US
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-22/lack-syrian-aggression-will-not-stand-man-saudis-bandar-bin-sultan-furious-us
..
Saudi Arabia is nowhere close to forgetting. Or forgiving. And this time the anger comes from the one man who truly matters, and whom we dubbed several months ago as the puppetmaster behind the Syrian campaign: the man in charge of Saudi intelligence, Prince Bandar Bin Sultan.
The WSJ reports overnight, that Prince Bandar told European diplomats this weekend that he plans to scale back cooperating with the U.S. to arm and train Syrian rebels in protest of Washington’s policy in the region, participants in the meeting said.
…
Fair enough: but what can it do? It is no secret, that as the primary hub of the petrodollar system which is instrumental to keeping the dollar’s reserve status, Saudi has no choice but to cooperate with the US, or else risk even further deterioration of the USD reserve status. A development which would certainly please China… and Russia, both of which are actively engaging in Plan B preparations for the day when the USD is merely the latest dethroned reserve currency on the scrap heap of all such formerly world-dominant currencies
October 22nd, 2013, 8:36 am
zoo said:
Bandar Ben Sultan who talks as is he was the foreign minister will soon join HBJ .
Saudi spy chief says Riyadh to “shift away from U.S.” over Syria, Iran
DOHA: Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief has said the kingdom will make a “major shift” in dealings with the United States in protest at its perceived inaction over the Syria war and its overtures to Iran, a source close to Saudi policy said on Tuesday.
Prince Bandar bin Sultan told European diplomats that Washington had failed to act effectively on the Syria crisis and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, was growing closer to Tehran, and had failed to back Saudi support for Bahrain when it crushed an anti-government revolt in 2011, the source said.
It was not immediately clear if Prince Bandar’s reported statements had the full backing of King Abdullah.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Oct-22/235385-saudi-spy-chief-says-riyadh-to-shift-away-from-us-over-syria-iran.ashx#ixzz2iSDwQanR
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
October 22nd, 2013, 8:44 am
zoo said:
USA puts more pressure in the rebels to join peace talks. The only life line for the opposition is now Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey: a recipe for more failure
U.S. reportedly suspends non-lethal aid to Syrian rebels
October 22, 2013 – 16:25 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net – The United States has reportedly cut off northern Syrian moderate rebel groups from non-lethal aid, with an al-Qaeda advance in northern Syria physically blocking the aid’s dispersal, as the Obama administration continues to ‘disengage’ itself from Syria.
Daily Hürriyet’s Washington representative, Tolga Tan??, said that the Obama administration commenced its ‘disengagement’ from Syria on Oct. 2, laying out three conditions to the moderate rebels, should they wish for the resumption of aid.
October 22nd, 2013, 8:48 am
zoo said:
Minister: Iran Ready to Help Syria to Hold Reconstruction Conference
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Minister of Road and Urbanization Abbas Akhoundi, in a meeting with General Secretary to the Syrian Prime Minister Tisir Al-Zaabi in Tehran on Tuesday, voiced Iran’s preparedness to help hold an international conference on reconstruction of Syria.
“Iran is ready to help hold a conference on reconstruction in Syria in an appropriate time …,” Akhoundi said today.
The Iranian road and urbanization minister underlined that the international conference can play an effective role in the reconstruction of Syria.
“I am optimistic about the future of Syria and I think that in the housing and transportation sections we can have further cooperation and the Iranian Railway can be connected to Syria via Iraq,” Akhoundi added.
Al-Zaabi, for his part, pointed to the latest status of the Syrian government, and said, “Syrian cities are under government control and tranquility will return to Syria.”
In September, the Syrian government earmarked 50 billion Syrian pounds ($250 million) for reconstruction next year.
“The government has increased its budget spending for emergency aid and reconstruction for 2014 to 50 billion Syrian pounds,” AFP quoted Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi as saying.
In 2013, the Syrian government budget for aid and reconstruction was 30 billion pounds.
Iranian officials have repeatedly underlined that Tehran is in favor of negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition groups to create stability in the Middle Eastern country.
Last November, Iran hosted a meeting between the representatives of the Syrian government and opposition to encourage them to start talks to find a political solution to their problems. The National Dialogue Conference kicked off work in Tehran mid November with the motto of ‘No to Violence, Yes to Democracy”.
October 22nd, 2013, 8:50 am
Tara said:
The regime pundits are now scrambling to demonize the KSA and prince Bandar. Unless Buthina has sex tapes on prince Bandar or the king. Dwelling on human right abuse in the kingdom ain’t making the cut for demonization the kingdom as prohibiting women from driving pales in comparison to the Persians, HA and the regime snipers targeting fetuses in mother’s womb.
I suggest to save your breath and go and have a cigarette.. You are wasting your time.
October 22nd, 2013, 9:04 am
Sami said:
It is something else to go on and on about other countries human rights record while turning a blind eye at the abhorrent level of the thuggish evilly that is the Syrian regime.
October 22nd, 2013, 9:13 am
zoo said:
Kerry’s declaration at end of the ‘reduced’ FOS meeting in London
Contrary to Hague’s theatrical declarations, Kerry does not predefine what role Bashar al Assad may or may not play in the future of Syria.
October 22nd, 2013, 11:21 am
zoo said:
Jarba blew it up. I doubt Geneva 2 will ever happen.
In his fierce declaration after the meeting of the 11 in London, Jarba puts so many new conditions, including Bashar’s resignation and the rejection of Iran’s participation that there is little chance that that meeting will ever happen.
Strangely Jarba even refers to chapter 7 while this is part of the UNSC Chemical resolution.
Obviously through Jarba, the Saudis are trying to humiliate the USA by saying NO to Geneva. It is simply a declaration of war.
October 22nd, 2013, 11:34 am
zoo said:
Bashar al Assad was totally right ahead of the FOS meeting in London: Pumped by humiliated, fearful and fulminating Saudi Arabia, the opposition is not ready to negotiate or even to go to Geneva
Syria peace talks plans in jeopardy after opposition, Saudi moves
Source: Reuters – Tue, 22 Oct 2013 03:08 PM
http://www.trust.org/item/20131022145813-30bpa/?source=search
* Syrian opposition to shun peace talks unless Assad exit is goal
* Confident Assad talks of running for re-election next year
* Saudi Arabia plans to halt cooperation with United States on Syria – source
By Arshad Mohammed and Peter Griffiths
LONDON, Oct 22 (Reuters) – Plans for talks to end the fighting in Syria were in jeopardy on Tuesday after the opposition refused to attend unless President Bashar al-Assad is forced from power and a furious Saudi Arabia made clear it would no longer co-operate with the United States over the civil war.
…
Prince Bandar bin Sultan told European diplomats that Washington had failed to act on Syria among other Middle Eastern issues, according to a source close to Saudi policy. “The shift away from the U.S. is a major one,” the source said.
There would be no further coordination with the United States over the war in Syria, where the Saudis have armed and financed rebel groups fighting Assad, the source said.
Saudi anger boiled over after Washington refrained from military strikes in response to a poison gas attack in Damascus in August when Assad agreed to give up his chemical arsenal.
Saudi Arabia is also concerned about signs of a tentative reconciliation between Washington and Tehran, the Saudis old enemy, which may be invited to Geneva.
October 22nd, 2013, 11:46 am
zoo said:
Islamist rebels fight army for Christian town in Syria
11:27 a.m. EDT, October 22, 2013
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Islamist rebels battled Syrian government forces on Tuesday to retain control of a historic Christian town which the insurgents has stormed a day earlier, residents said.
“There is a huge on-off battle here now, the army even used fighter jets,” said one female resident of Sadad, a town that was mentioned in the Bible.
The town is located amid several villages that support the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.
It also lies next to several arms depots and opposition activists said the raid by the al Qaeda linked-rebels was for military reasons, not religiously motivated.
The clashes could nevertheless raise anxieties among the Christian minority, who have generally tried to stay on the sidelines of sectarian conflict pitting majority Sunni Muslims against the Alawite minority and which has overshadowed the revolt against four decades of Assad family rule of Syria.
“After rebels stormed the town yesterday, they entered the main square and spoke to us on loudspeakers, telling us to stay inside. They killed anyone found in the streets,” said a resident named Elias, speaking by phone. “They didn’t come inside people’s homes though.”
Residents estimated that nine people were killed then.
They also said no government soldiers or paramilitary forces other than police had been in Sadad. Opposition activists said the town was used to launch rockets into nearby rebel-held areas.
Sources on both sides said another aim of the rebel assault was to break into Sadad’s hospital to seize medical supplies.
One resident said that by Tuesday morning the rebels seemed to have disappeared.
“We assumed it was because the army was on its way. It turned out they were in hiding in the orchards and the fields and they ambushed the army when it came,” one woman said, declining to give her name.
Sadad is strategically located between the central city of Homs, 60 km (37 miles) away, and the capital Damascus, 100 km (62 miles) away.
October 22nd, 2013, 11:50 am
Tara said:
Good move by the Saudis/Jarba. I had no doubt that Jarba/ the Saudis will not negotiate while Syria is ruled by the criminal chemical retard.
The war continues meanwhile Obama and the towel head mullahs can play Salwa ya Salwa.
And the war should be brought on to Damascus proper and the coast.
October 22nd, 2013, 12:09 pm
zoo said:
After another FOS fiasco where Saudi Arabia openly showed its aggressivity against Iran and its refusal to any negotiation, it is obvious that the looming battle of Qalamoon will happen with the help of Hezbollah to prove again to Saudi Arabia, after Qusayr, that whatever help they will give to their Islamist mercenaries, it has no chance to win any battle against Iran’s allies.
That battle is a necessary response to Saudi Arabia’s insults and arrogance.
October 22nd, 2013, 12:12 pm
Akbar Palace said:
Actions Speak Louder than Words
And the war should be brought on to Damascus proper and the coast.
Tara,
I, of course, agree with everything you say, except for one thing. The princes of the KSA would get more of my respect if they took one of those hundreds of beautiful F-16s we sell them and actually use them.
Regards.
October 22nd, 2013, 2:24 pm
ALAN said:
Volgograd /Russian Boston /! global journalism no interest in it ! Deaf, dumb, and deafness
http://rt.com/news/bus-blast-volgograd-russia-541/
Public transport terror acts in Russia
Over the last decade, almost 300 people have been killed in terror attacks targeting public transport in Russia. Most of those were carried out by suicide bombers.
September 2003: Two explosions in a passenger train in Stavropol region kill seven and injure 80.
December 2003: A suicide bomber blows herself up in a train arriving to Yessentuki, Stavropol Region, killing 44 people and injuring 156 others.
February 2004: A suicide bomb blast in the Moscow metro kills 42 people and injures 250 others. The train was traveling from Avtozavodskaya station to Paveletskaya station.
August 2004: Two suicide bombers trigger explosive devices in Russian passenger planes Tu-154 and Tu-134, causing them to crash. Ninety people are killed in the terror acts. Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev claims personal responsibility.
August 2004: A suicide bomb blast kills 10 people and injures 90 others near the Moscow underground’s Rizhskaya station.
August 2007: A rail track explosion causes the Nevsky Express to crash. The train was en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Sixty people are injured.
October 2007: A bus explosion kills eight and injures over 60 others in the city of Tolyatti, Samara Oblast.
November 2008: A suicide bomber blows herself up near a passenger shuttle bus in Vladikavkaz, killing 12 people and injuring 41 others.
November 2009: A terrorist blast causes the Nesky Express to crash for a second time. Twenty-eight people are killed and 95 others injured.
March 2010: Forty-one people are killed and 85 others injured in two suicide bomb blasts in Moscow metro stations Park Kultury and Lubyanka. Chechen Islamist militant boss Doku Umarov claims responsibility for the terror acts.
January 2011: The suicide attack on the arrivals area at Domodedovo International Airport kills 36 people and injured 180 others. Umarov also says he ordered the deadly bomb attack.
http://rt.com/news/volgograd-blast-militant-wife-518/
October 22nd, 2013, 2:33 pm
Observer said:
No comment on this news. RT did not publish anything about it.
What goes around comes around.
AP, the F 16 and F 15 we sell to KSA are meant to keep the family in place. They are meant to crush dissent. Now if the house is to be threatened by outside powers it will be used of course.
In the meantime, there will be the use of world wide players with various denominations to bring down the house of iPad.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/10/22/attackers-set-fire-to-muslim-prayer-house-in-russia-blast-rocked-volgograd/
October 22nd, 2013, 3:05 pm
Akbar Palace said:
They are meant to crush dissent.
Observer,
If what you’re saying is true, then I see no reason to congratulate the KofSA. I just find what you’re saying hard to believe. OTOH, Syria is an example that backs your claim.
October 22nd, 2013, 4:03 pm
zoo said:
The Saudis talk a good game about Islam and the Arab world, so why can’t they lead 22 Arab states and the 57 Muslim-majority states to do something about Syria? They whine about Iran, so why don’t they go fight the Iranians? When the Saudis had the chance to fight Iran they bribed the Iraqis to die in droves for them in the 1980s, then turned around and begged the Americans to fight Saddam in 1990. The whole world has been abused by the kingdom, but rather than stand up to its charade at the UN, the world begs and the analysts take their tantrums seriously.
The Saudis should never have been offered a seat on the Security Council. It is time to stop handing out presents to cruel and backward countries.
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Terra-incognita-Saudi-Arabias-Security-Council-charade-329453
October 22nd, 2013, 4:16 pm
omen said:
this goes out to the regime’s number one human rights defender:
ZOOOOOO!
zoo should have won the nobel for being such a tireless champion.
October 22nd, 2013, 4:20 pm
ALAN said:
Saudi spy chief warns of ‘major shift’ in ties with US
Saudi Arabia intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan has said the Gulf kingdom plans to reduce cooperation with the US in protest over Washington’s Syria and Iran policies, according to media reports.
Are there any comments released by the White House?
October 22nd, 2013, 4:25 pm
Tara said:
AP,
I think the KSA is more effective working behind the veil as opposed to direct combat. I just do not believe that a direct intervention by the Saudis using their F16 would abruptly make us win the battle.
October 22nd, 2013, 4:25 pm
Tara said:
Akbar Palace,
Beside that, no one is willing to physically lift a finger for someone else. I thought the jews know that lesson well?
Saudis are not expected to actually fight the fight but they will materially and morally support the revolution because they share a common enemy with the revolution and also because they feel for their brethren.
October 22nd, 2013, 4:36 pm
ALAN said:
Mr. Putin!
It is an appropriate time for collective cooperation with China , United States to containment the frivolity of Saudi Arabia! go ahead please!
October 22nd, 2013, 4:48 pm
ALAN said:
Kurdish fighters threaten new fight in Turkey as Syria clashes intensify
http://breakingnews.sy/en/article/27497.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Net+News+Global&utm_term=Net+News+Global&utm_content=News+von+Net+News+Global
October 22nd, 2013, 4:53 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
So now Putin has alan’s permission. Great.
October 22nd, 2013, 4:55 pm
ALAN said:
ISIS fighter from Kosovo praises jihad in Syria
A jihadist from Kosovo recently appeared on a video from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (or Levant), one of al Qaeda’s two main branches in Syria, to praise jihad and encourage others to fight in the country. The Kosovo jihadist’s statement was released just one week prior to news that more than 1,000 Europeans, including 150 from Kosovo, are now thought to be fighting inside Syria.
The Kosovan jihadist, known as Abu Abdullah al Kosovi, “speaks in his native tongue” from the city of Azaz in Aleppo province in northern Syria, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which obtained and translated the statement.
“The most pleasurable thing in life is jihad,” al Kosovi says, while imploring Muslims in Europe and throughout the world to put aside their Western comforts and fight in the trenches in Syria.
In the past, the ISIS has distributed speeches by fighters from China, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Kazakhstan. And foreign fighters are known to both fill leadership positions and fight in the ranks of the ISIS. Abu Omar al Chechen (or al Shishani), the leader of the Muhajireen Army, which fights under the command of the ISIS, also is featured in ISIS propaganda.
ISIS propaganda seeks to attract potential recruits from a wide range of nationalities, including those from outside the Middle East. The al Qaeda group has issued English-language posters “with titles such as ‘Virtues of Jihad,’ ‘Virtues of Shooting,’ and ‘Bringing Mankind into Light,'” according to SITE….
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/10/isis_fighter_from_ko.php
984. SYRIAN HAMSTER
‘ll tell you a secret: the 982 has a decent energy! learn!
October 22nd, 2013, 5:14 pm
ALAN said:
………… “Syria is a strategic prize for Saudi Arabia and it will do whatever it takes, even if that means standing up to the U.S.,” said Theodore Karasik, a security and political affairs analyst at the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis. “Increasingly, Saudi officials are seeing Washington as an obstacle and not a partner.”
http://www.dailyrepublic.com/usworld/syria-opposition-under-pressure-to-negotiate/
October 22nd, 2013, 5:25 pm
Tara said:
Not trying to rub in… The mullahs are absolutely not allowed in.
?????? (????): ???? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ??????? (????????)
????? ???????? ?????? ???? ?????? ????????? ??????? ???? “???? ??????” ???????? ?? ????? “???? 2”? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ????????? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ??????????. ???? ???????? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ???????. ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ???????? ????? ??? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ???????? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ???????.
???? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ???????? ????? ????. ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ??????? ???????, ???????? ????? ?? ??? ???????.
????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ???????, ?????? ?????? ???? ???????? ?? ???????.
???? ?????? ???? ?????? ????? ???????? ?????? ????, ????? ????? ????????? ?? ??? ???????? ?? ???? ????? ??????, ???????? ???? ???? ????????, ????? ??? ????? ?????? (??????).
??? ????? ??????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ?? ???????? ??? ???? ????? ??????, ????? ??? ??? ??????? ????? ???????? ???? ??? ?????, ???????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ????????? ?? 21 ?????/?? ??????.
???? ??? ??? ???? ???? ????????? ???? ???? ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ???????. ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? -??? ?????? ?????? ????????- ???? ????? ??????? ????? ???? ??? ????? ?? ???????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????.
????: ????? ??? ?? ????? ????? (????????)
?? ?????
?? ????, ??? ???? ???????? ???????? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ???? ??? 11 ???? ??? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ?????, ???? ??????? ?????, ???? ??????? ?????????? ????????.
????? ?? ????? ??? ?? ????? ?????, ???????? ?? ???? ????????? ??? ?????? ??????????, ????? ?? ??????? ??? ?? ???? “??????” ??? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????????.
????? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ????????? ????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ?? ?????? “?????? ?????” ????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ??? ????? ???????? ??????. ??? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ??? ???????? ???????? ???????, ???? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ???????? ?? ????.
????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ????????? ??????? ???????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ???????, ???? ??? ????????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ??????.
???? ???? ??????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ??? 23 ?? ????? ??????, ??? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ??? ??? ?? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ?????.
??? ???????? ????? ?????, ??? ???? ???????? ???????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ???? ??? ?? ?????/?????? 2012. ?????? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ?????? ????? ????????, ???? ?? ???? ???? ?????. ??? ?? ???? ??? ???.
????? ???? ????? ???? ?????? (??????)
?????? ??????????
???? ???? ??? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ???????? ???? ??? ??????, ????? ?? ?????? ???????? ????? ?????? ??? ???????? ??????.
???? ???? ?? ???? ????????? ????????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ??????????, ????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ????.
???? ????? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ???? ?? ????? ????????? ??????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? 2014.
??? ???? ???????? ???????? ???????? ??????? ??? ???????? ?????? ????, ???? ?? ???????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ??? ???????, ????? ?? ??????? ???????? ???? ?????? ?????? ???????, ????? ??? ?????? “??????”.
???? ?? ??? ???????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?????????, ????? ?????, ??????, ????? ??? ????? ???? ?? ????????? ???????? ????????, ??? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ??????…..
October 22nd, 2013, 5:31 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Folks, take note: alan is now selling red bull.
October 22nd, 2013, 5:34 pm
ALAN said:
from Landis twitter
http://youtu.be/XHl1JnQoIWQ?t=3m34s
from twitter DrMarcusP
At the scene of every Islamist terrorist act in the world, is a sign post pointing to Saudi Arabia.
October 22nd, 2013, 5:44 pm
Sami said:
Personally I find it rather amusing how Alan/Citizen is addressing Putin through SyriaComment’s comment section.
The delusion that Putin somehow has the time to read the comment section of a blog is right in line with delusion caused by supporting the thug Assad.
October 22nd, 2013, 5:53 pm
Sami said:
Haha RedByk gives you wings!
October 22nd, 2013, 5:55 pm
ALAN said:
From the very moment the World knew anything at all about a Syrian “crisis” the Israelis and their puppets the Americans had planned, long in advance, the destruction of Assad and his government. This is simply the first bloody step on the road to an even bloodier showdown with Iran. All the efforts made by Russia, amongst others, to bring about a peaceful resolution to this trouble – instigated by the US and Israel – will be scattered to the four winds. The war-mongers are determined on carnage and barbarism! As soon as this REAL crisis about money in the US is over, the dogs of war will be released!
Kevin mcHugh
October 22nd, 2013, 6:23 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
ALAN,
Descend to planet earth !
October 22nd, 2013, 6:28 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
I am usually against animals´abuse. Exceptionally in this case I think Assad must be punished for a behaviour that is much wilder than that of any animal.
October 22nd, 2013, 6:32 pm
ALAN said:
Mustafa ya Mustafa
http://youtu.be/99-RDHILwiU?t=2s
October 22nd, 2013, 6:52 pm
ALAN said:
Syria Blowback: EU turning blind eye to growing influence of radical Jihadists’
http://youtu.be/Q2xcZ0JS7oY?t=1s
October 22nd, 2013, 6:58 pm
ALAN said:
in order to Jihad Against whom? Against Abel? Or against Cain? Qasion still crying!!!
October 22nd, 2013, 7:08 pm
Tara said:
Sami,
I also wondered why does Mina say djihad? Why dose Apple refer to herself as we? Why does Ziad and Mina think that we will believe he is Sunni? Why does Zoo think that every one and his brother is humiliated and Batta is the only proud person on the face if the earth? Why dose Alan talk to Putin on SC?
I must say though, reading delusion is quite entreating if not at time sad that people consciously degrade themselves..
October 22nd, 2013, 7:26 pm
Tara said:
I thought that the US want to embolden Assad and his militia to combat the “terrorist” and want Assad to stay at least until then ? Read and weep..
FOS communiqué: Assad has no role in Syria.
“When the transitional governing body is established, Assad and his close associates with blood on their hands will have no role in Syria,” declared the London 11 – the core members of the Friends of Syria group. Saudi Arabia, embroiled in a sharp public spat with the US over its policies towards both Syria and Iran, had also backed the communique, Kerry said.
Ahmed Jarba, president of the opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC), said in his opening remarks at the talks that Assad could not stay. “The Sultan must leave,” he insisted. “Geneva cannot succeed and we cannot take part if it allows Assad to gain more time to spill the blood of our people while the world looks on.” Diplomats said the communique’s words about Assad and associates were designed to address precisely that point.
Hague said the crisis needed a speedy solution, but admitted that formidable obstacles remain because Moscow and Beijing refuse to call explicitly for the Syrian leader’s departure. “We are not setting a precondition for Geneva,” Hague told reporters. “We are making clear our expectation of the outcome. Mutual consent means it can only be agreed with the consent of the Syrian National Coalition so Assad would play no role in the future government of Syria.” Kerry added: “There is no way that mutual consent includes Bashar al-Assad.”
October 22nd, 2013, 7:56 pm
zoo said:
Who cares what Hague and Kerry say?
Before them Clinton, Obama , Sarkozy, Juppe said a lot of stupidities and after 3 years none of their theatrical announcements became a reality.
As Clinton moved to the garage, Kerry and Hague will follow her and everything they said will be forgotten.
Who remember the ineptia that Ghaliun said, Hitto or the other SNC ‘presidents’ ? Where are they now? back in their garage, where puppet Jarba will soon join them.
The only reality is that Bashar al Assad and all his government are still here, still united, still strong, still supported by increasingly more Syrians while the opposition is divided, polluted, increasingly suspicious, their ‘heroes’ the Moslem Brotherhood are now hunted as criminals in all the Arab world, their main supporters Qatar and Turkey back in their garage and now ‘demented’ Saudi Arabia is trying to catch up by sulking and whining.
“Half men” can’t win any war.
October 22nd, 2013, 8:34 pm
omen said:
hear hear
the blog isn’t the same without him.
he was like a necessary anchor.
i didn’t even know him that well but know enough to know the room is adrift without him.
uzair mentioned he saw him posting at off the wall. i am unfamiliar with how that blog works.
can somebody make entreaties to have him return? i’ll buy him a fruit basket if he does.
argh, come on, khaldoun. forgive a grudge this one time??
remind him rev is gone. that should serve as an inducement.
otherwise, i will resort to blind shoutouts on twitter calling for his return.
October 22nd, 2013, 8:50 pm
Tara said:
Zoo,
The reality is that after 3 years, Battal lost 60% of the Syrian territories, burned the country, killed 110,000 Syrians, displaced 5 millions, sowed sectarian hatred for generations to come, sacrificed the country soverinty to the Iranians and Al Qaeda, lost his chemical deterrence weapons, hijacked his sect risking future revenge against them or becoming social pariah, unmasked the real face of the resistance, drove HA, once reverend by all Arabs, into political suicide turning it into a contempted sectarian militia, made Iran hated by all of the Arabs, brought the economy down and sooner or later will be killed Qaddafi-style.
Half-men can’t win indeed.
October 22nd, 2013, 9:09 pm
Ghufran said:
Ksa wants a cease fire:
??? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ????????? ??????? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? “?? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ???????? ?????? ?????????”.
???? ???????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ?? “?????? ?????? ????? ?? ?? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ???????”? ????? ??? ?? “???????? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ?????? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ?????”.
Jarba, KSA’s man in the NC wants Iran and Assad out to attend Geneva 2
October 22nd, 2013, 10:36 pm
omen said:
for someone who doesn’t care, you keep a keen and wary eye on any developments regarding talks discussing geneva.
nervous?
don’t you understand bashar is still standing because the west allows him to remain?
October 22nd, 2013, 10:37 pm
apple_mini said:
It is hilarious to watch Saudi king and princes whining to its master. With abound newly discovered energy to help US to gain energy independence in a cheap way, also the path open to establish improved relationship with Iran, the shameless and pragmatic US foreign policy will take turns according to its national interest. The internal pressure in US from distancing its political alliance with the backward and repressive Saudi kingdom has been strong.
Those Saudi royal figures are very worried. Not because US will eventually abandon them or Saudi will be exposed to stronger Iran. The biggest worry comes from the inevitable collapse of the monarchy ruling structure. For Saudi general population who aspire for political freedom and human rights, it is a promising change.
October 22nd, 2013, 11:00 pm
omen said:
kerry’s remarks from the london 11 conference. here the bloodless betrayer admits he’s being trixie. bill call this a catch-22:
i’m sure placing faith in putin will settle everything.
i have to hand it to people willing to wade through minutiae & deconstructing it in order to aid in our understanding. they have a stronger stomache than i. hearing kerry being disingenously cute, thinking he’s being oh so clever while people are dying – makes me want to puke.
October 22nd, 2013, 11:06 pm
zoo said:
100 Ghufran
I think there are many signs that a power struggle is going on within the ‘demented’ Saudi royal family.
Saudi Arabia was with 10 other countries in London to call for the peace conference while Jarba announced indirectly that the opposition won’t attend it until its conditions are met.
Like in Qatar, some princes are bypassing the senile King and are trying to take charge of the Syrian situation. Bandar ben Sultan is the one manipulating Jarba and funding the Islamists. He is the one who threatened the USA of changing the relation. He is the HBJ of Saudi Arabia, arrogant and ruthless.
This is hilarious. Saudi Arabia without the USA military protection is a little lamb that can be eaten alive by Iran. Their army is just made of billions of dollars of cartoons.
As Saudi Arabia cannot count on any other power for its protection, it is totally dependent on the USA.
Instead of worrying about a the new flirt of the USA with Iran, it should be reassured that the USA can contain Iran.
Yet the furor has more to do with the realization of isolation and weakness.Without Mobarak and after the Moslem Brotherhood episode, Egypt is not powerful anymore. The only powerful regional Sunni ally left is Turkey. Saudi Arabia hates Turkey as it is competing with it for the Sunnis leadership in the region. Therefore Sunni Saudi Arabia feel increasingly threaten militarily and ideologically by the growing power of the Shias in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria.. That is their centuries old worst nightmare.
Like Qatar that supported the rebels and then had to withdraw, Saudi Arabia will get the same fate.
The Qalamoon battle, if it takes place may be to Bandar Ben Sultan and Saudi Arabia what Al Qusayr has been to HBJ and Qatar.
October 22nd, 2013, 11:44 pm
omen said:
this ME pundit i follow predicts ksa & qatar cooperation will start to gain traction. wonder what that would look like.
despite apple’s allusion to fracking, still not enough for the US to wean off middle east imports.
As Saudi Arabia cannot count on any other power for its protection, it is totally dependent on the USA.
is sanction starved iran planning to invade ksa soon?? they’re having trouble feeding their own people. if it weren’t for assad’s enemy turkey fronting them gold, iran would be in a deeper hole.
the US is dependent upon the saudis as well. this is not a one way street. it’s not for nothing every american president trek’s over to the kingdom, bows down before the man to kiss the king’s ring.
saudis have oil. they can leverage that pressure point anytime they want. saudis have the power to derail our economy. it would be retarded to keep pissing them off. anybody bother to ask what the saudis’ redline might happen to be?
October 23rd, 2013, 12:40 am
Juergen said:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=557770654277869&set=a.531072696947665.1073741825.175539832500955&type=1&theater
October 23rd, 2013, 12:55 am
Juergen said:
incredible picture in DER SPIEGEL
A shop which was selling mazoot was targeted by the Assad militia, and exploded. DER SPIEGEL commented: an almost daily action which is seen on the streets of Aleppo.
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/syrien-in-der-umkaempften-stadt-aleppo-explodiert-ein-geschaeft-a-929097.html
October 23rd, 2013, 12:59 am
omen said:
p.s. oh, by the way, the saudis threatened to burn down lebanon if hezbollah interfered with qalamoon.
have no idea how to read that. are the saudis in the habit of bluffing?
might want to stock up, zoo, just in case.
October 23rd, 2013, 2:25 am
SimoHurtta said:
This is hilarious. Saudi Arabia without the USA military protection is a little lamb that can be eaten alive by Iran. Their army is just made of billions of dollars of cartoons.
As Saudi Arabia cannot count on any other power for its protection, it is totally dependent on the USA.
Instead of worrying about a the new flirt of the USA with Iran, it should be reassured that the USA can contain Iran.
Well Saudi Arabia is not a little lamb. It has a military in some sectors near the power what Israel has (besides the WMD sector). Saudis have much modern planes and a 150,000 men army well equipped. Saudis expenditures for “defence” are 57 billion (8.8 % GDP) is equal to that of France’s. Iran’s military expenditures are 9 billion (1.8 % of GDP) and Israel’s 15 billion (6.2% of GDP). Saudis are in 2012 the nation number 7 with military expenditures, Iran number 25. Even Algeria uses more money to its military than Iran does.
Iran has no means to attack and invade Saudi Arabia. Iran has no real competitive air force to do that, it has no naval landing capasity. On the other hand Saudis do not have enough man power to invade Iran. The only state in region which can credibly militarily threaten Saudi Arabia (and Iran) is Israel.
The Saudi royal families real problems is not Iran, their problems are domestic and acute. Iran is only a suitable enemy for Saudi royals to traditionally turn away nation’s focus from the real problem. However Saudis have much economic moment as capital investor, oil exporter and weapon market with USA and EU. Industrially and scientifically Saudi Arabia is no match to the more populous Iran on longer run. If Iran can arrange its connections with west (=USA) Iran will become more important for the world compared to what Saudi Arabia can ever be.
These optimistic US visions USA becoming self-sufficient with crude oil is mostly propaganda. The crude oil USA produced itself in 2012 was 6.5 million barrels daily and the import of oil in 2012 was 8.5 million barrels daily. To build such increase in domestic oil drilling and production will take long time and cost astronomic sums. The five largest oil import countries in 2012 for USA are: 1. Canada (1,078,412), 2. Saudi Arabia (499,595), 3. Mexico (378,692), 4. Venezuela (351,220) and 5. Russia (174,612).
What was interesting in the EIA oil import statistics was that in 2002 290 million barrels oil were imported to USA from Saddam’s Iraq. Never since the invasion in 2003 USA has been able to get from Iraq yearly that amount. At the best the import was 240 million barrels in 2004 and was 174 million barrels in 2012. It was not for oil … or was it?
October 23rd, 2013, 7:10 am
zoo said:
Simortha
I agree with your assessment on the costs of the military expenditures in Saudi Arabia and its apparent military power.
Yet huge expenditures and accumulation of weapons do not mean real military capability. The Saudi army has not been involved in any war for decades and is probably totally inefficient. Most of the technicians in the army are foreigners and the Saudis only occupy “managerial’ positions. Otherwise why hasn’t Saudi Arabia attacked Syria itself instead of asking the USA and the West to do so? Why didn’t they fight against Iraq that invaded Kuwait and instead called the West to do it? Why haven’t they threaten Iran militarily to have it withdrawn from the UAE Islands they claim Iran illegally occupy. The Saudi military is just a facade and they know it. That’s why they badly need the USA protection.
The only two powers Saudi Arabia has is the oil and the presence of the holy sites of Islam that give it an aura and the assurance of being the leader of the Islamic world.
They now feel threaten on both of their pillars.
First Erdogan’s Turkey wanted to become an alternative Islamic regional leadership. That worried Saudi Arabia and it did everything it could to put it down ( the fall of the MB).
Iran has no intention of invading Saudi Arabia as it has never invaded any country for centuries. Besides its natural resources, it has a huge scientific and cultural intellectual power, is much more open to the West and Shiism is much more progressive than Wahabbism. Overall it has a great potential of becoming a very strong regional power if it solves its issues with the West.
While Iran is politically rather stable, internal fights for power are going on within thew Saud family and sooner or later a ‘regime change’ will happen there.
These events, including the fiasco of Syria, have put Saudi Arabia in a such a weak position that they found it necessary to make some theatrical announcements to try to rehabilitate their ‘power’ in the eyes of to the Arabs, the Islamic world and the international community.
The question is who are they fooling?
October 23rd, 2013, 7:44 am
zoo said:
‘Prince Turki al-Faisal called Obama’s policies in Syria “lamentable”
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/84547/World/Region/Saudi-Arabia-warns-of-shift-away-from-US-over-Syri.aspx
“The shift away from the US is a major one,” the source said. “Saudi doesn’t want to find itself any longer in a situation where it is dependent.”
It was not immediately clear whether the reported statements by Prince Bandar, who was the Saudi ambassador to Washington for 22 years, had the full backing of King Abdullah.
The growing breach between the United States and Saudi Arabia was also on display in Washington, where another senior Saudi prince criticized Obama’s Middle East policies, accusing him of “dithering” on Syria and Israeli-Palestinian peace.
In unusually blunt public remarks, Prince Turki al-Faisal called Obama’s policies in Syria “lamentable” and ridiculed a US-Russian deal to eliminate Assad’s chemical weapons. He suggested it was a ruse to let Obama avoid military action in Syria.
“The current charade of international control over Bashar’s chemical arsenal would be funny if it were not so blatantly perfidious. And designed not only to give Mr. Obama an opportunity to back down (from military strikes), but also to help Assad to butcher his people,” said Prince Turki, a member of the Saudi royal family and former director of Saudi intelligence.
October 23rd, 2013, 7:55 am
Akbar Palace said:
Who is Going to Help Syria NewZ
I think the KSA is more effective working behind the veil as opposed to direct combat. I just do not believe that a direct intervention by the Saudis using their F16 would abruptly make us win the battle.
Tara,
As you probably can guess, I’ve had my “issues” with the KSA for a long time. Yes, at least they are trying to help their people, who are being ravaged by Iran and their lackeys. And if their “working behind the veil” includes arming these crazy jihadist groups like al-Nusra, then I don’t know if that is the best way to help. Like I said, I would respect the Saudis a lot more if they took all these weapon systems we’ve sold them, and used them out in the open. Like men. The Saudis fought Saddam Hussein, they need to fight Assad.
Beside that, no one is willing to physically lift a finger for someone else. I thought the jews know that lesson well?
Tara,
Threee years ago, before Assad decided he needed to kill demonstrators who refused to kiss his posters, arab clerics and leaders in Syria were calling for “Death to the Jews” and “Death to Israel”.
And of all people, you’re expecting Jews to rush to save Syrians??
Tara, if tomorrow Israel were annihilated by an Iranian nuke, I dare say the arabs and Muslims of the world would create a new Holiday and give out sweets just like they did on 9-11.
Let’s put things in perspective. Jews have suffered and have survived, but that doesn’t make us super-human. We understand the evil that Assad represents and the human tragedy he has caused, and the anguish suffered by Syrians, but expecting us to enter a war and sacrifice our own people to help those that hate us is simply asking too much. All we can do is support a people’s human rights and give charity in the form of aide and medical care. IMHO, arabs have to solve this “family” problem on their own. And of course, no arab organization even has the cojones to ASK for Israeli help. That would be too distasteful to even imagine.
Saudis are not expected to actually fight the fight but they will materially and morally support the revolution because they share a common enemy with the revolution and also because they feel for their brethren.
Tara,
Why in G-d’s name would they NOT be “expected to actually fight the fight”??????
But you want Israel to “fight the fight”??
Here’s the deal. If the arab states ASK Israel to form an army with the rest of the Arab League to replace Assad with a democratic leader, I will write a letter to the GOI urging that they join such a coalition.
Sincerely,
AP
October 23rd, 2013, 8:23 am
SimoHurtta said:
Well Zoo if Saudis had attacked Syria it would have be done bringing troops to Jordan. And the King there would not have liked that 50,000 – 100,000 Saudi soldiers use his country as the base for attack. Neither would Israel have tolerated such operation and Saudi army in the north, east and south of Israel.
Surely the military might of Saudis is not equal to the money they use for the military, but still they are superior compared to Iran which they portray as the main enemy.
The Saudi royal family ability to hold their power depends obviously of “creating” so much conservative “over religious” Sunni states around them as possible. Even failed Muslim states seem to fit for them. Saudis certainly would not like to see a relative secular democratic new Syria. It would be difficult to explain to own citizens why Syrians brothers can have democracy, but Saudis not.
October 23rd, 2013, 8:28 am
Ghat Al Bird said:
So basically the two Bs have come to an understanding that is expected to change the US policy in regards to Syria and Iran.
It must be that Bibi and Bandar have become desparate!
October 23rd, 2013, 9:51 am
AKbar Palace said:
Ghat Milk?
The only desperate people are the Syrians, who had their unelected government and their Iranian friends turn on them instead of the Great and Little Satan. I guess now we can say anyone asking for freedom is a Little Satan.
October 23rd, 2013, 9:56 am
zoo said:
Simmortha
Look at the comparison of Armed forces personel between Iran and KSA.
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/mil_arm_for_per-military-armed-forces-personnel
Also other elements
http://www.nationmaster.com/country/sa-saudi-arabia/mil-military
October 23rd, 2013, 10:11 am
Ziad said:
Conflicts of interest in the Syria debate
An analysis of the defense industry ties of experts and think tanks who commented on military intervention
During the public debate around the question of whether to attack Syria, Stephen Hadley, former national security adviser to George W. Bush, made a series of high-profile media appearances. Hadley argued strenuously for military intervention in appearances on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and Bloomberg TV, and authored a Washington Post op-ed headlined “To stop Iran, Obama must enforce red lines with Assad.”
In each case, Hadley’s audience was not informed that he serves as a director of Raytheon, the weapons manufacturer that makes the Tomahawk cruise missiles that were widely cited as a weapon of choice in a potential strike against Syria. Hadley earns $128,500 in annual cash compensation from the company and chairs its public affairs committee. He also owns 11,477 shares of Raytheon stock, which traded at all-time highs during the Syria debate ($77.65 on August 23, making Hadley’s share’s worth $891,189). Despite this financial stake, Hadley was presented to his audience as an experienced, independent national security expert.
Though Hadley’s undisclosed conflict is particularly egregious, it is not unique. The following report documents the industry ties of Hadley, 21 other media commentators, and seven think tanks that participated in the media debate around Syria. Like Hadley, these individuals and organizations have strong ties to defense contractors and other defense- and foreign policy-focused firms with a vested interest in the Syria debate, but they were presented to their audiences with a veneer of expertise and independence, as former military officials, retired diplomats, and independent think tanks.
The report offers a new look at an issue raised by David Barstow’s 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times series on the role military analysts played in promoting the Bush Administration’s narrative on Iraq. In addition to exposing coordination with the Pentagon, Barstow found that many cable news analysts had industry ties that were not disclosed on air.
http://public-accountability.org/2013/10/conflicts-of-interest-in-the-syria-debate/
October 23rd, 2013, 11:22 am
Ziad said:
‘This Is Not How a Protection Racket Is Supposed to Work’
Why the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are increasingly at odds.
When Saudi Arabia rejected its U.N. Security Council seat on Friday, the move caught nearly everyone off-guard. In retrospect, it shouldn’t have.
In recent months, the United States has increasingly pursued a foreign policy at odds with its Persian Gulf ally, scaling back assistance to the Saudi-backed Egyptian military, abruptly dropping its plans to attack Syria despite Saudi support, and entering into a new round of nuclear talks with the kingdom’s regional rival, Iran. According to U.N. diplomats and officials, the Security Council move merely reflected the Saudis’ deeper anxiety over the course of American diplomacy in the Middle East, exposing a deepening rift in one of America’s most important and longstanding alliances in the region. In short, Saudi Arabia’s U.N. snub was a sign of the monarchy’s mounting panic over the possible demise of its special relationship with Washington.
For decades, Riyadh and Washington have been bound by a basic tradeoff: America guarantees protection from potential predators in the region, while Saudi Arabia supplies the lifeblood –relatively inexpensive oil — to run the world economy and pumps billions each year into the U.S. arms industry. But America’s failure to back Saudi Arabia on matters it considers vital to its security is raising questions in Riyadh about the value of that exchange.
“This is not how a protection racket is supposed to work,” said Christopher Davidson, a scholar and author of After the Sheikhs: The Coming Collapse of the Gulf Monarchies. “Saudi Arabia is becoming increasingly dissatisfied with a relationship it thought it had in the bag, despite having handed over several percent of their GDP to Western arms companies.” As a result, he said, “Saudi Arabia is retreating into its shell of countries that surround it and who rely on its aid and good will.”
In recent months, Saudi Arabia has sought to take matters into its own hands.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/10/21/this_is_not_how_a_protection_racket_is_supposed_to_work#.Umc9soImfBo.twitter
October 23rd, 2013, 11:30 am
Ziad said:
Syria Crisis: New Global Balance in the Making
There is still a long and arduous road ahead for the Russian initiative, which defused the recent showdown around Syria. Nevertheless, it has cleared the way for the emergence of a new global order where Washington no longer calls the shots.
Difficult negotiations lie ahead of Russia’s initiative to get rid of Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal. Washington and Damascus are still far apart on many issues, not to mention that the Syrian side, in the words of President Bashar al-Assad, expects complementary steps from the US, “first and foremost among them is that the United States end its policy of aggression toward Syria.”
What happened in the days since President Barack Obama threatened to strike Syria, and what is the fate of the political settlement being discussed today between the US and Russia?
Close observers reveal that Moscow told its allies in Tehran and Damascus that the planned military operation was not at all limited as was claimed, but it would be the first phase of a wider campaign intended to soften up regime forces, which in turn would allow the opposition to surround Damascus and re-take Homs.
Syria’s allies took the matter seriously and moved quickly to mobilize their forces and prepare for a major confrontation, executing a defensive strategy that surprised even the Russians in its scale and the speed with which it was implemented. A special effort was placed on readying Syria’s strategic weapons, which was accompanied by messages relayed to the Americans about the consequences of any attack.
Moscow told their American contacts that Damascus, along with its allies Iran and Hezbollah, will not accept any kind of limited strike and are preparing themselves for a major confrontation, even suggesting that the Russians themselves cannot sit idly by and will support the regime, just as the US backs the opposition.
There were two crucial and loaded messages – one sent from Tehran and the other from Moscow – that had a powerful impact on the course of events, the sources say. The first was from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who told Oman’s Sultan Qaboos something along the lines of “whoever intends to destroy Syria should be prepared to lose their oil and gas in the region.”
The second came from Russian President Vladimir Putin who told his American counterpart that Syria is as important to his country as Israel is to the US, adding that Washington’s attack could destabilize the world, not just the region.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/syria-crisis-new-global-balance-making
October 23rd, 2013, 11:45 am
ghufran said:
Moaz was always a step ahead of some of the clowns at the NC:
??? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ???????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ???????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ??????? ???? ????? ????2.
? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ” ??????? ” ??? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ?? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ????????? ???????.
???? ????? ????2? ???: ” ?? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ?? ???????? ??????? ??? ?? ????? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ?? ??????? ???? ???????? ?????? “.
?????? ?????? ???????? ?? ????2 ???? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ??? ????????? ???????.
???? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ???????? ???: ” ???? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ????? “? ????? ??????: ” ???? ???? ???????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ??? ?? ???????? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ??????? “? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ????????.
???? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ??????? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ?????????? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ?? ???????? ????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??????.
????? ?????? ????? ???????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???????? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????????? ??? ?? ????????? ??????? ???? ?? ??????? ????? “??? ?????? ????? ?????? ????”? ????? ????????? ??????? ???? ???????? ??? ?? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????.
one particular problem with the NC is lack of political savvy, another problem is that their salaries are paid by foreign governments that have little interest in seeing a free and democratic political system in Syria.
October 23rd, 2013, 12:02 pm
SimoHurtta said:
1016. zoo said:
Simmortha
Look at the comparison of Armed forces personel between Iran and KSA.
Comparing armies with amount of personnel is in modern times not very relevant. The wars against Israel were a proof of that. Arab armies’ personnel amount exceeded greatly Israel’s. The quality and amount of “machines” is what counts in modern “traditional” wars. In guerilla type wars the role and quality of modern weapons is less significant, but exists.
Saudis have very modern equipment. For example KSA has 300 combat aircraft and ordered 150 new ones. Iran’s air force is very badly outdated. Despite the frequent announcement of new Iranian weapons and increasing domestic production capabilities and achievements, its army’s equipment is mainly from the “Shah era” and from war against Iraq.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equipment_of_the_Iranian_Army
Surely Iran is strong enough to make any invasion attempt of Iran’s territory very expensive for any attacker. But Iran is militarily to weak to make successful attacks against countries like KSA, UAE, Qatar or Oman. Which make the claims Iran being the region’s military hooligan rather baseless.
October 23rd, 2013, 12:51 pm
Tara said:
Akbar
“And of all people, you’re expecting Jews to rush to save Syrians??”
Akbar, I am not clear to why you are under the impression that I have ever wanted or stated that the Jews or the Israelis should do anything to help the Syrian revolution. I haven’t. Israel neither expected nor wanted to have anything to do with the Syrian revolution.
AIG has asked me this question once and I think I answered him in no equivocal terms.
October 23rd, 2013, 1:17 pm
Tara said:
What a “proud” Iranian slave Batta is !?
Inshallah he dies Qaddafi style. Inshallah he begs for mercy and he finds none.
Below is a sample of readers’ comments in regard to exchanging the kidnapped Lebanese shiaa with the imprisoned Syrian women. Why haven’t any freedom fighter thought of kidnapping Batta’s heinous mother and Sister in UAE to exchange them with Syrian women.
?? ????? ????? ?????? ????:?? ???? ??????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ??? ??? ???????!!??? ??????? ????? ??????,??? ??? ?????? ???? ????????? ?????????? ??? ??????? ???????? ???? ????????? ??? ????? ???? ????????? ???????? ?? ?? ???? ????????? ???????? ?? ??? ?????????? ????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ??????!??? ????? ?? ?? ??? ????? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ????
???? ???? ?????? ???????? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ??????? ???????? ? ???????? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ???? ? ??? ???? ????? ?? ?? ????? ?? ????? ?? ??????? ? ???????? ? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ? ?? ???? ?? ????? ? ??????? ? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ? ???????? ?? ???????? ?? ??? ????????? . ? ?? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ? ????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??? .
?? ??? ??????? ?? ????, ?? ???? ?????? ?? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? ? ?????? ??????!! ??? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ????… ???? ??? ?????, ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ??????.
October 23rd, 2013, 1:35 pm
Tara said:
Syrians are very well hearted and very peaceful people. Why haven’t any FSA thought of using Batta’s heinous mother and sister to put pressure on Assad to release political prisoners?! Syrians can no longer afford their good heart when dealing with the evil mullahs and their puppets and followers.
October 23rd, 2013, 1:45 pm
Akbar Palace said:
Israel neither expected nor wanted to have anything to do with the Syrian revolution.
Tara,
OK, then I misunderstood your comment. Sorry.
Just FYI, if it were my decision, the GOI should help if asked.
Also, I’m still having problems understanding SA’s approach. I know I’m not stupid, but I can’t explain certain things, and one of them is KSA refusal to use their military.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabian_Army
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Saudi_Air_Force
October 23rd, 2013, 1:56 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Simohurta,
Are you a japanese married to a syrian woman? I used to know a man from Japan who married a girl in the Abou Rummaneh Street during the 90´s. Are you the same? I do not believe. Any japanese in healthy mental state could not support Assad crazyness.
October 23rd, 2013, 2:49 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
There are respectable voices asking for Assad to be hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital instead of being shot in the face. Although there are no medical expectations of recovering young citizen Assad experts say he can live a quite life in the psychiatric. Terapy of electric shocks could be necessary.
October 23rd, 2013, 2:52 pm
Badr said:
Wishful thinking?
Putting Out the Syrian Fire
By RAMI G. KHOURI
“Once at the table, each of these four key drivers of the many wars within Syria would likely decide that an agreement best serves their strategic interests.”
October 23rd, 2013, 3:04 pm
omen said:
somebody pointed this out. said women detainees were released.
https://www.facebook.com/omar.edlbi1/posts/573633869351270
hopefully, someone will be kind enough to note how many…
October 23rd, 2013, 3:08 pm
zoo said:
Ghufran
The third reason is that besides Khatib, these expat opposition ‘puppets’ have a huge ego and a tiny brain
October 23rd, 2013, 3:09 pm
zoo said:
Damascus says ‘only Syrians’ will choose leader
October 23, 2013 09:42 PM
Agence France Presse
DAMASCUS: Damascus said on Wednesday that no foreign party will be involved in deciding the country’s leadership after Arab and Western governments said President Bashar al-Assad should play no future role.
“The Syrian people are the only ones who can choose their leader, and who can decide on Syria’s present and future,” the foreign ministry said.
“The Syrian people will not allow any foreign party to impose itself… in choosing a government, or in determining its powers and tasks.”
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Oct-23/235563-damascus-says-only-syrians-will-choose-leader.ashx#ixzz2iZedBwLy
October 23rd, 2013, 3:13 pm
ALAN said:
For medical skills here have no place! Be in the psychiatris for implementation!
October 23rd, 2013, 3:20 pm
zoo said:
A new approach to peace talks ?
Misdefining Syria’s civil war: Away from the reality
By SAMI MAHROUM
http://thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Misdefining+Syria%27s+civil+war%3A+Away+from+the+reality&NewsID=394712
The agreement reached between the United States and Russia to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons ties the disarmament process to negotiations aimed at ending the country’s civil war. That is surely a sensible approach. Unfortunately, two major problems with the proposed Geneva-based process will prevent it from achieving its goal. But an alternative formula might just work.
…
Thus, instead of insisting on a peace process that brings the regime and the opposition together, the political path to peace in Syria should bring the many different segments of Syrian society together, regardless of which side of the conflict they are on. Representatives of the Alawites, Christians, Druze, Kurds, and Sunnis, as well as representatives of non-religious groups and smaller minorities, should go to Geneva to help create a new political contract for a new Syria.
Nonetheless, moving from a two-party negotiation process to a multiparty process has its own hurdles. Multiparty negotiations tend to be more complicated and can drag on indefinitely. But they are also more democratic and more representative, and skilled negotiation design and facilitation can help to mitigate many of the challenges.
This is why it is important to set strict limits on the agenda. Agreement on, say, a commitment to a multi-confessional, secular, and democratic state should be enough. The framework for the transitional period can be borrowed from successful precedents like those established in South Africa and, more recently, Yemen. United Nations facilitators can help the parties involved reach agreements on a transitional government and a roadmap to a new constitution, referendum, and elections.
…
October 23rd, 2013, 3:24 pm
zoo said:
The Coalition insistence that they are the only organization that “represent” the Syrians is an insult to all Syrians.
I doubt many Syrians recognize themselves in this bunch of Saudi Arabia’s employees, most of them pathetic expats.
October 23rd, 2013, 3:29 pm
omen said:
zoo prefers iran be seated as representative overlord to all syrians.
he advocates syrians be enslaved to the mullahs.
zoo, why don’t you wish syrians to be free?
why do you hate syrians so?
October 23rd, 2013, 4:12 pm
ghufran said:
Only 13 women are released, these are the names:
???? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ???????? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? ?? ????????? ?????????? ?????????.
???? “?????? ??????? ????? ???????”? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????????.
????????: ???? ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ?-?-????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ?-?-????? ??? ???? ?? ???????? – ????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ??-?-???? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ?????? ??-?-????? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ???? -?? ???????? ??? ??-??-????? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ???? ?????? ????? ???????? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ??-??-???? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?? ???????? ?? ????? ?-?-????? ???????? ?????? ?? ????? ?-?-???? ???? ???????? ???? ???? ???????? ????? ?? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ???? ??????? ???? ??????.
Those who focus too much on Assad insist that the whole regime will collapse if Assad is removed, I think that is not true, the mentality of security forces and the ease at which they detain and torture Syrians, guilty or not, is much harder to change than replacing the man at the top, we have seen rebels copying regime behavior on many occasions and displaying an alarming degree of brutality and indifference towards human lives, it is obvious to me that this is a national disease and I am afraid it is deeply entrenched in the Syrian psyche now.
October 23rd, 2013, 4:13 pm
omen said:
There are respectable voices asking for Assad to be hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital instead of being shot in the face.
sure. tell the rebels to put assad’s head on ice after killing him.
scientists can study the brain even after he’s dead.
October 23rd, 2013, 4:33 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
1034. zoo
Right, the only one who represents syrians is Assad. And through democratic elections !!! The problem is that he represents 2 % of syrians.
October 23rd, 2013, 4:52 pm
ALAN said:
The Syrian People Alone Must Decide Who Stays and Who Goes
In Syria we have seen the operation of foreign mercenaries financed and paid for by Saudi Arabia and Qatar with military and logistic support from Turkey and Jordan, supported by US, UK, France and others, with a view to secure regime change. These criminalized gangs have nothing in common with the Syrian people, who are not ready to give up their centuries-old civilization of respecting all cultures and religious philosophies and the right of every Syrian to freedom of worship and belief.
Syria cannot be allowed to go the way of Afghanistan, Libya and Iraq, where sectarian and tribal divisions have been used to unleash permanent civil strife to better loot resources by the aggressors feeding off the killings, maiming and forced displacement of millions.
Political leaders cannot be imposed from outside.
It is Syrians alone who must decide who stays and who goes. Heads of States are not Viceroys of outside powers; they are accountable to their own people.
http://www.veteransnewsnow.com/2013/10/23/229002-the-syrian-people-alone-must-decide-who-stays-and-who-goes/
October 23rd, 2013, 5:15 pm
ALAN said:
The Saudi real issue is money.
As part of the petro-dollar deal, Saudi Arabia invests much of the US dollars they accept for their oil in the US economy, with estimates ranging from $400 billion to $800 billion.
That kind of cash buys a lot of influence (which annoys the hell out of Israel), and Saudi Arabia risks having those assets frozen if relations with the US collapse. Neither Syria nor Iran are worth that risk. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia knows that $400-$800 billion will vanish if the US economy collapses, and they may actually be sending a warning to the US that they will start to dump those investments (including their T-bills) and move their money elsewhere unless the US Government gets its financial house in order. That may backfire if the US feels their only option is to have another false-flag that is blamed on Saudi Arabia, following which those Saudi investments can be seized. Don’t forget, Israel tried to claim that Saudi Arabia was behind 9-11, so this is not a new idea.
October 23rd, 2013, 5:23 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Money, money, money
Tens of thousands of syrians, if not hundreds of thousands, specially in rural áreas near Irak but also in Aleppo and Damascus city and conutryside, have been paid to convert from Sunna Islam to Chiaa Islam.
It has been happening from 2006 war until the begining of the revolution. This is one of the hidden keys of the contest. I personally know a number of individuals and families that were offered 100 $ per member of family and month to change from Sunna to Chiaa.
I am a Christian, I do not care who are sunni and chiaa, everybody must believe what he likes or be able to. But these are fact, many rural families changed religion for economic reasons.
A family of 10 members (1 man, 1 or 2 wifes, and 7-8 children) could get 1000 $ per month. I knew families of this kind and also I knew people in Damascus and Aleppo who were tempted by Hezballah members at the end of the friday´s prayer. Young proselitists from HA have been operating from 2006 until 2011 trying to grow support for Iran and Assad and against Saudi Arabia.
These are facts. There is a popular revolution asking from freedom and dignity but also there is a hidden question that was originated by Iran and the oil revenues.
October 23rd, 2013, 5:32 pm
omen said:
just a headline alert so far, no column.
October 23rd, 2013, 5:39 pm
ALAN said:
Video: Muslim Brotherhood leader explains how to implement sharia, caliphate in the West
http://youtu.be/Fxx08_QZQKs?t=1s
October 23rd, 2013, 5:48 pm
ALAN said:
Uzair ! Especially for you !
http://m.indrus.in/economics/2013/10/23/russias_hypersonic_trump_card_edges_closer_to_reality_30325.html
October 23rd, 2013, 5:52 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
It looks as if Assad Criminal Forces are facing some small troubles in the Damascus International Airport. Large balckout in Damascus:
http://youkal.net/2012-12-02-14-05-23/24-26/31064-????????-??????-??-????-????-??????
October 23rd, 2013, 5:56 pm
Tara said:
Sandro
Then honestly Sandro, Shiaa in its current shape is evil and needs to be prohibited by law.. A religion that takes advantage of prople misery to convert them enticing them with money is pure evil.
October 23rd, 2013, 6:31 pm
ALAN said:
Mr Obama! Is not the world has changed? when you will push Saudis to concrete political reform and some kinds of democratic changes?
http://thinkworth.wordpress.com/2013/08/12/qatar-defies-al-qaradawi-on-us-instruction-us-ordered-qatar-ruler-to-hand-over-power-to-son/
October 23rd, 2013, 6:33 pm
omen said:
i’m sure some threats are being leveled. /s
October 23rd, 2013, 6:44 pm
ALAN said:
Exclusive: Kerry and Top State Dept Officials Split Over Syria Talks
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/10/23/exclusive_kerry_and_top_state_officials_split_over_syria_talks
Secretary of State John Kerry is at odds with several senior State Department officials over whether to press ahead with plans for a high-profile peace conference next month that is designed to put negotiators from Syria’s main opposition groups and the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad into the same room for the first time.
Kerry is strongly committed to holding the talks and has spent the past several days prodding key Syrian opposition figures to take part in the negotiations. But according to several senior State Department officials, some of Kerry’s top advisors believe that the conference should be called off because the most important of those opposition leaders are unlikely to come.
“The only person who wants the Geneva conference to happen is the secretary,” a senior U.S. official told The Cable. “Who’s going to show up? Will they actually represent anyone? If not, why take the risk?”……………….
October 23rd, 2013, 6:54 pm
omen said:
yes? no? maybe so?
make up your mind.
October 23rd, 2013, 6:57 pm
Ziad said:
?????? ????? ?????? “?????? ?????”… ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ????!
????? ?????? “?????? ?????” ???? ???? ??????? ?????? ???????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ????? ????? ?? ???????? ????? ??? ?? ???????????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ??? ?? 11 ????? ??? ?? ??? 150 ????? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ????????? ????????? ??? ???????? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ???????? ???????? ????????? ????????.
????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ???????? ?? ??????? ????? ?????? ??? ???????? ?? ??? ???????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ????????? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ???????? ??? ???? ????? ??? ??? ???????.
??????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ???????? ????? ???????? ???????? ?????????? ???? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ???????? ??? ??? ??????.
?????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ??????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ???????? ??? ????? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ???????? ???? ??? ??? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ????????? ???????? ???? ?????????? ????????.
????????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???????? ????????? ??????? ?????????? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ???? ??????????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? “??? ????? ??????” ?? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ??????? ????????? ???? ?????? ???????? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ?? ?? ??????? ??? ??????? ???????.
????? ???????? ???????? ????????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ???????? ?????????? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ??? ??? ????? ??? ???????? ????? ??? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???????. ??????? ???????? ???? ??? ????? ???????? ??? ???? ???????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ????????.
http://www.raialyoum.com/?p=14929
October 23rd, 2013, 7:03 pm
Ziad said:
????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ?? ???????? ??? ?????
????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ?? ???????? ??? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ?? ????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ????????? ??????? ?????????? ???????? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ??????? ??? «???? ?????» ??? ???? ??????? ???????? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ?? ??? ????? ????? ?? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ??? ????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ??????.
??? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ??????? ?? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ???????? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ?? ??????????? ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?? ???????? ?????????. ??? ?? ??? ??????? ????? «???? ? 2» ?? ??? ???? ????????? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ?? ????????? ??????? ???? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??? ???????? ????? ??? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ??? ???? ???????? ?????? ????? ?????????? ???? ????? ??????? ??????????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ??????.
??? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ??? ??????? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ??????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ???????? ??? ?? ???? ???? «???? ? 2» ??? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ?? ??? ??? ???? ??? ??? ?? ??? ????? ???? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ?? ??? ??????? ???????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ?? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ??????? ?????? ????????? ??? ???????? ???????? ?????????.
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?? ?? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ????????? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ???????? ????.
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October 23rd, 2013, 7:06 pm
Ziad said:
Prince Bandar: Riyadh to “shift away” from US over Syria, Iran
Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief has said the kingdom will make a “major shift” in dealings with the United States in protest at its perceived inaction over the Syria war and its overtures to Iran, a source close to Saudi policy said on Tuesday.
Prince Bandar bin Sultan told European diplomats that Washington had failed to act effectively on the Syrian crisis and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, was growing closer to Tehran, and had failed to back Saudi support for the Bahraini dictatorship when it violently suppressed an anti-government rebellion in 2011, the source said.
It was not immediately clear if Prince Bandar’s reported statements had the full backing of King Abdullah.
“The shift away from the US is a major one,” the source close to Saudi policy said. “Saudi doesn’t want to find itself any longer in a situation where it is dependent.
“Prince Bandar told diplomats that he plans to limit interaction with the US,” he said. “This happens after the US failed to take any effective action on Syria and Palestine.
“Relations with the US have been deteriorating for a while, as Saudi feels that the US is growing closer with Iran and the US also failed to support Saudi during the Bahrain uprising.”
The source declined to provide more details of Bandar’s talks with the diplomats, which took place in the past few days.
But he suggested that the planned change in ties between the medieval-styled kingdom and its traditional US protector would have wide-ranging consequences, including on arms purchases and oil sales.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/prince-bandar-riyadh-shift-away-us-over-syria-iran?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29
October 23rd, 2013, 7:10 pm
Ziad said:
Assad casts doubt over Geneva peace talks
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in remarks broadcast Monday no date had been set for an international conference on ending his country’s civil war and cast doubt on whether it could succeed if held now.
With Western and Arab countries hoping the talks can start a political transition that would see him leave office, Assad once again indicated he had no intention of quitting, saying he might run for re-election in 2014.
Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said on Sunday after meeting international envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi that the peace conference, known as Geneva II, was scheduled for November 23. Brahimi said the date had “not been officially set.”
Remaining confident and animated throughout the two-hour interview, Assad told his interviewer: “There is no date so far … and current factors do not help in holding it.”
He said opposition groups that had been invited to the talks represented foreign powers rather than Syrians.
“Which forces are taking part? What relation do these forces have with the Syrian people? Do these forces represent the Syrian people, or do they represent the states that invented them?” the embattled leader asked.
Assad has refused to recognize as legitimate the National Coalition opposition umbrella group, which insists on his ouster.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/assad-casts-doubt-over-geneva-peace-talks?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29
October 23rd, 2013, 7:12 pm
ghufran said:
Nusra et al are now trying to save what can be saved in Assafira-Aleppo province after they lost control over half of their positions there. Assafira is strategically located and if it falls under regime control that will open the door to the city of Aleppo. While this is happening, fights between ISIS and other rebels intensified in Northern Syria, a report from one FSA source claimed that they receive help from Syrian jets which bombed ISIS positions, however ISIS seem to be on track to take control of most areas in Northern Syria that are not under regime rule, if this does not stop you will start hearing about Turkish troops and US drones attacking ISIS positions in Syria.
48 additional Syrian women are free after they were released today by the regime:
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October 23rd, 2013, 7:49 pm
Akbar Palace said:
yes? no? maybe so?make up your mind.
Omen,
I thought my opinion was clear: Israel should only help the Syrian opposition (militarily) if asked officially and publically.
In absence of an official request, I would expect the immediate family to free the Syrian people, not a cousin.
October 23rd, 2013, 8:56 pm
zoo said:
1036 Ghufran
The one who will succeed Bashar Al Assad will certainly be a military as this seems to be the trend in all Arab countries that are not ruled by a family.
Bashar Al Assad seems to have come in this position by accident.
This “revolution” will correct that mistake.
I think Syria will be under military rule for a long time to come.
October 24th, 2013, 12:10 am
zoo said:
Whatever Jarba’s conditions are and the FOS-11 declarations, the USA and Russia want the conference to happen at any cost or the USA will bear the blame and loose face. Arms twisting are probably going on the background.
Moscow slams ‘Friends of Syria’ for undermining Geneva peace talks
Published time: October 24, 2013 02:44
http://rt.com/news/syria-friends-geneva-russia-645/
…
Former Pentagon official Michael Maloof believes that despite all the obstacles the talks are almost bound to go ahead as planned “notwithstanding internal difficulties that the Western powers are now having to get the opposition to come on in and be involved.”
“I think talks are going to have to take place,” Maloof told RT. “I think the United States and Russia ultimately are going to determine what the outcome is going to be, and the other countries are going to be told to follow.”
October 24th, 2013, 12:22 am
zoo said:
Libya: a France-UK-US-NATO success story?
Libya sees little progress in two years since end of Gadhafi rule
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/libya-sees-little-progress-in-two-years-since-end-of-gadhafi-rule.aspx?pageID=238&nID=56720&NewsCatID=357
Libya passes the two-year mark since the brutal end of former ruler Moammar Gadhafi, but the country has little to show for by way of progress, amid fractured political structures, vicious armed conflicts and the reign of militants
Libyans gesture during the celebration of the fall of Moammar Gadhafi in Tripoli, Libya. AA photo
Today, Libya marks two years since the fall of Moammar Gadhafi, but instead of the freedom and development Libyans had hoped for, the country has fallen deeper into anarchy.
October 24th, 2013, 12:31 am
zoo said:
Syria’s Next Major Battle Set for West Ghouta
By: Rasha Abi Haidar
Published Wednesday, October 23, 2013
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/syrias-next-major-battle-set-west-ghouta
There are indications of an imminent battle in western Ghouta, the agricultural belt surrounding Damascus. The battle will have long-term strategic implications, especially in terms of expanding the “safe zone” protecting the Syrian capital.
For some time now, all eyes have been on east Ghouta near Damascus, especially in the wake of the area’s chemical attack. Yet for weeks the Syrian army has been pressing ahead with operations in western Ghouta, witnessing rapid advances and regaining control over Husseiniya, Dhiyabiya, and Bouweida.
A field source told Al-Akhbar that preparations are underway for an offensive in the area, which will include the towns surrounding the Sayyida Zainab district. The offensive will have significant military consequences: cutting off a major militant supply route from the Golan and Daraa; expanding the buffer zone protecting Damascus; and reopening the main route to Sayyida Zainab.
Future Battle Plans
The Syrian army is gearing up for the new battle in towns like Beit Sahm, Hujeira, Yalda, Babila, and Gharba, in continuation of the offensive it started months ago, according to the same field source.
The source explained, “The militants in western Ghouta are not as formidable as they once were. They are scattered and confused. For many of them, the government is much more merciful than al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).”
It is no secret that there are contacts between Syrian army defectors and Syrian army officers, thanks to the army’s advances. The source said that some of the defectors have placed themselves at the disposal of the government and even provided security services, facilitating current and future operations on the ground.
October 24th, 2013, 1:03 am
ALAN said:
The Growing Rift With Saudi Arabia Threatens To Severely Damage The Petrodollar
Read more at http://investmentwatchblog.com/the-growing-rift-with-saudi-arabia-threatens-to-severely-damage-the-petrodollar/#hMieXXloKSDS4eAo.99
This whole Saudi bollocks is just that… Bollocks. This staged “Saudi’s are Pissed at the US” event is merely a vehicle to extricate the US from Syria with some form of dignity.
The rift will NEVER actually happen.
October 24th, 2013, 4:08 am
ALAN said:
Does Geneva 2.0 remain a meaningful possibility to end Syria’s civil war? Who is the Assad regime supposed to talk to when it comes to opposition? Is it realistic to have any kind of reasonable contact with al-Qaeda-linked groups? And, is it now time to finally stop the violence? CrossTalking with Hillary Leverett and Richard Murphy
http://youtu.be/yTpOjcGacvI
October 24th, 2013, 4:22 am
ALAN said:
Saudi Arabia’s Image Falters among Middle East Neighbors
http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/10/17/saudi-arabias-image-falters-among-middle-east-neighbors/
October 24th, 2013, 4:29 am
ALAN said:
70% of the Syrian people support their President.
http://www.veteransnewsnow.com/2013/10/23/229049-mairead-maguires-message-to-president-obama/
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire speaks of her visit to Syria. She was invited by the movement Mussalaha, under the patronage of Mother Agnes-Mariam, Superior of Saint James’ Monastery, supported by the Patriarch Gregory III Laham, head of the Catholic Hierarchy of Syria.
http://youtu.be/-TfpvlWE844?t=4s
October 24th, 2013, 5:28 am
omen said:
killed on the 21st of october
one of the most effective commanders? yet he’s not listed up above?
where would he rank? top 10?
are moderate commanders being killed off?
October 24th, 2013, 6:44 am
zoo said:
On medium term the Syrian Sunnis will be the loosers of that uprising. Their close association first with the Moslem Brotherhood and the Islamist extremists made them extremely suspicious and polluted in the eyes of the Syrian minorities, many moderate Sunnis and the International community. The support of the West for the “FSA” and the “NC” has been dwindling.
Contrary to the Arab Sunnis rebels, the Syrian Kurds have not been involved in any massacre, they rarely fought against the Syrian army, they never antagonized the West and now they made the choice of openly fighting Islamist extremists.
If they continue, they will certainly emerge as one of the main winners of that uprising and will have a much stronger influence on the future of Syria than the Syrian Arab Sunnis.
As we see now, the West support may well shift toward the Kurds, despite Turkey’s worries. Turkey is concerned by this emergence but may hope to make deals with Syrian Kurds as they did with Iraqi Kurds at the condition that the idea of a separate Kurdistan is excluded.
By the reasonable choices they made in the last 3 years, the Syrian Kurds have become now an important player in the regional game.
Syrian Kurds, jihadists battle for key supply route
Kurdish fighters are advancing in direction of Al-Yaarubia whose border crossing with Iraq is seen as key supply route for arms, fighters.
Middle East Online
The Kurds have managed to take two villages controlled by the jihadists
BEIRUT – Fierce clashes erupted in Syria overnight between Kurdish fighters and jihadists near the Iraqi border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Thursday.
“The clashes began around midnight (2100 GMT Wednesday) and lasted around 12 hours, with the Kurds advancing in the direction of Al-Yaarubia, an area controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other jihadist groups,” the Britain-based monitor said.
“The Kurds have managed to take two villages controlled by the jihadists but it will be difficult to capture Al-Yaarubia from ISIL,” Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.
The Al-Yaarubia border crossing with Iraq is seen as a key supply route for arms and fighters. ISIL has carried out attacks on both sides of the border.
October 24th, 2013, 8:08 am
Observer said:
This is for Syrian Hamster and for Tara and MK and Omen and Sami and all the others. Zoozoo do not click on it, it is for your health.
Also this is for my dear friend Mjabali
October 24th, 2013, 8:31 am
ALAN said:
http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2013/10/24/on-military-alliance-israel-and-saudi-arabia-against-iran.html
Saudi Arabia’s ministry of defense has placed an order with the U.S. for the delivery of high-tech cruise missiles and aerial bombs totaling 6.8 billion dollars. It is expected that the contract will be signed within a month after the request is approved by Congress. In the opinion of the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the arms shipment will not change the military balance in the region and does not create a threat to neighboring states. But is that true? Now, when Israel and Saudi Arabia are discussing the possibility of a military alliance against Iran, this deal looks like military reinforcement of this Arab-Israeli alliance, the likelihood of whose creation is becoming more realistic………………
October 24th, 2013, 8:39 am
zoo said:
Despite David Ignatius’s dark predictions..
The US-Saudi breakup that isn’t
Maybe pleasing Saudi Arabia shouldn’t be a high priority for the US anyway.
By Dan Murphy, Staff writer / October 24, 2013
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/Backchannels/2013/1024/The-US-Saudi-breakup-that-isn-t
…
Finally there’s the notion that Saudi Arabia’s king and princes feel “double-crossed.” This is a country that, after all, fueled the rise of the jihadi militants in Afghanistan that morphed into Al Qaeda; that allowed private donors to funnel financial support to Sunni militants during the US occupation of Iraq (who then attacked US troops); and has done more than any other nation to export a variety of Islam that is deeply hostile to US interests.
Meanwhile, the US has always looked the other way on Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses and medieval treatment of women in the interests of “friendship.” The Obama administration has been happy to carry on that tradition. So Saudi claims of feeling “double-crossed” should be seen in context – an attempt to manipulate the US into behaving as Saudi Arabia wishes. But is it really going to amount to anything?
…
And for all the bellyaching from Saudi Arabia about the US refusal to topple Assad by force, the Obama administration has given no signs that the days of Saudi Arabia’s free pass on its repressive practices are coming to an end.
On balance, the interests the two sides have in common remain much stronger than the interests they don’t. A breakup would certainly be interesting – and welcomed by fans of democracy promotion. But a catastrophic shift in the relationship doesn’t seem likely yet, whatever the pundits say.
October 24th, 2013, 9:24 am
zoo said:
Is it in their DNA, Mrs Wendy Sherman?
Saudi Air Force sergeant found guilty of raping 13-year-old boy at Vegas hotel on New Year’s Eve
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2474953/Mazen-Alotaibi-guilty-raping-boy-13-Vegas-hotel.html#ixzz2ieO7gWpQ
acebook
October 24th, 2013, 10:39 am
zoo said:
Recognizing the Kurds growing regional power, Bashar al Assad is renewing his attempt to seek an alliance with the Kurds both in Syria and Iraq to counter Turkey and Saudi’ supported opposition.
“Today Zaman”, the Turkish government’s media mouthpiece shows such a strong opposition to that eventuality that it just uncover how much Turkey is worried that this would succeed.
Assad’s offer to the Kurds before the Geneva II conference
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/orhan-miroglu-329688-assads-offer-to-the-kurds-before-the-geneva-ii-conference.html
24 October 2013, Thursday
Assad’s offer to the Kurds before the Geneva II conference
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has made an interesting offer to the Syrian Kurds, who are experiencing several problems with the Syrian National Council (SNC), in the lead up to the Geneva II conference.
Statements made by Omar Ose, a Kurdish member of the Syrian parliament who is known to be close to the Assad administration, to the Iraq-based Rudaw newspaper show that Assad wants to establish an alliance not only with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)-affiliated Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD) but also with the regional administration in Arbil.
…
Ose also added that Assad wants to keep his country’s Kurdish areas out of the war and from the very beginning warned the Syrian army to stay away from confronting or killing Kurds. Arguing that the Turkish government plays a very bad role against Syria and Syrian Kurds, Ose accused Turkey of lending support to terrorist groups that targets the Kurds. He also recalled that Assad had sent a plane to the Qamishlo airport to bring the Kurdish leadership to Damascus about a year-and-a-half ago; one year ago, he invited Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani to Damascus. However, both of his invitations have been rejected.
According to Ose, Assad is ready to meet the Kurds’ demands for rights and he is not bothered by the KRG’s relations with the US and Turkey.
….
I do not believe that the Kurdish people would establish an alliance with the Assad regime and then enjoy their rights — which have been ignored for years — while the bloodshed in Syria continues and when the Baath regime has no intention of taking democratic steps to normalize Syria.
Moreover, if they allied with Assad, the Kurds in Rojava and Arbil would distant themselves from Turkey and the Syrian opposition and join the ranks of a retrogressive, pro-status quo bloc that seeks to prevent the development of the Middle East.
It is too late. Just like Saddam, Assad is too late in trying to establish an alliance with the Kurds, which would also bypass all other Syrian people. For the Kurds, accepting Assad’s offer would mean being accomplices in his regime’s crimes against humanity.
Although there are some Kurdish groups who are ready to accept Assad’s offer, establishing an alliance with the regime and strengthening Assad’s hand at the Geneva II conference would not be in the Kurds’ interests.
October 24th, 2013, 11:06 am
zoo said:
More thanks to the opposition and Saudi Arabia for having brought these criminals into Syria
Syrian jihadists’ new recruitment technique: slick suicide attack videos
http://observers.france24.com/content/20131024-jihadists-produce-suicide-attack-videos
Suicide attacks have been used as a war tactic for decades. In Syria, however, jihadists are putting slick propaganda videos of the attacks online, in a bid to attract further recruits.
WARNING: VIEWERS MAY FIND THE IMAGES BELOW DISTURBING
The jihadist groups active in Syria, especially those affiliated with or close to Al Qaeda, now film their entire suicide attacks from beginning to end. The kamikazes are told to remain on the phone with their leader until the very last moment, when they hit the detonator button. The goal appears to be to make the videos as poignant and affecting as possible, in order to galvanize Muslim youths and recruit them to their cause.
For example: the video below shows a kamikaze learning how to drive BMP-1 armoured personnel carriers, seized from the regular army, which will then be mounted with explosives. At 13 minutes and 42 seconds, an enormous explosion takes place, destroying an entire building. A striking aspect of this video is that it shows reactions of what appear to be local residents (from the 14’59 mark to the 16’50 mark). These residents thank the Al Nusra Front, a jihadist group tied to Al Qaeda, for this attack that “got rid of the Tomeh checkpoint, which was making life impossible”.
October 24th, 2013, 12:50 pm
Hopeful said:
# 1072 Zoo
Thank you for sharing. Shocking videos. I share your sentiment.
The opposition made a terrible mistake by tolerating these groups and partnering with them. There is absolutely no execuse and those responsible must be held accountable.
The regime, through its brutality, incompetence and arrogance, brought on this tragedy to Syria. They, too, should be held accountable.
October 24th, 2013, 2:17 pm
ALAN said:
YPG troops in Tel Koçer area to fight Al-Qaeda
http://youtu.be/7u0jho6ZZPY?t=1s
October 24th, 2013, 3:18 pm
Hopeful said:
#1070 Zoo
This is a horrible crime, but give me a break…you’ve never heard of Syrian children rappers? Never listened to “Hukm Aladaleh” on Syrian radio on Tuesdays?
October 24th, 2013, 3:20 pm
ALAN said:
Israel continues co-development with India of multiple war head intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) as I type. These will be able to strike the U.S., China or the Russian Federation. Why does Israel need these? Why does India? Why is no one even asking…not media, no other countries, no think tanks?? Very strange.
October 24th, 2013, 3:28 pm
omen said:
tell me again obama is not to blame for a turning a blind eye to genocide.
obama’s reaction to the ever growing pile of corpses was a bored yawn.
October 24th, 2013, 3:40 pm
ALAN said:
/ tell me again obama is not to blame for a turning a blind eye to genocide. /
The United States of Genocide: Putting the US on Trial for Genocide Against the Peoples of Korea, Laos, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Iraq, and Elsewhere
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-united-states-of-genocide-putting-the-us-on-trial-for-genocide-against-the-peoples-of-korea-laos-viet-nam-cambodia-iraq-and-elsewhere/5352227
http://www.zcommunications.org/is-the-united-states-committing-genocide-in-iraq-by-a-k-gupta.html
http://academic.udayton.edu/race/06hrights/georegions/northamerica/UnitedStates02.htm
https://sites.google.com/site/palestiniangenocide/
The United States Promotes Israeli Genocide Against the Palestinians
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-united-states-promotes-israeli-genocide-against-the-palestinians-2
October 24th, 2013, 3:53 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Finally, a real poet does the job.
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????? ????????? ????? ?????
????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ..
??? ???? ??? ???? ?????
??? ?????? ???? ?? ????????..
???? ?????? ?? ??? ???????
??? ???? ?? ??????? ?????..
??? ??? ??????? ??? ?????!!
October 24th, 2013, 4:19 pm
omen said:
believe you me, alan, i hope they fry. i’ve asked before why aren’t human rights groups calling for kissinger’s head? why aren’t the makers of agent orange behind bars?
does not excuse what assad is doing.
your beloved putin too is guilty of war crimes.
October 24th, 2013, 4:19 pm
ALAN said:
No mercy can be ordered from predator!
Do you want to keep silent about the crimes of the United States in Iraq? Why are you silent when it comes about crimes of the Western rulers?
October 24th, 2013, 4:47 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Rafiq Chami in Arabic, Brilliant satire also on Checkmate Magazine
Grammar not only for beginners ????? ??? ??? ?????????
October 24th, 2013, 4:54 pm
ALAN said:
1083. OMEN enjoy ! 🙂
http://youtu.be/IV4IjHz2yIo?t=1s
October 24th, 2013, 5:16 pm
ALAN said:
believe you!
http://youtu.be/O6ayb02bwp0?t=1s
http://youtu.be/nTeWwPMiqvs?t=1s
October 24th, 2013, 5:33 pm
zoo said:
The opposition with Qatar and Saudi funds have offered the North and East of Syria to Al Qaeda as a reward. A terrifying perspective for Syrians.
Al-Qaeda’s corridor through Syria
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/alqaedas-corridor-through-syria/article5269866.ece
It is no longer the Free Syrian Army but the radical Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham that is a serious threat to the Assad government
….
A new report from the International Crisis Group from October 17 notes that ISIS is now “the most powerful group in northern and eastern Syria and was benefiting from control of oil fields.” Analyst Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi says that ISIS cannot be shaken from its strongholds in the north and east by any combination of FSA and its allies. Indeed, over the past few months, the ISIS has severely degraded the capacity of the Free Syrian Army, having killed one of its important battalion chiefs Kamal Hamami in July and having drawn in many of its local level fighters.
The Free Syrian Army is no longer a serious threat to the Syrian government.
Deplorable situation
The main secular voice of this uprising in Syria, Yassin al Haj Saleh, who was underground in Syria during the civil war, fled the country on October 12. In an open letter, “Farewell to Syria, for a while,” Mr. Saleh wrote that the city of his birth, Raqqa, had been taken over by “the spectres of horror of our childhood, the ghouls.” The situation in Raqqa, Mr. Saleh writes, is deplorable. It was hard to watch “strangers oppress it and rule the fates of its people, confiscating public property, destroying a statue of Haroun al-Rashid or desecrating a church, taking people into custody where they disappeared in their prisons.”
Mr. Saleh’s departure indicates that things are worse there than they were this summer when researcher Yasser Munif travelled in the north and found that in Raqqa “people are more and more critical of the ISIS and al Nusra.” It appears that the space for that internal criticism of ISIS is now narrower. Billboards promoting the views of ISIS are legion across Raqqa, with intimations that the rivalry between the various Islamist factions is at mute. As el-Tamimi notes, in public rallies flags of both ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra fly side by side.
In July 2013, ISIS led a mass jailbreak from Iraq’s Abu Ghraib to free 500 prisoners. The group used an array of car bombs, suicide bombers and gunmen in that operation. ISIS directed these fighters toward the Iraqi-Syria border, where they hope to take control of the crossing points as part of their attempt to form a corridor that runs from Ramadi to Tripoli in northern Lebanon (a clash in the city killed a 13-year-old boy on October 23). The attacks of the night of October 22 are part of this scenario.
ISIS and its form of radicalism are a product of Saudi Arabian and Qatari financing of the rebellion. Money from the Gulf Arabs alongside foreign fighters and a motivated group of Syrian fighters have given ISIS the advantage. At the same time, as Saudi and Qatari money has allowed its proxies to have the upper hand against other rebels on the battlefield, Saudi and Qatari influence has prevented unity and an agenda to develop among the political leadership of the rebellion. Over three years, the National Council for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (the SNC) has been unable to draft a clear programme for Syria. Its absence is not a sign of lack of imagination, but of the subordination of the SNC to the petty fights among its Gulf Arab benefactors.
The SNC stumbled when it essentially allowed a palace coup to remove Mo’az al-Khatib from his post. After much infighting, the SNC finally appointed Ahmad Saleh Touma as its prime minister. Ghassan Hitto resigned because he was seen to be too close to the tarnished star of Qatar. The current president is Ahmad Jarba, closely linked to the Saudi government.
By late September, the Islamists rejected the SNC. The leader of the Tawhid Brigade from Aleppo, Abdul Qader Saleh, intimated on Twitter that they would consider forming an Islamic alliance (al-tahaluf al-islami). Scholar Aron Lund suggests that the Islamists have not gone beyond this suggestion. The marks of Gulf Arab infighting are all over the Coalition.
……
October 24th, 2013, 5:47 pm
zoo said:
Decline of Saudi Arabian Power Evident in Rejection of UN Seat
Posted: 10/24/2013 3:40 pm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-paul/decline-of-saudi-arabian_b_4158660.html
There is something oddly satisfying about seeing the Al Sa’ud monarchy of Saudi Arabia throwing an international hissy fit.
…
But it was Putin who really put Bandar in his place. Bandar had been lobbying the Russians for months to cut Assad loose. Last month, Bandar made his final play as he brandished both the carrot and the stick to induce Putin to turn on Russia’s long-time ally. First, as reported in Al-Safir, Bandar offered an alliance between the Saudis and the Russians (not members of OPEC) with the prospect of controlling the world oil markets. Then he offered a barely veiled threat to the security of Russia’s 2014 Sochi Olympics. Give me Assad’s head on a platter, Bandar proposed, and “I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics next year. The Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by us.”
For Bandar to sit across from Putin — whom he should have revered as a spymaster of the old school — and believe he could intimidate him was a dramatic misreading of Saudi power. Putin rejected Bandar’s entreaties out of hand, and as to the Saudi’s threats, Putin — whose career has been defined as much as anything by Russia’s Chechen wars — responded, “We know that you have supported the Chechen terrorist groups for a decade. And that support, which you have frankly talked about just now, is completely incompatible with the common objectives of fighting global terrorism.
…
As the paymasters of Islamic terror networks, the Saudis are the source of the very problems that are of the greatest concern to the Russian national security establishment. Putin’s response mirrored the Bush Doctrine of a decade ago: “Any nation that supports terrorism we regard to be as a hostile regime.”
…
This week, the Al Sa’ud monarchy has seen its world begin to unravel. World leaders are no longer bending to their will. They have seen their long-held grip over American foreign policy in the region weaken. They made their play against the Russians, and Putin did not blink. The Saudis — who are used to dealing from a position of strength and leverage — are now being confronted with their own weakness. And weakness is the trait that the Al Sa’ud despise most of all.
October 24th, 2013, 6:00 pm
zoo said:
Hopeful
Blame the Syrian governement as much as you want for past mistakes, but today the Syrian government, united and resilient, is the only chance for Syria to survive the cataclysm of Al Qaeda that the opposition has brought in the country when they saw their ‘revolution’ failing.
October 24th, 2013, 6:04 pm
omen said:
alan, you don’t listen. i’ve protested american policies my entire adult life.
not that i matters to you. after all, you cannot defend the indefensible so you resort to lazy strawmen arguments meant to deflect blame from hitler.
read the nytimes piece i posted. it’s clear obama is protecting the regime.
No mercy can be ordered from predator!
Do you want to keep silent about the crimes of the United States in Iraq? Why are you silent when it comes about crimes of the Western rulers?
i don’t represent the US.
only atrocities perpetuated by america counts? arabs killing arabs doesn’t count?
your nationalistic partisanship has blinded you. this war isn’t between nations. it’s between rich vs poor.
October 24th, 2013, 6:20 pm
Tara said:
Hopeful@ 1073
Hopeful, I do not share your sentiment in regard to #1072. I only watched the first clip and I couldn’t resist to voice an opinion.
Abu Assem is not a terrorist. He hasn’t done it it to kill the infidels. He hasn’t done it to build Islamic Imarah. He has done it to defend Syrians. From the bottom of my heart, I wish ??? ???? what he wanted. A ??? ????? ??????? ?????? . I also wish him 72 stunning virgins waiting to comfort him in heaven. Really! ??? ???? sacrificed himself to bring down a building of terror the regime used to torture, kill, and torment Syrians in Easter Ghouta. May he rest in peace.
With ??? ????? ??????? ?????? waiting for those defending the oppressed brutalized Syrian people, Assad will never win.
October 24th, 2013, 7:07 pm
Tara said:
A heart wrenching Images. May Batta and all those aiding him be cursed to eternal Hell.
http://news.sky.com/story/1158412/syrian-refugee-rescue-caught-on-film
Syrian Refugee Rescue Caught On Film
Video shows Syrians swimming for their lives after their boat was sunk by traffickers, as calls grow to help genuine refugees.
Wednesday 23 October 2013
Among them, a little girl and her father clutching one another survived. Her twin sister has died; her mother, his pregnant wife, perished trying to save the girl.
They know nothing of this as they stand on the rescue ship deck being dried. As with all these disasters many families are split forever in the rescue.
On shore the Syrian migrants wait in a detention centre for news of family members who have simply disappeared. A man cries in anguish and writes on a shoe box: “Where are my two children?”
A translator says he does not know if they are dead or not.
A doctor represents the people in an emotional appeal for more information. I speak to him quietly. I ask why a paediatrician is here, risking this dreadful trip.
“We have no choice, Stuart, you know that,” he says. “It is too dangerous in Syria so I decided to take my family to somewhere safe.
“But this has been terrible. Worse than I ever imagined.”
I ask if he would do it again.
“Yes,” he says. “There is no choice.”
These are not work-shy foreigners looking for benefits. These are refugees.
October 24th, 2013, 7:33 pm
Tara said:
Dear observer @ 1067
Brilliant as usual. Especially the last part about the internal opposition:
?? ???????? ???????. ?? ???????? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??????. ????? ???????? ????????? ?? ?? ??? ????
??? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?? ???? ??????. ??? ??? ?? ????? ???? ?? ???? ??????. ??? ??? ?? ????? ?? ???? ??????
I enjoy him very much.
October 24th, 2013, 8:42 pm
Ghufran said:
Waiting to see whether the news about a general pardon comes true and not to be limited to common criminals who do not deserve a pardon when the country is already infested with thousands of thugs from all sides.
I was hoping for a move by the army or the emergence of a strong leader to bring a sense of order and trust to the streets but Assad’s supporters preferred a long and destructive war over a compromise over Assad who I believe was the wrong president at the wrong time.
October 24th, 2013, 9:10 pm
Ghufran said:
MB of Syria has 5 conditions to attend Geneva 2:
???? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? “??????? ????????” ?? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ???????? ?? ????? “???? ?” ????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ???????? ???????? ??? ???????? ??????? ?????????? ???????? ????.
?????: ??? ??? ????? ???????? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ????????? ?? ??????? ??????: ????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ??????? ??????? ?? ??????? ??????? ???????: ?? ???? ???? ? ????? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ?????: ?? ???? ???? ????? ???? ??? ???????? ?????: ?? ??? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ????????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ????: ??? ?? ??? ?? ????? ?? ???????? ????? ?”.
October 24th, 2013, 11:14 pm
Hopeful said:
#1089 Tara
Please watch more. Especially the Maaloula video. Very impressive production, and that’s what scares me the most.
Tara, I am not passing judgement and calling names, but in the videos, people are explicitly stating their objective: an Islamic khalifa. They explicitly praise Osama bin laden. They explicitly use intolerant expressions, such as “the salves of the cross”. Almost none of them is Syrian.
In my opinion, this is not what the Syrian revolution is about, these people hijacked it. The opposition allowed them to do so, and strengthened the hand of the regime in the process. They are well funded and well staffed. No wonder the US government is hesitant to back the rebels.
I have said that before, but the the choice between dictatorship and religious extremism is a false choice. Syrians and Arabs deserve better than both? We are sick and tired of both. No, life under the jihadis is not better than life under Assad. Both are terrible choices and should be rejected. My 2 cents.
October 25th, 2013, 12:10 am
omen said:
assad single-handedly redefining evil.
http://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/syria-the-testimony-of-the-detainee-mazen-besais-hamada/
October 25th, 2013, 2:16 am
ALAN said:
Debate on Syria
http://youtu.be/t6_k2lB5o3o?t=1s
October 25th, 2013, 7:19 am
ALAN said:
Finian Cunningham | Saudi-US Row: Prince Bandar bin ‘Sulking’
Prince Bandar bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia who is very friendly with the Neocon extremists of the Project for a New American Century, has just threatened Washington by saying that the House of Saud will now seek other strategic alliances. Given his recent visit with the Israelis in Jerusalem, there is good reason to believe that the senior Saudi is not acting alone.
The Saudis are angry at the U.S. for its failure to launch an all-out military assault on Syria last month, when Russian diplomacy secured a chemical weapons decommissioning deal to avert American aggression. The Saudis are also angry about Washington’s new diplomatic overture to Iran in their ongoing nuclear dispute.
The explosive danger for the Middle East region from a turbo-charged Saudi sulk with Washington over Syria, including more false flag terror attacks, could result in the kind of all-out war that the US so recklessly dallied with but pulled back from last month.
http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2013/10/24/saudi-us-row-prince-bandar-bin-sulking-tries-old-bribe-threat-trick-again.html
October 25th, 2013, 7:21 am
ALAN said:
Al-Qaeda’s corridor through Syria
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/alqaedas-corridor-through-syria/article5269866.ece
It is no longer the Free Syrian Army but the radical Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shams that is a serious threat to the Assad government
On Tuesday night, suicide bombers and gunmen attacked Iraqi checkpoints along Highway 11, which runs from Baghdad to Syria via Ramadi. They bombed the checkpoint at Rutba as well as points just west of Ramadi. Thirty-seven people were killed in these attacks, a majority of them security officers. Highway 11 is Iraq’s southern route into Syria. The other road from Baghdad to Syria is Highway 12, which runs from Ramadi northwards to the towns of Anan and Rawah, along the Euphrates River and into the Syrian city of Raqqa. Last week, gunmen of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shams (ISIS) attacked the towns of Anan and Rawah, destroying a bridge and trying to destroy the electricity transmission towers. The Iraqi army was able to deter the ISIS attack on Rawah, and so held off ISIS’s attempt to take the towns that would give it effective control of Highway 12. Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq said that last week’s attack was a “hopeless attempt by al Qaeda [ISIS] to establish a foothold in Iraq.” It seems likely that ISIS decided to try and take Highway 11 after its attack on Highway 12 was repulsed…………………..
October 25th, 2013, 7:23 am
ALAN said:
Saudi Pivot
http://youtu.be/-VAY-tgO9wo?t=1s
October 25th, 2013, 7:40 am
zoo said:
Rebels offer Assad a comeback
By Victor Kotsev
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-04-251013.html
Still, the hard-core international supporters of the rebels, such as Saudi Arabia, are not giving up either. The fight is likely to be long and no less brutal than it has already been. In an interview with Foreign Policy magazine, Syria expert Joshua Landis estimated that the recent decision by the Saudis to reject their seat at the UN Security Council was meant to deflect pressure on them to change their course.
“If the Saudis were to join the UN Security Council they would have to follow the US and Russia’s lead,” Landis was quoted as saying. “There would be heavy pressure on Saudi Arabia to stop subsidizing Salafist militias in Syria and they don’t want to do it. Russia and America would say ‘Look, you are part of the United Nations and you have to sever your ties with the Syrian rebels and stop sending them arms and money.’ But Saudi Arabia doesn’t want to rein them in.” [3]
…
Nothing is set in stone – the Saudis and their allies still have tricks left up their sleeves, and there are more than a few other spoilers out there who will try to torpedo the US-Iranian track. Down the road, the partition of Syria, much like that of the former Yugoslavia, might be the best and the most humane path to stabilizing the country. For the time being, however, the carnage continues without any clear end in sight.
October 25th, 2013, 7:54 am
Akbar Palace said:
Omen’s Obama Obsession Continues
tell me again obama is not to blame for a turning a blind eye to genocide.
obama’s reaction to the ever growing pile of corpses was a bored yawn.
Omen,
Obama, Obama. Yes. Yes.
Is Obama the only guilty party here?
October 25th, 2013, 9:05 am
zoo said:
Courting the Kurds…
As I expressed it before, they Kurds may play a trustworthy key role in the future of Syria. They have clean hands and are now fighting against the Islamists, rather than against the SAA.
The Syrian governement is certainly better posed to get the secular Kurds on its side than the opposition. The opposition is perceived as too cozy with Turkey and with the Islamists Arab countries that the Kurds deeply distrust.
Geneva II Talks: Are Kurds the Solution to the Syrian Puzzle?
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/516984/20131025/syria-geneva-kurds-assad-al-qaida-puzzle.htm
While the world holds its breath awaiting the Geneva II peace talks, scheduled for 23 November, analysts are beginning to wonder whether a minor player may shed new light on the Syrian puzzle.
Together with the Syrian opposition, Syrian Kurds are preparing themselves to take to the negotiating table. While their hope is to gain recognition of the historical northern Kurdish region of Rojava, deeper regional and international interests may currently be at stake.
A tangled web of divisions and mistrusts is preventing both Kurds and international actors from considering the potential of their participation. Should they overcome these suspicions, however, the international community may dispose of a key piece in the Syrian puzzle.
October 25th, 2013, 10:48 am
Uzair8 said:
The regime was possibly close to collapse if not collapsed. Iran/Hezbo intervened with men and money to maintain the facade of regime continuity.
Let’s re-visit the situation around 19/20th November 2012. A selection of tweets:
Syrian Commando @syriancommando 16h
While all eyes are on #gaza, #Syria is falling. Matter of weeks now.
Syrian Commando @syriancommando 16h
Terrorists numbering 6500 entered regiment 46 like last time in Hanano, no telling how much arms they stole.
Syrian Commando @syriancommando 6h
Sad to say it, but the #Syria-n army is collapsing by the hour and the incompetent administration is not getting the message.
jasper ?@_jasper___
@syriancommando Yes, the war is lost….
Syrian Commando @syriancommando 6h
#Iran is bluffing, no pipeline to #Syria-stan will be built. It’s a hopeless mission with a country whose bases are being overrun.
October 25th, 2013, 11:43 am
Saudi Arabia, Qatar may be playing dangerous game over Syria rebels – Global Public Square - CNN.com Blogs said:
[…] Salafis who reject political Islam, since Alloush’s brigade calls for an Islamic state and flies the black jihadist flag instead of a Syrian one. He has insisted this Damascus merger will not push back against ISIL and […]
October 25th, 2013, 11:47 am
zoo said:
Pressure grows on the embattled and disunited opposition from all sides to attend Geneva 2 without any conditions .
Syria: Coalition postpones meeting again
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/10/article55320301
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Syrian National Coalition has decided to postpone its general council meeting from November 1 to the 9th in a bid to “make room for communications aimed at reaching a unified [opposition] stance towards participation in Geneva II,” Asharq Al-Awsat has learned.
The decision came following a meeting between the US Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, and several Syrian opposition figures in Istanbul on Wednesday.
….
A member of the Coalition, Ahmad Ramadan, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the opposition will change its stance on Geneva II if the Friends of Syria guarantee Assad’s compliance with the outcomes of Geneva I and prevent Iran from attending.
Ramadan said that the opposition refuses any settlement that allows Assad to remain in power, adding, “He does not only have to step down, but also face—together with all regime officials—trial for the crimes they have committed against the Syrian people.”
..
Ramadan denied claims that the opposition is fragmented, confirming that the “political and military opposition is united more than ever particularly regarding its stance toward participation in Geneva II and deliberations among [its components] are ongoing.”
….
On the other hand, a spokesman for the National Coordination Committee for the Forces of Democratic Change (NCC), Munzer Khaddam, said that the Coalition incorrectly thinks it is the “only legitimate representative of the Syrian people.”
In exclusive comments to Asharq Al-Awsat, Coalition member Hisham Marwa denied any connection between the Coalition’s decision and its meeting with Ford.
October 25th, 2013, 12:42 pm
omen said:
no.
besides the united states, israel too shares blame for lobbying against arming the rebels.
anybody placing hurdles against free syrians’ capacity to defend themselves is a defacto partner to the regime.
there is no neutrality in war.
the holocaust was prolonged because of nations’ reluctance to intervene. why are you defending history repeating itself?
October 25th, 2013, 2:11 pm
ALAN said:
Saudi Restores Libyan Spy Chief’s Role as Global Shadow Broker
……….Koussa has now been classified as “friendly,” as Bandar has enlisted Koussa’s important skills for his open-ended security operations in many parts of the world, especially Syria…………
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-restores-libyan-spy-chief%E2%80%99s-role-global-shadow-broker
October 25th, 2013, 2:13 pm
ALAN said:
1106. UZAIR8
How many commentators with a long beard, you think, here participating in this blog? Of course, except Akbar Palace? 🙂
October 25th, 2013, 2:21 pm
ALAN said:
Question 1: Why was the news of the chemical attack posted before the attack took place?
Question 2: Were the weapons home-made or were they produced in a factory?
Question 3: If the Iranians told the USA in 2012 that terrorists operating in Syria had chemical weapons, why did US Secretary of State John Kerry say they did not and why would it be outside the realms of possibility for them to have deployed such weaponry in Ghouta?
Question 4: Why would the Syrian Armed Forces have deployed such weaponry in an area where their own forces were massing on the eve of a UN inspection?
Question 5: Why was the first video to be released (Amer Mosa), which claimed to be a recording of the attack, showing the terrorists operating in Syria firing rockets at Government positions?
Question 6: Why does the date of the said video antecede the attack and how can its title referring to chemical weapons be taken seriously if the video was released before the attack took place?
Question 7: Why does the launching gear for the rockets in the video resemble a BM-14, used by terrorists in Afghanistan?
Question 8: Why does the Obama regime in Washington not take seriously allegations that al-Qaeda in Syria could have produced or handled sarin gas when the US military knew that sarin gas was confiscated from the terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra front earlier in 2013?
Question 9: Why has Washington turned a blind eye to the use of chemical weaponry, more specifically sarin gas, by the terrorists operating in Syria against Government troops and emergency service personnel in Khan al-Assal, Aleppo, in March?
Question 10: Given the extremely sparse population along border regions and porous nature of Syria’s frontiers, would it have been impossible for western-backed terrorists to have brought the weaponry to Syria through Turkey or would it have been impossible for Al-Qaeda in Iraq to have produced bench-scale sarin and brought it across the frontier?
Question 11: Why does John Kerry deny that the terrorists operating in Syria have no chemical weaponry when in May 2013 the Turkish authorities seized chemical weaponry, namely sarin gas, from property being used by the terrorist organization Jabhat al-Nusra Front? And what are terrorist organizations doing operating in NATO territory? Do we then assume that NATO harbours terrorists?
Question 12: Why did the west not make a thorough investigation at the time (May), as requested by the Russian authorities?
Question 13: Why did the United Nations Organization fail to investigate the same incident when the Syrian authorities requested that it do so?
Question 14: Why was the Russian report on the use of sarin gas by terrorists operating in Syria, and delivered to the UNO, not taken seriously at the time by Washington?
Question 15: The terrorism expert Yossef Bodansky has stated that a preliminary analysis of the sarin gas used in Ghouta shows that it was not military grade, but rather, a “kitchen” variety.
Question 16: If the sarin had been military grade, then why did the people moving the victims, without any protective clothing or masks, not die instantly?
Question 17: If it has been proved that the terrorists at work in Syria have links to groups in Iraq and Afghanistan, where laboratories capable of making deadly chemical agents have been discovered, is it impossible that such groups had the wherewithal to procure and obtain the said weaponry?
Question 18: Why are the projectiles shown by the opposition to the UN not standard equipment of the Syrian military?
Question 19: How would one explain the Skype conversation overheard, in English, by captives held by al-Nusra for five months, released on Monday, about the chemical attack in Ghouta? And why in English?
Question 20: Why has the media not picked up on the voice of many intelligence experts, including former CIA analyst Ray McGovern, stating that the Syrian authorities were not responsible for the chemical weapons attack in Ghouta?
Question 21: Why has President Obama not revealed that he was informed of an upcoming attack with chemicals one week before the event, to create a game-changer, why has President Obama not revealed that he was sent videos showing terrorists operating in Syria firing gas canisters, including personnel from al-Qaeda-associated groups? read more: http://www.globalresearch.ca/syria-the-un-report-on-the-chemical-weapons-attack-25-questions/5350310
October 25th, 2013, 2:28 pm
ALAN said:
http://youtu.be/_noYRIMOCWY?t=20s
October 25th, 2013, 2:30 pm
Akbar Palace said:
Omen’s Daily Fault-Finding NewZ
besides the united states, israel too shares blame for lobbying against arming the rebels.
OK Omen, thanks for the reply.
I see that no matter what the arabs do (or mostly DON’T do), it will always be our fault.;)
“The initial message about the Syrian issue was that we always wanted [President] Bashar Assad to go, we always preferred the bad guys who weren’t backed by Iran to the bad guys who were backed by Iran,” he said.
http://www.jpost.com/Syria-Crisis/Oren-Jerusalem-has-wanted-Assad-ousted-since-the-outbreak-of-the-Syrian-civil-war-326328
Assad harvests support from Druze in Israel – with apples
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2013/0921/Assad-harvests-support-from-Druze-in-Israel-with-apples
October 25th, 2013, 3:27 pm
ALAN said:
The war in Syria may last until 2020
Researchers intrastate conflicts since 1945 have found that civil wars continue on the average of seven to twelve years. On this basis, the war will end somewhere between 2018 and 2023.
long live Syria !
October 25th, 2013, 3:44 pm
zoo said:
Syrian state TV claims leader of al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front killed in coastal province.
Syrian state-run TV claims the leader of the powerful al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra has been killed.
http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2022118398_apxsyria.html
Friday’s one-line report, which could not be immediately confirmed, says Abu Mohammad al-Golani was killed in the coastal province of Latakia. It did not say when or give other details. Opposition groups had no immediate comment on the report.
Rebels have gained footholds in mountainous regions of Latakia, which is largely loyal to President Bashar Assad.
The extremist group, also known as Nusra Front, is on a U.S. State Department list of terrorist organizations. The group has emerged as one of the most effective among rebel groups fighting Assad.
Al-Golani’s death would be a huge blow to rebels who have been fragmented and outgunned by Assad’s forces.
October 25th, 2013, 5:45 pm
omen said:
October 25th, 2013, 6:19 pm
zoo said:
Syrian gov’t troops make gains near Damascus
http://english.cntv.cn/program/newsupdate/20131026/100691.shtml
Syrian government forces have been gaining ground in rebel-held areas around the capital Damascus.
Troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Hezbollah gunmen from Lebanon, have seized control of a rebel ammunition supply route on a highway linking Damascus to its eastern suburbs. And government forces ambushed opposition fighters near the town of Otaiba.
The government news agency, SANA, says at least 40 rebels, some of them foreign nationals, were killed in the raid. Activists put the figure at 24.
The renewed government offensive is aimed at bolstering its position on the ground amid an international push for peace talks.
October 25th, 2013, 7:40 pm
zoo said:
The opposition’s new challenge: Uniting 2000 rebels militias who are exploding bombs in each other areas and fighting against each other.
Top UN official says 2,000 armed opposition groups active in Syria
Oct 26,2013
UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) — A top UN official on Friday said that clashes among an estimated 2,000 armed opposition groups in Syria have made it much harder for the international humanitarian relief workers to work in the war-torn country.
October 25th, 2013, 7:44 pm
zoo said:
Freedom and dignity in Al Raqqa?
Islamists Repress Syria’s Citizen Journalists
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/25/islamists-repress-syrias-citizen-journalists/
Syrian media activists working to establish a credible alternative to the state broadcaster in areas of the country held by rebel groups were dealt a blow this month in the northeastern province of Raqqa, where a radio station that aired criticism of Qaeda-linked militants was closed down by the Islamists and one citizen journalist was kidnapped.
According to the British-Syrian activist Rami Jarrah, who has been working to transform a network of media activists into citizen journalists in areas of Syria outside government control, militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, raided his group’s office in Raqqa on Oct. 15, seizing equipment, two weeks after they detained one of his journalists, Rami al-Razzouk.
Speaking by Skype from the Turkish city of Gaziantep, Mr. Jarrah told The Lede that the militant group’s attacks on his ANA New Media Association came after residents of Raqqa had complained on a call-in radio show about repression by the Islamists, who control the town. In addition to closing down the Radio ANA broadcast center there, the militants have also carried out reprisals against callers, Mr. Jarrah said. After one man voiced concern about ISIS on the air, the activist said, his cousin was kidnapped by the Islamists.
ANA has also angered the Islamists by posting video online in which other rebel factions criticize ISIS.
October 25th, 2013, 7:49 pm
zoo said:
Qatar wants to “open a new chapter” with Syria after it realized the irresitible change of wind in favor of Bashar Al Assad and the mess of the opposition. Demonized in Egypt and Tunisia for its close association with the Moslem Brotherhood, Qatar wants to get back some less controversial role in Lebanon and Syria. It is also eying the lucrative reconstruction of Syria. Get ready for another Erdogan tantrum.
Ibrahim mediating between Qatar and Syria
October 26, 2013 12:27 AM
BEIRUT: Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamid al-Thani appeared to offer an olive branch to Syria by asking General Security head Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim to relay his nation’s willingness to “open a new chapter” in relations between the two countries, a high-ranking political source told The Daily Star Friday. Ibrahim was in Qatar to ask the emir for assistance in resolving the case of two bishops abducted in Syria this year.
Tamim assumed the helm as Qatar’s emir in June, after his father abdicated. The new emir has not explicitly detailed Qatar’s foreign policy priorities, leading some observers to believe that the Gulf state is reconsidering its support for the Syrian opposition, while warming to the regime.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2013/Oct-26/235853-ibrahim-mediating-between-qatar-and-syria.ashx#ixzz2imTeJRsx
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
October 25th, 2013, 7:57 pm
zoo said:
Syria’s Al-Nusra Front says chief in good health
http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-123899-Syrias-Al-Nusra-Front-says-chief-in-good-health–
BEIRUT: Syria’s jihadist Al-Nusra Front said in a statement on Saturday that its leader was in good health, after state television had reported his death.
“What was claimed by one channel alone, regarding what it claimed was the killing of the emir of Al-Nusra Front, was a lie,” said the group.
On Friday night, Syrian state television said Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani had been killed in coastal Latakia province, but state news agency SANA quickly withdrew an alert saying the same thing.
October 25th, 2013, 8:03 pm
Ghufran said:
Hopeful,
Well said, brother.
Thank you.
However, I am hopeful, I hope you are too 🙂
October 25th, 2013, 8:46 pm
Ghufran said:
Khaddam from NCC proposes a joint delegation of the opposition headed by Riad Saif, however the FSA and jarba have repeated their position of refusing to attend Geneva 2 until Assad steps down.
October 25th, 2013, 9:17 pm
omen said:
Islamists Repress Syria’s Citizen Journalists
who benefits from alleged islamists doing this?
October 25th, 2013, 11:45 pm
omen said:
from a wikileaks memo (2006):
October 26th, 2013, 12:02 am
zoo said:
The increasing role of the secular Kurds in the fighting against the Islamists rebels in North East Syria. The question is : Who gives them weapons? ;
Syrian Kurdish fighters capture border crossing on Iraq border: activists
http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/syrian-kurdish-fighters-capture-border-crossing-on-iraq-border-activists-1.1514536
BEIRUT — Syrian Kurdish fighters captured Saturday the sole border post held by al Qaeda-linked groups on their border with Iraq, a major source of the militants’ support, activists and an Iraqi official said.
…
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Kurdish militiamen had captured the Yaaroubiyeh post in northeast Syria on Saturday after three days of clashes with several jihadist groups there, including the Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.
An Iraqi intelligence official confirmed that Kurdish rebels held the crossing point, adding that Baghdad brought reinforcements to the area to prevent any spillover of violence.
…
Kurdish groups control a large swath of northern Syria. Clashes between their fighters and jihadists have killed hundreds of people in the past months. The Observatory said the Kurdish fighters, mostly members of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party or PYD, also captured the Duty Free building and a cement factory in the area.
The border crossing point was under government control until March when hard-line rebels captured it. Syrian rebels, particularly the hard-line groups, are believed to draw support from insurgents in Iraq. Sunni Arabs dominate both the Syrian rebel movement and the Iraqi insurgency.
,,,
October 26th, 2013, 8:41 am
zoo said:
Syrian women refugees prefer going back home with or without a war
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/charity-warns-syrian-women-would-2641192
26 Oct 2013 12:30
THE ‘Caritas Lebanon’ charity has released findings suggesting more than half of Syrian females they encounter would rather live in the war-torn country than take the endless violence, rape and sexual abuse in refugee camps.
…
MANY Syrian women would rather return to their war-torn homeland than endure the violence, rape and other sexual assaults they are experiencing as refugees, a humanitarian charity has said.
More than 50 per cent of women seeking aid from Caritas Lebanon, the partner agency of Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (Sciaf), have told social workers they have been sexually abused.
Caritas Lebanon and Sciaf are members of the confederation of 165 Catholic organisations Caritas Internationalis, making up one of the world’s largest humanitarian aid networks.
Najla Chahda, director of Caritas Lebanon Migrant Centre, said that as cases of sexual gender-based violence are discovered by her staff during home visits, similarities in the women’s stories emerge.
“During discussions they reported that they are not happy. They want change, to go back home,” she said.
“When we ask them why, when there is a war in Syria, they say, ‘we were living easily … Even though it was difficult, we were well treated. Our husbands were not so aggressive. There were always opportunities for us to express ourselves, to share with our neighbours and families in our environment’.”
October 26th, 2013, 8:49 am
zoo said:
Despite Jarba’s theatrical outcry at the FOS meeting, it appears than the UN and the Arab League want Iran to participate in the Geneva conference
Brahimi: Iran’s participation in Geneva talks “natural, fruitful”
26 October
http://en.trend.az/news/politics/2205002.html
The UN-Arab League Special Envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi said that Iran’s participation in Geneva Talks is natural, necessary, and fruitful, ?R?NN reported.
He made these remarks at a joint press conference with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Brahimi added that no country has been officially invited to the talks yet but the UN and Arab League want Iran to participate in the talks.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for his part said that Iran is willing to help to find a realistic solution to the crisis in Syria.
He added that even if not invited, Tehran will do its utmost to put an end to what happening in Syria.
Geneva Talks initiated by the US and Russia has been scheduled for November 23-24. It is aimed at finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis.
The UN-Arab League Special Envoy for Syria is currently in Tehran within his Middle East tour to get support for the meeting scheduled for November.
Brahimi sat down for talks with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif upon his arrival.
October 26th, 2013, 8:55 am
zoo said:
Qatar courting Lebanon…
Sleiman: Qatar exerting maximum efforts to release bishops
October 26, 2013 03:39 PM
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2013/Oct-26/235882-sleiman-qatar-exerting-maximum-efforts-to-release-bishops.ashx#ixzz2ipfMiKSX
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
October 26th, 2013, 8:56 am
zoo said:
Hezbollah Forces Help Syrian Regime Win Key Battle
http://www.voanews.com/content/hezbollah-forces-help-syrian-regime-take-key-objectives/1776905.html
BEIRUT — Hezbollah forces from Lebanon have helped Syrian President Bashar al-Assad win a major victory in a two-month long battle for control of two key strategic suburbs on the outskirts of Damascus, handing a setback to rebels, who military analysts say had hoped to launch an offensive on the Syrian capital.
On Thursday, Syrian State television announced the overrunning of the southeast suburb of Hatetat al-Turkman. The suburb is near a crucial road running by Damascus’ international airport. Opposition activists acknowledged the Syrian army advance there and in the suburb of al-Thiabiya and at Husseiniya, a Palestinian refugee camp.
….
The loss of al-Thiabiya and Husseiniya – they are located between two main highways running south to neighboring Jordan and near the Shia shrine at Sayida Zainab — has triggered recriminations between rebel fighters, according to opposition activist Rami al-Sayyed.
Local rebel brigades had called on other militias to reinforce them but to no avail. “They were let down. The loss of these districts is largely due to lack of coordination and the reluctance to assist the defenders,” Sayyed said.
Lack of coordination between the fractious rebels has plagued the two-and-half -year uprising against Assad. “With the rebels we are talking about 120,000 fighters but they are 120,000 fighters with a command and control and communication structure that is at the level of the First World War,” said U.S. military analyst Nerguizian.
October 26th, 2013, 9:00 am
Juergen said:
The day for the saudi women to stand up for their rights.
Hisham Fagee made this hilarious campaign video.
No women no drive!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZMbTFNp4wI
October 26th, 2013, 9:01 am
Ghat Al Bird said:
An “alliance” between the “only” democracy in the Middle East and the country that does not allow its women to drive a car has just been officially announced in Israel…..
Israeli minister Tzipi Livni says the Tel Aviv regime and Saudi Arabia share a similar stance and speak a similar language on Iran. [but not Syria!]
“When you hear the Saudis talking about what needs to be done in order to prevent a [nuclear] Iran, I mean it sounds familiar. I think that you can hear that Arabic sounds familiar to Hebrew when it comes to Iran,” said Livni at a conference organized by Israeli daily Jerusalem Post.
October 26th, 2013, 9:14 am
zoo said:
As the armed rebels are collapsing from their internal divisions and lack of amunition and the expat opposition under huge pressure with the clock ticking for the 23rd november, Bandar Ben Sultan the architect of Saudi Arabia’s plan on Syria has decided to escalate car bombings in Syria and tension in Lebanon.
The purposes is to squeeze Hezbollah into withdrawing its fighters from Syria as, thanks the them, the armed rebels and their islamist allies are getting a beating.
Bandar will fall and get the same fate as Qatar’s HBJ : A criminal that will become a scapegoat for Saudi’s failed attempt to control Syria’s future
October 26th, 2013, 3:05 pm
Syrian said:
Sharif Shahada, the number one mouthpiece of the regime for 2 years have run away with his family to the “evil West”
He is now in Brussels Belgium
http://youtu.be/NGdJ2qdMQyM
October 26th, 2013, 3:23 pm
ghufran said:
Mannaa’ believes the US and Russia want Assad to stay until June, 2014, he was critical of KSA’s role in the region:
??? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ??????????? ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ????????? ?? “????? ??????? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ??????? ??? ?????”? ????? ??? “?????? ??? ??????? ?? ?? ???? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ????????”.
???? ???? ??? ?? “???????? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ????????”? ????? ??? ?? “??????? ????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??????”.
????? ???? ?? “?????? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ???? ????? ???????”.
On the ground, Qalamon region and Goutah are likely to witness major escalation of violence. Areas under Nusra and ISIS control in Latakia northern Reef has been under attack since August, more is likely to come as Turkey starts to adjust its position on Syria’s war after terrorists got too close to its borders and the US lectured Erdu and his spy chief about the subject.
October 26th, 2013, 3:51 pm
Syrian said:
A great video of an attack by remote controls car against the occupying forces of Iran’s Shia terrorist militia Hizboola in Dara.
http://youtu.be/Gvu5BLYuZeU
October 26th, 2013, 3:52 pm
Syrian said:
With the out in the open unapologetic great support of KSA for liberating Syria from Iran’s IRGC,Hizboola and Iraqis Shia militias.And with the threat of igniting lebonan, in addition to the prospect of kicking out half million Hizboola Shia sympathizers in the GCC, plus the mountains areas of the Qalamons, add to that the tens of thousands of Syrians fighters., itching to take revenge of the much smaller Qusier region battle that took Hizboola 2 weeks to control.
Hizboola will think 10 times before attacking the great Syrian freedom fighters in that area.
actually, have they been able to do it they would have done it already.
October 26th, 2013, 4:09 pm
Syrian said:
The strategic town of Tafas in Dara has been fully liberated by the great Syrians freedom fighters, the farmers will finally be able to go back to their farms without being attacked by snipers and the surrounding villages can have some break from the daily bombardments
http://youtu.be/wVg_w15eMj4
October 26th, 2013, 4:28 pm
Syrian said:
Destroying with the great Chinese Red Arrow missile,an BMB in Mliha, at the edge of Damascus,less than 2 miles from where “hardly a massacre” used to drink her coffee when the Syrian Pound was about 70 to the dollar.
http://youtu.be/nb2smwXuqQg
October 26th, 2013, 4:52 pm
ALAN said:
988. SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Folks, take note: alan is now selling red bull.
Energy of “red bull”
http://www.veteransnewsnow.com/2013/10/26/229177-rob-schneider-what-should-you-blog-about/
Rob Schneider: What should you blog about?
We live in dicey times and I think we all have an obligation to speak out about important matters, regardless of the cost. We should look for the truth rather than accept what’s told to us. With the internet for our source material, there’s really no excuse not to find it.
Alternative news, blogging and social media, I believe, have been responsible for the U.S. and its allies to back down or at least slow down on their push for war in Syria.
The much-derided “sheeple” of the U.S. and other countries have been seeking the truth, probably to their leaders’ surprise. Not finding it on the mainstream news, the people have given the upstart alternative news sources a go. What have they found? — facts and solid evidence instead of empty rhetoric.
As bloggers, we should be aware that even playing a small part is better than playing no part at all.
We have power; we need to use it. Look what Abby Martin has done in one year…….
http://youtu.be/F4AA76rA-Pg?t=2s
October 26th, 2013, 4:58 pm
zoo said:
Turkey is getting worried…
Assad uses Kurdish card against Turkey to divide opposition
27 October 2013 /AYDIN ALBAYRAK, ANKARA
Analysts agree that the friendly moves Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has so far made toward Kurds in the country have two main objectives: dividing the opposition that aims to overthrow him from power and sending a message to Turkey, which is vexed by a possible formation of an autonomous Kurdish region in the north of Syria, as has been the case in Iraq.
“Assad wants to keep the coalition block against him as fragmented as possible,” Serhat Erkmen, professor of international relations at Ahi Evran University, told Sunday’s Zaman.
Assad sent a message to Kurds in Syria through Omar Ose, a Kurdish deputy there, that he is ready to grant them rights, the Milliyet daily reported at the beginning of the week. In statements Ose gave to web portals Rudaw and Avestakurd, he said he got together twice with Assad in the past two months. According to Ose, Assad was pleased when Ose informed him about his intention to visit the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.
October 26th, 2013, 5:13 pm
PenGun said:
It’s dead Jim. Just a forum now.
October 26th, 2013, 5:17 pm
zoo said:
To the Syrian opposition: Go to Geneva
http://saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20131027184777
Saturday, October 26, 2013
HISHAM MELHEM
Al Arabiya
While it is true that the prospects of convening the Geneva II conference are low, and the chances of success are almost nil, nonetheless the Syrian opposition’s hostility to convening a “peace” conference without an a priori decision guaranteeing Bashar Al-Assad’s departure is ill conceived tactically, just as boycotting Geneva II if it takes place or rejecting the principle of negotiations with representatives of the current regime is a strategic blunder.
The continuation of fighting will likely lead to the breakup of Syria, turning what is today a “soft partition” of the country into a de facto or final hard partition.
…
Geneva II could become a new opportunity for a fragmented and weak opposition lacking a stellar reputation inside Syria, given the constant bickering among its various components, and their inability to frame an overarching vision of a post-Assad Syria to resurrect itself as a viable opposition capable of negotiating political outcomes and delivering on its promises and commitments.
Geneva II could provide the opposition a chance to prove to the world, and the Syrian themselves, that they truly represent the Syrian people and that they are fighting on their behalf, that they will do their utmost not only to overthrow a despotic regime and build a representative and democratic alternative, but also to do whatever it takes to alleviate the suffering of Syrians during this tragic moment in their lives.
Boycotting Geneva II will serve the deceptive narrative of the Assad regime that it is fighting only extremists and Jihadists with links to Al-Qaeda. Such a posture could lead the Obama administration, which has not been a very reliable supporter, to entertain compromises that would not necessarily serve the long term aspirations of the Syrian people.
October 26th, 2013, 5:30 pm
omen said:
tell me again how the shia are doctrinally non violent.
October 26th, 2013, 6:51 pm
Ghufran said:
Estimates on the destruction in Syria keep coming:
$5 billion to rebuild destroyed homes
$1.5 billion to rebuild destroyed homes in Aleppo alone
1 million Syrians lost their properties
6 million syrians are totally unemployed
Infrastructure is cripples in most Syrian cities except the so-called safe spots which is less than 30% of Syria’s inhabited areas.
4 million internally displaced citizens
2 million external refugees
Let the beloved leader, the great freedom fighters and the guided KSA fix this disaster.
October 26th, 2013, 8:43 pm
zoo said:
Tunisia’s ‘sexual jihad’ – extremist fatwa or propaganda?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24448933
When Tunisia’s authorities announced that a stream of young women had been leaving their homes to provide sexual services to Islamist militants in Tunisia and Syria, the statement was greeted with both shock and scepticism. The BBC’s Ahmed Maher went to Tunisia to investigate the reports.
…
In April, the most senior Muslim religious authority in Tunisia, Mufti Othman Batikh, caused an uproar in the media when he alleged that Tunisian girls were visiting Syria to take part in a sexual jihad.
Three months later, he was sacked by President Muncif Marzouk. Mr Batikh says that was in punishment for speaking out.
Another prominent Muslim scholar in Tunisia, Sheikh Fareed Elbaji, told the BBC he personally knew families who had discovered that their daughters had gone to Chaambi and Syria to offer sex in support of the militants, apparently in obedience to fatwas or religious edicts issued on the battlefields of Syria.
“Those extremists base their malicious fatwas on the rule that necessity allows forbidden things – in this case temporary marriage to meet the sexual needs of the rebels.
“Islam forbids this practice, which amounts to voluntary prostitution,” he said.
In largely secular and liberal Tunisia, the idea of sexual jihad comes as a shock. Many dismiss it as a politically motivated hoax.
But others, already alarmed by growing extremism in the country, say it cannot be so easily ruled out.
October 26th, 2013, 9:18 pm
Hopeful said:
#1143 Zoo
In principle, I am not against sexual fatwas that open up Arab societies to a bit of sexual freedom and reduce the tension and depression that are caused by sexual deprivation. Maybe if the jihadis find their virgins on earth they will stop seeking them in heaven by blowing themselves up!
October 26th, 2013, 9:49 pm
Ghufran said:
Hopeful,
“Maybe if the jihadis find their virgins on earth they will stop seeking them in heaven by blowing themselves up!”
That was a good one.
October 26th, 2013, 11:32 pm
Hopeful said:
To SNC and FSA:
Go to Geneve 2. Search for a settlement that may save lives and help you reach your goals. No one is asking you to lay down your arms and abandon your principles. And if they do, you have the right to refuse. Negotiate with your enemy. You believe that Iran is your enemy? Well fine, seat them around the table and negotiate with them too. At least you will have the world’s eyes on you during the process, and they can be the judge.
October 27th, 2013, 12:09 am
Syrian said:
If sex were on the Jihadis mind they would have done what the Shias and Alwaies have been doing for 2 years by raping Sunnis women. It is a lot easier to kidnap Alawais women than waiting for the non existing Tunisian girls,sex and pleasure marriage are only on the mind of the Shia Regime supporters and their tails on this site.trying to deflect the proven cases of thier side sexual depravity, be it on the battle field or within thier own sect,
October 27th, 2013, 12:15 am
Syrian said:
The West with all its glory have been negotiating for 10 years with Iran about their nuclear program to no avail,
Iran is on a messianic mission to dominate the region, Iran only understand the language of war, and they have met their match in the Syrian Sunnis.
October 27th, 2013, 12:25 am
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
We at Heads up urge all the true Syrians, i.e. those who are opposed to Serpent head, Ass-head, to search for, download and read the following
???????? ??????????
You will then have a good understanding of how false Shiism is and how essential it is to rid the world of Shiite terrorism. As a bonus you will also be entertained with good laughs.
On the other hand we at Heads up are confident that our patrons, the Guided Royal Highnesses of the Guided Kingdom, will succeed in riding the umma and Syria of the scourge of Shiite terrorism, which will result in liberating Syria from the snake heads and in establishing the new Guided Syria which will be in the exact image of the Guided Kingdom.
October 27th, 2013, 12:47 am
Ghufran said:
Turkish government allows terrorists inside Syria, stole everything they can reach in Aleppo, made huge profits from stealing oil and other items from Syria then told Syrians they are lucky to be accepted at refugee camps:
????? ????? ??? ???????? ????????: ??????? ??????? ?? ?????!
???? ???? ????? ?????? ‘??? ??????? ??????’ ??????? ???????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ??????? ????? ?? ?????.
???? ???? ???????
?????? – ?? ???? ?????
????? ?? ??? ??????? ??????..
October 27th, 2013, 12:48 am
Syrian said:
Statement from the biggiest revolutionary forces and factions on the ground about the Geneva Conference (2)
“Where is the signatories of the statement that the Geneva Conference 2 is a wrap on the revolution and a try to abort it.The statement stresses that any solution that does not end the presence of al-Assad and his staff and his system and security apparatus will be rejected, and the signatories consider that bargaining in Geneva 2 other than the above is a betrayal and will be brought to the courts of the revolution in Syria”
???? ????? ???????? ??????? ??? ????? ???? (2)
??? ????? ???????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ???? 2 ??? ?????? ??? ?????? ??????? ????????? ????? ?????? ?? ?? ?? ?? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ???????? ??????? ????? ???? ???????? ?????? ???????? ?? ???????? ?? ???? 2 ????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?? ?????
http://youtu.be/u3jNuBtQhOI
October 27th, 2013, 12:59 am
Syrian said:
Iran gives Christians 80 lashes for communion wine
“Four Iranian Christians have been sentenced to 80 lashes for drinking ceremonial wine during a communion service and possessing a satellite radio antenna.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/four-christians-sentenced-to-80-lashes-in-iran-for-drinking-ceremonial-wine-during-communion-service-8904279.html
also on you tube
http://youtu.be/9BBD1qOLj8w
October 27th, 2013, 1:53 am
annie said:
the latest Maysaloon
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Oh well…
Should I really care if Abu Mohammad al Golani has been killed in a regime ambush? Probably not. The Syrian revolution isn’t about swapping an Alawite dictator for a Sunni one, it’s about fundamental rights for the citizen and for dignity. I’m not going to shed tears over somebody simply because he opposes Assad when his group openly calls for ethnic cleansing and has been accused of horrific human rights abuses. I’ve often heard Syrians telling me that they are “the only ones fighting Assad” and so we should turn a blind eye to their mistakes. I disagree.
Nobody asked for this war, Assad imposed it on the country in order to stay in power. The reason he did this was precisely for the kind of reaction that groups like JAN and ISIS are capable of. It is also to buttress his position internationally and domestically as some sort of champion for secularism. If we really think about it there are two things this regime has feared and avoided above all else, allowing peaceful demonstrations to take root in the country – coupled with a civil society movement – and foreign – specifically Western – intervention.
Both of these options seem a distant dream now, but if the killing is to stop, really stop, then we have to bring these back on the table. I don’t care who screeches to me about Iraq and imperialism, this is a matter of survival for an entire country. Assad and his allies are now presenting the world with two scenarios for Syria, and neither is acceptable. Either the country transforms into a version of North Korea, or it becomes Afghanistan. Both options would suit Iran, Hezbullah and Assad perfectly well for obvious reasons. But, and here is the important caveat, Iran, Hezbullah and Assad cannot impose their will on Syria. They’ve been trying to for almost three years and they can’t. That means a lot though it has come at a hell of a price.
Syrians can push for the third option, a country that respects the rights of its citizens and gives them the opportunity to try and make a better life for themselves. In order to do that they don’t have to feel compelled to clap and cheer for every madman who fires a Kalashnikov at the regime.
Posted by Maysaloon at 1:17 pm
http://www.maysaloon.org/2013/10/oh-well.html
October 27th, 2013, 1:57 am
Syrian said:
?????? ?”???? ??????”.. ???????? ????
??? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ????????. ???? ??????? ????????? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ?? ?? ???? ??? ????? ??????. ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? ???????? ?????? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ????. ???????? ???????? ??????? ?? ?????? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ??????? ?? ???????? ???? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????. ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ????. ??? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ??? ?????????? ?? ????? ????????? ??? ???? ?????? ???????? ?? ??? ?????? ???. ????? ????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ??????? ???????? ????? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ???????? ????? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ?????. ???? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ??? ????? ???????? ???????? ???? ????? ????????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???????? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? (?? ??????) ????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????!. ????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ??? ??????.
??? ?????? ???? ?? ???????? ??? ?????? ???????? ??? ???????? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ???? ???????? ?????? ??? ?????????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ???????? ?????? ??????. ???? ?????? ??????? ????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??? 7000 ?????? ????? (?????? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? -?? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ????????- ??? ???? ???? ????????? ???? ????????? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????). ???? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????.
??????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ??????: “???? ??????”. ???? ????? ?? ????? 2012 ????? ????? ???? ????? ??? ?????- ????? ?????? ???? ???????? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ????????? ?????? ??????? ??? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ??? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ?? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ??????? ????????? ??? ???? ??????? ???????!.
??? ???? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ????????? ???????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ???????? (?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????) ???? ??????? ??? “????? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ?? ???”. ??? ???? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ???? ????????? ??????? ?? 22/9/2013 ???????? ???? ???? ???? ?? ????? 16 ??? (???? ????)? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ????????? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ??????? ?? ??????!.
????? “????????” ???? ???? ???? ???? ????? ?????. ???? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ???????? ???? ????? ????? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ????????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ??????? (???? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ??????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ????????? ???????).
??? ???? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ???? ?? ??? “??????”? ???? ?? ??????? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ???????? ????? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ????????? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ??????? ???????? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ???????? ??????? ???? ???????? ??? “??????????”.
??? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ?? ??? ??????? ???? ??????.
??????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ????????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ??? ????? ??? ??? ???? ????????? ??? ????????? ?????? ???: “???? ??? ????? ??????” ?? “??? ????- ??????” ?? “????? ??? ????”? ??? ??????? ??? ??????? ????????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????????? ?? ?????? ?????… ??? ??? ?? ????? ????? ?????????? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ?? “??????”? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ????????? ????? ????? ???????? ???????. ??? ??? ????? ?? ????????? ????????? ???????? ?? ??????? ??????? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ???? “?????????” ?? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ??????!.
?? ?????? ?????? ???????? ???? ???? ???????? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ?????!.
???? ?????
October 27th, 2013, 2:42 am
ALAN said:
Spy vs. Spy: Iran, Turkey, and Israel Edition
…Israel has exploited the Kurds to work against Iran ..
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/spy-vs-spy-iran-turkey-and-israel-edition/
October 27th, 2013, 5:22 am
ALAN said:
http://rt.com/op-edge/us-militar-attack-syria-784/
—–
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/10/25/john_kerry_humanitarian_aid_syria#.Umu-meycZ-Q.twitter
—–
http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2013/october/26/al-qaeda%E2%80%99s-corridor-through-syria.aspx
October 27th, 2013, 5:33 am
ALAN said:
The voice of Russia
Pushkov: Sponsors of the Syrian opposition want to disrupt “the Geneva-2”
Nineteen Syrian opposition groups have rejected participation in the “Geneva 2”
Brahimi: Iran’s involvement in the “Geneva 2” is necessary and useful
October 27th, 2013, 5:52 am
Syrialover said:
Hey, Sharmine Narwani despisers gather round. Here’s further proof of her fakery and lack of credentials aa a specialist commentator and authority on Syrian issues.
She’s been exposed as not even speaking Arabic! Read this exchange between a couple of genuine scholars of Middle eastern affairs at Oxford University (an institution where Narwani claims to be as a front, but has no real role).
See: https://twitter.com/DanieleRaineri/status/385033725769023488
So we must assume all her specialist research and inspirational sources on the Syrian situation must be in Farsi.
NOTE: One of the Oxford people mocking the toxic Narwani here is Aymenn J Al-Tamimi, a respected ISIS watcher who has appeared on SC. (His site is http://www.aymennjawad.org/). Another is Phillip Smyth, a dedicated Hezbollah watcher who shares his findings on Hezbollah Cavalcade (http://jihadology.net/hizballah-cavalcade/).
COMMENT: I’m sure those guys and others at Oxford will be quick to share any information that comes to light on who is sponsoring Narwani’s hate-fuelled antics as a pseudo journalist and academic.
October 27th, 2013, 6:37 am
Syrialover said:
If you need to explain simply and clearly to someone what the Assad regime is about, show them this.
It’s a graphic, unbearable documentary showing distressed young UK doctors dealing with the aftermath of the regime bombing of a school. Children were hit while they were studying, receiving devastating injuries from napalm-type weapons. Some were killed immediately, others with with burns on up to 90% of their bodies later die despite treatment in a Turkish hospital.
It is deeply, deeply shocking and disturbing. But it illustrates the daily fundamentals of what is being done to Syrians by the regime and its external sponsors.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03c7m8s
COMMENT: I wish this documentary could be screened on prime time TV in Russia and Iran. It would show people there what their governments are currently supporting and cheering on. They would not only be horrified by the cruelty and senselessness, but would get a terrifying warning of what their own “leadership” would be capable of and consider normal against them if necessary.
October 27th, 2013, 7:15 am
SimoHurtta said:
1153. omen said:
tell me again how the shia are doctrinally non violent.
Statement by the President on the Anniversary of the Attack on the U.S. Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon
Thirty years ago today, 220 Marines, 18 sailors, and 3 soldiers lost their lives to a Hizballah suicide bomber who attacked the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. Minutes later, 58 French paratroopers lost their lives when a second Hizballah suicide bomber attacked the French barracks. This despicable act of terrorism was the deadliest single-day death toll for the U.S. Marine Corps since the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima. Our Marines and their fellow service members were serving in Beirut as part of a multinational force during the Lebanese civil war, to help bring stability to a troubled region and to defend our strategic interests in the Middle East. They came in peace.
You are simply absurd Omen with your naive propaganda. Is every US bomb and missile it drops a sign that Christianity is doctrinally violent? Or Judaism because what some Israeli Jewish settlers do?
Do you Omen in earnest believe, that in 1983 Lebanese did see US Marines there as neutral peacekeepers? USA had just armed and financed Israel in 1982 in its invasion of large part of Lebanon. USA had just “tolerated” Israel and Christian Phalangists slaughtering hundreds of Palestinian women and children (>800) in Sabra and Shatila. USA was just then on the same time arming and financing Saddam in their common shared war against Iran. Giving Saddam chemical weapons. USA had then in autumn 1983 a fleet of large ships shelling Muslim areas and troops especially the Shia villages. USA had been supporting more or less openly the Lebanese Christian side in the civil war. It was USA’s (normal) clumsy military and political behaviour in Lebanon then, that the Muslims, especially the Shia, begun to see USA as a participant in the civil war, not as peacekeepers.
Tell me Omen again, that USA was and is the innocent “beacon” of peaceful Christianity and democracy exporter only purely willing to help Muslims (Shia and Sunni) in Middle East.
October 27th, 2013, 7:24 am
Syrialover said:
A report like the one on the school bombing I have linked above shows in blazing lights what liars, nasty fools and game players the Assad apologists here are.
There is nothing, nothing, nothing they can say in the face of the reality of what the regime does.
Nothing.
October 27th, 2013, 7:29 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
A reward well deserved
?????? ??????? ????????
25 ????? ????? 2013
???? ??? ?? ??????
???? ??? ?? ??????
???? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ????? “???”? ?”????? ?????” ??: ??????? ??????? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ?????.
?????? ????? ??????? ????????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ?? ????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ????? ????? ????… ???? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ??????.
….more
….
?? ??????? ????? ????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ??”???? ??? ?? ??????”?
?????? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ????????? ?? ????? ??????? ???????? ????? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ???????? ???? ?????? ???????? ?????? “????? ???????”? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ??????? – ?? ???? ?? ?? ??? – ??? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ???????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ???? ???????.
????? ????? ???????? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ????? ???????? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ????????? ??????? ??????? ???? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????:
?????? ???????? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? “?????? ?????”? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ?????? ??? ?????? ????? ?? 154????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ???????? ?????? ?????? – ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ??????? ????????? -.
????? ????? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? 2136 ??????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? ??????? ?? 48 ???????? ???? ?? ???????? “????????” ??????? ??? ????.
?? ??????? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ???????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ????: “??????? ???? ????????? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ???????? ? “?????” ?????? ?? ??? ???????? ???????. ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ????????? ?????????? ?? ????? ????????”.
????? ???? ???? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ???????? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ?????????? ?????? – ?? ?????? ??????? – ????? ????? 200 ????? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ???????? ?????? ??? ???? “??????”? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ?????. ??? ??? ??? ????? ???? “???????”? ??? ???? ??????? ?????? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ??? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ????!.
????? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ???????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ????. ????? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ???????? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ?????????.
“???????? ????????”? ??? ?????? ????? ????? TNT ?????? “????? ?????? ??????” – ??? ???? ????? ????? ????? – ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??? ??? ????? ????? ????? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ????? 600 ???? ????. ???????? ?? “?????” ????? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ??????? ? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ??????.
????? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ???? ???????? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ????? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??????.. ???? ????? ????? ??????: ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ??? ???????? ????????? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ???????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ??????!
?????? ???? ????? ????? ?????: ?????! ?????? ???? ?? ????. ?????? ????? ??????? ???????.
October 27th, 2013, 7:43 am
Syrialover said:
If you want to lift Nasrullah’s skirts and get some insights into what an inept and complicated mess Hezbollah are in, including in the eyes of their Iranian sponsors, this is worth reading:
http://www.carnegiecouncil.org/studio/multimedia/20130917/index.html
And if you want to know the pointless hell Hezbollah have dragged ordinary Shia in Lebanon into read this: https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/the-collective-suicide-of-the-shiites
October 27th, 2013, 8:03 am
zoo said:
19 Syria rebel groups reject Geneva talks
AFP – 4 hours ago
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/19-syria-rebel-groups-reject-geneva-talks-075232619.html#cVQfZSo
Nineteen Islamist groups fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad have rejected outright a mooted US-Russian peace initiative for Syria dubbed Geneva 2, a statement said.
“We announce that the Geneva 2 conference is not, nor will it ever be our people’s choice or our revolution’s demand,” the groups said in a late Saturday statement read in an online video by Ahmad Eissa al-Sheikh, chief of the Suqur al-Sham chief.
“We consider it just another part of the conspiracy to throw our revolution off track and to abort it.”
The statement also warned that anyone who went to such talks would be committing “treason, and … would have to answer for it before our courts”.
The statement comes weeks after dozens of major rebel groups across Syria said the Western-backed opposition umbrella grouping the National Coalition had “failed”.
October 27th, 2013, 8:20 am
Syrialover said:
I can’t stop feeling delighted disgust at how handicapped the fraud Sharmine Narwani is not even speaking Arabic (#1170).
I wonder which casting couch she used to get her position as an Assad promoter? It would have been in circles in Teheran where Arabic is considered low rent.
October 27th, 2013, 8:23 am
Tara said:
Hopeful,
To reduce what someone like Abu Asem did to merely depression out of sexual frustration is allowing oneself to submit to some one’s else view which is often politically motivated to demonize group of people who have different narrative.
Making sex available at demand is not going to prevent these people blowing themselves up. They already can have legal sex with 4, and in case of Shias terrorists with infinite number through the “pleasure marriage”. Creating a society where people are respected and treated equally will. The mere fact that being oppressed, brutalized, having their right being stripped, and their humanity being degraded day in and day or watching the same applied to their brethren is what makes the jihadis jihadis.
Abu Assem came to Bilad al sham not out of sexual frustration, rather out of identifying with those who were burned or buried alive, those who were tortured, and those who were killed and bombarded because they happen to be Sunnis.
October 27th, 2013, 8:23 am
zoo said:
@1162 Ghufran
Erdogan and Davutoglu will pay dearly their vicious role in Syria and the profit they made over Syrians bodies.
October 27th, 2013, 8:24 am
zoo said:
@1158 Hopeful
The opposition does not want to go to Geneva because they know they have little credibility in Syria. Even their former allies reject them. In addition all the minorities and most of moderate Sunni Syrians do not consider them anymore as their representative.
The opposition knows that going to Geneva is the end for them and a huge victory for the Syrian government, Iran and Russia.
More Syrians may flip toward their legitimate government who turned out to be right: It was not a revolution from ‘freedom and dignity” but a plot to destroy and weaken the country by foreign powers who did not hesitate to use the Islamists as proxies as they did not want to get involved militarily. The SAA is fighting to save Syria from these criminals.
The opposition is trapped. Whatever choice they make they are the losers.
October 27th, 2013, 8:35 am
zoo said:
The Bilboards of Al Raqqa: a response to Kafranbel’s posters.
The Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham Billboards in Raqqa
by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi
http://www.aymennjawad.org/13960/the-islamic-state-of-iraq-and-ash-sham-billboards
…
Figure 11: “My modesty is the secret of my beauty”- a billboard promoting the niqab/burqa.
..
Figure 13: A billboard promoting jihad: “The messenger of God- may God’s peace and blessings be upon him- said: ‘And know that Paradise is under the shade of swords’.”
…
Figure 20: “My hijab is my glory/might.”
Figure 27: “The constitution of a secular state is incompatible with the law of God,” followed by a quotation of Qur’an 3:83.
..
Figure 29: An ISIS billboard expressing hopes for the liberation of Jerusalem: “I and my Lord are breaking our enemy…and we coming by my Lord will cleanse [Jerusalem].”
October 27th, 2013, 8:45 am
Syrialover said:
Just as Hezbollah has made life dangerous and desperate for ordinary Shia in Lebanon, so has Assad for the Alawites.
Most of them were not given the choice of which side to take. Nor have they been looked after by the regime.
In a sense, they are victims of the regime in a deeper and more permanent sense than many others as their born identity has now become toxic, regardless of their personal values and attitudes.
Article: The dilemma of the Alawites
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/10/the-dilemma-of-syrias-alawites.html?mbid=social_retweet
October 27th, 2013, 8:48 am
ALAN said:
How can the Syrian citizen to respect, who undermines a national unity, and differentiates a national diversity!
As for the dangerous life since to originated Israel became life as well!
October 27th, 2013, 9:40 am
ALAN said:
A careful examination of the most important reasons why the terrorist threat is increasing in the world today yields the following:
– A crisis of ideology, culture, and religion in Western civilization is coinciding with the spread and growth of influence of Islam in its politicized and radical forms, not only in countries that traditionally shared Muslim values, but also around the world;
– A kind of demographic revolution is taking place, where the population of Western countries is shrinking and that of Muslim countries is growing at a faster pace, which is forcing Muslims to migrate to Europe, the U.S., and Russia in search of higher education and employment, leading to a change in the ethnic compositions and a gradual rise of the influence of Islamic culture on these countries;
– The ongoing global financial and economic crisis has caused massive unemployment and provoked the poorest segments of the population, including Muslims, to participate in various forms of protest (the “Arab Spring”, riots in the suburbs of Paris, etc.);
– Some countries (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey) have attempted to use Islamic extremists and militants of various terrorist organizations in their fight against the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and the Shiite majority in Iraq. The sponsors of jihad believe that terrorists will help them overthrow the regime in Syria or put pressure on the government in Iraq, but the hopes that then tens of thousands of fighters who received combat experience in Syria and Iraq would then go back home are rather naïve; most likely, these people would join the vanguard of international terrorism, continuing their criminal activities in many different places. The U.S. already experienced this when they supported the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. After the war with the Soviet Union, militants from these organizations spread out around the world and were involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.;……….
http://journal-neo.org/2013/10/27/rus-aktual-nost-protivodejstviya-mezhdunarodnomu-terrorizmu-chast-2/
October 27th, 2013, 10:15 am
Hopeful said:
#1178 Tara
Ok, maybe it was a bad taste joke. But I am glad Ghufran liked it.
You know what, I agree with you. The jihadis do not blow themselves up just out of sexual frustration (although I still believe that was part of it). But I do NOT believe they have come to Syria to help the country turn into a modern pluralistic democracy. They have come to Syria to help the Sunnis against the infidels. I, for one, a Sunni Muslim, utterly and completely reject that premise. Our fight for freedom is not a religious fight. It is a fight for freedom and dignity, a fight for a future modern country where people enjoy the same rights as billions around the world do.
I loved Maysaloon’s article posted by Annie in #1165. Syrians are not fighting to swap an Alawi dictator with a Sunni fanatic.
October 27th, 2013, 10:19 am
Hopeful said:
#1180 Zoo
Maybe many in the SAA are fighting to rid Syria of terrorists, but Assad and his gangs are using the SAA and the terrorists to rid Syria of the true freedom fighters, and to deceive the world.
Zoo, you maybe able to sway people away from many of the opposition leadership but you won’t get them to accept and like Assad. Myself included. He is a criminal, inept, corrupt brutal dictator who has brought the country to the brink of extinction.
The opposition has many decent alternatives who could lead a civil transitional period: Kilo, Gallioun, Manaa, Khayyer, Khatib. Anyone of those figures can team up with a joint leadership from the SAA and FSA, rid the country of the jihadis, put Assad on trial, and transition syria into a democracy.
October 27th, 2013, 10:28 am
Tara said:
Hopeful,
And I agree with you too. An Islamic Imara is not going to provide anyone including the Sunnis with freedom and dignity. It will be subject to someone’s personal interpretation of sharia which can be very wild when if follows literal interpretation rather than spiritual interpretation. An islamic Imarah providing freedom and dignity is a illusion. It is nothing other than submitting one dictatorship with another. Iran is a pretty good example. This is quite clear to me and many others.
This however is not clear to jihadists who voice their goal as such. Those jihadis never knew anything else other than oppression, brutality, inequality, and injustice befalling on themselves, their fellow citizens, or their fellow brethrens. They dream of living their rights and think it can be only achieved through such Imaras as they personally experience no better. They are illusioned that Islamic Imara us going to restore their rights. They of course brainwashed into this while at the same time are only exposed to either current brutal dictatorship or historical Islamic khilafas were people thrive and prosper .
However, I am not with writing them off as equally evil as the regime or the occupying Shias terrorists of Iran and their tail HA. Having lived the Syrian experience, find it very difficult to demonize them as sexually frustrated or viscerally evil wanting to kill infidels. They did not come to Syria in Their quest to ” kill infedel” . They came to Syria to stand by the Syrian people against a regime that is slaughtering their brethren indiscriminately. Yet I agree that some are stupidly using sectarian slogans that is part of a brainwashing process applied to some while being recruited.
I am hoping that the people of the ME experience at least one example of a true democracy that can disillusion the jihadis.
October 27th, 2013, 11:29 am
Uzair8 said:
Foreign-backed regime continues it’s war on the Syrian people…
October 27th, 2013, 11:58 am
Uzair8 said:
A tweet posted on AJE Syria blog yesterday:
Mahathir Peace Award @TunMPeaceAward
It is estimated that some 75% of the production facilities in Aleppo, Syria’s commercial capital, are no longer operating. #WarFacts
Also this:
Peter Millett @PeterMillett1
In #Syria 90% of hospitals 38% of health centres 90% of ambulances affected by the crisis. Access for humanitarian orgs+#UN Agencies vital.
October 27th, 2013, 12:16 pm
ghufran said:
It looks like the only ones excited and pushing for a Geneva 2 are the Americans and the people who do not have guns and do not mind taking part in a future government led by Baathists.
Notice the cool response to Geneva by the regime (Assad even said that it may not take place) and the outright rejection of this conference by most rebels. I think the army aided by troops from Hizbullah is preparing a massive assault on rebels positions in three provinces at least, if the targeted areas fall completely under regime control then you will see a diplomatic theatre where the regime starts to push hard for a “political settlement” since rebels and their supporters will have very little to negotiate about after losing big in the south, the center and coastal areas and getting pushed by Nusra and ISIS elsewhere.
Hopeful hit the right button when he pointed out that the solution to Assad dictatorship should not be an islamist led Talibani government (or governments), unfortunately I do not see good options here, a lot will be decided on the battle field not at news conferences and on blogs like this, keep in mind that oppressed people led by a brutal and corrupt regime do not endorse democracy overnight and suddenly decide to forgive and reject violence, the damage done by the regime since the 1960s and by this war will take a decade or two to repair, Syrians today have bad choices: a victory by the regime which will divide Syria into functional areas that are safe but under tight regime control (where the rest of the country is a waste land ruled by Islamist thugs), or a continuous back and forth battles with no end in sight, a third and far less likely option is an actual peace deal and a government that represents all Syrians, it is it hard to see the third option coming any time soon, a fourth and less talked about option is dividing Syria into 3 or 4 mini states, most people and regional powers (except Israel) do not want that to happen.
October 27th, 2013, 12:21 pm
ALAN said:
The main reasons : another statistic on parallel:
Do you expect what the results of activity of these people if they find in London?New York? Just imagine
Interfax
Against the government of Syria’s 100,000 mercenaries fighting , including 350 from Ukraine .
Mufti of Syria, Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun at a meeting in Moscow with representatives of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society ( IOPS ) reported that on the side of the opposition Syrian government are fighting 100,000 mercenaries from 83 countries .
According to the mufti, who led the deputy chairman of the IOPS Elena Agapov militants from Saudi Arabia to Syria , there are between 5 and 8 thousand (of which killed 1,019 people , missing 1800) , Chechnya – 1700 ( 717 killed ) , from Ukraine – 350 , Turkmenistan – 360 Kazakhstan – 250, Tajikistan – 190 , Azerbaijan – 100 Georgia – 80 , Tunisia – 4 thousand , Iraq – 3 thousand , United States – 290 in Canada – 120.
In the fighting in Syria are also involved hundreds of fighters from Europe, particularly from Spain – 90 , Bosnia – 150, Austria – 200 , Denmark – 60 , Malta – 86 , Spain – 40 , Germany – 110 , Albania – 100 , Kosovo – 140 , France – 120 , England – 80 .
In addition, 200 of mercenaries headed to and from China. Agapov stressed that a large group of fighters from China is undergoing military training in Turkey , where they arrived as students .
October 27th, 2013, 12:29 pm
Hopeful said:
Meanwhile, life goes on and countries around the world keep producing innovations and pure genius!
A little something on the bright side to cheer (and awe) you up:
http://youtu.be/2rjbtsX7twc
October 27th, 2013, 1:01 pm
omen said:
October 27th, 2013, 1:31 pm
Sami said:
Alan,
12533 ? 100,000
Hassoun needs a calculator.
Btw how would Hassoun know the nationality of those fighting? Is he at the border checking their passport or do the nationalities and numbers appear to him by divine intervention?
October 27th, 2013, 1:34 pm
zoo said:
Hopeful
Keep dreaming and hoping for the next few years, until there are no place left of Syria where you would feel safe to go back to.
That’s what the opposition has been doing for 3 years and addition to begging and whining and we have seen the result.
October 27th, 2013, 1:40 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
SAMI
Don’t you know it, ALAN follows athadi arithmetic, in which
1+1 = 11
October 27th, 2013, 1:59 pm
zoo said:
Ghufran
These battles, if successful will certainly create a new scenario.
The North and the East will be isolated from the rest of the country. There, the Kurds, Al Qaeda-Nusra-ISIS and the remainder of the FSA will keep on fighting against each other until exhaustion of fighters and funds. Turkey and Iraq may intervene sporadically to prevent the spill over of violence.
Many Syrians living in these areas will either move to refugees camps in Turkey, Jordan or even Iraq or decide to move to Damascus and the coast where they would be safely under the control of the Syrian governement. Most minorities will also move there if they haven’t done yet.
Damascus and the coast will see an economical boom while the other areas will increasingly suffer.
The Kurds in the North will negotiate an administrative autonomy and move on the side of the Syria government. That would further isolate the Sunnis who have blindly supported the militias in the North, South and North East that are now considered as Islamists terrorists. As they have no safe place to go except areas controlled by the Syrian government, the Sunnis, moderate or not are the obvious losers.
After these battles, the weaknened FSA and the NC’s attendance to Geneva will expose to the Syrians and the world the extent of their failure.
October 27th, 2013, 2:07 pm
zoo said:
Hopeful
In the fever of their unanimous rejection of Mobarak’s rule the Egyptians enthusiatically swapped him for an Islamist lunatic. Then thanks to the Egyptian army they got rid of him and his cronies.
Who will get rid of the Syria Sunni Islamic lunatics after they grabbed power if the Syrian Army ( that you accuse of being under Alawites control) has been dismantled?
Keep dreaming of Hitto, Ghaliun and the other NC oppositions puppets to lead the Syrian army against the Islamists.
Nobody can prevent the Islamists to take control except the united and heroic Syrian army under the present leadership structure.
Unfortunately the ‘idealist revolutionaries’ are now just casualties.
October 27th, 2013, 2:19 pm
Syrialover said:
TARA,
Forget any analysis about the Islamist extremists running Syria.
Step back and look at the reality.
They are predators. Childish, ignorant losers in real life who are living a violent fantasy adventure, with delusions of glory and power where they control an imaginary world.
To them Assad-wrecked Syria is a convenient opportunity and playground full of people they can play God with through violence and fear.
Remember this real world example.
When they hijacked a local regional insurgency and took over Northern Mali last year (before being chased out) they quickly discovered they were incapable of sustaining electricity, water or food supplies, local business, schools and other infrastructure collapsed and the population fled in terror and disgust.
Fighting over, the brave “pure” holy warriors had nothing to do but bicker over earnings from kidnappings, weapons and drugs trade (their main source of income), play cruel power games against the population and stagger around in circles smashing up any cultural or heritage items that suited their inner
craziness.
There is a very high proportion of mentally ill and dropouts among them like any crazy cult. If they were rounded up and put into a Guantanamo-like holding many of them would be sobbing like babies to return home to their mothers.
To quote the banners of Syrians protesting against them: “You do not belong to us and we do not belong to you”.
October 27th, 2013, 3:38 pm
Syrialover said:
ZOO,
Without Bashar Assad’s manipulations and mistakes the jihadists wouldn’t have arrived to play games in Syria.
You might like to explain to us why the regime is letting them have their way in Raqqa. Many observers are smelling a rat.
When Assad’s gone they will be a transient nuisance because there is nothing there underneath the fantasy game.
Any analysis you read puts the actual percentage of rule-the-world hardcore jihadists and extremists among those fighting in Syria as actually very small – much smaller than the Assad propagandists like to claim.
October 27th, 2013, 4:00 pm
Ghufran said:
I understand why some of you may want to look at a bright side that does not exist in the ” liberated” areas but the truth needs to be told. If there was a revolution it certainly failed, and that failure was not only due the support of Iran and Russia, it mostly failed due to the actions of Turkey and the GCC and the infusion of Islamist thugs who were quick to fill the vacuum created by the defeat of the regime in Aleppo province and northern Syria and the East, those thugs and their foreign backers were never interested in achieving the goals of ideal revolutionaries ,freedom and democracy. People who warned about this tragic outcome from 2011 were right because they read the reality on the ground and were able to see events in Libya and other countries better than others. Turkey in particular is about to pay the price of endorsing thugs who looted Aleppo and inflicted misery and terror everywhere they reached, the problem for turkey now is how to deal with the Kurds and Isis. ???? ??? ?????? ? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ?????. Turkey has no choice but to make a change, mark my words.
October 27th, 2013, 4:02 pm
Syrialover said:
This is hilarious. See how ZOO and ALAN get an instantaneous consistent 5-10 thumbs up and the rest of us get an identical number of thumbs down.
Guys, you are not smart. Be more subtle with your spammning.
October 27th, 2013, 4:08 pm
Syrialover said:
HOPEFUL #1192,
There is talent for musical adaptation among Arabs as well.
Have you see this sendup of the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia?
The performer is a Saudi American who does a commendable imitation of the Jamaican Bob Marley’s classic No Woman No Cry from the 70s. The words in Marley’s original song are quite moving for those who don’t know it and want to check it out.
October 27th, 2013, 4:45 pm
Observer said:
The regime insider writes for once instead of posting endless nonsense: ” Damascus and the coast will see an economical boom while the other areas will increasingly suffer.”
It is typical insider talk: who needs Daraa or Raqqa or Hasake as long as we have Damascus and Tartous and a link in between.
Once the boom occurs I would like to sell a bridge in Damascus to the regime insider. Also some fancy property and nice land; alas, surrounded by troops and therefore he will have to hire guards to keep them from looting it.
Hehehehe I love it, dreaming of a boom and fantasizing about the demise of Erdogan and drooling when Rohani talks to the most evil of all the President of the US.
October 27th, 2013, 5:40 pm
zoo said:
The embattled Turkish sponsored opposition furious at Kurds and at Iraq helping the Kurds fight islamist terrorists
Kurdish militants tighten grip on northeast
Rebels allege Iraqi forces attacked Syrian territory
October 27, 2013
http://gulfnews.com/in-focus/syria/kurdish-militants-tighten-grip-on-northeast-1.1247982
Amman: Kurdish militants moved on Sunday to consolidate their control of an oil-producing region in northeastern Syria after seizing a border crossing with Iraq from Islamist rebels, activists said.
Militia linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought the government of neighbouring Turkey for decades, were clearing pockets of resistance of the Al Qaida-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Al Nusra Front, and Ahrar Al Sham in the border town of Yarubiya, Syrian opposition sources said.
“The Kurds are now in control of the Yarubiya border post.
They now have a clear route to market the region’s oil, which should belong to all Syrians. Thousands of the Arabs have fled,” said Yasser Farhan, a member of the opposition Syrian National Coalition.
The northeastern province of Hasakah, which borders Iraq and Turkey, has a population of over one million, 70 per cent Kurd and 30 per cent Arab. The fighting there deepens sectarian and ethnic faultlines in Syria and threatens to draw neighbouring powers into the country’s civil war.
A statement by the Syrian National Coalition said Iraqi ground forces attacked Yarubiya on Saturday in coordination with the Kurdish militia. Syrian rebel sources said Syrian warplanes had also bombarded the town.
“The Iraqi government has committed a grave error by its unprecedented interference in Syrian affairs,” the statement said, adding that the Shiite-dominated Baghdad government had been aiding the transfer to Syria of Iraqi Shiite militia who are fighting alongside President Bashar Al Assad’s forces.
An Iraqi security official denied involvement in the capture of Yarubiya. “The last thing we need is to get dragged into a military combat inside Syria. We will not engage in any way,” he said.
October 27th, 2013, 6:14 pm
Tara said:
???? ?????
?? ??? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ????.
?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ???? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ???????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ?? 400 ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???????.
??? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ??????? ??? ????????? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ???????. ????? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ;
October 27th, 2013, 6:19 pm
ghufran said:
The filth of ISIS and Bandar is at Bab Al-Tabbaneh-Lebanon now:
October 27th, 2013, 6:22 pm
zoo said:
SL
“Without Bashar Assad’s manipulations and mistakes the jihadists wouldn’t have arrived to play games in Syria. ”
You can continue whining and playing the “blame game”. In the meantime it is obvious that the opposition fell into a trap. Whether it was set by Bashar Al Assad or not is irrelevant.
They are in a dead end now and for more than a year, their refusal to join peace talks make them bear the responsibility of all the killings. Their credibility is in steep decline, no one believe anymore that it is a revolution.
They know that going to Geneva is a another trap. Not going is a worse one.
If they continue to obey the Saudi ‘guru’ Bandar Ben Sultan like they obeyed the now demoted Qatari “guru” HBJ, their ruin is certain.
October 27th, 2013, 6:27 pm
zoo said:
Observer
Damas and the Coast have received most rich Syrians from Aleppo, Homs and Hama whether they are Alawites, Christian or Sunnis. They have moved there while the poor Syrians are either kept hostages in rebel areas because of lack of resources or danger of moving away, or they are in refugee camps in neigboring countries.
It is not an illusion to imagine that as long as Aleppo, Homs and Hama are insecure, the money will be invested in the areas that are securely under the Syrian government control.
October 27th, 2013, 6:40 pm
zoo said:
Observer
Who expected that HBJ would be kicked out like a bad servant when he was so powerful as he manipulated the Arab league and was admired and loved by many commenters here?
Like HBJ, Sarkozy and Morsi, Erdogan may meet an unhappy end to his career in 2014.
October 27th, 2013, 6:47 pm
zoo said:
France and UK, why this silence?
After making a lot of noise for months about support to the rebels, military attacks etc.. France and the UK are suprising quiet.
There are no news about the “Syrians ambassadors” in France, UK and Qatar that the SNC nominated. Have they found a room?
October 27th, 2013, 6:57 pm
Tara said:
Shiaa terrorists got what try deserved, a Bon voyage to Hell.
???? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ???????? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ?? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ?? ???????. ????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???????? ?? ??? ???? ?? ???????.
????? ???????? ?? ?????? ???????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ???????? ????? ?????.
????? ??? ??????? ???????? ????? ??? ?????? ???????? ?? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ????.
…
??? ??? ????? ???? ???? ??? ????????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ?? ????? ????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ??? 20 ???? ???? ????? ?????.
????? ?????? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ??????? ??? ?????. ????? ???????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ?? ????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????? ???? ???????.
October 27th, 2013, 7:39 pm
Tara said:
So Sharmine Narwani ,the pseudo Syrian expert, does not even speak Arabic, only Farsi and English. She was not an academic fellow. She was an academic visitor!
Hehe! we all have guessed right. She is a paid pseudo intellectual lap dancer. How much Iran paid her? They pay a family of 6-8 a thousand dollars a month to convert to Shiism. If payment is based on efficacy, I’d pay her 10$ a month. Ok ok 20$?
October 27th, 2013, 7:53 pm
Tara said:
To the pro regime Lebanese: a freind send me this.
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October 27th, 2013, 8:02 pm
ALAN said:
Israeli and global Zionist Right has long sought the fragmentation of Israel’s enemies so as to weaken them and thus enhance Israel’s primacy in the Middle East. While elements of this geostrategic view can be traced back to even before the creation of the modern state of Israel, the concept of destabilizing and fragmenting enemies seems to have been first articulated as an overall Israeli strategy by Oded Yinon in his 1982 piece, “A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties.” Yinon had been attached to the Israeli Foreign Ministry and his article undoubtedly reflected high-level thinking in the Israeli military and intelligence establishment in the years of Likudnik Menachem Begin’s leadership. Israel Shahak’s translation of Yinon’s article was titled “The Zionist Plan for the Middle East.”
http://joenamat-1.newsvine.com/_news/2013/10/27/21196725-right-wing-neocons-israel-and-the-plans-for-fragmentation-of-syria?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
October 27th, 2013, 8:15 pm
ALAN said:
1194. SAMI said:
Alan,
12533 ? 100,000
Radical Crimean Tatars fighting in Syria. Members of the Crimean radical organization ” Hizb ut- Tahrir ” participate in the fighting in Syria. How many of the Crimean Muslims now fighting in Syria, no one really knows . It is known for only two of the victims. Issue TSN.Ranok for September 10, 2013
http://youtu.be/iKuSU1aDj6g?t=1m
http://youtu.be/Vg2_V5iD_dM?t=1s
for example: how many U.S. special forces have to contend with a gang consisting of 12533 ??people ubiquitous throughout the U.S.? It is an approach with a good judgment!!
October 27th, 2013, 8:40 pm
ALAN said:
1202. SYRIALOVER
number of thump up probably important for strengthening your character!
October 27th, 2013, 8:51 pm
ALAN said:
Militants blew up a mosque in a suburb of Damascus . They planted a bomb at the entrance , and brought it into action immediately after the end of Common Prayer , when people began to disperse . Is known about the 40 dead , including 7 children . Among the worshipers many wounded .
The extremely complex situation remains the largest city in Syria – Aleppo. It is actually divided into two parts: one controlled by government troops , the other – the militants . In this case, the terrorists have learned to take from this situation, a lot of profit.
This is the only place in the city of Aleppo, where during the war to see such a number of people. Hundreds and hundreds every morning specially sent to the front lines , despite the threat of being shot .
Prior positions militants from no more than 50 meters. By tacit agreement of the parties , it is the only crossing point across the front line that divides the city. Position of the Syrian army and the opposition stretch for miles through residential neighborhoods.
Crossing point opens daily at 7 am and closes at 5 pm . In the rear of the militants are usually light, back – with packages , bags , bags, trolleys. Aleppo in the blockade of 1,5 years . With the “mainland ” as long as it connects only to ” air bridge ” .
“I live on the other side and I go here quite often . Here’s my mom . Products I wear it . Today – tomatoes and rice,” – says Marwa Pshara .
And here are driven products , from vegetables to flour and sugar, and yet all sorts of industrial goods and gasoline. Army holds a little more than half of the city and the small areas in the suburbs , where no one under the fire did not sow and gathering , so their products in Aleppo little. And the rebels control area in the suburbs of a lot more.
” On the other side of a huge market , sell everything . And the prices are quite affordable ,” – said Mohammed Abdelhamid .
“Food Channel” – not a noble fighters. Business in the war. With all the wholesalers who do not wear , and carries the goods, they charge duty : to fight the regime. And many are struggling : the Free Syrian Army and the front ” Al Nusra ” associated with “al -Qaeda ” , and a dozen smaller radical groups .
Student Ahmed walks through the front line every day , lives there, and goes to school here , and therefore hides his face . ” In terms of supply there is of course better – says Ahmed – but it’s the only plus . Every district, every quarter, sometimes even a street controlled by different warlords . And each sets its own orders . Example, somewhere smoking can cut off the fingers , and somewhere militants themselves smoke . ”
Though there and better fed , but ill go to the doctors here : good doctors left. In schools, there are now taught Sharia and how to handle weapons , young guys forced into squads . And as it gets dark, the streets are normal people do not go : the gap there, a piece of cake , and no search will not.
In another Aleppo, night life is just beginning , as before. Shops, cafes, hookah . And the prices are no higher than in Damascus.
” My shop is , of course , a business , but you know , it’s nice when customers come in and look not just clothes, but something fashionable . Small factories continue to operate , and even though I order a smaller party , but the goods do not lie ,” – says the owner Amir ?afartaharimi store .
On busy streets , where militants are not allowed into the military time like a rattling generators. Electricity give 4 hours of the day . There was a time when restaurants try not to go, but now the front stabilized , and people remember where to eat, where to drink coffee , and where to smoke hookah.
” Tired of hiding in their homes. Indeed , the rebels just want us to forget about the past life. And we want to live a normal life ,” – says Ahmad Barakat
http://www.1tv.ru/news/world/244838
October 27th, 2013, 8:56 pm
ALAN said:
The sponsors of the Syrian opposition – the so-called “friends of Syria” continue their sabre rattling at the meeting they held in London this October. They sound groundless accusations of the chemical attacks carried out by the Syrian regime, voice the demands for a change of power in Syria, and they insist that from their point of view there’s no other legitimate representative of the Syrian people than the so-called “National coalition”. All these foul play moves are aimed at the sole purpose – to continue weapon shipments to Syria and send even more mercenaries to Syria since the Syrian people themselves have turned their backs on the “National coalition” that promote terrorism across the country.
The people around the globe have seen the true face of these “friends”, that launch one media campaign full of false accusations after another. They’ve already accused the Bashar al-Assad regime in using chemical weapons, the killings of innocent civilians and the monstrous human rights abuse.
Today it’s not only the politics around the globe try to unmask the “friends of Syria”, but the prominent human rights organizations like “Human Rights Watch”. According to the researches carried out by this organization, the “friends of Syria” supported the rebels that are responsible for the bloody massacre that was carried out in Latakia on August 4-18. During this “operation” more than 190 people were executed and 200 were taken hostage. The terrorists executed civilians by whole families, killing women, children and the aged. The people were decapitated in the broad daylight. A report, prepared by the “Human Rights Watch” provides more than enough evidence against the people that were responsible for the massacre. The list goes on as more than 20 different organizations, presented by the “friends of Syria” as a secular opposition, are deemed responsible for the terrible event. Among those one may find “Ahrar ash-Sham”, Islamic groups “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant”, “Jabhat al-Nusra” and “Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar” (the better part of which is lately represented by the North Caucasus extremists).
There’s a long list of “sponsors” that were paying for the killings of the innocent Syrian people. It’s starts with Sheikh Adnan al-Arour who was born in the Syrian city of Hama, but lives recently in Saudi Arabia, organization Bunyan al-Marsous, a number of Kuwaiti authorities, different funds that are controlled by Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
In an interview that was taken during the presentation of this report, the representatives of “Human Rights Watch” said that the massacre in ten alavite villages in August was a result of the well-planned operation.
The report also compromises the runaway general of the Free Syrian Army Salim Idris who was present at the site of the “fights” and was later boasting about the role his people played in this “operations” in front of numerous cameras.
It’s interesting to note that Salim Irdis was planing to visit the United States last September in order to discuss with the U.S. authorities the prospects of their future “cooperation” since Washington was planing to support him with arms, money and “right” media coverage. But on such a background the White House decided that this “wasn’t a right time” for his visit, so it was rescheduled.
It’s high time for the international community and the U.S. citizens to question the role CIA played in supplying the Syrian rebels with arms. One must evaluate the role Washington, the Persian Gulf monarchies, Turkey and Jordan (that allows the Syrian rebels to train reinforcements on its soil) in the escalation of violence in Syria, along with the damage these powers inflict on this country and its people. The guilty should be held responsible.
October 27th, 2013, 9:10 pm
Sami said:
“for example: how many U.S. special forces have to contend with a gang consisting of 12533 ??people ubiquitous throughout the U.S.? It is an approach with a good judgment!!”
Actually Alan according to the FBI in 2011 there was 1.4 million active gang members belonging to 33,000 different gangs in the United States.
And in Los Angeles where again according to the FBI there is an estimated 120,000 active gang members the US never once deployed the Special Forces, nor have they ever fired a missile nor napalmed a school to fight armed gangs.
http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/2011-national-gang-threat-assessment/2011-national-gang-threat-assessment-emerging-trends
Then again maybe napalming and SCUDing schools is done with good judgement, maybe LA can learn a thing or two from Besho and really clean up and disinfect the streets…
FYI I don’t speak Russian, I have absolutely no clue what those videos were saying. For all I know they might be discussing the weather…
October 27th, 2013, 9:30 pm
Syrialover said:
ALAN,
When I look at the TV documentary showing a teenage girl after a regime air attack on her school dying in indescribable pain asking “Why did they do this? We were only studying”. While the English doctors weep outside in shock at the horror and enormity of the attack on school children, I ask, what do YOU have to say?
Nothing, nothing, nothing.
In the face of reality, your posts are just empty distractionist noise, from a make believe planet.
Everyone, if you haven’t watched it and want summarized affirmation of all Assad is about, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03c7m8s
October 27th, 2013, 9:42 pm
Ghufran said:
In my humble opinion Islamists did more damage to the opposition that Iran and Russia.
Syrians may be oppressed and impoverished but they are not stupid.
Zoo’s observation about well to do Syrians is true, the poor always pay the price when payment is due and receive very little when times are good, There is little chance of seeing a representative government forming in Syria any time soon, there is a sea of differences between the two parties and too much blood spilled from both sides, however, there may be a chance for a cease fire or reduction in violence in the near future but that may mean a fractured country and a prolonged period of low level violence and the loss of any hope for seeing Syria in one piece again. Two million Syrian kids hardly attended school in the last 2 years while Khaliji kids are unsure how to spend their parents money.
The car driven by bushra’s son in Dubai can feed 1000 children for 6 months.
October 27th, 2013, 9:42 pm
Syrialover said:
In #1222. GHUFRAN said:
“In my humble opinion Islamists did more damage to the opposition that Iran and Russia.”
Sorry, wrong. They have several light years yet to go to match the malice and idiocy of Iran and Russia’s “leadership” supporting (and now actively directing) Bashar Assad in destroying Syria so he can stay on his rubbish throne.
That’s the bottom line. And the Islamist extremists are a symptom and side effect of Bashar Assad’s “strategies”, not that of the opposition.
October 27th, 2013, 9:56 pm
ziad said:
????? ???? 2 : ?????? ??? ??????? ???????!
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??? ?? ???? ?? ????? ???????? ??????? ???????? ????????? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ???????? ?????????? ?? ??? ???????, ??? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ???????? ?? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ?? ????????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ?????, ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ????????? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ??????.
??? ??? ???????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ??? ?? ???? ???????? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ???. ????????? ???? ?? ?????????? ?? ???? ???????? ????? ?????? ???????? ????????? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ???????? ?????????. ??? ???? ????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ??????, ????? ???????? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ????.
http://www.mepanorama.com/365633/%d9%85%d8%a4%d8%aa%d9%85%d8%b1-%d8%ac%d9%86%d9%8a%d9%81-2-%d8%a7%d9%86%d8%b9%d9%82%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a8%d9%8a%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ad%d9%82%d9%8a%d9%82%d8%a9/#axzz2iyxdcD2M
October 27th, 2013, 11:29 pm
Hopeful said:
#1203 SL
Thank you for sharing. Very impressive indeed – in every way!
October 28th, 2013, 3:28 am
Akbar Palace said:
Israeli and global Zionist Right has long sought the fragmentation of Israel’s enemies so as to weaken them and thus enhance Israel’s primacy in the Middle East.
Alan,
Which is why Assad wins the Zionist of the Year award.
October 28th, 2013, 6:45 am
Observer said:
Zoozoo I am selling. Are you buying? If you are willing to buy, I will sell you some very nice property in Syria. In expectation of the great boom that will happen, I will sell you at the prices that were set in 2010
OK?
Let me know if you are willing to buy 🙂
October 28th, 2013, 8:05 am
zoo said:
@1227 Observer
Maybe you should offer this property to refugees that your ‘freedom and dignity revolution’ has created.
At least you would finally contribute to help them better than writing boring and sterile comments
October 28th, 2013, 10:42 am
zoo said:
Will Saudi Arabia dominate the Arab FM with promises of billions of dollar or these Arab FMs would show that their countries don’t intend to become the servants of “guided and demented” warmongers.
Arab FMs to meet Sunday on Syria peace conference ( ahead of the 9 Nov opposition meeting)
October 28, 2013 03:57 PM
CAIRO: Arab foreign ministers will meet in Cairo on November 3 to discuss backing the Syrian opposition at a proposed Geneva peace conference, a top Arab diplomat said Monday.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Oct-28/236054-arab-fms-to-meet-sunday-on-syria-peace-conference.ashx#ixzz2j1o46WCL
October 28th, 2013, 10:52 am
Observer said:
Zoozoo are you buying or not? Do not dodge the question. If you buy I promise you I will help the refugees. Still, you have not answered me are you buying?
Boring and sterile comments of course but if you are buying at 2010 prices I am selling. In dollars of course: the currency that is about to collapse please. 🙂
October 28th, 2013, 12:03 pm
zoo said:
Observer
Obviously you think more about money than about the fate of the Syrians. I am not surprised coming from you.
October 28th, 2013, 12:10 pm
zoo said:
Syrian girl marrying Turk on crutches…
World’s tallest man gets married in Turkey
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/ci_24401888/worlds-tallest-man-gets-married-turkey
….
His 20-year-old bride Mervi Dibo, who hails from the Syrian town of Hasaka, added: “I hope this happiness will be long-lasting.”
Born into a farming family in southeastern Turkey, Kosen won global fame in September 2009 when Guinness World Records declared him the tallest man in the world. He was then 2.47 meters tall.
His growth has resulted from a tumor affecting his pituitary gland.
U.S. doctors treated Kosen’s tumor in August 2010 in the state of Virginia with a precisely targeted shot of extremely high frequency gamma rays, using a non-invasive radio surgical device known as a Gamma Knife.
Last year, doctors said Kosen has overcome acromegaly, a rare hormonal disorder that caused him to keep growing well into adulthood.
Kosen is forced to use crutches in order to walk.
October 28th, 2013, 12:18 pm
zoo said:
Pressure is growing from all sides on the opposigtion to drop the conditions they have held on for more than 1 year and repeated theatrically last week.
They are asked to attend Geneva conference while Bashar al Assad is still in power and Iran a possible participant.
The GCC is trying to console them…
Geneva attendance is not a sign of defeat
The opposition needs to go on the world stage to show a united, moderate face that is capable of leading the new Syria
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/editorials/geneva-attendance-is-not-a-sign-of-defeat-1.1248294
A declaration by mostly Islamist rebel groups in Syria that those attending the upcoming Geneva 2 talks between Syria’s regime and the opposition would be committing treason is a truly disappointing development.
Attendance of the conference does not signal defeat by the opposition or the ruling out of Bashar Al Assad’s removal. It is instead a process of negotiations that could eventually lead to his removal. His removal should therefore not be a prerequisite to attendance, but an issue that can, and perhaps should, make it to the negotiating table. The Syrian opposition needs to challenge the notion promoted by the regime that it has no one to negotiate with, and that the opposition is merely a group of jihadists bent on achieving their ideological objectives.
It is also incumbent on the opposition to come on the world stage and clearly distance itself from the very armed ideologues that have worked tirelessly to hijack a revolution that started with a just cause of fighting oppression.
October 28th, 2013, 12:28 pm
zoo said:
Voices in the opposition continues to reject the Geneva conference insisting their pre-conditions should be met officialy.
They know that attending this conference is another level of humiliation that they cannnot bear. In addition, attending the conference has been qualified as a ‘treason’ by 19 of the armed rebels militias who will inevitably target them in retaliation.
They are certainly not in a enviable position.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/syria-envoy-damascus-prospects-peace-talks-dim-160027107.html#IuITdWw
“All these issues are getting tangled up into the other. Like the Saudis, we are very afraid that the United States’ other interests in Iran will come at the cost of the Syrian cause,” said Samir Nashar, an executive member of the Syrian National Coalition, the opposition’s umbrella body abroad.
“If you ask me, this meeting won’t happen on November 23. It won’t happen ever.”
…
The opposition coalition says it can only attend talks if either the U.N. Security Council, or Washington and Moscow, state publicly that Assad would step down in any transition.
“That would be the encouraging sign we are looking for,” said a Syrian opposition source. “Otherwise, when the National Coalition has its planned meeting on November 9, the vote on Geneva is going to be no.”
October 28th, 2013, 12:54 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
One has to love zouzou’s righteous indignation. It comes in parallel with supporting dog-poop crimes and advertising the filthy regime’s brouhaha.
What’s missing is of course the fact that it was zouzou’s hero buffoon who created this unimaginable disaster, and now zouzou is complaining to us about the refugees (whom he may have called terrorists). Since zouzou never had the gall or honesty to ask the buffoon to stop creating this disaster, and in fact has been supportive of the buffoon and its criminal friends in iran, I stands reason to call zouzou’s righteous indignation as merely an indignant and tasteless baa humbug.
October 28th, 2013, 1:09 pm
zoo said:
Hammy
Your indignation is as sterile as the endless whining and accusations of the pathetic opposition.
It seems that like them, you have some difficulty digesting failure. Your h-ps are rare and noisy.
October 28th, 2013, 1:30 pm
Observer said:
Zoozoo I am following on your prediction of a great economic boom in Damascus and the coast of Syria. That is why I would consider selling now for I do not share your optimism but let us try.
I do not see how selling you property has anything to do with what I feel or do for the Syrian refugees.
What I or anyone else does for the refugees is besides the point and this is again dodging the question that I keep posing to you. If you do not have the means to buy maybe you know of someone that does. After all many a judge is being paid large sums of money to release prisoners taken arbitrarily I heard from 2 to 5 million Syrian Pounds per prisoner. Do you know anyone such as Ali M. or Rami M. or H.M. or M.N.K. that have accumulated large sums of money and stashed it away in Vienna among several places that would buy?
Also since you care so much about the refugees perhaps you would want the price in Euros as it is rising against the dollar and the difference that you will make off of my selling you can give to the UNHCR for those refugees that you are lamenting.
Now to make things better for you how about if I promise you that I will give 50% of the sale price to the UNHCR. Would you buy?
With the coming boom you can make huge return on your investment. THen you can invest the profits in a reconstruction firm and you can even become a magnate worth billions of dollars as the reconstruction of Syria will require at least 200 billion dollars at the latest estimate. Therefore you can employ Syrians, bring in reconstruction, double the coming boom in economic prosperity, and do your philantrhopy.
What is wrong with this proposal? If I do not care for the refugees; an irrelevant point to start with, and you do, perhaps I am giving you the opportunity to do some good. Your buying my property and making huge profit when the boom arrives will give you the dream of reconstructing Syria. You would have taken advantadge of my naivete and my egotism and my callous disregard for my fellow Syrians by actually making a huge profit off my back and becoming rich, a philanthropist, a reconstruction magnate, and who knows perhaps even a member of the new parliament.
So are you buying? if not do you have a buyer? commission of 5% for your efforts; what do you say?
Come on do the right thing, take advantadge of my stupidity and make money and help the economy of the country.
I can assure you that the property is in the area of the coming economic boom.
Syrian Hamster, maybe you can sell a few bridges with me what do you think?
October 28th, 2013, 1:51 pm
Rancher said:
Is al-Golani dead?
October 28th, 2013, 2:37 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
OBSERVER
Count me in bro. And now that you have shared, I am wondering if you are interested in selling a few railroad miles with me, return is extremely high since railroad will fuel the magnificent economic boom.
Another project I am offering involves shrines. I am selling a major one in the coastal area. It is not historic, you know, not even 15 years old. I have been at odds with a business partner you may know, who once mentioned on SC his plans to convert it into a public urinal. I think it would be more profitable as a stoning shrine for the locals and perhaps visitors who will be venting their anger at the holey family. Zouzou and co can build some hotels and charge for pebbles. Also in Euros. Traffic will be very high considering the economic boom.
October 28th, 2013, 3:41 pm
Uzair8 said:
A piece from Open Democracy.
Also here’s a list of recent Syria related pieces on the site.
Beyond civil resistance: the case of Syria
Maged Mandour 26 October 2013
Civil resistance is not sufficient to bring down a ruthless regime, as one can see in Bahrain or in Yemen. But dismantling the ideological base of the regime is an essential first step, whether violent or nonviolent.
[…]
October 28th, 2013, 3:53 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
and by the way, zouzou and co, especially Alan should be very optimistic. Russia is planning to supplant the US in the middle east. Should be a strong guarantee for economic boom.
October 28th, 2013, 3:59 pm
Uzair8 said:
From the same article:
‘Where does the Syrian uprising fit in this spectrum of activity {ideological struggle} ? The Syrian uprising, like other Arab uprisings in the so called “Arab Spring” was not preceded by a protracted ideological struggle between the current order and the social forces that wish to overthrow it. This lack of ideological struggle in the realm of civil society means that the ideological foundation of the state remains intact. The revolutionary forces commenced their attack on the state directly, ignoring the strategic reserves that could be deployed by the regime. In the case of Syria, this allowed the regime to rely on the rhetoric of “stability” versus “chaos”; to maintain the image of “protector of minority”; and to maintain the cohesion of army, regardless of the Sunni nature of the rank and file, unlike in Iran where the collapse of the Iranian military due to the severe ideological attacks launched by the revolutionary forces led to increasing defection, finally leading to the neutralization of the Iranian army as an effective force for repression. The lack of ideological infiltration of the Syrian army meant that the opposition had to rely on the humane compassion of soldiers that they would not shoot their fellow citizens, when they risked almost immediate execution as a result.
This means that the Syrian opposition is essentially a rejectionist movement.’
[…]
October 28th, 2013, 3:59 pm
Juergen said:
Its beyond words to see this for real. A men kills a cat and bbc the cat afterwards.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1472991362925113&set=vb.283927114964582&type=2&theater
October 28th, 2013, 5:35 pm
ALAN said:
Damascus Violence Part of US “Negotiations” Strategy
http://youtu.be/k1jyr1t8d_A?t=1s
October 28th, 2013, 5:53 pm
ALAN said:
Saudi Arabia, Qatar may be playing dangerous game over Syria rebels
By David Andrew Weinberg, Special to CNN
Editor’s note: David Andrew Weinberg is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The views expressed are the writer’s own.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been working overtime arming rebel groups in Syria. But events of the last month suggest these American allies have been throwing their lots in with radical, hardline Islamists…..
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/25/saudi-arabia-qatar-may-be-playing-dangerous-game-over-syria-rebels/#
October 28th, 2013, 6:15 pm
ALAN said:
1238 – RANCHER
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/25/al-nusra-leader-killed_n_4164883.html
October 28th, 2013, 7:41 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Heads up applauds and hails the much needed move taken by the Guided Kingdom to bring much needed Guidance to Syrians after being subjected to half century of Serpent rule which rendered Syrians slogan fighters in order to remain serpent slaves. Syrians have one and only one way forward. They must follow the Guidance provided by the Guided Kingdom in order to crush the poisonous Serpent-Head (Ass-Head) and its snake mullocrats.
Following the Guidance will ensure the creation of Guided Syria which will be admitted as a junior member into the GCC under the leadership of the Worldwide Commander of the Faithful and Umma, the Guided King of the Guided Kingdom, may He be protected and given long long life in order to rid Syria of the Serpent and the Umma of Shiite terrorism. Any Syrian who looks to such quarters like the US or similar governments for help is like the one seeking to quench thirst with fire.
Follow the Guidance of the Guided Kingdom and you will quench your thirst. Do otherwise and continue burning. It is unreserved and complete FREE CHOICE
October 28th, 2013, 7:47 pm
zoo said:
Syria: The world’s lost illusion (The World being the West, Qatar and Saudi Arabia )
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syria-the-worlds-lost-illusion.aspx?pageID=238&nid=56993&NewsCatID=466
….
Governments have caved in to the facts on the ground: Al-Assad is still a factor in the equation, not only among global powers, but also in his own country. Moreover, the U.S., Russia and Iran fear that radical Islamists will take over in Syria. And this fear supersedes their concerns about al-Assad.
Hence leaders have surrendered and accepted the new parameters, which are al-Assad’s engagement in negotiations and a political transition including elements from the ruling Baath regime. And Turkey seems to have finally joined this camp as well.
Turkey, however, could have made this shift long before which would not only make it a more integral part of the solution process, but also save it from being identified with the Syrian opposition and giving it a sectarian-based image.
October 28th, 2013, 8:18 pm
zoo said:
Observer
Your lenghty and equally boring post can’t hide your greed and your concern with profit on the suffering of ruined Syrians.
Your kind of people are called Scavengers not Observers.
October 28th, 2013, 8:23 pm
zoo said:
Egypt “after-Morsi”‘s new Constitution is moving in the right direction by removing the exclusivity of Islam and restoring universal human rights. An excellent model for all Arab countries to follow .
Egypt’s new constitution to guarantee absolute religious freedom: Salmawy
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentP/1/84992/Egypt/Egypts-new-constitution-to-guarantee-absolute-reli.aspx
Article 47, which was first drafted by a ten-member technical committee in August, now reads “Freedom of belief is guaranteed. The state guarantees freedom of religious practice, and facilitates the building of places of worship for the Abrahamic traditions, as regulated by law.”
According to Salmawy, the 50-member committee proposed on Sunday evening to amend the article’s text to state “the state guarantees absolute freedom of religious practice.”
In addition, Salmawy added, changes may be made to clarify that “freedom of religious practice is guaranteed in an absolute way, even for those who do not follow the three Abrahamic religions, and that the state facilitates the construction of places of worship for all.”
October 28th, 2013, 8:46 pm
zoo said:
“To say Saudi Arabia is livid would be an understatement”
Fury in the Kingdom
By ROGER COHEN
Published: October 28, 2013 Comment
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/29/opinion/international/cohen-fury-in-the-kingdom.html?_r=0
DUBAI — Here’s how the Saudis see it: President Obama has sold out the Syrian opposition, reinforced President Bashar al-Assad after having called for his departure, embarked on a dangerous duet with President Hassan Rouhani of Iran, played the wrong cards in Egypt, retreated from initial criticism of Israeli settlements that promised a more balanced American approach to Israel-Palestine, tilted toward the Shiites in the growing regional Sunni-Shiite confrontation, and generally undercut the interests of the kingdom.
To say Saudi Arabia is livid would be an understatement
….
It was not lost on Saudi Arabia that Rouhani wrote in The Washington Post in September that, “We must join hands to constructively work toward national dialogue, whether in Syria or Bahrain,” just a few days before Obama spoke at the United Nations of working to resolve “sectarian tensions” in Syria and Bahrain.
Nothing can set Saudi alarm bells ringing quite like that: U.S. and Iranian presidents speaking to each other on the telephone, having aired similar sentiments on Bahrain, where the Saudi-backed Sunni monarchy has engaged in fierce repression of an opposition led by members of the Shiite majority, which is pressing for broader rights and political inclusion.
October 28th, 2013, 8:51 pm
zoo said:
Nasrallah: Saudi “anger” fueling Syrian war
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/nasrallah-saudi-anger-fueling-syrian-war
After two and a half years of relentless bloodshed, the whole world with the exception of Saudi Arabia has reached the conclusion that there can be no military solution to the Syrian crisis, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech Monday.
He accused the Wahhabi-ruled kingdom of letting its “anger” over failing to topple President Bashar al-Assad cloud its judgement and prevent political dialogue from taking shape.
“There is one regional country that is still very angry …. because it did not achieve its goal. They brought tens of thousands of fighters from all over the world [to Syria], … sent weapons, money,” Nasrallah said.
“[There has been] international pressure, sieges, sanctions and incitement [against the Syrian government]. Everything that could have been done was done, and nothing happened.”
“We cannot continue to have the region ignite in flames just because one country is angry,” he added.
October 28th, 2013, 9:07 pm
zoo said:
Saudi singers: No woman No drive
His latest song, No Woman, No Drive, is a parody of No Woman, No Cry which he did in support of the protests and attempts by some woman in Saudi Arabia who want the ban on women’s driving in Saudi Arabia to be lifted.
The song also refers indirectly to the recent statements by a Saudi ‘psychologist’ who believes that women who drive will damage their ovaries.
October 28th, 2013, 9:16 pm
zoo said:
The USA hits back at the “guided and demented” kingdom
US backs rights of women in ally Saudi to drive
(AFP) – 3 hours ago
Washington — The United States said Monday it supports the “universal rights” of women to drive in Saudi Arabia, after a weekend protest there saw several women defy the law by taking the steering wheel.
“We support the full inclusion of women in Saudi society. People throughout the world share the same universal rights to assemble and express themselves peacefully,” said State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki.
“So certainly, we would support their ability to drive,” Psaki said when asked about asked the Saudi campaign, in which women were encouraged to take to the steering wheel on October 26 even if it meant confronting authorities.
“We support, of course, the right of women everywhere to make their own decisions about their lives and their futures and the right to benefit equally from public services and protection from discrimination,” the US spokeswoman stressed.
October 28th, 2013, 9:22 pm
zoo said:
What are the consequences on Saudi Arabia for turning against its long term comrades in arms, the Moslem Brotherhood?
Islamic Comrades No More
By VALI R. NASR
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/29/opinion/international/nasr-islamic-comrades-no-more.html
For six decades, Saudi Arabia and the Muslim Brotherhood were comrades in arms. Theirs was an Islamic alliance, formed in the 1950s to defend against the secular Arab nationalism that Egypt’s leader, Gamal Abdel Nasser, had unleashed. h
…
In breaking with the Brotherhood to protect their domestic grip on power, the Saudi rulers may have miscalculated. The Brotherhood is a regional force. Its tentacles run from North Africa through the Middle East. By removing their patronage from the Brotherhood and throwing their full support behind the Egyptian military — and other regimes bent on crushing the Brotherhood — the Saudis may be pushing the movement to become both more extreme and more sharply anti-monarchical, threatening the Islamic legitimacy of all the Arab monarchies.
In the coming years, the larger strategic challenge facing Saudi Arabia may not be Iran, as it has been, but the Brotherhood. This new rivalry could set off protracted conflicts across the region, which in turn could disturb efforts toward a Palestinian-Israeli peace, and to contain Iran’s influence.
October 28th, 2013, 9:35 pm
Observer said:
Zoozoo you are accusing me of being greedy? You do not make sense. If I am greedy I would wait to sell you the properties in Syria until after the boom arrives as you predict. As a matter of fact you may not be able to be in the bidding as the prices will shoot up the roof. By offering you to buy it now, I am offering you a chance to make huge return on your investment.
Also, I am offering you the ability to use the huge profits that you will make to spend on your favorite charity.
Your refusal to commit to any transaction that would benefit you certainly over me as you are sure of the coming boom on the one hand, of the victory of the regime on the other hand, and of your staying power in the area of Damascus and the coast on the third hand especially since you will be able to enjoy the properties whereas I will not be able to makes me wonder how you came about your prediction of this boom?
If you are not sure any longer of the coming boom in the economy say so. If you are not willing to commit to an honest business transaction that you are coming out the winner from then I must conclude that
1. Either you are liar
2. Or you are ignorant
3. Or you are bluffing
4. Or all of the above.
You do not make sense accusing me of greed if I sell at a loss ( before the boom ) and how please (explain to me )is this detrimental to the refugees of Syria or how is this taking advantage of the poor souls suffering in Syria? If I was selling bombs, barrel bombs, weapon systems, etc…. I would understand; but then again I am neither Russian nor Iranian and would not know anything about such transactions.
I simply would like to cut my losses and bet not on a boom but on a bust and I would like to sell now. You on the other hand are so sure of the boom that you would be a fool not to jump on the offer.
Syrian Hamster and I are actually partners now and we have shrines and statutes we would like to buy now and certainly any land around them for after the boom arrives there will be billions of pilgrims coming through to worship at those shrines. So selling you now at a loss and buying statutes and shrines that will attract billions of worshipers will be a major coup when your boom arrives. Perhaps you can join us, you can find buyers and we can use the capital to get these shrines and statutes and start a tourism business and as you are connected in the areas of Damascus and the Coast you may be able to also double as a CEO of this new venture. Some of those shrines will be for worship and some for bodily functions but as businessmen Syrian Hamster and I believe in the slogan: the customer is king. Whatever the people want we will serve. In business there is no ideology only the bottom line. As long as the business is legal and ethical and ecologically friendly such as hotels and tours and entertainment of tourists to these shrines and statutes we will serve. We will have even a business to clean up after the worshipers finish stoning or flowering or doing whatever to these shrines and statutes. We will have them as part of theatre productions as well if you want. This business will employ poor Syrians that would want to benefit from your boom that is coming that whatever greed we may have had will be washed away.
Syrian Hamster and Observer are open for business and we are eager and ready for the BOOM that ZOOZOO is predicting for Thouria.
As for boring, I am having the fun of my life especially with Syrian Hamster as my business partner.
October 28th, 2013, 9:54 pm
Syrian said:
With the 2 hardest obstacles out from the regime controlled area, there is a chance for it to have an economic boom,
1st,all the oil fields are in rebels controlled ares and with it the curse of oil that have been a curse on 3rd world countries will be gone.
2nd,the absence of money that have corrupted government workers for the last 30 years won’t be there to fuel the old wide corruptions.
Also the regime areas has retained the 2 millions civil workers that have been resting for the last 30 years.they are all masters at making coffee, tea and metteh,all they need is tourists to come back. And voila you have an economic boom.
October 28th, 2013, 11:51 pm
omen said:
i have the solution. alawites can flee to israel seeing how they’re so fond of one another. provide sanctuary is the least israel can do after all the regime has done to protect zionist interests.
Assad’s Grandfather’s 1936 Letter
October 28th, 2013, 11:59 pm
Juergen said:
Zoo
You may enjoy this video of a lunatic saudi sheikh.
October 29th, 2013, 1:15 am
sami said:
“Saudi singers: No woman No drive”
For all its perceived evil Saudi Arabia has as of yet to kill Alaa Wardi and rip out his larynx…
October 29th, 2013, 2:22 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Company logo will say, “We sell the bust, you buy the boom”.
October 29th, 2013, 3:18 am
zoo said:
Three secular opposition groups, including Kurds and minorities Syria will attend Geneva
“On another level but still about Geneva 2, three secular organizations of the Syrian opposition have decided yesterday to go to Geneva without preconditions and in spite of threats by Islamist groups against opponents who intend to participate in the conference. This is the PYD, a Kurdish group, (Hay’at at Tanssik) led by Hassan Abdel-Azim, both secular and a third group led by Christian and Muslim leaders who did not want to be quoted before holding a crucial meeting in the coming days. These three groups, two of which are on the ground in Syria asre to present a common front Geneva 2 and a manifest that defines a common position on Syria tomorrow.”
October 29th, 2013, 7:37 am
zoo said:
Who will get a painful lesson?
Hezbollah Prepares for Syria Showdown in al-Qalamoun
by Jamie Dettmer Oct 29, 2013 5:45 AM
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/10/29/hezbollah-prepares-for-syria-showdown-in-al-qalamoun.html
The Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite movement is readying its fighters to face off against Syria’s rebels in the strategic region of al-Qalamoun. Jamie Dettmer on why Assad is keen to control the area—and how the battle will further rattle the West.
The Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah is poised to launch a much-anticipated offensive to the north of Damascus in a counterinsurgency campaign that is likely to prompt hand-wringing in Washington and more Saudi frustration with Western inaction in Syria.
The battle for mountainous Al-Qalamoun-a rugged region between the Syrian capital and Homs, the country’s third largest city-will be as significant in military terms when it comes, say diplomats and analysts, as the struggle in the spring for Qusair, a strategic town in sight of Lebanon, that was retaken by the Syrian army thanks to Hezbollah, whose fighters were in the vanguard of the assault.
Qusair’s capture goaded President Obama in June to pledge he would arm the Syrian rebels-a promise that hasn’t been fulfilled because of the administration’s worries about the growing influence of al-Qaeda affiliates in the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad.
The offensive will again pit Hezbollah fighters directly against jihadists and militant Islamists. The al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamist militias Ahrar al-Sham and Liwa al-Islamhave been reinforcing towns and villages in the region to prepare for the expected Hezbollah assault. Some reports claim that as many as 20,000 rebel fighters have poured into the region, some being redeployed from Damascus suburbs.
A grueling confrontation in Al-Qalamoun-an area 50 miles long and 25 miles broad that runs from the rural outskirts of the Syrian capital to the Lebanese border-could see Saudi Arabia accelerate its arming of certain rebel groups that the Obama administration considers dangerous to the West, adding to strained relations between Washington and Riyadh.
October 29th, 2013, 7:53 am
zoo said:
Voice of Confidence and Wisdom: Hassan Abdul-Azim
UN envoy meets Syrian opposition figure
October 29, 2013 at 7:03 AM
http://www.khou.com/news/world/229678491.html
BEIRUT (AP) — The U.N.-Arab League envoy for Syria has met a senior opposition figure in Damascus as part of a diplomatic push to convince all sides in the country’s crisis to attend peace talks in Geneva next month.
The envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, held talks with Hassan Abdul-Azim, the head of a Damascus-based opposition group. The group has called for regime change through peaceful means and is not part of the opposition Syrian National Coalition or rebel groups fighting to topple the Syrian president.
Abdul-Azim says Brahimi told him the U.S. and Russia are determined to hold the peace conference next month.
One of the key sticking points in getting the opposition to agree to the talks is the issue of Assad’s future.
Abdul-Azim says this is for Syrians to decide among themselves.
October 29th, 2013, 8:27 am
zoo said:
Leaks or wishful thinking?
Iranian official claims agreement reached on Syria
‘Resolution to Syrian crisis will be based on internationally-monitored elections’;
http://www.timesofisrael.com/iranian-official-claims-agreement-reached-on-syria/
Iran’s deputy foreign minister told a Lebanese media outlet Monday that Iran and joint UN-Arab League special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi had reached an agreement on resolving the crisis in Syria.
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told the Hezbollah-affiliated al-Mayadeen that the solution to the Syrian civil war, agreed to while Brahimi was in Tehran over the weekend, would be based on internationally-monitored elections.
Amir-Abdollahian also called for dialogue between his country, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt, to help solve the Syrian crisis, reported Walla News.
October 29th, 2013, 8:33 am
Tara said:
Zoo,
You did not know? Batta himself is ??????!
??? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?? ???? ??????. ??? ??? ?? ????? ???? ?? ???? ??????. ??? ??? ?? ????? ?? ???? ??????
October 29th, 2013, 9:26 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
zouzou now proudly proclaims nus-lira gangs preparation to murder more Syrians in a “showdown” in Qalamoun.
Wasn’t zouzou the same entity who a few months back denied nus-lira and iran’s engagement in dog-poop atrocities.
and did anyone notice the out of phase nus-lira it is most recent appearance out of its snake-hole.
October 29th, 2013, 10:02 am
zoo said:
“Now that most civilians have fled (Muadhamiya), the battle will intensify, our correspondent says.”
Starved Syria civilians flee besieged Damascus suburb
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24730536
The exodus of civilians has been made possible by an apparent relaxation of a blockade by government forces.
…
Our correspondent says many people were brought out of the area on stretchers, some crying, all of them showing severe strain of a life under siege.
The Minister for Social Affairs, Kinda Al Shamamat, who was overseeing the evacuation, has accused rebel gunmen – whom she describes as terrorists – of infiltrating Muadhamiya.
But rebel fighters – who have stayed behind in the suburb – accuse the government of trying to starve them into submission.
Now that most civilians have fled, the battle will intensify, our correspondent says.
October 29th, 2013, 11:24 am
ziad said:
?????? ?????? ???????? ??? ????? ??????????? ???????
????? ?????: ????? ???? ???????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ???????? ???????? ???????? ??? ????? ??????? ????????? ???????????? ?? ????? ? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ???????????? ????? ?? ?????. ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ???????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ?? ??????? ?????? ??????? ????????? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ???????? ??? ?? ????? 2007 ?? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ??? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ???????? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ?????????? ????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ???????? ????? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ?? ???? ?? ???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ???????? ??????? .
?? ??? ?????? ???? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??? ??????? ????????. ??? ??? ???????? ????????? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????????? ????????? ????? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ?????.
??? ????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ???? ????? ???? ???????? ??? ????? ? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ??????????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?????????. ????? ??? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ????.
???? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ????? .
?? ????? 1990 ???? ?????? ??????? ????????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???? ??????????? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ?????? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ?? ( ???????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ????? ? ????????) ?? ????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ????????.
???? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ????????? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ????????? ?? ??? ???? ??? ????? ????. ??? ???????? ??????? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ?????.
?? ????? 2002 ???? ????? 11 ????? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ? ??? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ??????? ????????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ????????? ???? ?? ?? ?????.
??? ??? ?????? ??????? ???????? ?? ????????? ????? ???? ???????? ??????? :
1 – ??? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ????????? ???? ????? ??????? .
2 – ??? ???????? ??????? ?? ??? ???????? ??????? ????????????? ???????. ???? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ?? ??????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????????? ??????? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ?????? ???????.
?? ????? 2011 ???? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?? ???????? ???? ????????? ???? ?? ??????? ???? ? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ?????? ?? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ??? ????????? ???????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ???? ????? ????????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ???????? ???????? ??? ???????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ??? ???????? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ?? ????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ???????.
???? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ???? 1 ?? ???? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ???? 2.
?? ????? ???? ???? ????? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ??????.
?? ??? ????? ???? ??????????? ??????? ????? ???????? ??????? ??? ???????? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ???????? ?? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ????? ????? .
??????? ???????????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ???????? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ???????? ??????? ???????? ??????? ????????? ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ? ??? ???? ?? ??? ?? ???????? ????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ????.
?????? ????? ??? ??? ???? ????????? ???????? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ??????? ???????? ???????? ?? ????????? ???????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ?? ????????? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ????????? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ???????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ????? .
????? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ???? ???????? ?? ????????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ??? ??? ??? ???????? ????? ????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ???????.
??? ??? ??????? ?????????? ?????? ????????? ????????? ???????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????????? ????????? ?? ???? ???????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ???????? ??????? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? ???????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ????????? ????????? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ?????? ???????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? 21 ?? ??????.
????? ????? ?????? ???????? ??? ????? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ???????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ???????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ??????? ?????? ??? ?? ??? ?? ????? ?? ????? ???????? ???? ???? ???????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ???????? .
?? ??? ??????? ?????? ????? ????? ?????????? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ????????? ??????? ? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ?????. ??? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ????? ? ???? ???? ???? ?????????? ???????? ????????? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ? ??? ??? ????????? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ????? ??????…
???? ???????
October 29th, 2013, 11:25 am
zoo said:
@1267 Hammy
I don’t need to proclaim anything, the news media are doing it.
October 29th, 2013, 11:26 am
zoo said:
The “guided and demented” Kingdom should dump the ‘guru’ Bandar Ben Sultan as Qatar dumped HBJ before it gets too late. These types of individuals only think about their own egos. Sooner or later they are unmasked and banned.
Saudi Arabia is been pointed at and ridiculed on a daily basis by the media, Arab and western, for its theatrical sulking at the USA, for its dangerous foreign policy, its support of extremist islamists and for its lack of respect of human rights.
It is time it changes course.
October 29th, 2013, 11:35 am
zoo said:
The Syrian government reacts strongly at the USA sneaking in within its ranks in order to divide its members
Syrian Vice Premier sacked for over unauthorised meetings
Syrian President sacks Jamil for absence without leave, carrying out meetings outside Syria without authorisation.
Middle East Online
Jamil’s meeting with Robert Ford cost him his job
DAMASCUS – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sacked his vice premier on Tuesday, saying the official had been absent without leave and carried out unauthorised meetings abroad, the official SANA news agency said.
The move follows media reports that Vice Premier Qadri Jamil had met with the US pointman for Syria Robert Ford on Saturday to discuss proposed Geneva peace talks.
Sana said the official was sacked after an “absence without authorisation from his post” as well as “activities and meetings outside the country without authorisation from the government.”
October 29th, 2013, 11:41 am
zoo said:
A lyrical ode to ‘charming, flamboyant, humoristic, brilliant, base-ball fan’ Bandar Ben Sultan that just only hides his dark machiavelism
Prince Bandar Bin Sultan: Diplomat turned spy chief
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/prince-bandar-bin-sultan-diplomat-turned-spy-chief-1.1247130
As Saudi ambassador to the US, Prince Bandar used his wit, charm and humour to form coalitions, strengthen willing partners and persuade hesitant allies. As head of Saudi intelligence, he now has to spearhead the kingdom’s aggressive foreign policy
October 29th, 2013, 11:46 am
zoo said:
Syria’s Assad grants general amnesty
Oct 29,2013
DAMASCUS, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad granted on Tuesday a general amnesty, covering crimes committed before Oct. 29, according to the state-run SANA news agency.
October 29th, 2013, 11:50 am
Rancher said:
“Syrian President Bashar al-Assad granted on Tuesday a general amnesty, covering crimes committed before Oct. 29”
Had I committed as many crimes as Assad I’d want a general amnesty too.
October 29th, 2013, 11:56 am
Tara said:
Those who are running to declare their attendance at Geneva II are illegitimate “opposition” that in reality never opposed anything. It is not enough for a group of people to call themselves “opposition” to be a legit opposition movement while they secretly or publicly collaborate with the regime. As far as we, the Syrian people is concerned, those are just collaborators and they do not represent us. Meeting with them is equal to Batta meeting worth himself. No one except Zoo and Co is fooled.
October 29th, 2013, 12:22 pm
Hopeful said:
#1272 Zoo
Isn’t Jamil an opposition figure in the eyes of the Syrian regime, doesn’t he have the right to meet anyone he wants in that capacity?
October 29th, 2013, 1:11 pm
Hopeful said:
#1276 Tara
There are many in the opposition who want to see the regime gone but have not chosen to carry arms or use violence. It is a mistake to exclude them from the “opposition”. If they choose to go to Geneva, it does not mean they are collaborating with the regime. You have the right to believe that they may not represent many, including yourself, but that should not make them collaborators.
The Palestinians made the same mistake before, when they labeled anyone who seek negotiation with Israel a collaborator.
October 29th, 2013, 1:23 pm
Observer said:
how on earth does anyone think that there will be any talk in Geneva or anywhere else when ZooZoo does not even respond to my proposals any longer.
I think that Syrian Hamster and I should invite him to join our company: ” we sell the bust and you buy the boom”
I guess like all of the predictions when it comes to reality he and his cronies remain silent fully.
How come an opposition figure cannot meet whomever he/she wants and he is apparently the one responsible for the reconciliation file?
No one cares what Nus Lira pontificates about any longer. In contrast to the KSA he is the one talking and they are the ones acting.
Perhaps his call to come to a “political dialogue” is an effort to avoid Syria becoming Iran’s Vietnam.
” we sell the bust and you buy the boom ” is open for business in Syria.
October 29th, 2013, 1:25 pm
Tara said:
Hopeful,
From the post at 7:37 AM:
““On another level but still about Geneva 2, three secular organizations of the Syrian opposition have decided yesterday to go to Geneva without preconditions and in spite of threats by Islamist groups against opponents who intend to participate in the conference. This is the PYD, a Kurdish group, (Hay’at at Tanssik) led by Hassan Abdel-Azim, both secular and a third group led by Christian and Muslim leaders who did not want to be quoted before holding a crucial meeting in the coming days. ”
Could you tell me out of the three group mentioned above what they opposed and how? What exactly was their method of opposing?
October 29th, 2013, 4:13 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
I think zouzou and co are missing a great opportunity by not joining me and Observer in our partnership, now that dog-poop has finally sacked the communist vice premier. Its free market at last. This is saad, given that “we sell the bust, you buy the boom” heavily relies on zouzou’z forecasting skillz in making profit for our clientz on our account.
October 29th, 2013, 4:15 pm
Tara said:
Observer,
The name of the company is pretty attractive. I like the shrine part. I am too interested in selling my family coastal properties and exchange it for Qurdaha shrine.
Can you take a girl business partner? I have really good credentials.
And remember what we were told on SC by the regimists: Sunnis have been always viscerally money-savvy as opposed to the progressive “Shiaa revolutionists”. So I will put my Sunni genetic capability into growing the business. That may neutralize and hamster and yours atheist lack of visceral money credentials we were taught Sunnis enjoy.
October 29th, 2013, 4:29 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Does Assad beneffit from the general amnesty too?
What a faxxxxcking president who kills and later declares an amnesty for himself.
October 29th, 2013, 4:34 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Ambassador Ford to meet Qadri Jamil to discuss about how exterminating the syrian populatuion without looking too much guilty from both sides.
October 29th, 2013, 4:47 pm
zoo said:
@1277 Hopeful
A news outlet has explained that Jamil al Qadri has told Robert Ford that he wanted to be part of the ‘opposition’ delegation. This was rejected as he is part of the government.
Now that he is not in the Syrian governement, there should be no objection that he be part of the ‘opposition’ delegation.
The fact that three groups who are located in Syria have accepted to go to Geneva, the coalition will be under even more pressure to join as otherwise they will be simply bypassed. If they don’t of course they will whine and make declaration that this conference is meaningless with them, as they claim they are the ‘sole representative.
But who cares for Saudi puppets with no political or military credibility on the ground?
October 29th, 2013, 4:53 pm
zoo said:
Hopeful
The coalition is trapped. They can accept the humiliation of joining the conference without their conditions met. They will also risk their lives as the rebels have threatened them with the fate of ‘traitors’ if they join.
Another alternative is to refuse to go and then they would become dispensable and would have no place in Syria’s future if the conference is successful.
What do you think Bandar ben Sultan will tell them to do?
October 29th, 2013, 5:14 pm
zoo said:
Scavenger, Hammy et Cie
The events on the ground are moving in the opposite direction you have been hoping and predicting.
No wonder you prefer to dwell on the diversion of selling your ‘real estates’ in Syria.
I think you are doing a good thing. Sell and stay away from Syria.
October 29th, 2013, 5:20 pm
Uzair8 said:
What is a pro-Palestine activist doing promoting an Assadist nun?
Mother Agnes-Mariam, accused of complicity in a French journalist’s death in Homs, is now on a coast-to-coast speaking tour of the US
Alex Rowell
October 26, 2013
[…]
October 29th, 2013, 5:22 pm
zoo said:
Patrick Cockburn: Syria and Iraq disintegrating
October 30, 2013
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/2ab0ae4e-7c7e-4ca1-96c3-187d638be5cd.aspx
…
No doubt groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) are growing stronger by the day. Its advance in Syria has been well publicised and has done enough to frighten the US and its allies into thinking what would be the future state of Syria in case they come in power and the fighters of the Syrian Opposition fighting as Free Syrian Army are sidelined
…
In a different way in Syria, Al Qaeda’s ferocity may make it formidable on the battlefield but it creates a counter-reaction among Sunnis as well as Alwaites, Christians and the other minorities. Damascus is full of people who do not want Assad, but think Isis or the Al Nusra Front are worse. Much the same thing happened in Sunni neighbourhoods in Baghdad in 2006 when Al Qaeda terrified people by shooting barbers who gave un-Islamic haircuts or were rumoured to be chopping two fingers off the right hand of people caught smoking a cigarette.
In the last few weeks there have been signs of the way in which Isis has weakened the loose coalition against Assad, by starting a war in northeast Syria with the Kurds, about 10 per cent of the Syrian population. A motive for the fighting is control of the oil wells that are concentrated in this area. Some 50,000 Kurdish refugees have already fled but others have been forced to rely on the disciplined fighters of the Kurdistan Workers Party which has been fighting the Turkish army for years.
The outcome of these struggles is likely to be a divided Iraq and a divided Syria. Where there are Sunni minorities in Iraq they are being killed or forced to flee. This might well include Baghdad. In the Sunni heartlands Al Qaeda will grow stronger, though in Syria the movement is vulnerable to a backlash.
The governments in Baghdad and Damascus will be strengthened not because they are well liked but because people dread the alternative to them. Is there any way this bloodbath could be ended? The chances of the so-called Geneva 11 peace meeting getting off the ground do not look good with the deeply divided opposition leadership.
Perhaps, the only way to exercise influence on Al Qaeda and the 1,200 other rebel groups is to threaten them with closure of the 500-mile long Turkish border which they need to keep open if they are to continue to fight.
October 29th, 2013, 5:26 pm
Uzair8 said:
Angry Saudi?
No surprise there. Saudi will not let Iran come out on top. It will not accept such humiliation and loss of face.
An angry Saudi means a determined Saudi. No bad thing for the revolution. Let’s see what Saudi can do…even if on it’s own or a handful of friends.
If Saudi loses out to Iran in Syria, then it may well be followed by losing out in Lebanon, Iraq…and Yemen (Houthi)..and the day won’t be too far away when Eastern Saudi comes into play.
For Saudi, losing out in this proxy war isn’t an option as a bolstered Iran will be on a roll having grasped victory from the jaws of defeat.
It seems Saudi means business and it’s gonna be very interesting to watch this space…
October 29th, 2013, 5:35 pm
zoo said:
Prince Charles points out to environmental elements that contributed to the 2011 Arab spring uprising in Syria
Charles warns of climate change at Islamic forum
http://www.itv.com/news/update/2013-10-29/charles-warns-of-climate-change-at-islamic-forum/
Opening the forum, Prince Charles said drought, poor food security and rapid urbanisation contributed to the social tension that ignited into the 2011 uprising.
“The tragic conflict in Syria provides a terrifyingly graphic example, where a severe drought for the last seven years has decimated Syria’s rural economy. Driving many farmers off their fields and into cities where, already, food was in short supply.
“This depletion of natural capital, inexplicably, little reported in the media, was a significant contributor to the social tension that exploded with such desperate results.”
October 29th, 2013, 5:38 pm
zoo said:
@1290 Uzair8
Don’t expect much from the ‘guided and demented’ Kingdom. They have never solved any regional problem, they made them worse.
October 29th, 2013, 5:41 pm
Observer said:
TARA you are most welcome into the business partnership.
The company will grow by the day and we can actually share some costs like advertising or real estate fees when we “sell the bust and they buy the boom”.
ZooZoo you are advocating we sell and stay out of Syria, are you buying? Would you now buy us out to make sure that members that oppose the regime are not able to come back or have no future in the country? Are you willing to buy the bust so that you can make money on the boom and then give to the displaced or invest in reconstructing the shrines and statutes?
Would you actually sacrifice by buying us simply to make sure we remain out of Syria. Surely you can buy us out of pure patriotism and pure love of the secular heroic regime supported by the heroic bullwark against fanatics the SAA of your adulation and adoration.
ZooZoo no one reads those posts of second hand pundits. Get down to the reality on the ground.
From the first demonstration in Harikah in Damascus to the graffitti in Deraa we now have 1000 rebel groups loosely organized and without true coordination and with day job fighters that hardly know how to aim and yet your SAA is not capable of taking Darrya and HA is gearing for the Qalamoun battle as you post. Why would HA be gearing up for anything in the first place is beyond me. There is no stopping the revolution. It is fickle and disorganized and individualistic and actually quite democratic for at least factions can have members vote with their feet and go to ISIS or Nusra or go home.
I also thought Qadri Jamil was in the opposition. TO be dismissed as RT Arabic noted while being interviewed on their Satellite station is interesting.
But Syrian Hamster and Tara and I know that the regime has had a monologue with itself all along with the superb circular arguments that is continues to pose of which we have a pure example right here.
He he he he
October 29th, 2013, 5:47 pm
zoo said:
Scavenger
When I attempted to read your last lengthy post, I had to stop as I wondered if I wasn’t on MentallyConfused.com Blog
October 29th, 2013, 5:57 pm
Rancher said:
“Could you tell me out of the three group mentioned above what they opposed and how? What exactly was their method of opposing?”
The Kurds opposed Assad and took over northeast Syria.
October 29th, 2013, 6:31 pm
Rancher said:
First we were to believe Assad would get rid of his WMDs and now that he will allow fair elections? This mess isn’t going away soon even if Assad is overthrown. If I had property there I would certainly sell. It has become a proxy war and I believe Saudi Arabia will be able to carry on the fight long after Iran goes broke.
October 29th, 2013, 6:40 pm
Tara said:
Rancher,
Did the Kurds oppose al Assad for the good of all Syrians or to serve their national interest? Did they give a hand to the activists in non kurdish areas? Did they PYD give material support to the FSA? Did the PYD overtly declare its support to the Syrian revolution against Assad?
I am not with them weakening the revolution for selfish reasons.
October 29th, 2013, 6:43 pm
Tara said:
Nevertheless I am in support of the Kurds getting their rights.
But not at the revolution expense.
October 29th, 2013, 6:46 pm
Tara said:
Observer,
Thanks for your outstanding, clear, and superb posts.
October 29th, 2013, 6:50 pm
Rancher said:
The Kurds opposed Assad after decades of oppression. Kurdistan is the largest nation on earth lacking any form of self-determination, they live in a homeland that was partitioned among Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Turkey. I hope they get their country back and those four can deal with what’s left. Of course that’s selfish of them, they are the only ones in the middle east that care what happens to them. If they don’t look out for themselves no one will.
October 29th, 2013, 6:54 pm
Tara said:
So Rancher if Assad gives them their rights, they will pledge allegiance ?
And if their goal is to get their country back and that is it, they can’t represent the “opposition” in Geneva.
This is a revolution of freedom and dignity to all. It is not so for the PYD.
October 29th, 2013, 7:03 pm
zoo said:
Saudi Threats to Abandon U.S. Alliance Are Empty
By Shashank Joshi, Bloomberg News
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
http://www.sddt.com/News/article.cfm?SourceCode=20131029cq&_t=Saudi+Threats+to+Abandon+US+Alliance+Are+Empty+Shashank+Joshi#.UnBAyTca5j0
Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) — Saudi Arabia has been throwing a diplomatic temper tantrum lately, threatening a “major shift” away from the U.S. over differences on Iran, Syria and other issues. The Obama administration can relax.
…
Some Saudi commentators, such as royal adviser Nawaf Obaid, suggest that Saudi Arabia might look to Arab allies to shore up its security. This is fanciful. Earlier Saudi efforts to bring fellow monarchies Jordan and Morocco into the Gulf Cooperation Council failed miserably, as have all efforts at political union. And even if they agreed on policy, the Gulf militaries would struggle to work together in a war. Greater Arab cooperation might supplement U.S. power, but can’t supplant it.
Where the Saudis have leverage, it is hard for them to use it without hurting themselves. Only last year, Saudi Arabia and U.S. intelligence services worked closely to foil an al-Qaeda bomb plot in the Arabian Peninsula. Ending such cooperation would make the Saudis more vulnerable, even as al-Qaeda’s regional affiliates are gaining new footholds.
Simply put, only the U.S. — which still has about 20,000 troops stationed in the Middle East — can guarantee Saudi Arabia’s security against major threats. As the region becomes more unstable, this dependence is rising. No surprise, then, that the Saudis didn’t let their anger get in the way of a $6.8 billion arms deal to purchase advanced U.S. bombs and missiles, the details of which were revealed this week.
So what does all this mean for the future of the alliance? It has survived far greater strain, including the periods after the 1973 oil embargo and the second Iraq war. Those tensions never stopped the U.S. from stepping in when Saudi Arabia felt existentially threatened, as it did in Gulf War, and when the free flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz has been in danger.
The common interests that bind this diplomatic odd couple aren’t about to vanish. The shale revolution and resulting fall in U.S. dependence on Gulf energy will probably dilute ties over the longer term. Yet the U.S. will continue to have a strong interest in stable world energy markets and, consequently, in ensuring stability in and around Saudi Arabia. Nor will the shale revolution dissipate the need for cooperation in other areas, such as counterterrorism.
The U.S. shouldn’t allow hollow Saudi threats to deter it from pursuing its regional diplomacy by. It is understandable that U.S. partners want to be consulted and forewarned on matters that affect their security. But when they oppose diplomatic solutions or demand unrealistic terms, they shouldn’t be allowed to act as spoilers.
October 29th, 2013, 7:15 pm
zoo said:
Weapons inspectors study ways to visit two remaining sites
….
The two sites appear to be in rebel-held or contested areas. At least one location is believed to be the town of Al-Safira, which experts say is home to a production facility as well as storage sites. It has been engulfed by fighting for months, and many rebels in the area are from Al-Qaeda-linked groups.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Oct-30/236234-weapons-inspectors-study-ways-to-visit-two-remaining-sites.ashx#ixzz2j9lrNW2O
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
October 29th, 2013, 7:28 pm
zoo said:
More desperate requests from the embattled and squeezed expat opposition to avoid the forced march to Geneva.
Syrian opposition to consider call for Brahimi’s removal
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/10/article55320736
Syria opposition alliance angered by UN-Arab League envoy’s stance on peace talks
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—The most prominent Syrian opposition alliance is considering calling for the removal of Lakhdar Brahimi as the UN-Arab League special envoy for the Syrian crisis, Asharq Al-Awsat has learned.
A proposal to petition the Arab League to remove Brahimi from his post will be discussed at a meeting of the political bureau of the National Coalition of Syrian Opposition and Revolutionary Forces at the end of the month, according to Ahmad Ramadan, a member of the body.
The proposal was originally put forward by the Syrian National Council, which is itself a member of the Coalition.
Ramadan, who also sits on the Council’s executive committee, told Asharq Al-Awsat that “our problem is not only with Brahimi, despite the anger at his stances, but with the Geneva II conference, which is rejected by the Coalition and the Council, as well as most of the Syrian revolutionary forces, unless it leads to the exclusion of Assad from Syria’s future.”
….
Meanwhile, Brahimi was preparing to meet Syrian officials, as well as a delegation from the internal opposition, led by the Coordination Committee. Its secretary general for the Syrian diaspora, Majid Habbo, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the committee was awaiting an invitation to the upcoming talks in Geneva and that Brahimi will inform the committee of the results of his talks with the Syrian regime and the regional countries who can influence the end of the Syrian conflict.
Habbo added that the delegation “will stress during the meeting on the necessity to adhere to the political document which we presented, to strengthen trust between the regime and the people, to start opening safe passages for civilians, and to release detainees and meet other demands.”
Habbo said: “We can only be optimistic … we must listen to the sound of reason and look for common denominators to end the conflict.”
October 29th, 2013, 7:33 pm
Tara said:
Ibrahimi is an octogenarian with short term memory problem consistent with possible Alzehimer. Did he forget Iran is the problem? Iran should not be allowed in. And Ibrahimi should be asked to retire.
October 29th, 2013, 7:48 pm
Rancher said:
Tara, whatever Assad gives today he can take away tomorrow. The only way the Kurds can insure their rights are upheld is to be able to defend those rights.
October 29th, 2013, 8:37 pm
apple_mini said:
Looks like this site has been abandoned by its official contributors while a bunch of desolated posters taking it over to continue their failed “revolution” on cyberspace.
I see the SC and any other Syrian opposition by Syrian expats and delusional revolutionists as a phantom screaming under the Sun and dissipating.
Of course the war is not ending not because the phantom is dying. It is because the snake heads have not been cut.
The ongoing operations in Qalamoun is crucial. We hope Hezbollah will be able to deliver a death blow to those jackals. Only that the situation in Lebanon can see some improvement.
October 29th, 2013, 9:16 pm
Tara said:
Rancher,
True. I don’t mind the Kurds taking part in shaping Syria’s future. I mind misrepresenting themselves as opposition. They are simply a “third party” to the process: a special interest group.
A revolution for freedom and dignity would like to un-oppresses all oppressed.
October 29th, 2013, 9:16 pm
Ghufran said:
Qadri jamil needed to distance himself from the regime so his party can have a seat at Geneva 2 and be able to to ask for a slice of the Syrian government cake. Assad had no choice but to let him go knowing fully well that Russia wants Jamil and his friends to be part of the opposition negotiating team, it was a convenient exit for all but to many the man is still seen as regime lite. In reality, the guy and his party have the right to be represented then compete for seats at a future parliament, whether we will see clean elections that produce a representative body is another matter.
October 29th, 2013, 9:22 pm
zoo said:
More pressure building on the opposition
Arab Parliament (meeting at the Arab League Headquarters) supports Geneva II to stop bloodshed of Syrians
http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2341391&Language=en
CAIRO, Oct 29 (KUNA) — The Arab Parliament voiced support for the Geneva II conference to stop bloodshed of the Syrian people, and to immediately begin with negotiations between the warring parties to solve the crisis peacefully and establish a political regime in the country.
The parliament, at the end of its meetings at the Arab League headquarters, underlined importance of unity of the Syrian territories, saying peaceful dialogue was the only way out of the Syrian conflict, which killed more than 100,000 people and displaced millions others in and outside the country.
The parliament members rejected foreign interference in the Syrian conflict, including a military action.
They condemned the Syrian regime for attacking its own people with chemical weapons, calling for sending those responsible for the attack to stand trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The parliament welcomed the Russian initiative that placed the Syrian chemical arsenal under international supervision, urging the Arab League to establish a fund to help the Syrian people.
October 29th, 2013, 10:11 pm
Hopeful said:
#1280 Tara
I do not know about the other groups, but Hay’at at Tanssik has one of its senior members in prison for over a year now. Abdul Azis Khayyer is in my opinion one of the top opposition figures, on the same rank of respect as Kilo and Ghalioun.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xssl67_syrian-ex-opposition-leader-says-violence-cannot-bring-democracy_news
The Kurdish party opposes both the regime and the Islamists. It has aspirations for a Kurdish province. How can you not include it in any talks about the future of Syria?
I simply do not agree with exclusion tactics. They seem very childish and counterproductive to me. The Palestinians played this game for 50 years and got nothing.
October 29th, 2013, 10:23 pm
zoo said:
@1307 Apple_mini
Just the possibility of a defeat of its mercenaries in Qalamoon may have acted as a deterrent to Saudi Arabia’s bellicose desires.
I think Bandar Ben Sultan has freaked out and is now telling the opposition to go to Geneva.
The Arab parliament , where Saudi Arabia is represented have expressed their official support to Geneva II.
October 29th, 2013, 10:24 pm
Hopeful said:
#1309 Ghufran
“the man is still seen as regime lite. In reality, the guy and his party have the right to be represented then compete for seats at a future parliament, whether we will see clean elections that produce a representative body is another matter.”
I agree re: Jamil. He has the right to run like any other.
While I believe that the US’s and Russa’s focus on getting to free inclusive elections is a good one, I am also doubtful. They may indeed manage to conduct and monitor free elections, but if the various parties have not bought into it, they will challenge its honesty no matter how hard the international community worked to manage it. It is the people of Syria who need to believe in its authenticity not the international community. And the people of Syria, unfortunately as we have seen in the past 2.5 years, are easily swayed by their leaders to ignore clear facts and believe in conspiracies.
October 29th, 2013, 10:35 pm
Ghufran said:
Kurds are on the right track, they are likely to emerge as winners after the war. Most Kurds do not identify with neither the regime nor the Islamists, they want to win their legitimate political and cultural rights. As for the fear that responding to the Kurds demands can come at the expense of the ” revolution” I say that there is no revolution today, there is a war, and part of this war is attacks launched by rebels on Kurds and their areas.
Without a national leadership that is independent from the regime and the Islamists Syria is likely to be divided and that division will hurt revolutionists and their constituents the most.
October 29th, 2013, 10:36 pm
zoo said:
Hopeful
I am glad to see that you are coming to your senses. After 2.5 years, finally the ‘real’ opposition that care about Syrians lives above everything else and have no foreign agendas can make their voice heard.
The “coalition” has usurpated that right. They have manipulated the Syrians and the international community with the support of Qatar, Turkey and even Israel to try to get power and international legitimacy. But they failed lamentably because they have no real legitimacy inside Syria and because it became clear that they have been using the blood of the Syrians to pursue foreign agendas.
Kurds are Syrians, no expats. They are not manipulated by foreign powers, they never perpetrated massacre and they are secular. They have the right to propose reforms during negotiations in Geneva for the commmn good of all Syrians.
The “coalition” in its present organization has no place in Geneva.
October 29th, 2013, 10:43 pm
Hopeful said:
#1315 Zoo
Not that I mind having my mind changed, but my position has been consistent throughout this mess. You can go back and read all comments I made on SC if you like and you will find out that they have all come from the same principles.
The “coalition” has people whom I agree with, and people whom I disagree with. I do not believe that they have much “influence” over the fighters on the ground. There is not anything any of them could have done to change the dynamics of this struggle. This earthquake did not happen because of them, but because of a fault line in Syria built by a corrupt, inept, and brutal regime.
It is the regime that brought this misery onto Syria and it should bear the responsibility. It is the regime who could have avoided it, but it chose not to, due to arrogance, corruption, ignorance, incompetence, or all of the above.
Having said that, I have always advocated dialogue and national reconciliation. To me Syria is like the old South Africa, where a ruling elite brutally oppressed a majority of the people. A solution can only be attained if we do follow the South Africa model, or we will end up like Iraq. Yes, justice is important, but it is less important that saving more lives and creating a peaceful future.
October 29th, 2013, 10:58 pm
Observer said:
You are welcome TARA
The opposition can go to Tumbuktu or to Geneva. Jamil can go as an opposition or can go as a regime lite. Laughvrov can go and it does not matter at the end.
The regime cannot even begin to consider a fight in Damascus suburbs and even HA cannot help them there either.
The regime cannot take back Syria it does not have the troops it does not have the manpower and it does not have the money to do it.
The rebels are actually a true Syria with its mosaic of different groups and different regions and different backgrounds. Their individualism and their wide ranging opinions are true breaths of fresh air in comparison to 50 years of stale and fetid regime single voice propaganda exhorting the pseudo virtues of the “dear leader, the great struggler, the president leader, the garbage dump aficionado, the statute filled with garbage builder etc…… ” that we have been fed.
The fact of the matter that ZooZoo would not commit to buying in anticipation of his eternal predictions of upcoming boom, upcoming Geneva, upcoming demise, upcoming disintegration, upcoming downfall, upcoming victory; tells me that he is all bluff and smoke and mirrors.
The company name remains
“We sell the bust and you buy the boom”
ZooZoo obfuscating the deal of the century tells me that he is all bluff and fluff and his predictions and up comings are actually virtual iPad retard games of smoke and mirrors.
He He He.
October 29th, 2013, 11:29 pm
Observer said:
On a much more serious note here is a nice Geneva 2 report that I encourage TARA and Mjabali and Syrian Hamster to read fully. ZooZoo may have an apoplexy if he opens it. 🙂
http://all4syria.info/Archive/107502
October 29th, 2013, 11:42 pm
Syrian said:
It seems that “hardly a massacre” have jinxed the regime again, the day she appeared after long absence asking Hizboola to come and fight in the Qalamoun mountains.The mouthpiece of Hizboola, Al Akhbar newspaper is saying that Hizboola will not fight there even if the rebels went inside Lebanon’s border areas.!
“??? ???? ?? ?????
?? ????? ????? ???? ???????? ?? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ????????? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ????????? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ?????????. ???? ??? ????????? ???????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ??????? ???????? ???? «???????» ?? ????? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ??? ????? ???????? ??? ??? ?????? ( ???? ????? ???? ????) ??? ????? ????? ??????. ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ???????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ????? ????. ????? « ???????» ?? ??????? ??????? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ???????? ??????? ?? ????? ??«??? ????? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ????????». ???? ??????? ???? ?? ????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ????? ??????? ???? «??? ????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ???????? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ??????».
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/194085
October 30th, 2013, 12:49 am
apple_mini said:
Whether Hezbollah to enter the fight in Qalamoun is not a symbolic thing. They will be involved if they are needed and they feel it is their fight as well.
If SAA is very confident to win the fight in Qalamoun, then Hezbollah can stand down.
In any case, fight in Qalamoun must be won.
I personally wish Hezbollah can do their contribution on manpower and sacrifice.
As far as jinxing stuff, I do not believe that kind of stuff. It is the same way I don’t buy any gimmick from the opposition. Syria crisis needs a pragmatic approach to solve it. Not on hypes or lies.
October 30th, 2013, 2:42 am
Tara said:
Syrian
Hardly-a-massacre jinxed the regime again?
He He.
Not that I read you Hardly-a-massacre but keep the good work until the Mafia gang becomes Hardly-a-regime.
October 30th, 2013, 7:36 am
zoo said:
Bandar beat down – Chief Saudi cleric says fighting in Syria wrong
http://warisacrime.org/content/bandar-beat-down-chief-saudi-cleric-says-fighting-syria-wrong
….
The mufti is not some closet liberal in the Saudi hierarchy. He’s the top religious official in the Kingdom. His statements are used to interpret legal and religious policies. The King of Saudi Arabia, who asked him to speak on the Syrian conflict, appoints him.
Prince Bandar bin Sultan (aka Bandar Bush) has been recruiting Saudis and Sunnis from around the Middle East, Pakistan, and Afghanistan to fight with the so-called rebel cause in Syria. This has been a nightmare for the Syrian people. These are ruthless, religiously inspired jihadists who show no mercy once they’ve taken over a village, town, or city.
The statement by the mufti will stop the flow of jihadists from Saudi Arabia. It also signals a major conflict with the policies of Prince Bandar or, perhaps, a major blow to Bandar’s authority and standing.
It is worth watching how this develops. But, if the policies of the mufti reflect those of the Saudi king (and, of course they do), then the fix may be in. Jihadists from Saudi Arabia, other Middle East nations, and NATO countries flocking to Syria to fight the government are a threat to their nations of origin. Trained fighters, radicalized by the anti Syria jihad, these individuals and groups pose a major threat, to a greater or lesser degree, to their “homelands.”
Cutting off supplies and fighters may be the best way to end that threat. In the case of the United States, despite all the tragedy it has caused, the Syrian conflict is suddenly much less important than a rapprochement with Iran.
The next few weeks will tell the tale but if Saudi Arabia follows the mufti’s advice, it’s all over for the rebel cause.
October 30th, 2013, 8:58 am
zoo said:
#1316 Hopeful
“There is not anything any of them could have done to change the dynamics of this struggle.”
I see, the opposition are the angels and the victims. Then who irresponsibly brought Al Nusra and Al Qaeda criminals to ‘protect’ civilians with the illusion “they would leave when Bashar will be toppled”?
The blame is shared. The Syrian government for having over reacted in the first stages of the uprising and the opposition for having opted for a continuous violence instead of opening up to the dialog the Russians have been pushing right from the beginning.
Some in the opposition are still in the same state of mind.
They will be soon forced to change after 2 years delay and 100,000 death.
October 30th, 2013, 9:12 am
Hopeful said:
#1323 Zoo
No, I did not mean to imply that the opposition are all angels. The opposition is very fragmented and has tens of heads. That’s why the dynamics of the war will not change if one or a few of them decided to try something different. The power to change the dynamics is with the regime (which maintains central authority over its forces), with the opposition fighters on the ground, or via a foreign intervention.
October 30th, 2013, 11:06 am
ALAN said:
RANCHER
fishermen in troubled waters!
Kurdish intellectuals fully aware about the shiny logo that used! Do not be ridiculous!
Neither you and not Israel together with you able to ride the waves of the truth to lead a falsehood! Soap bubbles suitable for those of your thinking
October 30th, 2013, 1:04 pm
Tara said:
Hopeful,
“I simply do not agree with exclusion tactics”
I think you are misreading my intentions. I am not for their exclusion in shaping Syria’s future.. I however am not with the non-opposing *opposition* rushing into declaring their attendance at Geneva II when the real opposition have not made that decision yet. By doing so they are risking Geneva || taking place, sidestepping the people who gave their lives and everything else to the revolution. The western power may decide that there is enough people to hold the conference and to have a pseudo dialogue and pseudo transitional government that is not representative. The formation of such a pseudo transitional government would inevitably lead to withholding any material or moral support of the People against the dictator.
And my question is still unanswered yet. What have Hassan Abdul Azim opposed and how?
October 30th, 2013, 1:20 pm
zoo said:
Jarba public or Jarba private?
Syria peace talks face delay as big powers split
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/333325/news/world/syria-peace-talks-face-delay-as-big-powers-split
Ahmad Jarba, president of the opposition coalition, has publicly resisted calls to commit to attending the so-called Geneva 2 conference, saying the coalition will not take part if there is any chance Assad might cling to power.
“He was speaking to his constituency and his public stance differs from what he told us privately,” one delegate at last week’s London meeting said, trying to play down the significance of Jarba’s stance.
“We assured Jarba that an understanding had been reached with the Russians for Geneva to produce a transitional governing body with full powers over the army and security apparatus and that Assad would not be allowed to retain power under any special clauses. But his fate will not be specifically discussed at Geneva,” the delegate said.
Even if Jarba were to attend, he has no authority over the rebel brigades battling to overthrow Assad. Many have rejected any negotiations not centred around Assad’s removal and said they would charge anyone who attended them with treason.
Opposition sources said Jarba, who is backed by Saudi Arabia, travelled there in recent days to meet King Abdullah. Jarba will preside over a coalition meeting in Istanbul on Nov. 9 to discuss taking a position on Geneva.
“The meeting will likely stretch for up to a week as usual. What is required is for the coalition to forget rhetoric and come up with a strategy, road map and a detailed policy,” one envoy said.
October 30th, 2013, 2:37 pm
zoo said:
Forbes: Putin named ‘world’s most-powerful’
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4447676,00.html
Having outfoxed him on Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin has pipped Barack Obama to the title of the world’s most powerful leader as ranked by Forbes on Wednesday.
It was the first time in three years that the US president has dropped to second place on the magazine’s list and came as US-Russia relations slid to a new low. (AFP)
October 30th, 2013, 2:40 pm
zoo said:
Let Bandar Ben Sultan think well about that before the Qalamoon battle starts
Assad: No Peace Until Foreigners Stop Arming Rebels
‘The Syrian people alone are entitled to draw the future of Syria’
Syrian President Bashar Assad said Wednesday that no political resolution to the country’s bloody civil war can be reached unless foreign powers stop supporting the opposition seeking to oust him.
“The Syrian people alone are entitled to draw the future of Syria. Any solution must be approved by them and reflect their wishes away from any foreign intervention,” state television quoted Assad as saying to United Nations special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. “This is paramount to prepare the circumstances for dialogue and put clear mechanisms that achieve this goal.”
Read more: Assad: No Peace Until Foreigners Stop Arming Rebels | TIME.com http://world.time.com/2013/10/30/assad-no-peace-until-foreigners-stop-arming-rebels/#ixzz2jESQJudW
October 30th, 2013, 2:43 pm
zoo said:
Where are the reactions to Prince Charles assertions?
Prince Charles: Syria Conflict Is Partly Down To Global Warming, World Economic
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/10/30/prince-charles_n_4176363.html
The environment is a “significant” factor in the Syrian conflict that has killed more than 100,000 people, Prince Charles has claimed.
The heir to the throne said a drought and the the depletion of natural resources was one of the key reasons for the bitter fighting.
In a keynote speech to Islamic business leaders, Charles said this had been “inexplicably” not reported by the media.
“The tragic conflict in Syria provides a terrifyingly graphic example, where a severe drought for the last seven years has decimated Syria’s rural economy,” he said.
October 30th, 2013, 2:50 pm
zoo said:
Suspects in Syria sarin gas case appear before court
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-330187-suspects-in-syria-sarin-gas-case-appear-before-court.html
30 October 2013 /TODAY’S ZAMAN, ?STANBUL
Suspects accused of seeking to acquire chemical materials that could be used to produce sarin gas for two radical groups in Syria appeared before a court in the southern province of Adana for the first hearing of their trial.
….
According to an indictment, the suspects were seeking to obtain the materials for two radical groups, the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and the Islamist Ahrar al-Sham. The Syrian suspect, identified as 35-year-old Hytham Qassap, was trying to buy the materials, according to the indictment. Qassap, the only suspect under arrest, is accused of “membership in an armed terrorist organization” and “attempting to obtain weapons for an armed terrorist group” and faces up to 25 years in jail.
The five Turkish suspects, all of whom were released pending trial, are accused of “attempting to acquire weapons for an armed terrorist group,” and each faces up to 15 years in jail.
The Syrian regime, widely believed to be responsible for a chemical attack on Aug. 21 in Damascus, denies using chemical weapons and has cited the Adana investigation as a proof that the opposition fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad smuggles chemical weapons into Syria and uses them on civilians. The opposition also denies possessing and using chemical weapons. The US and European countries say there is little evidence suggesting that the opposition has chemical weapons.
October 30th, 2013, 2:54 pm
Hopeful said:
#1326 Tara
“And my question is still unanswered yet. What have Hassan Abdul Azim opposed and how?”
Hay’at Altanseeq has one of its senior members in the regime’s prison (Khayyer) and another one in exile (Manaa). What other opposition medals would you like to see?
The only thing they did not do was carry arms. They did not believe in violence.
October 30th, 2013, 2:56 pm
Tara said:
Hopeful,
I am not rating the opposition based on their medals. I am asking a really simple questions. No trick is intended. While I am clear in regard to the CV of every “Islamic fighting force” the professor, Aron Lund, Tammimi, the western press, and everyone else and his brother overeducate us, I have no knowledge of what al Tanseeq has opposed and how. I do not want to sound insensitive, but simply having al Khair being jailed does not cut it for me of Hay’at being a genuine *opposition*. In all honesty, al Khair could have been jailed because he is an Alawi without blood on his hand which makes him a good replacement of Batta in the eye of the West or Russia.
The LCC has not carried arms but their CV as opposition is impecable. You asked me what would I like to see. I would like to see what Hay’at Altanseeq has opposed and how?
October 30th, 2013, 3:37 pm
Mother Anges Unmasked | Democratic Revolution, Syrian Style said:
[…] hang over Assad’s head, but the long-term effect of these events is permanent. The opposition within Syria and in exile is becoming a bit more united with themselves and each other – rejection of […]
October 30th, 2013, 4:33 pm
ALAN said:
It is now a secret to no one that the armed “opposition” sponsored by the “Friends of Syria” is in fact a bunch of thugs, many of whom are closely linked to terrorist groups and al-Qaida. Given the circumstances, those countries actively engaged in the fight against international terrorism in recent years, particularly the U.S. and Britain, need to be definitive in whom they support in Syria. If their stated goals to combat international terrorism are not simply propagandist rhetoric and cause for launching military operations against countries not numbered among the “satellites of Washington,” they must demonstrate their commitment to cutting off financial, military and other assistance to the Syrian rebels and force Syria’s opposition to sit down at the Geneva 2 negotiating table.
However, besides political resolution of the conflict, the country’s social and economic tragedy must not be forgotten. This applies to the hundreds of thousands of refugees and families that have lost their homes and their possessions and don’t have the means to continue living and raising their children. It does not appear that the international community will take the Geneva 2 approach to fixing this problem anytime soon, especially given the unwillingness of the Syrian opposition and its sponsors to even hold this conference. Add to that the likelihood that the meeting will be put off to a later date. Besides the establishment of conditions for Geneva 2, increased international action is needed to restore Syria’s residential, industrial and social facilities, especially schools and hospitals……………
http://journal-neo.org/2013/10/31/rus-vosstanovlenie-sirii-zadacha-mezhdunarodnoj-obshhestvennosti/
October 30th, 2013, 6:18 pm
ALAN said:
There are significant changes in Saudi Arabia to come within two months!
October 30th, 2013, 6:31 pm
Uzair8 said:
Yallasouriya 9:46 pm on October 30, 2013
#Syria, Paradoxy13
The explosion at the air defence missile base in Snobar Jable was heard in Latakia & Banyas, must’ve been a big boom!
October 30th, 2013, 6:39 pm
ALAN said:
Rebels conduct new chemical weapons attack in Syria near Turkish border – report
http://rt.com/news/rebels-chemical-weapons-syria-927/
The rebels used chemical weapons in north-eastern Syria near the border with Turkey on Tuesday, a Lebanese TV channel Al-Mayadeen reported.
The toxic shell exploded near a Kurdish defense forces’ checkpoint close to the border with Turkey in the city of Ras al-Ayn al-Hasakah.
The attack was reported by Kurdish defense forces who are conducting military operations against the rebels in the region.
They are quoted as saying they saw toxic yellow smoke that followed the shell explosion, while some of them had symptoms of severe chemical intoxication accompanied by nausea.
The reported chemical attack comes amid the second day of fierce fighting in the town.
the same Al-Nusra rebels (who are ideologically aligned with Al-Qaeda)who the West has been supporting, has used chemical weapons on Syrian nationals
Obama’s “Ear Plugs”
http://media-cache-cd0.pinimg.com/736x/35/a8/80/35a8808721d71f8447a6c00a2507c929.jpg
F**k your red line and your double standards! the suffering of the Syrian people is just the cost of doing Obamas business!
October 30th, 2013, 6:51 pm
ALAN said:
Secret Saudi Hospitals Discovered on Turkey Syria Border (Video)
http://youtu.be/n5rb6B9-Qxk?t=20s
October 30th, 2013, 7:13 pm
ALAN said:
Al-Qaeda recruits entering Syria from Turkey safehouses
Foreign jihadists – including Britons – are flooding into Syria to join al-Qaeda from safe houses in Turkey
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10415935/Al-Qaeda-recruits-entering-Syria-from-Turkey-safehouses.html
Hundreds of al-Qaeda recruits are being kept in safe houses in southern Turkey, before being smuggled over the border to wage “jihad” in Syria, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
The network of hideouts is enabling a steady flow of foreign fighters – including Britons – to join the country’s civil war, according to some of the volunteers involved.
These foreign jihadists have now largely eclipsed the “moderate” wing of the rebel Free Syrian Army, which is supported by the West. Al-Qaeda’s ability to use Turkish territory will raise questions about the role the Nato member is playing in Syria’s civil war.
Turkey has backed the rebels from the beginning – and its government has been assumed to share the West’s concerns about al-Qaeda. But experts say there are growing fears over whether the Turkish authorities may have lost control of the movement of new al-Qaeda recruits – or may even be turning a blind eye.
”Every day there are Mujahideen coming here from all different nationalities,” said Abu Abdulrahman, a Jordanian volunteer managing the flow of foreign fighters. He handles a network of receiving centres in southern Turkey for volunteers wishing to join al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, known as “the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” (ISIL).
October 30th, 2013, 7:18 pm
jo6pac said:
1339. ALAN said:
Thanks for your comments and links.
October 30th, 2013, 7:34 pm
Syrian said:
“Hardly a massacre” :had you and the rest of the regime supporters begged Hizboola really hard, instead of acting as if you were doing them a favors by giving them the honors of dying for Chemical Assad,while your ” heroic army” job is hiding behind them and later do the looting like they did in Qusair,maybe Hizboola might have agreed to come and lead your fight. And you would not have been called a jinx.
Chemical Assad’s militia that can not inter Darayya, or Qaboon which we were told few months ago that was about to fall by another, nor they were able to hold the Tamico buildings right next to your old cafe hang out. Will not be able to even think about going into the Qalamoun mountains
October 30th, 2013, 7:38 pm
Syrian said:
Tara: you gonna like this little Syrian girl
http://youtu.be/kh1-jlC2VJk
October 30th, 2013, 8:06 pm
Syrian said:
A tank vs a camera in Damascus, great shot by the heroic media team of the revolution .
http://youtu.be/OnVV6IZa0ko
October 30th, 2013, 8:28 pm
Tara said:
Syrian@ 1342
Soo..cute.
Batta starving Syrian children while he wanted to send his son to be educated in Switzerland. Oh la la.
Why not Iran? Let him become a towel head Mulla.
And his daughter can certainly get educated in Russia..then she can work in any country afterwards……
October 30th, 2013, 8:45 pm
zoo said:
The Kurds Get a Second Chance in Syria
By Fouad Ajami Oct 30, 2013 6:00 PM ET
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-30/the-kurds-get-a-second-chance-in-syria.html
More than 200,000 Syrian Kurdish refugees have moved into Iraqi Kurdistan. They have crossed an international border to be sure, yet it is, in the Kurdish world view, a passage from one part of their homeland to another. The Kurds disregard these frontiers, imposed on the Fertile Crescent almost a century ago by Anglo-French power.
October 30th, 2013, 9:04 pm
zoo said:
Opinion: A new Pax Iranica
by Eyad Abu Shakra, the managing editor of Asharq Al-Awsath
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/10/article55320884
…..
That was in the past. Today we are in a different era, an era of the “Pax Iranica” with an Israeli-US-Russian blessing.
Iran has abandoned the “Great Satan” slogan and removed the anti-American banners, thus, openly flirting with the Obama adminsitration. The nuclear program with which Iran deceived the world with for 18 years has become something that Washington can live with.
The previously “steadfast” Damascus seems now reassured of its safety in light of Obama’s stance following Tehran’s and Moscow’s deals with Washington. This is, of course, after Syria’s representative to the United Nations, Bashar Jaafari, claimed his country was “fighting terrorism on behalf of the whole world.” The Syrian regime also declared to the Christian West that it was the “defender of minorities in the region from radicals, Jihadists and Takfirists.”
As for Hassan Nasrallah—who shifted his resistance away from Palestine to fight Takfirists in Syria, as he put it—it is quite natural that he feels happy. He is proud of Hassan Rouhani’s achievement, and that Obama and his Secretary of State John Kerry have become convinced that there are indeed two kinds of terrorism, one accepted by US and Israel and one not. Therefore, in his speech on Tuesday Nasrallah seemed optimistic, boasting of “victory” against will of the Syrian people.
The slogans of “resistance,” “hostility to Israel” and “Death to America” may be for now a thing of the past. The will of a people, however, will not die no matter how many disgraceful deals are struck.
October 30th, 2013, 9:13 pm
Tara said:
#1345
How much Russia is concerned?
As much as it was concerned with mother Agnes’ chemical weapon report?
Did father Agnes wrote the second report?
Does father Agnes know mother Agnes? Can we get them introduced? May be they will fare as the Mahdi in Harasta. A happy ending that is..
October 30th, 2013, 9:15 pm
zoo said:
The battle of Qalamoon postponed
Le spectre de la bataille de Qalamoun s’éloigne de Tripoli
http://www.lorientlejour.com/article/840012/-le-spectre-de-la-bataille-de-qalamoun-seloigne-de-tripoli.html
October 30th, 2013, 9:19 pm
zoo said:
Suicide bomb now in Tunisia’s tourist resort. Will Turkey get its share too?
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/africa/suicide-bomber-attacks-tunisian-resort-town-1.1578573
A suicide bomber blew himself up in the Tunisian tourist resort of Sousse yesterday, the first such assault in more than a decade in a country now battling Islamist militants boosted by chaos in neighbouring Libya.
Police foiled another attack when they arrested a would-be suicide bomber at former president Habib Bourguiba’s tomb in the seaside town of Monastir, and detained five other people in Sousse thought to be plotting assaults, security sources said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the Islamist-led government said all the arrested men had admitted to being members of the militant Ansar al-Sharia movement, which it says is linked to al-Qaeda’s North Africa affiliate.
October 30th, 2013, 9:23 pm
Tara said:
I think prince Bandar bin Sultan involvement acted as a deterrent to HA from being involved in Qalamoun. They are afraid of the defeat of their mercenaries there. Just his name throws terror in their heart. Ok by me.
October 30th, 2013, 9:38 pm
omen said:
via MaryamSaleh
assadi cowards afraid of old men.
good thing doc isn’t here to see this.
not for the faint of heart.
October 30th, 2013, 11:36 pm
omen said:
ramamks: These civilians were slaughtered and their remains burnt by regime troops.
souls without conscience will refuse to acknowledge this, instead continue with their outrage over women being banned from driving.
October 31st, 2013, 12:39 am
ghufran said:
Rebels catch a boy trying to “smuggle” pieces of chicken in Aleppo:
October 31st, 2013, 12:55 am
Syrian said:
A young boy about to die from hunger in Damascus subreb, due to the starvation policy of Iran and Hizboola puppet regime Chemcal Assad
https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=172538659609199&id=148809471982118&set=pb.148809471982118.-2207520000.1383196983.&__user=100003131418721
October 31st, 2013, 1:31 am
Syrian said:
Cooking cats in Damascus suburbs
https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=172036999659365&id=148809471982118&set=a.149084628621269.1073741828.148809471982118&source=46&__user=100003131418721
https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=534714883272572&id=158245917586139&set=a.158266437584087.39498.158245917586139&source=46&__user=100003131418721
October 31st, 2013, 1:47 am
Syrian said:
Cooking cats in the subreb of Damascus
http://youtu.be/gPLD3Pv7fs0
October 31st, 2013, 2:08 am
Juergen said:
I would like to share this story with you,
I went this week to an trial opening here in Berlin against a lebanese german who is charged for spying for the Syrian general intelligence service. Last year a high ranking offical of the Syrian embassy, named Akram Omran was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. Muhammed K. the german lebanese accoused was targetted afterwards. Muhammed, a 60 year old beverages distributor is charged with 18 individual cases of espionage. The german intelligence has wired the embassy official Okram and has collected emails, telephone calls in which Muhammed K. describes his meetings with opposition members and upcoming events organized by the Syrian opposition in Germany. It was quite shocking to see how eloquent and simple the work of the syrian intelligence was operated from within the embassy. Muhammed K. was sent to report on a opening ceremony of the SNC in Germany, in December of 2011. He delivered free of charge beverages and was then allowed to attend the meeting. He made photos, he collected the names of participants and their positions stated. His report was then send to Akram Omran, who delivered the results directly to Damascus. In 3 cases relatives of opposition members were detained, some were called in for “interviews”, and in the case of Ferhad Ahma, a local syrian politician in the Berlin parliament, two men loyal to the regime beat him up in his own apartment. The federal prosecutor explained that the motive of the syrian regime is clear, the intimidation of syrians inside the country and abroud. He thinks that about 8000-10.000 members of the general intelligence are working in just this field. About 20 spies are targetted by the federal authorities within Germany, many will face similar charges. Muhammed K. acknowledged most of what the proscecutor accused him, by simply saying that he is a social person, he loves to discuss and probably Akram Omran targetted him and used him as an source. Muhammed K, can face up to 15 years in prison, the proscecutor made it clear that alone the passing of information to an alien country is a crime, the motive behind such is irrelevant.
October 31st, 2013, 2:41 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
There is a lot to be discovered in this statement. But I will leave these discoveries to SC’s own ethicist zouzou.
October 31st, 2013, 3:20 am
omen said:
from june:
October 31st, 2013, 3:50 am
omen said:
really?
October 31st, 2013, 3:58 am
Observer said:
Here is a report of the “resistance” at work from the BBC. Shame on all that continue to equate the regime with the rebels:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arabic/middleeast/2013/09/130930_syria_victims_school.shtml
On a different note, RT Arabic reports that an air defense base near Latakia was bombed by a missile fired from the sea and it is presumed to be Israeli.
Witnesses said that a huge explosion happened nearby.
The Lebanese newspaper and Maariv have also announced a similar news.
I wonder what the “resistance” is going to do: perhaps bomb a school in Daraya in retaliation.
” We sell the bust so that they can buy the boom” is open for business.
October 31st, 2013, 7:36 am
zoo said:
Zakaria: The Saudis Are Mad? Tough!
Why we shouldn’t care that the world’s most irresponsible country is displeased at the U.S.
By Fareed Zakaria Monday, Nov. 11, 2013
http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2156259,00.html
America’s middle east policies are failing, we are told, and the best evidence is that Saudi Arabia is furious. Dick Cheney, John McCain and Lindsey Graham have all sounded the alarm about Riyadh’s recent rejection of a seat on the U.N. Security Council. But whatever one thinks of the Obama Administration’s handling of the region, surely the last measure of American foreign policy should be how it is received by the House of Saud.
If there were a prize for Most Irresponsible Foreign Policy it would surely be awarded to Saudi Arabia. It is the nation most responsible for the rise of Islamic radicalism and militancy around the world. Over the past four decades, the kingdom’s immense oil wealth has been used to underwrite the export of an extreme, intolerant and violent version of Islam preached by its Wahhabi clerics
…
Given these trends, it is possible that Saudi Arabia worries that a seat on the U.N. Security Council might constrain it from having freedom of action. Or that the position could shine a light on some of its more unorthodox activities. Or that it could force Riyadh to vote on issues it would rather ignore. It is also possible that the Saudis acted in a sudden fit of pique. After all, they had spent years lobbying for the seat. Whatever the reason, let’s concede that, yes, Saudi Arabia is angry with the U.S. But are we sure that’s a sign Washington is doing something wrong?
Read more: Zakaria: The Saudis Are Mad? Tough! – TIME http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2156259,00.html#ixzz2jIbnu79X
October 31st, 2013, 7:49 am
zoo said:
By refusing their UNSC seat, the Saudis have brought more media attention on them. The Western media are lashing at their primitive and backward society of Malls and Mosques.
In addition, by his bellicose actions and theatrical declarations, the irresponsible buffoon Bandar Ben Sultan has thrown oil on the fire.
I think, like Qatar, after the mishaps caused by the flamboyant HBJ, we will see significant changes in Saudi Arabia soon.
The Saudis are too humiliated to do nothing.
October 31st, 2013, 8:07 am
zoo said:
The Real Reason Saudi Arabia Doesn’t Want Friendlier U.S.-Iran Relations
Lessened sanctions might cause oil prices to fall, and the Kingdom’s revenues along with them.
Kaveh Waddell Oct 30 2013, 3:18 PM ET
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/10/the-real-reason-saudi-arabia-doesn-t-want-friendlier-us-iran-relations/281013/
October 31st, 2013, 8:49 am
zoo said:
American companies discreetly going back to Iran. France appears to be the loser
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/10/the-real-reason-saudi-arabia-doesn-t-want-friendlier-us-iran-relations/281013/
On Sunday, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh predicted that sanctions relief could bring with it $54.4 billion in oil exports, of which $14 billion is already earmarked to fill gaping budgetary holes. American oil companies are already planning on it: top executives met with Zanganeh for “exploratory talks” on the sidelines of the UNGA earlier this month. Given the chance, European firms Total and Shell are also poised to reenter the Iranian oil market.
Oil is not the only Western business waiting for sanctions to fall in order to profit from a broad Iranian market. Less than a year after French automobile company Renault was forced out of Iran by U.S.-led sanctions, General Motors has been engaging in intensifying talks with Iran Khodro, the leading Iranian auto manufacturer, according to a report in Le Figaro. Other American companies have already been doing business in Iran under a shroud of secrecy—our sister site, Quartz, tallied at least $540 million in revenue for American companies doing business in Iran in 2012—and could enter fully if sanctions were lifted.
October 31st, 2013, 8:54 am
Uzair8 said:
Should Mother Agnes be canonised?
The Patron Saint of Shabeeha.
October 31st, 2013, 11:10 am
Ghat Al Bird said:
The chosen ones are still at it according to one wbe site……
The last time major explosions were reported near Damascus, it was in May, when Israel and its air force did everything in its power to provoke the Assad regime to escalate military operations both domestically and abroad.
It almost succeeded when three months later Obama nearly led a falseflag-driven “liberation” force facilitating Saudi and Qatari energy interests in the region and their pipeline ambitions below Syria.
Since then Israel had been largely dormant, seething in its (and Saudi) disappointment that it was unable to play Obama like a fiddle. The unstable detente changed again overnight, when as Haaretz reports “a large explosion was heard at a Syrian army missile base in Latakia.
Eye witnesses told the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human rights that the explosion took place near Snobar Jableh, south of the city. It was not yet clear whether anyone was wounded in the strike.
” And not surprisingly, it is once again Israel’ that was implicated in the latest regional provocation because as Haaretz adds, the “strike follows Lebanese media reports that Israeli aircraft circled above southern Lebanon.”
October 31st, 2013, 11:57 am
Mina said:
Jürgen
Don’t forget to keep us informed when they’ll start the trials of the people working in the hidden cell at the US embassy in Berlin!
What is your take on US intelligence behaving like the Stasi?
October 31st, 2013, 12:22 pm
Sami said:
Mina,
Make sure to keeps is informed at your outrage with the Syrian regime not only spying in its citizens but killing them as well!
Oh right I forgot your outrage is hypocritically biased…
Zoo,
Does Bandar haunt your dreams? If Saudi is so bad why do more Syrians go there than Iran to make a better future for themselves and their families? Also what does that say about Souria AlAssad when Saudi is more promising than the secular heaven of Bashar?
October 31st, 2013, 12:41 pm
Uzair8 said:
We’re hearing about heartbreaking reports of starvation and desperation. People apparently resorting to cooking cats and dogs. I haven’t looked into it and don’t want to as I can’t handle or face such reality.
Be sure to remember one thing. I remember from early on how the beasts were burning crops up north (and elsewhere) as punishment. Shooting donkeys and cattle too. The monstrous regime has used such tacics throughout the uprising.
The regime has to go. It’s beyond redemption.
Don’t be surprised if it begins shooting and burning cats and dogs to pressure, deprive and punish the population.
October 31st, 2013, 1:40 pm
zoo said:
Report says al-Qaeda members enter Syria from Turkish safe houses
31 October 2013 /TODAY’S ZAMAN, ANKARA
Before joining the war in Syria, hundreds of al-Qaeda members, particularly foreign volunteers, use apartments in Turkey’s southeastern cities as safe houses which creates a circulating flow of foreign fighters to wage “jihad” in the war-torn country, Britain’s The Daily Telegraph claimed in a report on Wednesday.
The report quoted a man called Abu Abdulrahman, a Jordanian volunteer who manages the network of receiving centers in southern Turkey, as saying that there are many volunteers coming to Turkey from many countries.
It cited the Jordanian volunteer in saying there are requirements that volunteers must meet to join al-Qaeda after arriving in Turkey, such as being a proper Muslim, not being spy or having a reference.
The article notes that there are many apartments that are rented under false names in Turkey’s border towns with Syria. The story says that these apartments also serve as rest houses for ISIL fighters.
The article also quotes opinions of analysts who say Turkey is “turning a blind eye” to the number of foreign fighters entering Syria from its territory and the province of Antakya is one of the doors to the Syrian civil war.
October 31st, 2013, 2:01 pm
ALAN said:
……………
We count our blessings that the planned Iran attack was diverted, as was the more recent Syrian one. Every month that goes by, the prospect of a Gulf War recedes into our rear view mirror. A lot of good people have worked hard to keep that monster in the cage. We will not let the aggressors steal that victory from us by writing a bogus history of what happened, even if they do have friends in Hollywood.
Jim W. Dean
http://journal-neo.org/2013/10/31/assange-charade-and-coverup-continues-with-new-movie/
October 31st, 2013, 2:08 pm
Uzair8 said:
I suspect the diabolical Inner Circle is meeting tonight. The now rare gathering reaching it’s climax at midnight. Sat around the table, the old witch at it’s head gazing into a crystal ball, advising the President on what’s to come and the next best move.
There’s a knock on the door, interrupting the tense proceedings just as the witch, suddenly visibly shaken by the crystal ball, is about to reveal something apparently disturbing. They all look at each other and send someone to check on the door.
Outside is a man covered in a white ghostly shroud. When asked who he is and what he wants, the mysterious stranger replies:
“Trick or treat?”
[…]
October 31st, 2013, 2:09 pm
zoo said:
@1369 Sami
Such a silly question…
Iranians are smarter and hardworking and do not need foreign labour, while Saudis are spoiled and lazy kids and prefer to use and exploit poor foreigners to do the low level jobs.
The job most in demand in KSA is car driver for frustrated women.
October 31st, 2013, 2:13 pm
zoo said:
Israel is giving a hand to the “guided and demented” kingdom’s fight against Iran’s Shia allies
Israel suspected in blast at Syrian missile base
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/2013/1031/Israel-suspected-in-blast-at-Syrian-missile-base
Israel has sought to limit the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah, and is suspected of attacking several Syrian military targets that may have held weapons for the group.
October 31st, 2013, 2:20 pm
zoo said:
Israel says it is Turkey
Lebanese report: Turkey behind attack in Latakia
Published: 10.31.13, 15:33 / Israel News
The Lebanese channel MTV reported from sources in Jerusalem that Turkey is behind the attack of the Syrian aerial defense system in the Latakia area.
According to the report, the attack was in retaliation to the shooting down of a Turkish airplane a few months ago near the same area.
October 31st, 2013, 2:23 pm
zoo said:
Assad army advances on strategic area near Aleppo
Fierce clashes rage between rebels and regime troops on eastern side of Sfeira, amid loyalist advance on town.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=62319
Army advance opens up loyalists’ entry to Aleppo
BEIRUT – Syrian troops pressed an advance Thursday on the strategic area of Sfeira, the site of several arms factories near Aleppo, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“Fierce clashes are raging between the rebels and regime troops on the eastern side of Sfeira, amid a loyalist advance on the town, as troops take control of a new area,” said the Britain-based Observatory.
Battles have raged in the Sfeira area near second-city Aleppo for several months. The area is important because of the arms factories and because it is located on a key route linking Aleppo to central Syria.
Sfeira has been under rebel control for a year, but the factories have remained in army hands.
The army advance opens up the loyalists’ entry to Aleppo city, which has seen intense fighting since a massive rebel advance on July 20, 2012. Some parts of the city are already controlled by the regime while others are in rebel hands.
October 31st, 2013, 2:54 pm
ALAN said:
………
The real problem lies elsewhere: support for jihadists. At the beginning of the war in Syria, it was funded by Qatar and coordinated by NATO from the Turkish Incirlik base. There was nothing to complain about. But since the Russian-US agreement on the crisis of chemical weapons, the United States withdrew from the Syrian military conflict while Turkey and Saudi Arabia continue the game. Therefore, the article in the Wall Street Journal must be seen as a warning addressed to Mr Erdogan and Fidan. Not having conquered Syria in time, they are asked to give up regardless of the consequences for them in domestic politics.
Hakan Fidan, who worked for NATO intelligence services during the Kosovo war and studied in the United States, should understand this message.
http://www.voltairenet.org/article180755.html
October 31st, 2013, 3:03 pm
ALAN said:
Mr. Putin!
Is the time is appropriate in order to rubbing Israeli ears?
October 31st, 2013, 3:19 pm
ALAN said:
Do not shock!
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/31/world/meast/saudi-arabia-beating-video/index.html
…
As awful as the incident captured on video is, it is not an isolated one. Global human rights groups have documented widespread abuse of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia.
According to Human Rights Watch, there are “over nine million migrant workers in Saudi Arabia — more than half the work force.”
In July, the rights group issued a statement saying that “many suffer multiple abuses and labor exploitation, sometimes amounting to slavery-like conditions.”
…
October 31st, 2013, 3:40 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
The US, having lost Guidance under the amateurish rule of Obama and co., is now seeking the forgiveness of His Royal Highness the Guided King of the Guided Kingdom by sending John Kerry to Riyad in order to do so. John Kerry will be in the Guided Kingdom early November hoping to gain the blessed Guidance of the Guided King and to seek atonement for all the sins committed by the inexperienced Obama.
We, at Heads up, believe that the Guided King, having been born and raised as a Noble Arab in the desert, will be steadfast and resolute with the remorseful Kerry, just like any Noble Arab would do. The inexperienced Secretary of State will hear a clear and concise message from the Guided King indicating that the US MUST change its course in order to once again gain the favors of the Guided Kingdom which put it on the top of the world for more than 80 years since the Guided Kingdom favored the US as a real Superpower, which is no longer the case under Obama.
Syrians are once again very grateful to the Guided King, may He be protected and given long long life, of the Guided Kingdom for His continued determination to destroy the Serpent-Head of Ass-head, and end its enslavement of Syria and its people. Syrians are also very grateful to the Guided King for His continued fight against Shiite terrorism and His continued determination to destroy the Iranian mullocracy and rid the Umma of its scourge.
Syrians are eagerly waiting to join the GCC as junior member under the Guidance of the Guided Kingdom and become an exact replica of the great Guided Kingdom of SA under the Commander of the Faithful, The Guided King of the Guided Kingdom.
October 31st, 2013, 3:49 pm
zoo said:
Iran-U.S. direct flight in the pipeline
Thursday 31 October 2013
http://tehrantimes.com/economy-and-business/111823-iran-us-direct-flight-in-the-pipeline
TEHRAN – The first direct flight between Iran and the U.S., after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, will be carried out in the near future, a member of the Iranian chamber of commerce said on Wednesday.
Preliminary measures have been taken and we are waiting to receive the final permission from the Civil Aviation Organization to launch 13 hours of charter flights to the U.S., the official Abolfazl Hejazi said.
We have proposed launching the flights between Kish Island in the Persian Gulf and New York City in the U.S., because Kish is a free economic zone and there is no need for visa to enter the Island, he added.
October 31st, 2013, 3:59 pm
zoo said:
UN denies that Brahimi failed in Syria mission
31/10/2013
NEW YORK, Oct 31 (KUNA) — UN Spokesman Martin Nesirky on Thursday rejected press reports that Joint Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi failed in his mission, and that Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson is expected to replace him even before the planned Geneva II Conference, due in mid-November.
“I would disagree that he (Brahimi) is coming away of Damascus empty handed. The Syrian authorities have made clear that they intend to participate in the Geneva II Conference, and I think that is a positive outcome,” Nesirky told the daily press briefing.
October 31st, 2013, 4:07 pm
omen said:
a relic of a past era, this regime is crumbling into the wind.
October 31st, 2013, 4:08 pm
ALAN said:
Dear Mr Putin!
At the end of it, themselves informed about the act!
IAF Strikes Twice in Syria, ‘Base Destroyed’
Al Arabiya says trucks carrying SAM-8 missiles were attacked. No response from Jerusalem but US confirms attack on base.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/173468#.UnKsLHDIZNy
October 31st, 2013, 4:32 pm
ALAN said:
After the recent elections, a prominent government minister gave an astonishing interview warning of a civil war in Israel. He said “There will be a civilian revolution. There will be protest rallies of thousands and tens of thousands on the streets, thousands of yeshiva students will fill up the prisons, the military police will run amok in Bnei-Brak, there will be a civilian revolution and andralomusia. The worst thing is that those [Haredim] who go to the army now, will stop immediately.”
Mr. Bear, Mr. Wolf, Mr Hyena, how many sheep can you eat before the ground under your feet collapses under the weight of your filthy fat? Just don’t say six million. 🙂
October 31st, 2013, 4:52 pm
ALAN said:
Syrian special services deny reports on destructing Syrian air defense forces’ base near Latakia – media
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_10_31/Syrian-special-services-deny-reports-on-destructing-Syrian-air-defense-forces-base-near-Latakia-media-1694/
October 31st, 2013, 4:57 pm
ALAN said:
The role of Jordan seems surprising, after remaining in the shadows all these years. A small Arab country with a population of 6 million people, many of whom are Palestinians, Jordan has long tried to keep out of the political upheaval in the Middle East. This was due to internal disorder. When, in 2011, at the rise of the “Arab Spring,” the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood put forward a number of demands to reform the political system in Jordan (the head of the “brothers,” Hamsa Mansour, demanded that the prime minister be nominated by the dominant parliamentary faction, rather than being appointed by the king, and that members of the upper house of parliament be elected by the people, not appointed by the monarch), King AbdullahIIseverely restricted the political activity of radical Islamists. Then, in October 2012, the “brothers,” as well as the local Salafis, tried to escalate the situation. However, faced with the hard line of the authorities, they decided to postpone their revolution until the moment that Assad is overthrown, announced a boycott of the parliamentary elections of January 23, 2013, and focused their efforts on supporting the Syrian rebels.
But since 2012, and without a declaration of war, King Abdullah has opened military training camps on his territory, where, under the supervision of CIA specialists,Syrian oppositionists of the “moderate wing” are passing through basic military training. Moreover, after a major failure of the armed opposition in Syria (primarily in Qusayr this spring) insurgents training has even increased and a streamlined flow has been established.
This all looks illogical from an outside perspective. Jordan is a fragile country. It was already significantly weakened by the arrival of 600,000 refugees from Syria, and even before that it dealt with the influx of refugees from Iraq and several waves of Palestinian immigration from occupied Palestinian territories. Jordan simply does not have enough resources – not only as far as money, but also water and electricity.
So what pushes King Abdullah to get involved in the more than questionable matter of complicity in the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad?
The answer can be found from both outside and inside Jordan itself. After the defeat of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the change of power in Qatar, and the changing attitude in Turkey regarding the Syrian crisis (it is not over yet), Jordan remains the only real springboard for intervention against Syria. Of course, this is not to suggest an intervention organised by Amman, but by the U.S. and its staunch ally, Saudi Arabia. This autumn, after Washington’s rejection of a military operation against Syria, attempts are apparently being made to implement an older script: to create a buffer zone in the south of this long-suffering country (around Deraa) and to organise some sort of opposition government there, in order to “even the odds” of the Syrian regime and its opponents at “Geneva-2,” when it takes place.
Jordan’s consent to its strictly subordinate role in Syrian affairs, which clearly runs contrary to national interests, is also due to the country’s extremely weak economy, which is completely dependent on aid from the U.S. and the rich countries of the Persian Gulf. In December 2011, these countries furthermore promised to accept Jordan to the Gulf Cooperation Council, which, as conceived by the King of Saudi Arabia, should turn into a political-military alliance.
Moreover, it is reported that Western countries are now putting unprecedented pressure on Amman in order to force it to agree to the naturalisation of Palestinians (of which there are more than 70% there) as part of Washington’s desired settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This could be a major blow to the Hashemite monarchy and could lead to the implementation of Israel’s plans to transform the country into a Palestinian state. Jordan resists, but its strength is limited.
It is entirely possible that Jordan will be forced to agree to such a choice, but in that case it would have to “release the ballast”: to deport the Syrian refugees who have become an impossible burden on the country’s economy. But they can only be sent away under two conditions: either political settlement in Syria, which still looks unlikely, or by creating the aforementioned Syrian rebel-controlled zones around Deraa, where Syrian migrants could be “released.” However, its active participation in the imminent U.S. and Saudi operations in Deraa could seriously backfire on Jordan, if it goes ahead with it. The question is, do they understand this in Amman?
October 31st, 2013, 5:04 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
Here’s a happy or hopeful Syrian, the just-sacked vice-premier Qadri Jamil. He speaks with Russia’s Golos Rossii, as translated by EAWorldview’s Joanna Paraszczuk: “Syria Analysis: A Trip to Moscow Reveals Assad-Russia Strategy for Victory.” Excerpts:
October 31st, 2013, 5:29 pm
Sami said:
Zoo,
The Syrians in Saudi are not employed as drivers but as doctors, bankers and engineers. They are not working low wage jobs but high earnings income jobs. It is evident you think so low of Syrians as you would categorize them as having such lowly positions as drivers.
As per supposed advacment of Iran over Saudi, Saudi and Iran are both oil rich yet only one of them is awash with wealth. It seems the Saudis are like their oil crude and unrefined yet business savvy enough to make more money of their oil than their Iranian counterpart.
A final note the Iranian economy is in the pits something the Saudi economy is not. Your bigoted and backwards outlook does not match with reality…
October 31st, 2013, 5:48 pm
ALAN said:
Happy Halloween
http://youtu.be/TTdthnsg5Gw?t=1s
October 31st, 2013, 7:17 pm
Tara said:
Sami,
I think that KSA should let the 44.5-50 % of Iran’s urban population who are living in poverty have access to the job market in the kingdom. Domestic help is a vast section that should be accessible to those starved. Driving skills are essential. Jobs assignment should be according to the educational level.
Iran’s Cities a Sea of Poverty
Half Iranian urban population under poverty line says report.
[ dispatch ] Between 44.5 and 55 percent of Iran’s urban population lives under the poverty line, according to a new report titled “Measurement and Economic Analysis of Urban Poverty.”
Read more: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2011/03/irans-cities-a-sea-of-poverty.html#ixzz2jLPeNAdX
October 31st, 2013, 7:31 pm
Ghufran said:
AJ Akidi blames FSA for the loss of assafira:
??? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??????? ???????? «????? ????» ?? ??? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ????? ??????? «????? ????» .. ???? ?? ??????? ???? : «??????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ?? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ?????. ?? ???? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ?? ????».
Aleppo is again in the spot light.
October 31st, 2013, 9:31 pm
zoo said:
Sami
That’s exactly the point, thanks.
Saudis are so lazy and backward that they need to hire Syrians as doctors, engineers, bankers etc.. They also hire foreigners for all jobs that requires a certain level of intelligence as well as poor Arab and Asians workers and maids.
They hire American to protect them militarily.
In Iran, all bankers, doctors and engineers are Iranians. They don’t need foreigners, they are self-sufficient
Without foreigners Saudi Arabia is nothing and they know it and you know it.
October 31st, 2013, 11:05 pm
zoo said:
@1349 WSS
I agree fully with Qadri and that has always been my position.
The members of the opposition who would refuse to go the Geneva will be sidelined and loose any chance of playing a role in Syria’s future.
Let’s see next week how many members of the Coalition will defect and declare that they are joining the opposition delegation in Geneva.
October 31st, 2013, 11:12 pm
zoo said:
Coincidence?
Anytime Headsup shows up with one of his repetitive, infantile and pompous propaganda for the “Guided and Demented Kingdom”, the thumbs up and down suddenly start to dance a wild dance.
October 31st, 2013, 11:18 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
Another depressing note on cases brought before Syria’s special Terrorist Court (established by Presidential decree some long months ago). Among those who are destined to be convicted (no aquittals seem possible): Suhair Atassi. From All4yria.
Some might denote the accused as “pathetic expats,” of course, but what exactly made these folks flee their homeland? What is the option for someone like Atassi? To the dungeon or to the gibbet, it seems — some of the charges are punishable by death.
Another eye-opener from All4Syria, in which the state communication hegemony gets swiftly to work dirtying the reputation of ye olde commie Qadri:
????????? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????????
October 31st, 2013, 11:19 pm
zoo said:
@1397
“What is the option for someone like Atassi?”
Paris forever! Together with Khaddam , Rifaat Al Assad, Tlass etc.. and all the traitors to their country
October 31st, 2013, 11:26 pm
zoo said:
In the oppressive “Guided and demented Kingdom’ will young Saudis show that they are men and not half-men like their rulers
Saudi men quietly help campaign for women to drive
http://www.tribtoday.com/page/content.detail/id/400785/Saudi-men-quietly-help-campaign-for-women-to-drive.html?isap=1&nav=5030
…
Some of the men have even been questioned by authorities, and one was detained by a branch of the Saudi Interior Ministry — a move that sent a chill through some of the activists working to put women behind the wheel.
…
Rather than arrest the women, which could lead to an international outcry — as was the case in 2011 and 1990 — authorities have instead increased pressure on their male supporters. A handful of men have been questioned since Saturday, activists said, and other campaigners have had to sign pledges not to allow their female relatives to drive again.
On Sunday, elementary school teacher Tariq al-Mubarak was detained by the Interior Ministry’s Criminal Investigation Department in Riyadh, although he has not been charged, said his lawyer, Abdel-Aziz al-Qassem.
Al-Mubarak was targeted because of his role in the campaign, the lawyer said, adding that a phone line used by activists was registered under al-Mubarak’s name. He also had written columns in a major Arabic newspaper supportive of women’s rights to drive.
Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki could not be reached for comment.
October 31st, 2013, 11:32 pm
zoo said:
Riyadh Says Let America Do It
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Riyadh-Says-Let-America-Do-by-Philip-Giraldi-American-Foreign-Policy_Iran_Israel_Obama-131031-224.html
….
The Saudis are considerably vexed by the slow pace of the rebel training, largely due to White House reticence over getting too directly involved and concern over who or what exactly the insurgents represent. In spite of months of sometimes frantic activity, only 50 trainees have finished the course and are reportedly prepared to re-enter Syria. Bandar and his associates, seeking to speed up the process, are possibly venting their frustration by cooking the books on atrocities linked to the Syrian government. They have been active in providing the evidence that the regime used chemical weapons and there has also been a suggestion that the rebels might have themselves used chemicals provided by the Saudis to create a “provocation” that would result in a western military response coupled with a Russian withdrawal of support from al-Assad.
By all accounts the Syrian government is apparently winning its civil war and there also reports from the US intelligence community that intervention at this time, unless it were massive to include troops on the ground, would not change that outcome. But the presence of radical jihadists in the conflict has added another dimension to it, destabilizing neighboring Iraq and making all the participants in the conflict nervous about what might happen if the wrong people rise to the top in the chaos. It might plausibly be stated that George W. Bush introduced al-Qaeda to Iraq and Obama does not want to be personally blamed for doing the same in Syria, particularly after the fiasco of Libya, which is currently being run by various militias.
October 31st, 2013, 11:41 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
ZOO, I note your approval of Qadri Jamil, and of his sitting across the table from an Assad squad in Geneva. I have read a few sources (Russian and Syrian and US) that try to second-guess the decision to remove him from cabinet. I don’t really know what the truth might be: Jamil’s resignation was orchestrated between Russia/Syria — to allow him or his political bloc to have seats reserved for the ‘opposition’; OR the Syrian government pulling the choke-leash as tightly as possible — to bury a quasi-independent personage as deep as can be.
I will note in passing that whatever the actual motives and reasons for the sacking, and no matter what he says in Russian media, he has lost his ability to be heard within Syria. Just as none of the internal opposition (Louay Hussein’s bloc, for example**) have any access to any mass media, so will Qadri Jamil fall below the waterline of ‘official’ notice.
What I try to keep in mind are the actual bases for any Geneva II conference: the 6 point plan agreed by the government, the plan that forms the basis for the Russian/US communique and the touted Geneva 2 process.
This is the heart of any chance of progress, and this plan appears to be completely offside the desires of the dictator and the deep state.
Just for those who might have forgotten the details of those six points … these are the concreted actions expected of the Syrians.
— these points seem to be a thousand miles from what the Syrian government intends to do. I do understand those who hope against hope that the Geneva II/6 point plan can be eventuated, but it appears neither ‘side’ is anywhere near even the beginning of the process.
The total war promised by Assad continues to grind Syria to pieces. No mercy, no pity, all death, material destruction and horror …
___________
** Louay Hussein and his bloc are among the few ‘inside’ opposition who have escaped a trial in the secret Terrorism Court. He seems to think that a ‘postponement’ of Geneva is obvious. Mind you, he has already ruled out his own participation if he was summoned as part of a ‘western cooked meal’! Which does not stop him from directing some pointed remarks to the Syrian authorities, with regard to their minimum duties to the spirit of Geneva.
November 1st, 2013, 12:08 am
ghufran said:
AB Atwan:
???? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????? “????????”? ??? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ?? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ??????????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ???????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????.
????? ???? ???? ??? ?????? “???????” ????? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ??? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ?????? ???????? ??? ??????? ???? ???????? ??????? ??????? “??? ?????” ?? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ?????.
????? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ???? ???????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ????? ????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??????? ?????????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ????? ???? “???????” ???? ???? ??????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ????????? ?????????? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ????? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ?????.
News surfaced about ISIS intention to execute a number of commanders in the FSA including Hassan Jazra (active in Aleppo)which if true will end the NC’s attempt to show that the FSA is still alive and kicking, I also noticed that opposition sites like aksalser are increasingly critical of islamist rebels and have openly condemned their practices in Aleppo including the incident (video posted here) where Islamist thugs caught a boy smuggling chicken to feed himself and his family.
November 1st, 2013, 12:41 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Assad and his mafia are remaining on power thanks to corruption, clientelism and repression system. They have power enough to confront neolithic forces that come from the desert and the bedouin villages but when the dirty damascene regime is attacked by ISRAEL then ASSAD and HIZB ZBELE dissapear like rats in the sewerage.
Homosexual psychopath repressor Putin Putain and Nobel Prize Obama are afraid and dependant of this piece of excrement called Assad?
November 1st, 2013, 5:46 am
zoo said:
What will be left for the ‘opposition’ to negotiate with?
Syrian troops capture town in country’s north believed to be home of chemical weapons sites
ALBERT AJI , Associated Press
http://www.startribune.com/world/230162971.html
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian state TV and opposition activists say the army has captured a strategic town in northern Syria believed to be the home of a chemical weapons production facility and storage sites.
The town of Safira has been the scene of three weeks of intense fighting as the army kept trying to retake it from rebels who have been in control there for more than a year.
Although unconfirmed, Safira is believed to be one of two sites that chemical weapons inspectors were unable to visit because of security concerns.
The town is also strategic as a supply route for Syrian government forces in the contested city of Aleppo.
Syrian activists in Aleppo province confirmed Friday that rebels withdrew from Safira overnight under heavy fire, leaving it to government troops.
November 1st, 2013, 6:37 am
zoo said:
@1401 WSS
I tend to believe that the departure of Qadri from the government has been agreed upon by the Russians who rather see him as a opposition leader acceptable to the Syrian Government and to the moderate Syrians.
Despite the distance between what Geneva says and the present position of each side, the fact that it happens, will create a evolving dynamic. It is a long process and may last many months with ups and downs.
Yet the whole world except Saudi Arabia and Israel agree that there is no other solution. So it is bound to get to some result.
I believe Syria will find stability earlier than Egypt or Libya. The Syrians have suffered far too much to want to continue in this path of slow death that some keep calling ‘a revolution’.
November 1st, 2013, 6:56 am
zoo said:
Saudi defence, security spending surges
Craig Caffrey, London – IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly
31 October 2013
http://www.janes.com/article/29320/saudi-defence-security-spending-surges
Saudi Arabia increased its defence and security budget by 18.6% in 2013, the largest rise in spending since 2007, according to new figures released by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency.
Total expenditure on the sector has now reached a total of SAR251.3 billion (USD67 billion) and has more than tripled in nominal terms over the past decade. While the increase for 2013 is more significant than in recent years, spending on defence and security has increased by an average of 13.7% annually over the last 10 years. Growth in the budget had slowed to between 7-9% between 2008 and 2011 but has now expanded at over 15% for the last two years.
November 1st, 2013, 7:05 am
zoo said:
Thanks again to the Syrian opposition who have irresponsibly welcomed this ‘virus’ in the region. It will not be forgotten
October Iraq’s deadliest month in five years, violence surge ahead of Obama-Maliki talks
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/october-iraq-s-deadliest-month-in-five-years-violence-surge-ahead-of-obama-maliki-talks/article1-1146179.aspx
…
New figures released by the ministries of health, interior and defence showed that violence last month left 964 people dead — 855 civilians, 65 policemen and 44 soldiers — and a further 1,600 wounded.
The overall death toll was the highest since April 2008, when 1,073 people were killed.
…
Much of the violence has been attributed to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, an al Qaeda front group that is opposed to Iraq’s Shiite leadership.
…
Speaking at the United States Institute of Peace, the Iraqi leader called al Qaeda and its ilk “a virus” which was trying to spread “a dirty wind” around the region.
“If we have had two world wars, we want a third world war against those who are killing people, killing populations, who are calling for bloodshed, for ignorance and do not want logic to govern our daily lives.”
November 1st, 2013, 7:11 am
zoo said:
Brahimi: No Geneva conference without Syria opposition
UN-Arab League envoy insists Syrian opposition’s participation in peace talks is essential.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=62324
DAMASCUS – UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said Friday that a proposed Geneva peace conference to end the war in Syria could not be held without the participation of the opposition.
“If the opposition does not participate there will be no Geneva conference,” Brahimi said at a news conference in Damascus before returning to Beirut as part of a regional tour to try to garner support for the US and Russian backed peace initiative.
“The participation of the opposition is essential, necessary and important,” the veteran Algerian diplomat said, adding the proposed conference was intended “to help the Syrians and resolve their problems”.
..
The Coalition, which is under pressure from its Western and Arab backers to attend Geneva II, is to meet on November 9 to decide whether to participate.
November 1st, 2013, 7:14 am
zoo said:
Bandar Ben Sultan and the ‘demented’ Kingdom’s mercenaries are viciously making Iran pay for its support of Syria
Saudi-Backed Salafists Returning To Iran’s Border?
By Meir Javedanfar
The Iranian government and the Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps in particular are paying a price with the lives of Iranian soldiers inside Iranian territory for their support of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
This seems to be the gist of the statement from Jaish al-Adl (the army of justice) that was issued after it claimed responsibility for the deadly Sept. 26 attack in the town of Saravan in Iran. The attack left 14 Iranian border guards dead. Five others were wounded.
…
Jaish al-Adl is too small to cause any major challenge to Iran’s security. However, as its recent assault showed, its an organization which can not be ignored by Iran.
The Saudis want to increase their leverage against Iran and just like Syria, they are unlikely to think twice before supporting Salafist organizations to attack Iran or its allies repeatedly, and in as many places as possible. The question is: where are they likely to apply this method on a wider scale next? The answer could be: Lebanon.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/10/sp-iran-saudi-salafists-javedanfar.html#ixzz2jOMQWhM8
November 1st, 2013, 7:23 am
ghufran said:
Candid talk from Medvedev:
(Reuters)
“I think that the ideas that are sometimes put forward – let’s exclude President Assad and then agree on everything – are unrealistic as long as Assad is in power,” Medvedev said.
“He’s not mad. He must receive some kind of guarantees or, in any case, some kind of proposals on the development of political dialogue in Syria itself, on possible elections, on his personal fate.”
Medvedev said Assad might be worried by the fates suffered by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak – who was overthrown and put on trial – and Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, who met a grisly death after being ousted from power.
“You have to agree that when he recalls the fate of President Mubarak or Colonel Muammar Gaddafi … his mood probably doesn’t get any better,” Medvedev said. ”
Medvedev expressed indignation that Russia had been forced to evacuate its embassy in Tripoli after it was attacked by an angry crowd in October.
“What kind of a state is it that cannot guarantee diplomats even basic security?” he said. “I said when I was still president that we could not allow events to develop in such a way in Syria.”
So you can’t just say ‘get out and then we’ll agree everything’.”
November 1st, 2013, 11:05 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
ZOO
There are thousands of shabbihas who are being sent by Syria Mafia Regime to Europe guaranteeing them visas and residence and money for a living there while syrian regular citizens are starving inside the country. I wonder if any syrian defending the mafia could be another of those shabbiha? Not only receving papers but also a salary for posting pro-Assad propaganda.
November 1st, 2013, 12:49 pm
ziad said:
????? ???? ??????????? ????????!
???? ????? ????? ?? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ???????? ??????? ????? ???? ????????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???? ???????? ????? ?? ??????????? ???????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ????? ????????? ??????? ?????? ?? ?????. ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ?? ???????? ?? «?????» ??????????? ???????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ??? ??????? ?? ??????? ???????.
?????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?? ???????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ???????? (??? ???) ?? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ???????? ?? ???????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ???????? ???????? ?????????.
??? ???? ?????? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? 30 ?????? (?????)? ?????? ????? ?? ???????? ??? ???????? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ???? ??? ????? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ????????.
????? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ???? ??? ????? ???????? ??????? ???????? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ???? ??????. ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ????????? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?? ???. ????? ???????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ???????? ???? ????? ???????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ?«??????? ????????» ??? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ????? ?? ???????? ??????? ???????? ???????? ?? ?????? ????????? ??????? ???????? ??????? ?? ???????? ???? ?????????? ?????? ???? ??????? ???? «?????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ???????? ???????? ?? ??? ?????».
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/194241
November 1st, 2013, 1:02 pm
zoo said:
Syria, the next blowback
http://www.opendemocracy.net/paul-rogers/syria-next-blowback
…
The Saudis remain committed to advancing the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and its replacement with a non-democratic successor dominated by the majority Sunni Muslims, even if this ensures that extreme Islamists have a significant role. Such an outcome would fulfil a long-standing Saudi foreign-policy goal, namely preventing the establishment of a Shi’a “crescent” from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean.
….
The Saudi project
United States marines inside Saudi Arabia have, since the early months of 2013, been developing an intensive programme to train units linked to the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The courses take groups drawn from both within Syria and refugee camps in neighbouring countries, last a hundred days, and involve tactics designed to be of particular value when fighting in built-up areas (FIBUA) (see Mohammed Najib, “Training of Syrian insurgents steps up in Saudi Arabia”, Jane’s Defence Weekly, 23 October 2013).
The current programme will have trained over 1,500 would-be insurgents by the time it is due to finish around the end of 2013, and it may well be followed by similar initiatives during early 2014. Its initial emphasis on the use of American weapons has been downgraded in favour of Russian and Chinese equipment, since the latter is far more likely to be available within Syria.
In essence this is a free-standing programme, though it is being applied in parallel with a decision to let the Syrian opposition’s supreme military council (SMC) – which nominally oversees the FSA – establish a headquarters across the border in northwest Jordan. The council’s chief of staff, General Salim Idris, will seek to coordinate FSA military operations. A source states:
“The job of the new command is to integrate the operative brigades in Damascus and Houran into on and support and co-ordinate military operations against the regime in southern Syria”.
This development is designed to suit Saudi as well as American interests. Many in the Saudi government want the al-Qaida-linked Islamist rebels to succeed, or at least be able to govern towns and villages in northern Syria for some years to come. Others are content for the Islamist rebels to exert major influence in the north of the country, even if that proves insufficient to sink the regime.
…
A familiar problem with this scenario is already emerging, however – the reliability of the rebel forces being trained by the US marines. It is wholly unclear whether units trained in Saudi Arabia will remain loyal to the SMC once deployed in Syria, or indeed whether they already contain people closer in outlook to the Islamist paramilitaries.
Over the last year it has become ever more evident that the SMC-backed groups are not among the most effective of the regime’s opponents. Moreover, the coalition is divided; in mid-October 2013, more than sixty units followed a group linked to the SMC by announcing that they no longer recognised its authority. It is a sign that United States efforts to train “good” rebels may yet strengthen the power of Islamist elements in Syria. The seeds of another blowback may be being planted in the sands of Saudi Arabia.
November 1st, 2013, 1:03 pm
ALAN said:
?? ??? ???????? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ?? ????? ???? ???????? ??????? ! ???? ????? ?????? ????? ???????? ! ????????? ?????? ????????? !
November 1st, 2013, 2:22 pm
Badr said:
A statement by ICG:
UN Should Mandate Unhindered Humanitarian Access To and Within Syria
“If, as some claim, the diplomatic and political climate has changed sufficiently to make compromise even remotely possible, the first gauge of such a shift must be swift and tangible progress on the humanitarian front.”
November 1st, 2013, 2:24 pm
ALAN said:
http://youtu.be/4fRENApdTFM
November 1st, 2013, 3:12 pm
ALAN said:
This year is on course to become the deadliest year of terror in history – set to beat even 2012’s death toll of 15 thousand. What’s worse – the most savage terror groups are all aligned with Al-Qaeda, twelve years after America embarked on a global crusade against it.
http://youtu.be/J2AeQ1YFm5o?t=1s
November 1st, 2013, 3:17 pm
ALAN said:
why no one barks? why? ?ha! shshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshshsh
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/31/21268468-us-fast-tracking-six-osprey-tilt-rotor-aircraft-to-israel?lite
Friends of Syria or Friends of Imperialism?
http://www.globalresearch.ca/friends-of-syria-or-friends-of-imperialism/5356467?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=friends-of-syria-or-friends-of-imperialism&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
November 1st, 2013, 3:40 pm
ALAN said:
Syria ranked NO. 1 hosting largest number of al-Qaeda ????????
Washington Times newspaper has posted an article on its website; the article tackles the problem al-Qaeda in Syria. According to the article, al-Qaeda has ascended Syria high to be the country number one hosting al-Qaeda elements. The newspaper also talks about the increasing danger of al-Qaeda that surpasses the boundaries of the Syrian war itself – the article goes like:
Syria has become al Qaeda’s largest safe haven, with more than 10,000 fighters who outnumber the terrorist network’s core organization in Pakistan and its affiliates in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
The development, analysts say, provides al Qaeda with a new base from which to attack Western targets, attract recruits to its jihadist doctrine, finance its operations and expand its influence throughout the Middle East.
In addition, the terrorists are consolidating their hold in Syria — generating revenue by selling oil confiscated from wells in the eastern part of the country, setting up Islamic courts and other means of government, and enforcing borders with neighboring countries, the U.S. ambassador to Syria said Thursday.
“Their control of those borders delayed our aid deliveries into Syria,” Ambassador Robert Ford told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “The delays were because we had to wait until our friends in the opposition recaptured border points so we could get aid back in to them.”
“No matter where the Syrian conflict ends up going, no matter who ends up winning, al Qaeda will stay in Syria for a long period of time,” said Charles Lister, of the global security analysis firm IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center in London.
An estimated 10,000 to 12,000 members of al Qaeda and its affiliates are in Syria, said a U.S. government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss security issues.
Al Qaeda’s “core” in Pakistan and Afghanistan numbers about 300 members. Its branch in the Arabian Peninsula has about 1,000 followers, and its affiliate in North Africa claims 300 to 1,000 fighters, said Robin Simcox, a terrorism analyst for the British think tank Henry Jackson Society.
Mr. Simcox’s study “Al Qaeda’s Global Footprint: An Assessment of Al Qaeda’s Strength Today” notes that the terrorist network’s second-largest safe haven is Somalia, where al-Shabab has 4,000 to 8,000 members.
Analysts said the number of al Qaeda fighters in Syria could exceed 12,000 because an estimated 800 to 2,500 affiliated jihadists are on the country’s border with Iraq.
“Syria represents the biggest and best opportunity al Qaeda has had for a very long time to establish a truly concrete presence anywhere in the Muslim world,” said IHS Jane’s Mr. Lister.
As a magnet for foreign jihadists, Syria is harboring a unique danger.
Clinton Watts, senior researcher at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia, said foreign fighters form the backbone of al Qaeda’s global network and are the ones who carry out spectacular attacks for the organization such as September’s attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, in which at least 61 civilians were killed.
“They’re there for al Qaeda’s big objectives,” Mr. Watts said. “In Syria, right now, there are some operational leaders, probably dozens of them that are going to be our next big problem. They’re running the show there.”
Syria also stands alone among the places where foreign fighters have joined the jihadist movement over the past decade, including Somalia, Yemen, Libya and Mali, he added.
“There’s only one place it has stuck, and that is Syria,” he said.
“Each of these conflicts in the region generates a new series of networks — funders, suppliers, moneymen — and all of these networks get turned to whatever new conflict that comes up,” Mr. Watts said. “Someday the Syria conflict is going to stop raging, but these networks are going to be there, and the fighters are still going to be there.”……………………………….
http://breakingnews.sy/en/article/28184.html
November 1st, 2013, 4:05 pm
ALAN said:
SYRIA Among the Kurds of Syria ( english sub)
http://youtu.be/cZXpirADRyg?t=1s
November 1st, 2013, 4:21 pm
Juergen said:
What KFC’s Exit From Syria Says About the Country’s Horrifying Food Crisis
The Colonel held out through two years of conflict, but recently the economic conditions there have become untenable.
“In 2006, Kentucky Fried Chicken opened Syria’s first American restaurant in Damascus. The franchise weathered more than two and a half years of war, but this month, it became one of the last foreign businesses in the country to close its doors.
The picture of a quintessential American brand thriving in an “Axis of Evil” country currently targeted by U.S. sanctions may seem contradictory at first blush. Yet, in the Middle East, people have spent up to seven times their daily income on a bucket of fried chicken. Even in the Gaza Strip, where the average income hovers around $2 (U.S.) per day, KFC remains popular. The KFC branch in Al-Arish, Egypt has smuggled in deliveries through Hamas’s tunnels for $30 a meal. The United Arab Emirates, a country that has roughly the same population as New Jersey, opened its 100th KFC branch this May. Libya and Iraq crave KFC no less: Knockoffs of the restaurant— “Uncle Kentucky” in Tripoli and Fallujah—thrive in places where American ideas may not be winning hearts and minds, but they are winning stomachs.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/10/what-kfc-s-exit-from-syria-says-about-the-countrys-horrifying-food-crisis/281025/
November 1st, 2013, 5:28 pm
ALAN said:
KFC’s business tragedy in Syria and Gaza Strip !
http://static0.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/a_scale_large/1100-0/photos/1331452467-israeli-airstrike-allegedly-hits-chicken-farm–gaza-city_1100170.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/05/05/article-2319645-19A30E77000005DC-929_634x407.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/05/05/article-2319645-19A30D1F000005DC-334_634x421.jpg
November 1st, 2013, 5:56 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Funny that regime propagandists like zouzou do not even recognize the gravity of a politician having to defend dog-poop by stating that it is not mad.
This is exactly how my neighbor once tried to defend his rabid dog.
November 1st, 2013, 5:56 pm
William Scott Scherk said:
Looks like jet-setter Qadri Jamil is using his time in the sun outside Syria to beef up his own credentials as an ‘inside opposition.’ It remains to be seen if he can get his views printed in any of the Syrian press (Tishreen, Watan, etc). If ZOO is right that his departure is mostly theatrics coordinated between Russia and Damascus, we might expect to hear his dissident voice via the SANA-tied media organs. But I think we all understand that this is not likely to happen. No opposing voices ever appear in the officialized media.
Here’s Jamil in conversation with France 24 (AR), taken from a video appearing today. The video is dubbed in English:
The rest of the interview is quite interesting (for those who read entrails).
In another set of remarks (to Asharq Al-Awsat yesterday), Jamil expands on his ‘opposition’ views and the probabilities governing a Geneva II.
— in some other odd-bin news from the Syrian Observer, stalwart regimist Sharif Shehadeh sought and failed to gain asylum in Belgium:
November 1st, 2013, 6:15 pm
ALAN said:
6th sub contract; 4th and 5th subs handed over; Syrian strike from a sub?
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/germany-may-sell-2-more-dolphin-subs-to-israel-for-117b-01528/
November 1st, 2013, 6:38 pm
ALAN said:
Marcus Papadopoulos ?@DrMarcusP
The fact that #Syria’s #Kurds are battling the Islamist hordes of the FSA, poses a conundrum for the West, exemplified by its silence on it.
http://youtu.be/4FckK02NZRI?t=1s
November 1st, 2013, 7:26 pm
ghufran said:
ISIS anthem, watch and be ready to get amused:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pcHJzk3y-uE
??? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ???????? /???? ??????? ???? ??? ??? ????????/??? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ?????/?? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ????/?? ????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ?? ????/?? ????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ?? ????/??? ?? ???? ????? ??? ??? ????????/??? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ??????/???? ?????? ???? ???? ??????? ???/????? ??? ?????? ??????? ????????.
too much for ???????? ?????? ??????? ?????????? ??????????
November 1st, 2013, 8:05 pm
zoo said:
Another overdue slap to the opposition
Brahimi: No preconditions for Geneva II
November 02, 2013 12:59 AM
BEIRUT: U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said Friday there would be no preconditions for the Geneva II peace conference on Syria, a declaration likely to infuriate opposition groups who have vowed not to attend unless the stated goal of the conference was to oust President Bashar Assad.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2013/Nov-02/236608-brahimi-no-preconditions-for-geneva-ii.ashx#ixzz2jRm9TuUG
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
November 1st, 2013, 9:22 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
As usual, Ghufran never manages to present a complete piece of news. Little things like the fact that the anthem is actually the much despised baath party anthem anthem with ISI’s own words (It was only Iraq then). Shouldn’t this tell something about the “intellectual” underpinning of this terrorist gang. The dog-poop athad agent put in charge of creating this group had no imagination whatsoever. People like that (very much like the parrots one encounter on SC) always resortin back to the familiar melody much like the defunct and debunked “resistance” crap they have been selling.
November 1st, 2013, 9:30 pm
zoo said:
WSS
The Syrian government has shown a remarkable consistency in their declarations. They seem to be sticking to a nationalistic solution to the crisis and they have respected a major international agreement with the destruction of the chemical weapons. They can’t be accused anymore of threatening to use them.
The pressure has therefore decreased tremendously and therefore I doubt they will change anything in their course. .
The opposition is totally incoherent and inconsistent. How many times have they announced the creation of their ‘transitional governement” or their ‘national army’ or their move to North Syria? How many of their ‘elected ‘ leaders dissapeared into thin air a few months after they were elected? How many times they have repeated that Bashar al Assad should be toppled before negotiations?
How many times they begged for NFZ, weapons and got nothing? How many times they asked for foreign intervention and got Al Qaeda instead?
Syrians just can compare the consistency and resiliency of the messages coming from the government and the ones coming from the opposition to decide whom they should rely on.
November 1st, 2013, 9:39 pm
zoo said:
Assad eyes victory even without military success
http://www.dw.de/assad-eyes-victory-even-without-military-success/a-17197884?maca=en-rss-en-world-4025-rdf
…
Joshi Shashank, an expert on Syria with the British security think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), believes a military stalemate has been reached. All of the parties involved are consolidating their positions, Shashank said in an interview with DW. He noted that the regime in Damascus now controlled a corridor from Deraa across parts of the battleground city of Homs and west to Mediterranean coastal areas. Meanwhile, rebels are entrenching their positions in the northwest along the Euphrates River and the border to Iraq.
“The difference on the rebel side is that there is no single rebel alliance that holds territory,” the researcher explains. “It’s a shifting alliance of different rebel groups, some of which are in outright conflict with each other.”
Kurds against jihadists associated with al-Qaeda have accounted for some of the most severe fighting among rebel factions.
Although the war has been going for over two and a half years, with over 100,000 deaths, neither Assad’s forces nor the rebels appear ready to give up. The regime, in fact, seems to consider itself in a stronger position than before.
“The regime calculation is that eventually the rebels will get tired,” says Syria expert Eyal Zisser from the University of Tel Aviv. “If you can survive, then, in the long run, you will be victorious.”
Shashank agrees that Assad thinks he has the stronger position. The RUSI researcher says it’s instructive to compare today’s situation with mid-2012, when Assad’s forces seemed to be losing ground. “In relation to that, [the regime] is doing extremely well,” Shashank said.
…
Turkey and Saudi Arabia would like to see power passed to the rebels. Everyone else – despite repeated calls for Assad to step down – seems to agree that the government in Damascus should be kept for the sake of stability, Stahel continued. That’s one point, he says, where the interests of the US, Russia and Iran converge.
…
November 1st, 2013, 9:56 pm
zoo said:
Following Turkey and Saudi’s advices, the FSA makes another wrong choice
Kurds vs. Islamists and FSA in Syrian Town
Free Syrian Army units join jihadi groups in power-struggle with Kurdish militia.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/kurds-vs-islamists-and-fsa-syrian-town
By Raed Khalil – Syria
28 Oct 13
Clashes between rival militias have become the norm in the northern Syrian town of Tal Abyad and neighbouring villages.
The battles pit a Kurdish faction called the People’s Protection Force against a coalition of Arab militias consisting of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS); Ahrar al-Sham, another jihadist militia; and units from the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
The alliance between these latter groups is extraordinary given the conflict between ISIS and the FSA in other parts of Syria.
Tal Abyad sits on the border with Turkey about 100 kilometres north of the city of Raqqa. Its residents have suffered the consequences of fighting which began on July 20 this year.
The conflict began when the People’s Protection Force, affiliated with the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), captured an ISIS field commander called Abu Musab. It accused him of setting a booby-trap at a school controlled by the PYD.
Clashes between the two sides continued for two days. FSA elements sided with ISIS, and eventually forced the PYD to withdraw from the town.
…
Azad Mohammad, a PYD activist, rejected accusations that the Kurds supported the Syrian government.
“We were some of the first to be martyred in regime prisons. Some of those who died were well-known figures like the martyr Osman Dadali,” he said. “With all due respect to the free people in the rest of Syria, most of the opposition used to be Baathists. Now they take instructions from the Saudi Arabia, Qatar, [Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip] Erdo?an and Israel. We support brotherhood for all people in Syria and the Middle East, and we are striving for a civic, democratic Syria.”
November 1st, 2013, 10:02 pm
apple_mini said:
So US openly pledged to combat Al Qaeda in Iraq. It will happen in the west of Iraq and we can assure American drones will be used.
Guess what? Those drones will not only stay within the border of Iraq because those Al Qaeda are not limiting their movement there.
We probably will see American drones working on eliminating those Islamic fighters starting from the east side of Syria.
We predict it before: sooner or later, US drones will work together with SAA to fight those backward barbarians.
November 1st, 2013, 10:14 pm
ghufran said:
???? ????? – ????? ?????? ?????????: ??????? ???????? ??????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ????????. ???? ???? ???? ???????? ???????? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ???????? ??????? ??«?????? ?????» ???11 ??????? ??????.
????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???????? ??????? ???? ?????? ???????? ?????? ??? ?????? ???????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ??????????? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ???????? «????????» ??????? ????????? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ???????.
??? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ???? ????????? ???? «?? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???????? ??? ???????? ???? ?????? ??? ????». ????? ???? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? «??????? ????? ?????? ?? ???????».
???? ?????? ???????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?? ?? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ?? ??????? ?????? ???????? ??? ?? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ?? ??? ???. ???? ???????? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ?????? – ???????? – ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ?????? ???????? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ????? ???????? ??? ????? ????????? ???????? ?? ????????? ??? ????????? ???? ?? ??????? ??????.
??????? «???????? ?????? ??????» ???????? ??? ??? ????????? ?????? ??? ???? «???????? ???????» ??????? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ?? ??? ?? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ???????? ???????? ???? ??????? ??????? ?????? – ???????? ??? ?? ????? ?? «????????» ?? ????????? ????? ??? «???? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ??? ????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ?????????».
Key points:
1.KSA and Qatar are not as opposed to Geneva 2 as people think
2.USA had enough of the rebels inability to win and are now afraid of seeing more losses by FSA and more wins by the Syrian army, the US is also worried about the growing influence of ISIS
3.the NC has very difficult choices ahead
4. Assad is not a deal breaker to the US now but they want Russia to help arrange for his departure eventually.
November 1st, 2013, 11:14 pm
ghufran said:
SNC leader my go to prison in Sweden if convicted of smuggling weapons:
Swedish imam smuggles weapons to Syria: report – The Local.
Sources told Sveriges Radio (SR) that the Syrian-born man was one of the rebels’ key weapons suppliers and that he had been bringing arms into the civil war-torn country for the last 18 months.
SR named the suspected arms dealer as Haytham Rahmeh and claimed he purchased weapons primarily in Libya, but also made purchases in Bosnia & Herzegovina. The arms have then been transported through Turkey and into the hands of rebels in Syria.
Raphaël Lefèvre, a researcher at Cambridge University who has interviewed Rahmeh, told SR that Rahmed has made frequent appearances among the Syrian opposition and has been open about sending weapons to the rebels via an organization known as the Commission for Civilian Protection.
“It’s no secret that this group sends weapons to Syria,” Lefèvre told SR.
For several years, Rahmeh was an imam at the Stockholm mosque located near Medborgarplatsen in the city centre. He also served as the chair of a European organization for imams before shifting his focus toward assisting Syrian rebels.
Thomas Tjäder, a security expert at the Swedish Agency for Non-Proliferation and Export Controls (Inspektionen för strategiska produkter – ISP) explained that smuggling weapons into Syria was a breach of Swedish arms control laws punishable by up to four years in prison.
foreign terrorists bring terrorism to their mother countries when they leave Syria:
??? ???? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?? ?????????? ????????? ??????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ????????? ?? ???????? ???????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ??? “???? ??????”.
Life goes on for many youth in Damascus:
?? ????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ???????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ???????? ????? ?????? ?? ?? ?????? ?? ??????.
??? ????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??? ?? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ?????????? ????? ???? ???? ????? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ????? ????????.
?????? ???? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ???????.
??? ???? ??? ????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????? “?? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ??????? ???? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ???? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ??????.
??? ??? ?????????? ???? ?????? ???????? ?? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ?? 120.000 ???? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ????? ??????.
????????? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ??? ?????? ????? ???????? ?? ????????? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ???? ?????.
?? ???? ????? ???????? ??????? ??? ??????. ????? ???? ????????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ??????.
??????? ?????? ?????? “?????????????” ???? “???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????”.
?????? “??????? ??? ???? ???? ? ???? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?? ??? ????? ???? ?? ??? ????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ????? ?? ??????”.
????? ???? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ??? ???? ???????? ??? ??? ???? ?????.
??? ????? ??? ????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????.
“??? ?? ????? ??? ?? ??????”? ??????? “???? ?? ?? ??? ????? ??? ?? ??? ???? ?? ???.”
?????? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ???????? ??????????? “?? ??? ??? ????” ????? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ??? ?? ??????
Bing Translation:
At a time when the sounds of guns and rumble of mortar in nearby Damascus, a young Syrian babe with her elegant lead song for famous pop star Adele, away from all what is happening abroad.
RIM anasartha sing with virtuoso guitar at Cafe is located in the heart of the historic old city of Damascus, to the point that she lost herself in song lyrics, and is it gives hope to the people who come to listen.
While most people sit in the Syrian capital in their homes for fear of what is happening, the Syrian young women and men wearing jeans and go to night clubs that are still operating in the city.
ADI tailor said while he was playing in Rome “that war cannot stop life, you hear bad news in Syria and threats, war and death, but in reality, we are still alive.
Such celebrations show the human side of the conflict that killed more than 120,000 people, as the Syrian crisis in its third year.
Hzaalnadi night in Damascus are often cited by the official Sana News Agency on its Web site in English on Twitter, and ironic observers out of the country, but the people continue to bear the risks that come to the cafe to off-load mind what is happening around them.
At Rome, friends smiling and dancing. Some smoking water pipes, and women were wearing short dresses and wear headscarves, chatting, there were bottles of wines, although they were able to buy alcohol.
The young singer “titarshahinian” said “there is a big difference between now and before the war, people are afraid to come out of their houses but they still come.”
“Of course, it’s sad, we can’t pretend that nothing is happening, but at the same time we cannot stop life.”
While she spoke, the sound of the guns were pounding militants frequented a few miles.
It has rained several mortar shells fired from positions of the militants on the outskirts of Damascus fell near the cafe, however, continued singing.
“Here in Syria we never give up,” she said, “We hope that everything will go back to what it was before.”
And singlehandedly sings a songs Metallica band classic, “nothing else matters,” and joined in the singing of both was in the Cafe
November 1st, 2013, 11:32 pm
zoo said:
@1434 Gufran
It is obvious to me that once Bashar al Assad has secured his replacement and guarantees for his safety, he will leave power. I doubt he will leave Syria though.
This will probably happen just before the election in 2014 where he will announce that he will no present himself and introduce his replacement candidate.
The challenge is to find a suitable replacement from now to that time. Of course there is no question to make another Morsy like “experimentation” with an Islamist.
The replacement candidate must be a secular and he should be a Sunni so the GCC and other Arab countries could not have any objections. Alawites, Kurds and Christians should be represented in powerful positions to reassure them.
In my view these are the only implicit pre-conditions to Geneva II that the GCC and the West are imposing and probably Ibrahimi is negotiating with Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria..
The other challenge is the military mess. In case a political settlement is agreed, Saudi Arabia and Qatar will need to starve
the armed rebels and the ‘moderate’ FSA should join back to SAA in the new war against Al Qaeda. That would be a huge challenge, but with a good political mix in the new government, it can be achieved over time.
2014 may bring a relative peace to Syria.
November 2nd, 2013, 8:50 am
zoo said:
@1433 Apple_mini
I fully agree with you. The USA will get involved in crushing the Al Qaeda presence in Syria once a political settlement is reached in Geneva. That’s why they are in a rush to get Geneva 2 on. The longer it takes for a political agreement the harder it will be to dislodge the Islamists.
Saudi Arabia is playing a double game. On one side it wants to derail Geneva 2 because it would like to see a part of Syria under Sunni Islamist control so that it puts indirect pressure on Al Maliki to share power in Iraq. On the other side it worries them that it may blow back.
Ultimately Saudi Arabia will back off form the bellicose attitude and come back to diplomacy just like what Qatar did.
The USA is absolutely determined to prevent Syria and Iraq to become another Afghanistan and they will do anything for that.
November 2nd, 2013, 9:05 am
Sami said:
So those that called the opposition pathetic for begging the US to intervene, are now themselves begging the US to intervene. Somehow this hypocritical flip-flopping comes as no surprise.
I find it really informative as well to read their silence about Israel yet again attacking Syria and their resistance fighters doing absolutely nothing about it. I guess starving civilians in Ghouta is more important than responding to Israel attacking Syria.
Zoo, all of what you wrote in 1436 could’ve been achieved 2.5 years ago, without the bloodletting and horrors Syrians have endured during that time. But thanks to Besho and his Thuggery Apparatus that was not the case, nor will it ever be if they are allowed a sliver of a chance to retain their thuggery.
November 2nd, 2013, 9:27 am
Syrian said:
Nadim Qateesh in his DNA program talks about the new strategy of Assad and Hizboola of not responding to the latest Isreal attack on Syria
http://youtu.be/m-fQv_ubOPU
November 2nd, 2013, 11:11 am
zoo said:
@1437 Sami
“Zoo, all of what you wrote in 1436 could’ve been achieved 2.5 years ago, without the bloodletting and horrors Syrians have endured during that time.”
I fully agree, it is the opposition who stubbornly refused negotiations and was so obsessed by toppling Bashar al Assad by force that they even accepted that Al Qaeda and criminals gets in to help while Syrians were fleeing the country and being killed.
After 2.5 years, having lost all their legitimacy within the opposition on the ground, they are still resisting to drop their pre-condition. They will eventually bow under the pressure of the foreign countries who are deciding not to fund them anymore. Their stubbornness and dependence on foreign countries with dubious agendas has caused 120,000 dead and billions of destruction and they are back to square one.
November 2nd, 2013, 11:13 am
zoo said:
Two “young” candidate for Tunisia’s PM job
http://gulfnews.com/news/region/tunisia/tunisia-islamists-opposition-deadlocked-over-pm-1.1250315
The dispute reportedly centres on the frontrunners to become prime minister – Mohammad Ennaceur, 79, and Ahmad Mestiri 88, two veteran politicians and former government ministers.
Both are well respected and have served under the late Habib Bourguiba, who led the fight for Tunisia’s independence from its French colonial masters and served as its first president (1957-1987).
November 2nd, 2013, 11:18 am
zoo said:
Saudi Arabia is also helping
Israel Buys the US Congress: Sabotaging the US-Iran Peace Negotiations
http://dissidentvoice.org/2013/11/israel-buys-the-us-congress-sabotaging-the-us-iran-peace-negotiations/
…
Since the end of World War II, Israel has bombed, invaded and occupied more countries in the Middle East and Africa than any previous colonial power, except the US. The list of Israel’s victims includes: Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Sudan, and Yemen. If we include countries where Israel has launched quasi-clandestine terrorist attacks and assassinations, the list would be greatly expanded to include a dozen countries in Europe and Asia – including the US through its Zionist terror network.
Israel’s projection of military power, its capacity for waging offensive wars at will, is matched by its near-total impunity. Despite their repeated violations of international law, including war crimes, Israel has never been censored at an international tribunal or subjected to economic sanctions because the US government uses its position to veto UN Security Council resolutions and pressure its NATO-EU allies.
Israel’s military supremacy has less to do with the native techno-industrial ‘brilliance’ of its war-mongers and more to do with the transfers and outright theft of nuclear, chemical, and biological technology and weapons from the US.1 Overseas Zionists in the US and France have played a strategic (and treasonous) role in stealing and illegally shipping nuclear technology and weapon components to Israel, according to an investigation by former CIA Director Richard Helms.
….
November 2nd, 2013, 11:34 am
zoo said:
Internal rifts among Kurds may weaken the Kurds in Syria
http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2013/11/state7450.htm
ERBIL-Hewlêr, Kurdistan region ‘Iraq’,— Barzani regards Salih Muslim, PYD leader, not as a Kurdish leader but a collaborator of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the regime’s tool.
Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has said that the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a Syrian has gone too far in committing violence against other Kurdish groups in Syria.
…
As Syrian Kurds have recently gained ground in western Kurdistan [northern Syrian] as a result of fierce fighting with Islamic-Jihadists from the al Nusra Front linked to al-Qaeda, the disputes among Kurdish groups have also emerged.
There are two Syrian Kurdish groups in Syria: the Syrian Kurdish National Council (KNC), a group that has agreed to join the main Syrian opposition, and the Syrian Kurdish Supreme Council, which refuses to join the Syrian opposition fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad.
The KRG supports the KNC; however, the same support does not seem to be given to the Syrian Kurdish Supreme Council, which includes members of the PYD.
November 2nd, 2013, 11:46 am
zoo said:
After 2.5 years of a blind and murderous idealism, we finally see the emergence of realism in the opposition.
France uses Ghalioun, a french citizen, to pass a strong message to Jarba: Drop your preconditions and go to Geneva
Arab League chief meets Syrian opposition team
http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2342065&Language=en
However, Ghalioun denied reports that Syrian opposition groups put preconditions for involvement in the planned world conference on the Syrian crisis.
He reaffirmed that Syrian opposition would be the “key beneficiary from the conference should it lead to a cessation of violence and a democratic system in the country”.
November 2nd, 2013, 11:54 am
Uzair8 said:
Forgot to share this yesterday. From Yalla Souriya:
#Syria, Regime forces ask this handicapped boy to say that he “loves Bashar” he says “No”
[Video]
November 2nd, 2013, 12:13 pm
zoo said:
Freedom for Women in Turkey’s government? Merkel should protest…
“The headscarf is now free for women MPs now, but trousers are not. ”
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/time-for-a-freedoms-test-for-turkish-government.aspx?pageID=449&nID=57220&NewsCatID=409
November 2nd, 2013, 12:21 pm
ghufran said:
This is the second time rumors about Riyad alas’aad death surface in the last few months:
??? ?????? ???? ????? “????? ?????? ????” ???? ?????? ??? ???? ??????? ????????? “??????” ????.
?? ????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ?????.
The army is intensifying its efforts to regain control of territories it lost in Northern Latakia near Turkey.
November 2nd, 2013, 1:23 pm
ghufran said:
Qadri Jamil is busy presenting himself and his party to the media:
??? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ???? “???????” ?? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ??????? ?? “??????? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ????? ??? ???? 2″.
???? ???? ??”???????” ????? ?? “?????? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ??? ??? ??????? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????????? ???? ??????: ??? ????? ??????? ?? ?????????? ??? ????????? ???????? ???????? ???? ??????? ??????????”. ????? ?? “????? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ????????? ??? ???? ????????? ????????”.
????? ???????? ????????? ???????? ????? ????? ???? ???????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ?????. ???? ????: “????? ?? ???? (??????) ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ???????? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????? ??????”.
????? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ???????? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??? ????? ?? ????. ??? ??????? ??? ????? ??? ?? ???????? ??? “??????? ??? ??? ????”.
???? ???? ??”???????” ?? “??????? ?? ???????? ?? ?????? ??? ??????”? ?????? ??” ????? ???? 2 ??? ????”? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ????? ?? “????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ??: ??? ??????”.
????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??? ?????? ????????? ??? ??? 2011.
????? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ???????? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ??????: “?? ?????? ???????? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ?????”.
????? ??? “???? ????? ????? ??? ???????? ????? ???? ?????”? ??????: “????? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????”. ???? ???? ???? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? “????? ???? ?????? ??????? ???????? ???? ????? ?????”? ???? ?? “??? ????? ????? ?? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ???????”? ?????? ?????? ??? “????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????”.
??? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ???? ??????? ???? “???????”? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ????????? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ??? ???? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ???? “?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???????”.
??? ?????? ???? ?? ???? “?????24”? ??? ???? ??? ?? “????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ?? ???? ???????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ?????? ????????”? ??????? ?? ???? ?? “??? ??????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ????”? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ??”?????? ??????”.
?? ??????? ??? ???? ??? ?? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ?? ??? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ??? ????? ???????.
Qadri did not allow Nicole to stretch herself too much and made sure to let al-Arabiya viewers know how he feels about the channel, the interview is worth watching.
November 2nd, 2013, 1:49 pm
SANDRO LOEWE said:
ZOO
It would be very kind and gentle from your side to stop throwing garbage in this forum. We are basically talking about the revolution and prospects for the future. Not about the ibn maniyoukeh of Assad and the mafia controlled from Moscow and Teheran ways to destroy the future, the present and the past of a whole couuntry.
Thanks
November 2nd, 2013, 1:53 pm
ghufran said:
The story of Sadad, a major Christian center in Syria:
??? ??????? 21 ????? ?????? ???? ???????? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??????. ??? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ???????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ??? ??????? ??????. ?????????? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? (??? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ????? ???????)? ???? ????? ????? ????? ??? ??????? ?????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??????? ????????? ????????. «?? ??? ??? ???? ????»? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ???? «?????» ?? ??????? ????????. ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ??? ????????? ???????? ????? ?????? ??????. ???? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ??????? ???? «????» ???????? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ??????? ??? «?????? ???»? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ???????? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??????. ???? ?????? 45 ?????? ?????? ?? ????????? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ?10 ??????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ????? ??????. ???? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ????????. ???? ??????? ??? ??????? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ????????? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ?? «??? ???? ??????? ?????????? ???? ?????? ???? ??????? ??????? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ????????? ??????? ??????». ?? ???? ???????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ?????????? «?????? ??????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ???????? ?????? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ???»? ???? ????. ???? ????? ??????? ????? ??? ??? ????????? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ???????? «?????? ????? ????? ???? ????? ?? ?????…». ???? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ???????? «??? ???? ??????»? ?? ????? ??? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ???????? «????? ??? ?? ??? ??? ?????». ?? ??? ???????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ???????? «??? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ?????. ????? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ??????? ????… ?? ????? ??»? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???????? ???????? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ?????. ???? ??????? ???? «?????? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ???????? ???? ???? ????? «??? ??????» ?? ????? ????». ?????????? «??????» ??? ????? ??? ???????? ???????. ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ???????? ?? ??????? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????
Thus is a Bing translation:
Monday October 21, the opposition launched a huge attack, more than 2,000 fighters, supported by a 4 x 4 with medium machine-gun fire and rockets. Before the rising of the light, as the guerrillas patrol the road to insurance Eastern barrier of the town, on the offensive and killed its then stormed into the barrier. Simultaneously, a suicide bomber to blow himself up in the Western barrier (later appeared in a video on YouTube, a Saudi national), was detonated at the checkpoint gas excavator, militants from Eastern, southern and Western. “Ya rayt was with us weapon», says a young town which «camp» in the past two days. People thought that their survival without a weapon they have is the evil of armed groups, the town remains neutral. Maybe that was the right decision, as fell the town quickly without a civil resistance only from the political security detachment and the police station, ” Safi» four armed elements during their work «sravis Homs, withstood two and head of the police station with his family, before withdrawing to the political security detachment, which in turn has resisted fierce resistance that says people until the arrival of the fighters of the national defense. The town paid 45 people mostly civilians, including three fighters are Alaa khshov, André vine and George seven and 10 missing, including Akhil Sheikh, his wife and his daughter, her husband and two children wesado Al Khouri. And yesterday afternoon, I discovered the old wells containing unidentified corpses due to the hydrolysis in water, and civil defense work started picking them up. Says Bishop Mar slwanos Peter grace, who moved to the Church of Saint Michael is, after the diocese moved to town after battles in the hamidiya in Orchard Court in Homs, the process was peaceful, and the diocese was always the duty to love and do not carry weapons, but so are rewarded? Occupy their homes, destroy and kill her family?». The militants did not allow for a number of the townspeople to leave, ” zrbona House, one he said Menon if bettlawa mnkotlkm, kolnalo Leach Badak is killing us, the m7bt House, my brother, ” says Joseph. The man and his family faced death when gunmen at the door asking for ways car key, «alouly taunted us by Choi, the SA has returned …. Laughing Joseph while telling how you little daughter Georgina with five years, head of section, ask one of the gunmen was wearing a dress “Lech?»In reference to one of the elements of the victory with a long robe, ” thank God taking on related». The guerrillas had no such kindness with all people, «ta3a farjik ta3a son of Xu worked. They shahatin my cousin on the stairs, wedmo Uncle serrated, and Howie’s uncle yelling, like Hun Sen, Hun DMO peace, what astrgit read … Oh, chip», says Abu Elias, who was surprised after hours that the militants were able to enter the circuit from a hole in the House’s neighbor, where they went on sabotage and theft. Make fun of people here, ” give them healthy are tired, the left leaf homes, needed the name locust army» Mo free army». By the way, “locust” is not limited to armed opposition. When the Syrian army expelled militants from the town, attacked thieves homes without residents.
(rebels gained nothing from attacking Sadad, which they lost a week later, except winning more enemies, causing death and destruction and confirming the impression about them that they are Islamist thugs who do not know where to stop)
November 2nd, 2013, 2:05 pm
ghufran said:
The story of Sadad, a major Christian center in Syria:
??? ??????? 21 ????? ?????? ???? ???????? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??????. ??? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ???????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ??? ??????? ??????. ?????????? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? (??? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ????? ???????)? ???? ????? ????? ????? ??? ??????? ?????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??????? ????????? ????????. «?? ??? ??? ???? ????»? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ???? «?????» ?? ??????? ????????. ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ??? ????????? ???????? ????? ?????? ??????. ???? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ??????? ???? «????» ???????? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ??????? ??? «?????? ???»? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ???????? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??????. ???? ?????? 45 ?????? ?????? ?? ????????? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ?10 ??????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ????? ??????. ???? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ????????. ???? ??????? ??? ??????? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ????????? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ?? «??? ???? ??????? ?????????? ???? ?????? ???? ??????? ??????? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ????????? ??????? ??????». ?? ???? ???????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ?????????? «?????? ??????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ???????? ?????? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ???»? ???? ????. ???? ????? ??????? ????? ??? ??? ????????? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ???????? «?????? ????? ????? ???? ????? ?? ?????…». ???? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ???????? «??? ???? ??????»? ?? ????? ??? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ???????? «????? ??? ?? ??? ??? ?????». ?? ??? ???????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ???????? «??? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ?????. ????? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ??????? ????… ?? ????? ??»? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???????? ???????? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ?????. ???? ??????? ???? «?????? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ???????? ???? ???? ????? «??? ??????» ?? ????? ????». ?????????? «??????» ??? ????? ??? ???????? ???????. ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ???????? ?? ??????? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????
Thus is a Bing translation:
Monday October 21, the opposition launched a huge attack, more than 2,000 fighters, supported by a 4 x 4 with medium machine-gun fire and rockets. Before the rising of the light, as the guerrillas patrol the road to insurance Eastern barrier of the town, on the offensive and killed its then stormed into the barrier. Simultaneously, a suicide bomber to blow himself up in the Western barrier (later appeared in a video on YouTube, a Saudi national), was detonated at the checkpoint gas excavator, militants from Eastern, southern and Western. “Ya rayt was with us weapon», says a young town which «camp» in the past two days. People thought that their survival without a weapon they have is the evil of armed groups, the town remains neutral. Maybe that was the right decision, as fell the town quickly without a civil resistance only from the political security detachment and the police station, ” Safi» four armed elements during their work «sravis Homs, withstood two and head of the police station with his family, before withdrawing to the political security detachment, which in turn has resisted fierce resistance that says people until the arrival of the fighters of the national defense. The town paid 45 people mostly civilians, including three fighters are Alaa khshov, André vine and George seven and 10 missing, including Akhil Sheikh, his wife and his daughter, her husband and two children wesado Al Khouri. And yesterday afternoon, I discovered the old wells containing unidentified corpses due to the hydrolysis in water, and civil defense work started picking them up. Says Bishop Mar slwanos Peter grace, who moved to the Church of Saint Michael is, after the diocese moved to town after battles in the hamidiya in Orchard Court in Homs, the process was peaceful, and the diocese was always the duty to love and do not carry weapons, but so are rewarded? Occupy their homes, destroy and kill her family?». The militants did not allow for a number of the townspeople to leave, ” zrbona House, one he said Menon if bettlawa mnkotlkm, kolnalo Leach Badak is killing us, the m7bt House, my brother, ” says Joseph. The man and his family faced death when gunmen at the door asking for ways car key, «alouly taunted us by Choi, the SA has returned …. Laughing Joseph while telling how you little daughter Georgina with five years, head of section, ask one of the gunmen was wearing a dress “Lech?»In reference to one of the elements of the victory with a long robe, ” thank God taking on related». The guerrillas had no such kindness with all people, «ta3a farjik ta3a son of Xu worked. They shahatin my cousin on the stairs, wedmo Uncle serrated, and Howie’s uncle yelling, like Hun Sen, Hun DMO peace, what astrgit read … Oh, chip», says Abu Elias, who was surprised after hours that the militants were able to enter the circuit from a hole in the House’s neighbor, where they went on sabotage and theft. Make fun of people here, ” give them healthy are tired, the left leaf homes, needed the name locust army» Mo free army». By the way, “locust” is not limited to armed opposition. When the Syrian army expelled militants from the town, attacked thieves homes without residents.
(rebels gained nothing from attacking Sadad, which they lost a week later, except winning more enemies, causing death and destruction and confirming the impression about them as Islamist thugs who do not know when to stop)
November 2nd, 2013, 2:06 pm
ziad said:
«??????» ?? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ?????
??? ??? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????????? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ??«?????? ??????»? ????? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ??????.
???? ??????? ?? ???? ?? «?????» ?? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ????????? ?? ?????? ???????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ???? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ??????? ???????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???????? ?? ??? ????? ????? «???? ?????? ????? ??????? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ????????? ??? ?? ??? ????????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???????».
???? ??????? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ????????? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ??? ???????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ??? ????????? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ????????? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? «??? ???? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ??????».
?????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????? «????? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ???????? ???? ???????? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ?????».
????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ???? «???» ????? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ????? ??????????? ???? ??? ?? ????? ?? ??????? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ???????? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ???????? ??????? ???????? ????? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ??????? ?? ?????? ???????
• ??? ???? «???? ????» ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ????? ????… ???? «???? ?????? ???? ??????» ???? ?????? ???? ??? ????????
• ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ???????… ???? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??? ????
• ???????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ????????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ?????? ?? ???? ???????
• ???? ??????? ???????? ???? ???? ????? ??? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? … ??? ??????? ??? ??? ??????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ???????
• ???????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ??? ??? ?? ??????… ??? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ???? ?? ????? ????
• ?? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ??? ??? ???????? ????????
• ????????? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ??????? ?? ????????? ???????? ?????? ????
• ????? ???????? ???????? ?? ??? ???????… ??? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ???????… ?«???? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ????»
????? ??????
• ?? ??????? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ???????? ??????? ????????? ????????? ??? ???????? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ???????? ?????? ?? ???????? ???????? – ????????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????????
– ???? ?? ????? ???????? ???????? ????????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???? ???????? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ???????? ?? ???????? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ????? ???????. ????????? ???????? ??? ??????? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ?? ????? ????? ???????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ?????????? ??????.
??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ???????? ??????? ???????? ???? ??? ??????? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ????????? ???? ??????. ?? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???? ???????????? ???????? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ??????? ???????? ?? ??? ???????? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???????? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ??????.
??? ????????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ????? ?????? ???????? ??? ????? ??????. ??? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ??? 100 ??? ???? ?????? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ??????? ???? ??????? ?????? ????.
http://www.hunakwt.com/majlesalommah/%d8%b9%d8%a8%d8%af%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b1%d8%ad%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ac%d9%8a%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b3%d9%84%d9%81%d9%8a-%d9%84%d9%85-%d9%88%d9%84%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%a4%d9%8a%d8%af/
November 2nd, 2013, 2:42 pm
ALAN said:
Ambassador Ford:
Russian Federation will arm Syria to the teeth and, if necessary, will make it deterrent super state!Is this concept without a long explanation?…
November 2nd, 2013, 2:52 pm
ziad said:
??????? ????????????? ?????? ??????? _ ????? ????????
November 2nd, 2013, 3:21 pm
zoo said:
1449. SANDRO LOEWE
I write what I want and when I want. If you don’t like it, contact the moderator.
November 2nd, 2013, 4:28 pm
zoo said:
Ghalioun has a good sense of humor
Syrian opposition group discusses peace conference with Arab League chief
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/syrian-opposition-group-discusses-peace-conference-with-arab-league-chief/article15232305/
“Senior coalition official Burhan Ghalioun denied after the talks that the group is under pressure from the League to participate in the Geneva conference.”
November 2nd, 2013, 4:31 pm
zoo said:
To the displease of the GCC, the USA is boosting the military of an ally to Iran. It is clear that the USA top priority in the region is now to stop Al Qaeda whose fighters are been funded by rich individual in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait
US agrees to boost Iraq’s military
November 03, 2013
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/88ee36d7-02c8-4615-801d-6091708a95ad.aspx
WASHINGTON: The United States and Iraq agreed on Friday on the urgent need for more equipment for Iraqi forces to fight Al Qaeda groups in remote parts of Iraq, the two countries said in a joint statement after a meeting between US President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki.
“The Iraqi delegation stressed its desire to purchase US equipment as a means of strengthening long-term institutional ties with the United States, and confirmed its commitment to ensure strict compliance with US laws and regulations on the use of such equipment,” the statement said.
November 2nd, 2013, 4:48 pm
Uzair8 said:
Continued from #1373.
A quick recap. During the witching hour on Halloween night the Inner Circle sits around a table gazing into a crystal ball when there’s a knock on the door. They check on the door and ask the mysterious stranger outside, covered in a white ghostly shroud, to identify himself. He responds only with ‘Trick or treat?’. On that cliffhanger ended the previous post…
****************
An inexplicable terror grips the group as they instinctively slam and lock the door shut. An icy chill spreads in the room as the temperature drops. The strangers voice, addressing Assad, still partially audible. The terrified group able to make out only bits and bats..
Maybe they’ll reach an agreement? Will they open the door? Perhaps there’ll be a breakthrough?
Find out:
November 2nd, 2013, 6:00 pm
zoo said:
The Saudis want show that they have some military muscles, not only bellies and oil. Is Iran going to remain idle? Are the Saudis up to provoke Iranians so they blow up the USA-IRAN negotiations?
Syrian conflict: Persian Gulf officials, tired of waiting for U.S., move to boost aid to rebels
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/syrian-conflict-persian-gulf-officials-tired-of-waiting-for-us-move-to-boost-aid-to-rebels/2013/11/02/af0c8554-4324-11e3-8b74-d89d714ca4dd_story_1.html
Saturday, November 2
Persian Gulf countries, led by Saudi Arabia, are moving to strengthen their military support for Syrian rebels and develop policy options independent from the United States in the wake of what they see as a failure of U.S. leadership following President Obama’s decision not to launch airstrikes against Syria, according to senior gulf officials.
Although the Saudis and others in the region have been supplying weapons to the rebels since the fighting in Syria began more than two years ago and have cooperated with a slow-starting CIA operation to train and arm the opposition, officials said they have largely given up on the United States as the leader and coordinator of their efforts.
Instead, the Saudis plan to expand training facilities they operate in Jordan and increase the firepower of arms sent to rebel groups that are fighting extremist elements among them even as they battle the Syrian government, according to gulf officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve comity with the United States.
What officials described as a parallel operation independent of U.S. efforts is being discussed by the Saudis with other countries in the region, according to officials from several governments that have been involved in the talks.
November 2nd, 2013, 6:12 pm
zoo said:
No media reported that. Where is Tariq Al Hashimi?
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-330419-turkish-foreign-policy-being-fine-tuned.html
“He argues that when former Iraqi Deputy President Tariq Al-Hashimi left Turkey, a major problem between Turkey and Iraq was solved”
November 2nd, 2013, 6:22 pm
ziad said:
France24: Video of Syrians eating cat “appears staged”
In a video published on October 28, two men are filmed skinning, cooking and eating a cat, allegedly because they face dire food shortages in their neighbourhood of the Damascus suburbs. While it is not impossible that Syrian civilians may have resorted to this where the fighting is fiercest and life the hardest, this video appears to have been carefully staged to create maximum impact.
The video was first posted on the YouTube channel of a group calling itself the “South Damascus Media Bureau”, which has published several dozen other videos, mostly of rebels doing battle. The footage lasts 1 minute 30 seconds, and is titled “Catastrophic humanitarian situation: people are eating cats in the south Damascus region”.
The man behind the camera narrates, and talks about a fatwa – an Islamic law – pronounced by Damascus imams in October, authorising starving Syrians to eat cats and dogs. The voice says: “For those who still don’t believe it: here is the situation of residents to the south of Damascus. The sheiks pronounced their fatwas, and the people here are putting them into practice”. Contrary to pork, the Quran does not explicitly forbid eating cats or dogs. However, it is contrary to Islamic traditions.
http://observers.france24.com/content/20131031-video-syrians-cats-staged-real
November 2nd, 2013, 9:39 pm
Ghufran said:
One more concession from the NC, this time it is on Assad’s fate:
??? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ???????? ?????? ???? ???????? ???????? ?? ???????? ????? ??????? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ???????? ????? ?? ???????? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????.
????? ???? ?? ??????? ?????? ????????? ??? “??? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ??? ?? ????? ?????”? ????? ??? ??? “?? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ????????”.
This is the result of trusting GCC sheikhs and NATO
November 2nd, 2013, 9:47 pm
ziad said:
A child suffering from cancer had a special wish, to meet the Syrian president in person. Hearing this, President Assad fulfilled his wish.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=481607448619335&l=cccf75e670
November 2nd, 2013, 9:55 pm
ziad said:
This is a maassacre that you won’t hear about: a massacre that won’t outrage Western human rights organization. A massacre that won’t bother the UNSC
The “pro-Western”, March 14 thugs of Bab At-Tibbanah in Tripoli (the ones managed by the Intelligence Branch of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces which is run jointly by the Saudi intelligence service and the CIA), stopped a bus full of `Alawite workers and shot at the civilians only before circulating the pictures (proudly) on various social media. I went to the page of the director of Human Rights Watch in Beirut, who tweets round the clock, because I knew that he won’t say a word on the massacre, and I was right. Not a word. Imagine of this was in reverse: if those `Alawites stopped a bus load of Sunnis and shot at them. It would have led to a special meeting of the Arab League, and the president of the Security Council would have been forced by the US to issue a statement and to convene a special session. Just as the massacre of `Alawite civilians in Latakia took place without any concern or attention in Western capitals, this one would barely get the attention of Western media because the killers and the Western correspondents stationed in Beirut are in the same trench, literally in some cases. They are allies of the gangs of the Syrian “revolution”. Here are names of some of the victims.
Angry Arab
November 2nd, 2013, 10:06 pm
Ghufran said:
From CSM :
Omar al-Attrash from Arsal was named as the alleged organizer of a car-bomb attack in Beirut’s mainly Shiite southern suburbs in August that left 22 people dead. Mr. Attrash was killed in uncertain circumstances on Oct. 11, when his vehicle was hit by a missile while driving along a track between Arsal and the Syrian border.
The residents in Arsal say they have been stocking up on medical supplies and bringing in more fighters from Syria in readiness for expected fighting with Hezbollah in the barren rugged mountains between Arsal and the border.
“Qalamoun is not Qusayr,” says Abu Omar, referring to the Syrian town seized by Hezbollah in June. “The mountains are rugged and we are reinforcing and rearming. We know this battle is coming and we will fight to the last man.”
( Arsal is now a little Afghanistan)
November 2nd, 2013, 11:35 pm
Syrian said:
??? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ???????
??? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ???? ????????? ?????????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? ???? ???? ??????.
???? ?? ????? ??? ?????????? ??? ??? 3 ???? ??? ????? ???? ????????? ????? ?? 11 ?????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ????? ???? ????? ?? 14 ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ????? ??? ??????? ???????.
?????? ????????? ??????? ??? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ?????????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???? ????? ????? ???? ???????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ????? ????????? ???? ??? ??????? ??? 25 ?????? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????????.
?????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ??????? ?? ??????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???? ???? ????????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ???? ???????? ??? ????????? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ??? ??? ????? ??? ???? .
???? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ?? ????? ?? ?? ???? ??? ??? ???? ?? ?? ?? ???? ???? ???????? ???? ?????.
November 3rd, 2013, 12:56 am
Syrian said:
Barbaric beating of 2 Syrians and then setting one of them on fire by Assad’s militia in Allepo
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=232280086936328&set=vb.256265171166458&type=2&theater
November 3rd, 2013, 1:08 am
Juergen said:
November 3rd, 2013, 1:26 am
Juergen said:
November 3rd, 2013, 1:28 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Many terminally ill children wish to meet their favorite cartoon characters.
November 3rd, 2013, 3:24 am
zoo said:
Report: West accepts that Assad will keep seat until election
Published: 11.03.13, 07:11 / Israel News
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4448618,00.html
Western diplomatic sources told the al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper that Western countries are beginning to accept the possibility that Syrian President Bashar Assad will keep his seat until the end of a transition period with the next presidential election in the spring of 2014. It was further reported that Russia would try to convince Assad not to run in the election. (Roi Kais)
November 3rd, 2013, 5:53 am
ghufran said:
Aqidi of the FSA (has close ties with Nusra and supported them publically)resigns his post, this time his resignation seems “akidi”:
???? ?????? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?? ??? ???????? ?? ????? ?????? ???????? ??? ????? ???????? ???????? ? ????????? ? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???????.
? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ” ????? ??????? ?? ??????? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ? ?????? ????? ?????? ? ?????? ???????
? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ??????? ? ?? ?????? ???? ???????? ??? ???? ?????? ????????? ????? ??????? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ? ????? ??? ” ?????? ????? “.
? ??? ??????? ?? ???????? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ? ??? ???? ????? ? ????? ????? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ???????? ? ????? ????? ” ??????? “.
Aqidi and his likes will be credited for the failure of the “revolution” to win wide public support especially among urbanites and minorities.
November 3rd, 2013, 9:28 am
zoo said:
Arab League to consider the chances for Geneva II
Arab foreign ministers meet this evening in Cairo to discuss a ‘Syria peace process’
Dina Ezzat , Sunday 3 Nov 2013
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/85482/World/Region/Arab-League-to-consider-the-chances-for-Geneva-II.aspx
… “He was just saying that Assad would not be at the helm anymore but he was saying it in a diplomatic way; obviously Assad is not defeated on the ground and it does not look like he would get defeated so it is wise for he opposition to realize that they need to play the game to get the gains”.
Yesterday, Nabil ElArabi, Arab League Secretary General received Syrian opposition leaders to convince them that they need to pursue the Geneva II track with an eye on the fact that this meeting would not deliver a deal for transition but would rather start a ‘Syria political peace process’ that would eventually allow for international-monitored presidential elections to take place late in the spring of 2014, after Assad had ended his term in office.
Western capitals, according to a Russian diplomat, have finally come to see that Assad would not be removed the way other Arab leaders were during the beginning of the Arab Spring and that a deal has to be reached for him to go.
The first Geneva conference which was held last year had suggested the need for the establishment of a transitional government with a wide political representation and with large executive prerogatives. Geneva II should build on this line.
In Cairo this evening, Arab countries who seem to be mostly in agreement that there is no way out from the Syrian crisis except through a political deal, would discuss the nature of the demands that the Syrian opposition would be making when Geneva II convenes – “when and if rather,” as one diplomat said – and the possible concessions they could make.
“This is not an easy task because there are so many different views within the Syrian opposition – some are more reconciliatory and others are more radical,” said an Arab League diplomat.
November 3rd, 2013, 9:58 am
Uzair8 said:
#1450
Just came across the following posted last night on AJE Syria blog. I can see why Sadad would be a tempting target and prize:
***************
Elsewhere, in the Christian village of Sadad in central Homs province, rebels fought to seize massive government arms warehouses,..’
http://live.aljazeera.com/Event/Syria_Live_Blog/94950604
November 3rd, 2013, 10:16 am
Uzair8 said:
Amal Hanano ?@AmalHanano 17 Oct
If only we had known just how cheap our blood really was. Bashar knew. And he acted accordingly. #Syria
November 3rd, 2013, 10:38 am
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Why did Maliki, the terrorist head of the so-called Iraqi government, flee the US so early in his visit?
The answer lies in the inconcontrovertible evidence he was presented with by the US administratration of the role played the other terrorist, Hadi al-Ameri, so-called minister of transportation and head of the terrorist Badr organization, in organizing regular weapons delivery from the terrorist Mullocracy of Iranistan to the terrorist entity of Alawistan of Serpent head. Maliki stood speechless like a criminal terrorist caught red handed in the act expecting punishment from the inexperienced Obama administration. So, Maliki fled the US to avoid such outcome.
On the other hand, the inexperienced Kerry is expected today in Riyad after visiting Cairo trying to salvage what is left of the US relation with Egypt. The Egyptians told the hapless Kerry that they give a rat’s ass about US military assisstance to Egypt, and also that the US can shove such assisstance in a place where the sun never rises.
Kerry is expected to hear a similar message from the Guided Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is the undisputed leader of 1.5 billion Muslims under the Guidance of His Majesty the Guided King of the Guided Kingdom, the Ultimate Commader of the Faithful. Kerry will have to answer to the evidence presented to Maliki as well as to the flip-flops in the inexperienced foreign policy followed by the inexperienced Obama and Kerry. Kerry will be told that the Guided Kingdom is in no mood to grant favors to a US suffering from naivete in formulating policy both internally and externally, making the US a liability to any state contemplating having relations with such an unreliable US.
November 3rd, 2013, 11:07 am
ALAN said:
SC !
Do you have a problem in the issuance of new articles?
—————————————————
It is time for this exercise has to do with last week’s Israeli attack against Syria, and is a warning to Israel that it should not do something like that again, or it will face the consequences of such an act .
thanks for Mr Putin!
The flagship of Russia’s Pacific Fleet, Varyag, and the country’s most powerful nuclear-powered battleship, Pyotr Veliky, entered the Mediterranean Sea on Saturday. The crew of ‘aircraft carrier killer’ Varyag will carry out a number of tasks, some of which will be performed together with the joint group of Russian Navy ships and vessels stationed in the region, Roman Martov, press secretary for Russia’s Pacific Fleet, told Interfax news agency. (VIDEO)
http://youtu.be/HE1HutJFFFE?t=1s
November 3rd, 2013, 12:13 pm
Uzair8 said:
Alan
I’m sure Professor Landis will update the blog soon. After all he acknowledges there are matters that require exploring. From an AJE article (3rd Nov, 2013 – Syria: Too dangerous to cover):
“It is also a question of historical context, because the story in the first year was of violence and the incredible use of violence … I don’t think people understood how brutal these regimes were and that was the story. But getting the historical context has been so much harder – and understanding the fears and ‘why are people so divided in the region?’ – I think that has been the story today and we are beginning to understand some of that, but the historical context is not there – it’s like covering America and Black-White relations without understanding there is slavery, without understanding the painful past – and that painful past [in Syria] has still not been explored.”
Joshua Landis, the director of the Center for Middle East Studies
November 3rd, 2013, 2:27 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTEr said:
Had Joshua Landis and other “distinguished” blue eyed anthropologists done their homework well, he would not have said the meaningless statement ascribed to him above. It reads like sophistry hiding collective failure to catch up with people who had their fingers on the pulse.
Joshua, use your Arabic skills, read someone who knows man. Read the real literature of this revolution, not the crap being written by blue eyed anthropologists.
November 3rd, 2013, 4:10 pm
Uzair8 said:
3 Ways Bashar al-Assad Uses Female Sex Appeal in Propaganda
September 23, 2013
[…]
The Syrian media consistently showcases “attractive, liberated, and uncovered” women arguing on behalf of the regime. Sex in Syria is a psychological weapon. To truly understand this, one must juxtapose the image of these “liberated women” next to the “bearded” rebels. A narrative emerges based on these contrasting images. These are three media through which the Syrian regime channels this message.
1. Syrian Girl
[Image]
There are many pro-regime commentators on social media, but Mimi Al-Laham, or Syrian Girl, has caused an online sensation. She has appeared regularly on Russian Today, Press TV, and on channels in Australia. She has appeared most frequently on Alex Jones’s online show and runs her own channel on YouTube. The videos she posts on YouTube receive upwards of 163,000 views. On Google, her name followed by the word “hot” returns just under 50,000 results. Mimi, who is believed to be the granddaughter of a government minister, uses her channel to promote conspiracy theories, pro-regime, and anti-opposition rhetoric.
[…]
November 3rd, 2013, 4:30 pm
Uzair8 said:
Oh Beaker muppet baby, you break my heart. I can’t express in words how disappointed I am with you…with your taste. Oh how I used to love The Muppet Babies cartoon show back in the day. You’ve just ruined my cherished childhood memories. Thank you very much!
And as for that Shabeeha, that al-Wahsh intimidating into silence the disappointed audience @1:16..some muppets never change.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_goMQolXcbs
PS: So a grandaughter of a government minister? Wonder who? I’ll have to study regime officials to spot any resemblance. Then again, I suppose all that make up and/or plastic surgery doesn’t help in that regard.
November 3rd, 2013, 4:41 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Our patrons reviewed the material presented in most of the posts posted by the owner of the site and his helpers. Our well informed benefactors once again came to the unavoidable conclusion that the material and so-called evidence presented in the main posts are in total contradiction to the gist of the posts seeking in essence to tarnish the reputation of the glorious revolution of the Syrian people and to polish the ugly face of the murderous regime, implying in the process a clear desperate attempt to spread propaganda on behalf of the falling and desperate regime of outlawed perverted criminals of the outcast so-called Assad. In general, the material presented has no bearings whatsoever on the interests of Syria and its people who are fighting the most important war on behalf of all Mankind, the existential fight against humankind archenemy, the Serpent-Head and its proxies. Needless to say, the acts of fabrication and propaganda of this site’s administrators fall squarely and evenly under the definitions of aiding and abetting of criminals of the worst kind in human history. Our benefactors firmly believe that any new posts will only reinforce the same cheap propaganda fueled by the site owner and others who write on his behalf.
As a result of their assessments, our benefactors decided to keep the site on the blacklist. And they would strongly urge readers to exercise extreme caution, sound judgement and critical analysis when reading anything written by the owner or associates of the this clearly suspicious and much-below standards site.
November 3rd, 2013, 4:41 pm
ghufran said:
AB Sida is being reduced to an envoy for the Turkish intelligence office to islamist thugs who were fighting Turkish government enemy, the Kurds. Sida, a Kurd, was pictured in a Turkish hospital visiting islamist terrorists who were injured in battles with Sida’s people !!
???? ????? ??????? ??????? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ??? “?????? ??????” ??? ?????? ????? ?????” ????” ?”???? ??????” ?? ????? ?????”?????”??????? ??? ???. ????? ????? ????? ? ????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ????? ???????.
???? ???? ??? ?? “???? ????????? ????? ??????” ?????? ?? ????? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ???????? ????????? ????? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? “???? ??????” ?”???? ????? ??????? ?????????” (????) ? “????? ????” ???????? ???? ??? ????. ????? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? “???????” Haruniye Sa?l?k Kabini ????? “??????? ???” Bal?kl?göl ?”?????? ????????? ??????? ?????? ?????” Akademi Gogus Hastaliklari Merkezi.
????? ???????? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ????????? ????????? ???????? ?????? ????? ???????? ???????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ???????????? ????? “?? ????” ?”??? ?????” ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ???? ???????? ????????? ??????? ?????????!
?????? ????? “?????”? ??? ????? “???? ??????”? ???? ??? ??????? ??????? ?????????? ???????? ?????????? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ???????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ??? 25 ??? ????? ??? ?????”?? ????” ??????? ????????. ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ???????? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? “????? ??????? ???????” ???????? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ( ???? ?? ??????? ???????????. ??? ?? ???? ????? ????? ?? ??? ????????? ???????? ??????????. ??? ???? ????? ???‘??? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?????”?? ????” ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? ??????.
November 3rd, 2013, 4:47 pm
Uzair8 said:
Alan
I agree there should be an update. Even on grounds of accuracy. Surely the top 5 rebel chart order hasn’t stood still?
Unhappy competitive rebel leaders may even sue…
November 3rd, 2013, 4:49 pm
ALAN said:
Is the(democratic)world turning to the world, who afraid of the consequences of exercise (its democracy)? Is it the Obamas magic , wich turned against the magician? Nothing wrong with critical and analytical pause for!
November 3rd, 2013, 5:57 pm
ALAN said:
ETIM Attacks Tiananmen Square, Inspired By Al-Qaeda’s “Inspire”, Kazakh Terrorists Practice in Syria
*The Great Game Round-Up brings you the latest newsworthy developments regarding Central Asia and the Caucasus region. We document the struggle for influence, power, hegemony and profits in Central Asia and the Caucasus region between a U.S.-dominated NATO, its GCC proxies, Russia, China and other regional players………….
http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2013/11/03/the-new-great-game-round-up-november-3-2013-2/
November 3rd, 2013, 7:03 pm
ALAN said:
@DrMarcusP
When the FOREIGN-backed and FOREIGN-based SNC talks of “invaders” in #Syria, it should be asked to account for the jihadists in the country.
November 3rd, 2013, 7:05 pm
ghufran said:
Jarba delivered a speech at the AL meeting, if you think previous speeches from Syrian politicians were bad, wait until you see this one.
He started by saying this:
?? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ??????? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ????????.
?? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ???? ???? ???????? ?? ????? ?????. ??? ????? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ???????? ?????? ???? ??? ???????.
The rebels who have been fighting the battle for Syria and the Arabs in the face of revolutionary guards mullahs regime armed to the teeth.
You will no doubt realize the size of the massacres of the brothers in Syria and remember the Ajami sword that spilled Arab blood !!
then he says this:
??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????????? ??? ????? ??????
we lately decided to fight til the last breath !!
and moves to talk about Geneva (this is the same guy who wants to fight til the last breath):
?????? ????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ???????? ????????? ????????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ???????.
?????: ?? ????2 ?? ??? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ??????. ??? ????? ?????? ???????? ??? ????? ???????
We made a decision not to attend Geneva until we are unified and dignified to ensure its success as a process to transfer power to all components and its institutions and organs, under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.
Therefore: there will be no Geneva 2 without clarity on this goal, coupled with a specific timetable. We also say No to any attendance of the Iranian occupier !!
finally he declares his conditions (meaning Sandy’s conditions) for negotiations:
????: ????? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ????????? ???? ????? ?????? ????????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ?????????.
?????: ????? ??????? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ????????? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ????? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ??????.
?????: ??? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ?????????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ???????? ?????? ??????? ????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ????.
?????: ????? ???? ????? ???????? ??????? ????? ????2 ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ?? ??? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ??? ??? ???????? ???? ??? ????????.
?????: ?? ???? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ????2 ??????? ????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ??????? ?????? ?? ????????? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????.
First: declare Iran an occupying power of Syria and demand withdrawal of its revolutionary troops and mercenaries from Syrian territory.
II: Declaration of Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and the militias of Abu Al-Fadl Al-Abbas from Iraq as terrorist organizations being engaged in aggression against an Arab country in the Arabic League, those militias committed documented sectarian crimes.
Third: the permanent members of the UN Security Council should face its responsibilities after meeting with an Arab delegation to confront those who occupy Syria.
IV: securing an Arab umbrella for opposition to the presence of Geneva 2 integrates with the Turkish role as a guarantor.
V: from now until Geneva 2 I urge you to supply the people of Syria with weapons to confront the occupation and aggression that is growing fiercer by the hour, and we commit ourselves, and we are ready to provide all the guarantees that these weapons will not fall in the wrong hands.
(posting and translating Jarba’s garbage was a painful process but I want all readers to see how this clown and his masters in the King of Sandy Arabia “think”)
November 3rd, 2013, 7:06 pm
ALAN said:
?@FrankfurtFinanz
French regime “outraged” by killing of 2 French journalists in Mali by AlQaeda; the same AlQaeda that French FM #Fabius supports in Syria
November 3rd, 2013, 7:10 pm
zoo said:
Assad’s crimes pale in comparison to atrocities by Syrian radical groups
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-330510-assads-crimes-pale-in-comparison-to-atrocities-by-syrian-radical-groups.html
3 November 2013 /BOSTAN CEM?LO?LU, ?STANBUL
The crimes committed by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime pale in comparison to the brutal acts of radical groups that have taken a prominent role amid the power vacuum in Syria, according to Syrians, as the flow of foreign fighters into the war-torn country accelerates.
While Syria, where the conflict has been raging for over two years, is experiencing a humanitarian tragedy, violent acts by extremist foreign fighters who joined the ranks of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Jabhat al-Nusra have gone beyond the atrocities of the regime.
These “Islamic” radical groups spread terror among civilians by establishing Shariah courts and carrying out brutal public executions. The groups not only represent a miserable future for Syria, but also cause antipathy toward Islam, and their violent acts make the people living in areas under their control forget the crimes of the Assad regime, according to Syrian journalist Abdallah Najjar.
Najjar visited his home city of Aleppo over the Eid al-Adha holiday. It was the first time he had seen his home since the civil war forced him to flee the city, and he told Today’s Zaman about the heart-wrenching situation in Aleppo caused by the presence of the radical groups.
“I decided to go to Aleppo after a very long period of time. First I took a flight from ?stanbul to Hatay and then went through the Cilvegözü border gate in a taxi that I hired in early morning. I had mixed feelings of fear, anxiety and grief when I was at the gate. At passport control, dozens of young Syrians surrounded me, asking me if I would like to enter Syria illegally in return for money. I refused and started to wait at the passport queue,” Najjar said.
Najjar went on to say that as he entered Syria, he was stopped at a checkpoint under the control of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). “The warm dialogue between the Turkish soldiers and the FSA fighters attracted my attention. On the Syrian side, the FSA didn’t feel it was necessary to even check my passport,” he added.
November 3rd, 2013, 7:17 pm
zoo said:
Ghufran
That speech is the ultimate proof that the opposition care more about its ego and its ridiculous anti-shia ideology than about Syrian’s lives.
Bashar al Assad was right: the opposition and its supporters are not yet ‘ripe’ enough to negotiate.
November 3rd, 2013, 7:27 pm
zoo said:
Leading FSA commander quits, lashes out at lack of support
November 04, 2013 12:12 AM
BEIRUT: A leading rebel commander from the mainstream Free Syrian Army announced his resignation Sunday, in the wake of infighting among rebel groups, battlefield setbacks and a lack of political support. Col. Abdel-Jabbar Ukaidi, the head of the Aleppo Revolutionary Military Council of the FSA, had harsh words for the international community and the Syrian opposition-in-exile for failing to offer sufficient support for the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Ukaidi has been one of the most prominent FSA commanders based inside Syria, leading rebel assaults in Aleppo and, most notably, personally showing up in Qusair earlier this summer in a failed bid to defend the central Syrian town against an offensive by regime troops and Hezbollah fighters.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Nov-04/236755-leading-fsa-commander-quits-lashes-out-at-lack-of-support.ashx#ixzz2jdGe56Oa
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
November 3rd, 2013, 7:31 pm
zoo said:
ISIS receives pledges from 14 Raqqa tribes
November 04, 2013 12:12 AM
BEIRUT: A hard-line jihadist group has received a pledge of political loyalty from more than a dozen tribes in Syria’s east, according to opposition and Islamist websites.
The sites said that militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) picked up the support of 14 tribal leaders in the province of Raqqa.
The development comes several weeks after ISIS received formal pledges of loyalty from a number of tribe representatives in rural Aleppo.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Nov-04/236758-isis-receives-pledges-from-14-raqqa-tribes.ashx#ixzz2jdHJ1A3e
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
November 3rd, 2013, 7:34 pm
zoo said:
What is going on? Jarba’s speech contradicts the Arab League and the Arab Ministers decision. Are the Saudis playing a double game? Will powerless Jarba resign? The opposition is in a real mess.
Arab FMs meeting of special significance – Kuwait”s FM
04/11/2013
Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah on Sunday stated that the extraordinary Arab foreign ministers’ meeting was of particular significance at present time, coinciding with preparations for the Geneva-II conference for Syria
…
The ministers at the meeting expressed full support for taking part in the Geneva conference and urged “the coalition and the Syrian opposition” to take part in it according to certain terms that guarantee the Syrian people aspiration to set up an interim governing authority with full executive powers “through which the future of Syria can be drawn,” he said in a statement to KUNA.
Arab concord toward the issue of participation in the conference will encourage the opposition to take part in it for it will mark a turning point in the file of the Syrian cause that “has bled the hearts and dragged on for more than two years and a half,” the Kuwaiti minister added.
November 3rd, 2013, 7:41 pm
ALAN said:
1487. GHUFRAN
(posting and translating Jarba’s garbage was a painful process but I want all readers to see how this clown and his masters in the King of Sandy Arabia “think”)
MMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA3333333333333333333333333333333333333
http://anna-news.info/sites/default/files/2011/u511/Al-Jarba_0.jpg
November 3rd, 2013, 7:48 pm
zoo said:
Will the opposition’s long waited and several times postponed meeting on the 9th of November take place?
The opposition is supposed to announce a ‘unified’ decision on whether to attend Geneva or not.
As their theatrical announcements usually turn out to be empty balloons ( the ‘transitional governement’, the “National Army”) that meeting will probably be postponed undefinitely now that Jarba has already spelled out again the same “pre-conditions” he gave a year ago.
Like it was a year ago, the embattled opposition is still at the stage of begging for weapons but more divided and weaker than it has ever been.
November 3rd, 2013, 8:05 pm
Ghufran said:
Alamilki may not stay as a PM for long:
???? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ???????? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ???? «?????» ?? «??????» ?????? ???????? ????? ??? ???????? ?????? ?? ????? ???????.
???? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ???? ????? ???? ???? ???? ???????? ?? ??????? «??? ???? ??? ????? ?? ????? ????????? ??? ??? ????? ???????? ?? ???????»? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ??????? «??? ??? ???? ???? ??? ????????? ???? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ??????». ????? ????? ??????? ??«??? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ??? ????????? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ???????».
???? ???? ????? ?? ??? ??? ??????? «?????? ??? ????? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ????? ?? ?? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ?? ??????? ?????? ???? ??????? ??????????».
????? «????? ?? ???? (???????) ?? ??????? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ???????? ????????? ?????????? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ??? ??? ??? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ?????». ??????? ?????? ?? «??? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ???????? ?? ?????????»? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ???????? ?????? ?????».
???? ????? ?? «??????? ?? ??? ?????? ????????? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????»? ?? ????? ???????. ?? ??? ?????: «??? ?????? ?? ???????? ??????? ??? ???? ????????? ?????? ???? ??? ??? ????????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ?? ?????? ????».
Maliki was not received well in the US and his political future is in jeopardy to say the least.
November 3rd, 2013, 8:06 pm
zoo said:
For the first time, Gul Turkey’s president blames the West and the Arab allies for having discouraged Turkey from negotiating with Bashar al Assad at the early stage of the conflict that may have avoided this disaster
Syria becoming ‘Mediterranean Afghanistan’
Turkey’s president has criticise the indifference of the global community to the Syrian conflict, warning it could become the “Mediterranean Afghanistan”.
…
Gul accused allies of providing insufficient backing for Turkish efforts to negotiate with Assad at the start of the conflict.
“We all worked very hard and at the time we even faced pressure from our allies because they said this was going on too long and it wasn’t going anywhere.”
If he had been able to pursue talks with Assad, Gul believes that “100,000 people may not have died and Syria would not have faced so much destruction”.
November 3rd, 2013, 8:18 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Globar war on Shiite terrorism will begin as soon as inexperienced Kerry departs Riyad as His Majesty, the Guided King of the Guided Kingdom, will make it plainly clear to the naive Kerry that only by declaring global war against Shiite terrorists will the US salvage its losing position with the Guided Kingdom and the rest of the Umma led by the Commander of the Faithful, the Guided King of the Guided Kingdom.
Shiite terrorists in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria will be hounded like dogs until their threat to mankind is eliminated forever. Kerry will be told that this is the only priority for the Guided Kingdom, and only by engaging in such war will the Guided Kingdom and the unreliable US begin again to see eye to eye on matters of common interests.
An Arab world free of Shiite terrorism would be a blessing to the Arab world, as well as to the whole of mankind. The US must begin by targeting Shiite terrorists in its own backyard, i.e. South America where drug trade finances terror operations in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and the Gulf. It should then target terror cells in Iraq, Iran, south Beirut, south Lebanon and some parts of Syria, particularly on the coast. It shouldn’t take long before the back of this scourge of Shiite terrorism is broken once and for all.
November 3rd, 2013, 8:31 pm
zoo said:
Ghufran
As the USA has found out in Afghanistan, there can be no negotiations with Islamists terrorists, only force.
Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Jordan and Syria need to unite their forces to fight al Qaeda. The present Iraq-Syria extremists path leads to Turkey and Jordan.
That’s why Turkey wants to rebuild relation with Al Maliki and renforce its relation with Iran. All of them want a settlement of Syria so they can join the Syrian Army in destroying al Qaeda.
The only party that does not want a settlement and continue to encourage Al Qaeda to expands is Saudi Arabia as it prefers to have the extremists in Syria and Iraq than in their own country
We already see a gradual change in Turkey toward Syria. If keeping Bashar al Assad in power garantees the unity of the Syrian army and stop the bloodshell, then they are ready to go along with that. “Democracy” is now a secondary priority
The public accusations that Al Maliki is not sharing power with Sunnis is just a pretext the Saudis use to blame him for being close to Iran. It does not explain Al Qaeda presence in Iraq.
It is clear that if the Al Qaeda wave is to must be stopped in the region, the only armies that can do it are Syria’s, Turkey’s, Jordan’s and Iraq’s. That’s why peace in Syria is becoming urgent
November 3rd, 2013, 8:38 pm
ALAN said:
Turkey Scrambles Fighters to Intercept Russian Warplanes.
http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20131103/184502361/Turkey-Scrambles-Fighters-to-Intercept-Russian-Warplanes–Report.html
Palestine, Syria and Turkey report more spy planes, drones after Israeli air strike last week
http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/news/world/tensions-flare-as-syria/story-fnjbobec-1226752561401
SWARMS of drones have reportedly been overflying Palestine and Syria while Russian combat aircraft have been testing Turkish airspace after Israel’s air strike last week.
Two Turkish F-16 fighter jets were reportedly scrambled overnight after a Russian IL-20 electronic surveillance aircraft probed its borders along the Black Sea cost. It is the third such incident in the past week.
Such incursions, which were common during the Cold War, have not been a feature of international politics for some time.
Sources inside Palestine are reporting a near constant hum of engines from unmanned vehicles overhead. Several sightings have also been reported over Syria’s coastal and border regions with Israel.
The escalating activity comes after Israeli warplanes attacked a shipment of Russian missiles inside a Syrian government stronghold late last week. The targeted Russian-made S-125 anti-aircraft missiles had been delivered to the Syrian port city of Lataki.
An Israeli drone has reportedly crashed in the Gaza Strip early this morning…………………..
November 3rd, 2013, 8:48 pm
zoo said:
Besides bringing Al Qaeda to Syria, the opposition also brought polio
Foreign jihadists ‘responsible’ for polio outbreak in Syria
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/foreign-jihadists-responsible-for-polio-outbreak-in-syria-8920102.html
Monday 04 November
A Syrian government minister has claimed that foreign fighters waging a jihadist war are responsible for an outbreak of polio in the country.
Ten cases have been confirmed by the United Nations in the first substantiated outbreak of the disease in Syria in 14 years.
Babies and toddlers under two years old have contracted the disease.
Kindah al-Shammat, the Social Affairs Minister, told the Associated Press news agency that jihadis from Pakistan were to blame.
She said: “The virus originates in Pakistan and has been brought to Syria by the jihadists who come from Pakistan.”
She offered no evidence and did not elaborate on the claim. Pakistan is one of three countries where polio remains endemic.
November 3rd, 2013, 8:49 pm
ALAN said:
New section of the Middle East, according to The New York Times:
As for the planned “chaos in the Muslim world ,” that Israel carries out its proxy , acting solely through the security forces and supporting the myth of the ” victim of Islamism .” In this respect, is still relevant Yisrael Shahak explanation as to why publication of the strategic plan of Israel does not represent a danger to it .
Pointing out that this danger can only come from the Arab world and the U.S., he stressed: “The Arab world is still demonstrated his absolute inability to detailed and rational analysis of the Israeli- Jewish society … In such a situation, even the ones who scream about the dangers of Israeli expansionism (which are real ) , do not do it because of factual and detailed knowledge , but because of the belief in the myth … Israeli experts suggest that the Arabs in general do not pay attention to their serious discussions about the future. ” The situation is similar in the U.S., where all the information about Israel comes from the liberal pro-Israel media. From this Shahak made ??the following conclusion: ” Since there is a situation in which Israel is really a closed society for the rest of the world, because the world wants to close his eye problems , publication and even the beginning of the implementation of such a plan are realistic and achievable .”
November 3rd, 2013, 9:12 pm
Syrian said:
The constant attack from regime supporters on prince Bander and the KSA is a proof that he is coming to thier dreams and turning it into nightmares.
KSA who had financed Pakistan nuclear bomb will not be intimated by Iran or a sitting duck Obama.
“????? ????????? ??????? ?????????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ???? ??????? ????????”
?????????? ?????? ???? ??????… ????? ??????? ?? ‘???????????? ????????’
NOVEMBER 3, 2013
??? ???? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ?????? ????????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ?? ??????? ????? ??????? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ????? ????? ??? ???????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ????.
???????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ???????? ??? ???????.
????? ??????? ???? ?????????? ??????? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ?? ????????? ????? ?? ?? ???? ???????? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ?? 10 ?????? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ?? ???????? ???????? ?????? ????? ???????? ????????? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????? ??? ???????? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ???? ???????? ????????? ?????? ??? ?????.
????????? ?????? ?? ?? ??? ???????? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????????? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ???????? ???? ???? ???????? ?????? ?????????? ?? ??? 1999? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ???????? ????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?? ?????.
?????? ??????? ??? ???????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ????? ?????? ??????. ?????? ??????? ???????? ????? ??? ???? ?? ????????? ???? ???????? ???????? ?????? ????? ??? ??? 2009 ?????? ‘??? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????’.
?????? ?? ????????? ??????? ??? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ??? ?? ????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ????????? ??????.
?????? ??? ????????? ?????? ?? ???????? ?? ???? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???????? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ??????? ?????????? ?????? ???????? ??? ???????? ???????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ??????.
http://www.alquds.co.uk/?p=99808
November 3rd, 2013, 9:34 pm
ALAN said:
SURPRISE: TURKEY AIDED ISRAEL IN SYRIA AIRSTRIKE. More attacks possible in coming months
Aaron Klein Turkey provided key intelligence that aided in the reported air strike on Syria today, according to informed Middle Eastern security officials. The Obama administration has confirmed that Israeli warplanes struck the Syrian military base. Israel has so far refused to comment. According to the informed Middle Eastern security officials, the target included Iskandar, cruise and other anti-aircraft missiles and launchers that could be transferred to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah. Separately, a Jordanian intelligence source told KleinOnline that Turkey and Israel have compiled a list of Syrian targets that could be hit in the coming months in a joint effort to weaken the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Israel-Turkey cooperation may be surprising to some in light of a reported major diplomatic row between the two countries. According to the Washington Post, the Turkish government disclosed to Iran the identities of 10 Iranian spies who were meeting inside Turkey with the Israeli Mossad. The Post claimed the disclosures marked a significant setback in Israel’s efforts to halt Iran’s nuclear program.
http://kleinonline.wnd.com/2013/11/01/surprise-turkey-aided-israel-in-syria-airstrike-more-attacks-possible-in-coming-months/
November 3rd, 2013, 9:42 pm
zoo said:
Rebels lose ground to Assad
Washington Post
Posted: 11/03/2013
http://www.twincities.com/national/ci_24447700/rebels-lose-ground-assad
KILIS, Turkey — Forces loyal to the Syrian government are taking advantage of deepening rifts among Syria’s feuding rebels to advance into rebel-held territory in the northern part of the country, overturning some long-held assumptions about the war.
The resignation on Sunday of a top leader in the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army further underscored the extent to which rebel infighting is undermining the effort not only to topple President Bashar Assad but also to hold on to territories won by the opposition in the past two years of conflict.
Col. Abdul Jabbar Akaidi, one of the chief recipients of what little American aid has been provided to the rebels, said he was standing down to protest the rebel bickering, which he blamed for the capture on Friday by Assad loyalists of the strategic town of Safira, southeast of the key city of Aleppo.
….
If the rebels are unable even to hold ground in the north, the calculus of the Geneva peace conference also will shift, said an opposition figure who asked not to be identified because the issue is sensitive. The opposition will be less inclined to attend at a time when it is losing, and “Assad will have no reason to compromise at all,” he said.
…
“It seems the Free Syrian Army is incapable of defending even themselves, let alone the people.”
…
But rebel defeats in the north can be attributed as much to disarray within the ranks of the opposition as to the fighting capacities of the government, analysts say.
“It’s a consequence of their lack of unity of command and purpose. The regime is united and purposeful,” said Jeff White, defense analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
…
November 3rd, 2013, 11:39 pm
ALAN said:
Lots of cruel Chechens among the terrorist rebels with bullet proof vests that are courtesy of Mr. Barack Hussein Obama.
This is excellent reporting thanks to: Nadezhda Kevorkova, war correspondent
International mass media paint the situation in Syria as a never-ending Sunni-Shia feud and hatred towards President Assad. But somehow they keep silent on how thousands of Sunnis have found friends in the Shia-dominated Lebanese regions.
Instead, they say Sunni support for Syrian government is a result of Assad propaganda.
The Sunni refugees from Syria prove the international media wrong. Their experience shows that the Shia treat Sunnis as friends, while foreign militants stoke religious hatred and bring along nothing but devastation.
None of the refugees I talked to was a civil servant. All these people’s homes and lives were destroyed by the war.
Some had initially sympathized with the revolution, but as things went on, they changed their minds. Propaganda tells them to despise the Syrian government and the Shia, and to welcome the rebels, their liberators. But these people see the Syrian army as liberators and they are thankful to the Shia.
“Of course our relations with the Shia are good – how else can it be given that we have fled to join them?”
………………
http://rt.com/op-edge/war-syria-085/
November 4th, 2013, 2:33 am
omen said:
meet the new boss/same as the old boss ?
November 4th, 2013, 5:47 am
omen said:
1501. zoo said: Besides bringing Al Qaeda to Syria, the opposition also brought polio
as you yourself admitted, assad released alqaeda from jail, not the opposition.
while i had to be reminded, i’m sure you also know the regime firebombed hospitals, brutalized doctors and medics. the regime destroyed syria’s healthcare system. assad is to blame for the outbreak of polio.
it’s curious how media fails to call out regime responsibility for this.
November 4th, 2013, 5:58 am
Uzair8 said:
The BBC’s State Department Correspondent Kim Ghattas discussed John Kerry’s visit to Saudi on BBC Radio 5 last night. This part stood out for me:
“And now we’re hearing that the Saudis and the Emiraties are in fact speeding up their military support for the rebels hoping that that will tip the balance in their favour. That is not something that the US is fully on board with and that will definitely be part of the conversation.”
Listen from 02:05:40 till 02:07:40
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03g8x0l
Wonder what they are supplying the rebels with? And how much they are supplying?
November 4th, 2013, 6:08 am
Uzair8 said:
I watched a few of Simon Assaf’s talks on youtube yesterday. He contributes to the Socialist Worker paper. It’s people like him who are doing the gritty work of keeping the narrative real. Educating the people on what is going on in Syria and why. Reminding them of the actual sequence of events. He affirms his belief that this revolution will succeed regardless of the ‘sharks’ circling around the crisis.
In one of his talks he said the worst solution possible is for Assad to remain.
November 4th, 2013, 6:21 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
zouzou says
zouzou, once more, unthinkingly regurgitate statements as it declares that the opposition brought Polio to Syria. Now let me guess, there is no risk of polio where zouzou lives, and thus there is no need to immunize the children in zouzou’z family.
Dumb statements like zouzou’z master piece deserve exposure as gas re-flux. They stink with deception and malice.
November 4th, 2013, 6:47 am
don said:
Sousou says: They stink with deception and malice.
So?!
November 4th, 2013, 7:38 am
zoo said:
More evidence of rebels and Al Qaeda’s intentions to continue fabricating and using chemical weapons.
Turkey seizes 20 bags of sulfur on Syrian border
4 November 2013 /TODAY’S ZAMAN, ANKARA
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-330543-turkey-seizes-20-bags-of-sulfur-on-syrian-border.html
Three vehicles loaded with 20 bags of sulfur and eight barrels, whose contents are currently unknown, have been seized on the Syrian border while trying to illegally enter the Arab country from Turkey.
According to a statement released by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), three vehicles trying to illegally cross into Syria from Turkey were detained by the TSK in the southern Turkish province of Hatay on Saturday.
Twenty sacks of sulfur, each weighing around 50 kilograms, and eight sealed barrels were seized from the vehicles.
Sulfur is a vital ingredient in the manufacture of mustard gas, which has powerful vesicant effects and can cause chemical burns on exposed individuals. It is found in liquid, gas and solid forms. People can be exposed through external contact, inhalation or ingestion.
There are also several reports alleging that the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons facility in Homs was seized by al-Qaeda-linked terrorists and that these fighters are short of raw materials.
One Syrian and five Turks were detained in May in an Adana police operation to seize materials used in the production of chemical weapons.
Initial reports said 2 kilograms of highly toxic sarin gas were discovered in the operation, a claim later denied by the authorities. But the chemicals seized could be used to manufacture sarin gas, according to news reports.
The six later admitted that they had obtained the chemicals in Turkey, but claimed they did not know that sarin gas could be produced from them. Last week, they appeared before a court in the southern province of Adana for their trial’s first hearing.
November 4th, 2013, 8:57 am
zoo said:
Did Kerry reassured panic-striken Saudis? Note the nuance “attacked from the outside”
http://www.ibtimes.com/kerry-reassures-anxious-saudi-sunni-allies-washingtons-middle-east-policy-hasnt-changed-after-no
“The United States will be there for the defense of our friends and our allies,” Kerry told reporters in Cairo on Sunday, which was Kerry’s first stop on the tour. “We will not allow those countries to be attacked from outside. We will stand with them,” he said, specifically naming predominantly Sunni nations such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Jordan, Associated Press reported.
November 4th, 2013, 9:03 am
zoo said:
#1511
You smelly h-p won’t change the fact that before the arrival of the “friends of the revolution”, polio had been eradicated from Syria.
The destruction of the praised Syrian health system by the fighters for ‘freedom and dignity’ has brought only disasters and death. Polio is just one more they should be proud of.
November 4th, 2013, 9:08 am
zoo said:
@1509 Uzair
“Wonder what they are supplying the rebels with? And how much they are supplying?”
Chemical weapons.
November 4th, 2013, 9:10 am
zoo said:
Why Jordan, a member of “Friends of Syria” doesn’t ask its richer friends the Saudis and the Qataris to take some of the refugees in a display of Sunni solidarity instead of sending them to death. What is the OIC doing except meeting and whining?
Amnesty International: Jordan is deporting Syrian refugees
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2013/1104/Amnesty-International-Jordan-is-deporting-Syrian-refugees
Amnesty says Jordan has already sent hundreds of Syrian refugees home. The government recently announced it would deport 5,000 Syrians for working there illegally.
By Nigel Wilson, Correspondent / November 4, 2013
….
Jordan has forcibly returned hundreds of Syrian refugees to their home country in violation of international law, according to a new report by Amnesty International.
The international human rights watchdog said that hundreds of refugees were deported in 2012 following a protest at the Zaatari refugee camp, close to the country’s border with Syria. Hundreds more Syrians have been forcibly returned this year, including Syrians of Palestinian origin and those working in the Kingdom without official documentation, according to the human rights group.
“Amnesty is extremely concerned about this trend. While Jordan has made tremendous efforts to accommodate half a million refugees, and is facing pressures as a result, these do not justify such violations of international law,” says Amnesty’s Neil Sammonds, who worked on the report.
November 4th, 2013, 9:29 am
zoo said:
Secular Kurds are heroically defending Syria from the Islamists supported by Saudi Arabia and Qatar. They deserve praise and an important role in the future of Syria
Kurdish Forces Crush Islamists in Northern Syria
Al Qaeda-linked groups and their allies suffer a major setback as Kurdish militias take 19 positions in the past 3 days.
By Ari Soffer
First Publish: 11/4/2013, 4:06 PM
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/173594#.Unewfzciwo8
Kurdish fighters have routed Islamist forces in northeastern Syria, taking 19 towns and villages in the past week alone, across the region known by Kurds as “Rojova”, or western Kurdistan.
November 4th, 2013, 9:37 am
zoo said:
Al-Golani, his background, his role and his whereabouts
Al-Qaeda leader in Syria moves in the shadows
2013-11-04 16:18
http://www.news24.com/World/News/Al-Qaeda-leader-in-Syria-moves-in-the-shadows-20131104
Under al-Golani’s leadership, Nusra has grown into one of the most powerful rebel groups, with an estimated force of 6 000 to 7 000 fighters across the country.
The US State Department, which placed Nusra on its list of terrorist organisations in December 2012, said the group has claimed nearly 600 attacks, including suicide attacks, small-arms operations and bombings in major cities.
..
“Through these attacks, al-Nusra has sought to portray itself as part of the legitimate Syrian opposition while it is, in fact, an attempt by al-Qaeda in Iraq to hijack the struggles of the Syrian people for its own malign purposes,” the department said.
November 4th, 2013, 9:44 am
zoo said:
Syria government vows to vaccinate all children
Published: November 4, 2013 Updated 8 minutes ago
By ALBERT AJI — Associated Press
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad has vowed that authorities will vaccinate all Syrian children after cases of polio emerged in the country’s northeast.
Mekdad said the government will cooperate with U.N. agencies and aid groups to reach children, particularly those who live in rebel-held areas.
Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2013/11/04/3077057/official-suicide-bombing-in-syrian.html#storylink=cpy
November 4th, 2013, 9:47 am
ALAN said:
Syria government vows to vaccinate all children
Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/11/04/2850158/official-suicide-bombing-in-syrian.html#storylink=cpy
November 4th, 2013, 10:51 am
zoo said:
While on the ground, the FSA is loosing inch after inch, the expat opposition is under heavy pressure as clock is ticking for Geneva. While Jarba still sings his old song, the Arab League has put no pre-conditions to the Geneva Conference
Arab League backs Syria peace talks, urges opposition to go
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-330597-arab-league-backs-syria-peace-talks-urges-opposition-to-go.html
A final communique after an emergency meeting of Arab League foreign ministers on Sunday called on the opposition swiftly to form a delegation under the leadership of the mainstream Syrian National Coalition, to attend the “Geneva 2” talks. The Arab League’s position indicated Gulf rivals Qatar and Saudi Arabia – who have backed different opposition groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad – had put their differences aside to urge opposition chief Ahmad Jarba to head to Geneva.
November 4th, 2013, 12:25 pm
zoo said:
As expected, Al Qaeda are starting to move to Turkey
Syrian al Qaeda prepares to launch attack in Turkey’s big cities
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-330595-syrian-al-qaeda-prepares-to-launch-attack-in-turkeys-big-cities.html
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-330595-syrian-al-qaeda-prepares-to-launch-attack-in-turkeys-big-cities.html
The al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has sent two of seven bomb-loaded vehicles it has been preparing to the southeastern province of ?anl?urfa to launch an attack on Turkey’s biggest cities, an intelligence source has told Today’s Zaman.
After learning of ISIL’s attack preparations, the National Police Department, the Gendarmerie General Command and the National Intelligence Organization (M?T) issued a red alert. According to initial findings of security forces, two bomb-loaded vehicles have entered Turkey, five more vehicles are being prepared and ISIL plans to use them to commit a large-scale attack on Turkey’s major cities, including Ankara, ?stanbul and ?zmir.
November 4th, 2013, 12:29 pm
zoo said:
Saudi foreign minister contradicts Bandar ben Sultan, the Saudi Intelligence Agency director, as Kerry shamelessly and almost ridiculously woos the Saudis’ inflated ego
Saudi foreign minister: No problem with US
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/saudi-foreign-minister-no-problem-with-us-1.1251308
Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal assured visiting Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday there is no problem with the United States, saying “our two friendly countries” are busy dealing with troublesome issues like Syria, Iran and the Mideast peace process.
..
On the regional strategic issues of particular interest to the United States, Saudi Arabia is now the major Arab power, Kerry said.
“The Saudis have the ability to be able to influence a lot of the things that we also care about,” he said before meeting with Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and Prince Saud.
“The Saudis are very, very important to all of these things. The Saudis are really the sort of senior player, if you will, in the Arab world, together with Egypt. Egypt is in more of a transition, so Saudi Arabia’s role is that much more important.”
November 4th, 2013, 12:43 pm
Uzair8 said:
The holy month of Muharram (and thus the Islamic new year) begins on Tuesday in UK. As it’s already Monday evening here the month has begun.
Btw, I wonder if the current Regime/Iranian/Hezbo offensive was planned/timed to coincide with the arrival of the month, in particular the significant first 10 days, as some kind of inspiration?
November 4th, 2013, 12:43 pm
ziad said:
???? ????? ???? ??RT: ???? ?? 400 ???? ?? “???? ??? ???????” ?????? ?????? ????? ??????
??? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?? 400 ???? ?? ?? ???? ??”???? ??? ???????” ????? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???????? ??????? ?????.???? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ??”???? ??? ???????” ????? ?????? ???? ??????? ??????? ????? ??????? 4 ??????/????? ?????? ????? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ????? 400 ???? ???????? ?? ???????? ?? ????? ??? ???????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?????.????? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ??? ???????? ???? ?? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ???????? ?????? ????? ??????.:
http://arabic.rt.com/news/632591-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%AF%D8%B1_%D8%B9%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%B1%D9%8A_%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A_%D9%84%D9%80RT_%D8%A3%D9%83%D8%AB%D8%B1_%D9%85%D9%86_400_%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%AD_%D9%85%D9%86_%D9%84%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A1_%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%B9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%B5%D9%85%D8%A9_%D9%8A%D8%B3%D9%84%D9%85%D9%88%D9%86_%D8%A3%D9%86%D9%81%D8%B3%D9%87%D9%85_%D9%84%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B4_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A_%D9%81%D9%8A_%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B7%D9%82%D8%A9_%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%B1_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B5%D8%A7%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%B1_%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%BA%D9%88%D8%B7%D8%A9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A9/
November 4th, 2013, 12:54 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
The inexperienced Kerry was very happy to have been granted audience with His Majesty, the Guided King of the Guided Kingdom
In his effort to gain valuable Guidance from the Guided Kingdom, Kerry said all the things that the Guided Kingdom would like to hear. However, the Guided Kingdom will not be convinced with mere talk, especially from such a proven unreliable US. The Guided Kingdom will be looking for action and not just words.
For what it is worth, Kerry expressed the US’ agreement with the Guided Kingdom regarding the impossibility of giving Serpent-head (Ass-head) any role in the new Syria which will be an exact image of the Guided Kingdom and under the Guidance of His Majesty, the Guided King. The agreement clearly stipulates that Ass-head is now in Syria on borrowed time and that he needs to pay for his crimes. There was also agreement on the need to declare war on Shiite terrorism, particularly Hezboola, the so-called Badr terrorists and the Iranian stooges of the Yemeni Houthies. It was also agreed that no terrorists can go unpunished in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and that those who created disturbances in the last couple years on behalf of the terrorists of mullahstan need to be hounded, neutralized and made to pay for their crimes.
This looks all good on paper, however, as we pointed out earlier the Guided Kingdom is testing the sincerity of the unreliable US and would not grant the US any favors until it proves it is worthy of trust and reliability. The Guided Kingdom has not gone back on its decision to desert the UNSC as the conditions for its acceptance of the UNSC seat have not yet been fulfilled.
Regardless of the UNSC outcome, the Guided Kingdom has put its non-negotiable conditions on the table: A war on Shiite terrorism MUST be launched and the US MUST be a full participant in this war if it wishes to safeguard any foothold in the strategic Arab and Muslim Worlds that are both led by the Commander of the Faithful, His Majesty, the Guided King of the Guided Kingdom. Arabs, Muslims and the rest of humanity must be grateful to the Guided Kingdom’s efforts to rid the world of the scourge of Shiite terrorism.
November 4th, 2013, 1:04 pm
Akbar Palace said:
Heads Up,
As much as I agree with your POV, can you answer the following question for this forum:
Why doesn’t the “Guided Kingdom” use their “f-ing” military might to kick the unguided ass of Bashar Assad? If I were the “Guided King of the Guided Kingdom”, I’d speak with my F-16s and NOT Secretary of State John Kerry.
If the unguilded Zionists can do it, the Guided Kingdom can too.
Just my humble opinion habb.
November 4th, 2013, 1:18 pm
Heads-up said:
Akbar Palace,
I think I answered your question on more than one occasion.
Syrians should not expect others to fight their war. They must fight it themselves and get rid of Serpent-head. Serpent-head has turned Syrians into slogan fighters over the last 50 years. Syrians must know that they cannot win the revolution by making slogans. They need to train, organize and fight. The Guided Kingdom, unlike the US, is supplying capable Syrians with weapons to conduct the war.
The US has reneged on ALL its promises to supply Syrians with necessary weapons. The US is unreliable and I may add an outright liar.
November 4th, 2013, 2:31 pm
Akbar Palace said:
I think I answered your question on more than one occasion.
Possibly, I have a bad memory.
Syrians should not expect others to fight their war.
Well, why not? If Jews were threatened somewhere in the world, I WOULD expect the GOI to help (and vice-versa). And they have.
Similarly, Arabs have helped the Palestinians ENORMOUSLY with weapons, fighters and gobs of political force. I don’t sense the same urgency with Syrian lives as with Palestinian lives. Just my impression.
I guess you can say I’m surprised.
These articles show the US is sending weapons to the Syrian opposition (I can’t verify how accurate this is).
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323419604578569830070537040
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-09-11/world/41972742_1_lethal-aid-syrian-rebels-chemical-weapons
Respectfully,
AP
November 4th, 2013, 2:48 pm
Heads-up said:
Akbar Palace,
The material you provided is inaccurate and as unreliable as the US administration.
The US has provided zilch in terms of military hardware to the Syrian revolution.
Only the Guided Kingdom is providing capable Syrians with weapons and training.
The Guided Kingdom and the other Arabs cannot rely on the US, and that’s why they are moving away from such unreliable and untrustworthy so-called ally.
November 4th, 2013, 3:06 pm
zoo said:
Turkey is about to make the inevitable U-Turn after 3 years of aggressive, illusionary and failed policy toward the Syrian governement
Ankara must convince Syrian opposition
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ankara-must-convince-syrian-opposition.aspx?pageID=238&nid=57352&NewsCatID=416
….
The assumption in Ankara was that al-Assad, like Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Hosni Mubarak, and Muammar Gadhafi, would fall quickly and Turkey would step in as a predominantly Islamic soft power to act as midwife for Syrian democracy.
..
Instead, it became a party to the conflict by basing its policy on the singular need to oust al-Assad by force. It even supported al-Qaeda-affiliated groups fighting al-Assad to expedite this outcome. By taking sides in this way, Ankara also revealed its heavy Sunni leanings, and disregarded the security interests of the other groups in Syria. This, in turn, alienated Christian and Shiite communities and countries in the Middle East.
All of this resulted in Turkey’s losing its capacity to influence the efforts now being spearheaded by Moscow and Washington to solve the Syrian crisis though negotiations. Gül now expects “a very solid position with respect to Syria” from the international community.
..
The Erdo?an government says it is supporting this process, but it is seen to be doing so begrudgingly. The best way for Ankara to be an active part of efforts to solve the Syria crisis now is not to keep blaming the international community for being inactive, but to convince the Syrian opposition, which refuses to go to Geneva, that the only option left to solve this crisis, and end the slaughter of innocents as soon as possible, is a negotiated settlement.
November 4th, 2013, 5:29 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Every Syrian is grateful today to those who helped cleanse Syrian soil of the desecration brought to it by one the heads of terrorism.
Terrorist Mohammed Jamali Ba-Qalaa of the terrorist organization of revolutionary guard, with a rank of brigadier general terrorist extraordinaire, was eliminated today at the hands of the revolutionary heroes, cleansing in the process Syrian soil of disgusting desecration.
Congratulations to all those heroes who participated in this sacred act of cleansing Syrian soil.
November 4th, 2013, 5:42 pm
ziad said:
Imploding the Myth of Israel
Israel has been poisoned by the psychosis of permanent war. It has been morally bankrupted by the sanctification of victimhood, which it uses to justify an occupation that rivals the brutality and racism of apartheid South Africa. Its democracy—which was always exclusively for Jews—has been hijacked by extremists who are pushing the country toward fascism. Many of Israel’s most enlightened and educated citizens—1 million of them—have left the country. Its most courageous human rights campaigners, intellectuals and journalists—Israeli and Palestinian—are subject to constant state surveillance, arbitrary arrests and government-run smear campaigns. Its educational system, starting in primary school, has become an indoctrination machine for the military. And the greed and corruption of its venal political and economic elite have created vast income disparities, a mirror of the decay within America’s democracy.
And yet, the hard truths about Israel remain largely unspoken. Liberal supporters of Israel decry its excesses. They wring their hands over the tragic necessity of airstrikes on Gaza or Lebanon or the demolition of Palestinian homes. They assure us that they respect human rights and want peace. But they react in inchoate fury when the reality of Israel is held up before them. This reality implodes the myth of the Jewish state. It exposes the cynicism of a state whose real goal is, and always has been, the transfer, forced immigration or utter subjugation and impoverishment of Palestinians inside Israel and the occupied territories. Reality shatters the fiction of a peace process. Reality lays bare the fact that Israel routinely has used deadly force against unarmed civilians, including children, to steal half the land on the West Bank and crowd forcibly displaced Palestinians into squalid, militarized ghettos while turning their land and homes over to Jewish settlers. Reality exposes the new racial laws adopted by Israel as those once advocated by the fanatic racist Meir Kahane. Reality unveils the Saharonim detention camp in the Negev Desert, the largest detention center in the world. Reality mocks the lie of open, democratic debate, including in the country’s parliament, the Knesset, where racist diatribes and physical threats, often enshrined into law, are used to silence and criminalize the few who attempt to promote a civil society. Liberal Jewish critics inside and outside Israel, however, desperately need the myth, not only to fetishize Israel but also to fetishize themselves. Strike at the myth and you unleash a savage vitriol, which in its fury exposes the self-adulation and latent racism that lie at the core of modern Zionism.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/imploding_the_myth_of_israel_20131103
November 4th, 2013, 6:01 pm
ghufran said:
Force in my opinion is not enough to defeat terrorism, in many cases the use of force has made things worse especially if that use was excessive and indiscriminate. Keep in mind that poverty, corruption and oppression are the three evils that keep extremism and violence alive and help recruit new terrorists-to-be. In that sense, oppressive and corrupt regimes like the one in Syria deserve part of the blame for the growth of islamist terrorism.
November 4th, 2013, 6:07 pm
Ghufran said:
This is the answer to those of you who were drooling over the collapse of the Lira:
????? ??? ??? ??????? ??????? 4112013?? ????? ??????? ??? 126 ???? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ??????? ??? 150 ???? ??? ??????? ???????? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ??? ????? 125 ???? ?? ????? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ??????? ??? ??????? ??????.
????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ???? ??? ?? ????? ???? ???? 500???? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ???? 21 ?????? 5500???? ??? ???? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ??? ??? ???????? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ??? ?? ?? 5 ???? ??? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ????? ?????? ?? ????????? ???????? ????? ??? 135-138 ?????? ? 140-141 ???? ??????
The $ is down to $ 126 and that is 20% lower than SCB own price
Gold is at its lowest level since June
However, prices of food and consumer items did not go down!!
Source: SOHR
November 4th, 2013, 8:25 pm
PenGun said:
You have been abandoned. He tweets constantly, never shuts up, but here we are trying for a record of ‘no posts’ I guess.
November 4th, 2013, 8:30 pm
Ghufran said:
Erdugang and rebels supporters have more explanation to do:
Turkish army confiscated chemical materials that were being smuggled inside Syria:
?????- (? ? ?): ???? ??????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ?????????? ???? ???? ????????? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ?????.
?????? ????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ????????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ???????.
??? ????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ??? ??????? ??????? ?????? ????? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ???????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??? ?????.
????? ????? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ??????.
??????? ???? ??? ???????? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ???? ??????.
Turkey is likely to try to hide the results of this investigation, assuming there is one, the same way it did before.
November 4th, 2013, 9:03 pm
Ghufran said:
Erdugang and rebels supporters have more explanation to do:
Turkish army confiscated chemical materials that were being smuggled inside Syria:
?????- (? ? ?): ???? ??????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ?????????? ???? ???? ????????? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ?????.
?????? ????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ????????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ???????.
??? ????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ??? ??????? ??????? ?????? ????? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ???????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??? ?????.
????? ????? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ??????.
??????? ???? ??? ???????? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ???? ??????.
Turkey is likely to try to hide the results of this investigation, assuming there is one, the same way it did before.
Source : SOHR ( pro opposition site)
November 4th, 2013, 9:05 pm
zoo said:
A clear and firm response of Syria to Saudi Arabia’s rantings: If the purpose of the opposition in Geneva II is to topple Bashar al Assad after failing to achieve it militarily, they might as well forget it.
Syrian regime says not going to Geneva talks to hand over power
AFP –
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/syrian-regime-says-not-going-geneva-talks-hand-222540123.html#T8kzQqT
The Syrian regime will not attend a proposed Geneva peace conference if the aim is for President Bashar al-Assad to hand over power, the country’s information minister said Monday.
“We will not go to Geneva to hand over power as desired by (Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud) al-Faisal and certain opponents abroad,” said Omran al-Zohbi in comments carried by the official SANA news agency.
“President Bashar al-Assad will remain head of state,” he added.
November 4th, 2013, 9:19 pm
zoo said:
Ghufran
Erdogan is sliding into a dangerous swamp.
November 4th, 2013, 9:21 pm
zoo said:
@1535 Ghufran
“In that sense, oppressive and corrupt regimes like the one in Syria deserve part of the blame for the growth of islamist terrorism”:
Do you consider Saudi Arabia and Saddams Iraq corrupted and oppressive regime.
Yet Saddam’s Iraq did not breed terrorists while Saudi Arabia where supposedly poverty does not exist has shown to be most prolific ground for terrorists. Ossama Ben Lade was a rich and educated man.
In my view religious fanatism plays a much bigger role than poverty in the genesis of terrorism in the middle east.
November 4th, 2013, 9:34 pm
zoo said:
While Few Seem Eager to Talk Peace in Syria, U.N. Mediator Won’t Stop
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/05/world/middleeast/while-few-seem-eager-to-talk-peace-in-syria-un-mediator-wont-stop.html
…..
Joshua M. Landis, the director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, blamed the Obama administration for insisting, on the one hand, that Mr. Assad must step down and, on the other, refusing to help the rebels oust him.
“Brahimi is stuck with this two-faced approach,” Mr. Landis said. “He gave it the college try. He did what the Americans wanted, which is to really push for this political solution, but it’s quite clear there is no backing for it either among the Syrian opposition or among Western politicians.”
November 4th, 2013, 9:38 pm
Ghufran said:
The story of Ahmad Marouf, a rebel fighter who is paralyzed and was given a revolutionary finger by everybody including leaders in the SNC, NC and mr. Oglo of turkey:
????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ????????? ?? ????? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? “????” ??? ?? “?????” ??? ????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?? ?? ????? ???? ????? ?? ???? 30 ?? ????? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ???????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??.
????? ?????: ?? ?????? ????? ?? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ?? ???? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ???? ??? ? ??? ??? ?? ??? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ???????? ??????? ??????.
????? ???? ????? ??????: ?? ??????? ????? ???? ???? ???? ??? ???????? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ??????? ??? ??????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ?? ??? ????? ????? ???? ????????? ???? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ????? ?????? “???? ???????” ???? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?? “?????” ????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ?? ???????? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ?????? “???????” ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ?? “?????”.
??????? “?????” ?? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ??????? ??????: ??? ??? ???? ????? ??? ???????? ? ????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ???: “???? ??????? ??? ??????? ?? ???????? ?”?? ?????? ? ??? ???? ??? ???? ???? ????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ????? 100 ??? ???? ??? ????” ????? ??????: ??? ???? ?? ????? ?????.
???? ??????
?? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ??????: “?? ????? ? ????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ??” ? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ? ?????? ??? ????? ? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?? ?? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ????????? ??????? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ??????: “?? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ????” ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ??? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ? ??????? ? ??? ??? ????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ?? “?????? ???? ?????? ??????? ” ??? ???? ?????? ??? ???????? ???????? ????? ? ???????? ?”?? ??? ????” ????? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ???????? ??????????.
?????? ????? ?? “??? ????? ???? ?? ???? ??? ???? ???? ??????” ????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ???????? ???? ????????? ???? ?? ???????? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ???????? ????? ?? 6 ????? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ???? “???? ????? ????????” ???? ??? ?? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????? ?????? ???? ????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ???? ???????. ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ????? ????? ???????? “???? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ?????? ????????”. ?????? ???? ?? ??????? ??”????? ????????” ??? ?????? ??? ?????? ? ?????? ????? ???????? ? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ????? ????? ????????? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? –?????– ????? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ????? “???? ????” ??? ???? ????? ??? ????????? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ? ????? ?????”????????” ??????? ??? ????? ???? “????? ????? ????”? ??? ??????? ????? ?? ???????? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ??? -?????? ??????- ??? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ???????? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ?? ???? ????? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ?”??? ?????” ???? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ??? ?????? ?? ???????? ???? ???: “??? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ????????”.
???? ??????
?????? ???? ????? ??????? ???? ???? ???? ???????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ??????? ???????? ?????????? ???? ??????? ???? ?????? “????? ?? ????? ???? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?? ? ??? ??? ???????” ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ???????? ???? ???: “?? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ?? ????????? ? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????: “??? ?? ????? ????? ???????? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ??????”? ???? ??? ???? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ?????? ????????? ????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ???????? ????? ?????? “??? ?????? ???????” ???? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ???? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ???????.
????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ????? ?? ???? ???????? ?????? ???? ????? ?????
??????: ????? ???? ??? ???? ???????? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ???????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ???? “???” ??????? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ????? ??” ????? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? “???? ?? ???? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ???????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ? ??? 3 ???? ???? ?? “???? ???????” ???? ?? ???? ????? ???????? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ???????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ?? ?????? ????????.
I have always believed that rebels are being used and abused.
November 4th, 2013, 9:54 pm
zoo said:
Syrian Minister of Information launches a tough and disparaging verbal attack on Saudi Arabia
http://www.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/article/2013/11/05/syrie-le-regime-n-ira-pas-a-geneve-pour-remettre-le-pouvoir_3508080_3218.html
The Syrian Minister of Information has also launched a diatribe against Riyadh, saying its policy of supporting the rebels was doomed to failure. “We promise that Saudi policy will fail, that Geneva 2 be held or not,” said Mr. Zohbi. He accused Saud Al-Faisal to “represent the political facade of terrorism led by Saudi Arabia” due to its support for insurgents. “We do not give importance to the Saudi role,” he said to the conference.
November 4th, 2013, 10:05 pm
zoo said:
Ghufran
“I have always believed that rebels are being used and abused”
They have only themselves to blame. They listened to the wrong people, made the wrong choice, got the wrong leaders, trusted the wrong countries and reached a dead end.
They childishly snubbed Russia when Russia was asking them to come to Moscow to discuss their demands. Russia was the only country that could have helped a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Instead they prefered to listen to arrogant and egotist war mongers like Erdogan, Sarkozy, Hollande, HBJ, Bandar Ben Sultan and others.
Now they cry that they have been let down…
November 4th, 2013, 10:13 pm
Akbar Palace said:
Imploding the Myth of Israel
Ziad,
Please don’t concern yourself about the Zionist Myth. Israel doesn’t exist except in fables and comic books.
All the weapons depots being bombed in Syria including North Korean-built nuclear reactors is clearly the result of the Guided Princes of the KSA.
November 4th, 2013, 10:21 pm
ALAN said:
Ziad
Turkish patrol seizes over a ton of chemicals from smugglers at Syria border
http://rt.com/news/turkey-syria-chemicals-seized-207/
November 5th, 2013, 4:54 am
zoo said:
Syrian government forces advance against rebels
http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-syrian-forces-president-bashar-assad-20131104,0,1100071.story#axzz2jlR6wMXm
November 4, 2013, 7:16 p.m.
Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar Assad have made significant advances in recent weeks, as the opposition continues to fragment and finds itself increasingly on the defensive, according to activists and government officials.
November 5th, 2013, 5:06 am
zoo said:
Are Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iran invited to attend the UN sponsored Geneva II preparatory meeting?
Syria crisis: Diplomats meet over peace talks delay
Talks have begun in Switzerland between UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and US and Russian diplomats to try to pave the way for a Syria peace summit.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24818079
Dozens of senior diplomats are gathered in Geneva – the US under-secretary of state, and Russia’s deputy foreign minister, who will be joined by the other permanent members of the security council: the UK, France and China, as well as Syria’s neighbours, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey, reports the BBC’s Imogen Foulkes who is at the talks.
Only Syria’s government and opposition groups can reach a peace deal and make it stick – but they are not in Geneva, and they continue to disagree, our correspondent says.
The Syrian government expects to take part in eventual negotiations, while the opposition says Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should step down first.
November 5th, 2013, 6:04 am
zoo said:
Why Riyadh must manage its paranoia
By Ahmed E Souaiaia
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-02-051113.html
….
Third, the Saudi rulers refused to meet with the UN special envoy to Syria and declared their intention to sabotage the Geneva-2 talks, or at least delay them for one year as they pump more destructive money and weapons into Syria.
These developments indicate that the Saudi ruling family will now openly use terror to achieve its goal of regime change in Syria. But if they do so, the squeaky clean image they cultivated for seven decades will lead to unmasking the true face of the kingdom’s rulers.
The ruling family of the kingdom ought to know that if they oppose Geneva-2 and continue to send weapons and fighters into Syria, their country will become a pariah. If the Syrians convene in Geneva and reach a tentative agreement on a road map for a political solution, such a road map will likely include a call to fight terror groups and cut off their support. Russia and the US are likely to formalize such an agreement through the UNSC. This process will then lead to criminalizing any form of support to groups involved in terrorist activities, which will undercut Saudi influence.
It is not in the interest of Saudi Arabia to oppose a political solution and bet on armed groups. There is some indication that the same groups on which the kingdom relies are also ideologically and dogmatically opposed to the form of governance practiced in Saudi Arabia. It is only a matter of time before the kingdom faces the threat of terrorism it exports to Syria, Iraq, Libya, and other countries around the world at home.
November 5th, 2013, 6:11 am
ziad said:
Mortar strikes Vatican embassy in Damascus
A mortar round hit the Vatican embassy in Damascus on Tuesday morning, damaging the building but causing no casualties, a diplomat told AFP.
“A mortar round fell this morning at 6:30 am (0430 GMT) on the embassy rooftop, causing only material damage,” said Giorgio Ghezza, counselor at the papal nunciature.
Rebel-fired mortar rounds have frequently hit areas of central Damascus.
AFP
November 5th, 2013, 12:37 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
The slogan of Death to America lives on in the terrorist entity of the Iranian mullocracy 30 years after it was inaugurated by the so-called terrorist followers of terrorist Khomeini following the seizure of the American embassy.
Now, 30 years later, following instructions from terrorist Khameini, Iranian terrorists commemorated the occasion of the creation of the ‘celebrated’ slogan by holding a party in the same compound where the US embassy used to be. A new revised slogan was chanted all night long to the full satisfaction of the terrorist establishment in which Iranian terrorists chanted the new slogan all night long.
The world must be grateful for His Majesty, the Guided King of the Guided Kingdom for the efforts he exerts in combatting this scourge of Shiite terrorism. May the Guided King be protected and given long long life in order to accomplish his sacred mission.
November 5th, 2013, 2:39 pm
ALAN said:
1551 Ziad
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BYThmG9CEAE8Tv4.jpg:large
November 5th, 2013, 4:14 pm
ALAN said:
???? ???? ?? ?? ?? ????????? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ?? ???????? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ???????? ?? ???? ???????? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ???????? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????
http://youtu.be/KVb9Dbgx500?t=1s
November 5th, 2013, 4:25 pm
ALAN said:
With political will, Syrian crisis over in 2 weeks
http://rt.com/news/assad-aid-syria-exclusive-251/
November 5th, 2013, 4:43 pm
zoo said:
The FSA obeys Turkey and KSA, they now kill secular Kurds
Free Syrian Army kills 30 Kurdish fighters
06/11/2013
DAMASCUS, Nov 5 (KUNA) — The opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA) killed Tuesday 30 of the Kurdistan Workers Party fighters (PKK) in northern Syria.
In a press statement, the Syrian Revolution General Commission (SRGC) said the PKK fighters were killed in heavy clashes with the FSA fighters in the town of Tal Abyad in northeastern Ar-Raqqah Governorate.
In a different front, the regime forces killed 16 FSA fighters in the town Maheen in Homs countryside, the statement added.
The intense fighting between regime and FSA forces in Maleha town in Damascus countryside left dozens injured of both sides.
The SRGC noted that heavy clashes and shelling between regime and FSA forces continues unabated in several suburbs of the strategic Aleppo Governorate as the government forces try to break in the opposition-held areas.
November 5th, 2013, 4:51 pm
zoo said:
The secular Syrian Kurds know that their enemies are the Islamists funded by Saudis and Kuwaitis and helped by Turkey
Syria Kurds oust jihadists from Turkey border area
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/syria-kurds-oust-jihadists-turkey-border-area-200710136.html#fzL2d1M
Kurdish militia in northern Syria have expelled Al-Qaeda-linked fighters from the majority Kurdish area of Ras al-Ain on the Turkish border, a monitoring group said on Tuesday.
“The Committees for the Protection of the Kurds (YPG) have taken over the Manajeer area, scene of battles with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Al-Nusra Front and other rebel groups,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The capture of Manajeer left the whole of the area around the strategic border town of Ras al-Ain in Kurdish control, the group said.
The advance came a day after reports that Kurdish fighters had driven jihadists out of 19 towns and villages across northeastern Syria, and a week after they captured the key Iraqi border crossing at Yaarubiyeh.
The jihadists “have now lost their last remaining positions in the countryside of Ras al-Ain,” the Observatory said.
The Al-Qaeda loyalists withdrew to the city of Raqa in the Euphrates valley to the southwest, the only provincial capital outside government control, and now dominated by ISIL.
November 5th, 2013, 4:55 pm
ALAN said:
Kerry Returns to Hold Saudi Hands
http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/peace-and-prosperity/2013/november/04/kerry-returns-to-hold-saudi-hands.aspx
Saudi Arabia’s recent North Korea-like cry for US attention — announcing it was downgrading ties with its most important ally — was all just drama for the camera. US Secretary of State John Kerry answered the plea of a weepy ally and again rushed to the Middle East to hold hands with his Saudi counterpart, Saud al Faisal. The ties have been mended, it seems, all is forgiven.
The Saudis were miffed that the hundreds of millions of dollars they spent to overthrow Syrian president Assad have not done the trick, and that in light of their failure the US had not taken up their fight in a more assertive manner. A last minute US pull-back from war, brokered by the Russians, left the Saudis without any muscle to back up their money.
But the seeming early success of US talks with Iran was the last straw……..
November 5th, 2013, 4:58 pm
zoo said:
The opposition continues to bear the full responsibility of the continuation of the war, the death and destruction
Syria Rebels Thwart Plan for November Talks, Brahimi Says
By Sangwon Yoon – Nov 5, 2013 2:15 PM ET
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-05/syria-rebels-thwart-plan-for-november-talks-brahimi-says.html
The goal of convening a Syrian peace conference this month was thwarted by opposition groups that aren’t ready to negotiate a political solution to the country’s civil war, UN special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said today.
November 5th, 2013, 5:02 pm
Tara said:
I thought Qatar was flirting with the regime?
???? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ??????
???? ??? ????? “?????” ?????? ???? ?????
????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?? ??? ?? ???? ????? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ??????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???? ‘?? ??? ????? ????? ?? ?????????’ ????? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ??????? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????????.
???? ????? ???? -?? ???? ?????? ???? ??????? ???? ???????? ?????? ???42 ????? ??????- ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ??? ????? ‘????? ?? ?????????’ ???? ???? ??????? ?? ????? (????) ?? ???? ????? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ‘???????? ?????????’ ?? ??????? ???????.
????? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ?? ???? ????? ???????? ?? ??? ??? ??????? ?????????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ‘?? ????? ?? ????????? ?? ????’.
?????? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ????? ??? ????????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ????? ???????? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ?? ????? ??? ????? ????2 ?????? ???? ????? ????? ??????.
November 5th, 2013, 5:03 pm
zoo said:
Dead Jihadists smile
Islamist rebels in Syria use faces of the dead to lure the living
By Joby Warrick, Published: November 4 E-mail the writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/islamist-rebels-in-syria-use-faces-of-the-dead-to-lure-the-living/2013/11/04/10d03480-433d-11e3-8b74-d89d714ca4dd_story.html
In his death portrait, the young rebel’s bearded face is fixed with a broad, unearthly grin. The Saudi man had been killed in fighting, and his corpse, with its beatific smile, was photographed and displayed in a Twitter posting inviting others to celebrate his martyrdom.
“He always used to say: ‘Those martyrs smile. What is it they see?’ ” a former comrade wrote in a tribute to the fighter, identified as Abu Hamad al-Saya’ri. In another post, an admirer mused about the good fortune of the fallen and speculated on what the dead must be saying: “Congrats to me, congrats to me, I became a martyr.”
The Saudi fighter is one of hundreds of Islamist veterans of the Syrian conflict whose deaths are heralded in Web postings, many of which feature bloody — and, occasionally, smiling — portraits of the newly deceased.
November 5th, 2013, 5:06 pm
Tara said:
Batta and his supporters surrendered the deterrence weapon and they called it a victory, they lost 60% of the country and it became a double victory. The prince of Qatar lashes out and disparages the regime and they call it “flirting”. Turkey proclaims Batta a monstrous killer and they call it a u-turn.
What constitute “loving ” Batta in their mind?
I am thinking to run a course addressed mostly to loyalists: Recognize Flirting ( or the lack of it) For Dummies. Seating is limited. Reserve your spot now.
November 5th, 2013, 5:26 pm
ALAN said:
????? ????? ???????? ??????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ???? ???????? ??????? ???????? ?? ????? ???? ???????? ?????? ??? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ??? ???????? 30 ??????/????? ????? ?? ???????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? “????-2”. ???? ?? ???? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ??? “??????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ???? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ?? 30 ?????/?????? ??? 2012 ??? ???? ????? “????-2”. ????? ?????? ??? ???? ????????? ??? ???????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ???????? ??? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ??????. ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ??????? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ?????. ???????? ???????: ????? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ???????? ???????? ????? ???????? ???? ????? ???????? ??????? ???????. ???? ???????? ??? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????? ?????????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ?? ???????? ???????? ??????????? ????????? ????????????? ???????? ??? ???? ??????. ???? ???? ?????? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ??????????? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ??????? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ???????? ??????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ???????. ??? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ?? ??? ????? ???? ???????? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ???? ??????.
http://arabic.rt.com/news/632092/ :????? ?????
November 5th, 2013, 5:51 pm
Rancher said:
Assad isn’t going away and Saudi Arabia isn’t either. Unless one or the other gives up this will continue forever. Fortunately, or unfortunately, America has given up on the Middle East. Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt, and even Turkey are fails. We are no longer willing to invest blood and treasure when the end result is Muslims killing Muslims, no Democracy, no freedom, no rights. Now that fracking has insured our energy self reliance we don’t even have to worry about Middle East oil. From now on it will be Russia’s and China’s problem. Good luck.
November 5th, 2013, 6:19 pm
ziad said:
?? ??? ??????? ??????? …. ???? ???? ????? ????? ???? ??? ??? ????? ????? :
???? ???? .. ??? ?????
?????? ??? ??????
?????????? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ??????????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ????????? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ??????. ??? ?? ????? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ???? “????” ?”?????”? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??? ???????? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ??????????? ?????????. ???????? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ??????????? ?????? ????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???. ???????? ?? ??? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??? ?? ??? ???? (?) ??????? “?? ???????? ???? ???? ???? ???????? ???” ??? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ??? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???????? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ????? ????? ???????? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ???????? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ???? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ?????????? ??? ????? ??????? ?????? ???????.
???????? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ???????? ????????? ?? ????? ??????? ???????? ?? “????? ??????? ??????????”[i] ????? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???????? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ????????? ?? ??? ?? 30 ?????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ????? ???? ??????? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ??? ?????. ???????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ????????: ???? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ???????? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ??????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ??????. ??? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ???????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ?????? ????????? ?? ??????? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ????? ???? ????????? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ??????? ????? ???? ????? ?????.
???? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ???????? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ???????? ????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ???????? ??? ????? ??????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ????? ???? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ????????? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ??????????? ???????? ?? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?????????? ???????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ????????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ???????? ????????? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ???????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ???????? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ???????? ??????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???? ????? ???? ??? ????? ???????? ?????? ????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ??????????? ???????? ??? ?? ??? ????????? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ????????? ??????? ????? ????? ???????? ????????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ???? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ???????? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ??????.
???? ???? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ?????????? ???? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?? ??????? ???????? ????????? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ????????? ?? ?????? ?????? ????. ?? ???? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ???????? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ??????? ????? ??? ??????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ???? ??????. ??? ????? ?????? ????? ?????????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???????? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ???????? ????????? ?????????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ????? ??? ????? ????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???????? ?? ??????? ????? ???????? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ??? ???? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ?? ????????? ???????? ????!
???? ??? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ????????? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ????????? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ???????? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?? ???? ????????? ???????? ?????????? ?????? ???? ?????? ??????? ??????????? ????????? ??? ?????? ??????? ????? ????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ????? ????? ?????? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? ???????? ???????????? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ?? ???????? ?? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????????? ?? ???????.
http://www.syriasteps.com/?d=207&id=112049
November 5th, 2013, 6:23 pm
zoo said:
Qatar makes a theatrical gesture to tell the UN not to ignore how ‘powerful’ a nuisance they can be.
Qatar is showing jealousy over USA’s wooing and glorification of the “Guided and demented Kingdom” that Kerry qualified as the only powerful leader of the Arab World.
It is also furious at the humiliation of their “MB man” in Egypt, Morsy and at the USA implicitly condoning the military coup d’etat.
Qatar feels ignored by the USA, Russia, the Arabs and the international community.
After having been silent for two months, Qatar wants to show it has the power to derail the Geneva conference in a theatrical way similar to KSA rejecting the UNSC seat. It comes up again in support of the coalition’s pre-conditions that the Saudis have tried to lure away from Turkey and Qatar.
Kerry needs to make a short trip to re-assure Lilliput Qatar of its “importance”…
‘Unconditional’ Syria talks flayed by Doha
http://www.arabnews.com/news/473161
November 5th, 2013, 6:28 pm
ziad said:
Regional War Scenario. NATO-US-Turkey War Games Off the Syrian Coastline
According to Turkish press reports, Turkey’s High Command will be hosting NATO’S Invitex military exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean in a clear act of provocation directed against Syria.
The Invitex-Eastern Mediterranean war games are scheduled from November 4 to 14.
Deafening silence. Not a single Western media has reported on these war games.
The official release by the TKS High Command suggests a war games scenario involving a regional war, under the assumption that the ongoing US-NATO-Israeli covert war on Syria could lead to military escalation. The countries considered to be a threat to Turkey and NATO are not mentioned.
According to the press dispatch of the Turkish Armed forces, various types of naval operations are envisaged. While the word “war” is not mentioned, the stated objective consists in the “handling of a regional crisis”, presumably through military rather than diplomatic means.
The focus is intended “to enhance co-operation and mutual training between participant countries.” Reading between the lines this suggests enhanced military coordination directed against potential enemy countries in the Middle East including Syria and Iran.
“NATO, the U.S. Navy and the Turkish Navy-Air Force-Coast Guard platforms will participate in the exercise, a statement from Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) said Nov. 4.”(Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey)
A significant deployment of both naval and air power is envisaged. According to the TKS communique, the participant units are:
NATO SNMG-2 (three frigates), U.S. Navy (one frigate), Turkish Navy (three frigates, two corvettes, four fast attack boats, three submarines, two oilers, two patrol boats, one landing ship, one tug boat, one maritime patrol aircraft, five helicopters, one amphibious team, one Naval WMD Destroy Team, (Multi National Maritime Security Center of Excellence), Turkish Coast Guard (three Coast Guard Boats) and Turkish Air Force aircrafts. (Ibid)
Frigates are used for amphibious operations and the landing of ground forces. To be noted, the war games include seven frigates, not to mention one landing ship, and an amphibious team.
SNMG 2 refers to Standing NATO Maritime Group 2, NATO standing maritime Immediate Reaction Forces. SNMG 2 is “a multinational, integrated maritime force – made up of vessels from various allied nations, training and operating together as a single team”.The NATO member states involved in the war games was not disclosed.
Of significance, these war games overlap with bilateral military exercises between Turkey and Jordan which include the participation of special forces from both countries.
http://www.syriasolidaritymovement.org/2013/11/05/regional-war-scenario-nato-us-turkey-war-games-off-the-syrian-coastline/
November 5th, 2013, 6:33 pm
omen said:
where is Alden de she?
he could be…um…unstable at times but he was good at calling out interests during his moments of clarity. plus, i liked his history lessons. does he only show up during the summer?
p.s. wow, is he so banned that one can’t even mention his name?
(second attempt to post.)
November 5th, 2013, 6:44 pm
ziad said:
John Kerry Is a Terrible Secretary of State
The United States’ top diplomat is a figure of his times (and that’s not a good thing.)
… in the Middle East
If any area of the world lacks a single bright spot for the U.S., it’s the Middle East. The problems, of course, extend back many years and many administrations. Kerry is a relative newcomer. Still, he’s made seven of his 15 overseas trips there, with zero signs of progress on the American agenda in the region, and much that has only worsened.
The sole pluses came from diplomatic activity initiated by powers not exactly considered Washington’s closest buddies: Russian President Putin’s moves in relation to Syria (on which more later) and new Iranian President Rouhani’s “charm offensive” in New York, which seems to have altered for the better the relationship between the two countries. In fact, both Putin’s and Rouhani’s moves are classic, well-played diplomacy, and only serve to highlight the amateurish quality of Kerry’s performance. On the other hand, the Obama administration’s major Middle East commitment—to peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians—seems destined for a graveyard already piled high with past versions of the same.
Meanwhile, whatever spark remained of the Arab Spring in Egypt was snuffed out by a military coup, while the U.S. lamely took forever just to begin to cut off some symbolic military aid to the new government. American credibility in the region suffered further damage after State, in a seeming panic, closed embassies across the Middle East in response to a reputed major terror threat that failed to materialize anywhere but inside Washington’s Beltway.
Prince Bandar bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia was once nicknamed “Bandar Bush” for his strong support of the U.S. during the 1991 Desert Storm campaign and the Bush dynasty. He recently told European diplomats, however, that the Kingdom will launch a “major shift” in relations with the United States to protest Washington’s perceived inaction over the Syria war and its overtures to Iran. The Saudis were once considered, next to Israel, America’s strongest ally in the region. Kerry’s response? Fly to Paris for some “urgent talks.”
Meanwhile, the secretary of state has made no effort to draw down his fortress embassy in Baghdad, despite its “world’s largest” personnel count in a country where an American invasion and nine-year occupation resulted in a pro-Iranian government. Memories in the region aren’t as short as at the State Department, however, and Iraqis are unlikely to forget that sanctions, the US invasion, and its aftermath resulted in the deaths of an estimated 4 percent of their country’s population. Kerry would be quick to condemn such a figure as genocidal had the Iranians or North Koreans been involved, but he remains silent now.
State doesn’t include Turkey in Kerry’s impressive Middle Eastern trip count, though he’s traveled there three times, with (again) little to show for his efforts. That NATO ally, which refused to help the Bush administration with itsinvasion of Iraq, continues to fight a border war with Iraqi Kurds. (Both sides do utilize mainly American-made weapons.) The Turks are active in Syria as well, supporting the rebels, fearing the Islamic extremists, lobbing mortar shells across the border, and suffering under the weight of that devastated country’s refugees. Meanwhile—a small regional disaster from a U.S. perspective—Turkish-Israeli relations, once close, continue to slide. Recently, the Turks even outed a Mossad spy ring to the Iranians, and no one, Israelis, Turks, or otherwise, seems to be listening to Washington.
http://www.thenation.com/article/176979/john-kerry-terrible-secretary-state
November 5th, 2013, 6:50 pm
ziad said:
..
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November 5th, 2013, 6:58 pm
omen said:
huge lie media is peddling to rationalize the west ignoring genocide.
fracking wont cause us to be independent of middle eastern oil.
Shale-Oil Boom May Not Last as Fracking Wells Lack Staying Power
saudi reserves are on the decline. west will be forced to shift alliances towards iran.
Russia’s and China’s problem.
what would the world look like if russia & china have a monopoly on energy?
November 5th, 2013, 7:02 pm
omen said:
1564. Rancher
obama’s refusal to hold assad accountable is an appeasement of iran.
November 5th, 2013, 7:17 pm
zoo said:
Finally! If the crumbling Coalition doesn’t decide to go to Geneva without pre-conditions, they risk to be sidelined. It is not Lilliputian Qatar that will stop Russia and the USA.
After 2.5 years of failures, they should have learned
Russia set to meet with Syrian opposition
By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, November 5, 2013 18:45 EST
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/05/russia-set-to-meet-with-syrian-opposition/
Russian representatives and members of the Syrian opposition are set to meet in Geneva Wednesday, Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told Russian media.
“We will hold a whole series of contacts with the Syrian opposition,” he was quoted as saying late Tuesday by the Interfax news agency.
“A large number of its representatives came here specifically to meet a delegation of Russians,” he said, adding that the discussions would circle around preparations for a hoped-for peace conference for war-ravaged Syria.
Gatilov, whose country has long been one of the Syrian regime’s starkest allies, did not say who the Russian diplomats would meet nor which opposition groups they represented.
November 5th, 2013, 7:27 pm
zoo said:
@1569 Ziad
Nobody can beat Hillary Clinton in stupidity and diplomatic failures.
November 5th, 2013, 7:28 pm
zoo said:
Egypt to Qatar: If only we could send your Moslem Brotherhood criminal friends in exile to your country!
Egypt Central Bank returns $500 mln deposit to Qatar
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/85723/Business/Economy/Egypt-Central-Bank-returns–mln-deposit-to-Qatar-.aspx
Egypt returns half a billion dollars to Qatar from the Central Bank, more to be returned in December
Reuters, Tuesday 5 Nov 2013
November 5th, 2013, 7:34 pm
omen said:
when did hillary become president?
November 5th, 2013, 7:35 pm
Tara said:
I call on our friend Qatar and its prince to follow his beloved and “guided” father and cousin’ suit and use the money returned by Egypt to arm the FSA to dislodge Baata.
November 5th, 2013, 7:48 pm
omen said:
1574. zoo
i, too, share disdain for the clintons but yours doesn’t make sense. hillary’s policies – seeing how you want to give her credit for them – spared assad from being held accountable. you should be kissing her a** out of gratitude.
why not just admit you dislike women in power? yet you rail against saudi restrictions against women.
November 5th, 2013, 7:59 pm
omen said:
had to google to double check. yup. qatar, like ksa, has an air force. yet neither are being deployed to take out the inner circle.
if we had an ethical press, media would demand to know why friends of syria are continuing to tolerate the regime.
November 5th, 2013, 8:15 pm
Tara said:
Omen,
Directly involving in the fight against the regime using their own military equipments and personnel outside a national coalition is too risky and unstabilizing for Qatar and KSA and not expected. Remember Iran lurking in the background conspiring over the last 1400 years to reclaim its pride that was lost being conquered by the Arabs, and its culture, language, alphabet, dress code, and..and..and.. Submitting itself to the Arab Islamic culture. Iran will be happy to unleash its terrorist guards in the KSA and in Qatar to un stabilize the GCC.
November 5th, 2013, 8:28 pm
Ghufran said:
CNN has an exclusive report from Raqqa, here is a piece:
It is extraordinarily dangerous to film inside Raqqa. Activists have been beaten and jailed by ISIS for doing so. But CNN has gathered rare video from some activists and from ISIS’s own websites that paint a chilling picture of the rapid lurch towards radical Islamist ideology in a city now under ISIS control.
Dozens of interviews with activists and Syrians have also detailed the story of a city where women — along with the previously liberal lifestyle of an entire town — are being rapidly suppressed by militants bent on establishing an Islamic caliphate across northern Syria.
One female activist said: “They are closing hair salons, women can’t go out at certain times. They spat on one girl for disobedience. It’s like Afghanistan. Now people call Raqqa Tora Bora.” The speed of change has overwhelmed many who notice that the city is becoming quieter and more conservative each week.
Rebels who opposed ISIS were at first jailed, sparking protests. Yet ISIS became increasingly uncompromising in their grip on the town. Rules for social conduct in Raqqa, some written and some not, have emerged in the past few weeks. They have yet to reach the extent of those seen in the nearby town of Jarablus — where one poster recently warned thieves would have their hand chopped off — but locals fear that could come soon.
Anti-ISIS dissent has been silenced in Raqqa, and many activists and locals we spoke to have fled the town. Some stay and spray-paint graffiti declaring that ISIS and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are the same, or telling ISIS to get out.
Locals note the irony in the fact that ISIS beats them for this graffiti, just in the same way that the Assad regime was accused of torturing young people for anti-government graffiti in the southern town of Daraa — an incident that began the revolution in March 2011. For many, ISIS is now something worse than the regime.
( keep in mind that Islamist thugs are financed by individuals ( from all over the world) and semi official groups in the GCC. Those thugs were also supported by Turkey and many in the FSA and the SNC. Complaining about those thugs now is too little too late)
November 5th, 2013, 8:38 pm
Ghufran said:
The kingdom of sandy Arabia media whorehouse, alarabiya , is now attacking Erdogang:
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???? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ???????? ????? ???? ?????? ??????, ??”???????.??” ?? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????? 30 ????? “????” ??? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? ????? ????????? ??????? ???? ??????? ????? ??? ???????, ??????? ????? ???????.
?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? “????????” ???? ????? ?????, ???? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ????????.
????? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ???????? ????? ????? ??? ??????? ?????? ????? ??????? ???????? ??? ??? ????.
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???? ?????? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ??? ???? “?????”, ?? ??? ???? ??????? ??????? ??? ????.
November 5th, 2013, 8:52 pm
omen said:
1580. Tara, perhaps. i am of the opinion that a bully doesn’t back off until he gets a punch in the face.
as we all know, because of sanctions, iran is very weakened right now. it could not stand up against a nato level strike against syria regime. it is not strong enough to wage an outright war.
let’s say qatar waged a pinprick strike that took out the inner circle and iran retaliated with terrorist attacks against qatar. isn’t saving 20 million syrians worth a few car bombs in retaliation? qatar intelligence probably already knows who to round up.
the reason i raised qatar in the first place was because scanning through my bookmarks, stumbled across a story from last year that noted a qatari owned bank was caught helping assad regime skirt sanctions.
even turkey has helped iran skirt sanctions by continuing to do trade and supplying payments in gold.
i’m sure even more underhanded betrayals are happening in the shadows that haven’t been yet caught in the spotlight.
i fear despite all of the rhetoric, there is not one country claiming concern who isn’t being hypocritical about syria.
listening to aljazeera inside story, ali al ahmed (institute for gulf affairs) noted the saudis are doing very little to help syrian refugees. they aren’t allowing them to migrate into the country. the US is also making it difficult for refugees to obtain visas even if they have american relatives willing to host them.
more can be done that isn’t being done. qatar, ksa, turkey are pulling their punches. the three countries need to disregard american obstructionism and attempts to undermine the opposition. they either join forces now to put an end to assad – who is destabilizing the region – or face the threat of nuclear-armed iranian domination in the future.
israel has done more to weaken regime defenses. doesn’t that put muslims to shame?
November 5th, 2013, 9:42 pm
Tara said:
Omen,
You are right but I am sure the KSA and Qatar have many more calculations in their decision making than what is apparent to us.
In any case, and although I disdain playing a victim, we Syrians, having lived under the most brutal oppressive secret service regime on the face of the earth, are grateful until “intoxication” not when your *neighbor*or * friend* helps you but when he/she does not hurt you as the regime turned everyone spying on everyone.
Having had that background, it is the norm for me (being born and raised in Syria) to have no expectation of the others. It is the norm for us that no one is lifting a finger in regard to our genocide. Our expectation is (sadly) very very low.
November 5th, 2013, 10:09 pm
omen said:
1537. PenGun said: You have been abandoned. He tweets constantly, never shuts up, but here we are trying for a record of ‘no posts’ I guess.
??
who are you and why are you so needy?
tons of resources to delve into. i can’t even keep up with source material posted on the comment threads.
November 5th, 2013, 10:48 pm
omen said:
i didnt know saudis had a hand in the development. this suggests ksa could quickly implement their own nuclear arsenal with the help of pakistan if needed.
November 5th, 2013, 10:56 pm
omen said:
such an odd story. wish i knew of an analyst who could make sense of this.
why would the US (via washinton post, an organ accused of neocon tendencies and of being loyal to israel) come to the defense of iran by outing an israeli spy operation?
or was the spying intentionally outed in order to throw iranian program into disarray by sowing distrust and suspicion? (one hopes assets were pulled out before blowing the whistle.)
did turkey play pretend victim in going along with a pre-scripted kabuki theater?
November 5th, 2013, 11:15 pm
omen said:
i hate to get my hopes up but could turkey be prepping to launch air strikes?
November 6th, 2013, 12:09 am
omen said:
yet another unexpected collaboration.
you know the saudis are angry when they resort to reaching out to israelis:
November 6th, 2013, 12:15 am
ALAN said:
1588. omen
your hopes are chronic case of delirium!chatter!playing on the evil ropes !Your wish refunded to you!
Aaron Klein – the author of the article!Infected delirious time ago!
November 6th, 2013, 12:58 am
omen said:
1587. oops i got the order wrong. the US accused turkey of revealing to iran that mossad has spies working in its midst.
is the accusation true?
a former cia officer said he doesn’t believe israel would allow turkey to know of their operations. he called it “sloppy trade craft.”
how does it benefit turkey to let iran know about spies?
November 6th, 2013, 1:09 am
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
A major and decisive victory againt the evil forces of Serpent head has just been scored by the heroic fighters of the glorious Syrian revolution in the Homs area. The results of this victory will be far reaching throughout Syria from Damascus all the way to the Syrian coast which will soon be liberated and made free of evil thugs.
On the other hand, the Guided Kingdom under the superb Guidance of the Guided King scored a major victory on the world scene today. The Guided Kingdom now ranks number 33 out of 139 in the world in terms of Technological Advancement, Research and Development. It ranked first in the Arab World scoring 45% of all patents and innovations registered worldwide by Arab countries.
Syrians are eagerly waiting to emulate the Guided Kingdom under the Guidance of His Majesty the Guided King after getting rid of the hated, dejected and rejected Serpent head of Ass-head.
November 6th, 2013, 1:15 am
omen said:
thanks for your support, alan, who i have always treated with courtesy.
November 6th, 2013, 1:17 am
omen said:
thanks for not selectively editing out the part about isis = regime. as tara points out, raqqa was too easily given up by the regime to be coincidental. tribal leaders formerly loyal to the regime now pledging loyalty to isis is also indicative. isis are also targeting rebel commanders and jailing rebel fighters. that’s a lot of arrows pointing to isis = regime.
who benefits from foreign islamists turning tyrannical? when homegrown syrians are known to be moderate muslims?
when assad sets up a premise saying the choice is between me or alqaeda – you know the premise is false to start with.
with assad history of collaborating with alqaeda, why deny collusion? there is even a wikileaks memo acknowledges regime tactic of infiltrating islamists groups with the aim of manipulating them.
separating from isis as a topic for the moment, let’s consider the question of unaffiliated jihadists showing up in syria. reporter jenan moussa points out a lot of them have european passports who were never stopped at the border from traveling from europe to syria. yet it’s syrians who get blamed for their arrival.
financing is an interesting question. during the senate hearing, amb. ford said funding is coming from gulf states and from europe. nobody asked if iran is funding jihadists.
somebody else pointed out a nuance i hadn’t know. kuwait (another source of jihadist funding) has substantial iranian involvement. looking into it i found iran & kuwait share joint ownership over oil reserves and the country has a substantial shia population.
finding that out made me wonder; is iran funding extremists not only to secure syria but to give sunnis a bad name?
November 6th, 2013, 2:04 am
ALAN said:
Young people, migrants, unemployment, women’s issues, poverty, the gap between the rich and the poor, archaic governance system are not the only problems in Saudi society, rapidly grow in gin numbers, due to the Islamic refusal from introducing restrictions on fertility. There are Shiites from the Eastern Province, who are not allowed in to the public service, there is a historic confrontation between the conservative Najd and freedom-loving Hijaz, Yemeni Highlanders in the South, and the northern tribes, attracted to Jordan, and further a field, to historic Palestine.
And the response to these challenges cannot be found. Or rather, the recipes found bya wise monarch and reformer King Abdullah no longer work. He was betting on a slow but steady modernization measures, the gradual expansion of women’s rights, the development of industry and infrastructure. However, everything has its limit, and now the limit has been reached. Society is demanding more and the need for radical breaking of the old foundations is needed. Otherwise, there will be an explosion.
However, radical reforms are strongly opposed by Wahhabi clerics, having great power in society and in the country. This power derives from the covenant of King Abdulaziz, the founder, who concluded a “lifetime contract” with them, as the Wahhabis initially supported his project of consolidation of the Arabian Peninsula lands into a single state. A violation of this covenant, taking into account the weight of the religious factor, will lead to the collapse of the country. The authorities know this, and have actually winded down the major reforms, in order to please the religious circles.
Moreover, the overgrown Saudi ruling family itself, being faced with serious problems, is looking for support from Allah, appealing to loyalty to the Quran and the Sunnah, strongly emphasizing that Sharia will solve the country’s problems. The fact that the issue of human rights (and others) is intended to be solved in this way, is also evidenced by the government’s latest decision on October 28. Bright, but very religious speeches of the king, Crown Prince Salman(who reads them), governor of Mecca, Khaled al-Faisal looks like a confirmation of the course of “relying on the foundations”.
Let us recall that the slogan “Islamis the solution” was the slogan of the Egyptian “Muslim Brotherhood” who are so disliked here, and who came to power in Egypt in 2011 under this slogan. The result is well known. However, long ago it was said, that the lessons of history teach – that they teach nothing. It seems that weare dealing with such a case now.
November 6th, 2013, 5:05 am
ALAN said:
John Kerry is restoring relations!
Israeli consternation is Russia, hinting to the Israelis that there’s been enough nonsense already from Israel with its whimsical bombing at a stroke, as if they are yet to catch up with the fact that the law of diminishing returns applies to bombing for political outcomes also.
That is, everyone knows what those Israelies are trying to do; get al Assad to get outraged and retaliate against Israel, and then it’s on for Iran too. And so as more and more understand what the Israeli goal is, the more comical is Israeli political bombing – except for the disintegrated people on the ground and their shattered relatives.
Grow up Israel !!
You just don’t know how juvenile – how much a kid in short pants, you are ! Like a bunch of boys going almost delirious on thinking what crazy things they can do on finding war ordnance left by a hastily departing enemy.
By Kerry’s itinerary, neither he, nor Obama, with whom this itinerary was discussed, are going to respond with any alacrity to a retaliation by al Assad, were it to happen.
A lack of American alacrity will be the key to any Syrian or Iranian retaliation – should it happen, to any clearly Israeli provocation.
And guess what, let’s run the hypothetical a bit further, an American response against Syria, should it finally come, will be relatively tepid, signalling to all that America has no interest in a war against Iran. None.
November 6th, 2013, 5:16 am
ALAN said:
Syria and peace conference: Ending Gulf terrorist funding must be a prerequisite
http://moderntokyotimes.com/2013/11/06/syria-and-peace-conference-ending-gulf-terrorist-funding-must-be-a-prerequisite/
All the propaganda against Syria and the obvious fact is that all religious groups only feel secure where the armed forces of Syria are in full control. All sectarian and terrorist forces are being sponsored openly by Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other small feudal kingdoms in the Gulf. Meanwhile, America’s schizophrenic approach is baffling all and sundry and the United Kingdom now appears to be out of the game when it comes to open support – but ratlines still exist. France of course is seeking more petrodollars therefore this staunchly secular nation sold its soul under a socialist government because the new elites are having a love-in with feudal monarchs.
Endless talk of a peace conference appears hollow unless the main sponsors of sectarianism, terrorism and chaos are made to back down. Of course, in an ideal world then Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and others, would be held accountable for supporting terrorism and sectarianism openly. However, nobody expects equality in international law. Therefore, nations are being allowed to funnel military arms, terrorists, mercenaries, sectarians, al-Qaeda groups, covert operatives – and so forth – to Syria irrespective if openly through NATO Turkey or clandestinely…………….
November 6th, 2013, 5:40 am
zoo said:
Another coward achievement of the Saudi-backed opposition and its Al Qaeda allies in “toppling” Bashar al Assad. Syrians are refused peace until the Demented Kingdom and the Lilliputian Emirate get their personal revenge on the Syrian leader .
Bomb kills eight in central Damascus square
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/11/article55321523
Bomb attacks strike Syrian capital and Suweida, say state TV and activists
People gather around the scene of a bomb explosion in front of of Al-Hijaz train station in central Damascus November 6, 2013, in this handout picture released by Syria’s national news agency SANA. The bomb killed eight people and wounded others, state media said. (REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters)
People gather around the scene of a bomb explosion in front of of Al-Hijaz train station in central Damascus November 6, 2013, in this handout picture released by Syria’s national news agency SANA. The bomb killed eight people and wounded others, state media said. (REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters)
Beirut, Reuters—A bomb exploded in central Damascus on Wednesday, killing eight people and wounding 50, with women and children among the casualties, Syria’s state news agency SANA said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-opposition monitoring group, reported seven dead and at least 20 wounded in the attack. It cited conflicting reports from activists as to whether the explosion was caused by a bomb or a mortar shell.
SANA said some of the wounded were in critical condition after the blast hit Hejaz square in the heart of the Syrian capital. It blamed the attack on “terrorists”, the word state media often use for rebels fighting President Bashar Al-Assad.
November 6th, 2013, 9:14 am
zoo said:
Al Raqqa: A recommended Saudi-backed resort in Syria for the Sunni opposition supporters and families
Al Qaeda begin to establish Islamist rule in Syria, with residents of a once liberal town now forced to follow the orders of jihadists
– The ‘Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’ is torturing locals to impose their rule
– The extremist group has also banned women from seeing male doctors
– The town is being compared to Taliban-run communities in Afghanistan
Even filming street scenes can result in arrest and torture
…
In the Syrian town of Raqqa, Bashar al-Assad’s hated regime has been replaced by something many regard as being even worse – an al-Qaeda-linked group that is torturing people for writing graffiti and abolishing women’s rights.
Raqqa used to be one of the most liberal towns in Syria, but chillingly, the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is using violence to impose their rule on the locals and stamp out the freedoms rebels fought for.
One man showed a TV news channel how he was left with horrific bruises and burns after jihadists beat him and tortured him with an electrical current for spraying graffiti – something that the ousted Assad authorities used to do.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2488380/Al-Qaeda-begin-establish-Islamist-rule-Syria.html#ixzz2jsKyCJQX
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
November 6th, 2013, 9:24 am
zoo said:
Finally Jordan changes its mind and declares war on Syrian rebels
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Nov-06/236978-jordan-jails-jihadist-doctor-for-aiding-syria-rebels.ashx#axzz2jsG57mFe
Jordan jails jihadist, doctor for aiding Syria rebels
November 06, 2013 03:46 PM
AMMAN: A Jordanian court on Wednesday jailed a jihadist and a doctor for going to neighbouring Syria to support rebels fighting the regime in the war-torn country, a judicial official said.
“The state security court sentenced a jihadist to five years in prison for infiltrating Syria to fight with the rebels last spring,” the official told AFP.
The convict was charged with “carrying out acts that are not approved by the government and that would expose Jordan and its citizens to the risk of acts of aggression and revenge.”
“The doctor was sentenced to a year in jail for infiltrating Syria in 2011 to treat rebels,” the official added.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Nov-06/236978-jordan-jails-jihadist-doctor-for-aiding-syria-rebels.ashx#ixzz2jsMPzYqt
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
November 6th, 2013, 9:29 am
zoo said:
In Egypt the Moslem Brotherhood are declared outlaws. A slap to the face of Qatar and Turkey, their staunch suppporters
http://gulfnews.com/news/region/egypt/egypt-court-upholds-muslim-brotherhood-ban-1.1252155
Cairo: An Egyptian appeals court on Wednesday upheld a sweeping ban on the Muslim Brotherhood, in a sign of the interim government’s determination to keep heavy pressure on the Islamist movement.
The ban, ordered in September, outlaws all Brotherhood-linked groups and activities and paves the way for the seizure of the movement’s assets.
…
Turkey, which has an Islamist-leaning government, this week repeated its view that Mursi should be reinstated and challenged Egyptian authorities’ right to try him.
A similar statement came from an influential group of Muslim clerics, the International Union of Muslim Scholars. The union is led by an Egyptian cleric now based in Qatar, whose leaders have also been critical of Mursi’s ouster.
November 6th, 2013, 9:42 am
zoo said:
The emergence of an Egyptian SNC-like Moslem Brotherhood opposition with same supporters, Turkey and Qatar ?
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood finds havens abroad
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/egypts-muslim-brotherhood-finds-havens-abroad/2013/11/05/438f2dfe-463a-11e3-95a9-3f15b5618ba8_story.html
One of those friendly nations is Qatar, the tiny, oil-rich Persian Gulf state that helped bankroll rebels and Islamist democracy advocates throughout the Arab Spring and is now quietly absorbing the exiles that one country’s stumbling experiment in democracy has generated.
…
At the same time, an exile leadership is starting to take shape here among the shimmering high-rises of Doha. Several of the exiles are living temporarily in hotel suites paid for by Qatar’s state-run Arabic satellite network Al Jazeera — and it is in those suites and hotel lobbies that the future of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and, more broadly, the strategy and ideology of political Islam in the country may well be charted.
“We are not the kind to escape. We do not prefer exile. We have a task: to communicate the crisis and deliver the message to the world,” said Ehab Shiha, the chairman of the Egyptian Salafist al-Asala party, as he sat in a hotel lobby in Doha.
The exiles don’t have a command structure, Shiha said. But, he added, “there is some sort of coordination.”
The exiles have regular meetings. They call counterparts in Geneva and London. Shiha said the group even speaks regularly to Ayman Nour, a longtime liberal, who was jailed under former autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak and is now in Beirut.
“Right now, we are not in a political phase — we’re in a state of revolution,” he said. “In a revolution, we don’t talk about parties. We talk only about revolution against an unjust regime, and we talk about sharing in our efforts.”
A high-ranking Egyptian Foreign Ministry official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that the “international Muslim Brotherhood” has held more than half a dozen meetings in Doha and a handful more in Turkey and Pakistan since the coup, and that foreign funding is now propping the group up at home.
November 6th, 2013, 9:55 am
Uzair8 said:
‘Whilst on a recent trip to Jordan, His Eminence Sheikh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi, patron of SKT Welfare, visited victims of the Syrian conflict at Akilah hospital in Amman.
As well as comforting the patients there,Sheikh Muhammad prayed for their well-being and recovery.’
[…]
***********
[From Youtube info]
[…]
It is one of three hospitals in Jordan that are almost entirely managed by Syrian doctors, who themselves also have refugee status. The hospital has a five-bed ICU unit, six primary care clinics, and one-hundred in-patient beds. Various humanitarian organisations fund the hospital. At the current time, many of the patients are victims of the conflict in Syria.
[…]
November 6th, 2013, 10:52 am
ziad said:
… ?????? …
????? ?? ???? ??? ???????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ???????:
1-?? ?? ????? ????????? ??????
2- ???? ????? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ??????? ????????
3- ?? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ????? ???? ??? ????? ????????? ???????
4- ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ? ??? ???
5- ?? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ???????? ???? ??? .. ??? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? .. ????? ???????
???? ??????
November 6th, 2013, 11:01 am
Sami said:
“????? ?? ???? ??? ???????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ???????”
Well it was always evident the Assad’s and their ilk would find Bibi as the perfect negotiating partner.
The Assad’s have been doing the Zionist bidding for 50 years. From selling out the Jolan to destroying Syria. Nobody was able to destroy the very fabric of Syria better than the ugly monstrosity known as Thouria AlAthatd.
If Zionists canonized people I think they would’ve canonized Besho as their Patron Saint of Asshatery, AKA Schmuck!
November 6th, 2013, 11:16 am
ziad said:
Damascus hit by deadly blast
At least seven people have been killed by an explosion in the centre of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
The Sana state news agency put the number of dead at eight, and said 50 had been injured by the blast in Hijaz square. An activist group said 20 people were hurt.
Eight people were also killed by a rare blast in the city of Suweidah, home to Syria’s Druze minority, say reports.
Suweidah is under government control and has been largely free of violence.
Wednesday’s blast went off outside the headquarters of the Air Force Intelligence, the most feared security service in Syria.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activist group, said it had been a suicide car bomb and that the intelligence branch chief was among those killed.
Sana quoted police as saying eight citizens were killed, blaming the attack on “terrorists”, the government’s way of referring to rebels forces.
Syria’s Druze minority – adherents of an offshoot of Shia Islam – numbers about 700,000. Its main leadership has so far stayed out of the conflict publicly.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24835012
November 6th, 2013, 11:27 am
ziad said:
SAMI
Your comment #1604 is utter nonsense from the first word to the last word.
It only displays your real or pretended ignorance of the multiple Israeli attacks on Assad’s Syria and the many many documented calls by Israelis and American Zionists to attack and eliminate the Assad’s government by any means.
November 6th, 2013, 11:36 am
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Today’s operation in Suweidah, following the recent victories in the Homs area, can only be described as a blessed operation conducted by a blessed soul of the Syrian revolution. Eliminating eight ugly thugs of the terrorist so-called air force intelligence on this day is just one step in many forthcoming towards the eventual elimination of all such thugs from Syria that are serving the Serpent head of Ass-head.
November 6th, 2013, 11:45 am
Sami said:
“It only displays your real or pretended ignorance of the multiple Israeli attacks on Assad’s Syria and the many many documented calls by Israelis and American Zionists to attack and eliminate the Assad’s government by any means.”
And that there folks is a prime example of an epic case of Orwellian Doublethink. He is screaming moqawamah yet he fails to mention that Asshat never once retaliated for those aggressions…
And the fact you call Syria Assad’s is telling of your sadistically backwards view to whom Syria belongs to.
And a final note if the Israelis really wanted to take out Assad, their repeated incursions and aggressions in Syria without a single bullet fired to protect Syria by the Assadi cowards shows that could’ve been accomplished easily.
November 6th, 2013, 11:47 am
ziad said:
SAMI #1608
Another ignorant and nonsensical comment.
Israel is itching for Syria to retaliate. Any retaliation at this moment when the SAA is embroiled in a civil war and given the balance of power between Syria and Israel would be sheer stupidity, giving Israel more reasons to strike at Syria. Kudos to Bashar for maintaining his kool.
How smart do you think it is if you start a war you know you are going to lose?
November 6th, 2013, 11:59 am
Sami said:
What was his excuse when they flew sorties over his palace in Damascus years ago? Or when they bombed the Nuclear facilities? What balance of the war and keeping “kool” was he aiming for then?
Your hero is nothing but a treasonous coward that has humiliated Syrians and turned Syria into the hell it is in today. He could’ve spared Syrians but his “Assad or we Burn the Country down” Motto had other plans.
Only minhebakjis would find heroism in inaction and cowardice…
November 6th, 2013, 12:06 pm
don said:
This article explains why Al-Qaida and Israel minhebakjis behave the way they do on this blog
Cannibalism In Syria Causes An Extremely Rare Disease
Its called Kuru, an extremely rare disease which virtually became extinct after extinguishing cannibalism in Papua New Guinea.
Amazingly Kuru has now been found in 8 to 20 people, out of all places, in war-torn Syria, and the only way it could have come about, doctors confirmed, is through cannibalism and the consumption of human brain, as first reported by Arabian news source Zaman al-Wasal and substantiated by Orient News Television.
Two of the infected were sent from Syria to a hosptial in Ghazi Antab in Turkey for further examination to only be transferred to another hospital in Germany. One of the two already died, since Kuru is 100% fatal.
One of the infected men in the German hospital was confirmed to have eaten human flesh, and he eventually died. When the Turkish hospital was asked on the details of the cannibalism case, they refrained from saying anything.
Moreover, the Free Syrian Army said they will be doing an investigation on the cannibalism case, and this sparks a hunch as to what their intentions are behind this.
Overall, there are 8 to 20 cases of Kuru in Syria; Kuru strictly is caused by cannibalism, and cannibalism was involved from the report on what took place in the German hospital.
…
November 6th, 2013, 12:36 pm
omen said:
scary..
this happened right here in pennsylvania.
assadists disrupt a conference:
November 6th, 2013, 12:43 pm
Tara said:
Omen,
I find the Syrian-American shabeehs to be very vicious. I hope the FBI profiles all those shabeehas in Lehigh valley, PA and rounds them all up. I am sure with close surveillance, a criminal case can easily be built against them so they are all rounded up and deported to live near Batta. Those people are concentrated in Allen Town, PA and they are a disgrace.
November 6th, 2013, 1:00 pm
don said:
Brief summary of the situation in Syria for November 3, 2013
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=59f_1383747035
November 6th, 2013, 1:16 pm
Rancher said:
Hopefully the FBI is watching the Shabiha but unless they have seriously done something that is a federal offense they pretty much have to let local law enforcement handle them.
November 6th, 2013, 1:47 pm
Tara said:
Rancher,
They were our fellow citizens in Syria ( oulad baladna to put it in Arabic) and we know them well. They all write reports ( Takareers) and send them to one of the 17 intelligence agency in Syria. Working for a foreign country in the US is a federal crime.
November 6th, 2013, 1:57 pm
Rancher said:
Good point Tara, however they have to be caught doing that and as intelligence agents I assume they are trained in the proper statecraft to avoid being caught.
November 6th, 2013, 2:40 pm
Tara said:
Training rarely works fully for the stupid, Rancher.
November 6th, 2013, 3:12 pm
Rancher said:
1618. Tara said:
Training rarely works fully for the stupid, Rancher.
Then another reason for them not being locked up is that the spy you know is very valuable to have.
November 6th, 2013, 3:21 pm
ALAN said:
Who is the man who will have upon the reconstruction of the Syrian economy?
The Syrian economy is steadily headed for ruin
http://journal-neo.org/2013/11/07/rus-sirijskaya-e-konomika-prihodit-v-negodnost/
…
The war with the opposition quickly led the country towards wide-spread destruction of its production forces and this process is far from over. On the contrary, it is currently gaining momentum. There is no doubt that its inertia will be felt for a very long time to come and will severely affect the recovery of both the economy and the former relationships within society. It is clear that the goals and objectives of the bygone days will be put aside, while the planned transition from a “recovery movement” of Assad the elder to the “socially-oriented market” of Assad the younger will remain incomplete. Although, it is quite possible that it is specifically this evolution that could be effective if executed by Syria, as opposed to the market models of the IMF and World Bank which, strictly speaking, were the cause of the Arab Spring. However, caution and patience with reforms that are inherent for the entire Arab world turned out to be excessive in the case of Syria, and in the end this, along with other circumstances, led to the situation exploding.
…
Because the national replenishment mechanism is a complex system, it is thus affected, especially during times of extraordinary developments, from many sides at once. As such, Syria’s currency reserves have fallen from $23 billion to $2 billion. Further developments down this path threaten to completely devastate the treasury, which means a dead end for the country.
These and other problems are difficult to solve by one’s own strength, especially if one is to account for the fact that Syria’s prosperity has always been more than just moderate. There is no place for her to borrow funds from in order to rebuild the economy. At the same time, foreign loans can only be negotiated under choking conditions; it would be a good thing if they were only economic and not political. In seeing all of this, it is not difficult to imagine that the Syrian government will face new trials which is extremely painful for its citizens to accept, given that there is no end in sight for the present tribulations either.
November 6th, 2013, 3:46 pm
ALAN said:
………
An example of the manipulable intern is provided by the analyst Aymenn AJ Tamimi, who has become a prominent source for media on the extreme factions in Syria. Concentrating on coverage of Da’wah and civilian “outreach” that Al Qaeda operatives Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) so kindly provide for the people of Syria, Tamimi primarily writes lengthy reports detailing ISIS’ efforts to learn from their mistakes in Iraq, and how ISIS are now determined to win “hearts and minds” through social programs and so forth. His analysis has consistently highlighted the small instances of ISIS success at avoiding alienating the Syrian communities which they invade and dominate. Furthermore, while providing a knowledgable, and what seems well-sourced overview of ISIS et al, from a supposed objective point of view, there is a distinct aversion to the many well publicised and brutal crimes the ISIS commit. For example; it seems odd that Tamimi, an oft-quoted expert on ISIS no-less, made no effort to analyse the Latakia massacres and mass-kidnappings that occurred in early August 2013. Indeed, any negative reflection of this whole event – led by ISIS no less – is almost entirely omitted from Tamimi’s analysis and impressive body of work. In comparison to his coverage of ISIS Da’wah, or “outreach” as he labels it, his coverage of ISIS crimes and atrocities is minimal. Moreover, Tamimi has relied on anonymous “ISIS sources” to form the backbone of much of his work; often resulting in a favourable or bias interpretation of events.
Tamimi is listed as “Shillman Ginsburg fellow” at the Middle East Forum (MEF), which for all intents and purposes is an outright Zionist/Neo-Conservative think-tank with a stated mission of “promot[ing] American interests in the Middle East and protect[ing] Western values from Middle Eastern threats.” Further, the MEF outlines those “American interests” as being: “fighting radical Islam; working for Palestinian acceptance of Israel; robustly asserting U.S. interests vis-à-vis Saudi Arabia; developing strategies to deal with Iraq and contain Iran; and monitoring the advance of Islamism in Turkey. Domestically, the Forum combats lawful Islamism; protects the freedom of public speech of anti-Islamist authors, activists, and publishers; and works to improve Middle East studies in North America.” (emphasis added)…………… Phil Greaves
Syria Analysts, Impartial? Not likely. Think Tank Commentators Posing as Objective Scholars
http://www.globalresearch.ca/syria-analysts-impartial-not-likely-think-tank-commentators-posing-as-objective-scholars/5357023?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=syria-analysts-impartial-not-likely-think-tank-commentators-posing-as-objective-scholars
November 6th, 2013, 4:23 pm
ALAN said:
Following the visit to Riyadh, U.S. Secretary of State , John Kerry promised that Washington would continue to aim for the development of a partnership with Saudi Arabia , considering it a key partner in the region. Indeed , the largest in the Gulf monarchy remains the main supplier of oil to the United States and one of the key buyers of U.S. weapons. However, it continues to be a major sponsor of international terrorism , seeking U.S. complicity in the realization of their ambitions gendarme of the Arab world. At this point John Kerry was said in Riyadh that “the kingdom is a partner of the U.S. in the Middle East with its own independent position.” This position is unlikely to suit Washington is experiencing in its Middle East policy of a number of failures.
November 6th, 2013, 4:43 pm
zoo said:
Saudis Fight a Lost Battle against Change
http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_66149.shtml
Saudi Arabia is arguably the most backward, oppressive of all countries in the world and yet a key ally of the US, England, France and Israel in the Middle East. Nicola Nassar explains how and why this is so in the following article.
…
The ongoing aggressive Saudi policy for a militarized “regime change” in Syria is more an expression of internal vulnerability, trying hopelessly to avert change outside their borders lest change sweeps inside, than being a positive show of leadership and power, but Syrian developments are proving by the day that the Saudis are fighting a lost battle against change.
Riyadh is fighting several preemptive battles outside its borders in its immediate proximity in a disparate attempt to prevent an historic regional tide of change from changing the country’s pre-medieval system of governance and social life.
Surrounded by a turbulent changing regional and international environment, the Saudi Arabian rulers seem worried as hell that their system is facing an historical existential test for the survival of which they are unwisely blundering in foreign policy to alienate friends, win more enemies, exacerbate old animosities and trying counterproductively to promote their unmarketable way of life as the only way they know to survive, instead of reforming to adapt to modern irreversible changes that are sweeping throughout their surroundings and the world like a tsunami of an irresistible fate.
Change is inevitable and if they insist on resisting it they will be shooting themselves in the legs and fighting back a lost battle, which might delay change for a while, but cannot stop it from flooding their outdated feudal type of family governance, where more than seven thousand royal princes spread over the country like a spider’s net of rulers who dominate every aspect of the political, administrative, security, military, economic and social life.
November 6th, 2013, 5:09 pm
omen said:
1503. Syrian’s alquds story picked up traction.
via bbc
via washington post:
talk about going rogue!
this can be leveraged against the regime, yes??
November 6th, 2013, 5:19 pm
ALAN said:
Syrian town living under al Qaeda reign of terror
Read more at http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b2f_1383759522#xRXf3xJOMDo2vsQ2.99
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b2f_1383759522
November 6th, 2013, 5:30 pm
Ghufran said:
There is no doubt that the FBI is watching some Syrians in the USA but if I was an FBI agent I would naturally focus on people who are likely to be supportive of Islamist terrorists not those who raise the picture of a dictator or throw a shoe at somebody at a university lecture. Supporting a dictator with a demonstration or a banner is not a crime in the state but sending money to terrorists or a terrorist organization is. I hope that Syrian expats understand that they need to abide by the laws in the countries they live in, they are entitled to free speech but providing material support to designated terror origination, whether you agree with the designation or not, is a federal crime.
November 6th, 2013, 6:34 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Genius. That is why they are going after nus-lira dogs and by extension dog-poop operatives. An added benefit in both cases would be blasting some drug smuggling and money laundering operations.
As for the other type of terrorists, only a fool would think that they need, or receive money from Syrians in the US, which is why I find the comment from Ghufran malicious and disingenuous.
November 6th, 2013, 7:39 pm
omen said:
so arafat is in the news again with findings pointing to probability he was poisoned by polonium.
this story has puzzled me because everybody and their brother suspected he had been poisoned when he died – yet his clueless wife failed to call for an autopsy.
she in interviews defensively counters that the french doctors never suggested for an autopsy to be ordered.
that’s when it dawned on me. arafat was probably sent to doctors who were loyal to israel. they made sure his body wouldn’t get the proper examination required that would have exposed the plot.
this article detailing mossad tactics reminded me israel has allies everywhere. even hotel clerks willing to blow the whistle by making a discrete phone call when a sought after target walks through the door.
November 6th, 2013, 7:52 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Not necessarily, one can in fact register as an agent of a foreign government. This is legislated through the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA). So Gufran’s advise is transmitted back and he can still lawfully work for Dog-poop athad in both political and quasi-political capacity as he has been doing for years now. Just register through FARA.
November 6th, 2013, 7:53 pm
ghufran said:
an interesting conversation between two rebels, one from ISIS and the other is not:
November 6th, 2013, 8:14 pm
apple_mini said:
The terrorists and death squad killed 34 people in Sweida, including at least 27 civilians.
Meanwhile, NC accused Bhrahimi not being “neutral” after he singled out “the opposition”‘s failure to agree to attend Geneva II.
The “activists” are cheerleading the bomb in Sweida has achieved its target to kill the head of the intelligent over there.
Let us see how Druze leaders will decide to do next. A possible scenario is that the Kurds are fighting the Islamists and revolutionists in the north and the Druze will be fighting them in the south.
No wonder the miserable and despicable opposition sent the following statement to Bhrahimi and his delegates: the delegate is to seek to achieve their legitimate aspirations and lift their suffering, or to remain neutral at the very least,” the Coalition said a statement.
November 6th, 2013, 8:18 pm
jo6pac said:
1631. apple_mini said:
Let us see how Druze leaders will decide to do next. A possible scenario is that the Kurds are fighting the Islamists and revolutionists in the north and the Druze will be fighting them in the south.
That works for me, Syrian can make sure the Kurds and Druze have plenty of food and ammo. Air cover when needed.
The site isn’t being updated anymore?
November 6th, 2013, 9:03 pm
zoo said:
No breakthrough in Syria can be expected before an Iran-USA agreement on the nuclear issue.
It may totally change the picture as Iran would come out a winner and Saudi Arabia the loser and with it the Syrian opposition.
It is expected that the “demented’ Kingdom will either have to swallow its defeat or become even more hysterical and demented such as seeking nuclear weopons from Pakistan
Saudi nuclear weapons ‘on order’ from Pakistan
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24823846
Saudi Arabia has invested in Pakistani nuclear weapons projects, and believes it could obtain atomic bombs at will, a variety of sources have told BBC Newsnight.
While the kingdom’s quest has often been set in the context of countering Iran’s atomic programme, it is now possible that the Saudis might be able to deploy such devices more quickly than the Islamic republic
November 6th, 2013, 9:40 pm
zoo said:
Poverty in the “succesful” democratic USA: 16% of the population
http://rt.com/news/line/2013-11-06/#52295
?Poor in US actually 3 million more than reported based on revised census measure
There were three million more Americans in poverty in 2012 than originally calculated, based on out-of-pocket medical expenses and other costs, according to a revised census measure released Wednesday. The number of poor people in the US in 2012 was 49.7 million, or 16 percent of the population. The previous record of 46.5 million was given in September. Though it is not officially used by the government to assess poverty, the adjusted formula is considered more accurate given it takes into account additional living expenses and government aid not considered in currently-used appraisal.
November 6th, 2013, 9:46 pm
zoo said:
More dark clouds lingers over the crumbling FSA as more defections are looming
Syria: Ahrar Al-Sham leader threatens to form Islamist rebel command
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/11/article55321549
Antakya, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Free Syrian Army (FSA) leadership, led by Gen. Salim Idris, met with senior Islamist rebel commanders in Reyhanli in Turkey on Tuesday, in a last ditch attempt to stave off a major split in the ranks of Syria’s rebels.
Syria’s rebels can be broadly split into three camps, the FSA, the Islamists, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Al-Nusra Front.
Syria’s Islamist factions have threatened to withdraw from the FSA and Syrian National Coalition, citing a number of issues.
….
The Islamist factions are led by four rebel commanders in charge of operations in Damascus, Aleppo, Idlib, and Raqqa. They are: Zahran Alloush, commander of Islam Brigade in Rif Dimashq, Haj Mara’a (Abdelkader Saleh), commander of Al-Tawhid Brigade, Isa Al-Sheikh, commander of Suqour Al-Sham, and Abu Talha, commander of Ahrar Al-Sham.
Asharq Al-Awsat spoke with Abu Talha, commander of Ahar Al-Sham, the largest armed Islamist faction in Syria. It includes military, rescue, and engineering units and is responsible for delivering the salaries of workers in the town of Raqqa, according to its leaders.
….
Abu Talha says FSA leadership was established under “unnatural” circumstances , nor healthy, resulting in a body which does not meet our aspirations.”
…
“The Coalition only represents itself and the countries which support it. We consider ourselves to be the real representatives of the rebels,” he added.
The division between Syria’s Islamist and secular rebel forces revolve around both the funding and coordination of military operations on the ground, and political decision-making and international representation. It was disagreement over these issues that prompted the rebel Islamist brigades to take a common position against the FSA and Syrian National Coalition, led by Ahmad Al-Jarba.
..
November 6th, 2013, 10:05 pm
annie said:
http://youtu.be/_fDNW4G7Kjo
Michael Heart – What About Us (Song for Syria)
November 7th, 2013, 1:34 am
ALAN said:
Turkish main opposition criticizes building of wall on Syria border
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/158191/turkish-main-opposition-criticizes-building-of-wall-on-syria-border.html
November 7th, 2013, 1:39 am
zoo said:
Is Turkey shifting its policy to prevent the replenishment of weapons to the rebels?
Truck full of heavy weapons seized near Syrian border in Adana
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/truck-full-of-heavy-weapons-seized-near-syrian-border-in-adana.aspx?pageID=238&nid=57518&NewsCatID=341
A cargo truck full of rocket heads, bazookas, missiles, bombs and guns has been seized in the southern province of Adana, which is not far from the Syrian border.
A total of 1,200 rocket warheads were seized, according to Gov. Hüseyin Avni Co?.
Adana police teams discovered the weapons in the early hours of Nov. 7, after pursuing the truck initially on suspicions that it was carrying drugs.
The truck, which had a Konya license plate, was confiscated after it arrived at a metal industrial site, where the police were waiting.
November 7th, 2013, 6:01 am
zoo said:
Syria army retakes key rebel town near Damascus: monitor
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/syria-army-retakes-key-rebel-town-near-damascus-100350149.html#IcZrfhL
Troops backed by Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah fighters and other pro-regime militiamen on Thursday retook Sbeineh, a major rebel enclave south of Damascus, a monitoring group and state television said.
“Sbeineh was one of the most important rebel positions on Damascus’ outskirts. Rebels in southern Damascus have now had practically all their supply routes cut off,” said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman.
November 7th, 2013, 6:03 am
zoo said:
Turkey-Saudi relation sours over Syria and Egypt. Syrian rebels funded by KSA may not have free access to Syria through Turkish borders anymore
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13920815000686
The Saudi intelligence presence in Turkey is mainly there to provide support and training for armed groups fighting in Syria.
According to the source, Turkish authorities believe Saudi Arabia’s position on Syria is no longer in line with Turkey’s interests, as Ankara is reportedly trying to ease tensions with Tehran and Damascus, Al-Akhbar reported.
The historic alliance between Saudi Arabia and Turkey began to crumble following the Saudi-sponsored military overthrow of Egypt’s Islamist president Mohammed Mursi on July 3.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly denounced the Egyptian coup and the military crackdown on Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood party.
But the tipping point came when Riyadh attempted to diminish Turkey’s influence over the opposition Syrian National Council and the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, the source said.
Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal allegedly told his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglo that Turkey would no longer play a role in the Syrian conflict even if the regime were to fall, and asked Ankara not to interfere in Egypt’s political crisis.
According to the source, Turkish officials believe Saudi Arabia, along with Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, are strategically working against the interests of two different regional blocs: Hezbollah, Syria, Iran and Iraq on one front, and Turkey, Qatar, Hamas, and the Muslim Brotherhood on the other.
The Turkish source added that Saudi Arabia had attempted to disrupt a prisoner swap deal that saw the release of the nine Lebanese pilgrims held in Northern Syria in exchange for two Turkish pilots kidnapped
November 7th, 2013, 6:09 am
Akbar Palace said:
1641 bottles of beer on the wall,
1641 bottles of beer,
if one of those bottles should happen to fall,
1640 bottle of beers on the wall…
Looks like I’ll need another 2 Gb of RAM for this website
November 7th, 2013, 6:56 am
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
The Beluch people who inhabit the south eastern regions of the terrorist entity of the mullocracy of Iranistan are natural allies for the Syrian people for many reasons. The Syrians and the Beluch share the same faith unlike the mullah terrorists. Also the Beluch are actively involved in combatting the mullocracy which they hate thus rendering essential help to the Syrian people. Today these courageous and heroic Sunnis succeeded in eliminating a high ranking terrorist of the mullocracy masquarading as a so-called attorney general.
Beluchi fighters gunned down Musa Nouri Qalaa this morning exacting much desreved justice against the thug who is responsible for many deaths.
November 7th, 2013, 7:37 am
omen said:
free speech, my a**. threatening to kill someone’s family or to shoot them in the head is indeed a crime. defined as a terroristic threat.
you generically dismiss any rebel as a “thug” but when your own exhibit thuggery, you dimiss it as free speech!
November 7th, 2013, 7:42 am
Akbar Palace said:
The Results of Obama’s Glorious Foreign Policy NewZ
Saudi Arabia to Pakistan:
“Give me a half-dozen of your best 10 kilo-tons, and maybe a couple 2 mega-ton warheads please.”
“Do you accept VISA?”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24823846
November 7th, 2013, 8:44 am
Heads-up said:
Akbar Palace,
Do you doubt that Obama is a total wuss?
How do you think the world now peceives the US if Obama is indeed a total wuss?
By the way even at home Obama is now perceived as a total wuss! Don’t you think?
November 7th, 2013, 8:50 am
Akbar Palace said:
Wuss in the White House NewZ
Do you doubt that Obama is a total wuss?
Heads Up,
Let’s vote for John Bolton if he runs for President. You with me man?
November 7th, 2013, 9:21 am
Heads-up said:
Akbar Palace,
I doubt anyone can lift the US out of the dark hole it has sunk into due to 6+ years of total wussiness in the White House.
In my h. opinion the US is doomed thanks to total wussiness.
By the time of next election it will be 8 years of total wussiness and light years into the black hole.
John Boilton does not want to be president. But if it was up to him he would have bombed North Korea and the terrorist entity of the mulocracy of Iranistan to the stone age. He would most probably have bombed the Serpent head of Ass-head to dust as well. To all those things I say a BIG YES.
November 7th, 2013, 9:52 am
Sami said:
Shabeeha thugs in the west don’t just hold pictures and scream ??? ?????.
A bunch of shabeeha thugs stabbed two young Syrians for merely holding a flag at a bus stop in Montreal, and I recieved numerous threats by phone from other weasels.
The RCMP has investigated and deported agents of the Assadi thugs that were spying on Syrian Canadians and threatening their families in Syria.
None of this behavior can be constituted as “freedom of speech” by any stretch of the word.
November 7th, 2013, 9:59 am
Akbar Palace said:
John Bolton for President
To all those things I say a BIG YES.
Woohoo!
Heads Up,
If I see a bumper sticker (in arabic) for John Bolton for President, I may get into a car accident! (I couldn’t identify it anyway).
I have the old blue and white “Nixon” button. Maybe it’s worth something…
https://www.google.com/search?q=hebrew+presidential+button&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=5Kp7UpqHIYedkQfVp4HgCg&ved=0CFEQsAQ&biw=1193&bih=794
FYI,
http://www.salon.com/2013/08/22/john_bolton_may_run_for_president/
November 7th, 2013, 10:02 am
Rancher said:
When Iran gets it’s nukes who will be their first target should they choose to use them? The great Satan, who would in response turn their entire country into glass? The little Satan who would in return turn their cities into glass? Or rival Sunni countries who have yet to get their own nukes?
November 7th, 2013, 10:25 am
Heads-up said:
Akbar Palace,
I think some commentators here either don’t follow or don’t understand the progress of certain threads, and yet believe they can create their own blogs!! Looks like Americans are so much behind in comprehension skills, it makes you wonder why a Wuss didn’t get to the White House much sooner than Obama. Such constituency needs such wussiness. That’s why I believe the US is doomed.
Someone needs to point out to this wannabe would-be ‘blogger’ that Sunnis ALREADY have their nukes.
November 7th, 2013, 10:50 am
Akbar Palace said:
Ranger, good point.
Heads Up,
All I have to go by is the press and the media. That’s ALL we have to go by. We don’t know what is being done, what is being prepared and who is whispering into the ears of the decision makers.
Pakistan is an Islamic state, but I don’t hear the leaders in Israel complaining about Pakistan. This means something.
OTOH, Iran is making the GOI go crazy, and certainly the Saudis are “concerned” to put it mildly.
So, all I can do is hope the leaders do the right thing. Talking with Iran sounds like a BAD idea to me.
I’m not so pessimistic about the US. We’ve been through worse.
November 7th, 2013, 11:41 am
Heads-up said:
Akbar Palace,
The right word to describe the Saudis is not ‘concerned’. They care the least about the terrorist entity of the Iranian mullocracy. They have the means to obliterate it in no time if ever it shows any belligerence against the Kingdom (the Guided Kingdom of course). Remember Bahrain and how the mullocrats barked like dogs while the Saudis mopped up Bahrain of their terrorist tails?
The Saudis are disgusted with the US administration (Wussy of course) for allowing things to reach this state. Disgust is the right word in this case.
I am not sure if the US witnessed any such very low level in its history. This is a breaking moment for the US. It will end up perhaps like any backward backyard latino state in south America. Chavez’ taxi driver heir will be very happy.
November 7th, 2013, 11:54 am
zoo said:
Turkey is shifting
After 3 years of a bad foreign policy where Turkey flirted with Moslem Botherhood Qatar and Salafist Saudi Arabia, Turkey is now shifting toward Iran as it perceives that it is as a more stable and reliable political as well as an economical partner especially if the current USA negotiations over the nuclear remove some sanctions.
Turkey’s relation with Saudi Arabia has soured recently, threats from Al Qaeda on Turkey has increased and the international community is highly critical over Turkey’s alleged complicity with Al Qaedal and Al Nusra. Erdogan is scrambling to deny it and seems to have decided on a new path.
He has closed Saudi Intelligence offices in Ankara. He is meeting Iran officials and he is now stopping trucks carrying weapons to rebels in a effort to deny his complicity with Al Qaeda. That will sour even more his relation with Qatar and Saudi Arabia, his old allies in trying to topple Bashar al Assad.
He is still adamant on Morsy’s legitimacy as a president and Bashsr al Assad’s illegitimacy as a president. As Turkey still bears some influence on its “creation”, the SNC, by approving their pre-conditions Erdogan is contributing to the delay of the conference, thus the continuing violence and death in Syria.
The opposition and in particular the SNC is been weakened by disunity, unfuilfilled promises, the betrayal of the FSA and their individual egos issues.
They no longer can claim any legitimacy.
If Iran stays behind Bashar Al Assad, it is just a matter of time when Erdogan will have to change his song.
November 7th, 2013, 12:02 pm
zoo said:
A departure from the warm declaration about Al Nusra’s legitimate contribution to topple Bashar Al Assad a year ago
Turkey fights al-Qaeda like it fights the PKK: PM Erdo?an
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-fights-al-qaeda-like-it-fights-the-pkk-pm-erdogan.aspx?pageID=238&nID=57535&NewsCatID=338
Al-Qaeda is as bad as the PKK, PM Erdo?an states, dismissing claims that Turkey is aiding and abetting jihadists in the fight against Syria’s government
…
It is out of question that organizations like al-Qaeda or al-Nusra could take shelter in our country. This is slander and [a pack of] lies,” Erdo?an said, responding to a journalist’s questions in the joint press conference with Swedish counterpart Fredrik Reinfeldt after being asked for the prime minister’s explanation over the usage of Turkey as a transit area by the aforementioned groups. The prime minister was in Stockholm for an official visit to the Nordic country.
Erdo?an denied the existence of jihadist groups in Turkey, demanding that the journalist clarify and prove his claim.
“We have waged and we would wage the same fight against all separatist terrorist groups if there were such groups [on Turkish soil],” he said.
November 7th, 2013, 12:09 pm
Rancher said:
“Someone needs to point out to this wannabe would-be ‘blogger’ that Sunnis ALREADY have their nukes.”
Because Pakistan has them means “Sunnis” have them?
November 7th, 2013, 12:17 pm
zoo said:
Pakistani-British citizens are fighting in Syria on the side of Al Qaeda
Hundreds of Britons fighting in Syria – MI5 chief
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24856553
The number of British Islamists who have gone to Syria to fight in the war there is in the “low hundreds”, a senior UK intelligence official says.
Andrew Parker, head of domestic intelligence service MI5, told a parliamentary hearing the conflict was attracting al-Qaeda UK sympathisers.
Their interaction with militant groups abroad was a “very important strand of the threat” the UK faced, he said.
One in 10 foreign militants in Syria is believed to be from Europe.
Most of them come from Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Libya. MI5 has previously said that up to 200 British fighters are in Syria.
Last month, BBC News learnt that a group of 20 young men from the UK were fighting against forces allied to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on the Turkish border.
Syria has become a very attractive place for people to go for that reason – those who support or sympathise with the al-Qaeda ideological message”
According to the Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King’s College London, most British jihadists are in their 20s, university-educated and Muslims of British Pakistani origin.
November 7th, 2013, 12:21 pm
Heads-up said:
“Someone needs to point out to this wannabe would-be ‘blogger’ that Sunnis ALREADY have their nukes.”
Because Pakistan has them means “Sunnis” have them?
I am surprised. So in fact, you can follow. At least you comprehend who was intended by the comment.
Keep up and continue to pay attention. You may eventually become a real blogger.
November 7th, 2013, 12:21 pm
Uzair8 said:
An episode of BBC Radio 4’s Analysis. Broadcast on Sunday.
Syria: Inside the Opposition
Syria’s opposition movements comprise a diverse range of political and armed groups. But how do they differ in terms of their ideology, their modus operandi and in their vision for a post-conflict Syria?
Edward Stourton investigates the numerous alternatives to President Assad and assesses which groups are gaining or losing influence on the ground after more than two years of bloody fighting.
[With, amongst others, Shaykh Yaqoubi, Aron Lund]
30 minutes long.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03f97p1
PS: Scroll down for previous syria related episodes
– Syria and the New Lines in the Sand (Sun 7 Jul 2013)
– The Alawis (Sun 10 Feb 2013)
November 7th, 2013, 12:25 pm
zoo said:
Rancher
Didn’t you know that Saudi Arabia has been financing not only the Al Qaeda terrorists in Pakistan but also Pakistan’s nuclear program. Yes, in a way they feel they already own a “Sunni” nuclear bomb.
They are also financing the Sunnis Balushis in Southern Iran who are actively involved in drug smuggling from Afghanistan to create terrorists acts in Iran.
Obviously Saudi Arabia is in total dementia over Iran’s possible return to foreground of international diplomacy in the Middle East and its rapprochement with the USA who is Saudi Arabia ( and GCC) military protector.
The growth of a Sunni islamic democracy in Turkey and a Shia democracy in Iran is threatening the family and undemocratic system they have been applying in their country.
No wonder they panic.
November 7th, 2013, 12:49 pm
ziad said:
CIA mission in Syria almost complete
“Al Qaeda has swept to power with the aim of imposing a strict Islamist ideology on Syrians across large swathes of Syria’s rebel-held north, according to a CNN survey of towns, activists and analysts that reveals an alarming increase in al Qaeda-linked control in just the past month.”
“ISIS is the strongest group in Northern Syria — 100% — and anyone who tells you anything else is lying,” states the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a one-man propaganda operation run by Rami Abdul Rahman.
Mr. Rahman, a disaffected Syrian, operates the official propaganda operation out of a semidetached red-brick house in Coventry, England, according to the New York Times. The disinfo op is allegedly funded by the European Union.
CNN comments on al-Qaeda’s version of Lebensraum and its effort to spread across Syria an austere brand of Islamic law identical to that of its financial sponsors, Wahhabi-dominated Saudi Arabia and the fossilized and corrupt Gulf monarchies:
It is an established fact this “considerable cash” comes from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, but we shouldn’t expect CNN, a Pentagon propaganda and psychological warfare operation, to note the fact.
The United States government and its war propaganda outlets have feigned concern about the presence and growing dominance of al-Qaeda and spin-offs such as the brutal al-Nusra Front in Syria for some time now.
In fact, domination by al-Qaeda is the preferred outcome, as it was in Libya. The point of the CIA’s bogus “Arab Spring” is not to free emasculated Muslims, Arabs and (importantly) Persians from tyranny. It is the opposite.
http://counterpsyops.com/2013/11/06/cia-mission-in-syria-almost-complete/
November 7th, 2013, 12:54 pm
Akbar Palace said:
Heads Up,
Thank you for your Guided Kingdom POV. Interesting.
I’ve been to Kuwait and Abu Dhabi in the past (business purposes). Are these states are “guided” as well?
November 7th, 2013, 12:54 pm
Rancher said:
Thanks Heads, your opinion of me means so much. You seemed to duck my question though. If Iran ever uses nukes who is most likely to be targeted? I believe it’s a relevant question for the whole world. I believe it’s a reason Saudi Arabia is very very worried. My other question is do you think Pakistan will give Saudi Arabia nukes? It would serve no point unless they let it be known. That would open a can of worms for Pakistan, which already has plenty of problems already.
November 7th, 2013, 1:00 pm
Heads-up said:
Akbar Palace,
These countries are good and you should keep doing business with them.
They always receive and follow proper Guidance from the Guided Kingdom.
November 7th, 2013, 1:26 pm
Heads-up said:
You’re welcome Ranger.
And no your question was not ducked. it was answered clearly.
You only imagine trouble where there is none.
When that scenario comes to light everyone will know it happened.
And as I said to Akbar if ANY glimpse of a sign of belligerency against the Kingdom from the terrorist Shiite entity of mullahstan becomes even faintly discernible, that entity will be history before you know it.
November 7th, 2013, 1:31 pm
Rancher said:
Zoo I did know most of that but not that SA feels they already own some of those nukes. A little checking and I find that Israel feels that Pakistan would deliver them in less than a month. Other countries will follow, Iran will give them to Assad at least. Will Hamas get some? The world is going to get a lot more dangerous soon.
November 7th, 2013, 2:09 pm
omen said:
1661. ziad said: CIA mission in Syria almost complete
why do these anti-intervention conspiracy organs never mention Rami Abdul Rahman (sohr) has relatives with ties to the regime?
November 7th, 2013, 2:35 pm
Uzair8 said:
Came across an article on Yalla Souriya.
Russia and Iran: Bashar al Assad’s Life Support | The Interpreter
The Assad regime in Syria is broke. That was the consensus of every expert, and resident, more than one year ago. American officials noted that the regime was struggling to find a way to print currency, and that by July of last year the regime had spent more than half of its sovereign wealth fund. Almost all of that spending was before the regime lost the majority of the eastern half of the country, and it’s financial capital, Aleppo. Since then, Assad’s revenue has dropped significantly, as have exports, GDP, internal trade… by every measure of national wealth, the regime should have been bankrupt many months ago. And if the money ran out, then they would have to stop buying arms and equipment, and stop paying debts, including payroll to its army.
[…]
November 7th, 2013, 2:44 pm
omen said:
anybody have this story in newspaper form? i tried to google but couldn’t find anything. i would like to learn more.
November 7th, 2013, 2:57 pm
Rancher said:
“The Assad regime in Syria is broke.”
Right now Iran can’t afford to prop up Assad. Therefore Obama will move to ease the sanctions.
November 7th, 2013, 3:05 pm
zoo said:
Siege tactics, the new effective strategy employed by the both SAA and by the rebels at the expenses of the civilians
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Nov-08/237156-siege-tactics-devastating-yarmouk-camp.ashx#axzz2jxNRKPiX
…
Cutting off weapons to besieged areas is a strategy that appears to be reaping success for the regime. The southern Damascus town of Sbeineh was taken over by government troops and allies Thursday, following a one-year blockade and a weeklong campaign to sever supply lines.
Its recapture by regime forces was mirrored several weeks earlier in the rural towns of Husseinieh, Dhiabieh and Bweida. Meanwhile, civilians in the capital’s suburbs of Douma, Hajar al-Aswad, Yalda and Jobar remain choked by sieges.
The use of starvation as a tactic reflects the changing nature of the Syrian battlefield as each side looks to grind the other down instead of aiming for an outright win, said Joshua Landis, associate professor and director at the University of Oklahoma’s Center for Middle East Studies.
“At the beginning of the conflict, both sides thought they could win this easily, but this is clearly becoming a war of attrition and it is going to go on for years,” he said. “A year or two ago, the suggestion to starve neighborhoods would have looked like cowardice, now it doesn’t seem like such a preposterous idea.”
Such plans are built upon cold strategic calculations; starving off neighborhoods is cheap, does not waste weaponry and doesn’t risk troop’s lives.
“At the end of the day, you still get what you want: the submission of people,” he said. “That’s what happened in Moadamieh. The people gave up.”
These strategies are employed by rebel groups as well as Assad’s forces. In August, rebels closed off a major supply route government-held areas of Aleppo. The regime was forced to airlift emergency food supplies by plane.
“Cutting off the supply of areas and slowly starving them is a universal tactic and it is very effective. The bottom line is eventually people will give in, they don’t want to die.”
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Nov-08/237156-siege-tactics-devastating-yarmouk-camp.ashx#ixzz2k0JPU0EF
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
November 7th, 2013, 6:12 pm
zoo said:
@166 Rancher
Pakistan has officially declared it has nuclear weapons. It has not been proven categorically if Iran has any, even if it may have the technology to build them. Until it is official, it is all speculation.
The two other countries, Israel and India are responsible countries. They use the CW as a deterrent but I doubt they ever intend to use them. The danger appears to come exclusively from Pakistan largely polluted by Al Qaeda and Sunni extremists, ready to do something irresponsible if they are pushed.
Saudi Arabia is far too coward and inexperienced to acquire it.
Most of their military arsenal is from the USA. They will be immediately ostracized by the West.
So in my view, Saudi Arabia is making lots of noise as they feel more and more sidelined in the Middle-East in favor of the new regional powers, one Sunni, Turkey and one Shia, Iran. They are trying to find some way of displaying some power to get some attention.
I wonder who do they think they are fooling.
November 7th, 2013, 6:31 pm
zoo said:
@1668 Uzair8
“The Assad regime in Syria is broke.”
The opposition’s wishful thinking.. We heard that 2 years ago
I would say now: “The opposition is broke”
November 7th, 2013, 6:43 pm
Rancher said:
Someone on another web site was wondering if SA’s missiles have been properly maintained. They were obtained from China and maybe Russia. Any ideas on that?
November 7th, 2013, 7:16 pm
Sami said:
Najati Tayyara
????? ???? ????: ??? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ???? ? ???????? ?? ??? ?????? ????????.
?????: ??? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ? ???? ??? ??? ????? ???? ???? ???? ?? ????? ?? ???? ?????… ?? ????? ? ??? ????? ??? ??????? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ??????? ???? ????? ???????? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ??? 99 ? ????? ????? ???? ???? ? … ??????????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ???? ??????? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ????????? ? ??? ??? ???????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ??? ?????… ?????????? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ???????? ??????????? ??????? ????? ??????: ??? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ??????? ????? ??????? ???? ?? ?? ????? ?? ??? ??????… ???? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ???????. ? ?? ???? ???: ?? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????????. ????? ? ?? ????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ?? ???????? ????????? ???????? ?????? ??? ???????? ??????? ???? ???? ?????? ????????? ????? ???????
November 7th, 2013, 7:20 pm
Sami said:
Rancher,
I remember the whole hoopla over the Yamamah Contracts between Saudi Arabia and BAE Systems.
If that is SOP then one can assume the Chinese have a contract for servicing and maintaining those missiles. If not with the Chinese then perhaps with the Pakistanis themselves since their Nukes work on those specific models and designed around them.
That would be my guess anyhow.
November 7th, 2013, 7:28 pm
Tara said:
#1672 is ok with the Israelis, the Indians, the Iranians, and the Christian west owning nuc weapons, but not ok with any Sunni country owning one. The ethics behind this appear to be selective and appears to emanates from visceral categorical hatred towards the Sunnis.
I am against Siaa Iran owning one. Mine is not out of visceral hatred but rather because of the Iranians’ declared as well as hidden agenda.
November 7th, 2013, 7:34 pm
Tara said:
Sami,
Thanks for the post.
“: ?? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????????. ????? ? ?? ????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ?? ???????? ????????? ???????? ?????? ??? ???????? ??????? ???? ???? ?????? ????????? ????? ???????”
This is a good response to those who kept telling us that we should not start a revolution when we are not sure of its outcome or a that we should do what the green movement did: Cowered down and postponing the revolution until an defined ” better time” as if the outcome will be different dealing with brutal regimes like the Mullahs regime and its tail in Damascus.
November 7th, 2013, 7:59 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
???? ?????? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ???????
????? – ???? ???? “?????” ???????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ?????? ???????? ???? ????? ??????? ???????? ?? ???? ??????? ???????? ??? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ??”?????” ?? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ??? ????????? ??? ?? ????? ???? CNN.
????? ????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ????????? ?????? ???? ???? ???????? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ???? ????????? ?? ????? ????? ???????? ?????? ???? ????? ??”?????” ?? ???????.
???? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ??????: “?????? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ??????? “??????” ?????? ????? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ????”.
???? ??? ???????? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ??? “?????” ??? ?????? #??????_????_?????_??????? ????? ???? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?? ??? ????????.
??? ?????????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???: “??? ???? ??? ?? ????? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ??? ???????!”
????? ??????? ???????: “?????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ??? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ???????”.
It wouldn’t be long before these Shiite terrorists are deported back to the filthy alleys of South Beirut to squat and beg for few cents to feed themselves for the day.
PS:
Stinger missiles are on their way to the courageous and heroic fighters of the Syrian revolution.
November 7th, 2013, 9:10 pm
Tara said:
#1679
That is the difference between the Shias and Sunnis terrorism . Most Sunnis do not support sunni terrorism and speak against bin Laden. Most Shiaas support shiaa terrorism and defend the filthy mullahs and the filthy Hassan Nasrallah.
November 7th, 2013, 9:34 pm
zoo said:
Saudi Arabia’s demented Sunni solution for Syria with the help of Pakistan: more sectarian divisions, war, death and destruction
Syria crisis: Saudi Arabia to spend millions to train new rebel force
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/07/syria-crisis-saudi-arabia-spend-millions-new-rebel-force
Riyadh ‘fighting two wars in Syria’ as new force Jaysh al-Islam excludes al-Qaida affiliates in bid to defeat Assad regime
…
Saudi Arabia is preparing to spend millions of dollars to arm and train thousands of Syrian fighters in a new national rebel force to help defeat Bashar al-Assad and act as a counterweight to increasingly powerful jihadi organisations.
Syrian, Arab and western sources say the intensifying Saudi effort is focused on Jaysh al-Islam (the Army of Islam or JAI), created in late September by a union of 43 Syrian groups. It is being billed as a significant new player on the fragmented rebel scene.
The force excludes al-Qaida affiliates such as the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham and Jabhat al-Nusra, but embraces more non-jihadi Islamist and Salafi units.
According to one unconfirmed report the JAI will be trained with Pakistani help, and estimates of its likely strength range from 5,000 to more than 50,000. But diplomats and experts warned on Thursday that there are serious doubts about its prospects as well as fears of “blowback” by extremists returning from Syria.
The Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, is also pressing the US to drop its objections to supplying anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles to the JAI. Jordan is being urged to allow its territory to be used as a supply route into neighbouring Syria.
In return, diplomats say, Riyadh is encouraging the JAI to accept the authority of the US and western-backed Supreme Military Council, led by Salim Idriss, and the Syrian Opposition Coalition.
“There are two wars in Syria,” said Mustafa Alani, an analyst for the Saudi-backed Gulf Research Centre. “One against the Syrian regime and one against al-Qaida. Saudi Arabia is fighting both.”
Saudi Arabia has long called publicly for arming the anti-Assad rebels and has bridled at US caution. It has been playing a more assertive role since September’s US-Russian agreement on chemical weapons – which it saw as sparing the Syrian leader from US-led air strikes and granting him a degree of international rehabilitation.
November 7th, 2013, 11:17 pm
zoo said:
Israel is now a partner: Mohammed Adnan, head of the Association of Rebels in Syria meet with an Israeli lawmaker
http://www.timesofisrael.com/mk-syrian-rebel-leader-meet-in-istanbul/
An unprecedented meeting took place Thursday in Istanbul between an Israeli lawmaker and the leader of a Syrian rebel outfit.
…
Adnan replied saying that the Syrian people are waking from the dream of lies of the Assad family and the facts prove that the Israeli people are no longer the enemy, “rather a partner in our struggle against the common enemy — Assad, Iran, and Hezbollah.”
Safadi, who got himself in hot water in 2012 when he “presented himself as an official envoy of the State of Israel working on cooperation with the Syrian opposition” without official approval, said that after almost three years of bloodshed in Syria, the time had come for the world to open its eyes and unite in order to end the slaughter.
He added that there was a series of meetings in the works to strengthen the ties between Israel and the Syrian people.
November 7th, 2013, 11:21 pm
zoo said:
Saudi’s plan to build an Islamic army is doomed and may force the opposition to rush to Geneva as they will be the main loser of that new Saudi supported “Army of Mohammad”
Syrian Rebel Groups Vie for Saudi Funding and Weapons
http://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Middle-East/Syrian-Rebel-Groups-Vie-for-Saudi-Funding-and-Weapons.html
….
This Saudi effort will only serve to further polarize the rebels. The main losers are likely to be the currently recognized leaders of the opposition—the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces and the allied Higher Military Council of the Free Syrian Army. At its latest meeting on October 22, the Friends of Syria core group, of which Saudi Arabia is a member, called on the National Coalition to commit to representing the Syrian opposition at a Geneva II peace conference slated for late November. But many of the new rebel alliances, including those receiving stepped-up Saudi support, have already withdrawn their recognition of the National Coalition and Higher Military Council, or threatened to do so, in response to their presumed readiness to attend the conference.
…
Buying a Ready-Made Rebel Army
The prospect of building a rebel army outside Syria is poor. The only practical way to build one is to amalgamate and sponsor existing armed groups inside Syria—but that too is becoming more difficult as rebel alliances shift and proliferate.
Many of Syria’s rebel groups are positioning themselves to receive Saudi funding and weapons by declaring mergers and alliances. In fact, competition for external funding has long been a powerful driver of organizational dynamics within Syria’s armed rebellion. Not all of that support comes from government sources. It is already customary for private donors in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates to sponsor rebel groups of their choice, most often Salafists or jihadists, as the Facebook pages of these forces proudly attest.
Most prominent among the new groups receiving Saudi government funding is the Army of Islam, formed on September 29. It was founded by 43 rebel brigades and battalions in the Damascus region under the leadership of Zahran Alloush, commander of the local Islam Brigade (the backbone of the Army of Islam) and secretary general of the Syrian Islamic Liberation Front. Although the Army of Islam denied press reports of Saudi sponsorship, its stated aim of “uniting the efforts of all factions . . . and forming an official army” coincided precisely with the Saudi objective.
The formation of the Army of Islam closely followed the publication by the association of Muslim ulema in Syria of a proposal to unite Islamist rebel groups under a single Army of Muhammad, with a stated target of building up to a strength of 100,000 by March 2015 and 250,000 by March 2016.
November 7th, 2013, 11:31 pm
zoo said:
In the new Egyptian Constitution being drafted, Al Azhar will be independent and with no political role. It will just be an authority to ascertain Egypt’s Islamic identity and prevent the ‘fatwa’ war
Egypt constitution to confirm Azhar independent, says member
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/11/article55321691
The committee member added that an agreement had been reached to remove an article which stipulated that Al-Azhar must be consulted on all issues relating to Islamic Shari’a law. Article 4 of the 2012 constitution is now set to read: “Al-Azhar is an independent inclusive Islamic institution, which specializes in its own affairs, and takes charge of Islamic preaching and teaching in Egypt.”
“Al-Azhar representatives confirmed that Al-Azhar will not accept the organization being placed above other authorities, or granted a political role which could be used by others for their own political ends,” the source said.
November 7th, 2013, 11:54 pm
zoo said:
Iran to relax visa requirements amid tourism boom
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/06/world/meast/iran-tourism-boom-sayah/index.html
…
Iranian officials have announced plans to ease visa requirements for most foreign visitors within the next several months. According to state media, once the new visa guidelines are in place, tourists from most countries will be able to pick up their visas on arrival, with the exception of travelers from at least ten countries — including the U.S. and the UK.
…
According to the Iranian Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Organization, Iran attracted roughly four million tourists last year and generated about $8 billion in revenue. Tourism officials predict less restrictive visa guidelines and Rouhani’s policy of moderation will help those numbers increase significantly.
“The number of tourists has been increasing day by day and we’re feeling the increase,” says Mohammad Eslami, a tour guide for the Tehran-based Azadi International Tourism Organization.
On a typical day in Tehran it’s not hard to find tour buses filled with tourists weaving through the capital’s historic neighborhoods.
“People are amazingly warm and generous here. It’s been a wonderful,” says Ryan Hendricks, who is visiting Iran with his wife and daughter from the Netherlands.
“What we see of Iran on TV news is not true,” says Finnish tourist Janna Kauppinn. “This is a country full of history with wonderful people and amazing food.”
November 8th, 2013, 12:02 am
ghufran said:
Without a major breakthrough in Reef Dimashq in the next few weeks/ months rebels will have little territories in Damascus province under their control. It is obvious now that large areas in the East are left to their doomed fate under ISIS rule while Kurds are likely to consolidate their wins in their region. Coastal cities remain largely intact and under firm regime control and Syrian Urbanites are less likely than ever to join the “revolution” after seeing what the new masters brought to “liberated” areas, the only new gig for rebels today is attacking Swayda to intimidate and punish another group of Syrians, the Druz.
Think about the new little mini states created by this war and tell me honestly what did Syrian rebels win by moving from “self defense” into “liberation” mode ?
Do not forget the refugees and where they come from, to me the rebels hurt the people they wanted to defend the most, they did manage to kill over 15,000 Syrian soldiers but the price most Syrians paid was too high to the point that I see it as a rip off.
Keep talking about Sunnis, Shia, Alawites, Shabeehas,etc and ignore the fact that our people are now the butt of jokes for all nations.
November 8th, 2013, 1:00 am
Hopeful said:
# 1678 Tara
I agree. Syria has been living on fault line for decades and the earthquake was due to happen any moment.
The one thing that regime’s supporters like Zoo consistently fail to see, is that no one and no group “started” the revolution, and therefore they cannot stop it.
If the intellectual opposition figures, like Kilo and Gallioun, have failed in anything, it is in convincing the regime to reform and change its ways before the country exploded. The question they should be asking themselves is “did we do enough before 2011 to convince Bashar that unless he makes dramatic changes, the country will fall apart.”
November 8th, 2013, 1:01 am
Hopeful said:
# 1686 Ghufran
“Think about the new little mini states created by this war and tell me honestly what did Syrian rebels win by moving from “self defense” into “liberation” mode ?”
An excellent question! But revolutions are very difficult to control let alone manage. The Syrian revolution is even more extreme as it had many heads and a very brutal opponent.
One cannot attack or defend the “revolution” because it is not an “entity”. The Syrian “rebels” are not a single entity either. The bottom line is that for the madness to stop, the influencers are the regime, along with Russia and Iran, and the governments and groups that are funding and arming the rebels.
November 8th, 2013, 1:23 am
Badr said:
Even though the brutish actions of ISIL support the mantra of the Assad regime, one cannot conclude that the two are in cahoots with each other.
Al-Qaeda Aims to Silence Activists in Syria’s Raqqa
By Serene Assir (AFP)
Asked why the army has not tried to retake Raqqa, a general in Damascus told AFP: “We want to make an example out of Raqqa. We want the people to see what happens when the rebels take over.”
November 8th, 2013, 4:58 am
Akbar Palace said:
#1672 is ok with the Israelis, the Indians, the Iranians, and the Christian west owning nuc weapons, but not ok with any Sunni country owning one.
Tara,
Isn’t Pakistan considered a Sunni country? No one is challenging Pakistan’s nuclear program. There was a Pakistaini nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, who was declared a “serious proliferation risk” by the US government.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Qadeer_Khan
I have no problem with responsible countries obtaining nuclear weapons. Currently, North Korea and Iran should not have them.
I would prefer every country get rid of them. But as we’ve seen, lots of people can die using other less spectacular methods.
November 8th, 2013, 7:21 am
Akbar Palace said:
Where’s John Bolton when you Need Him NewZ
As expected, the wusses in the US and Europe sold out the Middle East to Iran.
A dangerous region now becomes more dangerous. Business and usual.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24862743
November 8th, 2013, 7:29 am
Heads-up said:
Akbar Palace,
Instead of Bibi Netenyaho making meaningless statement, why doesn’t he seek Guidance from the Guided King like many states do in the neighborhood? After all, this is a region issue before it is an issue for disinterested diplomats of total wussiness in far away places.
In particular, Netenyaho may seek Guidance from the Guided King on how to fly bombers and fighter jets over the Guided Kingdom in order to complete the mission and do away with this scourge once and for all. Fighter jets may fly over the shortest route to this terrorist entity of mullocrats and may even land, refuel and re-arm in the Guided Kingdom’s airfields. Things may even get better, if the Guided King was predisposed, and he may instruct Guided fighter pilots to take part in the mission with their Typhons, F16s and other Guided bombers and jet fighters.
It shouldn’t take more than a month to reduce the mullocracy to stone-age rubble with this plan. Who knows the mission may even extend to do away with the terrorist Serpent head of Ass-head and also the terrorists of the Maliki, Sadr and others in Iraq.
November 8th, 2013, 8:39 am
zoo said:
Syrian army closes in on Aleppo after dawn attack
http://www.courant.com/news/nation-world/sns-rt-us-syria-crisis-aleppo-20131108,0,292073.story
…
The advance into Base 80, a large military position which rebels have held since February, will help Assad’s forces move towards rebel-held areas of Aleppo city and follows a string of successful offensives this month.
…
Rebels from Liwa al-Tawid, the largest insurgent force in Aleppo, told him that their unit as well as dozens of others had been pushed out of most parts of the base but were regrouping to retake the area, next to Aleppo International Airport, which is still under government control.
Rebels told him 25 of their fighters had died.
A monitoring group that uses a network of pro- and anti-Assad sources said that the offensive was aided by the Lebanese Shi’ite militant group Hezbollah and pro-Assad militia.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that hard-line Islamist rebel units linked to al Qaeda also took part in the clashes, which it said killed at least 15 rebels and several pro-Assad militants.
November 8th, 2013, 8:39 am
zoo said:
@1693 Hopeful
There has been many opportunities for the opposition to stop the murderous escalation at the early stages of the uprising.
The SNC recognized as “leader of the revolution” by the FOS should have listened and accepted Russia’s invitation to help in solving the issue peacefully instead of listening to the bad advices of USA, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and France who had their own agenda, zero influence on Bashar Al Assad and were making theatrical promises that Bashar al Assad was illegitimate and would fall very quickly with their help.
As I repeated before the opposition made the wrong choice all along, politically by relying on countries with loud voice, little real power and dubious agendas, and militarily on “friendly’ Sunni Islamists helpers that turned out to be much worse than the regime they were fighting for.
I consider that the opposition ( in particular the SNC) and their “funds providers and advisors” ( mainly Turkey, Qatar and KSA) bears the largest responsibility in the disaster in Syria.
While the West finally got the message, silently admitted their mistake and are backtracking, Saudi Arabia, newly popped up as the “guided leader of the Syrian Sunni revolution” is still on the illusion it can still win that ‘Islamic game’ even if Syria should be totally destroyed and its people either dead or exiled.
My only hope is that like Qatar and Turkey, they will face a humiliating defeat.
November 8th, 2013, 9:07 am
Akbar Palace said:
Instead of Bibi Netenyaho making meaningless statement, why doesn’t he seek Guidance from the Guided King like many states do in the neighborhood?
Heads-Up,
Thank you. Reading between the lines, I am thinking that the GOI is working very closely with the KSA. Hopefully, while working together, they formulate a plan to destroy the most critical components of Mullastan’s nuclear program. Because the IDF is limited in power, they may only buy a couple of years before Mullastan rebuilds.
Netanyahu, as usual, reaches out to the pro-Israel Western audience to help pull whatever administration to Israel’s corner. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes’s it creates more anti-Israel sentiment. I remember when this happened when Reagen was president and the administration wanted to sell sophisticated F-15s to the KSA. Israel lost that effort at the time.
Now the GOI and the KSA are on the same page. This is good. Working together makes it easier to succeed.
Obama is a schmuck, and the Jewish community who votes for these liberal A-holes should have their voter privledges revoked. I get so mad at my people’s schtoopidity!
November 8th, 2013, 9:26 am
Sami said:
Omen,
I tried answering your question a few times but the spam filter keeps eating the reply.
Google the guys name and add Duetschland to it you will get an article talkin about said agent.
November 8th, 2013, 9:47 am
Uzair8 said:
From Yalla Souriya:
#Syria #Homs #Mahin –
Interesting comments on the capture of the Mahin (Mheen) ammunition depot from @6number6:
this weapons capture in Mahin is by far the largest haul of weapons the rebels have made in the war to date. Should facilitate gains.
what’s most important is the total inability of the regime to prevent the capture of this massive weapons cache.
this massive weapons capture bolsters the analysis of many of us that Assad is inevitably going down. maybe sooner than we think.
regime failure to prevent Mahin weapons capture shows how tremendously strapped for manpower the regime is.
one would have thought the regime would flood Mahin with forces to prevent an arms capture that large. Regime is choking for men.
the amount of weapons the rebels have seized at Mahin is simply mind-boggling. Rebel weapons shortages unimaginable henceforth.
I would not want to be the Defense Minister or SAA commander who has to explain the loss of the Mahin caches to Assad.
Pro-Assad forces are definitely going to experience the effects of those captured arms. Big time, and with quick impact.
——————————————–
{Poster addendum} [RN] One proviso is that the rebels have to move weapons out of the depot, and given the suggested quantities of many thousands of tons, that is a very large task. Currently we have not been shown any visual evidence of whether and how this is being done. Given that this was clearly a large a well-coordinated operation one can only assume that preparations have been made.
Another remarkable feature of this operation is the weakness of the regime’s air response. There is video footage of one or more regime jets attacking the rebels, but given the importance of the depot and the relatively open terrain one would have expected a much more concerted use of air power against the rebel forces.
http://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/syria-homs-mahin-interesting-comments-on-the-capture/
November 8th, 2013, 10:11 am
Uzair8 said:
From Yalla Souriya:
#Syria #Hezbollah –
A revealing comment by a Hezbollah fighter:
“If we don’t defend the Syrian regime, it would fall within two hours,” said Ali, a 27-year-old Lebanese fighter who has served with Hizballah for more than 10 years. He requested that only his first name be used. “Our leadership [in Lebanon] took the decision that it would not be acceptable for Syria to fall [to the Sunni-dominated rebels] because we would be encircled by enemies in Syria and Israel.”
…………………………………………………………………
Read more: In Syria, Hizballah Helps Assad in the Battle for Qalamoun | TIME.com http://world.time.com/2013/11/07/taking-the-lead-hizballah-girds-for-key-syria-battle-on-assads-behalf/#ixzz2k2p2Ntag
http://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/syria-hezbollah-a-revealing-comment-by-a-hezbollah/
November 8th, 2013, 10:16 am
Rancher said:
“Stinger missiles are on their way to the courageous and heroic fighters of the Syrian revolution.”
That could be a game changer if true.
November 8th, 2013, 10:29 am
Rancher said:
What I’ve seen reported is about a dozen stingers that they got back in July. Supposedly these didn’t come from the US. That won’t mean much, what’s needed is a program like what we gave the resistance in Afghanistan during the Soviet war.
November 8th, 2013, 1:16 pm
zoo said:
Will ISIS leader, Bakr Al Baghdadi, obey Al Zawahiri’s order and withdraw his fighters from Syria, leaving Al Nusra alone in charge?
Bakr al Baghdadi, ISI (Islamic state of Iraq) leader has confronted Jabhat Al Nusra leader, Al Gholani, and has wanted to dissolve Al Nusra and integrate it in a new organization, ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham.)
“65% of Al Nusra declared the allegeance to Al Baghdadi.” Al Golani refused the order to report to Al Baghdadi. Yet ISIS took control over most areas that Al Nusra was holding, including Al Raqqa.
“ISIS opened the door for new members without checking the quality of the new members. ISIS started paying $200 a month for each fighter, and thousands of men in ISIS’s area of control joined the group.”
Now Ayman Al Zawari, the top leader of Al Qaeda made a declaration cancelling the ISIS and giving back to Al NusRa exclusivity on Syria. It is yet to understand the reasons behind this decision and if Al Baghdadi will accept it.
Qaeda chief says Nusra Front alone runs Syria ops
[ 08 November 2013 02:15 ]
Baku-APA. Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has ordered the Iraqi faction of his network to stop meddling in Syria and anointed Al-Nusra Front jihadists to carry the network’s banner in the civil war, APA reports quoting AFP.
The demand for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant to shut down in Syria was included in an audiotape broadcast by Al-Jazeera Friday that confirms a written order issued in June that has so far gone unheeded.
…
Zawahiri said Al-Nusra was the jihadist’s group only branch in Syria, tasked with reporting “to the general command,” and will no longer operate under the banner of Al-Qaeda’s Iraq affiliate.
“The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is to be abolished, while the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) remains functioning,” he said.
http://en.apa.az/news/202437
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2013/11/syria-islamic-state-iraq-sham-growth.html##ixzz2k5T10o5E
November 8th, 2013, 3:37 pm
ALAN said:
Alleged Walkie-Talkie Conversation between Members of al-Qaeda’s ISIL and FSA in Aleppo
http://youtu.be/PcB0hvsWP74
November 8th, 2013, 4:36 pm
ALAN said:
“You can speak Hebrew on the streets and nobody will pay you any attention. There’s no reason to fear here in Erbil.”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/151888/israel-kurdistan-love-story
November 8th, 2013, 5:00 pm
zoo said:
One more fatal mistep by the opposition as usual ill advised by Bandar ben Sultan who is furious that Russia rejected his bribe.
Syrian opposition refuses (informal) dialogue proposed by Russia
Last Updated At: 2013-11-08 8:54 PM
http://thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Syrian+oppn+refuses+dialogue&NewsID=396405
BEIRUT: Syria’s main Western-backed opposition group has refused to participate in talks in Moscow with Syrian government organizations on resolving the country’s humanitarian crisis, the Russian Foreign Ministry and opposition figures said on Friday. Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said the Syrian National Coalition is “blocking and refusing to participate” in the talks. Russian officials had hoped the talks would bolster prospects for a proposed peace conference to be convened in Geneva.
November 8th, 2013, 5:41 pm
ALAN said:
Kurds believe their tormentors – It is a farce
Ankara to host first-ever international Kurdish conference
http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=330990
http://youtu.be/rjrH2yyhEEY?t=2s
http://youtu.be/1auNTdJjOhc?t=1s
http://youtu.be/A7hsA5iNs6g
November 8th, 2013, 5:43 pm
ALAN said:
Dear Mr. Putin! Spyware is based on leaps and bounds in the Eastern Mediterranean
The British turned Cyprus into the largest base for espionage and Israelis erected antennas northern Israel to eavesdrop and NATO made ??from Incirlik area of ??operations to spy! Where are yours?
November 8th, 2013, 5:54 pm
ALAN said:
Syria crisis: Saudi Arabia to spend millions to train new rebel force
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/07/syria-crisis-saudi-arabia-spend-millions-new-rebel-force
November 8th, 2013, 6:16 pm
Uzair8 said:
These mist covered mountains
Are a home now for me
But my home is the lowlands
And always will be
Someday you’ll return to
Your valleys and your farms
And you’ll no longer burn to be
Brothers in arms
Through these fields of destruction
Baptisms of fire
I’ve witnessed your suffering
As the battle raged higher
And though they did hurt me so bad
In the fear and alarm
You did not desert me
My brothers in arms
[…]
A tribute to the brave Syrian heroes.
Courtesy of Dire Straits (Brother in Arms).
Come on FSA! Where are ya!? Where’s the spirit of the early days?
November 8th, 2013, 6:25 pm
Tara said:
Dear Alan@ 1706
Your repeated calls on Mr. Putin have gone unanswered.
Haven’t you gotten it yet?
Mr. Putin simply doesn’t like you. I suggest that you ignore him the same way he ignores you. Enough trying. You deserve much better.
November 8th, 2013, 6:25 pm
Uzair8 said:
Alan
I wish you wouldn’t be so publicly critical of Mr Putin. I worry for you. I don’t want you ending up in a Goulag. Please be careful.
Whatever happened to poor Citizen? I’m mulling contacting Amnesty Int. to look into it. Hope he isn’t in Siberia or the Steppes. Wouldn’t put it past the Kremlin. A cruel lot they are.
November 8th, 2013, 6:32 pm
Uzair8 said:
Dire Straits & Eric Clapton in London (Wembley Stadium) performing ‘Brothers in Arms’ at Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday party (1988):
November 8th, 2013, 6:42 pm
Tara said:
Hopeful
Yes. One can’t see what one doesn’t want to see. Evidence does not matter.
November 8th, 2013, 6:47 pm
Uzair8 said:
We keenly await the victory
The brave heroes having liberated their land and people
Will return to the cities and towns
Bruised, battered and exhausted
The people lining the streets showering them with rose petals
Some rushing to hug them
Thanking them, consoling them over fallen comrades
There will be joy and celebration
Tears, memories and release of long held back emotions
Prayers and thanks to Heaven above
Not a dry eye to be seen
November 8th, 2013, 7:11 pm
ALAN said:
Americans need to understand that they have lost their country. The rest of the world needs to recognize that Washington is not merely the most complete police state since Stalinism, but also a threat to the entire world. The hubris and arrogance of Washington, combined with Washington’s huge supply of weapons of mass destruction, make Washington the greatest threat that has ever existed to all life on the planet. Washington is the enemy of all humanity.
Paul Craig Roberts
http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2013/november/08/how-america-was-lost.aspx
November 8th, 2013, 7:49 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
The Guided Kingdom has now made it clear that it will only recognize the defunct UNSC and lend it support and much needed Guidance if it is reformed in such a manner that the Guided Kingdom is given a permanent seat.
The Guided Kingdom is the undisputed leader of the Umma of over 1.5 Billion, and therefore it must be given the permenant seat in accordance with its important status.
Once again, His Majesty, the Guided King of the Guided Kingdom, Commander of the Faithful of the Umma, may he protected and given long long life, has proven to be a source of much needed Guidance to this world which has been made chaotic due to the irresponsible behaviour of so-called super powers.
November 8th, 2013, 8:28 pm
omen said:
November 8th, 2013, 8:35 pm
zoo said:
A very bad news for Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Syrian opposition. Thanks to Obama, the USA is finally realizing who are the “rogue” countries
West and Iran Seen as Nearing a Nuclear Deal
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/world/middleeast/iran.html?_r=0
GENEVA — After years of fruitless negotiations, Western and Iranian diplomats are on the verge of an agreement that would freeze Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for an easing of some
Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to travel here on Friday at the invitation of Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, in an effort “to help narrow differences,” a senior State Department official said. If that goes well, the pact could be announced later in the day, Iranian officials said.
But even as the two sides tried to finalize the agreement on Thursday, fissures have widened between the United States and some of its principal allies over the potential pact, which has been hailed by the Obama administration as a possible breakthrough in the standoff over Iran’s nuclear aspirations but dismissed by critics as a temporizing measure that would leave the core of Tehran’s atomic program intact.
…
Proponents say the deal has the potential not just to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon but also to open the way to a historic warming of relations between the nations, though American officials say there is no indication so far that Iran is willing to alienate traditional allies like the Shiite militant group Hezbollah or President Bashar al-Assad of Syria.
Critics, however, are not waiting for an agreement to be announced before denouncing it as a failure of will. On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel warned of a “grievous historic error” that he said would enable Iran to keep enriching uranium and preserve the option of developing nuclear arms while undermining support in the international community for economic sanctions.
November 8th, 2013, 9:52 pm
zoo said:
The Syrian Moslem Brotherhood is converting to a ” political party”
Syrian Muslim Brotherhood promise new party
Party to welcome non-Brotherhood Islamists, Shi’ites, Kurds and non-Muslims into its membership; deputy president will be a Christian priest
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/11/article55321732
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat from Turkey on Wednesday, Bayanouni revealed that the Brotherhood will officially announce the establishment of Waad on November 12. He added that the party’s deputy leader will be a Christian.
Bayanouni also revealed that the Waad Constituent Assembly had agreed that a third of the membership of the new party will be allocated to Muslim Brothers, a third to other Islamists, and the final third to liberal and nationalist figures. He added that the party would be a liberal, nationalist party, open to all sections of society, but based on Islamic principles.
The Syrian Brotherhood limited the party’s principles to 10 points, revolving around the concepts of equality, justice, dignity and freedom, democratic mechanisms and Islamic scholarship. The party will also adopt the revolution’s objectives, promote the unity of the Syrian people and territory, and adopt just causes, including supporting Palestine.
The Brotherhood announced it would adopt the parliamentary system to achieve development and justice at all levels. It also vowed to ensure the separation of powers and the independence and fairness of the judicial system.
….
Sources from within the Syrian Brotherhood confirmed that the post of deputy president of Waad will be given to a Christian priest, and that the party’s executive committee will include a number of Christians, Alawites and Kurds, and that the Muslim Brotherhood will keep an influential proportion with a third of the membership.
November 8th, 2013, 11:42 pm
Hopeful said:
#1718 Zoo
What is your take? Is this a good sign?
November 9th, 2013, 12:31 am
ziad said:
Syrian army closes in on Aleppo after dawn attack
Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, backed by a dawn barrage of artillery fire and air strikes, drove Syrian rebels from a strategic military base near the disputed northern city of Aleppo on Friday, a local photographer said.
The advance into Base 80, a large military position which rebels have held since February, will help Assad’s forces move towards rebel-held areas of Aleppo city and follows a string of successful offensives this month.
But the fight continued on Friday afternoon after rebels regrouped and clashed with the army at the base, activists said. Opposition video footage showed rebels firing heavy machine guns.
Once Syria’s most populous city, the former commercial hub of Aleppo has been divided roughly in half by the warring parties. Rebels hold most of Aleppo province but the government wants to keep a foothold in the north, where rebel supplies flood in from Turkey.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/08/us-syria-crisis-aleppo-idUSBRE9A70JN20131108
November 9th, 2013, 1:17 am
omen said:
November 9th, 2013, 4:02 am
omen said:
the bystander effect has been mentioned before to explain why so many syrians remain sitting on the fence.
this i think could also be applicable (what is syria but a huge prison?):
which, in turn, reminded me of this syndrome:
November 9th, 2013, 4:49 am
Tara said:
Omen@ 1722 in regard the prisoner experiment
Thank you much. The best read of the last several month perhaps . It gives me empathy to those Sunnis “uncle Tom” of the regime.
That is why the expat are the most vocal. Being released from the large open prison called Syria, we bounced back and are able to see the profound dehumanization Syrians suffered over 40 years. I personally did not *hate* the family at all living in Syria. I *hated* them after I moved to the US and without a new trigger.
November 9th, 2013, 8:36 am
zoo said:
Another fiasco for the opposition with no decision taken about Geneva II participation? Or they will announce for the nth time the “imminence” of the ‘transitional’ government while Syrians are dying?
Syrian opposition seek in Istanbul to heal deep divisons on peace conference
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syrian-opposition-seek-in-istanbul-to-heal-deep-divisons-on-peace-conference.aspx?pageID=238&nid=57654&NewsCatID=352
November 9th, 2013, 8:39 am
Tara said:
Bravo to SNC giving the finger to Russia refusing to meet with them, and Bravo to activists organizing Friday Demonstrations in Syria condemning the Iranian occupation of Syria:
Filthy Iran get out if Syria!
??????: ?????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? (????????)
???? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ???? ?????? ????????? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ?????. ?? ??? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ?????? ????2.
??? ????????? ??? ???? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ????????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ???????? ???????? ???? ??????? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ????2 ??? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ???????? ???????.
????? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ?????. ????? ?? ???????? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ???? ??????? “??? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????”? ??? ????.
???? ???? ?? ???????? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ???????? ?? ???? ?????.
?? ????? ??? ???? ???????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ???????? ?????? ???? ?????? ????????? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ????2 ???? ?????.
???? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??? ?????. ???? ??? “???? ?????? ???? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ????? ????2? ????? ?? ????????? ??? ?????? ???????? ???? ???????? ?? ??? ????????”.
???????
?? ???? ???? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ???????? ?????? ??????? “?? ???????? ???????? ??????”.
??? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ???????? ??????? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ????? ???????. ????? ?????????? ????? ?????? ?????????? ?????????? ?? ?????.
??? ???? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ?????????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??? ?????? ???? “???????? ???????? ??????”.
??? ?????? ??? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????????? ?????? ????? ??????? ??????? ???? ??????.
??? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ????????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ????????? ?????????? ?? ?????
,,,,
Aljazeera
November 9th, 2013, 9:05 am
zoo said:
Hopeful
The MB wants to survive in Syria and get some role in the political life of Syria, therefore they have opted to form a ‘political’ party with no strict religious affiliations in conformity with the rules established by the Syrian Government for political parties. It shows that they have become pragmatic after the debacle of the MB in Egypt.
I believe that Qatar and Turkey who have almost lost control of the SNC, have encouraged and will finance that party. It seems that they too are becoming pragmatic and accepting to play the game by the democratic rules within the current Syrian constitution.
Yet I wonder how much acceptance they will get in Syria.
It is still significant to see an opposition group forming a inclusive political party instead of whining and begging foreign countries to intervene..
I wish all the other opposition groups would do the same, but I doubt the SNC made mostly of expats under the tight control of Saudi Arabia would attempt to become a political party. They have zero credibility within Syria. This is why they keep repeating that they are the ‘only legitimate opposition’
Saudi Arabia wants to get the full control of the country by force, not through a democratic political process. Saudi Arabia is a family dictatorship. Any countries becoming too democratic is a threat for their own system.
November 9th, 2013, 9:06 am
Uzair8 said:
Brothers in Arms
From AJE blog from several hours ago:
Syrian rebels have regained control of a strategic base near Aleppo international airport in fierce fighting that left more than 50 people dead, a monitoring group has said.
Troops backed by fighters from Lebanese group Hezbollah had recaptured large parts of Base 80 outside Syria’s main northern city in an assault on Friday morning, before rebel fighters, among them al-Qaeda loyalists, counter-attacked after dark, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“As a result of the fighting, the rebels and jihadists have retaken the parts of the base that were captured during the day by the army,” the watchdog’s director Rami Abdel Rahman said.
He said the fighting had left at least 53 people dead, 33 on the rebel side and 20 on the government side. [AFP]
November 9th, 2013, 10:04 am
Ghufran said:
“???????? ?????? ??????”: ????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? “???? 2”
So, if the bride wants to get married why did she say No first?
November 9th, 2013, 10:32 am
Sami said:
“So, if the bride wants to get married why did she say No first?”
Playing hard to get?
Jokes aside even with an official invitation I doubt the SNC would go without some compromise from the regime. You have to remember Ghufran the regime has not implemented a single point of the six point plan, and as long as they don’t do so, there is absolutely no reason for the opposition to sit down with the regime.
A reminder of the Six Point Plan:
November 9th, 2013, 11:11 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Putin, you ingrate worthless scum… answer ALAN. The kid is crying its heart out trying to reach out to you.
November 9th, 2013, 11:19 am
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
ALAN
Try nus-lira next time. I heard that it answers appeals. You may want to ask Iran’s representative zouzou to mediate, it may have a direct line to khamenei, and from there on, all the way to god. Who needs the ingrate putin when one can have khamenei.
`
November 9th, 2013, 11:22 am
ghufran said:
Sami,
This is from the NY times, sadly enough many of us here talked about this 2 years ago:
The wife of a rebel commander said that her husband’s fighters could accept Mr. Assad’s remaining for a while if other demands were met. She acknowledged they were among the insurgency’s most pragmatic figures and committed to pluralism. They are from Yabroud, an ethnically mixed town where civilian activists provide local services under rebel rule.
“The point is not Assad but the security system,” she said, adding that the exile coalition had lost touch with Syrian suffering. “If they want to help us, they should accept this solution.”
She said the United States should arrange talks and push for a confidence-building deal: a monthlong cease-fire in which rebels would stop shelling government positions in exchange for the release of political prisoners, especially women and children, and the delivery of humanitarian aid to blockaded areas.
To numerous analysts and Syrian centrists, the best-case outlook now is a transitional government that includes Mr. Assad and opposition figures, a gradual process of change that includes a new constitution and transparent elections, and agreement that he will eventually step down by declining to run for re-election.
“My view, which causes fear and loathing throughout Washington,” Mr. Crocker, the former ambassador, said, “is we really need to be making more of an effort to talk to regime people,” as well as to form direct contacts with insurgents and their supporters inside Syria.
November 9th, 2013, 11:31 am
ghufran said:
Col. Ibrahim Bitar (defected from AFI)answers a question about whether the Syrian conflict can be solved with force:
???? ????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ???? ????? ????????? ????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ????????? ???? ??? “???? ???? ??? ?????? ?????????” ??? ?????? ????? ????? ?????????? ?????? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????????.
??? ??? ??? ???? ??? ?? ?? “?????? ????????” ????? ?? ???? ????? ?? “?????? ?????????”? ??? ????? ?? “?????? ????????” ?? ??????? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ???????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ????????? ?? ?????? ?????? ? ????? ??? ?? ????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? “???????” ????.
????? ????? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ????.
??? ??? ??? ???? ??? ?? ???? ????? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ?? ??? ??? ??? ??????? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ??????? ???????? ???????? “??? ???? ?? ??????? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ??????? ?????? ?? ??????”. “???? ??? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ?????????? ??????? ????”.
????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ????? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ????? “???? ??????? ???????”.
??? ??? ??? ???? ??? ????? ??? ???? ??????????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ? ??? ????? ?? ???? ????????? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ??? ??? “????? ??????” ??? ??????? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ????? “??? ????? ????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ???? ?? ??? ???? ????”.
November 9th, 2013, 11:43 am
Tara said:
Putin and Khamenei do not interest me.
I am looking for the Mahdi in Harasta. I am dying to find him. Can Iran’s reps on SC help,?
November 9th, 2013, 12:04 pm
ziad said:
Confessions Of A Syrian Activist: “I Want Assad To Win”
To one prominent activist, Syria’s revolution is already lost. “If we keep going down this line, I think this will be known in history as the Islamic revolution in Syria.”
The activist threw himself into Syria’s revolution from its early days. He organized protests, documented the deadly crackdowns and disseminated the news, risking his life. When the opposition took up arms, he worked closely with rebel groups, helping to spread their message of resistance and taking toll of the war’s carnage in places journalists couldn’t reach. He has won widespread recognition for his work, and he remains deeply involved in the struggle today — though he no longer calls it a revolution. In fact, he thinks it needs to end.
The activist works under his real name, but he requested anonymity to give the candid assessment of the conflict laid out in these remarks, which are compiled from a recent in-depth interview. Asked to speak on the record, he deliberated with friends and colleagues and ultimately declined. He says he fears a backlash: His words could be used to undermine his work, or he could be misunderstood. He also cites safety concerns. But he believes that his message, unpopular among his revolutionary colleagues, is one they need to hear — that their revolution has ended; that a dangerous wave of Islamic extremism has welled up in its place; that they should work to stop the fighting now; and that if they can’t, they should hope it’s Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who wins.
“To simply say I want Assad to win would be a disaster if anyone heard it,” the activist says. “But we’ve created a monster. For too long on the ground, there was too much focus on the crimes the regime was committing and not enough on our own problems. And addressing these problems was always being delayed.
“So we knew there was some sort of Islamism in the fighting even when it was starting back in 2012 and we would ignore this, because we would say it would all end soon — Assad is going to fall in two weeks; Assad is going to fall in a month; Assad’s going to fall in Aleppo. At each moment, we thought it was going to end very soon, and that meant we were neglecting the mistakes that were being made [among the revolution]. We were thinking, OK, the regime’s going to fall, and we can solve this later. We just need to get rid of Assad. This was a big mistake.
“To that extent, we’ve created ISIS [the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, a powerful al-Qaeda affiliate that is gaining ground in the rebellion]. And we’ve created Jabhat al-Nusra [another Qaeda-linked group].”
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikegiglio/confessions-of-a-syrian-activist-i-want-assad-to-win
November 9th, 2013, 12:47 pm
ALAN said:
1732. SYRIAN HAMSTER
Do you have anything useful except bickering! Do you have a program?Is it the national and benefit people in Syria?
November 9th, 2013, 1:36 pm
ALAN said:
Hamster! Have you ideas about getting rid of the oppression of Al-Qaeda for the Syrian population?
November 9th, 2013, 1:49 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
It is becoming clearer and clearer that the framework of 5+1 for talks with the rogue terrorist entity of mullocratic mullahstan has been ill-conceived from the very beginning, and the US will appear once again as the super-fool it really is in front of the whole world, thanks to wuss policies adopted by wuss administration(s).
It is becoming apparent that only one policy works with this entitity of terrorist mullahs: the threat of force must be always present along with a determined will to use it.
This is the mentality of these carpet merchants seeking to apply bazar bargaining techniques on an issue the world is not capable of letting it derail it.
The disinterested diplomats of the super-fools must be made to understand that this issue concerns the regional powers above all and before all. In particular, the Guided Kingdom along with willing regional powers will soon take it upon themselves to provide Guidance to the world and proceed without hesitation into neutralizing this scourge of Shiite terrorism once and for all and for all generations to come.
November 9th, 2013, 2:26 pm
SYRIAN HAMSTER said:
Making fun of pathetic regime supporters is a most useful thing. Taking such creatures with anything more serious than derision and contempt is a waste of time and efforts.
November 9th, 2013, 7:24 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Another development happened today which once again presents another opportunity to deride and show contempt for pathetic supporters of Shiite terrorists of the mullocratic entity of mullahstan.
The Byzantine talks between the super fools of the 5+1 and the mullocrats have come to an end without conclusion.
The proper lesson to learn from the futile process is that the mullocrats are just using the talks as a never ending process. The very fact that super fools impose sanctions then offer talks is a self defeating strategy. You can only impose sanctions and wait till they bear fruit when the mullocrat come in surrendering seeking reprieve. You don’t offer talks while the sanctions are in place.
At one point the use of force must become the option to follow. Mullahstan must be bombed back to the stone age.
November 9th, 2013, 7:56 pm
zoo said:
Trapped and squeezed the opposition is desperately looking for a face saving exit in order to accept to go to Geneva after having announced their pre-conditions.
Now there is no more the pre-conditions that Bashar should resign, but instead he should be “pressured” to do what? no one knows.
The ones that are pressured from all sides even by their ‘allies-1″
is the opposition. They have no choice left than go to the Geneva, weaker than ever and with little to negotiate.
Their request is one more of these pathetic pointless and immature announcements they have used us to.
Where is the PM of the promised ‘transitional governement’? When are they moving to Azaz? Where is the “national army”?
The opposition has no credibility and still a huge ego.
SNC wants pressure on Assad before talks
November 10, 2013
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/bab608a6-052c-4e25-8915-43968e863384.aspx
ISTANBUL: Syria’s splintered opposition coalition insisted on Saturday it would not go to peace talks in Geneva unless pressure was brought to bear on Damascus to abide by the outcome.
“We have always said that we are fully committed to Geneva. But we are worried that if we go there the Assad regime is not serious about the implementation of Geneva,” said coalition spokesman Khaled Saleh.
He was speaking as the opposition battling to topple Syrian President Bashar Al Assad met in Istanbul to decide whether to attend a peace conference that world powers want to hold in Geneva.
The meeting involving the main umbrella group, the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), and due to run into Sunday took place as rebels retook a strategic base in northern Syria.
November 9th, 2013, 8:30 pm
zoo said:
Increasingly accused of contributing to the violence in Syria by allowing the passage of weapons to rebels, Turkey’s makes theatrical arrests to prove its “innocence”
Six suspects sent to court over ammunition bound for Syria seized in Adana
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/six-suspects-sent-to-court-over-ammunition-bound-for-syria-seized-in-adana.aspx?pageID=238&nID=57655&NewsCatID=341
Six suspects were sent to court today over the seizure in Adana on Nov. 7 of scores of ammunition in a truck bound for Syria. DHA photo
Six suspects were sent to court today over the seizure in Adana on Nov. 7 of scores of ammunition in a truck bound for Syria. DHA photo
Prosecutors sent six suspects to court today over the seizure in Adana on Nov. 7 of scores of ammunition in a truck bound for Syria, according to officials.
The truck was carrying 935 mortar shells, which were initially believed to be rocket heads, as well as a number of bazookas, guns and launching pads.
The materiel seized had been manufactured using the instructions of a Syrian refugee who has lived in Turkey for several months, and were to be sent to Syria where explosive charges would be added, according daily Hürriyet.
Adana Governor Hüseyin Avni Co? told reporters yesterday that the warheads were produced in the Central Anatolian province of Konya and “transported to Turkey’s south, for Syria.”
“This operation clearly demonstrates that Turkey does not support radical groups in Syria,” Co? added.
November 9th, 2013, 10:10 pm
zoo said:
The opposition makes the “undignified” and long waited U-turn in Istanbul.
That’s the best the SNC could find as a face saving after Jarba has announced a few days ago the opposition’s sine qua non conditions for attending Geneva 2.
The opposition is taking that decision 100,000 dead Syrians too late
Syrian opposition to attend Geneva talks if West keeps ‘humanitarian aid’ promises – SNC leader
http://rt.com/news/syria-opposition-geneva-talks-488/
The opposition will be represented at the upcoming Geneva 2 conference on a precondition that the West provides aid and ensures humanitarian corridors for their strongholds, said the president of the Western-backed Syrian opposition group.
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Ahmad Jarba, the leader of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, agreed to attend the long-awaited talks that would include a delegation of Bashar Assad, something that the opposition refused to do in the past.
Less than a week ago, Jarba said he would not attend Geneva 2 talks unless there was a clear agenda to force Assad to leave the office.
“We have decided not to enter Geneva talks unless it is with dignity, and unless there is a successful transfer of power with a specific timeframe, and without the occupier Iran at the negotiating table,” Jarba told an Arab League meeting in Cairo.
But now when asked about his attendance by the British newspaper, Jarba replied: “Yes, but do you think we can sit with the regime whilst there are people in Syria who can’t even drink water? We have been promised by the West that these humanitarian issues will be solved before the conference.”
November 9th, 2013, 10:34 pm
zoo said:
Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed sponsors polio immunisation of children in Syria
ABU DHABI // The UAE is doing its utmost to help eradicate polio among Syrian children, said Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, the Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region and chairman of the Red Crescent Authority.
He spoke out after sponsoring the immunisation of 1.6 million Syrian youngsters suffering from the disease, in cooperation with Unicef. The vaccination campaign is under way in Syria and other Middle East countries to protect more than 20 million children, reported state news agency Wam.
Sheikh Hamdan ordered the Red Crescent to speed up the implementation of the campaign in coordination with Unicef in Syria and neighbouring countries amid reports of polio cases.
Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/sheikh-hamdan-bin-zayed-sponsors-polio-immunisation-of-children-in-syria#ixzz2kD7KbwBW
Follow us: @TheNationalUAE on Twitter | thenational.ae on Facebook
November 9th, 2013, 10:43 pm
zoo said:
The commander of a Qatari funded rebel group has been killed
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13920818000237
Hussein Al-Namiri nicknamed Abu Masab, commander of the so-called ‘Ahfad Al-Rasoul in Reef Damascus and Al-Qonaitarah’, was killed during a Syrian army attack on a Druzi-populated village in Jabal Al-Sheikh region in Reef Damascus.
The Ahfad al-Rasoul is one of the rebel groups fighting against the government in Syria. It is one of the few brigade alliances that operate independent of the Free Syrian Army, the Syrian Liberation Front, or the Syrian Islamic Front and is considered the largest one, with about 15,000 fighters. It has been funded by the Qatari government.
November 9th, 2013, 10:46 pm
ziad said:
Manifesto of All People of Good Conscience
This Manifesto was written on the 96th anniversary of the infamous Balfour Declaration.
We, citizens of the world,
celebrating the human pursuit of freedom and independence,
adhering fully to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
rejecting the ideology and practice of colonization under any name at any time,
declaring the colonization document known as Balfour Declaration
as null and void in word, intent, and practice.
And cognizant of the fact that Great Britain,
had not respected its pledges to the Arabs of Palestine for independence,
had not respected the League of Nations’ undertaking under Article 22 of its charter to act according to the “sacred trust of civilization” regarding the people of Palestine,
had undermined the inherent rights of the majority of people of Palestine by allowing an influx of foreigners into the country against the demand of the people,
had promulgated laws, particularly in the period 1920 to 1925, including the period when it had no jurisdiction under the mandate, which alienated the land of Palestine, changed its demography and created the roots of a foreign independent entity including a separate military force,
had enacted new laws without the authorization of the League of Nations as required,
had denied consistently the just and legitimate demand of the majority of the people of Palestine for democratic representation,
had failed to bring progress, prosperity, and development, as required, to Arab Palestinians in all spheres of life while never failing to collect taxes from them,
had, particularly in the period 1936 to 1939, decimated Palestinian society under its administration by killing, wounding, imprisoning tens of thousands, imposing collective punishment, destroying villages, dissolving political parties, and imprisoning and deporting political leaders,
had been derelict in its duty under the mandate to preserve the territorial integrity of Palestine by putting the country under such conditions that allowed its partition in 1947 against the express demand of the majority of the population and the imperative text of the mandate,
had been derelict in its duty to safeguarding the holy places and maintaining the status quo “in perpetuity,”
had failed, willfully and/or by gross negligence, to defend the Arab Palestinians from dozens of massacres committed by the Zionists under its own eyes before the end of the Mandate,
had failed to prevent, and sometimes aided, the Zionist conquest of Arab lands in the coastal plain, Marj ibn Amer and Houla plain, while under the protection of the mandate administration,
had failed to prevent the war crime of ethnic cleansing, which led to the dispossession of half the total Palestinian refugees and the cleansing of 220 Palestinian towns and villages in areas under its control before the end of the mandate,
had actually aided and abetted the ethnic cleansing, particularly in Tiberias and Haifa between April 14 and April 21,1948, and by allowing its armament and military installations to fall in the hands of Zionist forces,
had consistently refused, as military logs show, to come to the rescue of Arab Palestinians when in distress, but rescued Jewish conveys in the Arab-held territory carrying arms and munitions,
had been derelict in its duties, as required, to hand over the government of Palestine offices and documents, public amenities and services to the Palestinians before its departure,
Therefore,…
http://networkedblogs.com/QXblL
November 10th, 2013, 12:03 am
Observer said:
Victory my foot.
The NYT article has shown that the regime supporters are ready to throw the retard iPad under the boss as long as ” the security services” remain intact. Once again, it is the security house of cards that is bound to collapse with or without the iPad.
Again, this video even if propaganda does not lie about the level of destruction of the barbarians and the murderous “insecurity services”
November 10th, 2013, 8:37 am
zoo said:
To please Saudi Arabia, France torpedoed the Iran nuclear deal to the delight of Israel
Did France scupper Iran nuclear deal in Geneva?
By RFI
http://www.english.rfi.fr/americas/20131110-did-france-scupper-iran-nuclear-deal-geneva
Did France torpedo nuclear negotiations with Iran? Iranian media and politicians think so and, even if Paris denies the charge, pro-Israel neo-conservatives in the US agree … and, for once, they’re delighted with France’s comportment.
November 10th, 2013, 10:09 am
zoo said:
More confusion, promises and delays as the opposition struggles to resist international pressure to drop their pre-conditions and move on to Geneva.
They are reluctant to bow to the pressure because they worry that they will antagonize further the rebels and Syrians within Syria that do not recognize them any legitimacy.
Syrian opposition wants rebel backing for Geneva talks
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syrian-opposition-wants-rebel-backing-for-geneva-talks.aspx?pageID=238&nID=57674&NewsCatID=352
Syria’s opposition is edging towards agreeing to international peace talks in Geneva but wants approval from fighters inside the country first to give the process more legitimacy, sources at talks in Istanbul said late Nov. 9.
November 10th, 2013, 10:18 am
Sami said:
So… In other words Zoo, the French humiliated and slapped Iran in the face?
November 10th, 2013, 10:25 am
Ziad said:
I posted a comment related to the Balfour Declaration and got 16 red thumbs down. I don’t think there are sixteen persons in the whole of Syria who approve of the Balfour Declaration.
November 10th, 2013, 10:39 am
don said:
This blog is heavily infested by agents of the Israeli criminal regime.
1751. Ziad said:
I posted a comment related to the Balfour Declaration and got 16 red thumbs down. I don’t think there are sixteen persons in the whole of Syria who approve of the Balfour Declaration.
November 10th, 2013, 10:54 am
zoo said:
SAMI
It is a mini-slap on the face of the USA, the UK and Russia, not on Iran.
The french are taking their revenge on the USA and the UK for the humiliation they inflicted on France by changing their mind about attacking Syria. That move had isolated France who was ridiculed and had to drop its plan to bomb Syria. They also wanted to show off that they are still a power to reckon with and in the same time please their cherished financial allies, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
This childish display will not have much impact and won’t last.
Hollande’s France has little credibility on the international scene, its foreign policy is clearly dictated by their attempts to stop their economical disaster.
If the deal is signed, it would certainly be a big humiliating slap to Saudi Arabia and Israel.
November 10th, 2013, 10:57 am
Ziad said:
President Obama Doesn’t Much Care What Benjamin Netanyahu Thinks Anymore
The United States and its allies appear to be close to an interim deal with Iran, one that would modestly ease some of the economic sanctions currently in place in return for some kind of freeze on its centrifuge activities. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is apoplectic at the prospect of a deal, but no one seems to be paying much attention to him. Jeffrey Goldberg explains why:
I’d put it more simply. Netanyahu has made it clear that he’s just flatly opposed to any plausible bargain at all. His idea of a deal is that Iran first destroys its entire nuclear infrastructure and then—maybe—sanctions should be eased or lifted. This is pretty plainly not a deal that any national leader in his right mind would ever accept, and Netanyahu knows it. So he’s essentially saying that no deal should ever be made with Iran.
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/11/president-obama-doesnt-much-care-what-benjamin-netanyahu-thinks-anymore
November 10th, 2013, 11:01 am
zoo said:
Ziad
Since Headsup has appeared on the Blog, Thumbs up/down have been hacked and assigned systematically based on the name of the poster rather than on the contents.
Don’t worry, a lots of thumbs down means that your message has annoyed very much “guided” Headsup and his gang of hackers.
Just note the huge thumbs up for any garbage Headsup posts to be convinced that it is all fake
November 10th, 2013, 11:04 am
Ziad said:
???? ??????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???????? ????? ?????? ???????
??? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ????????? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ?????????? ????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ?????????? ????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ???? ??
??? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??? “????” ??????? ?? ????? ?? ???????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ???????? ? ????? ?? ?? ????? ???????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??
????? ??? ????? ?????????? ??????? ???????? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ????? ???????? ??? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ???????? ??????? (??????)??
???? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ???????? ????????? ??????? ???????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ??????????? ??? ?? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ???????? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ???????? ?? ??????? ???????? ??? ????? (???????) ??? ?? ?? ?? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??
?? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ???????? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ?? ????????? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ?
?????? ??? ????????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ???????? ????? ????? ????????? ?? ??? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ???????? ????? ??? ????? ????? ???????? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ???????? ???? ??? ????? ? ?
?? ????? ?????????? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?? ?? ??? ????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ???? ????????? ??????? ??
????? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ???????? ???????? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ????? ??? ????? ????? ???????? ????? ???????? ????????? ??? ???? ???????????
???? ?????
November 10th, 2013, 11:11 am
zoo said:
William Hague’s interview about Iran nuclear deal
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/iran-a-deal-is-on-the-table-and-it-can-be-done
….
WH: Well, on the question about, ‘will it happen in the next few weeks’: there is a good chance of that. But, as I say, it is a formidably difficult negotiation – I can’t say exactly when it will conclude. But we will be trying again on the 20th and 21st November – our negotiators will be trying again. So we will keep an enormous amount of energy and persistence behind solving this.
Will there be a deal that will please everybody? Well, no it won’t, because compromises will have to be made. But I have discussed things yesterday with Israeli ministers, on the telephone, while I’ve been here in Geneva, and put the case for the kind of deal that we are looking at making. And it is in the interests of the whole world, including Israel, including all nations of the world for us to reach a diplomatic agreement that we can be confident in on this issue which, otherwise, threatens the world with nuclear proliferation and with conflict in the future.
November 10th, 2013, 11:14 am
Tara said:
Ziad,
No brainer. You get thumbs down because no one is buying your fake resistance facade.
November 10th, 2013, 12:02 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
Vladimir Putin, recognizing the deep pit he has sunk into, particularly after meeting His Royal Highness Prince Bandar Ibn Sultan, may he be protected and given long long life, and missing on a lucrative opportunity the Prince offered, today called His Majesty, the Guided King of the Guided Kingdom, Commander of the Faithful. Vladimir had to wait for 45 minutes until the Guided King was able to take the call. Nevertheless, Vladimir waited patiently and politely just like a little kid would do with a teacher at school. It turned out that Vladimir was seeking Guidance from the Guided Kingdom and forgiveness for his bad behaviour with the Guided Prince, His Royal Highness Bandar Ibn Sultan. The guided King promised Vladimir that He will do His best to make the Guided Prince forgive the incident. However, Vladimir was told that he must call the Prince and offer apologies directly. Vladimir was then eager to know if the offer he received from the Guided Prince was still on the table. He was told that a new scaled down offer may be possible to make as an exception since the Guided Kingdom has a policy of making offers on a take it or leave it basis not valid after we part. Vladimir has held his hopes high since the call with the firm belief in his head that bread crumbs are still better than none.
November 10th, 2013, 12:21 pm
zoo said:
Syrian army retakes northern military base in 3rd day of clashes
Source: Reuters – Sun, 10 Nov 2013 04:51 PM
http://www.trust.org/item/20131110163841-tte83/?source=search
…
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the violence through a network of sources, said fighting was continuing in Tel Arn but the army was in almost full control.
In the fighting for the military base, it said at least 63 rebels had been killed since Friday including more than 20 from the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, as well 32 soldiers and pro-Assad militia.
It was not clear how many Shi’ite Hezbollah fighters – who have played a central role in regaining ground for Assad – were killed in the fighting with the Sunni Muslim rebels who had held the 80th Brigade base since February.
If the army is able to strengthen its hold in the area it could lead to the reopening of Aleppo airport to commercial flights, most of which were halted after rebels fired at an airliner there last December.
November 10th, 2013, 12:24 pm
zoo said:
Headsup
Thanks for the first episode of a political soap opera on SC. It is very entertaining.
We are eagerly waiting for the next episode of Black belt Putin against the Guided Kingdom old King.
November 10th, 2013, 12:30 pm
Ziad said:
TARA #1758
No brainer. Look who is talking. You qualify as the queen of the red thumbs down. The real ones not the fake ones. If one red thumb down on #1746 is from you, does not that mean that you approve of the Balfour Declaration?
We Syrians, even disagreeing on support of the revolution and the government, shouldn’t we be united against our enemies Israel, Zionists, the colonial powers and against violence?
November 10th, 2013, 12:32 pm
ghufran said:
Jarba of the NC makes another concession:
The head of Syria’s opposition National Coalition has said for the first time that he will attend a planned international peace conference, but only if the West can first deliver on a promise to enable rebel access to humanitarian aid.
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, his first with a Western newspaper, Ahmed Jarba said he was willing to take part in long-awaited talks that would include representatives of the Assad regime, under a deal offered by the opposition’s British-led backers.
(Jarba is Kingdom of Sandy Arabia’s boy in the NC)
November 10th, 2013, 12:50 pm
Sami said:
“No brainer. Look who is talking. You qualify as the queen of the red thumbs down. The real ones not the fake ones. If one red thumb down on #1746 is from you, does not that mean that you approve of the Balfour Declaration?”
And the simplistic and narrow mind of a minhebakji is yet again exposed, by no other than the minhebakji himself…
For only a minhebakji would find an easily corrupted voting system useful, and only a minhebakji could decipher “real” votes from the fake ones in said corrupted voting system.
“We Syrians, even disagreeing on support of the revolution and the government, shouldn’t we be united against our enemies Israel, Zionists, the colonial powers and against violence?”
Sorry, neither the Israelis nor the Colonial powers are killing Syrians. Syrians are killing Syrians, blaming the world for our own doing is telling of how far up the rear end of the Baathists propaganda you have your head.
For the record my enemies are those that have enslaved my country to a backwards ideology that has gradually stripped the core meaning of being a Syrian to become a story of tragedy. 40 years of culminated indoctrination of hate, torture, and blaming the world, 40 years of allowing ourselves to be duped into a crappy cringe worthy ideology where we sold our country for the false pretence of “resisting the enemy” when all we did was spy on each other, torture each other, and patted each other on the back for the great “accomplishments” of our dear leader which resulted in turning our country into a backwards hellhole we see today.
November 10th, 2013, 1:18 pm
Sami said:
“It is a mini-slap on the face of the USA, the UK and Russia, not on Iran.”
But Zoo, even John Kerry said the Americans are not stupid when it comes to Iran. Nobody wants to take the Iranian Government at face value nor are they willing.
But I imagine in Zooland the Supreme Leader has a Teflon Turban able to deflect slaps of humiliation away. So effective is this Turban it is Iran that actually has the world sanctioned not the other way round.
November 10th, 2013, 1:27 pm
ALAN said:
Ziad!
your comments are useful items! thank you for them!
November 10th, 2013, 1:36 pm
ALAN said:
1755 Ziad
This is a sad and embarrassing column to have to write, about Israeli espionage penetration into our highest levels of government, our security forces knowing that it has happened but then can’t, or refuse to do anything about it.
National security interests must trump embarrassment, with me anyway. But unfortunately that is not the case with those charged with protecting us, who interpret their oaths of office with a great deal of latitude.
I selected today’s topic ahead of others I had been working on after reading the Press TV report of Israeli shill Senator Robert Menendez announcing that he was going to push for new tougher sanctions on Iran’s oil exports, pushing them down to 500,000 barrels a day. I don’t say this lightly, but I consider this a treasonous act, being done in close coordination with foreign government…Israel.
Over on the GOP Republican side, Mr. Casino Clown Sheldon Adelson, was put in play with his bizarre public exhortation that a demonstration nuking of Iran should be done out in the desert before laying one on Tehran. This was a hint to all those wavering Republicans to remember who gave the $100 million in campaign donations. Does that mean this method could also be used on Israel if they will not give up their WMD?
As the public relations political noose begins to tighten around Israel, and I can assure you it is, the Iraelis are smart enough to know that protecting deep cover agents until they no longer around politically, would just be wasting them. I am seeing them putting all their cards on the table now as it is do or die time.
The main motivation behind taking this gamble is that they know that once the Iranian nuclear issue is resolved along with Syria’s chemical weapons…the game has changed forever. Israel’s bogeyman Iran threat which she has always used as a screen to do a lot of nasty things, supposedly out of defensive necessity, will go up in a puff of smoke.
We will be left with an Israel that is broke and subsidized in a variety of ways by Western supporters who all have budget deficits with their populations and militaries suffering major cutbacks. But Israel will still be armed to the teeth with not only its huge conventional weapons capacity and its WMD stockpiles, but its multiple warhead ICBMs in development with India, which will be able to strike most of the world. They are an openly aggressive weapons platform yet there has been no international outcry. Why not?
What could possibly be the need for a small country like Israel to have such weaponry? Who would want to invade Israel? There is nothing there really of any strategic value. The major export has become weapons, compliment of the U.S. which shifted 100,000 white collar defense jobs to Israel as part of the continuing espionage campaign on Capitol Hill where congresscritters will sell their mothers for the right price. …
http://journal-neo.org/2013/11/10/israel-s-congressional-and-gop-intel-assets-exposed/
November 10th, 2013, 1:39 pm
ALAN said:
According to Foreign Policy, Saudi Arabia would be preparing an attack on Syria
http://www.voltairenet.org/article180947.html
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/11/06/saudi_arabias_shadow_war
November 10th, 2013, 1:42 pm
ALAN said:
Just for Syria Comment!
TRIPOLI: Prime Minister Ali Zeidan warned Libyans of the possibility of foreign powers intervening unless the country’s current chaos ends, in an appeal Sunday aimed at rallying his campaign against militias.
“The international community cannot tolerate a state in the middle of the Mediterranean that is a source of violence, terrorism and murder,” said Zeidan.
Citing the example of Iraq, he warned against “the intervention of foreign occupation forces” in Libya.
Zeidan said his country was still subject to a resolution under Chapter VII of the UN Charter that allows the international community to intervene to protect civilians.
Libya’s government has struggled to assert its authority as militias of ex-rebels have carved their own fiefdoms in a country flooded with weapons looted from the arsenal of the ousted regime of Moammar Gadhafi.
Speaking at a news conference, Zeidan called on Libyans to rebel against the armed militias.
“The people must take to the streets … and support the building up of the army and police,” said the prime minister.
His calls for support from the public illustrate the inability of the authorities to deal with the militias.
“The state has not been built yet … we need time,” Zeidan said, adding that measures had been taken to accelerate the training of professional security forces.
http://m.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Nov-10/237412-libya-pm-warns-foreign-forces-may-act-to-halt-chaos.ashx?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
November 10th, 2013, 1:51 pm
ALAN said:
Russian Defense Sergey Shoguy: terrorism in Syria is our arch-enemy
Russian Defense Ministry Sergey Shoguy has warned against three main threats that endanger the Russian stability, especially International terrorism.
Shoguy said in statements quoted by the Russian news agency Ria Novosti that international terrorism is the arch-enemy of Russia, and that “a lot of militias operating in areas of conflict around the world are fighting under the banner of terrorist organizations; international terrorism in each of Syria, Afghanistan, Mali and Libya do really pose a threat to Russia.”
November 10th, 2013, 2:01 pm
ALAN said:
Syria NO Kandahar !
The Mysterious Fall of Raqqa, Syria’s Kandahar
The Euphrates overflows with blood, and the crows caw over the corpses that the Syrian city of Raqqa sacrifices every day to the princes of death in the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and al-Nusra Front, ever since the two al-Qaeda affiliates turned the city into the first official province of their Islamic emirate. The tyranny that people rose up against has now returned, more morbid than before. Today, Raqqa is Syria’s answer to Kandahar – the birthplace of the Taliban……………
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/mysterious-fall-raqqa-syria%E2%80%99s-kandahar-i
November 10th, 2013, 2:18 pm
Tara said:
#1763
Truly enjoyed it. Fit for a bedtime story.
I wish I postponed reading it until 11:00 PM EST.
November 10th, 2013, 2:25 pm
ALAN said:
/no one is buying your fake resistance facade/.
Zionism is dangerous and must be resisted.
An excellent summation of its history and role over the past 150 years by Lasse Wilhelmson.
Spreading information about the destructive influence Zionism has on humanity in today’s world, and in Sweden, is predominantly an ideological struggle against control and manipulation of people’s thinking. Especially since Zionism hardly exists in public debate.And the reason for this is that the means of production of culture and ideology are to a great extent owned or influenced by Zionist interests.
The heavily nuclear-armed Jewish apartheid state Israel is today the greatest threat to world peace through its influence in the western world, and Zionism is the greatest threat to humanity, including the majority of Jews. Zionism is used by the power elite in its efforts to secure a new world order with one Big Brother state and continual conflicts and wars between various religious, ethnic and cultural groups from disintegrated national states. In this light, Israel is the capital of the world and the Palestinians are the oppressed peoples of the world. Hence, Zionism is dangerous and must be resisted.
http://whatreallyhappened.com/ru/content/zionism-dangerous-and-must-be-resisted
November 10th, 2013, 2:30 pm
ALAN said:
Arab kings would love to see entire ME in flames!
France wrecks P5+1 deal for Arab kings money
Finian Cunningham
Fabius invoked “security concerns of Israel” and announced that his country was not going to sign a draft agreement. The French intervention appeared to catch participants by surprise.
The French deal-breaking intervention at the P5+1 negotiation with Iran may have been motivated by France wanting to ingratiate itself with the Persian Gulf monarchies for strategic economic reasons.
it becomes clear why France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius acted to scupper the P5+1 talks this weekend in Geneva. By wrecking a potential deal with Iran, Fabius was no doubt bidding to please Saudi Arabia and the other Persian Gulf Arab regimes with a view to securing billions-of-dollars-worth of urgently needed capital.
Mouthing disingenuous concerns, Fabius vandalized with a spanner in one hand and a begging bowl surreptitiously in the other.
November 10th, 2013, 3:12 pm
ALAN said:
1773 Just for SC
God Help Libya!
How Libya was before and how it is now (before Gadaffi killed):
http://youtu.be/c768BWLwi44
November 10th, 2013, 3:57 pm
SImoHurtta said:
1758. Tara said:
Ziad,
No brainer. You get thumbs down because no one is buying your fake resistance facade.
Are you Tara competent to evaluate what is a no brainer?
If one has a internet connection, which changes the IP address one can vote (thumbs up or down) here again and again = every time the IP number has been changed and the page after that is reloaded new voting is possible and the vote is counted. For example if internet is used trough a mobile phone connection this IP change happens. Basically I could vote tens of times when I use my phone as the WIFI source for my computer. The problem is that mobile phone’s internet connections are mostly in Helsinki region so overladen, that it so slow to do that.
Those who use paid proxy services with IP changers can do it rather “fast” without any hacker skills. Naturally those who work for some well financed “propaganda making organization” (religious nomad royal or zionist) have the best tools and time. That can be seem how some “pro-rebels” are able to organize sudden jumps in the voting results.
November 10th, 2013, 4:21 pm
Uzair8 said:
‘This is what makes us talk about basic facts. The regime’s capability to recover, survive and once again manage the country is no longer possible whether there’s an alternative or whether the vacuum remains. What the Assad regime can resume doing is fighting the war, as it is spending its savings and men on it. It’s also receiving aid from parties which support it in hopes there will be a political solution that may save it later. It’s difficult to answer the question of how can a political solution restore the regime since the latter possesses nothing anymore to run the state. All what’s left is destroyed cities and spirits full of vengeful aspirations.’
Read more: Source
November 10th, 2013, 4:37 pm
Uzair8 said:
From 24th October. N.Z. posted on The Walls blog:
November 10th, 2013, 4:56 pm
Uzair8 said:
Also from 24th October. In chronological order:
Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi ?@Shaykhabulhuda 24 Oct
We are not afraid of Geneva 2; negotiation is a sort of jihad which we may practice to gain more for our people and our country.
Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi ?@Shaykhabulhuda 24 Oct
Although 114 countries recognise the coalition, most rebels do not; this is why it refuses Geneva 2 just to earn legitimacy from them.
November 10th, 2013, 5:00 pm
Heads-up said:
Just so you may know, our well informed and highly reliable sources who work very hard, around the clock and behind the scenes authorized the release of the following very important heads up, in order to keep you up to date with current events.
What prompted sec. of s. John Kerry to say today that the administration of which he is part of is neither blind nor stupid? Did someone whisper in his ears that people think that this is the case? It is one thing to say the US admin is a wuss. But it is a completely different matter to say the administration is stupid and blind.
Nevertheless, lawmakers on both sides of the isle are no longer buying Kerry’s argument and his boss’ of making partial concessions to the terrorist entity of mullahstan in a clear cut case of nuclear blackmail.
Lawmakers in the House and the Senate, both Democrat and Republican, are working hard around the clock to introduce bills that will reinforce the sanctions against the blackmail of mullahstan, and at the same time making it harder for the administration to circumvent in the name of making a deal for which Obama seems to be the only one eager to make.
The administration may not be stupid or blind, but no one seems willing to give it the trust or the carte blanche that it wants to implement defeatist policies the world has never witnessed since the days of Chamberlain.
November 10th, 2013, 6:07 pm
Syrian said:
?? ????? “???? ????? ?????? ??????”
???? ??? ????? – ???? ?????
??? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ????????? ??????? ???? ??? ??? ????? ????? ?????? (????? ?????? ???????)? ???? ??? ??? ????? ???????? ???? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? “??? ??????”.
????? ??? ??????? ??????? ??? ??? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ???????.
???? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??????? 14 ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ?? “????????? ?????????” ??? 1991 ?????? ?? ????? ?? ???????? ????????? ???? ???? ??????? ???.
???? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ????????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??????? ?????????? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ??????? ??”????? ??????” ??? 1970 ???? ???? ?????? ?????.
??? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ??? ???????? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ????????? ?????? ??????? ????????? ???? ??? ????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ????.
??? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ???????.
???? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??? ????????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ????? ????? ?? ?? ????? ?? “????? ?????” ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ???????.
??????? ??? ???? ??? ??? ????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ????? (?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ????)? ???? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ????????.
???? ??? ?????? ????? ??? ????? “????????” ???? ???? ?????? ?????? “???? ????? ?????? ??????”! ??? ??????? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ???????? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ????!
??? ?? ???????? ??? ?? ????? ????? ????? “????” ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????… ??? ?? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ??????! ??? ????? ?? ???? “??????” ?? ?????? ?? ??? “??????”?!
??? ????? ?? ???? “????? ??????” ?? ?????? ?? ??? “???????? ???????”?!
??? ???? ??? ????? ????? ??? “??? ??? ??????” (????? ?????? ???? ??? ???????? ??????? ???? ??? ?????? ??????).
??? ???? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ??????.
???? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? “??????”.
?? ???? ????? “?????” ?? “??????“ ??? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ???????!! ?????? ?? ??? ????? ????? ???????? ?? ???? ??????!!
???? ????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ?????? “??? ????”!! ???? ????? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ??????? (??? ?????????? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ???? ?????!) ??? ??? ????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ??? ????? ?? ????? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ??????? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ??”??? ????” ?? ???? ?????? (?? ???? ???? ???? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ????? ?????? ???????? ?? ????? ??”????? ??????? ??????”?!).
?? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??????.
??? ??? ??? ??? ????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ??????? ??? ????? (?????)? ????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ????? ???????… ???????? ?????: ??????? ?????? ??????!
November 10th, 2013, 6:20 pm
zoo said:
1782. Uzair8
What’s happening to you? What about the conditions hammered for 2 years that Bashar Al Assad should resign? Pfuitt! lost in thin air?
So easily? After 100,000 dead?
The opposition should continue obeying their “Saudi Supreme Guide” and not go to Geneva unless Bashar Al Assad who qualified the Saudis as half-men is toppled. That’s what full men do.
November 10th, 2013, 6:59 pm
zoo said:
The Joke of the Day:
Opposition wants Geneva OK from rebels, activists inside Syria
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Nov-11/237471-opposition-wants-geneva-ok-from-rebels-activists-inside-syria.ashx#axzz2kI4jSdfa
“Saleh said the Turkey-based coalition would send two delegations into Syria to discuss with FSA leaders and civilian groups the prospect of taking part in the Geneva talks.”
November 10th, 2013, 7:01 pm
zoo said:
Have Putin’s call to King Abdallah of Saudi Arabia borne fruits ?
http://www.itv.com/news/update/2013-11-11/syrian-opposition-agrees-to-geneva-peace-talks/
12:03am, Mon 11 Nov 2013
Syrian opposition agrees to Geneva peace talks
The Syrian Opposition has agreed to participate in the Geneva peace talks, the Syrian National Coalition said in a statement to Reuters.
November 10th, 2013, 7:18 pm
Tara said:
Ziad,
“We Syrians, even disagreeing on support of the revolution and the government, shouldn’t we be united against our enemies Israel, Zionists, the colonial powers and against violence?”
That is the point. You guys have utilized the resistance slogan to unite “us” against one enemy to mask every ill treatment you subjected the rest of “us” for 40 years. You used it in Lebanon to dominate the country.
?? ??? ???? ??? ??? ??????? slogan has lost its effect. No one believes you any more. You guys would sell not only Palestine but your own mothers to keep Batta in office. The mask has fallen. We are fooled no more.
And hence the thumbs down.
November 10th, 2013, 7:19 pm
Syrian said:
???? ????? ????
????? ??? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ????????? ????????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ???????, ?????? ?????? ????? ???????? ???? ???????? ??? ????????? ????? ????? ?? ????, ????? ????? ????? ??????? ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ???????? ????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ????, ?????? ???? ????? ?????????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ????? ??????? ????? ???? ??????? ??????? ??????? ??????.
November 10th, 2013, 7:48 pm
Syrian said:
???? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ?????
?????: ???????? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ??????????
“??? ???? ??? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ???? ????? ???????? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ??? ????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ?????. ????? ?????? ?????? ????????? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ????.???? ???? ??????? ?????? ???? 14 ???? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ????????? ???? ‘ ?? ????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ????? ???????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ‘??? ????????’. ?????: ‘????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ??? ??????? ?? ??????? ???? ??????? ?? ???????? ???????? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ?? ??? ?? ????? ??? ???’.????? ????: ‘???? ?? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ?? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ??????’. ?????: ‘?????? ????? ????? ?’?? ??????? ?????’ ????? ????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ????? ????????? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ?????’.”
http://www.alquds.co.uk/?p=102153
November 10th, 2013, 7:58 pm
zoo said:
Turkey-Iraq-Iran dialogs seem to exclude Saudi Arabia.
A democratic Shia-Moderate Sunni bloc is a threat to the hardline Sunni authoritarian regime of the Saud family. It is also a threat to the pretense of Saudi Arabia to be leader of all Sunnis in the region
Saudi Arabia’s foreign polivy has be hijacked by Bandar Ben Sultan and his neo-con friends in the USA and Israel. It is time King Abdallah gets rid of him, like the Emir of Qatar did by Haman ben Jassem who mislead Qatar for two years.
Sunni, Shiite rift main worry in Mideast: FM
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/sunni-shiite-rift-main-worry-in-mideast-fm-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=57705&NewsCatID=352
ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News
FM Davuto?lu sounds a note of worry over regional sectarian tension while offering hope thanks to Turkey’s improving ties with Iraq and Iran
…
A Sunni-Shiite rift is a worrying trend in the Middle East but recent developments in Turkey’s ties with Iraq and Iran could prevent the threat of a sectarian war, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu said yesterday as he visited Baghdad in the latest sign of a thaw in bilateral relations.
November 10th, 2013, 8:03 pm
Syrian said:
TV report on the comedy program that made Hizboola supporters in Lebanon go crazy
http://youtu.be/b4qBlvxKC4Q
November 10th, 2013, 8:13 pm
zoo said:
Jarba and the SNC ridiculed: the long standing pre-condition that Bashar Al Assad leaves power has been reduced to a “hope”.
What did Putin promised to Saudi Arabia?
BREAKING NEWS
Syrian opposition agrees to attend Geneva talks with (limited) preconditions – SNC statement
Published time: November 11, 2013 00:58
http://rt.com/news/syria-opposition-geneva-preconditions-515/
The Western-backed Syrian opposition group has agreed to participate international peace talks, outlining conditions that must be met before they attend in Geneva, the group said in a statement.
The Syrian National Council is demanding a guarantee that relief agencies will get unhindered access to rebel-held areas of Syria, Reuters reports citing the statement. The group also demanded the release of political prisoners.
The creation of transitional ruling body in which the current government should not have a role remains the opposition’s main goal.
“All we can do is hope is that these talks will end with the departure of Bashar al-Assad,” said Adib Shishakly, a member of the coalition told Reuters.
November 10th, 2013, 8:23 pm
apple_mini said:
The drama played out by the “opposition” formed by Syrian Expats is simply a joke.
The Syrian government will be playing games accordingly. In the end, I do not see a chance for those Expats coming back to Damascus on a red carpet.
It is important to allow genuine and authentic homegrown opposition to thrive in order to have a progressive political structure.
Also equally important to talk to those foreign backed puppet opposition so that there is chance for money and weapons funneled to the Islamists being monitored and eventually ended.
But that is about it.
The recent military gain in Aleppo is meant to be a psychological blow to those entrenched rebel held area. The message is clear: It is not a business as usual. And SAA is capable to wring back Aleppo even it needs to be at piecemeal pace.
This psychological blow can serve another advantage during peace conference.
November 10th, 2013, 8:35 pm
zoo said:
@1794 Apple_mini
The West has stopped helping the rebels, Turkey is preventing the replenishment of weapons, the coalition has been threatened by the armed rebels inside Syria, the West is pressuring the opposition to dump their preconditions.
As days pass, the opposition are getting weaker politically and militarily.
Now the successes of the SAA in the North has sent a wave of panic in the expats opposition “coalition”.
Suddenly Geneva II has become their lifebuoy. They are hanging on it now to keep a little relevance.
November 10th, 2013, 8:46 pm
Ghufran said:
???? ?????? ?? ?????? ????????
Jarba slapped Miqdad ( ie kingdom of sandy Arabia slapping qatarmeez)
Enjoy
???? ????? ??????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ???? ? ???? ?????? ???? ???????? ???????? ??? ???? ?????????? ???? ?????? ???????? ?? ????? ??????? ???????? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ???????.
? ???? ??????? ?? ??????? ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ????????? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ???????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ??? ” ???? ??? ???????? “.
? ???? ??????? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ????????? ? ??? ??????? ???? ????? ?????? ??????
?????? ???? ?????? ???????.
My “well informed sources” indicate that jarba’s “guided” teeth may have sunken in Miqdas’s revolutionary behind.
?? ??? ???? ?? ????? ?????
November 10th, 2013, 9:34 pm
Ziad said:
opposition activist Samira Kayali kidnapped 40 days ago in rebel area of Aleppo found executed
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=772412716109502&set=a.422583204425790.121836.353338088016969&type=1
November 10th, 2013, 9:40 pm
omen said:
geneva peace talks are nothing but bribery.
what the west is getting in exchange for allowing syrian genocide:
November 10th, 2013, 10:54 pm
Hopeful said:
The re-approachment between Turkey and Iraq, between Russia and Saudi Arabia, and between the US and Iran, all point to the same conclusion: Assad is history.
November 10th, 2013, 11:40 pm
omen said:
thank you, kindly, duetschland did the trick.
funny enough, juergen’s version was more informative than the article i pulled up!
November 11th, 2013, 7:19 am
omen said:
you silly goof, that wasn’t for you, that was meant as a counter to mjabali.
he earlier set up a hostile and fallacious premise that, because of religious doctrine, sunnis were inherently more violent than shia. in other words, mjab was denouncing sunnis as terrorists. the inference of such an argument justifies regime brutality.
i waited to counter and didn’t do so directly because mjab had a meltdown last time i mildly challenged him. and in deference to his age, didn’t want to unduly stress him out again.
November 11th, 2013, 7:42 am
omen said:
sorry…ziad isn’t syrian.
November 11th, 2013, 7:46 am
SimoHurtta said:
1801. omen said:
1171. SimoHurtta said: You are simply absurd Omen with your naive propaganda. Is every US bomb and missile it drops a sign that Christianity is doctrinally violent? Or Judaism because what some Israeli Jewish settlers do?
you silly goof, that wasn’t for you, that was meant as a counter to mjabali.
he earlier set up a hostile and fallacious premise that, because of religious doctrine, sunnis were inherently more violent than shia. in other words, mjab was denouncing sunnis as terrorists. the inference of such an argument justifies regime brutality.
i waited to counter and didn’t do so directly because mjab had a meltdown last time i mildly challenged him. and in deference to his age, didn’t want to unduly stress him out again.
You naive, uneducated, old hag. Do not be offended or complain to the moderator. You started the name calling.
As a non-Muslim and American without any understanding of the culture, language, history, theology etc you are simply not qualified to claim any Islam’s religious sect having a more religious doctrine than the others. As a Christian (given that you are not a Jew) you can not explain convincingly has Catholicism more violent doctrines than the Protestant side (I by the way am a Protestant). Neither could I.
On the other hand the Sunni extremists have been behind the majority of suicide and car bombings against Christian “crusaders” and Shia population in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and Pakistan. Though the reason for that are hardly the Sunni sides religious violent and less violent doctrines. Terrorism is a military tactics which has been used by Catholics, Protestants, Sunnis and Shias. Normally the side not in power (and militarily weaker) and wanting a political change uses terrorism. Like Jews in Palestine before 1948, like Catholic in North Ireland, like Sunni Muslim Palestinians in Israel against Jews, like Catholic South-Tirolians (Austrians until 1918) in North Italy against Catholics Italians, like Protestant Finns against Greek-Orthodox Russians before 1918 etc.
November 11th, 2013, 8:43 am
zoo said:
@1799 Omen
You said:
“The re-approachment between Turkey and Iraq, between Russia and Saudi Arabia, and between the US and Iran, all point to the same conclusion: Assad is history.”
I think it is quite the opposite: The opposition coalition puppet is history.
Bashar al Assad will remain the president of Syria until the elections in mid 2014 and possibly after if he decides to.
The main declared goal of the opposition to topple him since 2011, much before the end of his mandate has failed and has cost 100,00 death, millions of refugees and billions of destruction.
Why didn’t they accept the Geneva conference a year ago? It would have saved thousands of lives?
The expats opposition is a failure and there is nothing better we can expect from them in the conference.
November 11th, 2013, 9:47 am
zoo said:
Palestinians take steps to “clean up” Yarmouk from armed gangs so refugees can come back
PLO secures ‘safe passage’ agreement for Yarmouk refugees
DAMASCUS (Ma’an) — Zakariya al-Agha, a member of the executive committee of the PLO, said Monday that “the coming hours will determine the future of Yarmouk camp” as a Palestinian delegation seeks to ensure safe passage for Palestinians displaced by fighting in and around the Damascus refugee camp.
Al-Agha said in a statement that Monday afternoon will witness the transfer of weapons and armed men out of Yarmouk camp and the inflow of workers to rebuild the camp and make it ready for the return of refugees.
“We called on the Syrian government to open a security passage for residents to allow for medicine and food to pass urgently to people and to rebuild the camp,” said al-Agha, who is also the head of the Palestinian delegation currently visiting Syria.
November 11th, 2013, 9:54 am
zoo said:
For the desperate Sunni armed rebels who are about to be crushed, killing children, especially christian ones, is the latest strategy to ‘topple’ Bashar Al Assad
Mortar fire kills five children at Damascus school
(AFP) / 11 November 2013
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=/data/middleeast/2013/November/middleeast_November105.xml§ion=middleeast
Five children were killed and 27 people wounded when mortar rounds hit a school in the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday, state television reported.
“The toll in the terrorist targeting of the St. John of Damascus school with mortar rounds has risen to five dead, all of them children, and 27 injured,” a news alert on Syrian state television said.
The regime of President Bashar al-Assad uses the blanket term “terrorists” to refer to the opposition.
Earlier, the interior minister told the official Al-Ikhbariya channel that 11 children had been hurt at the school in the majority Christian district of Qassaa, in central Damascus.
State news agency SANA also reported a second mortar hit a school bus in the Bab Touma neighbourhood, injuring five children.
Bab Touma is another central Damascus area that is majority Christian.
Rebel fighters arrayed in districts on the outskirts of the capital regularly launch rockets and mortar rounds at central neighbourhoods, causing damage and sometimes fatalities
November 11th, 2013, 10:03 am
Uzair8 said:
A few posts from Yalla Souriya:
hhassan140
Moaz al-Khatib to the Coalition: If I were you, I’d speak to the true occupier of Syria not its followers. (Iran?) http://t.co/RgMoROzeVB
Link
************
Ali Ferzat on Geneva 2
[Image]
Link
********
#Syria #Homs –
Nice collection of photos of the captured ammunition depot at Mahin in southern Homs province
[Video]
Link
November 11th, 2013, 10:29 am
ziad said:
Omen #1802 said:
“sorry…ziad isn’t syrian.”
HTF do you know that I am not Syrian?
On the other hand you are a clueless ignorant fool who has a single idea, that anything less than nuking Syria and Iran is an appeasement. How do I know? I read your utter nonsense for entertainment.
November 11th, 2013, 10:31 am
Sami said:
So what disqualifies an American somehow qualifies a Finn… And funny thing the Finn is disqualifying an American on an American blog that covers the very same subject they are somehow disqualified for.
November 11th, 2013, 11:19 am
zoo said:
Islamists based in North of Syria are now threatening Iraq’s stability. The only forces that can stop them are the Syrian and the Iraqi army. That’s a dilemma for the West, should they re-inforce the Syrian Army and the Kurds or the ‘good but weak’ Syrian rebels whose aim is to destroy… the Syrian army?
Their aim, analysts say, is to establish control of key border points to ensure easier transit of fighters and equipment.
The militant Islamists also see Iraq and Syria as one large, contiguous battlefield.
“It’s an ideological thing for them,” said Aymenn Al Tamimi of the Middle East Forum think tank.
Mr Al Tamimi said the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in particular “sees Iraq and Syria as one battleground. It’s part of the wider project of achieving the first goal of building an Islamic state in Iraq and Syria”.
He noted that borders had been a focus for militant rebel groups seeking to establish secure supply lines for reinforcements and military supplies.
And he warned that the Kurds’ seizure of Al Yaarubia did not mean the fighting was over.
“It’s not going to stop,” Mr Al Tamimi said. “It’s still going to be a pretty bad situation for the Iraqi government.
Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/world/middle-east/baghdad-keeps-eye-on-syrian-kurds#ixzz2kM1mIiRx
Follow us: @TheNationalUAE on Twitter | thenational.ae on Facebook
November 11th, 2013, 11:20 am
Uzair8 said:
Remember Zoo posted that Buzzfeed interview with an anonymous ‘prominent activist’? In the comment section of the piece there was a fitting response to the ‘anonymous activist’. It so happens the author of the comment went a little further on his blog:
“Repentant Activists” – Cry Me a F****** River
Nov 11
As the conflict in Syria dragged on, and the initially peaceful revolution turned increasingly into a bitter and horrific civil war, we started to see more and more activists bemoan the militarization of the revolution, and the dominant role taken on by hardline extremist Islamist groups such as Jabhat Al Nasra and the ISIS (no, not the Archer ISIS, this ISIS, The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham). Some even went so far as to call the revolution a mistake, and openly pine for the days of life under the brutal dictatorship of the Assads.
The most recent manifestation of this phenomenon was Buzzfeed’s recent interview with an anonymous “prominent activist”. Titled “Confessions Of A Syrian Activist: “I Want Assad To Win”, the article had this remarkable statement;
[…]
November 11th, 2013, 12:07 pm
zoo said:
Recognized, at last. Time to tackle it
Sunni-Shi’ite tension biggest threat to world security, Iran
Reuters
Dubai, November 11, 2013
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/sunni-shi-ite-tension-biggest-threat-to-world-security/article1-1149939.aspx
Tension between Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims is the biggest threat to world security, Iran’s foreign minister said in comments published on Monday, accusing Sunni Arab countries of “fanning the flames” of sectarian conflict. The increasingly sectarian civil war in Syria has drawn in regional powers with Shi’ite Iran backing President Bashar al-Assad and Sunni Gulf Arab states and mainly Sunni Turkey helping the rebels. The conflict threatens to spill over into countries split between Sunnis and Shi’ites such as Lebanon and Iraq.
The sectarian tension is “the most serious security threat not only to the region but to the world at large”, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the BBC.
“I think we need to come to understand that a sectarian divide in the Islamic world is a threat to all of us.”
Zarif, a U.S.-educated former Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, called for regional powers to come together to try to solve the conflict in Syria. He is the point man of President Hassan Rouhani’s bid to ease tensions between Iran and the outside world.
“I think all of us,” he said, “regardless of our differences on Syria, we need to work together on the sectarian issue.” But, the BBC said, without naming any countries directly, Zarif accused Sunni Arab leaders of “fanning the flames” of sectarian violence.
“This business of fear-mongering has been a prevalent business,” he said. “Nobody should try to fan the flames of sectarian violence. We should reign it in, bring it to a close, try to avoid a conflict that would be detrimental to everybody’s security.”
November 11th, 2013, 12:08 pm
zoo said:
Al Qaeda is grateful to their ‘brother’ the Syrian Sunni opposition for allowing them to create a safe “Waziristan’ in Syria and spread their ideology.
Al Qaeda’s Most Dangerous Stronghold
by Bruce Riedel Nov 11, 2013 5:45 AM EST
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/11/11/al-qaeda-s-most-dangerous-stronghold.html
Two al Qaeda franchises are gaining strength on the border of Syria and Iraq by exploiting the region’s chaos—and the threat they pose to global security is ever more frightening.
Al Qaeda is building its most dangerous stronghold ever in the borderlands between Syria and Iraq. Hundreds of new jihadist fighters are flocking to this battlefield in the heartland of the Middle East. And with the civil wars in both countries all but certain to endure for the foreseeable future, the danger from this stronghold is growing.
November 11th, 2013, 12:21 pm
Akbar Palace said:
Power to the Despots
Sami,
Sim has spent years delegitimizing and defaming Israel and Jews. Now he has left us (all of a sudden) to delegitimize and defame the Syrian Opposition.
The common thread is, Sim doesn’t like freedom except for himself.
Sim always seems to support autocratic despots who want to take people’s freedoms away.
When Sim leaves the comfort of the US or Finland or whatever free country he lives in for Iran or Syria or Gaza, then I’ll take him seriously.
November 11th, 2013, 1:12 pm
Uzair8 said:
A couple of things from YS:
Maysaloon
@BSyria Mekdad might be a total tosser, but I think Jarba has effectively handed in his resignation. Silly behaviour.
Link
beirutreporter
#SYRIA (Nov11 #Beirut 1822) Diplomats:West to deny Syria request for equipment to move chemweapons;could be used to wage civil war.(SkyNews)
Link
November 11th, 2013, 1:36 pm
omen said:
that was wasn’t me but hopeful.
see?
or did you intend to slight hopeful by misattributing?
November 11th, 2013, 2:24 pm
omen said:
thanks for the confession.
November 11th, 2013, 2:33 pm
omen said:
1803. simo has meltdown because i called him a goof. the mildest form of censure. what a big baby.
November 11th, 2013, 2:44 pm
Syrialover said:
Dear HOPEFUL, much as I admire and look forward to your comments, you are taking your name to unrealistic extremes when you write (#1690):
“If the intellectual opposition figures, like Kilo and Gallioun, have failed in anything, it is in convincing the regime to reform and change its ways before the country exploded. The question they should be asking themselves is “did we do enough before 2011 to convince Bashar that unless he makes dramatic changes, the country will fall apart.”
Intellectuals convince the Assad regime? Of anything?
You need to abandon the pointless illusion that the Assad regime was (i) interested in or capable of reform (ii) capable of making constructive and rational decisions or open to advice and (iii) cared what happened to the wider country and people beyond their immediate interests.
For a more realistic view of Bashar Assad, see this transcript, starting where Volker Perthes is interviewed: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rearvision/the-reluctant-president–bashar-al-assad/4915278#transcript
Also how can Syrian intellectual figures make their points if there is no civil society or public opinion forums in Syria? And by the way – a small detail – they risked dying prison. (which I recall Kilo very nearly did during his last stay in a dungeon from 2006-2009)
November 11th, 2013, 3:56 pm
Akbar Palace said:
Baathist Freedom Fighters NewZ
Omen,
Next time call him a “Baathist Freedom Fighter” (which, when you think about it, is a great example of a PARADOX).
November 11th, 2013, 3:58 pm
Hopeful said:
#1819 SL
Points well taken. I accept your criticism.
November 11th, 2013, 4:09 pm
Syrialover said:
SAMI, #1767 huge applause for summing up so much truth and reality in a few words when you said:
“For the record my enemies are those that have enslaved my country to a backwards ideology that has gradually stripped the core meaning of being a Syrian to become a story of tragedy. 40 years of culminated indoctrination of hate, torture, and blaming the world, 40 years of allowing ourselves to be duped into a crappy cringe worthy ideology where we sold our country for the false pretence of “resisting the enemy” when all we did was spy on each other, torture each other, and patted each other on the back for the great “accomplishments” of our dear leader which resulted in turning our country into a backwards hellhole we see today.”
I’ll file that statement to be recycled next time anyone suggests the Assad regime would have done anything differently “if only”.
November 11th, 2013, 4:13 pm
Syrialover said:
ALAN, please tell us, how do you feel about the brilliant idea of the Russians to include Rifaat Assad in peace talks?
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/world/middleeast/damascus.html?_r=0
Poor old Rifaat is worried and will try anything to dodge his inevitable indictment on war crimes for killing 30,000 people in Hama in the 1980s. The Europeans have already started chasing all his stolen millions in court.
November 11th, 2013, 4:24 pm
Syrialover said:
HOPEFUL #1821, thank you for being such a sane, decent and honest voice here.
I used to think a lot of “if only” scenarios but the exposed reality of Assad regime evil and rottenness has stopped me.
I think I was in denial trying to find something normal and rational and a sign of human civilization where there was none. The truth was too frightening, but now we live with it in the destruction of Syria and its people by the regime.
November 11th, 2013, 4:40 pm
zoo said:
After two days of meeting the opposition keep making contradictory announcements about the conditions of their attendance to Geneva, probably to confuse and hide their humiliation.
In one of them it accepts to go to Geneva with only humanitarian conditions while in the other it says it accept to go to Geneva at the condition Bashar al Assad is excluded from the future government.
It is clear that if they are making Bashar Al Assad’s exclusion as a condition they might as well forget about Geneva, as its is a condition they have set 2 years ago and that the UN and the Syrian government has consistently refused.
By putting unacceptable conditions to go to Geneva, the opposition would be playing a very dangerous card as Geneva is the last chance they have to have a word in the future of Syria.
Opposition sees last chance in peace conference
November 12, 2013
BEIRUT: Syria’s main opposition grouping said on Monday it was willing to attend peace talks on the condition that President Bashar Al Assad transfer power and be excluded from any transition process.
In a statement issued after two days of meetings in Istanbul, the key Syrian National Coalition (SNC) said it would take part in mooted peace talks in Geneva “on the basis of the full transfer of power.”
It also stipulated “that Bashar Al Assad and those with the blood of Syrians on their hands have no role in the transitional phase and Syria’s future.”
——————-
The Syrian Opposition coalition has conditionally agreed to attend the Geneva II conference designed to end the country’s bloody conflict, a statement said today.
“A consensus has been reached among the coalition members about the need to take part in the Geneva II conference,” the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) said in the statement issued after two days of talks in Istanbul between different Opposition groups.
The conditions put forth by the SNC for attending the conference are a guarantee from the Syrian government to allow relief agencies to enter besieged areas and release of political prisoners. The coalition also required a guarantee that any political conference should lead to a political transition in Syria, according to the statement.
November 11th, 2013, 4:46 pm
Syrialover said:
Hurrah! ZOO has finally been given a fresh packet of instructions now that Iran is officially occupying Syria. We can see it big time it in his post #1812.
There is nothing uglier and sillier than the sight of a someone working on behalf of Iran’s Shia sectarian strategy.
November 11th, 2013, 4:52 pm
zoo said:
Syrian turnaround and Assad’s survival
By Michael Collins, on November 11th, 2013
– See more at: http://agonist.org/syrian-turnaround-assads-survival/#sthash.i0qQsaQ5.dpuf
Presuming he isn’t assassinated, Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad may survive as the chief executive of a unified Syria.
This is a far cry from the constant refrain that Assad must go by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her British and French counterparts in 2011.
Prior to the chemical weapons incident in Damascus, the Syria Arab Army, with help from Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance, began winning major battles against the rebels. The victories at Qusayr and Homs were major victories. After the U.S. – Russian deal to destroy chemical weapons, things changed on the ground and in the broader diplomatic storyline.
Syria’s cooperation with the location and removal of chemical weapons has been acknowledged and praised by the U.S. and the chemical weapons team from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Rebel factions insist they will not send representatives to the U.S.-Russia sponsored negotiations in Geneva.
The head of Al Qaeda just ordered its Iraqi fighters in Syria to break camp and return to Iraq, leaving Al Qaeda aligned Al Nusra as the remaining force in the Syrian battle. This represents a withdrawal of Al Qaeda personnel and firepower from the battles to come.
Syrian troops took a key rebel stronghold south of Damascus. In doing so, the army compromised the remaining rebel positions around Damascus.
The Syrian Arab Army took a key town at the gates of the nation’s largest city, Aleppo. The army is in the process of retaking Base 80 north of Aleppo. Both events are critical moves that could open up a supply line for a full-fledged attack on the rebel sector of the divided city.
Aleppo represents the greatest prize in the military conflict. If the rebels are forced out, the conflict is largely finished. Rebel disunity and weakening foreign support may create that opportunity.
The anti-Assad campaign of President Obama and Secretary Kerry faded quickly when the possibility of a rapprochement with Iran fell into their laps. If hostilities with Iran cease, the proxy war in Syria has little meaning for the U.S. The threat to Saudi Arabia’s royal elite by Iran and the restive Shia population of the Saudi’s richest energy reserves are not threats to the United States given an alliance with Iran.
There is no guarantee that negotiations with Iran will produce meaningful results but surely there will be an extended period of time when those negotiations are pursued. In the mean time, the gains of continued hot pursuit of a failed objective in Syria, regime change, diminish while the downside of that policy, backing jihadist rebels, is more apparent by the day.
The failed regime change effort in Syria is going nowhere. It’s an easy effort to abandon, no matter what happens with Iran.
– See more at: http://agonist.org/syrian-turnaround-assads-survival/#sthash.i0qQsaQ5.dpuf
November 11th, 2013, 4:53 pm
zoo said:
Deliberately or not, the Syrian Kurds are helping the Syrian Army, the Iraqis Shias and the West against the Sunni militias .
Syrian Kurds’ military gains stir unease
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/syrian-kurds-military-gains-stir-unease-105216068.html#AO8lAFB
….
To Assad and his Shi’ite allies, their gains mean more territory out of Sunni rebel hands two and a half years into a revolt against his rule.
Foreign powers supporting the opposition, meanwhile, hope they will deliver a blow to al Qaeda-linked fighters, whose rising power in northern Syria had gone unchecked for months.
“The advance has basically been accepted by all,” said Piroz Perik, a Kurdish activist from the town of Qamishli.
…
A Kurdish political source in Syria said that the PYD offensive was timed to coincide with a push by Assad’s forces to the northwest, near the city of Aleppo.
“Assad’s forces also organised Arab militias in the area, most of them tribesmen at odds with al Qaeda’s growing power here,” he said. “They fought alongside the Kurds.”
Xelil denied his fighters worked with outside groups.
But a senior Iraqi politician said Shi’ite power Iran, Assad’s main regional ally, was also actively backing the PYD.
“Iran supports these groups to guarantee having a powerful group in Syria in case things go out of control,” he said, adding that Tehran was creating a network of allies from minority groups across the country to bolster their interests and to create alternative partners should Assad fall.
The Iraqi politician said Baghdad’s Shi’ite government was supporting the Kurds to weaken cross-border ties among Sunnis.
“(They) may help them in cooperation with Iran to create an autonomous Kurdish region … to establish a buffer zone between Iraqi and Syrian Sunnis.”
November 11th, 2013, 4:59 pm
Syrialover said:
ALAN, are you just here to tease us?
Please, why don’t you help us understand why Russia is now promoting Rifaat Assad for peace talks.
Is this a way for Putin show he is now distant from Bashar? Or are the Russians grabbing at anything to play for time and disrupt planning for negotiations?
Or maybe Rifaat has put some of his offshore hidden money into Putin’s hidden bank accounts?
ALAN you must know more of the answer than anyone else here. Don’t make us think it’s not true, and you have only been pretending to represent Russia.
November 11th, 2013, 5:02 pm
zoo said:
@1826 SL
It is a no surprise reaction coming from for a die-hard supporter of Al Qaeda and other Islamist extremists fed by the “Guided and Demented Sunni Kingdom”
November 11th, 2013, 5:02 pm
zoo said:
Palestinians are “grateful” to the opposition who destroyed the home and the dignity that Bashar al Assad, contrary to other richer Arab countries had continuously secured for them in Syria
There is no Palestinian issue for Syrian rebels
http://rt.com/op-edge/palestine-conflict-syria-rebels-509/
The Palestinian issue has been uniting all Muslims for 65 years. Syrian rebels succeeded in their mission – they made the world forget about the Palestinian issue.
The militants pulled Palestinians out of refugee camps; they are killing them or using these people as human shields. And the media are silent about it, while the Syrian opposition keeps screaming about the “oppressive Assad regime.”
It’s been a year since Syrian rebels raided the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Syria – Yarmouk, near Damascus. Up until recently it was the duty of Israeli soldiers to persecute Palestinians, now this is done by Syrian rebels with their Muslim slogans. The media are not saying anything about it.
What is the life of Palestinians like, now that the Syrian conflict made them refugees again?
‘Nobody is helping us – neither Europe, nor the UN’
November 11th, 2013, 5:11 pm
zoo said:
Another big thank to the opposition who invited Sunni Pakistani fighters to help ‘topple’ Alawite Bashar al Assad.
Polio virus strain in Syria originated in Pakistan and spreading across Middle East: WHO
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/polio-virus-strain-in-syria-originated-in-pakistan-and-spreading-across-middle-east-who.aspx?pageID=238&nID=57766&NewsCatID=352
Polio that has crippled at least 13 children in Syria has been confirmed as being caused by a strain of the virus that originated in Pakistan and is spreading across the Middle East, the World Health Organization said.
November 11th, 2013, 5:19 pm
Syrialover said:
ZOO, #1830 now that Iran is controlling the Syrian “government” can’t you relax and take a couple of hours break away from SyriaComment?
You are getting alarmingly silly and tired in the head.
You know very well that on this forum I have consistently criticized al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists here 1,000 times more strongly and frequently than you have.
But I am a free and rational thinker. Unlike some here I don’t have to walk a shaky line and skid on thin ice with a scandalous duty of promoting and endorsing Shia Islamic extremism and Iran’s violent sectarian agendas.
November 11th, 2013, 5:19 pm
Syrialover said:
SAMI and HOPEFUL,
There is one “if only” I still think of. What would have happened to Bashar Assad if Iran and Russia hadn’t rushed in, rescued him and helped him burn the country.
November 11th, 2013, 5:25 pm
zoo said:
It seems that the opposition has finally set only 3 pre-conditions for attending Geneva. They also have a ‘demand’ that Bashar al Assad be excluded from the transitional and future government of Syria.
The ‘demand’ is just a wishful thinking that will be totally ignored.
That’s the trick the opposition has found as a face saving after having hammered for 2.5 years that they will never attend any dialog as long as Bashar Al Assad is in power.
Now, it is no more a condition, it is just a ‘hope’.
Their paranoiac stubbornness has resulted in 100,000 death and billions of destruction.
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/15930144-syrian-opposition-would-attend-geneva-ii-peace-conference-with-conditions
November 11th, 2013, 5:39 pm
ziad said:
***NEW THREAD***
November 11th, 2013, 5:41 pm
zoo said:
@1833 SL
You sound very stressed that the situation is turning up in total opposition to your expectations…
I recommend you a short relaxing stay in Al Raqqa. There you can enjoy a place that Iran does not control.
November 11th, 2013, 5:48 pm
Uzair8 said:
1836. Ziad said:
***NEW THREAD***
I don’t believe you.
November 12th, 2013, 10:04 am
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