James Baker is always worth listening to, I agree , and his assessment is right on target : Bashar needs to go but we need to know who will in control of Syria’s government after his departure .

Patrick Cockburn of The Independent just wrote about the failure of the West to overthrow Assad.

I wonder when the bloggers will take note, the ‘revolution’s’ over

Diplomatic snubs exchanged at Baghdad summit on Syria – 29 March, 2012

http://rt.com/news/arab-league-baghdad-summit-711/

Top Arab League officials are meeting in Baghdad to try and reach consensus on the crisis in Syria. However, the meeting has been marred by a diplomatic row between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, who disagree on the issue.

­On Wednesday, attendees produced a draft resolution supporting the six-point plan proposed by UN-Arab League Syrian envoy Kofi Annan, and called for a ceasefire in the country. While it voiced support for the Syrian people’s “legitimate aspirations to freedom and democracy,” it also rejected foreign intervention.

But cobbling up the resolution did prove to be somewhat difficult as the participants disagreed on a course of action in Syria. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council have been pushing for military intervention and arming the opposition. Host country Iraq, on the other hand, has been opposed to intervention and has been more in favor of a peaceful resolution.

In the meantime, a behind-the-scenes diplomatic row between Iraq and Saudi Arabia has complicated matters even further. An Arab League source reported that Saudi Arabia and Qatar wanted Iraq to invite representatives of the Syrian opposition. When Iraq did not do so, Saudi Arabia responded by sending its Arab League ambassador instead of its foreign minister to the summit – an in-your-face snub in diplomatic terms, as the ambassador ranks significantly lower than the foreign minister. Qatar and Egypt also refrained from sending top ranking diplomatic officials to the summit.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari admitted that the summit will offer “nothing new,” but will complement international efforts to help bring about a solution to the crisis. While he did say that the summit will not call on President Bashar al-Assad to step down, he also remarked that Iraq “could no longer remain neutral.” He went on to say that the conflict was heading towards “internationalization,” and that the Arab League has already done all it could to resolve the conflict.

[…]

Mainstream media self-censorship – 29 March, 2012

http://rt.com/usa/news/mainstream-media-self-censorship-viewers-708/

Plummeting ratings for mainstream media news networks mean one thing – American viewers have had enough and are switching off. RT takes a look at why TV viewers seem to be turning elsewhere for real information.

Cherry picked facts – check. Unwelcome points of view discarded – check. Cookie cutter narrative no matter how a story develops – check.

America’s mainstream media rarely questions the need for military intervention.

“At the height of the war with Iraq, there was a study that showed that out of 317 people interviewed on American television, only 3 opposed the war”, said media critic and blogger Danny Schechter.

To Iran, to Libya, to Syria – the Western mainstream media seems to have lost the desire to critically assess information. Copy-pasting official press releases instead, and self-imposing censorship.

“If you are extremely driven by a particular point of view, you tend to select facts that support your point of view. That makes you an advocate, it doesn’t make you a journalist”, said Schechter.

Take Syria – the current foreign policy story making headlines.

Author and journalist Sharmine Narwani – contributor to the Huffington Post – says her Syria articles questioning the official story – were rejected.

To Narwani, Western media coverage is a theatre of the absurd.

“These people are flown in first class, they have staff, they have support staff for those staff members, they move in large groups. They have vans, and drives and translators. You’re not going in quietly. You’re coming in lights, camera, action”, she explained.

Viewers are given little, if any, background to the issues causing the crisis. What’s also missing is balance.

“They’ll go straight to opposition leaders in X place. They’ll go straight for the things that validate their perspective, or the perspective of their Governments, frankly. Instead of seeking out alternative information, information that may be challenges the dominant narrative”, said Narwani.

In Syria that narrative is clear – it’s a government crackdown on civilian protesters.In reality, armed groups, and reportedly even Al Qaeda, are part of the uprising.This is left out of mainstream reports – whether knowingly, or due to ignorance.

“Nobody that I know who is a so-called serious commentator on Syria is able to define exactly who the Syrian opposition is, what their goals are, or really knows much about the history of Syria or its geography, or its demographics – they really don’t know much at all”, said editorial columnist and author Ted Rall.

This has created an information black-out – with a major chunk of the story unavailable to viewers, what is shown being of questionable value.

“A shaky cell phone footage taken of something that doesn’t even address the basic journalism questions of who, what, when, how? But they’re happy to put their on the screens”, said Sharmine Narwani.

[…]

1. Naseer Ahmad said:

Patrick Cockburn of The Independent just wrote about the failure of the West to overthrow Assad.

I wonder when the bloggers will take note, the ‘revolution’s’ over
.
.
The tide is turning 😉
.

Rand Paul alone stops harsher sanctions on Iran – 29 March, 2012

http://rt.com/usa/news/paul-iran-war-us-704/

“My amendment is one sentence long; it states that nothing in this act is to be construed as a declaration of war or as an authorization of the use of military force in Iran or Syria,” Paul told his colleagues.

“Before sending our young men and women into combat we should have a mature and thoughtful debate over the ramifications of war, over the advisability of war and over the objectives of the war,” Paul added.

“Many in this body cannot get boots on the ground fast enough in a variety of places, from Syria to Libya, to Iran,” criticized Senator Paul.

“James Madison wrote that the constitution supposes what history demonstrates, that the Executive is a Branch most interested in war and most prone to it,” he added.

“Our founding fathers were quite concerned about giving the power to declare war to the Executive. They were quite concerned that the Executive could become like a King,” Paul added on Tuesday.

Although Reid wasn’t to please with Paul’s objection, Paul felt that “without a vote and without careful consideration of the ramifications of third or even a fourth war in this past decade” there is no legitimate need to send young soldiers into war.

“I urge that we not begin a new war without a full debate.”

In response to Paul’s amendment Reid stated he was “terribly disappointed.”

“There’s nothing in the resolution that talks about war. In fact, it’s quite to the contrary. … I read the Constitution a few times. My friend says he wants to restate the Constitution. That’s a strange version he just stated,” Reid added.

The Republican Senator was “amazed at the majority party objections to an amendment that simply restates the US Constitution.”

[…]

BRICS: Not bound by ‘unilateral’ sanctions on Iran and Syria – 28 March, 2012

http://rt.com/news/brics-iran-us-sanctions-684/

“I think that we all broadly agree with the proposal, the terminology that was made, that if there are UN Security Council sanctions then we are all bound by that, but if there are sanctions that are imposed by other countries unilaterally, they shouldn’t have to apply to us,” South Africa’s Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies is cited by Reuters as saying.

The BRICS group of five is meeting in New Delhi to hold its fourth two-day summit. Though the creation of an alternative to the IMF and the World Bank are said to be the key issues on the agenda, leaders will touch upon Iran and Syria as well.

[…]

Sheila
There are different types of media shabbiha,among those who live outside Syria,
1- benefit financially
2- they have or their relative have blood in supperssion this revolution.
3- Drug addiction.and those who drinks alcohol heavily.You can tell who they are.

However there are descent people who are misguided and frustrated.they are bound to change their mind,and we will know later why they support the regime.

Instead of quoting ill-informed rubbish from the likes of James Baker and David Ignatius, I wonder when Joshua Landis is going to present a commentary on Syria’s parliamentary contest. The election is on 7 May 2012.

Local Council or Municipal elections were held on 12 Dec 2011. Here’s the entirety of Joshua’s comments on those, which he gave after the elections were over: “Municipal elections, by all accounts, were a bust. It is hard to see how they can change much so long as article 8 of the constitution – the article guaranteeing the supremacy of the Baath in society and politics – remains in force. Syrian opposition forces asked their followers to boycott them. The notion of reform is dead. The opposition is determined to bring down the regime, not reform it.” The official turnout was 41% in the local council elections on 12 Dec 2011. That’s a pretty healthy turnout in comparative international terms for local council elections. On 12 Dec 2011 there were 42,889 candidates competing for 17,629 seats (including a sizeable number of uncontested seats where no one had launched a contest against a returning incumbent), spread across 1,355 local councils and other local administrative entities. And afterwards all the local councils nationwide were under the control of nice and sensible pro-regime people.

Article 8 of the old Constitution didn’t affect the Local Councils. That has been true since the year 2005 Local Administration Law. Under the law for the 12 Dec 2011 elections the members of the Municipal Councils are elected in fully competitive fully free elections (except that sectarian and tribal parties are banned). After the elections, the executive officers of the Municipal Councils were elected by the elected council members without any restrictions at all. Under the law, the opposition forces had the legal power to win the majority of the seats in Homs City Council and elect an oppositionist councillor as the chairman of the council. Under the political reality they would’ve gotten trounced in the elections which is the true reason why they sulked.

I sincerely expect Joshua’s comments on the upcoming parliamentary elections to be equally as brief and rubbishy as his comments on the Local Council elections were. Joshua’s real good at rehashing what mainstream media in USA is saying. But the view in the USA is inconsequential and impotent in Syria, thanks be to God.

One civilian, two officers gunned down by gunmen across Syria – 2012-03-29

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-03/29/c_122901691.htm

DAMASCUS, March 28 (Xinhua) — One civilian and two army officers were killed Wednesday in Syria by “armed terrorist groups, ” the state-run SANA news agency reported.

Armed groups assassinated a brigadier in northern Aleppo province Wednesday as another group shot dead a colonel at Joubar countryside of the capital Damascus, according to SANA.

Wednesday’s attack came as part of other assassinations targeting senior army and security personnel. Rebel forces are believed to be behind the assassinations. The Syrian crisis has grown more militarized with civilians and army defectors taking up arms to face the government’s alleged bloody crackdown.

In central Hama province, a 30-year-old civilian was found killed Wednesday after being kidnapped by unidentified gunmen for three months, said SANA, adding that marks of torture was seen on the man’s body.

[…]

Arab foreign ministers agree on draft final statement for Baghdad summit – 2012-03-29

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-03/29/c_122901675.htm

Zebari expressed his country’s “keenness on supporting the aspirations of the people of Syria in drawing its future and choosing its leaders through peacefully power circulation.”

“Iraq condemns violence in Syria and insists to follow a political solution and national dialogue and rejects foreign intervention in Syria’s crisis,” Zebari noted. He also said Iraq backs the AL efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis and praises the efforts by the UN envoy Kofi Annan in this respect.

Meanwhile, he said “there is no new initiative (by the summit) over Syria’s issue, but there is a draft resolution that would mesh together between the Arab and the international attitudes,” referring to that the Arab initiative would back the international efforts of UN envoy Annan.

“The situation in Syria has become international. We tried an Arab solution for the crisis, but it is now in the hands of the UN and its Security Council,” Zebari concluded.

Zebari said that the Syrian government approved the international plan to solve the crisis, but there is difference among the Syrian opposition parties which they have to unify their stances towards such a peace plan.

[…]

Syria not to accept AL initiative – 2012-03-28

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-03/28/c_131494856.htm

“Some talks have emerged that the conferees in Baghdad today are discussing an initiative for Syria, and in response we say that since Syria’s membership has been suspended, we are not going to deal with any initiative from the Arab League,” Jihad Makdissi said in a statement sent to Xinhua Wednesday.

[…]

Annan’s Syria Technical Team Led By Executive Who Quit Group CHD Amid Embezzlement Scandal

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, March 28 — The technical team sent to Syria by Kofi Annan was led by a former UN official who was forced to resign from a Geneva-based non-governmental organization amid an embezzlement scandal, Inner City Press has learned and confirmed.

For two weeks at the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesmen refused to answer Press questions about who was on the team of Annan, Ban’s predecessor as Secretary General whom Ban had name as his and the Arab League’s Joint Special Envoy to Syria.

Several Annan team members visible in television footage from Cairo and Damascus were former UN officials who left the UN under a cloud of scandal. There was Alan Doss, who while the UN’s top envoy to the Congo was found to have urged UNDP to break its rules and give his daughter a job.

There was Nicolas Michel, who left as the UN’s top legal officer after admitting taking $12,000 a month from the Swiss government to pay for a Park Avenue apartment while employed by the UN.

After the two weeks the UN in New York announced that Alan Doss was no longer on Annan’s Syria team, and Annan’s spokesman Ahmad Fawzi, himself another former UN communications official, told Inner City Press that Nicolas Michel was just a consultant, paid only when used.

But despite Annan’s spokesman Fawzi being less opaque than Ban’s, Inner City Press continues to receive complaints about members of Annan’s team, for example Martin Griffiths who’s described as in charge of the “technical team” Annan sent to Damascus.

Griffith worked for the UN then as the executive director of the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (CHD) based in Geneva, as is the Kofi Annan Foundation. Griffith was forced to resign from CHD after a CHF 3.8 million fraud was exposed in June 2010, and confirmed by KPMG.

Based on this, a well placed diplomat told Inner City Press on Wednesday, “Griffiths could never have been hired for this by the UN. But Kofi has forced him onto the team, and like the rest of them he’s been given a UN contract and pay for at least six months, no matter what happens with the Syria work.”

Before publication, Inner City Press sought comment from Annan’s spokesman Fawzi, who to his credit responded with a not only a no-comment but also a confirmation, which still stops short of disclosing who else is on the team.

[…]

http://www.innercitypress.com/annan1griffiths032812.html

So there was a decree to stop all males 18-42 from traveling without a proper permit from the conscription office.

Then it was rescinded in 24 hours.

Let us dissect this

1. There is no clear institutional chain of command that went through this decision and counter decision. It just came and went just like that. Therefore there are no real institutions or mechanisms of understanding how the system works and there are no checks and balances and there no independent media to verify or investigate anything about this decision. The Animal Farm decided and rescinded.

2. The decision would have sent thousands of young men to bribe, hide, disappear, to avoid having to do this. The offices would have been flooded with people trying to get this piece of paper. They would have collected small amounts of money in bribes that they cannot follow through with.

3. I bet there will be a permission for people to pay the exchange so as not to do the military service also called Badal. This way they can have another mechanism to fleece the population. And this one they can collect the money to fuel the repression in contrast to the lowly clerk getting the daily bribe.

4. Once again this leads to the conclusion that there is a mafia at the helm.
All of this tells me that they are running out of money and running out of men to subdue the entire country and the more they destroy the more they will have resistance against them.
It seems that the number of defectors has grown to 100 000 not all of whom are fighting but they are also not working the army.

Can anyone from the pro regime explain to me how this decision came about, rescinded in 24 hours, and how in a so called reformed and modern state this could happen without accountability and explanation?

Finally, a proof that the veneer of modernity is extremely thin in the barbarian pro regime supporters is the news of four young Canadian Syrians assaulted by the pro regime demonstrators in Montreal for brandishing the revolution flag of Syria in public.

They were assaulted in public apparently and this proves that these thugs are intrinsically thugs and they are driven by a hatred that is blinding.

It is clear that the various stupid retarded sects cannot live together with the majority in the ME hence let them have their state and let them get out of our hair and stop forcing us into an oppressive farce called Somaria Alassad.

What a barbaric regime and what a despicable regime thugs and supporters.

The germs have multiplied and the rats are eternal. The resistance to antimicrobials is now legendary and devastating.

2. Naseer Ahmad said:

Patrick Cockburn of The Independent just wrote about the failure of the West to overthrow Assad. I wonder when the bloggers will take note, the ‘revolution’s’ over

you are right in one aspect. it isn’t the west who is going to overthrow assad. it will be syrians who will unseat him.

similar articles were written braying about the west’s failure to unseat gaddafi back when the rebels were temporarily stuck at an impasse.

4. ann 9:12 pm

“Nobody that I know who is a so-called serious commentator on Syria is able to define exactly who the Syrian opposition is, what their goals are, or really knows much about the history of Syria or its geography, or its demographics – they really don’t know much at all”, said editorial columnist and author Ted Rall.

ted rall is a cartoonist. since when did he become a mena expert?

This has created an information black-out – with a major chunk of the story unavailable to viewers, what is shown being of questionable value.

a blackout facilitated by assad banning foreign reporters.

observer, are you really blaming an entire sect for the actions of the few? average alawites who aren’t even involved in government shouldn’t be denigrated in this fashion.

calling people rats is code for the need to exterminate them.

prosecute the regime but leave the innocent alone.

Another ‘gem’ from the devil’s den, Katibet Alansar, showing that Alqaeda terrorists are targeting and destroying buildings in Homs, this is just couple of many clips of the attacks that the mainstream media is not showing at all and trying to cover the terrorists’ reality as nothing but Alqaeda local fighters.

رد كتيبة الأنصار على قصف جامع أبو ذر الغفاري
http://youtu.be/PcSKRiOJyfQ

عملية قصف قوات النظام بصاروخ أنيرغا كتيبة الأنصار سرية الأخيار | سورية – أموي
http://youtu.be/QzDXGx7nGiY

Katibet Alansar is the first official Syrian Alqaeda terrorist gang, Abou Mosa2ab Alzarqawi is back under a new name Abou 7amza Alansari:
لماذا الأنصار.mp4
http://youtu.be/TkOOC-nmqnk

This is an appropriate follow up on Baker’s interview:
http://www.alquds.co.uk/index.asp?fname=today%5C28qpt999.htm&arc=data%5C2012%5C03%5C03-28%5C28qpt999.htm

To me, the biggest challenge facing Syria is changing the regime without becoming another Libya, the writings are on the wall for those who can read.

if alqaeda really were in homs, assad would have never ventured there. lol

16. omen said: a blackout facilitated by assad banning foreign reporters.

So what do you call CNN? State TV or FSA broadcasting news?

———
Love in the air for US everywhere

Japanese want U.S. military bases gone
The U.S. military presence in Japan acquires special relevance recently due to proposals by Washington to reinstall a base on the island of Okinawa and indecision about Tokyo.

According to various data, not even the recent visit to this island by prime minister Yoshihiko Noda has achieved consensus between the two parties, despite a bilateral pact that was in effect, signed in 2006.

COMPLAINTS ABOUT U.S. military Presence

http://piazzadcara.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/japanese-want-u-s-military-bases-gone/

There is a sense of pathological euphoria among hard core regime supporters after the regime seems to have the upper hand for now, let me remind all that those who died and are still dying are mostly Syrians and the vast majority have died unnecessarily.

The regime will not be able to resist the winds of change and should not interpret the animosity against armed thugs as support for the regime which is still unpopular, unfit to lead and unable to unite Syrians.

The window of opportunity will close soon and if the Annan plan, or a modified version, does not materialize, more unrest and blood shed is likely. Nothing in Annan plan and the moderate opposition demands is extreme or unfair, I see it as the last chance to rectify an odd situation that was caused by the regime and made worse by violence from all sides.

I believe the regime is genuinely unable and unprepared to face the power of popular political demands, and it is too early to announce that this crisis is coming to an end, those who were wrongfully killed deserve more from all of us.

equus, what do u.s. military bases in japan have to do with syria? what does assad banning foreign reporters have to do with japan?

going over an old column, andrew tabler really pins down the regime’s pattern of deceit:

Assad rules through ambiguity and duplicity, and his speech on March 30, in which he blamed unrest sweeping his country on foreign “conspiracies” and refused to announce any specific reforms, indicates that he is not about to change his ways — at least not without a push from the outside. Assad has spent the last 11 years promising political “reform,” but has never got around to delivering it. This is a well-established pattern. He talks about peace with Israel while at the same time delivering Scud missiles to Hezbollah. He promises to keep his hands off Lebanon, but recently worked with Hezbollah to bring down the government in Beirut. He says, as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, that he wants a nuclear-free Middle East, but stonewalls International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors investigating the rubble of his North Korean-designed nuclear program.

11 years of promised reforms. eleven years! do loyalists really expect this year will be different?

Bush created the orphans of Iraq, Henry-Bernard Levy got jealous over the title and created the orphans of Libya. There is nothing, zilch over Libya in North America media. Lovely democracy

Reality : more people are perishing.

Libye/tribus: 70 morts dans des combats
Les combats qui ont opposé depuis lundi des Toubous à des tribus arabes dans la ville libyenne de Sebha (sud) ont fait 70 morts et 150 blessés, a annoncé ce soir le porte-parole du gouvernement, Nasser al-Manaa

http://plus.lefigaro.fr/article/libyetribus-70-morts-dans-des-combats-20120328-856460/commentaires?page=1

Libye : le chef des Toubous dénonce un “nettoyage ethnique” au sud du pays et accuse les autorités libyennes de complicité.

http://www.jeuneafrique.com/Article/ARTJAWEB20120328150456/libye-mouammar-kaddafi-affrontements-front-toubou-pour-le-salut-de-la-libyelibye-le-chef-des-toubous-denonce-un-nettoyage-ethnique-au-sud-du-pays.html

observer, i also questioned that rescinded travel ban. i asked if this was a sign the regime beginning to lose its footing.

the answer i got:

no not really, the Syrian regime is notorious for making ill thought out decisions then quickly cancelling them, nothing new

equus, did you see juan cole’s notes on libya?

ironically enough, he recalled a bit of french history. 🙂

25. omen said:

equus, what do u.s. military bases in japan have to do with syria? what does assad banning foreign reporters have to do with japan?

Dahhhaa, First I separated the two paragraphs meaning new idea (English 101). If you mixed both…it explains how you are mixing facts about Syria two.

Second, if you fell to see the geopolitical control of the US in the world, who is now actually negotiating with Kazakhstan to keep a military base-check the CIA website for historical and background info- it indicates to the reader how far you are from reality and knowledge and for that I excuse you. However, you still haven’t answered my initial simple question.

The warmongers again:

McCain resolution calls for safe zones and arming the Syrian opposition

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and five like-minded lawmakers unveiled a new resolution on Syria Wednesday that calls for establishing safe zones inside Syria for civilians and support for arming the opposition against the regime of Bashar al Assad.

The non-binding resolution stops short of calling for direct U.S. military intervention in Syria, which McCain supports, and is meant to create a consensus on increasing U.S. support for the Syrian opposition that the greatest number of lawmakers can rally around. As of now, the resolution has six sponsors, mostly Republicans. In addition to McCain, they are Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), and John Hoeven (R-ND).

The resolution expresses that the Senate “recognizes that the people of Syria have an inherent right to defend themselves against the campaign of violence being conducted by the Assad regime” and “supports calls by Arab leaders to provide the people of Syria with the means to defend themselves against Bashar al-Assad and his forces, including through the provision of weapons and other material support, and calls on the President to work closely with regional partners to implement these efforts effectively.”

The resolution also urges President Barack Obama to work with Middle East countries to develop plans for creating safe havens in Syria, which the senators feel “would be an important step to save Syrian lives and to help bring an end to Mr. Assad’s killing of civilians in Syria,” urges the president to hold Syrian officials accountable for atrocities, and supports the “Friends of the Syrian People” contact group, which will hold its second meeting Sunday in Turkey.
{…}

#2. Naseer Ahmad said: “Patrick Cockburn of The Independent just wrote about the failure of the West to overthrow Assad.”

LOL Patrick Cockburn! A man who is obsessed with looking for and predicting “failure of the west”. It’s been his trademark specialistation for many years. He grabs that drum and beats it ritually every chance he gets, even though he’s been waiting decades for evidence to support his views.

It’s hilarious to see the block voters” here give him 20 thumbs up right away. That exceeds Cockburn’s normal number of fans by far anywhere, so it’s very suspicious to see that unnatural rush of votes supporting his marginal views on this small forum.

As I’ve frequently pointed out, the distraction faction/block voters of Assad apologists on SC are not very smart.

28. omen said:

equus, did you see juan cole’s notes on libya?
ironically enough, he recalled a bit of french history.

Everyone can state his opinion but history facts cannot be changed or rewritten.

“…the distraction faction, the Assad apologists on SC, are not very smart…”

So true…

equus, i too have faulted u.s. corporate media. especially in their drumbeat over non-existent wmd in iraq. that doesn’t excuse assad from throwing reporters out of syria in attempt to cover up his war crimes.

i don’t defend u.s imperialism. however, syrians themselves are calling for intervention. mostly in the form of military arms shipment. thus far, the u.s. seems reluctant to offer them. when an oppressed people call for help, that isn’t an expression of u.s. imperialism!

The joke of the day, Aljazzera didn’t broadcast the terrorist attack of France out of ‘its’ ‘ethical standards’.
HUH! “ETHICAL” and “STANDARDS”?!…WOW…as if it has any!

الجزيرة وعلاقتها المشبوهة بتنظيم القاعدة … تحرص على مشاعر الفرنسيين ولا تحرص على مشاعر السوريين

March 28 2012 12:47

تذرّعت قناة الجزيرة القطرية بـ”المعايير الأخلاقية” لتفادي الإحراج الذي يمكن أن يلحق بها من بث مقاطع فيديو خصها بها مرتكب هجومي مدينة تولوز الفرنسية القاتلين محمد مراح وذلك وفقا لتقرير كتبه لجريدة العرب اللندنية زهير دراجيوقالت القناة إنها قررت بعد مراجعة مقاطع الفيديو التي أرسلت لمكتبها في باريس ان تلك المقاطع لا تضيف أي معلومات جديدة كما أنها لا تتماشى مع المعايير الأخلاقية لقناة الجزيرة.وفور الإعلان عن حصول القناة على المقاطع المذكورة تتالت التساؤلات على مواقع إلكترونية وفي وسائل إعلام فرنسية عن دواعي اختيار عضو تنظيم القاعدة مراح للجزيرة لمدها بالشريط

ولم يتردد أحد المعلقين في اعتبار ذلك “عربون ثقة من التنظيم في القناة التي تبدو في معالجتها لبعض الأخبار والمواد المتعلقة بأنشطة القاعدة، غير مُدينة لجرائمها مهما خلفت من ضحايا”.واستشهد بحيازة الجزيرة قصب السبق في الحصول على أشرطة مسجلة للكثير من التنظيمات المسلحة التي تتبنى فيها عمليات بعينها أو تعلق من خلالها على أحداث سياسية كبرى أو توجه بيانات ونداءات لأتباعها.وكثيرا ما مرت تسجيلات زعيم تنظيم القاعدة أسامة بن لادن وخليفته أيمن الظواهري عبر قناة الجزيرة
{…}
وفي قضية فيديو محمد مراح، دعا ساركوزي وعائلات ضحايا هجمات تولوز ومونتوبان وسائل الاعلام الى الامتناع عن بث الشريط عن اعمال القتل التي ارتكبها الاسلامي المتشدد في فرنسا.وأعلنت الجزيرة أنها “طبقا للسلوك الاخلاقي ونظرا لحقيقة ان شرائط الفيديو لا تضيف اي معلومات، فإنها لن تبث محتوياتها”.واضافت ان الشرائط وهي بعنوان “القاعدة تهاجم فرنسا” ارسلت الى مكتبها في باريس، تم تسليمها الى الشرطة الفرنسيةوتصور اللقطات قتل مراح لسبعة اشخاص بين 11 و 19 الشهر من الحالي في تولوز ومنتوبان، جنوب غرب فرنسا.ولا تبدو “المعايير الأخلاقية” التي أوردتها الجزيرة لتبرير عدم نشر شريط جرائم محمد مراح مقنعة، ذلك أن القناة ذاتها تبث يوميا مشاهد مقززة للقتل في سوريا وأحيانا لأطفال منكّل بهم
http://www.arabtimes.com/portal/news_display.cfm?Action=&Preview=No&nid=10894

Wow, these al qaeda operating in Syria really are confused small timers.

So far they have shown very few hallmarks of their usual modus operandi, motives and targets. And yet they have a whole army running around and calling for help to deal with them from Russia and Iran!

They must be a poor mans al quaeda, needing freelance help fronm Hezbollah and fake-beard-wearing agent provocateurs. But even with that, their alleged mass presence in Syria is still not credible.

Oh how cute, some poor american citizens on here and the beloved peace loving ex-president G.W.Bush, both want the ‘best’ possible military intervention in Syria with all the killing and destruction it will bring, Iraq is their witness, how sweet of ya!
فلاش رسالة الرئيس الأمريكي جورج بوش إلى الشعب السوري
http://youtu.be/ETgA8oU7c-U

P.S. SNK and Sheila you can add the devil, sorry, Bush to the list of supporters.

Annan’s plan for Syria and transnational terrorism
{…}
According to media reports, it is clear that the basic structure of the forces opposing the Syrian government now is the so-called Free Syrian Army (which announced its merger with the so-called Free Officers Movement). Apparently, its composition is patchy. It includes deserters and foreign fighters. The size of the group is estimated by experts at about 15-16,000.

The Free Syrian Army is trying to distance itself from terrorist activities against civilians, saying that they fight only against the regime of Bashar al-Assad and his punitive apparatus (the army and Mukhabarat). But it is not doing a very good job. Even the Western media has reported on its terrorist attacks against civilians and practice of killing and torturing supporters of al-Assad. It is hard to say what the cause of such terrorist activities is, whether it is the “free army’s” weak hold on their subordinates or the parallel activities of armed groups. But the fact remains. Free Syrian Army is increasingly resorting to terrorist activities.

Here we should talk a bit about terrorists in Syria. In February, Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri accused President Assad of anti-Islamic activities and called for him to be ousted. At the same time, the media reports report on Al Qaeda activities in Syria began to pour in. This situation made Washington suspicious, and the US Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, expressed concern, saying that terrorist attacks in Damascus and Aleppo resembled the work of Al Qaeda.

In general, one can say there is no doubt that Al Qaeda is operating in Syria. This, along with arms supplies to the Syrian opposition from abroad, cannot but cause serious concern. In particular, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has pointed it out. Syrian officials with whom I was able to talk during a trip to Damascus in February said that the main suppliers of arms are France and Qatar. And major supply routes pass through Lebanon and Turkey.

Evidence of the effectiveness of this activity is the recent fierce battle for Homs. As it turned out, the armed opposition had Spigot and Milan anti-tank wire-guided missile systems, the latest sniper weapons and various means of communication. If large quantities of such weapons get into the hands of terrorist groups like Al Qaeda, terrorist activity in the Middle East and beyond could increase.

In addition to Al Qaeda and its offshoots, the so-called Arab brigades are active in Syria. These are mostly Libyan militants who were “liberated” after the war in Libya. However, according to the Syrian security forces, there are also Afghans, Saudis, Qataris, fighters from Sudan, Yemen, Pakistan and other countries. In other words, a large number of small terrorist groups that report to no one and pursue their own goals operate on Syrian territory.

The current situation poses a serious obstacle to the normalization of the situation in Syria and, in particular, the implementation of the Annan’s Plan. Even with the active assistance of all members of the UN Security Council, it is simply impossible to force Syria’s opposition to stop the violence because it is decentralized and does not obey the leaders that formally rule it.
{…}
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_03_28/69887935/

Following James Baker comment; Let us assume President Bashar resigns today or the whole regime leaves power at this stage; would there be “soft handling” or “smooth transaction”? and to whom? radicals? confused and separated Istanbul SC? opposition with dirty blooded hands whom sold the country cheaply?

What would be the road map for Syria? short & long term? who will decide Syria future? Qatar? USA? …?

Would clean handed and brain oppositions such as Mr. Haytham Manna3 or Michael Kilo and others will take part on Syria future? or they will stay in Europe fighting the new situation again?
Has any of SC members talked future plans? or just looking for revenge? what is after revenge …? Revenge from all “Alawais”? Risking the current ethnic harmony between all religions and ethnic groups for civil war ‘God forbid’?

I am not trying to give an excuse supporting the current regime here, but those Q.s & this discussion is going-on in Syria between University students cuz non of the oppositions gave answers for security to their future. All has the right to think for the best to their kids and families. They are living in Syria … not out-side talking of history & pass their hate cus they faced problems or faced injustice in the past and it is right time for a revenge!
Syrian people has the right to look forward to better future … not revenge!! not moving from ‘Bad’ to ‘worse’ … at least ‘bad’ can turn to better!

I thank JAD and strongly support his comment in a previous article that how this type of ‘revolution’ full of blood and dirty loyal money made many Syrian people turn back to support President Bashar the current ‘regime’…

Thx

20. Ghufransaid:

“To me, the biggest challenge facing Syria is changing the regime without becoming another Libya”

I thought the Libyan experience was the goal. The regime has the upper hand, the army is in full control, and Assad is walking the streets of Baba Amro. The majority fo Syrian people are against the level of violence Syria encoutered lateley. Many of them miss the days where security and peace was the norm.

I think people should wake up and realize that Libya, Iraqi, Tunisia, and Egypt examples are not going to apply to Syria. Some are threatening a civil war may happen, if it was going to happen we should have seen it by now. I am not seeing the regime would be able to provide a a fix for a Jihadist who wakes up and decides to meet his God, so he go and explode himself. We have to realize that this is going to be the norm for long times to come. But these Jihadist attacks will only make the Syrian people more united against Radical Islamists. I am sorry to use this word but it seems to me that radical islamists is the root of evil

lots of pictures showing the armed men in Syria:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.257234601035840.59239.180800465345921&type=1

Jad
In one of the photo’s ( the one with the i.ed one of the guys seems to me to be not Syrian, may a foreign expert ? )
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/537057_257234907702476_180800465345921_560598_1636280096_n.jpg

Jad 38
“Free officers movement”, a copycat of the Yemeni Ahrar, except that those had no Islamic revendication. When are they going to have one single motto or idea that is not a redux of something we have heard before?

I meant to add Nasser’s Free officers, but my deletion of the preceding comment was not taken into account by the machine.

Clarification to omen

First my point is that the sense of a Syrian identity is so weak that people identify themselves through their clan sects family tribe etc… in Syria. Therefore we are not capable of living together.

Second the minorities rightly demand a secular state but with a caveat that is that they remain sect based minority while the majority remains purely secular.

Third my reference to germs and rats is that the rebels in Syria were described by the President as an infection that needs eradication and the former dictator of Libya referred to the rebels as rats.

Fourth it is the Western based regime supporters that are the very essence of contradiction for despite enjoying the great free West they have remained and brought with them their prejudices that unfortunately are still medieval sect and clan based.

So the popular uprising is one of germs and rats and we both know that the germs can multiply and acquire resistance and rats are extremely prolific and resilient.

Cheers.

It is good to realize that the AL and Anna have now an efficient model, EU-validated.
From the Angry Arab:
Yemeni presidential election: 100% voted yes
Tarek from Yemen sent me this comment (I cite with his permission): “PS, your comments on Yemen also spot on, but let me add more fuel to your fire, not only was the Presidential election a one man affair but there was also no choice of voting no. There was no “No box” and an X or anything like that was registered as a Yes vote… It was only at the last minute when a EU official decided that a 100% win might be a bit much they decided to count 15,000 or so damaged ballots as No; hence the 99.xx% win… You couldn’t make it up if you tried…”
http://angryarab.blogspot.de/

Some people, the pro-regime folks, see the glass 1/2 empty! I see it 1/2 full! This is the key sentences in James Baker’s above quotation, which is not as favorable to Bashar as the pro-regime folks here think:

“[…]Assad has lost legitimacy. You can’t murder your own people and expect to survive for very long and when he goes, and my view ultimately he will go.[…]”

Yes, Bashar has lost legitimacy and he will ultimately go to hell or somewhere!

Yes, Free Syria will abandon Iran and Hizb@@@, which stood with the dictator and against the Syrian people. However, a free Syria will NOT abandon the Golan and recognize Israeli occupation/colonization!

If the editor who posted this James Baker quotation was excited that Baker might have disfavorable views about the Free Syrian Army, I say to him that the devil is better than Bashar’s army, which tortures and kills children!!!!!!!

cherry-picking the news media only to find quotations and views, which are disadvantageous to the courageous Syrian Revolution, is a biased and slanted editorial policy!

Free Syria, Free Palestine!

Observer

I understand that in this context the language gets tougher and both sides abuse the language for their goal. I think Omen was right to point out to you that this dehumanization which is the obvious reason one is called dog, germ or rat. That will at least in my eyes always lead to aggression, and for most its ok to kill animals than humans. All massacres follow this pattern, first an entity is declared criminal,or foreign then the dehumnization sets the last stage: the killing. We all should be very careful, those who adore Assad are human beings as well, we should not do the same mistake to rejoice in hate.

Some Alawites are taking part in the revolution, some prominent ones fear for their lives, others work secretly and many others know at least deep inside their heart that the Assads have committed horrible despicable crimes.

Sectarian-cleansing against the 80-85% Syrian Sunni majority! Below is a quote that will NOT be cherry-picked by the editors! That’s why Prof. Landis should ask a Sunni Syrian to join SC editorial board! No, I am not interested in this editorial task because-unlike others-I admit being very biased against Bashar’s murderous regime and I don’t have time! I am NOT neutral! No self-interest here!

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/world/middleeast/refugees-say-neighbor-shoots-neighbor-in-syrian-crackdown.html?_r=1&hp

Refugees Say Neighbor Shoots Neighbor in Syrian Crackdown

AL QAA, Lebanon — Sunni Muslims who have fled Syria described a government crackdown that is more pervasive and more sectarian than previously understood, with civilians affiliated with President Bashar al-Assad’s minority religious sect shooting at their onetime neighbors as the military presses what many Sunnis see as a campaign to force them to flee their homes and villages in some sections of the country.
[…]

Jurgen my point exactly. It is the Ghaddafi and Fredos of this world and the Cauecescus that called their people dehumanizing quotes such as germs and rats and insects and worms.
Well these human beings are now in revolt and rightly so.

There are sectarians in every sect including (and we have seen this repeatedly) from fundamentalists of all stripes from atheist fundamentalists to salafis to mormons to you name it.

Some on this blog that are pro regime have only a veneer of modernity and call for dialogue when the gun is pointed to our heads and the secret security services are running amock in the country.

Some have called all opposition as traitors or fanatics of this or that denomination.

No doubt there are many in every sect that are for change and for freedom; the problem is that the discourse and the actions of the regime are actually doubly criminal for they are now forcing the Alawi sect to do its dirty work and have essentially cornered them into a horrible Sophie’s choice, either you join in killing and ethnic cleansing ( as reported by the NYT today by the way ) or you are going to be massacred by the majority and your daughters are going back to being servants and all of this garbage.

This is the point I am trying to make, perhaps the wording and syntax were not clear.

We are all victims of oppression, and as the stories from East Germany came about after the break up of the Soviet Union, the Stazy used family members and neighbors to spy and report on each other and even spouses were recruited to that effect.

This is how degrading and dehumanizing the system is to the point that it is now accepable to torture and kill children and to have Fredo declare that we will rebuild BA. Well like the US in Vietnam destroying a village to save it is not going to solve your problems.

Abandoning Syria
by Elliott Abrams
March 29, 2012

With 9,000 Syrians dead and the Assad regime increasingly isolated and under political, moral, military assault, it appears that the Obama Administration has made its choice: it is abandoning efforts to force the end of that regime.

The plan developed by Kofi Annan is a life-saving development for Assad, as it guarantees months of diplomatic wrangling while Assad methodically murders his way to victory. Town after town, neighborhood after neighborhood may be bombed and reduced to rubble, the death toll may double or triple, but there will be endless meetings in nice hotels in Europe and the Middle East. We can see that future right now, in stories like this: “Syria accepted a cease-fire drawn up by U.N. envoy Kofi Annan on Tuesday, but the diplomatic breakthrough was swiftly overshadowed by intense clashes between government soldiers and rebels that sent bullets flying into Lebanon.” A few more months of this is all that Assad needs.

[…]

http://blogs.cfr.org/abrams/2012/03/29/abandoning-syria/

Mainstream media self-censorship

Beautiful poem for Syria by Hassan Al-Makdisi, I didn’t paste all it’s very long. الشام اغلى من شواربكم

هــذا العـِـراق ُ أمـامـَـنا سَــيْـل ٌ مـِـن
الأيتـام ِ والأقـْــزام ِ والغـِــلـْمان ِ

أوَلــيس َ يــكفينا العـــراق ُ وبـؤسـُــه
لـِـنـُـسـَــلـِّم َ الفـــيحاء َ* للزُّعــْـران ِ ؟؟

مـَـن ْ بـاع َ للـشيطان ِ نخـْـل َ عــراقنا
هـُــوَ مـَـن ْ يبيـع ُ الـشـام َ للجـُــرذان ِ
[…]
لـولا الخـِـيانة ُ مـِـنْ قبــائِـل ِ يـَعــرُب ٍ
مـا كانــت الغـِــربان ُ فـي بــغـْدان ِ
[…]
ولـو الـزعامة ُ بالـدراهم ِ تـُــشـتـَرَى
لـَتـَـسَيـَّـدت ْ قــَـطـَر ٌ علــى الأكــوان
حـَــسِـبوا الـزعامـَـة َ بالـدراهم ِ تـُـشتـَرَى
بالـجَهـْل ِ .. والتـّـعْـريص ِ .. والـهـَـذيان ِ
[..]
لـو كـان َ قــَـلب ُ الـشـام ِ صـُهيوني ْ الهوى
ما حاصـَــرَتـْها طـُـغـْمة ُ العـُـربان ِ

لـو ْ قاسـَـيون ُ الـشام ِ عـِبـْري ُّ الهوى
واللـه ِ مـا اعـــتـَرَضوا بـِبـِنـْـت ِ لـِـسـان ِ

ولـَـصار َ ذبـْــح ُ ” الــثائـِرينَ ” فـَـريضـَة ً
ولأشـْـعلوا النــيْران َ .. بالـنيران
يا صاحِـبي ، هــذا مـَـزاد ٌ مـُــقـْـرِف ٌ مـِــن ْ بـاعـَة ِ الإفـْــتاء ِ والقــرآن ِ
باعــوا العـمائم َ والمـصاحِـف َ واللــِّـحى وتـَــفرَّغوا لـِعــبادة ِ الأوْثـان ِ
فالقــدس ُ ما عـادت ْ قــضـِـيـَّتـَّهم ولا عـادت ْ بـقايا الـقدس ِ فـي الحـُـسْـبان ِ
لـن تـَــسْقـُطي يا شـام ُ رغـم َ أنــوفـِهم
فالـفجْر ُ آت ٍ .. والـتـآمُـر ُ فـان ِ

سـيَطير ُ عـَــرْعــور ٌ .. وفــرفور ٌ ..
وممعـوط ٌ.. وغـَـليون ٌ كـَــقـَبـْض ِ دخـان ِ

ســتـَظل ُّ سـوريَّا بـرغم ِ جــِــراحها
بـُــستان َ أحـلام ٍ .. وأفـْق َ أمـان ِ

فالشام ُ أكـبـَر ُ مـِـن ْ تـآمـرهم ، وهـل
تخـشى اللــُّـيوث ُ مــواكـِــب َ الفـِــئران ِ ؟؟
لـن ينحني ســيْف ُ الـشآم ِ أمام َ لـَــحْـد ٍ*
قـادِم ٍ فـي جـَــزمَـة ِ العـُــثماني

فالـشام ُ قـَـلـْعَة ُ أمـَّـة ٍ ، وقلـيل ُ
عـَـقــْل ٍ مـَــن ْ يُناطِح ُ قــَـلعـَة َ الـصُّـوان
http://www.arabtimes.com/portal/article_display.cfm?ArticleID=26517

Son of Damascus,
Eliot Abrams? Really 🙁

Assad forces show their respect to the dead.
(Warning Graphic)

A message for the losers Bozos

beating a dead horse would do you no good, NADA, Zilch

to waste time doing something that has already been attempted is mind boggling. ya gotta say is there a shrink in the house?!

The boat that is commanded by Captain Assad and his crew is tightly made that water cannot enter or escape.

but the SNC Titanic is leaking profusely when it is not supposed to leak at all, so many jumped ship, Kurds, Haytham Malah…plus and plus. So cry me a river folks, YES syria is wounded, so keep your nasty salt bags away, syria can do without.

stop the furious tirade against syria it’s time to keep the guns at bay.

the old man said: You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em

round table dialogue is a yes…khaligi rogues is a NO

Jad,

I posted it as a rebuttal to the David Ignatius article that Ehsani posted, and I do agree with this articles sentiments.

This particular part caught my eye:

“If realpolitik means watching Assad kill more protesters and level more apartment houses, I suppose that’s right. The usual criticism of realpolitik is that it lacks a moral dimension, and that is certainly true here”

Delhi summit: BRICS says dialogue only answer for Syria, Iran
{…}
The unfolding crisis in Syria took some serious brainstorming to reach a common BRICS position.

China and Russia, the two veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council, had voted against the US and Arab League-backed UN resolution on grounds that it amounted to a regime change. India had supported the resolution.

The BRICS declaration, however, saw the leaders voicing “deep concern at the current situation in Syria” as they called for “an immediate end to all violence and violations of human rights in that country”.

“Global interests would best be served by dealing with the crisis through peaceful means that encourage broad national dialogues that reflect the legitimate aspirations of all sections of Syrian society and respect Syrian independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty,” it said.

The declaration supported “a Syrian-led inclusive political process”, an explanation India had used to justify its vote on the UN’s Syria resolution, and welcomed the joint efforts of the UN and the Arab League.

The BRICS leaders also welcomed the appointment of Kofi Annan, a former UN secretary general, as the joint special envoy on the Syrian crisis and supported him in his efforts play a role in spurring a political resolution of the crisis.

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev warned against external interference, saying that it has the potential to destroy the dialogue process. Medvedev added that he has proposed a collective humanitarian aid by the BRICS countries to the Syrian people.

The BRICS’ stand on Syria and Iran will be viewed with unease by the West which has tended to see the five-nation grouping as an attempt at an alternate world order.

In this respect, the fourth BRICS summit in Delhi marked the evolution of a group focused on global economic governance issues to one which is trying to achieve greater political coherence.

This was reflected in the BRICS’ formulation on the festering crisis in the Middle East and North Africa.

“We agree that the period of transformation taking place in the Middle East and North Africa should not be used as a pretext to delay resolution of lasting conflicts but rather it should serve as an incentive to settle them, in particular the Arab-Israeli conflict,” said the declaration.

http://m.timesofindia.com/india/Delhi-summit-BRICS-says-dialogue-only-answer-for-Syria-Iran/articleshow/12454330.cms

The Appeal of a Soft Landing
By David Ignatius
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/03/29/the_appeal_of_a_soft_landing_113654.html

WASHINGTON — Maybe it’s time for Syrian revolutionaries to take “yes” for an answer from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and back a U.N.-sponsored “managed transition” of power there, rather than rolling on toward a civil war that will bring more death and destruction for the region.

Syria announced Tuesday that it was ready to accept a peace plan proposed by U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan. The Syrian announcement in Beijing followed endorsement of the plan by China and Russia. The proposal has many weaknesses, but it could open the way toward a “soft landing” in Syria that would remove Assad without shattering the stability of the country.

Yes, I recognize that moderate diplomatic solutions like these are for wimps. The gung-ho gang has been advocating supplying arms to the Syrian opposition, setting up no-fly zones and other versions of a military solution. Morally, it’s hard to dispute the justice of the opposition’s cause; the problem is that these military solutions will get a lot more innocent civilians killed, and destroy the delicate balance of the Syrian state.

We should learn from recent history in the Middle East and seek a non-military solution in Syria — even with the inevitable fuzziness and need for compromise with unpleasant people. A Syria peace deal will also give a starring role to Russia and China, two countries that don’t deserve the good press. That’s OK with me: Vladimir Putin gets a ticker-tape parade if he can help broker a relatively peaceful departure for Assad.

The case for this cautious, managed transition can be summarized with a four-letter word: Iraq.

Looking back at the Iraq War, one of the most damaging mistakes was that after toppling Saddam Hussein, the U.S. went on to destroy Iraq’s state structure and its army. Without these institutions, the country had no stability and Iraqis retreated for self-protection to the most basic loyalties of sect and tribe. In this sense, the U.S. invasion unintentionally and tragically sent Iraq hurtling backward in time. Iraq gained a measure of “democracy,” but lost social cohesion.

The U.S. shouldn’t make the same mistake in Syria, no matter how appealing the opposition’s pleas for weapons. We’ve seen this movie before. We know that it leads to a kind of lawlessness that’s very hard to reverse. And we know, too, that for all the perversions of Assad and his Baathist goons, the Syrian state and army are national institutions that transcend the ruling family, his Alawite sect or the corrupt Baathists who hijacked the nation in the 1960s.

I credit the Obama administration for resisting the growing chorus of calls to arm the Syrian rebels — and for continuing to seek Moscow’s help even after the Russians’ foot-dragging that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (imprudently but accurately) described last month as “despicable.”

It’s a moment for realpolitik: The West needs Russia’s help in removing Assad without a civil war, and Russia needs to broker a transition to bolster its future influence in the Arab world. That’s the pragmatic logic that’s driving Annan’s peace effort.
(,,,)

Maybe some were too afraid to come to Baghdad. They are not known for their courage.

Fewer than half Arab leaders attend Iraq summit

HAMZA HENDAWI and LARA JAKES | Associated Press – 1 hr 52 mins ago

BAGHDAD (AP) — Fewer than half the leaders of the Arab world showed up at an Arab summit in Baghdad on Thursday, a snub to the Iraqi government that reflects how trenchantly the sectarian division between Sunnis and Shiites and the rivalry with neighboring Iran define the Middle East’s politics today.
…
The Gulf nations, particularly Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have been pushing behind the scenes for more assertive action to end the conflict. Privately, they see little benefit in the Arab League’s efforts to reach a peaceful settlement and prefer instead to see a small core of nations banding together to act on their own.

Among the options they are considering are arming the Syrian rebels and creating a safe haven for the opposition along the Turkish-Syrian border to serve as a humanitarian refuge or staging ground for anti-regime forces. Such a step would require help from Turkey — the country best positioned to defend such a safe haven — but so far Ankara has seemed reluctant.
(..)

The tragedy of religious freedom in Syria
By Elizabeth Shakman Hurd
March 29, 2012

Religious freedom is the common sense of our era. It is easy to be swept up in the hype. We are told that the guarantee of religious freedom is what stands between us and pre-modern political orders based on tyrannical forms of religious authority that leave women and minorities in the dust. If religious freedom is what you need to be for if you are against the oppression of women and minorities, then who could oppose it? Who could even question it? Religious freedom stands in for the good and the right in many complex, difficult and often violent situations.

Or does it?

Take the crisis in Syria. There is fear in some quarters that should the Assad regime fall, non-Muslim (and possibly non-Sunni Muslim) Syrians will suffer from a lack of religious freedom. USA Today reports that “Christians in Syria, where Muslims have risen up against President Bashar Assad, have been subjected to murder, rape and kidnappings in Damascus and rebellious towns, according to Christian rights groups.” The momentum builds, as persecution of Christians takes on a life of its own and may, in some cases, come to define the conflict on the ground. The logic of this story is clear: The result of overthrowing Assad will be Christian persecution. What we need, in this view, is religious freedom.

[…]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-perspec-0329-syria-20120329,0,5665978.story

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/378302.html

Launching military actions in Syria – shortest, most dangerous way – Medvedev

NEW DELHI, March 29 (Itar-Tass) —— Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev says for settlement of the situation in Syria it is necessary to support a dialogue between the government and the opposition, and not to start military actions.

“Detailed principles of normalisation of the situation in that country have been offered lately. We believe it important not to let interference from outside into Syria’s affairs, it is important to let the government, on one hand, and the opposition, on the other hand, start at last a dialogue, not to ruin it, not to say the dialogue is bound to fail and only military actions may bring order to the country. This is the shortest and most dangerous way,” he told reporters on Thursday following the BRICS /Brazil, Russia, India, China, SAR/ summit.

Refugees Say Neighbor Shoots Neighbor in Syrian Crackdown
Ed Ou for The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/world/middleeast/refugees-say-neighbor-shoots-neighbor-in-syrian-crackdown.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

AL QAA, Lebanon — Sunni Muslims who have fled Syria described a government crackdown that is more pervasive and more sectarian than previously understood, with civilians affiliated with President Bashar al-Assad’s minority religious sect shooting at their onetime neighbors as the military presses what many Sunnis see as a campaign to force them to flee their homes and villages in some sections of the country.
…
The refugees here seemed ambivalent about describing what they saw as sectarian cleansing. Opposition supporters said they feared playing into the government narrative, and wanted the international community to view them as nonsectarian in their quest for outside military assistance.
(…)

I don’t have something important to say, so:
Viva la revolucion!
.

http://rt.com/news/explosion-baghdad-arab-league-summit-756/
Blasts rock Baghdad as Arab Summit touches upon Syria

Iraq’s Maliki warns of Syria ‘proxy war’

Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has warned that arming either side in Syria will lead to a “proxy war”.

He was speaking at the opening of an Arab League summit which is discussing a joint plan with the UN to end a year of violence in Syria.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has agreed to the plan and will spare no effort to make it succeed, Syrian state news agency Sana reported.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17544431

The Swedes try to export ideas of democracy in the Middle East or something else?

Swedish Defence Minister Tolgfors quits over Saudi deal

Sweden’s defence minister has resigned after facing criticism over plans to build a weapons plant in Saudi Arabia.

Sten Tolgfors “resigned at his own request”, a spokesperson said.

Swedish public radio revealed the confidential plans for the country’s Defence Research Agency to help Riyadh build weapons, including missiles and torpedoes, in early March.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17548390

glory to forces of resistance against occupation! glory to sovereign independent full Palestine! glory for Syria.

Syria extended the Period of Accepting Compensation Claims for Damages by Terrorist Groups
(Dp-news – Sana)
http://www.dp-news.com/en/detail.aspx?articleid=115988
DAMASCUS- Syria`s Local Administration Ministry extended the period of accepting compensation claims by citizens whose private properties were damaged by armed terrorist groups another 15 days in all the provinces.

In a circular issued on Wednesday, the Ministry announced the formation of a central committee chaired by the Local Administration Minister and comprised of the ministers of Finance, the Interior and the Justice and the governors in a measure to compensate the affected citizens for the damages caused to their uninsured properties by the sabotage acts of terrorist groups.

The circular indicated that sub-committees were also formed in the provinces for these purposes that are chaired by the governor of each province

Amir,Alaaroor and Alzoahri all singing:
La viva revolution .

ISRAEL: WHERE PEACE IS A THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY
http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/israel-where-peace-is-a-threat-to-national-security/

And here we go again with Aavaz and the systematically negative attitude of the “expat opposition” and the couch surfers.
http://blog.lefigaro.fr/malbrunot/2012/03/syrie-un-diplomate-francais-me.html

BRICS to change world economy

BRIC Nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) signed Local Currency agreement at Summit. They will not trade in U.S. dollars anymore. Agreements around the world between Countries to Drop U.S. dollar for trade (including Australia)
http://sherriequestioningall.blogspot.com/2012/03/bric-nations-brazil-russia-india-china.html

15-Mar-2012 Special Interview – Gilad Atzmon

i don’t defend u.s imperialism. however, syrians themselves are calling for intervention. mostly in the form of military arms shipment. thus far, the u.s. seems reluctant to offer them. when an oppressed people call for help, that isn’t an expression of u.s. imperialism!

——
Dear Omen,

This is a common human being error, it’s very known in social psychology that we tend to generalize, it’s wrong to state Syrians themselves are calling for intervention. It’s not ALL Syrians, in fact, only segment of Syrians with AVAAZ posters exhibited on Cnn with forefront Danny boy or Galioun asking for Israeli,US intervention. The tea party in the US does not represent ALL Americans. Professors who worked with Galioun and former students at La Sorbonne are flabbergasted by his stance. They cannot believe this is the same person who was among them. Something must have happened and we ignore??

Even Mrs Tara who harbors ill feeling toward the regime at certain point on this blog said: Galioun must go. It makes many people wonder why Mrs Clinton communicating solely with Galioun’s group? If, the benefit of Syrians is genuinely at heart, she’ll accept communicating with other opposition groups. Even better, if she is really concerned about human lives, she’d call Assad directly and reason with him. If she’s really concerned, she’ll send containers of first aid kits and food and not weapon. People are collecting money in shopping malls for Syria and first thing they tell you, we are the opposition but not with Galioun. US officials cannot take one segment of the population and pretend it speaks in name of ALL Syrians. This is the essence of democracy. The US must stop ignoring other Syrian opposition groups and pro-groups. As Mr. Obama keeps saying all options are on the table, ALL voices must be on the table too.

http://rt.com/news/explosion-baghdad-arab-league-summit-756/comments/#291271

African Child March 29, 2012, 19:58

The Muslim Arab leaders will have choice alcoholic wines from Europe in their menu at this summit but will behead commoners for doing same back at home.

The communique from this summit will have to be first approved by the US State department before it is made public by these Arab leaders. Sometimes I wonder how the US is able to control and herd these Arab leaders at their will to any place they wish under the guise of ‘Friends of Iraq, Friends of Libya, Friends of Syria; the average Arab would suicide bomb their people on US behalf after the CIA pays Islamic Mullahs to indoctrinate their followers of the abundance of virgins in paradise to become would-be suicide bombers while the Mullahs fly first class to deliver extremist sermon across the Arab world and Muslim nations and ride choice cars, horses and camels and even building Formula One circuits and go for regular medical checkups in US so that they would know how many useful years is left in their bodies.

Alan,

“Including Australia” : how is that possible?? The Brics signed a hoax or what?

Libya to Europe: Remember us?

Former Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril traveled to Brussels to warn European leaders about the dangers of abandoning their work in Libya before the country is stabilized.

By Robert Marquand, Staff writer / March 29, 2012

Former Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril said at a European conference that his struggling nation feels practically “abandoned” by Europe – where attention is focused on Syria – and that the youth who brought the 2011 revolution are “being completely left out of the picture” ahead of elections in June.
……
It is a “tragic mistake … a fatal mistake” to abandon Libya at this time, said the former leader of the Transitional National Council. “Libya is in a political and security vacuum, and vacuums do not remain vacuums. Extremism might spread at any moment,” Mr. Jibril warned. “I am afraid that early indicators are there right now.”

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2012/0329/Libya-to-Europe-Remember-us?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feeds%2Fcsm+%28Christian+Science+Monitor+|+All+Stories%29&utm_content=Google+International

77. MINA

What prevents with Australia to have the economic relations on the basis of money unit of the countries BRICS?

China-Australia, India-Australia, the Republic of South Africa-Australia etc. is a question of the economic relations!

A…

UK To Send Aid To Opposition Groups Inside Syria

http://news.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=268830

Britain allocated 500,000 pounds (US$795,000) Thursday to supply non-lethal aid to Syria’s opposition, pledging assistance to groups inside the country for the first time ahead of international talks this weekend on how best to support the nation’s rebels.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said the offer of new funds includes an “agreement in principle” to provide support to opposition members inside Syria.

Until now, Britain has supplied assistance to exiles in the West and opponents of President Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria’s neighboring countries, amid concern over the practicalities of delivering items into Syria and fears that equipment could end up in the hands of extremists.

Precise details of what type of support and equipment will be offered are still being determined, though the package is likely to include secure telephones.

“It will help hard-pressed opposition groups and brave civil society organizations inside and outside the country to document the regime’s violations and gain the skills and resources they need to help build a democratic future for Syria,” Hague planned to say in a speech later Thursday, according to excerpts released in advance.

The United States and several European and Arab nations will discuss providing aid to Syrian rebels at a meeting in Istanbul on April 1.

(…)

It is hoped that providing secure telephones will help opposition figures improve their communication with those trying to deliver humanitarian assistance inside Syria and allow them to better coordinate efforts to keep residents safe.

The U.K. already has spent about 450,000 pounds to support Syria’s opposition outside the country over the last eight months, offering training in strategic communications and support to those documenting abuses by Assad’s regime in a conflict which the U.N. says has left more than 9,000 people dead.

Last month, Britain sent a team of officials and legal experts to Syria’s neighboring nations to document the Assad regime’s violence. The mission was intended to gather viable evidence for use in any future prosecutions.

B…

Major Islamic Charity Chiefs’ Convictions of Hamas Support Upheld

http://www.jewishpress.com/news/major-islamic-charity-chiefs-convictions-of-hamas-support-upheld/2011/12/08/

Five leaders of an Islamic charity convicted of using the organization as a means of funneling money and supplies to Hamas were denied an appeal by a US federal appeals court on Wednesday.

Hamas is designated as a terror organization by the United States. The Hamas charter states “by virtue of its being Jewish and of having a Jewish population, [Israel] defies Islam and the Muslims,” and vilifies “those who revolve in the Zionist orbit, aiming at obstructing the road before the Jihad fighters” such as ”the Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, B’nai B’rith”. “For our struggle against the Jews is extremely wide-ranging and grave, so much so that it will need all the loyal efforts we can wield,” according the the charter, “until the enemies are defeated and Allah’s victory prevails.”

The Texas-based Holy Land Foundation, once the largest Islamic charity in the United States, was shuttered by former President George W. Bush following the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York.

Ghassan Elashi, Holy Land’s former chairman, and Shukri Abu Baker, Holy Land’s CEO, were convicted of supporting a specially designated terror organization, money laundering and tax fraud and each sentenced to 65 years in prison. Mufid Abdulgader and Aabdulrahman Odeh were each convicted of three counts of conspiracy, and received 20 and 15 years respectively. Mohammed El-Mezain was convicted of one count of conspiracy to support a terrorist organization and received a 15 year sentence. The Holy Land Foundation was convicted of all 32 counts.

The convicted men claimed they were denied a fair trial when US District Judge Jorge Solis, who presided over their 2008 retrial in a Dallas federal court, allowed the testimony of two Israeli witnesses whose identities were protected.
(…)

It is illegal by federal law to provide material aid and support to a designated terrorist organization. “…the defendants facilitated Hamas’ activity by furthering its popularity among Palestinians and by providing a funding resource. This, in turn, allowed Hamas to concentrate its efforts on violent activity,” Judge Carolyn King wrote on behalf of the appellate court.

78. ZOO said:

Libya to Europe: Remember us?
استجداء مسلوبين الارادة

Well Alan, if the Australians sign it, it will be to torpedo it. I can’t believe they are going to drop their great UK-US alliance.

Warning for “free officers” wandering in Turkey:

http://www.egyptindependent.com/node/740806
Turkish prosecutors demanded 15–20 year jail sentences for 364 serving and retired military officers at a coup plot trial on Thursday, marking a dark day for a military that until recently held the power to make or break governments. (…)

The Burial Brigade of Homs
An Executioner for Syria’s Rebels Tells His Story

Human Rights Watch has condemned abuses committed by Syrian rebels in their stronghold of Homs. But one member of a rebel “burial brigade” who has executed four men by slitting their throats defended his work in an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE. “If we don’t do it, nobody will hold these perpetrators to account,” he said.
Hussein can barely remember the first time he executed someone. It was probably in a cemetery in the evening, or at night; he can’t recall exactly. It was definitely mid-October of last year, and the man was Shiite, for sure. He had confessed to killing women — decent women, whose husbands and sons had protested against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime. So the rebels had decided that the man, a soldier in the Syrian army, deserved to die, too.

Hussein didn’t care if the man had been beaten into a confession, or that he was terrified of death and had begun to stammer prayers. It was his tough luck that the rebels had caught him. Hussein took out his army knife and sliced the kneeling man’s neck. His comrades from the so-called “burial brigade” quickly interred the blood-stained corpse in the sand of the graveyard west of the Baba Amr area of the rebel stronghold of Homs. At the time, the neighborhood was in the hands of the insurgents.
That first execution was a rite of passage for Hussein. He now became a member of the Homs burial brigade. The men, of which there are only a handful, kill in the name of the Syrian revolution. They leave torture to others; that’s what the so-called interrogation brigade is for. “They do the ugly work,” says Hussein, who is currently being treated in a hospital in the Lebanese city of Tripoli. He was injured when a piece of shrapnel became lodged in his back during the army’s ground invasion of Baba Amr in early March.
{…}
‘Sometimes We Acquit People’

The rebels in Homs began carrying out regular executions in August of last year, shortly after the conflict in the country began to escalate, says Hussein’s comrade Abu Rami. In his Adidas tracksuit, he looks like any other convalescent in the hospital. But Abu Rami is a senior member of the Homs militia. The other Syrians in the ward greet him respectfully and pay close attention to his words.

“Since last summer, we have executed slightly fewer than 150 men, which represents about 20 percent of our prisoners,” says Abu Rami. Those prisoners who are not convicted and sentenced to death are exchanged for rebel prisoners or detained protesters, he says. But the executioners of Homs have been busier with traitors within their own ranks than with prisoners of war. “If we catch a Sunni spying, or if a citizen betrays the revolution, we make it quick,” says the fighter. According to Abu Rami, Hussein’s burial brigade has put between 200 and 250 traitors to death since the beginning of the uprising.
He dismisses any doubts about whether these people were really all guilty and whether they received a fair trial. “We make great efforts to investigate thoroughly,” Abu Rami says. “Sometimes we acquit people, too.”

Apart from anything else, it is simply the nature of every revolution to be bloody, Abu Rami explains. “Syria is not a country for the sensitive.”
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,824603,00.html

Syrians survive on bread as prices skyrocket
March 29, 2012

Every day, Umm Jihad and her husband must patiently wait in a line for bread at a Damascus bakery as skyrocketing prices mean they can no longer afford other essential foods.

“Bread is the main element of our meals because the cost of everything else has increased so much,” Umm Jihad told AFP, adding: “We are using bread to replace rice,” a staple of the Arab diet.

Ordinary citizens of Damascus said they cannot afford to buy fruit and vegetables as they feel the pinch of soaring inflation fueled by international sanctions on Syria over its regime’s crackdown on dissent.

Outraged by its failure to halt the year-long violence, which the United Nations says has killed more than 9,000 people, Western and Arab states have slapped a wide range of punitive measures on Syria.

Rounds of sanctions targeting Syria’s banking system and oil exports have dealt a heavy blow to foreign exchange earnings and stoked the inflation rate, which official data says reached 15 percent between June and December.

[…]

http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=381445

82-Mina
What can Australia do if the trade with camps of BRICS shall be impossible on US dollars and it will be possible only on other competitive currency?

Up thread commenter Alan quoted the headline of an article at http://sherriequestioningall.blogspot.ca

BRIC Nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) signed Local Currency agreement at Summit. They will not trade in U.S. dollars anymore. Agreements around the world between Countries to Drop U.S. dollar for trade (including Australia)

Mina then asks:

“Including Australia” : how is that possible?? The Brics signed a hoax or what?

The blog posting Alan headlined included excerpts from sources including the Indian Financial Express:

Do not forget even Australia (a stanch U.S. ally) has made an agreement with China on March 23 2012, to trade in the Chinese Yuan and not the U.S. dollars for $30 billion over 3 years time.

Mar. 23 – The central banks of China and Australia signed a currency swap agreement yesterday that will allow RMB200 billion (A$30 billion) worth of local currencies to be exchanged between the two countries over three years.

[ … ]

“The agreement reflects the increasing opportunities available to settle trade between the two countries in Chinese renminbi and to make RMB-denominated investments,” the Reserve Bank of Australia said in a press release.

See also: http://www.china-briefing.com/news/2012/03/23/china-australia-agree-on-bilateral-currency-swap-agreement.html

Mina, I would agree that it is difficult to sort political/economic news into piles like good, bad, black, white, fake, true, 100% terror . . . or similar.

You seem to be doing okay with the sorting into piles. I thought it was interesting that long-term economic restructuring of world markets away from sole dominance of the US dollar reaches to Australia. Although China’s currency is not fully convertible, and not yet an instrument of global reserves as is the US dollar or euro, it is increasingly global.

Moreover, if you look at Chinese trade the world over, and in particular Australia/China exchanges (China is Australia’s largest source of imports and largest export destination) of some 80 billion dollars a year of exchange, it makes sense to structure their financial instruments to offer Australian dollars for investment in Australia, and renminbi for back-investment in China.

Many nations engage in mutual currency arrangements (as with Syria/China) without reference to dollars. This seems like a good thing in this multi-polar world of multiple relationships.

Mina, I have explained my interest in and relationship with Syria (Canadian leftist do-gooder with no family ties), but beyond your note that you were an old Maoist, will we ever find out what your special ties to Syria are? I note you go after Juergen or Tara or whoever for things they have willingly shared here — their native land, cultural affiliations, and present citizenship at least.

I know that it is unpleasant to be harried about one’s (presumed) allegiances — whether with the Terrorists or the Regimists, to Western Plots or Local Mafia — yet I wonder what prevents some folks from coming clean with their own allegiances and possible biases.

I wish you would be less reactive and snide, and enter into conversations rather than asides and tirades. Your eye for hypocrisy, double-dealing, sleaze and murky political motives is sharp. I think it would be way more effective if you outline a role for yourself in the Syrian dialogue, or dialogue-to-come.

I do not get a seat at any table in regards to Syria. Someone like Tara or Jad or OTW or SOD or SNK or Norman and many many others can rightfully ask for a seat at that discussion. They are Syrians at home or abroad with various strong family connections, and in any restructured Syria to come, whether under Assad and the Baath or under a future horror, they need to be involved in the changes as interlocutors and interested parties. The repatriation of exiles and expatriates and their skills and money will be essential. 100% agreement across the board of all the opinion stripes and colours here with the notion that Syrians themselves will solve the issues ahead. I can but witness from afar, ask questions, observe events and wonder.

The very first real live Syrian I met in Vancouver was housed in the downtown refugee reception centre. He was in a wheelchair, a result of state torture. More than any other event in the year I have read at Syria Comment, this evidence of a terrible crime done to Syria was made apparent. It seared into my heart what basics were denied Syrian citizens (or part-citizens like Kurds). What hope had he for his land and his family and his future? Was a new land his only hope? Could he ever go home to Hasaka?

I will visit Syria as an outsider, a visitor and a friend (I hope). I can imagine many many thousands more who would return as patriots in a true reconciliation. I have no right to hector or sneer at any Syrian whatsoever. They live great horrors in their hearts.

Will you be asking for a seat at the table of dialogue, or just visit Syria as a friend, Mina?

#8. MAJEDKHALDOUN

What fun! You’ve exposed how big the “pro-regime dream team” is (or rather, how many computer connections they have).

There’s record vote of 40 red thumbs down for your comment starting: “There are different types of media shabbiha,among those who live outside Syria”

You really hit the target – right where it stings most.

They block voted in bigger numbers against your comment than even their 30+ green thumbs up for anything anti-western.

C’mon guys, let’s see if I can get more red thumbs than Majedkhaldoun did for his reasonable and insightful comments.

العصابات المسلحة تتخذ من منازل المدنين اوكاراً لها

question: why does the angry arab call this spokesperson for the snc “cicero”?

Second expert–wait, this guy is familiar. Is he not the famous Cicero of the Syrian opposition? “Radwan Ziadeh, a member of the Syrian National Council and the executive director of the Syrian Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Washington

is as’ad merely describing him as an orator? is this a descriptive radwan ziadeh is commonly known as?

40 thumbs down LOLOL that is a record!

observer,

thank you kindly for your clarification and pointing to the irony of your usage. phew. anybody calling people rats makes me nervous.

Zibaleh is busy with the latest ‘revolution’ star
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/554195_357941697582380_204642496245635_1043523_331074471_n.jpg

And if you wonder why he didn’t attend the meetings in Istanbul, he is busy with his masters begging for military intervention in DC, he gave his statement with Ford, but strange enough he was kept hidden.

Expect things to cool down for a bit. Maybe 1 month. Do not forget that between early August and mid-October, it was similarly, all very quiet and Assad seemed to have the upper hand. While actually the opposition was regrouping and doing some major internal assessments.

Also expect the death toll to be relatively low (around 30) in the coming weeks [ compared with an average of 100 dead per day a few weeks ago].

However, expect the size and frequency of protests and demonstrations to rise, especially in Hama, Latakia, Halab, Raqqa ( i.e areas with less FSA activity).

However, those who think Assad has been able to re-establish control over Idleb is mistaken. He attacked sarmin and sarqeb and managed to drive out the FSA, but his forces did not occupy the towns and the residents and activists have returned already. the maximum he can do is to do sudden massive attacks on Idleb townsd, he cannot ( at this moment) occupy every town and vilage in Idleb with his troops.

Particularly damaging for the regime has been the loss of a large number of low-level informers and collaborators in Halab and Reef Halab. This has greatly reduced the security forces’ capabilities to make arrests.

However the middle classes of Halab are still strong and vocal in their opposition to the FSA.

Your eye for hypocrisy, double-dealing, sleaze and murky political motives is sharp.

except for when it comes to the regime. assad is a sainted angel, without fault or sin.

one scenario offered:

First expert: ““You can imagine a deal in which the Iranians say, ‘We’re not going to support Assad,’ in exchange for a deal on nukes,” said Bruce W. Jentleson, a professor of public policy and political science at Duke University and a former adviser at the State Department.”

my fear is the reverse: the west agrees to allow assad to remain in power in exchange for iran agreeing to halt weapons program. the betrayal in such a “deal” would be staggering.

86. WILLIAM SCOTT SCHERK
brilliant !

Mina !
in continuation
Brave New Bank? BRICS moot dropping dollar, IMF
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vg9qvYwQHg
The BRICS summit has wrapped up in India. Creating an alternative global lender and stepping away from the dollar as a reserve currency were among their main objectives. RT’s Priya Sridhar is in New Delhi.
Earlier RT spoke to Dr Sreeram Chaulia, who is a Vice Dean at the Jindal School of International Affairs. He believes institutions like the IMF and the World Bank have outlived their uselfulness.

‘Want gas? Stop wars! UK fuel panic orchestrated by NWO’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8XQKrruMfQ
There is panic at the petrol pumps in Britain, ahead of a possible tanker driver strike. Some stations have already run dry after a government minister suggested people should fill their tanks and stock up with fuel cans. RT discusses the topic with political analyst Peter Eyre who’s in Birmingham in the UK.

“…there is panic at the petrol pumps in Britain…”

What does this have to do with Syria, Alan? Oh, I get it! When your own country is imploding in front of you r goofy face, you look elsewhere for the comforting notion that other people are having problems, too.

BTW, wouldn’t it be nice if the only problem Syria had was an impending truckers’ strike. But then again, that wouldn’t happen. Besho would send the Shabeeha to crush it….

Before Jad or Mina will post it, I´ll do my duty…

UAE asked German government to shut down the office of the Konrad Adenauer foundation ( named after the first german chancellor after the 2nd world war). This foundation is unlike the famous Goethe foundation not an official government funded foundation, its funded by the Christian democratic party which is the ruling coalitian party of Angela Merkel. Most big parties have such foundations, and in my opinion they do a great job acting as an vivid bridge between the countries. The move came after the office in Cairo got shut down recently.

Hans-Gert Pöttering the head of the foundation sees in its closure of this office in Abu Dhabi an “warning sign for the democratic development in Arab countries”.

Foundation chief Poettering sees parallels between the office closures in Cairo and Abu Dhabi. Apparently the political foundations in the Arab world “is seen increasingly unwelcome.”

In a statement Merkel said: “We are sorry, of course, that the foundation needs to be closed.” Nevertheless, the federal government would try to” continue working closely “with the UAE. At
the same time, Berlin will work towards a speedy re-opening.
According to the CDU-politician, the decision was not justified by the UAE with the work of the Adenauer Foundation on its own. The issue is a “total closure of all the foreign foundations in the UAE.

The office was the only of that kind which was opened after an formal invitation by the UAE in 2009.

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,824586,00.html

Turkey said no intention to threaten Syria with military intervention – 2012-03-30

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-03/30/c_122906902.htm

ISTANBUL, March 29 (Xinhua) — Turkey’s Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz said Thursday that Turkey has no intention of threatening Syria with military action, though it is considering the establishment of a buffer zone inside Syria.

The Turkish official downplayed a recent visit by Land Forces Commander General Hayri Kivrikoglu to the Syrian border as “a routine inspection”.

Yilmaz made the statement during a visit to Sakarya province for a series of meetings with local officials.

“We have no thoughts or intentions of threatening Syria in any way. But we do want the democratic demands of the Syrian people to be met,” Yilmaz was quoted by local daily Today’s Zaman as saying.

Yilmaz also said the Turkish government was against any external intervention in Syria. “We want the Arab League to consider the demands of the Syrian people and make a decision for the countries of the region accordingly.”

[…]

Congressional report: attack on Iran would be a failure – 29 March, 2012

http://rt.com/usa/news/iran-report-nuclear-israel-785/

A new Congressional report affirms that a potential US or Israeli strike on Iran would be useless since the Islamic Republic could recuperate from it within a six month time frame.

The report sparked by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s remarks claiming he “believes” Israel is “likely” to attack in Iran in either April, May or June, says although US and Israel aren’t certain of the precise location of the nuclear sites, the facilities may be spread out in a way that an attack would result in failure.

Bloomberg described the report stating it is “unclear what the ultimate effect of a strike would be on the likelihood of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.”

According to the Bloomberg report, last month a former US government official stated to researchers that “Iran’s centrifuge production is widely distributed and the number of workshops has probably multiplied ‘many times’ since 2005 because of an increase in Iranian contractors and subcontractors working on the program.”

This echoes Netanyahu’s and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s concern that sanctions against Iran are futile and an attack should be implemented before it’s too late.

The report states “an attack could have considerable regional and global security, political and economic repercussion, not least for the United States, Israel, and their bilateral relationship.”

In the 52 page document, it states that although President Obama and leaders of Congress have expressed their concerns about a nuclear armed Iran, the American people must have trust in the US intelligence assessments that “Iran has not made a decision to build nuclear weapons.”

The report also acknowledges that the aspects of detailed text are subject to “vigorous debate and remain fully or partially outside public knowledge.”

In page five of the report it states that “this uncertainty and ambiguity is a major feature of the environment in which international actors decided their policies and actions vis-à-vis Iran.”

Leaders like Netanyahu have taken advantage of these grey areas.

[…]

what we need is leaked emails demonstrating how much loot the regime has stolen from the people.

what is strange, alan, is making excuses for a modern day hitler.

104. OMEN
what we need is leaked emails demonstrating how much loot the regime has stolen from the people.
Tell! to whom you in the address? who should provide your need?

Re. Irritated (whatever comment),

Yeah, shia islamists don’t do terrorism.

They only rape , kill and enslave whole countries…

I say to the “secular” pro-Hezbollah/Khameini/Assad hypocrites on SC:
Ask any atheist, secular or even moderately religious Iranian about the so called shia “liberalism”!

The (arab shia-alawite/western leftist) apologists for Khameini and co. always like to compare Iran with the worst Sunni country (i.e. Saudi Arabia). But Iranians themselves would never do that, since the cultures (i.e. Iranian Persian/Azeri vs. Arab Beduin) are so totally different!

– How many (if any) exile Saudis do you see in the West?
– And how many Iranians?

*I guess the first (=Saudi Arabs) are brainwashed and may really like their barbaric regime (like many Syrians seem to like theirs),

…but I can tell you for sure the other (=Iranians) ARE NOT!

ty syrialover 3:35 for pointing it out.
in case people missed it:

8. majedkhaldoun said:

Sheila
There are different types of media shabbiha,among those who live outside Syria,

1- benefit financially
2- they have or their relative have blood in supperssion this revolution.
3- Drug addiction.and those who drinks alcohol heavily.You can tell who they are.

However there are descent people who are misguided and frustrated.they are bound to change their mind,and we will know later why they support the regime.

The town of Saraqeb in Idlib province has had serious armed violence by rebels. In the past few days the Syrian army has clashed with the rebels in Saraqeb and killed a number of rebels, and driven the armed men away from the town. As reported by SHAM FM today 80 men in Saraqeb surrendered to the authorities and professed themselves to be not directly responsible for any of the killings done by rebels, and therefore the authorities released them under the amnesty rules. http://www.facebook.com/lists/247693938657345
@ ANTOINE #93: I’m unaware of any basis for your forecasts. What’s your basis?

29 mar 2012. Bashar Assad today visited Al-Qanawat village in Suweida to convey his condolences for the leading Druze cleric Sheikh Ahmad al-Hijri, whose funeral was a couple of days ago. The funeral on 27 Mar 2012 in a soccer stadium in Suweida city was attended by the grand mufti Ahmad Hassoun. SANA.SY is not reporting today’s visit by Bashar today. But here are some photos from it:
الشعب يريد بشار العظيم
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=353979304637893&set=a.353978941304596.74069.273855009316990&type=3&theater
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=194569560658412&set=a.110127495769286.13480.110113882437314&type=1&ref=nf , http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=246529325442774&set=a.136911699737871.28398.136822269746814&type=1

Expect things to cool down for a bit. Maybe 1 month. Do not forget that between early August and mid-October, it was similarly, all very quiet and Assad seemed to have the upper hand. While actually the opposition was regrouping and doing some major internal assessments.

Also expect the death toll to be relatively low (around 30) in the coming weeks [ compared with an average of 100 dead per day a few weeks ago].

However, expect the size and frequency of protests and demonstrations to rise, especially in Hama, Latakia, Halab, Raqqa ( i.e areas with less FSA activity).

However, those who think Assad has been able to re-establish control over Idleb is mistaken. He attacked Sarmin and Saraqeb and managed to drive out the FSA, but his forces did not occupy the towns and the residents and activists have returned already. the maximum he can do is to do sudden massive attacks on Idleb townsd, he cannot ( at this moment) occupy every town and vilage in Idleb with his troops. He is still unable to attack Binnish or Jabal Zawiya. And even in Homs City, the old city and northern suburbs 9 Khaldiya, Bayada, Qoussour, Deir baalbeh) is firmly under FSA control, in the Province, Rastan, Talbiseh, Houla and Qusayr are 100 % under FSA control.

Particularly damaging for the regime has been the loss of a large number of low-level informers and collaborators in Halab and Reef Halab. This has greatly reduced the security forces’ capabilities to make arrests.

However the middle classes of Halab are still strong and vocal in their opposition to the FSA.

The grand mufti in SA called for destruction of all churches in the Arabian peninsula !! What was the
White house response?what was the Vatican response?
The world will never be a better place as long as
Oil is coming befor principles.US and Europe will
Never be real democracies as long as the are doing Israeli -proxy policies .
What would the Moslem world response if the poppe calls for destructions of all the mosques
In Italy?how many Italian and Vatican embassies
Will be burned by Allah Akbarists:

Good to know that the British gov. is using the Brits money to support terrorism in Syria, funny how the article is trying to glorify the move while the comments under trashing the move as terrorists supporting.

Hague pledges £500,000 to Syria opposition

Britain will provide a further £500,000 to support Syria’s political
opposition in the face of president Bashar Assad’s regime, the Foreign
Secretary said.

William Hague is expected to announce the extra funding tonight during his annual speech at the Lord Mayor’s Easter Banquet.

Mr Hague said the money would help “hard-pressed” opposition groups to document the regime’s violations.

In his speech, he will set out that he has “agreed to provide a further half a million pounds of British support to Syria’s political opposition”.

“It includes agreement in principle for practical non-lethal support to them inside Syria,” Mr Hague said.

“It will help hard-pressed opposition groups and brave civil society organisations inside and outside the country to document the regime’s violations and gain the skills and resources they need to help build a democratic future for Syria.”

The Government has, over the last eight months, given £450,000 of practical support to the Syrian opposition, including media skills training to internal activists and advice to Syrian human rights defenders.

The support is intended to aid Syria’s political opposition groups to develop themselves as a credible alternative to Assad’s regime and develop the necessary capability to realise an orderly transition to a more democratic Syria.
{…}
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/hague-pledges-500000-to-syria-opposition-7600717.html

this was posted late so i’m afraid ppl missed it. bears repeating:

262. Juergen said:

Sheila

I am afraid that some of those who support Assad may position themselves to a point of no return. My grandmother told me once the story that after Hitler committed suicide the river near my hometown was filled with dead women and men who killed themselves. They thought a Germany without Hitler is unthinkable and the propaganda of the Third Reich did its most damage. But as a famous writer wrote after coming back to Germany in 1945, he wrote that he was not able to find one single nazi, all had been in opposition to this brutal regime.

Today was a relatively slow day in Syrian news, as can be see in the content of all the above comments today.

In what follows I repeat three points I’ve made before.

The government makes it its business to try to be in touch with the pulse of Syrian popular sentiment. It succeeds at that effort when the popular sentiment is pretty obvious. In policymaking the government is non-doctrinaire and is responsive to popular sentiment. Needless to say, this helps it politically and it’s one of the reasons why the government is popular after so many years of rule.

In Spring 2011 a political awakening happened to the Syrian Street that nobody saw coming. Nobody either inside or outside the government saw it coming. But once the government saw it, the government responded with a slew of serious political reforms. The reforms were subsequently accepted by mainstream Syrian society without any serious controversy or dispute over any of the particulars.

The absence of controversy over the particulars of the reforms is a good indicator to you of the government’s ability to sense what’s popularly wanted and what’s acceptable. To repeat, this government is politically astute. The government is very serious about being politically popular.

At the same time, however, it is correct to say that the government represents and acts on behalf of the Syrian society’s Establishment. The regime has partly created this Establishment and the Establishment has partly created the regime. The country is dominated by a sociologically broad Establishment that covers all geographic parts of the country, nearly all religious groups, all age groups, all professional occupations, all big private enterprises, and all components of the State.

It controls the trade unions, the mass media, the legal system, the education sector, the university departments, the religious endowments establishment, the private-sector civic organizations, and the municipal councils of every city, town and county in the country. Bashar Assad and the Assad government is the Establishment’s leadership. There is no sign or prospect of emergence of an alternative leadership within the Establishment.

For decades the Establishment has had essentially only one political party. Today it shows no inclination towards internal divisiveness such as would create two or more parties within the framework of one ruling Establishment (such as the Western countries have).

The Establishment is firmly unified against the rebellion; and no divisiveness within the Establishment could get political traction while the fight against the rebellion is still ongoing. Because the Establishment remains well unified and supports the Assad party, the upcoming parliamentary election campaign will consist of sundry semi-anonymous dissident parties and independent individuals campaigning against the Establishment’s party.

Accepting this perspective on the political landscape, one must expect the Establishment’s party to win by a very comfortable margin. I do not see how the overall society can vote in significant numbers for any anti-Establishment agenda. And in fact there isn’t any visible anti-Establshment agenda: the dissident agenda is the overthrow of the Establishment’s governing party, but without putting forth any agenda for what to replace it with.

In fact, most of the Syrian rebels are poorly-educated working-class people who have no ideas and no substantive agenda other than to howl at the Establishment. They draw some moral and political ideas from Islamic teachings, which they’ve gotten some education on, and they have some Islamist values like the poorly-educated working-classes who voted for Islamist parties in recent elections in Egypt and Tunisia.

But the Syrian rebels and dissidents on the whole are not putting forth an Islamist agenda, nor any other alternative policy agenda or substantive forward vision that throws the regime on the defensive in the upcoming election.

jad 5:48 how much money and support has iran given assad?

#113 Jad

Jad

We will see in which pockets these pounds will end up. The SNC, the FSA and all the armed gangs are as corruptible as anybody else having been brought up in corruption.

#117 Omen

Iran has been Syria’s ally for the last 40 years and has investments in Syria while the UK has been imposing sanctions because of Syria supporting the resistance against Israel and has no investments whatsoever in Syria.
The UK pledges but will probably not send anything, until they know in which hands it will fall, and that is far from clear.

Mawal95

Sorry, but could please insert blank lines in your posts between some paragraphs, it will make it much more readable.

EU’s Ashton may boycott the FOS while Turkey has resigned itself to save face about the SNC, by trying to make it accepted as the “Principal representative of the Opposition” instead of the ‘Sole’

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/eus-ashton-skips-syria-meet-in-turkey-over-cyprus.aspx?pageID=238&nID=17239&NewsCatID=338

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is mulling whether to boycott the Friends of Syria meeting on April 1 in Istanbul due to Turkey’s refusal to invite Greek Cyprus to the key meeting.

Syrian National Council may be ‘a principal representative’

Meanwhile, Turkey aims to raise the status of the Syrian National Council at the Friends of Syria meeting as “a principal representative” of the Syrian people, a Turkish official said, adding that efforts were still under way to reconcile the council and Kurdish groups.

“As the Syrian opposition agreed on a national pact in Istanbul, an important step has been taken in order to recognize the [council] as the principal representative of the people,” a Turkish official told the Daily News yesterday.

Participants at the Friends of Syria group’s meeting will discuss the issue on April 1, while Turkey will work on an agreement toward that goal, the official said.
(..)

Ann
Comment #101

Can you please explain how would Turkey establish a buffer zone, and not interfere militarily?

I would consider this comment is just like you other comments, contradiction,that does not make sense.

Iran, Turkey sharply differ on Syria
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI | Associated Press – 1 hr 38 mins ago
http://news.yahoo.com/iran-turkey-sharply-differ-syria-193901321.html

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian and Turkish leaders exchanged sharply opposing views Thursday as they discussed how to deal with the crisis in Syria.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tehran strongly supports reforms in Syria under President Bashar Assad, but visiting Turkish prime minister said Assad can’t be trusted and must step down.

The unusual public acknowledgment of sharp differences between the two neighbors came on the second day of a state visit to Iran by Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan arrived in Tehran from South Korea, where he attended a nuclear security summit and had talks with President Barack Obama.

Iran is Syria’s closest ally, and Tehran has staunchly backed Assad during Syria’s year-long uprising.

“Iran will defend Syria because of (its) support of the resistance front against the Zionist regime and is strongly opposed to any interference by foreign forces in Syria’s internal affairs,” Khamenei told Erdogan. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is categorically opposed to any plan initiated by the U.S. regarding Syria.”

Khamenei rejected Turkey’s position that Assad must step down.

“We support reforms in Syria. The reforms that began in Syria need to continue,” state TV quoted Khamenei as saying.

It was not clear how Erdogan responded to Khamenei, but hours later he told Iran’s state TV that Assad’s regime can’t be trusted.

“If Assad doesn’t fear (an election), he should give a ballot box to the people and let parties take shape. (Assad’s) Baath should not form a party and must be regarded as a thing of the past,” Erdogan said. “We can’t put the previous years in front of us.”(..)

The Syrian opposition will refuse to deal with their killer; those who do so will be marginalized. As many Syrians observe the international community endorsing the Russian and Chinese position; as they realise that Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy are patent hypocrites; and as they witness outsiders, including Syrian exiles hostile to the Assad regime, manoeuvring without consulting them, they will become more frustrated and angry, and they will purchase weapons. There will be war, all because no one dares show Bashar Assad the exit.

The Annan plan will bring more violence
March 29, 2012 01:43 AM
By Michael Young
The Daily Star

Russia and China consider the Annan plan a formula for saving Bashar Assad, not getting rid of him. The most ridiculous claim in the past two weeks is that Moscow and Beijing have softened on Syria, and proved this by moving closer to the Americans and the Europeans in the Security Council, where they signed on to a presidential statement backing Annan’s mission.

The truth is that it’s the Obama administration and its European partners that have adopted the Russian and Chinese perspective. When President Barack Obama says that Assad will fall, that’s empty oratory destined to keep Syria at arm’s length during an election year, and avoid accusations that the US president is soft on mass murder …

The Russian calculation is that if Assad can begin negotiations with the opposition, he will prevail. The different opposition groups will be divided, with some endorsing talks and others rejecting them, permitting the Syrian regime to select its interlocutors. Those who say no to Annan’s offer, Moscow believes, will lose international legitimacy.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Columnist/2012/Mar-29/168302-the-annan-plan-will-bring-more-violence.ashx#ixzz1qUo0l3ML

Irritated,

“UK has been imposing sanctions because of Syria supporting the resistance against Israel and has no investments whatsoever in Syria.”

What resistance exactly, please remind me the last time this administration or the one before it shot a single bullet to free the Golan?

Last I checked the Assads have done NOTHING to get back our land, so when I see them willing to liberate our land rather than kill its own people with the very weapons it is supposed to liberate it I will believe this whole resistance argument.

Observer#239 from a previous thread

“This is fake country with a fake president and with a fake government and with a fake ideology and with a fake present and a dim and dark future destroyed by a pure mafiosi family”

That was pretty good.  I will add this is a fake country with fake past too.  One of the commenter said “Syria is one of a few MID EAST countries where majority and minority live in peace. ” referring to the past.  Wrong! Very very wrong!

The fact of the matter is that majority and minority did not live in peace.  0r perhaps lived in a fake peace.  For the last 40 some years, the majority was brutally oppressed by the minority that enforced a fake peace by building a seemingly un-destroyable steel wall of fear.    

irritated 6:06, allow me to rephrase then:
how much money, weapons and material support has iran extended to the regime with the aim to slaughter and quell the rebel opposition?

Iranians believe that anti-government protests will renew in full force after Syria’s Bashar Assad will be toppled. “Once Assad falls, the ground here will start to shake here as well,” says Razi.

In line with the media new tendency: More criticism of the rebels

Islamists find foothold in Syria revolt
By Erika Solomon | Reuters – 9 hrs ago

http://news.yahoo.com/islamists-foothold-syria-revolt-130631460.html
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Sheikh Abu Abdullah Zahed, a Lebanese Muslim cleric with influence amongst radical youth, is part of a growing effort to push the uprising in Syria towards militant Islam.

Hardline Sunni Muslims in Lebanon are maneuvering for influence over Syrians across the border who have spent the last year fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad.

“At first Syrians called on the West and NATO. Now they are calling on God,” said Zahed, sitting in his library, where black Islamic flags hang on the walls.

As opposition groups abroad squabble over politics and Assad’s army pounds rebellious cities, Muslim hardliners want to make religion the unifying basis of the revolt.

Radical Islamist elements are still on the fringe, but that’s enough to make a headache for opposition activists who are struggling to convince Syrian minorities to support a revolt led mostly by the country’s Sunni majority.

Foreign powers joining exile opposition leaders at a “Friends of Syria” meeting in Istanbul this week will also want proof of whom exactly they are making friends with, if they are ever to consider arming rebel forces.

“We don’t want to accidentally wind up supporting extremist groups,” said Joseph Holliday, of the Institute for the Study of War, in Washington. “The fundamental question is: What happens in the future? And does our involvement make this turn better or worse?”

Some activists are already uneasy about a series of car bombs that hit Syria’s two main cities. An unknown group called Al-Nusra Front claimed the attacks on a website that posts messages from many al Qaeda branches.

“There is a growing radical presence inside Syria and I think they were behind the bombings. I’m afraid controlling them could be a losing battle,” said an activist. He asked not to be named for fear of angering fellow opposition members, who are reluctant to discuss potential radical infiltration.

STEREOTYPED BY BEARDS

Zahed, a Lebanese sheikh with a long beard and a leather jacket over his blue robe, sits in front of shelves of gold embossed religious books. He offers the Islamic flags that hang behind him to people who join anti-Assad protests in his hometown of Tripoli.

“At first no one raised anything other than the Syrian flag. Now some are raising the Islamic flag,” Zahed said.

Assad has long raised the specter of Islamic extremism and says “terrorists” are behind Syria’s bloody uprising.
(..)

Yeah the Great “RESISTANCE” – paid by the blood of 100 000s of Arabs, Iranians and Kurds, ruled by Great Anti Zionist-Imperialist Moslem Leaders such as Assad I, Assad II, Saddam, Khomeini and Khameini – has indeed been very succesfull:

Gaza is Free, Golan is Free, West Bank is Free
–> All Palestine is free! Israel in the Sea!

HURRAY! (as the “professional” Mawal95/Ya Mara Ghalba likes to say)
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(not)

Mawal,

As usual, a very good summary and analysis of what’s going on inside Syria and the Establishments away from the media endless ‘propaganda’.

In your last paragraph you point out a worth thinking about point: “But the Syrian rebels and dissidents on the whole are not putting forth an Islamist agenda, nor any other alternative policy agenda or substantive forward vision that throws the regime on the defensive in the upcoming election.”

I think we didn’t see the religious agenda so obvious in the political sphere because after a year of bloody struggle there is no unifying AGENDA whatsoever, unless you call ‘isqa6 alnizam’ an agenda.

While in Tunisia, Egypt and even Yemen the political Islam is already established way before the revolution, unlike Syria and for the Syrian opposition to start a proper political agenda they need to be mature enough each in their own parties and not as we are seeing the failed tries to box them in one ‘council’ and one ‘opposition’ group, that will never build any of them an agenda or to make them mature enough to understand the average Syrian needs and move forward, all this mish mash coalitions and meeting are waste of time, unless each of those opposition groups form somekind of political party with a clear rules and agenda things will stay in the hands of the Syrian state.

This flaw and weakness of the dissidents is what driving many toward begging with the most humiliating was for a military intervention since they know that they actually have nothing at all to offer to any Syrian living in the country.

On the other hand, at the ground and away from politics, the terrorist radicals have nothing else but religion and sectarianism similar to Alqaeda to attract the uneducated soldiers they need for their terrorist mission, this is why you see the radical religious message is dominating the armed militia groups.

What you think?

125. Son of Damascus

Just hosting and supporting Hamas that no “courageous” Arab country wants to host and giving the Palestinians refugees in Syria a status that no other Arab country gave them are enough to have all Palestinians leaders hailing Bashar Al Assad for his support to the Resistance. These leaders are better placed than you to know who supports them and who just talk.

#127 Omen

Keep rephrasing…

Against the will of crazy neo-con Young, It seems that SNC and the opposition groups are giving signs that they will accept to negotiate on only ONE condition, not with Bashar, which is a very good step forward in my opinion, at least they start to see some reality:

غليون: نقبل بالتفاوض شرط ان يقوم الاسد بتفويض صلاحياته لشخص اخر

كد رئيس المجلس الوطني السوري برهان غليون ان المجلس الوطني السوري يقبل بالتفاوض مع النظام السوري بشرط ان يقوم الرئيس السوري بشار الاسد بتفويض صلاحياته لنائبه، ورأى انه” من المهم ان يعيد العالم العربي التاكيد على ان الوضع في سوريا لا يمكن ان يستمر كما هو”.

واضاف في حديث لمحطة “العربية”، “العالم كله يعرف انه ليس لهذا النظام الموجود في سوريا اي مصداقية وان كان له مصداقية فلماذا لم يوقف العنف الى اليوم”،وتابع ” نحن ننظر الى موافقة النظام على مبادرة انان كما الموافقات السابقة التي قام بها، فهو كان يدعي انه يعمل لتحقيق المبادرات وبالوقت نفسه يعمل على رفع وتيرة العنف”، معتبرا ان “النظام يراوغ ويريد ان يربح الوقت ولكننا سنقبل ان كان هناك اي امكانية لوقف العنف”.

واكد غليون ان المجلس الوطني السوري رحب بمبادرة انان كما رحب بالمبادرة العربية،واضاف “نحن نقبل بالتفاوض عندما يبدأ النظام بالتطبيق الفعلي لبنود المبادرات وعندها سيكون هناك جو جيد لبدء المفاوضات”، كاشفا عن شروط تضمن مصداقية التفاوض وهي تفويض الرئيس صلاحياته لشخص اخر “لانه لم يعد يملك الصلاحية ولا يقبل به الشعب السوري للتفاوض”،واضاف ” نحن مع التفويض الكامل الذي يعني فعليا تنحي الرئيس عن منصبه”.

zoo 6:35, every terrorist dictator since tunis has claimed the protests were al qaeda.

state sponsored terrorism is wider scaled than al qaeda! how many 9/11s has bashar bin laden wrought upon his country?

It’s interesting that the failures of every creepy Arab state and leadership in doing anything to Palestine, Lebanon and Jolan Syria, is now blamed on Bashar and Syria and the resistance is the bad thing while non of those attacking Syria resistance policies and stands with Palestinians and Lebanese didn’t even bother to mention Palestine Land Day and they are preaching all of us about ‘resistance’….how sad!

To Palestine and to every Palestinian we are still with you
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/535254_299616390109554_100001835857138_727794_15272814_n.jpg

I agree with JAD #130. I agree the dissidents have no unifying agenda, and I agree that “weakness of the dissidents is what driving many toward begging with the most humiliating way for a military intervention since they know that they actually have nothing at all to offer to any Syrian living in the country.” I agree that Isqat Al-Nizam is not an agenda for the people living in the country.

On the other hand, I believe JAD is overstating the reality when he says “the radical religious message is dominating the armed militia groups.” Based on what I see (and my main source is Youtube), I believe instead that the dominant sentiment among the armed militia groups is just anger and uncouth frustration and “howling at the Establishment”, without a lot of Islamist values driving it. I think Nir Rosen gets this mostly right in his long article entitled “Islamism in the Syrian Uprising” at http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/08/islamism_and_the_syrian_uprising . The following is from a shorter article by Nir Rosen which I believe is about right:

“The Salafi and Muslim Brotherhood ideologies are not important in Syria and do not play a significant role in the revolution. But most Syrian Sunnis taking part in the uprising are themselves devout. They do not read religious literature or listen to sermons. Their views on Islam are consistent with the general attitudes of Syrian Sunni society, which is conservative and religious. All the fighters I met – in the provinces of Homs, Idlib, Hama, Deraa and the Damascus suburbs – were Sunni Muslims, and most were pious. Many fighters were not religious before the uprising, but now pray and are inspired by Islam, which gives them a creed and a discourse. They are not fighting for Islam but they are inspired by it. Some drink alcohol, which is forbidden in Islam, and do not pray. And their brothers in arms do not force them to pray. Some fighters are also influenced by a general sense of Sunni identity, but others do not care about this. I encountered one armed Salafi group in Idlib. Some fighters are the sons or nephews of people who were jailed during the 1980s for alleged membership of the Muslim Brotherhood.” http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/02/201221315020166516.html

Tara,

“The fact of the matter is that majority and minority did not live in peace.”

I beg to differ on this,

Both Damascus and Aleppo boast a rich history of tolerance (with rather dark periods) but in large both these cities have always had multi religious groups that coexisted peacefully.

Take for example Damascus with Haret El Yahood and Bab Tuma, or the fact that a relic of John the Baptist is buried in Ummayad mosque. These cultures existed in Damascus before the muslim culture came to being, and the fact that you still see evidence that these cultures can survive (no matter how small) and continue to live in Damascus is a testament of Syrian coexistence.

I met a Syrian Jewish family in Damascus awhile back, they told me that during Hanukkah Syrian Jews light an extra candle as a gratitude to the acceptance they received from their city folk. I asked if this was a new or old tradition the grand mother told me it was older than her, and that her family in Aleppo did the same.

We have many dark parts to our history that we should learn from, but we should not forget the good parts along the way.

Irritated,

Supporting a resistance by proxy does not equal to getting the job done. And last I checked neither Hamas nor Hizballah have fought to free the Golan Heights, so this proxy resistance is doing NOTHING to free the Golan.

The only thing Assad and his father ever resisted is their peoples free will, for that is the only thing that scares them, and they will do everything in their power to quell it. As evident in Havez’s levelling of Hama and Besho’s mobile killing machine.

Jad,

Last I checked it was the pro regime side preaching the resistance line, it is the perfect excuse that justifies Bashar and Havez killing Syrians for them.

SOD

I am not discussing the issue at a personals level. I am discussing it at the masses level. If you venture to say that Iraqi Sunni and Iraqi Shia lived in peace and harmony during Saddam or now the Bahraini Shiaa living in peace and harmony under the rule of the Sunni minority in Bahrain, I would retract.

jad, you can’t claim to stand with palestinians when you mock their religion.

Where did I ever mocked any religion?

Kofi Annan snubs Iran?  Is it because he shares bush bush’s distaste of the Burqa?  Don’t Mrs.  Ahmadinejad and Mrs. Mulla Khamenei wear them?  What do Iranian women wear in their weddings?  Red or white Burqas?  With or without heels? What about the men? Do they wear suits without the tie? Do men buy women lots of jewelry like what we do in the Arab ME? I really want to know.   

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jdThLPN4F6iK2GYaD_GoRBTc81bg?docId=CNG.0bd36df6ab57c7f3f39750504c09e57e.5f1

GENEVA — UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan will not visit Tehran next week, his spokesman said Wednesday, after Iran’s foreign minister said the ex-UN chief was expected in the Iranian capital.

Rebels announce internal Syria command structure

29 Mar 2012 19:52
Source: Reuters 

By Oliver Holmes

BEIRUT, March 29 (Reuters) – Syria’s armed opposition announced on Thursday a local command structure that aims to bring together disparate rebel groups inside the country under the command of defected officers exiled in neighbouring Turkey.

“We declare the formation of the joint command of the Free Syrian Army in Syria to be coordinated with the leadership of the Free Syrian Army outside (the country),” a Paris-based spokesman for the Supreme Rebel Military Council, Fahad al-Masri, said in a statement.

The move, which names five colonels in the flashpoint provinces of Homs, Hama, Idlib, Deir al-Zor and Damascus, was the latest in a string of attempts to unify armed opposition groups who have been fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad.

The head of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA), Riad al-Asaad, said on Saturday a military council grouping exiled rebel chiefs, including Syria’s most senior army deserter, General Mustafa al-Sheikh, had been formed.

Sheikh is the chairman of the council and Asaad is in charge of military operations.

Free Syrian Army officer Major Maher Ismail al-Naimi told Reuters that the new structure would be implemented immediately. “The Free Syrian Army is involved,” he said by telephone.

The list includes a colonel named Qasim Saad al-Din from Homs, a focus of the armed revolt, who defected in February, and Colonel Khaled al-Haboush, who would direct military operations in the capital.
(,,,,)

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/rebels-announce-internal-syria-command-structure

Son of Damascus,

Your comments are really strange, first you quote Abrams who is known for being the Iraq war promoter, are you going to be happy if Syria got occupied? Seriously, there is a big difference of being anti-regime and anti-Syria.

Then you are discrediting the resistance as if this idea is the ownership of Assad, or as if part of our homelands are not occupied you and others should know that hating the regime doesn’t mean letting our real enemies to take over our land and because of our disagreement with the regime we should side with them against our brothers and sisters, that is completely wrong and nobody is preaching about the resistance so we need not to react in the wrong way jakara bial6uara…

Jad,

I quoted Abrams as a rebuttal to Ignatius, and told you that in that ARTICLE I agree with him, that does not mean I agree with all of his writing.

Realpolitik is a Machiavellian way of doing politics, and history has shown us that it does not work, it just further empowers the dictators. Just look at the appeasement and realpolitik that Chamberlain tried with Hitler, did it ever stop Hitler for murdering 11 million people, and invading half of Europe?

I am discrediting the resistance when it comes to the Assad family, for they have never done anything remotely close to bringing back our occupied lands.

Mawal,

I would agree with you 6 months ago, which the time Nir was inside Syria, today every clip/image we watch/see is showing some armed men with long beard and shaved head as the ‘leaders’ of any attack recorded and they are using religious in their messages.

Did you check the clip I post about Katibet Alansar? This is the first local born ‘alqaeda-like’ brigade i come across since the beginning of the uprising, which is a very alarming sign that instead of importing alqaeda the armed militia are making their own version of it.

Turkey’s trade with Iraq reached $12 billion in 2011. This number is projected to double in 2012. Do you think is interested in war? Think again.

When the USA invaded Iraq they dissolved the Iraqi Army.

That’s cost the Americans large number of casualities, if mistake repeated with Syria this time will cost the Syrians large number of innocents.

obviously, this time the USA doesn’t care, let the Syrians kill each others.

it is clear that Syria is/was a game, play, victim of superpower imbalance. it is clear that none of the crying wolves care about Syria or the Syrian people it is a joke to believe that democracy is the goal here.

Kilo interview with Assafir, explains exactly what is going on with Syria now.
here it is

http://www.assafir.com/MulhakArticle.aspx?EditionId=2113&MulhakArticleId=326798&MulhakId=3176

Tara,

I never meant what I wrote to be interpreted as an excuse for a minority to rule a majority, that was not my sentiment at all.

I am just trying to point out when it comes to Syria and its rich and deep history which supersedes any borders that have been drawn up recently does enjoy a level of tolerance that other parts of the ME region did not enjoy.

What I wrote about Damascus and Aleppo might be an anomaly compared to other cities that have a long history of sectarian strife (As in Latakia between the Sunni and Alawis for instance), that does not mean that tolerance and coexistence never flourished in our cities.

و الله حرام حرام حرام!!!!!!

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/547811_283665975042378_196559887086321_648134_722466405_n.jpg?dl=1

[ Majedkhaldoun, I was alerted to the phrase immediately and deleted it. The commentator requested its deletion himself.]

Moderator

Please look at comment # 142
is this allowed , To call someone the brother of prostitute

Joshua
your permission to jad to say such thing is wrong, this comment must be deleted

Dear SOD

It was a unilateral tolerance. Sunnis coexisted with “minorities” while a great majority of those minorities harbored hatred, غل وحقد. No human is capable of what those called shabeehas (our neighbors next door) did. Literally cutting the face of children is not something a human can do unless he harbors an extraordinary amount of hatred. A direct product of lack of genuine coexistence, peace, and harmony on their part.

It is like Cinderella living in fake peace and harmony with her two step sisters to be subtle…

Jad@142

Is their any lower?

Iran stands firm with Syria:

أنقرة تؤكّد دعم موقف إيران نووياً
خامنـئـي لأردوغـان: سـندافع عـن دمشـق

اختتم رئيس الوزراء التركي رجب طيب اردوغان زيارته الايرانية أمس، مستمعا إلى موقف «حازم» من المرشد الاعلى للثورة الإسلامية آية الله علي خامنئي الذي أكد ان ايران «ستدافع عن سوريا بسبب دعمها مقاومة الكيان الصهيوني»، مشددا على معارضة ايران أي مبادرة تقودها أميركا لحل الازمة السورية، فيما أكد اردوغان دعم بلاده «بدون لبس وعلى الدوام» لموقف ايران في الملف النووي معلنا عدم التوصل بعد إلى اتفاق على مكان استئناف المفاوضات بين طهران ودول الـ«5+1».
وقال خامنئي بعد لقاء دام ساعتين مع اردوغان في مدينة مشهد إن «الجمهورية الاسلامية ستدافع دوما عن سوريا بسبب دعمها خط المقاومة ضد الكيان الصهيوني، وتعارض بحزم أي تدخل عبر قوات أجنبية في الشؤون السورية الداخلية». وأضاف «ندعم دوما الإصلاحات في سوريا، ويجب على الإصلاحات التي أطلقتها سوريا ان تتواصل». وحذر خامنئي من جهة اخرى من اي مبادرة تقودها الولايات المتحدة لحل الازمة في سوريا، مؤكدا ان بلاده «ستعارض بحزم» اي مشروع مماثل.
وحول الاحتجاجات التي تشهدها المنطقة قال خامنئي «بحمد الله، التطورات الإقليمية كانت إلى الآن وستبقى في مصلحة الإسلام والمسلمين»، مضيفا «عند هذا المفصل الحساس في المنطقة، القضية الأهم هي أن تتخذ الدول المستقلة قرارات صائبة». وعن حكم الإسلاميين في تركيا قال خامنئي «حالة كهذه لا تصب في مصلحة اميركا والغرب. لكن ايران مسرورة بأن إخوة مسلمين يتبوأون مواقع سلطة في تركيا».
من جانبه، قال اردوغان بعد لقائه الرئيس الايراني محمود احمدي نجاد، إن «تركيا حكومة وشعبا دعمت بدون لبس على الدوام موقف جمهورية ايران الاسلامية حول النووي وستواصل اعتماد هذه السياسة مستقبلا»، وصرّح بانه ليس من الواضح بعد إذا كانت المفاوضات حول البرنامج النووي الايراني المتوقعة في 13 نيسان المقبل، ستنعقد في اسطنبول أو في مكان آخر. وبحسب الموقع الرئاسي الايراني «رحب نجاد بموقف تركيا الواضح والصريح من ملف ايران النووي». وأكد اردوغان أنه «لا ينبغي افساح المجال أمام الذين يريدون ضرب المسيرة المتنامية للتعاون الاخوي بين ايران وتركيا».
وأفادت وكالة «مهر» للانباء بان نجاد وصف خلال استقباله رئيس الوزراء التركي رجب طيب اردوغان، العلاقات بين الجمهورية الاسلامية الايرانية وتركيا بأنها «تاريخية وراسخة وعميقة»، مضيفا: «ان التعاون الاقتصادي والتبادل التجاري يحظيان الآن بمستوى عال بين البلدين في مختلف المجالات خاصة في مجال الطاقة». وصرح «علينا في ظل الطاقات المتاحة في البلدين بذل الجهود في مسار رفع حجم التبادل وتعزيز مستوى العلاقات الثنائية والاقليمية والدولية، ذلك لان تطوير ورقي العلاقات السياسية والاقتصادية والثقافية الشاملة يخدمان تقدم وازدهار وأمن الشعبين».
وقال نجاد «ان ايران وتركيا تقفان الى جانب بعضهما بعضا في الكثير من الساحات الدولية وواجهتا على الدوام هيمنة الغربيين والمستكبرين باستقلالية وجدية».
من جانبه، اكد رئيس مجلس الشورى الاسلامي علي لاريجاني خلال استقباله رئيس الوزراء التركي انه «لا ينبغي السماح في الظروف الراهنة بالمساس بخط المقاومة ضد الكيان الصهيوني». وافادت وكالة «مهر» بأن لاريجاني اشار خلال استقباله اردوغان الى «آفاق تطورات المنطقة»، وقال: «ان ايران وتركيا بامكانهما من خلال التعاون الثنائي الوثيق بينهما حل الكثير من المعضلات والمشاكل المعقدة في المنطقة». واشار لاريجاني في جانب آخر من حديثه الى موضوع نشر منظومة الدرع الصاروخية للناتو في الاراضي التركية، معربا عن «ثقته بحل هذا الموضوع من خلال التشاور الوثيق بين البلدين».
(«السفير»، أ ف ب، رويترز، أ ب)
http://assafir.com/Article.aspx?EditionId=2113&ChannelId=50404&ArticleId=3118&Author=

Tara
Yes, this:
“It was a unilateral tolerance. Sunnis coexisted with “minorities” while a great majority of those minorities harbored hatred, غل وحقد.”

Khaldoun
Oh please, coming from you who called others sons of prostitutes…go preach yourself.

Jad
Syrians has been the smartests in the Arab world.The education system in Syria has produced many many quality smart professionals all over
The world.
What the current Islamic movement in Syria is doing is total destruction of many students life and education at all levels.when the fire is off,and Syria
Is turned into ashes,If Bashat or Ammar or Hassan
Is in the presidential palace it doesn’t matter.when
Your child education and future is destroyed you could care less about freedom or democracy.
Syrian MB revolution is teaching kids to say :
لا دراسه ولا دوام لحين إسقاط النظام
Gues what by then you dont have to study my son
You will be graduate as حمار حر ديمقراطي

“حمار حر ديمقراطي”
LOLOL Good one SNK 🙂

The armed terrorists using civilians’ houses as base for their attacks against other residential areas:

Armed terrorists and snipers based in the homes of civilians
http://youtu.be/HoPVQu9RNPI

Ghalioun said he will support Kofi Annan plan, This disappoint the Assad mafia regime, they thought the opposition will refuse,

Lavrov comment is very strange , no one would expect foreign minister of Russia to say such statement,the majority of Syrian has the right in a democratic system to choose what they want, however the minority rights has to be respected, The Arab countries has to respond,Lavrov should apologize.

The Arab League, is headed by Iraq, whose president is Kurd and Foreign minister is Kurd, I say Arab is another name for middle East people, The Kurds and Arab are one people.

Other than this I believe that Arab League meeting has failed, The leader of KSA Egypt Syria were not there, they did not talk about Arab unity, and the best thing is that Qatar HBJ is now the spirit and heart of the Arab, He stands tall, while Bashar now is half man, or much shorter, He proved to be a murderer and a lier, he said today Syria is cooperating with Annan, he is a pathological lier, Erdogan sent a warning to Tehran.

katibet alansar (home grown alqaeda), they didn’t mention fsa AT ALL in this clip and they are using civilian apartments and Mosques for their attacks:
http://youtu.be/GTH5AnxdMC4

Dear Tara,

Hate and distrust is evident on both sides, and its main cause is ignorance.

Living in the west I developed a thick skin when it comes to my religion, but one thing I never realized is how much more it hurts when a fellow Syrian calls me a terrorist sympathizer, 3ar3ouri, Israeli agent, mundass… all because I want Bashar gone. They evoke the extremist ideology of certain sects of Islam and how bad it is, while hypocritically endorse another extremist ideology and fail to see its damages.

Or the excuses to allow the slaughtering and constant annihilation of Syrians for fear of the Salafi boogyman with his beard who dares to say Allah u Akbar, while praising a bearded militia that has the arrogance to call itself the Party of God, and is led by a maniac that is willing to hold all of Lebanon hostage for the sake of his version of the resistance (Christians and Sunni Lebanese be damned).

If as you say the majority of the minorities hate us and carry غل وحقد against us, then we should embrace the minority of the minority rather than shun them away. Most of the minorities I know personally are on the pro revolution side, writing in their real names, in Syria what they think of the regime, that is a lot more than what I dare to do.

It is Syrians killing Syrians, Sunni killing Sunni, Alawi killing Alawi… this regime is not made of one sect, and not all the Shabeha are Alawi (I know a halabi Sunni that is a proud shabeeh).

regime snipers idea of fun.

hanging is too good for assad.

Lavrov comment is very strange

wait! what did lavrov say?

The Army of liars:

SNK, to borrow khaldoun’s descriptive, the army of liars is the media shabbiha.

This nice,beautiful seen is destroyed by the terrorists.Again we didn’t do this,god did it.So god
Is destroying Syrian tanks ? Why doesn’t he destroy Israeli once?

Omen
I much rather have stroke and never wright again
Than borrowing Majed words.

b3eed alshr 3n albak SNK 🙂

“شبكة مراسلون كذابون بلا حدود ”
http://youtu.be/–qEHAXLOyA

Omen
I was refering to Lavrov statement, when he said he is worried that Sunni will control Syria

الجزيره وجمعة الكلب الاخضر عضني

Jad
Omer Altalawi,Khaled Abosalah ,Abo jaafar and Danny are all exposed as criminal,terrorists liars.
They have killed so many kidnapped innocent
Civilians.Dany was welcomed at the European
Parliament!!

I guess this news won’t make it to HRW any time soon:

حصار بلدة “الفوعة” في إدلب يدخل شهر الرابع ، ومسلحو “الجيش الحر” يقطعون عنها الغذاء والماء بهدف تهجير سكانها لأسباب مذهبية

إدلب ، الحقيقة ( خاص) : دخل حصار بلدة “الفوعة” في ريف محافظة إدلب شهره الرابع ، في وقت بات معه واضحا أن مسلحي “الجيش الحر” لن يرفعوا الحصار إلا بالقوة المسلحة أو بعد تهجير أهلها من المنطقة لأسباب مذهبية (ينتمي أهالي البلدة ، إلى المذهب الشيعي ويبلغ عددهم نحو 25 ألفا). وكان مسلحو “الجيش” المذكور ، المؤلفة أعدادهم في تلك المنطقة في معظمهما من عناصر”القاعدة” والتنظيمات السلفية والأصولية (قسم كبير منهم عائد من العراق)، بدأوا حصار البلدة نهاية العام الماضي ، حيث منعوا أهلها من الخروج منها لمتابعة أعمالهم وأشغالهم ، كما منعوا دخول المواد الغذائية إليها ، وقطعوا المياه عنها لأوقات طويلة ، ما اضطرهم للاعتماد على المياه الجوفية المحلية. وقال أهالي المنطقة إن وضعهم المعيشي والصحي بات على شفا الكارثة ، لاسيما وأن عددا كبيرا منهم يعاني من أوضاع صحية مزمنة تقتضي متابعة العلاج في مركز المحافظة أو في حلب . وأفادت مصادر محلية بأن جميع الطرق المؤدية إلى البلدة ، والتي تربطها بإدلب والمناطق المجاورة ، جرى قطعها منذ ذلك التاريخ ، في حين انتشر المسلحون في باقي محيطها من الكروم والبساتين للحيلولة دون خرج أحد من أبنائها إلا جماعيا (الرحيل عن المنطقة) باعتبارهم “مجوسا وصفويين وعملاء إيران والسلطة” ، وفق التعابير الدارجة . كما أن أكثر من خمسين من أبناء البلدة جرى اختطافهم من قبل المسلحين قبل اقتيادهم إلى جهة مجهولة . وبحسب هذه المصادر، فإن معظم المسلحين هم من بلدة “بنش” المجاورة التي باتت تعتبر أحد أهم حصون مسلحي”القاعدة” في المنطقة، فضلا عن القرى الأخرى. وقال أحد أبناء المنطقة إن 25 من أهالي البلدة قتلوا حتى الآن بعد اختطافهم ، بينما دفعت مبالغ وصلت إلى عشرة ملايين ليرة إلى “الجيش الحر” لقاء تحرير عدد من المخطوفين!

يشار إلى أن هناك عددا من القرى في المنطقة يغلب على أهلها الانتماء المذهبي الشيعي ، فضلا عن بعض أبناء الطائفة الدرزية . وجميع هذه القرى تعيش وضعا مشابها ، إلا أن الوضع الذي تعيشه ” الفوعة” يبقى الأكثر خطورة.

Alan,
Sorry, economics is Chinese to me. After reading more, I understood that Australia has not dropped the Commonwealth to become a Brics member. It simple have bilateral trade with the Brics country in the requested currency.

Jad,
UK “non-lethal” help, that means satellite phones, web cameras and computers, no? So we’ll see thousands more videos, some of them shot at night, of new militias. Luckily some of them sound really phoney, just about making 5 bucks for the show and going back to sleep (cf the Deir al Zur clip). It helps the West to list all these guys who don’t use FB Google and Twitter.

Majed, you are breaking further records!

Your commment (#8) on media shabbiha among those who live outside Syria, has now scored a staggering 45 red thumbs down!

Wow, what a bullseye hit you scored with that one. They are block voting in a frenzy, enraged by your perceptive comments about themselves.

I hope you reach 50.

What resistance exactly, please remind me the last time this administration or the one before it shot a single bullet to free the Golan?

———
This is a common question on most opposition facebooks and it’s rather very lame and cheap argument.
Last administration went to battle with Israel and regretful consequences were due to Sadatte and Hussein of Jordan betrayal and those are facts in history. If you wish to rewrite or deviate history, it’s possible but references are in International Libraries worldwide.
The current administration didn’t go to war because Israel advanced technology and equipment capabilities are known. For any battle be it commercial or military SWOT analysis are done and if the outcome is not feasible then NO go. For instance, if Hardee’s decides to go on market share and price war with McDonalds, we all know McDonald’s capabilities so both are going to exhaust their resources to no end until both go back to their old positions. Thus, why begin in the first place. Not all wars are winnable, even Prophet Muhamad lost certain battles. Going to battle just for the sake of it sounds like Saddam invading Kuwait ..needless to elaborate..how smart was that?? Current administration chose to spare soldiers lives in unknown outcomes with war against Israel (e.g.: Saddam was in battle with Iran for many years I don’t even know who won at the end). Jonathan Kozol says : “Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win” . Meanings if it’s might for right then fight your battle but make sure you win. Finally, for those who believe that the Golan would be back be it old, current, new administration are dreaming in colors. There are serious joint ventures with multinational corporations in Golan no peace plan will bring it back in form of land, only financial compensation. Thus, the subject is clos.

51. son of Damascus 10:37 am

Abandoning Syria
by Elliott Abrams
March 29, 2012

With 9,000 Syrians dead and the Assad regime increasingly isolated and under political, moral, military assault, it appears that the Obama Administration has made its choice: it is abandoning efforts to force the end of that regime.

The plan developed by Kofi Annan is a life-saving development for Assad,

hate to say it but even neocons can be eloquent.

but, really, if you look back, activists have been saying the same thing: kofi has been acting to prop up the regime.

looks like obama is more interested in getting a deal out of iran. he’s more interested in self aggrandizing legacy-making rather than preventing wholesale slaughter. makes me effing sick.

2. Tara said:

Dear SOD

“It was a unilateral tolerance. Sunnis coexisted with “minorities” while a great majority of those minorities harbored hatred, غل وحقد. No human is capable of what those called shabeehas (our neighbors next door) did. Literally cutting the face of children is not something a human can do unless he harbors an extraordinary amount of hatred. A direct product of lack of genuine coexistence, peace, and harmony on their part”

Absolutely correct, TARA. They hate us becz we are Muslims, becz we believe in Allah, MUahmmad, and the Caliphs. WE will fight them physically and crush them physically. WE will keep on fighting . They will have to accept There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is His Messenger. and Abu Bakr is the First Caliph.

WE are the sons of Omar and Khalid bin Walid, go back to Byzantine bloody Ropmans and Pheonicians, we are descendants of proud Umayyad Arabs and Ottomans, **** your culture and your nation. WE are Arabs and Turkmen, we are your nemesis, bloody Byzantines.

James Baker…

In the 90′, he told us we will never be independent and USA will never allow Yugoslavia to split. It was an ultimatum, but we did it anyway. Not even USA can stop you, if you want something.

Were we right or wrong, were we foolish or not, it’s harder to say now than before. Nationalism and religion can destroy any country…foolish nationalistic Serbians politicians started it all in Yugoslavia.

Khaled@177

No. No. And no. You are absolutely wrong. Allah should not be injected in the middle. It has nothing to do with Allah and “we are not going to fight them to believe in .. Abu Bakr”. The vast majority of us, and I personally, couldn’t care less of believing in a dead man.

Sorry, I mean no disrespect. You keep jumping in to spoil any meaningful discussion. You’re jumping in trying to portray this as a holly war (again to discredit the revolution) is a blatant attempt to prevent me from expressing my thoughts by derailing the discussion. Pointing to past “fake coexistence” and other society-ills is important If we are looking to have a future real non-fake country.

I have asked you many times to stop. Please stop.

TARA
re:”khalid tlass
see what supporting these thugs does! we give them aid we give them weapons. they only want the nation to believe in their allah!
the west does not know what it is doing is allowing islam to grow. our grandkids will look back at history and say how could mr obama have let this happen!
and please dont beleive everything u see. those who demonstrate in peace dont waste time distorting videos and making them something else. thanks to technology we have a way to fake anything. even cover magazines have been caught our!
yes syrians have lived in peace with the asaads in power. we may noy like certain ways but it has been the most peaceful for the people why else would over 2million refugees seek refuge in syria? because it had peace!

(We will crush them physically )
Can you explain yourself and back yourself with ayat or Hadith.

173. MINA
I will tell you more! who has more alternative economic options, that and will appear on the right track! Americans for certain understand inevitability of an exit of other Currencies (type North American Amero)! everything is natural!

This is exactly the type of army that will get swallowed up by the desert in the future. Those aware of the end time prophecy about the army coming out of Shaam (Syria) will know what I’m talking about.

If this regime survives. Expect it to send an army to attack Imam Mahdi (as) in Mecca sometime in the future. Some predict this is 20+ years away.

Whatever the matter, one day they will get their cummuppance. The sooner the better.

Edit: I hadn’t read the recent comments (before this one) when writing this.

Asking for advice!!

I will very shortly be paying a $ 50,000/year college tuition/room&board for my son’s college education. Suppose that my son takes a class on Syria and the Middle East, and the professor propagates that Hamza al-Khateeb, who was tortured by Bashar’s security/shabiha, was “actually” killed by “Saudi terrorists!” Do you think that I should ask the university for a refund? I believe in professor’s freedom of speech, but that does not mean that I should pay for conspiracy theories!! If this hypothetical situation materialized, my lawyer would be suing the university for a refund!
I truly feel so sorry for students who would be in the class of the person who claim that Hamza al-Khateeb was killed by Saudi terrorists!

Hating Erdogan becasue of the Armenian issue, and despising Saudi Arabia/Qatar for any reason are irrelevant to why Anan’s peace plan will fail. Erdogan isn’t the reason why Anan’s plan will fail. It’s because Bashar is stalling and thinking, as Professor Landis told the NYT yesterday, that he is “in the mopping up stage.” He isn’t and the courageous Syrian revolution will not be “mopped up” until Bashar is really mopped up! I know that Professor Landis does not believe that that the revolution is over. He was just explaining what the dictator actually thinks.

Actress icon of Syrian revolt warns of sectarian warfare
March 30, 2012 01:29 PM
By Deborah Pasmantier

PARIS: Fadwa Suleiman, an actress who became an icon of Syria’s revolution, is furious that her country’s peaceful protest movement has been drawn into armed conflict with the regime.

She said she is saddened to see that “the revolution is not going in the right direction, that it is becoming armed, that the opposition which wanted to resist peacefully is playing the game of the regime and that the country is heading for sectarian war”.

Her bitter assessment comes as she sits in a cafe in Paris, where she fled to last week after escaping from Syria.

“I didn’t want to leave Syria but I didn’t have the choice. I was being threatened and I was becoming a threat for the activists who were helping me,” she said wearily.

Suleiman became a high-profile member of the opposition movement last November when she appeared in footage from the rebel city of Homs that was broadcast on the Al-Jazeera television news network.

[…]

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Mar-30/168528-actress-icon-of-syrian-revolt-warns-of-sectarian-warfare.ashx#axzz1qaZPGqCb

Exclusive – Iran helps Syria ship oil to China – sources

(Reuters) – Iran is helping its ally Syria defy Western sanctions by providing a vessel to ship Syrian oil to a state-run company in China, potentially giving the government of President Bashar al-Assad a financial boost worth an estimated $80 million.

Iran, itself a target of Western sanctions, is among Syria’s closest allies and has promised to do all it can to support Assad, recently praising his handling of the year-long uprising against Assad in which thousands have been killed.

China has also shielded Assad from foreign intervention, vetoing two Western-backed resolutions at the United Nations over the bloodshed, and is not bound by Western sanctions against Syria, its oil sector and state oil firm Sytrol.

[…]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/03/30/uk-china-iran-syria-idUKBRE82T0D120120330

#137 SOD

That’s even more to the credit of Bashar al Assad. He consistently refused a peace deal that would give him back the Golan and leave the rest of the Palestinian land occupied. Sadat just did that with the Sinai, Bashar did not.
You are just selfishly focusing on the Golan. The Resistance is much larger than that and Bashar has shown more solidarity with the Palestinians than any Arab country.

Omen,

“hate to say it but even neocons can be eloquent.”

That was my point exactly, I don’t usually agree with Abrams but this time what he wrote makes sense.

Kafranbel made a great sign that shows Anann’s peace plan at work:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/306609_258042204289227_169122569847858_531187_1251334778_n.jpg

The next Minister of economy of Egypt
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/37993/Egypt/Politics-/Meet-the-Brotherhood%E2%80%99s-enforcer-Khairat-ElShater.aspx

Irritated,

Is Bashar the president of Syria or Palestine?

“You are just selfishly focusing on the Golan”

Yes I am because I am Syrian, before I am anything else. And in his 11 years at the helm he has DONE NOTHING to bring back our occupied lands, or even to help the Palestinians bring back their lands.

Not one bullet fired to free our land, WHAT RESISTANCE you keep writing about?

To avoid the’clash of civilisations’.

Arabs should add Amendments to their Constitution:

that inbreeding causes violence,deformation&brain damage,NO more cousin marriage.so the sons of omar,khalid and abu bakr join humanity&modernity…it worked for the western world.

#186 SOD

ref: Fadwa Suleiman, an actress who became an icon of Syria’s revolution,

We will soon see a lot of U-turns soon among the anti-regime ‘icons’. They are realizing that, with the regime strongly in place, they made up end up in exile for the rest of their lives.

Syria’s Assad Targets Children for Detention and Torture
Posted by: The Editors, March 29, 2012

It’s almost unbelievable, a government targeting children in an attempt to repress popular uprisings.

The latest reports from the BBC that Syrian children are being targeted for detention and torture are shocking but coincide with evidence Amnesty researchers uncovered in a recent mission to the region.

According to UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay, these actions against children seem “systematic and targeted” and are being carried out by Assad’s security forces:

“They’ve gone for the children, for whatever purpose, in large numbers – hundreds detained and tortured.

I’ve seen some of the evidence…It’s just horrendous: children shot in the knees, held together with adults in really inhumane conditions – denied medical treatment for their injuries, either held as hostages or held as sources of information – or just the sheer brutality of this whole clampdown.”

Amnesty researchers documented torture of children in Syria in “‘I wanted to die’: Syria’s torture survivors speak out,” published earlier this month, and “Deadly Detention,” an August 2011 report that documented 10 victims under the age of 18 who had died in custody in Syria (out of 88 total cases).

[…]

http://blog.amnestyusa.org/middle-east/syrias-assad-targets-children-for-detention-and-torture/

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/378782.html

Medvedev calls on LAS to promote dialogue in Syria

MOSCOW, March 30 (Itar-Tass) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev urged the summit of the League of Arab States (LAS) in Baghdad to promote a dialogue between the government and opposition in Syria and to prevent any outside interference.

“We call on summit participants to join efforts and promote an early end to the bloodshed in Syria. It is important to find a settlement option which is acceptable for all and launch a dialogue between Syrian authorities and the opposition with unconditional compliance with the norms of the international law and without foreign interference,” Medvedev said in a message of greetings to the summit on Thursday.

The holding of the summit in Baghdad “is a clear confirmation that the Republic of Iraq has regained its place and worthy status of one of the founders of the League and again plays an important role in Arab affairs.”

LAS has been traditionally working to enhance collective and legal efforts and form a just world order. The current summit is taking place on the background of “ongoing difficult and dramatic developments in the region which call for an increased role of the League in the search for political and diplomatic ways to settle crisis situations,” Medvedev said.

The president said ‘relations between Russia and Arab countries are based on deep historic traditions of friendship and mutual understanding.” The latest changes in the region call for closer cooperation. We have numerously stated that Russia supports the drive of Arab countries towards better life and wider social and economic rights,” he stressed.

“We are convinced the tasks faced by the countries of the Middle East and North Africa shall be accomplished in the constitutional field and through national dialogue. It is specifically important to prevent violence in the region,” Medvedev added.

The latest developments in the Middle East and North Africa should not distract attention from the acutest problem of the region – comprehensive and just settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict. “Russia resolutely stands for an early resumption of direct Palestinian-Israeli negotiations on all issues of the final status on a solid international legal basis,” the Russian president said.

He reiterated the Russian intention to join efforts with Arab countries in promoting the Russian concept of collective security in the Gulf. “Increased all-round cooperation with LAS countries remains our foreign policy priority. I am convinced that strengthened Russian-Arab relations meet common interests and serve the cause of peace and sustainable development of our countries and peoples,” Medvedev said.

Irritated,

Did you even read the article, or do I have to break it down for you like last time…

interesting quote…

from Hafez Al-Assad: Never forget this one point: There is no such thing as a Palestinian People, there is no Palestinian entity, there is only Syria. You are an integral part of the Syrian people, Palestine is an integral part of Syria. Therefore it is we, the Syrian authorities, who are the true representatives of the Palestinian people.”

the regime can’t claim to be an advocate for palestinians when they don’t even recognize the people, their land or their right to exist.

#191 SOD

You speak like many Christians in Lebanon who claim they are Phoenicians and reject any belonging to the Arab world.

I understand that point of view but I do not share it.

SOD 196

Don’t bother, I have stopped reading the article you posts…

Any of the pro-aroor gangs here planning to take
His kids a vacation to Syria any time soon?How
Safe your kids will feel?are you going to ask for the protection of الفاروق or المعتز بالله or كتيبة حمد بن جاسم….What about if you are one of the 1/100000
Minorities who are pro-revolution ?make sure you take enough cash with you to give for the kidnappers of your kids.
You know what just don’t go and say :
I was stupid for supporting terrorists .Take your kids to Spain and tell them this was arabic country
Built by Tariq bin Ziad.

Irritated,

Ok so now I speak like the Christians of Lebanon…

A Salafi, Maroni, Zionist, Neocon, non arab Phoenician out to destroy Syria. You got me..

Your sectarian hatred for anyone that is not like yourself is rather disgusting and utterly bigoted, your inhuman and extremely nasty remarks about dead Syrians needing to be “cleanup and disinfected” show the level of morality that you have (or lack thereof).

From Srebrenica and Racak to Benghazi and Homs
Mahdi Darius NAZEMROAYA | 30.03.2012 | 11:23
http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2012/03/30/from-srebrenica-and-racak-to-benghazi-and-homs.html

Humanitarian wars are a modern form of imperialism. The standard pattern that the United States and its allies use to execute them is one where genocide and ethnic cleansing are alleged by a coalition of governments, media organizations, and non-governmental front organizations which are preceded by sanctions, isolation, and military intervention. This is the post-Cold War modus operandi of the United States and NATO.

In its execution, the United Nations has been party due to the hijacking of its posts and offices by Washington. Now Kofi Annan has been appointed with a mediating role in Syria, but his position on R2P should not be overlooked. Nor should the fact that the U.S. and its allies are not interested in a mediated peace be overlooked either.(….)….

Irritated,

“Don’t bother, I have stopped reading the article you posts…”

But yet that has not stopped you from commenting on them…

SOD #201

Keep spitting your anger, it suits you well

Foreign Troops Inside Syria: The Failed UN Brokered “Peace Plan” Sets the Stage for War?
by Michel Chossudovsky
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=30031

For those who hate Nassar Alah but love Nizar Kabbani are going to be disappointed with this open letter:

من نزار قباني الى حسن نصر الله

يا من يصلّي الفجر في حقل ٍ من الألغام..

لا تنتظر من عرب اليوم سوى الكلام…

لا تنتظر منهم سوى رسائل الغرام..

لا تلتفت إلى الوراء يا سيدنا الإمام

فليس في الوراء غير الجهل والظلام

وليس في الوراء غير الطين والسخام

وليس في الوراء إلا مدن الطروح والقزام

حيث الغنيّ يأكل الفقير

حيث الكبير يأكل الصغير

حيث النظام يأكل النظام..

ياأيها المسافر القديم فوق الشوك والآلام

ياأيها المضيء كالنجمة، والسّاطع كالحسام

لولاك مازلنا على عبادة الأصنام

لولاك كنا نتعاطى علناً

حشيشة الأحلام

اسمح لنا أن نبوس السيف في يديك

اسمح لنا أن نجمع الغبار عن نعليك

لو لم تجيء يا سيدنا الإمام

كنا أمام القائد العبري

مذبوحين كالأغنام

سيذكر التاريخ يوماً قرية صغيرةً

بين قرى الجنوب

تدعى انصارية .

قد دافعت بصدرها

عن شرف الأرض ، وعن كرامة العروبة

وحولها قبائل جبانة

وأمة مفككة

من بحر صيدا يبدأ السؤال..

من بحرها يخرج آل البيت كل ليلة

كأنهم أشجار برتقال

من بحر صور

يطلع الخنجر، والوردة ، والموال

ويطلع الأبطال

يا أيها السيف الذي يلمع بين التبغ والقصب

يا أيها المهر الذي يصهل في برية الغضب

إياك أن تقرأ حرفاً من كتابات العرب

فحربهم إشاعة

وسيفهم خشب

وعشقهم خيانة

ووعدهم كذب

إياك أن تسمع حرفاً من خطابات العرب

فكلها نحو .. وصرف وأدب

وكلها أضغاث أحلام ، ووصلات طرب

يا سيدي .. يا سيد الأحرار

لم يبقَ إلا أنت

في زمن السقوط والدمار

في زمن التراجع الثوري

والتراجع الفكري،

والتراجع القومي

واللصوص والتجار

في زمن الفرار

الكلمات أصبحت

للبيع والإيجار

لم يبقَ إلا انت

تسير فوق الشوك والزجاج

والإخوة الكرام

نائمون فوق البيض كالدجاج

وفي زمان الحرب يهربون كالدجاج

يا سيدي

في مدن الملح التي يسكنها الطاعون والغبار

في مدن الموت التي تخاف أن تزورها الأمطار

لم يبقَ إلا أنت

تزرع في حياتنا النخيل ، والأعناب والأقمار

لم يبقَ إلا أنت .. إلا أنت.. إلا انت

فافتح لنا بوابة النهار

#203 SOD

If I ever did, which I don’t remember, be sure I will not anymore.

Irritated,

“Keep spitting your anger, it suits you well”

Will do, keep staying Irritated most bigots are.

PS no one is holding a gun to your head making you read my comments, you don’t like them SKIP THEM.

When people talk, they express their level of intelligence.

Irritated said
“and Bashar has shown more solidarity with the Palestinians than any Arab country.”
Bashar has done nothing to help the palastinians, infact he said,he supports dropping the right of return to the palastinians

Iraq and Syria need each other
By Marwan Kabalan Special to Gulf News
Published: March 30, 2012

http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/al-maliki-s-ploy-to-gain-legitimacy-1.1001580

He needs the Syrian regime as much as the Syrian regime needs him. Al Maliki is fearful that a regime change in Damascus would embolden his Sunni opponents, who have openly expressed their support for the protest movement in Syria. Following the withdrawal of US troops last December, sectarian tension ran high in Iraq with sectarian-based secession tendencies reaching a tipping point. Al Maliki is already having trouble with his coalition partners who want to replace him or go for early elections.
….
He believes that Syria could help neutralise some of his opponents. But that cannot come without a price. Having been strangled by Arab and European economic sanctions, Syria needs an economic partner that can cancel out the disastrous effects of the sanctions. An implicit quid pro quo agreement has hence been reached. According to this agreement, Iraq would extend an economic lifeline for Damascus in return for continued Syrian support for his rule.

There are already reports that Syria has turned in some of the former Iraqi regime’s officials who had taken refuge in the country following the collapse of the Saddam Hussain regime. Al Maliki has for years been asking for their extradition but to no avail. Others have been asked to leave.

The anti-Al Maliki TV station, Al Raai, which has been airing from a location nearby Damascus, has also been shut down. Last summer, Syria denied western reports that it had received billions of dollars in aid from the Al Maliki government to support its waning economy.
Regardless of the authenticity of these reports, the Syrian daily, Al Watan, reported that Syrian exports to Iraq exceeded $20 million daily in December 2011, meaning that Iraq is taking the lion’s share of Syria’s overall industrial products.
(..)

The Conflict in Syria
by NASEER ARURI
{…}
Thus, the ongoing crises in Syria,  designed to marginalize the Assad regime, under the pretext of human rights, would represent an attempt to settle previous accounts: Syria’s close ally, Hezbollah would not be allowed to get away with an apparent military victory over Israel in 2006; Syria would not go unpunished for its alleged role in the assassination of Lebanon’s former prime minister, the late  Rafiq Hariri; nor will Syria’s “coalition” remain exempt from the consequences that usually come with the counter revolutionary restraint presumably inherent in Rice’s “new Middle East” formula,  particularly in the aftermath of the seemingly successful revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia. These revolutions cannot run loose in a Middle East that is steadily becoming an American lake.

How long will the lake remain to serve the interests of colonial powers in an age of de-colonization will depend on the dwindling economies of the Anglo-Saxon world, which may face difficulties in trying to sustain a neo-colonialist order in the Middle East. It may also depend on the continuing readiness of NATO to support counter-revolutionary forces ala Libya, the enduring ability of America’s surrogates, such as Saudi Arabia, Israel, Qatar .etc to escape the revolutionary tide in the Arab world and the rising expectations of a new public whose willingness to sacrifice for a democratic polity has proven to be boundless. A western lake and an Arab spring simply cannot co-exist.
{…}
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/03/29/the-conflict-in-syria/

The Fed’s “Operation Twist”. Europe and America. Grim Economic Prospects
http://www.oneworldscam.com/?p=662

UK doubles non-military aid to Syrian opposition
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_03_30/70081803/

205. Alan said: Foreign Troops Inside Syria

finally. are we getting news telling what russian troops are doing in syria?

@197. omen said:

“from Hafez Al-Assad: Never forget this one point: There is no such thing as a Palestinian People, there is no Palestinian entity, there is only Syria. You are an integral part of the Syrian people, Palestine is an integral part of Syria. Therefore it is we, the Syrian authorities, who are the true representatives of the Palestinian people.”
the regime can’t claim to be an advocate for palestinians when they don’t even recognize the people, their land or their right to exist”
=======
Historically Speaking Hafez Al-Assad is right.
Geographically,Syria–Lebanon-Canaan(palestine)-Jordan were part of
Bilad Al Sham region

they all worshiped GOD Baal. god of rain and storm

till now we use the term:ARDD BAAL…farmers depend on rain water

ارض بعل
معروف لدى الجميع الارض البعليه هي الارض التي لاتسقى بل تبذر وتترك

Libyan moujahideen helping the local moujahideen in Syria
إرهابيين تكفيريين من ليبيا في سورية

Another Libyan moujahed
 أحد عملاء الناتو الليبيين  المأجورين  في ادلب

The ’embattled’ president among the Syrians Druze
29 March 2012

الرئيس الأسد يعزي بالشيخ الهجري في السويداء

http://www.neworientnews.com/news/fullnews.php?news_id=58693

ساركوزي والقرضاوي
القرار الذي أعلنه الرئيس الفرنسي نيكولا ساركوزي بمنع الشيخ يوسف القرضاوي من دخول فرنسا ، بدا انقلابا على الموجة الغربية الحاضنة للتنظيم العالمي للأخوان المسلمين ، منذ ما سمي بالربيع العربي، و كأن الغرب شرع يرسم حدودا لعلاقته بحركة الأخوان و ملحقاتها بحصر دعمه لدورها المرسوم داخل البلاد العربية ، ويقلص التسهيلات التي منحها لها بجميع تفرعاتها وتشكيلاتها داخل فرنسا ومن ثم في القارة الأوروبية بشكل عام.

أولا: قرار الرئيس الفرنسي يتصل مباشرة بالأحداث الأمنية التي شهدتها فرنسا وخصوصا العملية التي تبنتها شبكة القاعدة من تونس ، ويتضح حسب المعلومات أن التقدير الفرنسي الأمني والسياسي ، خلص إلى اعتبار أن السنة الماضية سجلت مواقف فرنسية وأوروبية وأميركية مشجعة لنشاط تنظيم الأخوان في دول الغرب وأقامت بيئة سياسية وإعلامية تحفز الجماعات السلفية والتكفيرية المجاورة لحركة الأخوان والمتشابكة معها في التكوين التنظيمي والعقائدي.

منع

[ Updated from spam. Syrialover, I don’t know why it was held back.]

#86. William Scott Scherk

I share your bafflement as to what stake or allegiances in Syria some of the commentators here have.

(Note: This is not about those afraid of change in Syria, those with vested interests, or those with stubborn allegiences, which commentators like Sheila and others have been discussing.)

I am referring to those here who show a chilling lack of awareness or interest in the real situation faced by the real people of Syria.

These commentators instead put all their energy into obsessive ideological drum beating against the west, using Syria as an occasional backdrop. Why? For what purpose?

To them it seems anybody in Syria who gets in the firing line, prisons or torture chambers of the Assad regime is just too stupid, al-qaedish or western-manipulated to even bother thinking about.

In fact,I sometimes get the impression these commentators see Syrians like the regime does – i.e. expendible, irrelevant and deserving to be squashed like vermin.

What strange ideology, moral code and world view drives them to yawn at the horror of a dictator prepared to smash up the country and its citizens to stay in power?

To think that it’s nothing for a country to have 60% of its economy controlled by the dictator’s cousin, while a very large percentage of the population lives in crushing poverty?. To have people living in fear of the mukhrabat, exhausted by corruption, insulted by idiotic propaganda. Living without rule of law, without economic opportunity or any say in the running of their own country.

No, that’s ignored or dismissed.

You ask what approach they will take in dialogue and actions in post-Assad Syria.

Forget it, they will have moved on and forgotten all about it. Syria is not on their radar screen except as an opportunity to express their biases against the west.

jad : Hezbollah would not be allowed to get away with an apparent military victory over Israel in 2006

even the leader of that campaign acknowledged regret and second thoughts, admitted the wreckage wrought by the conflict wasn’t worth it. what was gained in the end? nothing but death and destruction.

More Assad thugs show their respect to the dead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2uMel7yQdw&feature=youtu.be

(Graphic content)

Hmmm…

More Syrians died today asking for freedom at the hands of Assad, than Palestinians marching towards Jerusalem died at the hands of Israelis. (almost 30/1)

But yet Assad is a leader in the resistance camp that we should love and adore…

Yeah right!

210. majedkhaldoun said:
Bashar has done nothing to help the palastinians, infact he said,he supports dropping the right of return to the palastinians

you are so good at slipping in the knive.

Irritated said
“and Bashar has shown more solidarity with the Palestinians than any Arab country.”

what is your logic here? bashar loves palestinians more than he does his own people? whom he insists on continuing to slaughter? let assad be dictator of palestine then.

The Syrian schoolboys who sparked a revolution
Amal Hanano

Mar 30, 2012

On March 20 last year, an intelligence officer in Damascus rounded up a group of teenagers from Daraa and told them: “You disrespected the president, but he has decided to pardon you.” The boys were surprised. They had been held by the authorities for more than a month and Bashir Abazid, who was just 15 at the time, almost refused to believe what he was hearing, because every time the boys had been told they were being released, they had been transferred to yet another intelligence branch.

[…]

http://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/the-syrian-schoolboys-who-sparked-a-revolution

The national is a pro israel and anti Syria NEOCON publication

More evidence about Alqaeda inside Syria
ثلاثة أدلة جديدة تؤكد أن “الجيش الحر” مجرد واجهة لتنظيم “القاعدة”، وقتلى لبنانيون في “جبل الزاوية”

شريط يظهر مسلحين من شمال أفريقيا مع مراسل قناة “بردى” على الأراضي السورية، و “الجيش الحر” يضيف شعار “القاعدة” إلى شعاره على أحد مواقعه الرسمية!؟

دمشق ، إدلب ـ الحقيقة ( خاص): كشفت أدلة جديدة تؤكد ما كنا ذهبنا إليه منذ تأسيسه قبل ستة أشهر ، وهو أن ما يسمى بـ”الجيش السوري الحر” ليس سوى واجهة لتنظيم “القاعدة” بالدرجة الأولى ، والمنظمات السلفية ـ التكفيرية الأخرى بالدرجة الثانية . كما وتؤكد انخراط عناصر”القاعدة” في المواجهات المسلحة في سوريا ، ليس من بلدان أخرى فقط ، بل ومن لبنان أيضا ، حيث أنكر زعماء “14 آذار” دوما ، لاسيما منهم محازبي “تيار المستقبل”، أن يكون هناك أي لبناني يقاتل على الأراضي السورية!

ففي شريط جديد (منشور جانبا) وضع للتو على شبكة “يوتيوب” من قبل أصحابه ، يظهر مسلحون من الجزائر وتونس وليبيا في منطقة ما من سوريا وهم يعرفون عن أنفسهم بمعية المدعو “حمزة الغضبان” الذي يعمل مراسلا لقناة “بردى” التابعة لـ”إعلان دمشق”، والتي تمولها وكالة المخابرات المركزية الأميركية ، وفق ما كشفنا عنه منذ العام 2007 وأكدته العام الماضي وثائق “ويكيليكس” و “واشنطن بوست”. وظهر خلفهم على الجدار علم الانتداب السوري وعلم … تركيا !!؟

من جهز غازيا فقد غزا. حمزه الغضبان مع كتيبة الساحل
http://youtu.be/29NuBxENfmc

الدليل الثاني يشير إلى إقدام موقع رسمي لما يسمى “الجيش الحر” على إضافة علم تنظيم”القاعدة” الشهير إلى ” اللوغو” الخاص بهذا “الجيش”( الصورة نهاية التقرير أدناه).

أما الدليل الثالث ، والذي يتعلق بمشاركة لبنانيين أصوليين في القتال الدائر في سوريا ، فهو سقوط المدعو علي رشيد حسن من منطقة عكار شمال لبنان قتيلا اليوم خلال عملية تحرير بلدة سراقب في محافظة إدلب من عصابات “القاعدة” التي تحمل اسم ” الجيش السوري الحر”. والقتيل اللبناني المذكور كان أحد أبرز مناصري ” تيار المستقبل” في عكار العام 2005 قبل أن ينضم إلى عصابات”فتح الإسلام” بقيادة شاكر العبسي في معركة “مخيم نهر البارد” العام 2007 ، وقبل أن يهرب ويختفي بعد سقوط المخيم في أيدي الجيش اللبناني في أيلول / سبتمبر من العام المذكور. وكانت مواقع “جهادية” نعت اليوم علي رشيد حسن (الصورة جانبا)، مشيرة إلى أنه سقط في “جبل الزاوية”، دون أن تشير إلى مكان سقوطه بالضبط ، علما بأنه سقط في سراقب.

على هذا الصعيد ، علمت “الحقيقة” من خلال متابعتها عددا من المواقع “الجهادية” و “غرف الدردشة” الخاصة بهم ، أن ما لا يقل 15 “جهاديا” من جنسيات مختلفة ( لبنانية ، ليبية ، تونسية ، جزائرية) سقطوا في معارك جبل الزاوية خلال الأيام الأخيرة، لاسيما في ” الجانودية” المتاخمة للحدود مع لواء اسكندرونة المحتل ، و سراقب وجرجناز!

UK declares war on Syria

UK to help Syrian opposition unite against Assad with £500,000 – 30 March, 2012

http://rt.com/news/uk-assisstance-syria-opposition-806/

“It will help hard-pressed opposition groups and brave civil society organizations inside and outside the country [ u-tube and facebook 😀 ] to document the regime’s violations and gain the skills and resources they need to help build a democratic future for Syria,” Hague explained.

But questions are being raised over who exactly will receive the money, as the opposition within Syria is fractured. How this money will be used and who is to control the way it is spent also remains somewhat murky.

President Assad has been repeatedly telling other countries to stop sponsoring the opposition. Failing to respect this principle could therefore put the implementation of the six-point plan put forward by Kofi Annan at risk.

And with a looming tanker-driver strike fueling panic at Britain’s gas stations, providing funds to a splintered rebel group doesn’t seem to be right move for the public.

Western aid undermines the ceasefire plan worked out by the UN, Infowars.com analyst and editor Patrick Henningsen told RT. Henningsen also says it could make Bashar al-Assad pull out of the talks, as the Syrian president has demanded that any kind of support to the opposition be stopped immediately.

“President Assad is not going to accept the Kofi Annan’s peace plan as the Western countries are still giving aid to the opposition. Qatar has already been caught through proxy smuggling arms over the border in Jordan. Also there are arms going over the border with Lebanon. These are coming from the US, the UK and their allies in the region,”

[…]

210. majedkhaldounsaid:
Bashar has done nothing to help the palastinians, infact he said,he supports dropping the right of return to the palastinians.

Do you have sources backing up this assertion that Bashar supports dropping the right of return to the Palestinians. I’d like to see them if you would please. In contrast see http://palestinianrefugeestudies.wordpress.com/2012/02/#_ednref8

(…)
“Given the central roles of Palestine and the right of return in Syrian policy, it should come as no surprise to the reader that Palestinians living in Syria are treated as equal to their Syrian counterparts.”
(…)

Another cowardly attack by the terrorists in Aleppo, a bomb went off injuring 11 Syrians:

إصابة 11 شخصاً بينهم ضابطين و6 مدنيين في انفجار عبوة ناسفة بحي ” المرجة” في حلب

أصيب 11 شخصاً بينهم ضابطين وستة مدنيين في انفجار عبوة ناسفة في حي ” المرجة” بحلب عصر اليوم الجمعة.

وبين مصدر مطلع لـ عكس السير أن سكاناً من الحي اشتبهوا بـ ” بلوكة” كانت موضوعة في الحي، حيث حضر عناصر من حفظ النظام، ومن قسم شرطة ” الصالحين”.

وتابع ” وأثناء قيام العناصر بإبعاد المواطنين انفجرت العبوة الموضوعة داخل البلوكة، ما تسبب بإصابة 11 شخصاً بينهم ضابطين و6 مدنيين”.

وأسعف المصابون إلى مشفى ” عمر بن عبد العزيز” القريب من مكان الانفجار، قبل ان يتم نقل 9 منهم إلى مشاف أخرى.

وبين مصدر طبي لـ عكس السير أن من بين الضابطين المصابين هما الملازم أول “مضر جداري” معاون رئيس قسم شرطة الصالحين، والملازم أول “محمود نجم” من حفظ النظام، إضافة إلى ثلاثة عناصر آخرين، وستة مدنيين.

ونفى المصدر ما أشيع عن سقوط شهداء، موضحاً أن بعض المصابين اصيبوا في أطرافهم، وأن وضع أحدهم ” حرج”.

يشار إلى أن حلب، عاشت يوم جمعة هادئ وخال من الانفجارات قبل ان يقطع هذا الانفجار صفو المدينة.

http://www.aksalser.com/index.php?page=view_articles&id=66f4777e8fcf982657763748c4ef9141&ar=63281097

Syrialover

I dont know if you find the kind of supporters of the regime we have here, where you live. I have probably learned more bad arabic words in this year by going to anti regime protests than ever before. Not the obvious youngsters, older men in their late 50s sended obscene gestures, marked with the top ten of arabic curse words. The typical Assad loyalist who will still grab to the posters and t-shirts handed out by embassy staff consists of some syrians ( not the majority though) and lebanese hisbollah activists and to my astonishment even Ahbash followers were among those who protested for Assad. I am really happy that those folks dont have a word here, just on facebook and youtube they try to impress me by their simple logic.

Ann

Can you let the british parliament and the PM declare war please? It will get complicated otherwise, there might be even some who take you serious…

Oops, was that in a Pro-revolution demo in Germany!
I guess there they prefer sectarian language, for me I prefer coarse language anytime than any of what those protesters in Germany are saying:
ويا قرداحة جني جني………………..رح يحكمك واحد سني….).
http://youtu.be/HnEapiSz3uk

If anybody wants to learn bad words you can go to London to hear it:
المعارضين السوريون في لندن … واخلاقهم النجسة
http://youtu.be/yAKCs71TmJ0

القاء القبض على جرذ مشاغب من المعارضة السورية
http://youtu.be/HrIHZHSlTrs

TARA,

I am a truthful and honest person to the core, I write what I believe, I am not asking you to believe it.

Btw Abu Bakr is indeed a dead man, but he must be respected. Tara, you must realize 90 % of Syrian Sunnis are extremely orthodox religious and no0thing will change that. We do not underatand concepts of nations and nationalis. We rather identify with Turkmen and Arabs rather than Queen Zenobia or Elagablaus or some other horse shit.

Straight from the German Mirror, it seems that applications are open for European Jihadis to join their Moujahideen brothers in Syria:

Foreign Fighters Join Syrian Rebels
Jihadists Declare Holy War Against Assad Regime

Abu Rami’s last foray into war wasn’t much of a success. Just after his unit had crossed over the border, one of his men lost his wits. The young man cowered in the undergrowth, trembled and didn’t budge. Out of necessity, the whole unit had to come to a stop: Ten Lebanese, armed with 10 Kalashnikovs loaded with 65 magazines of ammunition, had come to a standstill inside the Syrian border, without any backup.
{…}
Abu Rami is a commander in the growing band of volunteer Lebanese fighters who are getting involved in the conflict in neighboring Syria. Most come from Tripoli, the northern Lebanese city that is largely home to a Sunni Muslim population. Their hatred of the Assad regime is rooted in the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, which only ended in 2005.
{…}
‘We Lebanese Are Part of the Syrian Revolution’

Radicals among Lebanon’s Sunnis view the insurgency in their neighboring country as a welcome opportunity to put an end to Damascus’ influence. “The struggle for freedom in Syria is our own struggle for freedom,” says Sheik Masen al-Mohammed, one of the most important Sunni religious leaders in Tripoli. “We Lebanese are part of the Syrian revolution, part of the rebellion. If Syria gains its freedom, then we will also win in Lebanon.” In addition to the political reasons, the sheik also has a key reason for encouraging Lebanese to fight in Syria. “Assad is an infidel,” the sheik says, noting that the Syrian dictator is part of the Alawite sect, which splintered from Shiite Islam hundreds of years ago. Sheik Masen views Assad as an enemy rather than a true Muslim.
{…}
First European Joins Fight Against Regime

Sheik Masen expresses hope that the situation in Syria will soon be like Iraq was and that Arabs from all nations will join forces to battle the regime. “If we get to that point, then we will be able to mobilize tens of thousands of Lebanese,” he says.

“I have a long list of telephone numbers of men who want to go to war in Syria,” Abu Rami says, adding that most are experienced fighters. “Of the Lebanese who are deployed now, around 60 percent already fought in Iraq,” he says. Men who once did battle against American soldiers, and were branded as al-Qaida terrorists, are now fighting on the side of Syrian insurgents, whose victory over Assad would be entirely welcomed by the West. Still, the involvement of foreign jihadist fighters makes it more difficult to differentiate between good and evil in the Syrian conflict.
Last week, the first European fighter voluntarily crossed the border and entered into Syria to fight alongside the Free Syrian Army against the Assad regime. He was “a Frenchman who had just turned 24 and comes from a wealthy family,” reports Abu Rami. “He just turned up here with his credit card in hand.” Abu Rami says he tried in vain to talk the man, whose parents are Algerian, out of it. “He bought a gun, we gave him a short bit of training and then he went in with one of our units,” he says.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,824875,00.html

235. jad said:

Straight from the German Mirror, it seems that applications are open for European Jihadis to join their Moujahideen brothers in Syria:

Foreign Fighters Join Syrian Rebels
Jihadists Declare Holy War Against Assad Regime
.
.
What did you expect from a anti-Syria propaganda publication like Der Spiegel 8)
.

come pray for this little girl.

Kofi Annan’s peace plan is Syria’s only hope

by: Gareth Evans
From: The Australian

With all military options appearing to be counterproductive, the only chance of halting Syria’s descent into total chaos is Annan’s political mediation. Its unstated premise is that enough senior officials in the regime can be persuaded to change course, with enough safe exits for the most divisive figures, to enable the situation to stabilise and reform to start.

But, for that to happen, Russia will have to exercise its influence much more constructively than it has so far. That is a slim reed for the Syrian people to grasp, but unhappily it’s the only one around.

Even Rifat al-Assad’s son is against a military intervention
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/assad-s-cousin-west-is-right-to-back-syrian-opposition-but-it-is-backing-the-wrong-one-1.421582

239. badr,

Not Supporting the Opposition “within Syria” Is Supporting Assad

Some still argue that supporting the opposition will “militarize” the Syrian crisis, diverting the revolution from a more peaceful and supposedly more effective path. But the reality, of course, is that this crisis is already “militarized.” And tangible outside support for the opposition is now a necessary condition for any Syrian’s continued ability to resist the regime’s all-out onslaught. Without such support, the Syrian people have virtually no chance of maintaining their courageous stand — whether peaceful or armed for self-defense — against regime power. For this reason, immediately supporting the opposition is not a diversion from peaceful protest, but rather the only way to preserve an option for civil resistance.

Majed, you genius, you’ve done it!

You’ve now got a record busting 50 red thumbs down for your simple perceptive comments on “media shabbiha who live outside Syria.” (#8)

Those here who identify with them are angry at what you said and have been block voting in a frenzy.

If you want to know who is part of this block voting team look at the comments here that get high 20s and 30s green thumbs up for non-news cut-pastes and silly barks about the “failure of the west”.

I’ll say it again, the distraction faction/block voters on SC are not very smart.

215. OMEN said:
206. Alan said: Foreign Troops Inside Syria
finally. are we getting news telling what russian troops are doing in syria?

you assume or you have proofs?

Things you might have missed on Syrian TV

242. Syrialover said:

I’ll say it again, the distraction faction/block voters on SC are not very smart.
.
.
Maybe they’re not smart but they sure despise losers 8)
.

227. ann said:

The national is a pro israel and anti Syria NEOCON publication

name calling isn’t a counter argument.

How to protect Syria in the conditions of preparing intervention of the West
http://warsonline.info/siriya/kak-zaschitit-siriiu-v-usloviyach-gotovyascheysya-interventsii-zapada.html

I recommend to use the translator!
http://www.translate.ru/

alan, i pointed out the news about russian troops to you last week. it’s still available in google.

p.s. in fact, your response was that they’re in syria to protect russian citizens!

To be president? To write the constitution? It is nobody’s job! Imagine when it will fall on the head of the Saudis or the Kuwaitis… Good laugh in perspective.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/38059/Egypt/Politics-/Brotherhood,-FJP-in-disarray-over-presidency,-cons.aspx

Constitution crisis… far from the (Western) media!
http://www.egyptindependent.com/node/741571

Ann #245

[the distraction faction on SC]”maybe they’re not smart but they sure despise losers”

So they have self contempt, huh?

Along with the contempt they have for Syria and its people.

And no authentic agenda in posting here.

‘NATO-backed death squads fuel violence in Syria’
http://presstv.com/detail/233570.html

Ann

I admire you for seeing the world so uncomplicated.

Negotiations and dialogue is the only solution, it’s the time for a regional deal in the ME, Patrick Seale

حان وقت إبرام صفقة كبيرة في الشرق الأوسط .. بقلم : باتريك سيل
{…}
ومن شأن “الصفقة الكبيرة” إطلاق حوار بنّاء بين واشنطن وطهران، الأمر الذي قد يؤدي إلى قرار بوضع الخلافات الماضية جانباً وإعادة إحياء العلاقات الديبلوماسية وإلغاء العقوبات وإعادة إطلاق العلاقة بين الدولتين على أساس الاحترام المتبادل. وسيفيد تطوّر مماثل المنطقة برمّتها في شكل كبير. والأهم أنه سيفتح الطريق أمام إمكان إجراء حوار استراتيجي بين المملكة العربية السعودية وإيران، اللتين تملكان نفوذاً إقليمياً كبيراً، الأمر الذي سيساهم في تخفيف حدّة التوترات بين السنّة والشيعة في الخليج والعراق ولبنان واليمن وفي امكنة اخرى، وإبعاد شبح اندلاع حرب اخرى في الخليج. وستقرّ السعودية وإيران من موقعهما كشريكين وليس كخصمين بمسؤوليتهما المشتركة من أجل فرض الاستقرار والأمن في المنطقة الغنية بالنفط.
وحين يتمّ إشراك إيران في المنظومة الأمنية في الخليج، سيكون ممكناً تخيّل العاهل السعودي والمرشد الأعلى الإيراني يحضران معاً قمة مستقبلية في مجلس التعاون الخليجي في جوّ يطغى عليه السلام والازدهار والمصالحة.
هل هذا حلم وهمي؟ ليس بالضرورة. تحاول كاثرين آشتون، مسؤولة الشؤون الخارجية في الاتحاد الأوروبي إعادة إحياء المفاوضات في المسألة النووية بين إيران والدول الخمس الدائمة العضوية في مجلس الأمن زائداً ألمانيا. في الوقت نفسه، يحاول أمين عام الأمم المتحدّة السابق كوفي أنان إقناع النظام والمعارضة في سورية بالتوصل إلى اتفاق لوقف إطلاق النار كشرط أساسي للحوار. وفي كلتا الحالتين، يقرّ الطرفان بعدم إمكان حلّ النزاعات الحالية عسكرياً وبضرورة إجراء المفاوضات لإعادة الحياة إلى مجراها الطبيعي.
تحتاج سورية إلى تأثير علاجي مثل قيام لجنة للحقيقة والمصالحة لعلاج الجروح العميقة الجسدية والنفسية التي حصلت في الأشهر الأخيرة. ويجب أن يعمل النظام وخصومه على التوصّل إلى تغيير عميق للنظام السياسي في سورية الذي يحتاج إليه البلد والأزمة. وحين يسكت أزيز الرصاص، يحين وقت قيام دولة حقيقية والتوصل الى تسوية مشتركة. فسورية تعد بلداً عربياً مهماً جداً على صعيد التاريخ والضمير العربي إلى حدّ أنه لن يتمّ السماح لها بالغرق في أتون حرب أهلية.
وسيكون من الأسهل حلّ كل هذه المشاكل سواء كانت طائفية وسياسية وسواء في سورية وإيران وإسرائيل وقطاع غزة والضفة الغربية والعراق والخليج وواشنطن في إطار “صفقة كبيرة” تتفاوض عليها القوى العظمى وتدفعها قدماً وتراقبها. ويقوم الهدف الأكبر على إنقاذ المنطقة من إراقة المزيد من الدماء. والطريق إلى تحقيق هذا الهدف يكون عبر تقديم التنازلات.
طالما تمّ الإقرار بأنّ مبدأ الأخذ والعطاء سواء في حلّ الخلافات العائلية أو النزاعات الدولية يعدّ مفتاحاً للسلام.
{…}
http://international.daralhayat.com/internationalarticle/380037

248. OMEN
you repeated a question! if once again a question put, it is necessary to prove their presence and at what mission they they are to understand on what lawful basis are present!

Foreign Fighters Join Syrian Rebels
Jihadists Declare Holy War Against Assad Regime

By Ulrike Putz in Beirut
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,824875,00.html

Abu Rami hails from Lebanon, but his heart is in Syria these days. The 40-year-old is one of hundreds of Arabs who are fighting against the Assad regime at the side of Syrian insurgents. Many of these volunteer fighters are veterans of the Iraq war, who have now brought their holy war to Syria.

Abu Rami’s last foray into war wasn’t much of a success. Just after his unit had crossed over the border, one of his men lost his wits. The young man cowered in the undergrowth, trembled and didn’t budge. Out of necessity, the whole unit had to come to a stop: Ten Lebanese, armed with 10 Kalashnikovs loaded with 65 magazines of ammunition, had come to a standstill inside the Syrian border, without any backup.

It was pure luck that the group wasn’t spotted by a Syrian border patrol and that they didn’t come under fire. “We sent the man with the weak nerves back to Lebanon. The rest of us made it as far as Homs,” a 40-year-old man who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Rami said, two days after his return from Syria.

The protest stronghold of Homs is located around 30 kilometers (about 19 miles) from the border, and the Lebanese volunteers wanted to fight alongside Syrian rebels in the city’s Khaldiyeh district. But after they ran out of ammunition, the guerrillas had to retreat. Abu Rami says his unit is now waiting in the safety of Lebanon for its next deployment.

Abu Rami is a commander in the growing band of volunteer Lebanese fighters who are getting involved in the conflict in neighboring Syria. Most come from Tripoli, the northern Lebanese city that is largely home to a Sunni Muslim population. Their hatred of the Assad regime is rooted in the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, which only ended in 2005.

Despite the withdrawal of its troops, Syria still exercizes considerable influence over Beirut. The Shiites are also in power in the Lebanese capital, further fomenting the hatred of Lebanese Sunnis against Assad and his Lebanese allies, which including the Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

‘We Lebanese Are Part of the Syrian Revolution’
(…)

Just a question, is Lebanon now a foreign nation? Interesting I always thought those syrian schoolbooks say it differently…

Sectarian Violence Is Raging in Syria

By John Hudson | The Atlantic Wire – Thu, Mar 29, 2012
http://news.yahoo.com/sectarian-violence-raging-syria-140315395.html

Neighbor-on-neighbor violence between Sunnis and Shiites is breaking out across Syria, according to reports, and some fear sectarian strife could spread beyond the country’s borders.

Refugees fleeing Syria have begun speaking to reporters about the type of government-sponsored violence there, and the picture is grim. The New York Times’ Anne Barnard spoke with refugees in Lebanon who “described a worrying new element: what they see as an increasingly sectarian motive to the violence.”

In The Times, the refugees said that even in smaller villages, residents are falling victim to government crackdowns, shelling and sniper fire. “The refugees said they believed that a majority of Sunni residents of four villages, Rabli, Zahra, Joussi and Mazaria, had fled to other countries or other areas inside Syria.”

The paper says the accounts “reinforce reports from activists reached inside Syria by telephone and e-mail of displacement along sectarian lines, and interviews with people in Syria.” United Press International reports that there are at least 6,000 refugees in eastern Lebanon—a community that says they’ve been threatened by Sunni civilians armed by the government.
(…)

Syria: The evil results of doing good

Robert Grenier
Former CIA station chief Robert Grenier heads ERG partners, a financial consultancy firm.

But does anyone honestly think that the Syrian regime, committed as it is to a programme of violent intimidation and collective punishment, will provide “full humanitarian access”, or a daily “humanitarian pause” for those whom it suspects of aiding its adversaries? What are the chances that the tender Mr Assad will release detainees who may promptly rejoin the struggle against him, or that he will permit foreign journalists to freely document his atrocities? Who would want to bet his life, or the lives of those dear to him, that Bashar and his generals will honour a ceasefire, or engage in good faith in a “political dialogue” with those who are challenging their power?

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/03/2012328723544342.html

Regime thugs at their best:

[ Ron, the language edited below is not acceptable by the Rules and Regulations of Joshua Landis’s Syria Comment.]

I see the pro-regime propaganda machine is working at full power. Keep it up, make your money-mongering warlord proud. Every website I go to, the same comments are being repeated by surprisingly well versed Alawites with a strong mastery of the English language and seemingly enough spare time to argue forever.

I wonder if there is a third-party company that actually offers such as a service. Internet image clean-up while the dictator is busy “cleaning up” his own people. The premise is very simple and proved to be efficient throughout history. Repeat a lie enough times and it becomes a fact.

Propaganda 101. Salafi, Mossads, NWO, Vampires… but I just don’t see anyone buying it. Hard to portray in positive light a regime/clan that’s been terrifying its own people for more than 40 years while sucking the country of every penny, selling land to Israel and Turkey and filling their pockets and guts. Scheming, murdering, lying, humiliating, abusing…those are some of the “virtues” of this regime. And I don’t think we have seen the worse yet.

Anyone keeping tabs on Tlass and kid, is he back in Syria or took permanent residency in EU?

Killing terrorists is something to curse the Syrian Army about and keep linking, but the terrorists Dabi7a of Dei Azzor to kill teachers is something we need not to mention otherwise we are immoral according to ‘alqaeda’ standards:

بسبب “حيونة “وزير التربية ، ولأسباب مذهبية ، مسلحو “الجيش الحر” يبدأون قتل المعلمين والمدرسين الموفدين إلى دير الزور من مناطق أخرى

الحقيقة ( خاص): فيما يبدو أنه بداية حملة دموية لتصفية المعلمين والمدرسين الموفدين من مناطق أخرى إلى دير الزور ، أقدم مسلحون من “كتيبة الله أكبر” الناشطة في المحافظة المذكورة على قتل ثلاثة مدرسين يوم أمس بطريقة وحشية ، قبل أن يمثلوا وينكلوا بجثثهم. وعلم أن المدرسين الثلاثة هم الشهيد صفوان اسماعيل (من بلدة القمصية في طرطوس) و المدرس وضاح حاتم من ريف اللاذقية ( قريب الأديبة والروائية دلال حاتم) و الشهيد وائل ابراهيم ( من جورة الشنبور في منطقة صافيتا بطرطوس).

وكان عشرات المعلمين والمدرسين ، والمعلمات والمدرسات ، من حمص والساحل السوري، أطلقوا حملة مناشدات منذ افتتاح العام الدراسي لوزير التربية ، الحيوان صالح الراشد، لإعادتهم إلى مناطقهم أو نقلهم إلى أي منطقة سورية آمنة ، بعد تعرضهم لتهديدات بالقتل على خلفية طائفية ومذهبية ، إلا أنه رفض ذلك. وكأنه أراد لهم أن يقتلوا فقط من أجل تسعير السعار الطائفي والمذهبي.

يشار إلى أن هناك سياسة في وزارة التربية منذ سنوات طويلة تعود إلى عشرات السنين تقضي بأن يخدم المعلمون والمدرسون المعينون حديثا ، والمنحدرون من محافظات تسمى ” متطورة تعليميا” ، بضع سنوات في المناطق المسماة ” نامية تعليميا”. ورغم أن جميع المحافظات ، لاسيما ” النامية تعليميا”، أصبحت متقاربة جدا في مستواها التعليمي ، ولم يعد هناك حاجة لتطبيق هذه السياسة، فإن الوزارة لاتزال ترسل آلاف المعلمين والمدرسين إلى تلك المناطق ، رغم أن قسما كبيرا من المعلمات والمدرسات متزوجات ويعمل أزواجهن في مناطق أخرى!

سؤال وجهه يوم أمس العديد من المواطنين على صفحات فيسبوك لوزير التربية بلغة بذيئة ، ولكنها في محلها ، تقول : لماذا ” يا جحش ” تركب رأسك منذ الصيف الماضي وترفض نقل هؤلاء رغم مئات الشكاوي التي أرسلوها لك؟ ألأنك أيها الحيوان تريد لهم أن يقتلوا ؟ أم لأنك ـ وانطلاقا من رأسك المليء بالديدان والحشرات ـ تريد المزيد من التسعير الطائفي والمذهبي؟

نأمل أن يسمع هذا الحيوان هذا النداء اليوم ، بعد أن خوطب باسمه الحقيقي الذي يفهمه!

The embattled illegitimate president trying to grasp at any straw of legitimacy by visiting a funeral. Any leaked email mocking the Druze too?

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/379610.html

Moscow welcomes LAS support to Annan’s Syrian mission

MOSCOW, March 30 (Itar-Tass) —— Moscow welcomes the full support of the League of Arab States (LAS) to the Syrian mission of Kofi Annan, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday, in comment on the LAS summit held in Baghdad on March 29.

“We views as important and natural that the summit highlighted joint Arab efforts towards de-escalation of tensions and prevention of violence and bloodshed in the Middle East and North Africa. In this context the summit delegates discussed the situation in Syria, Libya and a number of other countries passing through a hard period of internal reforms and transformations,” the ministry said.

“The summit’s keynote idea was the appeal for peaceful settlement of conflicts and disputes on the basis of the national dialog, with the observation of international laws and without external interference,” the ministry said. “The summit voiced full support to the mission of UN/LAS Special Envoy for Syria Kofi Annan aimed to achieve peace settlement in that country through the termination of armed violence by all sides under the efficient control of the UN special mechanism, the rendering of humanitarian aid to the civilian population and the startup of the inclusive inter-Syrian dialog.”

“The Arab summit participants were unanimous about the need to preserve the integrity of Syria, to ensure its security and stability and to support the lawful aspirations of the Syrian people for freedom and democracy and their right to determine their future themselves. The Arab leaders also expressed support to the Palestinian membership in the UN and efforts to achieve inter-Palestinian reconciliation,” the ministry said.

“The LAS summit gave much attention to other problems of the Middle East, including the central problem of comprehensive and fair settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict on the universally acknowledged legal platform,” the ministry said.

“The forum documents, among them the Baghdad Declaration, confirmed the wish of the League of Arab States to play an active role in the strengthening of collective and legal foundations of the world politics and the search for political and diplomatic ways of settling pressing international and regional problems,” the ministry said.

“Moscow welcomes this attitude and confirms its interest in the mounting of interaction with the LAS aimed to ensure lasting peace and security,” the ministry said.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_03_30/70157166/
Saudi Arabia wants to back Syrian opposition with guns
Saudi Arabia wants Jordan to open its border with Syria to supply weapons to the Syrian opposition, BBC reports.

This information has also been confirmed by the Wall Street Journal Europe.

According to the newspaper, at their meetingin Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s King asked his Jordanian counterpart to permit weapons shipments to Syria in exchange for economic assistance to Jordan.

Riyadh’s position runs counter to the UN and the Arab League’s decision to support the mission of Kofi Annan aimed to stop bloodshed in Syria and to start talks.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_03_30/70121908/
Primakov gets his book republished as Mideast crisis unfolds
The way the situation in the Middle East developed in 2011 proved that the region’s crisis has turned even deeper. The number of people concerned about the issue has also increased. Russia’s prominent Oriental studies expert Yevgeny Primakov, who personally knows many Arab kings and princes, has recently had his book republished under the title “The Middle East: On the Stage and Behind the Scenes”.

A wave of Arab Spring uprisings hit the region in early 2011, toppling the regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen. Libya and Syria stood next in the line, but Mr. Primakov thinks that the way the events unfolded in these countries had little in common with the Arab Spring scenario. “From the very first moment anti-government protesters took up arms”, Mr. Primakov says…

“We have a reason to say that if anti-regime protests in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen were sporadic and were not orchestrated by the US, then in Libya and Syria Washington and NATO decided to take control of the situation and prevent ‘unwanted’ Gaddafi and Assad from staying in power.

The Western countries will have to decide what is worse: totalitarian regime in the Arab states or the consequences of these regimes being overthrown. Long-serving authoritarian leaders have always opposed radical Islamists and any kind of extremist organizations seeking power. One way or another they fought against terrorists and did not shelter any extremist gangs like al-Qaida. The fact that authoritarian regimes had a positive impact on economic relations meant a lot to both Russia and the US.

The Arab Spring uprising in Tunisia and Egypt resulted in Islamist organizations seizing power there. Currently the future of these two countries depends greatly on relations between moderate and radical Islamists, Mr. Primakov thinks. Foreign countries are now seeking a new approach to dealing with the regional powers. The US, for example, is busy establishing official contacts with moderate Islamists.

Iraq`s tragedy has proved that democracy forced from within is doomed. The same holds true for post-Gaddafi Libya.

Despite all lessons learned from political, economic and human losses, a force method remains the most popular. Now public attention is drawn to Iran, with predictions being made on whether or not the country will be attacked amid Tehran`s refusal to stop its uranium enrichment program. Mr. Primakov thinks that the attack could have a counter-effect.

“This will just result in Iran becoming even more enthusiastic about the issue. Practically all intelligence services worldwide agree that Tehran has not yet decided to produce nuclear weapons. I am not sure about Mossad, but from media reports I`ve learned that the US shares this opinion. The problem is that an attack could force Iran to make this political decision and start seeking a nuclear bomb. If so, what will happen to Iraq and other Arab states? Undoubtedly, this will trigger terror activity.”

It does not realty matter whether these problems are discussed ‘behind the scenes’ or during high-profile international meetings. The main task is to prevent the entire Mideast region from turning into a hotbed of extremism, Yevgeny Primakov believes.

What joy does a sniper get from targeting a child’s head?
What sick barbaric person can do such a heinous and utterly gut wrenching crime?
For what PURPOSE?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxz1-ObpPvA&feature=youtu.be

(Extremely Graphic Content)

US State Department Hands Terror-Cult US Base in Iraq
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/03/us-state-department-hands-terror-cult.html

Giuliani openly promotes terrorism as a way to stop Iranian nuclear program
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/03/giuliani-openly-promotes-terrorism-as.html

Killing Teachers in Delarzor gives the terrorists
Revolutionary legitimacy?Wahabi sympathiezers
Have condtional vomitting reflux which gets prespitated on sectarian bases.

The Vatican will attend Syria’s enemies conference in Istanbul ,they will be sitting next to SA.On a side talks they will be discussing how to apply Saudi’s grand mufti plan to destroy churches.They also will listen to SA advises on how to protect minorities and women in Syria applying SA experience.

The Vatican attending the FOS conference?
Is he a Qaeda operative in disguise?

What a big slap on the face! Thank you Mr. pope. I’m visiting with you this summer.

SNK

Why you even bothered with this news? The Vatican doesn’t have any power over the Syrian Christians, It’s all political and I’m glad that they will attend, let’s see if they will be impressed with the crap they will hear.

As far as I know the majority of the Syrian Christians do not follow the Vatican, is that correct? and if so, who will even listen to what the Vatican will say. When the Syrian Muslims are ignoring the SA, you think the Syrian Christians will listen to the Vatican under this circumstances and when Syria is under attack?

It’s all a western game now lead by US and EU, didn’t you read Assafir article, they talked about this point:

مصادر غربية: العقوبات بلغت سقفها وآليات لمتابعة التزام مصارف لبنان بها
«الخطوة خطوة» للالتفاف على العقبة الروسية: رهان على فشل خطة أنان أو فتحها المجال للحراك الشعبي
{…}
وقال مصدر اميركي متابع للملف السوري «لقد أخطأنا في تقييم قدرة النظام على مقاومة الاحتجاج الشعبي. كما أن أكثرية سورية تلتزم الصمت في الصراع الدائر، وغير مطمئنة لبرنامج المعارضة، لا سيما في صفوف الأقليات. وتجري معالجة هذه العقدة عبر تشجيع المجلس على ضم المزيد من العلويين إلى المكتب التنفيذي، بعد ضم توفيق دنيا، وهو عضو في حركة صلاح جديد البعثية الديموقراطية المنشقة».

ولحرمان النظام من دعم الأقلية المسيحية والكنيسة، قال مصدر غربي في باريس، إنه في إطار التحضير لمؤتمر «اصدقاء سوريا» الذي ينعقد في الأول من نيسان المقبل في اسطنبول، وجهت دعوة إلى الفاتيكان لحضوره. وقال المصدر إن الفاتيكان لم يرد حتى الآن على الدعوة، ولكن حضوره الرمزي سيشكل رسالة قوية تتجاوز المسيحيين الذين يحيق بهم خوف عقلاني من صعود الإسلام السياسي إلى السلطة.

ويتركز الرهان الغربي اليوم على خطة أنان، لاستعادة المبادرة على الأرض لتفتيت الإعتراض الروسي، وضمه تدريجياً إلى إجماع غربي ملزم وفي إطار مشروع قرار يصدر عن مجلس الأمن. ويتباين الموقفان الفرنسي والأميركي بهذا الشأن، إذ يراهن الأميركيون على النظام نفسه لمساعدتهم في لف حبل المشنقة حول رقبته. ويوغل الأميركيون في الرهان المزدوج عليها فشلاً او نجاحاً. ويقول مصدر أميركي إن

«انقضاض النظام السوري على مهمة أنان ليس سوى مسألة وقت لا أكثر، ونحن ننتظر أن نرى أنان يعود خاوي الوفاض قريباً في مجلس الأمن لإعلان فشله، والتمهيد بذلك لاستصدار قرار ضده في المجلس، قد لا يستطيع الروس الاعتراض عليه، بعد انقلاب دمشق على الفرصة التي شكلتها خطة أنان، والتي دعموها».
«وإذا ما وافق السوريون على الخطة فإن الرهان الكبير والحقيقي خلفها، يقوم على إتاحتها

الفرصة امام الحراك الشعبي، لاستعادة نشاطه ولو جزئياً، لأنها تتضمن في نقاطها الست حق التظاهر وحريته، وهو ما سيؤدي إلى تحويل ساحة أمية إلى ساحة تحرير، فإسقاط النظام». ويتفق الأميركيون والفرنسيون، على القول إن عدم المطالبة بتنحي الرئيس الأسد في خطة أنان، وتقديم الشق الإنساني على الشق السياسي، والحوار بين المعارضة والنظام، يعود إلى الرغبة بترك هامش واسع أمام أنان للمناورة في المفاوضات مع نظام الأسد.

وقال المصدر الأميركي إن أحداً لن يقبل اي مفاوضات يكون عنوانها الإبقاء على الرئيس الأسد في سدة الحكم في دمشق، سواء من المعارضة ام من الأطراف الإقليمية والدولية الراعية لها. وتوقع المصدر الأميركي أن تشتد العمليات العسكرية للمعارضة في قلب المدن، وأن تطور مجموعاتها حرب عصابات ضد الجيش السوري، وحواجزه المنتشرة في المدن السورية المنتفضة، وثكناته التي تضم وحدات لم تتدخل حتى الآن في العمليات، لحث الجنود المترددين على الانشقاق والفرار. وتوقع المصدر الأميركي أن تضاعف مجموعات المعارضة المسلحة من عمليات الاغتيال التي تستهدف مسؤولين في النظام، وقال إن مسؤولين سوريين كباراً، عسكريين ومدنيين، يخافون الخروج من سوريا، لأن النظام يراقبهم، ولو كان لنائب الرئيس فاروق الشرع حرية الحركة، لغادر دمشق.

وقال مصدر غربي إن دخول الخطة حيز التنفيذ لا يزال ينتظر اتصالات يقوم بها فريق أنان مع السلطات السورية. كما أن موعداً لوقف إطلاق النار لم يتحدد بعد. ومن غير المتوقع أن يكون وقف إطلاق النار متزامناً، وعلى النظام أن يبدأ بوقف العمليات العسكرية في المرحلة الأولى بصفته المصدر الأول والأساسي للعنف، مما يؤدي تلقائياً إلى وقف لإطلاق النار لدى الأطراف الأخرى. وتحدث المصدر الغربي عن آلية المراقبة الدولية التي ستنطلق بالتزامن على وقف إطلاق النار، وأن كوفي أنان يقوم ببحثها والتحضير لها بالتنسيق مع بان كي مون الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة.
{…}
http://www.assafir.com/Article.aspx?EditionId=2113&articleId=3103&ChannelId=50410&Author=%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF%20%D8%A8%D9%84%D9%88%D8%B7

Kandi

Venturing out of the script? How could you?

@ JAD #147: I did see that good clip about the “Al-Ansar” brigade. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkOOC-nmqnk , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTH5AnxdMC4 . Nobody denies that radical Islamists fighters are present. What is denied — denied by Bashar Assad, Nir Rosen, and many others including me — is the notion that today the radical Islamists are dominating the armed militia groups.

Bashar said in an interview on 13 Dec 2011: “Those who conduct the armed struggle can be divided into three categories. The first one of them is a small group of al-Qaeda network, which does not have any influence among the Syrians. The second one is the Muslim Brotherhood, which is also a small group, although they have a serious influence among the radicals. The majority of the radical opposition are the people who do not hold the membership in such organizations.” http://english.pravda.ru/hotspots/conflicts/13-12-2011/119945-bashar_assad-0/ . And in an interview on 7 Dec 2011 Bashar Assad used the word “militants” eight times but never used the word “Islamist” (nor “Islam” nor “Muslim”). One thing Bashar did say on 7 Dec 2011 was: “Not everybody in the street was fighting for freedom. You have different components… [including] religious extremists” (ABC TV News interview).

Nir Rosen was in Syria in January 2012 and he wrote in March 2012: “Syria’s uprising is not a secular one. Most participants are devout Sunni Muslims inspired by Islam. A minority is secular and another minority is comprised of ideological Islamists. But the majority of those participating in the uprising are religious-minded people with little ideology, like most Syrians. They are not fighting to defend secularism (nor is the regime) but they are also not fighting to establish a theocracy. But as the conflict grinds on, Islam is playing an increasing role in the uprising.” http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/08/islamism_and_the_syrian_uprising

I say the Islamists cannot be dominant by definition unless and until you hear clear Islamist sloganeering from a majority of the people who claim to be in the Free Syrian Army. You don’t hear that today. You can hear chanting for the Free Syrian Army at virtually all anti-regime protests. But you usually don’t hear Islamist chanting at the protests. Some cases of Islamist chanting can be found, but one shouldn’t overweight them.

Here’s a related comment posted above at #128 ZOO: “Muslim hardliners want to make religion the unifying basis of the revolt. Radical Islamist elements are still on the fringe, but that’s enough to make a headache for opposition activists who are struggling to convince Syrian minorities to support a revolt led mostly by the country’s Sunni majority.”

Annan with a plan
The UN’s plan could have short-term benefits but is unlikely to end Syria’s crisis
Mar 31st 2012 | BEIRUT |

OVER the 13 months of upheaval in Syria, President Bashar Assad has repeatedly promised to stop the violence. Earlier this year he dashed Arab League hopes of mediating a solution, unleashing his army to blast cities such as Homs, Syria’s third-biggest, and dragging the death toll over 9,000. Hardly surprising, then, that scepticism greeted reports, on March 27th, of Mr Assad’s agreement to the plan for a settlement recently devised by Kofi Annan, the joint UN-Arab League emissary.

Syria’s seemingly inexorable drift towards greater tragedy justifies doubt, but this time it may be slightly misplaced. For one thing, Mr Assad is not the only one to sign on to the Annan plan—his allies Iran, China and Russia have too. So, hesitantly, has Syria’s main opposition group, the Syrian National Council.

[…]

http://www.economist.com/node/21551544

My friend is not feeling good but does not let me do anything to comfort him. I would if I could.. Some people are just very stubborn…I hope he feels better soon.

The US is trying to convince the Saudis not to arm the FSA.    

[ Syria crisis: US urges Saudis to support diplomacy to end bloodshed]
Hillary Clinton in Riyadh for talks amid concern Saudi Arabia and Qatar are planning to arm anti-Assad regime rebels

Ian Black, Middle East editor
guardian.co.uk, Friday 30 March 2012 12.48 EDT

In his first response to the plan the Syrian president made his agreement conditional on an end to support by unnamed countries for what he called “armed terrorist groups”. But Annan rejected this approach. “The government must stop first and then discuss a cessation of hostilities with the other side and with the mediator,” his spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi, insisted on Friday. “We expect him to implement this plan immediately.”

Jeugren@259

They are not peasants. They are animals!

Mawal,

I understand and agree that the ‘radicals’ don’t make the majority of the armed militia, now, however those groups are responsible for almost every major attack happening in Syria, and they are by far the most dangerous and criminal of all of other groups within the armed militia of fsa.

I don’t really care what other said 4-5 months ago, what I see is an increase of the radical religious based presence within fsa with an obvious radical leadership of the militia on ground.

I think it’s matter of weeks before the local Alqaeda is official working inside the country and will see an increase of sectarian attacks directed to make a copy of how things started in Iraq, I even read that they are planning to attack a Shia shrines in Lebanon to stir the sectarian issue even further.

—————————————————–

Here is the full interview with Jihad Makdissi:
المقابلة الكاملة للدكتور جهاد مقدسي 30 3 2012
http://youtu.be/SEM-Xo-mXt0

I think the animals are the terrorists which the National Syrian Army killed to protect us all.

We do not have national syrian army in Syria, we have only Assad army, and the Free Syrian Army
The Assad Army is made of traitors thugs officers, those who serve Assad will be eliminated.

God bless FSA, long live Ryad Al Asaad,down with Bashar

Vote for the outcome you would like to see for Syria!

http://onsyria.wordpress.com/

الشيخ من ج و ح ينتقد الاخوان
http://www.shamlife.com/?page=show_det&select_page=9&id=21146

@ JAD # 180: I agree with you that we’re seeing an increase of religious radicals in the armed militia. And you agree with me that the religious radicals don’t make the majority of the armed militia today. So we’re seeing the same reality.

Yesterday Assad said that in return for a formal commitment by Syria for the implementation of Annan’s plan, it is necessary for Annan to obtain commitments from other parties to stop all acts of violent rebellion. Now today, as linked to by #278, a spokesman for Annan is rejecting this position: “The Syrian government must stop first and then discuss a cessation of hostilities with the other side and with the mediator,” Annan’s spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi, insisted on Friday. “We expect him to implement this plan immediately.”

That statement by Ahmad Fawzi is the same as innumerable statements in the past by Ban Ki-moon. The Syrian government has rejected them and ignored them and will continue to do so.

As I’ve said before, Annan’s enterprise makes no logical sense to me.

PS: Maqdisi in that 45-minute interview is asked almost no questions and there’s almost no dialog. Instead Maqdisi speaks ad lib for 45 minutes — a good sign of somebody who knows his game. He does have a few notes in front of him to remind him of what he wants to say. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEM-Xo-mXt0

Syrian government may sell oil to China at a discount
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arabic/middleeast/2012/03/120329_syria_oil_iran_china.shtml
WTI crude is about $ 103 ,finer quality oil is over $ 120

Aljazeera decided not to air a video about the terrorist attack in France because it does not want to “sensationalize” violence (!!!!)

Next Egyptian president, an islamist sheikh?

Egypt Islamist registers for election amid fanfare
30/03/2012
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=29062
CAIRO, (AFP) — Egyptian Islamist sheikh Hazem Abu Ismail kicked off his candidacy for the presidency on Friday with a large motorcade that headed to the electoral committee headquarters in Cairo.

Witnesses said dozens of vehicles packed with the ultra-conservative’s supporters left a mosque with the statutory 30,000 endorsements from citizens required to register as a candidate.

Outside the mosque, they chanted “Look Obama, Sheikh Hazem is a knowledgeable cleric,” referring to US President Barack Obama.

Abu Ismail, who advocates a strict interpretation of Islam similar to the one practised in Saudi Arabia, has become a familiar sight in Cairo, with his posters adorning many cars and micro buses.
(..)

Can the Syrian Army be asked to stop military actions without any commitment for the same from the armed rebels?

Syria crisis: US urges Saudis to support diplomacy to end bloodshed

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/30/syria-crisis-saudi-arabia-diplomacy

The US is urging Saudi Arabia to support international diplomatic efforts to resolve the bloody crisis in Syria amid concern that the Saudis and Qatar are planning to arm the rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.
..
Clinton, the British foreign secretary William Hague, and dozens of other western and Arab foreign ministers will be in Istanbul on Sunday for a meeting of the Friends of Syria group, designed to demonstrate resolve and orchestrate action against the Damascus regime.

The last time the group met the Saudis said it was “a good idea” to arm the Syrian rebels and create a safe haven on the Turkish border. The US, UK and most western and Arab countries, which united to support the anti-Gaddafi Libyan rebels last year, disagreed.

Diplomats and analysts insist there is still no hard evidence of Saudi or Qatari supplies to the Free Syrian Army (FSA), the main armed wing of the opposition. “There is a lot of lobbying but little sign they have acted on it,” said one western official.

The Saudis have reportedly been pressing Jordan to allow weapons across their border into Syria, so far to no avail. Turkey is also preventing arms transfers.

For all the talk, the FSA is still only lightly armed. “They are organised locally and armed with nothing more sophisticated than AK-47 assault rifles, RPGs, and PK machine guns,” according to Malik al-Abdeh, a London-based supporter of the Syrian National Council.
..
In his first response to the plan the Syrian president made his agreement conditional on an end to support by unnamed countries for what he called “armed terrorist groups”. But Annan rejected this approach. “The government must stop first and then discuss a cessation of hostilities with the other side and with the mediator,” his spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi, insisted on Friday. “We expect him to implement this plan immediately.”
(..)

#288 Gufran

How can Al Jazeera show one of their friends committing murders on children?

http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-iran-helps-syria-ship-oil-china-sources-092722480.html

Exclusive: Iran helps Syria ship oil to China: sources
By Jessica Donati | Reuters – 2 hrs 28 mins ago

LONDON (Reuters) – Iran is helping its ally Syria defy Western sanctions by providing a vessel to ship Syrian oil to a state-run company in China, potentially giving the government of President Bashar al-Assad a financial boost worth an estimated $80 million.

(,,,)

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-switches-from-iranian-to-libyan-oil.aspx?pageID=238&nID=17336&NewsCatID=338

Turkey switches from Iranian to Libyan oil
ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News

Turkey is planning to begin importing oil from Libya instead of Iran as it seeks to comply with U.S. demands that countries reduce their dependence on the Islamic republic’s natural resources, according to Energy Minister Taner Yıldız.
..
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) described Erdoğan’s visit to Tehran as a “fiasco,” noting that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delayed his meeting with Erdoğan on the grounds he was sick, but met with a delegation from Turkmenistan the dame day. 

“Erdoğan has returned empty-handed,” the CHP’s Faruk Loğoğlu said.
 (..)

#286 Mawal95

This is the full declaration that Ahmad Fawzi said. The part about ‘gesture of good faith’ and the request for the opposition to lat down the arms has been skipped by the media.

“The government must stop first and then discuss a cessation of hostilities with the other side,” said Annan spokesman Ahmad Fawzi.

“We are appealing to the stronger party to make a gesture of good faith. … The deadline is now.”
…
Annan is dispatching a deputy, Nasser El-Kidwa, to meet with government opponents within the next several days and demand that they “lay down their arms and start talking,” Fawzi said.

Annan also is arranging visits to “key countries in the region” such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, but no dates have been fixed yet, Fawzi said. The aim of Annan’s visit is “to stress that this is the only plan in town” for resolving the crisis, the spokesman said.

http://www.cbc.ca/m/rich/news/story/2012/03/30/syria-annan.html

Tara #293

Poor Erdogan, I worry for his health after all the successive drawbacks he is encountering.
The failure of the FOS to recognize his creation, the SNC, would be a final blow to his efforts to unseat Bashar.

Great step by Iran!

Sami moubayed wrote that unemployment in Syria reached 39%,young men are unemployed ,peeyless and angry, retired people are angry too,

the office of Annan said that Bashar is not complying with what he agreed to, Bashar thinks that he can deal with UN just like he dealt with AL.

Obama,will impose penalty for those who buy oil from Iran and Syria, tightening sanction.

Bronco

You are worried for Erdogan’s health?

I too worry too much… for my loved ones’s health.

Delhi summit: BRICS says dialogue only answer for Syria, Iran
IANS | Mar 29, 2012, 03.54PM IST

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Delhi-summit-BRICS-says-dialogue-only-answer-for-Syria-Iran/articleshow/12454330.cms
….
We agreed that a lasting solution in Syria and Iran can only be found through dialogue,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a closing statement at the fourth BRICS summit of Brazil, Russia,
India, China and South Africa here.

The Delhi Declaration issued at the end of the summit reflected the shared perception of the BRICS countries, which account for 40 percent of global GDP and nearly half the world’s population, on these burning global issues that pit them against the Western approach of using sanctions and speculation about the use of force to resolve complex global issue
….
The declaration supported “a Syrian-led inclusive political process”, an explanation India had used to justify its vote on the UN’s Syria resolution, and welcomed the joint efforts of the UN and the Arab League.

The BRICS leaders also welcomed the appointment of Kofi Annan, a former UN secretary general, as the joint special envoy on the Syrian crisis and supported him in his efforts play a role in spurring a political resolution of the crisis.

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev warned against external interference, saying that it has the potential to destroy the dialogue process. Medvedev added that he has proposed a collective humanitarian aid by the BRICS countries to the Syrian people.

The BRICS’ stand on Syria and Iran will be viewed with unease by the West which has tended to see the five-nation grouping as an attempt at an alternate world order.

In this respect, the fourth BRICS summit in Delhi marked the evolution of a group focused on global economic governance issues to one which is trying to achieve greater political coherence.

This was reflected in the BRICS’ formulation on the festering crisis in the Middle East and North Africa.

“We agree that the period of transformation taking place in the Middle East and North Africa should not be used as a pretext to delay resolution of lasting conflicts but rather it should serve as an incentive to settle them, in particular the Arab-Israeli conflict,” said the declaration.
(..)

Egypt Islamist registers for election amid fanfare
30/03/2012
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=29062
CAIRO, (AFP) — Egyptian Islamist sheikh Hazem Abu Ismail kicked off his candidacy for the presidency on Friday with a large motorcade that headed to the electoral committee headquarters in Cairo.

Witnesses said dozens of vehicles packed with the ultra-conservative’s supporters left a mosque with the statutory 30,000 endorsements from citizens required to register as a candidate.
….
Outside the mosque, they chanted “Look Obama, Sheikh Hazem is a knowledgeable cleric,” referring to US President Barack Obama.
(..)

Tara #298

If it is not HBJ you worry about, I hope everybody you love is in a good health.

Tara #300

Are you are skipping my posts?

289. zoo
https://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=14166&cp=6#comment-304359

Zoo

How could I?

You started it. Look at Tara@278 and Zoo@290

Bronco

“I hope everybody you love is in a good health.”

That is very sweet. Thank you. You too the same.

The problem is I just don’t know..

@ ZOO #294: According to Jihad Maqdisi in the interview linked to by JAD at #280, “Mr. Kofi Annan acknowledged the right of the State to respond to armed violence.” But I cannot find Kofi Annan quoted saying that anywhere on the Internet. I would like Kofi Annan to come out and say it clearly on the public record, and reiterate it. And reiterate it again.

Otherwise the foreign newspapers will continue with the likes of the following shıte from the editorial board of the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/syrias-cover-for-murder/2012/03/30/gIQAQP63lS_story.html

[ Mawal95, this post was caught up in a spam filter. ]

@ ZOO #294: According to Jihad Maqdisi in the interview linked to by JAD at #280, “Mr. Kofi Annan acknowledged the right of the State to respond to armed violence.” But I cannot find Kofi Annan quoted saying that anywhere on the Internet. I would like Kofi Annan to come out and say it clearly on the public record, and reiterate it. And reiterate it again.

Otherwise the foreign newspapers will continue with the likes of the following shite from the editorial board of the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/syrias-cover-for-murder/2012/03/30/gIQAQP63lS_story.html

Bronco
Don’t be so sure.She loves Hamad,Erdogan,Abdelrazak Tlass,Omar Altallawi,
Alaaroor ,R Alassad…And many others terrorists.
Do you wish them all good health?

The al qaeda-obsessed propagandists here must be dumb or they hope people reading their media shabbiha posts are really dumb.

This is the first time we’ve seen al qaeda working with a western-supported side, target buildings rather than people, team up with other political and organised groups etc – lots of firsts.

While these “new type” al qaeda try out this approach in obscurity and confusion, their limelight and messages are being stolen by that unbalanced loner in Paris who demonstrated the real face of al qaeda.

It’s fair to conclude Assad’s al quaeda have links with the phantom al qaeda that Gaddafi and Ben Ali were squawking about when their own citizens had them on the run.

Syrian (Revution):
No Alqaeda
Not Sectarian
No Kiddnapping
No lying
No killing
No violence
Selmiee
No foreign fighters
No Israeli weapons
No Aljazera lies
No public hanging
Not Islamic
Not Sunni
No foreign influence
No killing 3000 soldiers
No jesr Alshogour Massacr
No Karam Alzaiton massacr
No Sari Saaoud killing
No sari Hasson killing
No George Gharam killing
No Nidal Janoud killing
No cutting soldier body in DearAlzour
No soldier torturing
No Damascus bombing
No Aleppo Bombing
No Ezla Attack
Not Turkeys puppets
No Khaled Abo Salah staging and lies
No Dany and CNN staging and lies
No Alhamedia crime against humanity
No Alhamedia Ethnic cleansing
No Dear Sidnya Attack

ينعل ابو هيك ثوره وأبو هيك حريه
خربتو البلد الله لايعطيكم العافيه

Lately, Hamad Bin Jassem has become the heart and spirit of the Syrian people, I hope for him the best.He is smart, patriotic,and wise, he is very polite, God bless him.

I do not think that Annan’s plan is going to work, there is no chance that the Syrian army will abandon it’s responsibility in providing safety and security to all Syrians, until there is a clear indication that the rebellion is dead and the militant are willing to join the reform the plan is dead on arrival. i see no chance of no winners or losers in Syria, one side has to win and i think that side is the government side.

Syrialover

You are right, there are so many first times. But I would have thought that they would instrumentalize the whole issue over and over, but thats just not happening.The first two days after the bombings you see the dreadful images, but no confessionshows or other investigations were made public. Given the nature of Syrias security apparatus its quite embarassing if we would believe such thing as an syrian Alquaida has the ability to strike just a mile from important goverment buildings and even the residency of the President isnt that far. How can he sleep tight nowadays?

Norman

Torture and masskillings wont prevail, they just never have. So how can this “government” as you gently call the Assad regime survive after commiting all those atrocities?

what is this word, snk? Selmiee

Omen,

Selmieh is Arabic for Peaceful.

juergen, how does the regime in iran survive?

ty sonofdamascus.

283. HOPEFUL said:
Vote for the outcome you would like to see for Syria!
http://onsyria.wordpress.com/

Hi Hopeful,
I’m impressed with your analysis of the Syrian groups at this stage, I’m also in agreement with your 3 major political parties that is going to dominate the Syrian political life if the changes promised by the government went through, with one change to the the Syrian Islamic Coalition that it will be hidden or coated with something not so obvious, not sure what, probably ‘Conservative party’ without a strong Islamic flavor to it.
I only have couple points that I disagree with you on
-for some reason you put the silent Sunni majority as a one group into the ‘Islamist’ group along the Salafis and the Conservatives (probably MBs) which is in my opinion an unfair judgement to the majority of the Syrian society since this group as you wrote it (moderate) and (completely unpoliticized) to be put with the radicals.
-Ignoring the ethnic minorities (Kurds, Assyrians, Armenians ets..) from the whole study is a flaw that needs to be addressed and analyzed.
-Asking the ‘Islamists’ and the ‘liberal democrats’ to convince the “minority” and that “nationalist” of their agenda is like asking the devil to convince God in his good nature which won’t happen 🙂

Other than that you did a great work, form a truly Syrian point of view and not the stereotypical sectarian western views.
Thank you

next time iran goes through another uprising, it too would probably turn militarized, don’t you think?

either that or massively bribe the guards.

Bronco
It seems that the public in the Ottoman empire are starting to be vocal about the misbehaving of the criminal militias their regime is harboring:

هزائم ميلشيا الجيش الحر تخيف عناصره الهاربين الى تركيا وإشاعات عن عمليات قريبة ضد مخيماتهم

أنطاكية – عربي برس

انتشرت في الأيام القليلة الماضية شائعة في أوساط اللاجئين السوريين المتواجدين في مخيمات اللجوء في تركيا. وتفيد الشائعة أن سلطات الرئيس الأسد تحضر لشن هجمات انتحارية عليهم. وهو ما سبب حالة من الهلع والتوتر فيما بينهم. ولا سيما مع ظهور الرئيس السوري في حي بابا عمرو بطريقة تعكس انتصار قوات الجيش السوري على المتمردين. وقد نقلت بعض أوساط السكان المحليين المحيطين بمخيم أبايدن، الذي يستضيف ضباط ما يسمى بالجيش السوري الحر، وعلى رأسهم رياض الأسعد ومصطفى الشيخ، ازدياد الاجراءات الأمنية المتخذة لحماية المخيم. غير أن بعض المتابعين عزا هذه الشائعة إلى الضباط الفارين الذين يسعون لضمان ولاء وخضوع بقية اللاجئين، وخاصة مع افتضاح أمر المخيم الذي كان يستخدم كسجن للعناصر غير المنضبطة.
وينقل عن مسؤول محلي من حزب العدالة الحاكم أنه التقى بالأسعد والشيخ، وأنهما أبلغاه تماهيههما التام مع توجهات مجلس اسطنبول بشأن القضية الكردية، والتي جاءت نتيجة للضغوط التركية، مما أفرز انشقاقاً كردياً كبيراً من المجلس. ونقل المسؤول أن الأسعد أخبره بوجود معلومات لديه عن تواجد قوة عسكرية لحزب العمال الكردستاني قوامها ألفا مسلح دخلوا الأراضي السورية لدعم نظام الأسد على حد قوله.
ويعرف عن اللاجئين السوريين في تركيا سوء سيرتهم؛ فالسكان المحليون يشتكون من ازدياد حالات السرقة بشكل غير مسبوق لدرجة أن كل حالات السرقة أصبحت تعزى لهم حتى ثبوت العكس، وأيضاً من انتشار تجارة البغاء. وحتى أن البعض منهم يقوم ببيع البطانيات التي تقدمها لهم الدولة إلى مدنيين من خارج المخيمات، وإعادة طلب بطانيات جديدة مع التهديد بالعودة إلى سورية في حال لم تنفذ طلباتهم. كما أنهم في بعض الحالات قاموا بالاعتداء على الأهالي في القرى المحيطة وعلى المارة، كما قاموا أحياناً باعتداءات ذات طابع مذهبي.
من جهة أخرى بدأت تتكشف مواصفات المخيم الجديد في كيليس، والذي يطلق عليه الأتراك اسم مدينة الحوايا المعدنية. وبحسب ما علمناه فإن المخيم يتكون من حيين في كل حي هناك مطعم، مغسلة جماعية للثياب، مدرسة ابتدائية، خدمات اجتماعية (مغاسل، مراحيض ..الخ) ومسجد. كما أن هناك مدرسة ثانوية لخدمة الحيين. ولم تسمح السلطات حتى الآن لجهات إعلامية محايدة بدخول المخيم الجديد مما أعاق محاولات تخمين العدد الحالي للاجئين والذي يقارب 17000 لاجئ بحسب أردوغان، و8000 لاجئ بحسب وسائل الإعلام الرسمية السورية.
http://arabi-press.com/?page=article&id=30098

i though salam was peace. Selmiee must be the adjective form?

prof landis on the previous thread, in the al monitor video debate, argued syrians lack a unifying identify. bassma kodmani said she couldn’t disagree more. she insisted despite the various sects, syrians strongly feel the sense of being syrian.

doesn’t everybody want democracy? doesn’t everybody want to be free? couldn’t that also be a unifying force? why does one need to cling to sectarian identity in order to have a sense of that we are all in this together?

It seems that the fake Brit is lying about his position.
Ghalyoun himself had to deny him the honor of being the loyal ‘secretary’ or the ‘office boy’ 😉

توضيح من رئيس المجلس الوطني السوري

تناقلت وسائل الإعلام في الآونة الأخيرة تصريحات عن السيد/ أسامة المنجد بوصفه مستشاراً لرئيس المجلس الوطني السوري.

ويودّ الدكتور برهان غليون رئيس المجلس الوطني السوري أن ينفي نفياً قاطعاً أنه عيّن أو كلف السيد/ أسامة المنجد بمهمة مستشار رئيس المجلس أو مهمة إصدار بيانات أو تصريحات باسمه.

إن مواقف وتصريحات رئيس المجلس الوطني السوري تصدر عنه شخصياً أو يتم التعبير عنها في بيانات رسمية.

الدكتور برهان غليون
رئيس المجلس الوطني السوري
http://nidaasyria.org/ar/?p=4238

maher, is that you? why aren’t you maher? i remember reading your other long piece when i first started posting here.

snk, where is the list of crimes the regime has committed?

Jad, Re: http://onsyria.wordpress.com/

1. Perhaps I should have called the 2nd category the “Conservatives” or the “Sunni Religious” group instead of the “Islamists”. This category will include the moderates (2.3), the extremists (2.2), and the ultra-extremists(2.1). While I agree that this group is moderate and un-politicized, I also believe that, today, this group lacks the political sophistication to vote for anyone who is NOT a sunni muslim in any truly democratic election.

2. Regarding the ethnic minorities other than the Alawites and the Christians, I can be wrong but I believe that they are divided between the first (specifically 1.2 & 1.3) and the third category (specifically 3.1); and therefore, they do not “form” a single group from the political affiliation/ideology perspective.

3. I am asking the moderates from all categories to restrain the extremists in their own category and reach out to the moderates in the other categories. This is my hope!

Maher,
Thank you for taking time to reply and explain.

1-I agree that the majority of this group will vote for a Syrian ‘Sunni muslim in any truly democratic election’, however they will vote for someone of THEM, which means a moderate not a conservative or even an ultra conservative and as a result a Moderate representative will lead the ‘Conservative’ group. Right?

2-I can’t see any average Syrian Kurd to be under category 1.2 or 1.3
and we defiantly have a problem putting them under 3.1 because of the conflict history with the ‘Arabism’ government policies.
To be honest, I find the Syrian Kurds to be more politically mature than almost all the politicians, loyalist and oppositions put together, they are very liberal even thought they belong to the same religious of the conservative, and very peaceful and protective to their peaceful movement than any other group in Syria today who went crazy and partnered with the devil.
In my humble opinion, the majority of the Syrian Kurds proved to be more Syrians than all of us.
I also agree that they can`t form a single group but at the same time it`s difficult to separate them in the proposed categories, I might be wrong, but that is my opinion reading your excellent analysis.

3-I totally agree on this point, it`s our only hope at the moment.

Lybia is indeed a Qatari “success”: it is the next Soudan.
http://www.egyptindependent.com/node/742711
“The head of Libya’s Toubou tribe on Friday called for international intervention to halt what he called the “ethnic cleansing” of his people after deadly clashes in the southern oasis of Sabha.

“We demand that the United Nations and European Union intervene to stop the ethnic cleansing of the Toubou,” said Issa Abdel Majid Mansur, a former opposition activist against the ousted regime of slain dictator Muammar Qadhafi.

He accused Arab tribes in Sabha of bombarding a power station providing electricity to several parts of southern Libya including Qatrun and Morzuk, both areas with a strong Toubou presence. (…)”

Omen
If you See in History 30-40 are Not much.there is much hate Torwards religious and Religion in General in Iran.the Mullahs have accomplished by islamising every Part of the Life that a Whole Generation turns against Religion. Iranians are smart enough to know that this Regime is enjoying its Last years.

Allah Suria Bashar wu bas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dDOLpJQbJOg
.

Omen
I am not saying that the regime is angels.What I am saying is that having such a dirty (revolution )is not justifiable.
One time a philospher was asked how he thinks the third world war will be? His answe was he doesn’t know,but he thinks that the 4th world war is going to be
With rocks and sticks.
The opposition should put their dirty but down and sit on the table.

That becomes at you in the USA (:
Santorum Calls Obama a “Government Nigger” (Best Video)

All what the so called arab spring is creating is failed states that’s what the Neocon planned for the Arabs, Gaza, Iraq, Somali, Tunisia, Libya, and Syria is next, it is clear that no one benefit from this new Geopolitical state more than Israel and all the ones who denies the western conspiracy are either part of the conspiracy or in denial for the purpose of climbing to the helm.
MB and Alqaida are all over the Arab Spring, USA in support to place radical regimes in place of Autocratic regimes.
Although this may be a tactical move to put citizens under more Misery given radical regimes have mentality of retards at best.
Internet and other ways of communication have made the world a tiny small lake where everyone can see the other naked in the same lake therefore the only options of the radicals is to continue to swim underwater, which means ending to the radicals ideology in time.
The only exception to this hypothesis that radical usually withdraw from the civilization and shell themselves into an rock shell where the only respond you will have is more terrorist attacks and radicalization.
Afghanistan and other countries can attest well to this theory.
Assad worst mistake is allowing the Sunni to build more mosques in the last 40 years than building schools in Syria. Mosques raise only more hardliners and more terrorists at the end of the day.
http://observers.france24.com/

Syria declares it has defeated revolt……  Yeah.  Right.
 
 BY RIM HADDAD, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE MARCH 31, 2012 3:04 AM

DAMASCUS — Syria declared Saturday it had defeated those seeking to bring down the regime while reiterating support for a UN-Arab peace plan, as its troops reportedly shelled rebels in the flashpoint city of Homs.

Foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdisi, cited by the official SANA news agency, also said that Syrian troops would withdraw from urban areas once they had been stabilized.
….
“The battle to topple the state is over, and the battle to solidify stability . . . and move on towards a renewed Syria has begun,” Makdisi said in an interview originally carried on state television.

The spokesman said the Assad government’s focus was also to “rally visions behind the reform process” and “prevent those who seek to sabotage reform.”

Troops would withdraw from urban areas once they were secured, he said, adding UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan acknowledged there were “illegitimate armed elements within the opposition”.

“The presence of the Syrian Arab army in Syrian cities is for defensive purposes (so) as to protect the civilians,” Makdisi was quoted as saying by SANA.

“Once peace and security prevail, the army is to pull out,” he added.

SANA said that Makdisi made the appearance on television in a bid to explain to Syrians why the government had this week accepted Annan’s six-point peace plan.
….
A UN official in New York said a minimum of 250 observers would be needed if the Syrian government halted its offensive on protesters and gave its agreement for the international force.
(…} 

Peter Schiff on BRICS and the – “Demise of the Dollar”
http://revolutionarypolitics.tv/video/viewVideo.php?video_id=18369

In Bahrein victims only “allege”, and in Hillary’s “wonderful potential” KSA, victims are totally silenced.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-17564341
Amnesty International has demanded the jailed Bahraini human rights activist, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, be released “immediately and unconditionally”.
Mr Khawaja has been on a hunger strike for the past 51 days and as his condition deteriorates there is growing concern that he may die in prison.
He is refusing food in protest at the life sentence he received in June for allegedly plotting against the state.
Amnesty described his trial by a military court as “grossly unfair”. (…)
Abdulhadi al-Khawaja told the BBC before his arrest on 8 April that he had deliberately stayed away from Pearl Roundabout.
“I don’t want to give the authorities any reason to arrest me,” he said.
He was nevertheless picked up in a late night raid and subsequently received a life sentence from a military tribunal for plotting the overthrow of the government. (…)
He was taken to a Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) hospital and spent seven days blindfolded and handcuffed to his bed, he told the BICI. While in hospital, he and his family were threatened with sexual abuse, he said.
Mr Khawaja said he then spent two months in solitary confinement in prison and was denied access to a lawyer. He also alleged that he was sexually assaulted and regularly beaten.” (…)

Juerge,

They are fighting for Syria.

20 soldiers killed by Alqaeda terrorists:

ذووهم أكدوا فخرهم بالشهادة لأجل سوريا.. تشييع جثامين 20 شهيدا لمثواويها الأخيرة
شيعت من مشافي تشرين العسكري والشرطة بدمشق وزاهي أزرق العسكري في اللاذقية والمشفى الوطني بالسويداء اليوم إلى مثاويهم الأخيرة جثامين 20 شهيدا من عناصر الجيش وحفظ النظام استهدفتهم المجموعات الإرهابية المسلحة أثناء تأديتهم لواجبهم الوطنى فى دمشق وريف دمشق ودرعا وحماة وادلب.

والشهداء هم:

العقيد موفق سليمان الحمد من السويداء، المقدم سامي محمود محمد من طرطوس، المقدم زياد عبد الرحمن بريمو من حلب، الرائد حيان محمود مرعي من اللاذقية، المساعد أول شعبان عبد الكريم سليم من طرطوس، المساعد أول احمد جابر قاسم من حمص، المساعد رائد سعد العبد الله من اللاذقية، المساعد ساهر محمد الأحمد من حماة، الرقيب عبد المنعم عبد اللطيف خيري من الحسكة، العريف ريمون نزار الشعار من حماة، المجند محمد غازي الحسن من دير الزور، المجند أحمد محمد العصلي من الرقة، المجند بشار محمد جمال من ادلب، المجند محمد عوض جنادي من درعا، المجند هوكر حمد شعبو من حلب، المجند ضيغم عبد الرحيم طفيلية من ريف دمشق، المجند علي خلوف العلي من ادلب، المجند خالد يحيى مداد من دير الزور، المجند ناظم سليمان الكاعود من الحسكة، المجند رمضان حمادة من ادلب

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-mar-31-2012-0802

“The bid to overthrow Syria’s government is over, and the battle now was to secure stability, foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdisi said in a report by state media on Saturday.

“The battle to topple the state is over, and the battle to solidify stability… and move on towards a renewed Syria has begun,” Makdisi was cited as saying by the official SANA news agency.”

_________________________________________________________

Arrogance comes before the fall.

Is this Assad’s ‘mission accomplished’ moment?

_________________________________________________________

I read al-Khaldiya (Homs) is facing it’s 12th day of shelling. Is this neighbourhood the resting place of Sayyidina Khalid bin Walid (RA)?

_________________________________________________________

President Assad. Have mercy on your people. A leader should have a big heart who shows mercy and kindness to his people. Is there mercy in you? Or is it only cruelty?

http://www.shukumaku.com/PDA/Content.php?id=44187

Teachers killers are darkness forces.Why are (revolutionists ) killing teachers?
Any one who supports them is teachers killer? Why would you kill someone who left his family and kids sometime to come all the way from Tartous to teach your kids?Because he or she is Alawi or Christian ? How low is that?Any one who support teachers killer is a teacher killer.keep closing your eyes to the fact that this is terrorist Tilibani Syrian movement .keep acting blind and deny that this is
Alqaeda Afghan style jihad.Keep putting your retarded revenge filled brain in the
Sand and Dirt of wahbism and Islamic extremism until worms eat it:

قتلت مجموعة إرهابية مسلحة 3 مدرسين من ثانوية الطابية بديرالزور، حيث عثر عليهما مقتولين بالأمس.

المدرسين الثلاثة من محافظتي طرطوس واللاذقية ويدرسون في ثانوية الطابية أحدهم مدرس جغرافيا والثاني لغة عربية والثالث علوم عامة، حيث شيعت طرطوس اليوم شهداءها المدرسين وائل أحمد ابراهيم من قرية جورة الشنبور وصفوان اسماعيل من بلدة القمصية، حيث إن المدرس الثالث  وضاح حاتم من اللاذقية.

إذ أشار مراسل شوكوماكو إلى انه تم تشييع الشهداء بموكب مهيب بمشاركة أهالي البلدات.

It is almost certain that Mubarak will not live to hear the verdict against him in June.His natural death,assuming that conspiracy theorists do not come with a new story,will provide an easy exit for the ruling military council that will NOT accept a death penalty against him.
Imagine a situation where corrupt and brutal Arab rulers suffer from a swift and fatal illness and spare their countries the agony of lengthy trials,after all,natural death can not be called violence and nobody can sue God.
الأعمار بيد الله but how come wonderful people often live a relatively short life and many others live longer than Noah?
BTW,if Hamad is the heart of Syria,then we must register the country for a heart transplant before it is too late.

SNK,killers of teachers and children whoever they are have a special place in hell,if there is one. Violence is the real enemy and it is almost a trademark of failed nations.

A question. [At the risk of being shot down. Perhaps a desperate strategy]

If the opposition gets desperate do you think the FSA will decided to speed up the fall of the economy thru targeting the vulnerable banking sector by robbing banks without physically* hurting anybody? To have a real affect they would have to target the banks in the major cities rather than in rebel areas.

Do you think these ‘Robin Hood’ operations can be justified** under certain circumstances, where the whole purpose would be to topple the increasingly cruel regime via the economic/financial structure?

* Such operations would have to be carefully considered so that any banks with guards are not targeted.

** There is the issue of harming peoples savings. Would these savings be guaranteed anyway by the banks or government? Perhaps the opposition can promise that a future government will recompense those affected?

Maybe the money attained in these operations can be held in a safe place to return later. Alternatively it can temporarily be used to buy necessities for the suffering people. Perhaps even arms.

To have a real affect they would have to target the banks in the major cities.

339. Syria no Kandahar said:

“Teachers killers are darkness forces”
Educaters always been my HEROES

It is darkest before dawn,But dawn will soon follow.

The Arsonists M.Brothers sure will be thrown in the dustbin of history,The sun is just dawning.By the time,it is mid day-The Arsonists would have been vanquished by the great syrian fire fighters from the face of the earth.

No bacteria or virus can survive the sun’s rays.

the cool-aid drinkers might say,april fool,april fool.NO,its not you zombie-like mutants Ghouls

Moderator
Are you allowing bank robbers strategists to use your site for their robbing plans.

So KSA support arming the Syrians, USA said we should help in non lethal aid, and US …suspect… that Assad will not survive.
There is clear change in US position,or that is the position of USA from the begining and they have not been telling the truth, I believe the later, I think that is why Turkey has not been able to do anything yet, Israel and USA they prefer to keep Assad, and USA wants to support Iran as a mjor power in the middle East, they just do not want Iran to have nuclear power,the whole thing is conspiracy against the Arab, Change in Syria to a democratic country is against USA policy, it is a worry to the USA to see Arab spring, and wants to stop it,
There is no way Arab springs were successful in four countries and Syria will not succeed, what is left is Syria, and Syria will succeed too, but because the US and Israel support for Assad it will take time, but it is a sure thing,

It is silly to ask for a unified opposition,The US has more than one part, they are not unified,the demonstrating people inside Syria are unifified,against Assad, this demand is nothing but justification for not wanting to do anything.

The only heart needs transplant is the silly regime supporters.

343. Syria no Kandahar

I posed a question. I wished to limit it to a question however I had to explain more to avoid mis-interpretation.

It was a question in my mind for a couple of weeks which I had previously decided against posting.

The trap of “majority rule” and why it needs to be replaced with a democracy rule
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/31/egypt-constitution-majority-rule
The only legitimate majority is the one achieved by consensus and elections.
If majority rule means dividing the society into ethnic and sectarian blocks,then we would have never seen a black president in the US or women in leadership positions.
I am glad that more people are realizing ,finally,that a unified opposition is a mirage,the other mirage is that violence will bring freedom.

#344 Majedalkhadoon

It seems you are finally waking up to the reality of the isolation and the dead end the SNC and the FSA have put themselves into in Syria.

SNK
As you know the ‘strategy’ of hate and desruction is the only language ‘taliban’ understand and promote, they have no other ideas but death to promote.

You may have already heard about George Galloway winning a stunning By-election victory on thursday and returning to parliament. Great news to see him back in the heart of british politics.

Moving on.

Do you think we will see an end to Assad and his regimes indefatigability?

If the situation remains unchanged upto Ramadan in mid-July then I think we will see much more defections particularly in the military. Those who have been internally torn and haven’t taken the brave step to jump ship may just do so. The blessed month of Ramadan may be what it takes to help them make that decision. It may push them over the line.

In an official letter to the UN Syria gives a detailed list of the casualties of the bloody conflict: 6143

سوريا تكشف للأمم المتحدة بالتفصيل عن الخسائر البشرية منذ اندلاع الأحداث

كشفت سوريا الخسائر البشرية التي تكبدتها جراء أعمال العنف منذ بداية الأزمة في منتصف آذار الماضي، في رسالة بعثتها إلى الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة بان كي مون، و رئيس مجلس الأمن الحالي السفير البريطاني في الأمم المتحدة مارك ليال غرانت يوم أمس الجمعة .

و وصل عدد الضحايا، بحسب الرسالة التي نشرت قناة ” العربية ” نسخة منها على موقعها الالكتروني، إلى 6143 شخصا ، 3211 منهم من المدنيين، فيما وصل ضحايا الشرطة إلى 478 .

و كشفت الرسالة، أن عدد الضحايا من الاطفال بلغ 56 ، فيما عدد ضحايا الجيش و قوات الأمن بلغ 2088 ، أما قتلى الاغتيال المباشر فبلغ 106 .

وأفادت أن “عدد المخطوفين من مدنيين وجنود وضباط شرطة بلغ 1560 شخصا، من بينهم 931 مفقودا “.

و حملت سوريا “الجماعات الارهابية المسلحة المسؤولية عن سقوط الضحايا “.
 
وطلب المندوب السوري في رسالته من رئيس مجلس الأمن اعتبار الخطاب وثيقة رسمية وتوزيعه على أعضاء مجلس الأمن.

http://shamtimes.net/news_de.php?PartsID=1&NewsID=1499

#344 Majedalkhadoon

The USA and Israel will not allow have armed islamists extremists at the door of Israel.
The FSA make the mistake of not cleaning up their ranks from islamists, in the contrary it was more than happy to have them fighting with them against the Syrian army. Therefore nobody will help the FSA to get more weapons for fear it will be used against Israel on the border. That has been the FSA’s fatal mistake and now they are discredited by the international community.
KSA and Qatar are enraged but Hillary went to calm them down and assure them that ultimately their hated Bashar will go peacefully after the elections. As KSA is panicking at the growth of Iran’s influence and power in its south area and in the region, Hillary offered to protect them from Iran by installing a missile defense system in exchange for their acceptance of Annan’s plan.
The FOS will show if Hillary was successful and if KSA-Qatar have changed their mind about arming the opposition.
In any case I would not be surprised that we will hear soon about some terrorist acts on the Israel-Syria borders that will frighten even more the USA and Israel about the danger of an islamist regime taking over Bashar’s.
The Syrian government seems to have, at least until for now, outsmarted not only Turkey but the USA and its allies.

Tara #303

I owe you an excuse but I had not seen it was the same source until the moderator added it.
I will be more careful not to duplicate the already crammed posts.

309. majedkhaldoun

OMG.. HBJ, Big Bird, is the new Syrian idol. Let’s rejoice.
His picture deserves to be printed on Syrian made toilet paper.

Juergen

“Iranians are smart enough to know that this Regime is enjoying its Last years.”

I don’t see much signs of its decline, in the contrary…. Maybe you are psychic, like you predicted the fall of Bashar Al Assad within months..

#312 Juergen

“how the Assad regime survive after commiting all those atrocities?”

How the Opposition survives after commiting all those atrocities?

#349 UZAIR8

“The blessed month of Ramadan may be what it takes to help them make that decision. It may push them over the line.”

The opposition needs a lot of prayers to survive until Ramadan

347. Irritated

It seems you are struggling against waking up to the reality of the isolation and the dead end the Assad regime have put themselves into in Syria.

355. IRRITATED
allow to add. As all foreign operative accomplices on the Syrian land and their countries customers of the Syrian blood will survive after commiting all those atrocities?

Last comment for now.

Just came across this from comment section on AJE live syria blog:

“Today news from the FSA published the following, has anyone seen anything similar to this? “#FSA# Syria#Damascus#Mezza# Allahu akbar!! Heavy clashes between FSA and Assad forces, so far 90 Assad forces killed and more than 100 wounded and 200 defected from the Assad forces!!! Allahu akbar!! Allahu akbar!!! God bless the FSA!”I have not seen this confirmed anywhere…

3 minutes ago”

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/Syria [see ‘sort by newest’ comments]

Can anyone confirm this? Revlon?

#317 Jad

While this is very thorough analysis, the questions put to vote are incomplete. There is a fifth choice about the regime fate besides these two extremes:

“- The regime stays on its current course of crushing the rebels, restraining free speech, restricting demonstrations, and introducing political reforms”

“-The regime agrees to step aside and negotiates the creation of a transitional government and a safe exit for its leaders and supporters”

The fifth choice:
– The regime stays on its current course of ensuring security in the whole country by disarming armed gangs and negotiating with rebels for a full ceasefire under the UN umbrella, allowing legal demonstrations under observers surveillance, allowing a certain level of freedom of speech, introducing political reforms and planning for elections”

UZair8

“Allahu akbar!! Allahu akbar!!”

I doubt Allah agrees with rejoicing about the death of moslems who ever they are.

As usual of Bassam Alkadi, always looking for solutions even in the darkest days:

أفكار حول حل الأزمة في سورية (2)
يقوم هذا التصور على قراءة معطيات الواقع كما هي، دون إسقاط لأية رغبات على تلك المعطيات. ومحاولة استثمار جميع إمكانيات الواقع الراهن للخروج من المأزق الحالي الذي صار يهدد وجود سورية كبلد واحد موحد.
الاعتقال والتعذيب:
2- الإطلاق الفوري، وغير المشروط، لجميع المعتقلين على خلفية الأحداث ممن أمضوا أكثر من 7 أيام قيد الاعتقال في أي فرع أمني، (أو في السجون)، ولم يثبت ارتكابهم العنف أو حمل السلاح أو تسهيل الحصول عليه أو التخطيط بأي أعمال عسكرية.
التتمة على الرابط:
http://bassam-alkadi.com/index.php/on-the-crisis-in-syria/701-ideas-about-resolving-the-crisis-in-syria-2
 
أفكار حول حل الأزمة في سورية (1)
يقوم هذا التصور على قراءة معطيات الواقع كما هي، دون إسقاط لأية رغبات على تلك المعطيات. ومحاولة استثمار جميع إمكانيات الواقع الراهن للخروج من المأزق الحالي الذي صار يهدد وجود سورية كبلد واحد موحد.
1- بما أن القوة الرئيسية المعارضة الآن على الأرض هي قوة مسلحة ذات برنامج أصولي لا ديمقراطي ولا مدني، ولا تعترف بالمواطنة، وتتبنى مفاهيم تنقض استقلال سورية وسيادتها، فإن الجيش السوري هو الوحيد القادر على أن يواجه وينهي هذه القوة.
التتمة على الرابط:
http://bassam-alkadi.com/index.php/on-the-crisis-in-syria/700-ideas-about-resolving-the-crisis-in-syria-1

http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2012/03/31/an-overview-of-the-flagging-syrian-national-council.html
An Overview of the Flagging Syrian National Council
Mahdi Darius NAZEMROAYA | 31.03.2012 | 13:48

The Syrian National Council (SNC) is starting to turn in on itself as Damascus has proved to be strongly resilient in weathering the storm. From the start the SNC was not a popular or representative body and it now appears on the decline even with foreign sponsorship and the continuous supplying of weapons from members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to its fighters on the ground in Syria…

The Purposes of the Attacks of the Syrian National Council and the Free Syrian Army

Both the SNC and its military wing, the so-called Free Syrian Army, have been used to subvert Syria. Their primarily goals are not to establish democracy or democratic reforms in Syria, but to transform Syria into a client state of the United States. In this regard, in the last year there has been a consistent and methodological attempt to destabilize all of Syria’s border areas.

The destabilization of Syria’s borders is tied to several tactics. One aim is to ensure that a continuous flow of arms and fighters from the borders of other countries is insured. Another aim is to cripple the Syrian economy by deactivating important Syrian economic activities and trade in strategic areas in tandem with U.S. and E.U. sanctions against Syria. In this regard, the oil producing hub of Deir Ezzor has been attacked as have pipelines and the Syrian port of Lattakia, rumoured to possibly be the home of a future Iranian naval base in the Mediterranean that would complement the Russian naval base in the port of Tartus. A third aim is to transform these destabilized areas as bridgeheads for forced entry into Syria as “protected areas” and “humanitarian corridors.”

Allah yakhod almjrmeen klon ashe lafe!

Irritated,
What do you expect from ‘taliban’ spokesperson?

“Most days, I feel silenced by the inhumanity of humanity. The last seven months of life in Syria tore down every lingering sense of hope I had in leadership, people in power. I’ve never before seen the good will of millions tossed so carelessly into the garbage with no regard for ordinary people, not a thought for future generations, not a care for the future – for what could or should be.”

From blog The Sweet Makers Wife (a writer inside Syria) http://thesweetmakerswife.tumblr.com/post/16503917687/deconstructing-narratives-on-the-syrian-revolution

Worth reading for a personal perspective from inside Damascus etc.

Syria crisis: US urges Saudis to support diplomacy to end bloodshed

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/30/syria-crisis-saudi-arabia-diplomacy
Hillary Clinton in Riyadh for talks amid concern Saudi Arabia and Qatar are planning to arm anti-Assad regime rebels

The US is urging Saudi Arabia to support international diplomatic efforts to resolve the bloody crisis in Syria amid concern that the Saudis and Qatar are planning to arm the rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.

On a day that saw now-familiar Friday protests and killings across Syria, the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, was in Riyadh for talks with King Abdullah and other Saudi leaders as part of what was billed as an effort to pressure Assad.
(..)

The Global March to Jerusalem, March 30, 2012
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29898

Istanbul to host Syria meet amid confusion
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/istanbul-to-host-syria-meet-amid-confusion.aspx?pageID=238&nID=17333&NewsCatID=338
ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News
The Friends of Syria meeting will begin April 1 in Istanbul, but expectations are low with all parties divided over the proper approach to Syria’s violence

A key summit on Syria is set to gather Western and Middle Eastern heavyweights in Istanbul on Sunday, with deep confusion remaining over how the year-long turmoil will be ended, amid rifts within both the international community and the Syrian opposition.

The so-called Friends of Syria meeting comes at a time when the world and the Syrian opposition are divided when it comes to the methodology to end the Syrian crisis. One of the main problems is how this meeting will be linked to the joint envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League Kofi Annan’s mission, aimed at ending the violence in Syria and opening channels for humanitarian assistance.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was scheduled to make a phone call to Annan Friday to invite him to the summit, although there was little hope that the former U.N. secretary-general could make it.
…
With the expectation that the Syrian National Council will be announced as “the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people,” the Friends of Syria will discuss how best to provide assistance to those suffering at the hands of the regime’s brutal security forces.
…
Ahead of the Istanbul summit, the Hürriyet Daily News has learnt that Annan urged both the United States and the European Union not to launch fresh initiatives that would complicate his mission.
..
“Solutions based on al-Assad staying in power are not realistic,” Davutoğlu added.
…
(..)

Dear Bronco,
To be honest, I didn’t vote for the proposed outcome of Mr. Maher yet, I think the situation keeps changing every hour and things can go from ok to bad to worse or the other way around according to the players in a matter of hours, as someone said ‘in the middle east even the water is flammable’
ksa seems to stay on track in their mission to destroy Syria even after Clinton’s visit, check out this crap out the mouth of the saudis:
الفيصل: تسليح المعارضة واجب لأنها لا تستطيع الدفاع عن نفسها إلا بالأسلحة
http://www.syria-news.com/readnews.php?sy_seq=146156

I read this depressing interview comparing what happened in Lebanon in the 70s to what’s happening in Syria today, even the pathetic AL meetings and steps are exactly the same, I hope that the Syrians know how to outsmart the devils.

A long term burden for Turkey: Many of these ‘refugees’ will not leave these comfortable and safe ‘social life centers’ to go back to Syria anytime soon costing Turkey more and more money.

“We call them Syrians under temporary protection, not refugees,”
“They are deprived of the right to apply for refugee status.”

Syria refugee crisis lands on Turkey’s doorstep
By Fulya Ozerkan (AFP) – 12 hours ago
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iYV1pkIqPeMC_JQ1ddt-N-lu8a1A?docId=CNG.5ba00d350acdc99f903fb64f33d3cb13.631
..
The traumatised refugees are welcomed in camps described by local officials as “social life centres,” which unlike those in Afghanistan and Somalia are aimed at boosting morale.

Turkish camps provide humanitarian aid including three meals a day, health services, clean water, and prayer rooms.

Gendarmes are deployed at the camps in charge of security, but refugees are allowed to go outside to do shopping and visit their relatives in nearby Turkish towns.

The camps also offer schooling for children with Arabic-speaking teachers giving lessons in maths, Turkish, computer science and Koranic studies. The sick and injured are treated at hospitals and women join handicraft courses.

While it says it is ready to extend any help for Syrians, Turkey also fears the number of arrivals could soar to the level of the half-million Iraqi Kurds who poured across the border to escape Saddam Hussein’s repression during the 1991 Gulf War.
…
Currently, the government has set up nine locations including eight tented camps and a “container city” in Kilis, some 150 kilometres (95 miles) east of the Hatay camps, to deal with the influx.
…
East of Kiflis in Sanliurfa province, near the halfway point of Turkey’s 910-kilometre (560-mile) border with Syria, another massive camp is under construction that can house up to 20,000 people.

While the mass influx is bound to have lasting consequences, Turkey is clear it does not want to see the Syrians as permanent residents and refuses to call them refugees.

“We call them Syrians under temporary protection, not refugees,” Suphi Atan, head of the foreign ministry’s task force in Hatay province, told AFP.

“They are deprived of the right to apply for refugee status. We expect them to voluntarily return to their country once the situation is secure,” he said. “But we cannot compel any Syrians to go back.”

Initially, the government had described them as “guests” to emphasise the temporary nature of their asylum in Turkey but later dropped the term because “there is no guest status in international law,” Atan said.

Some of the Syrians have already applied for asylum in Turkey, Metin Corabatir, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Turkey Office, confirmed.

But his office, in close coordination with Ankara, had to turn down the asylum requests because the temporary protection status is applicable in international law, he told AFP.
(..)

صور جديدة تكشف الأوضاع المزرية للاجئين السوريين.. فأين ملايين المساعدات ؟
سيريا بوليتيك

ينشر “سيريا بوليتيك” ملف الصور التالي نقلا عن صحيفة “بوسطن غلوب” الأمريكية، وهي صور لمخيمات اللاجئين السوريين في تركيا. ويبدو أن الصحيفة الأمريكية جمعت الصور من مصادر إخبارية متعددة مثل مصوري “رويترز” و”أ ف ب” وموقع “غيتي إميجيز” وغيرها.

إن السوريين، الذين لم تخل منازلهم حتى في أسوأ أيام القحط والتدهور الاقتصادي والفقر، لم تخل من الزاد والخير من “مؤونة فيها كل الطعام”، باتوا اليوم في المخيمات، لاجئين، ينتظرون مساعدة الهلال الأحمر، والصليب الأحمر. أليست عودة هؤلاء إلى منازلهم، وقراهم، ومدنهم، أنبل وأسمى هدف من أي عمل وصراع سياسي آخر بين مكونات المعارضة ؟ أليست دمعة طفلة واحدة، وبؤس وجه طفل واحد، كفيلين بتشكيل لعنة أبدية تصيب سوريا إلى الأبد، سلطة ومعارضة ؟ ثم أين هي الملايين التي يتم جمعها باسم مساعدة للاجئين فيما تكشف الصور أن أوضاعهم لاتزال مزرية ؟ …. هيئة التحرير

http://syria-politic.com/ar/Default.aspx?subject=515#.T3crsGGPXlZ

Bronco:
كلينتون والفيصل: اتفاق على وقف سفك الدماء في سوريا واختلاف على تسليح المعارضة

أكد الجانبان الأميركي والسعودي اليوم على ضرورة وقف سفك الدماء في سوريا، في الوقت الذي اختلفا فيه على وجوب تسليح المعارضة. وقالت وزيرة الخارجية الأميركية هيلاري كلينتون في ختام اجتماعها مع نظرائها في دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي في الرياض بعد ظهر اليوم، إن الحديث تركز على “توفير الدعم غير الهدام”…

http://assafir.com/?noredirect#NewsUpdates5802

Zoo

I am very much worried now..

Look at Tara@278, Zoo@290, and Zoo again@366.

#369 Jad

More than 60% voted for the first option.. I was really surprised.

As for KSA, what they declare and what they do are two different things. I doubt they will send money for weapons to the rebels, but to save face they have to say they will. Who will check if they do or not? And who can guarantee where the money will go.

If KSA want to send weapons, they will have to convince Jordan to allow it through the borders. Syria will consider it as an aggression and will retaliate on Jordan. The jordanian king is so worried about internal uprisings that he has avoided being involved. I doubt he will agree. After failing diplomatically, the only weapon KSA has is an economical squeeze on Syria or an assassination attempt on the person of Bashar.

Tara #373

OMG, I am parotting myself! I better leave..

Zoo,

It happens. I was just worried that you secretly admire Hillary and can’t get enough of her.

The US gives a good lesson of sectarian foreign policy:
The US priority is to protect the “Arab Sunni Moslem GCC” from the threats from the “non-Arab Shia Iran”

http://news.yahoo.com/us-gulf-arabs-urge-annan-draw-syria-next-143846530.html
..
In a speech to the forum, Clinton stressed Washington’s “rock solid and unwavering” commitment to the security of the Sunni Muslim-led Gulf Arab monarchies, which are wary of non-Arab Shiite Muslim Iran.

Raising security ties from a bilateral to a multilateral level, Clinton was breaking new ground in taking part in the first strategic cooperation forum between Washington and the GCC.

She looked to taking “practical and specific steps to strengthen our mutual security, such as helping our militaries improve interoperability, cooperate on maritime security and missile defence, and coordinate responses to crises.”

US officials have said it is a US “priority” to help the GCC build a “regional missile defence architecture” against what they see as a looming ballistic missile threat from Iran.

Speaking at the press conference, the chief US diplomat broadened her attack on Tehran.

Iran “continues to threaten its neighbours and undermine regional security, including through its support for the Assad regime’s murderous campaign in Syria, threats against the freedom of navigation in the region, and interference in Yemen,” she charged.
(..)

IMPORTANT

List of Syrian Officers those involved in Massacres in Syria –

The list below shows the names of those who contributed to the killing of innocents and thesepeople should face international criminal courts and be brought to justice –

1.Bashar al-Assad Commander-in-Chief of Army and President of Syria.

2.Maher Assad, commander of a brigade in the 4th Division, is the de facto leader of 4th Armored Division.

3.Major General Mohammad Nassif KheirBek, Assistant Vice President and Special Security Adviser to Bashar al-Assad.

4.General Asef Shawkat, Deputy Chief of Staff for Security Affairs.

5.Brigadier General Hafez Makhlouf, Head of Counterterrorism Section and the Department of 251 (internal section) in the management of state security.

6.Major General Ali Mamlouk, Director of State Security.

7.Major General Abdul-Fattah Qudseyyah, Head of Military Intelligence.

8.Major General Mohammed Dib Zayton, President of Political Security Branch.

9.Major General Mohammed Samur, former Interior Minister.

10.Major General Mohammed el-Shaar, current Interior Minister.

11.Brigadier General Jamil Hassan, Director of Air Force Intelligence.

12.Major General Zuhair el-Hamd, Deputy Director of State Security.

13.Major General Nazeeh Hassoun, Deputy Director of State Security in charge of operations in the coastal zone.

14.Major General Jumah Al-Ahmad, Commander of Special Forces (special units).

15.Jamil Badr Hassan, Commander of the Air Defense Department, who led the storming of Moadamieh.

16.Major General Rustom Ghazali, head of Damascus and countryside Branch and Divisionof Military Security.

17.Major General Ali Younes, Vice Chairman of the Military Intelligence Division (ViceGeneral Abdel-Fattah Qudseya).1

18.General Tawfiq Younis, Department of State Security branch 251.

19.Brigadier General Atef Naguib, President of the Political Security branch in the province of Daraa

20.Brigadier Thaer Al-Muammar, head of Raids and Patrols in the State SecurityDepartment, who led a raid on Doma city.

21.Brigadier Nasser al-Ali, head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa.

22.Brigadier General Iyad Mahmoud, Brigadier Commander in the Republican Guard.

3.Brigadier General Alaa Saud, Republican Guard.

24.Brigadier Manaf Tlass, Brigade Commander of the 105th Republican Guard. He participated in the siege Al-Abasin yard and killed demonstrators.

25.Brigadier Ghassan Bilal, Head of Security in the Fourth Grade. He supervised the torture and interrogation of the protestors.

26.Brigadier Nabih Rabea, of the Republican Guard. He participated in besieging neighborhoods in Damascus.

27.Brigadier Nasser Deeb, President of the Political Security branch in Hama. He is a nephew of General Shafiq Fayyad .

28.General Mounir Jalud, Chief of Military Security in Homs.

29.Brigadier General Mohammad Makhlouf, Chairman of the State Security Branch of Homs.

30.Brigadier General Jamea Jamea, Head of the Security Branch of the military in theprovince of Deir al-Zour. He participated in killing and suppressing demonstrators in Deirezzor province.

31.Brigadier Burhan Qaddour, Military Interrogation Branch in the Division of MilitaryIntelligence and former head of Military Security.

32.Brigadier Mohammad Khallouf, Chief of Palestine Branch who participated in therepression of demonstrators in Damascus.

33.Brigadier General Adnan Ahmed, head of the Military Intelligence Branch.

34.Brigadier Khader al-Hussein, head of the State Security Branch.

35.Brigadier General Taha Taha, head of the Political Security Branch

36.Brigadier Mohammad Akram, President of the State Security Branch in Halab.

37. Thul Hemma Shalesh, Chief of the Presidential Security Motorcade and has helped finance Al-Shabiha in Lattakia and Damascus.

38.Colonel Khalil Mulla, Chairman of the Political Security Branch in Halab.

39. Major General ‘Ali Ammar, de jure commander of the 4th Armored Division

40.Colonel Tammam El-Deeb, 53 Special Forces online in Lattakia. He supervised the killing of demonstrators in Latakia. A battalion commander and Al-Shabiha joined him inLattakia.

41.Colonel Ali Salim, Battalion Commander of the storm, 53 Special Forces. He supervisedthe storming of the city and killed demonstrators in the Jabalah area.

42.Colonel Tamim Isa al-Ahmed, Special Forces . He participated in the killing of demonstrators in Lattakia.

43.Colonel Mohammed Al Abdullah, head of the Political Security Branch in Homs and was

44. Brigadier Haeil al-Assad, head of Secret Police and Special Operations.

45.Brigadier Zuhair al-Assad, Brigade Commander in 90, to protect the capital Damascus.

46.Brigadier General Abdul Salam, head of the Air Intelligence Investigation Branch (theairport Mezze). He is a Shia

WANTED.

Bronco,
I’m sure you read this:
وكالات – عربي برس
ذكرت صحيفة “وول ستريت جورنال” أن “الملك السعودي طلب من نظيره الأردني عبد الله الثاني خلال اللقاء الذي جمعهما في بداية الشهر الحالي الموافقة على تزويد المعارضة السورية بالأسلحة عبر الأراضي الأردنية، مقابل مساعدات اقتصادية”، مشيرةً الى أن عمان لا تزال ترفض هذا الأمر ولكن حسب تصريحات المسؤولين الأردنيين، فان الاردن لن يتمكن من مقاومة ضغوط الرياض لفترة طويلة.
http://arabi-press.com/?page=article&id=30159

About the 60%, I think the site is very new and not promoted well so far, so 60% of the voters might be 6 people our of 10 which isn’t an indicative of reality, and since we don’t see how many people voted we can’t take the results seriously.
Here is the site link again in case people are not aware of it yet
http://onsyria.wordpress.com/

#376 Tara

Someone called her Miss Piggy, and I am certainly not one of her admirers. Like Miss Piggy, I find her comically pretentious.

378. Antoine

Can you provide us with the equivalent list of wanted criminals in the Opposition?

Names of Police officers from a battalion to protect the regime who opened fire onprotesters in Clock Square and ordered to fire on demonstrators on Fridays in the city of Homs:

1.Nidal Makhlouf.

2.Haidar Haidar.

3.Salama Salama.

4.Mohammed Aljacqui.

5.Issam Salama from Customs.

6.Fayyad Alhabet.

7.Hassaan Al- Ali.

8.Samer Sikone.

9.Louay Salam.

10.Ali Ibrahim.

#379 Jad

Yes, Jordan is under strong pressures from KSA but it runs a huge risk of internal problems. It has no US bases and it is very fragile.
The King may be overthrown by islamists too.

Civilians who took part in financing and supervising Al-Shabiha of them (Al-Shabiha is amilitia armed group which killed demonstrators and members of the army who refused tokill the demonstrators):

1.Ali al-Assad.

2.Hafez Munther al-Assad.

3.Osama al-Assad.

4.Etab Al-Assad and her gang.

5.Harun al-Assad and his sons.

6.Office of Fawaz al-Assad in Latakia.

7.Rami Mansour, husband of Ahmed al-Assad’s daughter.

8.Ayman Jaber, husband of Kamal al-Assad’s daughter.

9.Firas Rifaat al-Assad.

10.Moder Rifaat al-Assad.

11.Emad Abu Bilal Abu Kenan, a retired officer from Artouz.

12.(Ali Abbas), Ali Abbas Abu Hadi of the military security district of Tartus. He was seen ina video hitting people in the village of the White Stick.

13.Muhammad al-Assad, nicknamed ‘Sheikh of the Mountain’.

14.Hassan Assad Ibn Tawfiq.

15.Hussein al-Assad, the son of Tawfiq.

16.Kamal al-Assad. Businessmen who contributed externally, financing and purchasing weapons andmilitary equipment from the black market: Solomon Maarouf:a nephew of Major General Mohamed Nasef who lives in Dubai. He tried topurchase the sniper guns from South Africa which refused to sell them, so he had to buy themfrom the black market. He owns the bulk of the TV station ‘Al-Donia’.

Moderator,
Could you please deal with 6an6oun almotawahesh ‘wanted’ list.

6an6oun,
Are you the one going to execute and kill those Syrians or are you asking others on the ground to do it for you? Both ways, THEY DON’T READ ENGLISH, so you may need to learn Arabic or Urdu or Pashto to communicate with them, otherwise you only have the taliban Zouhair to plan together your crimes, one to bomb banks the other to slaughter Syrians.

#382 Antoine

Why did you skip this one, is it because he is christian?

General Dawoud Rajiha (Arabic: داوود راجحة‎), is the Minister of Defense of the Syrian Arab Republic and a former chief of staff of the Syrian Arab Army.

#384 Antoine

You better direct your thoroughly researched lists to Navy Pillay or Kofi Annan.
They can do something with them. Here we can just appreciate your “hard work”

Hey, Antoine (#378, 382 & 384), let’s see if you get over 50 red thumbs down to match Majed when he posted about the media shabbiha(#8).

Hurry up, distraction faction/block voters, show how much that list of suspects has upset you.

Of course, we understand, only the terrorist regime of Syria should be allowed to post lists of suspects like that.

369. jad said:
ksa seems to stay on track in their mission to destroy Syria even after Clinton’s visit, check out this crap out the mouth of the saudis:
الفيصل: تسليح المعارضة واجب لأنها لا تستطيع الدفاع عن نفسها إلا بالأسلحة
===========
Hi jad
KSA,delegated businessman Saad al-Hariri of Lebanon,now smuggler
entrepreneur to smuggle weapons into syria.

fortunately,for the past couple of months Saado have been frustrated,angered at his inability to deliver.coz

the Russian naval forces are monitoring the Lebanese coastal zone as preventive measures

The Russian Naval Base In Tartus Syria,is there to help the host country,they are not there as a Good Luck charm but a careful thoughtful(strategery)by the regime according to:George W.Bush

Post revolution Libya: Need of humanitarian help

Libya: 147 killed in 6 days of clashes in south
Associated Press – 1 hr 3 mins ago

http://news.yahoo.com/libya-147-killed-6-days-clashes-south-160950775.html
TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Libya’s health minister says that six days of tribal clashes in a remote southern desert town have killed 147 people.

Fatma al-Hamroush said Saturday that the fighting in Sabha has also left 395 wounded.

She says around 180 people have been transported to the capital Tripoli for emergency treatment. Sabha is 400 miles (650 kilometers) south of Tripoli.

Al-Hamroush says that there is an urgent need for medical supplies in Sabha and that the government has sent large amounts of emergency aid to the city.
(..)

Syrian Government: Armed Groups Killed 6143 Syrians

In this letter the Syrian government says that 6143 Syrians have been killed since “the beginning of the events in Syria until 15 March 2012”. This death toll is “due to the acts committed by armed terrorist groups”, the letter added.
“Excellency,
I have the honor to transmit herewith a detailed table on the losses incurred in the Syrian
Arab Republic due to the acts committed by armed terrorist groups. The table covers the period from the beginning of the events in Syria until 15 March 2012 and it contains the following information:
§ Death toll of civilians: 3211 people.
§ Death toll of police: 478 people.
§ Death toll of Army and Security Forces: 2088 people (as of 21 March 2012).
§ Death toll of women: 204 people.
§ Death toll of children: 156 people.
§ Death toll of directly assassinated people: 106 people.
Resulting in a total of 6143 deaths in the Svrian Arab Republic
§ Kidnapped civilians, army personnel, and police officers: 1560 people, including 931 missing people.
§ Stolen government vehicles: 2256 vehicles.
It would be highly appreciate it if the present letter and its annex could be circulated as an official document of the Security Council.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurance of my highest consideration.
Bashar Ja’afari
Ambassador
Permanent Representativg

http://un-report.blogspot.ca/2012/03/syrian-government-armed-groups-killed.html?spref=tw

390. Afram

The two only borders for heavy weapon transit to help the armed gangs are Turkey and Jordan. Iraq and Lebanon are no players.
Turkey will surely refuse to do it.
If Jordan would yield to KSA pressure, Syria will either mine the border or the Syrian Air Force will enter into action to destroy any heavy weapon entering the country and that will provoke a military escalation with Jordan: a recipe for a regional disaster.

IRRITATED,

The list contains only those members who are directly involved in the massacres and against whom evidence exists that they signed orders. I think Mister of Defense is largely a figurehead post.

Anyway, I did not compile the list, the list was compiled by officers of the Free Syrian Army.

These are the top 14 :

1.Bashar al-Assad Commander-in-Chief of Army and President of Syria.

2.Maher Assad, commander of a brigade in the 4th Division, is the de facto leader of 4th Armored Division.

3.Major General Mohammad Nassif KheirBek, Assistant Vice President and Special Security Adviser to Bashar al-Assad.

4.General Asef Shawkat, Deputy Chief of Staff for Security Affairs.

5.Brigadier General Hafez Makhlouf, Head of Counterterrorism Section and the Department of 251 (internal section) in the management of state security.

6.Major General Ali Mamlouk, Director of State Security.

7.Major General Abdul-Fattah Qudseyyah, Head of Military Intelligence.

8.Major General Mohammed Dib Zayton, President of Political Security Branch.

9.Major General Mohammed Samur, former Interior Minister.

10.Major General Mohammed el-Shaar, current Interior Minister.

11.Brigadier General Jamil Hassan, Director of Air Force Intelligence.

12.Major General Zuhair el-Hamd, Deputy Director of State Security.

13.Major General Nazeeh Hassoun, Deputy Director of State Security in charge of operations in the coastal zone.

14.Major General Jumah Al-Ahmad, Commander of Special Forces (special units).

The fact that there are almost no Sunni or Christian among them points to the sectarian nature of the “inner circle” more than anything else.

Zoo,
Ref. Clinton sectarian remarks:
“In a speech to the forum, Clinton stressed Washington’s “rock solid and unwavering” commitment to the security of the Sunni Muslim-led Gulf Arab monarchies, which are wary of non-Arab Shiite Muslim Iran.”
http://news.yahoo.com/us-gulf-arabs-urge-annan-draw-syria-next-143846530.html

That is ‘disgusting’! is Clinton a sectarian thug now? How could an American official speaks such horrific sectarian language? What next, stating that the American government is protecting ‘the Caucasian whites’ from ‘the African American blacks’?

I’m sure that Iran will use this against her very soon and she will need to explain herself, not to us, but to the Americans about her use of a sectarian language that reminds them of the Racist language they long ago fought against and still fighting to get rid of it, that is a terrible mistake by a so call ‘secular’ and ‘non-racist’ top administration of the modern world.

SNK,

Pls note [ your friend and colleague ] IRRITATED’s repeated sectarian statements against Christians in general, and this is not the first time, ask S.O.D.

Syria needs time for safe army withdrawal: official
31/03/2012
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=29069

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – Syria has said a year-long revolt against President Bashar al-Assad is now over, but that it would retain its right to use its forces to “maintain security” before withdrawing from cities in line with a U.N.-backed peace plan.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi told Syria TV that United Nations-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan had acknowledged the government’s right to respond to armed violence. Makdissi said that handling this was a Syrian matter.

He said Syria would cooperate with the United Nations to “remove any excuses” for further international pressure.

“The battle to topple the state is over. Our goal now is to ensure stability and create a perspective for reform and development in Syria while preventing others from sabotaging the path of reform,” Makdissi told the state news channel late on Friday.

He said Syria’s conditions on its acceptance of Annan’s proposals included recognition of the government’s sovereignty and its right to security.

“The other requirement is not to harm Syrian stability … When security can be maintained for civilians, the army will leave. It is not waiting for Kofi Annan to leave, this is a Syrian matter.”
(..)

#388 Jad said:
“…is only interested in cut&paste the long name list they asked him to do without even knowing what he is putting.”

It seems you know a bit about that – and those you know best are instantly given around 30 or so green thumbs up by their team mates regardless of the junk they cutpaste (for great examples see the first 10 posts in this thread).

Of course, we understand, it’s unfair to enter their special distraction faction territory on SC.

this goes for assad too and his thug regime!

Antoine, to support what you have been posting, this excellent extract from Maher Hakim’s blog:

“The die-hard supporters of the regime are its true base for power and strength as they control the most important aspects of “money” and “power” in the society: the security services, the business elite and many in the merchant class, the army generals, the diplomats, the media executives, etc. These people have traditionally benefited, both financially and in acquiring societal status, from aligning themselves with the regime and are afraid of what will happen to their privileges if the regime falls. This group is the reason why true reforms have not been possible to implement in Syria over the past decade, and it is both the regime’s strength and it’s biggest liability. Most of the violence perpetrated today inside Syria against the rebels and demonstrators is financed and executed by this group of loyalists.

It is worth noting that at the beginning of the Syrian revolt, people demonstrated against this group, and not necessarily against the president. And as it became apparent that the president is siding with the group against the demonstrators; the revolt turned against the president himself.”

http://onsyria.wordpress.com/

389. Syrialover

Hey, Antoine (#378, 382 & 384), let’s see if you get over 50 red thumbs down to match Majed when he posted about the media shabbiha(#8).

by my reckoning, the 18 thumbsdown you and i got for pointing to majed’s post really should go to him. he got 36 extra thumbdowns by proxy!

330. Syria no Kandahar said:
I am not saying that the regime is angels.What I am saying is that having such a dirty (revolution )is not justifiable.

how many years are people supposed to tolerate being slaughtered without complaining? wouldn’t want to commit a faux pas.

#294 Antoine

“Anyway, I did not compile the list, the list was compiled by officers of the Free Syrian Army.”

You mean [ you are a propagandist for the FSA ] who appointed you to publish their “lists’ where there are not a single christian?

Since when the Ministry of Defense is conveniently a figure head?

hey, is anything burning in damascus?

Irritated #403 said: “Since when the Ministry of Defense is conveniently a figure head?”

Please, share some more of your inside knowledge with us.

[ Jad, this post had its personally-directed insults deleted.

I ask you again to please NOT personalize debate in this way. It tends to poison the ground of discussion and can provoke escalation. ]

It’s not my problem that people don’t like khaldoun’s comments.

Have you noticed that not even one of your comments have any substance or any information or an idea or a point to be discussed or even to stop at, all of them are either whining or supporting freakish comments, nothing else.

I wonder how would you react when we celebrate if something get burned and people get killed in your city.

[ Jad, please do not address other commentators by ugly allusion or direct insult. Use other commentators screen names if in doubt. Personal insults are not welcome at Syria Comment. ]

They are only sensetive when you write the word ‘whiner’ then they are quick to delete other than that it’s ok to be sectarian, calling for killing others and burning banks, and celebrate ‘fires’
Welcome to SC!

[ Shami, your post was held up in a spam filter for scum ]

Thanks Antoine,you are making crazy the assadist criminal scum.

i still smell freedom.

[ Psychonaut, this comment appears to be posted using the same SC identity as the permanently-banned Syrian Commando. There are no restrictions on posting under the original name, and no need to alter your screen name; I caution Psychonaut/Commando to observe the rules against personal attack and discriminatory language. If comments are not reasonably civil, then comments will be edited or preserved in the Trash file. ]

Very classy Dr. Landis, allowing users to publish a death list on your website.

Kurds will never put their eggs in a Turkish or MB baskets.Turkey is losing its teeth and woul have
To have bridges in its mouth after being boxed on their face by Iran,Russia,china,Iraq ,Kurds and Syria .GCC billions had created a disaster foreign
Policy to Turkey which is difficult to fix.
ونقلت صحيفة “حرييت” التركية عن ممثل الحزب الكردي سعيد الدين مولا إسماعيل قوله “إن أنقرة سمحت لنا بالاشتراك ضمن المجلس الوطني السوري رافضة تدخل أي وساطة بالموضوع”.
 
وأضاف: “نعتقد بأن الشأن السوري من أولويات الأهداف السياسية الإقليمية التركية لأن منطقة الشرق الأوسط يبقى فيها النفوذ الآن لتركيا وإيران بعد غياب الدور المصري في المنطقة ونحن الأكراد وبقية الأقليات الأخرى في سوريا طلبنا الاعتراف بنا بالبيان الختامي للمؤتمر والدستور ولكن رفضوا ذلك”.

و أكد مولا سعيد ” أن حل المشكلة الكردية هو المفتاح الرئيسي لحل المشكلة السورية “، مضيفاً “هناك ضرورة لتحديد جذور المشكلة وعلى ضوئها يتم تحديد خارطة الطريق وإذا لم يتم التوصل لحلها من الآن قد تتجه سوريا لحرب أهلية محتملة”.
http://www.aksalser.com/?page=view_news&id=d1e223313ee2b96dbf07e09a3e0dd23a&ar=528224483

393. irritated said:

390. Afram

The two only borders for heavy weapon transit to help the armed gangs are Turkey and Jordan. Iraq and Lebanon are no players.
Turkey will surely refuse to do it.
If Jordan would yield to KSA pressure, Syria will either mine the border or the Syrian Air Force will enter into action to destroy any heavy weapon entering the country and that will provoke a military escalation with Jordan: a recipe for a regional disaster.
============
Good reply..thanx
irritated/I was thinking by boat to Tripoli-east of the Mediterranean then into syria by land,you know

Tripoli is considered as the traditional bastion of conservative Sunnis in Lebanon.
irritated/ give me a billion $,I assure you african elephante in a 40 foot container at your front door,tough but doable

The current freedom smell in Syria is actually due to Alaaroor having شوربة عدس

[ Jad, please do not make personal attacks on other commentators. This is expressly against the Syria Comment Rules and Regulations. I caution Omen also to understand the margins of provocation and escalation.

Several comments are in the Trash file, and several have had to be edited. I urge all of the commentators here to self-moderate. Calling commentators scum, jackasses, idiots, terrorists, menhebek or worse does not contribute to discussion.

SCModeration@mail.com ]

Jackass
because of people like you some did celebrate 9/11 attack, did you smell that?

Moderator
Keep deleting the word Jackass won’t help.

و أكد مولا سعيد ” أن حل المشكلة الكردية هو المفتاح الرئيسي لحل المشكلة السورية “، مضيفاً “هناك ضرورة لتحديد “جذور المشكلة وعلى ضوئها يتم تحديد خارطة الطريق وإذا لم يتم التوصل لحلها من الآن قد تتجه سوريا لحرب أهلية محتملة”.

No offense. But are the kurds are ovrrestimsting their influence? Can someone tell me how is solving the Kurdish issue would solve the Syrian crisis? Bashar will be so impressed and just resign?

this piece went over the issue, tara

a couple of good points in comment section too.

Tara

Kurds hate Turkey and MB.The demonstrations in Alhassaka has been just cosmetic and artificial and رفع عتب.Turkey has killed around 50000 Kurds .SNC and MB are stupid by attaching themselves to Turkey . Kurds will be بيضة القبان

And president makers in Syria like they are in Iraq. Having a Kurdish pres in the future will not be surprising. Kurds in Syria are very pro-PKK and Turkey will regret Assad’s days in the future.

In a democratic Syrian parliament in the near future the 50/50 equation will be like this:

Alawis+Christians+Druz+Kurds +20-30%of Sunnis (at least)//Against MB and Salafis.
Who do think is going to Winn then?

The answer is very clear that is why SNC don’t want to play the democracy game
They want to hijack or have it as Monopoly.

Shami

No body is crazy about the kill list, it’s simply wrong to put a hitlist on a respected site, I guess you’ve been on 3ar3ouri sites too long you have no clue how to differentiate between right and wrong.

Jad, re:

396. jadsaid:
Zoo, Ref. Clinton sectarian remarks: (…)

“In a speech to the forum, Clinton stressed Washington’s “rock solid and unwavering” commitment to the security of the Sunni Muslim-led Gulf Arab monarchies, which are wary of non-Arab Shiite Muslim Iran.”

That is ‘disgusting’! is Clinton a sectarian thug now? How could an American official speaks such horrific sectarian language?

Look more closely and the sectarian language appears to be on the part of the AFP reporter or editor. I haven’t seen the full text of the speech by Mrs. Clinton but I strongly doubt a sober Secretary of State would speak in such a way even if she had such thoughts, which I don’t know.

Peace first, then troop withdrawal – Syrian govt
http://rt.com/news/assad-withdrawal-ceasefire-annan-928/

moderator, it’s not my habit to call fellow posters names. a review of my remarks would demonstrate that. i know that doesn’t help to advance my argument. i called bashar assad a jackass ONCE but i didn’t intend on making a habit of it. as far as im concerned that term is reserved for him.

who knew jad would be so unraveled by it? that’s his problem, not mine.

any namecalling he directs towards me, i wear as a badge of honor. it’s good to know when i’ve hit a nerve.

Jad

Can you please stop name calling and vulgar insults. It sounds bad in English and worse in Arabic. It is not decent.

Jad – you have valid points. Thank you!

It takes so much to build, and so little to destroy. The silent majority should not stay silent anymore, and watch the country dive into the abyss.

391. AFRAM
the Russian naval forces are monitoring the Lebanese coastal zone as preventive measures

The Russian Naval Base In Tartus Syria,is there to help the host country,they are not there as a Good Luck charm but a careful thoughtful(strategery)by the regime according to:George W.Bush

tell me please! you slept from 1970 and now woke up? The Russian Federation as the super country is the guarantor of stability of different regions including the East of the Mediterranean Sea! often the USA addresses to Russia for to help with mediation whether North Korea whether with Iran whether with Syria! Russia not when didn’t lag behind in assistance in an outcome of difficult questions of flashpoints! can read about a positive role of Russia in documents of the United Nations! that is necessary to you? to look for guilty in the failure?

3:33 – hopeful, what should the silent majority do?

supposedly, it is argued that…

Constituting about 10 percent of the population, Syria’s Kurds have long opposed the ruling Baath Party, but have largely stayed out of the latest demonstrations.

If the Kurds fully joined attempts to overthrow Assad, it could prove decisive, a recent report by the Henry Jackson Society, a Britain-based think-tank, said.

US and Saudis step-up regime change rhetoric in Syria
http://rt.com/news/clinton-syria-riyadh-intervention-910/
US secretary of State Hilary Clinton was in Saudi Arabia to discuss the hitherto unresolved conflict in Syria. The long-term allies both advocate the removal of President Assad and seek a united strategy ahead of Sunday’s ‘Friends of Syria’ summit.
The US wants to unify the rebels and lobby for humanitarian aid, but Saudi Arabia’s more aggressive stance calls for military action.
Clinton met with King Abdullah and a number of other high-ranking Saudi officials behind closed doors on Friday with a view to “stopping the bloodbath in Syria”./…./…

the saudis have promised arms for how many months now? where are they?

i think they fear the precedent of rebels overturning a regime more.

they talk a good game to placate their own people, i think, who would be upset to see saudi rulers do nothing in the face of sunnis being slaughtered.

What if Syrians decided to arm the Saudi insurgents? the Turkish? Jordanian? etc.
Why the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs decided (good) to do to Syrians adding gasoline in fire? that Syrians more among themselves were at war? and another’s hands to transfer the weapon то inside Syria !if this mercy tell please!

From a professor to a befger, Ghalyiun is Begging for weapons and fore the surrounding countries to let weapons in to kill more Syrians, how sad!

دعا رئيس المجلس الوطني السوري برهان غليون مؤتمر “أصدقاء سوريا” المقرر عقده غداً في إسطنبول الى دعم تسليح “الجيش السوري الحر”.

وأوضح غليون في مؤتمر صحافي أن “ما يعبر عنه المجلس الوطني هو طلبات الشعب السوري”، لافتا الى أن “المجلس دعا أكثر من مرة الى ضرورة تسليح الجيش الحر”، متمنياً أن يتبنى مؤتمر “أصدقاء سوريا” هذا الطلب.

وشدد غليون على أن “تسليح الجيش الحر هو طلب للشعب السوري الذي يعاني الأمرين من سياسة القتل المتعمد والمنظم والمستمر منذ عام كامل”، مؤكداً ضرورة “أن يكون لديه السلاح النوعي الكفيل بوقف آلة القتل التي طورها النظام”.

كما دعا غليون أيضاً الى إتفاق مع الدول المجاورة لسوريا لإرسال هذا السلاح، لافتا الى أنه “يجب تغيير ميزان القوى وهذا يحتاج الى تفاهمات مع الدول خصوصاً القريبة لتأمين الوسائل التي تغير ميزان القوى”.

did hopeful turn into the silent majority himself??

This is the second time that I remember seeing assassination lists published on SC. In every case of regime change in third world countries a lot of army/security and political leaders from the previous regime get arrested , killed or forced to leave the country. Allowing those lists to be posted on SC is a mistake, the moderator was wrong when he let that happen. We need to hold people accountable in courts with fair trials and not pick and choose our next targets, that is what thugs do.

Another low point for some bloggers and this site.

Vengeance and justice are not the same thing except in the minds of vindictive and hateful people, no country will advance with this mentality especially when the rights of the accused are largely ignored, we all agree on the rights of the victims to see justice, but street justice is a form of terrorism, and incitement of violence is a crime in most countries, stay away from this behavior, guys, the Internet is not as safe as you think.

Ghufran, thank you for the wide-view of ‘kill lists’ or ‘assassination lists’ in the context of civil strife.

The list(s) re-posted by Antoine included this caveat (emphasis added):

List of Syrian Officers those involved in Massacres in Syria –

The list below shows the names of those who contributed to the killing of innocents and these people should face international criminal courts and be brought to justice –

I can censure and block a List or Lists, but it will do nothing to extinguish the original list, nor will it allow discussion of the motives or intent of the original (FSA) lists.

I ask Antoine to please include a reference or link to any such lists he publishes here.

Please address concerns directly to either Joshua Landis or me: SCModeration@mail.com

ok, moderator, you were calling me out for being provocative. i’ll cop to that. sorry for making extra work for you.

ghufran, video after video has been posted demonstrating syrians mercilessly slaughtered by the regime – only merits a yawn from you. but merely list the people responsible and it’s “oh, my god that’s going over the line!”

antoine wasn’t calling for them to be killed, he was calling for accountability. who hasn’t called for the regime to be tried at the international criminal court?

Bassam Al Kadi appeared in an Radio show of Sham FM. I reckon that he calls the regime what it is : criminal. Unfortunately he is drawing the wrong conclusions, in an ideal world you can take your stand in between both sides, but in the face of murder, torture and nationwide crimes against humanity, i do not know where my fellow is taking his idealism to call the regime to implement real change.

http://bassam-alkadi.com/index.php/meetings-a-dialogues/699-bassam-alkadi-shaam-fm

426. Alan said:

391. AFRAM
the Russian naval forces are monitoring the Lebanese coastal zone as preventive measures

The Russian Naval Base In Tartus Syria,is there to help the host country,they are not there as a Good Luck charm but a careful thoughtful(strategery)by the regime according to:George W.Bush

tell me please! you slept from 1970 and now woke up? The Russian Federation
============
You took my comment out of context,where’s the rest of it?

آلن فعلت مثل الجماعة ما غيرهم لقد كتبت« ولا تقربوا الصلاة» ولم تكمل بقية الآية[لا تقربوا الصلاة وأنتم سكارى حتى تعلموا ما تقولون

you slept from 1970 and now woke up?
yes I went to sleep during Soviet Union,darn the vodka,then woke up next to the best Russian Federation babushkas.

here,I,M ready to set you straight

all I just said that the russian navy are watching for weapon smugglers on the labanese/ Lebanon Beaches..now I like to go back to my hibernation!!
relax

Jeurgen

I am sorry but I think Basam al Kaddi is nothing but a shabeeh umber disguise, the worst kind of shabeeha. This is not to say that all anti-revolution are shabeeha in my views. I hold deep respect and sometimes affection to some genuine few. Basam al Kaddi however deserves nothing but contempt for his views.

I certainly disagree with the excuses given for posting those lists, it will ,and always was, be used to justify violence and assassinations,.
كلمة حق اريد بها باطل
both the regime and certain elements in the opposition have little respect for the rule of law, and most Syrians who lost their lives did so without a legal justification. The A list is another chapter in that dirty game of killing and counter killing, SC should stay above that.

The list should be exposed as long as it does not call for street justice. It is one way of deterrence. What I see worse is some bloggers here calling for cleansing and disinfecting the revolutionists or the FSA. Let’s not use the justice of the powerful please.

Tara

I know him a bit, and its too easy to label someone. I admired him for some true and honest words back when others not dared to speak out. I dont know why he calls Al Dunja and state tv liars but some of his texts sounds like written by them and not by the independant thinker i know. You know rumors spread always faster than good deeds, especially in Damascus.

Jihadists Declare Holy War Against Assad Regime
By Ulrike Putz in Beirut
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,824875,00.html
Abu Rami hails from Lebanon, but his heart is in Syria these days. The 40-year-old is one of hundreds of Arabs who are fighting against the Assad regime at the side of Syrian insurgents. Many of these volunteer fighters are veterans of the Iraq war, who have now brought their holy war to Syria./…/..

Smuggled into Syria: the siege of Saraqeb
In this exclusive dispatch from Syria, independent photojournalist John Cantlie witnesses a terrifying assault on the small town of Saraqeb.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9178095/Smuggled-into-Syria-the-siege-of-Saraqeb.html

439. AFRAM Sorry missunderstanding ! Thump up !

Two new articles of Robert Fisk on Syria:

“Syria’s bloodbath is carving further divisions in Lebanon as President Bashar al-Assad’s Lebanese allies and enemies shout more and more insults at each other. The Christians have even divided among themselves, the old Phalangist leadership calling for Assad’s overthrow while the Catholic Maronite church performs its old role of fence-sitting on behalf of Syria’s minority Christians.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-living-on-the-edge-of-syrias-bloody-war-7594922.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-on-lebanons-border-silent-syrians-are-flocking-to-an-unknown-future-7601133.html

Juergen

You are right. It is easy to label someone. I am only judging his writings. Never heard of him before “being on staff” at SC. His “true and honest words when no one dared to speak” just reminds me with Duraid Laham’s ” honest and daring” words during his theatrical plays. Dictatorship allows a certain level of harmless “honest and daring” words for venting purpose. It is called selective “controlled” freedom of speech.

Ghufran,

Can you give a list of foreign and Syrian people you feel responsible for the violence and the massacres in Syria and that you think should be tried for genocide against the Syrian people, i would like to see such list.

Tara

Sure they let him speak, may be to release some pressure.In the summer last year he even was on state tv, even the announcer was astonished by that.

I had an discussion today with a guy from Hama. He did not know the word shirinhe. Do you know it?

Here’s a defective but positive and noteworthy shift in the public spiel of Erdogan. In an interview in Tehran on Iranian State TV on 29 Mar 2012 Erdogan said: “The Syrian regime should be receptive to the will of its people, who want elections and democracy…. If Bashar al-Assad is not afraid, and is confident about his regime, he should allow the formation of new [political] parties…. If Assad wins the elections, Turkey will not have any problems with him.” Those words by Erdogan are not being widely reported but they were reported by Agence France Presse yesterday 30 Mar 2012 at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/38079/World/Region/Turkey-urges-political-reform-in-Syria.aspx
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Mar-30/168508-turkey-urges-political-reform-in-syria.ashx#axzz1qjGj1Czt
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/35107-erdogan-urges-political-reform-in-syria
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2012/March/middleeast_March646.xml&section=middleeast&col=

Erdogan’s position, “if Assad wins the elections, Turkey will not have any problems with him”, is contrary to the position of the Syrian opposition elements who seek unconstitutional overthrow and who refuse to compete in elections against Assad’s party, you know.

Erdogan’s statement that “if Bashar al-Assad is confident about his regime, he should allow the formation of new political parties” is an absurdity. If you don’t know why it’s an absurdity, say so and I’ll copy-and-paste the details. The summary of why it’s absurd is that Syrian law allows the formation of new political parties with no restrictions, except for truly trivial restrictions, and except for the restriction that religious and tribal parties are banned — but the bans on religious and tribal parties are endorsed by the generality of the whole population. The Sunni clerical leadership plus the generality of Sunni clerics in Syria, plus the clerical leadership of all the minority sects, as well as the generality of the whole population, endorses the ban on religious parties. And the tribal organizations have not gone on record objecting to the ban on tribal political parties.

“If Assad’s party wins the parliamentary elections on 7 May 2012, Erdogan’s government will have no problems with him” once Erdogan’s government gets educated on the fact that the 7 May elections will be free and fair elections.

Juergen

Can you write it in Arabic. If you don’t have an Arabic keyboard, Just google “Arabic key board”. Write it there. Then cut it and paste it.

Mawal,

Erdogan is stupid enough not to know that religious and ethnic parties are banned in Turkey too, what i do not know is , why doesn’t he call for the opposition to join the process with international monitors.

Here’s a litany of evidence that Syria’s tribal organizations do not object to the ban on tribally-based political parties in parliamentary and local council elections. I take all this information from SANA, except for the last paragraph. The last paragraph is my own.

15 Dec 2011. Tribal Leaders in Eastern Syria (Deir Ezzor, Hasaka and Raqqa provinces) gathered at a large meeting hall in Deir Ezzor on 15 Dec 2011. In a statement issued at the conclusion of the meeting, the tribal leaders condemned the Arab League’s actions against Syria. They said the comprehensive reform program led by President Bashar al-Assad is the sole exit pathway from the current political unrest in Syria. They underlined the importance of putting into effect the reform decrees and decisions. They called for comprehensive national engagement in the responsibility to build the country. The Syrian people look forward to an expansion of democracy that genuinely reflects the Syrian values and ethics, and not an imported European model, they said. They proclaimed their adherence to the spirit of national unity. http://www.sana.sy/eng/21/2011/12/16/388593.htm . Update 22 dec 2011: Bashar Assad meets with these eastern tribal leaders and expresses his appreciation to the tribal leaders for helping to build the country. sana.sy/eng/337/2011/12/22/389990.htm

8 Jan 2012: Various clan elders met in Aleppo and made the same type of statements as were made in Deir Ezzor on 15 Dec 2011. The Lebanese news reporter and commentator Nasser Qandil attended, and interpreted the proceedings as a message that Syrian clans support their State’s leadership. Another attendee was Omar Osi, head of the pro-regime “National Initiative of Syrian Kurds”. http://www.sana.sy/eng/21/2012/01/08/393110.htm

29, 30 and 31 jan 2012. A pro-regime tribal conference was held in Raqqa city on Monday and Tuesday 30 and 31 jan 2012. Anticipatory reportage about it was aired on Syrian State TV on 29 Jan, sana.sy/eng/21/2012/01/29/397357.htm . On 30 jan 2012 the participants in the forum stressed adherence to national unity and rejection of foreign interference and sedition attempts, emphasizing support for the comprehensive reform program and dialogue under the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad. They decried the acts of killings and vandalism perpetrated by armed terrorist groups, and they called for striking with an iron fist those who tamper with the homeland’s security and stability. The also endorsed calls for launching national reconciliation dialog that helps stop bloodshed. Participants in the conference underscored the importance of bolstering national unity among the Syrian people against foreign-supported subversives. They expressed trust that the political and media campaigns against Syria, led by the colonial West and the Arab reactionary powers, won’t weaken Syria’s steadfastness thanks to the awareness and faith of the Syrian people. sana.sy/eng/21/2012/01/30/397532.htm

31 jan 2012. Second day of the 2-day tribal gathering in Raqqa. Concluding statement condemns internal violence, condemns foreign interference, condemns Arab League, supports President Assad’s leadership, supports dialog and mediation between State and Opposition, supports continuation of reforms. Affirmed that the unjust economic siege imposed on Syria by foreign countries doesn’t faze the Syrian people. A supplementary statement directly addressed to the UN Secretary General and the Arab League Secretary General said that the clans and tribes of Syria utterly reject foreign interference. sana.sy/eng/21/2012/01/31/397670.htm . Addounia TV footage from the meeting: youtube.com/watch?v=ZukIOZgfCjc

9 feb 2012. A large delegation of Iraqi tribal and clan leaders had a meeting with Syria’s Information Minister in Damascus and expressed the same political view as the Syrian tribal leaders had expressed in Raqqa on 30 and 31 January. Some Iraqi tribal leaders had been among the participants in the tribal gathering in Raqqa. sana.sy/eng/337/2012/02/09/399563.htm

13 feb 2012. Syrian and Iraqi tribal leaders had a tent meeting in Al-Hasaka city with the participation of Islamic and Christian clergymen. They called on the national opposition to participate in the reform process. sana.sy/eng/337/2012/02/13/400342.htm

15 feb 2012. Leaders of a number of tribes located in Aleppo province held a forum in Damascus and issued a concluding statement in support of the Syrian army. “We are all one tribe in the face of the saboteurs and the conspirators,” said the statement. sana.sy/eng/21/2012/02/16/400839.htm

MEANWHILE I’m unaware of any tribal gatherings to voice opposition to the regime anywhere on the ground in Syria. The Syrian National Council in Istanbul contains a number of individuals who claim to represent tribes in Syria. But on the ground in Syria there is no evidence of tribal organizations, as such, opposing the regime.

In any other country hijacking people and torturing them is a crime which is punished for by decades
Behind bars except in Syria where the (free world)
Is incoraging such crimes Islamists dark bats even against Syrian Christians .The(free world )is only caring about $ :

The Syrian Army will stay as a gate keeper for the Syrian unity.Thanks to the terrorists rats the Army is now much stronger and experienced especially
In Urban and subarban fights:

What would the US do if this was the George Washington Bridge:

Undergunned and Overwhelmed
Syria’s rebels have to bear hours of negotiations for every box of bullets that they haul across the border for their war against Bashar al-Assad. And their frustration is starting to show.

BY RANIA ABOUZEID | MARCH 30, 2012ANTAKYA, Turkey —

“Fouad,” a rail-thin Syrian in tight jeans who looks at least a decade older than his 25 years, leans forward in a black faux leather armchair in an unheated, sparsely furnished room in this southern Turkish city.

“I need ammunition,” he tells Abu Mohammad, a stocky Turkish weapons dealer sitting impossibly upright on the stiff couch. “I’ll pay five and a half.” He quotes the price in Turkish liras — about $3 per bullet.
Abu Mohammad smirks. He carefully places his white, half-moon Turkish coffee cup on the small square table in front of him. “They’re seven each,” he says. “If you can get them for five and a half, I’ll buy them from you.”

Fouad shakes his head, takes another draw from his cigarette, and slowly capitulates on the price, but not before complaining that a bullet cost three lira about a month ago. “Just get them,” he finally says. “And what about weapons? I heard there’s a stockpile of 4,000 bullets and lots of guns, but it’s near an Alawite village [in southern Turkey].”

Abu Mohammad confirms the information, but says that it will be difficult to clandestinely buy any of the Turkish military supplies, and harder still to discretely ferry them out of the village, inhabited by Turkish co-religionists and assumed sympathizers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

“You know, I don’t want anything from you,” Abu Mohammad says. “I’m Sunni too, I just want to help.” It’s Fouad’s turn to smirk.

[…]

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/03/30/syria_undergunned_and_overwhelmed?page=0,0

457. Syria no Kandahar said:

What would the US do if this was the George Washington Bridge

the u.s. police force has escalated a wee bit in roughing up peaceful protesters of late, but i am pretty damn sure the government wouldn’t retaliate by indiscriminately pounding tank fire, mortar shells and katyusha rockets into civilian neighborhoods!

446. Alan said:

439. AFRAM Sorry missunderstanding ! Thump up !
=========
Alan/I like your enthusiasm that stirred up many of the SC posters..keep up your zeal.

and may my god BAAL.god of rain&storm forgive your sins.hahaha
Amen bro

Alaaroor,HBJ victims:

455. Syria no Kandahar said:

Islamists dark bats even against Syrian Christians.

.

syrian christians are fighting in the fsa.

Omen
The US knows all the crap and garbage inside this
Terrorist movement .It is a De ja vu from what the
US has delt with in Iraq.All what the US want is to
Dissociate Syria from Iran.In the US if you throw
Your sigarett from your car you will be fined 300$.
If you do what was in the clip you will be behind bars for many counts which you can figure .In Syria this should be counted as peaceful demonstration !!

Omen
Yeh right,is that why they have
كتيبة بولس الرسول
كتيبة مار افرام
كتيبة البابا شنوده

I forgot to mention that Kurdish political parties are banned in Syria under the new Elections and Parties laws enacted last August.

Kurdish parties are not banned in Syria’s new Constitution. Article 8 of the Constitution says: “No political activity shall be practiced nor political party or group formed on a religious, sectarian, tribal, regional, or professional basis or according to discrimination because of sex, origin, race, or color.” The Parties and Elections laws have all those plus ethnic: “elections campaigns should not include any racial, sectarian, ethnic or tribal indications”.

“Syria’s rebels have to bear hours of negotiations for every box of bullets that they haul across the border for their war against Bashar al-Assad. ”

Poor terrorists they are having hard time to kill, how sad!

Here are the main officers responsible for the fsa in each area in Syria:

رياض الاسعد قائد الجيش السوري الحر

اللواء مصطفى الشيخ رئاسة المجلس

الرائد ماهر اسماعيل النعيمي

ـ قيادة المجلس العسكري في حمص وريفها ـ العقيد الركن الطيار قاسم سعد الدين

ـ قيادة المجلس العسكري في محافظة حماة وريفها ـ العقيد المظلي عبد الحميد الشاوي

ـ قيادة المجلس العسكري في محافظة إدلب وريفها ـ العقيد الركن عفيف سليمان

ـ قيادة المجلس العسكري في محافظة دمشق وريفها ـ العقيد الركن خالد الحبوس ونائبه العقيد المعتصم بالله أبو الوليد

ـ قيادة المجلس العسكري في محافظة دير الزور وريفها ـ المقدم مهند الطلاع

464. Syria no Kandahar said:
Omen
Yeh right,is that why they have
كتيبة بولس الرسول
* كتيبة مار افرام
كتيبة البابا شنوده
==============
حجي قندهار~~لا اريد كتيبة ان تسمى على اسمي -مار افرام السـيـرياني،هههههههههه

458. Son of Damascus said:

damn, that was frustrating to read. where are the wealthy expat syrians willing to fund operations? surely snc could lobby such people.

Afram
Sorry,you have precious name.

#407 Jad:

“It’s not my problem that people don’t like khaldoun’s comments.”

It IS a big problem for everyone who values this blog (as I have for 6 years) that its quality forum is being destroyed by teams doing phantom block voting, orchestrated propaganda and cut-pasting.

(And now trying crude sledgehammer destruction tactics eg the weird instant 50+ votes against someone for making a general comment on pro-regime media in #8!).

I admire you as an impressively well-informed, articulate and agile debater. And I occasionally respect you for showing an authentic Syrian agenda and feelings I can identify with.

But when you congratulate and cheer and have supportive chats with that team I see you have picked up a hammer and joined in the destruction here.

#362 Bronco

In my opinion, this fifth option is not longer realistic. Again it has less to do with the regime’s intentions and more with its ability to execute. For the regime to succeed in this “fifth” option, it needs to have a broad-base trust and support – BOTH internally and externally, something that I believe it lacks today.

Memo To: HOPEFUL

RE: “…it has less to do with the regime’s intentions and more with its ability to execute…”

Well said! Execute. Good word, that. You wanna know about execute, Besho’s your guy…

Annan seems to be a specialist of fishy plans. Rwanda, Bosnia, he was at the UN then…
http://blog.lefigaro.fr/malbrunot/2012/03/syrie-le-piege-du-plan-annan.html#comment-421207

Syrialover,

I honestly have no clue why that comment got so much thumbs down, to be honest I find it funny, since I don’t understand what’s so provocative in it that it deserve such high record rating.

I also have no problem with Majed whatsoever, yes I attack him and get annoyed with what he writes most of the times because of his sectarian comments but I have no hard feeling whatsoever toward him or toward anybody else on SC, I’m just very surprised that someone like Majed who used to be very respectful and careful not to hurt other people’s feeling to write some of the worst sectarian comments lately.

I have couple issues with comments lately which makes me sound either silly or rude:
Sectarianism, I don’t care what is the religion or sect or belief or non-belief of anybody as long as they are respectful to other people’s religion and sects and write within the political views/debate and not to be provocative about blaming someone being inhumane and immoral just because he belongs to a certain religion/sect.

I support secularism and I find it too hard for me to stay quite when I read comments like KT or others with the worst discrimination langue available against sects and religious.

I also have big issues with hate and ill wishes toward Syria and Syrians in any way especially coming from non-Syrians.

That I found the worst, and again, I really can’t stop not to reply in the same manner and sometimes even worse to show that person that he/she crossed the line.

We can be against political parties and criminals and brutality and terrorism, but we should always keep it in the perspective and not to wish ill to every person in Syria just because we disagree with the criminals on the top, that is wrong.

The third thing I also worry about is that through our disagreement we are either forgetting the radical terrorists, covering their crimes and avoiding the reality that those criminals are actually using people’s cause for their own agenda and this is why I keep pointing out the existence of radical groups inside the movement that we should never agree with or be quite about, if we do they will take over our country and turn it into a worse hell than it is right now.

I do understand your frustration with me Syrialover, I really do, and I may agree with you on my short temper and rudeness toward others, but to be honest, this is really tough times for all of us, and if we can’t show others the seriousness of the situation and reality of both sides regardless how painful and horrible it may sound, we are going to loose touch with what’s really happening in our homeland and if we decided to keep reading one side, we will become radicalized in our own world without even noticing.

I do appreciate SC for bringing almost all sides together, I do appreciate the cut&paste related comments, articles, stories and opinions, they all help most of us to stay sane and aware of the other side, not everybody though, but just enough.

I used to read 7ee6an every day until last month when I noticed that it is a total one sided world, that people their don’t even realize the reality anymore, they radicalized themselves on purpose, you can tell from the last couple comments of Sheila that she become unable to understand that there is another world outside hers on 7ee6an where people actually have different views, so I stopped going there that often and decided to stay on SC and to go through this struggle regardless how much I’ll attack or get attacked or get mad or hated, instead of leaving and stay in the back seat while others speaks on my behalf. No, I’m staying here, and I’ll keep writing and cut&pat and chat and make jokes and curse…Sorry SCM.

Syrialover, please understand that we have our beloved families and friends are still under fire in Syria, they are targets to every devil in Syria and we MUST defend them in every way possible, they are living in a big prison, made not only by the regime but also by every ‘humane’ European and American and kahliji hypocrites using Syrians’ suffering for their own agendas and those ‘humane’ powers wont stop until they break the Syrian man in all of us, as they did to Lebanon and Iraq before us.

I will feel that I’m betraying them if I let them down and I will keep trying to show their views to whoever is reading SC. Syria crisis is way bigger than all of us and it’s very much twisted in the media to fill the big powers agenda, not what is really happening, I think that we all are writing history the way we are seeing not the way they want to write it.

I’m not sorry at all for any bad word I wrote against any body on SC because I know that they deserve it and either if it was deleted or not, that doesn’t matter, I made my point clear and I’ll keep doing and reacting in the same manners as long as they repeat their provocations.

God bless Syria and Syrians every day and protect them from all harms…Oul ameen 🙂

oh, but, mr. andersen, the opposition are corrupt.
assad is at least a mass murderer with integrity!

BEIRUT — Syria rejected international envoy Kofi Annan’s call for the regime to halt violence first just days after the government agreed to a cease-fire plan. A senior official declared victory over the opposition.

http://www.cleveland.com/world/index.ssf/2012/03/syria_rejects_diplomat_kofi_an.html

Maher,
What did you choose of the 4 options?

Jad,

I chose option #4. As I state in my blog, I believe this is the best long-term outcome for Syria. Easy for me to say though: I am not interested in ideology or religion, and I have not personally suffered like many have.

http://onsyria.wordpress.com/

Maher,
I agree with that choice, however, I have little hope that it may happen.