Kerry at a Crossroads on Syria - Sending Mixed Signals

Kerry at a Crossroads on Syria – Sending Mixed Signals

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013

What does Kerry really plan to do for Syria? More non-lethal aid – body armor and night vision goggles – does not merit the headlines that suggest the US is preparing a major shift in its policy. Syria remains a difficult policy problem.

The United States has other vital foreign policy objectives that make it difficult to double down on Syria. Kerry’s Rome talks with Syrian opposition groups coincide with the need for delicate diplomacy with Syria’s two main supporters: Iran and Russia. Not only is the US resuming negotiations on Iran’s nuclear ambitions that convened Tuesday in Kazakhstan after an eight-month hiatus, but Washington is struggling to maintain civil relations with Moscow — Syria’s key ally — if it wants to withdraw troops from Afghanistan via Russian territory over the next two years. The US has to balance its interests in Syria with those of maintaining a civil relationship with Russia. To underscore the importance of US-Russian relations the result of a meeting in Berlin between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during which Russia called for the United States to urge for the Syrian opposition to drop President Bashar al-Assad’s resignation as a precondition for direct talks with the Syrian regime.

Also, Egypt is headed toward bankruptcy, and the US will have to help it through that process and the political violence that may well be a result of the cruel privations that such a process will visit on the impoverished masses as their bread and fuel subsidies are snatched from them.

WSJ [Reg]: Kerry Calls Time on Assad Regime, 2013-02-27

PARIS—New U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the time has passed for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to leave power. His first official meetings with France’s leadership …

WSJ [Reg]: U.S. Is ‘Developing Ways’ to Hasten Ouster of Assad, 2013-02-27

Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that the Obama administration and its allies are “developing ways” to hasten the ouster of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, a vow that came as U.S. officials said they are considering sending non-lethal aid …

Kerry has made repeated indirect references to a policy shift during his travels. He told a group of German students Tuesday that while the United States wants a “peaceful resolution” in Syria, if its leaders refuse to negotiate and continue to kill citizens, “then you need to at least provide some kind of support” for those fighting for their rights. On Monday in London, he said: “We are not coming to Rome simply to talk. We’re coming .?.?. to make decisions about next steps.”

The Syrian Coalition’s Closing Statements: Cairo, Egypt. February 18, 2013.

The Syrian Coalition’s General Assembly has decided to form an interim government for Syria that will carry out its duties from within the Syrian territories. The Coalition set a date of March 2nd, 2013 to select a prime minister from amongst the candidates nominated by the General Assembly, within the agreed upon parameters and after consultation with Syrian opposition forces and the revolutionary movement.

Fox News: AP Interview: Iraqi premier warns fall of Syria’s Assad would will spark war in Iraq, Lebanon, 2013-02-27

BAGHDAD – Iraq’s prime minister cautions that a victory for rebels fighting to overthrow the government in neighboring Syria will spark a sectarian war in his own country and Lebanon That would create a new haven for al-Qaida that would …

John Kerry should challenge the hawks on Syria
The US secretary of state should resist the SNC and Washington’s lobby and push for talks, not more arms
Jonathan Steele. The Guardian, Monday 25 February 2013

….The western-sponsored opposition grouping, the Syrian National Coalition, has rejected a meeting with Kerry that was due in Rome on Thursday. It accuses the US and its allies of being complicit in the destruction of Syria by not intervening militarily, either by arming the rebels or by direct intervention as in Libya…..

What makes their unexpected hardball doubly awkward is that they coupled it with a repudiation of their own president Moaz al-Khatib‘s recent initiative in coming out in favour of talks with Bashar al-Assad’s government. The SNC’s general assembly says it, alone, has the right to propose any initiatives and the end of Assad’s regime remains the top priority…..

As a man who saw the folly of the Vietnam war in his youth, Kerry should have the wisdom to choose a better course. Where his predecessor was a hawk on the issue, he needs to confront the SNC and the Washington rightwingers who back them, and say Khatib had the better vision.

Jerusalem Post: Syria claims Turkey enabling al-Qaida, 2013-02-27

NEW YORK – Syria submitted a letter of complaint last week to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon alleging that Turkey is enabling “Al-Qaida, as well as the Nusra Front and other terrorist organizations, to assemble, take refuge, receive …

U.S. weighs plan to provide direct, nonlethal aid to Syrian rebels
Karen DeYoung FEB 26 – Wash Post

In a shift, the Obama administration could provide body armor and other equipment to anti-Assad forces.

A string of ballistic missile attacks carried out by the Syrian government killed 141 people, including 71 children, in Aleppo last week, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch that raised the death toll much higher than previously reported.

LA Times: Failure on the part of Washington to come to the embattled Syrian people’s rescue could irreparably undermine U.S. credibility. It could also embolden Assad to press on with a murderous campaign that has already killed about 70,000 people, drive rebels fighting for democracy into the arms of Islamic extremists and create what the Economist called “a new Somalia rotting in the heart of the Levant.”

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Of myths, monsters and gods in modern Syria
Rita from Syria 12 February 2013 – Open Democracy

…..Assuming that I was an Alawi, she shared some fuzzy images from her mobile phone, shedding light on the kind of ideas that were circulating amongst this closed Alawi Damascene community –originally from the coastal mountains.

” Al-Khidr is here finally!!! It is he who is the light in Tahrir square in Cairo!! It is he who is holding aloft Dhul-fiqar, the sword of Imam Ali! He has arrived on his horse to rescue us from oppression and to stand by the president Bashar al-Assad against the enemies” – The video was taken in Tahrir square, the poor picture quality playfully blended the light and shadows so as to present an image of what could quite easily be interpreted as a man on a horse!!!

……A priority of any revolution is to overthrow all threadbare and retroactive beliefs. Before fighting Alawis who deify al-Assad and kill in his name, we should work to stop the systematic corruption of the Alawi faith, which has far more to offer than making deities out of killers and criminals. This is a burden to be carried by Alawi religious leaders and opposition activists who must play a greater role in raising awareness among their communities.

Syria Willing to Talk with Armed Opponents, Foreign Minister Says
By ANNE BARNARD, February 25, 2013, NYTimes

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syria’s government is willing to hold talks with members of the armed opposition on ending the country’s nearly two-year-old civil war, the Syrian foreign minister said on Monday.

It was the first time that a high-ranking Syrian official had signaled that the government is open to talking with Syrian rebels who have taken up weapons against the armed forces. Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, called in January for talks to resolve the conflict, but appeared to rule out dialogue with armed opponents.

The foreign minister, Walid al-Moallem, made the statement during a visit to Russia,…

Saudis Step Up Help for Rebels in Syria With Croatian Arms
By C. J. CHIVERS and ERIC SCHMITT

Weapons that Western officials say were bought by Saudi Arabia and funneled to opposition fighters in Syria have been a factor in the rebels’ small tactical gains this winter against President Bashar al-Assad.

Weapons From Former Yugoslavia Spread Through Syria’s War

Globe Mail [Reg]: How did Syria’s rebels get their hands on powerful new weapons?
2013-02-26

A long-standing complaint from rebels affiliated with the so-called Free Syrian Army has been that they lack weapons and ammunition with which to fight. In some parts of Syria that seems to be changing. Earlier this month video footage (whose …

Is Iran essential to Syria’s future?
By Loren White Monday, February 25, 2013 – FP

…Iran has reportedly begun forming large sectarian militias in Syria to bolster the regime in the short term, and also to preserve its influence should Assad be overthrown. With so much at stake, Iran will only continue to increase such efforts as the regime’s position becomes more vulnerable. These militias pose a huge threat — it is imperative that the United States and the international community try to prevent the formation of a Syrian style-Hezbollah by bringing Iran into peace mediations led by the U.N. Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi….Senior advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Ali Akbar Velayati, said as much when he publicly stated that the overthrow of Assad was a “redline” for Iran. Iranian cleric Hojjat al-Islam Mehdi Taeb went even further, referring to Syria as Iran’s 35^th province and claiming that if Iran lost Syria it could not keep Tehran…..Iran has shown interest in bringing the Syria subject into the nuclear negotiations with the permanent five members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany. With a new round of nuclear negotiations approaching, conceding a role in Syrian negotiations to Iran may be the good faith gesture needed to motivate Iran to reciprocate with a more conciliatory stance on its nuclear file and help end the current nuclear stalemate….Getting Iran to cooperate with the international community on Syria and getting the United States to relinquish its desire to see Iran isolated by Assad’s fall will be an uphill battle. Yet with the stakes so high in Syria a novel and pragmatic approach is badly needed.

Syria: Thinking Strategically by Frederic C. Hof | February 19, 2013 – Atlantic council. Hof spells out the seven things the US wants from Syria.

What, in the end, do we want of Syria? A Syria fundamentally inclined to cooperate with the United States in the region and beyond: that is the objective. Fundamental cooperation is not necessarily an alliance. It has nothing to do with patron and client. It has everything to do with shared values. It means a minimum of mutual suspicion and a basic agreement on the big things….Replacement of corrupt, incompetent, and brutal family rule with something reflecting modernity and decency would make possible elements three through seven of fundamental bilateral cooperation from the US standpoint: a Syria that terminates all military, intelligence, and terror relationships with Iran and Hezbollah; a Syria that rejects terror as a state instrument and tolerates no terrorists on its territory; a Syria that supports comprehensive Middle East peace and commits itself to the peaceful, diplomatic pursuit and resolution of its claims on Israel; a Syria that respects the territorial integrity and independence of each of its neighbors; and a Syria favorably disposed toward ridding itself of weapons of mass destruction.

FT- Editorial Leader
Monday, February 25, 2013
For Syrian peace, prepare for war
Kerry should push the case for arming rebels

John Kerry, US secretary of state, believes there may be a window of opportunity for a negotiated solution to the bloody civil war in Syria. As a new member of Barack Obama’s cabinet, he is right to explore all the options on his first foreign outing. However the rising death toll, now at more than 70,000, is a grim reminder that time is not on his side.

The US secretary of state may be hoping to take advantage of recent comments by senior members of both opposition and regime forces that they would be open to dialogue. He may also want to exploit growing frustration in Moscow with Syria’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad, who relies on Russian support to stay in power. It is encouraging that the noises out of Moscow are positive about a co-ordinated effort with Mr Kerry despite otherwise tense relations with the US. Nonetheless, this is a road that has been travelled before.

Mr Assad is well versed in the game of appearing to concede in order to gain time. Meanwhile, Russia will resist any effort that smacks of regime change and Mr Assad has said he intends to stay until the next election in 2014. Finally, the political opposition remains disconnected from fighters on the ground, who refuse talks while he is in power. The battle is at a desperate stalemate. Mr Assad has been unable to regain control of Syria, while the disparate rebel forces cannot topple the regime as long as the west refuses to deliver the weapons they need. In the interim, the civil war is being hijacked by jihadist forces positioning themselves for a post-Assad era.

A negotiated settlement would be the ideal solution. But the chances of striking a deal appear remote. In this context, the new secretary of state cannot allow talks to drag on interminably. He should also press President Obama to re-examine his refusal to consider arming rebels.

If Mr Kerry is to have any diplomatic force in discussions he must be able to threaten an alternative. Mr Assad has cynically exploited the west’s reluctance to intervene to stay in power. This bluff has to be called. This applies equally to the EU, which last week rejected a UK call to lift its arms embargo to allow shipments to rebels.

If western powers continue to stand on the sidelines, the war will drag on. The longer it continues, the more likely it is that jihadis will build a bridgehead in the eastern Mediterranean that will contaminate the region and beyond. In that case, the west may have intervention forced upon it.

In Syria, new influx of weapons to rebels tilts the battle against Assad
By Liz Sly and Karen DeYoung, Wash Post, February 25, 2013

The Washington Post reports: A surge of rebel advances in Syria is being fueled at least in part by an influx of heavy weaponry in a renewed effort by outside powers to arm moderates in the Free Syrian Army, according to Arab and rebel officials.

The new armaments, including anti-tank weapons and recoilless rifles, have been sent across the Jordanian border into the province of Daraa in recent weeks to counter the growing influence of Islamist extremist groups in the north of Syria by boosting more moderate groups fighting in the south, the officials say….

Syria rebels say they don’t have the weapons to end the war
Opposition leaders mostly blame the U.S., which they believe is pressuring Persian Gulf allies to keep heavy weapons out of rebels’ hands.
By Raja Abdulrahim, Los Angeles Times
February 19, 2013, 5:10 p.m.

BEIRUT — Just when they expected a flood of heavy weapons to help them make a major push against the forces of President Bashar Assad, rebel commanders in Syria say, arms shipments from outside the country have instead slowed, prolonging a conflict now nearing the end of its second year.

Though rebels have made gains in the north and east, seizing military bases and checkpoints, opposition figures who had made predictions of quick victory now say their arsenal is at a level that can support only a war of attrition.

“There will be no quick and practical end,” said Nabil Amir, spokesman for the Damascus Military Council, a key rebel group.

Although arms for the Syrian opposition have come primarily from Arab states in the Persian Gulf region, rebel commanders almost uniformly blame the slowdown on the United States, which they suspect of exerting pressure on its regional allies.

Commanders of Syria’s fractured opposition said they believed they had been promised weapons as an incentive to unite. In December, provincial councils in the Free Syrian Army, an opposition umbrella group, gathered from across the country under the banner of a Supreme Military Council at the behest of Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

“We were promised that if we unified our ranks that we would be given legitimacy as well as salaries and heavy weapons,” said Col. Qassim Saad Eddine, a member of the 30-member council. “But from that day we have gotten nothing.”

The reluctance of Arab and Western countries to arm the rebels is based at least in part on concern that the weapons would fall into the hands of groups that those nations view as extremist. But it has paradoxically served to increase the influence of Islamist fighters in Syria, who have emerged as the best-armed members of the insurgency.

Strong and better disciplined, the Islamists have had more success in capturing Syrian military weapons. Some people suspect they also benefit from wealthy supporters, possibly linked to Al Qaeda.

Top Pentagon officials, including Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, recently revealed that they had supported a recommendation last summer by the State Department and CIA to arm the rebels, but were overruled by the White House.

And on Monday, the European Union decided to continue its arms embargo against both sides in the conflict.

Syria: Behind Rebel Lines (CBC, 9 p.m on Doc Zone )
by Rania Abouzeid (Time magazine) and directed by Sylvene Gilchrist

From a review in the Globe and Mail

…It is a rare look inside Syria as it is now. It’s a fine piece of journalism rather than a carefully crafted documentary with a forged story arc. And because of that, it is all the more galvanizing….

Rania Abouzeid tells us, “There is chaos in the Syrian civil war.” She says there are shadowy groups of foreign fighters in the country and “criminal elements” who engage in kidnapping for ransom, looting homes and taking every advantage of the lawlessness.

With two million people displaced and thousands fleeing every week, the chaos has allowed warlords to emerge, but we are told that the current political situation is “like a marketplace.” That is, people can pick and choose their allegiance from the elements among the rebel forces.

She meets a group of men she describes as “Islamists who want an Islamic state.” Their leader is a charismatic figure who had left Syria for Italy and returned when the Hosni Mubarek regime fell in Egypt. He believed the Assad regime would fall next. A former champion discus-thrower, he’s now battle-hardened, claiming to have dozens of pieces of shrapnel in his body, and he has a broken jaw.

To the camera he says, “Yes we are mujahedeen, holy warriors until the fall of the regime. After the regime, everyone can display their wares. I want to stress this point. We will display our wares, not force them on anyone. The people will decide.” He also claims to be wary of foreign influences in Syria’s future. “We started with a stick and a pump-action shotgun and we will return to the stick rather than allow anyone to force anything on us.”

We meet a man, a former civil servant, who now makes rockets for the rebel forces. And we meet a female fighter with the rebels. The woman, who fights on the front line with an AK-47, says she tried to form a women’s brigade, but other women weren’t interested. An extraordinary figure, she has a personal message for Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria – that’s she is coming for him .

There are many vignettes that make the program interesting . But the overall portrait is what makes it memorable and a formidable act of reporting. The war in Syria goes on and on, in bleak outposts where the regime hangs on, having laid waste to the area; on stretches of highway that are controlled by one side, then another….

The Syrian foreign minister said that his government is willing to sit down for talks with armed rebels.

According to Syrian state media, a football player was killed after two mortar shells hit the Tishreen stadium in Damascus’s al-Baramkeh district. The attack came a day after two mortars reportedly exploded outside one of President Bashar al-Assad’s palaces in the capital’s northwestern district of Muhajireen. Opposition activists said that the Free Syrian Army fired up to seven mortar rounds at the Tishreen Palace. No casualties have been reported. Assad has two other palaces in the city. Opposition fighters previously claimed to have fired rockets at the presidential palaces, but the attack on Tuesday was confirmed by the Syrian government. Meanwhile, the death toll from Monday’s rocket attack on Aleppo has risen to an estimated 31 people.

Musa al-Gharbi: Is authoritarianism anti-democratic?

“The international community must allow for the emergence of illiberal democracies, or even a popular rejection of democracy altogether”

Last updated: February 25, 2013

How an ordinary Syrian became a Kalashnikov-wielding fighter
Sunday, February 24, 2013
by Daniel Lippman

Brothers in arms: the 10 brothers fighting for the Syrian uprising

From peasant sons of the northern plains to rebels at the heart of the Syrian uprising: a family at war
Martin Chulov, The Guardian, Friday 22 February 2013

Syrian rebel commander on a post-Assad Syria
by David Ignatius on February 22, Wash Post

…The commander of the Free Syrian Army, encouraged by recent successes on the battlefield, said that he is ready to meet with military officers from the regime of President Bashar al-Assad to “discuss how to keep order in the country” should Assad give up power.

Brig. Gen. Salim Idriss, who became commander in chief of the rebel forces three months ago, made the surprising offer of talks in a telephone interview Friday from Turkey. His comments follow a similar proposal last month by Sheik Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib, the head of the coalition of political opposition groups, to meet with officials of the regime to discuss a political transition.

Idriss’s comments were the first clear sign that the Free Syrian Army command is making serious plans for how to stabilize the country if Assad falls. His statements are likely to reassure top U.S. officials, who have been debating in recent days whether to support Idriss’s private request for training and weapons.

“We can say in the Free Syrian Army that we are ready to meet any parties in the [Syrian] army who didn’t have any role in making decisions to kill Syrians,” Idriss said. He specified two conditions for such talks: Assad must state publicly that he is stepping down, and there must be trials of security-force commanders who killed unarmed Syrian protesters.

The Missing Journalists of Syria’s War: The Struggle to Save Those Who Bear Witness
By Andrew Katz – Time

An Al-Nusra Preacher giving his Khitab in Aleppo ?? ??? ?????? ??? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ????2013

Syrian Economy Loses $48 Billion in 22 Months
Report Shows War’s Impact On Syrian Economy
By: Samar Ozmichli Translated from Al-Hayat (Pan Arab).

A report by a Syrian research center has estimated the economic losses of the Syrian economy over the last 22 months at about $48.4 billion — equal to 81.7% of the country’s GDP for 2010. The losses impacted a number of sectors, with 50% being attributed to a loss in GDP and 43% a result of damage in capital stock. The report, entitled “The Socioeconomic Roots and Impact of the Syrian Crisis,” was prepared by the Syrian Center for Policy Research (SCPR), which is affiliated with the Syrian Society for Culture and Knowledge. The report noted that Syria has lost nearly two decades’ worth of human-development achievements and that the level of economic collapse was “substantial” even when compared to conflict losses in other countries.

The report predicted that the crisis would lead to an 18.8% decrease in GDP for 2012, while the deficit balance is expected to reach 18.5% of GDP for the same year. This means that the crisis will have a strong negative impact on the balance of payments, bringing the cumulative deficit to $16 billion. This deficit has been financed by net foreign assets, which declined from approximately $18 billion in 2010 to $2 billion by the end of 2012.

The report estimated that the losses in Syrian capital stock amount to nearly $42 billion, concentrated in three components. First, there is a decrease in net investment equal to $12.4 billion. Second, there are losses due to poor capacity utilization and idle capital stock, which no longer contribute to the production process. The mining and tourism sectors are particularly affected. The estimated loss due to this component is $8.9 billion. The final component is the partial or full damage to capital stock (destroyed firms, equipment and buildings), and these losses are estimated to amount to $20.8 billion.

Macroeconomic indicators

In a report prepared for the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Syrian experts reported that the country’s GDP had decreased by about 35% (approximately $20 billion), and predicted that this figure would see an 18% decrease each year. They noted that as soon as the crisis ends, Syria will need approximately $45 billion to fund reconstruction efforts. If the crisis continues, the reconstruction process will face many challenges, both in terms of cost and capabilities. In the event that the crisis persists until 2015, unemployment rates are expected to rise to 60%.

The SCPR report, however, estimated that by the end of 2012 the Syrian GDP had lost $24.1 billion — equaling 45.7% of the 2010 GDP….

Prolonged crisis drives up divorce rate in Syria
2013-02-20

Feb. 20, 2013 (Xinhua) — Divorce rate has gone up 45 percent and marriage rate has dropped over 40 percent in Syria since the outbreak of mass protests against the government almost two years ago, according to a recent survey by local media….

INTERVIEW: Tlass: Regime fall could turn Syria into another Somalia By DPA correspondents
2013-02-21

Paris (DPA) — The defection of General Manaf Tlass in July was a bitter, personal blow to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Tlass, a Republican Guard commander and son of a former defence minister, was a childhood friend of al-Assad. Now based in Paris, Tlass’ phone never stops ringing. Since his defection he has been taking part in military and political moves to support the uprising that began almost two years ago against al-Assad’s regime….. dpa: What scenario do you see for a solution?

Tlass: There is a risk that the regime’s fall will lead to chaos, reprisals and a civil war that could turn the country into another Somalia. The regime has not taken any serious steps towards (implementing) any initiative requiring al-Assad’s resignation and a transitional government, and it is not going to. That is because it has not come under any real international pressure. We must work hard to create a protective network, a sort of united umbrella organization that involves Syrian society in all its diversity, before and not after the fall of the regime, so we can avoid the fall of the state and society along with it – which is what the regime is betting on. This is why I say that it must be Syrian society, with all its components and national minorities, that brings down al-Assad, in the framework of a national project aimed at preventing a collapse into civil war…..

Syrian regime battles rebels for control of highway to its safe haven
Lebanon appears closer than ever to getting dragged into Syria’s war as the regime and rebels battle just over the border and Hezbollah’s growing involvement raises rebel ire.
By Nicholas Blanford, Correspondent / February 22, 2013 – CSM

….“If Assad gets driven out of Damascus… Qusayr will be very important as it links Damascus with the Alawite mountain. The highway will be crucial,” says Joshua Landis, professor of Middle East history at the University of Oklahoma and author of the influential Syria Comment blog.

The Qusayr pocket is a microcosm of Syria’s tangled sectarian demographics, where Lebanese and Syrian Sunnis and Shiites live beside Syrian Christians and Alawites. Some 23 villages and 12 farms west of Qusayr are inhabited by Lebanese Shiites, even though the area lies inside Syria. Border restrictions here are historically lax and there are numerous trails, tracks, and small paved roads used by smugglers and residents alike to move across the frontier…..

A critical corridor

Some analysts suspect that the Shiite villages to the west of Qusayr could eventually form part of a corridor linking Hezbollah-controlled areas of Lebanon’s northern Bekaa Valley to the southern edge of an Alawite enclave that could stretch up the coastal mountain chain to the port town of Latakia. If such a corridor were secured, it would have significant strategic consequences. It would allow Hezbollah to help the remnants of the Assad regime defend the enclave from attacks by Sunni groups. It could also become a new conduit for the flow of arms to Hezbollah.

Traditionally, the bulk of Hezbollah’s weapons are smuggled into Lebanon from Syria. The fall of the Assad regime, however, would complicate Hezbollah’s ability to bring in arms and, more critically, restock its arsenal in the aftermath of a future war with Israel. The theoretical Alawite enclave would have access to the sea through the ports of Tartous, Banias and Latakia, allowing for the potential import of weapons which could then be trucked to Hezbollah in Lebanon via the secured corridor….

Time: Assad’s Big Ally: How Deeply Entrenched Is Iran in Syria?
2013-02-26

The killing last week of a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps commander near the Lebanon-Syria border has rekindled speculation about Iran’s activities in Syria, particularly its ties to the militia groups fighting alongside the Syrian …

Time: Syria 1940
2013-02-26

The ongoing chaos and violence that have come to define the Syrian civil war — a war that has now raged for close to two years, with no signs of abating — not only forced the names of ancient cities (Aleppo, Homs) back into today’s headlines, …

When doing nothing is a policy
By Richard Cohen, Published: February 25

In the movie “Lawrence of Arabia,” the attempt to unite the Arabs comes apart in Damascus. Lawrence bangs on his desk with the butt of his gun to bring the assembly to order, but to no avail. Chaos erupts. Now something similar is happening in Syria. 1e62-7f77-11e2-b99e-6baf4ebe42df_story.html

Fox News: As atrocities pile up, Syrians collect evidence
2013-02-26

Syrian activist Yashar hopes the security agents who tormented him during five months of detention will one day be put on trial.

Hawks in Syrian Opposition Resist Dialogue Initiative – Al-Monitor

Syria opposition mulls 5 candidates for “premier” – NOW

“Friends of Syria” ramp up pressure on Assad, call for enhancing sanctions against Syria – NOW

Jordan Prepares for Return Of Salafists From Syria – Al-Monitor

Conflict between Sunni and Shia Muslims seen as escalating across Middle East – globalpost.com

Syria’s Armenian minority flees from conflict – Toronto Star

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Comments (243)

Dolly Buster said:

Arabs were weak when they were divided into 50 states with a Mubarak in each.
But now with the Ay-rab spring, they have a potential to unify into a Caliphate later on.

February 27th, 2013, 10:23 am

I’m sure many things can be said about the jews, but let’s not obsess with them where they don’t exist.
Bashar was not put into the government by Netanyahu; he was put into place by the Shia.

Today on Reuters.com, a Shiite evildoer from Badr Organization Iraq, said that he opposed rebels and he loved the dictatorship in Syria.

This proves my long-standing point that Iraq is also a Shiite dictatorship in need of a Spring Cleaning.

February 27th, 2013, 10:37 am

I’m sure many things can be said about the ?ews, but let’s not obsess with them where they don’t exist.
Bashar was not put into the government by Netanyahu; he was put into place by the Shia.

Today on Reuters.?om, a Shiite evildoer from ?adr Organization Iraq, said that he opposed rebels and he loved the dictatorship in Syria.

February 27th, 2013, 10:38 am

mjabali said:

John Kerry has the right approach so far. He showed willingness to act and think unlike Clinton who put all her support behind certain opposition groups.

John Kerry has the momentum to move and make something happen..

February 27th, 2013, 11:08 am

He is Zarqawi, after Az-Zarqaa. Not “zirqawi.”

The goal of Zarqawi was to attack collaborators of the Crusade.

That is why he attacked Shias, and also Sunni collaborators such as Abdes-Satar ar-Rishawi.

What I hate the most, are anti-American people who don’t actually dare to do anything against America, yet they bash those who got killed fighting America.

How do you sleep at night?
Zarqawi got killed battling the U.S. military, while you people posted about AQ being a pro-American organization.
He did more against the CIA than any of your fagg?ts posting the word “Al Ciaida.”

February 27th, 2013, 11:10 am

Aldendeshe said:

It just prove you are not Syrian, possibly not even Arab.

February 27th, 2013, 11:48 am

Juergen said:

Hanzala 1345

Where in Syria one gets a hand on good bacon and salami? Or do you mean the lebanese partisans who brought with them such delicacies?

February 27th, 2013, 11:55 am

Visitor said:

The only reasons the US is now reluctantly yielding to arming the FSA are the following:

1) The Nusra Front has proven to be effective and is achieving one victory after the next even without need for foreign arms.

2) The Nusra Front has become quite popular among the Syrians because it delivered, and showed that it can be an effective administrator in liberated areas.

3) Our GCC brothers insisted on arming the FSA with or without American approval.

The way I see it is no matter what the outisde actors try to do or to manipulate, the Nusra Front is the winner. The problem is not lack of weapons. It is how to be organized, disciplined, dedicated, trained and willing to act. The Nusra Front has led the FSA in all the aforementioned areas, and there is no escaping from the fact that the FSA as a whole is indebted to Nursa, especially during the early stages of defections when the FSA defectors were no more than disparate groups with no organization, no fighting skills, no discipline and in quite few cases corrupt as a result of being products of a corrupt regime. Many FSA defectors had to go through extensive rehabilitation periods in order to achieve the professional levels of the Nusra fighters. We need to also emphasize the fact that Nusra fighters were the leaders in most operations which crippled the criminal regime, especially with regards to its supply routes.

So, no matter what Americ does, America is a loser in this war until it acknowledges the essential role of Nusra and apologizes to it and to the Syrian people for its malicious role in this war. Syrians are intelligent people and will never be deceived by America twice, and they also know full well who delivered with sincere effort and with blood in their hour of need – it definitely wasn’t malicious USA. I would rather that the Syrians refuse any US aid in any shape or form, but accept any aid that comes from our brothers in the GCC and Turkey. Only when America apologizes and comes out clean in full view should its help become acceptable. We do not want one American hand extended and another with a dagger hiding in the back.

February 27th, 2013, 12:24 pm

Badr said:

Are the US and Russia bridging their divide over Syria?

By Fred Weir, CSMonitor

But most experts say that even if Lavrov and Kerry have finally seen eye-to-eye about Syria, it’s just a momentary note of hopefulness in a long string of failed attempts by the US and Russia to do something about a situation that is already beyond fixing.

“Let’s count the miracles that have to happen here,” says Georgy Mirsky, senior researcher at the official Institute of World Economy and International Relations in Moscow. “First, we have to get the opposition to give up their hope of eventual military victory and agree to talk with the regime. Second, Assad has to step down and delegate power to a deputy, whom the rebels would be willing to deal with. And if Assad refuses to go, no miracle of talks is likely to take place at all….”

“And if those two miracles do happen, what’s to say that the rebel fighters inside Syria will accept any agreement their supposed leaders in the diaspora have made? After all, these are increasingly hardline Islamists, who have been fighting hard for two years, and they are not prepared to be sidelined by some deal between the regime and foreign-based opposition leaders,” he says.

“What are the chances all these miracles are going to happen? Really, not so much.”

February 27th, 2013, 12:36 pm

zoo said:

This has a chance, yet why is it that the opposition is so afraid of Bashar Al Assad, unless they recognize that he has a threatening number of supporters?

“Should Assad’s removal be a precondition? Now it seems clear that he will not leave, but he may be prepared to say he will not stay beyond the next election which should be in 2014. Hence, in order to achieve anything here, the rebels must be prepared to accept some compromise like that. But their big fear would be that Assad might reestablish his position as a negotiator,” he says.

February 27th, 2013, 1:14 pm

#13 Visitor

You are so right as always. Yes! America must kneel in front of Al Nusra begging forgiveness!

“America is a loser in this war until it acknowledges the essential role of Nusra and apologizes to it and to the Syrian people for its malicious role in this war”.

February 27th, 2013, 1:18 pm

“This has a chance, yet why is it that the opposition is so afraid of Bashar Al Assad, unless they recognize that he has a threatening number of supporters?”

This is a typical example of a statement usually made by immoral characters or in other words thugs or thug supporters or criminals or criminal supporters.

The opposition is NOT afraid of Bashar. Bashar is a a CRIMINAL and therefore he cannot be part of ANY solution. Bashar and all his henchemen have only one destiny: the courtroom and from there to the gallows.

I hope that helps in adjusting your moral compass. No guarantees as your case is incurable. In other words yours is a case of a terminally-ill criminal.

Zoo #16,

Yes!! I am right as always. Remember my predictions come true. Weapons are flowing in as I predicted over two months ago. Your predictions never materialize. We know why. You can only present empty posturing like your pompous mullah drums. I heard Na’im Qassim is killed – if so, good riddance wu 3i’ebel Hassan Al-Jarbou’.

And see above for your pleasure as a terminally-ill criminal.

February 27th, 2013, 1:22 pm

revenire said:

Visitor the men in the white coats are looking for you. They have Bibles in their hands and are going to force you to watch American fundamentalist preachers until you convert, shave your beard, eat bacon and drink Jim Beam.

February 27th, 2013, 1:23 pm

Visitor the thumbs clow.. ??????

So you want the United States of America to apologize to al-Nusra, what are you drinking?

Also you think al-Nusra rules well wherever they control in Syria, seriously dude what are you drinking?

Keep on playing with the thumbs up and down.

February 27th, 2013, 1:30 pm

Rats getting sliced and diced by our army. Kerry better hurry up.

majedkhaldoun said:

Thank you Mr. Obama,for donating body armor and short swimming pants and umbrellas to protect us from the heat of the sun, I think we may need straws to drink cokes too,or may be bubble gum,that is what we really need to win the freedom.
I thought Hialry was the problem, ,Kerry can stay in D.C. no need to bother.

February 27th, 2013, 1:33 pm

Visitor

Please when the USA will apologize to Al Nusra, don’t forget to post it. I want to be the first to congratulate you for the validity of this ‘prediction’. I am convinced you are a kind of visionary badly needed in Syria’s opposition.

February 27th, 2013, 1:37 pm

“22. zoosaid:

Zoo,

In olden days when you were Irritated, I had to teach you the difference between a simile and the actual object of the comparison. You should be emabarassed to be on this forum making comments while you do not know such basic mundane things in the English language. If you do not remember the incident I will remind you. I said to you in one comment you act like a robot. You came back IRRITATED and saying that I called you a robot. I hade to show you that when like or as fall between two objects in a sentence then that is a comparison and not actually making an absolute equivalence bewteen the two objects. Now that is pathetic for someone who doesn’t understand that much and wants to appear as a so-called pundit (pundit my ass you are).

Now you are dispalying similar pathetic miscomprehesion skills by conflating a condition with a prediction. What I said was a condition the US has to fullfil. It was not a prediction that it WILL fullfil. Bold/upper case use is intentional for the pathetically challenged the Zoo-Irritated.

February 27th, 2013, 1:51 pm

Syrialover said:

21# MAJEDKHALDOUN said: “I thought Hialry was the problem”

l thought it had been revealed that Hillary Clinton (State Dept) and top officials of the Defense Department were arguing in favor of military assistance to the Syrian oppsition forces.

Obama instead succumbed to pressure and advice fromn those around him who were more focused on domestic and election issues.

Al-Nusra unfortunately proved a very useful aid to the anti-interventionists in the US, and possibly tipped things their way in the debate.

There has been a lot of information coming out post-election on the intense debate in the US policy circles about Syria. A lot of it strongly contradicts what critics of the US had been claiming.

February 27th, 2013, 2:04 pm

Citizen said:

Lebanon has become an integral part of the plans of al-Nusra Front. Al-Qaeda’s fastest-growing offshoot is seeking to merge Lebanon’s extreme Islamist factions into a united front.

In mid-February, at a location in the barren hills surrounding the Lebanese town of Ersal, H. A. Dergham posed for pictures with dozens of his armed followers. Under the banner of Syria’s al-Nusra Front and behind a table draped with the Syrian “revolutionary” flag, he brandished a rocket-propelled grenade launcher in one hand and made a victory sign with the other.

Dergham is a principal suspect in the February 2013 attack on an army patrol near Ersal in which a captain and lieutenant were killed and several soldiers injured. The assault followed the attempted arrest of Khaled Hamid, who was described as the top al-Nusra Front “facilitator” in Lebanon.

Dergham’s group also works closely with al-Nusra Front in Syria, and has been playing a leading role in plans to establish a “branch” of the organization in Lebanon.

Al-Nusra Front was formed in Syria in 2011. It rapidly grew into the most prominent of all the country’s armed opposition groups once it was joined by like-minded former members of the Lebanese-based groups Jund al-Sham and Fatah al-Islam.

In March 2012, a group led by Majed Bin-Mohammed al-Majed, Saudi emir or “commander” of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, moved from the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in South Lebanon to Syria.

The rise of Islamist forces with an ideological affinity to al-Qaeda was aided by the declining influence of Fatah and the other Palestinian nationalist factions in Ain al-Hilweh.Their intended aim was to take over the leadership of al-Nusra Front, and replace its commander, known as Abu-Mohammed al-Joulani, with Majed. But once in Syria, many of his followers turned against him and sided with Joulani. He returned to Ain al-Hilweh.
Meanwhile, the ex-members of Fatah al-Islam and Jund al-Sham got on with the task of training and organizing Joulani’s men. Within a few months they managed to improve al-Nusra Front’s performance and organization, turning it into the most formidable armed faction in Syria and an important front for al-Qaeda’s global jihad.

Al-Nusra Front’s Reach in Lebanon

Currently, about a year and half since its launch, the Front has a network of associated groups based in Lebanon. Its members come from a variety of different countries, which provide it with logistical, material, and combat support, especially in its battles in the vicinities of Homs and Damascus.

These Lebanese groups have plans to merge militarily and organizationally into a unified Lebanese chapter of al-Nusra Front. Dergham’s group is the most closely associated with the plan. Based around Ersal, it provides extensive logistical support to al-Nusra Front.

The rise of Islamist forces with an ideological affinity to al-Qaeda was aided by the declining influence of Fatah and the other Palestinian nationalist factions in Ain al-Hilweh. Their involvement in the Syrian jihad has bolstered support for their extremist views. This is at the expense of Hamas’ Usbat al-Ansar, to whom they previously used to defer in exchange for protection.

The other main component of the planned Lebanese al-Nusra Front is the so-called Tripoli bloc, consisting mainly of Hussam al-Sabbagh’s group of 300-400 fighters in the city. A number of smaller groups based in North Lebanon and the Bekaa are also expected to join the merged organization.

One proposal, espoused by Sabbagh, is to establish a single Islamic emirate spanning from North Lebanon to the Homs countryside. Another suggestion is to mount a series of surprise actions in different parts of Lebanon, with the aim of suddenly raising security tensions throughout the country, and announcing: We’re here, our time has come.

Reports indicate that the organizational steps needed to form the merged Lebanese al-Nusra Front are complete, but the Front is awaiting the right political circumstances for its launch.

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/coming-soon-al-nusra-front-lebanon

February 27th, 2013, 2:23 pm

Uzair8 said:

Butch Assadi And The ‘Resistance’ Kid

John Kerry was spot on in his description .

Quick to reach for the gun, from day one the criminal tyrant wanted to shoot his way out of this just uprising.

February 27th, 2013, 2:58 pm

Interesting. I got the instant-simultaneous 10 thumbs down trick for #24.

I must have pushed the sensitive al-Nusrah button or something.

February 27th, 2013, 3:01 pm

John Kerry says Americans ‘have a right to be stupid’ and tells how he lost his diplomatic passport at age 12 after sneaking out to Soviet-controlled East Berlin in 1950s
___________________________________________________________________

But Americans don’t have the right to spread stupidity around to others. And for sure not think others sre stupid to accept that 19 Moslem cavemen did 9/11, that Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Tunisia wars were for Freedom and Democracy and not gold, resources and Israel. That Al Nusra is an Al Qaida fighting to bring freedom and democracy to Syria and not Alciada trying to destroy Syria to run few pipelines from Qatar and Israel and rollback Syria in accordance with ZEOCONS JEWS in Washington.

Yeah, he sneaked out from freedom and Democracy to communist tyranny and enslavement in the 50’s, while I sneaked out of Baathist Syria to freedom and democracy in the West losing my Civil Passport in the process. Go figure, from someone whose favorite pastime is dinner at small table with Bashar Assad.

How about you help your old warm friend and the people of Syria, ask Cheney to pull those hound dogs Al Nusra of his out of Syria to Jordan and give some support to real Syrians who want to bring freedom and democracy for real to the country. We can away negotiate those pipeline fees later, when it is even safe to run’em.

February 27th, 2013, 3:09 pm

John Kerry malignant
His position Is taking option to pouring oil on the fire and not a defusing option !
He continues to plunge the region into more tension to serve Israel!
No Mr. Kerry! You can recklessness of trying to overthrow the regime by force, but the consequences would be disastrous on you!

Syrialover
The revolution has been going on for two years,and before Al Nusra came, USA is using excuses so not to interfere, ,al Nusra has done nothing to the US.
Further the rebels are advancing,and Assad is getting weaker, US is worried as the syrian revolution is exportable,as I said before.
I am glad to hear GCC are planing to help,I believe it when it shows on ground, to me Turkey can not do anything without US approval, Assad is on the death bed,Syrian revolution will win if it extends to other countries,northern Syria state is a must now.
As for the goverment Burhan Ghalioun is excellent but I doubt he will accept,

February 27th, 2013, 3:12 pm

Uzair the stand up comedian:

Dude: never had a chance to respond to your lunacy you posted on this board few days ago:

So you claim that you have no clue about what goes on in your native Pakistan and just read the headlines here and there: the question here is why whenever a Syrian sneezes you seem to know about it? Do I trace hypocrisy here? You are a straight up hypocrite.

Also: the other day you posted a song by Elvis Costello and started changing the lyrics to mock up the Alawites. Dude, get a life. You are beginning to look to me as one miserable bastard igniting sectarian hatred in my country Syria.

Also it looks like Visitor the thumbs up and down clow is having a field day….more thumbs down please ya qerd

February 27th, 2013, 3:15 pm

Johannes de Silentio said:

HASSAN

“Assad is Syria and Syria is Assad. Alawites must never forget our role and duty as guardians of order and civilization”

Hassan, you aren’t even the guardian of your own asshole…

February 27th, 2013, 3:31 pm

For the 100th day, Darayya is still free of regime abomination.

For the 100th day, Darayya is standing on its feet.

Despite relentless assaults and unceasing bombardment.

How do the mentally challenged regime supporters still think their equally challenged regime has control over anything else except its ass?

February 27th, 2013, 4:23 pm

Darryl said:

Hey dear Visitor, you are such a chatter box! Carrying on from Revenire’s comment about Jim Beam, I will be distilling Arak soon using my finest chemistry skills and the finest Aniseed, mother earth can produce straight from the fields of Kifr Susa in our beloved Syria. Would you like some to try?

February 27th, 2013, 4:24 pm

Darryl 34,

The general consensus here is that Revenire is a retard.

By all means, converse with him because you guys may get along together extremely well. You have lots in common except that he is not Syrian. You will have to do with what you got less the Syrian part.

Retard will definitely compensate in your case.

February 27th, 2013, 4:32 pm

Tara said:

Mina

I think I called you a liar first before visitor if I remember well.

Again, being a Copt is nothing to be ashamed of. My best freind was a Copt.

February 27th, 2013, 4:48 pm

FSA Captures SCUD Missiles. US to Provide Direct Military Aid to Rebels

http://youtu.be/PFtFc-TMtg8?t=46s

http://youtu.be/VH8N0diyBoc?t=1s

February 27th, 2013, 4:53 pm

These horrific videos of killing, torture and cruelty on both sides in Syria are there to make a point, I know, I know.

But I see a powerful case for restricting their mass circulation, now on a scale and detail beyond anything the world has ever seen before.

Powerful reasons to do with respect and sensitivity for the victims, their families and others who know them.

Just imagine how it must deepen their trauma, pain, grief and humiliation to have those sickening images of their suffering and death flashed around the world for everyone to gawk at.

And we can certainly do without the new SyriaComment format which launches the horror contents of those videos straight up and in your face. ANNIE, were you intending that to happen with your post above?

Let’s give the suffering and dead some dignity and sympathy and allow them to be remembered as people, not images in obscene videos of cruelty and killing.

They are all individuals who were part of normal life, before becoming random victims of depraved and pathological behaviour by the worst of humanity.

All humans deserve to have themselves and those they love remembered as they were in life, not like that.

February 27th, 2013, 5:04 pm

SANDRO LOEWE said:

I am able to understand that the US decaying empire capital cannot enter Syria and does not want to send arms to opposition. They have no moral obligation if we consider that they just care for their freedoms and democracy and not for others.

But what I cannot bear is the hipocresy of those US nationals like Obama, Bush, Kery, Clinton and company that say that inaction is for the good of Syria and the syrian population.

Us is favouring balance of powers in Syria serving the aim of mutual destruction and human holocaust. The same way Assad played in Syria during civil war, always looking for a balance of internal powers with the aim of never letting anyone win the war and at the same time letting both sides weaken for long years. This is what US, EU and Israel are doing here. One day books will explain what´s happening here.

February 27th, 2013, 5:12 pm

Syria- Al Qaeda/FSA Terrorists kill 60 year old Syrian man for supporting his country and president
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j15YMxY5xsc

Ha ha Tara cracks me up with these “I know her cousins” and “My best friend is a ____ (fill in the blank)” rants of hers.

Tara get over yourself honey

I’d tell you that no one give’s a rat’s ass who you know or who your friends are and that you’re still a hateful, sectarian animal that belongs in a cage but what good would that do?

February 27th, 2013, 5:13 pm

annie said:

38. Syrialover your point is well taken.
Everyone was talking about that video and I wanted to illustrate the content of the REVE and Hassan’s rantings.
I did not know it would show and had only included the link.
Would a moderator take it out ?

February 27th, 2013, 6:13 pm

habib said:

Wow, not a word about the Damascus bombing? This site has surely become a mouthpiece for Neocons and Salafists.

February 27th, 2013, 6:15 pm

38. Syrialover your point is well taken.
Everyone was talking about that video and I wanted to illustrate the content of the REVE and the Hassan rantings.
I did not know it would show since I had only included the link.
We don’t know these people’s names.
I am asking Josh to delete it.

February 27th, 2013, 6:16 pm

Habib 42,

I kind of like your switch from LOL to WOW! It shows you’re quite ‘creative’ and ‘respond well’ to criticism.

February 27th, 2013, 6:20 pm

44. Visitor

Lol. And your comment shows you have little of substance to offer, apart from useless musings on the style (rather than content) of other comments.

February 27th, 2013, 6:23 pm

Habib 45,

I failed to see any content in your comment. But your change of style was obvious, and I wanted to cheer you up man, and give you some encouragement.

What you said was no more than a rant in terms of content. We’ve been talking about regime terror bombings by using car-bombs and apparently suicide bombers in Damascus and other areas for almost a month, not to mention SCUDS falling on residential neighborhoods. Where have you been?

Plus, the neo-con thing has become worn out. It is a stale cliche now.

But WOW from you is an absolute novelty WOW. Alas you just reverted to your habitual worn-out LOL. Capiche!

February 27th, 2013, 6:38 pm

Maliki said
“The most dangerous thing in this process is that if the opposition is victorious, there will be a civil war in Lebanon, divisions in Jordan and a sectarian war in Iraq.”
I believe Lebanon will be effected first where HA will lose its weapons supply,and lose its influence politically,other sects in Lebanon will dare to challenge HA and Ta-ef pact will change,,HA is no longer a resistant movement,it is only a protector of Iran, .
As for Iraq the Sunnis hold more power than most admit, the rivers flow through central Iraq and their water can be diverted to the west ,which now is desert, and the south will be left with little water,we know that where water is present people live,no water it will be desert,I am sure the central provinces in Iraq will seperate(they have that right by law),and join future Syria,

February 27th, 2013, 6:42 pm

# 30.MAJEDKHALDOUN

I respectfully disagree.

My understanding is that the behind the scenes debate and impasse in the US started the day Assad fired his firt shots against unarmed Syrians.

The al-Nusrah issue emerged only later as part of that debate (though it’s argued al-Nusrah got a foothold and flourished in the absence of US action – a circular thing).

I have said here before that any government or charity orgqanisation in the west will experience fatal loss of public confidence and support if they became linked in any way with an outfit like al-Nusrah.

And if you understand the west, you know that anything requiring texpayers or donor funding cannot happen if public opinion is against it. That’s just how democracies and accountable agencies work.

The upcoming big issue will be how much the west (or rather the general public there) is prepared to help with reconstruction of post-Assad Syria. Which is why al-Nusrah has to be pushed offstage as soon as possible.

Don’t you find it telling that some western governments have made declared that anyone caught leaving their shores to fight as a holy warrior in Syria will be stopped and face up to 20 years in prison?

I happen to agree with such policies, and I agree for the sake of Syrians.

February 27th, 2013, 6:55 pm

Thank you ANNIE #38. My comment was not intended as a criticism of your action in posting it. It just happened to be a powerful example.

I respect you as one of the increasingly small minority of decent, thoughtful, sincere and intellectually grown up people on this forum.

It’s evident that some of the kid cowboys here making swaggering, shallow, silly noises about what’s happening in Syria (and exchanging juvenile insuilts with each other) are at zero risk of seeing anyone they know ever appear in those videos. Syria’s just a faraway game to them, the people aren’t real.

But you can bet they would be fatally traumatized and whining hysterically if any of their family or friends in their home town were tortured and murdered and had their dead and mutilated body splashed in big images on the TV news and all over the internet.

I suspect there are even some here who share the sick and damaged mentality of those doing the violence

February 27th, 2013, 7:16 pm

Syrialover
What exactly you are disagreeing with?

February 27th, 2013, 7:21 pm

ALI said:

Annie:

I always thought you’re the wise man around here and help some respect for you, but there you go you’re no better than all these other blood terrorists on this forum.

What did you achieve by humiliating a dead man? what did you achieve by refusing to pay him some respect after all the agony he went through?

You’re just a blood trader.

February 27th, 2013, 7:22 pm

Hassan:

Shut the fkup you mthfkr, you’re just fake and sham. You’re anti-regime putting a mask to discredit Alawis and Syria lovers on this forum.

You claim you’re Alawi? tell me which day3a? tell me which tribe? Who’s your father? where did you serve? what’s your military recruitment division? c’mon tell me and trust me it’s so easy to prove you’re a liar.

We don’t need your vulgar support, go to hell you and your 3ar3or

February 27th, 2013, 7:28 pm

MAJEDKHALDOUN #42 said: “HA is no longer a resistant movement,it is only a protector of Iran”

Nah it’s the other way around and even worse for HA. Iran is protecting and sponsoring THEM.

It might be more accurate to say HA is the paid protector of the Iranian “leaders” cause, not of Iran. HA’s use-by date is coming up fast.

February 27th, 2013, 7:29 pm

ALI #46, you are being very unfairly and irrationally rude to Annie.

Aim your bullets where they should be shot, not at a mild messenger of something you are maybe worried about it getting out.

February 27th, 2013, 7:33 pm

MAJEDKHALDOUN, I was referreing to your message #25 (I mistakenly put #30).

First, I do agree that those against Assad will win and a northern Syrian state is a must.

Ghalouin has a much better brain and smaller ego than others such as the power-hungry MB types wrecking the opposition. I’d rather see him than many of the others.

Whoever comes in will likely only be there for a transitional stage, and will have a lot of intensely heavy lifting to do. We don’t need egotistical, aggressive self-styled limited-interest “politicians” for that.

I am disagreeing with your “blame the USA” approach and saying that the US response was one simply of “excuses” before al-Nusrah. I think we now know that the debate was powerful and in earnest behind the scenes, with those againt conjuring up fears of facng al qaeda, and al-Nusrah’s self-promoted arrival probably tipping things against intervention.

al-Nusrah has done nothing to America, you say, but it has done a lot to torpedo the efforts of those in American policy circles who invested mega efforts in trying to get America involved.

In the minds of the west, al-Nusrah and what they spout about their aims and ambitions is a serious threat and sinister nonsense. Which is a shame and disaster for Syria.

Have you followed the story on the rats nest of extremist losers just arrested for planning to blow up London? They were plotting the bombing with international Islamic extremist support and instructions. And they told the court they were given that job because they were not physically fit to go and fight with the holy warriors in Syria (one was hugely obese and the others were visualy impaired).

February 27th, 2013, 8:07 pm

Syrialover
HA did not cause problems to Israel since 2006, so how could you call them resistant anymore.
HA was provided with Iranian missiles , in case Israel wants to attack Iran Israel will suffer damages,and that is why I said it is protecting Iran, and that is why Iran is supporting HA,If Syria changed Iran can conyinue to support HA but can not protect HA,please note the difference between support,and protect.
thank you.

February 27th, 2013, 8:16 pm

@18 Visitor

So the USA apology to al Nusra is not a prediction but a condition.
A condition for what?

February 27th, 2013, 8:23 pm

#51 MAJEDKHALDOUN

Noted and accepted, thank you.

But Iran’s leadership are showing their country’s actual military weakness in having HA “protect” its interest. I’ve read some interesting papers out there on the subject.

PS HA maybe didn’t cause problems for Israel since 2006, but they have been full strength on causing serious problems for Lebanon and indirectly Syria to advance the ambitions of the Iranian leadership.

omen said:

john kerry to syria foreign minister walid al muallem’s offer for dialog:

soundbite from monday 25 feb 2013

aje: the foreign minister says president assad is now open to negotiations with the armed rebels.
…
speaking in london on his first overseas trip, the new u.s. secretary state says he’s skeptical of the new syrian offer:

kerry: it’s pretty hard to understand how when you see these scuds falling on the innocent people of aleppo, it’s possible to take their notion that they’re ready to have a dialog very seriously.

scuds? this regime has shown itself to be untrustworthy from the moment it mowed down innocent nonviolent demonstrators. did kerry only bring up scuds because the opposition insisted on it? western silence on the issue betrays such indifference to the tragedy of syrians dying.

kerry is distrustful of this new pivot from the regime but obama & the west are hell bent on a political solution. how can one insist on a managed transition and treat that fairy tale notion as a credible option while at the same time (rightfully) knock down the regime’s offer for dialog as not believable? these two stances contradict one another.

February 27th, 2013, 8:32 pm

Syrialover
The reason US is not interfering are 1-Israel,2-Syrian revolution is exportable.3- Arab spring can change the map and can cause Arab to unite, US lack of intervention has nothing to do with AlNusra,it is only excuse,The mojority of rebels are not radical,Alnusra is NOW gaining support among Syrians because it is effective,and provides victories against the regime, and because syrian are mad of USA.

February 27th, 2013, 8:37 pm

The opposition is going to Rome depressed and frustrated as the Syrian Army is on the offensive

Int’l pressure mounts for Syria dialogue
By: AFP | February 28, 2013 . 0

Washington is expected to use the Rome meeting to boost the morale of the opposition, which has grown frustrated at the lack of progress on the diplomatic front.

In Rome, “the Americans want to boost the opposition’s morale… because they are aware negotiations with the Russians could last several months,” said Karim Bitar of the French Institute of International and Strategic Studies.

On Saturday in Istanbul the Coalition is to appoint the head of an interim cabinet in a secret ballot. Among those tipped to fill the post are Burhan Ghalioun, the former head of opposition faction the Syrian National Council and ex-prime minister Riad Hijab who defected in mid-2012.

On the ground, fierce battles rocked towns near Damascus as the regime renewed its campaign to crush the insurgency around the capital, a watchdog said.

February 27th, 2013, 8:39 pm

Ghufran said:

according to this report, Dr Osama Qadi is emerging as a possible next PM- opposition side:
???? ????? ??? ??????? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ??????? – ?????? ??????? – ?????? ??????? ?????????? ??????? \”????????\” ????? ??????? ????? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????.
?????? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ???????? ?????? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ?? ???????? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ???????? ???? ?????? ?????? \”???????\” ?? ?? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ????.
????? ????????? ???????? ?? ??? ???????? ??????? ???? ???? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ?????????? ????? ??? ?????.
????? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ? ???? ?????? ?????? ???????? ???????? ????????????? ?? ??????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ????????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???????????? ???????? ?? ????.

February 27th, 2013, 8:42 pm

More non-lethal aid – body armor and night vision goggles – does not merit the headlines that suggest the US is preparing a major shift in its policy.

more promises piled on top of older promises that were never delivered upon.

according to the news, body armor and night vision goggles are considered contraband. the rebels are not allowed to have them. rules will have to be rewritten in order to make them permissible.

whether it’s intentional or by sheer incompetence, the policy the west put into effect winds up resulting with more syrians dying, not less. somehow things end up stacking in the regime’s favor over and over again.

February 27th, 2013, 8:46 pm

ann said:

Stop Censorship On This Blog!!!!!

What happened to Elian and Al-Dendeshe’s posts from the beginning of this thread?!!!

Why were they censored?!!!!

Who deleted them?!

February 27th, 2013, 8:48 pm

Finally someone talks openly about the vicious role of Turkey in Syria in the New-York Times!

By HALIL M. KARAVELI
Published: February 27, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/27/opinion/turkey-the-unhelpful-ally.html?_r=0

… But Turkey is part of the problem. It is exacerbating Syria’s sectarian strife, rather than contributing to a peaceful and pluralistic solution.

While the Obama administration has encouraged a broad Syrian opposition coalition, in which the influence of Islamists would be circumscribed, Turkey has not been of any assistance whatsoever. Instead, the Turkish government has continued to throw its weight behind the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood dominated the Syrian National Council, which is headquartered in Istanbul, and has succeeded in eclipsing other groups within the new opposition coalition, effectively thwarting the American effort to empower non-Islamists.

Moreover, while sponsoring the Sunni cause in Syria, the Turkish government has made no attempt to show sympathy for the fears of the country’s Alawite, Christian and Kurdish minorities. The Alawites and the Christians have backed the government in large numbers and fear retribution if Mr. Assad is toppled.

Turkey has provided a crucial sanctuary for the Sunni rebels fighting Mr. Assad and has helped to arm and train them. Even more ominously, Turkey is turning a blind eye to the presence of jihadists on its territory, and has even used them to suppress the aspirations of Kurds in Syria.

February 27th, 2013, 8:51 pm

I don’t see any posts from Elian any longer but posts from Dolly – a supporter of al-Nusra – are there instead.

Maybe the FSA has taken over SC?

February 27th, 2013, 8:53 pm

This forum is just full of FSA terrorists and Nussra Jihadists

Surely the moderator will remove our posts and keep the blood painted ones

February 27th, 2013, 9:01 pm

“52. ZOO said:
@18 Visitor

So the USA apology to al Nusra is not a prediction but a condition.
A condition for what?”

in case you’re unaware, the question is stupid. I can teach you many things on a blog but NOT how to read.

February 27th, 2013, 9:11 pm

Osama Kadi is the founder and president of Syrian Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Canada
Executive Directors
Dr. Osama Kadi
Dr. Radwan Ziadeh

http://www.scpss.org

Read his profile here:

http://www.scpss.org/index.php?pid=52

February 27th, 2013, 9:16 pm

Did you fulfill your daily obligations to your GCC brothers today?
How many underage Sunni girls did they rape today? oh sorry i mean nika7

February 27th, 2013, 9:17 pm

I read what you wrote:
“What I said was a condition the US has to fullfil”

So I repeat my question: the “US has to fulfil” this condition to get what?

February 27th, 2013, 9:20 pm

Observer said:

So let us take a step back and analyze the situation

1. The military solution that the regime envisaged to crush dissent using the 80’s discourse and the threat of AQ is not working.

The initiative is not with the regime. It is reactive in almost every part of Syria except perhaps near the Lebanese border where HA has been instructed to carve out a pipeline for its supply lines from Iran.

An example of the lack of initiative are the losses of Shadidah as well as Raqa which was presumed to be quiet. Also playing the Kurds in the north has reached its limits as the Iraqi Kurds and the Turkish kurds do not want to espouse the Syrian Kurds in any major fight at this time. ( once you have something big to lose, you tend to compromise ).

2. The regime is not going get a stalemate either. There was a time when there was a stalemate after parts of Aleppo were lost to the rebels and the rebels could not finish the rest of the conquest of Aleppo. The renewed defections en masse are another indication of such a situation. Not only they defect but the rebels have the logistics to ensure their subsequent safety.

3. The maximalist approach of the hard liners in the regime has forced the sect to stand fully with the regime. Now the entire sect I am afraid is going to lose its status. Not next year but certainly over the next ten years as the era of Alawi dominance of Syria is coming to a close.

4. The regime got two years to crush the rebellion and its many combinations of stupidity and barbarity has actually hardened the opposition into a do or die situation. The numbers and the time is on the side of the rebellion not that of the regime. There are far more rebels willing and able to join than there are regime troops at this stage.

5. The use of massive firepower is not a sign of strength but of desperation. It does not achieve any military objective. It creates more rebels and more hatred. Its only logic is that by inciting more hatred, the regime thinks that the West would come to its rescue as a bulwark in the Global War on Terror. Well, the West is not coming to the rescue. It is coming to dismantle the regime while trying to preserve the governmental structure. Perhaps the army could be preserved for maintenance of order; but the West does realize that the army is a big mafia much worse than the Egyptian army.

6. The rebels’ successes certainly in my eyes and in proof on the ground have surprised everyone and forced all those who just wished that it would go away to reconsider salvaging a minimum of political credibility on the world stage, and that from Washington to Moscow. It is telling the Chinese have become completely quiet; no longer wishing to be part of Putin’s folly.

7. Nasrallah speech was a defensive one. A retreat into salvaging a minimum of a regional role gone by the wayside with its siding with Bahraini freedom and Syrian oppression based on sectarian issues.

8. Maliki is afraid. The Turks are having an arrangement with their Kurds. Barzani has gone to Moscow to insure another patron lest Obama proves to be fickle. He also has a good understanding with Erdogan on the limits of autonomy. He has his state without a UN seat ( much better than the Palestinians who have a seat but not state ). Now Iraq has only Iran to help. Iran cannot afford to lose Syria and Iraq. Maliki cannot govern Iraq by excluding Sunnis. Sunnis in the government means less Iran in the government of Iraq.

9. Iran has now a full fledged economic crisis. It is being offered a way out: one move for one move. One concession for one sanction easing. This is more positive than negative behavior modification. It is face saving for both. Peaceful nuclear program is off the table from both sides. Full inspection a la Saddam will be the only way out of the “carpet negotiations”.

10. So the regime is going to lose: my question to TARA MAJBALI GHUFRAN SYRIA LOVER UZAIR MAJED MARI CITIZEN and reluctantly REV ALI and HASSAN is how do you foresee this loss?

I wish we had more thoughtful people instead of sloganeer bloggers.

February 27th, 2013, 9:21 pm

Ghufran

Osama Kadi sounds like an academic with very little political experience. He appears to be a younger anglo-saxon version of Ghaliun.
Not a good omen…

February 27th, 2013, 9:25 pm

“66. ZOO said:

Visitor

I read what you wrote:
“What I said was a condition the US has to fullfil”

So I repeat my question: the “US has to fulfil” this condition to get what?”

So I repeat your question is stupid.

February 27th, 2013, 9:35 pm

Kerry is promising 1000s of MREs so the rats can eat. Bravo Mr. Secretary.

February 27th, 2013, 10:24 pm

MarigoldRan said:

@ Observer

The fighting will continue regardless of whether Assad leaves or not until the rebels take Damascus.

After that, Syria will become like Iraq or Lebanon. Most likely Iraq. I don’t see any of the groups talking to another anytime soon. According to both sides it is a war to the death. The third option is Afghanistan.

I agree with you. The basic problem with the regime’s tactics and strategy is that everything it tries only creates more enemies. They may kill 2 or 3 rebels, but if through their actions they make 4-6 more rebels, their enemies grow stronger, not weaker.

February 27th, 2013, 10:27 pm

59. annsaid:
Stop Censorship On This Blog!!!!!
What happened to Elian and Al-Dendeshe’s posts from the beginning of this thread?!!!

Why were they censored?!!!!
Who deleted them?!

2 9
___________________________________________________________________

Who is behind deleting Syrian Nationalist Party and Elian 4 comments at the start of this post? and why, they are excellent factual comments, specially Armenian Elian who recieved over 50 positives.

landis, you now work for Alciada?

LLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSERS.

February 27th, 2013, 10:44 pm

The US under the current administration continues to play its malicious role in the current war against thuggocracy in Syria,

http://aljazeera.net/news/pages/2eff4d1c-e41c-4167-bdf1-ca726ddac009?GoogleStatID=9

The Syrian people do not want and will not accept charity from the US which was and still is seeking to undermine their struggle against ~50 years of occupation by hateful dictators and thugs. The US should go to hell with its so-called medical and food supplies, because the Syrian people are not beggars to accept charities dropped from the air.

The US is extending one hand in order to make beggars out of Syrians while holding a dagger in another hand and hiding it behind its back in order to stab the Syrians as it has been doing for the last two years. The so-called SNC is acting stupidly by attending the so-called FOS meeting in return for maliciousness from the US.

The Syrians with the help of the holy warriors of the Nusra Front are capable of fighting the criminal regime on their own. We do not need poisoned US so-called aid in any form or shape. US go to hell. Syrians will never abandon the Nusra Fighters because they provided and continue to provide essential help to the Syrians in their hour of need.

February 27th, 2013, 11:22 pm

Syrian said:

@MRG
The battle of Damascus will set the tune for the future
If the regime left Damascus intact their will be some kind of reconciliation,
But if he destroyed Damascus there will be war till every Alawaits responsible in the last 40 years brought to justice.

February 27th, 2013, 11:30 pm

ghufran said:

??? ?????? ????? ???? ?????. ??? ????? ??? ??? ???????? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ??????????? ?????? ???? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ???? ????????? ?????? ??? ???????? ??? 1960 ???? ?????? ??????? ???????? ???? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ????? ??????.
???? ???? ??? ??? «??????» ?? ????? ????? ??? ????. ??? 1998 ????? ????? ??????? ??? ??????. ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ????? ????? ????? ???? ????? ????????? ??? ???????? ?????? ??????. ??? ???? ????? ????? ????????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ????? ???? ?????.
??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ??? ??? ???????? ????????? ???????. ????? ???? ??? ?? ????? 75 ?????? ????? ?? ????? ???????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? «?? ?????» ??????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ?? «?? ?????» ?«??? ????» ?«??? ?????» ??????.
?? ??? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ???. ??? ????? ???????? ??? ???????? ????? ????? ???????? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ?? «??????» ?????? ?????? ????????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ?? ??????. ???? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ??? ?? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? «??????»: ??????? ??????? ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ???????. ??? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ??? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ????.
?????? ?????? ??? ?????. ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???. ??? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ????? «????????». ??? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? «??????» ????? ?????? ???? ??????.
???? ????? ??? ??????? ??????? ??? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ???? ??. ??? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ????????? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ??????. ???? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ??????. ??????? ?????? ???? ??«??????» ???? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ???????? ???? ??? ???? ????????.. ????.
(Assafir)

February 27th, 2013, 11:33 pm

Ziad said:

Parents of Tunisian 16 year old girl brainwashed by radicals begging for her daughter who went to Syria

February 27th, 2013, 11:41 pm

a snipers’ war.

good discussion. for some reason, npr failed to list it.

KCRW To the Point with Warren Onley, February 26, 2013.

Should the US Arm Syrian Rebels?

After just three weeks as Secretary of State, John Kerry is trying to prevent Syria’s “bloody stalemate” from disrupting the world’s most volatile region. Russia, Hezbollah — and especially Iran — are aiding the Assad regime while America’s refusal to arm opponents is seen as betrayal. Saudi Arabia is reportedly sending Croatian weapons to anti-government forces, who saved Kerry embarrassment by agreeing to show up at a meeting later this week. With 70,000 Syrians already dead and 850,000 turned into refugees, is there any hope of stopping the carnage any time soon?

download

Guests:

Abigail Fielding-Smith: Financial Times
Karen DeYoung: Washington Post, @washingtonpost
Michael Doran: Brookings Institution, @Doranimated
Marc Lynch: George Washington University, @abuaardvark

start 7:42

February 28th, 2013, 12:38 am

anybody lucky enough to have caught this broadcast?

npr: All Things Considered interviewed a journalist working in Syria. We are not posting audio or a transcript from the interview out of consideration for the reporter’s safety.

February 28th, 2013, 12:51 am

Israelis Aid Syrian Refugees in Secret

subtitles available

February 28th, 2013, 1:06 am

Ameen!

February 28th, 2013, 1:32 am

The new Fisk:

Mystery of a death on the Beirut road

Last week, a senior commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was killed on his way out of Damascus. The key question is what he was doing there
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mystery-of-a-death-on-the-beirut-road-8508598.html

February 28th, 2013, 1:44 am

Stephane Hessel and the Syrian Revolution

http://youtu.be/Lb3OxAbrb1s
and here
https://twitter.com/farGar/status/306887710927384576/photo/1

February 28th, 2013, 2:29 am

from Suleiman
Fuck you very much!

Dear Assad,

This is a message from the bottom of at least 20 million Syrians’ heart!

Thank you for changing the constitution in 2000 to inherit the power from your father after 30 years of dictatorship

Thank you for continuing your father’s sectarian oppressive policy & showing us that you are not any different from your father

Thank you for killing Syria’s thousands of years civilization and turn it into an Assad farm

Thank you for forcing all Syrian talents to leave and seek a new home elsewhere

Thank you for handing the economy to your brother and cousin

Thank you for making Syria one step ahead of Sudan in the World economic index after it was heading the Middle East in the 50’s

Thank you for getting your unqualified, incompetent people from the village to handle key position in the Gov’t

Thank you destroying the original Syrian cultural and changing it into a smugglers thief culture

Thank you killing civil protesters, unarmed civilians, children, elders calling for a change

Thank you for shelling my country and destroying more than 5 million houses

Thank you committing genocides and massacres against my people

Thank you for arresting whoever oppose to your crimes & torture them to death

Thank you for brain washing the Alawite & make them believe that this a war of existence

Thank you for making Syria Department number 36 of Iran

Thank you for calling us’ terrorists, bugs, extremists & traitors

Thank you for exiling six million Syrian after destroying their homes

Thank you having your media twist facts and spread your propaganda

Thank you for making the world believe that we are bunch of salafis revolting for sectarian reason not to make Syria a better place with out you

thank you for continuing your shopping while million of Syrian can not find what to eat

Finally thank you for making us realize how beautiful Syria would be with out you and your gangsters!

February 28th, 2013, 2:37 am

46. ALI said:

I did ask Josh to withdraw the clip and he did. I intended to post only the link but on SC sometimes the whole picture shows up.
The humiliation was not for the victim but for the perpetrators of such horrible deeds who on top of this, film their crimes. It was a message to those of you who support the murderous regime. An appeal to your (dormant?) conscience.

February 28th, 2013, 3:21 am

Annie

Yeah yeah sure you did not mean to humiliate an innocent viticm, not at all it’s Josh’s fault, yeah right.

“It was a message to those of you who support the murderous regime. An appeal to your (dormant?) conscience.”

Sure I’d rather the country and the state rather Nussra terrorists. I was not sure you were allowed to support terrorist groups in US or Canada where you live, but everything is possible with Syria dual-citizenship expats.

You’re talking about my conscious and you’re afraid to condemn the killing of the softest person in Syria, the comedian Yasen Baquosh who was tortured and killed by your angelic Nussra terrorist.

February 28th, 2013, 4:34 am

Jammer said:

Kerry at a Crossroads on Syria? Perhaps. More likely the US is on the verge of losing its influence (Arab uprising) from Tunisia to Syria to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Wasn’t it the Saudi King who promised to “Cut off the head of the snake” [http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=197114]. Al-Nusra and Jund Al-Sham have been active in Lebanon before the Hariri assassination [https://joshualandis.com/blog/?p=3068&cp=1#comments] and his business conflict with Saudi-Lebanese Al-Walid bin Talal. I suppose Al-Walid’s protector Crown Prince Abdullah won the battle. After the Bush/Cheney snub of the King’s Peace Proposal in 2002, the US messed up pretty good in Iraq. The Saudis provided the support with funds and arms for the Sunni Awakening Councils to save their butts. The equilibrium in Iraq was ruined and favored the tyrants from Iran. Next bet for the Saudi King, we’ll neutralize the US and any western power in the Arab states of North Africa. OMG, Obama, Clinton and Kerry are doing the King’s bidding. Is there room in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan for the Alawite, Shi’ite and Syrian Orthodox refugees? Khaled Mahmoud will make it happen.

February 28th, 2013, 6:52 am

?? ?????? ??????

February 28th, 2013, 8:00 am

????? !
Syrian people must aske Justice against the U.S. administration about the large supply of terrorists from many countries to get rid of them at the expense of the Syrian blood!

February 28th, 2013, 8:07 am

????? !
In the city of Homs in Akram suicide bomber was blown car. As a result of the attack one person was killed and 23 others were wounded.
In Damascus in Dahyet Assad was cleared two cars.

February 28th, 2013, 8:10 am

It seems that the US strategy is to push the ‘moderates’ rebels to take over the fight and eliminate the ‘extremists’ from the equation. In parallel it is trying to get a diplomatic solution with Russia that could take several months.
In my view, if the extremists are eliminated, the ‘moderates’ have no chance to win against the Syrian army because they are weak and divided and on the ground extremists are the effective fighting forces.

The USA is hoping to train and equip the ‘moderates’ to be become strong enough to ‘win’ without the help of the extremists.
Good luck!

US to give $60 mln to Syrian civilian opposition for security purposes

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/Default.aspx?pageID=238&nID=42033&NewsCatID=359&op=sent

Al Khatib unease among the “friends of Syria’ in a ‘family’ photo in Rome

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/images/news/201302/n_42033_4.jpg

(From L, front row) France’s ambassador to Syria Eric Chevallier, US Secretary of State John Kerry, Syrian National Coalition President Mouaz al-Khatib, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani pose during the family photo of a meeting of the “Friends of the Syrian People (FOSP) Ministerial” group on February 28, 2013 in Rome. AFP PHOTO / POOL / JACQUELYN MARTIN

February 28th, 2013, 8:17 am

In a sense the posts by the pro regime bloggers are a response to my question.

They are hoping for the West to save the regime. The genie is out.

Sunni extremists will run out the Alawi extremists.

If the sect wishes to fight to the death; they will unfortunately get it.

Nasrallah speech was not reassuring today

February 28th, 2013, 8:20 am

Three Reasons Not to Arm Syria’s Rebels

Posted by Greg Scoblete at 7:51 AM

http://www.realclearworld.com/blog/2013/02/three_reasons_not_to_arm_syria_rebels.html

The Washington Post reports today that the Obama administration is moving to equip rebel factions inside Syria with body armor, armored vehicles, military training and medical aid. While Obama has not moved as swiftly as many would like, his administration is moving America deeper and deeper into Syria’s civil war. The next, logical step in the administration’s incremental intervention is passing arms to the rebels. Here are three reasons why it’s a mistake:

1. The U.S. cannot contain the aftermath. The struggle for a post-Assad Syria does not end with the dictator’s downfall — it begins. Simply arming various rebel factions does nothing to stabilize or secure a post-war Syria, nor ensure that any of the governing institutions these factions would control are up to the task of bringing order to the entire country. The U.S. struggled with over 100,000 troops in Iraq to restore order and bring some semblance of governance to the country. It would likely fare no better in Syria.

2. Weapons are fungible. The notion that the U.S. can simply provide weapons only to the ‘good guys’ in the Syrian war is a fantasy. Weapons, like cash, are a fungible commodity. There is nothing to stop those weapons from moving between groups once they are inside the country. The upshot is that any weapons the U.S. provides could end up in the hands of jihadists bent on future attacks against U.S. and Western interests.

3. It opens the door to deeper involvement. Even though President Obama has been reluctant to throw the full weight of the U.S. behind the effort to unseat the Assad regime, Washington’s involvement in the civil war has crept steadily forward — egged on by a cohort of analysts and politicians whose advice on the Iraq war proved disastrous for the United States. As the U.S. takes additional steps to involve itself in Syria’s civil war, the logic and momentum of even deeper intervention will take hold.

February 28th, 2013, 8:30 am

Aleppain comedy , making fun of Shadi 7holo the regime tv man in Aleppo
http://youtu.be/NmzhYdriqRA

February 28th, 2013, 8:34 am

Zoo comment says that Jabhat Al Nusra is behind the military success,not the FSA,one senses admiration from Zoo to J. Nusra, Zoo is expressing Fear and Admiration to J. Nusra.

Anti aircraft missiles are defensive weapons,they will not increase killing, they will decrease killing, the rebels must be allowed to get them.

February 28th, 2013, 8:38 am

News from Daraya and the Abbasid square

http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2013/2/syriakurd749.htm

In other news, the town of Daraya, which is under siege and mortar, rocket and aircraft shelling, has come to be referred to as Stalingrad in reference to the Russian city that withstood the German siege during World War II.

According to sources, the city’s residents — including women, children and fighters — have not left the city. The sources added that the forces of President Bashar al-Assad had only advanced 900 meters into Daraya by force of tanks.
….
In a statement posted online, the opposition military council in Daraya called upon militant factions to support Daraya and try to break the siege on it. The government forces are banking on a shortage of food supplies, medicine and ammunition in Daraya as a final means to get the opposition fighters out of the city.

Assad’s forces killed scores of opposition militants during the latter’s attempt to enter Damascus and take control of Abbasid Square. Sources and witnesses in Damascus told Azzaman that opposition fighters coming from the Damascus countryside tried to enter Damascus last night, but the frontline forces were confronted by a counter-attack, killing scores of them.

February 28th, 2013, 8:44 am

The project is an undeclared low intensity war according to a quiet Obama’s strategy!
U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry has met in Italy with the Syrian opposition, which, in particular, discussed the future of training the rebels …

February 28th, 2013, 8:52 am

#94 Majed

I have been saying for months that the FSA is useless. It is the terrorists and the islamists extremists of Al Nusra who are doing the job of attacking, exploding car bombs and killing.
They have been well trained in Afghanistan and they are well organized. They regularly use civilians as human shields while trying to convert them to their ideology of the Islamic Caliphate.

Yes, I fear them like I fear a plague and I certainly do not admire them, I despise them, like I despise anyone who supports them.

February 28th, 2013, 8:53 am

News from Damascus in the last 6 hours
http://youtu.be/xsdMwQTJEMc

February 28th, 2013, 8:54 am

The SNC and FSA are tools of Western foreign policymakers, as were the Mujahideen. And we know that tools can be turned on the users 9/11

February 28th, 2013, 9:01 am

????? ??????? ?????? 20 ???? “?????” ???????? ????????!

http://youtu.be/xHH-uwqWpqc?t=51s

http://youtu.be/ohH4rf-PHZc?t=19s

February 28th, 2013, 9:08 am

http://youtu.be/JenkJp8piRQ?t=10s

February 28th, 2013, 9:09 am

apple_mini said:

So Al-Katib made a personal plea to Assad directly, asking him to step down, also suggesting the opposition with its brutal militarized revolutionists as victim just as the rest of Syrians. He pretty much blamed Assad for all the killing.

Let’s take a look for what alternative Assad has. If he steps down, the core of the Syrian government will crumple because the whole political and military bodies are cemented around Assad. Then SAA will immediately lose its commanding structure. Panic will overwhelm Alawite, Christians and other minorities, also those Sunni who support Assad, even those involuntarily. I bet those people who would be able to flee the country definitely will rush out of the country.

In the meantime, the radical islamists and pro-islamists FSA will make all out attacks. It is possible that Damascus will be torn apart. Since Al-Khatib and his ”party” do not have control of the rebels, now we are going to see true ”massacre”.

Assad and his government have been brutal and impotent. But the current situation has pushed them into an efficient machine to serve self-preservation. Also, they are rightfully convinced the country and her people are in danger to fall into hands of Islamic radicals. Many Syrian people do not see alternative is acceptable for them. Among the rebels, majority of those Syrians are poor, uneducated, pious and conservative countrymen. That was one of the main reasons they took up arm the first place. People would be monumentally naive to believe those rebels are coming to liberate them.

I hope Al-Khatib can convince himself at this moment Syria needs Assad and transitional government has to have Assad as leading figure. The goal for an unconditional dialogue is to implement a ceasefire asap. Also the opposition will be granted power to put the rebels under command. In the meantime, re-organize it and confront those Islamists/Jihadists.

February 28th, 2013, 9:33 am

We start another day by offering a ‘solemn song’ to, Allah la yirhamo, the dog-in-chief-leader-of-all-dogs, Hafez,

Yil3an rohak ya Hafez.

On the other hand, in light of continued US maliciousness in this war against terrorist dictators, and also in light of the obvious impotence of the so-called SNC having turned itself into a stooge to facilitate US maliciousness and machination against the Syria people, I call upon all Syrians, as I have been calling all along, to send their support directly to the FSA, and especially to the Nusra Front since it has proven to be the most trustworthy, the most effective and the most dedicated holy warriors we have in Syria, and it alone can maximize your returns by achieving field victories. In fact, you would be lucky if Nusra even accepts your contributions because it has proven itself to be self-sufficient.

I personally do not care about any tax returns in comparison to all the returns that I would get from Nusra and FSA victories.

Never send your donations to SNC even if you are promised 100% full return on your donations. This is poisoned US so-called aid which Syrians of all colors must reject.

February 28th, 2013, 9:50 am

Zoozoo
Again you say Islamist terrorist, Do you remember who bombed the american embassy in Beirut in the 80s,they were Shiite islamist terrorist,Shiite islamic terrorists committed terror recently in trying to kill KSA ammbassador in Washington, Shiite Islamist terrorists are destabilizing Tripoli in Lebanon, Shiite islamic terrorists sending murderers to Syria to kill Syrians, and Shiite islamic terrorist killing innocent Iraqi, you should hate them too.
Zoozoo you hate Sunni and you know americans hate muslems so you deceive americans,it will not work, American know shiites are the one who killed americans in beirut,US is worried about Shiite Khominie possessing nuclear weapons,
Zoozoo stop Quiquiing

February 28th, 2013, 9:51 am

This is a statement from a Nusra sister terrorist group that is hoping to receive “non lethal aid” from NATO:
???? ???? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????? ?? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ???????.
???? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ???????? ??????? ?? ??????? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ??????:
??? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ????? ??????? ??????? ??? ?????? 21/2/2103 ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????
for the records, that building was empty
? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ??? ???? ??????? ???????? ???????? ??????? ????? ??????? ?? ??????? ???? ?????? \”???- ???\” ????? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ??????(????? ??????) .
those missiles are so accurate they are being considered by the israeli army, they are programmed to only hit Nusairi and christian targets.
????? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ???????? ?? ???? ???????? ??? ??? ??????? ???????? ???? ????????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??? ???????? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ???? ????? ??? ???? ???????.
now, read this reference to car bombs which most Syrians now realize that they are almost exclusively used by islamists through out the whole Middle east and Asia
????? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ???????? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ????????? ?
???????? ?? ??? ???? ???????? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ???????? ??????? ?? ???????? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ????? ????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ??? ????? 90 ??.
???? ????? ??????? ?????????.
a car bomb went off in a residential area in Homs, rebels, with few exceptions, have changed what was once a revolution into a terrorist movement.

February 28th, 2013, 9:58 am

Hanzala said:

America needs to keep its blood stained hands out of Syria.

February 28th, 2013, 10:44 am

Observer

I think Nasrallah and HA burned all their cards and their mask fell off. Every single Arab knows now they are agents of Iran and their loyalty is not towards the country where they were born. Every single Arab know that they should be disarmed and that they are clear and present danger. Every single Arab now despises them and their supporters. What can Nasrallah do ? Send ALL his Shabeehas to fight with Assad’s shabeehas? I wish he just do that. We will then liberate Syria and Lebanon together.

Majie

Whay! 1980 is 33 years away….

Since then, in 2013, the Islamist terrorists in Afghanistan, 9/11, Mali, Libya, Algeria etc.. are all Sunnis.

The Shias don’t fight any foreign countries, they don’t want a Caliphate, they don’t want to impose Sharia.
Their actions are strictly against Israel and any country that helps Israel continue to occupy Palestinian, Syrian or Lebanese land.

I despise Al Nusra and all its supporters and I hope they will be crushed mercilessly.

February 28th, 2013, 10:52 am

Elian said:

Sure He/they deleted my first post here because who ever is monitoring this blog if it is JL or an MB designee doesn’t want to hear it, it is clear for long time that this blog is no difference than the Heetan which is a pure MB blog.
they policy of handing the Middle east to the MB is going to fire back very much as all the loss the west incured in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
The end of the western civilization is a fact not a question and when is matter of decades and probably Bashar is still living and will wittness and tell them i told you so.
It doesn’t mean that i am supported of Bashar or i was ever, but it means that the aspiration the Syrians had for freedom turned to be a their own worse enemy in the presence of worse stone age theology. Many people declared that Syrians and Arabs in general are not ready for true democracy and still it is being shoved in their throat MB style to please and support certain policies in the world.

February 28th, 2013, 11:03 am

Despicable and despised for being a certified liar, Zoo @108 said,

………………..I despise Al Nusra and all its supporters and I hope they will be crushed mercilessly.”

You should learn a very basic rule of etiquette: When you are a certified liar you lose the luxury of despising others. Instead YOU become the object of despise by others.

I cannot go on teaching you all the basic stuff. So get yourself a shrink, buzz off and stop contaminating the space.

February 28th, 2013, 11:17 am

102 Apple-mini

Khatib and the SOC are in a state of panic.
They humiliated themselves by attending the Rome meeting where they got just promises and a few millions dollars to get the armed rebels under control, a practically impossible task.

They must produce some kind of “government” on the 3rd of March or they loose the little credibility they still have.

In the meantime Al Nusra fighters are taking over the fights and the FSA is sidelined. If Al Nusra wins more of the country, the FSA and the SOC are dead. For their survival, they have no choice that to accept the dialog now by lowering their conditions.

The deal being prepared by Russia and the USA would probably be in that line
– Basha al Assad will nominate a negotiating team including Farouk Al Sharaa. He will stay in power until 2014. In 2014 he will not enter in competition with other presidential candidates in the ballot. He keeps the right to be part of the political party he chooses and eventually represent himself in the 2018 election or if there is a earlier election.
– The opposition will nominate a team of negotiators, including FSA commanders
– The first priority of the negotiations will be to work out a ceasefire using joint FSA and Syrian army efforts to counter terrorism, criminality, dislodge Al Nusra and protect the civilians.
Next will come the steps for the constitution etc..

It may take until 2014 for this plan to work.

February 28th, 2013, 11:21 am

The rebels should not thank the USA but should ask for more than a miserable 60 millions with strings attached.
Israel get billions on military aids why not the FSA who is fighting for ‘democracy’.
In addition, the “future” Syria government lead by the present opposition will be be a friend of the USA and will surely make a peace treaty with Israel, so the USA should be more generous now!

February 28th, 2013, 11:31 am

Who needs US machination, maliciousness and poisoned so-called aid when our holy-warrior heroes are scoring one victory after the next across all of Syria?

http://www.aljazeera.net/news/pages/ee595f78-4570-4462-9f74-99b6b54c08f1?GoogleStatID=1

Our holy warriors will finish the job sooner than many think, and without ANY NEED FOR POISONED US SO-CALLED AID. Brigade 39, located in Damascus, is next to fall. It has been surrounded by the holy warriors for several weeks, and all attempts to send supplies to the criminal brigade have failed. The fall of the brigade means complete communication severance between Damascus and Aleppo as far as the criminal regime supply routes are concerned (thanks again to Nusra holy warriors who were the first to follow such successful strategy when other FSA units were still in kindergarden). In addition, military experts tell us that our holy warriors approach to Abbaseen square was preceded by several victories in which the holy warriors gained control over several Damascus districts,

???? ?????? ?? ?????? ???????? ????????????? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ????????? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ??? ????? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ??????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ??????? ????? ??? ???? ?????????.

February 28th, 2013, 11:52 am

Zoo, where is your outrage at Putin printing money and sending arms to the Shiites ?

February 28th, 2013, 11:53 am

A funny desertion video, at the same time it shows the type of Rev.s”Sunni “soldiers who are still fighting with Butta
http://youtu.be/1EwXMd8EcFw

February 28th, 2013, 12:23 pm

Aljafari who represents an unpopular regime in Syria is on the offense, much of what he said in this report is public information and is hard to dispute. Sanctions on Syria , the behavior of GCC pimps, the humiliation of Syrian women in refugee camps and the treatment Syrians received at Lebanese banks ,for example, is despicable and it confirms my long held beliefs that Syrians can only depend on themselves, that is why I get really angry when some of you praise a foreign nation/ leader or wait for a Sadaqa from people like GCC sheikhs:
??? ???????:” ????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ??? ???? ???????? ??????? ????? ?? ?? ???? ??? ????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ???? ????? ???????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ??? 200 ????? ????? ???”.
????? ????? ????? ??????: “??? ???? ???? ????????? ??????? ???????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ????????? ????????? ???? ????? ????? ????? 519 ????? ????? ?? ??? ?? ????? 20 ?????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ???? ????????? ????????? ??????? ???????? ???????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ???? /???????/ ???? ??????? ??? ??? 19 ?????? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ???? ?? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ???? ????? ?? ???????? ??????”.
???? ??????? ?? ?????? ????????? ????????? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ? 300 ????? ????? ??? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ????? ?????? ???? ???????? ???????? ????? ???????? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? “??? ???? ????????” ????? ??? ??????? ?? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ???? 4 ??????? ???? ??????? ????? ??????? ??????????? ?? ??? ???? ??? ????? ??? ??? ??? ?? ?? ??? ?????? ??????????? ??? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ???????? ??????????? /????????/ ???? ?? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ????.
You can disagree with jafaree and the regime he represents but you have to be a fool to think that foreigners want Syria to be a strong and healthy nation, strength and health can only be won by Syrians themselves.

February 28th, 2013, 12:28 pm

The $60m is so the rats can put a few bandages on their wounds and have one last meal – some MREs – before the army sends them all to Hell.

February 28th, 2013, 12:34 pm

Zoo
Do you sleep well.I imagine you are too afraid of Nusra you probably see them in you dream,I can see you trembling,shivering at midnight mumbling go away Nusra,wake up sweating and saying ,my God can I have one quiet sleep,you probably think Nusra are coming from windows, or even thru the walls ,may be you keep a gun next to your bed,remember it is dangerous , you could fire the gun and hurt people around you,Nusra is haunting you all the time,Nusra is turning you to hysterical person, Do you smoke, you need to watch,excessive smoking cause harm,but don’t worry,there is no Nusra in cigarettes,it is not going to burn your tongue

February 28th, 2013, 12:47 pm

Islamophobia on the red carpet

While the Muslim masses outside the embassy are depicted in mostly wide shots as an undifferentiated, unintelligible crowd, the moment we go inside the embassy and meet American characters, we get close-ups, humanity, individualized characters and dialogue we can understand.

Throughout the film, Iran is depicted as a terrifying place where traitors are hung in public and menacing Muslim mobs lurk around every corner, ready to confront the protagonists each time they venture outside.

The film is particularly selective in using subtitles to humanize certain characters and not others. The token “Good Muslim,” a young female servant in the home of the Canadian ambassador where the American characters take shelter, is given a name and translated dialogue. When Americans speak Farsi, their words are almost always translated. The political chants and banners that might help us understand the demands of the protesting crowds almost never are.

http://socialistworker.org/2013/02/27/islamophobia-on-the-red-carpet

February 28th, 2013, 1:16 pm

Roland said:

Tara still can’t understand that without the Hezbollah, the Israelis would be planting their “settlements” in Lebanon.

Hezbollah are the only Arab force with an overall record of success against the Israelis.

February 28th, 2013, 1:50 pm

Rebels just took over Jober St. close to souk al Hal(new market)200 meter from Abbaseen square

Where is Ghufran when he said three months ago,the battle of Damascus will fizzle soon!

Ann cut down on her comments,is she depressed?

February 28th, 2013, 1:55 pm

• Kerry’s pledges of support to the Syrian opposition do not mark a significant shift in US policy as they are being portrayed, argues Syria analyst Joshua Landis. He says the Obama administration can’t take a hardline on Syria while it is conducting delicate diplomacy with President Bashar al-Assad’s two main allies: Iran and Russia.
Not only is the US resuming negotiations on Iran’s nuclear ambitions that convened Tuesday in Kazakhstan after an eight-month hiatus, but Washington is struggling to maintain civil relations with Moscow — Syria’s key ally — if it wants to withdraw troops from Afghanistan via Russian territory over the next two years. The US has to balance its interests in Syria with those of maintaining a civil relationship with Russia.
(Source: The Guardian)

February 28th, 2013, 2:03 pm

When you say “took over” what does that mean? They shot off a few rounds?

February 28th, 2013, 2:04 pm

Croatia is pulling soldiers from UN mission:
???? ???? ??????? ???????? ????? ?????????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ????????? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ????? ??????? ????? ???? ???? ???????? ????? ?? ??????? ?????? ???????? ???????.
???? ?????????? ?? ?????? ??????? ????????? “??? ???? ?? ?????? (????) ?????????? ???? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ????????? ?? ???? ???????”.
????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ?? ??????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ??????? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ????? ?? ???????? ????? “???? ????? ?? ??????? ??????” ?? “????? ???” ???? ??? ???? ??????? ?? ?????????.
???? ?????????? “?? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ??????? ?????????? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ??? ??? ????. ?? ??? ?????? ?? ????. ???? ??????? ?????? ??? ??????”.
Before the ink dried on Kerry’s statement, the babbler in chief at the EU, William Hague, wants to send arms to rebels and hold a “peace” conference in Belgium to make sure the flames of war in Syria keep burning.

February 28th, 2013, 2:13 pm

The long Aleppo battle is almost over, thanks once again to the great efforts and sacrifices of the Nusra and Ahrar holy fighters who took the lead roles in bringing the Aleppo campaign to a successful conclusion. All of Aleppo and the north including the remaining two airbases are soon to be in the secure hands of our holy Nusra fighters and their helpers,

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2013/02/28/268885.html

Agains who needs Kerri or Obama when we have such fearless holy warriors in Syria?

US go to hell. FOS with American maliciousness and machination go to hell.

Nusra 4ever.

February 28th, 2013, 2:16 pm

I do not know what some of you are drinking but most of the hype about an imminent “victory” in Aleppo or Damascus is mostly hot air despite the fact that the both the regime and the rebels are trying to change the balance,or relative balance, on the ground.
This is from Imad Addin Adeeb:
??? ??? ??? «?????? ??????» ?? ????????? ???????? ???????? ????? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ??? «????????» ?????????? ?? ???? ????????? ???????? ????????? ??? ???????.
?? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ????????? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ???? ???????? ???????? ???? ??????.
two crucial facts were “conveniently” left out:
1. there is a civil war in Syria with two armies fighting, and much of that is taking place in populated areas (to my dismay), civil wars often kill more people than classical war fare between two countries, not every victim of this war was killed by the regime, thousands of Syrians who died were not killed by regime forces but by rebels and terrorists.
2. rebels killed more Syrian soldiers than Israel did in 1973 and 1982 wars combined. lies from boneheads on this blog will not change this simple truth.

February 28th, 2013, 2:39 pm

Today in Rome

https://www.facebook.com/hiba.kelanee/posts/109910449196365

February 28th, 2013, 2:41 pm

http://youtu.be/9ZQ0W52HIwc?t=1m5s

February 28th, 2013, 2:56 pm

Mina said:

Ghufran you are the most balanced voice here. it’s hard not to see that Qatar has quietly succeeded in keeping the masses with “fearless hero warriors” waiting for the latest fatwas of their bailers’ religious advisers.
real business is going on, not too far
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-01-280213.html

February 28th, 2013, 3:09 pm

http://youtu.be/y1ksivtwFUk?t=1m9s

February 28th, 2013, 3:11 pm

126. ghufran said:

not every victim of this war was killed by the regime, thousands of Syrians who died were not killed by regime forces but by rebels and terrorists.

Yeah but which side is the right side? The ones trying to enforce a 45-year family rule, or the ones rebelling against it?

The two warring sides are not equivalent, and you are being a Douche for always trying to make them sound equal.

February 28th, 2013, 3:20 pm

Aleppo IS going to fall within a couple of months. The progress is slow, but this is NOT a military stalemate.

The regime has steadily been losing ground. With defections on the rise again, the regime is shrinking to its Alawite core.

At some point the regime HAS to allow its Sunni soldiers to go on vacation or to visit home. They can’t keep the conscripts in the army indefinitely. They’ve already kept many of the conscripts in the army for over a year with no leave. But many of these soldiers when go home, they defect.

129. Mina said:

Ghufran you are the most balanced voice here.

Ghufran is balanced in the following way.
If asked: “What is the recommended dosage of rat poison in your breakfast? 100 milligrams, or 0 milligrams?”

Ghufran would answer: “50 milligrams.”
in an effort to be fair & balanced.

February 28th, 2013, 3:23 pm

5 dancing shlomos said:

the govt of syria defeated the puppet witch.

the new puppet, kerry, will also be beaten. is already beaten.

kerry, supply your rats with compasses so they know in which direction to flee.

the syrian army does enjoy watching them chase their tails but it is time for the rats to return to their sewer.

February 28th, 2013, 3:28 pm

Glory for Syrian Arab Army
Congratulations to the heroes of Syrian Air Force in connection with the destruction of a quarter of Turkish Special Forces CSR
As a result, accurate strike Syrian Air Force killed 24 Turkish commandos from the elite group “Special Forces Special Forces’ General Staff of Turkish CRS. Turkish invaders including Syria instructors. Only an elite squad officers of the General Staff of Turkey with 100 specially selected officers. Peace to your ashes, greyhounds Ottomans. Our insincere sympathy Erdogan and our sincere congratulations Army and Air Force Syrian Arab Republic.

February 28th, 2013, 3:33 pm

It’s getting to the point where the regime and its supporters are making up fictional news to make themselves feel better.

February 28th, 2013, 3:49 pm

How do the mullahs sell off Iran in order to maintain their iron rule over mullah-stan?

http://www.alarabiya.net/views/2013/02/28/268883.html

Written by Iranian Pirouz Pahpoudi.

I’ll just give a summary in English, because I do not have time to translate:

1) Misba7h Yezdi, high ranking mullah ape and very close to mullah gorilla says: land (i.e. homeland) is not worth any sacrifices, since the talk about patriotism is a manifestation of Jahiliyya (dark ages).

2) Mahdi Ta’eb, who recently declared Syria the 35th mullah-stan province, is a student of Yezdi and he further says: it is OK to lose Ahwaz but it is not OK to lose the so-called 35th province.

3) Yezdi was responsible for granting Russia a share in the Caspian sea, under the pretext of soliciting support against the US.

4) Ta’eb further says that the fall of the criminal regime in syria will lead to the fall of the Mullahs in Mullah-stan.

5) Every thing the mullahs do is similar to what the criminal regime in Syria does. i.e. the continuity of the regime comes in importance ahead of the integrity of the country.

February 28th, 2013, 3:54 pm

http://youtu.be/UvIJzMNvjZY?t=44s

February 28th, 2013, 3:56 pm

friday prayers soon.

erdogan and the gulf puppies will kneel low in a mosque and beg a spittle covered, kidney stealing, drug dealing, pedophilic, slaver and thief for recognition.

the plague-spreading rabbi will rub their little heads with much pleasure.

in the west, obama and the english,french turds will simply get on their bellies and say, “your spittle-covered wish is our command”.

“blood? you need blood; we will provide you lots of blood.”

February 28th, 2013, 3:59 pm

I feel sad for Kerry – failed before he even got started. Oh well.

Curious where the FSA Air Force is? One of you rats announced it here. crazy Tara cheered it on and said the pilots would be “driving” their MIGs to Damascus but so far nothing.

Is is a 100% stealth air force?

February 28th, 2013, 4:03 pm

US gives ‘a wink and a nod’ to those providing military aid to Syrian rebels –
Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s Ambassador to the United Nations.
http://rt.com/news/un-churkin-presiding-sc-636/

February 28th, 2013, 4:13 pm

Gee, sure hope if this poor terrorist can get some medical aid and a decent lunch if he gets captured by the SAA. What’s the world coming to?

February 28th, 2013, 4:21 pm

Oop’s he already has been captured so will have to eat what the intelligence boys give him. I feel bad he wasn’t able to get one of John Kerry’s Meals-Ready-to-Eat. Maybe next time.

February 28th, 2013, 4:23 pm

Putin and Hollande argued by Syria and Iran
http://inotv.rt.com/2013-02-28/Putin-i-Olland-posporili-iz-za

February 28th, 2013, 4:26 pm

http://youtu.be/jNwDTXBhqQY
via Rime Allaf
Mouaz Al Khatib’s excellent statement at the press conference in Rome today.

February 28th, 2013, 4:39 pm

William Scott Scherk said:

At #126, an unsourced fragment of an article by Imad Addin Adeeb is presented, with commentary.

Addin Adeeb’s remarks appear on the website of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Full text:

???????? ?? ????????? ????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ?????.

??? ????? ????? ????? «?????»? ???? ????? ?? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????? ????? ??????? ???.

????? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ????? ?????.

???? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ?? ?????!

?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???? ?? ????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ???????? ?? ?????? ?? ???????? – ?? ?? «?????» ?? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ?? ????? ????? ????? ?????.

?? ?????? ??????? ?????? – ??????? – ?????!

?? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ?? ?????! ?? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ?????????? ????????? ?? ??????????? ???? ??? ???? ???????!

??? ????? ??????? ?????????? ??? ???????? ????? ???????? ???? ??? ??? ?? ??? ???.

??? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ??????.

??? ???????? ??????? ????? ??????? ???? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ???????? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ??????? ?? ??????? ????? ??? ??????? ?????? ??????? ????????.

??? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ?? ??????? ????? ???? ????? ??? ?? ??? ??????? ?????????.

???? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????????? ???? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ??? ????? ??? ????? ?? ????????? ???????? ????? ???? ????? – ??? ????? – ????? ?? ????? ??????????!

??? ??? ??? «?????? ??????» ?? ????????? ???????? ???????? ????? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ??? «????????» ?????????? ?? ???? ????????? ???????? ????????? ??? ???????.

?? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ????????? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ???? ???????? ???????? ???? ??????.

?? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?? ???????!

February 28th, 2013, 4:44 pm

Scherk the Zionists back the FSA rats so they share the blame, with Obama, for the dead in Syria.

February 28th, 2013, 4:46 pm

maajedkhaldoun said:

It seems no one want to head the goverment,I think someone from the army should take over

February 28th, 2013, 4:47 pm

Rats: when is Aleppo airport falling? We don’t hear a lot of your false bravado about that any longer do we? Wonder why? Could it be because the army kicked your heads in and killed hundreds of you? You dogs are really taking a beating.

The good news is John Kerry has ridden to the rescue with medical supplies and food. Now you can throw bandages at Assad.

February 28th, 2013, 5:11 pm

Just look at the comment section in the link I provided in comment 125 and see how popular Nusra has become among the contributors. Everyone seems to want to be a Nusra fighter now. You should know that this site is the most popular media in Syria and the wider Arab world

The US has once again shot itself in the foot by opposing the holy warriors of Nusra. Soon the US, Obama and Kerri will find themselves in the awkward position of being sidelined and gone to the dogs just like Russia is now.

The US has to apologize to Nusra and to the Syrian people for the malicious part it played in this holy war against terrorist dictators, or else the US can go to hell.

February 28th, 2013, 5:18 pm

Scherk the Zionists

FSA = Zionism

February 28th, 2013, 5:25 pm

” Everyone seems to want to be a Nusra fighter now.”

I wonder how would react when one of Nusra terrorist decides to perform Jihad on one of your underage sisters

You know it’s halal for them, just a down payment till they meet their virtual 70 virgins

February 28th, 2013, 5:27 pm

143. REVENIRESAID:
Oop’s he already has been captured so will have to eat what the intelligence boys give him. I feel bad he wasn’t able to get one of John Kerry’s Meals-Ready-to-Eat. Maybe next time.
___________________________________________________________________

@REVENIRE

I just read on U.S. State Department website that this Al Qaida terrorist who beheaded 4 teenagers in Baba Omar was released by Assad and is now on his way to meet Secretary of State John Kerry’s in Washington to receive an aid package and an National Endowment for Democracy Award. He will also be meeting with Barak Hussain Obama at the White House for photo op and discuss way to hasten takeover of Syria by Alciada /Alqaida D.B.A. Al Nusra Front, LLC., a subsidiary of Genie Energy International, partially owned by Dick Cheney.

http://news.antiwar.com/2013/02/21/israel-okays-cheney-murdoch-firm-to-drill-in-occupied-golan/

http://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/International/TURKEY-ISRAEL-Gas-Pipeline-Rumors-Are-Geopolitically-Tectonic.html

February 28th, 2013, 5:28 pm

Rats if you are actually Syrian and in Aleppo or can get news from Aleppo you would know what is happening right now. The army has sent reinforcements and is now in the process of killing hundreds of you. This *could* be the big one – God willing. If you are a rat supporter in Aleppo you know the people there want you out and you’re overwhelmed by the army. No amount of BS from the BBC etc. can save your positions there.

February 28th, 2013, 5:29 pm

“884. Visitor said:

Luay Al-Miqdad , official spokesman of FSA, just made an announcement in which he declared that the next few days will witness developments that will shock the whole world.”
24 feb

I guess these are the developments:

Al Khatib and his clique crawling back to the Rome to kiss Kerry’s and Hague’s feet to collect some money for peanut butter and toothbrushes?

I am shocked, aren’t you?

February 28th, 2013, 5:46 pm

The policy shift of the US is significant. It is the first time the US is providing assistance to the FSA as opposed to the unarmed group. I welcome this policy shift. It frees other funds to be used for weapons purchase. It is also a first step in the path of arming the rebels. The more victories achieved by the rebels, the more involved the US will be so it doesn’t become completely irrelevant in the days after Bashar.

U.S. Offers Training and Other Aid to Syrian Rebels

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/28/world/middleeast/us-expands-aid-to-syrian-rebels.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=1&

WASHINGTON — The United States is significantly stepping up its support for the Syrian opposition, senior administration officials said on Wednesday, helping to train rebels at a base in the region and for the first time offering armed groups nonlethal assistance and equipment that could help their military campaign.
…
The main significance of the policy shift, officials said, is not just the type of equipment that would be sent to the opposition, but who the recipients would be.

Until now, none of the aid the United States has supplied has been sent to the Free Syrian Army fighters, who are doing battle with Mr. Assad. Rather, the distribution of assistance has been limited to local councils and unarmed groups. But this would change if the administration expanded its assistance.
…
Still, one official said that the financing the United States planned to send to the resistance might indirectly help the rebels arm themselves as it might free up other funds to purchase weapons.

The United States is not the only nation that is planning to take the step of sending nonlethal assistance to armed groups. Last week, the European Union agreed to a British proposal that nonlethal equipment could be sent. Britain and other members are currently discussing precisely what sort of equipment would be allowed under the terms of the European decision.
…
Still, Mr. Tabler said the administration’s decision to take this step was a welcome sign that its policy of steering clear of any military involvement in the conflict was no longer tenable.

“They’re still reluctant, so they’re moving incrementally,” he said. “But the Obama administration has to look at one reality: what they have done isn’t working.”

….

February 28th, 2013, 5:52 pm

At least with Kerry’s generous donation of toothbrushes they’ll avoid war cavities.

Will limited US aid to Syria rebels hasten the end of war, or prolong it?

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Backchannels/2013/0228/Will-limited-US-aid-to-Syria-rebels-hasten-the-end-of-war-or-prolong-it

The US has promised to do a lot more to help Syria’s rebellion against the government of Bashar al-Assad, but is stopping well short of the kind of aid that might prove decisive.

By Dan Murphy, Staff writer / February 28, 2013

February 28th, 2013, 5:54 pm

At #105, we read of “a statement from a Nusra sister terrorist group.”

The statement appears at Shamlife.

The commentary inserted by GHUFRAN tends to mock and obscure the message of the ‘terrorist’ group. Ghufran insists on his reading and his spin — and he may be right, but those who may disagree with his editorials are dubbed fools, terrorist supporters or otherwise contemptible. Of note, none of these fools, terrorist supporters or otherwise contemptible people are named (instead the contempt is expressed to an amorphous ‘some of you).

Why no names? I guess because it is easier to dismiss all objections in advance as based on stupidity, evul, bad faith, blindness or criminal behaviour.

Bottom line, as Ghufran states, “rebels, with few exceptions, have changed what was once a revolution into a terrorist movement.”

This view is consistent with his line for the past year. Depressing, dire, implacable — the so-called revolution is irrevocably tainted, damnable and immoral. The rebellious ‘sides’ of the civil war are deranged and vicious.

This view is but a hop skip and a jump from the munchkin’s terminology: the terrorist movement of rats who must be exterminated, and fully in line with ZOORRITATOBRONK’s demand that the terrorists and their supporters be ‘mercilessly’ destroyed by any means — be it torture, summary execution, Scuds, or other means of annihilation.

What presently separates the opinions of the merciless Zoo and his munchkin from Ghufran’s, is that Ghufran understands and reviles the Baath dictatorship, and can see no future with an Assad on the throne, whereas munchkin and the Canuckistan consortium cannot imagine a Syria without an Assad on the throne.

Finally, though the terror group noted by Ghufran denounces the use of car bombs, and announces that Damascus military installations will be attacked by rockets/missiles/shells, we are left with this withering statement about those missiles:

those missiles are so accurate they are being considered by the israeli army, they are programmed to only hit Nusairi and christian targets.

They are programmed to hit only Nusairi (the presently offensive term for Alawites) and Christian targets? That is the truth, as explained by Ghufran, and his truth needs no supporting evidence.

I share with Ghufran a revulsion and a rejection of those elements who target civilians indiscriminately in the name of a god or in the name of an authoritarian mob. What justification offered by the Nusra front for deaths of civilians is specious. What justification offered by Zoo and munchkin for carpet-bombing civilian areas is equally specious and amoral. The Scuds blasting Aleppo neighbourhoods this week pass from view, the deaths ignored, the horror applauded.

As MARIGOLDRAN asserts, the war goes on.

February 28th, 2013, 5:58 pm

As the FOS is pressing them, can al Khatib and his ‘faithfuls’ unite the FSA rebels known as the “stooges of the West” and “the bread-stealers”?

Rebel factions work against each other in Syria’s civil war

Alan Philps
Mar 1, 2013

There are now said to be more than 1,000 separate rebel units fighting the regime of Bashar Al Assad. Despite American attempts to unite the disparate forces, it seems they are becoming more factionalised with every passing week.
…
The new US secretary of state, John Kerry, thus faces a near-impossible task. US efforts to unify the resistance movement have failed, because Washington is reluctant to get fully engaged. Attempts to bolster the secular forces against the Islamists have only made the Free Syrian Army, the US- and Turkish-supported grouping, look like stooges of the West.
…..
After much lobbying by the Free Syrian Army, it is now likely to receive some “non-lethal” support – training, vehicles and body armour. This is a typical diplomatic fudge: enough to show support for the FSA, while not risking any American lives or the possibility of weapons ending up in the wrong hands.

If this judgement seems cynical, it is by and large shared by the Europeans. The FSA has not earned full confidence either in its effectiveness or morality. In the city of Aleppo, which is largely in rebel hands, the FSA are known as the “bread stealers”.r

– See more at: http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/rebel-factions-work-against-each-other-in-syrias-civil-war#sthash.pLBznNEp.dpuf

February 28th, 2013, 6:00 pm

Like all the countries the USA intervened militarily, partition becomes the less bad solution:

Can the fate of Afghanistan be different from two other Muslim countries where the United States militarily intervened – Iraq and Libya? Iraq has been partitioned in all but name into Shia, Sunni and Kurdish sections, while Libya seems headed towards a similar three-way, tribal-based partition

– See more at: http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/an-ethnic-partition-of-afghanistan-is-best-of-bad-options#sthash.vboMuL8F.dpuf

February 28th, 2013, 6:10 pm

Israel sees a segmented Syria as a risk

Arabic News Digest Mar 1, 2013

A segmented Syria is far more threatening to Israel than a powerful and unified Syria

– See more at: http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/israel-sees-a-segmented-syria-as-a-risk#sthash.3xs8Njss.dpuf

February 28th, 2013, 6:13 pm

Ha Ha Ha .. the best of the day! Thanks

“The US has to apologize to Nusra and to the Syrian people for the malicious part it played in this holy war against terrorist dictators, or else the US can go to hell.”

February 28th, 2013, 6:16 pm

“156. zoosaid:

Visitor

“884. Visitor said:

Luay Al-Miqdad , official spokesman of FSA, just made an announcement in which he declared that the next few days will witness developm……………

I am shocked, aren’t you?”

NO, I am not shocked and I am NOT as shockable as you are character of deception and lies.

Luay wasn’t talking about so-called NC and he doesn’t answer to them. He was talking about the imminent fall of Aleppo and adjoining airbasesas I indicated in 125.

Nusra4ever. Just remember that every time you feel a shockwave and sing I am all shook up!

——————————–

Ali aljahsh,

Lafarjik chou bedo yseer bi oukhtak ya akho alhaik wu haik.

February 28th, 2013, 6:19 pm

MARIGOLDRAN said:

“Aleppo IS going to fall within a couple of months. The progress is slow, but this is NOT a military stalemate.”

Thanks, can you please source this powerful assurance so I can tell my close family in Aleppo?

“Washington is notably hesitant toward a decisive move against al-Assad”

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-secretary-kerry-in-turkey-after-aid-vow-to-syria-rebels.aspx?pageID=238&nID=42098&NewsCatID=359

While Ankara has been aggressive in its policy toward Syria and is not eager to consider the continuation of al-Assad’s government – even as a transitional administration –Washington is notably hesitant toward a decisive move against al-Assad. Washington appears to prefer seeing the government fall without intervening in the situation via further help or support to the opposition.

February 28th, 2013, 6:23 pm

Watch al Khatib’s body language: he is about to punch Kerry in the face..

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/images/news/201303/n_42098_4.jpg

February 28th, 2013, 6:24 pm

This is for our expat princess Tara from one of Asma’s cousins (who also happens to be a Copt and my best friend):

Analysts: $60M in aid doesn’t mark U.S. shift on Syria
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/02/28/syria-rebels-aid/1954589/

ARBAT, Iraq — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pledged $60 million in “non-lethal” aid to the Syrian rebels Thursday, a donation that doesn’t mark a departure from previous Western policy on Syria and does little to contain the deepening humanitarian crisis spilling over the country’s borders, analysts say.

“The U.S. policy … toward the crisis in Syria remains one of reluctant engagement,” said David Hartwell, a defense analyst at IHS Jane’s in London. “This nuancing of approach by Kerry does not change that policy. And indeed, a dramatic shift in approach to the war in Syria from either the U.S. or the European Union is unlikely in the medium term.”

Kerry met Thursday with leaders of the Syrian Opposition Coalition at the Friends of Syria group of nations meeting in Rome, where he announced the United States would offer new help directly to “carefully vetted” rebel groups in Syria trying to topple dictator Bashar Assad. President Obama has said he wants Assad ousted, but he has not been willing to provide military assistance to the anti-regime opposition.

In what was billed as a shift in policy, Kerry said the United States will now provide food and medical aid to the rebels battling in a two-year-long rebellion in which an estimated 70,000 people have been killed.

“The rebels need anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons,” said Hozan Ibrahim, a Syrian anti-regime activist based in Berlin. “If the Free Syrian Army possessed those weapons they could prevent further tragedy in Syria. If not, it’s going to be prolonged. And if the regime gains more ground, the casualties could double in a few month because the regime has intensified airstrikes.”

The duration of the conflict is also creating a unprecedented refugee population, according to the United Nations.

“The humanitarian crisis is glaring — and it’s only going to get bigger — and fears that this is going to destabilize the neighborhood have risen,” said Joshua Landis, professor of Middle East history at the University of Oklahoma.

According to UNICEF, the nearly 15,000 Syrians who have escaped the fighting into Iraq lack safe drinking water. On the outskirts of the town of Arbat in Iraqi Kurdistan, rows of tattered blue and white tents house people who trekked hundreds of miles to escape the violence. Help from the outside world has yet to arrive here.

Habib Habash Ali has little in her family’s tent apart from a kerosene oil lamp and a pile of rugs donated by Iraqi Kurds. She came here from Dayr al-Zawr in eastern Syria, where the family used to have a shop.

“We had to leave because of the bombardment,” Ali said. “My husband is sick with leukemia, and my son had to carry him on his back.”

The semiautonomous region of Kurdistan currently hosts 80% of the refugees in Iraq. Most are Kurds from northern Syria.

Fawaz Aqeel Ahmad shares a tent with his wife, Narjs Yuns Muhammed, and their six children, all under the age of 10. Ahmad has liver disease but is unable to get any treatment here. He says he sold all their possessions to escape the fighting.

“We’re not getting water from anyone,” Ahmad said. “No agencies have visited. We don’t know if the water here is clean enough to drink so we have to buy it.

February 28th, 2013, 6:29 pm

#167 Syrialover

For Aleppo’s imminent fall, please consult SC specialists in predictions. There are two of them, make your own choice.

February 28th, 2013, 6:31 pm

At #117, we learn that Syria’s United Nations ambassador Ja’afari has given a statement, and we are shown a hint of that statement.

The rest of the statement is at the Syrian government site thawra.alwehda.gov.sy, and a macedonian garble of his remarks is available at SANA in Arabic (http://www.sana-syria.com/ara/3/2013/03/01/469981.htm) and English (http://www.sana-syria.com/eng/22/2013/03/01/469831.htm — for non-Arabic-comprehending NATO-resident anonymous foreign toads like RevvedOnHate). Why SANA cannot simply give or link to Ja’afari’s statement is unclear; old habits of redaction and filtration die hard, perhaps. The SANA drones colour within the lines of the cartoon presented to them daily by the Ministry of Information.

Notable in the garble and the statement is the utter evasion of the use of sexual violence by the Syria state and its minions.

As Ghufran states, you can disagree with the Baathist trumpet, but you cannot dispute facts. Problem being, there are facts in evidence and ‘facts’ assumed to be true but wholly false. One of the wholy false statements made by the Ambassador is that the Syrian government “cooperates closely” with the UN’s Amos.

Oh well, he won’t be the first whore-to-power diplomat to lie and lie again before the UN.

February 28th, 2013, 6:40 pm

As expected, the Coalition has delayed sine die the meeting where they were supposed to nominate a PM for their ‘mini-governement’

“It’s not clear when the meeting, originally scheduled for March 2, will take place. The coalition said on its Facebook page yesterday that it has been delayed for “logistical reasons.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-28/syria-rebels-seek-premier-in-waiting-as-u-s-steps-up-support.html

February 28th, 2013, 6:43 pm

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/2/28/1362056133527/94bb06c8-1358-4903-9d1f-f58d49f2d009-620×372.jpeg

Saudi Arabia to witness escalation of uprisings in coming days: Analyst

“For the first time in Saudi Arabia the picture of a member of the ruling family, the interior minister, has been publicly burned in front of police,” Ahmed pointed out.

Saudi protesters have staged fresh demonstrations against the Al Saud regime, calling for the release of political prisoners.

In recent days, anti-regime protesters, including female demonstrators, took to the streets in the capital Riyadh and the central province of al-Qassim to show their outrage at the Saudi regime’s illegal detention of dissidents. –

See more at: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/02/28/291305/ksa-to-enter-new-phase-of-unrest-soon/#sthash.P4mUZ72N.dpuf

February 28th, 2013, 6:47 pm

???? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ???????? ?????? ?? ??????? ? ???? ?? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ???????? ??????.
? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ???????? ? ?????? ??? ?? ???????? ??????? ????? 20 ????? ???? ?????.
? ????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ????? 70 ????? ? ?? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???????? ??? ????? ???????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ??? ??????? .
? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ???????? ??? ?? ????? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ???????? ? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ? ???? ??????? ??????? ??????? ???? ??????? ?????????? ?? ??? ????
source: Aksalser (opposition site)
It should not surprise anybody that every area that was heavily attacked or taken by rebels has become a hot bed for thugs and criminals, not only the FSA failed to protect Syrians, they also failed to keep their areas secure, and in many cases rebels took part in the now flourishing business of kidnapping.
it is fairly possible that there are Israeli weapons in Syria, first ,rebels will get weapons from any source including Israel (remember LF in Lebanon), second, rebel leaders have made it clear that Iran and Shia,not Israel, is their enemy.indeed, just yesterday, 6 rebels were brought back to Syria
(from Israel )after being treated at israeli hospitals.
Toz feekom wa bihalthawra

February 28th, 2013, 6:49 pm

Humanitarian Groups Warn Against Direct Aid to Syrian Rebels

http://www.undispatch.com/humanitarian-groups-warn-of-dangers-of-directly-aiding-syrian-rebels#

February 28th, 2013, 6:51 pm

Bill are you drunk again?

February 28th, 2013, 6:53 pm

Why is Tara getting thumbz down, she is the most adorable poster here.

Just the fact that she exists, makes life more worthwhile.

On the topic of these Syrian TV confessions… Iraqi Shia used to run the same programs. They ran propaganda about Wahhabis.

Later it surfaced that Iraqi Shia threatened people with rape & execution of their families, unless the guy “confesses” that he is a Wahhabi homosexual terrorist.

February 28th, 2013, 7:11 pm

Dear Dolly,

Thank you 😉

February 28th, 2013, 7:21 pm

A ‘planet of the apes’ depiction of Egyptian Islamists appears in a parade
Caption:
Associated Press/Nasser Nasser- Friday, Feb. 22, 2013- Egyptians protesters parade with an effigy of a bearded man, mocking Egypt’s Islamist rulers, during day six of the general strike

http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/GRaEfObalLU32dVD4LL.Kw–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9MjQ3ODtjcj0xO2N3PTM3OTU7ZHg9MDtkeT0wO2ZpPXVsY3JvcDtoPTQxMjtxPTg1O3c9NjMw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/0a6f16c022b6d1072a0f6a7067001840.jpg

February 28th, 2013, 7:31 pm

178. DOLLY BUSTED

“Just the fact that Tara exists, makes life more worthwhile.”

Absolutely. I was living in a dark pit with snakes and scorpions and qur’an-babbling-orangutans. When an angel (at least it looked like an angel) flew by and shouted, “Hey Dude! Tara exists!”

And based on that knowledge, my life has improved exponentially. I climbed out of the pit, bought some clothes at the Gap, got an internship at a rock station and I’m dating the boss’s daughter. Never mind that she’s a lesbian. She doesn’t want her father to know so I’m pretending to be her boyfriend. But hey, it’s better than no girl at all, okay?

And I have Tara to thank for this…

February 28th, 2013, 8:07 pm

Majed97 said:

No bone is too small for the opposition to cheer for.

I can’t believe all the hype in the media and on this board over a mere $60 million designated very specifically for humanitarian use in opposition held areas. So, after they destroy and steal $50 billion worth of Syrian infrastructure and starve and destitute millions of Syrians, they give (I mean promises to give) few millions to make big headlines and pretend to be helping the Syrians. I wonder How many pennies each Syrian will be allocated from that big pot. BTW, remember all those billions pledged last year to help the Syrian people?!? Does any one knows how much of that has been honored?!? less than $200 millions… The destruction of Syria is in an advanced stage now and it’s being accomplished by the very same donors who claimed to care for it. Insulting and humiliating the Syrian people has become a new form of entertainment in this world…and the sheep are swallowing without even chewing.

February 28th, 2013, 8:09 pm

I am personally donating some ice cream to the FSA Air Force if it should appear.

February 28th, 2013, 8:32 pm

A real friend of Syria greeted warhawk Kerry and his barking puppet Al-Khatib today.

February 28th, 2013, 9:01 pm

O said:

This is what the pro regime troll posted
“For the first time in Saudi Arabia the picture of a member of the ruling family, the interior minister, has been publicly burned in front of police,” Ahmed pointed out.

So why is it legitimate in KSA and not in Syria to have dissent and to burn and destroy the pictures of the family mafia?

One is a a fundamentalist wahabi family mafia and the other is s pseudo secular sectarian fundamentalist mafia.

Pox on both their houses.

I am very heartened by the pro regime trolls scouting all the news wide and far to paint a rosy picture but the news from the front keep piling up. From demonstrations we have infiltration of Damascus neighborhoods.

From children writings on the walls we have fighters downing aircraft.

If anyone thinks this regime is a survivor then I am Napoleon Bonaparte.

February 28th, 2013, 9:15 pm

“too little too late”, sounds familiar?

Analysts dismiss US ‘biscuits and Band-Aid’ for Syria

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/analysts-dismiss-us-biscuits-band-aid-syria-232605155.html

The United States may be gingerly stepping more deeply into the Syrian war by agreeing to give the rebels direct aid for the first time, but some analysts fear it is likely too little, too late.
A senior US official said the aim was to thwart the growing influence of extremist and jihadist groups.

“Those members of the opposition, who support our shared values, need to be able to demonstrate that they can deliver a better day,” the official said, pointing to a future “where daily life is governed neither by the brutality of the Assad regime nor by the agenda of Al-Qaida-affiliated extremists.”

February 28th, 2013, 9:17 pm

A humiliating slap on the face of the begging opposition. More is coming until they have something to offer other than No No No.

Cash and Kerry Not Enough for Syrian Fighters

http://www.bloomberg.com/image/iIUhF8dp7H7w.jpg

February 28th, 2013, 9:25 pm

???? ? ??????? ? ‘????? ??????’ ? ?? ???? ???????: ??? ?????? ?? ????? (??????) ?????????? ???????? ???? ?????? ?????????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ?????????? ?? ????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????????? ?????? ?????????? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ????? ???? ???????? (??? ?????).
???? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ????? ?????????? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????????? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?? ???????? ????? ???? ??? ????? ??????? ??? ??? ???????? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ????????? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ???????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ???? ????.
????? ????? ‘?????? ???????’ ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ???????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ???????? ??????????.
There is more opposition to Israel in Great Britain than in Syria Comment

February 28th, 2013, 9:34 pm

The agitation of the regimists is very evident. It is an implicit acknowledgement of the rebels victories, on the ground and diplomatically. Aleppo is soon to be liberated in its entirety. The fight has been brought to Damascus, and the US started taking baby steps directly supporting the FSA. All help is welcome. Remember 60 millions allows other funds to be freed and used us for… weapons.

February 28th, 2013, 9:39 pm

??? ?????? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ??????? ??????? ????????? ???? ??????? ???????? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ???????? ???? ????? ??????? ???????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ??????? ????????:

?????? ???????: ???? ?????? ?? ??? ???????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????????? ???????? ???? ?????? ???????? ??????? ???????? ???????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ???????? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????????? ???????? ???????? ???? ????? ??????.
????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ???? ???????? ????? ?? ????? ???? ?????????.
???????: ???????? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ???????? ?? ??? ?????? ????????? ?????? ???? ?? ??????? ???? ???????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ????? ???????? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ???????? ??? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ???????? ???????? ????????? ?? ????????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ???????? ??????? ???????.
That was an opposing view from Almundassah to the principle of dialogue

February 28th, 2013, 9:46 pm

February 28th, 2013, 9:49 pm

# 104. MAJEDKHALDOUN

Shia terrorists, good to see them remembered. They haven’t done all those things to have their efforts forgotten.

In fact they are unfairly under rated.

On top of an impressive list of widely known events, there are a couple of big ones that western intelligence agencies believe they did where others have taken the rap.

These are the Lockerbie PAN AN aircraft bomb and the bombing of Khobar Towers US military housing in Saudi Arabia.

And both Mullahstan Iran and its little satellite Assadistan Syria have the disctinction of being officially designated as state sponsors of terrorism.

February 28th, 2013, 9:55 pm

Istanbul (CNN) — A year ago, Ibrahim Qobani was an idealistic 19-year-old revolutionary who sang about freedom.
Always dressed in a scarf and fingerless gloves woven with the colors of the Syrian rebel flag, Qobani worked with a team of pro-democracy activists in Syria’s northern Idlib province. He would sing from the rooftops during boisterous anti-government protests, complete with humorous animations that begged the international community to help stop Syrian government atrocities.
But today, Qobani appears much different in a series of YouTube videos.
Gone is the scarf with colors of the rebel flag. Instead of leading the chants, the young man stands in the crowd smiling as one man sings, “We destroyed America with a civilian plane, turned the World Trade Center into a pile of dirt. If you call me a terrorist, I say it’s an honor.”
In another video, Qobani stands cheering with a crowd of bearded men as a little boy sings, “Our commander is Bin Laden. He showed the Americans the strength of our faith.” A man gives the boy a knife, which he proceeds to slice through the air as he sings, “Our police is Nusra. Just wait Alawites. We will come to slaughter you.”
U.S. calls Syrian rebel group terrorists Who controls what in Syria? Report ties Syrian rebels to al Qaeda
It was a chilling warning to the minority religious sect of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has stacked the top ranks of his security forces with fellow Alawites.
Qobani declined several requests to speak with CNN. Several of his friends, however, confirmed that he is now a member of Jabhat al-Nusra, or the Nusra Front, the most famous of the hard-line Islamist rebel groups now fighting against the Syrian regime.

February 28th, 2013, 10:00 pm

Ghufra,

?? ??? ?? ?? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?????. ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ?? ??? ????? ???? ??? ???????.

AFP Twitter Feed Hacked by Syrian Electronic Army

Posts and graphic photos were published in support of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
By Jeff Goldman | February 27, 2013

http://www.esecurityplanet.com/hackers/afp-twitter-feed-hacked-by-syrian-electronic-army.html

Hackers in support of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad yesterday took over the Agence France-Presse (AFP) photo department’s Twitter feed.

Messages posted by the hackers, accompanied by graphic photos, included the following: “#Syria #Obama backed rebels use child to behead prisoners,” “#Obama backed #Syria Rebels pledge Allegiance to Al Qaeda,” and “A comparison between #Obama the family man, and his treatment of a family in #Pakistan.”

At its main Twitter feed, AFP wrote, “It appears our @AFPphoto Twitter account has been hacked. Recent photos posted are NOT ours. Unable to delete but working on it.” The account was later suspended.

“In a tweet, an online group known as the Syrian Electronic Army claimed responsiblity for hacking the AFP account,” AFP later reported. “The group has previously claimed credit for hacking the websites of Sky News Arabia and Al-Jazeera Mobile, as well as those of governments in the region.”

February 28th, 2013, 10:01 pm

Kerry to Khatib: You obey or you are out

http://static.olj.me/images/news/medium/803117_123922320484.jpg

February 28th, 2013, 10:04 pm

Do you know who are the “Friends of Syria” who meet a lot and achieve little?

They are not 100, they are just 11: USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Égypt, Jordani, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE

February 28th, 2013, 10:09 pm

Alkhatib has come a long way in very short time.
Just few weeks ago ZOO was all over him for not talking in the presence of Erdogan at the refugee camp in Turkey, to today describing him as about to punch Kerry in the face

February 28th, 2013, 10:16 pm

Syrian

I wish he had punched Kerry’s face after the insulting “help” the opposition got despite having been promised more. But Khatib looks as powerless and frustrated as when he was with Erdogan.
I sympathize with him, he seems to be a sensitive guy but he is not in his place among these Arab and Western snakes.
There was no photo of any of the others NC members. Were they there?

February 28th, 2013, 10:27 pm

@ SL

The rebels will take Aleppo within several months. It’s a prediction. And most of my predictions are accurate unlike Zoo’s.

February 28th, 2013, 10:53 pm

Your predictions just suck. I think you were the guy that recently predicted:

1. Taftanatz will not fall.
2. The rebels are planning to negotiate with the regime.
3. The regime is winning.

Zoo, you should invest in the stock market. That way other more intelligent people like me can make money off of you.

February 28th, 2013, 10:56 pm

How thoughtful this regime is
‘Crackdown on coffins:’ dead Syrians haunt their regime

The violent repression of the Syrian revolution does not just affect survivors, for the dead have also become a source of concern for the regime, which is seen in the latest procedure of searching coffins for “security reasons.”

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2013/03/01/268919.html

February 28th, 2013, 11:03 pm

I am very much impressed by Mr.Khatib speech, and the way he presented it,he sounded very courageous, carrying huge burden, strongly believes in what he said,very compassionate toward the Syrians,to the point,I will not be surprised if he offeres to go to Damascus,and meet Bashar face to face,he is afraid of no one but God.
He indirectly chastised Mr.Kerry about US position as far as Nusra Front,he says the truth loudly and will not worry about consequences,politics is not his style,he is willing to become martyr.
He is someone Syrians will love and respect,he reminds me of Shukri Quwwatly,humble but strong.

February 28th, 2013, 11:11 pm

ZOO
My point was, that no matter what Alkhatib do, you will always put him down,
And the “help”is like Tara said, it will free other resources
The others not attending is not a bad tactic if Alkhatib failed they can always say he did it on his own.If he succeed then it is OK, other than you, really no one paying attention to what they say anyway.

February 28th, 2013, 11:15 pm

Wisdom comes from Tsar Putin, take a glass of vodka when it comes to Syria…

Putin: ‘This problem will not be solved so easily to me, feels like drinking a bottle of vodka . ‘joke Putin, who’ or a good bottle of wine. You need to sit and think ….”he said.

http://www.habermonitor.com/en/haber/detay/39porta-wine-solution-proposal/74132/

February 28th, 2013, 11:26 pm

Marigoldran
Zoo made so many predictions that failed, he said FSA will disappear,he said S Coalition will fail, he said US will not arm the rebels,saying all these things make him feel good about himself

February 28th, 2013, 11:30 pm

wait for thawrajiyyeh to call Al-Aqsa sheikh a Shabeeh:

??? ????? “???? ????? ??? ????” ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ??? ??? ????? ??? ????? ????? ????? ???? ????? ????? ???????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ?????.
???? “??? ????” ?? ????? ????? ??? ???????? ?? ????? ?????: “???? ??? ?? ??? ????? ?? ??? ??? ??? ????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ?? ??????”? ????? ??? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ??????? ????? ??? ????? ??? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ???????.
???? “??? ????” ??? ??? ???? ??”???? ????????” ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ???? ???????? ?? ??? “????” ??? ???? ???? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ???? ????????? ????? ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ????? ?? ???? ????.. ?? ??? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ???? ??? ??? ?? ???????? ?? ???.

February 28th, 2013, 11:42 pm

Screw it. Move the Paleo south to Jordan, one million man march take down the Aqsa filth and let the Semites slug it out to the end. What a good deed, man will finally ive in peace.

February 28th, 2013, 11:56 pm

???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ???? ??? ????
?? ???? ???? ??? ??? ????
??? ??? ????

March 1st, 2013, 12:07 am

I took the time and LISTENED to Moaz speech in Rome, he made a good case about why the regime must go and spoke forcefully about the suffering of Syrians, nobody can argue against either point, the man in my opinion cares about Syria and is far better than the SNC clowns,then Moaz argued for supplying rebels with more arms and refused to elaborate on how he thinks his coalition can keep Syria in one piece , preserve the army and prevent wide-spread sectarian fighting, instead he asked for help to dismantle the “oppressive apparatus” of the regime, some people may interpret that as a call to repeat the Iraqi scenario when Iraqi soldiers and police members were sent home only to come back to the street as “freedom fighters” and participate in a civil war that has not eneded yet despite 10 years of intense Iranian and western intervention.
I support Moaz’ demands for a serious campaign to help Syrians in need and prevent the regime from using air force and scud missiles especially in areas that do not pose a military threat to the army,but for a cease fire to succeed, rebels need to stop attacking army posts and state institutions. You can not fire to kill your “enemy” then complain when the enemy fires back, the key is not more arms,it is the opposite: a cease fire.
Moaz did not talk about how he plans to control the terrorists roaming the streets in the north and other parts of Syria, he and everybody else know that he can NOT.

March 1st, 2013, 12:12 am

??? ????? ?? ???

March 1st, 2013, 12:27 am

source: SOHR
?????? ?????? ::???? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ???? 40 ?? ?? ???? ?? ???? ???????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ???????? ???? ???????? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ???????? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ????????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ?????????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ???????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?? 13 ?? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ????????? ???? ?? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???? ???? ???????
there is no doubt that Nusra is now a liability for the opposition,none of the military “achievements” of that terrorist group was translated into a political win, indeed, Nusra and its likes have helped the regime,politically, more than anything else,things were going relatively well for anti Assad camp until those suicide bombings started and inhumane Nusra videos reached YouTube followed by numerous reports on how islamists treat people under their guns,especially women ,and how they plan to rule if given the chance,that made a lot of people inside and outside Syria question whether they can trust the new thugs, the biggest losers of Nusra’s murderous rise is the genuine peaceful anti Assad movement whose members thought that the revolution will treat them as equal particiants only to discover that they are not welcome and are not allowed to have an opinion that differs from that of the war mongers, this is why anti vioelnce anti Assad guys today are as rare as good news from Syria.

March 1st, 2013, 1:07 am

Ghufran #207

This is the same sheikh that called Bashar a Muslim and not an Alawite, this guy is as pro Assad as you can get. Why is he not fighting Israel? He is living comfortably in Israel and farting around telling others they should be patient, when he should be fighting the Israelis, should he not be telling the Muslim youth of Jerusalem to fight?

The fact that Assad denied people to perform prayers in the army itself is a reason to fight him. Anyone who denies you your Islamic obligations than he is to be fought against. The fact that he is not a Muslim but an Alawite is another reason to fight him, a non Muslim cannot rule over a Muslim majority.

Sheikh Assir the imam of Sidon is with the revolution and most sheikhs and ulema are with the revolution.

March 1st, 2013, 2:34 am

http://theuglytruth.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/syrian.jpg

March 1st, 2013, 3:03 am

SYRIAN HAMSTER said:

The Ghufran phenomenon… as described by someone on facebook.

???? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ??????? (?? ???? ?? ??????) ??????? ?????? ?? “?????” ??????? ?????? ?????????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ????????? ??? ????? ????????? ?? ???????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?? “?????” ????????????? ?????? ???? ???? ?”?????? ??? ?????”…

??? ???? ??? ??????? ?????????? “?????????”. ???????? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? “?????????” ?????.

?????

March 1st, 2013, 3:10 am

#200. MARIGOLDRAN said: “The rebels will take Aleppo within several months. It’s a prediction. And most of my predictions are accurate unlike Zoo’s”

A prediction based on what? In the previous comment you said “a couple of months”. Expanding the time frame?

Unless you know anything more than anyone else, please quit making overweighted important-sounding declarations.

Those of us with family on the ground in Aleppo – including inside FSA lines – are not hearing any such thing from them, much as we desperately wish we were.

Which is why unfounded opinions like yours are insenstive and extremely irritating. We are living the terrible reality, and empty speculation is just making a game of the situation.

Go out and find some Syrians from Aleppo and then tell us what they say.

March 1st, 2013, 3:36 am

The Syria we keep in our hearts.

The Washington Post invited people to send in photos of Aleppo before the war:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/aleppo-before-the-war/2013/02/26/9cf91ac8-804a-11e2-a350-49866afab584_gallery.html?hpid=z2#photo=1

March 1st, 2013, 3:54 am

“The guy is fantastic. He always reminds me of what our country is for and not just what we are against.”

– tweet about al-Khatib by Maysaloon

March 1st, 2013, 4:00 am

The Washington Post invited people to send in photos of Aleppo before the war.
For what purpose? love in Aleppo? why not love in Bogdad for example? b**ches!

March 1st, 2013, 4:07 am

Al-khatib is definitely more intelligent and wiser than Assad.

But there are many hurdles before people can rally around him for better Syria.

First of all, he does not have enough reputation or political power. Let alone influence on the rebels. Will he be able to gain them quickly? It is not completely up to him. But if Khatib can really form his clan and take major lead among the opposition, then he should be able wo win recognition fro those major international players. Consequently, if we hope the FSA can be re-organized and put under civil leadership, Khatib can establish his political status.

It is unwise to impose his leadership upon those supporters of the regime. He needs to earn supports from them himself. First thing first, he needs to provide assurance to them.

At this moment, there is growing consensus the war has to be stopped to give way political solution. Big hurdles in front of Khatib, he must be fully aware that the regime can only fade out gradually. Abrupt removal with military intervention requires tremendous backup and followup from the west. That is not happening. By military attrition and economic slow death, only mre Syrians to suffer.

He will not be able to achieve breakthrough without directly engaging the regime. He cannot trust the west. Not only their suspicious intentions, also their records on dealing with dictators in ME. I believe the west has wrong calculation. The regime has bogged down on the almost failed state. More military provocation and political pressure are counter-productive. There is common ground for the opposition and the regime. Failing to recognize it and building dialogue based on it will cost further destruction to the country.

As another candidate for future leadership, the governor of Homs has shown extrodindary ability on handling delicate situations.

March 1st, 2013, 4:38 am

Syrian Atheist Against Dictatorships said:

??????????

Just for once PLEASE outline for us dummies and warmongers the path this revolution should have taken (presumably the peaceful protest route is your preferred choice), not in generalities but a clear step by step scenario that would have led to the result we all want for Syria and Syrians, namely to have a country in which people are free to breathe the air without permission of or bribes to Bashar’s shabbiha, to make a living from their own honorable toil without having their wealth “shared” by the crooks in charge, to move, to travel, to write, to read, to speak, to laugh, to criticize, TO RULE THEMSELVES…FREELY.

For months and months I have pleaded with Dr Manna to do this, with the NCB, with all of those who keep attacking the revolution and call its participants thawrajiyyeh ????????????

So come on, tell us how you could have made this a successful peaceful revolution, with no death? no destruction, no barrel bombs and no MiGs strafing own Syrian cities! A-la Ghiyath Matar? Oh, I forgot, the “Only-Assad-can-deliver-reform” believers and their hired thugs tortured him to death and sent his cut-out throat in a little plastic bag to his family and would have tortured and killed another million of his kind because they are harmless lambs, and lambs get slaughtered. The NCB’s way? Abdel 3ziz al Khayyer and 100 thousand others are languishing in Bashar’s prisons and detention centers and barracks with no known prospects of release.

So PLEASE enlighten us! We know it is a futile intellectual exercise now after all we have seen, but I really want to know the plan you had/maybe still have in mind? to accomplish the GOAL (that is if you ever recognized the need to reach it).

March 1st, 2013, 4:54 am

@ SyriaLover

The regime will be out of Aleppo within 4 months. Specific enough for you?

My information sources? Honestly, not much. I read the news, and otherwise use my brain. On average I’ve found that it takes the rebels 2-3 months of siege warfare to take their objectives so I’m basing it on that.

One thing I do know about Syrians though, from you: they’re HIGHLY prone to factionalism. Even in a revolution against a hated foe they have a tendency to shoot each other instead of the enemy.

So my prediction that the country will be split up, stands. Everything you’ve said recently has only convinced me more of this. Unlike you I keep my focus on the enemy.

March 1st, 2013, 6:04 am

Hanzala al-Takfiri said:

“The fact that he is not a Muslim but an Alawite is another reason to fight him, a non Muslim cannot rule over a Muslim majority.”

You are dead wrong. The reason to fight al-Assad is dictatorship and nothing else. Democracy and not Islam.

al-Assad is a Muslim if you like it or not. He goes to the mosque sometimes and prays: the Muslim way. A kooko like you can not say he is this or that. You are in no position to judge anything like this.

As for if the Alawis are Muslims or not. For me it is better for the Alawis not be connected to Islam whatsoever. Take Islam and keep it for yourself. Good for you.

The sad truth is that the Alawis consider themselves to be Muslims somehow. Those could argue against someone like Hanzala very easily destroying his weak chatter.

What fact are Hanzala the Takfiri is talking about here? If some semi educated Sunni Sheikhs said that his sect are the true Muslims and the Alawis are not even Muslims, should we believe hem. No one is in position to judge this.

History is showing us that 99.9 of the Sunnis Sheikhs are not that bright. They are backward and not suitable for modern times. They are nuts. I have not seen one in my lifetime who is bright and should be listened to. They should be kept in check doing only marriage certificates and overseeing circumcisions for kids. Nothing more and nothing less.

Hanzala al-Takfiri call what he thinks of the Alawis a “fact.”

Very easily and casually This lunatic Takfiri calls millions of people who consider themselves Muslims non-Muslims, which is the call to kill them according to Hanzala’s sect practice and decrees.

This is what is wrong with people who think like this goon: each one of them thinks he is a Sheikh and could determine that the Alawis are not Muslims.

DUDE: go get some education and see how the Alawis read al-Quran like you. If they interpret it in a different way that is because their Sheikhs are different from the stone age sheikhs of your sect. Dude: you belong to the most backward form of Islam. Want to discuss that? Your form of Islam is very rigid and not suitable to the age of difference we live in.

Are you ready to challenge the Alawis how they interpret al-Quran to see who is the true Muslim or not?

March 1st, 2013, 7:08 am

This is the apologist Ghufran:”using air force and scud missiles especially in areas that do not pose a military threat to the army” according to him is not acceptable when there is no threat but then acceptable if the army is threatened.

PLEASE tell us what is the definition of threat? Peaceful demonstration? Graffiti on the wall? Demonstration in front of the prison asking to visit the detainees? And if there is violence by the demonstrators is the army to be deployed? Is it the police?

PLEASE define to us when can the army be used inside the territory of Syria; or of any other country for that matter.

PLEASE define for us how much force can or should the army use and in what circumstances can it use inaccurate SCUD missiles or air force jets known not to be laser guided and also inaccurate.

PLEASE tell us what is the legal basis for the deployment of the troops on the streets and if this army uses excessive force and commits massacres who is responsible? the troops the officers the head of the general staff or the supreme commander?

PLEASE tell us what is the role of parliament in overseeing the armed forces. Is there a committee to look into this?

What I am driving at is the complete illogical premise that any regime having in principle the exclusive right to use force can do so without huge and important checks and balances and UNDER THE FULL AUTHORITY OF THE LAW AND THE PEOPLE OF THE LAND. That is the basic premise of any political and social contract for any society to PROSPER and to PROGRESS.

IT IS CLEAR GHUFRAN THAT YOU CONTINUE TO ALLOW THE REGIME A LEGITIMACY THAT IT HAS LOST MORE THAN 40 YEARS AGO.

Scuds to fight a threat to the army my foot indeed. The army is for the defense of the country and the people not for its own defense as an institution which you and I know has become a huge mafia enterprise.

Syrian Hamster is right in his description of the pro regime trolls who give in a little of critique to appear reasonable only to fully blast away the opposition.

Syrian Hamster and I know full well that the regime is ILLEGITIMATE. It is illegitimate to use force on peaceful demonstrators and it is illegitimate to use the army against populated areas and it is illegitimate not to have a clear chain of responsibilities and a clear set of oversight and checks on the executive.

ZOO any news from Mali I am dying to read your posts on it.

ILLEGITIMATE IN FULL

March 1st, 2013, 7:58 am

To whom it may concern,

Bashar is NOT a Muslim.

Hafez is NOT a Muslim.

So let’s start another day by offering a ‘solemn song’ to, ???? ?? ?????, dog-in-chief-leader-of-all-dogs, Hafez,

?????? ???? ?? ????

March 1st, 2013, 8:45 am

You should refrain from such stupidity. For those who believe, its God who will decide, I didnt think you follow this fitna trail of the Salafis.

March 1st, 2013, 8:49 am

What does it mean if Abbaseen square falls in Damascus to the rebels?
Abbaseen square is part of Damascus,between this square and Amawiyeen square is 4 Km,,between them is the city of Damascus.
To me it means the Assad army is weak and losing,1000 soldier defected yesterday ,Assad army is disintegrating, it can not defend against rebels with simple arms,
If the rebels acquire antiaircraft missles,the battle will become quick short and Assad will lose quickly.Neutralizing Assad airforce means quick end to the Assad rule.

March 1st, 2013, 8:51 am

Juergen @226,

Shut the f*ck up and mind your own business. We do not need German so-called novice converts to teach us about our own religion.

March 1st, 2013, 8:55 am

March 1st, 2013, 9:01 am

Kafranbel

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23kafranbel&src=typd

https://twitter.com/SyrianSmurf/status/307350766035795970/photo/1

March 1st, 2013, 9:23 am

226. Juergen said:

You should refrain from such stupidity. For those who believe, its God who will decide, I didnt think you follow this fitna trail of the Salafis.

But if we have clear-cut evidence that someone is engaged in blatant Kufr, then you can pass judgment right now.

For instance: Christians are polytheists if they believe in Trinity.
So, the Nusa?riyyah (Alawi) are also mushrikeen if they believe in Trinity.

Salafis have a fool-proof belief system, because they simply rely on evidence.
They will accept your adillah (proofs) if you source them authentically.

March 1st, 2013, 9:42 am

Dolly Buster @231

Juergen is a novice convert from Germany who thinks he can bring ‘enlightenment’ to Muslims due to his conversion by bringing to the attention of Mulsims the ‘enlightening effects’ of gangnam and harlem shake.

Idiocy at its best.

March 1st, 2013, 9:52 am

Hopeful said:

# 221 SAAD

First, I like your name. Can you form a club which I can join?

I think if we look back at history, this revolution was inevitable, like the Russian revolution in 1917, and others. It was bound to happen one day. The big question was how the regime would respond to it. There are leaders, like the Shah of Iran and Husni Mubarak, who understood that their days were over, and chose to perform a single act of patriotism and spared their countries the destructive civil wars. But there are leaders, like Saddam, Qaddafi and Assad, who chose the path to destruction leading to their inevitable demise. Syria was simply an unlucky nation to followed that course. There was no other course to follow given that Assad decided to crush the revolution. Ghufran and Haitham Manna can voice their satisfaction with the militancy of the revolution (I do not like it either), but the fact is, as you stated in your post, this was not a concious choice made by a single leader of a cohesive organization, and therefore there was no way to control it. On the other hand, Assad made the choice to burn down his country, and he is the one to blame for the mess Syria is in today.

March 1st, 2013, 10:22 am

A popular anti-guerrilla force
http://www.voltairenet.org/article177614.html
by Thierry Meyssan

In guerrilla warfare, the victory belongs to those who have the support of the population. This is why Syria has recently formed popular militias to hold back the Contras supported by the West and the Gulf monarchies. In three months, the result is spectacular: the areas where local militias are already operating have been stabilized.

After two years of fighting, it is clear that the Syrian Arab Army, designed to defend the country in case of conventional war, is not able to stabilize the country while pursuing its primary task. It defeated the jihadists without difficulty every time they regrouped, but it does not have the capacity to fight a moving guerrilla force that compensates for its low domestic popularity with powerful foreign logistical support.

Ultimately, Syria has decided to adopt a new strategy that has been proven throughout the world when such a situation arose: the creation of popular militias allowing people to defend their villages or their own familiar neighborhoods. This “Army of National Defense”, whose members are drawn from the Popular Committees, is of course linked to the Syrian Arab Army, and one must have done one’s military service in order to join.

Mao explained that to triumph, a guerrilla force must evolve “through the population like a fish through water.” However, the Free Syrian Army has been unable to do this. As soon as it controls an area, it commits abuses and the local people rebel against it.

To achieve victory, the Syrian Arab Army must succeed where jihadists failed: it must move “in the population as a fish moves in water.” Although originating from the national population, since it is a conscript army, it cannot achieve this alone because its national organization cuts it off from local realities. It must thus rely on intermediate forces which serve as an interface with the local population, in every village and neighborhood.

In addition, the Army of National defence is subject to strict discipline. Weapons and uniforms are provided only to young men and women, cherry-picked among volunteers. It follows that strong men recruited here and there by local officials to ensure safety as best they could must join the militia or go home. Thus, when the Army of National Defense is organized in a village or neighborhood, potential abuses committed by strong-armers stop. The phenomenon of Shabihas disappears.

In the Middle East, the example that immediately comes to mind is the Iranian Basij-e mostaz’afin, which has already served as a model for the Lebanese Hezbollah. Tehran, refusing to involve its Revolutionary Guards on Syrian territory, agreed to train National Defence Army recruits. This was not easy because the Iranians have had to adapt to new recruits who are rarely Shiites and do not intend to convert.

This is an event that profoundly changes the geopolitical facts on the ground in the region. On the one hand because this paramilitary force has quickly stabilized villages in areas where it is already established, especially because now the Basij and Hezbollah find themselves with a little brother, with the same training as them, but being mixed and multi-faith, educated in the secular spirit of the Baath movement and not in that of the Islamic Revolution.

While one of the main goals of the war triggered by the West against Syria was to install a government that would break with Hezbollah and Iran, as admitted by Burhan Ghalioun in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, western action has had the opposite effect. Common resistance has led to a tightening of the ranks despite religious and political differences.

Eight months ago, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah revealed that during the 33-day war, the Syrian defense minister at the time, General Hassan Tourekmani, personally supervised in Lebanon the deployment of the weapons of the Resistance. Then he said that Hezbollah would not let down its brothers in arms of the Syrian Arab Army in case of trouble. The creation of the National Defence Force will surely strengthen this alliance by close human contact beyond political choices.

This will certainly create impetus for the military wing of Hezbollah to include women and to open up to the many faiths represented in Lebanon.

March 1st, 2013, 10:48 am

RATS DESTROY MOSQUE LIBRARY IN THE NAME OF GOD: “Ahmad Al-Issa ?@ahmadalissa
#Aleppo: #Umayyad mosque library, with the oldest and the rarest manuscrpts, looted and destroyed. what a great loss!”

March 1st, 2013, 10:49 am

#223

Alawites are not Muslims if you do not follow the concept of tawheed One God and Muhammad the Messenger of God, and accept HADITH and QURAN, then you are not a Muslim. This is not from me, I do not call anyone a disbeliever based on my own whims. We Muslims consider Christians and Jews non believers based on proofs in our religion. Just as a Christian or Jew may consider me a non believer based on their beliefs.

Ali is not a god. If an Alawite wants to consider himself a Muslim, he can do so, it does not mean he is.

Why does that make you angry? You can believe what you want. If you want to believe yourself a Muslim go ahead.

March 1st, 2013, 12:16 pm

US and allies are training rebels in fight against Assad

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/article3702564.ece

March 1st, 2013, 12:19 pm

Dear JUERGEN,

When I read “VISITOR’S” posts like #228 I suspect he is a semi-comical entity someone has made up for the purpose of making Muslims look bad.

His aggressive rants and insults to others here don’t represent Muslims or Islam, only some version he’s created in his own head.

If your hundreds of posts to this forum are an indication, you care more about Syria and Syrians in your heart, understand and have experienced recent Syria in more detail than “VISITOR”, have been following the current situation more closely and are far more sympathetic to the Syrian people’s struggle and sacrifice to control their future than he is.

He mainly gets a buzz from the holy warrior stuff. That’s the lens through which he appears to view Syria from his sofa vantage point.

March 1st, 2013, 12:46 pm

See such advocates of hate drive me nuts, I know I should just let them live their hate, but given what hate can do to innocent and the masses makes me act. I have seen to what such statements lead to, in Bosnia I had the most remarkable day seeing an old couple, both in ther 70s sitting over the rumble of their once home on a secluded mountaintop near Sebrenica. From all the village the serbian forces came up an 30 min drive with their armed vehicles only to destroy this one muslim home. To denounce ones religion is like denouncing his right to live, and by letting us tolerate such hate is like participating and dwell in it.

Saadi has pointed that out so well:

Adam’s sons are body limbs, to say;
For they’re created of the same clay.
Should one organ be troubled by pain,
Others would suffer severe strain.
Thou, careless of people’s suffering,
Deserve not the name, “human being”.

March 1st, 2013, 2:14 pm

Found this on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/taofikalhallak/posts/418274611595148

???? ??? ????? ???? ?????? … ?????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ??? ?????? .. ?????? ????? ??? ???????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? .. ????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ????? : ??????? ???? ?? ??? !! ????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ??? ????? !! ??? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ???????? ????? ??? ????? ???? !! ????? ???? ??? ?? ?? ??????? ???? ???????? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ????????? ???????? ???? ??? ??? ????? . ?????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ??? ?? ??????? . ???? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ???? .. ???? ???? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? .. ?? ???? ?????? ???????? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ???????? . ??? ???????? ????? : ????? ????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??????? , ???? ???????? ??????? ????? . ???? ??? ????? ????? ?? ?? ???? ?? ???????? ????? ????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? .

March 2nd, 2013, 4:15 am

A small sample of the regime’s love for the sons and daughters of Syria:

????? ??????? ??????? ?? ??????
NCB
?????? ??? ????????: ???????? ?? ???? ?????? ??????????
Our Detainees in the Dictatorial Regime’s Prisons

??????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ?? 2013 ???? ? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ?????? ?? ???? 2013 ? ?? ??? ????? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ???????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ?? ?? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ???????.
The martyr Yamen Alwan, was arrested in Damascus University on 13 February and was martyred after torture in the dungeons of the military security branch on 18 February 2013 His family was only informed of his death on the 24th of the same month after he was buried in an unknown area by the Shabbiha.

???? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ????? ??? ????? ????? ??? ??? ?? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ???? ??? ???????.

Mohammed Hamza al-Rifai 2nd yr dental medicine student arrested a month ago, again from the campus of the University of Damascus also was martyred under torture.
??????? ???? ???? ? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ????????? ????????? ? ?? ????? ???? ?? ??? ????????? ?????? ??????? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ?????? 2012.
Dr. Ayham Ghazoul, who was active in the local committees to help deliver aid to the needy, was arrested by air force intelligence also died under torture in November 2012.
(???? ??? ?????? ??????) ?? ?????? ?????? ???? (?????? ???????) ???? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ????????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? . ????? ?? ???? ???????? ?? 10/ 6/ 2012 ?? ??? ????????? ??????? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ??? ???????.
(Maher Abdelhamid Ayesh) of Al Hasakah governorate, the village of (Palestine East), student in the Faculty of science, Department of mathematics, University of Damascus, third year. Captured from the exam room on 10/6/2012 by air force intelligence, and no information about him since then.
???? ???? ???? ??????? ????? ?????? 6/8/2012 ?? ??? ??? ????????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ??? ???????.
Palestinian-Syrian student Tariq Mur3i, arrested on 6/8/2012 by air force intelligence branch and no information about him since then.

?????? ????????? ??????? ??????? .

March 2nd, 2013, 4:42 am

Sometimes we are deceived into believing that others are trying hard to help…

But oftentimes there are other facts hidden from view.

http://m.ak.fbcdn.net/sphotos-e.ak/hphotos-ak-snc7/574776_495122000544929_817327971_n.jpg

@Juergen re video of Israelis giving aid to Syrian refugees (I presume in Jordan): Why is it that I can’t help but feel that these groups/individuals have ulterior motives. A true giver is the one who does not reveal his/her identity and expects nothing in return. After the tsunami disaster in Japan, the majority of donations from within Japan (especially the sizable ones) were from anonymous donors.

March 2nd, 2013, 5:47 am

Congratulations Dr Landis, you got to be interviewed by AJA’s Ghada 3weis, the darling of the Syrian revolution and vice versa. We look forward to seeing the whole interview uploaded soon.

March 2nd, 2013, 6:10 am